In honor of the recently departed...
 

Tonight's feature entertainment was The Sting. Even with 7 Oscar wins (including Best Picture) and 3 other nominations, it seems like it doesn't get the respect it deserves.

It is unbelievable that supply has not picked back up. They definitely need to build a few refineries for the southeast.


P.S. We got power back this evening!

Glad to hear! ^ I'm sure that is a big relief for you guys!

Down here we know what it is like to lose power for a week and how it feels so good when it comes back on. Have a good weekend, Hartmann, as I know that you will.

Also, we have been quite lucky in South Florida with the gasoline situation (not to mention the hurricanes missing us). The prices have not gyrated wildly and it seems that very few stations are out of product.

hooray! ^

That is cool. I remember the 752s on my flights to IAH. Oh how nice they were.

Congrats on the power!! You were the last person in Houston I personally know that didn't have power. I'm glad to hear you've finally got it back.

As for gas, last night we passed two stations that had some. Both had really long lines. One was across the street from the apartment complex where some friends live — we were going over to their place to hang out and play cards for a while and decided we'd check that station on the way out to see if they still had gas. They didn't.

I'm sure we'll be fine, as we've got half a tank in my car and 3/4 of a tank in my partner's. He's going to take MARTA to work at least one or two days this week, and I'm going to take MARTA to ATL tomorrow morning. That way we'll only end up with one car going to ATL this week, as he's going to fly out Friday after work to meet me this weekend in Arkansas.

This gas situation started two weeks ago here and so far there's no real sign that it's going to get better. In fact, it's actually gotten worse. What started as a shortage mainly in Atlanta has spread to about five states. We've noticed a lot fewer cars on the road, especially during rush hour, and we're seeing more and more cars abandoned on the side of the highway where they've just run out of gas.

I guess we should just get used to this, and some of the lifestyle changes it's forcing us to make. I have a feeling that there will be more shortages of this nature in the future, or if not that, the price of gas will be such that we will continue to take steps to not use as much of it. Not that I think that's such a bad thing — we've all been pretty wasteful with it.

Penalty Box Book Club: for the wine lovers out there if they haven't already: I highly recommend The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty. Read it once, loaned it out, and it was so good that I'm reading it again.

We visited the Mondavi winery in Napa over Labor Day weekend. Fantastic tour that I would definitely recommend. Domaine Chandon tour is a waste of time, IMO, but I had never been to a winery where sparkling wine was made before. Also visited Goose Creek Vineyards, which is a tiny producer tucked away near those two. Absolutely fantastic wines.

I read the book as well. Very interesting family feud.

It's about time. What's it been - two weeks?

Next time, I would recommend the Opus One tour. You must make reservations in advance, however, and there is only one tour per day.

Post 7700.

Do Stag's Leap or Grgich Hills do tours?

I think my long search for a decent looking messenger style bag that holds a laptop and a DSLR has finally come to a close. Today, I came across the Think Tank Urban Disguise 50. It's a little pricey at $169 but it looks like it will fit my needs. Does anyone have any experience with this bag or Think Tank bags in general?

Now (and before buying the bag), I need to convince myself that I should pick up the Rebel XSi that I have also decided to go with. :)

Ask in the Travel Photo forum. There are a bunch of folks over there who know a lot about gear and bags and such.