The Lounge

Does anyone know who won for "Best Kiss"? :AH-HA_wink:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/business...=th&oref=slogin http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_031.html Timeline 1963 - Harvey Ball creates Smiley face for $45. Widely used in advertising from then on. Sept 1969/1970 - Spain brothers use Harvey's face with the slogan "Have a happy day" on host of items from t-shirts to buttons. Becomes enduring symbol of the early '70s and a global pop-culture icon. 1971 - Franklin Loufrani files a trademark for Harvey's smiley face in France, after selling its use to a French newspaper. Since then he has filed dozens of applications throughout the world and his company SmileyWorld (run by his son) has licenced it to hund…

What soundcard would you recommend for a 5.1 channel system? It does not matter whether it is PCI or PCI-E. I have read good reviews about Asus Xonar Essence XTX. but also have read that it is geared for headphones and some have experienced problems with 5.1 digital sound. Can a 5.1 channel system be "converted" to a 7.1 by adding two speakers?

Yes, you are named after an old Dodge, even though you drive one of those new Eco Cruze Chevrolets. And you live in CANADA omg. Long story short, have a good day, sir!

Well guys. I got bored this weekend and created a couple of pieces of artwork; all digital of course. I have a contemporary style and prefer clean lines. But first I had to create my signature to apply to all my pieces. The only real difference in the artwork is the colors. My Art Signature: http://lakefiredesigns.com/images/ericsignature.pdf My Digital Paintings: http://lakefiredesigns.com/images/stripes1...06_version2.pdf http://lakefiredesigns.com/images/stripes10-15-06.pdf Let me know what your thoughts are.

Well I know theres not to many metal heads here but I wanted to tell everyone I went to see Queensryche Operation Mindcrime in its new entirity Thursday night, at Albanys old Palace Theater. Not the best place acoustically for heavy music. I saw Rush and Blue Oyster Cult there twice 30 years ago and the place just boomed, resonating on a certain bass frequency in the Balcony, but they were very loud concerts. People like Santana, Robert Cray, Jean Luc Ponty, Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer and even Uriah Heep did much better acoustically. Anyhow the Queensryche soundman did an excellent job considering and it was not stageringly loud. We abaondoned the balcony and went downstairs w…

Saturday afternoon, I stopped to get gas before I left town for Freeport IL to see some friends for dinner. The gallons (after almost a week of driving) was 7.729 for $17.00. On the way back home late Saturday night, I thought about getting gas, but decided I'd just get gas today (Sunday) after I did some running around. So, today, I stopped at Walmart, stopped at a no-touch car wash to get the '87 MC LS washed, drove a bit to help dry it off a bit more, then stopped for gas. After I got back home and started inputting the figures into my "gas book", I was stunned to discover that the gallons and dollar amount were exactly the same as yesterday's ... 7.729 gallons for…

...a match made in heaven??? Either scripts and active content are not permitted to run or Adobe Flash Player version10.0.0 or greater is not installed.

The Management has decided a new approach must be taken to improve the working conditions, customer service ratings, and overall image of The Company. Thus, a new Office Policy is introduced below ... and is effecive immediately. Dress Code: You are advised to come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we will assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do no…

Okay, so the engineer at my fire station is installing the remanufacturered alternator on my step-son's '98 Regal LS tomorrow. He asked for nothing in return but I want to compensate him. Would handing him an envelope with cash at the end be acceptable? How much should I give? Never done anything like this before, so I don't want to offend either way (no cash given or too little/much cash). Thanks!

Well I took the Intrepid to Tom Manzi Dodge today to have the oil changed since it was about 100 miles before it wad due. The clerk/technician guy comes into the showroom where I am (ogling a 300C), and says they found an oil leak. Oh great, so it has one after all (if you remember from when I first got the car, the mechanic we normally go to looked at it and found oil on the engine but wasn't sure where and said he couldn't find out until they cleaned the engine...when it got warmer). Anyway, he brought me over to my car which was on the lift and showed me. As it turns out, the Oil Pressure Sending Switch is leaking oil. It's not a big leak, and not that expensive to fix…

www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/05/editorial-confronting-the-bof-massacre-part-one/#more-826490 Interesting to see people junking perfectly serviceable and young body on frame vehicles like Tahoes and Suburbans.

A few points before I get into the subject... 1 ... I had a good 4th of July. 2 ... I realized I really want to be a weather person ... be paid 100% of the time, even if I'm wrong. The forecast, of course, for the 4th of July called for clouds and rain. So, I believed them. Instead, we had mostly sunshine today. But, I didn't get the older 4 Monte Carlos out (they still have not seen road pavement in 2007); I took the time to travel to have lunch with some good friends ... and meet their new, 2-week-old daughter. Course, not much else on my list got accomplished ... go figure . 3 ... The trip to Freeport IL was a bit selfish of me, too ... because it's been a LONG…

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/urine.htm go ahead, have another sip! http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/urine.html "When re-utilised" ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Well guys, I think I told all of you about where I work. I work for an auto parts company, in fact its CarQuest. The particular store that I work at serves one of the two ambulance companies that operate from where I live. The ambulance company that my store serves has one particular ambulance that really hits a special place with me. Its called Angel One, and its a NeoNatal Transport ambulance. Its one of only two I think in the state and one of only a few in the nation that is specialized in newborn and baby transport. Anyway, my ambulance company gives me a call for a set of brake pads, front and rear, on a Ford E450, no big deal, they've got five of them, and an…

Happy birthday gentlemen! NOS, Mrs PCS said to wish you a very special birthday wish from her.

I had lunch today at a local Vietnamese place, it was my second visit ever, and my only exposure to Vietnamese food. They have, imo, very odd tastes in flavor mixing. They use mint in a lot of stuff, and peanut. Today I had crab and shrimp in a soup that really tasted weird, and *gag*, I tried a beverage called "pickled lime drink"... it was nasty. Tasted a bit like rotten limes that have lost their flavor. The only lime taste was as an aftertaste, and it was weak. I guess it's my problem, however, because the place had a healthy crowd of Vietnamese customers... a good sign for an ethnic restaurant, imo. Last week my meal there was better, so if I go back, I will h…

So my parts came today and I put the Sierra in the shop, it will be in there for a couple of days. My boss let me drive our parts runner truck home... it's an '03 Ranger, a base model 2.3L 5 speed manual regular cab 2WD in white with gray vinyl split bench seat, a/c, radio... and that's pretty much it. A customer traded it in with very few miles on it, and it's in spotless condition. Driving the little mule made me realize something, once again: driving a slow, basic vehicle can be good therapy. Gone were my need to listen to the exhaust and to look good. It was driving as transportation, in an honest little workhorse. All pretension was stripped away. Do I really…

No...not me. Though, if I could retire now...I would. I have a LOT I'd LOVE to be doing...he heh. But, no...this is about retiring a daily driver ... specifically an older daily driver. I got to thinking about this as I washed/waxed my '87 MC LS today, a far cry from what I was doing LAST Saturday: http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...showtopic=24912 At least tomorrow I'll be driving my older 4 MCs.... Yes, I'm looking for a winter beater right now...but, I'm wondering if I should retire the '87 MC LS from daily status altogether. I don't really want to....but, well, maybe it'd be better. So...for those driving older cars (older than 1995, including …

What sayeth thou, will we be striking Commandment #2 from the Lounge Rules or changing it in some way? After all the Empire State building was built in only 17 months.

Saw a black or dark blue 63-64 Rambler Classic 4dr w flames painted in the front fenders and hood. Sitting in a driveway.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Trying to head off a potentially embarrassing state ethics report on GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, campaign officials released their own report Thursday that clears her of any wrongdoing. Sen. John McCain's running mate is the subject of a legislative investigation into whether she abused her power as governor by firing her public safety commissioner. The commissioner, Walter Monegan, says he was dismissed in July for resisting pressure from Palin's husband, Todd Palin, and numerous top aides to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, Palin's former brother-in-law. The move came hours after the state Supreme Court refused to halt the ethics in…

This is an interesting quiz that covers a broad scope of American civics history. The link below shows that as a whole, our elected officals score lower than ordinary citizens in this test. I think that speaks volumes for where this country is at today. http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/2008/...al_finding.html The quiz can be taken at the link below. I had 27/33, which is 82%. The average score for ordinary citizens is 49%. Elected officials average around 44%. http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

Hope it's a good one, my friend.

BBC America is showing men who have sex with their cars right now ... :rotflmao:

I heard this horrible joke and I just have to share my pain. A SQL query walks into a bar and finds that there are tables all around him. He says, "Can I join you?". *tom* *tom* *symbal* Thank you. You'll never get that minute of your life back.

2024 was a Presidential election year, with many twists and turns, including assassination attempts and the resultant rare occurrence of a former President getting reelected, let alone one who was impeached twice and had felony convictions. The CEO of Tesla decided to endorse the former President and made a $250 million investment in the endeavor. This CEO also supports the end of the $7,500 EV tax credit not for the health of the EV market but because he believes Tesla would have a competitive advantage over other makers. Despite having obvious conflicts of interest and being the beneficiary of hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies, he is heading an unofficial …

After some delay, I've finished the R8 pics for a semi-rough selection. EDIT Here they are. Detail shots: Interior shots:

and then i killed Baldur.

Enjoy!

I was out and about today and did a walk-about through some dealerships. Here are my impressions: 1. Nissan Skyline: as I was walking across street to the dealership, this car comes up to the stop sign looking like nothing more than a garden variety Nissan from the past. I glanced up and see someone in the 'passenger seat' and for a split second, thought, hell, there's no one driving that thing, no one in the 'driver's seat'. I had to chuckle, it was a right-hand driver, probably imported from Japan directly. I then realized it was a Skyline. 2. Pontiac G6 Coupe: it is very slick in person, but man, I am finding it hard to get used to tha…

Link: http://www.autoextremist.com/page2.shtml#Rant Detroit. Every once in a while, a story comes along that gets us shaking our heads in bemused disbelief. But this week's story may just take the cake. Rick Kranz and Peter Brown reported in Automotive News that J Mays and Jim Padilla have decided that internal design constraints have cost Ford dearly in terms of design "reach" - and that they're going to free up the design process so that Ford's mainstream designs won't suffer from the calculated blandness that they've displayed all too frequently of late (e.g., Ford Five Hundred sedan, Freestar minivan, etc.). Padilla and Mays took great…

http://www.derekscottsautopark.com/lesabre.html :lol:

To start, this is probably a "been there, done that" thread, but I really don't much care. The question is simple: What car do you forsee or would like to see in your future, new or used. And what might come -- such as the up and coming Camaro -- does not count. It must already be setting on a car lot somewhere. Here's what I'm seeing in or considering to make a part of my future (which more than likely translates to late summer or late fall). 1998 Chevrolet Camaro with about 70,000 to 90,000 miles for around $6,000 to $9,000, Black or Silver. Or... 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado for $2,500 to $8,500, "High Toned Son of a Bitch", Black Only And I won't rule out... 19…

How will your current car be remembered once its gone? I'll remember the saturn as the mean green plastic machine and my breeze as the luxury car of the 2.

Why are they here often?

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

Specifcally a 1994-1998 era GT. The attraction you ask?: -Not a bad-looking thing. -Cheap V8 power. -RWD. -Convertible version (if I was so inclined). -Tons o' aftermarket support. -Relatively easy to find. Of course, this may be one of my (what I fear may become) infamous brief infatutions but at the moment it's looking pretty good to me. Any thoughts?

The foglamp trivia reminded me of the light-hating misplaced member who couldn't find the NHTSA dropbox or BlueOvalNews. I hear South African elections are being dominated by Nelson 'Candela' Mandella this year.

The hard drive on my powerbook decided to die the other day. Didn't lose any files, but still a pain in the ass. Anyone have a favorite hard drive OEM? So far Hitachi has been recommended to me.

Although methinks maybe he should have used a Pontiac.... Gives a whole new meaning to a car having an interesting grill up front

The Year Is: 1950 The year is 1950. It's time to expand you small delivery business and you need a vehicle. A pickup doesn't offer the protection from the elements that you like, a wagon's windows make you nervous about theft and you just sold your current car to Oldsmoboi, who is using it to keep those pesky kids off his lawn. You decide a sedan delivery or panel truck will haul your customers things around and give you some space on the side for advertising. The only question is, which one? 1950 Willys 1950 Pontiac 1950 Oldsmobile 1950 Mercury 1950 GMC 1950 Ford 1950 Fargo 1950 Dodge 1950 Chevrolet 150 1950 Chevrolet **************…

MMMMMMMM coconut chocolate and NUTS? or not?

How come when I see this: I immediately think of this:

My folks have been looking into getting a new car recently. Their criteria was midsized FWD/AWD v6 car. Now my folks had always been on the get a new car every 3 years or so cycle until my dad decided to retire from his law practice in 2003 because he couldn't take the stress and how it exhaserbated his illness anymore (he has MS.) So now he teaches law and does internal stuff at Yale. With our house in westport finally sold and our expenses realigned after four years of learning to live more economically and on less in general, he and my mom felt it's time to replace their 2000 intrigue. Now I have to give props to the intrigue. best car we have ever owned h…

To the famous father of the Word Association thread, have fun today, Chicken!

In the last 3 weeks, many of my friends/acquaintances have bought new cars. The friend who had been driving an '87 Corolla (his wife's but she made him drive it) bought a new Elantra (which is now his wife's, he gets the Cherokee). My boss recently bought a new Mustang coupe, which made me jealous. Another friend replaced her 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse with a 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse, totally an exciting move there. A co-worker recently bought a Focus, most impressive thing about that is he paid sticker. All of this has led me to catch new car fever (still want an Edge, though a red Mustang convertible has my eye), I need to find a cure that doesn't involve buying a n…

When I check C&G, I usually check all the GM news brand by brand first. I go in alphabetical order. I then check the new stuff on The Other Guys". After that, I check the Lounge. Following that I check other interesting topics. What is your C&G routine?

No joke. Hawking (and many, many others) have gone public in their concern about combining AI drones and weapons: "In an open letter posted online Monday, Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and hundreds of other scientists warn humanity about such a dystopian military future. Like something from a Hollywood blockbuster, the scientists caution that only a ban on autonomous weapons now can stop an arms race that could see killer robots wipe out humans tomorrow. 'If any major military power pushes ahead with AI weapon development, a global arms race is virtually inevitable,' the letter says, 'and the endpoint of this technological trajectory is obvious: autonomous weapons will be…

Linkity

Was just thinking on my way to work of some vehicles I like that would make others go "WTF, why?????" Cars that may threaten your card carrying status as a car guy, but you like them anyways. Rules are few. 1. Up to 5 choices 2. production cars only 3. State your case for that vehicle like it was on trial for murder and you are it's only defense. 4. Have fun! And go!

NWS but very funny haha

This is ridiculous. https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-california-fighting-caffeine-dui-192312988.html

Talk about ground clearance!! That thing sat lower than my Lumina. I could not stop laughing my ass off when I was behind this, on a two lane road. Then the dude cut me when the road became 4 lane.

1, 2, 3, 4 punch. The 1970 1\2 Pontiac Firebird, the second generation. And what a generation it was. They still look great.

I wrote this on Wednesday for my blog, I'm just going to copy and paste since I don't feel like dwelling on this subject any more than I have to. "I'm going to try to keep this one pretty short... possibly without much structure considering my emotions right now. It's just that, this is the first time I've been home since Sunday. I didn't figure on it when I headed for Dubois that night. I expected to be back Monday after hanging with Salvy and Jay. Come Monday morning, I get a call from my Mom. She was going to see my Grandma who had been in the hospital since last Wednesday for her cancer treatments, or whatever it exactly was. I had wanted to see her and had some ti…

We have come to an agreement on how to handle political threads on C&G. For at least this political season, such threads will be allowed with the following caveats. 1. Any thread will have to maintain the same level of civility with or without political discussion. 2. No campaigning - period. 3. Any overt nastiness will lead to the topic being locked or deleted. 4. Any thread that has politics as its topic must only be posted in the lounge. 5. We reserve the right to re-invoke Rule #2 if things get out of hand. 6. All political threads must be clearly indentified as such in the title or subtitle. 7. Comment on the candidates, issues, or parties - not th…

on ESPN dot come it even says that Bill Ford Jr. wishes Millen was outta there.....LOL

I've had the idea for awhile of replacing the Corvette badges on my car with a chrome autobot (Transformers) emblem. I looked far and wide and I couldn't find a quality badge that would look good on my car. I found a place that could make what I was looking and just got the first run: Emblems are cut from 1/8" thick stainless steel, black part is 1/16" thick. I had the low part painted black to match my car. Emblems are 4" tall by 3.9" wide. I can't wait to put them on my car.

I was looking around at pictures of mid-80s Cutlass Supreme coupes today. They were beautiful...from every angle. For at least 10 years, 1976-1986 +/-, no other car captured the heart of America the way this car did. That's why they were everywhere. Do you think there will ever be another mid-size personal luxury coupe? Can't the market handle just one...either at a Cutlass Supreme price point or a Riv/Toro/Eldo price point? Or is this a matter of timing where the market has to take a break from this genre and then come back to it? What do you think?

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=271450199&dealer_id=57081909&car_year=1995&doors=Two%20Door&systime=&listingCounter=4&model=TAHOE&adModel=TAHOE&search_lang=en&style_flag=2&start_year=1990&body_style=SUV&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&search_type=used&distance=200&lastStartYear=1981&min_price=&rdm=1260061664929&drive=4%20wheel%20drive&marketZipError=false&advanced=y&fuel=&listingPriority=20&keywords_display=&end_year=1999&make3=&showZipError=n&make2=GMC&certified=&engine=&adBodyStyle=SUV,TRADERNA&page_…

http://consumerist.com/2010/05/burger-king-to-offer-actual-bbq-ribs.html real ribs at BK... i'll try that!

...Did you decide to bring this horrible ad to the internet!?!? (look at the banner at the top of the page) http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/default....rc=LeftNav#used

I think I posted this a long time ago, but guess what...? It has family...

What are your favorite interiors on the market today (by looks, not materials)? For sedans, I like the Cruze's (with white trim) and Regal quite a bit. For a sports car, I really like the 370Z's. For SUVs, I'm a huge fan of the new Grand Cherokee and the Cayenne.

well, its come time to finally start making the van my own which means extensive what i would call extensions and repairs of whats there but doesnt work as i would have hoped well i got screwed rims and tires are expensive and i got pretty lucky cuz my friend has a car with the same bolt pattern in the size i want the only visible problem to him was that he was missing two tires and the other two were to be replaced... no big deal right? well unfortunately those rims arent factory they were junkyard when he got them and theyre bent to high heaven..........tried balancing em and it didnt work theyre trash no good so now i have to buy a pair of new rims (no i didnt pay f…

Insanity. I mixed, cut, cooked and decorated a gingerbread garage and Studebaker Avanti. I did it just to say I could. I never really bake and never made a gingerbread anything before, but here it is:

A bored at work thread... I'll start: 1. Water from company water fountain 2. Glass of PC White Cranberry/Peach Cocktail 3. Miller Genuine Draft 4. Stella Artois 6. Glass of water fromy my Brita filter

Now the Challenger! I saw it on the homepage. This is getting out of hand. Have auto designers lost their creativity to the point that they have to re-release such literal translations of old classics? Granted, the Camaro is the best looking of the lot. But the Mustang, the TBird and the Challenger? Way too similar. Heck, the Mustang's dash is an almost direct rip-off. I said NO. We need some fresh pony car designs.

C&G: I'm wondering people's thoughts/opinions on what new technology or features they would like to see integrated into future vehicles. For example, iPod/AuxIn features are hot now. Nav systems were a few years ago. So what is next, Tivo's, etc? Edit: I'd like to keep the ideas centered around integration of new electronics or "creature features". Any ideas for expanding OnStar? Radio display screen customizations? Input like that.... Let me know, thanks! p.s. It's for a class project ...