Uroblast

Was just cruising the music board and saw your post about bands you found late. After you’ve fallen in love with SW VA, come back to the NC side next spring for Merlefest (not far from parkway). I’ve seen all the bands you listed there over the years. It’s the east coasts best Americana / Bluegrass festival. Same topography and awesome people as SW VA.

LINK

I've used both Holafly and Airalo. I have an iPhone with Verizon plan. Was vastly cheaper than the Verizon plan (I think Verizon was $10/day). Airalo was easier to manage with larger data blocks at the time, but service was fine on both.

Don’t know but you probably could play some mean pinball.

Here’s some local color commentary:
1. The land for this was a prime downtown parcel. One of the last unused and being held by a private business with operations next door. This was taken by eminent domain against the wishes of the city and the business.
2. TVA (quasi-public/private) just moved out of its huge downtown office. Had plenty of room for court operations. Feds didn’t want it. It’s still vacant.
3. There is already a Federal Courthouse - although old and too small.
Anyway, I certainly felt there were much more economical options. But who gives a rip. It’s just someone else’s money for an awesome new building on someone else’s land that would have been better used for other downtown projects. And now there are 2 vacant buildings with Fed involvement downtown. Keep paying those federal taxes baws!

Suggestions based on recent driving trip there:

1. Agree with Fussen/Neuschwanstein - go to Linderhof Palace as well (another Ludwig castle and my favorite of the 3). Reutte, Austria (just across the border from Fussen) has some great sights and outdoor activities. Highline 179 was really incredible. You can access Zugspitz from either the German side or Austrian side (the Austrian side is not as crowded). Near Reutte Austria is Biberwier. It is a ski area but has awesome summer activities. My family always hunts out "sommerrodelbahn" (down hill toboggan) and they have one there. They also have "MountainKart" - down hill adult tricycles. That may be the top travel fun experience we have ever had. Ignore the reviews on Trip Advisor about it being unsafe. Heck yeah it is unsafe but that is why it is so much fun. Don't be an idiot and embrace the culture of personal responsibility for activities with risk that make Germany and Austria really fun.

2. Regensburg and Kelheim just north of Munich. Regensburg is a mini- Prague. Lots of Holy Roman Empire history and young vibrant populace since it is a university town. Next door Kelheim is a great base to hike through the Danube gorge (The Narrows) and wind up at the Weltenberg Abbey and their famous beer garden. There are ferries that can take you from Kelheim to the Abbey if you don't want to hike. We hiked it (moderately strenuous) and my non-hiking family nearly killed me when they saw the boats pull up to the Abbey. Their Abbey beer is worth the walk.

Hallstatt was a beautiful place for instagram photos, but overrun with people unless you are there really early or really late. Parking was abysmal. I could have skipped it and just enjoyed the other Austrian lake towns and mountain villages even more.

Driving was really easy to these places. If you pass road side fruit or farm stands, always stop. Have a great trip!

In!

As I recall you had been to Plitvice on a prior trip. How did Krka compare? Also how did these destinations in Slovenia compare to Kobarid and Triglav? When we toured Julian Alps and Kobarid we had to leave out the caverns and castle in Southern Slovenia due to time.

As someone who has gone through a small part of this, thanks for taking the time to record this. It is completely overwhelming and if you aren’t familiar, can result in financially devastating consequences. Well done sir.

Food for thought:
1. Over 77% of physicians are now employed as opposed to own their own practice. A lot are told where they will go work by their hospital, PE, insurance/healthcare conglomerate employer.
2. Particularly in the employed systems, "physician extenders" (nurse practicioners or PAs) do the main staffing and they are "supervised" by a physician (ratio of doc to extender varies).
3. If you are employed, most work on a production basis determined by the number of RVUs (kind of like billable hours) the physician can churn. In this scenario, you don't care what the insurance pays or the generally quality of referral you get. You just see as much volume as you can and you can get credit for RVUs just by supervising someone doing the visit. Or if a surgeon, let the extenders see and you just operate on them.
If you still own your own practice, you care how much you actually get paid to do the work so you have to be more selective about the insurance you take. There are definitely insurance companies that pay you less than your overhead if you aren't careful. You are also probably a bit more "customer service" oriented too.
One interesting factoid about ACA/ObamaCare: Prior to implementation, only about 35% of physicians were employed. Now over 77% are. Regardless of political affiliation, these are the facts and show the power of this piece of legislation to fundamentally alter the US health system. The shift in reimbursement models, increased regulation, increased power of insurance companies in their ability to vertically integrate has killed the private practice model in the US. It wasn't perfect but the private practice model of healthcare was much more patient centered than the debacle we have now. The Bush II admin forcing electronic medical records before they were ready for prime time and creation of Medicare Part D drug plan were the other nails in the coffin.
Rant over, Have a Merry Christmas all!!!

Heading to Lyon for the 1st time to visit daughter who is there for a college semester. Planning to stay a week with day trips to Annecy, Dijon, Grenoble. Any other regional suggestions for tourism? Not going to ski on this trip. Any can't miss restaurants in Lyon? Keep hearing that it is a foodie paradise if you like classic French cuisine. Want to get a couple of really great dinners in the trip. Otherwise, I'm a street food, dive joint kind of traveler. Staying in the central city on the peninsula between the rivers. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. This board is my 1st stop for travel info and has done me right in the past! :cheers:

Below is a statement released by Chevrons CEO. while the geopolitical aspects of a bail out are important, the huge untapped oil/gas resources (estimated equivalent to the Guyana field) are probably the main reason. Also, pushing China out of Argentina where it has been a big financial player makes some sense.


“As one of the largest foreign investors in Argentina, Chevron pioneered the development of the country’s extensive oil and gas reserves in an area called Vaca Muerta with YPF. Chevron applauds the Trump Administration’s efforts to forge closer relations with Argentina and is supportive of the country’s economic reforms. We remain committed to helping Argentina realize the full potential of its energy resources and expect to continue to invest in the country’s economy for years to come.”