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SmokeyTheBear

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by SmokeyTheBear

  1. Why are there like 50 lawyers there? I can't remember seeing anything like that.  Are they all Trump's? Is there a benefit to having that many? 

    I need help here surly lawyers. 

  2. 27 minutes ago, orange dream said:

    Where did you find them?

    Some on booking.com and some just searching Google maps in areas we wanted to be.  My family liked the more local connection and feel with the families that owned/served. 

    • Like 1
  3. 1 hour ago, orange dream said:

    Planning to spend a couple of weeks in Scotland / Ireland this Summer with my wife and our 3 kids (2 in college and a 10 year old).

    Trying to figure out lodging, probably easiest to rent an apartment instead of multiple hotel rooms.  Is Airbnb and/or Vrbo the way to go or is there some Brit or Euro version that is a better source for me?  I'm a bit afraid of getting scammed as I've seen a few listings noting "Hacked account / Fake listing".

    @txduck87 @Brisketexan @Chewbacca @Incredulity @Hagbard Celine

    Anyone else who has experience with Airbnb or Vrbo or Brit / Euro equivalent specifically in Scotland / Ireland, any guidance you can provide is appreciated.

    We had great success with B&Bs. 

    • Like 1
  4. 21 hours ago, Gordon Shumway said:

    Son just graduated Clemson and is going to Europe for a couple months before the real world starts.  I am meeting him in Scotland in January.  The plan is to fly into Edinburg on Friday and rent a car to head straight to St. Andrews.

    Spend Saturday in St. Andrews and on Sunday walk the Old Course and then leave. The plan is to go to Inverness for a couple days.  Do a Whisky tour from Inverness and then head to Isle of Sky, hike old man Storr and the fairy pools.  

    My son is a golf whore, so he found a course he wants to play on the Outer Hebrides called Askernish.  Then we plan to spend the night in Glencoe and finish for a couple of days in Edinburgh. 

    Anything i am missing?  Is three days in Inverness too much?  Am I spreading ourselves too thin?

    Is Glencoe worth more than a day ? 

    Any Food/Bar recs.  I’ve made a list of some of the places mentioned here. 

    Thanks in advance. 

    3 days might be a bit much in Inverness but if you are using it as a home base to travel the Highlands,  than you should be good.  

    Food and drink around Inverness that we enjoyed:

    https://www.themaltroom.co.uk/ for tastings. Super small place and the staff were great. 

    https://www.mustardseedrestaurant.co.uk/ we went for lunch after many recommendations and loved it

    https://www.xoko.co.uk/ coffee and excellent breakfast/pastries

    When we went,  we ended up staying in a small town outside of Inverness called Nairn. If you find yourself there,  https://theclassroombistro.com/ this place was great.

    Edinburgh:

    https://www.oinkhogroast.co.uk/ for a quick pulled pork sandwich while you walk the streets

    Cafè Elmrow for a full Scottish breakfast

    https://www.eleanore.uk/ had our favorite meal in Scotland.  I want to go back to Edinburgh just to hang out here again. 

    https://www.sprywines.co.uk/ chill wine bar. There is a small room in the back if you wanted a secluded space

    https://www.taisteal.co.uk/ solid and affordable fine dining

    Honestly,  we didn't have a bad meal in Scotland.  I left thoroughly impressed with their scene. 

    • Hook 'Em 1
  5. 4 hours ago, locodos said:

    A few more things...   

    • Alamo Rent A Car had unlimited mileage and free drops in different cities.  Check the travel aggregators for a rate and then check Alamo directly.   It was a good bit cheaper. 
    • Book the smallest car you can comfortably fit into...  They'll put you in a bigger car anyways.  Fuel is expensive and in the Highlands/Islands range is your friend.  Not to mention the roads are laughably tight.
    • Here's a cute one...  the speed limit signs don't have the unit of measure on them, being in the UK I figured it was KPH, and was careful around traffic cameras and in small towns, then I noticed the car's Odometer was set to MPH...  So I was pissed.  I mentioned it to a local and apparently the speed limits are in MPH not KPH  so all good... no tickets in the mail for me... suck it Italy!
    • Consider the full insurance protection plan, if going into the highlands...  According to the lady at our car rental return  75% of the cars coming back from the Highlands need at least 1 new tire. (seemed outrageous, but she VERY carefully checked all the tires)  When asked her about it she said UK rules for rental companies are very strict and ANY gouge of the sidewall has to be replaced.   I drove pretty gingerly and still hit plenty of stuff on the sides of their narrow ass roads. 
    • You'll want more times on the islands than you think.

    Yeah, and second this. I rented a car and immediately got a flat. The roads, especially on islands and highlands, are horrible. Highly recommend hybrid car as we spent 7 days in Scotland, from Inverness to Skye to Edinburgh, and only filled up once. 

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  6. On skye: walk the Quirang and if you have the knees for it, hike Storr. Both incredibly beautiful views. Hit up Portree for a dram of whiskey and some shopping. If you find yourself at Talisker distillery, there is an oyster Shack up the road worth a visit for fresh seafood. We stayed on the Isle of Raasay at the Raasay house and really enjoyed it. Raasay distillery is next door and worth a visit.

    BE VERY MINDFUL OF THE FERRY SCHEDULES all over the island and highly recommend reserving a ticket. 

    Drive thru Glencoe on your way to Skye if you can. 

    Cairngorm park is great if you are that far north. We did a hike with Reindeer and got to feed them which was a fun little side thing for the family. 

  7. Oops

    https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/houthis-mistakenly-target-tanker-carrying-russian-oil-ambrey-report-2024-01-12/

    Houthi militants mistakenly targeted a tanker carrying Russian oil in a missile attack on Friday off Yemen, British maritime security firm Ambrey said.

    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation said it had received a report of a missile being fired 90 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's port city of Aden.

    "The master reported a missile landing in the water 400-500 metres away, and being followed by three small craft," the UKMTO advisory note said, adding that there were no injuries or damage.

    • Haha 1
  8. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67920532

    Taiwanese voters have chosen William Lai as their president in a historic election, cementing a path that is increasingly divergent from China.

    The result is likely to anger Beijing, which calls Mr Lai a "troublemaker" for his views on independence.

    .... 

    "The country will continue to walk the right path forward. We will not look backwards," he told the world's media in a press conference.

    Later while addressing tens of thousands of ecstatic supporters on the streets of Taipei, Mr Lai characterised his win as a triumph of democracy.

    "We've done it. We didn't let external forces influence our election. That's because we decided that only we can choose our president," he said. In the lead-up to the polls, Taiwan had accused China of attempting to interfere with the process.

    But Mr Lai also had a message for China.

    He told reporters he favoured more exchanges and dialogue over obstructionism and conflict, and called for peace and stability with Beijing.

    At the same time, he added, he would "maintain the cross-strait status quo" - neither seeking independence nor unification with China - and pledged to "safeguard Taiwan from threats fr om China".

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    • Like 1
  9. 1 hour ago, Hawndoh said:

    The nightmare won't end until he is dead, and even then I'm not so sure.

    That's when the real crazy Qanon conspiracies come out. He will become immortal thru whatever crazy stories they propagate. 

    • Like 1
  10. 27 minutes ago, FartingMonk said:

    The Saudi oil fields better prepare their anuses.  If I were the Houthis that's where I would send my message.  That narrow ass strait where the shipping containers pass through also.  You take one out in there and you just blockaded 15 percent of oil traffic until you can get that thing out of the way

     

    Tangentially related about what happens when you FAFO with the oil system. 

     

     

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