regfootball

one of my siblings assigns complete and entire blame for all wrong with her life and others on to my parents. as if they were made of perfection and had never ending resources. it's good to show people imperfection, but back it up with support and love. then at least reality is easier to cope with.

it's been nice and extremely liberating not to have to deal with coworker $h! for awhile. very cleansing for the soul. shoot em all and then they are gone.

what's a 'co-worker'?

ah, i love those cars. someone has a similar age and vintage eldo for sale here in town i should go check out. that was back in a really great era of vehicles. i love that toronado and its stable mates. this is the type of car the XTS needs to be!!!!!!!! not commenting on buy / no buy. clearly you want it, it just seems at what price. we had an 81 electra diesel that blew head bolts. when it ran, it was amazing. you could drive that car thousands of miles without breaking a sweat and on trips it gave fantastic mileage. it was probably the most luxurious of all the cars my dad had until he got his DTS last year. (92 seville and 89 deville included). diesel is so EURO! LOL my dad was always fascinated with diesels as he fixed numerous diesel engines working as an implement mechanic. he always praised those Gm diesels, except of course for that problem they are notorious for. he said it was too bad that they fked that one up.........if GM had not messed it up we may have had diesels this whole time in NA.

is he the queer eye for the straight guy?

at the same time, as deeply as it affects her, its not an excuse to break the law and have socially destructive behavior. but at least wow, something to start as a talking point to patch this up someday. here is the thing, even if you reacted, it was a reflection of how you really feel and you can't make that stuff up. she needed to know how you felt one way or the other. you certainly can change that feeling over time, but i think to be honest about how you feel is as important as 'what move you make' in the chess match. and why do we always have to blame somebody for something bad happening? sometimes things occur and happen in life and its not a direct cause / effect all the time from someone else we want to assign the blame to.

the use of cheap steel is proliferating. just not as fast at GM and Ford. part of me thinks they are not pushing the usue enough on that item. why is a ford edge 4500 pounds? at the same time i do not mind extra bulk if the vehicle is more solid. but if something like a saturn vue weighs 4400 pounds, then its a big problem. the new camaro is physically a large car. it would be nice to see them take 100+ pounds off the front end, even it out 50/50, and make it lighter. if anything BMW makes its 6000 pound aztek feel a ton lighter, i am not sure GM couldn't do the same. narrow up the tires a bit, quicken the steering, a little less cush in the suspension... if the car feels heavy it might just be as much about the interface feeling sloppy and unresponsive in comparison, as anything. of course, the huge wheelbase has something to do with it too.

become a cop LOL

i would probably lean towards a direction (if there is one) to make your daughter go it alone this time. If you do this again, i don't know what will change in the future that will keep the behavior in check or improve your relationship. While of course, simultaneously doing something to insure a better life for the little one. Yeah i know its easy to make generalities. i could relate some family stories probably but in truth i am still waiting to see how those unfold. when it comes to this stuff, each situation is different and so complex and unpredictable. It just seems to me from what has been said here that no matter what you do to reach out and help and mend here it will probably backfire more than anything. so its like a percent chance game. maybe the risk of losing is outweighed by what could be done? I mean, can things get that much worse? what kills me are those who say we should legalize drugs. um no. far too many lives have been ruined with drugs to open the faucets on that one.

thx 4 teh chuckle!

i actually wouldn't want the HHR in black. since i don't race, the sunroof and top heaviness is no issue for me. i would prob prefer blue. Orange is another option as is the red. i would want to add the stage kit. a lot of the hhrs available are the panel ones too...i dont want that. see to me, to pay mid twenties for something like that, i could buy something like an altima 3.5/6 speed that would be equally as fast and more accomodating. that is the problem with hopped up compacts, there are often mid sizers that can be had for the same price which are as fast or faster. hell i could conceivably get a new camaro for around 25k. why would i get an HHR SS instead of a camaro aside from maybe a front drive winter preference and it being a little more accomodating for fam use. i was just reading motor trends recent cruze article. the 1.4 turbo is intriguing. i wonder what the trunk size is compared to the malibu. it wouldnt surprise me if the cruze trunk is as big. also, a focus with ecoboost wont be much cheaper than a fusion with it too, in that case i would go fusion.

I of course have been a huge Ford banger but i admit their new kinetic angry fish styling is not entirely engaging to me. but it sounds like the hardware will be fantastic. especially with an ecoboost. i fear ford will not keep MSRP's under control. The dealer i bought my Aztek from has had rotting on their lot a new 09 HHR SS stick which i would love to make them an offer to. Problem is, the MSRP is 27 grand. I don't care if the handling is good and its got power, to me that vehicle will be worth 16, 17 once i drive it off the lot. The price needs to come down on that. I have test driven one, it didn't feel as fast as I thought it would. Maybe I just didn't lay into it hard enough. I know the stage kit makes it faster. I would for sure be interested in one if the right deal came along. I sat in a nice blue HHR SS 08 used with 4k on the odo a few months back. They had it priced at 18. In that scenario its pretty close to a decent buy. My guess is that that new HHR ends up back at GM for somebody to put a few miles on and then it ends up back on the used market. I have no desire to own a Mini. I do not deny that they are good driving cars. I like the VW stuff esp the new Golf and Jetta/SW. Esp the TDI intrigues me even though i drove a TDI/DSG and did not like the DSG. I don't like VW's five cylinder brick either. The turbo of course is the way to go and last year you could have gotten a wolfsburg jetta with the turbo really cheap. But VW's styling has been soft for me (new golf is an improvement) and i really don't want to be lumped into that crowd who buys a VW. Plus VW's reliability scares me. Why VW cannot put a nice aluminum responsive basic four cylinder in their volume offerings is beyond me. They simply do not want to. They want to upsell you to the GTI or TDI. The Civic is a barfbag. I don't care 'how cool hondas are' truth is the car is selling on name only. Rode in my buddies Civic a few weeks back and i could not keep from chucking. the dash is horrible. the car has good basic virtue for transportation but it is not top of class. the poor styling and interior make it a bottom feeder to me. I like the Fit a little. But its underpowered, and the chassis still feels cheap and insubstantial. The interior is horrible and overall the car still feels cheap. I thought it was an ok drive but other cars are much more refined and as fun if not more (Astra cough). Caliber would have been a nice package with a decent interior (even the new one is lackluster) but msot of all it drives like crap. Too bad chrylser. Agree in Nissan. The Z car is amazing and fantastic. If the interior was less starchy I could honestly consider the notion of a Z Car before a corvette. Nissan used to have nice compacts. How they botched that is amazing. The Versa is one of the worst cars i drove recently. Nissan-Everything they build other than the 370 Z pretty much sucks, and I'd rather have a Vette Used than a 370Z new, plus a 370 is not a small car and not four seats, so...nothing from Nissan. Its fun to watch the Toyota crush being dissolved. The newest WRX update prob saved Subaru from being forgotten. The base Impreza is a good competent car but is a boring drive and it sucks fuel. I think Suzuki has hope. I have test driven the SX4 twice now and liked it. Its like a Fit with more amenities and refinement. I would consider buying one. The neighbor (who works for dodge and also is a huge car fan, owns an SSR) has an SX4 and they LOVE it. I think once suzuki gets the Kizashi and Swift here you will see Suzuki find their niche more. The SUV market dried up and they realized they don't need to be part of it. I think the Kizashi will surprise some folks but the MSRP will need to be several thou less than the competition in order for it to sell. I think the Lancer is a decent vehicle. It seems solidly built. I have not driven one yet. I like the interior. The 5 year BTB is a huge plus. I am not crazy about the hatchback styling perse but the fact its offered is a plus. They could stand to drop prices a bit. I think its a better alternative than the Civic although the fuel economy does suck ass a bit on the Lancer. The Eclipse GT to me a nice FWD option for someone like me that wants a vehicle with a bit of a sporting tinge and is winter friendly. Not many FWD v6 6 speed man sport coupes out there. they could have put a real back seat and cargo room in it. I like the C30 aside from the stupid dash board and ugly front end. Aft of the front wheel the C30 is more to my liking styling wise than the Mini. I test drove a Forte by Kia. FOr a commuter car, its enjoyable enough. Only to a certain price point though. I thought the Cobalt SS was an engaging car but really the interior does get to you when the price point is that much higher. Like you said, writing the check for 60 months is HARD when the car is so fun but doesn't offer the least bit of upscale touches anywhere (aside from a nice feeling steering wheel). You know my feelings on the Astra. It feels so solid and to me has the right balance of ride and handling, steering feel. It feels lighter than the VW's but not flimsy like the Hondas and Toyotas. The XR 3 door with 18" and summer tires has a tish too stiff of a ride for me. The XR 5 door with the sport pack and 17" wheels / AS tires is right on for me. The car is not great with an automatic. You need the manual. Car should have gotten more power and a 6 speed for this market. The buying market in this car is screwed up because of the Saturn way of doing business (good riddance Saturn). They made a lot of mistakes selling and marketing this car. I can't find one now new the way I want and the used market still hasn't brought the prices down to reality because many of the used ones are being sold as saturn certified. The chevy dealer in town has a 3 door XR with 662 miles on it on their used lot here, but its priced way too high and has an automatic. I'd love to buy new but it seems like if i want one I will just have to gradually over time wait for the right used one to show up for a cheap price. I refuse to overpay for this car because the values will drop like a rock. I am sure the Mazda3 is a great car but the immature personality this car has gotten now turns me off to it completely. For my money the VW products will probably be top of the rung aside from that for awhile until the new Focus comes on board. I have no faith that the new Astra will be sold here like it should be.....if it is a Buick, GM will eff uck that up I am most certain. Either I won't get a 5 door, or the styling will be messed up, or they will decontent it, not offer the right powertrain, or price it uncompetitively. I'll prob get stuck in a Cruze. I'll need to use my GM card at some point again. I hear the Cruze is roomy at least. The dash is not too bad. My fear is the Cruze will drive just like the Kia Forte. Pleasant but not at all creating desire.

cheap compacts......where are we at now with this segment? Cruze not here yet. Focus nothing new except some improvements in the 09's. Calibre gets a new and still not knockout interior. G5, Astra gone. Not much time left for Cobalt. Aveo is primitive. HHR also whats next. Jetta soldiers on. Golf is new. Jetta will get some of the same elements as the Golf. C30 and S40 are nice but almost lux. Mini still around. Civic still sucks. Fit now seems to have the hype subsided. Corolla is as corolla does. Mazda3 is new but reminds us of Pontiacs cladding days. At least the drive is there. Sentra sucks. Versa sucks x5. Impreza plods on. Lancer gets a hatchback added. SX4 gets new model variants and boost to 150hp/6 sp man. Forte is a big step up for Kia. Elantra enjoys the CR faithful love. Vibe is dead now! Matrix lives on. PT Cruiser gets a stay of execution. what am i leaving out.

or a cruze........what chevy will become...... to me, the biggest camaro flaw is the interior. its just too cheap and sparse. now, considering what else you get it really isn't a deal breaker....or is it. the 010 mustang i sat in recently was a great orgasm in comparison. but the camaro's body is so sexy. and it has the horsepower to back it up. Chevy can and should develop the chassis to refine it a bit more. but if this car is to be in production for quite some time i would make it urgent to get a knockout interior in the thing. its not priced cheap, it should at least have an interior that doesnt call attention to itself as 'corners cut'.

you do realize that that post is 100% true but that society in the US and the younger me first generation in particular is exactly the opposite? not much of a value system going on in this country lately....

i thought granola biches didn't eat dairy. (eggs). or do they throw some bob reds mill millet in the omelette too?

a lot of women stay afloat / "excel" / keep their jobs simply because they are hot or know how to work it with men. you won't hear this from just me either. lots of 'on the level' women (those who do perform their jobs well) get passed up in careers for the young hot socially savvy women. men even get passed up a lot for this. some mid-late twenties hottie with a new fresh mba and hardly a lick of experience will get a job and pay and promotions that 'the rest of us' won't see ever for various reasons. it kind of makes me sick, as much as i like to be visually stimulated in the workplace....... thing is high levels of employment is more of a social club than anything. in order to get into this club, you need to have looks and social savvy to continue to propogate the dysfunction that is corporate america. this is also why we have -so many- marketing, sales, 'consulting', 'project management', finance, hr, (i.e. non producing, non technical careers) these days.

because guys are comfortable in their own skin. and women are masse insecure. a guy can tell another guy to f@#k off, and its fine because he doesn't need to be loved by everyone. likewise a guy can have a bromance with another guy and be joey and chandler 'best buds', but a guy is always pretty good about satisfying his own inner happiness before another guy. women are so focused on acceptance in so many ways, and advertising and peer pressure has their self worth reduced as close to zero as possible since birth, so.......they really focus a lot on what others think.

when gary met sally (sorry, had to). yeah, where were the parents. i know, you can't put a lid on fun.

oh it does. people are young, hook up, have babies, get married, then they split up and go through their second teenage phase. i see all sorts of that with the people who are my contemps. its like they are trying to relive the whole dating / bar / hookup phase. everyone needs a second chance to try to be happy i guess.....

whitey restaurants on the lake often have good brunches with omelettes too. if its on a lake, and there's lot of white folk with logos on their clothes there, the omelettes shall be good. you won't find biscuits and gravy and grits on THAT buffet.

yeah but isn't the R/T AWD?

just read this on a website about the CRV equinox still has the crawling recreational vehicle PWNED in the mpg department.

its not so much about how the omelette turned out as much as its about who you are making the omelette for and how the prceeding last few hours treated ya........ hotel brunches typically have the best omelettes i have found. always the dude with the chefs hat. he might just be a weekend student but the dude sure knows his craft.

not directly saying that this constitutes 'asking for it', but as i had my kids at the mall to play again the other day (something you do when you are long unemployed) and seeing just how slutty and promiscuous girls even as young as 10-12 dress these days, i can't help but think these girls need a serious education on the messages they are sending and a serious education on understanding that its not neccessary to be fashionable and succumb to peer pressure all the time. i am not suggesting we need to be a nation of prudes but honestly if you put out the vibe (which may or may not be the case, in this case) in the way you live, people can in face make inferences on whether you would be more than willing to put themselves in and to give in in a situation like this. it is true about women wanting both sides of the fence. its exactly as you say. how many women want to have the job, but then really want their men to make 3x money so they can stay home if they want.