Edward

It is all about obtaining as much from the liquidation as possible (taking into consideration all of the expenses of running a going concern), and Great Western will probably be able to achieve greater profits because of the holidays. I think that a lot of consumers who would only be willing to purchase a particular CD at a 40% discount during the majority of the year would be willing to purchase the same CD at only a 30% discount during the holiday season. Moreover, there are a lot of shoppers who buy all or most of the CD's (usually as gifts) that they buy at Christmas time. To these people, 30% off may sound like a great deal. Most of us who frequent this board, however, realize that, with a little research, a 30% discount (or greater) may be obtained on most CD's from several online retailers at various times over the course of the year. As I stated before, Great Western may see things differently. We shall see what happens.

Six weeks only gets us to Thanksgiving. I by no means doubt you, but I do doubt the veracity of your source. Autumn/early winter is an ideal time to conduct a liquidation. People's wallets are typically much looser during the holiday season, so a liquidator does not have to make drastic cuts as quickly as at other times of the year. I certainly could be wrong, but I would be surprised, then, to see anything greater than 30% off until Thanksgiving weekend. Perhaps the week before Christmas we will finally see 50% off, with deeper cuts coming thereafter. As already noted, there are costs (rent, payroll, etc.) associated with keeping the stores open and running, but I think that increased holiday profits will more than offset these burdens. Great American is in prime position to maximize the amount realized from this liquidation.

Three-way tie going into Monday, Edward also went 12-1 (missed only on GB). Aw Heck! I'm sorry Edward. I thought you missed your picks. You've got "week 04" listed above your picks. Yes, three way tie going into Monday. OOPS! - Sorry -ED

Of course, they choked big time in the second half. Re: Brett Favre "That old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be...." Do your homework. In the week prior, Brett was the offensive player of the week with a QB rating of 127.1; and in the week before that, he had a more than respectable rating of 85.4. Brett's recent problems have a lot more to do with his supporting cast (e.g., a very young offensive line, horrible cornerbacks, etc.) than any diminishment in his abilities. On Monday night, his receivers dropped a lot of balls that they should have caught, and the first of two interceptions that he threw was, again, primarily the receiver's fault. The 127.1 rating was against the Lions - currently ranked 26th overall in team defense(30th vs. the pass). You also conviently forgot to mention his rating from the first week 40.9. I watched that game too and for every pass that was dropped(and there weren't that many) he over/under threw one of his receivers. Even worse were his decisions to throw into double coverage. Also, I fail to see why his cornerbacks have anything to do w/ his performance. Last time I checked they weren't on the field when Brett was. His O line is young but they managed to keep the Eagles(leading the NFL in sacks going into the game) From getting to him all night. Look Brett is a lock for the HOF and he's overcome a lot of personal tragedies. But don't let what he's done in the past cloud your judgement about his abilities today. His best years are clearly behind him. It is obvious that Brett's best years are behind him. I just think that most of the Packers' struggles over the past 1.25 seasons are due to reasons other than who has been manning the quarterback position. Surely you appreciate that a bad defense (and I think that most would agree that the Packer's horrible cornerbacks comprise the weakest part of a rather young defense) usually puts the offense in a bad position by yielding far too many points. That puts the pressure on the offense to produce; and when your team does not have a very good offensive line or a very good running back, the burden falls disproportionately on the quarterback's shoulders. Against Chicago, Brett was playing just fine until the fourth quarter when, with the Packers in a big hole, he forced matters and threw two interceptions. Things played out similarly the other night against Philadelphia. (BTW, I have watched the Packers regularly over the years, and I saw Donald Driver drop a number of catches that night that he normally pulls in. At least one of these killed a Packers' drive that was threatening to culminate in a score.) I am not sure how much weight to put on the fact that the Packers offensive line allowed no sacks against Philadelphia. The Packer coaches were regularly starting Brett out of the shotgun formation in order to give him more time before the defense collapsed upon him. Now, I will certainly admit that Brett has a very bad habit of forcing things when the game is not going his way. However, most quarterbacks are prone to becoming more aggressive and making more mistakes when their teams are far behind and time is running out. Again, my point is that Brett's supporting cast, not Brett, is the primary reason for the Packers' poor performance since the start of last season. Brett's inconsistent performance is a symptom of the problem rather than the root. It would be interesting to see how Brett would play week after week at this stage in his career if he were placed on a quarterback-poor but otherwise talented team (such as Baltimore before it got McNair). It is not going to happen, though.

Of course, they choked big time in the second half. Re: Brett Favre "That old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be...." Do your homework. In the week prior, Brett was the offensive player of the week with a QB rating of 127.1; and in the week before that, he had a more than respectable rating of 85.4. Brett's recent problems have a lot more to do with his supporting cast (e.g., a very young offensive line, horrible cornerbacks, etc.) than any diminishment in his abilities. On Monday night, his receivers dropped a lot of balls that they should have caught, and the first of two interceptions that he threw was, again, primarily the receiver's fault.

Of course, they choked big time in the second half.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I have taken it rather easy today as I am still recovering from jet lag from a recent trip and October promises to be a busy month at work. Happy Birthday, Daniel! I hope that you had/have had a great day!

Sure - why not?

I'll be back on Friday the 29th, so I should be covered. Thanks!

I'll be departing the country soon, so here are my picks for the next two weeks: Week #2: Atlanta Baltimore Chicago Cincinnati Green Bay Indianapolis Miami Minnesota Philadelphia St. Louis Seattle Denver New England San Diego Dallas Pittsburgh (38 total combined points) Week #3: Buffalo Green Bay Washington Indianapolis Miami Minnesota Pittsburgh Carolina Baltimore St. Louis Philadelphia Seattle New England Atlanta (38 total combined points)

Conference Championships: New Orleans New England

I hope that you had a happy birthday and received exactly what you wanted.

I agree that the quality of basketball players from other countries has improved markedly over the last 15 years or so, but... Does anyone really think that if the U.S. team comprised the twelve best American players (taking into consideration the need for balance between post men and shooters on the roster) and that it actually practiced and played on a somewhat regular basis that any other team on the planet would have a chance??? The latest incarnation of the U.S. team lacked Shaq and Kobe and Duncan and Garnett and McGrady and Marion and Hamilton and Carter and Billups and... Again, I know that it is not merely a matter of collecting the best talent that the U.S. has to offer. The team must actually practice together on a regular basis and there must be a certain degree of chemistry as well as balance in terms of the players' abilities. Of course, it is all neither here nor there because the bottom line is that such a model for the U.S. team is not going to happen in the foreseeable future for a variety of reasons. The closest Team USA came to this high standard is the original "Dream Team" that had a roster consisting of Barkley, Bird, Drexler, Ewing, Johnson, Jordan, Malone, Mullin, Pippen, Robinson, Stockton, and (egads!) Laettner.

Of those covers listed I would pick Blue Lights, but Cool Struttin' is also my favorite Blue Note cover.

Hey, Tony, I'll gladly help you out if no one else has yet offered his/her assistance.

Thank you all for your advice thus far. Does anyone have any recommendations as to where to stay in Speyside? I shall arrive in the area around noon on Wednesday, September 27th, and I want to visit a distillery or two before nightfall. The B&B's in which I am considering staying are in or about Dufftown, Craigellachie, Aberlour, and Tomintoul. I am just a little concerned about safely reaching my B&B late in the day (in wholly unfamiliar territory) after having a bit of Scotch. Otherwise, my itinerary and accomodations are fairly well set: Sunday, September 17th: arrive at London Heathrow around 12:30 p.m. and catch a Caldonian Sleeper to Stirling at 8:00 p.m., Monday, September 18th: arrive in Stirling around 5:10 a.m., Tuesday, September 19th: depart Stirling for Edinburgh in the morning hours, Wednesday, September 20th: spend the day in Edinburgh, Thursday, September 21st: depart Edinburgh for Glasgow in the morning hours; catch a 12:40 p.m. train to Fort William, arriving at 4:25 p.m., Friday, September 22nd: take the Westhighland Rail from Fort William to Mallaig, arriving around 12:30 p.m.; catch the ferry from Mallaig to the Isle of Skye and then make my way to Kyle of Lochalsh; depart Kyle of Lochalsh around 4:48 p.m., arriving in Inverness around 7:19 p.m., Saturday, September 23rd: pick up my rental car and make my way to Durness, Sunday, September 24th: make my way from Durness to Ullapool - I will definitely take a day trip to Cape Wrath this day, and I would also like to hike to Sandwood Bay this day or the next, Monday, September 25th: make my way from Ullapool to Plockton, Tuesday, September 26th: visit the Isle of Skye and return to Plockton for the evening, Wednesday, September 27th: depart Plockton for Speyside and visit a distillery or two (I probably only have time for one?) on the Malt Whiskey Trail, Thursday, September 28th: take the route recommended by fent99, being certain to visit Dunnottar Castle before heading back to Inverness to drop off the car that evening; depart for Stirling from Inverness via train at 8:15 p.m., arriving at 11:00 p.m.; depart Stirling for London via Caledonian Sleeper just after midnight, arriving in London at 7:43 a.m. on the 29th Friday, September 29th: depart London Heathrow for Los Angeles mid-afternoon I still have to figure out exactly what I am going to do each day, and I am mindful about spending too much time driving on any single day. Do you think that it would be best to ship any Scotch that I purchase directly from the shopkeep to the United States, or are there some sort of restriction/s in place that would prohibit this?

Fuller's ESB right now, and Highland Park 12-year old in about 9 hours

It's all subjective, of course, but I agree with you. (I like The Bends better, though.)

Well, I think that you and Sidewinder (as well as a look at some photos of Skye in a book of Scotland driving tours) have compelled me to reconsider my plans. Upon second glance, the train schedule will allow me to depart Kyle of Lochalsh for Inverness late Friday (I will be arriving in Mallaig via the West Highland Railway steam train around 12:30 p.m. earlier that day - I am going to have to take a ferry to Skye then cross the bridge in order to make it back to the mainland at Kyle of Lochalsh). I will then be able to pick up my rental car early Saturday rather than Sunday, affording me a full extra day to explore Scotland by car. The funny thing is that the automobile rental establishment that I am considering (it is the best and cheapest option of all of those that I have explored) charges the same amount whether I pick up a vehicle to be returned Thursday evening on either Saturday OR Sunday. As for distillery tours, I truly appreciate the recommendation, Tony, but I do not think that I will be able to make it to Islay this time. Fortunately, there appears to be a fair number of distilleries operating in Northeastern Scotland.

I thank all of you very much for your input. I have chosen to overlook Glasgow on this particular trip (please forgive me - again, there is far too much to see in 11 days), and I am unsure how much time I will be spending on the Isle of Skye. The decisions that I have made thus far as to what to see and what not to see may seem arbitrary, but I have no doubt that I will return to Scotland in the not too distant future. I have been trying to piece everything together over the last couple of weeks, and I have found that the geography and train schedules to certain cities/towns to be limiting factors. Reg, I meant to indicate that I would be traveling from Ullapool to Inverness via the top of Scotland (Durness et al.) For the last five days of my trip (when I have a car), I have determined little else than that I would like to drive along much of the Northern coastline, visit Dunnottar Castle, and perhaps take days a day hike to Sandalwood Bay and/or Cape Wrath. Now, I will also definitely have to consider visiting the waterfall at Assynt. The website showing estimates of times for driving routes is EXACTLY what I need - thank you!!! Thanks also for looking into the distillery tours for me. I am a Scotch drinker, and it would be a shame if I did not visit at least one distillery during my trip.

I shall be spending the second half of September vacationing in Scotland; and, as I have never visited there before, I was hoping to receive some input from those who reside there or who have taken similar journeys (I have read through numerous travel guides in both paper form and on the Internet, but they do not answer all of my questions). Specifically: (1) How taxing would an automobile journey be along the coast of the North and Northwest Highlands (i.e., from Ullapool to Inverness) and the coast of Northeast Scotland (i.e., from Inverness to Dunnottar Castle)? Should I be wary of renting too small a vehicle? (I have read that there is a stretch of Northwestern Scotland roadways notorious for car break-downs) Is travelling on these roads very slow going? (I plan on renting a car in Inverness from the morning of Sunday, September 24th to the evening of Thursday, September 28th - I just do not want to bite off more than I can chew; I am wholly unfamiliar with the terrain on these routes.) (2) Are there one or two Scotch distillery tours that are far more appealing than most? Also, are there any fine brands of Scotch that seem difficult to acquire outside of Scotland (or in the United States)? (3) Is there anything along the driving routes that I presented in (1) above that I should try not to miss? I realize that there is much to see in Scotland, and it would be foolish to try to see it all in one visit (I wish that I had another two weeks to visit the Western Islands, Orkney, and Shetland, among other places); but, still, I would like to see as much as reasonably possible. Any advice that you have to offer in regard to the above (or any other matter relating to my trip) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

PM sent regarding "Lou Takes Off".

NFL Green Bay Packers (I was a die-hard Rams fan, but that changed once Georgia whisked them away. It was a sad day when the Rams won the Super Bowl as it served to legitmize the franchise's presence in St. Louis.) NBA L.A. Lakers (I was/am a HUGE Magic Johnson fan. I am not that crazy about Phil Jackson, who I heard (on good authority) wanted to make all sorts of changes (such as those being instituted by the new head coach of the Minnesota Vikings) when he arrived in L.A. - Dr. Buss laid down the law and that was that. Also I have always liked Shaq a whole lot better than Kobe.) MLB L.A. Dodgers NCAA UCLA - ALWAYS, even when they are playing one of my other two alma maters

I would probably select either Getz/Gilberto or Jazz Samba. If she did not like either of those albums, then things would look very bleak indeed for our budding relationship.

Although $300 is not a bad price, I have seen several copies of Volume I go for less than $250 on ebay over the last year. If you are willing to wait and monitor ebay listings, I am sure that you could easily beat $300. (Of course, Mosaic prices always seem to surge on ebay during the fourth quarter as Christmas fast approaches.)