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@Drew Dowdell @Robert Hall @trinacriabob @A Horse With No Name @ccap41 @surreal1272 @oldshurst442 And including all of the C&G members that are here that I do not interact with often enough or those I have forgotten their handles. Wishing each and every one of you a Merry Xmas Eve and Merry Xmas. To those that do not celebrate Xmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, Happy time off. Wishing each and every person here a restful end to the year, one of love, respect, relaxation to you and your families. Wishing all the best!

no, but this month is 18 years together.

I think you need to look deeper at this. He made his money, millions of it, by talking, so he has a natural desire to keep the conversation going. He was also incredibly disingenuous about it. It's all well and good to say we shouldn't build walls, but he was responsible for building or reinforcing most of them. This tweet is just rage bait designed to get the right wing angry at the gays, many of whom serve in the military. May is Military Appreciation month. So not only is he spreading bigotry, he's also spreading misinformation.... and he did that All. The. Time. When he got shot, he was in the process of trying to blame mass shootings on trans people. I frequently see people say that he was taken out of context, but when you go look up the entire context, what he's saying is even worse. You know what dead guy you don't have to ever explain context about? Mr. Rogers. Did you know he also kept a public list of professors who taught on subjects like feminism, LGBT issues, or even just American history that he didn't like? He posted these professors pictures and contact information on his website and turned his supporters loose on them flooding them with death threats, sending barrages of e-mail and phone calls to universities to get these professors fired, some of them even having to uproot their lives and move. Doesn't sound very in the spirit of "just keep talking" does it? Imagine having 100,000 people e-mail your boss saying you need to be fired in the worst terms possible. That's not very freedom of speechy of him. He spread Covid misinformation too, something which conservatives have been 100% wrong about on every angle of the subject for over 5 years now. His entire operation was grift. Getting people angry in order to extract money from them. Heck, his memorial service yesterday was selling Merch! His wife set up a gofundme even though they've been bringing in millions for years. So, while you feel you may have some alignment on his views, I would highly encourage you to find out what he was really about and the positions he took specifically to build the very walls he was claiming to want to pull down. But feel free to post a position he had that you agree with and I'll take a wack at it.

Oh I LOVE to engage in politics and talk politics. It is difficult for me to follow my own rule here. But there are other places on the internet for that and I would rather we keep this a friendly place. Politics can, especially of late, ruin relationships and friendships. I've left car clubs over politics and the general bad behavior associated with older white straight men of a particular political party. For a time, I considered shutting down C&G because every thread devolved into an "I love EVs"/"You're a dumb liberal if you do" fight and it really killed my love for this hobby. It has been difficult for me to return to it.

Albert made me a checkerboard cake and it was delicious.

Thank you very much. For my birthday last year I got a gift card for a spa day package which I booked for my birthday this year. So I spent the day yesterday getting a facial and a massage and it was fantastic. Little did I know when I booked it how needed it would be.

He was sleepy joe because we could all sleep at night and he wasn't up at 2 a.m. posting unhinged tweets. You're right about all the rest, but here's some additional context. The Chinese EVs are so cheap because there is a price war going on in China in the EV market right now. They are being sold at a loss even in their domestic market because they have so many companies producing them, they are trying to outlive each other to eventually dominate the market. The Chinese goverment also is subsidizing the purchase of EVs on the consumer end while supporting the industry with subsidies. It's the EV tax credit and battery plant subsidy we did but times 10. The Chinese want entry to the North American market for the same reason. They don't want to just sell here, they want to put the legacies out of business so they can raise prices later. They did this with the solar industry already. We once had a booming solar panel production capacity in North America, but China came in and undersold everyone and now China controls that market.

In this latest war with Canada (we'd been bros since like 1813), this American is taking the Canadian's side. That's all I've got to say on it.

Talking, in general, about politics is not taboo. Talking politics where politics are not wanting to be talked about, is taboo. Nobody is going to specific group pages (Corvette, Mustang, Dallas Cowboys, Montreal Canadians, Dale Earnhardt Jr) groups and wanting to talk politics. Go to political pages that are dedicated to talking that stuff. There are sooooo many pages/sites available if you want to talk politics. Talk politics with people who want to talk politics. That seems fair, right? Personally, I don't want to be talking about the new Silverado EV's multiple trims and battery sizes and have somebody cram some political garbage into the comment section.

Damn, that is so true…. Hard not to when it comes to cars… But it’s much more relaxing to come to places that don’t talk about those “things”. I’m sadly down to a few forums that still enjoy talking about cars…….

While I'm as angry over the current state of things as anyone, I'm going to gently steer the conversation away from politics given the no-politics rule we've had in place for years. If you've got something political to talk about, it must be related to the car industry somehow.

It’s been a cold, snowy January. Highs have been in the 20s since the 1st, flurries every day. I always start my Mustang once a week, got it and the Caddy out this morning. Roads are salty so they went back in the garage…

I wonder what people will think when they see 25% tariffs on Chevy, Ford, Ram, Dodge, Jeep, Nissan and VW vehicles? People think cars cost too much now, just wait. And if you deport all the illegals and loose construction and agriculture workers, housing prices will go up, produce prices will go up. The inflation will hit hard, which will probably lead to recession like 2008. Good chance Nissan goes bankrupt in the next 2 years, Stellantis is a mess (I have seen $26,000 off brand new Grand Cherokees or lease for $299 a month with $0 down, and $19,000 off 2025 Ram trucks already). When these big companies fall it has a trickle down effect. The only positive will be Elon will have pissed off all the liberals that used to buy Teslas before he went "dark MAGA" and once Trump turns on him for failing to cut money from the deficit, the MAGA people will turn on him too.

I still love the Front Range…felt a twinge of homesickness, lived there nearly 12 years. Took pics of my old apartment building in the Springs, Garden of the Gods, and the office building where I had my first cubicle nearly 30 years ago…

Been enjoying the fall weather, knowing winter is coming...out rolling in the Caddy last night and today--listening to a couple of my favorite '80s albums--Def Leppard's 'Hysteria' and Van Halen's '5150'... then this afternoon took the Mustang out, listening to U2's 'The Joshua Tree'. Has it really been that long since I was 17? (yes). Back home and I put on some Rush--'Subdivisions' speaks to my computer geek teenage side, 'Time Stand Still' really speaks to me at 55, as does Pink Floyd's 'Time'. Going to put on Pink Floyd's 'The Division Bell', which was an essential part of my soundtrack through the mid 90s. Got to get some Depeche Mode and Pearl Jam in there (I love, love 'Sirens'). I've also been enjoying some Great Lakes Brewing Company Ocktoberfest beer..going to start a bonfire in my firepit tonight and listen to more 80s-90s music probably...

Here's a pic I took Sunday at my favorite local beach on Lake Erie...been up there the last two weekends...taking a folding chair and a floppy hat, sit and listen to the waves..very relaxing...dip my toes in the lake. One of my happy places where I can shut out the drama of the world.

No. He had a gross misunderstanding, intentional or not, of what DEI is. The rest of that quote does not improve the context. He said he specifically questioned the pilot's competence because of skin color. Just like he questioned Justice Jackson's abilities to be a supreme court justice. Direct quote: "If we would have said three weeks ago […] that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative-action picks, we would have been called racist. But now they're coming out and they're saying it for us! They're coming out and they're saying, "I'm only here because of affirmative action." Yeah, we know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person's slot to go be taken somewhat seriously. Kirk then played a clip of Jackson Lee speaking in Congress, saying she had been admitted to educational institutions on affirmative action. Kirk then went on to make his point again: "We know. We know. It's very obvious to us you are not smart enough to be able to get it on your own. "I could not make it on my own, so I needed to take opportunities from someone more deserving." That's not how Affirmative Action worked. It didn't take spots away from those more deserving, it took slots away from the mediocre old-white-boys club who only would have gotten in because they're a legacy. A black pilot is a pilot because he completed all the required training, not because of some quota. DEI DOESN'T HAVE QUOTAS. DEI is just about making sure that anyone qualified is able to apply and potentially win the position regardless of gender, sex, race, religion, sexuality, etc. So to wonder if United/Delta/American put a black pilot in the driver seat just because he was black and they needed to meet a quota is just plain racist. There's a pilot shortage anyway, so anyone who is white and qualified is going to be able to find a job if they want one. No. That's a cop-out "Well I don't agree with everything Mussolini did, but at least he made the trains run on time." Don't say you agree with some of the things a nazi says without being able to very strongly qualify it. He was a bigot against race, sexuality, gender, women, and more. So unless its "Well I agree with him that the sky is blue", you're probably better off just not agreeing with him on anything.

Don't be jealous. Just kidding. Just do it. Easier said than done, but I recommend it. And you nailed it. It is considered a crossing in that it's New York to Southampton, or vice versa. Those who know and love this voyage would bristle at it being called a cruise. It follows the traditional historic route of its Cunard predecessors. This is my third crossing and fourth time on QM2. I cut out a lot of things in life. I hit up BK on Whopper Wednesday, for example! Say you're heading to Europe and staying a while. Compare a nice enough cabin to outlays for one-way airfare, lodging for 7 nights, your daily meals, and that you don't have rental car costs and utilities. It's not that much more. You'll have to get an internet package. I also participate in the tipping package and give extra to the stateroom attendant and the dinner waiter and second person. I don't buy alcoholic drinks and I don't go into the casino. I bought a mug and a t-shirt this time ... usually stuff like that. I do have some CCL stock I bought a few years ago. The 7 day crossing gets you $100 in credit. This crossing runs deep in my family. I made 2 round trips on then active Italian Line as a kid. My parents and some of my relatives did it more often than that. Italian Line still called it a transatlantic crossing, but they had stops. Often, from NYC, it was (1) Portugal: Lisbon, (2) Spain: Algeciras/Gibraltar, Barcelona, OR Palma de Mallorca, (3) France: Cannes, and finally (4) Genoa and Naples. They did drop off and pick up passengers at these ports, so people from 4 Southern European countries used their ships to immigrate or repatriate. In port, we usually took the 4 hour motorcoach tours. Lisbon was my favorite port. My parents said the food on Italian Line was top notch, but it was definitely Italian-centric and only somewhat international. The cabin attendants made us these delicious panini with prosciutto, cheese, etc. when we kids asked for them as snacks. You will never forget crossing an ocean as a child.

100% spot on analysis of Kirk. Yes, the way he died was horrible, no matter what side of the political spectrum on which you stand. However, let us not ignore the man's ACTUAL words and actions that helped fuel the "radicalization" of certain factions in this country and create this exact scenario where someone decided to take matters into their own armed hands. Ten years of pure madness fueled by one giant narcissistic A-Hole in D.C.

Just a few months ago I was getting Kerry Gold on sale for $10.99 Your grammar lesson for today.

That sounds very smart on GM's part. That way they're only really making like 3 packs and adding them together for various uses. I'm sure other companies are doing things similarly, I just don't know about it. Thank you for the information. It's much appreciated! While I think a lot of auto enthusiasts would agree, I think the masses think the opposite. I know a lot of people who just want all black interiors. Well, I think everybody I know who's bought a vehicle recently has wanted an all black interior, for whatever reason. I'm more of a fan of dark brown leathers. I'm a sucker for that.

Ok, a few things to address, but I agree with most if not all you've said. My only Air B&B experience in Italy was in July 2023, in Bari (southeastern on the boot; top of the heel). The only caveat of the whole thing was an elevator issue, which was rectified (it was on the top floor, and one day it wasn't working so we had to walk down all the stairs, and it was 115F outside, and you know the interior of the building doesn't have a/c). Since I broke my leg falling down a flight of stairs during lockdown, I still get anxiety on them today. Everything else about the experience was perfect. My only experiences not in the south are limited to 25 years ago... I've spent a few trips on the bottom of the heel at my in-laws homes, and the south in general, is opposite of the south of the US in terms of being progressive. When it comes to more liberal topics such as homosexuality, the south is surprisingly friendly. Even the town priest walked up to me and was very welcoming. The places you may come across more right-leaning ideologies are in central Italy and the north. Of course it's not everyone, but in general, you'll see more bigoted people in central/northern Italy. It's tricky for me to give an accurate, unbiased reaction to the country though because when I go there, I am fluent enough to be confused as a native, and they always peg my accent as southern (which has to be from my late fiance's and my grandmother's/father's influence). You will still get the reaction from northerners that are against the south... just like southerners who are against the north, but I'll save that history lesson for class. Small towns in the south are incredible.. I stayed in this tiny hotel... 40€ a night, air-conditioned, breakfast included (granted in Italy that's just a cornetto and a cappuccino, but that's all I eat anyway), WiFi, so clean you could eat off the bidè, and the hotel owner's wife treated me like her child. I came home one night and she washed and folded my dirty laundry (seriously). I approached her about it, which, I understand most might find this a huge invasion of their privacy, but when a man is traveling alone (and she knew I was a widower), the "mother" in them comes out. In fact, she didn't think I was taking good-enough care of myself, so she'd tell me to go into the kitchen and help myself to peach juice, taralli (for those who don't know, they're the Italian versions of pretzels but have a texture of like a cracker), cookies, etc. Southern Italy has become more like home to me (aside from my fiance being buried there, it reminds me of my own family). My only hatred is for the blistering sun and summer heat.

Some more pics.

I got a mid-size portable one rated for 4500w. It doesn't run the whole house. It's enough to keep the downstairs fridge and freezer going, the internet up, and the phones/laptops charged. In the wintertime it can also be used to run the furnace. We lost power for 18 hours overnight this past winter when it was 11 degrees out, so getting one that will run the furnace was on my list of requirements. We get multi-hour outages several times a year, during the worst of covid we had a transformer blow a couple streets over and they couldn't get a replacement for days, so I think it was an overdue investment. While it does have a connection available to wire into the breaker box, my breaker box is not set up for it. So for me, it was just stringing orange extension cords under the garage door and out the living room window to plug into the unit in the driveway. We got power back for a short time at 11 p.m., then again at 3 a.m., I was able to power down the generator at 3. Last I looked, there were still 134k without power, over 400k at the worst of it. They're saying more bad storms tonight.

This thing looks worse than the EQS. 2 things that car companies need to get rid of is the bar of soap design and the yoke steering wheel. And I just saw Mercedes is going to steer by wire and showed a yoke style steering wheel. People don't want yokes in a car.

Just not good enough at being a motor vehicle period...just hideous, shoddily built chod..

Kind of feeling like 2020 again... holding off on excess spending..though I do have some home remodeling projects I want to do in the next year... no car payments, Jeep (80k miles) and Cadillac (60k miles) running fine... will be a while before I need another vehicle (also have my sister's Equinox w/ 10k miles for around town driving). Work is going well, 5% raise for this year, got my annual and quarterly stock grants laid out for this year, company stock staying stable for now.

Whine, like everybody has been here about politics? No wonder there are only like 5 people routinely around here.

He wants to start a war with Canada not realizing that most of us south of the border would fight on the Canadian side.

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 “Department of Government Efficiency” and is acting like a co-President. In April, a total solar eclipse brought people out to a swath of the U.S. between Texas and Maine. In other parts of the world, strife continues in Ukraine and Gaza. The Notre Dame Cathedral reopened after a five-year restoration after being gutted with a fire. Prominent passings included producer Quincy Jones, actor David Soul of Starsky & Hutch fame, reporter Charles Osgood, country singer Toby Keith, disgraced baseball player and manager Pete Rose, actor and voice of Darth Vader James Earl Jones, comedian Richard Lewis, O.J. Simpson, actor Bob Newhart, actor Shannen Doherty, fitness guru Richard Simmons, talk show host Phil Donahue, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and the 39th President, Jimmy Carter, who was the longest-lived President at 100. In automotive news, Chinese EVs are still being kept at bay due to the 100% tariffs signed in September, though Chinese automakers are looking to manufacture EVs in Mexico. Honda and Nissan announced a merger amid the pending Chinese onslaught. GM’s previous partnership with Honda was short-lived, with the proposed affordable EVs canceled. Volkwagen introduced the pricey ID.Buzz but struggled with an overall lack of demand and high labor costs. In October VW showed the upcoming EV Scout Traveler SUV and Terra pickup, due in 2028 and having intriguing solid axles. VW and Rivian announced a joint venture in November giving Rivian some badly needed cash and VW getting software and other technology. In its first full year on the market, the Tesla Cybertruck had its supposed reservation list of 2 million completely depleted with an estimated 2% take rate on total sales of around 40k, far less than the expected annual rate of 125k to 250k, though the the $61k single motor model may go into production in late 2025. Tesla began discounting the Cybertruck and offering free Supercharging for life for buyers of the Foundation Series models. Overall sales for Tesla are flat, despite a major refresh to the Model 3. The antics of the CEO have soured many on the brand, and competitors are selling viable alternatives, especially since the Supercharger network is being increasingly opened up to competing brands. Jaguar is reinventing itself into an exclusively EV brand with ultra luxury offerings. It introduced a new logo, had an ad that was widely derided, and unveiled a cartoonish concept coupe with no rear window. The Fisker Ocean, an EV SUV originally costing $40k to $70k, went for fire sale prices after the company filed for bankruptcy and started winding down. Desperate vehicle owners banded together to work on getting parts and continued support for their vehicles. Henrik Fisker moved on to work on a new venture dealing with food. Another troubled EV startup, Canoo, is on its deathbed. It has innovative vehicles, but the company’s executives seemed more interested in having high salaries than producing vehicles. With EVs overall not quite catching on as expected, automakers are embracing hybrids for upcoming models, though California still plans to ban light duty ICE vehicles in 2035. Governor Newsom announced that California would reintroduce EV rebates if the federal tax credit is canceled, but they may not apply to Teslas or other automakers that have exceeded a sales volume threshold. Stellantis was in turmoil with unhappy dealers, a sales drop of almost 20% over the previous year, and a threadbare lineup. Dodge began sales of the Charger Daytona EV with muscle car sounds, but the car got mixed reviews. CEO Carlos Tavares resigned near the end of the year. The Hemi V8 was scheduled to go out of production after getting replaced by the Hurricane twin turbo V6, but it’s getting a brief reprieve, as its availability, including the Hellcat, will be continued for one additional year in the ancient Durango. Honda finally announced that the Prelude will be reintroduced in the U.S., essentially as a Civic Hybrid Coupe, after earlier announcing its reintroduction in overseas markets. Meanwhile, Toyota has indicated that the Celica will be brought back to life. Vehicles not making it into 2025 include the Chevrolet Malibu and Infiniti Q50, making those brands all SUVs or trucks. The entire Jaguar range except the F-Pace is gone. Other retired models include the Mitsubishi Mirage, Mini Clubman, Ram Classic, Ford Edge, Toyota Venza, and Nissan GT-R. Here’s the 23rd annual edition of Cheers and Jeers for the best and worst things automotive in 2024: Cheers to Chevrolet for the Best New EV with the Equinox EV, which hits a sweet spot of affordability and functionality. Originally intended to supplant the Bolt as the entry-level EV at GM, the Equinox EV can be purchased for about $30k for a basic model after the $7,500 tax credit until it’s canceled. The Bolt EV is expected to be reborn later in 2025 using the EUV bodyshell and LFP batteries. Honorable mention goes to Honda for the GM Ultium-based Prologue, sized between the Equinox EV and Blazer EV. It has been a surprising sales hit, and unlike the Chevy models, offers Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Cheers to Chevrolet for the Best EV Pickup with the Silverado EV, specifically the LT model with Premium Package, which has most of the content of the top-of-the-line RST model, including the midgate and Supercruise, but with 22 inch wheels that should give a better ride than the 24 inchers and a price under $80k that makes it eligible for the $7,500 tax credit. The Silverado EV is the best all-around EV pickup for hauling, towing, and doing truck things. Cheers to Cadillac for the Best Concept with the Sollei convertible based on the Celestiq. The Sollei isn’t particularly remarkable other than it wears the Cadillac EV design language well and has an interesting “Manila cream” color, but there were very few other interesting design concepts, as automakers do fewer of them to save on costs. Jeers to Kia for the Most Questionable Styling with the Kia K4, which replaces the Forte. Kia has mostly been on a roll with the styling of their new vehicles, EV or ICE alike, but the looks of the K4 comes across as awkward, particularly at the C-pillar. Cheers to Rivian for the Best Vehicle Introduction with the R2, which has most of the goodness of the R1S in a smaller size and a much smaller price, estimated to start at $45k when it goes on sale in 2026. The R2 will also have a smaller R3 sibling with an R3X performance variant. Jeers to Tesla for the Most Overhyped Vehicle, the Cybercab. The financial types were hoping for the affordable $25k Tesla, but instead they got a weird two-seater robo-taxi with butterfly doors and no steering wheel and still no confidence that Tesla will deliver on the promise of full self-driving. More Jeers for Tesla for Worse HR Move by firing almost the entirety of the Supercharger division, which delayed many projects and opening up the Supercharging network to other automakers, and doubtlessly caused stress and hardship for the employees. This move was made by the CEO because he was angered that the number of layoffs made by the chief of the division were too few. After a few weeks, several of the fired staff were rehired, but not the previous chief. 2025 is off to a rough start, but wishing everyone a safe and prosperous New Year.

Do me a favor. Pick up some N95s just to have. This new bird flu. The timeline of cases is eerily similar to the start of Covid. First a case in Vancouver. Now 60 cases in California. A case in Louisiana. Lions and tigers in an animal sanctuary dropping dead. It’s clearly made the jump to mammals. All 50 states have chicken farms vastly infected. It has a higher mortality rate than covid.

Having done so much driving coast to coast due to my son's Gymnastics from age of 5 to college before he retired in college. I would say the following: British Columbia is equal to the west coast in many ways till you take the Highway and head north in BC and hit the Yukon's and then you truly have an Alaska Conservative equal. Having not spent any time in the NW territories, I cannot answer but would suspect it is far more conservative due to sparse population and tight nit communities of both native Indians and other groups. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba I find to mirror the U.S. mid-west and Texas. Antario and Quebec I find to be a mixed pot of southern politeness with backstabbing rudeness in some areas and others if your white to be very polite period. I did find in various cities some amazing multi-cultural city areas. I also hit up against the same French BS I hit when I was working in France. A very narrow mind set of society or a very liberal one that was more relaxing to how I was raised. Two sides of a coin. Have never been to Newfoundland and Labrador but would love to see the area. So, no comment on the folks there. NB, Prince Edward and Nova Scotia have been over all very polite and friendly when my wife and I visited about 5 years ago. Like the NE corner of the U.S., lots of friendly people and the occasional narrow-minded turd. If money was no object, would love to visit the rest of Canada including Nunavut and the NW Territories to explore and photograph the area. Would love to experience the drive over the Ice Highway too. So much of North America to see and yet so little time. Could the People Benefit from a single currency with a open free North America, meaning Canada, U.S. Mexico become the North American Union of States. SURE, but will it? NOT in OUR LIFETIME!!! Too many selfish, fascist pricks that hate society if it does not benefit them to allow such a Great Multi-Cultural Union. IMHO

"...because in the desert, you can't remember your name, cause there ain't no on for to give you no pain...." I had to shed a mountain of cobwebs to decide say HI here. Been a while. Likely half a decade. Don't worry I've now got Castrol coursing through my veins. I use Valvoline for my hair. Mobil brightens the teeth right up. I take my supplement of Pennzoil for the omegas and brain health. Nothing like Quaker State for breakfast. I voted for Amsoil in the election by the way. In oil we trust. Amen.

There is "some" relief about the "closure," but also one big WTF. They apprehended the likely perpetrator of the murder of Brian Thompson in Manhattan. America is transfixed when someone in a high profile case is on the lam - think Brian Laundrie and Scott Peterson, even though with similar but different circumstances. In the movies, "Thelma and Louise" come to mind, at the very least. The arrest came about fairly quickly. Thank the McDonald's in Altoona, PA. The WTF is his background. WTF! He has a bachelors and masters degree in a STEM field from Penn. He was in a fraternity. He went to an exclusive prep school in Baltimore. He was the valedictorian. He was capable enough in his chosen field. It's interesting and bizarre that he shares an alma mater with Trump and Musk. From where he lived, Ivy League Penn, in Philly, is really close to the Baltimore area, so he didn't stray far from home. What made him snap? How did he go from Ivy League grad to marksman and gun connoisseur? Did he grow up with a silver spoon or not? What was the household like? Everything on paper so far looks standard. This is going to take some unraveling. He obviously wasn't as "smart" as he thought he was. I feel bad for everyone adversely affected. I'm thinking his parents, relatives, and friends are in shock and some people will not treat them too kindly going forward, which is unfair.

Robert, I truly hope your investments do you well to be able to live the lifestyle that you want. I tend to think that many of us that think and research and invest will have a comfortable retirement. Sadly, there are far too many that must rely on SS and if Idiot47 gets his way, SS will die fast as he with the stupid DOGE wants to make everything private, so it costs the taxpayers more. Privatize under the message that we are reducing the size of the government but will then outsource services where one will pay 3 times what it is costing now. Social Security has many changes coming January 1st 2025 and this covers all but one big important one. Social Security's Largest Changes Coming in 2025 You can read about it here if you want, but the biggest change is pushing out the date of retirement where one can claim 100% SS payout and the max payout at 70. One can start collecting reduced benefits at 62 and your stuck with it for life. Currently depending on when you were born you can get 100% payout at various ages from 65 to 67 depending on birth year. After January 1st 2025, those born 1960 and later cannot claim 100% SS to retire till the age of 68. GOP is wanting to push this to 70 with max SS at 75 or 80. Benefits Planner: Retirement | Retirement Age and Benefit Reduction | SSA Amazing what one looses by retiring too early. Benefits Planner: Retirement | Born in 1960 or later | SSA While I should not need it, it will make life easier for me and what i can do for the grand kids and I love my work, so I can see working till 70 or beyond if possible. But here is what one gets when you delay taking SS. Delayed Retirement | Born in 1960 | SSA

I am saddened by the shrinkage in the U.S.'s middle class. That was something that really strengthened this country ... and it did the same for other developed economies that also had a solid middle class population. Those at the "new" bottom are in a state of despair. Those at the top - even though they say they do and make promises - don't seem to care.

I don't think so. Who replaces him when the old man croaks, quite possible in the next 4 years by his own poor health? His VP doesn't have anywhere near the charisma or cult following. In 4 years or less, MAGA gets fractured because their leader will be no more either constitutionally or physically.

I"m getting the Avalanche inspected today at the dealer where @HoLottaBuicks works and he let me test drive the Denali EV on a short jaunt. I came away very impressed... as I should since the sticker is $102k. But beyond all the stats we know of about the EV drivetrain, the interior was very nicely made with nice materials and finishes. The exception being parts of the door panels felt a bit plasticy. It rides like a luxury sedan, though I didn't put it into sport mode or anything to see if the suspension firms up. I would need more time to explore the screens. It's a bit hard to navigate the main screen because a lot of the icons are the same color, so you have to actually read what the app does. The back seat is much roomier than my truck. I still object to having to buy a separate data plan just to use the apps I already use on my phone. Overall it is a great truck, but $102k is a bit steep.

Since the late 1950's most presidents have shared their tax returns for the last few years and education information allowing the public to view if they are competent and deemed educated enough to handle the job of President. Idiot 47 / 45 has refused to allow anything to be reviewed about his life and I would have to say this is probably based on his own criminal nature, lawsuits lost that he still tries to overturn and his blatant disregard for our laws, constitution, etc. Most voters have not ever paid attention to the education validation and tax returns, but with Idiot he has brought this on himself by trying to hid everything behind lawyers who many have lost their ability to be a lawyer due to lying for him. Why would anyone risk their own integrity for such a buffoon is beyond me, one can only hope that he truly goes 6 feet under asap as I think many can then better deal with the idiot vp he choose. Nice, Nice self-portrait olds Sarcasm, yes I know our famous PNW person.

@G. David Felt is such a lazy ass bum, isnt he? He sleeps all day that &@#%*!@$ bum!!! We arent supposed to speak about Toyota problems. You'll be called an @$$hole, be questioned of your ancestry and citizenship...

Still alive, sleeping allot, taking my pain meds and watching a little TV when not sleeping. Sorry I did not get to posting a story on the Huge Kia reveal at the LA Auto Show or the Reveal on the Hyundai Ioniq 9. Will tey to get caught up once I am not sleeping so much. Right now only on my cell phone.

Pour one out for my grandmother who passed away Monday evening after a long hospice stay. She passed peacefully and pain free in her sleep. If you trace things back far enough, she is a big contributor to me being here on Cheers and Gears and thus C&G still existing. It was her and her 1979 Olds Custom Cruiser Diesel like the one below that got me into cars around the age of three. At three, it was my job to tell her when the Wait To Start Light went out so the could start the car and I got to press the garage door opener buttons.

The room Dr King stayed the last night of his life, National Civil Rights Museum. Memphis. Memphis Sculpture in Memphis. Beale Street in Memphis

Palo Duro Canyon in Amarillo When you need a little more height for the photo... Steam locomotive on Display in Amarillo. Paris, Texas. Broken Bow, Oklahoma.

We now also have a status monitoring page. https://status.cheersandgears.com/ This is independent of our web server and will let you know if things are out of whack and I can put a status message there if we're down. There is a link at the bottom right of the page if you ever forget.

I miss the colorful interiors and comfortable seats older cars often had.

The Costco parking lot. I like the 300C and I like the Avalanche, but sometimes navigating them around in traffic and parking lots is a bear. The 300C isn't even drastically larger than the CTS, but the CTS was much more nimble and had a very tight turning radius. It was also ~3,400 lbs, 200 lbs lighter than a base 2025 3-series. It was just light and nimble, but every bit as comfortable on the highway as the 300C is. It's a shame that most of that generation have been trashed. Put a nice CarPlay unit in one and I'd be happy.

Anyone have a weird longing for a car they sold or traded a while ago? I don't mean something that got wrecked or stolen, that was out of your control. Just a car that you traded/sold but now regret doing that? That hit me hard today for my 2004 CTS.

Join me in wishing @Drew Dowdell a happy birthday. Have a great day!

Socrates and Plato said something similar about democracy and voting and allowing uneducated and untrained people to decide what is for the good of the polisfor everybody. Also, one of the two mentioned how easy it is for corrupt politicians to fool and to manipulate the dumb populace on what the corrupt politicians would want to influence. Also both mentioned that perverse democracy leads to tyranny. And to know what really is mind blowing is that what is happening in the US and Canada right now and for the past 40 years with its stupid populace voting and especially voting for blatant corrupt leaders that dont even hide their agendas is that this very thing happened in Athens 2500 years ago and Socrates not only called it but he witnessed it with his own death... Plato preached the faults of democracy and despised idiots voting. Democracy is not a bad thing per se, its a very good thing. But its severely flawed when the general populace is dumb as phoque and dont realize how they get played by the ruling class they keep on voting in. In North America is quite evident that EVERYBODY including us...yes us right here posting right now, are just stupid pawns. At least in France, Greece, Spain, Italy and maybe a couple of other European countries, the populace riots when their governments get out of hand. Us here in North America, we wait in line like a bunch of jack asses for thext iPhone, or we cause a ruckus when Taylor Swift tickets are too expensive for us to attend her concerts or we cant get FM radio on our Teslas (yeah a while back there was a slight backlash) or when GM decides that they dont want to offer Apple car play in their cars etc... We listen to Youtubers and podcasters that make money on the monetized internet for clicks but we crucify legit scientists. We are blinded by and worship corrupt politicians but we question the legit ones. We idolize monetized Joe Rogans and Alex Jones and basterds like that... And for the last 40 phoquing years North America has been on the decline.