Random Thoughts Thread

[trinacriabob]

I had to look up the Feast of San Gennaro in NYC ... courtesy of Neapolitan immigrants since 1926.

This crusty dude is of local vintage ... not from the motherland.  He can't pronounce "cacio" correctly because he was probably brought up with a dialect.  It's "ca-cheeo," not "ca-gee-uh." 

Love all the blondies who want to culturally appropriate themselves to being Italian.  I've seen these types in language courses in h.s. and college and they can be pretty dumb.

I should make it a point to be in NYC during San Gennaro.  The official day in Naples is September 19.  The NYC festival runs about 10 days.  I could get lunch or dinner in Little Italy on a daily basis.  But, take note that a la carte street food + NYC prices can make for a dent.  The a la carte pricing at Greek festivals in secondary cities adds up, so imagine how so in NYC.

[Drew Dowdell]

On 9/14/2025 at 4:39 PM, trinacriabob said:

When I saw this, I thought of you guys and how much most of you love Tesla.  This is obviously where they unload these nasty cars.

This is what I saw walking from the marine terminal in Southampton to the train station to fly out to warm weather that same afternoon.

I was following some Europeans with luggage across the street and a green turning lane was still in effect.  A local started yelling at us from his car in that working class brand of UK talk, including all "you 'effin' idiots."  At least I could understand it.  I need a translator for heavy-duty Scottish talk.

The crossing was good.  The ship stayed close to Canada all the way up to Newfoundland and then crossed.  There was only one day of light chop.  There were 2 poolside days in the beginning.  That meant indoor jacuzzis under the glass roof for the rest of the crossing.

Of four trips, the cabin was the best I've had.  The composition of the table was marginal compared to previous trips.  I won't go into it or I wouldn't be P.C.  I reverted to the open seating option on a few nights.

With all that, I didn't want to get off.  A few others said the same thing.  If the seas are good, it's incredibly relaxing.  You're just lulled into another state and it's mostly a good one.

Sooooo jealous! A crossing on the Queen Mary 2 is definitely on my bucket list. 

That reminds me that I need to start accumulating Carnival stock. If you are a shareholder with at least 100 shares, you get onboard credits up to $250 depending on the length of the cruise.  The stock is only about $30/share right now.

[Drew Dowdell]

On 9/17/2025 at 11:49 AM, trinacriabob said:

It's amazing how a leather wrapped steering wheel changes the experience at the wheel for the better (it seems to make for an almost different car from the model with a urethane steering wheel).

It really does, though some non-wrapped are better than others, and I do like wood on the wheel as well, we have that in the 300. 

Honda non-wrapped wheels tend to be good. Chrysler, GM and Ford non-wrapped wheels are awful. VW and Toyota are tolerable but nothing special. 

[Robert Hall]

On 9/18/2025 at 10:55 AM, G. David Felt said:

I will say that my Escalade Steering wheel with the built in knobs on the underside of the steering wheel are just a great comfortable grip for long road trips and confidence that it will not just slip in the hand when turning also on top of leather and heat.

My CT6 has these thumb rest bumps at 10 and 2 that I use often.  But when I’m doing a straight line cruise on the freeway I often hook my thumbs at 5 and 7 so I can rest my elbows on the armrests.  

Edited 1 hour ago by Robert Hall