-=> Quoting Michael Loo to Nancy Backus on 06-15-19  13:27 <=-

 >  >  > here, we thought the pushbuttons the most likely to go bad
 >  >  > on us... but it's been the oven elements that we've had to
 >  >  > replace, instead... 
 >  >  ML> Thinking about it, is there any reason why the
 >  >  ML> buttons would wear out any quicker than a rheostat?
 >  > Perhaps not.... I was just thinking that mechanical might be more
 >  > likely to have issues than the electrical....
 >  ML> They both wear out, I guess.
 > Exactly... but apparently the pushbuttons less quickly than we'd
 > feared... 
 ML> Hard for me to imagine how they work, but it would seem
 ML> that the one that got the most use would be the off button.
 ML> On the other hand, it could be that the off was merely a
 ML> release, so there wasn't an electrical contact component to it.

Richard would probably have a better idea what was involved there, both
mechanical and electrical...  

 >  ML> I seldom have made the land crossing but have had no
 >  ML> problem, just a couple amusing events. And truth be told,
 >  ML> generally the airplane crossing has been uneventful -
 >  ML> getting back stateside has occasionally been annoying.
 > Uneventful would be very nice....
 ML> It seems to be a kind of standard lowish level of
 ML> annoyance entering Canada, somewhat higher going
 ML> into Montreal, somewhat less into Toronto. Then a
 ML> standard moderately high irritation reentering the
 ML> US. Of course the last time was during a shutdown 
 ML> period, so the preclearance wasn't working.

I don't recall any sort of annoyance on my returns through Canada
(Toronto) from my UK trips... but that was pre-9/11... I do remember a
customs agent in Toronto being amazed at the small amount of luggage I
had with me for my fortnight's trip once... 
 
This last crossing, into and out of Canada to pick up the kid at
Montreal Airport turned out to be quite uneventful, and not even a
particularly long wait either direction.... He had a slightly more
extensive deal at the Canadian customs at the airport... I waited for
him to appear at the Passenger egress for a couple of hours, even though
his plane had been a tad early, and I'd gotten there in good time... The
Airport itself was quite busy at the time, though, which may also have
accounted for some of it...

 >  >  ML> It is certainly inconvenient for our travels, though
 >  >  ML> solving the problem can be a kind of amusing pastime.
 >  > Keeping your brain well exercised.... 
 >  ML> Perhaps, but it's sort of ploughing the same rows.
 > True.
 ML> My next trip, which may have started by the time
 ML> you read this, is kind of experimental. I lost my
 ML> preferred status on my birthday by forgetting to
 ML> have it renewed, and this will be the first time in
 ML> a decade I'm traveling with someone with neither of
 ML> us having preclearance.

And how well did it work....?
 
 >  ML> There is that. We have each other's flight numbers,
 >  ML> so we can sort of keep track (she's better at this
 >  ML> as she has a smartphone).
 > Not that you would see that as a reason for getting yourself a
 > smartphone.... 
 ML> Nope. Some airports actually have counters where I
 ML> can ask, others have hotlines to headquarters, and
 ML> a few (vanishing in the US) have real public phones.
 ML> The last time anything dire happened, I hustled to the
 ML> United desk, and an earnest-looking young agent said
 ML> "I was just about to go to the gate to meet you."

Well, that worked out well enough then...   I was able to get some
useful information from the airport help desk at YUL about RJ's flight
arrival and where to await him... My phone didn't work in that airport
anyway.... 

 >  > had been exposed to all sorts of more exotic fare and were quite
 >  > happy to explore more.... 
 >  ML> It's true that only rarely have I encountered
 >  ML> people whose tastes have substantially contracted
 >  ML> in scope over the years.
 > True here too.  
 ML> One would hope that absent some traumatic event
 ML> (I am put in mind of when some joker put a 
 ML> formaldehyded pig tail in my friend Pete's pulled
 ML> pork sandwich; he's now mostly a vegetarian), it's
 ML> not a frequent event.

That's what I'd figure, too... I can see that pigtail putting one off,
too... Was that the main reason he went vegetarian, or was that just
another notch...?
 
 >  > ... If you combine good flavors, food turns into an symphony of taste
 >  ML> Sometimes perhaps not so much.
 >  ML> Spicy cumin chicken with strawberry coulis
 >  ML> categories, poultry, main, wwtt
 > Ok, sometimes a cacophany....   There are some symphonies that would
 > qualify as that, too... 
 ML> They're phony symphs.



ttyl        neb

... Fat free cheese is like meat-free beef.

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