ssullivan

It was still the case in 2006, when I drove over the border from France into Spain. However, we didn't bother stopping to get a passport stamp, so I have no stamp from Spain. It's the only nation I've entered with my passport that I don't have a stamp for. I did have to ask for a stamp at CDG. The lady barely looked at my passport and handed it back to me. I asked her to stamp it, and she smiled, took it back, stamped it, and then said "Bienvenue en France!" and handed it back to me again. I've only had my passport stamped once arriving back in the US.

Just about all of the major Canadian airports have US Immigration and Customs pre-clearance stations in them. The reason is the huge volume of US-bound travelers coming out of airports in places like Toronto, Montr

Agreed Subdude. I'm not a fan of the looks of the new Accord. I think the previous generation not only looked better on the exterior, but had a nicer dashboard layout as well. I'm not sure what Honda was thinking when they redesigned the Accord. Even worse is the new Acura TL. It's downright ugly.

I agree. I wish all states were required to explain the fiscal and social impacts of propositions and initiatives that are put up for a vote by the public in a general election. I might make people think a little more before making a choice, rather than just quickly reacting based on emotion.

Wow, that is neat. I'm not sure what I'd use it for in my own home, but it's pretty amazing technology.

Moderator's Note: Duplicate topics merged.

I guess I see the point of how it's confusing, but none of the names that have been thrown out really appeal to me.

It's about time another Expo was held in the US, or at least in North America. I went to Expo '86 in Vancouver when I was junior high and thought it was incredible. I'd love to make another one now as an adult, and while I'd be thrilled to go to one on another continent, having one in the US would be ideal. And Houston would be a great city for it.

Correct, and not even all of the tunnels downtown flooded. After Allison, many steps were taken to prevent such an occurrence from happening again. There are now flood gates at the entrance ramps to the underground garage in the Theatre District that was involved in letting water into the downtown tunnel system, and the garage was reinforced to better hold back a flooded Buffalo Bayou.

At busy traffic circles in large cities in Europe, there are usually pedestrian tunnels or pedestrian signals to allow pedestrians to navigate the intersection safely. Several of these also exist with at circles in Washington DC. I'm all for increased use of yield-entry modern traffic circles in this country. Several states are using them more often, such as Colorado, and they work quite well. There's one in Grand Junction I drive through on a daily basis when I'm there for work, and it is much easier than dealing with a traffic light, especially since my morning commute always involves a left turn at this particular intersection. This is so true! Of course these idiots who can't understand a roundabout are the same ones who can't understand a no left turn sign on Main St. in Houston.

Not at this time.

It was a huge loss when KRTS was taken off the air. I agree that KUHF doesn't have the same level of programming. KRTS also seemed to have a larger area of reception into rural areas northeast of Houston. My parents used to be able to receive KRTS just fine at their home 100 miles from Houston, but have never been able to get KUHF. My mother was quite upset by the loss of KRTS, which she frequently played in the house while working there during the day.

WHAT? Ming's was always so busy! They didn't have the best Chinese food, but it was always reliably good and fast. And those egg rolls were the best in Houston. Do they still have the Three Dragons place out in Westchase on Wilcrest at Briar Forest? It's been years since I've been out there, but back in the days when I lived in Westchase it was a regular stop on the way home from work for take-out. Three Dragons had the same menu as Ming's, and the food was almost as good. I agree that Kam's is great, and I've heard great things about 3-6-9, which I haven't tried yet. However, Ming's and Kam's were really very different concepts. Ming's was the place to go for take-out or a fast meal; Kam's was always the place to go for a nicer dining experience, with waiters, and candles and white tablecloths. Now I wish I had made one last stop at Ming's before I moved. It's probably been about a year since I've eaten there.

I should e-mail that link to everyone I know who lives outside Houston that swears that Houston is a complete cultural wasteland. Unfortunately I think a lot of people fail to realize all of the cultural amenities that Houston does offer. I know since I've moved away from Houston I've missed our fine arts scene a lot. It's definitely one of the city's best kept secrets

That is good news. Glad to see the downtown dining scene starting to make a comeback after it declined some over the last few years. Hopefully these new places will be good and will manage to stay in business.

Wow, another long-time Houston retailer disappears. I never thought of Fingers as a higher-end furniture store, but I certainly would have placed them in a category above Ashley. But I guess the Finger family has decided that they're better off as a franchisee of a national brand than as an independent furniture retailer carrying a variety of brands.

Ever since the Hardy Tollroad Airport Connector opened in 2000, there's been uninterrupted freeway service to the airport. The downtown extension of the Hardy really isn't needed for that. Unless you consider taking 45 or 59 to 610 to the Hardy not to be a freeway routing.

Tenured faculty at four-year institutions aren't hurting for salary in many cases. I see lots of salaries for tenured and tenure-track faculty at even second-rate state four-year universities over $75,000 in my work; and there are a lot that are making over $100,000.

I HATE dropped ceilings over showers, or even worse, in the entire bathroom. Usually they are way too low if you're tall, and make the bathroom feel claustrophobic. The worst ones are so low my hands hit the ceiling above the shower when washing my hair. And usually bathrooms like this include shower heads mounted at about 5'10", and bathroom counters that anybody taller than a six year old child finds the sink too low.

That would be Terminal B, not Terminal A. The last of Terminal A's "banjos" were torn down over five years ago. Terminal B remains mostly in its original configuration for now, but Continental does have plans for a major reconstruction of it that will eliminate the old gate areas and replace them with more modern linear concourses. The experience at LGW varies greatly by terminal building. The old south terminal is pretty dumpy, with inadequate restroom facilities in many areas, and hellish security lines. The north terminal, which Continental moved into last year, is a much better experience, with nicer and more modern facilities, shorter lines, and if you're flying in BusinessFirst, access to the Emirates lounge which is incredible. The duty free mall/waiting area at the north terminal is also a lot larger and nicer. I've encountered several similar airports in my travels. I've actually been to Vernal, but by car, not by plane. But the airport there sounds quite like the one in Worland, WY. The facilities at Del Rio or the temporary terminal in Beaumont aren't much better.

3G is up and running for T-Mobile in New York since early May. I haven't seen anything about it being up in Seattle yet, but they've been doing a very quiet roll out of the network, so it's possible parts of it are up and T-Mobile hasn't officially said anything. They have promised 3G to the top 20 markets, including Houston, by the end of 2008. There are a lot of rumors that most of that will happen before October 1. And yes, it's 3G on different bands from what AT&T is using. That's mainly because the 1700 Mhz and 2100 Mhz bands T-Mobile is using were the only ones they could get from the FCC. The long delay is also due to the government not vacating those frequencies as quickly as they were supposed to.

This makes total sense. WestJet really is the Canadian version of Southwest. They're what Southwest would be if Southwest had assigned seats and in-flight entertainment systems on its planes. WestJet does serve a few US cities, but has very little presence in this country. Having Southwest as a partner will greatly expand WestJet's reach into most major US business markets. And Southwest gets access to all of the major Canadian cities, as well as a lot of second- and third-tier Canadian cities.

If and when I ever get mine, it will go to pay off debt incurred by moving, buying out my lease in Houston early, and buying a condo. But who knows where my check is. I was supposed to get a direct deposit, but the IRS decided instead to send me a check, and mailed it to my old address in Houston, despite me filing the form with them in advance to change my address. I'm sure it will either eventually get forwarded to me by the Post Office, or I'll deal with the IRS getting me a replacement check, but either way it will probably take months and lots of headaches. And I'm getting a reduced amount because I made too much last year to get the full amount for a single person.

I own a 2006 Accord EX V6 and it's been completely trouble-free. The only thing I've ever had to do to it is change the oil, rotate the tires, and replace one tire that was punctured by a piece of rebar sticking up out of one of Houston's streets. I've heard some stories about the automatic transmission going out in that generation of Accord (and Acura TL) but so far no issues with mine. I've also heard that ignoring Honda's recommendation on changing transmission fluid, and having it done about twice as often as recommended seems to be very effective at preventing the common issues with the transmission. Sorry to hear about the issues with your Accord, BryanS. My experience has been nothing but great with this car.

Chase issues several credit cards that earn Continental miles, as well as a debit card that does as well. Annual fees, mileage earning, and other features vary by card.