Robert Hall

Cosmos Rocks--the new Queen + Paul Rodgers album

mountain pass

One thing I'm happy about is I found out Friday my contract had been extended to the end of March, was originally 'till the end of the year. Was concerned they were going to cut contractors, given the city's budget shortfall. After 6 weeks there, it's fine... probably the most stress-free, low key corporate cubicle job I've had over the years. Easy commute, easy money.

Mailed in my ballot a couple of weeks ago. I've voted by mail for years, don't like standing in line.

I'm worried about the voting machines, Karl Rove, and the Republicans trying to rig the election and scam a win like they did in '00 and '04...they are the masters of dirty tricks and corruption.

What is that in the last photo? Some sort of small FWD generic with a fake convertible top?

Who is 'Rick Wagner'? GM's CEO is Rick Wagoner.

Isn't that the same 'black tie' radio that's been on many other recent GMs?

It's going to go back up, I'm sure...the last few years, the price has always spiked in May. It would be pretty short sighted to buy a gas guzzler now (but then again, Americans aren't known for thinking for the long term).

I think the Volt in order to succeed is going to have to be marketed like the Prius---emphasize the green angle more than just MPG. (regardless of the gas price). I'm sure gas prices will be back at $4 or more next summer....

Yes...the corrupt scum that run oil companies are afraid they won't make record profits anymore if alternative fuels that they don't control take off..

My friend Steve had that problem...his ex had rather, um wide hips and he was afraid she'd damage the passenger seat in his NSX (which has snug seats).

Wouldn't bother me, but any sort of Republican bumper stickers would make me run screaming.. I had a g/f for several years that had pretty cool taste in cars, IMHO--she had a Jeep Wrangler and a BMW 328 Ci, both manuals. Another woman I dated had a green '97 Camry. My g/f (later fiancee) in grad school drove a '92 Corolla. My most recent g/f drove an RX300.

Even worse: I haven't seen one of these in years... ('86 Grand Prix 2+2).

I've been to SLC, it's pretty nice, reminds me of Denver, but on the opposite side of the Rockies. I know people that have lived in Missoula and Casper, they moved to Denver for better opportunities. A problem I would have with most of those places is a lack of a close international international airport....I travel enough that I wouldn't want to live more than 30 min from a major hub. I like being in the burbs of a reasonably large metro area with plenty of office parks and cubicles, lots of ethnic restaurants, major chains (Target, Starbucks, etc) and a climate that is not too cold or too humid.

The article said all new with DI, so who knows....I would have thought maybe a smaller version of the 3.6.

Hmmm..none of those cities seem very appealing to me...not places I'd seriously consider living.

Yeah...Alfa is supposedly coming, but they keep getting pushed back. I'd love to see the Brera here...it's really a beautiful car in person (saw them and the Alfa GT in Italy a few years ago).

Johnson (Rod Johnson, creator of the Spring Framework, co-founder of Spring Source)

Yeah, would like to see that here. A small car with a diesel that would be cool to see here would be the new Fiat 500, I think. Some diesel coupes would be great also..Europe gets the Merc CLK, Audi A5, BMW 3-series (coupe and convertible) all with diesel options.

They could even call it the Avis Special...since the W-Impala will be around for who knows how long, it wouldn't cost much more to keep the W-LAX around also..

Maybe they will keep the current LaCrosse around for a few years and call it the Buick Special, a base model priced below the new LaCrosse.

surf and turf

Well, from my experience, with some in my own family in Ohio, that statement was dead on accurate..there are a lot of people out there in rural America and the small towns where the economy is weak, no job prospects besides Wal-Mart, and some of them do cling to their guns and religion out of desperation, bitter and angry at the modern, post-industrial world they can't understand and can't participate in, left behind by a fast moving and evolving world. It's a sad situation.

Saw a dark gray one in traffic this morning with the top down..the rear 3/4 view is great..