Random Thoughts Thread

[David]

@surreal1272 Welcome to the 50 plus club! Hope you have a great Birthday.

[Robert Hall]

@surreal1272happy birthday!  Hope you are somewhere semi-warm for the holiday weekend. 

[David]

@oldshurst442 @ccap41 Seems more cars are being killed off in 2023.

What cars are being discontinued in 2023? Honda, Toyota and Chevrolet are all axing models (msn.com)

[ccap41]

3 minutes ago, David said:

@oldshurst442 @ccap41 Seems more cars are being killed off in 2023.

What cars are being discontinued in 2023? Honda, Toyota and Chevrolet are all axing models (msn.com)

The Encore is surprising to me. I always thought that sold really well. 

Ford shouldn't axe the EcoSport. They need an all-new one but I think they should have something in that small CUV category. 

[David]

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

The Encore is surprising to me. I always thought that sold really well. 

Ford shouldn't axe the EcoSport. They need an all-new one but I think they should have something in that small CUV category. 

I understand the Encore as there is the Encore GX just a smidge bigger. Always thought it was weird to compete with yourself.

[ccap41]

9 minutes ago, David said:

I understand the Encore as there is the Encore GX just a smidge bigger. Always thought it was weird to compete with yourself.

Oh yeah, I forgot that was a thing. Yeah, only one needs to be around and I guess the slightly larger one should stay. 

[trinacriabob]

4 hours ago, David said:

@oldshurst442 @ccap41 Seems more cars are being killed off in 2023.

What cars are being discontinued in 2023? Honda, Toyota and Chevrolet are all axing models (msn.com)

Interesting but not surprised that the Encore is going.  It's not really Buick enough and never was.  You see them in Europe where, in some countries, they are the Opel Mokka.  They run with an even smaller engine over there.

I developed a weak spot for the Chevy Spark based on rentals.  They were cute little turds.  They were cheap to rent, cheap to refuel, and a go-kart to scoot around in (with not much of a trunk for luggage).

I hate to see the VW Passat go.  I had come to like them and it was constantly evolving into a more dignified model.  I believe they are retaining the more expensive (but not a good value) VW Arteon, but I'd have to recheck that.

[ccap41]

Who else is getting blasted by this winter storm?

It's currently -1 degrees F with a 20+mph winds, "feels like" -24 degrees F.

Yesterday was the big initial hit. I woke up and it was 35 degrees F and it dropped to about 5 degrees F by noon. We only got about 3 inches of snow but the cold and wind are brutal. I believe today's high is 6 degrees F but winds in the 20-30mph range for the next day or so. 

[Robert Hall]

-4F here outside Cleveland, blowing snow and very windy.   Was 40F at midnight.    Power is on, just baked some taquitos.   Enjoying them with a margarita.   Off until Jan 3rd, hope to have better weather next week to get out and about...

[David]

Crazy weather coast to coast.

Washington after multiple snow storms is now covered in ice and no one going anywhere except idiots.

Got up this morning to ice covered windows and yard.

The fwd/rwd are crashing everywhere.

My driveway @ 11am

Sheet of ice.

[David]

This is so perfect for today here in Washington State.

[ccap41]

2 hours ago, David said:

Crazy weather coast to coast.

Washington after multiple snow storms is now covered in ice and no one going anywhere except idiots.

Got up this morning to ice covered windows and yard.

The fwd/rwd are crashing everywhere.

My driveway @ 11am

Sheet of ice.

Ugh, ice is terrible. I love me some snow but I do not like ice at all. Stay safe! 

[surreal1272]

My greeting from Mother Nature this morning. Not at all amused by this. 
 

[Robert Hall]

It's 1F now after about 20 hrs of negative temps.  'warming up' to 10 by this evening.  Probably ice on my driveway under the snow.   Haven't been outside since Thursday evening.   Warm, power on, just made my 2nd cup of coffee...

[oldshurst442]

On 12/22/2022 at 4:14 PM, David said:

@oldshurst442 @ccap41 Seems more cars are being killed off in 2023.

What cars are being discontinued in 2023? Honda, Toyota and Chevrolet are all axing models (msn.com)

None of these going away really suprises me and consequently, none of them will be missed by me. 

The Buick Encore nameplate is going away, but Im sure an EV equivalent with a different name will appear.  

On 12/22/2022 at 8:22 PM, trinacriabob said:

It's not really Buick enough and never was. 

And that would be my guess as to why its going away.  

It was a Buick compromise between and Opel and a Chevy as stated before. 

On 12/22/2022 at 8:22 PM, trinacriabob said:

You see them in Europe where, in some countries, they are the Opel Mokka.

Opel was never a luxury car. It was always a European Chevy. 

Most of the time, Opel was even BELOW a Chevy but in the 1990s, Opel became a brand that was in between Chevy and Pontiac in terms of quality and trim.  Waaaay below an Oldsmobile and even further below a Buick.  

Sure, GM watered down Oldsmobile and Buick in the 1980s & 1990s, and the result being that Oldsmobile is no longer around... and Buick in North America coming dangerously close in joining Oldsmobile. 

If Oldsmobile had been around, maybe an Oldsmobile branded Encore would have made much more sense and a better pseudo luxury branded model in a Encore/Mokka.    A Pontiac branded Encore would have most probably failed badly.   This was a big problem for GM in the 1990s especially when GM acquired SAAB.  They didnt know how to differentiate their North American brands with their European ones. They diluted their identities.   Pontiac was fast becoming a bland brand in some cases cheaper than a Chevy and less sporty too.  Oldsmobile and Buick had too many non-luxury/econobox cars that had no business being Oldsmobiles and Buicks.  The cross-over platforms from Opel to become SAABs and Chevys and Oldsmobiles and then unto Saturn killed SAAB, Oldsmobile AND Saturn.  The cross-over of Opel to then become Buicks lead to the same results as Oldsmobile.  I dont know what GM did to Opel in Europe, but Opel was bleeding money in Europe for decades.  We like to blame Opel and Germany for that, but it seems that Groupe PSA have since solved Opel's misery...    Hmmmmmm..... Maybe 'twas GM management that sucked???!!!

 

 

[oldshurst442]

Not much of a blizzard and storm in my parts of Montreal.  So that is a good thing.  In other parts in and around my neck of the woods is as bad as the news says it was going to be.  But not as bad as other parts of Ontario, in the Toronto region.  

Very windy though here right now.  

@David

Ice sucks.

I thought that in my area, we would have ice problems too, but that never happened.  Thursday night to Friday morning, we had a about 6 inches of snow.  The news said that we were going to get hit hard. A foot of snow was announced, but it never happened. Then Friday morning, our temperatures rose above freezing and was raining a good part of the day. Again the news said that the temps were going to dip just below freezing and the rain will turn to freezing rain and sleet and by the afternoon, then to snow and another storm to hit.  Well, the rain just remained rain and the snow never happened.  

All to say that I closed the store early yesterday as to prevent any unnecessary headaches.  Usually, we are open Christmas Eve until 5:00 PM, but I decided to keep the restaurant closed.  There was no reason to keep the restaurant closed, and there is some houses without power in my area due to the high winds, to which I was probably going to be busy today, but my staff is tired, Im tired, my manager is tired...   We are all going to enjoy Christmas and Christmas Eve with our loved ones early.  We all deserve the rest.   I am paying my staff today as if they were working.  Another small little XMAS bonus for them.  

The only thing I do care about though is that my restaurant does have power, some households do not.  I hope the community was not relying on my restaurant to have food...    There are several fast food joints that are actually closed as well...   I dont know if they have power or not, or lack of staff, but not many restaurants are open today...    

I went to the restaurant this morning to see about the heating. No electricity equals no power which equals no heat which equals frozen water pipes which equals busted pipes which equals a mess to which I witnessed all 3 McDonald's in my area closed and other fast food joints as well...  

 

 

 

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

On 12/22/2022 at 12:22 PM, surreal1272 said:

The big 5-0oooh my freakin Jesus! Thanks lol!

 Happy Birthday.  Your are one day younger than my cousin. To which the next photo links you and my cousin

 

That I assume is @David's driveway.  But that there in the distance is an Acura CL coupe.  

My cousin had one of those back in the day.  He bought a 1995 Acura Integra coupe in 1995, he traded it in for a 1999 Integra GS-R.  It got stolen in 2001 and with the insurance money, he got himself a 2001 red CL Type-S.   The black CL in the picture also looks to be a Type S as well... 

 

 

[Robert Hall]

I'm just thankful my furnace hasn't crapped out and the power has stayed on...kept the house a comfortable 72 in the day and 68 at night with the subzero temps and wind outside the last 24+ hours.  Several people in my neighborhood were reporting outages yesterday on the neighborhood FB group (but not on my street).  

With all the content I have crammed in my garage from the farm clearout last summer, my Jeep sat outside in the cold.  I tested the remote start this morning, fired right up.   (My sister's Trax fit in, she's thinking of trading it on something larger before she heads off to Myrtle Beach in a couple weeks to get out the Ohio winter for 6 weeks). 

[trinacriabob]

@oldshurst442  I believe Opel has just been spun off over there.  I don't know if they coexist with other brands the way VW does with SEAT and Skoda.

I haven't conversed with anyone over there to gauge their perceptions of Opel and the Mokka.  As soon as I saw one, I wanted to know what it was, what they called it, and what the transmission was.  Obviously, it was a stick.

A lady in a Volvo dealership in Northern Italy that was near my hotel several years ago told me that people are really liking automatic transmissions.  These were nicer Volvo products, though.  What's not to like?  Especially if driving in crazy, urban Italian traffic.

- - - - -

In which part of Montreal was your cousin's Acura stolen?  Did they recover it?  The last time I rented there, the guy at the counter was really cool (as most Montrealers are to me) and said that the most stolen car is the Honda CRV and that a fair number of thefts occur in Montreal-Nord and also, surprisingly, from driveways in suburban places like Ahuntsic, Laval, etc.

I don't think I'd ever drive a Honda CRV.  Not my thing.

As for the most stolen cars in Italy, they are far and away the Fiat Punto, Fiat 500, and Fiat Panda.  The Opel Corsa makes the top 10 list, but it's toward the bottom of it.

Most of the car thefts occur in Puglia (Apulia) where it's mind boggling that 3 cities are named, around Naples, around Rome, and in Sicily.  In the North, it's mostly around Milan, with other northern areas having much less of a problem.  (Then you wonder why there are stereotypes and northern Italians have not historically cared much for southern Italians ... sometimes, just looking at hard statistical data speaks volumes.)  If you think about it, Puglia (the heel of the boot) puts the perpetrators near water transport so the stripped parts can then make their way to Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

- - - - -

How do you say Merry Christmas in Greek?  In the meantime, I'll wish you "Buon Natale."

[oldshurst442]

I clicked on the site to which I had an advert.   

It says: "Thinking of you in Tahiti".    if Tourism Tahiti only knew how I loooooooong to be right there right now!!!   To all at CheersandGears and all visiters to this site that have to endure this latest winter blast in all parts of North America right now. 

Enjoy the paradise!  If only in pictures. 

 

Penser à vous à Tahiti.

Ad

Ce sentiment quand vous savez que c'est le début de quelque chose de spécial.

Tahiti Tourisme

Ouvrir

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

In which part of Montreal was your cousin's Acura stolen?

Downtown.

He had parked his car south of Ste-Catherine on Mackay Street.    He was visiting a mutual friend's of ours' restaurant at the time on Ste-Catherine between Mackay and Bishop.  It was like a Monday or Tuesday night.  Like at around 9:00 or 10:00.   He just wanted to pop in and say hi.   He stayed barely an hour.  Put money in the meter for an hour was there for like 45-50 minutes.   Real quick.  

Police never found the car.  We thought that the cops will find the car without the engine as at that point in time, Integra GS-Rs and Type Rs were stolen for their engines that were swapped into lesser Civics.  But the car was never found.  We later believed that it was probably stolen and shipped to another continent.   

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

from driveways in suburban places like Ahuntsic, Laval, etc.

Yup!!!

To this day, cars are stolen in suburban areas in peoples drive-ways all the time!!!   In and around the Montreal region.

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

and that a fair number of thefts occur in Montreal-Nord

To be fair to Montreal-Nord,   Montreal, ANYWHERE in and around Montreal,  is THE car theft capital of Canada.  In fact, many of North America's stolen cars end up in Montreal because the port of Montreal was and continues to be corrupt that the many organized crime...organizations like the Italian Mafia of NYC and Montreal and Chicago etc, and the Biker gangs like the Hells Angels that partake in car thefts ALL OVER North America, have the ins at the Port of Montreal and ship all kinds of stolen cars ALL over the world.  A real racket.  I think vancouver takes care of the Asian continents part of the shipping of the stolen cars and Montreal takes care of Europe, Africa and Russia.  A world racket. 

 Funny you mention Montreal-Nord as that mutual friend of ours married a girl who grew up in Montreal-Nord.  The friend is a couple of years younger than us and his wife while the girl's older sister is a year older than us.  I hung around the sister a lot.  We went to the same high school.  Her parents were childhood friends of my moms and my uncles. They grew up in the same island just a couple of villages down.  Maybe 3 miles away from each other.   

The island is Kephalonia.  Pastra is the village that my mom grew up in and Agia Irini (Saint Irene) is the island of my mom's childhood friends.  I have many many friends like this to which my mom and her childhood friends' kids have become my and my cousin's friends.    Kephalonia would be right acorss the middle of the boot in Italian terms.  LOL.  

 

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

most stolen car is the Honda CRV

yes. I think the CRV continues to be Montreal's most stolen car.  I wouldnt  drive one either. 

#2 I think is the Ford F150.   The Accord and Toyota RAV4 are next if Im not mistaken.  

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Most of the car thefts occur in Puglia (Apulia) where it's mind boggling that 3 cities are named, around Naples, around Rome, and in Sicily.  In the North, it's mostly around Milan, with other northern areas having much less of a problem.  (Then you wonder why there are stereotypes and northern Italians have not historically cared much for southern Italians ... sometimes, just looking at hard statistical data speaks volumes.

 I think its also because in the north, all the manufacturing industry is at and the south is more farmland and the negative connotations that come with farmers and farming.  Also also, the upscale and rich areas are also more in the middle and north while the poorer is to the south.  

Greeks are not as divided it seems.   The Greek folk that come from the North or the  mountains are called "vlahi" meaning highlander but it has a negative connotation meaning uncouth.   

The thing with Greeks though, we all hate on each other equally, we make fun of each other's regions amongst ourselves and we wreak havoc with each other internally but when it comes to Greece as a whole, we stick together.  We WILL screw each other financially ANY chance we get, but THAT has NOTHING to do with what regions we come from.  A Greek from the SAME region will try to defraud his literal and REAL definition of 'paisan' but we WILL defend each other when a foreigner comes between us.  

I take it that Italians will be the opposite of that.  Literal/REAL Italian paisanos WILL take care of each other and try to boost each other's economical welfare by helping each other out and not screw with each other but Italians of different regions will not help each other out so easily.   

With the exception of the Italian Mafia which started out as to help each other out, in Sicily long ago, ended up hurting each other bothn inn Sicily and in America.  And of course the rival factions in Calabria that did the same kind of damage.   And both being in the South...  which does no favours in the looking down part of the Northern Italians to the Southerners like you mentioned. 

The bolded parts. Both parts.  Top and bottom.  Do I have that right?    

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

In the meantime, I'll wish you "Buon Natale."

Thank-You!   

You made me tear up quite honestly.   Everybody here always wishes each other with well wishes regarding either birthdays or holidays,  and I LOVE that we as a CheersandGears community we continue to do that, but when you connect with me on a European level, when we both connect with each other on our Greek and Italian roots respectively, I get choked up.   

I feel like we would be the bestest of friends outside of this computer screen we share.

Καλα Χριστουγεννα      In English it would be spelled Kala Christougenna.  

 

 

[Drew Dowdell]

On 12/22/2022 at 4:20 PM, ccap41 said:

The Encore is surprising to me. I always thought that sold really well. 

Ford shouldn't axe the EcoSport. They need an all-new one but I think they should have something in that small CUV category. 

The new China built Encore GX has largely taken its place. 
 

The EcoSport was built in India and never sold well. Ford should probably find a way to build it on a new platform somewhere else. They were pretty wretched to drive, so it isn’t surprising that people didn’t like it. The Trailblazer and Trax are better.

On 12/23/2022 at 11:34 AM, ccap41 said:

Who else is getting blasted by this winter storm?

It's currently -1 degrees F with a 20+mph winds, "feels like" -24 degrees F.

Yesterday was the big initial hit. I woke up and it was 35 degrees F and it dropped to about 5 degrees F by noon. We only got about 3 inches of snow but the cold and wind are brutal. I believe today's high is 6 degrees F but winds in the 20-30mph range for the next day or so. 

We swung from 40 to -3 in 18 hours 

[Drew Dowdell]

…. and to all a good night. Merry Christmas.

[trinacriabob]

On this wintry day, on which a white Christmas has been delivered to many, "Merry Christmas."

If you don't celebrate it as such, "Happy holidays."

And, to @oldshurst442:  "Kala Christougenna,"  "Joyeux Noel," and "Merry Christmas."

[ccap41]

On 12/24/2022 at 8:25 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

The EcoSport was built in India and never sold well. Ford should probably find a way to build it on a new platform somewhere else. They were pretty wretched to drive, so it isn’t surprising that people didn’t like it. The Trailblazer and Trax are better.

Yeah, it was far from even "good". I just think they should probably have something in this category, considering they are only an SUV/truck company now. 

On 12/24/2022 at 8:25 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

We swung from 40 to -3 in 18 hours

Yeah, our drop was pretty similar. I think Thursday night/Friday morning the lows were about -10. It was a pretty brutal 48 hours of cold and this week it'll mostly be in the 50's after today. Insane weather. 

[Robert Hall]

Crazy weather this weekend.  Was about 41 late Thursday evening, got up to 0 and falling Friday morning.  Up to 21 now, the warmest it's been since Thursday.    

[David]

On 12/24/2022 at 7:54 AM, oldshurst442 said:

 Happy Birthday.  Your are one day younger than my cousin. To which the next photo links you and my cousin

 

That I assume is @David's driveway.  But that there in the distance is an Acura CL coupe.  

My cousin had one of those back in the day.  He bought a 1995 Acura Integra coupe in 1995, he traded it in for a 1999 Integra GS-R.  It got stolen in 2001 and with the insurance money, he got himself a 2001 red CL Type-S.   The black CL in the picture also looks to be a Type S as well... 

 

 

Yes, that is my driveway covered in about an inch of ice. US2 highway pass has been closed for most of last week, the weekend and the start of this week. They plan to open it tomorrow after using scrappers to break up the 6 inches of ice that covered the road.

This year has been a crazy winter so far and it is just starting.

[David]

Mountain passes here in Washington have been closed as we deal with wind and freezing rain. 6 inches of ice.

[David]

If ya want to see Seattle Auto Pinball, watch this.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmiHwTeLmEZ/?igshid=OGQ2MjdiOTE=

[David]

Go to YouTube and search for seattle ice storm 2022 to see some of the funniest recordings from a guy who jumps out of his Prius as it starts to slide back down a hill to a police officer who parks his car and then it starts to slide backwards causing a chain reaction.

[David]

After 5 days Stevenspass/hwy2 has reopened at 8pm tonight.

It took two passes over 80 miles of road to remove all the ice. This is the machine they used to remove the ice.

[David]

TikToks from Seattle's ice storm showing people crawling up icy streets on their hands and knees and cars crashing in slow-motion into each other (msn.com)

[David]

Here is the video of the idiot who jumps out of his car on the icy hills of Seattle.

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmiYpP3gWwW/?igshid=OGQ2MjdiOTE=

[David]

Talk about crazy weather, we had flooding rains overnight and with King Tides, many hones and areas around the greater Seattle area are flooded.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/heavy-rain-king-tides-flood-seattle-neighborhoods/ar-AA15I9rm?ocid=superappdhp

[David]

This is too funny of a person walking around Seattle during the ice storm recording and even caught their own fall and slide sown a hill.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cmh_AHWIaJz/?igshid=OGQ2MjdiOTE=

[trinacriabob]

On 12/23/2022 at 2:05 PM, David said:

 

Sheet of ice.

PNW weather has been very weird this year.  It has been even worse in Whatcom County, right next to Canada, than it might have been in King County (Seattle), which is NO picnic.

Every once in a while, there's a winter with no snow in either Seattle or Portland.  Then, there are Decembers in which it snows.  It's usually never that prolonged, but, in 1916, a winter snowfall took down the dome on St. James Cathedral downtown and they put the church back together ... without the dome.

I remember going to Northgate Mall with a friend to see "Godfather 3" when that was new.  It was drizzling when we went in.  It was snowing steadily when we exited.  My dad's RWD car couldn't even get out of the mall parking lot.

Also, @David, every time you post a neighborhood photo with that baby blue house, I get heartburn.  I guess your subdivision doesn't have CC&Rs.  Yikes. 

[David]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

PNW weather has been very weird this year.  It has been even worse in Whatcom County, right next to Canada, than it might have been in King County (Seattle), which is NO picnic.

Every once in a while, there's a winter with no snow in either Seattle or Portland.  Then, there are Decembers in which it snows.  It's usually never that prolonged, but, in 1916, a winter snowfall took down the dome on St. James Cathedral downtown and they put the church back together ... without the dome.

I remember going to Northgate Mall with a friend to see "Godfather 3" when that was new.  It was drizzling when we went in.  It was snowing steadily when we exited.  My dad's RWD car couldn't even get out of the mall parking lot.

Also, @David, every time you post a neighborhood photo with that baby blue house, I get heartburn.  I guess your subdivision doesn't have CC&Rs.  Yikes. 

No HOA, best part in many ways, but then you do get strange folks that like their cotton Candy Blue house color. Lol

Another area that was hit here in Washington with freezing rain today. Down the hill and into the neighbors house.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cmkj9oNoQln/?igshid=OGQ2MjdiOTE=

Another one of UPS trying to do delivery and pickups.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cmhzp9vJk3q/?igshid=OGQ2MjdiOTE=

 

[oldshurst442]

Nothing crazy in the Montreal area. Other than a few flights canceled and people being stranded at Trudeau Airport.  Pearson International being even worse than we.  But that is Toronto. And quite honestly, who gives a shyte about 'Toranna' ???!!! 

Winter has settled in nicely up here.  Nothing too crazy. Just the norm.  We got another couple of inches of snow yesterday making the roads a tad slicker than what they were before. Temps are not too crazy cold.   About in and around 21 F.   The usual shyte this time of year.  It is said that the next couple of days the temp will rise to just above freezing but dip to 5 F right after and for a good week and  stay that way.   But that is just the norm.  

[Robert Hall]

Enjoying my week off, catching up on sleep, puttering around the house.  Got the Jeep washed to get the salt off.  My sister traded her ‘15 Trax w/ 26k miles on a new ‘23 Equinox today, wanted a bigger car before she starts snowbirding down South.  Nice car. 

[David]

RAM 1500 REV? Not impressed with the name for an electric truck.

Ram Trucks reveals the name for its Ram 1500 electric pickup (electrek.co)

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, David said:

RAM 1500 REV? Not impressed with the name for an electric truck.

Ram Trucks reveals the name for its Ram 1500 electric pickup (electrek.co)

REV= Ram EV

[David]

6 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

REV= Ram EV

Still not a fan of the name, I feel it is a cheap out of EVs and a way for RAM to say "See, told you there is no demand for EVs." if the truck fails to sell well enough.

[David]

Cool News, seems the first prototype Solid State batteries for EVs have been delivered to BMW and VW.

Solid Power and BMW Deepen Joint Development Partnership | Solid Power (solidpowerbattery.com)

Newsroom | QuantumScape

[trinacriabob]

Good morning ...

Now that I have your attention, Happy New Year! *

For the world, more peace ... a LOT more peace.

For everyone else here, whatever makes you and yours happy and that you all stay healthy.

Cheers!

* when I first saw their photos, I didn't know who they were because I don't watch much TV.  Now, had they not been celebs and just regular people, these are the kinds of folks you'd want as neighbors, largely for their comic value.

[David]

4 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Good morning ...

Now that I have your attention, Happy New Year! *

For the world, more peace ... a LOT more peace.

For everyone else here, whatever makes you and yours happy and that you all stay healthy.

Cheers!

* when I first saw their photos, I didn't know who they were because I don't watch much TV.  Now, had they not been celebs and just regular people, these are the kinds of folks you'd want as neighbors, largely for their comic value.

I honestly do not know who they are, but the man reminds me of a modern Mafia man and the woman of a NJ Woman that is always saying Look at me, Look at me.

Hard pass on both.

Interesting observation is her waist is at the middle of his belly, and yet both there boobs are on the same level. Weird or what.

[Drew Dowdell]

On 12/29/2022 at 1:32 PM, Robert Hall said:

Enjoying my week off, catching up on sleep, puttering around the house.  Got the Jeep washed to get the salt off.  My sister traded her ‘15 Trax w/ 26k miles on a new ‘23 Equinox today, wanted a bigger car before she starts snowbirding down South.  Nice car. 

I can't see the rear badges but it looks like an LT with the 1.5T?  Those things get ridiculously good MPGs as long as she keeps it around 70 mph and not a penny more. Perversely, she'll probably get better highway MPGs in this than in her smaller, lighter, less powerful Trax.

Just do the oil changes at like 20% rather than waiting for it to get to 0%

[Drew Dowdell]

For the first time in a bunch of years, I am actually looking forward to the new year. Work has been quite the roller coaster for me, but I'll have some career change news to share in a week or two. 

Happy New Year to all.

[Robert Hall]

17 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I can't see the rear badges but it looks like an LT with the 1.5T?  Those things get ridiculously good MPGs as long as she keeps it around 70 mph and not a penny more. Perversely, she'll probably get better highway MPGs in this than in her smaller, lighter, less powerful Trax.

Just do the oil changes at like 20% rather than waiting for it to get to 0%

Yes, it's a 2023 LT.   She's headed off to Myrtle Beach, SC in a couple of weeks.    At the dealer when she bought it, I went along and was checking out a red '22 Camaro SS convertible in the showroom, quite nice...they had two C8 Corvettes but they were already sold.    A gray one and white one (the C8 looks quite striking in white w/ red seats).  

Our cousin, a retired Toyota manager from Kentucky, was visiting the last few days in a '22 Rav-4.   We've alternated between vehicles going out to dinner and sight seeing, I swear the Equinox feels more spacious inside (esp. the back legroom according to my sister and cousin) than my Jeep GC...and easier to get in and out of since as a CUV it sits low..

Edited January 2, 2023 by Robert Hall

[Drew Dowdell]

On 1/1/2023 at 3:30 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

For the first time in a bunch of years, I am actually looking forward to the new year. Work has been quite the roller coaster for me, but I'll have some career change news to share in a week or two.

Well, it was a little sooner than I expected...

Today was promoted to Director of Communication for the municipality I work for.  After a few decades in I.T. and Project Management, I am stepping away from those and more into a field that I enjoy.  Clearly I will still be using some of those skills in my new position, but they will allow me to finally pivot away from I.T. which I've grown tired of.

In the next year I will be leading a complete rebrand of the local government including a new website. In the process, we will completely revamp the way we communicate to the community.  It's going to be a fun ride and with a larger (and, frankly, more competent staff) it will also allow me much more time to spend here.

I don't expect this to be a long term post, but it is a great jumping off point for where I want to go next.

 

[David]

30 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Well, it was a little sooner than I expected...

Today was promoted to Director of Communication for the municipality I work for.  After a few decades in I.T. and Project Management, I am stepping away from those and more into a field that I enjoy.  Clearly I will still be using some of those skills in my new position, but they will allow me to finally pivot away from I.T. which I've grown tired of.

In the next year I will be leading a complete rebrand of the local government including a new website. In the process, we will completely revamp the way we communicate to the community.  It's going to be a fun ride and with a larger (and, frankly, more competent staff) it will also allow me much more time to spend here.

I don't expect this to be a long term post, but it is a great jumping off point for where I want to go next.

 

Congratulations Drew. Awesome chance to really grow and make an impact in the local community.