The Lounge

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/show...ants_news.shtml This will only be funny if you've watched Letterman in the last few years to see all the things Dave has done trying to get Oprah on the show.

Extended warranties - are they a good idea? I bought the GMPP for my 1992 Regal. The car had 3/36 but I got coverage up to 6 yrs and 72,000 miles. I NEVER had to use it once! I guess I should have been mad, but I would have had to pay beaucoup bucks for an air conditioning compressor and such had they gone out. OK, now I'm on the cusp of the new car purchase (in the fall, when I get back from Europe). If I snag a 2006 (some are still around), powertrain is 3/36 so I'd go 72 months again. If I snag a 2007 or 2008, powertrain is 5/100, so the extra year is more for the other accessories...which can be expensive...but I'd still go 72 months. Questions: Have you bo…

Dictionaries have been removed from classrooms in southern California schools after a parent complained about a child reading the definition for "oral sex". Merriam Webster's 10th edition, which has been used for the past few years in fourth and fifth grade classrooms (for children aged nine to 10) in Menifee Union school district, has been pulled from shelves over fears that the "sexually graphic" entry is "just not age appropriate", according to the area's local paper. The dictionary's online definition of the term is "oral stimulation of the genitals". "It's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature," district …

I put this in the Lounge cause I thought I'd get a quicker response......I'm just wondering if any of you Southern California guys are going to the O.C. auto show? It starts tomorrow and runs thru Sunday......10-15 to 10-18. Anaheim Convention Center. I'll be there tomorrow evening......Thursday..... I know it's not a big show like L.A., but it's still a decent show.....and for us CA guys, it's the first one of the season....and usually has some cool things going on (like a Fiesta ride-and-drive) even though it's a smaller show, it's right in the heart of SoCal.....

Dudes, I'm getting a Dell. Yep, Windows has retained a user. It's a Dimension E510 desktop. Important specs: -Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 -Pentium D Processor 930 (Dual Core), 3.0 GHz -1 GB DDR2 SDRAM -250GB Serial ATA HD -128 PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X300 SE video card -17" Analog flat panel monitor In short, it beats the hell out of my current rig. I was considering an iMac but this deal looked too good to pass up (plus, I'm curious about Windows Vista). I don't think I want a Mac as my main computer just yet. Maybe I'll get a MacBook in the future. It should be arriving next week.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/oregon-...rket-car-parts/

I luv the underdog, the forgotten car makes, the orphans. Kaiser is one of them. The father of the Jeep and Hummer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Motors http://www.helium.com/items/247867-automot...zer-corporation

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN or crash Philip Seymour Hoffman or Wakeem phoenix Amy Adams (i remember her when she was an actress at the diner theater my wife worked at so this is a homer pic, she was incredibly talented) Matt Dillon or William Hurt Felicity Huffman WHAT'S YOUR PICKS!?!?!

Just wanted to see who was ready to expand. Give me a late pass about any movements already started here. Posting to ask, since the last time I just posted, I got screamed on in a kinda pissy way....

smashed thumb car door motherf@#k ow ow ow ow

I've been cutting the tall grass in the fields around my place over the last few days, and the stinging insect population is excessive this year. Today I got stung int my right lower eyelid, painful to say the least.

Serious Ouch. Super ouch. Super duper ouch. Freaky ouch. Expensive ouch.

Well, it might be changing big time within the next 6 months or so. First, I've got a guy that's pretty interested in the Camaro (finally threw it in AutoTrader last week), so that should hopefully be gone soon, leaving space for another Camaro. A new addition to the driveway would be the '87-92 Camaro IROC 5.7L my dad's looking to find and rebuild. He's taking most of his bonus and splurging on a car when he finds one. Second, the lease on my mom's '05 4.7L Durango is up in June or so, and my parents are seriously considering getting an Acadia in the driveway. As I mentioned in the GMC forum, I took my parents up to the GMC dealer the other day and they loved the way…

Well... here's the replacement for the Blazer. It's a 2002 Pontiac Sunfire GT. Not what I wanted them to get, but it's not bad. That 2002 Alero was alot nicer, but they waited too long and someone else bought it. It has about 83k miles and it has a 5spd. The interior really reminds me how much nicer the Alero was... Either way, it's a good car. It's basically spotless, but has a few minor problems.

I about craped bricks when we got our appraisal to redo our 2nd. We've owned our home for only 10 months, and it has gone up over 23%. Portland is one crazy place to live when it comes to housing.

I found some great video on one of our major highways and some of the back roads we go on to avoid traffic. Skip 1/2 way through for the better part of this road. Though we use the dirt roads for rallying, we mostly just use them to get where we need to go (mostly wineries). Faiview (the dirt road) is just a few blocks from my place. We live on one of those fancy paved streets in the big city (just over 3000 people).

Our last dog Rosie, a red lab, sadly passed away last september. We have been looking around for another puppy. My mom has been wanting a yellow lab for a long time. We recently found a good breeder who just had a litter of English labs. They are located up north from us, so my uncle who lives up in Morro Bay/SLO took a look at them for us today. We've seen a couple pics of the puppies, but my uncle took some more. My uncle was actually the one who found us our last dog as well, and he picked up Rosie's sister (who was a black lab who also passed away). My uncle picked up a yellow lab puppy last year which sadly died in a tragic accident, and since then he adopted an old…

My wife and I found ourselves a new toy to play with. Its a 72 Skylark convertible for those that don't recognize it.

As you've most likely heard, the Prez is presenting a deal to have the government of the United Arab Emirates take control of major ports on the east coast. Do you think that Dubya has finally "lost" it? I can't believe this is actually happening. He even said....and I quote...."if Britain can operate our ports, how are they different from the U.A.E.?" How can you compare Great Britain to ANY middle-eastern country? In my opinion, G.B. is as close to sainthood as you can get when talking about U.S. allies.... I don't intend to get into a huge political debate here.....but IMHO, to give ANY middle-eastern country access to major ports in the U.S. is taking a c…

My uncle was killed in a head-on collision a few hours ago with another vehicle. The other driver crossed the center line and stuck him on a two-lane highway north of Omaha. We have no details other than both died instantly. The last time I saw / spoke to him was at our annual family Christmas gathering, and I am now regretting not spending more time with him on that day. I'm basically in shock right now...the reality of it all hasn't hit yet.

Wow, After doing some things today and finally just taking a load off look at pop culture in depth and watch some TV. Where the hell have i been. I fell like I was trapped in the 80's and now released in 2007. I feel So dumb founded. Hell Elton John turned 60. I no I have and "can't" have a social life, but damn I feel like a outcast. Stranded in a dead end job for the rest of my life. Although I have a reason i point my finger at every time something bad goes on. I guess I have to stand up take it as a man and be greatful. Is anyone in the same place? I guess I'm going to go for a long drive and just Think of what happened in 23 years to leave me so f@#king out of touch.…

Out of Tuners? An Autoweek writer comments on the sport compact tuner scene and opines on what he thinks seems to be a trend on the decline. He cites the declination of quality and quantity of attendance as possible evidence that the tuning scene may be making its way out. Does he have a point? Read "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?" @ Autoweek

As promised months ago here's the two 59 Buicks that are slowly returning back to nature in a Junkyard in New England. The cars are saddly waaaaaaay past saving and as a matter of fact they're almost useless even for any parts. Tomorrow I'll try to get around to posting some more classic car pics from this "outdoor car museum", many of them from the 1930s & 1940s. The location of this junkyard is a family secret of XPs & I feel priviledged to have earned his "trust" enough for him to share it with me. It's amazing to see several hundred "classics" just siting in the middle of the woods. The proprietors of this salvage yard are true heroes of mine…

Enjoy!

I slept in until after 7 this morning, and when I got up to look outside... boom, reality hit. We have a very thick frost this a.m., and Thanksgiving is coming up next week. It's another year, winding down. A bright spot will be the big auto shows of course, and maybe a nice blanket of snow to go 4 wheeling in, otherwise, I am already looking forward to spring. Does anyone have snow yet?

In a thread about the Honda Step-Bus concept Moltar wrote: This is a great jumping off point for my perspective on the past 120 (or so) years of the Automotive world. The Automobile was is its infancy when WWI started, it peeked once magnificently in the late 1930s and then stagnated a bit throughout the 1940s due to WWII. Many fantastic things were accomplished in the 1950s especially style wise and then in the 1960s the modern car was born & performance was given to the masses in gorgeous, candy wrapper like packages. Ever since then untill very recently the automobile has been in a downward spiral, getting worse and worse and worse. The 1970s saw …

Tonight, I took delivery of what should be my final automotive purchase. Details later.

I am now 24 years of age as of Aug. 14th. :) ...hey, i felt left out. :D

I watched two eps of Overhaulin' tonight, and cars that both began with at least driver's side mirrors (68 LeMans and 70 Nova) were finished with no mirrors on either door! I don't see any evidence that Chip's thrown in cameras or anything, and not only will you get ticketed right off the road in this state for not having outside mirrors, but it's just creepy unsafe. It's simply more confidence inspiring to have all your mirrors. Is he just throwing them on later, or what's the deal?

The above video is all the reminder you should ever need to pay close attention to the signs posted on bridges all over the country informing motorists of their height. We're not quite sure where exactly this particular span is located, but it's 11' 8" height is a good bit lower than what seems to be typical. For this minor little engineering oversight, at least a handful of large trucks have been morphed into instant convertibles. Let's just hope that some of these drivers placed a check in the box for the optional insurance when renting their moving trucks. Thanks for the tip, Stephen! null - Watch more free videos Autoblog

Yep thats right you can buy the very camera that snagged those engine compartment photos of the Solstice GXP, Chevy Suburban, Silverado, and over 65 other prototype cars. The camera is the Canon 1D Mark II. I bought this camera just over a year ago and it only has 16k activations on it. Mechanically everything is perfect and cosmetically there are just a few light scratches around the hot shoe. LCD screen is perfect. You'd never know this wasn't a brand new camera. Everything that came with it originally is included. I dont think I have the box anymore, but I'll keep looking for it. Only reason Im selling it is to upgrade. If you really want a photo, I&#39…

Final 500 Collection To see them all together like that with no mileage. Awesome.

The P-Mate enables women to urinate upright September 19, 2005 The P-Mate is disposable paper device which enables women to urinate easily while standing up. It is in common usage in Europe since launching four years ago and is marketed as a convenient, hygienic, portable, leak proof, discreet, no-brain solution to the bad sanitary and problematic circumstances which continually confront women, particularly at mass gatherings. The P-Mate has become an entrepreneurial success story in Holland where Moon Zijp conceived the P-Mate while traveling in Indonesia, designed it at the Academy of Arts in Amsterdam and commercialised it to national and global acclaim as a clever …

Have you ever done it? If not, have you at least heard of it? I've been doing it since Monday... and damn it's awesome so far. I know I've only done three days of workouts (plus I'm watching what I eat like they suggest), but it's been great so far. My body is sore all over, and I'm getting real results. I'm really just doing this to get ripped and toned, and I think it's going to work. It's the only fitness program I've ever tried, other than lifting weights here and there... and so far I'm very impressed. I weighed myself Sunday night and the scale said 151.4 lbs. This morning I weighed in at 147.2, so that's a loss of 4.2 lbs in approximately 3.5 days, so a good 1.…

My New Baby: -- Precision Workstation T3500 Tower -- Processor: Intel Xeon Processor W3565(8M Cache, 3.20 GHz, 4.80 GT/s) -- 6 GB DDR3 ECC RDIMM 1333MHz (3 DIMMs) -- 2GB NVIDIA Quadro 4000, Dual Monitor, 2DP & 1DVI -- Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit -- 300 GB SATA Hard Drive (10K RPM) -- 16X DVD +/- RW Drive -- Integrated Intel chipset SATA 3.0Gb/s controller All for under $2K with Dell's 3 year Business Warranty. You cannot beat that! And there is room to grow!! I wanted dual processors and another 6 GB Ram, but then I might have sat on the street begging.

Didn't you say your dad was looking for a '69 Grand Prix? I think I found it.

Ocn: Do you remember the Nomad at Carlisle with the pearl white paint at the GM nats show a while back? We were looking at the tint of that paint and it seemed to me that it had a slight blue tint to it. I'd like to find a stock white pearl that has that same look. Any ideas? Everyone: Please post any pics of cars in a factory white pearl, I'm trying to find one I really like. Thank to all in advance.

Given that my G6 is not in, I had to renew Cavy's plates, i.e. emissions test. I went to the PBG dealer I got my G6, and while doing the stuff I sat in 3 cars: Lucerne CXS, G6 GTP and Solstice. Here are my comments: Lucerne: Fit and finish is really nice, but the top of the dash material can really do better. Feels extremely rough to touch. Others such as seating surfaces are very plush and top notch. G6: Surprisingly I find the dash material here is better than the Lucerne. Except that there are some slight hints of cheap plastics (e.g. the lower part of the door, the centre console), otherwise I give it a pass. It's not exactly soft to the touch, but very sim…

alright guys i know your gonna shoot me for making a stewped topic, but here goes i was just thinking to myself, those jettas kinda suck . . . hmmm but nice paint i actually really like the paint on jettas, anyone else notice anything like that on any cars like if caddy has nice rims, honda has nice . . .well i cant think of anything for honda except lawnmowers, but challenge me? and pics would be appreciated, soory for not having one, but its not that same unless you see paint in the sun or just in real life, not nessicary to have an image though

Okay, yesteraday after giving the Dakota a good exterior cleaning at the car wash, I notice some pretty nasty areas on the roof and hood of the truck. Here. Take a look for yourself. The hood: The roof: Another part of the roof: Okay, yeah, I guess it could be much worse, but this still requires new paint on the roof and hood. I mean, just look at the roof. It's stripped down to the primer in one spot. I guess what I need to ask is, what will it cost to get the roof and hood repainted?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=96 Not sure how useful it is, but interesting nonetheless.

Alright, it's self-explanatory. Share your preferences.

Back in the days before people all pussied out and bought vans and box vans and trailers to transport their work equipment, REAL men and women drove panel trucks or sedan deliveries to get the job done. Please share! I would probably step over my own mother to have a 1948-1953 Chevrolet or GMC one-ton panel like this one, only mine would ideally be a work-worn original. Not really a fan of the 1954 models because of the one year only ugly grille (at least on the Chevrolet) and the one year only one-piece windshield (I like the split windshield- makes the truck look that much older). A 1955-1959 model would be awesome too, and OF COURSE a pre-1948 model would be accep…

The other day me and a friend were at the Best Buy in Nashua, NH and we saw a Panoz Roaster in blue. I've never seen one of these or even knew the car existed before that day but, damn they are nice looking cars. Do they even sell these in the states? They look sweet!

lol funny title. Anyway, the Camaro's gas gauge has its head up its ass. Went out of town, filled it up to a half-tank. It was about a 100 mile trip there and back. My car will go for 400 miles on a full-tank, which a full Camaro gas tank holds 15.5 gallons. That equals up to around 25 mpg in mixed conditions. That's about average gas mileage for a V6 Camaro with a 5-speed. So if this is true, my car could have made this trip on about 1/4 of a tank, right? I've done it before, so it did it again, right? No. Apparently, it took the whole damn half-tank to do it. It also somehow managed to go about 50 miles reading flat empty. So today, I put five bucks in it. It obvi…

Why are there no kilts available at the Cheers & Gears Store? They are perfect for summer heat (plenty of air circulation), plus someone could recreate that iconic Marilyn Monroe shot of her standing over the air grate, trying to hold her skirt down. What more could anyone ask for?

Is it wrong that I cant stop watching this? There is something about the combination of music videos, ugly people stripping and the chick from Full House that makes it impossible for me to turn this off.

let me see some opinions before i post my issue. if you have had some expirences tell us. Edit: My reason is posted below an few post down.

Since my mom got the boot from England (visa issues) she's back home and the 'rents have only one viable, working vehicle, the L200. I'm not entirely sure where the Sebring is, last I heard it was pretty well dead. Maybe they'll let me park it somewhere and charge people $5 to hit it with a baseball bat, since thats what the POS deserves. Anyways, since mom couldn't bring her Opel back from the UK, they're going to need another car. She wanted a Prius, but they're not going to have the cash to put up front like we did, and they probably wont be willing to jump through the ridiculous hoops we did. She was quite intrigued by the Rabbit, until she drove it and complaine…

Selective perception: I thought another post said "Parents are stupid sometimes" and then it turned out to be "Pants are stupid sometimes." So, I'll run a poll. So how do you rate the job your parents did? (I actually would have made a decent psychologist since I analyze everything, think about cause and effect and offer advice to my friends (when asked...except for Paulie, in which case I volunteer it). Mine. Honestly: a C- . Extreme inconsistency. We'd take a road trip to Yosemite or Hearst Castle and one day would be great and another day something would set them off. The biggest problem is that they imported what they both came from: a patriarchal set up w…

My mom decided to put our house up for sale without telling me. I actually found out myself when I saw a picture of our house in the newspaper and on the internet. I'm mad!!!!!! We are selling because my parents are getting divorced which sucks. Our house is going for $529000 CAN. Here it is. Hopefully someone who will take care of it buys it. My House We also need to leave that bar there in the backyard. That part is sad because my mom built that herself and it took her about 2 months. She built it for my dad for his 50th 3 years ago.

Today I was informed that my parents have purchased a new car. It is a forest green 2004 Grand Prix. Hopefully it serves them well.

This sounds like something straight out of The Onion. http://cbs2.com/entertainment/entertainmen..._162093302.html

My money is on this being complete BS, but frankly if its true, it'll be AWESOME! Linky

http://allentown.craigslist.org/cto/2522513037.html

Has anyone bought from these guys before? I'm looking at their set of factory G6 floormats. My dealer can't seem to locate them for some reason. http://www.pfyc.com/store/merchant.mv?Scre...gory_Code=G6INT

Do any of you DIY guys have experience with ordering from this site? Looks pretty good at first glance...

I went downstairs last night to let my dog out to pee, and when I turned the back light on, I saw two slugs fu*king while stuck to my sliding glass door. Being the mean guy that I am, I decided to break up the party by sprinkling salt on them. They unhooked themselves, contracted their bodies, and started going in circles while secreting a shitload of slime all over my glass door. It was DISGUSTING. It looked like a camel with a cold sneezed on it. They finally dropped off the glass and started (relatively) running away. I immediately turned the hose sprayer on the door, but that slug slime is tough! It stuck like Krazy Glue, but finally, the full-blast spray …

It's already early June; yet, my older 4 MCs have not made their 2007 debut ... and I have not cleaned up the '87 MC LS by hand. Last year, the older 4 MCs didn't make their debut until mid-May ... which led to not attending any area cruise nights...hmm.... I'm not stalling because of rising gas prices. I believe the "delay" is partly (if not mostly) because of my daily drive to/from work. Since October, I've been driving 30-45 minutes each way to/from work in Schaumburg IL; this finds me "fighting" traffic ... something I absolutely strongly dislike doing ... even hate going for my checkups at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which I did last Thursday, May 3…

A woman was helping her husband set up his computer, and at the appropriate point in the process, she told him that he would now need to enter a password. Something he could remember easily and will use each time he has to log on. The husband was in a rather amorous mood and figured he would try for the shock effect to bring this to his wife's attention. So, when the computer asked him to enter his password, he made it plainly obvious to his wife that he was keying in... P... E... N... I… S... His wife fell off her chair laughing when the message appeared: PASSWORD REJECTED....... NOT LONG ENOUGH

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...ack=1&cset=true (need to be registered) When domestic automakers had their backs to the wall 25 years ago, they could count on a "Buy American" sentiment to keep some customers from defecting to fuel-efficient foreign cars. Today, many loyal domestic vehicle owners say they would be comfortable buying an import. Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research, says the confusion over national origin means consumers are less likely to try to help fellow Americans by buying a domestic vehicle. "Basically, they throw their hands in the air and just buy what they like," Spinella said. When CNW surveyed shoppers coming ou…

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.

Hey Pauli... Check it out. It's closer to your neck of the woods than mine. Looks in great condition. 1993 Black Buick Riviera

Paulie's "Edmunds" Review: 1992 Buick Century When most people think of a family sedan, they think of the Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, the Hyundai Elantra, or even a Ford Aspire, but many fail to consider Buick's Century (because we tell them not to). The Century, part of an aging design on a decrepit body, using GM's tried-and-true, super-old crappy, err, I mean OHV, 3300 engine, is just one of the offered engines in the lineup. Families trying to save a penny here or there can stick with the anemic standard 4-banger (and boy does it bang!), 110-hp engine, but most will opt for the 6. The 3300 delivers 160 mediocre horses, and 185f…

Do you want to this to happen to you?

As one who automatically creeps towards new tech like a bashful baby spider, I recently set-up a PayPal account, but I'm finding their site non-intuitive, and I see nothing that ID's my account, like a.... well.... account number. In other words, what do I give to another person so they can send-me-the-money ??

Got two copies of the same one today - looks very official. Just a heads-up.

article Eating plant-based meals conserves natural resources and slows global warming Looking for small ways to make a big difference for the environment? Why not start by making yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? As members of the PB&J Campaign (no, I’m not kidding) like to say, “You don’t have to change your whole diet to change the world. Just start with lunch.” Eating a plant-based lunch (such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bean burrito, vegetarian chili, or a hearty salad) instead of an animal-based lunch (such as a hamburger, a tuna or grilled cheese sandwich, fish and chips, or chicken nuggets) will save water, preserve land and sl…

My State Police PBA card got me out of 2 very serious tickets today: driving on the wrong side of the road and 'failure to follow the direction of a police officer'. >>Insert gigantic WHEW!! here<< Last time I had a road altercation was '97: a woman stopped short in a busy roadway right in front of me, I swerved and would've missed her completely (my left headlight clipped her right taillight), but a dump truck was parked & blocking the shoulder (so much for 'less-than-ridgeline-handling'!). Then, the officer said "I'm not going to give you a ticket" but 2 weeks later one arrived in the mail after an &#…