What a great idea, turtle dove! No similar couples come to mind, but I will definitely think on it. Though with Mr. Yogi it wouldn't be spa visits but rather trying to find the nearest baseball game, park, whatever. That's his passion.

Thanks for the info on "the edge". Yikes. I remember going to the canyon when I was a very little girl. A sadistic friend of my father insisted on taking me to the edge until I started to cry hysterically and crawled back. There is actually a photo of this momentous occasion. What a jerk he was. Pehaps that's why I haven't been back? I wish there were actual photos of the trail. I mountain hike all the time, but now I have visions of that edge from being a little girl. Yikes again.

When I first arrived at the Grand Canyon, it was a near blizzard. Standing on the rim, instead of the unbelievable views I'd been told about, all I could see was a big wall of clouds. Even looking straight down the cliff, there were clouds and more clouds. But slowly over the course of an hour or so, the storm ended and the clouds pulled back, the view expanding till you could see down and out for what seemed like hundreds of miles.

There are spots w/ railings, and at least one observation room. And of course you could stand way back from the edge at the unrailed spots. But I do think all of the trails down into the canyon would be impossible for the height or edge phobic.

I've got plenty of pictures of the edge and trail. I've been meaning to scan them and put them on my web page. I should have them up soon. I'll post here when I do.

Bungle, my first time at the Grand Canyon, it was also filled with a Grand Canyon sized cloud, which was gone the next day.

I am afraid of heights and edges, and I don't have too much trouble with the Bright Angel trail. One of the other trails seemed rather harrowing, though. I have this book on all the deaths ever recorded at the Grand Canyon, and people don't fall off the trails. At least not fatally. There have been a few who didn't take the rim seriously (the picture isn't worth that last backwards step, folks). According to the book and the Park Service, the greatest danger comes from carrying too little water in combination with walking off the trail. The people who do this are almost exclusively men under 30, and I get the impression (forgive me if I'm wrong) that this conversation is taking place among women older than 29. Either that, or I'm projecting on the rest of you.

Anyway, we started using trekking poles on our hikes, and they're great for wobbly spots and steep uphill hikes. But the unexpected advantage is that they also give me a sense of having something between me and the edge. Granted, that "something" is my own hand and a titanium stick, but it's a comforting illusion. The trekking poles eliminated about 80% of my fear/stress/tension in those situations. And I have gotten into situations where I couldn't continue because the edges frightened me so much, so this is huge.

Heh, with all this Grand Canyon talk, now I am having Brady Bunch flashbacks. Still, those were good episodes :-)

Wow, that's ambitious! I've never done a coast-to-coast trip, but I've done plenty of shorter drives in various parts of the country (2-12hours). I'm guessing it would be about 60 hours of driving time (not counting pit stops to eat/sleep/mingle, of course). If you drove 8-10 hours a day, that would take you a week and you'll have seen lots of highway and not much else. (Of course, if you really want to drive coast to coast, you'd have to take the ferry to Newfoundland, which I believe is an 8 hour trip, then it's another 10-15 hours drive accross to St John's.)

I tried checking Mapquest to confirm the distance, but their 'directions' included a circuitous route through the states - the TransCanada isn't *that* bad, really!

Unless you have a lot of vacation time saved up (and/or you really love your car), I'd suggest choosing a region of the country to visit, so that you have time to see the sights, etc.

Thanks so much for the info, Kanuck!. Yeah, it is a bit ambitious--I don't know how else to visit all of the friends I want to see in a way that won't cost 100s of dollers in airfare. But.....I guess I'm going to have to make some hard-lined choices, because I'm definitely won't have weeks of vacation time, just ready to be used up. And my car? Well, I love it...but...don't want to push the relationship into a territory it's not ready for.

I really don't know what made me suggest that Mr.Yogi spa it. When I looked over it later, I realized that was a funny suggestion to make. Hee.

I have driven most of the way across Canada at various times.

The longest trip was Vancouver to Ottawa, which I did in three and a half days. Day 1 Vancouver to Medicine Hat, Day 2 the Hat to Grand Forks (okay, not in Canada, but almost), Day 3 Grand Forks to Sault Ste Marie, and Day 3-1/2 the Soo to Ottawa. Yeah, I cheated by going through the USA south of Lake Superior. Anyone who has ever driven north of Superior (which I have also done) will understand why.

I haved also done Ottawa to Nova Scotia many times; that can take anywhere from eighteen hours to two days depending on the season and the route.

If I wanted to get from Vancouver to Halifax in a big hurry, I could probably do it in five days. Four if I was running from the law. (And if I were driving fast enough to do it in four days, I would be.)

(Newfoundland, while in Canada, is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.) (An empty one.) (Spot the in-joke for all the Canadians)

This kind of driving is hardcore, get-there-now, thirteen-hours-plus-a-day. If you want to stop and smell the roses, it can take a lot longer.

Well, I feel much better now! I feel relatively certain that if the general public can manage to walk the trail without falling over the side, I can too. I'm not particularly afraid of heights, but I don't rock climb.

I have a friend who walked down and up the canyon in one day with one litre of water. He's a very fit Russian guy who is very macho. I think he did it because he heard you can die doing it, so he saw it as a challenge. What a nut. He's just the type to end up in DariaG's book of Grand Canyon deaths.

Brady Bunch in the Grand Canyon! Not to be confused with Brady Bunch in Hawaii - same plot, different location. That wacky Sherwood Schwartz!

Not the same plot:
Grand Canyon - Bobby & Cindy wander off & get lost "Bobby! Cindy!" They are reunited with help from native peoples & I believe a celebratory ceremony involving dance is experienced.

Hawaii - evil tiki idol removed from construction site brings bad luck to whomever wears it. Vincent Price is a scary old archeologist & there is a celebratory ceremony involving native peoples & hula dancing.

Don't get me started on the Old West town & jail with the crazy old prospector, aka Thurston Howell III. God bless their groovy belts.

Since we all appear to share a similar passion, I thought I'd share something I just came across. TAR, or something interesting in general, may come up.

Reality TV Discussion @ 2 PM EST

heh. It's a beautiful area and an ok drive in good weather, but not so much fun when you combine blowing snow, slippery roads, and sheer cliffs, and the sun has set ...

potentially humourous story: A friend of mine had stopped at some roadside restaurant somewhere around the Soo, and the family at the next table was excited about being in Montreal by dinner time...yeah, I bet they weren't too happy that evening (hint: it's probably a 14 hour drive). People who aren't from here don't realize the distances involved - especially tourists from Europe, where you can easily travel through 4 countries in a day.

Shortly after I drove from Vancouver to Ottawa, I moved to Europe for a few years. When I told people that I had driven for three and a half days, fourteen hours a day, they just didn't get it. I ended up showing them on map that I if had started in Portugal and driven the same distance, I would have ended up somewhere past Moscow.

Yeah, we had friends visit from Germany. My neighbor pulled out a map of the U.S., pointed to Wyoming, and said "Germany is this big." They laughed, then informed us of their plans to fly from Washington to Denver, change planes, fly to San Francisco, and drive along the coastal highway so they could have dinner in Los Angeles -- all in one day. Oh, and anyone who's driven Hwy 1 along the California coast knows that it's 15 and 25 mph.

When I was in college, a friend and I drove from Champaign-Urbana IL (abut 100-150 miles south of Chicago) to Montreal. We took 3 days so we could stop and visit friends, but planned to return in one trip. Well, that return trip was 19 hours of the most hellish driving we had either one ever experienced.

Mr. Rabrab was Immigration for thirty years; he's got a whole stock of stories of Europeans entering the US at Detroit with plans to drive to Florida or Arizona and back in the three or four days that they were going to spend. I mentioned this to a friend from England and he pointed out a map thing that I hadn't ever considered--in a world atlas, the US takes up the same space (1 page) as Germany, or England, or Spain. If you don't look at the legend for the scale of the map, you wouldn't necessarily realize that the difference in size is so great. It did do a little to restore my faith in the general level of intelligence in the world.

Hell drives? The one that wrecked me the most was from Western Pennsylvania to north of Madison, Wisconsin (600-ish miles) in one run, although what made that one a killer wasn't so much the drive as that we had tho strike our campsite and load the truck first, so the drive started after a fairly long day, and I did all the driving (Mr Rabrab hasn't driven a stick shift in years, and it hurts my soul to hear him grinding his way through the gears and forgetting to upshift. 'Sides, it's my truck.)

Wierdest one was from Madison up and over the UP to Alpena, Michigan. (Alpena's about 70 miles south of Mackinac on the Lake Huron shore.) In February. In a snowstorm. Driving a '65 Pontiac Ventura. Following the snowplow. I'm still not sure why I did that.

Most fun? The first time I drove from Chicago to Mobile, in 1977, in a red GTO convertible. That was when the gas shortage was still bad, and the 55-mph speed limit was newly imposed and all the truckers were convoying, remember. I got "adopted" by a convoy of about sixty or so semis, tucked into the line near the end, and made it from Illinois to Birmingham in one day, at doing seventy. Do y'think that the cutoffs, tanktop, and long red hair whipping in the breeze had anything to do with it?

Hell drive? Knoxville, TN to Albany, NY in about 19 hours. Driving cross county from LA to NY with a friend. I took a week off from work, flew out to LA on Friday and we started driving on Monday. The idea was to do it in 5-6 days, easy driving all the way. I needed to be in NYC by Sunday so that I could pick my car up from my parents and drive back to Albany Sunday afternoon. Well, Saturday we pull into Knoxville. Its a beautiful fall afternoon and the Volunteers were playing so the town was crowded as hell.

We get into town and the fan belt on the truck goes. Ryder comes and tows us to their closest location where we wait 5-6 hours for a crew to come in and unload the truck and reload us into a new one. About 11pm we drive out of the warehouse in the new truck, only to discover after about a quarter of a mile that the speedometer does not work. Back to the warehouse, 2 more hours of unloading and reloading. At 2 am or so we start driving and drive all night alternating every 2 or 3 hours so that the other person can sleep upright in the passenger seat. Driving through PA, deer are literally jumping out onto the roadway in front of the truck. Although we did not hit anything head on, I ran over five or six dead animals in the roadway. We manage to make it to NJ and at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, a woman in a Geo Metro decides she is going to try to cut in behind out 35 ft truck with the attached hitch. She hits the hitch. Another hour wasted with the police.
We get back, start to unload the truck and discover the truck, hitch and attached car are all speckled with deer entrails.

That was a hell drive.

Hey, you've never driven from Ott. to my house! Oh, wait, you said . . .

psssh. Fort Lauderdale to Washington, D.C. with two cats; one screaming and throwing up and the other peeing every five miles.

Two cats make any drive hellish. I drove from NYC to Washington DC 23 years ago with 2 cats. Meowed the whole damned way, in stereo. I had one of those big dog crates the airlines use, and in New Jersey I pulled over, went into a fast food place, and stared out at the car. I could see that they were still meowing their stupid little heads off. Those cats died of old age in the mid-90s, and I still miss their furry little faces. But the cats I have now are calmer.

Shoot, second attempt

St. Louis to Boston, My Dad and I and two cats. Who fought the entire trip because they both wanted to sit in the same exact spot in the car. I'm still not sure why that spot was so special though. Probably because if Spot wanted to sit there, then Shayna had to and vice versa.

I had a very strange conversation with my coworkers this morning. We were talking about names, and one of my coworkers says that my name is perfect for me but Darcy wouldn't be. I totally freaked out but I think it was just a random name he chose - I don't think he knows about my secret identity.

My hubby worked for Customs in Windsor for years and would come home with some pretty funny stories. He was constantly amazed at the people who came over from Michigan and stated that they were just driving to Toronto to have dinner. I guess that would make sense if you didn't mind the 8 hours it would take to drive it round trip!!

Orlando to Kingston, twenty-five hours, three hungover drivers, no sleep, and a temperature difference of, like, sixty degrees from start to finish.

A close second in the "never again" stakes was actually a much shorter drive: Ottawa to Toronto. In a Ryder truck. (Hey look! A theme!) With a dead alternator.

It was a diesel, so it ran as long as we didn't shut the engine off. But turn signals? Lights? Who needs 'em! I picked a lane of the 401 in Brockville and didn't leave it until I got to the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto. Parked the truck in the loading zone in front of my building, turned it off, and called Ryder to come haul it away.

This is why I pay movers now.

Oooh oooh! I have a story!
Day 1 -
10 AM - Leave Toronto (home of then-boyfrend, Ben...we were visiting his parents) - drive the long way, through Niagra Falls, stopping to enjoy the view and have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe - keep going towards home

Day 2 -
3:30 AM - Arrive in Knoxville
Do laundry....NO SLEEP
8 AM - leave for Jensen Beach FL (about an HR north of Ft.Lauderdale)
4 PM - arrive in Jensen Beach...decide to go to on to Key West
12 midnight - arrive in Key West

That's practically a straight drive from Toronto to Key West...I traveled nearly the entire extent of I-75 in those two days. Those two looong days.

Cat road trip? Knoxville to Auburn (AL) - 6 hours in my Honda Prelude. Chandler decided that the most comfy spot was on the dash in front of the steering wheel. He "sang along" to my music the whole way.

Hell drive for me? It's a pretty common one - stuck in the back seat of a ford mustang convertible, at the age of 14, with my 8 year old brother next to me, driving from NYC to Delray Beach, Florida. Compounded by the fact that my dad refused to stop overnight, so we drove for 24 hours straight. And then at 3 in the morning somewhere in Georgia, the gas station attendant put leaded! gas in the car. There's nothing quite like four jews in a dead convertible on a rural southern road in the middle of the night. After that trip, we flew.

Los Angeles to Fairbanks via the Alcan "corrugated" highway in a 33 foot motorhome in one week! Long vehicles do not like that! You can take almost all of a long day just to travel a coupla hundred miles. And you're beating your machine to death.

My worst trip by far was Minneapolis to Champaign, IL. A friend of mine and I made it to Chicago--where she lived and where I was to drop her off--when the Blizzard of ’99 hit. Both her mom and my mom agreed that the best thing to do was to stay at her place and to drive back to Champaign when conditions improved. But there was a twist. Both my friend and her mom had horrible relationships with her father, which, IIRC, resulted in a personal protective order and a divorce, respectively, within months. My stay in Chicago was not a fun time. Two days later, I was finally able to dig my car out and set forth to Champaign. There was an accident on the southbound Dan Ryan, which I ended up driving around by taking side streets in Chicago's South Side, something not recommended under normal conditions. While there was blowing snow on the flatter-than-Lana’s-parents prairie land between Chicago and Champaign, I managed to get home safely.

Talking about Europeans unprepared for driving in the US, I’m an American with a question about driving in Europe. I’m going to Belgium and Scotland this summer with my dad and sister. We’ll be renting a car in Belgium and visiting several of the towns my grandfathers fought in and marched through in WWII. (Both were in the Battle of the Bulge, but neither were in Bastogne.) Some of the places we want to go are in Luxembourg, and we also want to visit Zeeland Flanders in the Netherlands, where some of my distant family came to the US from. Would any of you know how much time does it normally take to get through a Benelux border crossing? While we don't have our trip planned down to the minute, we need to make sure we plan for enough time to get to where we want to get to.

Bart, I'd suggest checking out one of the Lonely Planet books - I've used them for several trips, and they tend to include useful details of that sort.

No time at all. You could cross the border by accident. (As a matter of fact, I think that was the Germans' excuse during the Battle of the Bulge...)

Unless things have changed a lot, you might not even see a border guard.

Bart, I agree with Zron. When I was last in Holland visiting relatives, we drove into Belgium with barely any signage to indicate we were in another country. It's really not Belgium or Holland anymore. It's the EU as far border crossings go.

Thanks for the info, guys! At worst, I thought it would be like the Detroit-Windsor border crossing, but that can still get backed up pretty bad at times, with trucks at the bridge all hours of the day and night, international commuters at the tunnel during the day and 19-year olds headed to the bars and other attractions at the tunnel at night. I can only imagine the stories your husband heard, Mrsmom. I've always found that border crossing went easier going in to Canada if I said that I was going to Casino Windsor.

I don't know where I got the idea...either from this Meet Market thread or the Mole one... but my husband and I have set a $5.00 limit on V-day gifts to see how creative we can be. I, of course, have very little creativity in me, so I'm looking for suggestions. Anyone? Anyone? ...Nana?

erin, there's the tried-and-true coupon book idea; make up a batch of coupons for things that you know (or think) he'd like. Otherwise, I don't really have anything, since Mr Rabrab and I only do cards on V-day, but spread the little "I saw this and thought you'd like it, and by the way, I love you" tokens through the rest of the year. (there's beautiful yellow-shading-into-scarlet rose on his computer desk even as I type.)

My worst year being self-employed was 1994, and that year I gave my SO a "certificate" to run some errands for him, since I had too much time on my hands and no money. I ended up making a couple of runs to the drycleaner and the county recycling bins (it's now all curbside, but then it wasn't), did some web searches, and returned a book to Borders for him. I don't know if that helps or not, erin, but it was definitely less than $5.

Worst drive for me was going from New Brunswick to Oklahoma, at the end of August. I don't even know how long it was. But it was too long. Our air conditioner was cracked, and the heat was intense.

Even worse--the entire trip was spent between two people who were fighting with each other the whole time. I'm surprised I don't still have nightmares!

eta: why can't I write even the shortest post without needing to edit it?!

Hey, everybody. I'm just interrupting for a moment to share an interesting article I read this morning about how reality TV contestants have spent their prize winnings. Several teams from TAR are mentioned, so I thought you might enjoy getting a little "what are they doing now?" update.

The best part of the whole thing is how they refer to Flo as "Florinka." Twice. Heh.

To add to the long-distance driving discussion: My sister and I drove from New Brunswick to NYC for TARCon3. It wasn't a hellish trip at all, even though it was December. We worried about snow the whole time, but we were really lucky, not even a flurry. We ended up driving 2200 kilometers round trip and I would do it again in a second. I can't wait for TARCon 5!

I love long road trips. I grew up on them. With my family, I have been in every state in the continental United States by car. We saw Amazing things - in a station wagon with five screaming kids, two crazy parents and a fox terrier (liked Guido!) named Nipper. I have to say, it truly was good times, even with all the craziness.

The day after I got my drivers liscence, I drove from Philadelphia to Woodstock, Virginia by myself. It's and eight hour trip. I got my first ticket for going 80 miles an hour. The trooper was not amused - even though I actually knew his daughter. He had followed me for ten miles before I noticed he was trying to pull me over.

After that, I still drove all over the country, just a lot more carefully. I've driven from New York to LA. I've gone from Philadelphia to Florida and Chicago to New York more times than I can remember. When I was younger, I drove straight through, but now I stop halfway. It's more fun that way. The best road trips are the ones that are all about the journey, not about the destination.

The best reasons for a road trip:
1. The food. Oh My Heck, when else do you eat all that junk? Never. It's like the calories don't count when you're on the road. It's the only time I ever eat fast food. And Nacho Cheese Doritos. And Diners!!!

2. The Ridiculous factor - You get to stop at all the great places and have your picture taken with the worlds biggest pickle, or whatever. I love that. Even if you drive straight through and don't stop, the signs are entertainment enough. I love the signs for South of the Border when I'm going to Florida.

3. The Motels - especially in the summer, especially if they have a pool. What a great way to end a great day of seeing all the sights.

4. I learned so much. I like to hit all the little sites that I can. Some of them are so wonderful.

5. You meet great people. They invite you home. They buy you drinks. They tell you stories. So much fun.

Ooooh... you know what? My boyfriend beat me on creativity at Christmas (our limit was 35$, though). BUT...

1) Handmade card. It's not just that you save the Hallmark money, the card is priceless. His was made of construction paper and magazine cutouts - his first foray into arts & crafts, really, in that he didn't even know Elmer's school glue is useless on construction paper... you need paste. I've seen really cute V-day cards that are made from a box of conversation hearts (about 50¢), writing the message with as many of those as possible in it, hotglued onto the card.

2)First date/Valentines day something. My boyfriend had made me a stocking full of different things that "meant something", including a bag of peanut butter m&ms, the very same candy he lost a bet to me over on our first date.

3)Is he a car guy? Call around to some high-end car sales places and arrange for the two of you to test drive something you would never ever ever be able to otherwise drive/buy. Maybe a couple different cars at different places. If you arrange ahead of time you can let them know you have no intention or ability whatsoever to buy one of said cars, but you would be surprised how accommodating places can be. Maybe get a matchbox version of the car you have arranged for him to get to test drive to be the actual "gift" along with a card telling when your test drive date is.

4)A kiss. This is something I actually did for my BF when we were going to be apart for a few weeks due to business travel - I took an Avery Business Card and computo-printed "A Kiss for KarateKate'sMan" arced over a blank spot "for when you're away, or at work, or just need a kiss" below it, a poem I found about kisses on the back, lipsticked up and smooched the front. I laminated it (I did it at work, but you can get a lamination pouch inexpensively at Kinko's), and trimmed it to exactly the size of a credit card for easy wallet holding. He has told me several times how much he liked that, and keeps it in his wallet.

5) The perennial favorite - a mixed cd. Beyond just picking the songs, make a little cover.

That's all I've got off the top of my head. I have to confess that I fall back upon my crocheting when money limits me... lucky for me my guy actually adores crocheted afghans, and even scarves, so long as they're "manly." I'd love to hear other folks ideas, too. I like the coupon book ideas - I'm thinking about using that one myself for V-day!

5 $1.00 McDonald's gift certificates, of course!

Paris is booked! Now, anyone have any suggestions besides the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre (which are already on the list)? Maybe I should post this in the Guido thread. I seem to remember something about them having spent some time there....

If you've got the time, Versailles. It's huge, though, so wear good walking shoes and figure for at least half the day. April, the gardens should be pretty, just starting to wake up. When I was there, I didn't even go in the palace, I spent the whole afternoon in the gardens, but that was late June.

Otherwise, if you like doing the literature thing, Montmarte has a number of neat little places; the Left Bank is fun, and Notre Dame Cathedral is just awe-inspiring, especially when you think about the technology level of the builders.

Are you planning on staying mostly in Paris, or are you going to use it as headquarters for daytrips?

The Cluny museum, if you like the Middle Ages.

The Musee d'Orsay.

Have lunch beside the Seine; there's a smaller island whose name escapes me just upstream of the Ile de la cite; you can sit there and have a beautiful view of the back side of Notre Dame. (And everyone loves a beautiful backside.)

Go to Pere Lachaise cemetary and try to find Jim Morrison's grave. Oscar Wilde is there too. (Those feeling adventurous can then proceed to the catacombs, thus completing both halves of the best detour TAR never had, a little adventure I like to call "Graves, or Caves.")

Montmarte. Look for the Lapin Agile, just because.

Hi, all! Just wanted to say hello. I'm a long-time lurker that feels like I know all of you! ( Hopefully I will TARCON 5).

Just had to acknowledge a shout out: On My Big Fat Obnoxious Finace this week, the mother of the bride was wearing a black sweater with a yellow and red TAR flag on the shoulder.

I finally watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I really enjoyed it, so I am looking forward to getting Chamber of Secrets and watching it. Robbie Coltrane was perfect as Hagrid, I didn't have a single flash to Cracker!

That's Isle St. Louis, home of Berthillon's, where everyone goes for ice cream. I love the cafes and restaurants on Isle St. Louis. It's a wonderful part of Paris.

Not far from that is my favorite place in Paris, maybe the world, St. Chappelle, which was built by the king who later became St. Louis. Now, it is at the Palais du Justice, just near Notre Dame. This royal chapel is a masterpiece of high gothic architecture, but it's also a wonderous and magical place. Radiant stained glass windows held together by the finest stone supports create the illusion of actually being inside an exquisite piece of jewelry. It's remarkable. One of my best memories is a concert of medieval music on period instruments in the chapel. It was a banquet for all the senses.

Lucky you! I want to go to Paris too!

ETA: I found a nice photo, though photos don't do it justice.
St. Chappelle

I posted info about my thesis research project forever ago, but I just wanted to let y'all know the survey will be active for two more weeks, until Feb. 15. If you want to participate, log onto my website: www.areyouamuggle.com. I'm writing about the way readers have reacted to the Harry Potter books, so the survey has questions about *how* you read, your opinions about the books, stuff like that. But make sure you check it out soon!

Hey vibbs, I'd love to do the survey. But when I clicked on "take the survey," the browser message was: "this survey is currently closed." Will it be activated sometime before Feb 15? Have I missed my chance?

BTW, I'm also doing my master's thesis in children's lit, so I got a real kick out of your website. I'm focusing on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy. It's too fun to consider work. Until I start trying actually writing it, that is.

Because he was so cool when I met him at TARCon4, I'm rooting for Rob C. to win Survivor All-Stars, despite my username affinity for someone else.

The survey is back up! I didn't realize that it shut down automatically a few days ago, so I reactivated it. I hope I didn't miss a lot of good people while it was down. www.areyouamuggle.com.

mac - I second the recommendation for Orsay. And St. Chappelle is a definite Do Not Miss. Another museum that I'd recommend is the Guimet, which focuses on Asian art, and if you don't mind going to the outskirts of Paris, the Cité des Sciences and Musée de la Musique. The music museum has the added bonus of live performers and IR headsets that activate when you walk close to particular instruments.

I watched Survivor last night. <sigh> I miss TAR so much.

Other than that? Not much. I woke up this morning certain that there was something wrong--there was a wierd noise or something (the last time that happened it was because the roof was leaking and I was hearing the drip hit the table.) So I'm wandering through the house trying to find the problem. Finally figured out what it was: the furnace had finally shut off, for the first time since Thursday.

<brag> I'm one-seventh of the way to my goal weight! Nice steady, slow loss (about 6 pounds a month) If I can keep going at this rate, I figure it'll take about another 2 1/2 years to get back to what I was in college.

Oh, and I'm going to see Peter Schickle at the Ringling Theatre this Friday. Yay, for PDQ Bach!