trinacriabob

I don't know. That would deplete some Catholics in the Modern Old World ... sell that to that French, the Spaniards, the Irish, the Canadians, etc. .... no bueno. I'm already sort of lapsed. I wouldn't handle that well. Asia's significant Catholic community is in the Philippines, where they are the majority religion. They are growing some in India, Korea, etc. But their identities and cultures don't have much in common. Add to that growth in Africa. At any rate, I do like Pope Francis on a gut level and hope for his best. This post, and my first one, is about recognizing his relative higher level of kindness, humility, and wanting to connect with a broader range of humankind.

This vehicle, the VW Polo, deserves a shout out for being so competent in so many areas. I was once assigned one that was a slight upgrade within the automatic category overseas. Then, I was assigned one two more times, and it matched the icon I’d be renting. I should have written this up several months ago; however, the product remains largely unchanged. The Polo’s immediate strength is its taut road manners. Handling is addressed and so is smoothness. Sound control is good, too. The engine is a turbocharged 3-cylinder that is shared by the VW family of companies and also makes its way into Seat and Skoda products. One would never think this is the powerplant, especially if from North America, most likely thinking it has a larger 4-cylinder engine under the hood. The transmission is also the VW family umbrella’s 7 speed DSG and it is now very refined … and probably reliable, too, if not mistreated and properly maintained. Shifts from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 are smooth, heard, seen on the tach, but not really felt. Pushing down on the accelerator can change that. Subsequent shifts go by unnoticed. Again, downshifts are also understood, and that’s about it. It’s a composed unit. The Polo’s interior is nicely trimmed out. More than a Seat or a Skoda equivalent, the simple dashboard with some subtle cants is both pleasing to the eye and easy to use and live with. As for the dashboard’s main instrument cluster, it’s clean and simple, though one thing stood out to me. I’m used to two large central gauges, usually the speedometer and the tachometer. In this car, the tachometer is the one big gauge in the middle, with a digital speed readout slotted into the middle of it. This can also depend on the dash settings you select. It worked well and doesn’t take long to get used to. At each of the 4 corners of this big gauge are important pieces of information such as gear, time, and other of the most critical pieces of information. To each side of this tachometer is a linear bar graph type fuel gauge and temperature gauge. When a temperature gauge is included, I’m a “happy camper.” Space utilization is good. To me, this is a 5-door hatchback. This may have looked quirky to North Americans a while back, almost whisking them back to Chey products such as the Malibu Maxx, or even back to the dowdy Citation. However, this compactly packaged 5-door is more of a sedan with a squared off back in my mind. I personally prefer it to the VW Golf, with its larger rear sail panel. It’s also a very common typology in Europe and other international locations at this time. Visibility all around the Polo from inside the cabin is mostly good. For its price point, the VW Polo is close to perfect on limited access tollways, really at home on winding 2 lane roads, and easy to live with in most tight spaces. It’s also not too difficult to park. It is especially confident, nimble, and hushed enough at 100 to 120 kmh (~62 to 74 mph) on the more important and smoothly paved major tolled highways, achieving better than average fuel economy compared to its peers from my stops at the fuel pumps. The relationship between price point and quality is not always linear and ratable. What I mean is that you get closer to the roadability of a BMW 2 series sedan … not quite all the way up and, though not as much of a bank vault on highways and as planted on 2 lane roads, it definitely inspires confidence … without having to spend the rest of the sticker to get up to the price tag of that entry level BMW. If you have sensible motoring needs that mix up roadability, reliability, space, economy, and an attractive enough package with good build quality, the VW Polo is a vehicle to consider. I have always been happy to be assigned one as a rental and have looked forward to take it out daily to experience different types of road demands. Their good Android Auto cluster for maps and music make this even more fun and achievable. They are seen everywhere and there must be a good reason for that. - - - - - PHOTOS FORTHCOMING

I'm a little down given what's going on with Pope Francis's health. I know that there isn't a lot of religiosity on C&G, that I know of, but it is the religion I was raised in and the one I identify with, even though we "casual Catholics," especially with roots in warm weather places, have an irreverent and cheeky approach to most things in life. Blame it on the palm trees. I didn't realize he was 88. He turned 88 in December. I believe he's been Pope between 10 and 15 years. He was a much needed antidote to Pope Benedict, the tightly wound and legalistic predecessor and German Pope, and it seemed to have worked out well. He comes from Italian lineage, but is from Argentina, which has been a good thing for connectedness between the RC church and Latin America. Comparatively speaking, he has been a humble Pope who has a handle on the fact that people are fallible and not fire and brimstone robots. With this being local news here, I'm fairly up to date on what's going on. Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and, clearly, he was not able to participate in the publicly held religious observation. Even though he's resting okay, it doesn't look good as he's had a lot of setbacks. I'm holding good thoughts.

Sitting here wondering what, when, and how regarding the accumulated earnings on my GM card. I always passed on the junk mail, ignoring that it offered changing from a rolling clock accumulation to an accumulation that doesn't expire. I then did it. Had I done it sooner, there would be more money in the piggy bank. Right now, with the auto industry and the overall American landscape changing so much, I haven't a clue.

ATC - one very important job

I think you might like SPI. It's way the hell down there. (SW is your friend.) Brush up on your Spanish.

Politics aside, I really like SPI. I think this January was my 4th visit there. I'd have to look at past archived photos. It's on a barrier island, like Miami Beach, but the exact opposite ... no hype, no pretense, and, with that, the sort of crowd that might come with that and a hopping Whataburger. People have asked me why it's not uptown. Well, it's not across from a critical port of entry and mecca like Miami. Texas border towns like Brownsville, Harlingen, and McAllen don't have the intellectual base and cachet to stimulate what's across at that barrier island. It's almost too relaxed down there and food is cheap, plentiful, and mostly good. South Padre Island across the Queen Isabella Causeway with Port Isabel in the foreground

Add to that "The Immigrant Song."

Good morning. I think it would be funny to go into a biker bar, locate the jukebox, select "McArthur Park,""More, More, More," and "I Love the Nightlife," and GTFO.

I wonder how Tesla owners who are "progressive" reconcile their ownership with having bought one. A college friend has 2 Teslas in the garage. He raves about them. He has a cheaper one (3, ?) and the S, which is their only "attractive" vehicle, IMO. He had to stomp on it to show me how fast it is. I have yet to ask him to weigh in on Musk and how it might affect his ownership trajectory.

Do you recognize this person? This is the teenaged Gene Hackman. Okay, it takes a bit to see that. I saw the headline. Is this for real? They'll be investigating this and hopefully get the truth. I get it that he was a great actor. I didn't see many of his films. I was young when I saw "The French Connection" and I didn't understand anything about the topic, and that lingo, so I should probably see it again. I saw him in "Hoosiers." I can't remember any other movie featuring him. I didn't know he was born in dusty San Bernardino, CA, which would have been backwater at that time. He was in the womb during the stock market crash of 1929. I applaud him, and all stars who leave Hollywood to seek quieter, unpretentious lives. This is a tragic end, though. RIP, Gene Hackman

I see a Luigi Mangione lookalike about once every three days.

The issue, for me, is that she would be the only American passenger ocean liner for which this (c/w)ould have been done. I wanted to look at it the next time I go to Philadelphia, not knowing this had occurred. I suppose I could go to nearby Mobile if in Pensacola. The QM has a home in Long Beach. The QE2 has a home in Dubai. Thankfully, they went the tasteful route with the QE2 Hotel rather than making it for folks with too many gold chains and pet cheetahs. I feel that the SS United States, a singular piece of maritime history, could have found a home in an Eastern port city as part of a complex or venue. But what do I know? I wasn't putting together the spreadsheets for such an undertaking.

This part ... sad.

About 2 weeks ago, actually ... a cheap Sicilian lunch Swordfish and lasagna! Very good.

I honestly thought this was the dowdiest model of the 1997-2004 BOP sedans, especially in Century form with wheel covers. (The LaCrosse was such an improvement - both in looks and the Series III engine - replacing Century and Regal.) The Regal did benefit from the sloped back grille. It rode well. However, the big rear taillight assembly under the lip was oversized and the dashboard was boring for that entire stretch of years. I would have babied that car though, in that span of years, only the Intrigue appealed to me ... still beautiful from almost vantage points and in a timeless way.

Florida has always appealed to me on some level. The first time I went, I sat by the window and the plane flew down the coast over Lauderdale and Miami Beach to land. I had never seen turquoise water like that. I have relatives there, none of whom I like. I love the food options. I like the colorful and diverse people from everywhere who live in the urban areas. I then came to learn that driving between Miami and Marco Island or Tampa to Orlando is not easy on the eyes. I know Costa Rica, Panama, etc. are relocation destinations. Also high on the list is Uruguay, which I've been to twice, and it has South America's highest literacy rate and a milder climate at that lower parallel. It's also beautiful. Montevideo, the capital ... very manageable and it used to be extremely safe, but now it's a little less safe Punta del Este, their famous beach report ... incredible, avoid December 15 through February, because it's high season and half of Buenos Aires has moved in

The City of LB had a big decision to make: let her go or pay for structural and aesthetic repairs. It's a hotel, a renowned brunch, a tour destination, and people get married and have proms there. All that stuff. What would it look like without the QM there? I believe it's staying. In less than 3 years, it will have been there 60 years. It IS Long Beach through and through.

II was sad to see this news, but it was to be expected. The S.S. United States will not be having a traditional retirement home, as most beloved and historical ocean liners do. Instead, she will be moving to the Florida Panhandle, where they will sink her to create the world's largest underwater artificial reef. There will be a visitor center and museum in Destin, from which she will be offshore. For being 990 feet long, she doesn't weigh as much as that length would suggest. She has a very low profile, which accentuates her oversized and rounded funnels. This might have also helped her capacity for speed. Converted into miles per hour, the S.S. United States once sped across the Atlantic at about 41 mph to make the crossing in 3 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes. That is insanely fast, so, the ship is the very last to earn the Blue Riband, with no other ocean liner winning it since. I guess it's good that it isn't being scrapped. However, this artificial reef solution is what penciled out. She was the greatest of American ocean liners and had a designation as a historical place ... plus, I can't go visit a sunken ship. So, a sad Philadelphia turned out on the banks of the Delaware River to see the ship sail out after being moored there for about 30 years.

@G. David Felt die Deutschen sind prazise

One of the "perks" of being American Like roller derby, but with no skating ability required

I hate to say stuff like this, but you can profile people fairly easily. A certain emboldened member with a smaller view of the world used to get on my case about this ... go see the world and learn to make inferences. At any rate, I was boarding a plane in Jacksonville and, in front of me, was a guy with a baseball cap and all I could see was the rear camo effect. When he got up, I saw Trump 2024. I felt like saying something to him, along the lines of how is it that the most conservative people support the most depraved individual. I thought I should skip it since I didn't want to end up in an argument and on a "do not fly" list for some airline. He was white with salt and pepper hair but had that Charles Bronson brow. So, you know ... ex-military, high paying trades, utilities, government job ... or alligator trapper. For all these so-called conservative people, we've never had a first lady (lower case in her case) where you're a "k**t hair" away from seeing the R/X rated stuff. I'm originally from SoCal and NOTHING shocks me, but that and the whole circus of everyone involved - extended family, loyal friends - is over the line for me for the job at hand. Houston is not my favorite place. However, I handle it much better than Dallas or San Antonio, which don't interest me. I don't like their interior location and the brushy looking mesquite. Houston has a distinct and attractive downtown. There's the Space Center. There are the museums, of which MFAH is free one day of the week. There's Galveston, and even if the not the nicest beach, water can be so therapeutic, just watching the cruise ships or freight ships come and go. Lastly, there are some beautiful neighborhoods, with newer homes in the darker red brick, completely hidden under a pine canopy, which is never the case in other big Texas cities. It reminds of Atlanta, which I very much liked. So, between that, and the welcoming and freewheeling people, I can hang in H-town for a while and find new indie coffeehouses and eateries. There's so much food and it's easy to gain weight there. I agree ... I hate Orlando FL ... a bad knock-off of Las Vegas and Las Vegas is already bad. I've never been to Hawai'i and Alaska. I'm not so sure I'm interested. If I have to fly that far, I'll just cross a pond. I also have an issue with Hawaiians since some of the locals of Samoan stock have issues with "haoles," having heard this from white folks I knew who moved there and then came back because of the passive-aggressive discrimination. The only other states I have never set foot in are a cluster in the middle and they're not that pressing for me - ND, SD, Nebraska, and Montana. So, I'm at 44 of them and that's good enough for now.

This can be difficult. If it's very red, hick, and thoroughly boring, it's an easy pass. When it's red by a margin, but mixed, with blue and cosmopolitan urban centers, it causes cognitive dissonance. South Florida and Tampa Bay are blue. The FL panhandle beach towns are very red, with Christian colleges and those billboards I hate. It's enough to toss a person with a religion into the "lapsed" pile. Then, in Texas, Houston is now the most ethnically diverse city in America. I went for a while because I flew out from there. It's what Toronto is to Canada on that dimension. But, yes, it is good to collectively boycott places with backward thinking. (It still won't change them.) Just like it's good to avoid certain car brands based on things that are just so wrong about them.

I sort of like it because Galveston, while not too pretty, has a funky and relaxing vibe. I like some of its suburbs, too, while on the lookout for coffeehouses. I'm guessing Big Bend is SW, so it has its mountain lions. Brazos Bend and Brazoria Reserve, south of Houston toward the Gulf of MEXICO, has its alligators. Alligators are a fact of life in big Lake Houston, at the northeastern part of the city. They periodically make appearances on Buffalo Bayou, too, and it makes the news. Maybe they like the skyline, too.

Someone sent me this asking me, 'Have you ever heard this before?' NO. I was in disbelief. I thought Dom Dolla would have been a Jersey Shore type ... Dom. It's not his real name. It's a red headed Australian guy who's kind of unusual ... consider this genre. Then, there's a guy who talks during this song. He doesn't sound at all like anyone who'd be on the dance floor. He sounds more like a frat boy/stoner/surfer. Best YouTube comment: "This was the weirdest thing to hear in a gas station in rural Quebec at midnight." Indeed. This song makes for a good laugh, at best.