trinacriabob

Good morning ...

The body style is what made them sell. I think that, once people had owned one or two, the craze faded and the market shifted. And it also shifted away from overly American "Brougham" interiors. I'd love to find one if I wanted to get a second car. I would be happy to just pull off the early days CCC apparatus and see if a "one squirter" TBI unit could be fitted on top of the engine instead of a carburetor. But early CCC was quirky.

Seen yesterday ... I thought I was dreaming! This made me miss my '84 Cutlass Supreme (Brougham) coupe all the more. It may not have been as reliable as my more recent cars since it had the old school carbureted V6, but it was probably the most comfortable and possibly even the car I've liked the most. They've called it "America's Sweetheart" and said it "sold like hotcakes" in articles about the Cutlass when it was a top seller. It's either an '85 or '86, per the grille and CMSL. I'd know an '84 and it wasn't an '87 with the updated front headlights. They decked it out nicely on the outside with (non body color ... even better) rally wheels and the padded landau vinyl roof, but the interior had manual crank windows, a strip speedometer, and the basic cloth bench seat with an armrest. It had the Olds 5.0 (307 c.i.) V8 and, in that span of years and in this type of car, it didn't get any better than that. That's an heirloom engine. Sightings like this seem to make a day a little better.

I just saw a list of one hit wonders from the bell bottoms and mutton chop era. How about this one? Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" ... Too much ... all the way around ...

I was being generous. It's probably higher. One could just look at the college undergrads in pre-health sciences that I knew (not my major or academic unit) and it was apparent then. It never ceases to amaze me how unprofessional and arrogant many are. And how it's a sort of an ongoing fraternity between them and the specialists they refer to. Rather than inserting fingers into orifices to check things out from time to time, a good many of them would benefit from taking out the golf clubs that are stuck so far up their rear ends.

This wasn't a light bulb that just went on. It's a light bulb that has been burning brighter. I've come to the conclusion that 75% to 80% of doctors are in it for the money.

Wishing all our members a safe and happy Fourth of July. It's but a few hours away.

It seems like there is a shark attack is making the news on a daily basis ... in Monterey Bay, CA, on Florida's Gulf Side, on Long Island (a lifeguard), and faraway places like South Africa and Sharm-El Sheik, Egypt. This is horrible. In oceans and seas where the surf was minimal, I used to swim out to where I couldn't even touch or see the bottom. I haven't done that in 1 or 2 decades. The teenage girl in the Florida attack at Keaton Beach was in 5 feet of water. Don't do it. Find another place to swim. Encourage your loved ones and friends to stay very close to the shoreline. Just work on your tan or something.

This was seen last week. I had gone in to get something to eat somewhere and, by the time I exited, there was obviously a car show in the parking lot. a b c d The above, IIRC, is (a) a '53 Chevy. You can (b) touch every spark plug of this inline 6 and the air cleaner assembly looks like a tea kettle. You can (c) see all that room in the engine bay. And you can also (d) see that only one belt does everything - water pump, crank, and alternator. So, there are no belts for power steering, air conditioning, and an air pump. a b c I approached this car thinking it was a kit on a Mazda Miata. It was not. The front end (a) looks like one. The rear end (b) looks less like one. The owner explained it all to me and it's a Fiat product. The rear badging (c) indicates it's a Fiat 124 a b c This is a Chevy Bel Air ... possibly a 1957, but I'm not certain. You can see that it's (a) a convertible, that (b) it has the very durable and popular 283 V8, but no power steering, and that (c) it has an automatic, but it's a 2 speed automatic unit a b c d e And here's an (a) @oldshurst442 vehicle from 1972 ... I didn't look at the taillamps, but the owner told me. The fender badging (b) told me this wasn't any ordinary Cutlass. The engine (c) is an Olds Rocket 350, and the layout of the belts and attachments looks like an Olds V8i. The owner almost seemed apologetic that it didn't have a 455! It has a (d) manual transmission and gauges that were added to supplant what were probably just idiot lights on the dash, and the door panels have manual window cranks. Finally, it does not have A/C, per the climate control panel (e) ... so look at the cheesy plastic applique up top and center to mimic as if air conditioning vents had been there! That was the funniest thing about this car. - - - - - I know a small few who like and go to small car shows like this. I only check out a few cars if I stumble in on one and move on quickly. Some people are really nice and want to talk about their cars, and cars in general. Others are basically cliques of D-listers who routinely show up at these get togethers, have known each other for a long time, and throw out some reverse snobbery to anyone who is well spoken and they detect has some polish. I overheard some talk in the restaurant by some attendees that was really off the mark. I like dirty and politically incorrect jokes just fine. However, the talk I overheard was more mean spirited in its tone and not as funny as they thought they were. Since car shows are often popular with people without a lot of Klass, that's probably why I just keep on driving. Anyway, I hope you enjoy (some of) the photos and, especially you, @oldshurst442

@oldshurst442 and other Canadians lurking on the forum: Happy Canada Day!

Thanks. Windows. And, if a person has more than 1 hotmail/outlook account they've used over the years, how do you decide or indicate which one it attaches to in terms of the subscription, payment, etc.?

I parked my car on a side street to avoid feeding a meter, got out, and saw this: All these ~20 year old Olds Aleros still on the road ... I thought these were cool little coupes.

What are considered the top 3 or 3 most popular (storage) clouds? Any opinions or links to a diluted tech article on this topic? Thanks.

Saw this in a parking lot this past weekend. Given that I never really looked at Corvettes before, this must mean that I like the current model. When the driver opened the door, I believe it had (some) burgundy in the interior, which I think looks great with a silver exterior.

Without looking it up and by scrolling through all these examples, I'm guessing a "frunk" is a "front trunk?" - - - - - I lean toward minimalist, but I do hang on to paper items - maps, articles, in flight magazines, real estate flyers and magazines, brochures, and such that I thought were neat-o at one time or another. I've got quite a pile. I haven't gone through it in about 5 years. I'm sorting it, thinning it down, and figuring out what I might scan. A rule of thumb I once heard is really coming into play: If you don't look at it at least once a year, throw it away* * probably not important documents, though

Unusual grille with the 45 degree angles ... and I didn't look up the word "frunk." However, since I tend to make comments about how tidy and organized engine bays are, this one (and I'm not that familiar with EVs) takes the cake.

Happy birthday a few hours in advance, Mr. Hall. Enjoy your day! (For me, food is always part of it.)

Sometimes we get run down from running ourselves down. I remember that, somehow, I got through finals and tying up loose ends during all my semesters while in grad school, where it was harder than undergrad and I was more committed, got on the plane to fly home, and was sick for about 3 to 4 days with aches, no energy, and a slight temperature. It happened every time. And then it cleared up every time.

I just noticed today is National PTSD Awareness Day. Some people are practically "paralyzed" by PTSD, depending on the severity of it. It can happen to both veterans and people who were not in the armed forces. I believe the last month - May - is Mental Health Awareness Month. The number of people in our country, and the world, who suffer from mental health conditions, and for whom they infringe on their overall health and quality of life, is significant. The general public is becoming more aware of and empathetic toward mental illness. That's a big step forward.

I love Toronto's skyline. When there were fewer buildings (I was looking at some photos from about 20 years ago), they looked more individualistic ... probably because most of them were commercial high rises. Now, the many condo towers that are going up are ruining the quality of the skyline. That's my opinion. And they're all similar tall rectangles packed into one clump. I almost think the best view of the skyline is going to and from the Toronto Islands on the ferry. Most people don't even know Toronto has a chain of islands just 15 minutes off of the downtown waterfront. View from the ferry. The fare is fair. I still like Montreal more. I always will. - - - - - Going back to National Donut Day earlier this month, here are some "nostalgia" photos. This was lunch. This was dinner. Because they require you buy a drink (about $2), I don't think Dunkin' lost any money on this deal. Their donuts are a little over a $1. So, then, how much does that tea bag, drip coffee, or iced tea cost them? Not much. I did not feel guilty about going twice. I was just being a goofball that day, anyway. If someone handed you a donut without other stipulations, then it would have truly been a FREE donut. By the way, lunch was better.

I've got some clean and politically correct ones, which is rare for me and the people I keep company with. Q: Where do fish keep their money? A: At the RiverBank. - - - - - Q: Why are fish so smart? A: They swim in schools.

I'm looking forward to my second booster in a month or so. I'm trying to go to Europe in September, so I want its effectiveness at its peak when I go. That involves getting the booster 2 weeks to a month in advance. I got Pfizer for the first two vaccine injections. I got Moderna for booster #1 some 9 months later. I was a little worried about Moderna because several people I know passed through a few rough days after Moderna injections. However, I looked at its stats and effectiveness and the pharmacist said that the mixing of the two brands (allowable for boosters) could have some beneficial effects. I got the same headache that evening as I did with Pfizer, and that's it. I will again get Moderna. I have had to test (rapid antigen and PCR) numerous times in the last year and a half - to travel or just because you've gone to urgent care with something that looks like covid. So far, all the tests have turned out favorably.

Thanks for posting. I love this stuff! I did get to experience the A-380 .... once. It was on British Airways to London, with a connection down to BLQ (Bologna). I am most loyal to Boeing, especially since I've lived within 20 miles of where they build their big planes. While the A-380 is interesting from some angles, the Boeing 747 is beautiful from every angle. I took British because it had one thing the other European carriers did not have - that last segment upstairs, in some configurations and which may go away, is regular economy. So, to pick out the seat and sit next to the window, I had to pay a little more. The landing is much like on any wide body, but the take off was weird. It seems to lumber along, taking its sweet time to rotate, and, if sitting upstairs, the whole experience feels isolated and hushed. You sort of have to look at the end of the wing to gauge what's going on from an upstairs window in the back of the plane. I'd say it's quieter than the 747 (even the newer 8-i) when taking off, but the noise level is about the same when at cruising speed. It would make sense to fly one of these jumbos rather than 2 full B-787s on the same route (like London to New York or Paris to Montreal.) But it would have to be close to full to have it pencil out. With Lufthansa pulling back on this aircraft, maybe for the time being, they've rolled back the clock. The 747-8i is now their flagship and the Airbus 340 is now the "veep" in their fleet structure. Lufthansa Group owns other airlines besides Lufthansa proper, such as Austrian, Swiss, Eurowings, and others. On Lufthansa and Swiss, one can fly on the Airbus 340 to Frankfurt and Zurich on select routes and I look forward to doing this, since the A-340 is a quad, is laid out 2-4-2 in economy, and is my favorite Airbus product. Here's a photo taken from the upstairs of the Airbus 380 of a Swiss Airbus 340-300 on a taxiway at MIA (Swiss sometimes uses a B-777 on that route). It took me by surprise. I wish I had gotten more and better photos of that A-340!

Yes, 3.9L V8, which is 242 c.i. Thanks. I remembered that it was in the mid 200's c.i. range. That's amazing. That's one small V8 ... smaller than the 4.0 liter 6 cyl. that went into Jeeps. This is one of those cars you like, but are glad someone else owns it and it's basically good eye candy, for lack of a better description.

And, for FoMoCo fans, I recently saw this ~ 20 year old Thunderbird which was one of the better reboots of some classic American iron. I believe these had a 255 c.i. V8, or thereabouts, and its owner was really proud of it. I can see why.