Edward

I'll be departing the country soon, so here are my picks for the next two weeks: Week #2: Atlanta Baltimore Chicago Cincinnati Green Bay Indianapolis Miami Minnesota Philadelphia St. Louis Seattle Denver New England San Diego Dallas Pittsburgh (38 total combined points) Week #3: Buffalo Green Bay Washington Indianapolis Miami Minnesota Pittsburgh Carolina Baltimore St. Louis Philadelphia Seattle New England Atlanta (38 total combined points)

Conference Championships: New Orleans New England

I hope that you had a happy birthday and received exactly what you wanted.

I agree that the quality of basketball players from other countries has improved markedly over the last 15 years or so, but... Does anyone really think that if the U.S. team comprised the twelve best American players (taking into consideration the need for balance between post men and shooters on the roster) and that it actually practiced and played on a somewhat regular basis that any other team on the planet would have a chance??? The latest incarnation of the U.S. team lacked Shaq and Kobe and Duncan and Garnett and McGrady and Marion and Hamilton and Carter and Billups and... Again, I know that it is not merely a matter of collecting the best talent that the U.S. has to offer. The team must actually practice together on a regular basis and there must be a certain degree of chemistry as well as balance in terms of the players' abilities. Of course, it is all neither here nor there because the bottom line is that such a model for the U.S. team is not going to happen in the foreseeable future for a variety of reasons. The closest Team USA came to this high standard is the original "Dream Team" that had a roster consisting of Barkley, Bird, Drexler, Ewing, Johnson, Jordan, Malone, Mullin, Pippen, Robinson, Stockton, and (egads!) Laettner.

Of those covers listed I would pick Blue Lights, but Cool Struttin' is also my favorite Blue Note cover.

Hey, Tony, I'll gladly help you out if no one else has yet offered his/her assistance.

Thank you all for your advice thus far. Does anyone have any recommendations as to where to stay in Speyside? I shall arrive in the area around noon on Wednesday, September 27th, and I want to visit a distillery or two before nightfall. The B&B's in which I am considering staying are in or about Dufftown, Craigellachie, Aberlour, and Tomintoul. I am just a little concerned about safely reaching my B&B late in the day (in wholly unfamiliar territory) after having a bit of Scotch. Otherwise, my itinerary and accomodations are fairly well set: Sunday, September 17th: arrive at London Heathrow around 12:30 p.m. and catch a Caldonian Sleeper to Stirling at 8:00 p.m., Monday, September 18th: arrive in Stirling around 5:10 a.m., Tuesday, September 19th: depart Stirling for Edinburgh in the morning hours, Wednesday, September 20th: spend the day in Edinburgh, Thursday, September 21st: depart Edinburgh for Glasgow in the morning hours; catch a 12:40 p.m. train to Fort William, arriving at 4:25 p.m., Friday, September 22nd: take the Westhighland Rail from Fort William to Mallaig, arriving around 12:30 p.m.; catch the ferry from Mallaig to the Isle of Skye and then make my way to Kyle of Lochalsh; depart Kyle of Lochalsh around 4:48 p.m., arriving in Inverness around 7:19 p.m., Saturday, September 23rd: pick up my rental car and make my way to Durness, Sunday, September 24th: make my way from Durness to Ullapool - I will definitely take a day trip to Cape Wrath this day, and I would also like to hike to Sandwood Bay this day or the next, Monday, September 25th: make my way from Ullapool to Plockton, Tuesday, September 26th: visit the Isle of Skye and return to Plockton for the evening, Wednesday, September 27th: depart Plockton for Speyside and visit a distillery or two (I probably only have time for one?) on the Malt Whiskey Trail, Thursday, September 28th: take the route recommended by fent99, being certain to visit Dunnottar Castle before heading back to Inverness to drop off the car that evening; depart for Stirling from Inverness via train at 8:15 p.m., arriving at 11:00 p.m.; depart Stirling for London via Caledonian Sleeper just after midnight, arriving in London at 7:43 a.m. on the 29th Friday, September 29th: depart London Heathrow for Los Angeles mid-afternoon I still have to figure out exactly what I am going to do each day, and I am mindful about spending too much time driving on any single day. Do you think that it would be best to ship any Scotch that I purchase directly from the shopkeep to the United States, or are there some sort of restriction/s in place that would prohibit this?

Fuller's ESB right now, and Highland Park 12-year old in about 9 hours

It's all subjective, of course, but I agree with you. (I like The Bends better, though.)

Well, I think that you and Sidewinder (as well as a look at some photos of Skye in a book of Scotland driving tours) have compelled me to reconsider my plans. Upon second glance, the train schedule will allow me to depart Kyle of Lochalsh for Inverness late Friday (I will be arriving in Mallaig via the West Highland Railway steam train around 12:30 p.m. earlier that day - I am going to have to take a ferry to Skye then cross the bridge in order to make it back to the mainland at Kyle of Lochalsh). I will then be able to pick up my rental car early Saturday rather than Sunday, affording me a full extra day to explore Scotland by car. The funny thing is that the automobile rental establishment that I am considering (it is the best and cheapest option of all of those that I have explored) charges the same amount whether I pick up a vehicle to be returned Thursday evening on either Saturday OR Sunday. As for distillery tours, I truly appreciate the recommendation, Tony, but I do not think that I will be able to make it to Islay this time. Fortunately, there appears to be a fair number of distilleries operating in Northeastern Scotland.

I thank all of you very much for your input. I have chosen to overlook Glasgow on this particular trip (please forgive me - again, there is far too much to see in 11 days), and I am unsure how much time I will be spending on the Isle of Skye. The decisions that I have made thus far as to what to see and what not to see may seem arbitrary, but I have no doubt that I will return to Scotland in the not too distant future. I have been trying to piece everything together over the last couple of weeks, and I have found that the geography and train schedules to certain cities/towns to be limiting factors. Reg, I meant to indicate that I would be traveling from Ullapool to Inverness via the top of Scotland (Durness et al.) For the last five days of my trip (when I have a car), I have determined little else than that I would like to drive along much of the Northern coastline, visit Dunnottar Castle, and perhaps take days a day hike to Sandalwood Bay and/or Cape Wrath. Now, I will also definitely have to consider visiting the waterfall at Assynt. The website showing estimates of times for driving routes is EXACTLY what I need - thank you!!! Thanks also for looking into the distillery tours for me. I am a Scotch drinker, and it would be a shame if I did not visit at least one distillery during my trip.

I shall be spending the second half of September vacationing in Scotland; and, as I have never visited there before, I was hoping to receive some input from those who reside there or who have taken similar journeys (I have read through numerous travel guides in both paper form and on the Internet, but they do not answer all of my questions). Specifically: (1) How taxing would an automobile journey be along the coast of the North and Northwest Highlands (i.e., from Ullapool to Inverness) and the coast of Northeast Scotland (i.e., from Inverness to Dunnottar Castle)? Should I be wary of renting too small a vehicle? (I have read that there is a stretch of Northwestern Scotland roadways notorious for car break-downs) Is travelling on these roads very slow going? (I plan on renting a car in Inverness from the morning of Sunday, September 24th to the evening of Thursday, September 28th - I just do not want to bite off more than I can chew; I am wholly unfamiliar with the terrain on these routes.) (2) Are there one or two Scotch distillery tours that are far more appealing than most? Also, are there any fine brands of Scotch that seem difficult to acquire outside of Scotland (or in the United States)? (3) Is there anything along the driving routes that I presented in (1) above that I should try not to miss? I realize that there is much to see in Scotland, and it would be foolish to try to see it all in one visit (I wish that I had another two weeks to visit the Western Islands, Orkney, and Shetland, among other places); but, still, I would like to see as much as reasonably possible. Any advice that you have to offer in regard to the above (or any other matter relating to my trip) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

PM sent regarding "Lou Takes Off".

NFL Green Bay Packers (I was a die-hard Rams fan, but that changed once Georgia whisked them away. It was a sad day when the Rams won the Super Bowl as it served to legitmize the franchise's presence in St. Louis.) NBA L.A. Lakers (I was/am a HUGE Magic Johnson fan. I am not that crazy about Phil Jackson, who I heard (on good authority) wanted to make all sorts of changes (such as those being instituted by the new head coach of the Minnesota Vikings) when he arrived in L.A. - Dr. Buss laid down the law and that was that. Also I have always liked Shaq a whole lot better than Kobe.) MLB L.A. Dodgers NCAA UCLA - ALWAYS, even when they are playing one of my other two alma maters

I would probably select either Getz/Gilberto or Jazz Samba. If she did not like either of those albums, then things would look very bleak indeed for our budding relationship.

Although $300 is not a bad price, I have seen several copies of Volume I go for less than $250 on ebay over the last year. If you are willing to wait and monitor ebay listings, I am sure that you could easily beat $300. (Of course, Mosaic prices always seem to surge on ebay during the fourth quarter as Christmas fast approaches.)

I'm sorry, but I don't do class action lawsuits. (Ha! Ha! - just kidding, Weizen!)

Not in Britain. There's a doctrine about "reasonable force" over here, which generally doesn't include killing someone, unless you can show that your own life really depended on it. There have been a few celebrated cases here in which even wounding a burglar with a gun has led to prosecution and guilty verdicts. Nobody agrees with this. However, the implication of the alternative is that people start arming themselves and this seems like the thin end of the wedge in creating a society like the US. So, in this case, I think I side with the narrow interpretation of what a person can be allowed to do. MG The doctrine of reasonable force is also in effect in the United States. A person may not use deadly physical force unless he/she is in reasonable fear of serious physical injury or death AND (unless you are in Louisiana or Florida) retreat is impossible. However, there is no duty to retreat if you are in your own home. I think it unfortunate if British law requires retreat in such instance. As for the lawsuit, it definitely has merit, and, under the letter of the law, the plaintiff should prevail. Are you a lawyer? Yes, among other things. Of course, I am by no means a criminal law expert; but I do have a solid understanding of the rules of self-defense and, just as any good lawyer, I know how to look up what I do not know or understand. How this case is decided is going to depend largely on the particular facts and circumstances. You definitely cannot pursue a retreating criminal who assaulted you in order to beat the crap out of him. I got the impression that that was what happened here, but after re-reading this thread I am not so sure. I, admittedly, do not understand what measures may legally be taken to pursue and restrain an assailant while waiting for law enforcement officers to arrive, which might very well be what the defendants here attempted to do. Jazzypaul, I do not think that it is a matter of siding with the plaintiff. It is a matter of what the law permits, and, believe it or not, most laws were put into place to protect certain rights even though the results that are ultimately reached in a particular incident may seem perverse.

Not in Britain. There's a doctrine about "reasonable force" over here, which generally doesn't include killing someone, unless you can show that your own life really depended on it. There have been a few celebrated cases here in which even wounding a burglar with a gun has led to prosecution and guilty verdicts. Nobody agrees with this. However, the implication of the alternative is that people start arming themselves and this seems like the thin end of the wedge in creating a society like the US. So, in this case, I think I side with the narrow interpretation of what a person can be allowed to do. MG The doctrine of reasonable force is also in effect in the United States. A person may not use deadly physical force unless he/she is in reasonable fear of serious physical injury or death AND (unless you are in Louisiana or Florida) retreat is impossible. However, there is no duty to retreat if you are in your own home. I think it unfortunate if British law requires retreat in such instance. As for the lawsuit, it definitely has merit, and, under the letter of the law, the plaintiff should prevail.

I would gladly take that bet! Avery Johnson is a great, young coach, but I would take Pat Riley at the helm any day.

Sadly, this is the last art exhibit I visited, last October at LACMA. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of bringing a woman who turned out to be as cultured as Ma Kettle. NOJ, (and any other Van Gogh lovers for that matter), be sure to visit the Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller in Otterlo, the Netherlands, which, I believe, houses the second largest Van Gogh collection in the world. Many of my favorite pieces are contained there.

I wish you a rather belated happy birthday. I hope that you had a great one!

Yeah, I thought the same thing. At least the Bruins will have Josh Shipp back next season (as well as everyone else of import except Bozeman and Hollins).

Happy Birthday, Joe! I hope that all is well with you.

Happy Birthday, mate! I hope that you enjoyed your day.