trinacriabob

+1 * add: Key Lime pie * Dead last on my list: pecan pie * at the last firm I worked at, the birthday celebrant got to choose 2 types of pie because we designated one birthday day in any given week, if one landed in that week, and the office would break out these 2 pies after lunch.

The South Bronx

At two points in my life, such as between undergrad and grad, I've taken the Myers-Briggs Personality type test. Mine came in both times as ESTJ (that's extrovert - sensing - thinking - judging) It is the classic profile of someone who is traditional, just-the-facts, analyzes everything, and in a management-type job. It is also the personality profile of 16% of the male population. I've seen my chart and I only slightly tilt toward extrovert, as I can be introverted at times. The polar opposite would be INFP (introvert - intuitive - feeling - perceiving) - this type of person would probably drive me nuts and I've had a couple of people of INFP types work for me who were highly conceptual, but didn't have any aptitude for details or carrying through. There are all kinds of blends of these factors. There are therefore 16 types in all. They actually say the ENTJ becomes the leader, whereas the ESTJ (me) becomes the manager because we are more apt to chase down the details, and that somewhat pisses me off. What is your personality profile, per Myers-Briggs, if you have taken this test?

exclusive neighborhood

What did I learn today? Same thing I learn every day - that there are STUPID people everywhere you turn...and that it's downright amazing they have a job they don't deserve in the first place.

watershed

I think we're just talking sheetmetal here. There will always be a "family room on wheels" type of car for those who want it, be it FWD or RWD. Anything about it that is dated is largely the packaging that is plunked down on the chassis as it comes down the assembly line. Does it have to look like that hideous new Mercedes that looks like it went through the flattener to look "New Millenium" instead of 90s? I hope not.

Catholicism (of the relaxed variety...an oxymoron)

ain't that the TRUTH

ZL, voce e muito comico Response to thread: Rio de Janeiro

Right...some of the same things mentioned. Title has to be good. But also, think about the smog regulations in the incoming state and the outgoing state. I know Calif. has tough emissions regs, so I could see how a car that barely passed in NV and AZ might flunk here. You can look all this up on both states' DMV sites. Another precaution: The few times I've had to deal with pre-owned private party cars, I make sure it changed hands at the bank where the cashier's check is being drawn (bye-bye WaMu, last time I did this) and then complete and submit all the paperwork at Triple A (AAA) with both parties present.

I don't know how much I would like that with the black beans in it. Right now, I could go for that casserole cod fish layered with potatoes and baked to a crust*....some of those fresh vegetables such as string beans...some of that chocolate mousse they serve in the goblet...and a Coke to wash it down with.... *what's that called...it's not the bacalhau gomes...it's some other type of bacalhau...I love it.

I would have imagined! This would have been cast-iron block/cast-iron head with the injection through what looks to have a carburetor*, right? I like cast-iron block/cast-iron head engines. *a RWD Monte Carlo with the 4.3 Vortec V6 I once got to drive had the TBI in what looked like an everyday air cleaner assembly! "Original issue" Sevilles had their TBI in what looked like a regular air cleaner assembly as well.

Awesome. I'm really glad to hear that the General puts out such good vehicles. If only the foreign-car aficionados could see that our odometers match, or exceed, theirs, things might be different in Detroit today. And this is speaking from remembering the era in the Los Angeles area where everybody had, or wanted, a Cutlass Supreme, Greg Brady hair was commonplace, disco reigned, house prices were reasonable and the sun shone! (Well, at least the sun still shines). Which engine powers your sled?

Spanish olives

Happy Birthday to another Angeleno (who's lucky enough to still be there)!

I seem to notice the DTSs on the road. To me, they look particularly good in lighter mettalic colors - silver, ice blue, seafoam green...those types of colors. I am really impressed that, overall, Cadillac has put out good-looking cars for at least 5 years now. The DTS is my favorite by a wide margin. The styling is nicely proportioned and will withstand the test of time. I think that angular styling will always win over bulbuous/rounded styling over the long-haul. It's for that reason that I don't like any of the "rounded" cars (Enclave, Charger, Dodge trucks, etc). Look how Americans still long for the cars with classic angular looks (the Cutlasses of the 70s and 80s, Camaros and Firebirds of the 80s, the first FWD Park Avenues, 98s and DeVilles). I'll be keeping my LaCrosse for a while, but wonder if I'd pop for a DTS as a second car a couple of years down the road if I found a low mileage one with a great price. So, here's the question: aren't these cars a royal pain in the ass after 7 years or so when all the electric gizmos and toys take turns going on the blink? (We had a receptionist at work who had a mid-90s vintage DeVille who loved the car, but would tell me that every 2 months, she had an expensive power accessory go out that cost at least $ 400 to repair. Yikes). So, your thoughts or experiences with DTS/DeVilles on the more recent FWD platform?

My father had a completely different experience. Before emigrating, he moved from southern Italy to Bolzano to work. It was very clear that, up there near the border with Switzerland and Austria, a "terrone" (derogatory word for a southern Italian who was presumed to have working-class agrarian roots) was not welcomed. He lasted less than 1 year.

Well, notice that the Aryan-Nordic types come to Italy and Spain to vacation, buy condos, retire and some want so badly "to be" Italian or Spanish, but the people in those countries don't care to visit those places and really don't even like them very much.

Boston Legal

Hey Cadillac, I thought you might find this is funny. When I was in college in SoCal and we would road-trip to Yosemite, we would always grab breakfast at Bob's Big Boy (not there anymore) on Blackstone at some ridiculous early hour. We would ask ourselves what the acronym would be if the Fresno area got a rapid transit system, like BART....hmmmm Still, I think an icon showing some kind of "wind" motion could be good.

...and those Arabs would have largely been the Moors crossing over at, or near, Gibraltar. The Moorish influence in the architecture of Spanish Andalucia and the Portuguese Algarve is really interesting. In fact, a bunch of the area names down there, such as Algarve and Albufeira, have Moorish roots.

legal name change

That's what I've always heard - that it's a Teutonic/Latin hybrid. One question, though. What enabled us (via the English language) to escape the ridiculous "tu/usted, tu/vous, tu/lei?" I really resent this and have fouled up here a time or two, only to be reprimanded by some elitist $h! who was offended.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar