Post #235,460
11/22/05 1:51:04 AM
11/22/05 2:13:16 AM
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Well, barring disasters I'll be fetching this beast tomorow.
My stock brokeress(1) won't have stuffed money in my bank until Saturday (due to Thanksgiving) but since Frank, my car buyer, used to be my memory broker (back when memory cost real money) I'm still on terms.
His customers ask, "West Coast Micro? What the hell does that have to do with cars?". His reply, "Nothing - that's why I'm keeping the name".
I'll drive the Escort down to Irvine and sign it over to Frank, then drive the Saturn back. He kept insisting on giving me some money for it until I told him "it's had an engine fire". That shut him up. Actually the fire was minor but it melted the handle off the dipstick and blistered the paint on the hood (bonnet, Peter(2)) in a couple of spots.
The fire also melted the air conditioning tubes, but the air conditioning never worked even though Frank spent $99 getting it serviced before delivering the car back in 2003. I've never had a car in which the air conditioning worked for more than a month.
Actually, this is a traumatic experience for me - never before in my life have I replaced a car that could still be repaired, never mind one that was still running. It's a violation of my most deeply held principles - all in the name of (potential) love. Women truly are the root of all Eeeeevil aren't they? Hmmmm, never noticed that before - Eve - Evil. What do you suppose that means?
I now quote Frank for posterity: "I've learned one hell of a lot about the car business since I sold you the Escort. This Saturn is going to look and drive like brand new". Frank, you're finally learning to be a used car salesman.
(1) Brokeress: "Lets sell Microsoft, it's way up from XBox publicity. Ooooops, I'll have to sell something else to compensate 'cause MS crossed over into capital gains for you". Actually there was plenty of cash last month but Ms. Brokeress called up and said she was taking it all to buy something that paid a dividend on the 11th. She hasn't given any of that back yet but cash is at $3,600.00 up from $0.00 in the last few days, so I guess that's what I pay Ms. Brokeress a commission for, right?
(2) British auto terminology is quaint, but doesn't hold a candle to Canadian. When I was driving a 1948 MG TC (aptly described as a "coffin riding on four harps"), it had a "crank" clipped behind the seat for times when that newfangled battery thing was low. A Canadian I knew insisted it was a "hand commencer".
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,493
11/22/05 8:07:02 AM
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Happy Motoring!
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Post #235,605
11/22/05 11:54:02 PM
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Man, what a miserable trip back.
40 miles, most of it at 10 miles per hour - and they say tomorrow will be even worse. Average for the 40 miles was 20 mph due to a couple of short high speed stretches in LA County. Orange County was strictly 10 mph. I'm not going out tomorrow - or Black Friday.
The Saturn proved smooth and capable in 5 to 20 mph stop and go traffic, an operating profile the Escort was not at all comfortable with.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,608
11/23/05 12:17:45 AM
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Glad it was uneventful. Sorry about the traffic.
It's like that around here too, but not quite that bad (except in isolated spots). Halloween traffic, though, usually is a [link|http://dc.metblogs.com/archives/2005/11/worst_nightmare.phtml|nightmare].
I'm with you on trying to stay away from the crowds. I'm just picking up some food tomorrow night from Boston Market for Thanksgiving, and I'm not planning on doing any mall shopping for weeks (and not at all if I can avoid it).
Luck with the buggy!
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #235,494
11/22/05 8:08:50 AM
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On (2)
"bonnet" and "boot" are no more quaint than "hood" and "trunk".
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
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Post #235,501
11/22/05 9:10:20 AM
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But "hand commencer", one must admit, is.
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Post #235,504
11/22/05 9:34:16 AM
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"Hand commencer": Fnarr! </finbarr_saunders>
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
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Post #235,549
11/22/05 2:24:34 PM
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Of course British for that item is 'starting handle'.
Not as quaint as "hand commencer" but definitely moreso than "crank".
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,497
11/22/05 8:57:20 AM
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Do you think he's trying to bait me? :)
--\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n* Jack Troughton jake at consultron.ca *\n* [link|http://consultron.ca|http://consultron.ca] [link|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca] *\n* Kingston Ontario Canada [link|news://news.consultron.ca|news://news.consultron.ca] *\n-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Post #235,531
11/22/05 12:29:52 PM
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Only if you take it. :)
--
Steve
[link|http://www.ubuntulinux.org|Ubuntu]
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Post #235,536
11/22/05 1:06:25 PM
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If not, Carl Forde or Ben Tilly will do! :)
Alex
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #235,553
11/22/05 4:06:53 PM
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Or Lister. (Or the Cat. Or Rimmer. Or...)
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Post #235,554
11/22/05 4:29:14 PM
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But definitely not Kryton :-)
"It's never too late to be who you might have been." ~ George Eliot
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Post #235,603
11/22/05 11:28:58 PM
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I'm avoiding being baited
Not the least because I would never use that phrase, eh?
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #235,612
11/23/05 2:33:57 AM
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Jeeeze, what a suspicious lot you all are.
Just because my comments sometimes smell of anchovies it does not necessarily follow that they are bait.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,616
11/23/05 4:48:39 AM
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:-)
--
Steve
[link|http://www.ubuntulinux.org|Ubuntu]
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Post #235,824
11/24/05 1:46:48 AM
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it's only bait if it's tempting...
otherwise it's just poorly arranged decoration
Have fun,
Carl Forde
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