Barnabov

We can only hope, but would be great if they were only offered the league minimum given their track records.

Deepest condolences to your family. May your Grandfather rest in peace. (and who knows, the Sabres might win the Stanley Cup in his honour!).

Simple enough but not very exciting considering the results of the past few seasons.

Just in time - was almost going to start paying attention to basketball until Super Rugby season started. Anyone else having trouble catching up on where the Sabres team stands these days? I guess my personal protest was to completely ignore hockey until the lockout was resolved but now I find myself trying to figure out what kind of team we'll have?

Fox New showed the split screen of Obama right after this line and he looked truly pissed. A second later, the guy to his right said "You'd better laugh" and O immediately started grinning for all he was worth. Surprised that little incident isn't getting more attention outside the mainstream media. PS: We were in Buffalo Saturday night near the Galleria (flying out of BUF Sunday AM) and were amazed at all the Canadian shoppers. I had to research this phenomenon and was impressed to see what a boon has been created for WNY's economy due to the high tax policies in Ontario (from what I've read same is the case all along the border). Maybe if Obama gets re-elected, we'll eventually be heading to Mexico (and maybe Canada) to pickup bargains, reversing the existing flow. Also, the week before, our Fort Lauderdale to Buffalo flight was full of Canadians flying back to Buffalo instead of Toronto. One time I tried to book a flight out of Toronto and the taxes on a $200 ticket were like $300 extra - completely insane. I lose track of all the fees they tack on - security, global warming, political pension fund, you name it, they're charging it.

I would happily and prefer to drive American if they made anything with a diesel engine smaller than a F250. After having a new Chrysler minivan that spent more of it's first 6 months in the shop for warranty repairs than on the road and was getting single digit gas mileage around a town (small city at that) due to the ethanol mix in today's fuels, we've given up and will only drive diesels from now on. For that, you pretty much have to settle for something German but at least ours are made in Tuscaloosa (doesn't get much more American than Alabama made). We now have 7 seat diesel SUVs (necessity with 5 small children) and realize 20+ MPG around town and 25+ MPG on the highway, even fully loaded with cargo carrier on top. Not an inexpensive option but good value.

Some wealthy taste buds on this board - good recommendations by all. I subscribe to the drink what you like and how you like it rule and have never shifted from scotch & soda to the more traditional ways of drinking whiskey. Also, while I don't dislike single malts, I prefer blended scotch and Famous Grouse is my every day stuff but pretty much any Johnnie Walkers, J&B or the other major brands work when drinking with club soda. On the topic of gin & tonics, does anyone mix Rose's Lime with theirs? My British brother in law started us on that and it's now our Summer drink of choice (somehow Scotch is preferable in cooler weather which is about 2 months out of the year here in Texas). Cheers!

Just to pile on to your case of shingles...it's spelled Ophthalmologist. Seriously though, hope you're feeling better and over it completely soon.

I agree with everything you're saying but unfortunately doubt any of it is going to happen. I see at most a marginal trade or two (no one is going to take problems like Connolly off our hands). Only bright spot for me this year is that I skipped getting Center Ice!

I quit raking the leaves a couple of years ago due to lack of time. Turns out that's what the landscape experts recommend is best for the yard as long as you mow over them to mulch them down a bit. Maybe it's different for Texas and WNY but it's a lot easier than all the bagging & sending them off to the landfill. Anyway, that's my dos centavos right or wrong as it may be.

Sorry - edit what I said - should have been "carry on a conversation comfortably". You can walk rapidly enough though to where you don't feel like speaking aloud - uses up too much oxygen. My point was that despite my bias of seeing all the retirees around here ambling along (we'll be getting more now after the NY Times article), you can get a productive workout from this most basic of human activities. If only I'd known that before spending several hundred on my last bicycle which I like riding but don't have the time to do and really don't want to risk some idiot hitting me with their car. Should have known since the best shape I've been in since high school was while living in NYC and walking from my apartment in Hell's Kitchen to work in Midtown - took about 45 minutes each way and since there was no direct subway & I was a poor student, was the best option. Twice a day walks really offset the student diet (meals that come in a can, 12 to a pack).

Haven't seen the study but couldn't agree with you more about the added benefit of walking to manage stress. I, like I'm guessing a lot of people, spend a lot of time indoors and if you are outside, it's mowing the yard (or preferably getting your leaves taken care of) or just sitting around. Seems that much more enjoyable to be walking a route, taking in the daily changes around the neighborhood (or mall) and getting a break from the phone, email and people either to let your mind wander around on nothing or think about the fun stuff in life (whether that be wondering if the Sabres are really going to be good or planning what to do with your kids on the coming weekend). I'm with you on the whole invented workout industry. Great that it works for some but they must get some socializing out of it or be really dedicated. Just having to get in your car and pay to do physical activity seems counterproductive. On the contrary though, playing sports as an adult is a good option but hard to make it into a daily workout routine. Walking is also easier on the knees (I have a bad one from football & and a bad one from rugby). From what little I know, you only need 20 minutes at 60% of your maximum heart rate (roughly 220 age minus your age e.g. 180 beats per minute for someone age 40) to get an aerobic benefit and help lose weight. The rule of thumb is that if you're walking rapidly enough to prevent carrying on a conversation, your at or above the 60%.

It's way too easy to let the weight creep up (that's my complaint). As for solutions, I'm amazed that after a decade of trying to find a workout that fits into my schedule, walking seems to be it. I've been doing a couple of miles 4-6 times a week - only takes a little over half an hour and seems to be making a big difference. Now, the other piece of the solution is to not eat too much. I switched from cereal for breakfast to 3 - 4 pieces of fresh fruit cut up together, then instead of eating crap for a mid afternoon snack, I eat the cereal. Basically I'm substituting fresh fruit for pastries but mixing up the order (fruit in the afternoon never seemed to cut it). Also using the packaged lettuce and doing a salad (loaded with unhealthy stuff but still a salad) instead of the Dollar Menu at McDs (our office is next door). Anyway, good luck to everyone on the board with this issue that's facing many of us. I feel somewhat the dork walking like the old folks but trying to get to the pool, gym or bike for an hour proved impossible. And as the soon to be father of our 4th and not too far away from 40, it's important to get & stay fit for the kiddos.

I stand corrected & maybe will give it a shot when the chance arrives - trying to chug up to 5 1/2 beers at once sounds worthwhile! Thanks for the enlightenment.

So it's a frisbee full of beer? Am I missing something here - no offense but has anyone measured the volume - it looks like maybe 2 cans of beer worth in there. I'll have to give it a try next time I get bored or bring it to the next Rugby after game I attend and see how it goes down. Again, no offense, Ultimate Frisbee sounds cool & way more demanding than I could manage in my late 30s but the drinking looks a bit wimpy - what's with the guy in the lower right corner of the video - you don't stop for breaths of air man or to lick the foam off your lips - chug it down boyo!

Buck up little employee - if you're lucky & plan well, you only have 30 or 40 more years of work ahead of you! Seriously, know it can be a rude change from the college days but hopefully you're doing now or will find something you enjoy enough so it doesn't seem so much like work. At least the Sabres are there in the evenings to provide distraction.

OK - last gripe for the day then I need to try & get some work accomplished before the day finishes. What is it with Yahoo email making me type in a code occasionally to ensure I'm not a SPAMMER? I've had the account for over 5 years (probably closer to 10) and send maybe 5 emails a day with it. Is their SPAM detection that pathetic that they can't figure out I don't fit the profile? This only happens every so often but is still annoying - all the more so, because half the time, I can't read the code (all run together). Meanwhile, I get the same 5 spams every day into my account - you'd think they could figure out who's trying to sell the Sham-Wow to the entire Yahoo email database and shut them down but guess they're too busy weeding out bad apples like me!

What exactly is a disc of beer? Does that describe the container or the quantity? A gallon is 4 pints - been awhile but we probably managed chugging that in college providing it wasn't after 3 hours of already drinking beer. Stupidest thing we did was instead of beer bongs, to do tequila bongs with orange juice & someone pouring in as you were chugging so the longer you took, the more liquor you had to drink. What can I say, there wasn't a whole lot else to do in Decorah, Iowa for entertainment. What's a good count for doing a keg stand? I'd never done one before until a couple of years ago - watched my brother in law & some of his classmates doing it (disclaimer: they were med students)- the guy who thought he'd won was a real arrogant nerd so I decided to have a go and managed a 54 count to his 20 something on my 1 & only ever attempt. Everyone suddenly thought my wife & I, the old marrieds at the party were a lot hipper.

How about people who STOP at the end of the merge lane before entering the highway. I'm thinking of putting a set of roo bars or a cowcatcher on the Suburban just for these special drivers.

People who shouldn't be driving because they're either too old or incompetent. First, my neighbor jumps his car over the stone walkway between our townhouses, takes out the wrought iron railing then slides down the incline of the drive & crashes into my garage door (the house was on the market at the time - not the greatest thing to have happen when you're trying to sell in this market). Then, he doesn't even bother to call & tell me about this (the realtor does) and when I finally catch up with him, he's got the nerve to ask if I could call his insurance agent & report the accident. Luckily his insurance paid out (considering it was the 2nd car he totaled in 6 months) but I still had to get all the bids for repair & repaint the door myself. GO BACK TO CALIFORNIA BUDDY - apparently that behavior is acceptable where he came from. Second, I wake up today to see someone drove their car through the front of a store window - seems like we average about 1 of those per month in a small city. Usually happens in the middle of the day (luckily the DWI'ers crashing into houses at night is less frequent). Maybe this person's car "malfunctioned" like my neighbor claims his did (when's the last time anyone's transmission suddenly went crazy?). Maybe driving tests should be required every 10 years but I already feel like we're heading towards a nanny state without more of the same added on.

People have no manners or respect for what's right & wrong these days. It's seems like too many act like FU I only care about myself. In this same vein as what happened to you but from another angle, a couple of years ago we were in Austin (full of weirdo a-holes in the first place). Just pulled into a spot at a restaurant & some guy in a truck pulls in immediately next to us. My wife goes around to get the baby out while I go help my inlaws. When I come back this little loser is screaming at my wife because she couldn't open the door wide enough to get the baby car seat out without resting it against the side of the guys truck. My wife freaks when somebody gives her a door ding so she was very careful not to so much as rub the dust off his car but he still sits there & screams at a woman holding an infant until I get there. Then he got into his truck, locked the doors & tried to ignore my invitation to step out & get his face caved in. Too many people really lack common courtesy in public anymore and common sense. I will say almost all the fans on the trolley after the Sabres game last month were exceptions - a couple of guys stood to give their seats to my Mom & wife with the 6 month old. Good on you Sabres fans!

I am complaining about all Politicians - whether it be W who seems as out of touch with the economic situation as his Dad did at the end of 41's term (anyone remember that recession? - it wasn't fun to be graduating from college then with zero job prospects) or Barney Frank/Cox/Dodd/Pelosi who can get on TV with a straight face & blame everything on Bush when they are as much a part of the problem as he is (add Schumer too to the list - he actually wanted to expand Fannie & Freddie's lending standards last year and shot down any criticisms that they were financially troubled). Politicos have to be the most worthless space taker uppers on the planet - I'd say even more so than lawyers but they are mostly lawyers so no point. All the Washington power elite in Sodom on the Potomac are bending over (literally) to help out the idiot sheeple on Wall Street who can't manage their own businesses and we're getting a $700 Billion tax increase as a result (taxes pay for the bailout - like to see them try to sell it to the voters with that label). Anyway, the election cannot be over soon enough for me regardless of who wins.

First time I read this topic - should have done so before - it's great - hope it continues. I'm full of complaints... For starters, people who get something for free & then complain about it. Next, people who are rude to customer service people in a business who are just doing their job. Someone threw a clip board back at the nice older lady who works at the front desk of our office the other day because they didn't want to fill out the paperwork required for their visit. Someone else told the other front office lady to go to hell because they didn't like her trying to explain their bill to them. Russell Brand: Political differences aside, he looks like a walking suppository of sqeeze - those leathers he had on at the MTV show were just nasty & about 20 years out of date. Guy should get a capital L tatoo'd on his forehead. Finally for today: David Letterman - I'm all for comedy but the guy should stick to his political wit in his opening monologue - if he wants to talk politics during his whole show, he should resign & go on CNN

i was just reading the play by playon nhl.com but I'm still excited@

And the Sabres win! What? Am I the only person here? Guess it's hard to comment when you can't watch the game