trinacriabob

Yo, TYD, Happy Birthday!

buffet

omelette

Hey guys: I made it! I am here. Just woke up from sleeping for about 6 hours at my cousins' house. It is hot and humid. It was a free ticket, so I had to put up with the routing. It took 37 hours of flying and FIVE segments to find available seats. The routing: 1 - Delta - Portland to Salt Lake City (Delta hub) 2 - Delta - Salt Lake City to Atlanta (Delta hub) - "red eye" 3 - Delta - Atlanta to Montreal 4 - Air France - Montreal to Paris - "red eye," they all are 5 - Air France - Paris to Florence Kid in the candy store experience: Upon arrival at the Air France check in at Montreal, I asked if my "favorite" seat on the 747 was available. It was not. I spoke French to the guy who was very helpful. He said, though, that he could get me a better seat since the plane was far from full and he saw the ridiculous number of preceding flights, noting that I must be tired. He put me on the second floor of the plane and at a window! What an orgasmic experience...unbelievable! You are so high off the ground and look down and back at the engines. It was also much quieter since you are farther from the engines. The rotation is interesting as you are among the first segments of the plane to lift. There was plenty of legroom and footrests. This was the first transoceanic flight on which I was able to sleep. In general, if you speak French to the French, the level of service and friendliness kicks up in a noticeable way. Air France has always treated me well. My travel plans: Florence - Sicily - Northern Portugal - Madeira - Canary Islands - Valencia - Sardinia - Munich and Bavaria - Venice and Northern Italy - Florence. People watching here is a total trip judging from the Paris airport -- an unbelievable melange of people from everywhere. I will check in from time to time and, if I find a web hosting service for photos upon return, I will post some.

bacon

92 mph in a 1976 Olds Cutlass Supreme 350 V-8 about halfway between Bakersfield CA and Tehachapi CA for a very short while, since my parents were in it. Also, don't like that sensation. It's just not safe. Yes, there is a Tehachapi.

Hey, P-C-S, my Dad had one of those, the following year though, 1970. It had the Chevy inline 250 6 cyl with so much room in the engine compartment that one could have a picnic in there. It was a metallic aqua color with black vinyl seats and it was known as the dog's car because she could ride it and not in our newer cars with cloth. Someone had told my Dad Pontiac's were crap and he bought into it. We had it for at least 15 years, as a second or third car. Then he had impeccable service from that car and changed his mind. It will be a long time until your burial, I hope. LOL.

midnight sun

path

Where HAVEN'T you been? My response to thread: Australian Shepherd best dog breed around IMHO

Constant Craving by KD Lang

Australian beaches = too many sharks for my taste Be careful

Reg, don't disappoint me now...you are a RIGHT handed architect, right? No black clothes, mock turtle necks and intellectual glasses, either, right?

Bodega Bay

70% design / 30% engineeringIt was the majesty of the 747 that reeled me in! (PCS e um aleman muito louco, verdade?) :AH-HA_wink:

That is what my parents said, too. I don't think it applies any more. When my Dad saw that my nephew was left handed, he said something to my brother about getting him to switch to his right hand. I yelled at my Dad. He dropped it.

That's the idea. Though, as a conceptual rendering, it is more "exaggerated" than what is happening on the 787, or the 747-8-I for that matter.

air turbulence

Thanks for sharing how your friends' fleet cars are doing. (Funny, I have an Impala rental as we speak, given that I deposited my Buick to my parents' garage last week). Wonderful car, though it's not my style.You are right. The Chevy V6's appear to be hushed and refined. Some modifications have been made and I don't think it was VVT that accomplished that, though. As for LT2s in an MC, that is exactly the package I want. The changeover from a urethane wheel to a leather wheel makes for a completely different (better) driving experience and the alloys HAVE to be there, as it looks cheap with wheel covers. If you search the Chevy site locator, there are 2006s in LT2 form around here and there. If you search for 2007 LT 3.5s, there are NONE around...anywhere. It's almost as if there was a production update that clipped these off or maybe allowed them only for the rental fleets. I'm scratching my head on this one.

For a sled with almost a quarter of a million miles, I still get the EPA sticker numbers which were 18 city and 28 highway. In fact, on the highway, if I baby it (60 to 65, no A/C and easy pedal), I can hit 29 or 30 mpg. I love getting good gas mileage. It makes me feel "civic minded."

I think you know my beef with Lufthansa!In true Germanic "grundlich" fashion, they always wrestle my 1" inch over the limit carry-on from me such that I could have gone to Europe without checking bags. Alitalia and Air France, in a more Latin "domani/demain" fashion, look the other way. On a Lisbon to Munich to Catania flight, the chick ranted and raved about "der regulations" and I kept fighting back, so I ultimately carried my carry-on into the cabin with me. It turned out both flights were half empty. What a douche bag she was. I try to patronize Alitalia, Iberia, Air France or Aerolineas Argentinas over any more Nordic carrier (LH, SAS, etc.). Flying is supposed to be fun!

I think you are right. Most of the orders are for freighters. However, I never turn down a ride on anybody's '47 across any pond. I do think that the 747-8-I is a more sensible big-sled in all-pax configuration than the Airbus 380.

Brougham Holiday: You like those 3800s more than I do, it seems! On the subject, I took an evening MBA course that dealt with leadership and ethics. Lee Iacocca DID NOT make it as one of the excellent leaders in the history of corporate America. They thought so, initially, but he had no "staying power" in that he sold out....some investment decisions and such that were based on ego and personal interest (sports cars, wineries, etc.) rather than being complementary to Chrysler's best interests.

For some reason, I would have assumed you were left handed, having started this thread. RIGHT HANDED, all the way...I have very good penmanship and printing that, when I try to use my left hand, looks like I stuck the pen up my ass and tried writing...that bad. Weird thing is, though, I have a high proportion of left-handed friends, given that they are a comparatively small segment of the population.

short circuit