trinacriabob

Two things: (1) God, I hate Subarus, and (2) I am anxiously waiting to see what the next Charger will look like. Next ...

Haha. It's still running. Probably a dog in the snow and ice. Sure would have loved seeing a mid '70s Grand Ville or Bonneville coupe with rectangular quads up front in its place. I'm going to guess that that's the north side of your downtown as opposed to the south side, mostly because I don't see inclines in the backdrop.

Do you like the LG V20? The reviews seem to like it. - - - - - Here's where I'm at. I want to buy a damn phone this week. (I do no want an I-phone.) LG V20 (2016 release date) O.S.: Android 7, upgrade to Android 8 available Battery: removable Reviews: 4+ (around 4.3) Glass: not Corning and not waterproof Quirks: dual screen or something to that effect; will definitely need a strong case Purchase: after market, can participate in "AT&T bring your own phone." Question: will it in fact be new and what does "open box" mean? Kyocera DuraForce Pro 2 Kyocera DuraForce Pro 2 (first version was Android 4 or sim.) (2018 release date) O.S.: Android 8 Battery: non-removable Reviews: high 3s (almost 4) Glass: sapphire (does not scratch) but not as tough as Corning Gorilla glass; some amount of waterproofing Quirks: no FM radio - which I've never used on any phone; sturdy construction but some still report breaking the glass Purchase: offered by AT&T - I would be continuing on at about $15 a month for the phone Both phones: storage, RAM, camera megapixels, etc. about the same for both phones. I want to stick with AT&T (long-time customer) and I want a mid-priced phone since I am not a power user. Of these two, which would you choose? Thanks.

When I was in grad school at a Big 10 school in a not particularly likable location, days with snow on the ground and a bright blue sky and a shining sun were the worst offenders. You would go outside only to find out it's 18 degrees ... or 8 degrees. Saw a LaCrosse of my range of M.Y.s. It had the add-on customized full vinyl top hearkening to the Cadillacs of the '80s. It looked terrible. It was an elderly white woman in the burbs. And someone spent money for that? She looked like she had extra cash. Just like those people spend money to have the fake tire and cover put on the back and middle of a Cadillac's bumper ... wth? People don't get it: less is more. I know ... I know.

It's recent but not new. The LG V20 (Android 7) is such a phone. Have you had more current phones freeze or lock up? How did you get them "unstuck?"

Let us know what you think.

Very true. If I had a Pontiac G8, I'd be babying it. In fact, I'd probably have another daily driver, though I haven't done that in years.

I saw "The Green Book" for the second time last week. It was a free community showing. It was even funnier the second time around. Tony: "Maybe he's a doctor of playing the piano." Dolores: (incredulous) "Is there such a thing?" Two plus hours of Bronx New Yorkese ... what's not to like?

I saw a white Pontiac G8 at a Starbucks parking lot yesterday. I have rarely seen white ones. It was in perfect condition. The white made its simple but great styling pop.

Ok, how about removable battery or non-removable battery? There are still a select few that have a removable battery. I have removed the battery on my current phone some 10 to 20 times over the years to cause it to unfreeze. It was instinctive to do that and it sure has worked.

Right, the developer (for a particular client or business) decides with that business where they'll draw the line. As Android platforms have advanced, I've found that some apps on my phone no longer work. My phone looks like a Blackberry but it's the very last AT&T phone using Android that has the similar QWERTY keyboard. I am now almost sick of it.

I finally did it. I took the sled in and got the transmission fluid changed via recirculating flush. It's been done old school style 2 times prior to this. It's the first time doing this. Prior to this, I had always serviced my transmissions by having them change the fluid and the filter by dropping the pan, which meant leaving some fluid in there. So, within 50 or so miles, the shifts are less perceptible and shift points even seem to be 1 to 2 mph lower under the same light throttle. I don't mind this. However, is it possible that a menu priced transmission service would cause the shift points to change a little? How could that be?

I like the more jelly bean greenhouse. Upon seeing the side view, I do not like the V shaped kink or indentation of the rear lights and I do not like the rear lights that climb over the top of the rear trunk lid. More so than not, it's nicer than the current version. I only hope it's quieter when on the road. In its defense, this brand is one of the easier line of cars (as rentals) to get into, drive off, and get accustomed to.

I agree with this, except that the seating position is low. Damn ... I forgot it's a sports car. I don't like the circular vents in the dash. Someone I know bought one. It's a first year model, maybe second by now. It's silver. This person likes it. When I drive down the street in front of the dealership, they tend to be silver, black, red, and Schwinn bicycle blue metallic. Then, within the last week, I saw one in an enamel charcoal/putty color. It was really eye catching. The price swing between a base 4 cylinder with no sunroof and a V6 with all the options exceeds $15,000, +/-. This is not news, though. The same is true of gradations of big SUVs in the GM stable. I am very mixed on this niche vehicle.

I'm a little hesitant about spending big bucks on a phone. I've trembled *almost* when standing on the edge of a vaporetto in Venice and taking one photo after the next, wondering if the damn thing will fall into the Grand Canal. This railing of a ship, ferry, or water taxi scenario always goes through my head. Therefore, I'd like to stay at a mid-range price point. In general, how long are apps supported on an Android platform? Which is the last Android platform to be supported today by most major apps, or what's the cutoff? Any rules of thumb? Planned obsolescence .... cars, phones, you name it. 1889 vintage ... and to think they had plans to dismantle it.

I'm intensely researching phones during the next week or so. If going Android, many are still based on Android 7. An update to Android 8 is supposedly feasible. On the other hand, Android 9 (pie) has already been rolled out. I'm guessing Android 7 and 8 ought to be glitch free. I'm not sure about Android 9. Besides googling, I wouldn't even know where to look. I know there is one excellent website for compare/contrast for cell phones, along with their pros and cons, not to mention their features listed in tabular form for compare/contrast.

Thanks for the suggestions on laptops. A laptop may come later. At this point, I go between the desktop (recently purchased HP 590) and a phone (which needs to be replaced SOON because it has been irritating me for a while). AT&T either has cheap phones that don't get good reviews or good phones that get good reviews and cost a lot. They also have the "bring your own phone" program, where you buy an unlocked and compatible with your carrier's network and your bill is a tad lower because you are not paying on a phone through them. I've seen some models that AT&T doesn't carry and which I like on-line. With some models, few are new but MANY are refurbished. Would you even consider buying a refurbished phone? And, of the ones claiming to be new but sold by a small indie cell phone mail order store, how do you know they're really new, even if being sold through eBay or Amazon? Any thoughts?

Heard this last night driving home - good '80s music and Eddie Money's best song: For David's mentioning of jazz artist Keiko Matsui, jazz guitarist Joyce Cooling has a song called "South of Market" released at about the time SOMA was becoming a much improved area of San Francisco. Perfect music for crossing all the spans of the Bay Bridge with the traffic moving nicely on a foggy weekend morning ... and that's exactly where I first heard it on a Bay Area jazz station.

The aerial views of the open roof at Notre-Dame in Paris after the fire are distressing. The roof along the entire nave has collapsed and took the central spire with it. There was scaffolding around the spire in the center, so some type of maintenance work must have been going on. Now they will be looking for answers. I'm sure many are thinking of making some type of donation, no matter how small. If the donations go over the needed amount, one would only hope it goes into a fund to keep future restoration and maintenance going. Visiting it, and Paris, are among those things a person doesn't easily forget. Also, this happening within a week of Easter is bad, bad news.

Both good. Simon and Garfunkel's version isn't as lethargic as I recall it being. However, the Bangles's rendition packs more energy. It needed that extra energy to go along with an edgy movie about Beverly Hills kids with "too much time on (their) hands" ... yet another song.

That's true, especially right now. What I read into it was that people in SoCal who are house poor need to spend less money on wheels (the big canyon between the haves and have nots that is getting wider all the time) AND that the Cruze approximates a foreign compact to some degree while the unmistakably American big Impala sedan does not at all.

In the car, I heard the song "One Night in Bangkok," one of the worst songs ever created. There were periodically some stupid songs. Another one I recently heard in the car was "Midnight at the Oasis" (not as bad).

I like the grille, belt line character lines, and lower body character lines better on the gold/brown one. I like the roof line and lower front lighting better on the white one. It is very sad that we're losing the current Cruze. When in SoCal, a Chevy salesperson told me that they don't have any problems selling them, whereas the Impalas move off the floor somewhat slowly. As we already know, it's the profit issue and not the volume issue. There's no GM car in the compact to midsize slot at this point. Meh. Maybe the Malibu is a mid-size even though rental car agencies consider them full-sizes. Funny thing is that the 'Bu isn't leaps and bounds above the Cruze in road manners, refinement, and comfortable driving. Edit: those brown colors for the exterior and interior are nice. It's about time that the tans offered for the exterior no longer look like metallic urine samples and the tans offered for the interior no longer look a few shades off white and prone to showing stains.

I wonder what the de facto most beautiful (usable) beach on the Great Lakes with warm enough water is. Who knows ... Is in on the Michigan/Indiana side of Lake Michigan? Is it on Lake Superior (brrr), which makes for a lot of great postcard views? Is it on Lake Ontario, on either the Canadian or American side? Toronto's lakefront is a continuous strand of beaches. When I think of the Great Lakes, I am more likely to think of the sinking of the "Edmund Fitzgerald" (it occurred in NOVEMBER) than I am beautiful beaches.

I think that the design intent behind this vehicle was to provide a sizable trunk that was ideal for putting various high school friends into and getting them into the drive-in movie theater free of charge.