I would sure hope so. As the parent of a high school senior the paranoia around these tests is ridiculous. The test, in and of itself, is not the issue. There are dozens of classes, workshops, tutors, seminars all available at a low (not really) price to help you guarantee admission to the school of your dreams. The amount of pressure associated with this is silly compared to my generation, a vast 25 years ago. Some of these kids are taking the tests 4 or more times!

Oh well, when I was their age we still had music, art and PE in school. Now get off my lawn!

Railroad Tycoon series. I spent many, many hours with them all.

I saw them open for the Stones in 2003 or so, Voodoo Lounge tour. Great set, very entertaining. After that I bought Soup and the put it on every day for many weeks. Now I am sad that I will never hear that album again for the first time.

Thanks for bringing them back into my consciousness.

Looks great. Very inspiring for a Friday afternoon.

Lately we have fallen into a rut of a Gin and Tonic with a splash of Aperol.

For me, I like overproof (>80 proof) whiskey with agave. For example:

3 oz Whisky

.75 oz agave syrup

.5 oz blood orange bitters

3 dashes coffee bitters

Mix over ice, strain into glass, enjoy.

Too funny. My brother had 4 Saabs, from 83-91 model years. He still speaks fondly of them.

My family and I have this discussion often. It comes down to this, there are only 2 possible emotions allowed:

1) Outrage 2) Smug satisfaction

There are no degrees of anything anymore. It is a zero-sum game and you are with me, or are my mortal enemy. Quit trying to be offended, there is enough to get excited about. Realize that there are indeed items worth getting exorcized about. Then shut up because I don't want to hear it from a twerp like you.

OK, so maybe the previous sentence just reinforced my point.

Enjoying working from home the rest of the week. Next week am out 2 days then gone out of state 12 of the next 17 nights. Granted, some of it is indeed vacation, but dang, that is a lot of tiny shampoo bottles.

Buying supplies for Saturday. Pork shoulder and a keg of Anchor Steam. Ahhhh, the calm before the storm.

I wonder about this and am convinced that while it is possible, it will be a sideshow (like Manon Rheaume) more than a breakthrough.

There is no reason that any person throwing 70 MPH, especially an effective, moving 70 MPH, would not be able to get outs. We see it happen all the time when a position player comes in during mop-up duty of a blow-out. The bigger question is what happens when a professional sees it a second, or third time around the order. The Golden League, an independent minor league, had a female knuckle-baller who started, and she met with mediocre success. (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?id=5069754)

She was not bad, but neither was she able to consistently get outs.

Very, very long story short is that a professional team will use ANY advantage they can find. If they felt that a female pitcher was a better option than a current male pitcher they would include her on the roster. That being said, the very few opportunities that have presented so far have been more PT Barnum sideshow than Connie Mack brilliance.

King Khan and the Shrines

Bad Veins

While I do tire of the "cool negativism" that immediately follows the inevitable "fanboi freak-out" of any show, this was actually a very cool video. Thanks for posting.

Rally cross is too fun.

Local and live is absolutely a great idea. We have even made weekends of it, heading to Laguna Seca or Sears Point.

As a Ford man, you should be happy to hear that they will campaign 2016 with an all new GT. There are a few commercials out there that show the car. It is pretty.

I must confess I have been looking to the past this week. Songs in the Key of Life is truly, epically amazing. Listened all the way through twice in four days.

Also spent some time with Spin Doctors and Blind Melon on Spotify this week.

I am perfectly fine with being stuck in the 1976-1996 era for this month.

Thanks again for the great info, Truman. We will be up by the airport but will be mobile.

I think you have certainly given us enough to start with. Have a great weekend!

Thanks for the reply. Good to know and I imagine we will stumble into some good times despite our best efforts.

Franklin is on our list to be sure.

Now, on to the important things, BBQ! Where do you like? Where do you recommend? We do not get good Q in Southern California so I am looking forward to trying something legitimate.