Taro T

Thanks for the update. I guess I owe you that other penny now.

Well, Ken, although the answer was informative, since it wasn't nearly a disertation, I'd say it was worth $0.01. If I ever meet you, I'll be sure to bring it with me. As for Gerry, it probably wouldn't look good for me to get involved in a patent or copyright infringement suit, so I have already deposited 3 won in an account in his name in the 1st National Bank of Pyongyang. Now where are those dividends?

I'd have a hard time believing that the DPRK calls all the shots when pretty much all the money they have comes from outside handouts. If China truly came around to wanting them to completely stop jerking everyone around, it would be a lot more likely to stop. Personally, I view Ken's beliefs that China is getting on board (even though they may not be there) as very encouraging. Even though from a much more casual observer's perspective everything still looks screwed up.

Thanks for the info. If there was a meeting of the 5, would you expect the DPRK to view that as an "oh, sh*t" occurrance or wouldn't it alter their stance substantially (or both)?

Ken, One rather rudimentary question for you. (Sorry, I'm sure I could find a lot of this on GG's site, but when an expert is available I prefer to start there.) How much or how often do the 4 other parties meet with the US on this when the DPRK isn't involved?

You don't happen to know which month we'll be invading do you? I'd be interested in buying some futures calls and that information would be helpful in choosing my positions.

Yeah, they are pretty merciless when it comes to recommending state of the art cures. My plan on the rare occassion I have to use their services is to have them do only what is necessary to keep the pet alive and comfortable through the night and then take the pet to our regular vet in the morning. We're real happy with our regular vet. They do the work much cheaper (and IMHO better) than the all-nighter. (Unfortunately, when an emergency does come up they are the only game in town and you do what you have to do.)

I think I am misssing something in your point. Neither CBA would include language stating that the owners had to give money back to the networks in the case of a strike. The CBA is between the owners and players; the TV contracts are between the networks and the owners. The TV contracts are where that would be stipulated and considering that the networks are dropping billions of $'s, I'd have been shocked to find out the networks didn't protect their investment. Scab football is worth nothing to them because no one will want to advertise during those games.

Sorry to hear about the lack of juice. Do you have any room in a yard or on a patio to set up a generator if you were to rent one or borrow one? Between ice storms and freak Labor Day storms, I have been without electricity for extended times on several occasions. Having a generator has been huge. One again, sorry you are without power.

You're kidding, right? Who'd he tick off this time? Bummer. Oh, crayonz, we hardly knew ye.

Sorry 'bout that. Didn't have the energy to go back tracking down where the link was. (I've been working off a paper copy of Article 12.)

You should probably link to the 2005 CBA rather than the old one. Section 12 has had SIGNIFICANT modifications in the new version. The section you are looking for is now 12.10. (12.6 in the new version covers the selection of arbitrators.) EDIT: I didn't notice your comment in your last post that ended up "quoted" to me. Right now, I have absolutely no clue as to why it took so long to announce Danny's award to the public. Hopefully you are right and they are working on a LT deal.

I know that is what TSN reported, but the CBA states the Sabres have until 48 hours after resolution of their last arbitration case to make a decision to walk away (provided they haven't maxed out on their "walk-away rights" (w/ 8 arbitration cases still possible, they'd be able to walk away from 4)).

Happy B-day, Gents.

You are correct about the 48 hours. But if there were 56 or less hearings scheduled, then ALL hearings would be scheduled for 9:00 on their particular day. I know that 69 players filed for arbitration, but more than 13 have settled outside of arbitration. I don't know if enough were settled prior to setting hearing dates/times, but it was my understanding that Danny and the 2 Mikes all had their hearings at 9:00 on Thursday. (Obviously, I don't know that for fact.) As for someone not being reached, that is reasonably plausible as Danny is on vacation. Somehow, though, I would expect that his agent, the union, or the Sabres would be able to reach him via cell phone. I know that I would be real interested in hearing how much money I'd make next year, if I were in his shoes (skates).

I didn't think that his was scheduled following one of the other 2 hearings. (Didn't pay that close attention to it, but I thought that the league was at or below 56 hearings remaining when they scheduled the hearings. If so, all the hearings should have started at 9:00AM.) Yeah, I am kind of curious as to why his decision hasn't been announced to the unwashed masses. (Not sure why Mike Smith's hasn't been announced either.) BTW, that was a very classy gesture on the part of Wesley. Hope it brightened some days. Can't wait to hear about all the cool things the Sabres do with Lord Stanley's Chalice next July.

Don't know if that came before or after this, but about 10 years ago in Ra-cha-cha a lady with a ton of Lawn Gnomes in her front yard had one stolen and she received "ransom" notes for the Gnome. The lady ended up getting a LOT of ransom notes. They started coming from places like Texas and California, but eventually were postmarked worldwide (Ireland, Taiwan, Japan, the Netherlands, and several other countries). To the best of my knowledge, the lady never figured out how the Gnome was getting to so many places. Also, I always believed that lady in Ra-cha-cha's misfortunes were the inspiration for Travelocity's "Roaming Gnome". THAT was a good prank.

Didn't they do one for a 15 blade razor about the time the "Mach 3" came out?

They've never stopped making them. I've got ones from '97 & '98. I've probably got the rest of them as well lost somewhere.

They still make them. Last year's had the "artsy" b&w photos that were also used on the magnetic schedules (the magnetic schedules are typically given away at the 1st home game). AFAIK, they have had a calendar every year. My guess would be that you could get one from the Sabres website during the season, but don't know that for certain.

Get with the program. That wasn't plywood, they were shingles from his dad's roofing business. They will give him that "square shoulder", ready for business look though. So I wouldn't put it past him.

That is friggin' classic. I truly feel sorry for any Isles fans out there. 'Cause it doesn't look like things are getting any better.

I would like to think a little common sense could be used here. Someone not wanting to pay to hear a performer spout about their political views and stating such is not "censoring" the performer. I apparently missed the part in the 1st Amendment where it says people complaining about an entertainer is infringing upon that entertainer's freedom of speech. The DC's fans that no longer buy their records or go to their concerts have the right to do that. If the fans' aversion to what they say is strong enough to make them no longer like the music that they previously liked, that is their right as well. The "incident" appears to have allowed the band to change their direction and, I would guess, their fan base as well. The new fan base they have probably wants to hear them say "I'm ashamed President Bush is from Texas", and that is fine.