trinacriabob

So, I just crossed the pond going east and, again, used Finnair after flying AA (the airline, not the organization) to get into their DFW gateway. Their flight attendants have been great on every flight. Q (me): Excuse me, but how would you say "airplane nerd" in Finnish? A (them): "lentokonenortti" (with nortti being the nerd part) This makes sense since the airport is the "lentoasema," so "lento" must mean air and used as a prefix - - - - - Italians are again selling out in preserving their language, and have always used "secchione" but have also adopted "nerd," pronounced "naird" I'd go with "secchione dell'aerei" for the boot country

One month to go ...

I agree and this applies to many who have lived long lives. Aside from those who have medical issues that were not expected or ran in families, these long lived people expended their energy to make good choices, do good things, and sow positive energy. There seem to be few exceptions to this. I'm laughing about your advice to RUN from the car. It looks damn good for its age. It's that GM's colonnades, W-body coupes (gullwing handle in the pillar all the way to this, the very last one), and even a W-body sedan is what I've driven and liked for years. They have fit like a glove. But, yes, even as a second car, it doesn't pencil. I can stay on the "diet," but still read the menu.

Happy birthday @ccap41. Today, or was it yesterday? Enjoy ... perhaps good food (and libations)!

Today, a presidential record is made. Jimmy Carter becomes the first American president to become a centenarian. Happy 100th birthday, Mr. Carter!

More of an intense sudden thought than a random one: I am driving down the street on this beautiful day in the Redneck Riviera and I see this ... ... do I knock on the door when I'm not in a fixed enough situation to buy? It's just what the doctor ordered ... the last rendition of the simple "less is more" base Monte Carlo in white, with alloys, and some glass tinting ... hopefully gray or tan cloth inside. At any rate, this is a 17 year-old car (if 2007) and an 18 year-old car (if 2006) and, well, I'm in love ... sort of ...

He's a McGill business grad, so a Montrealer. It sounds like a private university, but it's public. It's also Anglophone and smack in the middle of Montreal's Financial District. I've never been a fan of sci-fi, so I never got into Star Trek, Star Wars, or even Batman, Superman, and Spiderman. I don't think liking Jetsons cartoons counts. Shatner surprisingly makes the list of the least pleasant Hollywood celebrities you might see on homepages. I forgot the examples they gave. Good that he's high energy at 93. I was not surprised to see Steven Seagal and Jennifer Lopez on the list. Someone needs to remind her she's the product of a crappy part of The Bronx.

I will eat all kinds of Italian food: down home small restaurants in Italy, bistro Italian, Italian-American, and I have even had some excellent Italian food in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay the few times I've vacationed there given that, beyond those of Spanish stock, Italians are the largest immigrant group. I had a cannelloni lunch special in seaside Vina del Mar, Chile for a bargain price and it rivaled cannelloni I've eaten anywhere and at different price points. I still think about that cannelloni lunch. That place in Columbus was one of the worst Italian(-American) meals I've had. And if the two people dining can agree on that, then there's something to it! I can't believe how they pat themselves on the back when they're only resting on their laurels. There is a good Greek and Italian (both) restaurant in the Westerville suburb - near your IKEA - where I once had a great lunch. - - - - - Detroit made big plans, with a lot of elaborate buildings and grand (diagonal, so French in inspiration) boulevards. I believe it was nicknamed "the Paris of the Midwest" because of that. Kansas City, MO also put a lot into its urban planning and may have the nickname "the Paris of the Plains." I tend to retain a lot of "useless" information.

I have not been on the Atlantic south of Virginia Veach VA and north of Jacksonville FL. I would like to see the Outer Banks, Myrtle Beach, etc. sometime. Rough or mild surf? Regular blue or turquoise water? Beach vacations where there's not too, too much going on are the best for recharging. A South Florida vacation might require a vacation on the heels of it. It can be work! Glad you enjoyed it.

I have a hunch that you might need a "Costco lunch" but if you just want to be quick and thrifty instead go hit up "Cafe' 150"

This happens too often when dining out. You order your meal. You order coffee. When you finish the meal, they remove all the utensils. You may very well be working on your coffee and may request another refill or two. With them taking away all the utensils, you have NOTHING to stir the coffee, creamer, sugar, and/or sweetener with! I'd say this happens 97% to 99% of the time.

I'm guessing it was highway miles. And hopefully in Southern Illinois rather than Northern Illinois. Check to see if it's a non interference engine. You should do that with any purchase. This is about timing chains and such. I don't know much about the 3.5 V6. It's a heavy vehicle, so it will drink up. Isn't a VVT actuator an appendage that can be repaired plug and play? How does C/R like this unit? It has the space you'll need. The dash modules are very squarish - FoMoCo. The weirdest thing to me is the grille up front, with the curves, and that's about it. But you seem to gravitate toward FoMoCo products. Do people take dealership purchases to their own mechanics for a look over these days? These aren't my type of vehicle but, within this genre, I like the GMC Acadia, but the reliability is hit-miss and seems to vary year by year! So, this unit is already gone?

Good morning ... ... maybe not

I'm starting to sour on Starbucks. It has been going on for a while. I went in and a grande (medium) Earl Grey hot tea cost me $3.75. That's 2 bags of Earl Grey tea, hot water, a paper cup with a plastic lid, and labor ... and just how much overhead and planned profit? Not only that, they are lowering the bar on their employees who are getting dumb and dumber.

Cathay Pacific aircraft are beauties ... nice understated livery. On that A350, black raccoon paint around cockpit windows, only 14 wheels (total), and it rotated very quickly.

I was going to mention that casinos are a real turn-off. They border on depressing. If a person has a basic statistics course under their belt, they wouldn't go into one. You don't really even need a course. I heard a story of a kid - about 10 - riding in a car with his parents down the Las Vegas Strip. He commented that if these casinos were paying out jackpots left and right, they couldn't continue to exist. Usually, I periodically stop in at casinos if they have a buffet. All of the buffets at the Stateline on South Lake Tahoe appear to be gone. It started with Covid and it's been used as a reason to not bring them back. Most, not all, of the casino buffets in Reno area also gone. "The Row" - Silver Legacy, Circus Circus, and Eldorado - have done away with buffets. The Eldorado had Italian night on Wednesdays that was the one buffet I'd plan the visit around, with pasta, chicken, beef, and polenta dishes that were really something! The Peppermill, Rail City, the Nugget, and the Bonanza at the top end of town no longer have buffets. Harrah's Reno closed its doors. The only 2 big ones that remain are Grand Sierra Resort (formerly the MGM Reno) and it is prohibitively expensive, and the Atlantis, which is more affordable. I used to go into the GSR for their breakfast buffet in the 2000s ... affordable and filling, and most of the food choices were very good. I found a third one with a good price point at the Sands and went in to eat. You get what you pay for. It was hit and miss. A long drive afterwards is difficult. The bottom line is that my stomach doesn't stretch well to accommodate buffets anymore. I'm now going about once every 3 months. I'm not missing them. They're going the way of the dinosaur ... like I.C.E. cars.

Look, it was posted by a certain "Karen."

If I had to pin a genre, or similar to a genre, I'd say classic rock.

An unforgettable piece, especially since it's Bob Marley and he did a special "party remix" rendition of this for an Italian guy named Alex Natale. Discovered in the summer of 1996 in Portugal. An excellent piece to propel your rented econobox, and you in it, up I-80 over the Sierra Nevada.

I'll keep trying ...

I happened to see this video and thought I'd share. The answer? NOT MANY. Not at all .... see the video. That they made ~ 250 of these was decent. I thought they made about half of that number. I flew on 2 of these - one TWA and one Pan Am in the late '80s (to go to school ... and Miami for vacation, respectively). MD 10s and MD 11s are still around (FedEx and UPS, etc.) and the placement of the third engine on the MD 10-11 planes looks spindly. On the Lockheed Tri-Star 1011, that 3rd engine looks "very" engaged. The L-1011 was also known for the highest fuel consumption (per whatever metric they were using) among the wide-bodies, so it become unpopular with operators.

It's photogenic and, for the operator, a full A350 makes coin for them. Having flow on one for the first time in the last 2 weeks - Finnair, which is a good airline - but I wasn't crazy about it. I had to entertain myself for 8 hours and their seat-back screen programs weren't that good. Worse yet, there's no pull-down drink holder flap with the folding table back up in its place. That's a fairly basic need. Also, the only charging available was by USB so I couldn't open my laptop and keep it juiced. AC power is often under the seat in many modern planes.

This is the '90s and I heard it in the car ... The synthesizer going on in the background sounds like an electronic new age corn popper.

INTERIOR PHOTOS The view into the cabin from the driver's front door The view into the cabin from the passenger's front door How configured when I picked it up - note a voltmeter inset with the tach and some interesting things near the speedometer; this is either new or specific to this LT 2, Premier, or other designation for an upline model This is how I set it up. Familiar and easy to operate infotainment and climate control panels The colors and finishes are very nice Sound by Bose A fairly spacious rear seat in the cream/lt. beige color leather(ette) with the darker accents on the belts, in the carpeting, and on the doors This is what this sunroof looks like from the inside

EXTERIOR PHOTOS This is the most flattering color I've yet to see for a Malibu. This sunroof in a rental car was a treat though I barely used it. Here's a stance we've seen for 8 or 9 years and those alloy wheels look good. While refueling it, I took an opportunity to take this photo: you see this standout color, a light beige interior with darker accents, and even an interesting and less common color for the faux woodgrain that work together very well, making this a really likable unit.