trinacriabob

Are you finding that you are o.k. with masks? I now have 3 boxes of them (2 with 10 and 1 with 50) and am still working on the first box. The supermarkets and drug stores are now pushing them. And, I still have bandannas. Are you finding that you are o.k. with hand sanitizer? I now have small bottles in each room which I accumulated as I checked out of grocery stores. I have disinfectant wipes in the bathrooms and in the console of my car, not to mention my travel bag. And, I have 2 mini bottles that are meant for a backpack or whatever, one of which was given to me free as a courtesy when picking up some office supplies. How supply and demand have changed in one month!

So true. It's all about the sharp pencil. I am not asking that they offer 7 colors for your vehicle's interior like they did in '77 (when they had green, blue, and burgundy). However, they make enough Malibus, for example, where they should offer the conventional three interior colors: black, gray, and tan. If you do the "build and price" on one of those, even up the ladder to LT, the only interior you can get for most exterior colors is black. Similarly, on the base Dodge Charger, they only offer a black interior, probably to keep the price at $ 29 K. For the price difference from a decently equipped Malibu LT, the Charger is quite a bit more car, so I'd work around the one interior color choice on that one.

It was a conventional gas engine (ICE) and it was a 2.5 L 4. It was a rental. I was supposed to have an intermediate, like a Hyundai Elantra, but they did not have cars. Just trucks/SUVs/CUVs.

I rarely wander over this way. Just saw this. Attractive grille and front 3/4 views. Great color.

From a marketing course I took in undergrad, the chewing into each other's market share was termed cannabalization. If you grab market share from outside GM, that would be a good thing. If you grab from across brand lines, not so much. However, I think it was common. Many people's tastes took them to Chevrolet or Pontiac, and the price points that went with that. My dad seemed to focus on Buick and Oldsmobile, with the perception that Buick was a notch better. I found that debatable. Our Olds cars were always better looking than our Buick cars. With the exception of the early odd-firing V6 we had, the Buicks lasted a little longer. So, these cannabalizers are a stable captive audience that will be deciding on a vehicle within GM's stable. GM knows that there's a large batch of these loyal customers. What it will always need to do is pull people in from the ranks of other brands. After recently spending some time behind the wheel of a Toyota RAV 4, there is no doubt in my mind I'd be back at GM looking at an Acadia or similar, even with the base engine and just FWD. The Toyota was a slight disappointment.

Also, on June 3rd, I spotted a few "mistakes:" Symmetrical ones, at that!

The sketch I've seen looks something like this, which is easier on the eyes than the current Camaro (and I'm not necessarily saying the current Camaro is bad) I guess that, if it were to be branded as a Buick, the Pontiac crest would give way to a round Buick medallion placed right above the ridge, and flat, from where it is currently shown. I've liked every generation of Firebird a little more than every generation of Camaro.

Spotted June 3rd - Here's a new(er) and small(er) Infiniti SUV sporting 2 liters of turbocharged power. What's with this salmon color? It reminds me of Nissan 280 ZXs and the GM intermediates and full sizes of the early '80s. They say trends come full circle. This was in the parking lot at Publix in Dania, FL I don't like all the sheetmetal curves on this vehicle. That funky orange structure (across Dania Beach Blvd.) is the Dania Casino. It used to be a jai alai place years ago. You might still see blue hairs. What you won't see are paper cups full of nickels.

And I've even seen them do some photoshops and design exercises with a new Firebird (probably same chassis as the Camaro) come back as a Buick. Bring it on! With their cars gone, it might be the only Buick I might like.

June 1st sighting ... in the evening ... boo: The owner of a LIME Ram truck would have to be marginally more "interesting" than that of a black, white, red, blue, or silver one. Or maybe not. Just a thought.

Montreal's Metro and Toronto's TTC feel fairly safe, to me. At odd hours, the crowd gets odder. The thing at Athens is that it's younger gangs of pickpockets (gypsy, Roma, and Albanian are among the ethnic groups mentioned) who have it worked down to a science. The train routes they work the most are Monastiraki in the center to Athens Airport and the route that goes out to Piraeus, the port for the cruise ships. If you're fairly big and have your stuff embedded way down in your belongings, you'll be more of a challenge. The wallets in the back pockets or phone in a pant pocket are the easiest things for them to pick off. When I ride a subway in an area I'm not familiar with or have heard unfavorable things about, I stay in the first car behind the conductor and usually scan who's around me. They also take advantage of when people are moving from the station platform into the car and vice-versa and might be confused. The articles say that the police in Athens have not been proactive enough, such as by patrolling the stations and riding on the subway cars. The police there could easily figure out who these gangs are. There was once a sting and they arrested about 50 people. Like I said, I really liked the Athens Metro, but I was there the year before it was extended into the new airport. Madrid's Metro - which goes into both of its airport terminals - is great and tourists seem very relaxed taking it to and from the airport. But, when it's crowded around the center of the city, it has had its theft incidents, too. You always have to be on the defensive when riding on public transit.

Each ISTJ write-up gives similar lists of occupations, which are worlds away from each other ... https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/best-careers-for-istj-personalities @oldshurst442 There have been a lot of (more recent) travel articles written about how dicey the Athens Metro is to ride from the airport into the city center, and vice-versa, in terms of property theft. Before the Metro was extended into the ATH airport, which is when I rode on it, it was clean and "peaceful." My station was Akropoli.

I checked the date and this one slides into May as well - also on the 31st. The Rivieras of the world are usually renowned for being sun drenched ... ... but sadly this last-gen Riviera is as well.

The way he (the 75 y.o.) landed was especially bothersome. On a concrete sidewalk. That's in addition to everything else that was wrong with the situation. As for the Minneapolis situation that ended George Floyd's life, I was in transit, of sorts, when it happened and got up to speed on it a little later. A college student in a small peaceful protest actually "scolded" me for not knowing enough about the situation upon inquiring. (Blame it on uninterrupted Bluetooth music in a rental car to stay focused and alert.) You start wondering what was going through their heads: anger issues, stress, power trips, more stress from training for and working in a COVID-19 environment, pack mentality, etc.? It's like the Rodney King situation of 1992 all over again. But it's also a really tough job, especially in a SWAT type situation. They never know what they'll be facing. Be glad you didn't become a law enforcement agent. You'd probably be a very different person than the one you are today. The people I went to high school with who went into these fields were not likable ... and were still not likable decades later. I don't know anyone from college who went into law enforcement. A fair number of these folks became holy roller types and most of them became even more uptight. Very true about how certain jobs heap on points on military folks returning to the work force. I think that psychological testing is probably now in (wider) use in employing first responders. It should be. As for as aptitude tests that people take for themselves, it's weird what results the 2 Myers-Briggs indicators ending in ?STJ produce - they say you are suited to be a systems analyst, an engineer, a dentist, an accountant ... or a police officer. It's probably built around the Joe Friday "just the facts, mam" M.O. of most ?STJ types. That's one broad brush.

Last call for May spotting - on the last day of May, the 31st: Near JAX, and just off the Beltway, it looks like birds of a feather flock together. I'll take the one on the right ... less thirsty. Trifecta of Dodge-Ram products, still in the same place - the charcoal enamel color seen on FCA of products as of late is nice but, on that Charger, I think it would look way better with basic aluminum (shinier) alloys to keep it from looking that drab. My 2 cents. Further down I-95 on the Treasure Coast, north of Palm Beach County. Wow ... this is one car that has gotten better and better. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next rendition.) I can't tell if it's the red or the orange they've been offering on the Charger lately, but it's definitely flattering on this vehicle. For random sighting photos, FL's lack of front license plates works wonders.

For those who still have time and can find stores that are participating, today is National Donut Day!

Spotted May 29 - parked next to each other This is a 2006 or 2007 Monte Carlo SS, meaning it's among the rare few with a V8. How does it have basic wheels? These had some meaty tires and alloys. I couldn't even tell you what year this Rolls is or what it might cost. These remind me of the poster saying "Poverty Sucks." Not my cup of tea, but an interesting sighting.

Everyone has a different interpretation of beauty. There's no doubt the Desert SW has its own beauty. I don't think it has much to do with being a real man to deal with the Desert SW heat and living conditions. For some, it's not an aesthetic they like. I was recently in Florida and, thanks to those reliable downpours in the afternoons, the place is all green and turquoise ... abundant, lush vegetation and turquoise waters. I find their 92 degree humid heat easier to take than 108 degree dry heat. Others don't agree. It's not all that packaged. You can live in the NW and love the trees but strongly dislike the tree huggers and the granolas. Dfelt ain't no tree hugger ... he lives on the East Side and drives domestic vehicles. Kudos to dfelt on both counts. (Much like you can be a liberal Republican or a conservative Democrat - it's not so cut and dried.) For the tree huggers and granolas, it's not just about conservation or preserving the natural beauty. It's about making an annoying and all encompassing statement. I didn't really get along with them too well. Then, the SW has its types of granolas and counterculture types, like middle aged and retired ladies with short gray hair, studious glasses, sizable collections of turquoise and carnelian Indian jewelry, and Subaru wagons who love Sedona, Flagstaff (~ 7,000 ft. elev.), and Santa Fe (NM). Those areas' prices have gone way up because of the liberal moneyed intellectuals (or wannabe intellectuals) who have moved into certain cities in AZ, NM and CO ... and you can have those places because I wouldn't enjoy having them as neighbors. I like the Desert SW for about a week. I was last there for about 4 or 5 days. The inside of my nose and my head seemed to dry up daily, producing regular nosebleeds and headaches. Then, when I get somewhere moister, this doesn't happen.

This random, weird thought went through my head: I had lunch at Costco ... but I didn't have a Costco lunch.

I have been to Greece, but not to Santorini. I know that it's built around a volcano that "sank" into the Mediterranean and that the sand on the beach is a blackish color. The Amalfi Coast (this ^) and the coastline further up at the Cinque Terre are more verdant, so more like the Greek Ionian islands (i.e. Corfu) and Sporades islands (i.e. Skiathos) where the hillsides are fairly green, even during the summer. In the Cyclades, which is what most people associate with Greek islands, the look is very parched ... a lot like Southern California's interior during the hot summer. Santorini (Cyclades) Paros (Cyclades) The Greek islands are overrun by tourists. Their populations of actual inhabitants is low. Half the population of Greece lives in and around Athens.

Better late than never. Here are some sightings from 4 days in Eastern Sicily in early February ... when things were still "normal" there. By order of comic relief: 1. a Subaru doubling as a police car (they have different types of law enforcement and carabinieri is one of the different departments). A Subaru?!? 2. They have gone nuts with these weird pastel enamel colors on small cars over there, like this pale blue-green on Fiats, Renaults, Citroens, etc. This one is in front of a funeral home. You can also see that people have been spending more money on their cars over there. 3. This made for the best laugh. It must have belonged to the guy who worked inside the gas station and ran the credit card. I can't believe they sell these in Sicily. I don't see a big V8 under the hood and I wouldn't assume an automatic transmission is a given. It's fun to spot cars that are out of the ordinary from what you'd expect in a far-away place.

I just saw one of those blurbs on the most popular breed of dog, ranked from 1 to 99, based on registrations or something like that, and it goes like this: 1. Labrador 2. German Shepherd 3. Golden Retriever It's not surprising when you think of what dogs you see around. My three favorite breeds come in at 13, 25, and 29 on the list, respectively: Australian Shepherd, Border Collie, and Miniature Australian Shepherd. For these three breeds, you need a good dose of time and energy to keep up with them.

Hertz filed for bankruptcy. Under their umbrella are Thrifty, Dollar, and more. An institution since my childhood. Now, a casualty of COVID-19. Sad. Hey, who can forget this guy ... and this particular commercial was in 1993 ... think of the timing ... the police chase of the Ford Bronco on the 405 wasn't too long after 1993 ...

@oldshurst442 Monsieur du Quebec, j'ai trouve' un YouTube situe' dans ton ville, sur une des rues principales First, can you understand what those French people talking smack in the background are saying? I had seen this about a month ago and thought you'd enjoy it. This is one sweet Cutlass Supreme. It's obviously been kept shielded from the elements. A few things: - it needs its hood ornament back ... it would look better - it would look better with the alloy wheels instead of the wire wheel covers ... and the optional all aluminum alloys were even nicer than the much used body colored rally wheels - I'm not crazy about the two-tone paint - they could have thrown on a white landau vinyl top instead ... I remembered this video since we were recently discussing the Seafoam fuel system product ... this might be considered a metallic sea foam green, but Olds called it metallic Jadestone - check out at about 2:25 into the video - this car has NO air conditioning and it's the top of the line Brougham! - I like everything else about it ... I wonder which engine it had ... there would have only been 2 gasoline options that year: the 3.8 V6 or the small Olds V8 Tres belle ... beautiful!

@balthazar and others Take note, though, that, for some reason, Sunoco has fallen off the Top Tier list, possibly due to sourcing during the pandemic. They're supposed to be the fuel endorsed by NASCAR* or some other major automotive event. * oh yeah, baby, I'm all about NASCAR ... surely I jest ... my 200 hp can get me in trouble if I wanted it to ...