trinacriabob

Five months ago this time, all we saw was Katrina aftermath footage. It was pretty grim. Most sickening was the dead guy in his lawn chair near the Superdome as well as the things that reportedly took place inside the Superdome. Now, we don't see much about it. In about a month, Mardi Gras will be around. People ask the question as to whether they should rebuild. I say "absolutely." I've been to some places but I have never been to N.O. because every time I was driving through on 10 back to LA, I had too much stuff in the car and did not want to invite "curiosity." New Orleans is an important city. At the mouth of the Mississippi, its harbor handles more cargo than that of any other US port (at least that's what one almanac said). Not only that, it is home to a unique history (Cajun / Creole / Acadian), architecture, culture and food. It is also the home of Tulane University and other schools. Where they messed up was in the levees. I couldn't believe they were so rickety. I would assume that any place under sea level would have an incredibly monolithic concrete seawall holding back "Mother Nature." Galveston learned from their 1900s hurricane and put up a huge concrete seawall embankment.

Oh, man, that's great.

Bobo, It sounds like you subscribe. Thanks for the accuracy of the wording. It does sound kind of apologetic, doesn't it?

I was at B and N working on a paper this AM. After some coffee, I went over to the magazine area. I saw that Car and Driver reviewed the Lucerne. Overall, the review was positive. It praised the craftsmanship and the quality of the product. It seemed a little shortchanged on the power of the V8 engine. But, overall, not bad. The first picture one encounters is indeed flattering. The one comment that bugged me is that the styling piggybacks onto that of the mid 90s Camry. How is that? I think that the Lucerne's styling is closely aligned with that of the large VW Phaeton. In fact, one day I was driving down the freeway and thought that the car 1/4 mile ahead of me might be the new Lucerne. Instead, it was a Phaeton. I then moved over to Consumer Guide Buying Guide with all the new cars where they give numbers between 1 and 10 to a bunch of categories. They assert that the best Lucerne purchase is a CXL with the 3800 V6. Ha ha ha. I had to laugh because so many C&Gers hold views to the contrary.

I like the indentations at the rear lights and the different surfaces on the deck lid - it's somewhat Rivieraesque. As for the front end and the strong hourglass shape in its side profile...well...that needs to be toned down.

Jew(couldn't resist).

You're a smart one.

Yes, I am quite pissed at the crimped greenhouse in a lot of GM cars. Chief among the culprits whithin GM is good old Pontiac. Yes, both the G6 and the Grand Prix take up the belt line way high compared to their predecessors. This does not make for the optimal driving experience, though I have yet to rent/drive a G6. Also, have you seen the latest C/R in which the Charger is reviewed? They point this out for the Charger rear seating area as well. In fact, it shows an adult whose head is barely visible. Auto designers - come back to angular slab sides and fuller greenhouses.

Let's try again... West Palm Beach... (think C&G, now)

It's being taped. I'm a geek - I'm currently in the university library working on a paper due tomorrow for a grad business class with a girl who is in my group.

Yeah, she's a tough one all right. In fact, this came through on an interview. I have an issue with tough broads. They can be castrating and I want to keep both of my testicles. By the way, I think she's...yes...a Hoosier (hear that, Croc)?

West Palm Beach...

I can only do a few words. Whatever Paul Hogan has said along the way. The latter - is that similar to homo erectus?

No, just one of my favorite expressions for people who are in a crappy mood or some object that isn't working. Onward.

You are all hopeless! I was looking for ON THE... RAG

Let's try again... ON THE...

On the...

I get it! You simply "whack" on the cologne.

I will try to keep this as apolitical as possible. I definitely vote for the candidate. I am non partisan. There is no party that represents where I stand so I have no choice. I would either be a conservative Democrat or a liberal Repulican. Liberal Democrats and consevative Republicans scare me...they are too far off on either side of the continuum to best address the variety of issues. I had a real problem with Al Gore. I wanted the Clinton dynasty to end. And I don't think that Hilary has a chance. She will not have the Repulican popular vote and she most likely will not get a large part of the Democratic male popular vote. I hope I am right. Somebody (maybe Stephanapoulos) wrote a book and alluded to her vulgar crudeness in and around the White House. (I would not expect any politician to be nice...you're not supposed to be.) She is truly the "sn*tc* du jour" from what I can deduce. As for California, I wish that Cruz Bustamante (D) was governor instead of Arnold ( R). I really don't like that someone with his background (no background) is the governor of the most populous state in the union. I think that Gray Davis's problems were partly bad management and partly bad timing.

Funny, definitely. I can't quite gauge whether your area of PA is conservative or close enough to the urban centers to be liberal to where that would go over. I, personally, would find it amusing.

$h!, if Chanel makes Allure, they might as well make LaCrosse. After all, Ralph Lauren makes Polo. :AH-HA_wink:

I thought it was a mixture of Latin roots (all the romance languages) and Teutonic roots (the German you refer to). German can be a stretch. Their words are so God damn long. For example, in English we say "auditor." In German, they say "wirtschartsprufer" (can't forget the 2 dots on top of the u). Yikes. So, instead I made it a point to learn all of the Latin rooted languages (except Romanian) since I already spoke one of them as a child. The similarities and differences are fascinating...at least to me. No one has yet commented on: "He's good people." "She's good people." That's nails on the chalkboard stuff to me.

Crap, I forgot - I can also do the East Indian accent (it's hilariously musical) and general purpose Asian.

Effin brilliant.

It's not whether it's cool or not. It's what works for you. Everybody's got different boundaries. As for a pet, I seriously hope you entertain getting another one. They are extremely therapeutic. And, from what I've seen, they're better than most people. My college friend who went to my school but lives in SD says dogs are "the perfect human beings." I'd own one but, as much as I like to travel, it wouldn't be fair to the animal. Cheer up. It's a new year...for even the Chinese (since it's February).