trinacriabob

Reg, I often wonder how much better of a clergy we would have if they were allowed to marry (that is, for those so inclined...and also if this would bring people to the priesthood who would have shunned it because of the celibacy requirement).

The Wildman is a cool guy* and a Happy Birthday is in order indeed! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! * he has a dirty mind, still manages to be Catholic, speaks other languages and likes 3800 V6s, what more can I say.

The more I get to know Montreal and Quebec, the less Toronto interests me. Seriously.I used to think that having a nice 3-story all brick townhome in Woodbridge (you know, where all the educated and assimilated kids of Italian immigrants ended up, supposedly) could be kind of cool....but that was a fleeting thought. I love Montreal. Its prices have definitely gone up and, with the dollar at par, its not such a great deal. When you could buy a condo on the Plateau 7 years ago for under $ 100,000 CDN and the dollar was at least 1.4 : 1, I say snatch those babies up. (Hindsight is 20:20). Not only that, the people of Quebec were so damn nice to me. I probably look more like one of them than a Guido, which is ok with me. They all immediately spoke French to me. And I was happy to practice my H.S. French with them. When I told them I was a West Coast of the States type of person, they complimented me on my French and wondered where I picked it up. Every single Quebecois I interacted with during my week there was super friendly and helpful. The problem is that I'm a warm weather critter.

Yes. It's overpowering in its shininess (is that a word?). And afterthought is a good moniker...it certainly doesn't integrate well with the more subdued lines of the rest of the vehicle.

LA is just that...limitless, in more ways than just geography. It "lacks boundaries" on other levels, as well. It IS beautiful, for the most part. The setting of coastline backing up onto a mountain range is truly unique, so I really get pissed when someone from Chicago says "eeewww"....well, do you have that? It also has a lot that is frayed and tacky...the Queen Mary being one of many tacky places....now the Valley is supposed to be really laid-back and cleaner, so you must have caught it on a bad day. Unfortunately, with foresight and good planning, it could have been MORE beautiful and MORE livable.True, it moves its traffic pretty well. The good weather and drivers that are pretty adept at negotiating all of this fuss, as well as the lower density, help make things better. So funny that you would post this just as I get back from a week in Quebec where the colors had NOT yet peaked as it had been too warm. Did you pull any real estate mags? You would have liked it LESS after leafing through one of those. Glad you had a nice time!

Sir: I had problems with calculus, too. Then I retook it as a requirement right before grad arch school and got an A. Why? The first time I could not accept that I could not see what an integral and a derivative were physically doing. It bothered me. The second time, I just decided I would follow the rules given to me without question and I got the grade. The structures classes, where calculus could conceivably come in, are reduced to algebraic formulas and a lot of the information is found in tables in steel and concrete books. Statistics is fun. It intuitively makes more sense, at least for me. We could take in a cheat sheet and people wanted copies of mine because it had everything real small and real neat. At any rate, over several "sheepskins," my GPA went up. The first thing that helped was moving out of the house. LOL. I found that constant fighting with my parents while I commuted to undergrad did not help my GPA, though I barely made it into the Cum Laude fold anyway. Some thoughts: 1. Recopy your class notes - corny, but it lets stuff "steep" like a tea bag after the lecture 2. Sit in front and get involved - if class size permits, ask questions and make comments...I am obnoxious, so I have no problem doing that 3. Read the book and make outlines/flash cards. 4. Set out a bit-by-bit study plan for exams that starts about a week before, so you break it up...with a review the night before, possibly with other students. My last sheepskin exceeded 3.9 and I did this as an adult working during the day. However, I "lived" at B&N, Starbucks and the library in my spare time doing the above things. Best of luck to you. In the end, it really is worth it.

I have a membership to 24 Hour Fitness, which I bought in Northern California in 1996. They charge my bank account, you guessed it, $ 24 a month. They are all over the West and in other states as well, judging from the map. I also belong to Bally's which I bought when I moved to the Seattle area(there are about 10 in Oregon, too). It's such a cheap renewal now that I just pay it because I would spend more in join-up fees if I moved. For example, ATL and FL have Bally's, but not 24 Hour Fitness. OK, the "low cost" gyms have problems of their own...the clientele they attract. In June, before moving up North, I went to 24 Hour Fitness the evening that a friend was going to come over to help me load my rented truck. I didn't particularly like that location, so I wondered how much I should put in the locker, so I kept my keys in the pocket of my shorts. My wallet always stays in a hidden place in my car. After a quick workout and 30 minutes on the elliptical, I came back to find my lock cut, as were 2 others!!! They looked around and didn't take anything because there were no valuables. If they had stolen my keys, I couldn't have gotten into my place and loaded my rental truck with my friend that night. The Ballys in Portland are all fairly nice, by comparison, and the crowd is a little more suburban, but the crowd at some 24 Hour Fitnesses I've seen in Northern Cal/Northern Nev can be a little Do you belong to a gym? Is it a "low cost" one? Are there problems such as this? Be careful.

Now this is one car that, overall, I like a lot. It's really poised. There are a couple of "nips and tucks" I'd do with a pencil but, overall, it's a giant leap from its predecessor. I am really looking forward to test-driving one. It looks like GM is turning out a stable of winners.

Well, I've had to have mine made for me, so kudos to you.I don't know you, but somehow, it's you, judging from your cumulative posting. BTW, K.C., where are you originally from (state in the US or province in Canada)?

Went up to the new LaCrosse/Allure at a dealership and am having trouble digesting the new 2008 grille, and I was really looking forward to a freshening. Looking at nearby Lucernes, I thought the grille would be much nicer and subtler if "blacked out" as it is on the larger vehicle. At the very least, they should offer both versions. I voted for that option in the poll. Your thoughts and comments...

I feel like a salmon swimming upstream, as I am not a big fan of the Enclave and not gushing over the CTS either. Tonight, I went for a ride up toward Vancouver (WA) and back down the Portland side of the river just for the hell of it. I stopped at a Cad/Buick/Pontiac dealer where the salesman was an asshole (I told him I was not local and was moving soon but he kept pushing. I walked away shortly thereafter). I saw the new CTS. The thickness of the rear panels once inside are "blind spot hell" ... OMG. I think that the basic silhouette is fine but it has to many creased edges in the rear, around the taillights and the eye-level lamp. The front grille dives down too low and is way too "sliced and diced" for my taste. Again, the basic shape is fresh, but the execution could have been cleaner. As for the interior, the seats are comfortable and nicely articulated. The center stack and placement of the vents is both visually and functionally pleasing, though the buttons for the A/C and such don't accommodate regular or larger sized fingers. The smallish cowl on the instrument cluster looks almost G-6-ish. I wanted a cowl/instrument unit that looked more substantial. Whatever. It seems to be a popular seller for Caddy, so I'm happy.

It's been a long time since we've seen this. Not long ago, I remember the $ 18.60 +/- stock price. It takes money to make money and one who has spare cash laying around could have bought a chunk of shares, sold them today, and paid Bush's smaller capital gains tax on these (it won't be 15% with the next administration...LOL). In fact, that's what a lot of rich investors have done...they buy strong companies in a down cycle and wait for the upturn. I bought several hundred at $ 21 and sold them at $ 37. Could have done better, but, in less than 2 years, not bad, I guess. Any thoughts on GM stock? Do you see it doing a meteoric rise like Boeing?

Thanks, Har. I have NO trouble getting some when I decide to.It's also fairly uncool to keep posting under the name of a person that's gone from C&G. I'm surprised the other mods haven't shut this down. It takes down the overall credibility of the site.

No...an inflated figure, Custom...and you're getting to be kind of an asshole...

DEJA VU - UV AJED Ain't that the truth

Thanks, Fly. I never said my mind wasn't somewhat weird...but then, most people here are kind of weird or they wouldn't be obsessed with cars to this extent and post on this site to the extent they do. It's just that P-C-S is....well....P-C-S. Just an opportunity to rib the Borg...nothing more.

I swear...your mind is a weird place. to you, too.

Susan

+1 Amen, as the current double decked cantilevered monstrosity between Treasure/Yerba Buena Island and Oakland is an eyesore...and dangerous to boot. I feel that the central tower kind of harkens to the Coit Tower, in a broadbrush kind of way. It will be nice to drive into SF from the east on such a nice new bridge. They will need FIVE lanes of vehicular traffic in each direction to mate seamlessly with the Bay Bridge's two decks of traffic. Learn something new every day: the REAL reason why the GW sings! LOL.

rotund

Do you see much difference in the Throg's Neck and the Whitestone (they are visible from each other)? I like that neighborhood in Queens the Whitestone lands into, with all those all-brick gingerbread-cookie looking houses...quite a treat from beige stucco and mission tile roofs I grew up with out West. But, in a Yiddish accent, I say to myself "Vell, I can't live here, I vould be the token goyem on the block. Oy" The GW is funny in that it had beautiful proportions and then looks both chunky because of the towers and spindly because they are not solids, but rather, carried out in braced lattice-type framework. From the boat ride around Manhattan, the GW is known as "the bridge that sings," presumably for it's beauty at the time it was fairly new. I love pictures of the Verrazzano with great liners such as the QE2 and the QM2 going under it...borderline orgasmic!

Very cool...no wonder you're so multi-faceted.

Just curious, what did you study before grad school? Engineering or something related?

Oh brother, that is the EXCEPTION and not the rule. I just spent almost a month during the summer lying on beaches in Italy and I DID NOT see anything like that. However, what I did see is that Italian women, who are obsessed with being thin, have gotten chunkier...my cousins said it's the importation of fast food and bad on-the-run eating habits over the last decade or so.

Kind of like this?cl*t l*ck*r ??? My response to thread: mud wrestling