Cuthbert / Civgeek Yeah the toll road is not common thing over here but it is a long accepted principal. I think that people get upset if they are not given a choice whether they use it or not. There are alternative routes for nearly all the toll roads that I'm aware of, but in that case you are obviously paying for the convienience. I agree that the management and allocation of funds is greatly improved also. I noticed a comment about 'hot lanes' in that report. I imagine that is similar to the priority lanes that we have for buses and more recently for multiple occupancy vehicles. The latter being a move to try and encourage car sharing for daily commuting. They have also introduced a congestion charge in London. Last year that netted the Council about £80M net, and they are set to increase the charge this year with a view to netting about £130M. The revenue from that is going to be used (alledgedly - lol) to improve and overhaul public transport systems and the road network. As for tax on fuel - lmao man, *we* pay tax on fuel - lol. The road tax system is graded so that you pay less for a motorcycle than for a car. The car tax is cheaper for smaller engined vehicles to try and reduce pollution. HGV's pay the most road tax, as they should, causing the most wear to the road surface.

Alexandre I'm good thanks man, soon be the weekend !:-)

Clarky....yeah...under the guise of good....I don't think so...privacy these days...harder & harder to come by

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estrela

I was just being funny with my response with Koyto. Something should be done, but I do not believe that we should be forced to join.

Bruce Springsteen's "Devil" of a New Disc

Bruce Springsteen (news) is ready to dust off some old material for a new record.

The Boss' 19th album, Devils & Dust, will be released Apr. 26, Columbia Records announced Wednesday. Several of the 12 tunes on the disc have origins stretching back a decade, when Springsteen was performing a solo acoustic tour in support of The Ghost of Tom Joad.

"I was so excited after playing on that tour, I'd get off the stage and go write," the New Jersey-born songwriter tells the Associated Press.

"Then I put those songs on the shelf for a while, until I had a chance to revisit them."

And revisit the Boss has; Devils & Dust will be the rocker's first album of new material since his Grammy-winning 2002 release, The Rising. Brendan O'Brien, who produced The Rising, returned for Devils & Dust.

While most of the acoustic studio set will be unfamiliar to fans, at least three tracks are known quantities to Springsteen completists.

"The Hitter" and "Long Time Comin' " were performed on The Ghost of Tom Joad tour, while Springsteen played the title cut during sound checks at last summer's Vote for Change tour.

Springsteen, 55, says Devils & Dust will be reminiscent of his acclaimed Nebraska and Tom Joad albums, telling the AP the sparse, country-influenced set is "about people working through their confusions, sometimes well and sometimes tragically."

This time out, Springsteen is leaving the full E Street Band behind. Like the bulk of his 1990s catalog, Springsteen recorded the new disc largely with session musicians in New York and Los Angeles, although a few E Streeters make cameos.

"I was actually signed as an acoustic act, and I've always enjoyed playing acoustic," Springsteen tells the wire service. "Even when I was in a band, back in my early days, I was always writing songs that weren't meant for the band."

The Rising sold more than 2 million copies domestically and earned three Grammys (news - web sites). The subsequent tour grossed more than $220 million from 121 North American shows.

Columbia says a new tour is in the works and details will be announced shortly.

Slansh, I know I have already mentioned the Steve Stevens flamenco piece to you but recently I have been listening to a few of acoustic/jazz/world oriented things I have in my collection . There are several artists that put me in mind of your acoustic stuff so I was wondering if you know of or ever heard of em:

Craig Chacuiqo, was the guitarist for Jefferson Starship but solely an acoustic artist for over a decade now.

Peter White, once the guitar player for your fellow country-man Al Stewart but once again, now primarily an excellent nylon string light jazz acoustic artist.

Brian Hughes, was and continues to be the guitarist for the celtic artist Loreena McKennit but also has several solo instrumental jazz albums comprised of maybe 50% nylon acoustic work.

AC/DC Got Fans by the 'Jewels'

NEW YORK (Billboard) - AC/DC has rounded up gems from its TV and live performance archives for the DVD "Family Jewels," due March 29 in North America via Epic.

The double-disc set unearths the Australian rock combo's first TV appearance in its homeland in 1975 and runs through to music videos from early '90s favorites like "Thunderstruck" and "Moneytalks."

Disc one focuses on AC/DC's Bon Scott-led period from 1975-1980, featuring videos for "High Voltage," "Jailbreak," "Let There Be Rock," "Walk All Over You" and "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)," among others. Live versions of "Riff Raff," "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Show Business" are also included, as are a host of small-screen appearances, among them a performance on Spanish television just 10 days before Scott died in 1980 after a drinking binge.

AC/DC's Brian Johnson-led era is chronicled on the second disc, beginning with videos for "Hells Bells," "What Do You Do for Money Honey," "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" and the title cut from the iconic 1980 album "Back in Black."

In addition are videos for "Who Made Who" and "You Shook Me All Night Long" stemming from the band's soundtrack to the 1986 Stephen King film "Maximum Overdrive," a live version of "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" taped in Detroit in 1983 and the DVD debut of videos for "Clipped" and "Fly on the Wall."

COVER of Petrucci's upcoming solo extravaganza!

"*DREAM THEATER* guitarist *John Petrucci* will release his new solo CD, *"Suspended Animation"*, on March 1 via *Favored Nations*.

Scorpions offer fans personalized gold album awards

If you want to show just how big a Scorpions fan you are, you now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The band is offering personalized gold album awards for their 1982 release Blackout, which featured the hits "No One Like You" and "Can't Live Without You." A 24-Karat gold-plated disc comes framed and mounted on a background with flags from every country that the album was a hit in, and the plaque reads "Presented to (insert name here) by the Scorpions. Thanking you for your continued support." The cost of the gold record is about $350, plus about $85 for shipping (all prices subject to change based on exchange rates). For more information or to make an order, go to thescorpions.memorabiliamania.net.

The Scorpions, who released a new album last year called Unbreakable, will open for Judas Priest in Europe between 03.16 and 04.02.

mikesb...hope he loses some of that Berkley crap, and plays some fucking guitar....if I only wanted to hear perfect high speed scales I'd use a sequencer...let's hear some fckin balls & real pain instead of the....wow...I've got some issues here....lmao

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michelle---good mornin!

Stevee T, good morning to you too!!! Someone piss in yer flakes this morning? Had that second cuppa java yet LMAO!!!

Jazzy, Cuth et all: St Anger was, from the very instant it was first conceived, a classic case of crap, ergo "classic crap"....

There are many, many others that could also be relegated into this new category...

Mary Kay LeTourneau Wedding-Planning Tips

5> Find out if Michael Jackson is available to babysit.

4> You'll be away for a whole week on your honeymoon, so don't forget to set the TiVo to record "Jimmy Neutron" while you're gone.

3> Make sure the sippy cups are on the right of the wine glasses.

2> On the wedding night, dress up in something that gets your man really excited -- like a Power Ranger outfit.

and the Number 1 Mary Kay LeTourneau Wedding-Planning Tip...

mikesb

SAMMY HAGAR FANS IN CHICAGOLAND !!

Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas are coming to Chicago for a Loop Show on May 13th at the Rosemont Theatre along with special guest Michael Anthony AND a suprise guitarist!

Tickets go on sale to the general public this weekend. But you don't have to wait until then. If you're a Loyal Looper you can buy your tickets BEFORE everyone else.

IS JOE SATRIANI THE SPECIAL GUITARIST WITH SAMMY HAGAR ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Think about it.

Sammy and Joe were in the same band PlanetUs for a while. Michael Anthony is touring with Sammy - and he was in PlanetUs as well.

Hum . . .

Sammy needs a guitar player, maybe Joe will tour with him?

Wouldn't it be cool if Joe did tour with Sammy?

HELLO

MR. SATRIANI

MY NAME IS IMMAD.I AM LIVING IN IRAN.

I LIKE YOUR WORKS VERY MUCH.

I WROTE SOME LYRICS BASE ON YOUR SONGS.

I SINGED THIS LYRICS AND MIXSED ON YOUR

MUSIC.

TELL ME HOW I CAN SEND THESE MEDIA FILES

TO YOU.

ONE OF THESE LYRICS IS HERE WHICH I SAID

ON YOUR SONG "LOVE THING".

I AM VERY INTERESTED YOU SEE AND HEAR

MY VOCAL WITH YOUR SONG.

LITTLE GIRL

(BASED ON SATRIANI LOVE THING SONG)

'FOR THE MEMORIES OF BOSNIA VICTIMS

IN THE YEAR 1994'

LITTLE GIRL,S SLEEPING

SHE IS DREAMING OF TOMORROW

SHE WONNA FLY AWAY OVER THE BLUE SKY

LITTLE GIRL,S RUNNING

FROM HERE TO HEAVEN

WHERE IS A SHELTER? FOR WELLDOERS MEN

I GOTT NO WAY TO THERE.

(MUSIC)

LET ME FOLLOWIN YOU

AND LET US TAKE A WALK

ALONG THE RIVER OF "DRINA"

WHERE THE BODIES SWIMS SURFACE

I CANT WACHING.

DONT FORGET THESE NAMES

"JEPPA" "SERBRENIZZA" "VISHE GRAD"

BUT I KNOW THEM WELL

YOU ARE JUST LIKE AN ANGEL

BETWEEN THE CROWDED SATANS.

THANK YOU

IMMAD FROM F.K. CITY IRAN

Another little gem from my psychotic friend:

Subject: Here are some mathematical facts that might interest you:

What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26,

Then H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K is 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E is 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E is 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T is 2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

And look how far ass kissing will take you: A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G is 1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%