trinacriabob

I ate calamari once. They looked like onion rings. They tasted pretty good. About 3 hours later, it felt like a vice grip had been put to my stomach. Extreme pain. About 5 other people ate from that same platter and did not get sick. I wonder what that was all about. Lamb can be a deal breaker. It can often be prepared poorly. The flavor is definitely different. If it's a place that knows what they're doing, I will eat it. No problem. Especially in a gyro or on souvlaki skewers. - - - - - My real random thought: Has anybody flown on Spirit or Frontier? I never have ... or, not yet. So you see the low price, but everything else has a separate cost (1) carry on, (2) checked bag, and (3) seat selection, right? Are they competent and do they get the job done without too much drama?

About 85% of what is on this list works for me. I like all of the those desserts. Squid and octopus? Absolutely not.

Thanks. Weird and not weird. Weird that they're on the same line. Not weird if you consider they are probably rolling off the line to be parked or whatever they do with them once assembly is finished. It would be nice if the Americans could at least design EVs that have 3 volumes instead of forcing us into boxes.

Ok, just out of curiosity, in that first photo, I see a white car (a Bolt?) coming down the line followed by something that looks like a small sedan. What is it? Is that one going to be electric? I'm guessing the Orion Township MI plant makes cars for North America and don't know if that some of that plant's output is destined overseas markets. I was wondering about that small sedan that looks sort of Sonic/Cruze sized.

I looked it up. Those red "things" are eggs ... Easter eggs. That's funny. Their being painted red symbolizes that blood was shed while the egg itself symbolizes rebirth. Two people, most likely Greek adherents, will exchange a traditional Easter greeting by each cracking an egg with each other. I'm sure that there's a lot more theological depth involved beyond this basic explanation.

I found this one I had taken as I was archiving. In the SoCal desert, there are some unusual structures that people have as Airbnb. Or people might live in them. I saw this place several times over the course of a few days. I was not seeing double. I still found this "vista," particularly with the matched vehicles, sort of laughable.

What is a typical meal or what are typical foods, including desserts, that Greek Easter is celebrated with?

@oldshurst442 KALO PASCHA! I wish you and your family a happy Greek Easter. (We're a week apart this year.)

I recall that you like fueling at Costco. I have tended to use Shell and Marathon. You can hook up Shell Fuel Rewards for miles on American Airlines. Marathon hooked up with Southwest but dropped that partner, so I don't use them much or at all now. I'm now open to other brands, such as Sunoco and BP, These brands cost a little more, but I use the GasBuddy app to find cheaper stations. I also like earning air miles. Every little bit helps.

yawn

Just a consumer oriented FYI: Sunoco, in the U.S., fell out of the Top Tier fuel list at some point during the pandemic. They are now back on the Top Tier fuel list.

Thank you for making these memories even LESS painful. It could only be the work of @oldshurst442 !

I didn't see this until now. Belated Happy "National Pet Day" (April 11) ... certainly more important to most people than Thomas Jefferson's birthday.

Happy Thomas Jefferson's birthday. No holiday, but ... ... he was our third President, an architect (concurrently, before, after, I don't know), and the founder and designer (initial core campus) of the University of Virginia. Here's their famed emblematic Rotunda and that's a statue of Jefferson in front. This place didn't let me in for a grad program I applied to! I wasn't even pissed like I normally would be. I guess it wasn't meant to be. I still like them, want them to win their games against "most" of their opponents, and if driving north-south along the Atlantic Seaboard, I might even detour to visit this historic place, to which Monticello, Jefferson's home and grounds, is also nearby. It's a stunning campus, as seen from this nighttime aerial view, picking up a little more of Charlottesville, VA. A coworker was expecting to have his kid, a boy, arrive on this day and I told him to consider the name Thomas and the reasoning behind it. This isn't the kind of advice people expect when a newborn is about to arrive.

Okay, those trip photos were from last year (outbound and return). - - - - - Earlier this year, I checked another aircraft off the bucket list. I had to check the free mileage ticket calendar, find the segment with an Airbus 340(-300) that Swiss (partner of United) uses, and book it by just paying about $75 in taxes. The folks at Swiss and the plane were great! The 340-300 (better proportions than the larger 600) parked at the gate. The smaller engines on this smaller version of the 340 are cool. The girl in the aisle probably wondered what I'm doing. (It's mostly males that photograph airplanes, so she probably can't relate.) This is the economy cabin: 2-4-2 seating If you see an engine that far out on a wing from your seat, you know you're on a "quad." Clean and green Switzerland, and the landing in Zurich (to transfer) will be happening in about a minute or two. - - - - - The return was on a domestic 787. Remaining on the bucket list - let's see if I can do it all in a year - are the rare 767-400, the biggest 777 (the 300ER) and the newer Airbus 350. Part of the fun for me is also how you get there.

Some recent enough real life experiences - - - - - A-330 The eastbound crossing aboard Finnair (partner of AA) and changing planes in Helsinki of all places ... great airline The 2-4-2 seating of the A-330 cabin The plane seen after getting off in Helsinki and inside the terminal Here's their newish A-350, with the curved winglets and raccoon paint around the front window - - - - - A-380! The westbound crossing aboard British Airways (partner of AA) and changing planes in LHR, which is a crazy place ... mixed opinion of this airline I think this one was leaving LHR before us for Miami International "Land of the Giants:" If I'm higher than the pilot on that other A-380, that means I'm upstairs, but in economy at the very back This is 2-4-2 economy because of the domed shape on the upper level; sitting upstairs at a window is not that great because the separation between the window at the inside and the exterior has a huge angled gap, so the views aren't that great ... I prefer the 747 With the sloped sides where they couldn't fit another seat, you get this extra bin beside you upstairs I snuck down the stairs to main level economy before they put up the dog and toddler gate Then, they put up the gate to curb any childlike enthusiasm for exploring A nice way to deplane to remember the flight and the majesty of this super-jumbo

This is now on my list of things to do. I find it hard to believe that, on an impact like that, a big 777(-200) didn't throw out pieces of metal and parts that could have been found and traced. Or is it possible for it to slice through the ocean surface without much breakage? I don't remember how that one played out, but when the Air France jet (an A-330) bound from Rio de Janeiro to Paris several years ago went down in the ocean, I believe it left visible wreckage.

The technology is changing so fast that I'm holding off on auto decisions. I want to wait until the dust settles, if that even happens.

That is the line of demarcation - those who plan to turn the car around and those who plan to keep it a long time. A friend who had an early '90s Thunderbird coupe with the bar chart graphics on the instrument cluster had it fail and it was $500 to drop the new one - a solid state piece - into the dash, and this was in the early 2000s. Now, just like there is planned obsolescence, there seems to be "planned service life." And, yes, it would penalize the person who is in it to keep a vehicle for a long time.

I don't hate all of it ... just some of it. I ask myself, "How much will that cost to repair?" I have watched how the dash changed from the one on the last Envision to the new Envision. I'll take the dash on the last Envision, for example. Is the current Envision dash one big R&R job, or are there segments of it that are salvageable? I'm afraid to ask. I don't plan on using my GM points on one to begin with. I don't mind the TV screen, as long as it's well done and integrated into the design of the dash. I do wish they could leave the climate controls in a separate pod that doesn't rely on touch controls. Because of connectivity to Bluetooth et. al., I could see the audio features remaining up on the TV screen. When technology changes again and something different from those big TV screens comes along, they sure will look crappy. We're currently making fun of stuff on cars from the '80s and '90s. I see them having their day, too. Recent changes in cars are making them more expensive to buy and more expensive to repair. It's no wonder some people are "frozen" with regard to this type of purchase.

@Robert Hall This thread has taken on a life of its own. Yes to Denver RTD. It's a vast area and it covers a lot of it. The coolest thing about it is the "Pythagorean theorem" hypotenuse effect of having a line right down to the Tech Center from the airport so you don't have to go downtown, and then down south. Phoenix's one line does a lot. I parked the car in Mesa and used it. They need more of it. Some poorer people ride it to stay air conditioned when it's boiling outside. As long as they don't bother the paying passengers. I prefer heavy rail to light rail ... like BART and MARTA. Cities like L.A. and Houston should not have light rail so they can do it on the cheap.

Thanks. That's a great map. I like the interactive part that shows expected progress over future years. Yes, I have ridden the new train from the airport to downtown. I did notice that it goes one stop south of the airport. I think that's because Alaska Airlines has their HQ at the Angle Lake station. I was stunned - downtown to Capitol Hill to Univ. of Wash. are all about 3 or 4 minutes apart. It looks like I'm going to be test riding it to the other side of the lake sooner than I thought! It would have been nice to have as a commuting and airport option when I was there. Is the Univ. of Wash. to Northgate extension underground?

@oldshurst442 Front F-bird lamps and fascia on the '79 to '81 were safe and decent looking. At least they were really toned down and slotted into the sloped front. Better than '77 and '78. Agree on '75!

I believe King County levied property taxes at 1.0 to 1.5% of assessed value. That's reasonable, if they kept it at that. What may not be reasonable is the assessments and the rate at which they can climb. Isn't there any stopgap in place to index how fast assessments can rise to protect long-time homeowners? Like California passed years ago? WA has high sales taxes and business tax on gross receipts to make up for no income taxes. It's too bad if King County raised the tax levy rate on property. NJ has that problem because communities levy at 2 to 3% of assessed value. I didn't think light rail would go too far into Snohomish County. I will get out that way and visit when it crosses the lake. That ought to be something to see. They put it into place after I leave. That helps.

Okay, I partially agree with you. Not so much on '74, as it lacked the wrap-around rear back lite, which I liked for the F-bird/Camaro. A big thumbs up to '75 ... the inset lamps on the grille looked great. I'm okay with '76, but I see what you mean. You didn't exactly pick out a flattering photo of one! It was funny that this car could be had with a bullet proof 250 c.i. L6, and that it was available in base and Esprit. Not sure if up-level Camaro LTs and Berlinettas could be had with this engine during that same time frame. For the short while I owned a Camaro, it had the 305 c.i. V8.