spectre

I can't absolutely commit, but that's the best chance for me as well.

I might make a meetup, WOOHOO!

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

tecoyah

OK.....Looks like June 30th - July 2nd....with the Independence Day weekend holiday extention as a bit of padding. This does not mean we have to party for five days (though this is an option)....and as always, spouses and friends are welcome. Short of a Great Lake Tsunami......this should be the biggest party yet, so......



Chime In Folks

__________________
Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

ngdawg

Guess I better stash cash.....

__________________
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

ShaniFaye

oh well crap....count me out....the 2nd is my bday and we are leaving for my bday trip on the 30th

ya'll have a drink for me ok?

__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

fresnelly

I'm in for at least one evening. My wife, son and I are planning a long weekend road trip around it.

__________________
Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life

amonkie

I'm in for the 5 days, my soon to be employer just doesn't know it yet

__________________
Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

Charlatan

It's too far away to be certain if I can make it. I will know more as we get closer to the date.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

uncle phil

/me will try, but the holiday weekend is not the best for me...

__________________
"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
-----------------------------------------
"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
-----------------------------------------
never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.

JumpinJesus

What a copout!!

We plan on making it from Chicago. If all goes as planned, onodrim, SecretMethod70, shesus, and I will be carpooling across the wonderful eastern midwest in order to be there.

If WE can make it, you better be there.

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

Charlatan

Not distance... time. That is a very busy time for me. Most likely I will be there but family comes first.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

SecretMethod70

One of these words doesn't belong The only thing "wonderful" in the midwest is Chicagoland

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Meditrina

I will try my hardest to attend this gathering. Hopefully my mother in law can take the kids for the weekend, and maybe her son too. I just realized that July 4th is a Tuesday. Which means I am off from July 1st through July 5th.

__________________
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." ~Alex Karras

onodrim

See above ^^^

__________________
"The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides"
-Carl Sagan

Toaster126

Hush, heathen. Both Kansas City and St. Louis are amazing.

__________________
"The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." (Ayn Rand)
"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)

ziadel

if I'm in upstate new york (and I plan to be)
I'll be there.

__________________
Ron Paul '08
Vote for Freedom
Go ahead and google Dr. Ron Paul. You'll like what you read.

tecoyah

Way early yet but....I like lists

ngdawg...............yes
amonkie...............yes
Shesus.................yes
Jumpin Jesus.........yes
onodrim................yes
SecretMethod70....yes
fresnelly...............yes
ziadel...................yes

uncle phil.............maybe
sportswidow05.....maybe
Charlatan............maybe

ShaniFaye...........no



excellent start

__________________
Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

ngdawg

I said yes???

__________________
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

Lucifer

MMMM, maybe I'll run my ship aground at Rochester and make it, otherwise I'll probably be working.

__________________
I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
- Job 30:29

1123, 6536, 5321

snowy

Add me to the "maybe" list. I'm going to attempt to get enough fundage to go. With the new job, it's looking better, but I have other bills to pay first.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

paddyjoe

Here's some breaking news of intrest for our Canadian buds. Looks like a car pool might be in order for those of you that are planning a trip to Rochester this summer.

link: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...WS01/601110337


Mayor shuts down ferry, vows to 'stop the bleeding'


Brian Sharp
Staff writer


(January 11, 2006) — Rochester taxpayers likely will be saddled with debt for many years to come and the city will sap reserves, in a stunning announcement by Mayor Robert Duffy Tuesday to shut down the problem-plagued 2-year-old ferry service between Rochester and Toronto.

Duffy ended weeks of speculation in deciding not to back further borrowing to shore up ferry finances and provide for its first full season. Duffy said the financial risk was too great to go further in debt.

"We as a city are bleeding," Duffy said, estimating the city will be faced with repaying $30 million once the ship is sold. "We are now going to stop the bleeding."

Duffy said he will ask City Council to borrow $9.5 million from the city's $12.4 million insurance reserve.

While ferry officials had spoken optimistically about the opportunity of next season, Duffy painted a grim financial picture. One telling figure: In the ferry's best month last season, ship fuel expenses exceeded ridership revenue.

"This is the right decision," Duffy said.

The city backed a $40 million loan, created Rochester Ferry Co. and bought the ship last February. Rochester Ferry then hired Bay Ferries Great Lakes LLC to manage the service. A delayed, midseason startup hurt ridership and revenue during what was the second partial season for the ship. The service lost $10 million in 10 months, exhausting its reserves.

Last month, then-Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. sought to shore up ferry finances, proposing the ferry board be allowed to borrow $11.5 million more — which would have brought the total debt to $51.5 million. City Council backed the idea but delayed action until Duffy could weigh in.

Duffy said Rochester Ferry was out of money by late October, leaving Bay Ferries to cover what has grown to $2.5 million in expenses that must be repaid by the city. Duffy, who never rode the ferry, said he expected the community would be split over his verdict, but he was "at peace" with the decision.

"I'd rather take the hit right now and maybe gain some credibility," he said, noting it was only the 10th day of his administration, "as opposed to next year with an inflated debt, maybe even more uncertainty."

Projections for 2006 showed that, even if the service doubled its ridership, increased ticket prices by 20 percent and had no major, unplanned expenses, it still would come up $2.7 million short. That is the amount owed on the initial borrowing, an amount that doubles in 2007. Duffy said he thought that was a "best-case scenario" but that losses likely would be higher, leaving too little money to continue in 2007.

Support from council

"I think the ferry board did not see it as a best-case scenario, we saw it as a reasonable scenario," said City Councilman and ferry board president Benjamin Douglas. He noted the debt would be similar under either scenario and thought it was worth giving the ferry a chance to prove itself. But he added, "I respect (Duffy's decision). I'm not going to second-guess that decision." Johnson, the main backer of the project, was visibly disappointed Tuesday but declined comment, saying "I have the benefit of time" and that "I'm a private citizen." He said he may comment later.

City Council members expressed regret Tuesday but said it was Duffy's decision to make.

"No big decision is without risk," said City Councilman Bill Pritchard. "I think the community was rallying very hard a year ago for us to save the ferry the first time (after previous operator Canadian American Transportation Systems shut down). We tried it, and it didn't work out. There is going to be an expense to that."

Council President Lois Giess said the ferry was seen as an economic development tool, particularly for the Charlotte harbor area, which is Councilman Robert Stevenson's district. Stevenson said he wanted the ferry to continue but recognized it became unfeasible. He suggested that the terminal could be used for festivals, shopping and maybe even converted into a hotel.

Just what damage the ferry deal has done to the city's image remains to be seen, City Councilman Adam McFadden said.

"If we are going to be a business-friendly city, we have some growing to do," he said. "We're not totally lost, but we've got some growing to do."

County Executive Maggie Brooks said that while she had hoped the ferry would have succeeded, she supported Duffy's decision.

In a prepared statement, Toronto Mayor David Miller called Tuesday's news "a regrettable development."

Dissent

Members of Johnson's former staff were more open about their disappointment with Duffy's decision. Some of Johnson's staff spent years on the project.

"I'm very disappointed that (Duffy) was not willing to take a chance," said Linda Kingsley, who served as Johnson's corporation counsel. "Rather than taking a risk on a little more debt, he chose to let a really valuable asset go."

Lisa Raitt, the president and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority, said in a statement that the decision to end service was "disappointing" and "unfortunate." She said with two shortened seasons under CATS and city direction, the ship was "never able to realize its full potential."

Thomas Richards, the city's corporation counsel, said shutting down the current operation should not mirror the mess of liens and claims seen in 2004. There are only two significant contracts, he said. One, a three-year deal with Bay Ferries that allows for breaking the deal, and another in which Rochester Ferry must pay $250,000 annually to the Toronto Port Authority for docking the ship, plus per-passenger and vehicle fees.

"It's much cleaner than when CATS fell apart," he said.

Richards said the service being shut down is far different from the one first sold to citizens. The initial business plan relied on freight and a 12-month season, both of which were proven unrealistic. Other assumptions were for a money-making enterprise, or time-saving trip. Richards said, "As far as I'm concerned, they were never valid. But people bought them."

The city now will aggressively market the ship for sale — hoping to get nothing less than $20 million for the ship the city bought for $32 million last February. Duffy said Bay Ferries, which once expressed interest in owning the ferry, no longer appears interested. The same ship would sell new for $52 million today, officials said.

"I'm not here to second-guess what was done before," Duffy said. "I stand by what we're doing now."

In making his decision, Duffy said he asked four questions: Can the city afford to operate the ferry? Is there a sound business and marketing plan? Is the ferry likely to succeed? Is this the best way to spend so much money?

The answer to each of those questions, he said, was "No."

BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

Includes reporting by staff writers Joseph Spector and James Goodman.

amonkie

Oye ... that's really sad to hear

I have to agree that taking the ferry is not neccessarily timesaving - I spent a total of 9 hours in October either waiting at the docks or on the boat. Great ride and view when you can see past the clouds though.

__________________
Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

Charlatan

I heard about the squashing of the ferry this morning... That really sucks, I will have to either figure out a way to get to Rochester on my Vespa, or hitch a ride with someone.

WAIT! It's not too late! If you believe in Ferries clap. Clap really loud! You can save the ferry if you just believe!

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

fresnelly

That has to be just about the funniest and saddest thing I've ever read.

I'll be driving down with my wife and son, but I can't promise any seats until closer to the date. In addition, we'll be continuing on to Pittsburg or Cleveland for the weekend, so I don't know if our schedule will match up with others.

This is a real bummer.

__________________
Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life

Strange Famous

I might go

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

tecoyah

Hell of a trip there SF.....you coming stateside for awhile?

__________________
Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

Strange Famous

yeah, Im gonna be staying in CT for 3 weeks this summer.

If the time Im over is the same time as this, I might go.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

emmdubbs

count me in...maybe i wont have to make back and forth trips this time though...

__________________
"You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world." - Tyler Durden

ShaniFaye

Im really sad to know I wont get to sit and talk to you

__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

Supple Cow

Hmm... I have no idea where I'll be living or if I'll have a job then, but I would love to head north and meet yet more TFPers. Count me another maybe!

__________________
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
(Michael Jordan)

cellophanedeity

I will be done classes by then! If I can get off of work, and convince my mum that Rochester won't get bombed just because it's in the US, I'll be there with Simon.

emmdubbs

who me? i have to add some extra stuff aparently my message is to short.

__________________
"You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world." - Tyler Durden

ShaniFaye

yes YOU lol

__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

tecoyah

A quick update:

ngdawg...............yes
amonkie...............yes
Shesus.................yes
Jumpin Jesus.........yes
onodrim................yes
SecretMethod70....yes
fresnelly...............yes
ziadel...................yes
teknotoeknee........yes

uncle phil.............maybe
sportswidow05.....maybe
Charlatan............maybe
cellophanedeity....maybe
onesnowyowl.......maybe
Supple Cow.........maybe
Strange Famous...maybe

ShaniFaye...........no


Still quite a ways off....but looking great

__________________
Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

ZeRoGRaViTY

I think I can attend. I do have to check my budget though to see if I can afford the gas and living arangements to get out there. Wait, let me just yell out my back window to you and ask to borrow 15 cents for gas to get to your house.

Uh yeah...I'm in ;p

Ace_O_Spades

I'm in

Canada day in the USA? Gotta represent.

__________________
Feh.

shesus

Looks like a great line-up. Now hopefully work and finances will cooperate.

__________________
Whatever did happen to your soul?
I heard you sold it

Choose Heaven for the weather and Hell for the company

amonkie

Think Positive Shesus!!

__________________
Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

fasination

Are you people UR graduates, or is this just a random Rochester party thingy?

tecoyah

This is an annual TFP get together....though I dont think we have any UofR Grads in the lineup. Last year we had representation from Canada, Arizona, Oregon, Georgia, New Jersey....hell we may even get a Brit this year....heh.

Update:

ngdawg...............yes
amonkie...............yes
Shesus.................yes
Jumpin Jesus.........yes
onodrim................yes
SecretMethod70....yes
fresnelly...............yes
ziadel...................yes
teknotoeknee........yes
Ace_O_Spades......yes
ZeRoGRaViTY........yes


uncle phil.............maybe
sportswidow05.....maybe
Charlatan............maybe
cellophanedeity....maybe
onesnowyowl.......maybe
Supple Cow.........maybe
Strange Famous...maybe

Halx...................well......one can hope

__________________
Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

ubertuber

put me on as a maybe

__________________
Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam