trinacriabob

I found this on a news homepage. Check out this link and hit the "slide show" Link to MSN article on American towns It lists and talks about America's "prettiest" towns (subjective). In a way, they probably tried to appease everybody and scatter them all over the U.S. The ones that don't interest me: (a) tourist towns on the California coast that you can't afford anyway (Monterey, Cambria), (b) ski resorts (Aspen), ( c ) towns which...ahem...attract people I can't relate to (Sedona, Santa Fe) The ones that interest me: (a) I stumbled into Burlington VT once (needed to get over to the US "side" from Montreal to make cell phone calls and go to Kinko's), beautiful, but I'm sure it's an icebox, (b) Savannah, GA...I've only heard good things, but never made it there from Atlanta Some interesting things to note or surprises: (a) Deadwood SD is on the list (that's Charger4U, or Chargerino's, town), (b) Lanesboro MN, which I've never heard of, and ( c ) Union WA, which I'm sure is within 100 miles of Seattle and I've never heard of either What do you think of the list? Others that deserve mention in your opinion?

fault

Wasn't he in "Office Space"?

Yes. A good day, indeed. However, there are TOO MANY MORE walls that need to come down, with oppressive dark regimes most of us aren't even aware of...as well as the "standard" ones that are constantly mentioned in the news. Freedom empowers people. It can be taken a bit too far, but most societies have prospered because their underpinnings are all about individual freedom and respect. I probably won't be going to see Berlin any time soon, since my tried and true itinerary of Mediterranean Western Europe and southern South America work very well for me. But, hey, there's so many people who don't want to travel at all, so.... I'm waiting for the day when I can board a flight in Miami or Houston and go to Cuba for a week...and eat a huge serving of "ropa vieja" in Havana.

+1 - I vote So.Cal. I agree with everything you say, with the minor exception that San Francisco has always been regarded the financial/banking center of the West, though that has even out over the years. That's right, the "procession" over the SF Bay Bridge...accelearting up ono the East Span...temporarily disappearing into the Yerba Buena tunnel...and then doing 4 spans of Bay Bridge, with the skyline always visible on your right hand side, is NEVER tiresome. But, you're right, too. SF doesn't have any snow-capped mountains in its backdrop. So that's L.A.'s trump card.

I just got a lube oil and filter this morning. With my coupon, it came to about $23, and I got Valvoline 10W-30. For this service, I have repeatedly gone to this nearby store from a national chain. They know me there and treat me fairly well. However, they price other stuff too highly, probably to cover their "loss leaders." For stuff which I think is more powertrain-specific (tune-up, trans fluid, and even a coolant change), I wait for a good price deal to come from a GM dealership, or two, that I have often used and have gotten to know. I see no point in giving this business to one of the chains, when a GM dealership is charging the same...or even slightly less. For brake and suspension stuff, I go to a major West Coast-only chain. (But, for tires, I go to Costco). For everything else, I go to an independent mechanic. An independent put in my water pump and did a good job / priced it fairly. His wife also works in our office, so everybody goes there. Question: Do you have your mechanical work sort of layered by what "system" is affected...or...do you just go to one mechanic...or...do you not even plan when it comes to this issue?

that's why Northern Californians get a slightly better reception when they transplant to the PNW...it's a little more of a "two peas in a pod" situation...the Southern Californian is a little bit too unbridled for the walk-on-eggshells sensibilities up there.

joint

It's kind of weird. The SF Bay Area is clearly the more "photogenic" of the two, especially with the (now somewhat less alarming) smog problem in LA, but I really like the vibe of the Southland better than that of the Bay Area (and this thread was about the Bay Area). I think most people clearly like one over the other as their preferred place to live, if they have a choice in the matter, and that's how it shakes out. I know very few people who would be "indifferent" on this one. I presume the Bay Bridge is now operational, but they did say another closure is foreseen to perform a more complete repair.

Kentucky Fried Chicken (has made me pretty nauseous each of the few times I've eaten there, and my standards for food aren't THAT high)

Happy birthday! (Ok, I see, thread started at 10:38 pm PDT, so it's Saturday a.m.)

I was thinking about the Carthay Circle. Wow. What a storied history. Built in 1926 and pulled down by the wrecking ball in 1969. It was deemed inefficient because it was too big, had one screen and probably was not amenable to multi-screen conversion. Very sad -- an imposing movie palace, with its trademark tower. It does look a lot like the Fox Village, though, which I hope is protected on some register. The Carthay Circle was second only to the Chinese Theater for premiering blockbuster films in the Southland, according to the blurb. Then click again...one page from a whole collection of L.A. movie theater architecture - beautiful The Warner was art-deco, which I didn't like that much, but the Beverly had a Moorish or Arabic theme, and set into the angled corner, so it was one-of-a-kind, but probably too low-rise and unprofitable for such a high visibility corner. The Cinerama Dome, again, looks like something from The Jetsons. The following picture is courtesy of wikipedia. Haha...there is a 24 Hour Fitness inscription to the right of it, through the palm trees. I was there over the 4th of July 2004, and this movie was playing at the time and I was pissed that the big publicity spider was there screwing up an otherwise good picture. tmp, if we got far enough east of the Chinese Theater on foot to see the Pantages, then we did see the Egyptian. I don't remember. L.A. is all about pushing out boundaries, on many levels (well...maybe except for putting a subway under the ground).

Yes. Agreed. There is a slight dourness. I didn't know who she was, so I looked for some web images. The 70s definitely had their place, though - the beginning of bad hair, the country's bicentennial, disco, bad clothes, opera windows on cars, catalytic converter fires, the staying power of sitcom series, and...drum roll...the "phenomenon" that middle class people could buy homes in the vanilla suburbs of NYC, Boston, LA and SF, and still have enough of a margin left over to raise a family.

Wow, I was looking into some of these. "Twin Peaks" - whether you're 18 or 80 or anywhere in between, this is outstanding ... it transports you somewhere else. "Maude" - besides the fact that the GW does NOT take you to Westchester County, what's with the 50s cars in the opening for a 70s sitcom? Funny.

Hey, I've got the Big 3 scheduled: Minor tune-up this month (mostly for the plugs), Motor mounts next month (Dec.), and Trans fluid change, drop, drain, filter, the following month (Jan.) These will hopefully enable me to get to the 300K mark without these major service items So, question on the motor mounts. The car in question is my 92 Regal with the 3800 V6. I'm fairly convinced they (1 and/or 2) need replacement and will be letting a shop who is pretty straightforward do it. So, can changing them open another can of worms? Meaning, it is possible that, during this changeover, the position of the engine can change so as to mess up a tolerance with something else in the drivetrain? Or, is it fairly easy to do without jimmying around other components? On RWD (80s 3.8V6 cars), this procedure was not that complex (based on the repair bill). This will be my first motor mount experience with FWD. Your assistance is appreciated.

Great. George Jefferson was a real douche, as I recall. He and Aunt Esther (Sanford and Son) would have really locked horns.

Liberty Bell

potatoes

You just I'm just kidding. After posting, I "youtubed" Christiane Amanpour to listen to her affected speech...she's out there, that's for sure

caffeine

ok, Iranian and born in the UK. If those are criteria to be hot, then Christiane Amanpour might be included? I can't listen to her without losing it (laughing, that is) I can tell it's starting to get late...

Central Perk

"Ivory Tower"

suspension

Thank you! Corona, hmmm... Of all the boroughs, Queens has the most kick-ass neighborhood names: Fresh Pond, Ozone Park, Far Rockaway, Lefrak City, Flushing and not just Forest Hills, but Forest Hills Gardens - woohoo...I saw some other good ones... Sometimes, I think my parents should have never moved on from the Tri-state area on to "the Coast" and, even though we knew a lot of characters, I think the N.E. is more densely packed with them... Back to TV theme songs....