bigdelta

For FIFA,it's all about the MONEY! Soccer/football is an afterthought. Imagine the hotel/beer prices...... In addition to the game itself,the WC is a celebration.I simply can't imagine the kind of atmosphere in Cat Tar that was at the ones I've attended. What a fucking shame.

Some comments so far: QATAR???? 120 degree weather, a population half the size of the number of people who attend the World Cup...can you even drink in Qatar? How close has Qatar ever come to even qualifying for a WC????? This better be some kind of peace mission to the Middle East rather then yet another thing oil money bought. Alcohol only exists in bars that are in the actual hotels; there is no alcohol at restaurants in the streets. But it will cost you about $15 for a henieken. 2 worst choices got it.... Quatar is the size of a peanut and Russia is the size of a field of peanut plants..... One is freezing cold (the 2 months it's not, filled with mosquitoes) and the other one is boiling hot... Both need to build and will have a hard time infrastructure-wise or to house people or to get them to games... What do those countries have in common: filled with bribe money on the front end but nada real profit potential on the back end... We're going from Brazil to Russia to Quatar... And not a single soul at Fifa thinks about the careers of players who deserve to have a tournament played in mild, top football conditions... It's a royal shame..... QATAR???? 120 degree weather, a population half the size of the number of people who attend the World Cup...can you even drink in Qatar? How close has Qatar ever come to even qualifying for a WC????? This better be some kind of peace mission to the Middle East rather then yet another thing oil money bought. I just bought 10 yards of fabric going on for sale at WalMart to wrap my head up so I can attend some matches in 2022 and go unnotticed. Russia is a good choice though. With Asia hosting 2002 and 2022 I wonder about the chances for China in 2026 now. The logic says it will be CONCACAF in 2026 with Mexico or the USA as the only contenders unless Canada wants to put up a show similar to the 1976 Olympics. My guess is that Qatar could care less if football fans come. It will be an elitist viewing event in a controlled, closed society. They can import foreigners to fill the stadium. World Cup 2026 - Vatican City I have a new hope and a new dream. I am not one that you would consider extremely environmentally inclined, but I now dream of Electric cars and the emergence of alternate fuel sources for the next 12 years. The Middle East is spending money in the most arrogant and ignorant way for a fuel source that is neither renewable nor definitively sustainable (I'm aware that they have gobs of it though). Here's to science and rendering oil unnecessary to life. I'm really glad Qatar will build 10 stadiums that will never get used again. In the end, 4 or 5 potentially awesome hosts were denied. Is there a more corrupt and inept LEGAL organization in the world than FIFA? Seriously? Qatar is a joke of a host. They've never qualified for a World Cup, only made it past the First Round in the Asia Cup once, and their domestic league makes MLS look like the Premier League. Money certainly talks. "There is one liquor store, Qatar Distribution Centre, in Doha. To purchase things there, you must have a license that can only be obtained by having a written letter of permission from your employer. You can only get a license when you have obtained your residency permit and you will need to get a letter from your employer confirming your salary in addition to paying a deposit for QR1000. The selection is good and is like any alcohol selection of a large supermarket in the West. Prices are reasonable although not cheap. Alcoholic beverages are available in the restaurants and bars of the major hotels, although they are pricey. As far as non-alcoholic drinks go, be sure and hit some of the Indian and Middle Eastern restaurants and juice stalls. They whip some tasty and exotic fruit juice combinations that really hit the spot. It is forbidden to bring alcohol in to the country as a tourist; at Doha airport customs xray bags and will confiscate any bottles of alcoholic drink. They will issue a receipt valid for 2 weeks to reclaim the alcohol on exit from the country." Tough break.

Uh,yeah! Say UK and then USA. Russia is a fucking joke and Cat Tar is beyond belief.I won't even get into how screwed up FIFA is in making those choices. Gee,I wonder if Israel qualifies,will Cat Tar ban them? Guess Brazil will be my last WC and I hadn't planned on attending that one in favor of UK and then USA. Cat Tar is demolishing it's stadiums after the WC and building them in several locations.Must be nice to have that kind of dosh. Here's a list of their stadiums: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-z2jtUS9-Y

The Pope and Nancy Pelosi are on the same stage in Yankee Stadium in front of a huge crowd. The Pope leans towards Mrs. Pelosi and said, "Do you know that with one little wave of my hand I can make every person in this crowd go wild with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display, but will go deep into their hearts and they'll forever speak of this day and rejoice!" Pelosi replied, "I seriously doubt that! With one little wave of your hand??? Show me!" So the Pope backhanded the bitch and knocked her ass right off the stage! AND THE CROWD ROARED & CHEERED WILDLY!

Smoking sucks ANYPLACE!

It's a common problem for us old folks.One thing that seems to help is to get up as often as necessary for a short walk to keep the circulation going.Swollen feet is also very common on long flights.I took the 14 hour flight from Atlanta to Tokyo and both the feet and ankles were swollen even though I got up at least every 2 hours.It has nothing to do with the filter system.

It was a scheduled landing in Laredo.It DID NOT land there because of the fire.The flight was scheduled from Yuma to Laredo.It was made under emergency conditions.And it was,as my guess,having to do with the myriad of test equipment on board,not a faulut of the operating systems themselves.

I had 2 slices of the combo yesterday at Costco.Excellent and far better than anything I've tried in Land of Filthy Diesels.And just $9.99 for an entire huge pie.Judging by the size and cost in LoD,the equivalent would have been at least $20 there and inferior quality.The food court makes better pizzas than the deli-go figure.

Delta one stop/change in Tokyo. Some people don't know the difference between a stop and a change. A stop generally means you're on a through flight and even though you'll need to deplane on an int's flight,you're at the same gate as opposed changing planes/making a connection.

Strictly urbun myth.Even the Harley idiots I rode with for a while who do bar runs on their bikes haven't.Drink a lot,hop on your bike,get to the next bar,do same.......... Never myself as i didn't quite fit that drinking and ride mold. The above is my experience in the US and Mexico. Only and idiot would drink and drive or ride anyway.

2 weeks ago when the 1st one was operational on Jomtien Beach Rd,a BB I was in actually stopped,probably because he was confused by the fact he'd never seen one. Not a single one has stopped since when I have passed through.But they sure are pretty.

Even worse-Rolls Royce!

This is comforting:CEO: Design fault may have caused A380 engine failure Sydney, Australia (CNN) -- A design issue rather than poor maintenance is likely to blame for the mid-flight failure of a Qantas airliner's engine, the CEO of the Australian carrier said Friday. One of the four engines on the Qantas Airbus A380 shut down six minutes after takeoff Thursday from Singapore's Changi Airport, forcing it to return and make an emergency landing. The plane -- with 440 passengers and 26 crew members -- was headed to Sydney, Australia. But while above the western Indonesian island of Batam, part of the engine's covering, or cowling, tore off. "This issue does not relate to maintenance; this is an engine issue," CEO Alan Joyce told reporters Friday. "And the engines have been maintained by Rolls-Royce since they've been installed on the aircraft." "So we believe that this is probably most likely a material failure or some sort of design issue that we're tracking and trying to understand," he added. "We don't believe this is related to maintenance in any way." On Friday, Airbus announced that it had asked all operators of A380s with Rolls-Royce engines to inspect them as a precaution. Following the Qantas CEO's comments, a Rolls-Royce spokesman referred back to his company's earlier news statement, which said: "Since Qantas QF32 suffered an engine failure and returned safely to Singapore Changi Airport, we have been working closely with our customer and the authorities. In situations like these, Rolls-Royce has well established processes to collect and understand information relating to the event and to determine suitable actions." After the incident, Qantas -- Australia's national airline -- grounded its Airbus A380 fleet. The airline said flights of the twin-deck planes -- the world's largest airliners -- will remain suspended until an investigation is complete. On Friday, Joyce said Qantas hopes to resume A380 flights within 48 hours, after completing engine safety checks. "We believe over the next 24 to 48 hours, those checks will be complete on all of the A380s, and if we don't find any adverse findings out of the checks, the aircraft will resume operations," he said. Qantas has six A380s in its fleet of 191 planes. Airbus will at some point deliver 14 more, the airline said. Passengers on the detoured Qantas flight spent the night in Singapore, then flew to Australia on Friday. "Passengers left on a special Qantas flight at 10:30 a.m. local back to Sydney," said airline representative Ashley Edwards Knapp. Reminds me of the de Havilland fiasco so long ago.It's a design fault.

Second Qantas jet returns to Singapore after engine trouble-yet another BritRolls problem. (CNN) -- A Qantas passenger jet landed safely in Singapore on Friday after turning back due to engine problems shortly after takeoff, Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman Neville Blyth told CNN. "I saw flames five minutes into flight and we could see flames through the left-side window," said passenger Terence Sim. It is the second Qantas jet in two days to return to Singapore as a result of engine trouble. In Friday's incident, the Boeing 747-400 was carrying 412 passengers and 19 crew members and was headed to Sydney, Australia, according to a Qantas spokesman, who would not provide his name, citing company policy. On Thursday, a Qantas Airbus A380 jet made an emergency landing at Changi Airport after one of its four engines shut down as it started a flight to Sydney. As the plane headed back to the airport, part of the engine's covering, or cowling, tore off. Airbus announced Friday that it asked all operators of A380s with Rolls-Royce engines to inspect them as a precaution. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says it has deployed investigators to examine the cause of Thursday's engine failure on the Airbus A380 and is currently gathering more information regarding Friday's incident. None of the passengers aboard the Boeing 747-400 also had been aboard the Airbus A380, according to the Qantas spokesman. If it's the RB211,that's a shame.Iit was a great engine many years ago on the L-1011. We had the RB211-524 on ours IIRC.

A website without room rates-priceless (pun intended).

More great news for AirSubsidy A350XWAB/FLB fans: Rolls-Royce’s problems also raise questions about the newest plane being developed by Airbus, the A350, made out of composite material and meant to compete with the 787 from Boeing. Unlike most aircraft programs — including the A380 and the 787, which are built with two engine options — the A350 will be configured with only one engine, the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB. While the A380 program has not been a big commercial success for Airbus, the company has much more at stake with the A350. Airbus has 234 orders for the A380, but it already has 573 orders for the A350, which it expects to put into service in 2013. Gee,I hope they get it right before 2013-it's ONLY 3 years off. "You design an aircraft around an engine, and the aircraft’s performance depends upon its engine,” said Richard L. Aboulafia, an analyst at the Teal Group, a consulting firm in Fairfax, Va. “The real issue is Rolls-Royce’s reputation as a development company. They promised an awful lot with the A350. There is a lot riding on that engine and on that plane, whose performance is entirely dependent on Rolls-Royce.” Airbus declined to comment about the impact of Thursday's episode on the development of the A350. One expert suggested on Thursday that Rolls-Royce might have stretched technological limits with its latest Trent engines in the race to provide better efficiency. “I think it is possible that one of the problems Rolls-Royce is experiencing over all is that they may have lost a little bit of margin in the design of their engines,” said Hans Weber, the president of Tecop International, an aviation consulting firm in San Diego. “We are pushing harder to the limits because we are forced to increase the efficiency.”

Rolls-Royce of London, which is a separate company from the carmaker owned by BMW, is also developing an engine for Boeing’s latest aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner. Problems with that engine have contributed to the program’s delays. This is extremely worrying for Rolls-Royce,” said Phil Abbott, editor of Aircraft Engines, a London-based industry newsletter. “There is no such thing as a shoddy engine maker. But the moment engines fly to bits, no one wants to fly them anymore.” The pressure on Rolls-Royce intensified on Friday when Qantas’s CEO, Alan Joyce, said the mid-air engine failure on Flight 32 may have been caused by material failure or a design problem with the engines. Mr. Joyce said it was still too early to determine a cause for the failure but he rejected concerns from a labor union that it may have been caused by insufficient maintenance, a responsibility of the airline. We believe this is probably, most likely, a material failure or some sort of design issue,” Mr. Joyce said at a news conference in Sydney, Australia. “We don’t believe this is related to maintenance in any way.” In at least two previous cases during the past year, two A380 airplanes with Trent 900 engines from Rolls-Royce were forced to land after an engine failure. In August, a Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 test engine developed for Boeing blew up during a ground test. All the engine failures on A380s have so far involved Roll-Royce engines, analysts said. Separately, a European Union air safety body confirmed it told airlines in August to make checks after finding "wear, beyond engine manual limits," on the type of Rolls-Royce engines fitted to the Qantas jet and some other A380s. There are 37 A380s in service, 20 with the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine. Three airlines operate with the Trent 900: Qantas, which has six; Lufthansa, three; and Singapore Airlines, 11. Emirates Airline, which operates 13 A380s, and Air France, which has four in service, use the GP7200 engine developed by the G.E.-Pratt joint venture. RR=British.

Airlines should offer discounts to visit during Soak-Kran.

The funniest line is "I usually get top price for mine when I sell them". Those of us who ride get a laugh at clowns making those statemants.

Charter is the only option to avoid BKK. Cebu Pacific flies nonstop from BKK to Clark (Angeles City). http://www.cebupacificair.com/

Renetria had another big WS hit,but nobody remembers.

Congrats to the G'nats,bringing a pennant to the West Coast for the 1st time in a while. Quick know it alls here,google the last time time a west coast team won because you surely don't remember.

Let me rephrase that-I clicked the "View this post" link-you're still and forever will be IGNORED. I'll tell you what's weird.You've never been to a college game,much less the CWS in Omaha.So you can't compare it to AAA baseball. Some people are here for 1 purpose and 1 only-to argue and cram their opinions on others.You are one and the other on IGNORE is Google Tommy. It was nice here last week when both of you didn't post much or very little. Start a thread and contribute something besides cramming your thoughts down this forum's throat and telling folks they are wrong.And argueing just for the sake of it.

I've got a slightly used WRT-54GL sitting on a shelf at home-in Florida!

I'm taking you off ignore to reply.It's not just a "good college game".It's the CWS.Just like any major league or AAA game is a good game,this is the Series,not just another good game. Back on ignore.