trinacriabob

Between PHX and DEN, I'd pick DEN. I think I could put up with knowing so many granolas live within 40 miles of me (in Boulder, that is) and choose to live in of those kept-up suburbs or, better yet, in Evergreen or Conifer (those looked nice). Now, if you add BOS to the mix, and I COULD AFFORD IT, I'd live in New England in a heartbeat. The coast of Maine is unbelievable (minus Subarus).

261,000 mi (or 424,000 km)

Ditto here. Any place that has a long, hot dry summer is conducive to having dash covers. Yes, I much prefer seeing the burgundy-colored "ravine styled" dash and overhanging, uninterrupted cowl (found on the 1988-1994 Regals), but from May through September, I've kept the carpeted dash covers "velcroed" on. During the winter months, I take them off.

Exactly. Last generation 04-08: better dash design, worse materials Generation prior 97-03: acceptable (but not too interesting) dash design, better materials

department

nuclear

child

Ok, since you are all reaching back in time, let's say early 70s base Maverick with plaid seats, no carpeting and no lighter. One of my Mom's friends when we lived in LA, a chain-smoking Brooklyn-transplanted Italian lady with sequined cat glasses bought one and carted around several other Italian ladies to their social functions. I'll bet that within 1 week of her buying it, it reeked of cigarettes. If I ever see a Maverick, I remember this lady.

cave

City

I'm beginning to prefer cooler weather. It doesn't wear you out. I do have dash covers which match the (burgundy) interior over the dashboard and over the rear shelf. No cracking. I think it's separating at the bottom because that's where I've done some work (changed the blower fan, etc.) over the years.

surfboard

I agree. I love the "sculpted" dashboard and the wrap-around feel of the dash/console combo, without being that confining. However, the materials, where you could "rat-tat-tat" many components, were cheap. Cheap. Too bad, because the dash was more interesting than that in the 97-03 vintage. The seats were also uncomfortable and the protruding bolsters were useless, because it wasn't a Recaro seat anyway. The seats in 97-03 models were much nicer. So, of the cars that I know, the last-gen Grand Prix had some disappointing ergonomics for its price point. (But, mechanically, it's probably rock solid.)

groan

bitch

I saw this thread and needed more than a few seconds to go to it. The most offputting trait in a boss is arrogance. There is a difference between arrogance and confidence. Arrogance means you think the people that work for you are the "plebes." They forget that, without these people, things wouldn't get done and they couldn't sit on their lofty perch. Yes, I know you're not supposed to be buddy-buddy with your subordinates, but sending out signals that they are a notch below is toxic. Even though I took more of the number-crunching courses when I studied business, the "soft" courses about organizational behavior and human resources are eye-opening. At opposite ends of the spectrum lie the hierarchical organization and the matrix organization. I found that I work much better in a matrix organization, which is a community of peers and you are there to get the job or project done without a lot of formalities/titles/red tape. BellSouth (now AT&T Southeast) was hierarchical...people were too busy worrying about titles, kissing ass, and posturing to move up...and some of them had neither the know-how (neither practical nor academic) to be where they were. A second trait would be incompetence. Let's face it, there are people in high(er) positions that have their jobs because of numerous inadequate reasons. Eventually, most of them are "smoked out," but many people are inconvenienced until this occurs. In my specific case, I would say that I've run into some scrapes with bosses when there was not much of an age spread and I had more credentials and/or had gotten my license prior to them. They appeared to be threatened and were way too defensive. I would say that I've liked it better when I've been sort of a "mini-firm" within a firm, where I've had projects assigned to me, either solo or along with a few people, and we just get down to work. I think I've been fairly well-liked as a supervisor. At least, that's what I've been told (and one of the people working for me e-mailed me the link to "Canadian interview gone disgustingly wrong.") Most of the time, I was at the same level as my co-workers and got promoted because I was fairly organized...and they didn't want that level of accountability, so they didn't resent it. But it's weird going from the lunch time pizza/once-a-month-Greek restaurant or happy hour thing to being someone's supervisor.

complicated

Yep, good sample. Maybe this then alludes to the question of whether people believe in handwriting analysis...experts have studied this for years...

I understand how technology has improved our world. However, I don't think any and all "older" methods of communication should go the way of the dinosaur. Most people still walk into a meeting with pen and paper. Whether they block print or do cursive is up to them.

I think he's thinking "Palmer method" placards placed around the classroom.

Yeah, it's all kind of a sad statement....there is no craftsmanship left and tasks which people should know how to do have been supplanted by the computer.

Wow! But first and foremost, I have to tell you that the color of your G8 is fantastic! Beautiful! Oh yeah, the reason I picked this picture to reply to: there's a clear reflection of a mid-80s Regal coupe in mint condition in the background!

That would have been interesting...that was the first year for the Pontiac 4.9 L V8 (or 301 cubic inch). If I'm not mistaken, the base Catalina might have even come with a 3.8 V6 as standard. Do you remember those 3.8s shoved against the firewall, with enough room for a picnic in front of them?! Saw the weirdest car, but I'll save that for when I get it off my camera. However, in terms of more conventional cars, I saw a dark green Subaru Forester wagon with the oval LL Bean logo and a personalized plate that said: "4EST WMN," or "Forest Woman" Well, she looked more like a plump Rod Stewart. But I was driving, so I couldn't take a picture.

The South

I couldn't imagine having anything other than a white car if one lived in the desert.