rckymtn22

The last two times flying out of Varadero I have had my luggage gone through. First time a couple items stolen and the second time the lock was taken off but nothing missing as I didn't leave anything valuable in there.

Didn't work for me too

Fawlty Towers. Remember watching it as a kid and laughing my head off. There was only 12 episodes ever made. Would love to see one more season.

Looks awesome!

Scarlett and I are heading up to the first class can for some mile high action to get away from the kid!

I saw that picture on the weekend. That is crazy, like zombies, . How the heck do you get down with out dying if you are at the front of the line? Everest is big business now.

Came across this interesting article about the Canadian Grand Prix How Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was born in a half-hour We interviewed Roger Peart, a British-born engineer living in Canada at the heart of the circuit's beginnings. by Nadine Filion | 2 hours ago Canadian Grand Prix, October 1978. City of Montreal Archives Thirty minutes: that’s the length of the decision-making process that would turn Montreal’s Île Notre-Dame into Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Late 1977. Roger Peart, then in his mid-forties, receives a call from the president of the Fédération Automobile du Québec. The Labatt beer company, then the title sponsor for the Canadian Grand Prix held at Mosport near Toronto, Ontario, wants to know if Montreal can host a Formula One race. “Great question,” says Peart, who then asks for a little time for reflection—30 minutes’ reflection to be precise. “I first thought of Île Notre-Dame. Then, I looked at a route that would start and end at the Olympic Stadium, but that would have been devilishly complicated to implement. I had other options in mind, I even looked at building a track in Laval.” The best idea is always the first… But “we did not have to go far down those roads,” says Peart. “The first idea was always going to be the best.” Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. So, after 30 minutes, he confirmed that yes, Montreal could accommodate a full-fledged Grand Prix, and that the best venue was Île Notre-Dame – a man-made island originally built to host Expo 67 a decade earlier – if for no other reason than its excellent Metro access. Coup de chance: Mayor Drapeau had just announced that the artificial island would be reserved for sporting events, while the neighbouring natural Île Sainte-Hélène would host cultural activities. In April 1978, Montreal’s city council accepted the idea of a racetrack—“on the express condition that it costs the taxpayers nothing,” recalls Peart. While the snow was falling on Saint-Sauveur… Engineer Roger Peart is well-known in the world of international racing. Over the past five decades, he has not only competed himself (largely in amateur races, driving in the Canadian Rally Championship until 1963 as well as in numerous ice races) but has also monitored and inspected racing circuits all over the world. In 2010, he was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. Now 85 years old, he was until last year – and for 38 years – president of the Canadian National Sports Authority (ASN Canada). Even more impressive: for almost 4 decades, he was the only F1 steward (sports commissioner) in our country recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Unsurprisingly, it was Peart who was given the mandate to design, on the Île Notre-Dame, a circuit that was going to meet Formula One’s rigid standards. The Briton, who was then living in Montreal (he now calls Ontario home), still remembers the moment he went to first inspect what would become the famed racetrack. Mother Nature had dropped a major snowfall on top of the island, which forced him to develop the initial drafts without even being able to inspect the actual ground he was surveying. “I remember those days at my chalet in Saint-Sauveur in the Laurentians; when skiing conditions were poor, I drew up plans, plans and plans again.” The challenge was even more than he expected. “First, I had to ignore the old pavilions of the Expo 67 scheduled for demolition. Then I had to deal with some elements – the lake and park in the center, the river on one side, the Olympic basin on the other – that were obviously there to stay.” “There was not much space and I had to compress a circuit there, with straights and turns.” Between boats and F1 cars It was expected that the buildings to the east of the island, where the boathouse was situated and where the hairpin turn is still today, would be used as the pits. One weekend a year, the boats would then give way to the F1 cars—“It was an economical solution,” recalls Peart. But because of the impracticality of this arrangement, new pits were subsequently built in their current location, to the west, just before the Senna turn. Until last July, when the modernization work started on this same site for the new Paddocks requested by F1 (a condition for a 14-year extension of the agreement to stage the Grand Prix), it was the most significant change in the circuit’s four decades of history. What a testimony to the excellence of Peart’s original design. Oh, by the way: Peart was never paid for his work. “Motorsport was my hobby, not my profession; it never occurred to me to charge for my services at the time,” he says. “All my expenses were paid, so I was happy with that.” A circuit built as fast as it was born The construction of the circuit that would later bear the name of Gilles Villeneuve (the change was made in 1982, after the death of Quebec’s most famous racing driver) was executed in record time. “It was a crazy time,” recalls Peart. “Everything was going too fast!” After a winter spent developing the best possible layout, the British engineer travelled to Europe to attain approval for the plans by the FIA. By May 1978, after a meeting in Monaco, approval was granted and the construction began shortly thereafter, in July 1978. The first F1 race would be held barely three months later. “A little paradise” – Jackie Stewart Sunday, October 8, 1978. The first of 39 Grand Prix of Canada races to be held on the new Circuit Île-Notre-Dame – it’s been held there every year since ’78, except in 1987, during a sponsorship dispute between Labatt and Molson, and in 2009, when event funding became an issue – unfolds like a fairy tale. It feels like a fairy tale for Peart, who, serving as the race director, gets to hear firsthand from racers like Jackie Stewart that “his circuit” is “a little paradise in the middle of a great river.” It feels like a fairy tale for the Quebec public, too, because – as if the gods of motor racing momentarily took Quebec racing fans into their heart – none other than Gilles Villeneuve wins that inaugural race in his Ferrari #12, in front of more than 72,000 excited spectators. It’s his first win in 19 races, and he receives his much-deserved trophy from Prime Minister Pierre-Elliot Trudeau. For Ferrari, it is the company’s first success in eight years. But that wasn’t the first time Villeneuve’s path crossed with Peart’s… “Gilles Villeneuve wanted to give me a five-dollar tip…” – Roger Peart Early 1970s. Roger Peart is, at the time, chief instructor at the Fédération Automobile du Québec, when “a quiet little man from Berthierville comes to see me.” “He wanted to drive race cars. I asked him about his experience, and he replied that he was racing, of all things, snowmobiles,” recalls Peart. “As our race schools were finished for the year, I suggested he rent Sanair [Super Speedway], bring along a car and we would see what kind of automobile racer he would make.” “The day he showed up with his brother’s Mustang, I had a business appointment. But I asked a fellow instructor to work with him and give me a report. Later in the day, the instructor called me, excitedly saying, ‘Hey, boss, we may have something here!’” “In each and every lap, the young Gilles Villeneuve was faster than his instructor. Obviously, we gave him his racing license. But more than anything else, I remember that to thank me, he wanted to give me a five-dollar tip [about $30 today]…” 40 years later: Peart still hasn’t missed a race Even today, the Montreal racetrack is seen as a circuit made of long fast straights, interrupted by tight corners where the tires, brakes, engines and transmissions are strained to their limits. A technical track, then, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve requires full concentration at all times and leaves little room for error. Talk to those who kissed the Wall of Champions. That said, “unlike so many other F1 racetracks,” says Peart, “Montreal has several opportunities for overtaking. That means the races are always exciting.” And Peart has never missed a Canadian Grand Prix since 1978. He has always attended from the control tower, as one of the three sports commissioners delegated by the FIA. He attended every one of those races, except in 2014, when he delegated his position to another steward. Oh, and last year, when he stepped down – with great tribute from FIA – from ASN Canada presidency and F1 stewardship. But even without an “official” role, Roger Peart was there. And if you happened upon him and ask if, after all these years, he would change anything about his original design — he will tell you that, to this day, he still has never found, seen, or witnessed, anywhere in the world, a circuit that could be claimed to be perfect.

Happy 29th birthday! Hope you have a great day!

The race need some spicing up. Was hoping Bottas would have put more pressure on Vettel since his car was having over heating problems.

As a kid we didn't have peanut butter in the house and that continues today. I might have a peanut butter cookie once in a while.

Nice, looking forward to grabbing some!

Just heard sad news on BBC that Niki Lauda died today. RIP

Try dry boxing them for a few days. Another suggestion is to put the cigar in the fridge for awhile. I remember Rob suggesting doing the fridge method in a post a couple years ago.

Old school Vinyl!

I almost want to buy a few more cigars from my local B&M so that when the stats come out like they did in AUS there is an increase in sales. If there is a drop then the fat a$$es spout "see it is working"!

I am shocked. Didn't think either team had a chance. Especially Tottenham being down 3 at halftime on the road. WOW

iTunes is so crappy I just want through the crApple phone in the garbage.

Aye!

The pictures of the Magnum 50 also include ones for Cohiba 1966. Guessing that is one of the other boxes coming up today. that is a caching issue that the developers are currently addressing. many thanks!

“I’m very convinced... In the future, people goverments will want to outlaw people driving their own cars because they’ll be unsafe.” That is what the statement probably should say. With back-up cameras be legislated and soon adaptive cruise control, automatic braking and blind spot monitoring, as soon as self driving cars are perfected it is only a matter of time before the nanny governments are forced to take action. I don't agree with this but can see it happening.

They are Miller Fleurs. Took me a bit to notice as I thought it was a band problem at first.

Not officially

I would love to pay Canada customs only $60 to store my cigars for a month. Usually way more than that.

The Monte A as it is in the box?

Oliva