The Lounge

I have no clue what this is.

yeah so i go to pay for some stuff at a store and they run that crazy marker over and it comes up that color when the money is fake? That made a very intresting hour.

Interestingly, no domestics. The lack of stability control killed off last year's Gold/Silver 500 and Malibu. M-class, XC90, RDX, Pilot, B9 Tribeca, and CR-V tests are new. WINNERS Large car Audi A6 manufactured in Dec. 2006 and later Midsize cars Audi A4 Saab 9-3 Subaru Legacy equipped with optional electronic stability control Minivans Hyundai Entourage Kia Sedona Luxury SUVs Mercedes M class Volvo XC90 Midsize SUVs Acura RDX Honda Pilot Subaru B9 Tribeca Small SUVs Honda CR-V Subaru Forester equipped with optional electronic stability control ALSO-RANS Rear protection isn't good These vehicles earned good ratings in front and side crash tes…

I love this ad. If I was thinking about buying a BMW 3-series and I saw this in some magazine in the late 1980s I'd think twice. Turbo

YAY!!! I get a free trip to Cincinnati!! I am sooo f@#king thrilled. Someone couldn't have f@#ked something up in Florida or California or Vegas, no they had to f@#k up in Cincinnati. Assholes. I'm pissed, be back in a couple days.

In honor of upcoming Veterans Day and to honor our Veterans and all Service Men and Women lets do a different Dream Garage. Part 1 Rules: 1) Only WHEELED military vehicles 2) Your 5 favorite in total 3) Any Nation

As I was reading about the death of the Park Ave, it got me to wonder what to do with my beater. Its been a good car. The engine and trans run strong (really shows on its good days) It just seems to have fuel issues. It has no pickup, idles quite rough, pretty bad milage(which could be fixed) Parts looking to be replaced: Fuel leak-tiny-right between back tires. Looks like a gas tank replacement.... As above, looks like a new EGR.... And a new hose connect to the rad...... She's rusty, but not too bad (bottom of doors, rocker panels, bottom of hatch) 13 midwesterm winters will do that to a car... If I do it, I can get help to cut the labor costs dow…

Essentially, Bill Heard Chevrolet in Antioch, TN steals a Silverado back from a customer's driveway late at night. Original post here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2738687 NASIOC members retaliate: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1058177 Complete Story: Part 1 Part 2

This evening after work, I will be heading to Kent Island, MD for the first of two parties in two nights to meet up with some old friends... it's my 26th year High School Reunion. I'm not sure what to expect. I hope I'm not bored to death. I hope I recognize most of those old farts. I hear name tags will be available. So I'll be down there for the weekend. Maybe some hilarity will ensue... who knows. Does anyone have a High School Reunion story to share?

^^^ That is a line from a recent Brad Paisley song, 'Letter To Me'. I could quote a bunch of other songs, since it is a theme that runs through many songs (country and rock and otherwise) and writings.... BUT, as I was listening to that Brad Paisley song the other day, it reminded me that the idea of "better days" and "the best years of one's life" have always made me wonder. Maybe I've never really understood the concept or the human nature of labeling what the "best years" or "better days" are, but it just seems to me that one can't really determine what those are ... until one's life has ended. Sure, you can look back and say, 'Oh, those were better days' or 'Tho…

Sports Illustrated forecasts winner of the 2006 Stanley Cup. THE CALGARY FLAMES!.......and will beat the Philadelphia Flyers for it. Go Flames Go!!!

Link: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=107104

I really wanted to get the SKY a personalized license plate, but could never decide on one thing and never really liked any of the suggestions I got from family & friends. Since I'm planning to part with the SKY, it is no longer a desire. However, seeing as how I intend to get a certain type of vehicle <not mentioning b/c I want to see what you posters think my suggestion means first> in 2009 or as a 2010, I've started playing with some ideas. Look at the picture I attached and tell me what you think it means and if you like it (NJ only allows up to 7 characters/spaces, FYI).

I think at this point almost everyone agrees that EVs are coming and eventually replacing ICE vehicles. I think the only big argument left is the timeline. So the question is: Which today's automobiles do you think will be future collectibles?

Pontiac... Monterey??!! When did they get a rebadged Windstar? http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/200..._Monterey.shtml

How many things would you do differently if you could go back with the knowledge you have now? I can think of several major changes in my life that I would love to make if I could go back in time. But here's a recent one: Instead of trying to pull a Hero Stunt J-turn in the middle of the racetrack after a half a lap in reverse at 40mph, I would pull off onto the grass and turn around safely and avoid a bone crunching rear end that disbled my Volvo and put me out of the Halloween Howler race. Here's a play-by-play photo journal recap of this years Demolition Derby race. Here she is. 240,000+ miles, $100. - Replacement grill from th…

Happy Birthday Balthazar. He mentioned earlier this week that today is his Birthday. All the best buddy. I hope that classic Cab-over Ford and Bubbletop Invicta are completed and giving you many safe miles and ear-to-ear smiles.

Thursday morning, as the sun was rising, you were setting. You never acted your age. You wrote the book on growing old gracefully. Though it was only your body that grew old. I don't think your mind was ever past 40. You were more modern and in-tune than people half your age. A gay grandson wasn't even remotely an issue for you. What a pleasant surprise it was to have an 80-something grandma ask about boyfriends. Pretty great for an old farm girl. Thursday morning, with a son and daughter at your side, your heart decided it was time to go. For the first time ever, you won't be in your chair watching those damn Reds or the godforsaken Bengals when I walk into your ho…

As soon as we finally get a car for Julie with our tax refund & I sell the Suburban I am SO getting that '61 Buick I've been obsessing over. Here's a great ad from the fall of 1960 that explaines EXACTLY how I feel about these cars: http://www.legendarygmmagazine.com/free/buick/61buickspe.php "The Special Size Buick Special: the Best of both Worlds." In other words: great MPGs without having to settle for a common "econobox". Notice the ad in question sits next to an ad for the 1959 Buicks... it's meant to be.

This is my idea for the next S2000 (about as good as any of those japanese "scoop" magazines anyhow). For my final project in my 3D design class I was supposed to make like a desk or something with some tools on it. It's a beginner's class after all. I decided to try my hand at a car, and figured I'd do a roadster (this is my first car model). It's incomplete but close enough (final was yesterday so I had to turn it in). I present to you, the 2010 Honda S2000! * Lighter-weight than outgoing model. * Retractable soft-top folds into forward trunk area. * Offered in three trim levels: base, Type R, and Type RR trim. * RWD X-frame chassis refine…

Check out what my boyfriend thinks is the coolest thing on wheels... *sigh*

I've been playing Super Metroid for the better part of four hours and found myself running through 'Norfair' blowing &#036;h&#33; up and yelling 'I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!'

So I missed this in October but so did many others I suspect. A 4th installment in the beloved Mad Max series, MAD MAX 4 FURY ROAD! Features a Bad Ass Holden Ute! http://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max-4-fury-road/fury-road-cars/fx-holden-ute/index.html The Interceptor http://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max-4-fury-road/fury-road-cars/fury-road-interceptor/index.html Charese Theron is in the movie, new images of her online being bald for the movie and it is being filmed in Australia! Looking forward to this bad ass movie. I hope they do the franchise proud! Interesting Cast: The lovely blonde from Transformers is in the movie too I see. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt139219…

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/13/us-binladen-porn-idUSTRE74C4RK20110513

from supra forums Sad that just sliding off the road would do that - but understandable, considering the speeds that were probably involved. For those of you cryin' - I warned you.

Happy Birthday deftonesfan867. You have a great day buddy!

Today's his birthday and I just realized we haven't seen him around these here parts in a coon's age. Does anyone know what he's up to?

I'd like to ride NOS' mom. Take that old wagon for a spin.

One of my all-time favorite cars happens to be the 1957 Oldsmobiles... and at the top of that list is the Olds Fiesta 88 station wagon. While cruising eBay, I found this: See more pics and info at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/57-Olds-88-...1QQcmdZViewItem Not that I have the money, nor experience, space, skills or tools, to buy and restore back to showroom condition this car, but I'm wondering if something like this is even worth somebody's time & effort? Anyone with experience care to educate me?

Pecking Order of the Jeep 4x4 systems? Thanks to Drew, I had overlooked the web page that Jeep has on their powertrain systems. http://www.jeep.com/en/4x4/ Now that we have this great resource, I need some help in figuring out the pecking order of where things line up or are similar. Why you ask? Easy in the sense that my son who bought out of college his first new auto, a 2012 Jeep Patriot Latitude Trail rated edition is now ready to step up to a nicer auto and has decided to get a Jeep Grand Cherokee. We have tested them and he pretty much has all the details hammered out except for one question he asked me. I have searched and searched various jeep …

So I bought a 12 pack of TaB several months ago because I've always been curious what it tasted like but they don't sell just 20 oz bottles or even 2 liters of the stuff. Tried one can. It tastes fine at first but then there's this...aftertaste...it's not pleasant. 11 cans have been sitting in the hall since then. Fast forward to tonight. I'm eating pizza and there's no more soda. Milk/OJ/Eggnog do not go with pizza for me. So I've broken down and openedup a (cold) can of TaB. Joy. This time the aftertaste isn't as bad to me though. Does anyone actually enjoy drinking it on a regular basis?

My uncle in Grand Rapids is one of the first 2 in that side of the state to get one. He came down to our place today with his black Volt. He's had it for 3 weeks. Got to take it for a spin. Nice driving car. When first powered up and pulling out of the driveway it was on battery until getting on the road and starting to accelerate (keep in mind I'm over 2 hours away from his place so the battery was already depleted). Only when I started slowing down for the stop sign did I hear the motor running. When did accelerate hard for a stretch and you could then hear the motor rev up higher due to the harder acceleration. Regardless the motor was very quit in every condition. You…

I recently started playing the game, and got hooked. A few other people I know play it, but I was wondering if anyone here plays it. It'd be pretty sweet to have an FFA with C&G'ers.

Link

Amazing show at the Chesterbrook July Cruise Night. The highlight was a full custom '49 Olds Sedanette with insanely good workmanship. I'm not usually into these but it really was that good. Another car of note was a '37 Buick 8 Super that was an unrestored survivor with that patina that 68 loves so much. I think that there were 4 or 5 First gen Monte Carlos including one phantom SS complete with a Chevelle cowl induction hood molded into the original Monte hood ( fully Functional). Also there was a Nask Metropolitan with a GM v6, a '69 Caprice (unrestored) with 29k original miles, a '70 Nova SS with 21k original miles, a Plum Crazy Hemicuda, an Atomic Orange Zo6, a '41…

So uh 3 cars were caught cheating already...a dodge, a ford ...and of course Mikey's Toyolet !!!.....this is not real good way for toyo to enter NASCAR...good go'in Mike !! GO CHEVY !!!! Meanwhile I am preparing to do a LIVE RACE ART webcast during the duels and the 500, here's a poster I just did for that;

What's the best store-bought airfilter brand, fellas? I'm with Fram, but want some more flow because I think Fram's a paperfilter. And I don't want K&N.

Here's a blast from my past. When I got my first computer, I only had MS Paint to play around with and I found the drawings that I did pixel by pixel. Not too bad with what I had to work with. I'm guessing this was 1993/94.

We talk about all kinds of meaningless crap in The Lounge - why not this? Everytime that the douche bag cleaning people come into our office and put in new toilet paper rolls, they place them so they dispense/roll from the bottom. It bugs the hell out of me, especially at a critical time. At home, the roll dispenses from the top. Virtually any household I've ever been to has the toilet paper dispense from the top of the roll. Does this irk you as well?

Happy birthday, Enz, and welcome back. After all, you were the instigator of the current "Pictures" thread. Hope UNC is treating you right. Enjoy your day!

I think it's time to move to Arizona... This is ridiculous. My Millenia was never perfect in the first place, but damn. Rust, scratches, a ding? Pisses me off. It always had a bit of rust on the right rear fender since I bought it, but it was barely noticeable. As soon as winter came, it started to get worse. After that, I didn't really pay attention to it. Well, yesterday, I happened to look at it and its so much worse, not to mention I now have some on the left side, too. I'll just let the pics speak for themselves. I couldn't get a pic of the ding, though.

Picture your self now driving in a 94 Silverado with a 350 going down a curvy road at about 55mph your exhaust gets really loud and it sounds sweet. Then a Exhaust mount breaks and sparks start flying out from out of the back of your car. About 2 seconds later it rips off and barrels down the road. The guy following you sees that a exhaust is coming towards him and he swerves out of the way then drives into the ditch. I think "Oh F*ck" shut my lights off and floor it. I park my car at my work place since it was down the road and drive back with the Beater ghetto work truck. It took less than 15 minutes to do this. I pull over as the "good samaritan" and Ask "what happened…

So, it's been a week or so since I washed the Balt. So today it went to the car wash. While drying it, I noticed something: It's bubbling up rust at the bottom of the driver's side door! The Balt is not even 4 years old yet! WTF? To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. I mean, it could just be a fluke, but still....... I'm taking it to the dealership to see if anything can be done.... Man....

So yesterday Sixty8 and I took his Banana boat on a trip to the toy store...er...junkyard. He was in search of parts for it and I was in search of a headlight for the T&C...plus any other goodies that caught my eye for one of the other cars. We spend from 11 until 1 or so there, he had better luck than I though. They didn't have a single first gen Caravan. Although We did see a few interesting things there. There was a triple burgundy Cadillac 1984 Fleetwood Brougham (I think that's what it was) that was in sitting amidst the rows of other Caddies and Buicks stacked on top of each other with nothing on it (yet) The vinyl top was gone and so was the grill but the rest …

NOTE: I figured somebody had to pick up the slack from 98's abscence, and post the latest Autoextremist articles. So I did. http://www.autoextremist.com/page6.shtml#table Detroit's NASCAR Infatuation. In an engaging interview with Mike Mulhern in last Friday's Winston-Salem Journal, Herb Fishel, the former longtime chief of GM Racing, let it hang out with his ongoing displeasure with NASCAR. Fishel told Mulhern that NASCAR is stuck "on a plateau" and that, "For the first time in recent memory there is no big story, no big direction. There has always been something that the world couldn't wait to hear more about. I don't remember a …

So my friend is likely going to buy a CPO TrailBlazer on Tuesday. However, the dealer told him that the 2 year/30k mile maintenance that is included in the program is only good if he has the service done at their dealership. I'm pretty sure this is not correct, and that you can get the service done at an GM CPO dealer. However, I can't find anything that says so definitely either way. They claimed that the 2 year/30k mile was only good at their dealership, but the 12 month/12k mile bumper to bumper warranty is good anywhere, which doesn't make any sense to me. The dealer is reimbursed by GM for the oil change and tire rotations, so I don't see why it matters which dealer…

Fisker Karma V8 Conversion Company Has “Hundreds” Of Orders For those of you who follow the green car industry, you may have heard that hybrid startup Fisker Automotive is basically in bankruptcy. Despite being a gorgeous car, the Fisker Karma suffered from subcompact interior room, poor performance, worse gas mileage, and an expensive plug-in hybrid drivetrain. It was pretty much doomed to fail. Which is a real shame, because the Fisker looks great. But what will the hundreds of Karma owners do now that the company that built their expensive car is going belly-up? According to Wards Auto, at least a hundred Fisker Karma owners have approached VL Productions to replace …

Ok so im in the market to get a new car.... mainly because I am now doing website work for a used dealership and I can get a car from them for auction price. My selections are a VW R32, and Audi A4 3.0 Quattro 2003, and Subaru STI and a Pontiac GTO 2004. All are fairly comparable in gas mileage and options and the like, but this will be my daily driver and I need to figure out which will be better expense-wise (cost of parts, gas, bang for the buck, utility and versitility. Heres a link to the last site i used to compare them on kelleys.... but if anyone owns them or has an opinion feel free to share. http://www.kbb.com/KBB/CompareNewCars/SBSC...amp;ModelId=251 P.S…

The wind around here is crazy, trucks were getting blown all over the highway on my way in this morning. The power keeps going out every half hour and taking out the network. Fun. I blame the wind. For some reason it's 11AM and the whole lab smells like fried chicken, but nobody knows why, or where the chicken is. Not sure if I can blame the wind for that one. Shaping up to be a strange day. Anybody else experience crazy winds?

We have a lot of distractions this time of year, but we are still seeing cars. Seen anything interesting on the road? Tonight I saw a last-gen LaCrosse in black coming up beside me on the freeway. Black is not my color for a car, but, on this LaCrosse, it really amped up the grille, the chrome moulding around the windows and on the handles, and mostly the rear taillamp assembly with the boomerang shaped lamps, which looks sharp to begin with.

Here's a fun one: http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/bar/698259409.html ---------- Hello I am looking for a car but not willing to pay any money.However I have some items I would trade. I'm not looking for any particular make or model 'just a running and in good condition items I have to swap: -1978 Buick Regal,two door coupe,gray,auto,8 cylinder,many new parts including engine/transmission,needs some work to be driven daily,mainly an exhaust and additional engine work,has some rust,has not been ruuning for almost a year,car is a fixer upper -Fake Rolex watch(at least I believe it to be fake) gold in color -Rims for a 1980's Chevrolet Camaro -Actu…

Vital Signs Patterns: A Video Game, an M.R.I. and What Men’s Brains Do By ERIC NAGOURNEY Published: February 19, 2008 Why does it often seem that men enjoy playing video games more than women? Perhaps because they do. … Full article from the NY Times N.B. A study of this size is far from conclusive, but it is indicative of what might be expected from a larger study, and the results are no surprise.

MOre accurately, part of the end-of-semester college experience. I've been up working on my 3D animation since 9 or so..I was lucky enough to get a 3 hours nap...which is why I'm still able to maintain consciousness. On top of my 3D final I'm working on (critique due today), I have a social psychology paper due next week, probably 20 or so essays do for aesthetics (plus the final), and a photography project due Monday...then the final for that class. I also have a test in science next week. College...it sucks this time of year. Any of you guys experiencing this fun too? ...I see daylight....

Clicky

I sure do miss my home state. I love the last line of this story! BLUE MOUND, Texas — When two gunmen smashed through the glass front door of her suburban Fort Worth home, Kellie Hoehn didn't think twice. The 34-year-old mother of two grabbed a shotgun that had been pointed at her face early Wednesday, starting a struggle that ended with one intruder killed with his own weapon and another in the hospital. "I wasn't going to let them get to my babies," she said, recalling the moment when she pushed up the muzzle of the shotgun, pointing it away from her children's rooms. Although the intruders told her to keep quiet, she screamed for her husband. She told her 12-y…

ok guys i was driving to school today and i noticed that the car infront of me appeared to have no driver! then i realized that she was sitting on the other side and that the car was infact a RIGHT HAND DRIVE saturn. the car had absolutly no badges of any sort except for the back bumper that has saturn molded into it. Has anyone ever herd of a rhd saturn?

company xmas party last night. good time had by all. I had about at least a dozen glasses of FREE WINE baby! my favorite part is all the gals dressed to the nines. YEAH! red carpet moments. It's so fun to get tanked and have the ladies get tanked and tell them how nice they look in their apparel. Just use the same words over and over....."you look STUNNING tonight." And be sure to bash their female coworkers...."oh that dress looks SO bad on HER". alcohol, dancing, etc. people doing things they will REGRET later. no major stories for me to tell, it was a hoot but nothing i did i wish i wouldn't have! I ended up at home with the Mrs. and some Taco Bell. Sh…

Well I was thinking about trading my 2005 Silverado in on a new Pontiac GTO. Probably won't happen but ive been thinking about it. Anyway I need some help with info on the GTO. If I get one it would be a 6 speed manual. Anyone have any idea how strong the clutches and rear ends are in these cars. I wouldn't rip the car around alot maybe once in a while. I just want to know if one of these cars are pretty reliable?

Been meaning to do this since he got the car last year, but finally my friend and I had time to take our cars out for a photo shoot. Enjoy!

The race was run on Sunday, Oct 10. Those of you with access to Speed Channel will be able to see a 2 hour presentation on October 17 at 3PM ET. I won't give away any spoilers, but here's an incident from the opening lap of the race. Fabian Coulthard suffers a tire failure and rolls through the gravel several times. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2j1Ra1wDl4 "I knew it was missing some panels when I got out without opening the door." Fabian Couthard. From Friday's Practice session: Craig Lowndes Record Breaking Lap (Bathurst 2010 Practice) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IocxcHPsgs Craig Lowndes breaks Greg Murphy's lap record around Bathurst with a 2:06.8012

I decided to wish myself a happy birthday! Had a fun day, and enjoyed a suprise party from my wife. Even had some good food. Now it's time for a well earned nap......

It's amazing how fast things can change in the span of three days. On Tuesday, I was: knee deep in a project for work with what seemed like very little light at the end of the tunnel; the announcement that my company might need to have another round of layoffs this summer due to lack of incoming work; my stocks were getting hammered beyond belief; I was at 45 hours of work for the week even though it was only a Tuesday. Today: the project went out without a hitch and is probably the most complete drawing set issued of the projects I have been a part of; my company won a project that is twice as big as our largest project we have done to date, laying all employment con…

So my brother's moving, and I spent the day helping. Part of my duties was to drive his truck from the sold house to the storage facility. Bad move on my part. He's got an '04 Silverado 1500 extended cab Z71, 122k miles, with a 330-horse GM replacement engine and Flowmaster exhaust. It was like going home. I turn into a blithering idiot when I drive a pickup truck. Why can't I get it out of my system?

http://jalopnik.com/5185281/study-women-more-attracted-to-men-in-expensive-cars We have a rather motley attraction of rides here at C and G, and this thread is for fun more than anything. What kind of female (or male) should be attracted to people who post here based on their ride? What kind of woman would be attracted to a guy who squirrels away 1960's Pontiacs. or collects Miatas, or drives an old Intrepid, or a Cobalt, or whatever.... This is our chance to make fun of ourselves... Who wants to fire the first shot? Chris

Heh... found these on google. Also, I checked Pontiac again, and appearantly they do offer a spoiler.... G6 Gallery

Well, the 08 All Camaro and Chevy show is done and it was a blast. XXX Drive-In in Issaquah is a fun place for a show. Here is the winner of the best of show for Chevys (other than Camaros) Head HERE for more pics. Enjoy

I rented a couple of movies last night from the everloving Blockbuster. One of them was The Incredibles. It was my first time seeing it, what a fun, action packed story! I love it. I also asked for the earlier version of Crash, with one of the Arquette sisters (no, not Alexis, ha) and I think James Spader and a fine Lincoln Continental convertible... unfortunately, they don't carry it... why was I not surprised. Has anyone seen any good movies lately, either first-run or home video?

I remember back a while C&G moved to the new(er) forum, i.e. the one before this one. So right now, will both forums (the previous one and the oldest one) be gone with the dust forever?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv0vYc1x6po FREE LANDAU ROOF!!! FREE! IT'S Vinyl! Cool car though. And yes, we can bring up the 8-6-4, Cimmaron, Shared bodies between all brands at GM...yes the list is long at GM...but this was too cool not to share!

Why is everybody ending their sentences with this phrase?? I've heard it three times today from three different people and it's getting to the point where it's just downright annoying. Was it on some movie or TV show that I missed? I hadn't heard anyone use it until about a month and a half ago, and now it's infested itself into the campus lingo like a virus. Here's some examples of its usage: Amanda: "Yeah, I took my physics test today and did pretty bad...I'm not gonna lie." Bob: "Yeah, this dining food sucks today...I'm not gonna lie." Why? :unsure:

I just got back from a two day trip to North Dakota for work. We flew into Bismarck the first day, and the weather was horrible...snow, wind, ice. Our plane was a six-seater twin engine Cessna and there was so much ice building up on the wings that we started losing some airspeed as we approached Bismarck. Most of the time we had to stay above 12,000 feet to avoid the ice, which is pretty tough on your body when you're in a small plane that doesn't have cabin pressure. The crosswinds were fierce. I love flying and never get scared, but I was kinda nervous as we were landing. Our poor little plane was being tossed around like a toy. We did our business in Bismarck,…

well thats design.... this 308 or a vw rabbit?? well i think its obvious.. http://www.km77.com/00/peugeot/308/gra/001.asp http://www.km77.com/00/peugeot/308/gra/002.asp

so life has taken a surprise turn, and i'm no longer in the car business (aren't you surprised that it's impossible to make a living in the car business anymore!?!? LOL) how is everyone on here? i've wondered from time to time how everyone is doing...