trinacriabob

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

Yep, I thought it was kind of a freak show. Though a good student, I was so irreverent about the whole thing and I'm quite sure that irritated some of the tightly wound ones.

Thanks for the info. And yes, I know that Staten Island has a ridiculously low population to the tune of about 500,000 whereas all of the other boroughs have almost 2,000,000 people each. I've been told it's because it's hard to get to NYC by car from it and that it makes a better bedroom community for New Brunswick and that area.

We are not Sicilians of the Greco-Arab strain. Not the case in our family, sorry. In that case and having seen one of your ever-changing Avs, please don't produce any daughters.

I love it. Is that looking at Brooklyn or Staten Island? Is that bridge one level or double-decked, I've forgotten?

orange juice

Yeah, yeah, I know, that of a misogynist as you've previously said ... and that must mean something, right?.......sorry, but I like hanging on to my "valuables" and I've fielded such accusations before...