Son-of-a-Weizen

Robert, my guess is that you'll have a good 'ol time in there. It's packed with fine brews. Here are a couple of pics. When I was in there, the owner was restocking....had multiple cases sitting about. He's a long haired Irish dude....had to be stoned...but definitely knowledgeable. Directly across the alley is Gollem which is a must see/must drink spot. Seemed to be mostly locals. Hendrix' 'Crosstown Traffic' was playing as I counted 39 bodies crammed in there (including the 2nd level located up 5 creaky steps with 3 good sized tables)....and 35 of us were smoking -- so you'll want to bring your Camels. Highly recommended! btw, if you want to smke in a bar, don't wait too long, 'cause there are plans for smokefree public environment, like bars, restaurants, clubs, here, too. probably withing 1 or 2 years. JB Does this include the hash bars? Say "Amsterdam" to an American and the first thing they ask about is the "hash bars"... [sigh...] Are you sure it's that and not the red light district? Truthfully, neither of those 'things' pop into my head when I hear the city name -- more like bicycles and fabulous old canal homes -- but 'yes,' most people tend to fall into that category. Then again, it's not all that unusual to form associations like that, particularly when they (a segment of city dwellers) seem to work hard cultivating the image and it's omnipresent. You go to the large outdoor flower market and you see all of these little weed 'starter kits' in sealed metal cannisters....stuff like that. I stayed in a decent hotel and was somewhat surprised to see (in the elevator no less... which I thought was quite odd....tacky actually) a shiny 8x10 brass plaque warning guests that they'd immediately be assesed a 150 Euro room charge if they engaged in smoking cannabis products on the premises. So, even if you've no interest in walking around looking for the coffee shops, here it is in your face (literally..right in the elevator of a 4-star hotel!) The association 'game' works both ways -- I can't tell you how many europeans have quickly started talking about 'gangsters' when I've mentioned Chicago over the years.

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Robert, my guess is that you'll have a good 'ol time in there. It's packed with fine brews. Here are a couple of pics. When I was in there, the owner was restocking....had multiple cases sitting about. He's a long haired Irish dude....had to be stoned...but definitely knowledgeable. Directly across the alley is Gollem which is a must see/must drink spot. Seemed to be mostly locals. Hendrix' 'Crosstown Traffic' was playing as I counted 39 bodies crammed in there (including the 2nd level located up 5 creaky steps with 3 good sized tables)....and 35 of us were smoking -- so you'll want to bring your Camels. Highly recommended!

Same here (the no kids along bit! )....2 in Amsterdam...2 Germany...4 Luxembourg. Hey, when you're footloose & fancy with no lunches to pack, homework to check or endless 'you've got to brush your teeth for longer than 22 seconds!!!' commands to bark out -- ALL beer tastes good from the tap, right!!! That Cracked Kettle place looks like it's reasonably close to where we'll be (Hotel Estherea) so I might pop in see what's happening on the Westvleteren front...and report back to you. So little time.....so much hooch to drain....

No, definitely not $76........but I'd easily pay triple the $4.98 asking price for the variation of it over at 'Oldies'. As for that one in the picture I posted...sounds like it gets a unanimous

Saw this Japanese only release over at eBay last week. It's not the same one put out by Collectibles.......sooooo, what's it all about?? Must be pretty good if it sold for $76....then again, maybe not? A bootleg?

Okay, thanks Hans! I should have no problem finding it now! btw, I recently read an interesting little fun fact that the authorities fish some 10,000 bicycles out of the city canals every year. At 27.39 bikes per day (27 bikes + 1 bent front wheel) that's some full time employment for someone!!!

Yeah, ok.....and all of that mold used to make Roquefort, Stilton and other blue veined cheeses drives you nuts too, right? ...and Camembert and that white surface mold....eeewwwwwwwwwyyy.

Have a great time Weizy and a have a Heineken or a Grolsch for your old drummer buddy! ...or even an Amstel Pils on tap? I'd like to find this place. ...anyway, thanks Randy & Jim....I'll tip one fer ya!

It's a pity people always mention coffeeshops (=drugs) in relation to Amsterdam. The city really has so many other things to offer... I'm going to be staying on the Singel Canal near the Raadhuisstraat and would like to see that enclosed inner courtyard known as Begijnhof dating back to medieval times with the Wooden House from the 15th century and so. They say that the entrance to it is located somewhere off the Singel but I haven't been able to pin it down. Can you tell me where that might be? There's also a church in that immediate vicinity that has quite a bit of 16th century stained glass that I'd like to see. Any others I should visit? Also, there is supposed to be a certain 'brown' cafe that's been in continuous operation since the late 16th century, never once having closed it's doors. That true? Do you know where it is located?

That actually ties in to another reason not to place early bids but rather wait to snipe at the very end. Let's say for instance that you're on some rock board and know that fellow board member 'Tommy' has been dying to get a rare copy of a Monkees CD...and suddenly one appears....and soon afterwards you see that 'Tommy' has placed a bid. Well, you're pissed at 'Tommy' because he insulted your mother and also beat you out on 10 other auctions over the years, so you start to screw with him (he doesn't know your eBay handle) and start placing bids. Well, given the fact that he's been foaming at the mouth about this rare cd for 2 years you just know that, up to a point, he's gonna keep coming back.....so you decide to place a few more bids and up the ante...but not too high......and suddenly just back off. The auction finally ends two days later and 'Tommy' ends up paying $78 for the disc...but had you not 'intervened', he might have had it for $40? He telegraphed his interest by placing an early bid and you took the opportunity to mess with him a little. He should have just popped in with a few seconds to go and avoided it. That was you???? YOU BASTARD!!!! Yeah, um sorry... But don't feel bad, that old Monkees disc wound up being an old Soviet era bootleg copy and they screwed up alot of stuff in the booklet -- like calling the 'Last Train to Clarksville'....'Last Train to Permafrost Camp #9'.

Is that what you'd call the Mosaic style? close to running low.....closer to running low........now running low......ruuuuunning low.......still running low.......okay, last chance......last chance......last chance......still last chance.......get off your ass and buy the %$#@ set 'cause it's last chance! .......hurry up, last chance........bang, it's gone.

That actually ties in to another reason not to place early bids but rather wait to snipe at the very end. Let's say for instance that you're on some rock board and know that fellow board member 'Tommy' has been dying to get a rare copy of a Monkees CD...and suddenly one appears....and soon afterwards you see that 'Tommy' has placed a bid. Well, you're pissed at 'Tommy' because he insulted your mother and also beat you out on 10 other auctions over the years, so you start to screw with him (he doesn't know your eBay handle) and start placing bids. Well, given the fact that he's been foaming at the mouth about this rare cd for 2 years you just know that, up to a point, he's gonna keep coming back.....so you decide to place a few more bids and up the ante...but not too high......and suddenly just back off. The auction finally ends two days later and 'Tommy' ends up paying $78 for the disc...but had you not 'intervened', he might have had it for $40? He telegraphed his interest by placing an early bid and you took the opportunity to mess with him a little. He should have just popped in with a few seconds to go and avoided it.

We're tired of your hollow excuses. If you're going to place more importance on things like going to the movies or showering or trimming the hedges, than you are on cd acquisistion, then we just can't be bothered having you around anymore!!!

However, from a seller's perspective, a sniping program has to be viewed as a good thing because it allows some better known deep pockets types to hang out in the wings until the very end rather than have them enter into the mix at an earlier stage -- a move akin to a largemouth bass entering the minnow pool and essentially 'scaring off' other potential bidders who realize that they have virtually no chance of beating him out in the final stretch. There's at least one eBayer that has that effect on me......and if I see him sitting there with three days to go, I simply move on. Well, okay...there was that one time that I turned and did a tap dance on his face...but it cost me $160. Now how dumb was that?

<<<<USPS delivery time, any ballpark figures?>>>>> Sometimes your packet just sits in a corner down at the substation until?????????? I buy a Bill Evans gold disc from a guy in Portugal on March 3. Yesterday, I drop him a quick note to let him know that there hasn't yet been a sighting and to inquire about the shipping date from his end. He quickly responds with a tracking number and says that, based on a quick online check, looks like the USPS attempted delivery at my place on March 15? Hmmmm, well that's news to me....sure haven't seen any delivery notice..... so I quickly phone the substation and give the clerk the tracking number. He places me on hold for a minute. Comes back on and says 'well, looks like it's here' 'So, no notice was left at the door first time 'round.....nor was a 2nd delivery attempt made. How does that happen?' 'Um, I can't even begin to speculate about what's going on with this? 'Okay, thanks.....I'll drive right over to pick it up!' .....lucky for me that the guy in Portugal is on the ball and knows what's going on 2 miles away.

I've got two snipes programmed to fire off at 5 seconds within the next day. God help ya if you (or even a jazz luvin' she) are in the way, Al. ....you don't really want those Mel Torme cds anyhow.

No shit! Two years in a row someone gave me a Best Buy gift card at Christmas, the first year I searched and searched and finally found something to buy and second year, I gave it to my nephew.....can't stand the place! m~ For starters you could (should?) be buying up the rapidly vanishing Stones SACDs (digipaks), particularly 'Let it Bleed' and 'Beggar's Banquet' if you can find 'em. Don't have an SACD player? Well, okay. Don't like the Stones? Well piss off then!!!!

Oooooo, very nice!!! I'm now draining a Jever.

Now stop it boys! I'll tell ya though.....if it came to that, it sure would take more than a lowly raisin to get 'it' back. That new 2007 Audi S8 perhaps?

http://www.nbc11.com/news/11205237/detail.html

Robert Johnson ist ein Schleimbeutel !

No leg pulling going on. Will be swinging through for a short spell and are supposed to be meeting up with another party....but things are still in a state of flux. I'll drop ya a line if things work out. That would be fun. .....but only one or two? I do that before breakfast.

It's always an eye-opener to see how cheap the good bottled beer is in Germany. No poxy little bottles either - its 0.5L and up. I'll tell ya though....the Dutch have outdone the Germans when it comes to the design of the pump system on those 5-litre mini kegs. Having tried both a zillion times now, the Heineken one is far superior. On those rare occasions when one doesn't drain the whole thing in 2 days, the brew will not lose any carbonation if you suddenly have to run out of town for a few days and leave it in the fridge. With the German ones, you constantly have to keep fiddling with the pressure valve on top and it's tiresome. For shame...for shame. -_- BTW, Sidewinder.....the first bit of a WSJ article I was perusing last night: MMMMMM.....Warm, Flat Beer Wall Street Journal by Conor Dougherty To the list of British imports that includes fish and chips and the Beatles, you can now add flat beer. Microbrewers have tried everything from chili-pepper beer to raisin-flavored beer to lure drinkers from mass-market brews like Bud and Coors. Now they're trying their hand at a British staple, cask beer, that is only lightly carbonated and served via a retro hand pump. U.S. bars, in addition to serving American cask, are increasingly stocking English brands. This comes as more Brits are shunning these traditional ales in favor of U.S.-style beers. ...funny, I hadn't read anything about a wave of mass insanity suddenly sweeping the English countryside?

No. All you have left is an autobahn without (in many areas) speed limits.....and now the evil EU bureaucrats in Brussels are conspiring to take that away! Sorry, but you got that all wrong: THAT's what I have when things get too bleak ... P.S.: I'm the ONLY German without a driver's license, a car and a mobile phone. Oh yeah....forgot about that. No car, huh? Damn, I was depending on you for a lift from Bingen to Luxembourg next month.