trinacriabob

I'm in Cali right now and the never ending procession of imports of the roads is daunting. I don't think that someone in South Orange County or Walnut Creek will proclaim loudly that they want a 'Bu over the Camry. I wish them well. They need a good staple car. You don't like the ass...I don't like the C-pillar. Lately, a lot of rental cars I've had have visibility issues when turning lanes. Not fun.

Had a graduate evening class at Univ. of Wash. Same thing. The prof (a real pissy a-hole) ran a discussion oriented seminar. But every time anyone raised their hand to speak, you could tell he didn't care, would cut people off and go on to the next person in a repetitive cycle. He was very cavalier (great word) and elitist and I will not give a dime to the school as a result of the bad slate of profs. there (yet they are always in the Top 50 national universities in US News and World Report).Some teachers want to teach, others want to research and advance the body of knowledge in a field and still others are dysfunctional a-holes who bring their baggage to class.

beater as in car

This thread was started by and is about you.My mother and I were relatively civil after at least 15 years of no conflicts until 2003-2004 when I confronted her about an estate plan and found she could not stand up to my brother who had been influencing her. She essentially trusted that he would write me a check for 1/2 the amount of whatever remained when that time came. Her friends corroborated that I was unfortunately out of the loop because I didn't live in the area. She told me her intent was that I get 1/2, yet it took me a year to convince her that it had to be formalized. The arguing did not let up. It went on every day. I was devastated and exhausted. Neighbors who got a wind of all this and family friends were furious at her and supported me. Some have cut her off. In the end, the attorney told us that everything I wanted documented was the correct way to go and quite standard, based on FIVE paperback books I had read on will and trust preparation. (Instead, my estate plan took a total of 2.75 hours because I was so well prepared that the attorney complimented me). I think that such denial of a major problem and the hell I would have gone through is a damn good reason to dislike a parent and it will be very hard for this wound to heal. I think that this is only surpassed by a situation as when a child is hm-hm abused by a step-parent and the natural parent wants to live in denial that it is not happening. (I know of a case like this and it has destroyed that girl's life). Back to you. The digression was not cool, WPBH and Bill.

KC, bud, glad to see you're back.Greek food is something I actually get a craving for. I love it. I don't crave Italian food, but I think that it is generally better cuisine and tend to like it more...especially when it's Italian and NOT Eye-talian (oval casserole hiding contents under a skin of mozzarella and cooked by a Hispanic chef that has cooked at many of these restaurants). KC, the Mykonos lunch buffet* on Centre Street in Calgary is now G.U. (geographically undesirable) for you! *drooling thinking about it!

Every 6 months or so, ocnblu runs a thread of the "oops, they almost found out" variety regarding his parents. And then the posting starts. PB, I don't think that people need nor want to know as it will cause the imagination to run wild. You would be divulging something akin to a bodily function (hence the imagination) rather than something about you that is more important. Also, since you are not attached to anyone nor have someone you are "championing" in your life, all the more reason not to tell them, since they may invariably think you are sleeping around. BTW, what is keeping you from getting another dog?

ice cream

My buddy is female and Italian, actually, she looks just like Rachael Ray.... She lives south of the 215 in the area bounded by Jones, Warm Springs, Rainbow and Robindale. It's not bad. Saw Henderson and Summerlin and both are very nice...I would pick those over any other area. It's just that I tolerate 90 deg / 90 % humid better than 106. It's the way we're wired. The neighborhoods to the east of the Strip around Maryland Pkwy are .

You mean you can't add the possible range of ages generated from the fingers on one hand and counting up from 38... and you have how many degrees? B, you are probably more age obsessed than others on the site...a Peter Pan issue of sorts? :AH-HA_wink:

Good pics. All possible angles are covered. Don't YOU think the grille is a bit much? Same shape without being as tall and with less chrome impact would have been sweet.

Agreed. The basic 16" aluminum wheels should have been thrown in to the baseline car. Unbelievable. Good call on your part.

The age difference between you and I can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Che stronzetto ! And I fell in love with the even larger Cutlass Supreme of the 70s when I wasn't even old enough to drive!

A lot of people do f*c*ing idiotic things while driving. Several bother me. At the top of my list is this: 1. DOG OR CAT IN YOUR LAP, BETWEEN YOU AND STEERING WHEEL Good Gawd, if you love your animal, that is the LAST place you would put them. In those classes you can take (at least in CA) to hide moving violations, they tell you this. In an accident, the animal doesn't have a chance and will be flattened. Next ones for me: 2. Reading a book, like a paperback novel 3. Make up application There are others, but these lead my list. What irks you?

granola

Essentially, no changes, as we already know. The standard content has gone up to include the leather wheel, the tilt and telescope and a few other items. The optional package is $ 495, which includes (1) the folding rear seat, (2) the power lumbar, and (3) heated seats. I guess that's not SO bad, since the split rear seat cost $ 275 last M.Y. Comment on styling: the new front end is better but not THAT great. IMO, it is TOO tall for the front fascia and the chrome bars are too pronounced. The new shape is definitely the way it should have been, but it should have been a little more understated. Did not bother to get inside. It was 106 degrees in Sin City today and I have NO clue as to how my friend who moved here can stand it. Plus, I am noticing more and more "low life" on this trip here.

horror movie

Wow. I can be the biggest loudmouth and create a scene when need be (horrendous service, etc.) but would never see myself doing that...though it is very deadpan funny.

school yard

Happy birthday, gents. Today, the 15th, right? Not yesterday. You both share a birthday with my Dad who let me know that he shared a birthday with Napoleon Bonaparte. With that being said, my Dad clearly had a Napoleonic complex as he was 5'-4" and ruled with an iron fist. He came up to the underside of my chin. Plus, Leos are cool, if you believe in that sort of thing , and are supposed to be in synch with us mid-December folks. ENJOY!!!

I was in Northern Calif. over the past weekend. I was in San Francisco one day. It is truly a beautiful city, if not one of the most beautiful in the world. One day and I start to feel claustrophobic and, after being in Europe, it's less compact than those cities, with the ability to pull over to a meter or parking spot being quite common, other than in the Financial District or by Fisherman's Wharf. I think I would tolerate the suburbs (notably Walnut Creek) better. Still expensive, the prices have come down some as it had become truly absurd and stuff wasn't selling that easily. Berkeley absolutely makes my hair stand on its ends. Any liberal college town full of hanger-on-ers seems to do that to me. But then, I thought, I'm a product of LA and I think I would tolerate that much better. Yeah, SF is more photogenic and the coastal areas are more wooded and picturesque. Flip side: those same coastal areas make for $h!ty beaches compared to those in LA which are usable and once you get a small ways inland, the suburbs are just as parched and dry-looking as those in Southern California. So, it would be So. Cal. for me. Which area do you like better, even if you haven't explored both fully?

You need to take a picture of THE GATE and post it! Wait, on second thought, it might make it easier for ocnblu to find you!

So, it's another London, basically, but with nice weather. My parents emigrated to Australia from Italy for 3 short years, returning to Europe and then moving to the states. They went to Melbourne because that's where fellow emigrants from the same town went. Their report was kind of "eh." It doesn't hold such pull for me, while I think it is probably an intriguing land. First, the 14 hour NONSTOP (yes, all of them) flight from LA is incomprehensible for my high strung personality. Second, I just went to London for the first time. The left-hand drive system leaves me completely disoriented, even when just walking around. Lastly, beaches chock full of sharks and some of the most lethal snakes and crocodiles assembled in one place. Yeah, I know, ignorance. If I get the chance, I will someday try to get to Sydney, at the very least. If I ever had to leave North America on a full-time basis, my choice would be Portugal...even more so than Italy. It's less hectic.

It doesn't bother me, but it makes me perplexed as to what I emit. Most of the time, I'm in my own world and someone interrupts my silence. Just yesterday, I got asked about train routes on Portland's light rail, and I was wearing a Montreal t-shirt, for God's sake. One day, when I did live up here in the mid-90s, I got asked directions on the way to work, during my lunch hour and going home from work. THREE times in a day. The funniest: - asked for directions in Buenos Aires in November 2005 when I went to South America - asked for directions in Munich, Germany while walking through a rural suburb last month How about you? Do people approach you out of the clear blue sky? For directions? For other odd reasons?

exercise (in futility)

You'll get over it. LOL. Any populated place is Europe is WORK.My vote: small towns in Quebec, north and east of Montreal. SOOOOOO peaceful. But you have to speak frog.