Mr Info

I know this is too late for this weekend but investing in the global access card ($100/5 yrs) is something to consider. This always gets you TSA pre-check in the US for flights and can seriously cut down security wait time. When I fly back from BUF after a game, I can get there 30 mins before my flight and go right through. In addition, when you travel internationally, you fingerprint through customs, get prompted to answer a few questions at the same terminal, and you are done. It literally takes me 5 min through customs. Even if you only travel two times internationally within the five years, it is worth it imo if it saves 2-4 hours of your time. And, you also get TSA per-check.

Play action, check down to Shady right side for 5 yds 18 first downs

Pooj, Are you going to Lockn this weekend? A great lineup with all Dead members. Plus Robert Plant, Carlos Santana, Hot Tuna, and a reunion of sorts for Airplane, Doobie Incident (String Cheese Incident & Doobie Brothers), Mad Dogs & Englishmen (Joe Cocker celebration) with Leon Russell, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, Tedeschi Trucks), John Popper, Umphrey's McGee, Widespread Panic w Jimmy Cliff, & others. http://www.locknfestival.com/

Thur & Fri are holidays here in China with '70' banners up in lots of places. It is a one time holiday called Victory Day but probably pertains more to the Japanese. Everyone glued to their televisions at 10 tomorrow for 70 min broadcast & marches in Beijing.

12 hr ahead of east coast. Going to watch a til about halftime & then back to sleep.

Game Pass working great in Shanghai!

I am working in our Copenhagen location for a short time and the colleagues there told me that their neighboring Swedes recently changed the name of birds (i.e., blackbird) out of fear of racism. Sure enough, I googled it and PC run amuck: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/02/24/out-of-fear-of-racism-sweden-changes-the-names-of-bird-species/

Paul, Something like this? http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ZrSQCeDv5iW/p_119FMCH300/Monster-iCarPlay-Wireless-300.html Tony

Hi all, My wife and I were going to go but cannot do it now. Before posting on third party sites, I thought we would give some TBD members a chance at them for cost. The two seats with TM charges are $344. They are great seats in Sec 108, row 11, seats 22&23. We can transfer them through TM. Let me know. Will post on 3rd party on Monday if no interest.

Rick's obit http://www.richmond.com/obituaries/article_51da596f-241c-5d14-9ae6-223de76cacf3.html SCHIBETTA, Richard Carmen, August 10, 1972 to June 28, 2015. After a courageous battle with cancer, Rick passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 28, 2015. Rick was 42. Husband, father, son and brother, he is survived by his beloved wife, Brenda; and his two precious sons, Zachary and Owen of Richmond, Va. Also surviving are his father and mother, Charles J. and Sylvia of Fredonia, N.Y.; siblings, William and Debra and family of Baytown, Texas; Charles R. and Robin and family of Tecumseh, Mo.; Michael of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Thomas of Fredonia, N.Y.; John and Alicia and family of Fredonia, N.Y.; and sister, Gina and John Kaczmarek of Ballston Spa, N.Y. As well as his father and mother-in-law, Curtis and Chiyono Shaw of Franklinville, N.J.; sister-in- law, Diana and Scott Kelly and family of Glassboro, N.J.; and brother-in-law, Steven Shaw of Greenville, N.C. Also, his cousin, Michael and Betty Ray of Orchard Park, N.Y.; and John Ray and family of Scottsdale, Ariz., who were raised with the family. Rick had many nieces and nephews. Rick loved to play guitar and spend time with his family. He was employed at Altria in Richmond. The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 2, 2015, at the West Chapel of Bennett Funeral Home, 11020 W. Broad St., where services will begin in the Bennett Chapel at 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, can be made to the Rick Schibetta Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank.

Rick's wife Brenda just called me a few minutes ago and Rick just passed. Here's to a great guy!!! It was a privilege to know him. His wife & their two young boys will appreciate anyone's help more than ever. I will post info on services when I find out.

In case you need pickups, here's a friend that makes them: http://www.fralinpickups.com

My analysis of your statements is that ST is less expensive than going out to a bar but that contradicts your first statement about overall cost. It appears that you do not want ST under any circumstances so that you can get out once and a while to see bikini clad bartenders. But maybe I misinterpreted your statements..

Went to see Rick at VCU Med Ctr today and was unable to see him as he was sedated. However, his wife, Brenda, and his family from Buffalo and elswhere in the US were outside in the Critical Care visiting room. Just before my arrival, Brenda received a call from MD Anderson Cancer Center that they will arrange with VCU for air transport for Rick as long as the ventilator is removed and kindey issues resolved. They (MD Anderson and VCU) believe the ventilator is necessary due to increased fluid in lungs and they have drained it and are using a diuretic to address this. They believe the kidney issues are related to a contrast dye that was used and will be using dialysis to help them recover. They have already started showing signs of recovery. I was expecting a far different scenario than what I encountered but it was great to see. Keep the good thoughts coming. Btw - article in the BN on Friday, June 12 about OmniSeq at Roswell. Very interesting and might be benefical for anyone with lung cancer tumor though it may be applicable to other cancers as well. http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/medical/roswell-park-looks-to-spinoff-company-to-help-revolutionize-cancer-care-20150612

I am sorry to relay this but say your prayers. Rick made it to Johns Hopkins but they did not have anything for him. He is unable to make it to Penn State or Roswell as he experienced difficulty breathing and is now on a ventilator at VCU and his kidneys are failing....

I am returning to WNY the weekend of July 11 for a HS reunion and was curious if anyone on here will/has participate(d) in the Tour de Perry. I plan to register for the 53 miler around Letchworth Park (the Grand Canyon of the East) which has a 3000' overall climb. There is also a 17 miler around the lake. If you have done this or are familar with the route, let me know your perspective on the climbs. Not many hills in central VA where I live so I will not have as much practice on climbs as I would like. http://www.tourdeperry.com

June 9-11. It depends on season ticket holder longevity.

Ice cream That's a bit tougher in the summer.

I visited Rick today and have an update. They have set appointments at Johns Hopkins on June 8, Penn State on June 10, and Roswell on June 16. Hopefully, one of them has a protocol/study/trial/experimental therapy that he could qualify for and get admitted. Rick is still due to leave VCU on May 28. Their van has been outfitted for a lift that will raise his wheel chair and place him in the front seat. Here is a picture of him filling out the menu selections for tomorrow. It was great to speak with him today and it is obvious that he is excited to go somewhere else where a treatment may be available. The strength in his hands and arms is rather limited and it is difficult to only assist him when absolutely necessary. But he is working hard to re-acquire his dexterity and strength and even small accomplishments are confidence boosters.

An update: Paul (plenzmd1) and I visited Rick at the VCU hospital on Friday (May 15). He was in good spirits and we had a lively discussion on Bills/Sabres and other Buff stuff. He is due to be released from the hospital on May 28 as long as he is physically able. They do not have any other treatment options for him. He and Brenda are still working with other possible cancer treatment locations (see my previous post) but they are a bit frustrated due to typical administrative functions (sending medical records). Rick is still battling with limited functionality in his upper extremities (arms and hands) but they have discontinued steroids to treat the spinal cord inflammation causing the transverse myelitis. On Sat, I joined some of Rick and Brenda's co-workers to build a ramp at their house for his wheelchair. A picture is below. The person in the pic is one of their friends. The 10' metal ramp (you can see part of it in the lower left of the photo) will be attached to the end of the wooden ramp. The ramp is all pressure treated wood and will be covered with roofing-type material for further protection and anti-skid. Posts and hand rails will also be added.

Yes, it has frequently been in the top places to retire. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2014/01/06/the-15-best-countries-to-retire-to-in-2014/ One of the situations to consider when looking at part-time or full-time retirement places outside the US is whether it is a gated community. That may be the case for the retirement places in Costa Rica.

Thanks, something to consider as well. VA is about middle ground for US retiree taxing http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/retirement/T055-S001-state-by-state-guide-to-taxes-on-retirees/index.php There are 38 states that do not tax SS but typically states that do not have income tax or do not tax SS make up for it by increased personal property taxes or other taxes/fees. We plan to retire somewhere where it is warm. If we keep a place in the US, it would be warm during the season we are there. My wife has a business that can be run anywhere in the world and plan to keep that business running when I retire. Fortunately, my wife is fluent in French and Spanish and my Deutsch is ok so that opens some other countries to us.

Although I had seen Rick a few times since my last update there was not much to report but there is today. They performed a biopsy on one of the tumors and it was identified as T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) which is what he has had all along. He has been treated here for that with chemotherapy and later aggressively with an experimental drug (which they stopped) but resulted in paralysis. VCU is reluctant to recommend further therapy. ALL can become tolerant/resistant to chemotherapy so they are not recommending a return to that nor do they have a targeted immunotherapy trial for ALL. He is now looking at 4 places that may have clinical trials for T-cell ALL or experimental treatments for ALL: Roswell Park, Johns Hopkins, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philly, or U Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. They have been in contact with all 4 and are getting his records to them. Rick is focused on ALL and addressing transverse myelitis later. Rick looked better and was in better spirits than the last few times I saw him. Part of that is they resumed steroid therapy which resulted in strength returning to his hands and arms. He is bummed that he has to resell his Rush tickets but remains excited about the Bills. He says hi to TBD.

I have lived all around this great big country and have been fortunate to travel a lot around the world for business and pleasure. I grew up in WNY but now live in VA but have no family here and our two boys are in college. I have no idea where they will be in a few years but as soon as I graduated from college, I went where I could find the best job which was not WNY. My wife and I are looking at other countries to retire. Looking at other countries tax benefits, cost of living, etc. We are looking closely at he US VI which is not another country but makes collecting SS, etc. easier. I expect we will keep a small place somewhere in the US (maybe WNY as I still have some family there) and keep my season tix.

As a quick update to this. I visited Rick yesterday and while I was there, Rick's brother Chuck and his parents (who Chuck drove down from Fredonia) along with Brenda stopped by. As Brenda indicated through Paul's message, they are still trying to determine the cause of Rick's fever. They are also investigating other opportunities for Rick such as the Transverse Myelitis Center at Johns Hopkins along with Roswell Park. But Rick has to get healthier before these can be considered.