sullim4

I have cruised to Alaska, but not on HAL. We took Celebrity and had a great time. Based solely on the people I saw in port: - HAL passengers definitely were older than average. This really stood out. Their ships in Alaska also looked a lot older than the other lines. - Royal Caribbean seemed to have more families than average. - Celebrity had a good mix of people. I do know that they're the costlier division of Royal Caribbean, and yes, it did seem like the audience tilted a bit more affluent there. - Carnival only had one ship, and it looked nice, but never saw any passengers. Their reputation when I was doing research was that they skew younger, but Alaska cruises always skew older, so I don't really know what the Alaska experience is like with them. Edit: Oh, forgot about NCL, not sure why. The audience seemed similar to Royal Caribbean. They seemed to have at least 2 different ships in port when our ship was there. Honestly for an Alaska cruise, I wouldn't recommend them. Alaska caters to an older, more refined, traditional crowd than do other locations. NCL's "Freestyle Cruising" gets rants and raves... so if you're looking for set dinner times, non-buffet food, etc... look to a traditional line.

Pandora/Slacker radio + smartphone with data plan + AUX jack on the car = no need for terrestrial radio anymore! Slacker will even add DJs and hourly news updates if you want them to.

The question wasn't clear at all - they could have been only looking for explicit powers or implied powers. The ICC is definitely explicitly stated - but there are tons of powers via the elastic clause that are also reserved for the feds that relate to ICC. Patents, for example, would be one, even though the Constitution doesn't explicitly state it. Edit: FAIL on me. Apparently patents are stated in the Constitution. Serves me right for trying to be cute. The classic example of the elastic clause is the National Bank. Certainly allowed because it "promotes the general welfare", but never explicitly stated.

I hope the hamsters made it out ok. They can be very controlling.

They made it pretty clear he was going to crush all opposition. But They then disappeared. Where did They go?

President Pro Tem is the senior leader of the majority party the Senate, which is currently Inouye of HI. I originally thought it was Akaka, those two are easy to mix up... born within days of each other. And yes, I got 100% correct.

If any country was prepared to deal with a situation like this, Japan was it... and yet still look at how bad things are. It should speak volumes to how unprepared we currently are when (not if) a subduction zone quake hits Cascadia. The fact that they now have to deal with a possible nuclear core meltdown is just insane. Pray for the people of Japan - this is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the world.

I realize it was a paltry $50k increase, but still, Evans triggered an escalator? Any guesses on what it might be - he didn't even start all 16 games!

I enjoy Tim's chips, the recently discontinued cracked peppercorn was great, no clue why they dumped it. I'd say my favorite now is the Sweet Maui Onion.

Actually the CBS point is an interesting one. In 1994, when FOX intially got the NFL rights, they grabbed almost everyone they could from CBS that did NFL work. Bradshaw, Summerall, Madden, Millen, and Stockton all did NFL work for CBS and were brought over to Fox. Buck started on the "D" team with Tim Green in 1994. Also recall that McCarver, who did work for CBS (with Jack Buck, incidently), came to Fox in 1996. He likely had a say in who he was going to work with. In fact, Buck didn't even announce a single football game for FOX in 1998, 1999, and 2000. In 2001, he was on the "E" team with Baldinger. The next season, he got promoted to the "A" team once Madden and Summerall were finished. Buck likely got the job by default in 2002 because he was the lead MLB announcer, and they wanted consistency across their brand. If it was strictly due to his performance, I would literally be shocked.

I disagree. Buck is completely out of his league as Fox's #1 announcer. Compare him to Al Michaels, Jim Nantz, or even Mike Tirico. Sure, Michaels is a jerk that's full of himself, but he's very good at what he does. Nantz is a Patriots* homer, but again, he has a good voice and calls the action well. Tirico has a good rapport with Jaws and Gruden, and since MNF has put the focus back on X's and O's, it's actually a really enjoyable broadcast to watch. Buck, on the other hand, has a voice that is almost a perfect monotone, only changing volume rather than pitch. His personality is as awful as Al Michaels'. I don't see him as a homer for one particular team, but he definitely injects a lot more negative opinion into his broadcasts than most. This guy was hired by Fox at age 25 with little experience other than announcing 2 seasons of Cardinals baseball with his dad. While I can't say with 100% certainty that Fox has him in that slot because of his father (or because he knows someone), there are only a few limited conclusions I can draw given his near universal dislike amongst MLB and NFL fans. To me, those are the two most likely.

Jauron was horrible for sure. But given the ownership situation, the front office, and the roster situation, do you really think McCarthy would have done any better? It's the same problem as the other thread. Had we drafted Rodgers or Roethlisberger they would have likely been the next Losman.

Done!

That cookbook of ours is missing this infamous entry: Fried Noodles Recipe Number: 93 Contributor: BF_in_Indiana Rating: 3.50 based on 28 votes Rate This Recipe Review This Recipe Email Recipe Serves: 2-3 Calories Per Serving: Heck if Preparation Time: About 1 Hour Total Difficulty: Easy Ingredients: 16 oz Elbow Macaroni 1/4 Stick of butter 3-4 Eggs Cooking Instructions: Boil Elbow Macaroni until soft. Drain as needed. Place Noodles in frying pan with 1/4 stick of butter and cook on low until half/most noodles get a crispy brown outside. Stir throughout cooking time so as not to have the noodles stick to frying pan. Next add the 3-4 eggs and stir so as to scramble them along with the noodles. When they are thouroughly scrambled and the noodles nice and crisp it's chow time Serving Suggestions: You can add some garlic salt or pickle juice for extra flavor upon finishing cooking.

Did They kidnap Sammy?

Some of us are not fortunate enough to live on the east coast. With very few exceptions (like Pagliacci, for example), the Puget Sound's pizza situation is miserable. Chain restaurants like Papa John's and Dominos are unfortunately the closest you can get to something resembling a pizza. People here demand "gourmet pizza" like this. Of course this completely ignores the fact that pizza is supposed to be cheap, somewhat greasy, and about as gourmet as a garbage plate. Not $16 for a personal size with truffles.

The qualities that make someone a "good" salesman are precisely the ones that make me hate dealing with them. There's a reason why most people hate shopping for things like cars and mattresses.

Agreed. I don't like the new AFC logo either - why the four stars on the one side of the "A" anyway? Why not just put two each on either side, outside the A, just like the old logo?

This is playing up to be one of the best super bowl matchups in awhile. I think the Pack take it!

The Jills could learn a thing or two from that coach.

Having lived in the Hudson Valley as a kid, I really don't understand the hatred for Jets fans. They were abused even worse than I was by Giants fans during the Bruce Coslet and Rich Kotite years - and that's after the Giants beat Buffalo in XXV. Without question, Jets fans are second class citizens in NYC - the Giants fans are the truly annoying jerks. Jets fans are in the same class as Mets, Nets, and Islanders fans. I'm guessing most Buffalo fans hate the Jets simply because they're from downstate/Jersey. Patriots* fans annoy the crap out of me, mostly because they are Sox fans that lept onto the NE* bandwagon after they won their first Super Bowl. Add to that the fact that their players (Brady in particular) whine whenever a call doesn't go their way, and that their coach is a slimeball that not only cheated in his chosen profession, but also on his wife, and to me the choice is clear. While I don't like the Jets, they are the lesser evil IMO.

The Ralph is OK - it kinda sits in the middle for me as NFL stadiums go. I've seen games at the old Meadowlands, Lincoln Financial Field, and Lambeau. I'd put RWS behind Lambeau and LFF, but vastly ahead of the old Meadowlands: Pros: - Great sightlines - I don't know that there is a bad seat in the entire stadium. - The areas that have actual individual seats are actually pretty comfortable. - The fans that aren't drunk are typical Buffalonians - some of the nicest people you'll find and very knowledgeable about the team. Cons: - Outside of the club seats, the bathroom situation is awful. - Fan behavior can be very poor in the cheap rockpile seats and high in the upper deck. - The abundance of tailgating has caused the catering company to mail it in, resulting in food that just doesn't taste good. It'd be nice if they at least tried. - They should make the entrances to the stadium something more than a friggin chain link fence. There is so much history attached to this franchise, and other teams have done things like add plazas that honor past teams and players amongst other things. Our stadium from the outside looks like ass.

Statement from Dave Wannstedt - looks good for the Bills!

This rule leaves a lot to be desired. Team A scores a FG in OT. Team B, on the ensuing possession, throws a pick. A proceeds to fumble the ball on the same play. B recovers. Game over, A wins. Team A performs an onside kick. A scores a FG. A wins. Team A has the first possession, fumbles the ball, B recovers but then fumbles to A on the same play. A scores a FG. A wins. A lot of strange possibilities are possible. Why not just keep playing 15 minute quarters until the game is no longer tied at the end of the quarter? That is a lot simpler and has the potential for more ad revenue.

No pickle juice?