Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°... 
It's going to be a long day.

-- 
~Mike

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Mike Raiford wrote:
> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°... 
> It's going to be a long day.

Holy cow, I had to go look that up to find out what it means. ;-)

Yeah, that's pretty hot actually...

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> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°... 
> It's going to be a long day.

It used to be like that almost every day in summer here (and sometimes over 
30°C), until we got the air-con.  Mmm, arms sticking to desk while typing - 
that was fun :-)

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On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:51:20 +0100, Invisible wrote:

> Mike Raiford wrote:
>> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°...
>> It's going to be a long day.
> 
> Holy cow, I had to go look that up to find out what it means. ;-)
> 
> Yeah, that's pretty hot actually...

84 is pretty comfortable, though I prefer in the 70's.  Saturday we were 
near 100 - that's getting into "pretty hot" range.

Jim

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On 23-8-2010 13:46, Mike Raiford wrote:
> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°... 
> It's going to be a long day.

That is even 2-3 degrees celsius more than my room. But it is that for 
at least 2 years now. We have had a number of companies for the heating 
in that period and none was able to fix it. Well, it is only a small 
office in a large building, who cares.

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On 8/23/2010 10:04 AM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:51:20 +0100, Invisible wrote:
>
>> Mike Raiford wrote:
>>> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°...
>>> It's going to be a long day.
>>
>> Holy cow, I had to go look that up to find out what it means. ;-)
>>
>> Yeah, that's pretty hot actually...
>
> 84 is pretty comfortable, though I prefer in the 70's.  Saturday we were
> near 100 - that's getting into "pretty hot" range.
>
> Jim

Well, when it's 84 in the morning, and the expected high for the day is 
supposed to be around 107 ... it's a bit concerning.

Everything turned out OK. The AC just had a hard time cooling back down 
after a weekend of 100+ temps.

-- 
~Mike

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On 8/23/2010 4:00 PM, andrel wrote:
> On 23-8-2010 13:46, Mike Raiford wrote:
>> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy
>> 84°... It's going to be a long day.
>
> That is even 2-3 degrees celsius more than my room. But it is that for
> at least 2 years now. We have had a number of companies for the heating
> in that period and none was able to fix it. Well, it is only a small
> office in a large building, who cares.
>

I'd say the occupant of the office cares ... ;)


-- 
~Mike

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On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:32:45 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:

> On 8/23/2010 10:04 AM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>> On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:51:20 +0100, Invisible wrote:
>>
>>> Mike Raiford wrote:
>>>> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy
>>>> 84°... It's going to be a long day.
>>>
>>> Holy cow, I had to go look that up to find out what it means. ;-)
>>>
>>> Yeah, that's pretty hot actually...
>>
>> 84 is pretty comfortable, though I prefer in the 70's.  Saturday we
>> were near 100 - that's getting into "pretty hot" range.
>>
>> Jim
> 
> Well, when it's 84 in the morning, and the expected high for the day is
> supposed to be around 107 ... it's a bit concerning.

Yeah, that would be. :-)

> Everything turned out OK. The AC just had a hard time cooling back down
> after a weekend of 100+ temps.

I know that feeling - we had a lab at one place I worked (a computer lab) 
where the heat kicked on after the temperature outside the building hit a 
certain threshold - that was particularly nasty, I think the temps got up 
around 120F before we started getting things powered off (of course, it 
happened overnight, so nobody was in the building at the time).

Jim

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On 8/23/2010 7:46 AM, Mike Raiford wrote:
> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°...
> It's going to be a long day.
>

I was just in Dallas, TX and they have 105° F - way to hot for me.

I'm back home with a high of 72° - much better

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On 8/24/2010 12:25 PM, Tom Austin wrote:
> On 8/23/2010 7:46 AM, Mike Raiford wrote:
>> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°...
>> It's going to be a long day.
>>
>
> I was just in Dallas, TX and they have 105° F - way to hot for me.
>
> I'm back home with a high of 72° - much better
>

You were in Dallas? That's where I live!

Yeah ... 72 does sound much nicer..

-- 
~Mike

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On 8/24/2010 4:21 PM, Mike Raiford wrote:
> On 8/24/2010 12:25 PM, Tom Austin wrote:
>> On 8/23/2010 7:46 AM, Mike Raiford wrote:
>>> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°...
>>> It's going to be a long day.
>>>
>>
>> I was just in Dallas, TX and they have 105° F - way to hot for me.
>>
>> I'm back home with a high of 72° - much better
>>
>
> You were in Dallas? That's where I live!
>
> Yeah ... 72 does sound much nicer..
>

A whirlwind trip - I was in McAlaster/Wilburton Oklahoma (where my dad's 
extended family lives) for less than 24 hours.

The Dallas/Ft Worth airport is HUGE!

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On 8/25/2010 12:00 PM, Tom Austin wrote:

>
> The Dallas/Ft Worth airport is HUGE!
>

Yep. and a bit of a pain to get around in. Especially if your connecting 
flight is in a different terminal.

-- 
~Mike

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Tom Austin wrote:
> The Dallas/Ft Worth airport is HUGE!

The terminal in DFW is farther from the runways than the San Diego 
convention center is from the runway in San Diego. :-)

I'm also amused that it's a $2.50 toll road some 7 miles long to get from 
the entrance to the terminal.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
    Quoth the raven:
        Need S'Mores!

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On 8/24/2010 4:21 PM, Mike Raiford wrote:
> On 8/24/2010 12:25 PM, Tom Austin wrote:
>> On 8/23/2010 7:46 AM, Mike Raiford wrote:
>>> Holy cow... I walk into the office this morning and it's a balmy 84°...
>>> It's going to be a long day.
>>>
>>
>> I was just in Dallas, TX and they have 105° F - way to hot for me.
>>
>> I'm back home with a high of 72° - much better
>>
>
> You were in Dallas? That's where I live!
>
> Yeah ... 72 does sound much nicer..
>

How do the tolls work in Dallas?  mainly along Route 121 and I635...

I was expecting a toll booth, but never ran into one - just the 
electronic 'toll readers' that you pass under - I was driving a rental 
and have NO clue how the tolls work.

I guess I am likely to get a nice letter int he mail stating that I owe 
$3.43 in tolls and $135 in fines for not paying the tolls int he first 
place.

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Tom Austin wrote:
> I was expecting a toll booth, but never ran into one - just the 
> electronic 'toll readers' that you pass under - I was driving a rental 
> and have NO clue how the tolls work.

I was worried about that too. Apparently they photograph your license and 
mail you a bill for the $0.45 toll or whatever it is. Basically, you can pay 
with a toll tag for $0.35 or get a bill for $0.45. Chances are the rental 
car company gets a bill and it just isn't worth their time to bill you if 
your only toll was going back to the airport. At least, I never got a bill.

Hey, Dallas, here's a hint for you: If you're going to have a toll 
collection system where nobody is supposed to stop, and the only explanation 
has to be read while you're motoring along at 70MPH, try not to call that 
payment collection system CASH.  Duh!

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
    Quoth the raven:
        Need S'Mores!

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On Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:50:17 -0700, Darren New wrote:

> Tom Austin wrote:
>> The Dallas/Ft Worth airport is HUGE!
> 
> The terminal in DFW is farther from the runways than the San Diego
> convention center is from the runway in San Diego. :-)
> 
> I'm also amused that it's a $2.50 toll road some 7 miles long to get
> from the entrance to the terminal.

You can take the frontage road and avoid the toll, at least I did when I 
was last at DFW (a few years ago now).

Jim

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On 8/26/2010 10:50 AM, Darren New wrote:
> Tom Austin wrote:
>> The Dallas/Ft Worth airport is HUGE!
>
> The terminal in DFW is farther from the runways than the San Diego
> convention center is from the runway in San Diego. :-)
>
> I'm also amused that it's a $2.50 toll road some 7 miles long to get
> from the entrance to the terminal.
>

I managed to get through the airport 'toll road' without paying.

I was in before I knew it and turned around at a terminal to get gas for 
the rental car.  I was in for about 5 minutes - no charge.

Then I drove straight through (north to south) to get to the rental drop 
off - 5 minutes and again no charge.

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Tom Austin wrote:
> I was in before I knew it and turned around at a terminal to get gas for 
> the rental car.  I was in for about 5 minutes - no charge.

Now that you mention it, I think there's no toll if you take less than 15 
minutes or something.

That doesn't diminish the amusement that, essentially, the parking lot is 
big enough to have a toll on it.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
    Quoth the raven:
        Need S'Mores!

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On 8/26/2010 4:59 PM, Darren New wrote:
> Tom Austin wrote:
>> I was in before I knew it and turned around at a terminal to get gas
>> for the rental car. I was in for about 5 minutes - no charge.
>
> Now that you mention it, I think there's no toll if you take less than
> 15 minutes or something.
>
> That doesn't diminish the amusement that, essentially, the parking lot
> is big enough to have a toll on it.
>

I guess it is an efficient way to charge for parking throughout the 
airport.  One entrance, one exit - 200 parking lots for short term parking.

It also helps to keep the traffic down some - stay too long and start 
paying.  So tell your friend to get over the scrapes as you shove him 
out of a moving car.

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On 8/26/2010 3:16 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>
> You can take the frontage road and avoid the toll, at least I did when I
> was last at DFW (a few years ago now).
>

You can do that? Huh... I had no idea.

Well... the toll booths serve a dual purpose, really. You're paying for 
parking. If you leave your vehicle in the lot next to the terminal, you 
get charged by the day (or hour, depending on how long you're there) It 
used to be a nice shortcut for people getting from north of the airport 
to south of the airport, though now the new turnpike makes it less 
tempting to use as a shortcut.

-- 
~Mike

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On 8/26/2010 9:57 AM, Tom Austin wrote:

>
> I guess I am likely to get a nice letter int he mail stating that I owe
> $3.43 in tolls and $135 in fines for not paying the tolls int he first
> place.
>

Yeah, what Darren said ... The rental company will probably absorb the 
toll fees. Either that or they'll send you a bill for the tolls... But 
there's no fine.

What's fun is the 190 turnpike (George Bush Turnpike) used to have toll 
booths, but they move to all-electronic. So you have these huge slabs of 
concrete collecting dust...

-- 
~Mike

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On Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:50:51 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:

> On 8/26/2010 3:16 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>>
>> You can take the frontage road and avoid the toll, at least I did when
>> I was last at DFW (a few years ago now).
>>
>>
> You can do that? Huh... I had no idea.

I didn't either the first time - but then was rather annoyed when the nav 
system in the car put me on a toll road for < 0.25 mile (basically I had 
to pay getting on and getting off two ramps), so I (think I) asked my 
class about it, and they told me about the frontage roads.

Maybe it's changed since then, it's been probably 5 years ago now (where 
DOES the time go?)

> Well... the toll booths serve a dual purpose, really. You're paying for
> parking. If you leave your vehicle in the lot next to the terminal, you
> get charged by the day (or hour, depending on how long you're there) It
> used to be a nice shortcut for people getting from north of the airport
> to south of the airport, though now the new turnpike makes it less
> tempting to use as a shortcut.

Hmmm...

Jim

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Jim Henderson wrote:
> system in the car put me on a toll road for < 0.25 mile (basically I had 
> to pay getting on and getting off two ramps), so I (think I) asked my 
> class about it, and they told me about the frontage roads.

Yeah. That's the other expressways around there. I don't think that's the 
road actually inside the airport.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
    Quoth the raven:
        Need S'Mores!

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On Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:14:30 -0700, Darren New wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> system in the car put me on a toll road for < 0.25 mile (basically I
>> had to pay getting on and getting off two ramps), so I (think I) asked
>> my class about it, and they told me about the frontage roads.
> 
> Yeah. That's the other expressways around there. I don't think that's
> the road actually inside the airport.

Yeah, that short toll bit wasn't near the airport, but the frontage roads 
I was talking about were in/out of the airport property.

Jim

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On 8/27/2010 5:10 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>
> Yeah, that short toll bit wasn't near the airport, but the frontage roads
> I was talking about were in/out of the airport property.
>
> Jim

Can you get to the terminals via the frontage road?

This seems like a huge hole in their scheme to charge for parking ....
-- 
~Mike

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On 8/27/2010 12:55 PM, Mike Raiford wrote:
> On 8/26/2010 9:57 AM, Tom Austin wrote:
>
>>
>> I guess I am likely to get a nice letter int he mail stating that I owe
>> $3.43 in tolls and $135 in fines for not paying the tolls int he first
>> place.
>>
>
> Yeah, what Darren said ... The rental company will probably absorb the
> toll fees. Either that or they'll send you a bill for the tolls... But
> there's no fine.
>

I wasn't worried at the time - just annoyed that there was nothing 
stating how it worked.


> What's fun is the 190 turnpike (George Bush Turnpike) used to have toll
> booths, but they move to all-electronic. So you have these huge slabs of
> concrete collecting dust...
>

I haven't been through Texas much - mostly the pan-handle on I-40.  Do 
drivers still have to drive through the toll booths or did they change 
something?

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On Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:29:19 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:

> On 8/27/2010 5:10 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>>
>> Yeah, that short toll bit wasn't near the airport, but the frontage
>> roads I was talking about were in/out of the airport property.
>>
>> Jim
> 
> Can you get to the terminals via the frontage road?

Not 100% sure, since I only ever had a rental car, so was going from the 
rental car pick-up/drop off point.

> This seems like a huge hole in their scheme to charge for parking ....

Only for those who know about it.  IIRC, it wasn't very well marked, so 
it seems they're counting on people who are unfamiliar with the roads 
just taking the easy way (always easier too when it's someone else's 
money you're spending - I just hate doing paperwork for reimbursement for 
tolls).

Jim

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On 8/30/2010 12:27 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:29:19 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:
>
>> On 8/27/2010 5:10 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>>>
>>> Yeah, that short toll bit wasn't near the airport, but the frontage
>>> roads I was talking about were in/out of the airport property.
>>>
>>> Jim
>>
>> Can you get to the terminals via the frontage road?
>
> Not 100% sure, since I only ever had a rental car, so was going from the
> rental car pick-up/drop off point.
>

Oh, yeah ... the rental area. Of course :)

>> This seems like a huge hole in their scheme to charge for parking ....
>
> Only for those who know about it.  IIRC, it wasn't very well marked, so
> it seems they're counting on people who are unfamiliar with the roads
> just taking the easy way (always easier too when it's someone else's
> money you're spending - I just hate doing paperwork for reimbursement for
> tolls).
>

True. I remember taking some out of town visitors back to the airport 
(following their rental car, actually) I seem to remember they had a 
little map that showed where to return the car.

-- 
~Mike

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On 8/30/2010 12:12 PM, Tom Austin wrote:

>
> I haven't been through Texas much - mostly the pan-handle on I-40. Do
> drivers still have to drive through the toll booths or did they change
> something?
>

It depends. On the GBT, the toll plazas are still there, but you drive 
through the "Tolltag" lanes. On many of the exits, the toll booths are 
still there, so in that case you do.

On new roads, there's just a gantry that you drive under with the 
sensors on it.

-- 
~Mike

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On Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:10:08 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:

> On 8/30/2010 12:27 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>> On Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:29:19 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:
>>
>>> On 8/27/2010 5:10 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Yeah, that short toll bit wasn't near the airport, but the frontage
>>>> roads I was talking about were in/out of the airport property.
>>>>
>>>> Jim
>>>
>>> Can you get to the terminals via the frontage road?
>>
>> Not 100% sure, since I only ever had a rental car, so was going from
>> the rental car pick-up/drop off point.
>>
>>
> Oh, yeah ... the rental area. Of course :)

Yeah, never had to drive my own car there. ;-)

>>> This seems like a huge hole in their scheme to charge for parking ....
>>
>> Only for those who know about it.  IIRC, it wasn't very well marked, so
>> it seems they're counting on people who are unfamiliar with the roads
>> just taking the easy way (always easier too when it's someone else's
>> money you're spending - I just hate doing paperwork for reimbursement
>> for tolls).
>>
>>
> True. I remember taking some out of town visitors back to the airport
> (following their rental car, actually) I seem to remember they had a
> little map that showed where to return the car.

I had a GPS.  "Hertz Everlost". ;-)

Jim

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On 9/3/2010 5:24 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:

> I had a GPS.  "Hertz Everlost". ;-)

*snerk*

We have a small GPS that suction-cups to the window. Sometimes the 
suction cup utterly fails while driving down the freeway at 70mph. 
Generally results in a string of swear words that would make a sailor 
blush.

Additionally, I suspect that it occasionally gives bad directions on 
purpose because I haven't updated the map in a couple years. You 
know.... JUST to push the user enough to shell out the money for a map 
update.

I wouldn't be surprised if the routing algorithm had some kind of random 
factor added to it that would become enabled when the map is out of date.

It could also be the fact that there's been a lot of construction in the 
area where the GPS was giving strange directions...

... NAH!

-- 
~Mike

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On Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:25:47 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:

> On 9/3/2010 5:24 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> 
>> I had a GPS.  "Hertz Everlost". ;-)
> 
> *snerk*

Hehehehe, that idea about intentional incorrect instructions is awfully 
cynical, sounds like something I'd think.  I remember having one of the 
Everlost systems in Colorado, and it sent me down a dead-end and said 
"keep going".

Jim

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On 07/09/2010 1:25 PM, Mike Raiford wrote:
> a string of swear words that would make a sailor blush.

I've not heard that for years. :-D Thanks.

-- 

Best Regards,
	Stephen

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Jim Henderson wrote:
> Hehehehe, that idea about intentional incorrect instructions is awfully 
> cynical, 

I'm honestly surprised that I've never heard of companies releasing viruses 
that would affect a competing company's products.  Except bot-net authors.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
    Quoth the raven:
        Need S'Mores!

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