trinacriabob

Good morning and Happy Saturday. Wow, the jokes you hear from grown-ups who went to ... ahem ... parochial schools. I'll try to clean it up a little bit. - - - - - A man is walking along the beach. He comes across a shiny object in the sand. As he examines it, it's apparent that it's a genie bottle. He holds the genie bottle and, suddenly, a genie appears. The genie tells the man, "Master, I can grant you 3 wishes, and only 3 wishes, and then I will disappear forever. Think carefully as you can only wish for 3 things." Man on the beach: "I want $10 million in the bank." * cue sound and visual effects of wizardry and magic * In the man's hands are credible statements for reputable banks with this sum of money in the accounts. Man on the beach: “Wow!” Genie: "What is your second wish, master?" Man on the beach: "I want a 10,000 square foot mansion overlooking the ocean." * cue sound and visual effects of wizardry and magic * On the beach, a luxurious mansion appears and, in the man's hands, is the deed showing ownership of this property. Man on the beach: “Great!” Genie: "What is your third wish, master? Think carefully as this is your last wish." Man on the beach: "I want a d*** that hangs down to my knees." * cue sound and visual effects of wizardry and magic * So the genie cut off his legs.

This is funny. One could look at this several ways ... She is doing a similar thing that people in a So Cal beach town do once a year when they moon an Amtrak train. Or, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" Love this view - after Two Union Square (1989) but before the implosion of the Kingdome (2000) and the proliferation of all the pretentious high-rise condo towers after that. A good time to be in Seattle.

Indeed. Some here may see it differently, but I felt the '70s were a good chapter for GM. Colonnade coupes sold like hot cakes. And who could forget some of the trims and dashboards of that era, like the cool dashboard of a mid 70s Grand Le Mans coupe with all the circles and gauges ... and the crushed velour LJ trim level seating. And that year they offered lime exteriors and some lime interior trim. Fun times. I periodically look at the colonnade coupes for that toy second car thing and am scared off by the prices I see. So it's not just me who likes them! One of my favorite dashboards of all time. Note the inscription Grand Le Mans above the shifter and below the analog clock. This unit is NOT air conditioned. But oh so cool. This is the larger Grand Prix, for which they got into fancier seats. This appears to be a base Catalina from 1976, the year for lime trim Since GM wasted so much money to "duplicate" engines across divisions, they now have no money left over, or are too cheap, to put darker tan and darker gray dashboards and trim to go with their limited offerings of tan and gray seating, respectively.

This is hilarious ... the car and the people. The get ups and hairstyles are dated, especially on that dude ... the glasses and that shirt that looks like a bumblebee. This basic vehicle style could have run with a 225 slant 6, a 318 V8, or a 360 V8. This is probably a 360. I get a kick out of the vaned rear quarter windows, a la colonnade Grand Am. The front end even looks especially dowdy, like that of a Maverick!

A silent engine, cabin, and everything else mean a lot to me in a vehicle. For everyday driving, these engines work well. The test might be one of America's heavy duty prolonged grades. In my frame of reference, that would be the Grapevine, going from the Central Valley floor of CA up to Tejon Pass, and the northern border of L.A. County, where it's about 4,100 ft. in elevation. The small block V8s muster the torque to keep going up that lengthy grade. The 6s (V and I) we've had struggled a little bit. For that matter, the 4.3/4.4 siblings of these 4.9/5.0 GM V8s were suitable for everyday driving, but struggled with jack rabbit demands on them.

But if they can deliver 250,000 miles or more without having a wrench taken to anything other than items appended to them, and close in on 25 mpg in automatic overdrive 4th gear, I'd be a happy camper with either. Two solid old school GM small block V8s.

No caption necessary. This speaks for itself.

Different driving experience, I'm sure of that. However, at least at one point in time, the 305 was a de-bored 350. The stroke was the same. Also, the Wiki article does mention the premature cam wear (on both 305s and 350s) on some Chevy engines built from 1976 to 1980 because of cutting corners on materials and quality control. That was a travesty. I am not familiar with the graphics of the horsepower/torque curves, though it would be good to learn what they display. However, I am on board with the silent but strong whoosh of the Rocket V8 as it pulls away from a stop or accelerates (when the exhaust system is in great shape and it still sounds "factory.') In my case, it would have been the hand me down Olds 350 V8. I used to love putting down the passenger window as I drove across a bridge on a two lane road ... and could safely do so, to hear the exhaust note play back at me. It was music to my ears. I "over-maintained" this hand me down car, so it sounded like that even past 170,000 miles when a farmer near Champaign, IL bought the car from me.

I can see Olds for you. Definitely. Didn't look at Chevy from those lenses, but okay. I can see Pontiac for you. Definitely. Chevy being "too common" is very balthazar! In its own weird way, Pontiac was the most interesting of GM's brands. It stood out more than the others. I see Buick in second place with both of you. With Buick owners, I've either known those with the biggest of Buicks, hence 455s, and even more with Buicks powered by V6s, so I didn't know many with the bread and butter 350. Most of the 350s were in Skylarks (family friends), with some in Regals from the '70s. And I did not know any whose 350s racked up high mileage. I've read stories about Olds V8 longevity and some stories have been impressive. However, from personal experience, it has been owners of Chevy 350s who have racked up the most miles. My one negative experience with a Chevy 305 sidelined me from my ranking the Chevy 350 as high as some of you.

I've had good experiences in Paris. I found a pastry shop that was off the charts. These phenomenal chocolate mousse squares for $3.60 in American money. The locals can be pills. Speaking the lingo seems to help. People in the south of France, and definitely in Quebec, are quite a bit more hospitable. I was in Dublin once. The people were helpful and friendly. It is a small but cosmopolitan city. It wasn't compelling enough for me to go back. I had gotten a phenomenal RT airfare in the off-season. I've made a joke out of the acronym: I'm into PIGS - Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain. I will probably never tire of those countries.

Good on the Quebecois. The Gallic mindset, in general, is one I understand more easily than the mindset of the UK. I've been to London once. It didn't do it for me. I've been to Paris twice. It isn't as high on my list as places in the Mediterranean, but I'd happily go back and visit it again. For one, you can't argue with the food ...

There has been way, way, WAY too much Meghan Markle on internet homepages lately. Too much. Some run of the mill people who create this demand need to get a life.

I am not sure but think there was some nameplate overlap/change at Chevy with the Uplander and the Venture. Either way, when the dual sliding door for rows 2 and 3 came into being, Chevy ran a cool print ad campaign with a dolphin "in flight" going through the supposedly open 2 sets of sliding doors. One doesn't easily forget a visual like that.

This, too, got a down vote from the resident man child?!? It's a time worn expression. It means that, for everything and everyone out there, there's a "buyer" or kindred soul. Or maybe he has never been to Atlanta ... The Confederate carving on Stone Mountain, about 15 to 20 miles east of downtown Atlanta: One can see downtown Atlanta's skyscrapers in the distance from atop Stone Mountain: One can take a cable sky ride up to the top ... and walk down ... or walk in both directions: This is Midtown - not even downtown: This is Perimeter - not even downtown: This is the soon to open Delta museum, where one of their retired 747-400s will be available to tour: In short, it's a very cosmopolitan metro area and full of people who know the score. Only $50 or so each way when on sale from many Northeastern airports. Highly recommended to broaden one's horizons.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I'd had the bad dream that I've either missed a test or was late getting to one ... only to wake up and find out that everything is peachy and it's a new day. Dream analysts seem to ascribe meaning to all sorts of bullsh!t ... and their analyses are probably just that.

That's one creative "Cake Boss."

This is far more about ignorance than it is political, but is it ever funny. I still remember it, so I looked for it ...

Interesting day, by my boring standards, anyway ... Friday, on a two-lane country road: Last Buick LaCrosse with the smaller, blacked out oval grille, so probably 2007. It was silver. It was immaculate. I thought the grille was weak, but having it blacked out is a nicer treatment. I wish they had partially blacked out mine instead of all the shiny metalized plastic bling. Right behind it ... a Monte Carlo LT coupe of about the same year. It was also silver. It was also immaculate. Good to see those were in it for the long haul. In two different country bumpkin driveways, a red Alero sedan and a silver Alero sedan. Both were spotless and shiny. It's nice to see that these little 2.4 Ecotec sleds have been so reliable for people, lasting some 17+ years, when some early Mercedes 190 sedans turned out to be problematic throw-away cars. Again, I once had a rented Alero coupe out of Spokane Airport and also drove it into British Columbia and Alberta, and it was fine, but I never would have thought it would have made for such a durable vehicle.

^ Haha. Like a Southerner in Atlanta once philosophically said to me, "Every pot has its lid."

Great! Is this a "shaken, not stirred" sort of dude? J/K

How did I miss this? It again reinforces the notion of what it's like to deal with the "don't know how much they don't know" crowd.

I like the symmetry here, David.

Q: What's the first thing a sorority girl does in the morning? A: She goes home.

Some incredible culture in L.A. decades later with the Getty museum complex and so much more. But, yes, you are right in that the culture in Los Angeles, and South Florida, appears to be conspicuous consumption and flash over REAL culture. I remember that it was often annoying. @oldshurst442 It would be interesting to have the full list of who's been on the casting couch. The only person I can recall who has been brazen about admitting it is Madonna, now out of the spotlight and living in Portugal, I believe. She fared far better than most University of Michigan dropouts. And, even though she's Italian, I have always disliked her.

This is an old joke, and far less applicable as the years have gone by ... Q: What is the difference between Los Angeles and yogurt? A: Yogurt has culture.