One trip I definitely want to make is to Ireland, and whatever else seems to go with it, e.g., Scotland, UK.  Originally I was thinking of making the trip on a freighter, as my dear ol' Mom would do each summer from Houston while teaching at Lamar Senior High School in the '60's.  She once told us that the only cargo on one of her trips was Volkswagens and elephants!

    However, these days, the freighters seem to have caught on to the demand for a leisurely, no dress up trip, and are charging big bucks, at least if you investigate the organized freighter cruises.  Perhaps you can still obtain individual passage by working with an individual cargo ship company, but I would have to look into that, and answer the question Lynne Elder asked:  "Why would you want to do that?"

    The Naval Academy has offered a trip with a learning bent to it, through a College in Ireland.
    You can also learn something from the University of Limerick, through its off-site links.

    But all I've really done so far is buy some Swarovski crystal candleholders for Helen from First Ireland - a super deal, since the prices are well below those at the Base Exchange, and they ship it directly to your door!  Ordered 10 days before Christmas, it showed up on Christmas Eve!  Next Helen wants the smallest candle holder, to complete a sequence of Large, Medium, Small; I want to get another Large one, plus one of their modernistic 'spiky' ones.

Update (March 2004):  First Ireland no longer carries the Swarovski crystal - perhaps their prices were too low !  In any event, you can find the candleholders now at the Swarovski site - from the main page, go to Products, then to the Categories drop down menu, choose Crystal Home Assessories, then to Candleholders.  (thanks to alert reader Phyllis Lee) -

     Financial Links:

SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt   You should be aware of certain market-related conditions that can directly affect the execution of your on-line orders.  Trading stocks online is a fast and easy way to manage your own investments.
  SEC Tips for Online Investing:  What you Need to Know about Trading in Fast Moving Markets
  NASD Guidance to Investors Regarding Stock Volatility and On-Line Trading

    Charles Schwab & Co. - Signature Service
Brown & Co. - for the Experienced Investor

    Remember when we were growing up and we heard all those scary stories, like the couple parked on a secluded road and hearing on the radio about the escape of a maniac in the area who could be recognized by the hook on the end of his arm?   All those Urban Legends have been captured for you in one web site.

    This is interesting in itself:  a site that presents the Wacky Patent of the Month!
 

Cartoon Selection   [Roxanne the East Side Cat meets Grandbaby ID]

    A must page for Dallas-haters:  25 year history of the worst games they ever played!  [yes, some even with Roger Staubach - see '72, Kilmer's Redskins against Roger's first start].

    The story of Glorieta Pass, Civil War battle in New Mexico.

 
 The explosion is seventeen minutes away.  A gasket is about to blow.  A
 chip in the engine alerts an electronic service that the driver signed up
 for when he bought the car.  This service locates the nearest garage,
 books an appointment, provides directions to the driver, pushes his next
 business meeting back an hour and arranges for a rental car to meet him at
 the garage.  But that's only the beginning.  Meanwhile, the car
 manufacturer is notified of the gasket problem (it isn't the first time!)
 and while the auto giant considers retooling the line, the service drafts
 a recall notice and engages the help of a PR firm.  Wow.  A lot is
 happening here.  Car, gas station, rental car company, auto giant are all
 seamlessly linked to the internet.  Not as a collection of websites or in
 a battle for eyeballs.  But as a catalyst for the service-based economy.
 The next chapter of the internet is about to be written.  And it will have
 nothing to do with you working the Web.  Instead, the Internet will work
 for you.  The next E.  E-service.
 
 Ad by Hewlett Packard in Wired Magazine, Apr 1999.
 
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