Mescalito

Most of my trips to BKK have been biz class on CI, either from SFO or LAX, and I've been very pleased with them. The routes from SFO/LAX to TPE are 747's and I always try to pre-select my seats on the web site for the upper deck. It's a closer-knit setting and the service just feels a bit more personalized and attentive. The food is very good, the service has always been excellent, and they have some really cute FA's on CI, too! And I get FF miles on Delta.

If this aspect has already been covered then forgive my being redundant; I'm too tired to read through all the pages of replies on this thread first. There are two big problems I see with trying to live according what's called for in the Koran, or the Bible, or the Torah, or . . . . . . you name it. First, it's hard to get two people to agree on what these books say and mean. It's a fair bet that Jesse Jackson and Pat Robertson know the Bible inside and out, but it's an equally safe bet they've come to diametrically-opposed, if not mutually exclusive, conclusions about what is meant. Second, and while the fundamentalists will start frothing at the mouth when I say this, I don't think it's possible to know what parts of these scriptures -- if any -- were actually handed down by a divine being. Yes, I know, people will argue that such belief has to become an act of faith, but even that argument doesn't really hold up very well because there are things in the Bible (and the others as well, I imagine) that most certainly did not come from any kind of deity; not any deity that's deserving of my worship, anyway. I refuse to believe that such a being would approve of slavery (Lev. 25, 44-45), or would demand the execution of anyone trying to convert people to a different religion (Deu. 13, 6-16). These are orders that one would expect from dictators trying to grab and maintain power over others, not a god. Saying it came from a god is a way of getting people to comply. Best we all learn to think for ourselves.

I've eaten at Mata Hari several times and it was always excellent. Definitely pricey for the area, but very much worth it.

Guess what, s***-for-brains? The 9/11 attacks, the attack on the USS Cole, the embassy bombings, the hotel attack in Mumbai, and the bombings of the London trains were not carried out by blonde-haired, blue-eyed Swedes. But you're probably right, MM: just another sad, pathetic troll who is operating under the illusion --- make the delusion --- that he's actually funny and clever. Just deep-6 him and let's be done with it.

I agree completely. Sadly, there isn't Chief of Police in the country with the cojones to start doing this. And you can rest assured that if he did, within moments the gazillionaire team owners would be on the phone to that cities' mayor demanding -- and getting -- the Chief's head on a platter.

Couldn't have been Tiger. He didn't make past Turn 1.

I'm sure you can do it, probably through an outfit like CDW, but since it's computer equipment you're talking about you might get hit with some duties or tariffs on top of everything else.

It's not just the NBA that needs some serious re-vamping, but a lot of pro sports here. Where else but in the NBA or the NHL, or major league baseball for that matter, can you commit what is in any other setting a felony and usually get little more than an ejection from the game? Fights break out left and right in a hockey game, and seem to be actively encouraged, if not actually cheered. To do in any other workplace, or the street, or a restaurant, what hockey players do every night on the ice, would get you a felony conviction and a lengthy prison sentence. The rationale that "well, that's just a part of the game" is absolute nonsense. I've watched Olympic hockey, which is no-check, and it's fast, exciting, and you get to see how incredibly skilled some players really are. But the NHL? What's the old joke . . . . "I went to the fights last night and a hockey game broke out". And how about those bench-clearing brawls one sees several times a season in baseball? In any other setting that same behavior would result in a swarm of police officers, lots of arrests, and plenty of jail time. And a pitcher throwing right at a batter, or a batter coming after the pitcher with bat in hand? I think that qualifies as assault with a deadly weapon. The fact that it happens on a baseball diamond doesn't make it any less a criminal act. Anyone remember the movie "Rollerball"? We're not far from that at this point.

Pretty damned funny video (>7 million hits at last count), and hopefully a lesson learned. I've had only one mishap in all the flying I've done over the years, and it ended quite well. It wasn't anything broken, but almost as bad: Delta lost my golf clubs. I was on a business trip to a conference at the Couer D'Alene resort in Idaho, flying LA - Salt Lake City - Spokane. When I landed in Spokane, my suitcase came off the plane but not my golf clubs. I filed a report with the Delta agent there, who started a trace on it. He said he was also a golfer and offered to loan me his clubs, which were in his car, until mine turned up. I told him that was very generous, but I was sure I could rent a set at the resort. He told me Delta would reimburse me for the cost if I did. I had an 8:30 AM tee time, and when I got up at 7:00 I checked with the bell captain, who told me my own clubs were already at the course waiting for me. Here's what happened: My the plane from my LAX-SLC leg continued on to Edmunton in Canada; that's where my clubs went, too. Delta's crew there found them, and put them on the last flight back to SLC, where Delta put them on what was to be the last flight to Spokane. The agent in Spokane waited for them until the middle of the night for my clubs to arrive, then put them in his car and drove the 45 minutes to the resort so that they would be in the morning. Now THAT'S customer service. When I got home I wrote a glowing letter to Delta's VP for customer service.

He did . . . . . . his wife!!!

I flew EVA for the first time on my last trip in November. I was in their Evergreen DeLuxe/Elite Class, somewhat between coach and biz class from LAX (14 hrs to Taipei, 11 or 12 on the return). I've been a bit spoiled since all my other trips have been in biz class on either China Airlines or Korean Air (Korean is now WAAAAY to expensive!), so it was an adjustment. It was generally pretty good, but my knees did get very stiff and sore since the foot rests don't quite come up high enough or far enough out to straighten them. I'm 5'-11", so some legroom is helpful. That said, the service was good and the food was pretty decent.

I deep-6'd Norton last year, which I'd used to replace McAfee, replacing it with Avast! and haven't regretted it for a moment. The other two, Norton in particular, were resource hogs that slowed my laptop to a crawl. Avast! was recommended to me by a couple of systems security engineers. It automatically updates the virus definitions database, and very regularly, and the moment I swapped out and ran it for the first time it picked up a ton of malware that the others had let slip by. I also run Spybot Search-And-Destroy, another piece of freeware, and it's done an excellent job of blocking malware that's been planted in web sites. I also have Lavasoft's latest version of Ad-Aware, but I think Spybot is doing a bit better job.

It was definitely an enjoyable day, as is always the case with this event. The course played tough, with a stiff breeze and some very fast greens. My own match with partner Dennis vs. Deuce and Adrian was a knee-knocker down to the end. We halved the match for the first nine, and were dormie on them with 2 to play on the second nine, but with some great shot-making and clutch putts they won the last 2 holes for a half. A very fun and exciting round! As captain for the US team I'd like to be able to take some credit for the outcome , but my contributions amounted to nothing more than showing up the day of the event, having spent the afternoon and night before in my hotel room puking my guts out thanks to what was later diagnosed as heat exhaustion. After 13 trips to Thailand you'd think I'd know enough to keep that from happening.

Any idea what she charges for those?

Only if your tee shot fails to pass the ladies' tees!

Hi, Callum. You know I'll be there again! Shirt size = Large Hdcp = 6

Anyone here been through the Incheon Airport recently and used the transit hotel? I've stayed there on long layovers several times and plan to again in May, but I can't get a reply to my reservation requests. I e-mailed them through their site last Saturday. After 3 days with no reply I e-mailed them again, and now today almost a week after the initial message I've still heard nothing and wrote to them yet a third time. This is a bit odd because they've always been very responsive.

Of course, count me in no matter what day it's held. I do wonder, though, how many of the caddies might be planning to take that Monday off to get ready for the festivities that night. Tuesday might be less of a risk.

Post this article in the paper in San Francisco and people will think it's real and cheer for it.

I kept waiting for the punchline because this list is really a joke. How does one justify such tired, worn-out properties like Circus Circus and Excalibur, and leave off some truly great hotels like . . . The Peninsula (any of 'em -- Hong Kong, Bangkok, Beverly Hills, etc.) The Couer d'Alene Resort (Idaho, USA) The Mandarin Oriental (San Francisco) The Savoy (London) etc., etc.

There's a big Fairtex training center in North Pattaya, where 2nd & 3rd(?) Roads come together. They have a pro shop that stocks all sorts of gear and I picked up some things for a colleague back home when I was here in May. Depending on what they have in stock they may have to order it from Bangkok, but it usually arrives in about 3 days; that's what happened in my case.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone involved. It was a great day with a lot of fun had by all. From Wi's closest-to-the-pin that missed being her third ace by inches, to Hilly's pressure-packed final putt on 18 to save a half on the back 9 match against Little Brian and me, there was more than enough excitement to go around. With a 9-9 result the Cup could easily have gone either way. Thanks, as always, go to Solar Golf (Doghaus, et al) for their superb planning and organization, and to Martin and FLB for the continued sponsorship of Asia's -- nay, the world's -- premiere golf event!

I think we ought to take up a collection and pay to put that on a billboard outside the Clark County Jail!

Good news on the BP, Mick. Yep, living in Thailand is good for your health. I have problems with high cholesterol; my LDL was over 200 at my annual checkup last month. But it's always down a good bit after a trip to LOS, probably due to all the garlic and chilis in the food (I eat a lot more Thair food over there than western). As for the hospitals, last November I went into the ER at Pattaya Int'l a few days after the car wreck I was in on my way to Pattaya, since I was still having pain in my lower right ribs. I was in and out in less than an hour. The Thai doctor I saw got his MD at Yale U. (I saw his diploma on the wall). Doctor's fee, x-rays, radiologist services, and 3 Rx's: 1,900 baht, or about 60 bucks US. Compare that with my recent trip to the ER here in California for a badly-sprained ankle: 4-1/2 hours from arrival to discharge. about 20 minutes of those 4-1/2 hrs were spent actually being attended to. the rest of the time I was sitting in a wheelchair in the hallway total bill: over US$3,300, or approx 112,000 baht. OK, I realize one can't really compare the costs, but the level of service I got in LOS was so vastly superior to what I got here that it defies description.

0715! Steve0 will just be getting in then!