trinacriabob

Ha! I'd even say that's a little generous.

Random thought: ... sure miss those "down votes" from ocnblu

007 movie theme songs all seem to pick up instrumental hints (hard to identify the instruments) of the main James Bond theme and the way John Barry composed, which is a good thing for both the franchise and the song itself ... an underrated band and song.

I enjoy trains quite a bit and had rudimentary train sets when I was in grade school. I've been on Amtrak coast to coast - on the Santa Fe - with my parents when I was a kid. I've taken the Coast Starlight from Norcal to Portland. Would have liked to try the "California Zephyr" and the "Empire Builder" from SF and the PacNW, respectively, to Chicago. Trains in Europe are fairly impressive. So are their transit systems. Of the ones I've been on, Spain's RENFE is the best. Italy's is good and mostly punctual. For being a small country, the trains in Portugal are surprisingly good. To catch a bodaciously priced flight, I had to fly out of Tampa instead of Lauderdale. There's one daily Amtrak train. What a mess - a sort of rude conductor, some weird people, and you could not communicate with 1/3 of the passengers if you did not speak Spanish. About 1 to 2 hours late in arriving. Inland Central Florida is another world that people should see to get the whole picture of a state that is romanticized.

Right. This happens when low life get these critters as babies, bring them up north, and then, when they grow and/or they're done with them, they're chucked into a nearby body of water. They won't survive winter, but there's always the chance they can do some damage in the interim since they're not expected to be there.

That is exactly what I think when landing and you see Grapevine Lake. Boaters, jet skiers, but where are people supposed to swim? The central to lower Midwest also has this issue in its bodies of water. They are pit vipers, so sort of related to rattlesnakes. Ditto for huge Lake Houston. People should not be swimming there. Alligators in that one ... at the very least.

Q: Why do lesbians prefer to shop at Sports Authority? A: They don't much care for Dick's.

Which then leads me to ask why it has such rabid fans and defenders ... not necessarily sports fans. Maybe it was the older, simpler Dallas. A ride on the Orange or Green train from downtown to DFW will speak volumes about the lanscape you speak about. H-town has its problems and negatives, but there are some nicer "newer" subdivisions of all brick homes sitting under a thick pine canopy that you could barely see through from the air ... a look I really like and a taste that was cultivated when I lived in Atlanta for a couple of years.

Not a big fan of DFW airport to begin with. Nor that general area. The grounds look parched and sparsely vegetated. In Texas, it's Houston that comes to mind if there's a hurricane forming in the Gulf. If in that area, I tend to stay by Johnson Space Center so it's almost equidistant to downtown Houston and the beach at Galveston.

Not a humorous topic since I didn't yet know where in the Caribbean Debby is brewing, but it doesn't look like "Debby Does Dallas" is going to happen.

As the saying goes, "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it." That said, I'm afraid to ask the price. I appreciate the Corvette for what it represents, but I was never an aficionado. This last rework to mid-engine has gotten me to look at them and run through some color combos I might like. But it won't be happening. It would be a fun second car for a person of means.

They have 2 "gala" evenings for dinner, and maybe afterwards, on each crossing. Apparently, some people read their stuff too carefully because they have themed evenings. Last night was "red and gold." Most women packed something for the occasion and even some men took it a lesser extent. On these 2 nights, the minimum is a dark suit and tie for the restaurant. Some pack a tux. I don't have such an item. https://youtu.be/T9Jcs45GhxU?feature=shared Hats off to some ladies who were dressed to the nines. I thought of this song. I don't have time for this nor enough space in my luggage, so one dark suit it is!

In a happy place ... for me, anyway ... ... with Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty beyond and a Staten Island Ferry that was at the ship's side for a while on the way out to sea.

I know a Greek guy in New York and he was just telling me that he used to take Olympic Airways to and from Greece. He said that it was Aristotle Onassis's airline ... I didn't know that. He told me they had a 747 named Olympus and another one named Zeus. Olympic never put out much of a reach to North America ... just NY and Toronto, I believe. They bankrupted sometime post-9/11. Now, Greece only has much smaller Aegean, but they stick mostly to Europe, the Middle East, etc. Here's one of their 747s approaching Athens Airport next to the sea at Ellinikon. In looking up this airline and jet, they had a write-up on Olympic Airways Flight 411 which was using the 747 Zeus in 1978, so this was a fairly new unit. Fairly shocking for a veteran crew - 418 people on board - close call ...

Most TV shows and sitcoms that take place in the same 1 to 3 rooms test my patience. Maybe that's why I might watch documentaries and police shows, and very rarely at that, or watch movies I've read about in advance and want to see.

Several of my friends have asked me, "What, you never saw that Seinfeld episode?!?" I'm seeing it for the first time. It's funny. I thought "Seinfeld" was boring ... too slow. The only episode I've watched was the "Assman" episode. Kramer, in my mind, was the only funny character on the show.

Today marks yet another anniversary of the sinking of the "Andrea Doria," just the night before she was due in to New York. My parents knew young couples, some of them with toddlers, who were moving to the U.S. on tranquil completed crossings, but also one couple who did not yet have children but were on the ship on the crossing on which the collision with the "Stockholm" occurred. I am in the New York City area right now. Life is weird ... that's for sure.

It's about how things were pronounced, as if in a sitcom. Someone told them to me. (Coming into New York harbor, Staten Island would definitely be on the left.) I literally just walked across the bridge along Broadway - and over the dividing Harlem River - from The Bronx into Manhattan ... after taking the subway up to The Bronx.

ESL-isms as jokes Q: How did Staten Island get its name? A: On sailing into the Narrows into uncharted territory, one Dutch explorer pointed to the left and asked, "Ees dat an island?" Q: How did Van Nuys of the San Fernando Valley get its name? A: A realtor was accompanying an Italian immigrant who farmed to look for land to purchase. Standing on a ridge overlooking a mostly vacant San Fernando Valley, the Italian man pointed to roughly the middle of the valley and said, "Dat area down dere ... veh nice, veh nice!"

BONUS PHOTO For sassy Sicily, sassier music is in synch with the overall experience

MECHANICAL PHOTOS An overall look at the engine bay, with most things looking familiar and most things within reach Counting manifolds yields a number of 3 - this is a turbocharged 3 cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine There is plumbing and tubing indicating the presence of a turbocharger and, with the number of cylinders and displacement, it comes in handy and brings the T-Cross up to the task

INTERIOR PHOTOS The layout and placement of controls on the instrument cluster, dashboard, and console area were sensible and also visually balanced This shows the layout of the center stack from top to bottom: infotainment, vents, key buttons for key functions, and climate control panel above cubby area and ahead of the shift lever ... the parking brake is a conventional one x The cupholders are easy to reach, the armrest is padded, and the console box is squarish but big enough The above point to Germanic/European appointments that are in synch with the price point, but do the job More of the overall look continues in the rear of the cabin and seating comfort and room may depend on the size of the occupants There is limited functionality here at the back of the console and the only USB connections available are the small ones ... I found it easier to put a USB charger into the 12 V lighter and supply juice to my USB cables through that Possibly because of how its angled, visibility around the rearmost pillar was not too much of a hassle With the cover up, this shows the amount of luggage that fits in the back with the seats up. A few more small items could be inserted above the luggage and at the sides. Pushing down the rear seat makes for a lot more room, but, at that point, one's belongings are not hidden from view

EXTERIOR PHOTOS Side view of the VW T-Cross in Southern Sicily ... yes, the "Trinacria" Angled front view in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily Angled rear view in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily

Another rental of a smaller sedan with an automatic transmission brought on an upgrade. The vehicle offered was the VW T-Cross SUV. I took a quick look at the phone and went with it. VW makes 2 smaller SUVs with the T in their names, meaning the T-Cross and the T-Roc. It quickly came across that the T-Cross was going to be easy to live with. The proportions would be more workable for Southern Italy. The interior has that spartan but fleshed out enough with comforts and accessories currently found in many VW products. Not only that, the layout of the dashboard and controls allows for quick driver familiarization. Driving out of the rental lot showed more definition as to the angles and boundaries of the vehicle, especially looking out over the hood. (This was going to be much simpler than doing the same with the preceding rented Citroen C5.) Steering is nimble and there is a resemblance in handling characteristics with other vehicles under the VW umbrella from VW, Seat, and Skoda. The vehicle quickly inspires confidence in communicating with the road while keeping the cabin isolated enough. Power comes from a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, which is starting to be very normal and has even come to North America. The gears shifted through the VW group’s automatic 7 speed DSG transmission. Power seems sufficient in almost all situations and the automatic shifts of the DSG are very fluid – minimally felt, but also hushed in moving upward through the gears. This is a refined automatic transaxle. The ride is both smooth and quiet, albeit more smooth than quiet. When pushing down on the accelerator, there is a slight hum of the engine and/or turbocharger and gear shifts are more pronounced, which is normal. The T-Cross has a dashboard and driver interfaces that score points. The dashboard is logically laid out, the infotainment system cleanly stays under the cowl of the dashboard, the appliques in plastic and/or brushed metal manage to look nicely finished, and ergonomics between the driver and the controls are commendable. The ignition uses a key and the parking brake is a traditional one located on the console. Currently, the main instrument pod can be tailored to the driver’s wants and needs. I prefer the digital speed readout and set it to that, though analog displays are also options. Other functions such as fuel and temperature are now displayed in horizontal bars that light up to the applicable extent. This takes a little bit of getting used to. Controls on the steering wheel are fairly logical and there are less of them than on some vehicles where they are downright cluttered. In the center stack, the infotainment sits above the climate control panel and, in between the two, are the two central air vents. Also there are critical switches such as emergency flashers, auto stop-start, and the like. So, one gets slightly less optimal climate control vent placement, but, boy, does the dash look better for it! The top of the armrest is padded and the storage area beneath it is more of a deep box. However, when it comes to USB ports, I could not find the old school ones most people seem to use, but only the smaller (micro) ones. The fabric seats feature tough materials that are functional more so than plush or soft to the touch. However, they make sense … and they are supportive. There aren’t many soft touch features on the car and the door panels and handles, among other items, make for an instant preview of that. For most average-sized adults, the front legroom is comfortable and the rear seat legroom seems acceptable. Since the vehicle’s SUV shape resembles a small wagon, the not particularly long silhouette makes for a smaller cargo area. It fit two large suitcases with the rear seat up. Some skinnier items could fit under the pull-over cover and around the sides of the luggage. That said, the cargo area with the rear seat in place is not generous. Fuel economy with the turbocharged engine and DSG is good, probably in the mid 30 mpg range (converted from kilometers and liters) for mixed driving. It came in slightly lower than the big Citroen SUV with a diesel engine. The T-Cross is fairly fun to drive with its higher seating position, user-friendly and appealing dashboard, and planted feel. It handles the open road well without being too isolated and it’s small enough to work its way through tighter areas in small towns and rural locales. Again, there are all the bits and pieces that say Volkswagen. The T-Cross doesn’t drive as serenely and quietly as does something like the Skoda Scala. Perhaps it drives more like a VW Jetta with a higher center of gravity. But that’s not a bad thing: having a rented Jetta in Houston for a week several years ago got me to take a fresh new look at VW and there are a lot of similarities with the T-Cross in finishes, feel, and even smell. There’s a lot more here to like - than dislike - if a smaller and competent European SUV is what a consumer is seeking. - - - - - PHOTOS FORTHCOMING

It seems like you can't wipe your behind these days without getting a survey sent to you. Then, when you get around to responding to it, it has stale dated.