Sabre Dance

I kind of still watch the Olympics, but truthfully my interest in them has waned since they began allowing pro athletes to compete. Yeah, I know back in the Soviet days that most of their "amateur" athletes actually were professionals that trained full time (they had " real jobs", but in name only). When the USA basketball "Dream Team" cleaned the clocks of all of the other teams, well there wasn't much sportsmanship in that. There are some events (swimming, kayaking, etc.) where there are no true professional "leagues", so those competitions are a little more interesting. Many of the sports I won't watch at all (basketball being one). Now, the opening and closing ceremonies - I'm good with a little regional music and dance, maybe a little history thrown in. But why do we have to have 25 minutes of interpretive theater mimicking the settlement of the Amazon basin? We all know the main events are the march-in of the athletes and the lighting of the torch. Play a little music, have some quick dances (with historical references), have the athletes march in and then light the torch - that's it. 90 minutes at most. Actually, tonight's opening ceremony will be interesting to see how much stuff fails to come off as planned.

Actually, it has begun. Ivanka has been accused of stealing shoe designs: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_576ac4b5e4b09926ce5d54c2

Police officers have said that Barney Miller was the most realistic police show on TV. A shoddy squad room, bad coffee, not a whole lot going on most of the time (except paperwork)... The show had some of the best comedy writing on TV for its time. And yes, it was ugly.

Dang, that's a good looking pup! Now I want a dog......

I've been enjoying Widow Jane Bourbon lately. (it is, unfortunately, NOT under $35/bottle. More like $65). It is made using water from the Widow Jane limestone mine in Rosendale, NY. It is aged 10 years in oak and is pretty awesome. A bit sweet, but the mineral content of the water gives it a clean taste that cuts through the sweetness a bit. (They also produce several other spirits including a whiskey and a rum, which I have yet to try). I've already knocked off half a bottle (and bought another so I don't run out...)

Run-flat tires. On the one hand, it is nice to know that if you get a puncture and lose all of the air in the tire, you can still drive to the tire shop on it. On the other, the tire manufacturer recommends not patching a run-flat with a puncture, especially if it has been driven on sans air. Well, I ran over a sharp chunk of metal last night and the tire deflated, but I made it home fine. Now the bad news: the tire had to be replaced. Say good-bye to $300 +. Oof.

Glendale, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale - they can move the team anywhere in that area and A) The team will still suck and B) They will only draw 7500 fans per game. Quebec City, paging Quebec City....

I don't know, Swamp...that big box on the shelf above your desk looks pretty heavy. Why, if it ever fell on you, you'd be laid up for months. Oh! Hey, look out! The box is falling!! Get out of the....ouch! Boy that has to hurt. I guess you better go to the immediate care center. What's that? The doctor says you can't work with that injured shoulder until at least September or October... :rolleyes:

Two points: First, how does North Carolina intend to enforce this law? Mandate that all citizens wishing to use public rest rooms carry their birth certificates so that potty guards can check to make sure they are using the right facilities? Of course not. The law is virtually unenforceable. Transgender folks will use the rest room they feel most comfortable using and that's that. No one will probably even notice. Second, NPR interviewed a person the other day (Richard, nee Robin) who is transitioning from female to male. He lives in Alabama. He has not had the final surgery yet, but with hormone treatments, has male secondary gender traits (short hair, mustache, sparse beard). Since he is still genetically female, he thought it best to use the women's rest room. A little girl was in the rest room with her mom, saw Richard and said, "Mommy, there's a man in the ladies room". How is that better than if Richard used the men's room where he would probably not have gotten a second look. Now, this little girl has had a negative experience all in the name of "propriety". Oh, and Josie, I love the phrase "sanctimonious pearl clutching". Brilliant!

Hi, Sizzle- You have an advantage in that you have your family to move with you - I moved from Buffalo to Tucson some years back by myself. It was very difficult for me. I did make friends through work, but after working with them during the day, I often didn't want to hang with them during off hours. It appears you are definitely doing your homework in researching the area. I'm sure you will make the right call, but just a cautionary note: visiting an area, even multiple times, is not really like living there. When I moved to Tucson (for a job), I researched the area quite a bit and also spent some time there. A few weeks after I moved there, I started to run across things I hadn't foreseen. One thing (which these days is easily looked into on the internet) was automobile registration. In NY, your registration fee is based on vehicle weight; in Arizona, it is based on value of the vehicle. My one-year registration cost nearly $300. That was quite an eye opener. Anyway, good luck to you - let us know how it works out....

Frankly, I think charging for draft ducats smacks as much of the league as it does the Sabres. I hate that they decided that Buffalo was the place to institute such a policy. After having a crap team for the last few seasons, charging $20-$30 for a previously free (or nearly free) event will make us look small and cheap. It'll be interesting to see what the reaction is from around the league, media (especially Canadian media) and out-of-town fans. Also, let's see what happens when next year's draft comes along... Well, I will be watching the thing on TV (for free) and will only be interested in the first and eighth pick. Other than that, I can read about it the next day (also for free).

If you want the total picture, all this happened after the remains of King Richard III were found in the ruins of a medieval church buried in a parking lot in the City of Leicester. (In fact, the King's remains were found under a parking spot that had a capital letter "R" painted on it). There is a documentary about this on the Smithsonian Channel. King Richard was recently re-buried with full honors in Leicester Cathedral. And to top it off, Leicester City's major sponsor is a Thai duty-free company called King Power. The whole story is almost too much to believe, except it actually happened. King power, indeed....

What, no complaints today? That's my complaint.

Baba Booey is the nickname of the producer of Howard Stern's radio show. You'll hear this yelled out by some doofus right after a golfer tees off during a PGA tourney. (You'll hear various other things yelled out, like "Mashed Potato!", etc.) Why? "Hey, did you hear me yell "Baba Booey" when Dustin teed off on the 18th hole last Sunday? Yeah, that was me!" As I said, doofus.

This is awesome! Gordie Howe is pure class all the way. An interviewer once asked him if they spoke to the referees the way "today's" players do (meaning with not much respect). Gordie answered no. He said that occasionally, if you gave a ref a dirty look after he called a penalty on you, he'd threaten you with a misconduct. Of course, Gordie had a way of getting the message across. I don't remember the ref's name, but Gordie was royally ticked with a call the ref had just made. On the way to the box, he told the ref he was the second best official in the NHL. The ref asked who was the best and Gordie replied, "Everyone else". God love you, Gordie Howe!

Wow....the first time I went to an event at the Aud (it was likely college basketball, not a Sabres game), I was impressed by how big and "professional" everything looked. In seeing this video, you can see it for what it was: an updated minor league arena. Nonetheless, I would give back 50% of the (really) modern amenities at the FNC just to have an Aud-like experience just one more time. It was a great old building.....

You may have second thoughts if Trump is elected and the population of Nova Scotia quadruples by Christmas.... :blink:

Unfortunately, we've become a society of tweets, texts and emails. No one reads anything longer than two sentences anymore (and sometimes less than that). It's easier to Google a question about your new car than it is to read the owner's manual. Oh, and no one believes that rules apply to them; everyone is a special case. Uh, right....

Owww! Sorry, I fell off my chair I was laughing so hard. What was the question?

A major difference is that Reagan was governor of California before he was elected President. At least he had SOME experience in government before his Presidential bid(s).

Actually, the earth is ever-so-slightly pear-shaped; the circumference in the Northern Hemisphere is a little less than at the corresponding point in the Southern Hemisphere. It's true - you could look it up! :P

Unfortunately, this is how America seems to work now. Those in charge will take any opportunity to clap themselves on the back (and give themselves a bonus/raise) at the least little positive news. When the economic news is not quite so good, it comes down on the poor working stiffs. My complaint for the day is the recent weather. We had a really "soft" winter up until last Friday. Now, a foot of snow has fallen in the last 5 days. And tomorrow, the temps are going up to near 50F. I mean, why has the weather waited until now to suck....?

Wait..you mean block and tackle have nothing to do with football? I'm confused... :blink:

OK, so I guess I need to see Rev. Horton Heat as well....love that Gretsch guitar!

Hey, the same color scheme works for the Minnesota Vikings... I owned one of these jerseys back in the 70's not because I liked the Kings, but I really dug the colors. (Yes, I had two Sabres' jerseys, too; both home and away. Calm down.) With all of the possible colors and combinations out there, you'd think that NHL (or NFL) teams could really come out with some eye-poppers.