trinacriabob

It seems that Eddie Bauer (now under bankruptcy protection) aligns more with the West and LL Bean aligns more with the East. After all, they're based in Seattle and Freeport, Maine, respectively. I only buy clothes from these places...and very infrequently, at that. I actually went to Freeport, Maine when I visited Boston in the late 90s. I bought some decent things for good prices. It's a nice little town, but there were TOO MANY Subarus...and, ahem...their drivers.

I saw the word Oregon and was immediately turned off. I can't believe it's adjacent to California and such a freak show. And, no, Oregonians, it's the Californians that are WAAAYYY more normal.

I like American cars. I said Corvette.

I don't know how you do it. I skipped taking a major vacation last summer and was getting real cranky. This last one (July) was the best 17 days of "therapy" ... unbelievable. Ocn, glad you had fun BUT, for your sleeping issues, see about getting something for it. I never had sleeping problems until a year ago, and Ambien is now generic (with a next to nothing co-pay) and works like a charm. Tent camping? Hmmm. I once went camping to the San Bernardino Mountains with my brother and a few of his friends shortly after he got his license. We left a locked cooler on the picnic table adjacent to the tent. A bear came by to check out the cooler and knocked it off the table. We were woken up by the loud bang and we were eerily quiet. My brother's friend who snuck a look at it said it wasn't that big...he described it as a "teenage bear."

metal

Does it make a good impression?

I went to a couple of dealerships last night to check out new cars for the heck of it. There were NO 2010 LaCrosses at the B(O)(P) dealership...and it was a fairly large store. There were NO 2010 Tauruses at the Ford dealership...and it was a very large store. There were NO base Camaros (within the visible part of the lot) at the Chevy dealership...and it was a very large store. What's up with this? Has anyone seen any 2010 LaCrosses or Tauruses on the lots? When are they due in?

orthodontia (I though the Brits had bad teeth?)

I was just thinking about this after seeing an ad for a local steakhouse. Opening up a steak, or a piece of meat, and "seeing red" makes my stomach turn. I always order it well done. All of it has to be some shade of tan/brown. Not only that, a knife has to go through it fairly easy and I don't want to wrestle with it. How do you order your steak or grilled meat?

I've either bought new cars (LaCrosse, Regal) or received cars that my parents bought new (Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Supreme Brougham). They have all been excellent cars. Except for ONE. Along with having the Cutlass, I bought a 79 Camaro with a 5.0 litre V8 and slightly used at 34,000 miles. In my mind, it was not broken in correctly. I bought it from an Armenian chick in Van Nuys CA (San Fernando Valley). It was the metallic blue with the color-keyed rally wheels and a blue interior. It was a beautiful car. HOWEVER, it had a problem with the valve seals, emitting a belch of blue in the morning, and there was a drone in the differential that no one could diagnose. Adios, Camaro. I have not bought a used car since then.

No, you can't really use them in everyday life...they're too specific to most movies... Not only that, most anything I remember is from Eddie Murphy so I have to add the accent and I can't do that at work Most of the friends come up with enough good material: ..."the whitest of white trash" is one of my favorites ... that I was "the welcome wagon" for foreigners in undergrad ... or a black chick in summer school between fresh/soph year in college whose change was swallowed by a vending machine and got belligerant with it: "Ama' let dis machine take ma money, or ama act a fool." I swear...verbatim. ... he "doesn't know how much he doesn't know"

Bible thumper

I am one of the few dissenters on this car. I am trying real hard to like the hood/greenhouse/deck lid proportions of this car. I'm not there yet. And I don't like the pointiness of the headlights as they turn the corner into the fenders, something already in the styling vocubulary of the large BMWs. Kudos to Buick for making a likable vehicle, but there wouldn't be a G8 or LaCrosse debate for me if I was in the market at this time (the way I tossed around GP or LaCrosse)...it would be the G8, which is the best-looking sport sedan GM has released in the last decade.

Hey, I flew into and out of Boston en route to Europe for my vacation in July. I've been to Boston before, but I've never seen it (and the area) from the air. The geographical layout was out of this world...beautiful. I believe you. I heard it's real expensive to live there.

Just today, I was doing a little surfing on the job and was checking out 75 Grandville Brougham convertibles. Unbelievable. But I would like to see a 76 Grand Le Mans. But I would need a crushed velour leisure suit. Since I live at Borders and B&N, I'll be on the lookout for it.

libertine

French Onion

line

I'm a big-time minimalist. I like it that way. No clutter. I skimp on most things and then take a big trip for 2 to 3 weeks (stay in nice places and eat well for the least amount of money). I don't consider this materialistic as much as it is feeding the intellect and nurturing the soul. It's to relax and it's cheaper than therapy. I've got two cars, but sooner or later, the Regal will go and I will only have the newer one (which I paid less than $20 K for). Other than that, I have few furnishings, no pictures anywhere, next to nothing in the refrigerator and have some decent suits and casual clothes that I bought at the outlets. For me, happiness comes more so from things inside one's head or life experiences than it does from possessions.

It wasn't portrayed too favorably in the opening sequence to "Beverly Hills Cop" (the first one, 1984). All I can think of is the armies of architects and engineers that had to draw up these intricate masonry buildings and plan grand boulevards, only for them to be part of a forgotten wasteland. And no insult to those of you who live in its suburbs -- I have seen some of the nice suburbs outside of the Detroit city limits.

Amazon River

My agent (for a major chain) is a little too aggressive in salesmanship. I have my auto and my dwelling insured through them. I get a call from her assistant who is generally nice. She starts in on selling me investments. I told her I have a background in business and pencil out my own affairs. Some people don't know when to stop because they "don't know how much they don't know," so I cut the call short. I think that the assistants at this place are asked to sell financial products. That assistant is no longer with that office, but has moved on to another agent representing the same company. I wonder if she was pissed that she had to do this. I didn't like the pushiness in selling these other lines and have thought about taking my business to another office, but I've been to lazy to do that.

Monte Python

dreary which city is the mistake by the lake?

Panama Canal