Kris and John have the absolute best attitude playing the game. They don't get stressed out and bicker. They really enjoy each other's company. They manage to appreciate the places they go and things they see, and they still remain competitive and focused on the race. Jonathan and Victoria should learn from them that you can compete without being a bunch of whiney, screaming idiots.

One question: It seemed to me that every team was supposed to ride that tram up the hill. Did I misunderstand that or was that optional?  I don't recall seeing Kendra and her bf use that tram.

Yes, taking the tram up the hill was optional. Freddy and Kendra walked up the hill instead of taking the tram and were the second to last team to check in at the pit stop. Gus and Hera took the tram and the producers edited the end to make it seem like they were in a neck in neck race with Freddy/Kendra for the last spot, but I think Gus and Hera got there much later than it was portrayed.

The amazing thing about Jonathan is that he treats everyone else EXCEPT his wife nicely. So far, he's given candy out to kids in Dakar, befriended some of the locals to be their guide, and last night, consoled Freddy when he was throwing his fit over getting clocked by the gate. It seems like he get off from berating his own wife as well as taxi drivers. Pretty ironic that he was standing over his puking wife calling her a drama queen since he is the biggest drama queen himself.

I'm disappointed that Hera and Gus didn't do the water polo challenge. It would have been pure comedy to see Gus's olympian physique in one of those little Speedo swimsuits.

I found it hilarious that Maria got all defensive and totally denied being a control freak and ran out crying. And for the love of god, she needs to do something about the rapid eye blinking. Some of the lame cliches she was throwing out at the presentation in front of the Levi's president were terrible. Thank goodness she is finally gone.

Wes is such a spineless jellyfish. He crashed and burned TWICE as the project manager. At least he's consistent.

Ivana looked like she wanted to bitch-slap Jennifer when she butt in and got credit for doing a good job. If that team had lost, oh man, the boardroom would have been one hell of a catfight. Rowr!!

From what I can tell watching the coverage, the evidence that most likely convicted him was the hours and hours of taped phone conversations between him and his mistress, Amber Frey. Also, probably the fact that the bodies washed up a mile or two away from the site where he said he went fishing on the day Laci went missing.

As for the 1st degree vs. 2nd degree thing, he was convicted of 1st degree murder in Laci's case because the jury felt he purposely conspired and actively carried out her murder. He got 2nd degree murder in the baby's case because the baby died as a result of the mother dying. He didn't actually put his hands on the baby to kill him.

We won't know the exact reasons why he was found guilty until the penalty phase is carried out, the trial is completely over, and the jury can finally speak to the media. Plus, we'll find out why two of the jurors were dismissed.

Couldn't have happened to a "nicer" guy. The slimeball deserves to rot in hell.

It looked a little dicey at the end. It's very surprising a guilty verdict was reached so soon after two jurors were dismissed.  Rumor has it that the jury foreman who was dismissed supposedly told friends a while ago that he thought the evidence was "garbage" and that he would never vote for a guilty sentence and would do everything in his power to create a hung jury.

Anyone playing Halo 2 on an HDTV? There are reports on many messageboards that in 480p widescreen, parts of the HUD are cut off on the edges of the screen.

Ah Disneyland. One of my favorite places to visit.

Anyhow, I'm assuming you are talking about discounts on tickets into the park when you ask about cheap deals. There's not much really. If you are a CSAA member, you can get a discount on tickets. Just show your CSAA member card when you buy the tickets. If you work at a large company, check with the HR department. Some large companies have discount cards to Disneyland for employees. In either case, the discount isn't a whole lot. Something like $5 off per ticket.

Unless things have changed since the last time I was there, when you buy a one day pass, you have to choose to go to either California Adventure or the Magic Kingdom. The one day passes do NOT allow you to go to both. You would have to buy a multiday pass to be able to visit both parks on one ticket. If I were you, I'd pass on California Adventure and do the Magic Kingdom instead. MK is larger and there is much more to do and see there. You'll barely be able to fit in the MK in a day. In fact, since you have a couple of 2 year olds in tow, I would count on not being able to see everything in a day. The one trap that I see families fall into is that they try to cram everything in as quickly as possible. This kind of adult pace is way too much for little kids. If you run them ragged in the morning to try and fit things in, they'll be really tired and cranky by the middle of the afternoon. When you get to the park, look over the map and try to plan out things that you really want to see/ride, and things you can pass on. Take your time, let the kids dictate the pace. Do that and they'll have a blast.

When are you planning to go? I would check the Disneyland website for park hours. In the off season, the park closes kind of early. 6PM I think. It shouldn't be very crowded at this time of year, especially during weekdays. In another few weeks, they should be ready to put up the Christmas decorations and that time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the park will be very crowded.

I usually go at least once a year, although I haven't been there in a couple now. I'm waiting for next spring to go again. It'll be the park's 50th anniversary.

The eyes of Sauron sure look purty!  :lol:

The one girl who says "I'm a doll...I'm a battle doll", I kept waiting for the line "...and this one time at band camp....".

I totally agree with Stewart's assertion that shows like Crossfire are not about debate and are about theater pretending to be debate. My father watches Crossfire and Hannity and Colmes on Fox and whenever I try to sit down and watch with him, I get a headache because all I see are a bunch of obnoxious "hosts" with pre-conceived agendas ambushing their guests and never letting them express their points.

Bravo to Stewart for doing what he did. Although he looked pretty depressed towards the end when he relized the two bozos only wanted him as their monkey boy.

The guy on the right looks like he's going to hurl at any moment.

Malichai, contragulations man. I have a 7 month old daughter and little girls are awesome. They usually turn out to be "daddy's little girl" from what I am told. One thing I think is kinda cool is that girl clothes are a lot cuter than boy clothes, so enjoy the experience of buying her stuff to wear.

Just think. When she's old enough to date and brings boys around to meet you, you can be cleaning your gun in front of him and give him the old "hurt her and I WILL kill you" speech. I look forward to that day...

As for good father-daughter movies, I really enjoyed Jersey Girl. I am a big Kevin Smith fan so I was really looking forward to it. The unfortunate thing is that the previews made it look like a romantic comedy. Once again, another example of a movie studio completely mis-marketing a movie. The whole Ben Affleck-Liv Tyler romance angle was completely secondary to the main story, which is about a guy and his relationship with his daughter in the face of the choices he has to make between doing what's right for his girl and doing what he thinks is right for him. A lot of people didn't like the movie but I loved it, and it had a lot more meaning to me since I have a daughter.

Based on the extented boardroom on saturday, it looked to me like Pamela sealed her fate with the comment about Sandy, "Sandy is useless, but at least she doesn't get in the way". That's a big WHOOPS. That and her insistence on setting the final price herself.

I don't know about anyone else, but every time I see Stacie walk into the boardroom and sit down, I just think, wow, she graduated from the kids table and gets to sit with the grown-ups now!

Another Dream Theater listener here. The new "Live at Budokan" triple CD set specifically. Also listening to Brave by Marillion.

Another GG refugee checking in here.

So sad about Rich and the fall of Gone Gold. The end of an era...