Terry Tate

No. I don't think racing is athletic competition, nor would I call it a sport. The level of physical fitness and physical skills required to maintain control of a vehicle going 200mph aside, they're not in competition to see who's in the best shape, who can perform physical feats the other cannot - it's not a foot race, it's a car race. You personally can be in the best physical condition, and still not finish the race for any number of different reasons.

He fails to mention whether the global warming 470 to 550 million years ago could have been prevented by the Kyoto Treaty provisions. I wonder if he's an 'idiot', too.

The best tasting beer in the whole world is the cold one you pop open during or after working up a sweat doing chores. I don't care what the label on the outside says, I'm not picky.

Nice ride. I love the pictures of the dogs and all the shoes at the door, too - lol.

Depends on where in FL, I guess. I moved to Deland from Northern CA a few months back, and the difference has been amazing. I've met some of the nicest, most polite, well-mannered people ever here. Could be just a 'newbie' thing, I knew plenty of nice folks in CA, but it just seems to be more common amongst strangers here. On the other side of the coin, the ratio of people you don't want to know doesn't seem any higher here than anywhere else I've ever lived.

Yeah, everyone knows there's no attractive women in Daytona Beach this week. You guys all stay home, I'll keep a lookout here.

Well, I'm not a race fan (at least not yet), but I'll give it a shot. I've driven vehicles that weren't made to go fast around 85-90mph, when you start to feel you're on bicycle tires, and the difference in feel from 65-70mph to 85-90mph is pretty amazing. I've driven in a lot of major cities' rush hour traffic, and I found the Washington DC beltway to have some of the most aggressive drivers. After an hour of white knuckle driving within a few feet of everyone doing 65-70mph, I would arrive at work with an adrenaline rush - sweating, tense, etc. The top speed I've personally driven is around 125-130mph in a roadster with no traffic around, and it was not for an extended period of time, only a minute or so, and it was a pretty thrilling ride, but not something I could do on a regular basis. These guys are driving about 200mph within inches of each other, bumping (!)each other for position for an extended period of time in order to come in first. That's pretty freaking intense. If you don't think that takes a little something extra, you're just flat out wrong. I can understand there's people who are not interested. It's not something everyone wants to watch. But the folks who write it off saying it's not a sport, or they're not 'athletes', etc are just being ignorant. Being bored by it is a matter of opinion, but if the 'just make a left turn' crowd thinks it's so easy - hey, those seat belts are adjustable, they'll fit you too. Buckle up and give it a shot.

The zoo's publicist, Sue Allen, said, "Those of us in Cleveland would say: 'Only in San Francisco.' " There's a million stories in the naked zoo that is SF. This is only one.

You Amerks fans are being selfish - and yes, I understand, I would feel the same way. They've been playing together successfully and this could really muck it up. But since the other AHL teams will be losing players also, won't it even out? I think if they're all getting gutted at the same time, goaltending would be my biggest concern. Since Buffalo could go with Biron and Noronen, Miller could stay in net, and I wouldn't give up hope yet. But yeah, it still sucks. They've really screwed this up.

I had to stop at Bill France's house the other day for something. I didn't meet him - just as well, didn't know who he was until this week. Very nice place over on the beach side of Daytona. I have met quite a few other NASCAR higher up muckety-mucks, at their HQs and down at their marina. The 'I need tickets' folks (scalpers) have been all over the main roads all week, but I'm going to pass on this one, got too much going on right now (I'm still getting settled in and trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up). I live here now, so I'll have plenty of chances to go to a race some other time. Yeah, parking's nuts, but I see a lot of 'park and ride' signs also, so I guess it's just something you have to figure in. I was making deliveries in Daytona all week, and traffic's heavy, but you get there. The Daytona Intl Speedway official site has recommendations for getting to/from and parking.

Thanks to all for the cable recall tip. I entered the serial # and date of my xbox, and it's a recall cable for me.

Sounds easy enough. You should enter, maybe you'll come in first.

I met a guy this week who's a Jeff Gordon fan, has his favorite country music stars that he's a fan club member of, etc. Yeah, he's pretty redneck, but a nice guy. He drives a delivery truck for a cola company that is the competitor for a cola company that sponsors Gordon (I don't know which is which - the big two). He shows up for work wearing a '24' hat with the competitor's logo on it, and his boss says 'what the F are you wearing?'. He replies 'hey, I'm a Jeff Gordon fan, you knew that before, so if there's a problem with that, you should have told me'. I can't believe they didn't fire him right there (both big colas have a rep for doing things like that). He's been hunting down all the drivers for autographs and such this week.

I just moved here a few months back, about 15 miles away from the speedway. This place is just crazy right now. I've been here during Bike Week before, but never Race Week. The speed limit on International Speedway Blvd in front of the track is 50mph, and I was down to about 25mph for much of it this afternoon. The cops have set up additional stops in between the lights with officers stopping traffic, and directing people through temporary crossings marked with traffic cones. A lot of connecting roads are being turned into one-way traffic. All the same, I don't know the first thing about racing, but I tell you what, just driving by the track this week while races were going on was kinda cool (if not a little frustrating because of all the traffic and pedestrians). It's not easy to hear the roar of engines and rubber on pavement emanating from the track and not want to go see what it looks like. I don't think I want to go to the race Sunday, but since I live here now I'm going to have to check this out sometime. The only track I've ever been to is Watkins Glen for the drags.

My 4th grade teacher was Mrs. Vogel at Ben Franklin Ele. in Tonawanda. When one of the kids in my class ratted me out for not taking my math book home for homework, I arrived at my house after school to find Mrs. Vogel's car out front. She had brought my math book. I didn't say it then, but thank you Mrs. Vogel.

If we're going to play the boardgame, I'm going to need a good backup. I'm not sure if I need a guy who can step in and win the game for me, or just someone who can help coach me along through the rough times. I don't want to be looking over my shoulder every time I make a bad move.

This has got to be tough for everyone involved. Even those who dislike Drew as the QB admit he's a decent guy. Imagine having to fire someone you really like and respect. I'm sure they're hopeful for the future, but this can't be pleasant for any of them at OBD.

Reservist with 11 children headed to Iraq "Yeah, I have more kids than most people, but I don't think my kids are any more important to me than somebody who has two kids. His kids are important to him, too. I just have more to miss." "After 9/11 it just seemed like a big need, like there was something else I could do," Chennault said. "My country has done so much for me and my family -- why couldn't I take a little time out and do something for it."

If you apply, list 4,100+ references (TBD members).

"... even though the NHLers insisted they would sign only if they weren't bumping another player out of a job." I guess the minor league teams can have more than six players on the ice. Must be getting crowded out there.

3. Don't do this.

2. If, in a lapse of judgement, you find yourself in a bad neighborhood, or present company, be polite, and if necessary, apologetic. This will be better received than snappy comebacks that are or could be construed as confrontational or threatening. Good story about how this works.

1. Stay out of bad neighborhoods.

I mentioned that on the PPP board. Not much of a response there.

If you have an audio link, I can translate it for you. I don't watch the show. (Oh stewardess! I speak jive.)