Aggie87

Get well soon Paul, so you can be back and chatting with us ASAP! Best wishes for a speedy recovery! -Erik

R.I.P. Steve Irwin Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter' SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Steve Irwin, the Australian TV presenter known as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died after being stung in a marine accident off Australia's north coast. Australian media reports say Irwin was diving in waters off Port Douglas, north of Cairns, when the incident happened on Monday morning. Irwin was killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest, according to Cairns police sources. Irwin was filming an underwater documentary at the time. Ambulance officers confirmed they attended a reef fatality Monday morning off Port Douglas, according to Australian media. Queensland Police Services also confirmed Irwin's death and said his family had been notified. Irwin, 44, was director of the Australian Zoo in Queensland. He is survived by his American-born wife Terri and their two children, Bindi Sue, born 1998, and Robert (Bob), born December 2003. Irwin became a popular figure on Australian and international television through Irwin's close handling of wildlife, most notably the capture and relocation of crocodiles. Irwin's enthusiastic approach to nature conservation and the environment won him a global following. He was known for his exuberance and use of the catchphrase "Crikey!" But his image suffered a setback in January 2004 when he held his then one-month-old baby Bob while feeding a crocodile at his Australian zoo. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed his sorry Monday and said that he was fond of Irwin and was very appreciative of all the work he had done in promoting Australia overseas. In 2003, Irwin spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s Australian Story television program about how he was perceived in his home country. "When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as this very popular, wildlife warrior Australian bloke," he said, the ABC reported. "And yet back here in my own country, some people find me a little bit embarrassing. "You know, there's this... they kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty'."

PM/email sent.

I went to a sports memorabilia show here today, and met Drew Pearson and Randy White. Both looked to be in great shape, and White looked like he could get out on the field and play today - dude has some guns still! Both were very friendly (I'm sure selling their autographs at these events generates nice income, so it pays to be friendly to us peons). I talked with Pearson for a bit while he signed a football for me. He asked where I had received the other Cowboys autographs on the ball (Too Tall Jones, Robert Newhouse, and Tony Hill), and I told him they had all come to Germany at different times on promotional tours to military bases, supporting the troops. He got interested in the topic, and said he was glad those guys had done that - that whatever one feels about what's going on and the administration, supporting the troops and their personal sacrifices is a good thing to do, to which I fully agreed. I also bought an autographed copy of Dat Nguyen's book "Dat - Tackling Life and the NFL", which I'd browsed through previously, and is an interesting read about his life, being born in a refugee camp, experiencing life in a coastal shrimping town up the road from here, becoming a great Aggie, and a Dallas Cowboy. All in all, not a bad afternoon for an old Cowboy fan.

Aggies beat the Citadel yesterday, 35-3. But that's like beating a glorified HS team, I think. We didn't look that great on offense (6 fumbles, 4 of which were turnovers), but I think they will settle in, with a QB starting only his second collegiate game. My concern is the defense though. We used to be "Linebacker U" for a while (seems like a LONG time ago now), with a fierce 3-4. When Franchione was stolen from Alabama, he immediately switched us to a 4-3, and (I think) robbed us of our identity. After that unsuccessful change, they fired the D-coordinator, brought in Gary Darnell (blech), and have switched again, this time to a 4-2-5 base defense. This means we basically are operating a prevent defense all game long. The only thing a prevent defense does is prevent you from winning the game. If the Citadel could put up almost 250 yards of offense on us, I'm worried when we actually begin conference play and have to contend with Tx Tech, Oklahoma, Nebraska, & Texas. I predict this will be Franchione's last year at A&M.

When regular drama is too much...

I just blindly send all my money to Conn....doesn't everyone do that?

It probably didn't help that you were sleeping.

YES Drama

Are any of those titles actually rare? I don't know that I'd spend $66/cd for the likes of "Piano in the Background" or "Money Jungle".

I think it's a very solid date. Recorded in May 1965, w/Freddie Hubbard, Barry Harris, Bob Cranshaw, & Billy Higgins. If I read allmusic right, it was recorded a day before "Gettin' Around", which had the same rhythm section, but replaced Hubbard with Booby H.

I agree, as is the Dexter Gordon "Clubhouse" and Kenny Drew "Undercurrent".

That painting reminds me, isn't Free For All's birthday coming up soon?

Question - how come you're buying a suit over in the other thread, and yet you're a "lass" over here in this one? Shouldn't you be buying a dress?

Jetliner pilot locked out of cockpit after toilet break OTTAWA, Ontario (Reuters) -- The pilot of a Canadian airliner who went to the washroom during a flight found himself locked out of the cockpit, forcing the crew to remove the door from its hinges to let him back in, the airline said on Wednesday. The incident occurred aboard a flight from Ottawa to Winnipeg on Saturday. The regional jet, capable of carrying 50 people, was operated by Air Canada's Jazz subsidiary. Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stewart said that with 30 minutes of the flight to go, the pilot went to the washroom, leaving the first officer in charge. But when he tried to get back into the cockpit, the door would not open. "The door malfunctioned ... this is a very rare occurrence," Stewart said, adding that the crew's decision to remove the door had been in line with company policy. A report in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper said that for about 10 minutes "passengers described seeing the pilot bang on the door and communicating with the cockpit though an internal telephone, but being unable to open the door." Stewart said the paper's report was "a bit dramatic" and stressed that at no time had the plane or passengers been in danger. She did not say how many people had been on board.

The edition for sale at Best Buy has a 100 pg book that comes with it free. Has anyone picked this up, and if so, is it worth buying the cd there for the book?

For what it's worth, here is the Beyond the Wall thread. The album has also been mentioned in the more general Garrett thread.

Couw has some made a booklet that is great for this purpose! Plus he's made them for some of the other box sets that some of us have as well! Couw's booklets

seems a bit early to be handing out bowl bids to me.... Army invited to Poinsettia Bowl WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) -- Before its first snap of the season, Army has been invited to the Poinsettia Bowl. Now the Black Knights have to win enough games to be eligible. Bowl executive director Bruce Binkowski and Army officials announced in a conference call Tuesday that Army will be invited to play a team from the Mountain West Conference on Dec. 19 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The invitation is good only if the Black Knights go at least 6-6. Based on Army's recent history, that could be a mighty big chore. Army hasn't been to a bowl game since 1996, when it lost to Auburn, 32-29, in the Liberty Bowl. "This was the best bowl for us, and we believe we have a great chance of being bowl-eligible," Army director of athletics Kevin Anderson said. "We have to come up with the wins, but we are guaranteed. It would just be fantastic. They all love coach Ross out there." Bobby Ross was the hugely popular coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1992-96. His teams made three playoff appearances in five years, including reaching the Super Bowl after the 1994 season. The Black Knights were 4-7 last year, their second under Ross, who took over a program in severe disarray. Army won only two games in his first season, started last season 0-6, then won four straight before losing to Navy. Army opens its season Saturday at Arkansas State.

Cats make better drivers than dogs, anyway...

What is "high gravity"?

Thx, GA. 65% of sale (great for multi-disc sets, better than the yourmusic prices) - code AU06PM2

I can't figure out how to search for the BMG thread (since BMG is three letters, and too short for the current search process), so I'm posting this one here: BMG sale - 65% off w/no shipping - AU06PM2 This is good for double disc sets. Most appear to be $8-10 or so, shipped.