Wmcmanus

Happy birthday, Alex!

Great domain name. He's got enough to eat at home! http://enoughtoeat.com/

Happy birthday, John!

Sorry that I missed seeing Gary and Dom as well. Oh well, another time... My eye has cleared up for the most part now, so I'm a happy camper again.

It was good seeing everyone again. I'm a no show today for sure. Got an eye infection that started last night and has been a real bitch today, which has made me a bit cranky but the drops seems to be helping a little.

Really lovely 17 minute NPR piece on Gary Burton (who I had never heard of before). The guitarist is quite good as well. http://www.npr.org/event/music/243938351/gary-burton-tiny-desk-concert?utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook

Yes, and the rug matches the drapes as well as the wood trim on the speakers...

Is that a Maggie she's hugging? They're definitely lovable!

Just click on it to increase the size. I use postimage.com for posting here, prolly because I'm too much of a dunce to figure out how to do it in a better way.

This kid is pretty good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOZ54iqzQgA&feature=player_embedded

This is kind of interesting, other than the filming discontinuity (sends down red bike, machine grabs white bike to send up, red bike comes back out). http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=pcZSU40RBrg

Just listened to the soundtrack of the Coen brothers upcoming film, "Inside Lyewyn Davis." Tought it was pretty good, "...parts of it anyway" (to steal a line from 'the stranger' in The Big Lebowski). http://www.npr.org/2013/11/03/242103173/first-listen-soundtrack-inside-llewyn-davis?utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook

Kind of cool video for Dead Heads, on the light and fluffy side of things:

Another thanks for the Susan 313 link. It certainly had potential, and I think I would have liked it.

I quite like the T1. Call me crazy if you will. Don't think it's worth the price tag, but then again, most good headphones aren't.

That's outstanding. They'll last for a long, long time. As others have said, Michelin tires tend to be on the high side of the price/performance scale, but still great tires and if it gives hubby some peace of mind then you did the right thing in not trying to over analyze it, etc.

Yeah for Boston, and especially for the Red Sox faithful here. Well done.

Shelly, there really is no risk associated with using tires with a heavier load rating. It might mean that they'll be more expensive (since it's a good feature), but really it just gives you more headroom in terms of towing capacity. The most important rating to me is the tread wear rating, and for standard tires on standard cars (as opposed to race tires for race cars), the higher the number the better. There is some variance from company to company, because each manufacturer is allowed to establish their own baseline performance, but the rating ranges are typically 100 to 600 (although there technically is no upper limit). Effectively, a tire with a 200 tread wear rating will last twice as long as a tire by the same manufacturer with a 100 rating. Ratings of 400 and higher are definitely "good" tires in terms of their expected lifetime performance/mileage. The only downside to high tread wear ratings is the slightly higher stopping distance. The higher the tread wear rating, the harder the tire, thus the less sticky and thus the lower the friction coefficient. You might enjoy the math... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treadwear_rating Anyway, the higher load rating on the tire you're considering is definitely a good thing. But at least check the tread wear rating to see how it compares to the originals that you're replacing. Michelin to Michelin means that those ratings will be directly comparable. There are other measures besides the load rating and tread wear rating that tires are rated on, like the temperature range and speed rating (which is alphabetical), but I've never found these to be particularly important unless you're planning to drive a lot in the desert or over 113 miles per hour. You can run a 102 mph rated tire at 140 mph, but you wouldn't want to do it for long!

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but the Bass Pro Shops bacon jerky is seriously good shit! http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Uncle-Bucks-Sweet-Maple-Glazed-Bacon-Jerky/product/13021405412740/ http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Uncle-Bucks-Bacon-Jerky-Hickory-Smoked/product/1111050500498/ I've only tried the maple glazed, but I'm betting the hickory smoked is just as good. This stuff is addictive. Plus, for the first time in 17 years living in Cayman, I've actually found something - anything - that is cheaper here than in the US. Must be a mis-pricing situation, but a 3 oz. pack here is only $2.39 KYD = $2.99 USD, whereas the US price seems to be $5.99. The typical item that cost $5.99 USD would be priced at $7.50 KYD (or $8.99 USD) or more... the difference attributable to freight, insurance, import duty, and greed (from the lack of competition), the greatest of which is greed. Think I'm going to buy out their inventory!

Nice, Ric. If he wasn't such a strange cat, he couldn't have produced the kind of work that he did. A true artist, right there in the midst of it all, never being able to fully separate himself from all the he observed or imagined or participated in.

Thanks, Dan, that was a nice read, and touching.