trinacriabob

I'm UNpretentious compared to most of you guys: - a Chevrolet Monte Carlo LT with a 3.5 V6 VVT as a daily driver - a Buick LaCrosse CX or Grand Prix base with a 3800 V6 for occasions when I have have to lug around people and need 2 extra doors - a Pontiac GTO (or what about a new F-bird as a twin to the new Camaro?) as a toy car (driven on rare occasions and babied the rest of the time) And it all fits within a 3-car garage.

meth (sometime I will post this story)

apple pie

All right! Happy Birthday! You share a birthday with one of my favorite cousins in Italy with whom I just got off the phone. The difference is: I send her $$$. Enjoy yourself in beautiful O.C. (the place, not the person)

driver

NOS: Again, refresh my memory, where are you going to college? Coed, right? What will you be majoring in? When does it start (like in 3 weeks)?

True...the message in Islam is not hateful. It is this subset of that religious sect that is "a problem." While not all Middle Easterners and Moslems are terrorists, the majority of most current terrorists are Middle Eastern and Moslem. Sorry, but to save our ass, we have to do some "profiling." A couple of observations: - this is so much like hating the popular people in school or "Revenge of the Nerds" on another level. Regardless of what they get from living in the US, Canada or Europe, the fact that they feel "marginalized" or that they don't fit into the Western set of standards causes them to lash out. Even most European immigrants have a sense that there isn't a complete fit. - terrorist movements don't last forever - they seem to be generational. Heck, in Italy in the 80s, there were the "Red Brigades" who carried out terrorist acts. That went away as it didn't take hold and pass on to another generation.

wet

I was giving this some thought as I periodically talk to or visit long time friends over the years...some of which I have seen this summer. Do you think most people change? I would say that, while they can, and some should, they don't. Essentially, all of my friends have the same personalities as when I first met them. Yeah, they've grown up, so they may look different over time. And, while they may have a different attitude or are more self-assured (that comes with time), they still have the same basic motivations and personal interaction style. My friend Bob in S.D. still acts much the same way as he did in college. It's just that, being in the business world and having gone through a divorce, he's a lot more level-headed and realistic about life. I have another friend who went to UCLA who moved to Vegas. She still speaks and analyzes everything to death as when she was in college and is cautious beyond belief. Our interactions are still the same. Another friend, John, who lives in North San Diego County, also a college friend, was dominated by his mother in college and is now dominated by his wife. He is easy-going and kind of lazy, but becomes completely unglued if anything is slightly out of whack. He once complained to me: "God, I worked 43 hours this week...I swear I'm tired." Clearly not high level management material. He was a big baby in college, too, if I recall. Another chick I knew in Atlanta came to visit me out West during Memorial Day of 2005 and we travelled up and down the Bay Area. She has a "high-falootin' " job but she is still the same - apparently her Dad was a bastard and that has turned her into a feminist, still reliably taking the woman's side at every occasion, even when they are dead wrong. Nah, people don't change. I went from being more of an introvert to being an extrovert, though I like to spend time by myself, even if I appear outgoing. That's why I generally choose NOT to hang out with most of my co-workers. They really have to click with me. But despite the outward personality change, I was the class clown and have always been a clown at work. And I haven't changed in being extremely analytical, detail oriented and structured (when I'm not clowing around). Except for being more comfortable with myself than I was while in college, I haven't changed. Any thoughts or stories?

sewage

KnightFan: Thank you for sharing those emotions which all of us go through and/or have gone through. I know I feel bad that some people I really like have moved out of my life (usually it's caused by geographic moves, the passage of time and/or the fact that they married and began having kids). It's sad. Fortunately, I have a handful of friends that I've hung on to over the years and miles...I guess it's the realization that they really were good friends and can't be replaced... and maybe they feel the same way about me, like my best friend from college who lives in San Diego and another college friend who recently moved to Las Vegas. In fact, my friend from S.D. were talking about how, despite the fact that we went to a supposed well-respected Catholic university, many people there were basically jerks...I've actually met better quality people from public universities (and I'm not even talking about which religious sect they belong to, that's a moot issue) I've attended for grad school(s). I was going to run a "similar" thread/poll I've been thinking about the last couple of days/weeks and think I will. It's especially bad when you have goings-on like what's in the news today -- truly demonic individuals who place zero value on the sanctity of life. You definitely need to pray for this situation...that it abates. Keep your chin up.

jerking

Paolino, solamente quattro e mezzo giorni di uscire pazzi. Poi sara' possibile esaminare la website con i nuovi modelli e vedere i nuovi cambiali per i colori e le stoffe per l'interiore. E sara' anche il compleanno di mio padre...pero' lui e morto. Ma lui usciva pazzo per le Buick e le Oldsmobile...tutti gli altri macchine non ci interessavano.

The Riviera should NOT be on the same platform. The Velite could and should, though. Seriously, the Riv, if it were to ever come back, ought to capture that market with the same aplomb as when it was first released (unkown experience to me). However, I know that people salivated. That is the emotion a resurrected Riviera ought to evoke.

dill

Isn't that riskier than going on a plane ....when I lived there, I always would ride to the airport in the car right behind the conductor. Seriously, MARTA is a great system. I was in Atlanta once in 2003 on my way to Miami to catch an international flight to Buenos Aires. They had a drill at the airport where they had everybody freeze at the security checkpoint. It was eerie because at first it wasn't known where the directive was coming from. Innocence lost, to be sure. It wasn't until the new millenium, really, that terrorism touched our lives with any semblance of reality. As much as I travel (for fun), I do think about it but the odds are low, so I keep going. "They" want you to be afraid. I can't cave in.

hick

...that is exactly what a COWARD does...

Right. I must have been reading too fast. Good going, Buick.

The West is too nice. We need to bring out the guillotine....and place it in a public square in London....and let people see "the results." Sorry, but if they can do that kind of stuff to innocent people going about their lives, they deserve the worst. Scotland Yard and the police really can't afford to miss a beat, can they?

Buick really needs to disseminate this information AND freshen up some of their vehicles (Lucerne is a step in the right direction) to jack up sales. This info is not surprising as my Buick nears 227,000 trouble free miles on its powertrain. (I've seen this before, it's a little dated as one sees Oldsmobile on the list, and sadly, Pontiac is at the bottom of the GM brands)

yo, "bro"

Long Island iced tea

Funny, I insisted on PARTIAL sedation. I feel uncomfortable about being under general anesthesia. I don't remember any pain. And, with all of them out at once, there was no swelling afterwards. That, I'm told, is unusual.At any rate, since Mom and Dad didn't pop for my braces, I'm getting them now. My teeth are fairly good and the uppers are straight, but the lowers are a little crowded. My reason for doing it is not so much appearance but the ability to floss and take care of them more easily. Good luck. I think BC/BS is portable to health providers within their network in other states.

club sandwich