SouthernMan

You've really missed the boat on this one. Talk about painting with a broad brush. Don't know how serious you are when you state "reason for leaving the south", but the real problem is not the south, but the overdone climate of political correctness. Believe me, it's not exclusive to the south. There are plenty of school systems in the buffalo area that no longer allow construction paper christmas trees displayed in their hallways around christmas....oops....rather, the end of year holiday season. The real issue should be, why don't the IMAX theatre people ignore the whiners who are so easily offended? I think I know the reason. No business owner wants the kind of publicity that would come from a few fanatics with sandwich signs protesting outside of their theatres. Because of the multitudes of media outlets today, (cable news, satellite radio, internet, network news, print media, neighborhood washer woman, etc)anyone can create a fuss and get some air time that will inevitably rally others who are looking for a cause to latch on to. Before the advent of media/news saturation, the media only picked up on the most important stories. Today, there are reporters desperate for a story and eager to be the ones to break some big controversy - even if they are in actuality the ones creating the story as they fan the flames. In this era the media is often creating the news rather than just reporting it. They all want to be the next "celebrity" reporter. Going back to the creationists and the volcano movie a second....were these people actually offended or are there just some insecure people who are desperate for attention? It's ironic how on one hand we're all being preached to these days about diversity, tolerence, and freedoms, yet on the other hand, there seems to be a fair share of nitwits who cowtow to the ones trying to undermine these precepts. In American society we now tolerate language by school-aged kids that was once considered vulger, curse or improper, but don't dare catch anyone using an offensive word like "christmas" - oh no!!! That might trigger a major backlash. You know what? If you're so easily offended, get the hell out of the country. You're obviously too thin-skinned and don't have the mettle to handle minor adversity. How in the world are you going to handle real problems? This country didn't become great because of a bunch of whiners who claimed persecution by every little thing that didn't really amount to a hill of beans. Pick your battles. Let's all think before we react like a bunch of ninnies. -Southern Manequin

Don't agree. I think Trump values and seeks their input. The head coach confers with his coordinators to get better insight from those closest to the players and ultimately makes all final decisions. No different with Trump. He can't be everywhere at once and has trusted aids who act as his eyes and ears. He values their opinions, takes in the info they provide, and makes a decision based on their input and his own observations. Like the head coach, he's the one who ultimately gets the blame or credit, depending on the outcome. Just because they often agree with him doesn't make them synchophants. It more likely means that they have similar business philosphies. I don't think Trump would want a staff full of yes men and women. He wants people who are creative and can be an asset. When Trump asks George and Carolyn if he did the right thing, I think he's looking for validation. I also believe, to a guy like Trump, it's just as telling and important HOW they answer the question as the actual words are. He's a bit of a poker player. Erin was getting too cocky and was starting to think she was untouchable. She was safe until she opened her mouth. BTW - it's really easy to tell from the first 5 minutes which team will win and who is getting fired. The way the show is edited, they begin targeting the eventual victim from the get go. A few minutes into the show I said to my wife "Erin's gone tonight". Sho' 'nuff.

I doubt that there's a Buffalo/environmental connection if she's never lived there. How sure are the attending doctors that it's Lupus? Don't be surprised if they come up with several different diagnosis before they have a chance to poke, observe, and test for several weeks. What were the symptoms that alerted you to a problem?

I'm curious - do you live in Western NY? If so, what area? My 10 year old nephew was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease call ALPS (Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome). He's required to do frequent infusions to bring up his platelets and the white blood cell count. Some of the side effects have been enlarged liver, spleen, bruising, internal bleeding. His mother- my sister - has done a lot of research since the diagnosis. She found that there are unusually high incidents in certain areas around Buffalo, compared to the rest of the country, for this and similar autoimmune deficient based diseases, as well as Hodgkins Lymphoma. One of the theories has something to do with areas near certain bodies of water. They happen to live close to Tonawanda Creek. Possible connections to past chemical dumping, steel plants, Love Canal, etc. (???) Lord knows what seeped into the ground around Buffalo back in the days of the blue collar industrial boom. Just wondering if you live anywhere in the Buffalo area. Best wishes for your daughter and her good health.

Never seen them, but a friend of my wife is playing with the current version of Foghat as their lead guitarist. E Street sax player, Clarence Clemmons was in his band a few years ago and I have a picture of my wife standing at the foot of the stage "singing" into a mike being held by Clemmons. Me thinks she didn't get the euphemistic musican lingo when Clarence asked if she "wanted to sing into the mic".

I once worked at Cavages Record store for a few months after I quit my overpaid UAW job and went back to college. It's easy to figure out exactly when it was because I have a vivid memory of trying to track a Bills game while working at the mall. I was cash poor at the time, and I needed a few extra bucks for Christmas. A buddy talked me into going to a bookie and putting down $100 on a sure thing - the upcoming Bills/Cardinals game. The Bills were a 4 pt favorite and the Cards, as they always have, sucked. Easy way to get an extra 100 for the holidays - right? Wrong. Bills got their asses kicked, 24-0, November 15, 1981. I working that Sunday at Cavages and I wasn't even able to see how the Bills were blowing it. VCRs were not in common useage yet, and I never did see that game. All I know is it cost me $110. I haven't bet on a ball game since then. That same buddy tried to get me to bet on some game at the end of this season. I forget which one it was, but I told him "no way". It turned out to be a losing bet. I called and asked if he placed the bet. Fortunately he did not. We both occasionally recall the "famous" Bills/Cards bet of 1981. The big records at the time (you never forget when you work in a record store) were Private Eyes by Hall & Oats, Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits, The Go-Go's Vacation, Journey's Escape, Rolling Stones Tattoo You, Stevie Nick's Bella Donna, and the self titled Foreigner LP. I vaguely remember seeing Charlie Cavage a few times. Seemed like a nice enough old guy. Never knew his history. All vinyl all the time.

This, from a guy who's moniker is a bastardization of a 65 year old drummer.

A lot of major American cities have high tax rates, but at least they usually have wages that are commensurate to the cost of living. In Western New York they have the worst of both worlds - high taxes and low wages for the average blue collar worker. Anyone employed outside of a government position or the medical profession has little security. They have a whole lot more opportunity for career growth in another market. I wonder what percentage of college graduates from UB, Buff State, Niagara, Canisius, etc., make WNY their permanent home following graduation. I'll bet it's less than 50% for graduates seeking jobs outside of of government and medicine. I'd be surprised if after 5 years, there are more than 25% still remaining in the area.

...And Nesmith had the luxury of taking some artistic risks and funding his work because of a sizeable inheritance. His mother was Bette Nesmith Graham, inventor of liquid paper. She sold her Liquid Paper in 1979 to the Gillette Company for $47.5 million (plus royalties). Shorthly after this, her son Michael began his music video business. Bette Nesmith's poor typing skills and her invention, liquid paper, indirectly led to MTV. BTW - Why are The Monkees always being singled out for being "an assembled" band. So what? Weren't most big Motown acts, including The Supremes, put together in a similar way? The Supremes didn't play their own instruments and never wrote anything, yet they were a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. The Monkees, though not very innovative in their own right, still had a lot of good music, much of which they wrote and played on themselves. That's more than you can say for most of today's lip-synching manufactured acts who are considered musical superstars.

Good question. Where was the exhibition held and the locale of all those buildings? It looks like some amazing architecture that even George Constanza would have appreciated. Are they all gone are some of those buildings still in place. Can't remember seeing any of them. It's hard to imaging they could have torn them all down. A great Frank Lloyd Wright highrise building in Buffalo was torn down several years ago to make room for something else (probably a row of Nabisco grain silos) Is Buffalo possibly the stupidest and most short-sighted city ever? Could they be the perfect model for how not to run a metropolis?

I agree. I think Losman is a step forward. He can't possibly be worse than Bledsoe was. Bledsoe's passes weren't accurate, he'a a statue, he's a sitting duck during defenses frequent blitzes, and gets nervous with a bad case of fumblitis and reverse yardage. Most of the support coming his way is because he can read defenses. It's not as if he was the master at picking apart opponent's D's with his mastery of defensive reads. Give me a break. This isn't rocket science. Losman will have a QB coach, O-coordinator, guys up in the booth, a headset, and a head coach who will all be at his side, mentoring and guiding him. They'll use his skills to keep defenses on their heels. This is not an offense that will rely on the passing game. They'll have a skilled running back to pound the ball. Losman's mobility, passing, and winning attitude should more than make up for the lack of experience that Bledsoe brought to the table. All this talk of Losman under center being a step backward is a bunch of Mularkey.

The giraffe sucked and Rocketship 7's Dave Thomas used to draw better birds, but other than that, I guess it was ok. If this guy used a magic marker like Dave used to, he wouldn't have any concerns about getting ringworm.

$139 to install a screen door? First of all, any idiot should be able to install a screen door. As long as everything is plumb, level, and square, it should be a breeze. Might require a little planing if the door jamb isn't prefectly straight, but still, not a big deal. Even if it took 2 hours to install (how is that possible) the guy/company would be getting $70 and hour. Hello?!?!

Found a place here in Atlanta (Marietta actually) that is owned by a former Buffalonian. They serve Beef on Weck, Buffalo style pizza, wings, and last night, I got an authentic Buffalo-style haddock fish fry. It was great. Unfortunately, it's only take out and delivery. There was a major accident on higway 92 and it was backed up forever while my caar started smelling like fish. Got it home, stuck it in the oven for a few minutes, and it was fantastic. Anyway, this place is doing great business serving Buffalo-style foods. There's always a market for good eats.

You're right. Buffalo is a place of the haves and have nots. The point of my post was that you can't have good economic health without balance from all different economic and social input. I'm sure that somewhere there's a pyramid model showing the ideal balance, and I'm also sure that in WNY, it's all out of whack. Real Estate has been relatively low priced in suburban Atlanta - at least compared to a lot of California, DC 'burbs, NY, Boston. It's just now starting to take off in the areas beyond the city. I've noticed a lot of new subdivisions going up around here, and very few have homes starting at less than $500K. Many are in the $600K-800K range. I believe this is a result of two things - less land available, but also, there are a lot of refugees from the areas mentionsed above who come here after selling their little $600,000 crackerbox in Sacramento, and can buy a tricked out 4,800 SqFt home with hardwood floors, granite coutnertops, and coffered ceilings, full basement, and a bathroom for every kid. We just put an offer in on a $325,000 house, knowing that it should appreciate substantially over the next few years. At that time, we'll take our gains and down-size into one the empty-nester "cottage style" developments that will be going up like crazy in the next few years. Either that or we can retire in Buffalo and buy a nice home (that has hardly appreciated) with cash. Probably be able to get a decent place in Amherst for under $200K and still have money left over for a seasonal plowing contract. Who knows? By then, they may be auctioning off Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Don't forget these recipes... hilarious Here's an excerpt: After quartering, brown Toby at medium-high heat. Remove Toby from the pan and brown the chopped onion (one medium). Return Toby to the pan and add ground cinnamon, cumin seeds and fresh grated ginger, roughly half a teaspoon each (reducing heat if necessary to avoid burning the..... "Toby" is even on the ingredients list at the beginning of the recipe. http://www.savetoby.com/recipes/4.php

I said "huge offices and headquarters for" ......etc Maybe I should have clarified by saying "or" rather than "and". There were a couple of others I mentioned they may not be headquartered in Atlanta, but they still employ thousands of workers. Certainly a lot more than Rich Products, Bass Pro Shop, or anything Adelphia had planned for the area - all of which were or are viewed as some great light at the end of the tunnel. In response to the other post ....Yes, Atlanta traffic blows for many. Atlanta is very spread out and not nearly as convenient as Buffalo for getting places. We've managed to work around it by locating closer to our offices, working out of the home, and using flex time. Buffalo has a lot of upside and could be a gold mine for many in the right situation. Unfortunately, the political and economic landscape makes it very difficult for the average Joe Lunchbucket type to have the things our parents had. Back in their day, a postman or warehouse worker could support a family and still have cash for entertainment or fun things. They might not have had much, but at least they weren't resigned to a life of living in their parents basement. Today a worker in the same job situation would be hoping to scrape together enough coin to keep the rusted jalopy insured and in good running condition. It shouldn't be so difficult to have a job where you can save some money, buy a car, buy a house, have a couple of kids, and take a vacation once in while. This scenerio is almost impossible in Buffalo for the less than college educated guy and gal who want a typical, average, Amercian lifestyle. And so many of the ones with a college education quickly discover that they can make a whole lot more money and have better advancement in other markets where there is actually competition for their services and talent. These are the ones most likely to leave for greener pastures. A huge number of them leave and never contribute to the local economy other than to visit family and take in a Bills game once a year. All that's left are a bunch of low wage earners and others subsidized by the government. How much would a guy need to make in WNY who has a stay at home wife, two kids, a mortgage, and at least 1 car payment? This is not some dream - it's a description of how things used to be. Could he and the family get by on $2000/month for food, clothing, taxes/mortgage/insurance, auto upkeep, gifts, healthcare, etc. He'd have to be making AT LEAST $35,000/year gross or about $17/hour. How many jobs are there in Buffalo for the average working stiff that are paying a minimum of $17/hour and have health care benefits? Not many. The sad part is that people who have lived their entire lives in Buffalo don't even realize there's a whole other world outside of WNY full of opportunity for anyone willing to take advantage of it. They think every place is like Buffalo. It's not. I didn't have a higher education and couldn't find a job paying much more than minimum wage. That was 20 years ago in Buffalo. I decided to get eh hell out when I heard how well my friends in Atlanta were doing. Nothing has changed in WNY. If anything, I think it's gotten worse. Most of the people I talk to "back home" are still struggling, living paycheck to paycheck, occupying the same barstool at eh local gin mills. Meanwhile, here in Atlanta, I've been blessed with many great opportunities I never would have had staying in Buffalo. Has it gotten bad in Buffalo. Yep. And getting worse all the time.

Here's a link for more info on Benny.... http://www.abbasite.com/people/bio.php?id=396

Well no, not exactly. This is thing I'll never understand about the predominantly liberal/democratic areas. The constituency has been voting for the same incompetant and/or crooked politicians for years. Every election they get the same empty promises and get the same results year after year. There's also plenty of arm twisting by the unions. When will they get it?!?!? They need some people in place who can see the big picture and can come up with a plan that's realistic and workable. It starts with lowering taxes. Let's see.....the blue states where liberals rule are overtaxed and in fiscal chaos. California, New York, Mass., etc. The red states (like Georgia) have bustling economies. Hmmmmm. I wonder who has a better plan in place?

Rich Products - whoopeee!!!! Gee, how'd you forget about Weber's Mustard and their 15 employees!!!! I live in metro Atlanta. We have huge offices and headquarters for Coke, Home Depot, Lockheed Martin, Hewlett Packard, Scientific Atlanta, UPS, Cingular, Delta, Air Tran, IBM, etc etc etc These are, for the most part, global companies that bring money into the region from other areas. I'll bet that the vast majority of Rich's sales come from within WNY. Most areas have local dairies that accomodate the region for these purposes. I'm not bragging about Atlanta - just describing what a more typical, thriving metropolis should look like. I could have said Miami, New York, Chicago or more than dozen other cities that have multiple economic anchors that bring money and tax revenue into the area. And Buffalo's biggy is...ahem....Rich Product?!?!? Not knocking Rich Products by any means. Just pointing out that it wouldn't even be major employer in most major cities. Maybe when all the deadwood politicians and backwards thinking Hillary voting retards are gone, we can all go back and show 'em how it's done.

When there's in imbalance of incoming and outgoing tax revenues there's bound to be a real problem. The idiots running WNY have been sticking their heads in the sand for 30+ years. In WNY, the vast majority of people fall into these main categories: 1. Those who receive their paychecks from government (educators, municipal, law enforcement, parks, DOT, etc) 2. Low wage earners (under $10/hour) 3. Sustained though goverment subsidized entitlement programs (welfare, SSI, food stamps, etc) 4. retirees (often living off savings and SS and many contributing to the economies of Florida or Arizona for half the year) There are, of course, business owners, utility workers, professionals, and others, but there's a huge imbalance in comparison to the group mentioned above. A healthy economic environment has a much stronger middle class that includes manufacturing, multiple services, retail, and other industries. The Buffalo area has no Fortune 500 companies or other large corporations with headquarters based in WNY that can bring money in from around the country. Buffalo is one of the few metro areas that has the worst of both worlds - high taxes and low wages. A deadly combination if ever there was one. A huge number of young people entering the work force leave WNY when they hear of the opportunity and wages that can found if they leave for Flroida, Georgia, Carolinas, etc. Do the math. Who's gonna be left to pay the freight? Just keep going with high taxes and increased union demands. Been working great.

Great news for you if that's where you want to be. There's one thing that kind of sucks though.... All the WNY residents looking for decent jobs have gotten all exicted about Geico coming in and creating liveable wage positions.....and then they go and hire from out of state!!!! That's one less job for a WNYer who's been sticking it out in that region their whole life. I'd be a little pissed off if I lived there, was trying to secure a job with Geico, and found that a lot of their hiring was done using out of area candidates. Weren't there any applicants already living there who qualified? (just playing devil's advocate) On the other hand - if I'm doing the hiring for Geico, I might want some returning refugees who have a real desire to live there, be part of the community, and who can bring different points of view and experiences from beyond the boundries of the Niagara Frontier. Longtime Buffalonians have a tendency to be myopic about their familiar way of life. They often migrate down her (south) and other places, and carry on to their new southern neighbors about how "it was done back in Buff-lo". Nobody cares. The prevailing response is "If everything is so great, what are you doing here?" Hope it works out well for you. I'd urge you and anyone else who's returning and has seen "the other side", to think about getting involved in local politics. Time to incorporate some fresh ideas - let the locals know there is a better way.

No way!!! Anywhere near Mill Lane?

No kidding. I have a friend up there in the Mill Ridge Landing subdivision. A lot of Bills fans around these parts.

BTW - What part of North Georgia do you call home? Last week (Thursday a.m.), I spotted some guy, cigarette hanging out of his mouth, heading north on I-575 towards Jasper. Had a NY State/Buffalo Bills License vanity plate, MR GSP. I waved to him. Don't have any Bills stuff on my car so he probably just thought I was gay or something. Is that you or a friend of yours?