Robert Hall

pudge

Chalk it up to August heat madness. Looking forward to September.

Lots of good restaurants there... I've gone to an excellent lunch buffet at the Bellagio a couple of times. I don't gamble, but enjoy the occasional Vegas trip for the food, shows and concerts. Rob

Ya, which is unfortunately how it often ends up in a restaurant. I want to live in a coastal area again... the fresh seafood in S. Florida was great when I lived in the Keys as a kid, IIRC. Rob

Haven't tried it... Will have to look for it. I haven't had good calamari in while...used to get some that was very good at a bar (The Bull and Bush) in Glendale, Colorado when I went there as often as twice a week w/ my team from work back in the '02-07 time frame... another place that has good calamari and oysters is the McCormick and Schmick chain--used to work in walking distance from one--would go there with my cubies for Happy Hour and have a some w/ a few canned PBRs (kind of an odd juxtaposition--PBR in an upscale establishment). Rob

I've been on a seafood kick this summer...wierd to think about seafood in the desert, but that's how it's been. Had fish and chips w/ a couple Harps at an Irish brewpub near my house every couple weeks the last few months, quite tasty. I've grilled salmon filets (with bacon topping) a couple times, as well as made shrimp skewers, tilapia, clams. And when I've gone out to a couple favorite local restaurants, I inevitably get bacon wrapped shrimp for the appy....tasty! A local seafood place I like called The Fish Market (part of a Cali chain) is soon being replaced by another outpost of a Cali chain that I can't recall the name of (something grill, not Bonefish Grill...had one of those in Denver, liked it). Rob

Sweet car... looks like a fun boat.

(I've heard 'rel-ter' and in Spanish, it could be 'rey-AL-tor' .) mortgage (mohr-gage) silent t?

Tempe, Arizona (where they are based since the America West merger)

boring

I had to do the same kind of thing about 5 years ago when I broke off the side mirror on my Jeep on one of those yellow water-filled construction barrels. Had to remove the passenger door panel to get to the mounting screws and electrical connection. I need to take the door panel off again, after so many years, it's worked loose and the mirror vibrates at freeway speeds... Rob

That's a lot of rental car driving!

I don't know, maybe within the last 20, at most 25 years? Anything older than that seems like a truly old car to me. (I started driving in 1986, my first new car was an '87, so that is my reality context). Rob

I've drive a couple of those, and the '00-04 Impalas as rentals. They were average and mediocre, but perfection compared to the Neon and Cavalier I drove. The GP and Impala seemed about par w/ the '00-05 Taurus rentals I've driven, definitely not as nice as the LHes of the same era I've rented, but not bottom of the barrel. The current gen Sebring convertible was pretty awful also...forgot that one...that was last year in Florida. The interior plastics were so cheap and nasty, the release handle for the driver's seat back came off in my hand. Just so many things were bad--the trunk lid was huge and really high up, but the space inside w/ the cloth top down was ridiculously tiny, and the trunk area was full of cheap plastic. I've driven a couple 1st and 2nd gen Sebring convertibles, and they were worlds better than this car inside and out. Rob

Hmmm..... the worst I've driven has probably been a '99 or so Neon (Thrifty) and an '02 Cavalier (Avis). The Neon must have been way out of alignment...had a horrible vibration through the steering column above 60 mph....made a 250 mile drive across Ohio very tiring. The Cavalier didn't drive that badly, but the horrific gray interior plastics and interior design were deeply depressing. I rode in a coworker's rental Caliber last year--dreadful, depressing gray interior plastics, very limited visibility out of tiny windows w/ thick pillars. Similarily, rode in another coworker's rental HHR---same story--dreadful, depressing gray interior plastics, very limited visibility out of tiny windows w/ thick pillars. The '08 Cobalt, on the other hand, was quite pleasant to drive, decent interior materials, though pretty loud under acceleration. I guess I'm biased, but I generally hate small, cheap FWD cars with gray plastic interiors. Rob

More than that...looks like more than enough space for my brood....Yorkie, Aussie, 2 Westies and a Silky. R

On my Monday morning airport run, I drove by Air Force One sitting on the tarmac by the private plane terminal in all it's blue and white 747 glory...cool.

The 787 is intended to replace the 767, IIRC...I remember back when it was referred to as the 7E7 (development name). The internal presentation for the July 8, 2007 rollout was impressive... I remember gathering in a conference room to watch it. I'd love to do that factory tour someday (Everett plant?).

I wouldn't mind a CTS coupe signature. Rob

Saw a strange black motor scooter parked w/ some motorcycles in front of my office today. Don't know what it is, but it has 3 wheels--two in the front, maybe 4 inches apart. 2 headlights, close together. Unidentifiable badge, no name in script or numbers.

Page not found. Was this the thing that was on CNN the other day about the people using remote control to launch cars, buses, trucks, etc off a dirt ramp into a gravel pit? Rob

Three main issues, I believe are: 1. The multi-continent, multi-supplier production of components has created a logistics and quality control nightmare leading to several re-dos of various components 2. The composite material for wings and many components has ran into snags regarding strength and consistent manufacturing quality 3. I believe this is Boeing's first fully fly by wire (ala Airbus) plane..lots of computer software issues in the control systems, I've heard. Rob

I've been following it, since I used to work for a subsidiary of Boeing...it was a daily discussion at work in '07-08 when I was there. What a mess...I really wonder if they are ever going to get this plane off the ground (literally) or they end up cancelling it (which would be a very costly proposition).

+2.

rust (as in 'Rusty Cage')