trinacriabob

I'm laughing at the underlined portion, Invicta, since I never thought that....and I was born in LA and have spent most of my life in the West. When I thought of North Carolina, even as a little kid who loved geography, I always thought the following: green, gorgeous winding roads in the Smokies, great universities like Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, Cape Hatteras jutting out into the Atlantic, potential hurricane threats, slight Southern accent (well, it IS the South), smack in the middle of the Atlantic seaboard, and lots of brick homes and buildings. I've always thought of it as being a lot like Virginia (which I know better), but at a more southern latitude. Well, I'll find out in a few weeks.

pretentious and for no good reason

I saw "porn industry slumping" and read on. I was thinking "erections aren't supposed to slump..." Oh, yeah, the SoCal part. Most of the filming evidently occurs in warehouses smack in the middle of the banal parts of the San Fernando Valley. I couldn't even believe how many times I may have driven past one of these places within eyeshot of "the 405" and not even had a clue as to what might have been going on there.

Nice. They're good, reliable vehicles. It's also a nice looking car and the front end looks is nicely proportioned. They are much nicer than the Cavalier and, God knows, you see many of those on the road. That 2.2 seems to have been around, so it will serve you for a long time. Right...the 2009 wheel covers are attractive, but you can also buy some second-hand in near perfect condition if you are willing to wait. For some reason, my car does NOT have the instant mileage readout...maybe that's good, I'd be looking at it too much. Congrats. And I'm digging the Calgary neighborhood background shots.

My response to thread: Eastern Europe (that's where most of the hookers in Western Europe come from...and their life stories can be very sad)

Ok, I get it, then stay the f@#k away from the great whites and the saltwater crocs.

You're SO corporate... BTW, did you go to Latin Mass today?

Yeah, yeah, yeah... Happy Birthday... or if I can be obnoxious and do the multi-lingual thing: Buon Compleanno.

chick

stand-up comedian (from Portugal, no less )

tongue (ok, let's see what path we are wandering down...)

embalmer

mausoleum

Wait...you're abrasive and you live in the South? I thought being abrasive was reserved for Yankees. Having only lived in ATL for 2 years shortly after college, I found most native Southerners to be either: (a) of the sugarcoat variety, which anybody can see right through, or (b) "over the backyard" friendly and philosophical. I liked category (b), even though most of my friends were other transplants. On the topic, you wouldn't believe how many tidbits of data I've put together on car mechanicals and car maintenance from talking to them...together with reading articles, owner's manuals, Chilton's, etc. And, if they are in fact full of it, one can figure that out because their input is NOT "in synch" with what the other sources say. I did run into one who was a total asshole at a Pontiac-GMC dealership (back in 2005) and he DID NOT know that the Series III 3800 V6 was synonymous with drive-by-wire...the electronic throttle control which throttles the engine through a "potentiometer" (???) evidently attached to the gas pedal instead of using an accelerator cable. Wait, and I'm just a working stiff who reads magazines and he's a service advisor?

Hey Frank, welcome back and Happy Birthday! Again, ocn is sleeping on the job...

Ok, I'm on board with "the rules" now, camino. Answer: Mercury Milan with 4 banger, white, cloth interior in some TBD color, wood trim over metallic accents on dash, alloy wheels. I was at Borders the other night and was leafing through Consumer Reports. The Fusion/Milan garnered a lot of praise and also fared well in the component-by-component ratings.

gourmand (moltie likes food as much as I do)

You seem to be OVERLY preoccupied with (1) menage a trois, and (2) gated communities. Just curious, which "combo" do you like? My response to thread: Fontainebleau in Miami Beach

I took the LaCrosse in for an oil change at the dealership on Saturday...based on time, not miles. I always seem to wind up talking to service advisors. For one thing, I seem to "file away" their comments and opinions on cars, maintenance, reputations, etc. This weekend, at the Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership, I saw a used 2007 MC within viewing distance as he was writing up my LOF work ticket and I told him the decision process I went through in deciding on th Buick over the Chevy. He told me that it was a good choice, but that their experience with VVT has been virtually problem-free, but that the 3800s almost NEVER come back for anything. I then went into the showroom with a cup of their cheap coffee in hand. I talked to a salesman about Buicks. He said a bunch of things that resonated with me or that made sense. He said: 1) the Enclave gets the most inquiries (I could see that) 2) the Lucerne is next and that he feels the name recognition has hurt them -- he almost wished the Park Avenue name had stayed around (I agree) 3) he wasn't thrilled about the next-gen LaCrosse in terms of its looks -- he thought it was kind of "too much" (I agree) The man drove a 3800 V6 equipped early 2000s Bonneville as his personal car. He said he fell in love with the car when it was released, has had great service from it and can't seem to part with it. I rarely find the opportunity to talk to the parts people. It seems they are the busiest. Which of these folks do you seem to B.S. with?

asexual

California (seriously, there is such a town at the base of Mt. Shasta)

espresso (or: bica)

bunny

6-pack

A lady at work in a nearby area who has a booming husky smoker's voice that everyone loves to imitate and complain about...including me.