danz

good lists up there...classics all of them... any of you heard of Keller Williams...he is a great songwriter...plays a 10-string acoustic, kind of a michael hedges style...but he writes great music and great lyrics...I love him 2 thumbs up danz

I've been upgraded a few times... once was a booking error by the airline once the flight was overbooked (very common), and I was randomly selected to be bumped... once the flight was overbooked, and the airline was offering insane deals to anyone willing to give up their seat on the flight...that included a business/first ticket on the next flight they put me on once was through an airline promotion (business for coach fare) and a few times using frequent flier miles to upgrade... I'll tell you, nothing beats business/first on a long flight...it is worlds apa

that orange jacket looks mighty familiar.... barok, you've been holding out on us, haven't you... danz

good one... I really dislike Northwest...problem is, they always have the best prices for me (sometimes more than $100 cheaper than the competition), so I fly them a bit... Their partner Continental is much better. Korean Air sucks poo... the worst I have ever flown is probably Sabena (belgium airline...I don't even think it exists anymore)... SwissAir and BritishAir are a real pleasure to fly (especially when you get bumped! ) but also, business and economy are worlds apart...I used my miles a few times to upgrade on NW to business, and it was lightyears more

this is crazy... last night was, dare i say it, chilly !! had to close my windows and put on an extra blanket... this is my 4th summer in japan, and by this time of year I am usually melting in a puddle of my own sweat... but no complaints from me! as long as this keeps up until I go home for vacation, I will be happy! danz

hey mogski! where where you in the red sea?? Dahab?? sharm-al-sheik... red sea is easily one of the greatest dive spots in the world... did a dive off dahab, at the end of the day went to a small little restaurant on the beach...the menu had the standard condiments + fish of the day...we ordered the fish, and some 2hrs later they brough this huge fish that fed 5 hungry people...problem something I saw earlier! it was delicious!! danz

so the dialect thread is pretty cool... but how about languages you think sound cool... for me, depends on the situation 1. If I am in a basement, smokey bar with my buddies, a bottle of vodka, and some cigars, its gotta be Serbian (or any slavic language)...it just sounds too cool 2. For arguing, definetly Hebrew...nothing like listening to 2 Israelis rappin' away 3. Trash talkin my opponent before I proceed to Tiger-claw, snake and crane, and buddah palm his ass in front of a buddhist temple, well its gotta be Chinese (not sure which dialect...the cool sounding one

fireworks and bbq!! 4th of july celebrations are fun...each town does their own little thing...usually a parade of soarts...lots of family bbq, and just good ole' partying... cool thing about being in japan as I can buy a huge stash of firecrackers at the conbini...buy lots of booze there as well, drink on the streets in public and play with fire! fun fun (except the only other american in my town moved to portugal to move in with a chick he met online... )... Happy 4th! danz

Congradts! I think Vancouver is a great city to have the olympics in! Should be good danz

note: I am not a morning person on days I have to work when I am traveling or doing other things that excite me, I love to be up in the morning...but if I gotta work, or if there is nothing going on, let me sleep! I am as gung-ho as they come when it comes to my skiing! as long as I don't have to wait for db to put on his make-up and other assortment of accesories in the morning I usually make 1st chair... danz

I am not really a morning person...at least on the days I have to go to work... what is interesting is it seems that Japan is also not a morning country...no services are available in the early morning (from gas stands to health clubs), and traffic doesn't even really pick up until 8ish....at least out where I am... same in Tokyo?? back in the states I feel like people try to get a good early start to the day... don't really know where I am going with this...only that I got to work at 6:30 this morning sleepy.... danz

what are your passions??? skiing perhaps?? or music? maybe the outdoors... Japanese people have these passions as well...and if you use that as a launching point, you can get much farther than "I want learn english, lets enjoy drinking"... (although that might be useful for other objectives ) my first group of japanese friends and I have a very tight relationship all surrounded by music...we can communicate on soo many levels, and if language fails us, there is always a song we both know that conveys the meaning...its fun! good luck... danz

5 degrees that seems a bit much, no??? Tokyo is huge!! the amount of energy needed to heat the city 5 whole degrees would be enormous... where did you read that??? danz

congradts!!! but now more details... when, where, what , who, how , why spill it girl danz

yah... my company just sent an email to all plants/offices in the kanto area...seems they are taking company wide measures to help prepare/deal with the inevitable... my favorite is : "Turn off heater switch of wash-let toilet" thank god I am going home for a month during the thick of it! danz

I was just going to rip on nekobi for hanging out with you too much...that didn't sound like american speak to me! danz

hey snowfreak... actually...its just a $50 coupon...so you get $50 off the retail price of a new ipod...that is what could get pricey... but you are right...the new ipods are sexy! danz

RIAA is sad sad because they are not keeping up to date on technology and how consumers use that technology...it is becomming more and more obvious that consumers want their music in a format other than cd/lp/tape...web-sites that offer music downloads FOR MONEY are becomming more commonplace, and are doing quite well (look at apples new music site...)... RIAA will only alienate consumers by being such hard asses...they are showing no creativity, no concern for consumers, and no real solution to "the problem"...lawsuits is not going to put an end to file-sharing... danz

Ocean11... if you have a desktop (not a laptop), you can upgrade just the processor, or memory, or ram, or video card...practically every component in there...some are more costly than others (changing the processor involves buying a new motherboard...), but the others like memory are as simple as opening the box and sticking it in the slot... the average consumer doesnt want to build his/her own computer and shop for each part...but lots of people do... as for hack proof/virus proof computers...that is more a software/network issue than actual computer hardware...crashing is al

I have also been looking into hard-drive mp3 players recently... there are a few points that are really bugging... iPod has nailed the market in terms of design and user interface...and they make you pay for it... but I have heard that once the ipod battery is caput, you are stuck with a $300 paper weight...it is good for maybe 1000charges (estimated 2 years use)...I think apple has a trade in feature, which gives you a $50 discount off a new one when the old one dies, but that is still excessive... the only other player I have seen that rivals the ipod is the Nomad Zen (ch

went camping out in izu for a little farewell party for enderz, and almost had my car broken into... the would-be thiefs were apparently (and thankfully) not so skilled, but they did manage to destroy my key-hole (thank-god for keyless entry! and thank-god for rental cars!)... kind of a shocker for me...just never really expected that here... danz

I was supposed to be outie this summer...but plans changed, and I am sticking it out 1 more year... but mark my words, summer 2004 I am saying sionara danz

I don't look good in sun-glasses.... they just don't fit my face well...my nose is to big... ho hum... danz

hate the ac, but as the locals say, sikatta ga nai... I need it...I can't survive without it...turned it on for the first time to sleep with last night...ah...hate the summers here... danz

Z my last name has 2 z's in it...I'm cool! danZ