trinacriabob

split personality (you know, Germanic and Italian, is that YOU?)

Sagittarius ()

Good chains: Italian: Macaroni Grill, not bad, though they need to lose the "crayons and white paper tablecloth;" good because each dish tastes different Greek: Daphne's Greek Cafe - found only in the West and throughout SoCal - can you a believe a skewered chicken kabob, shaved gyro meat, small Greek salad, rice, pita slices and tsaziki sauce for $ 8.49? Mexican: most are ok, though not that imaginative and Acapulco's in Portland is my favorite of the sit-down ones. Of the fast food ones, El Pollo Loco is pretty good...especially with a coupon Argentinian: Gaucho Grill, chain in SoCal American: Cheesecake Factory is super reliable, Bob's Big Boy in the California format (there are Big Boys in other states that carry different "first names") for that damn double-decker hamburger and bleu cheese dressing, Hometown Buffet has some decent stuff, especially for a Sunday morning buffet, Boston Market, the Black Bear Diner in the West, Lucille's in the West Bad chains: Italian: Olive Garden, bad because, underneath the white sauce/red sauce "fork in the road," they all taste the same, Buca di Beppo, effin' awful and bad kitsch atmosphere - aimed at those who don't know EYE-talian food, C&O Trattoria in SoCal American: Denny's, Shoney's (in the South), Waffle House (in the South), all of the American fast food chains, sorry but I hate In 'n' Out Burger for which people in CA line up Chinese: PF Chang's-go from having lunch there to the office and then home sick Good stand-alones: Italian: Riccardo's (Lake Oswego/Portland, Oregon), Bocelli's (Gresham/Portland, Oregon), Trattoria Volare (San Francisco), Pirate's Pizza (Reno), Le Tre Marie (Montreal), Garcia's (?) Pizza (Champaign IL) Greek: Niko Nikos (Houston), Athenian Gardens (Toronto) Mexican: Paco's Taco's, Grass Valley/Nevada City, CA, a bohemian Sierra town full of retreads/burnouts - a $5 burrito that's off the charts, American: The Big Yellow House (Summerland, immediately south of Santa Barbara CA), Phil's BBQ - San Diego, CA, Mission Cafe - San Diego, CA (the weird segment of San Diego society, but there's a line on weekend mornings), Redrum Burger off Interstate 80 in Davis, CA, MaryMac's Cafeteria in Atlanta, Gladstone's on PCH in Pacific Palisades CA (definitely) Bad stand-alones: Italian: Battista's, Las Vegas, NV forgot the name, but it's a long-time Italian restaurant in San Diego's Little Italy amidst all the new trendy Italian eateries, Mama's Red Tomato in South Lake Tahoe CA, Italian Cottage in Chico CA Greek: Greek Village Inn, Sacramento CA American: The Proud Bird, adjacent to LAX runway toward El Segundo (deplorable, but you can see airplane take-offs and landings) which may have changed name, Moonshadows in Malibu CA Notable buffets: Casino style: El Dorado Hotel in Reno NV on Tuesday nights is Italian theme night: mushroom ravioli, seafood tortellini, polenta, chicken cacciatore, braised steak with Italian type seasonings ... and all the other stuff that doesn't rotate such as roast beef, turkey, ham, seafood, and on and on...and only $ 14.99 - Reno Hilton, now called Grand Sierra Resort, breakfast buffet that is unbelievable for about $ 8.99 American: Marriott Marquis downtown Atlanta brunch, Fontainebleau Miami Beach Friday night seafood buffet Mexican: Paco's Taco's - a different restaurant on the West Side of L.A. by different owners from the one listed above where we'd go for the lunch buffet during college and would have to be carted out in a wheelbarrow Overseas restaurants: Italian: Chiaroscuro, outside of Florence IT and only locals go there, they come up with different pasta dishes all the time and they are off the charts, La Tartaruga, in Messina, Sicily, IT, where the food doesn't change and portions are huge/inexpensive and the couple who owns it fight with each other (she's up front and he cooks) Brazilian churrascaria: hey, ZL-1, what's the name of that chain churrascaria near Praca de Chile in Lisboa? It was great! Food I can't comment about: Thai, Indian, Vietnamese - I don't eat it

conservative

Dracula (where you been, smallchevy?)

mustard

I hear you. But this one is a big baby. A good-natured dog has an even better effect on someone's state of mind.

They are beautiful dogs but bigger and harder to handle than what I would like. They're classified as working dogs, right? I have only had 1 dog, an Australian Shepherd, that was in the 40 lb. range. I love that breed of dog and would get one again in a heartbeat if I had more time on my hands and was less selfish (read: stayed at home more). Right now, it looks like I've been adopted by a cat that may have been abandoned. Again, I don't know what to do because it's sort of the neighborhood's cat and I don't want the vet bills. For the last week, I have come home from work and it waits for me (yes, I have fed it). However, this docile purring cat sprawled out on my living room floor seems to lower my blood pressure a notch.

fetish (and I think all of that stuff is kind of warped, sorry)

Spirograph (do they still make that toy?)

twins

Yes, I'm sold. I go the conventional oil change route because I can still get this service for under $ 25. I thought I was a Castrol GTX conventional oil customer for life. Then I started to go to a Buick dealership that used Valvoline conventional oil. (Keep in mind that at my next oil change on the Regal, I will have 250,000 miles). With either Castrol or Valvoline, the car uses virtually no oil between changes. However, for some reason, the Valvoline comes out a very light gold color while the Castrol comes out a darker gold color. Being as they are both highly touted, I don't know what the significance, if any, there is to the Valvoline staying so clear. But I plan to keep using it.

Britney Spears

racy (usually equated with promiscuous)

bad

Damn, you're right. The 1978-1980 Grand Prix coupe was beautiful! And back then, there wasn't much of a ride penalty for going from a Buick into a Pontiac. The other thing is that you could get really comfortable and nicely upholstered bucket seats in the SJ, for sure, and maybe in the LJ, and that dashboard was awesome... if you got the gauge package and NOT the idiot lights which ruined the purpose of having all the circular ports...vintage Pontiac! Not only that, the same powertrains were available as on a Regal (though Olds used their own V8s), though the small Turbo 200 transmission had a history of premature failure...it was easy to know when you had the 200 because the word "Metric" was embossed on the pan. The only other problem was that if you got a padded vinyl roof of any kind, it meant RUST at the edges. They looked just fine without a vinyl roof. I will disagree with you on the 81-87 Regal. In that stretch of years, the Cutlass Supreme with its raked back grille and thinner 98-ish taillamps was THE car to rubberneck for.

That was a good looking car! I remember it. I liked the 78-80 Regal more than the 78-80 Cutlass Supreme, of which they sold more, because the Regal in those 3 years had the thinner horizontal taillamps instead of those chunky doubled-up ones on the Cutlass. However, prior to AND after that 3-year MY stretch, the Cutlass Supreme clearly won the beauty contest between those two. Right away, you know that's NOT the original engine. There was no 350 V8 because they had just downsized the car. They only came with the 3.8 V6 (with a two barrel carb and the first year in which they offset the crank to get the "even firing" vibration-free design) and a 4.9 Federal/5.0 Calif. V8 engine. I think that the 4.3 (265) V8 showed up in a year or two as an uptick from the base V6 engine, though it was a different set-up (using a Pontiac type block) instead of using the ultra-reliable Olds 4.3 (260) Rocket V8. The '78 Regal Limited coupe in the light metallic blue with the blue cloth interior and the faux turbine wheel covers in 3.8 form was a nice sled. You still see some on the road...running.

Where is Talladega relative to Montgomery, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa? I think the funniest name for a town in Alabama is Valley, AL because it seemed as flat as a pancake from I-85 as I was transiting from Pensacola to Atlanta.

Ambien, baby!

She sounds "on edge." You think maybe she hadn't had a Miami fix in a while? Just kidding. Seriously, when I was 14, I got home from summer school with a friend I took the bus with and there was a sample packet in the mailbox that was kind of mysterious. Turns out it was 2 tampons with the tubular applicator. We then went around the neighborhood and rounded up about 50 of these. We then climbed up onto the backyard fence of another friend of ours (who happened to be on vacation) and we proceeded to douse them in red food coloring and throw them into his pool. His mom, who was kind of trashy to begin with, didn't figure out who did it but found it FUNNY.

He was a TALENTED actor ... something which is sorely missing today. In the actress category, someone like Meryl Streep has that same kind of versatility, though she is kind of bland in the looks department. Interestingly enough, John Travolta actually matured and became a good actor. I think that most people would have never envisioned that with a past like "Saturday Night Fever." I can't stand Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. The first one of these two "dudes" plays himself quite well and the second one looks like he hasn't completed puberty, so I have a hard time thinking of him as a "high-falutin' " doctor or lawyer. Am I being opinionated?

Easiest costume: Raincoat + swim trunks (underneath, for legality) + tennis shoes + dark socks + baseball cap + sunglasses = FLASHER (when you dont' have enough time and don't want to spend money on a costume)

sleep

Get out! (of Dodge)

Plymouth