PyratePhil

For me, it was a matter of pure utility. I lived up the side of a mountain with a one-mile dirt driveway leading to the house, which also crossed over a small stream that would flood. In the winter, if you didn't have a SnowCat, you'd be doomed. So it wasn't for appearance - it was utility. Naw - a real chick would drive (like a college GF did) a '63 split-window Vette, that she did all her own work on - including balancing and blueprinting the engine and re-doing the tranny - then go inside and practice her violin. Great Neptune I miss that girl Merc - you have to get a NASCAR-approved ride, then! Get a Monte Carlo or some such... Jill - you've intrigued me - what did you drive?

See? SEE? If you had a Caddy, you could kill yourself, then put yourself in the ... ...ummm... ...never mind. BTW - the whole "Jeeps/SUV's flipping" thing is a big joke. If you drive it like a car then yes, it'll flip. The big secret is, you DON'T drive it like a car. It was never meant to be driven that way. But people want to go fast, even if it's just down the driveway to the mailbox, so of course they flip. But of course, you warned me with the "sissy breaking" thing... Misson - I had a CJ-7 back in the day. I called it the MachoMobile, because you had to be crazy to drive that thing 7 days a week, year round, like I did. But man, did that thing GO. Anywhere. Jill - Yeah - I coulda' worked for Tony "The Nose" Tragliamonte at his "Previously Enjoyed Cadillac" lot. Rogue - where I grew up, it was more of a practical, everyday consideration. The stickers on the used cars in the lots had "MPG", "MPH" and "NOBIT" - "Number of Bodies in Trunk"

Sorry - they're no worse than SUV's - in fact, with the Northstar engine they're even better than most. A lot depends on how you drive - I'm not a young punk with a lead foot, nor do I slam on the brakes, jackrabbit start at lights or go around corners on two wheels. Not anymore, anyway. Even my late-80's / early-90's Caddies with big honking 8-cylinder engines got 27-30 mpg on the highway. Sure - it isn't 40mpg like some of the newer econoboxes, but it isn't something to sneeze at either. Where do the minicars get those impressive gas mileage numbers? One way is in replacing sturdy metal with crappy plastic. Another is using cheap alloys in the engine components, which leads to a hotter-running engine and premature wear and therefore frequent breakdowns. Slam the door on a Caddy, then try it with a riceburner - if you don't hear the difference, I suggest a visit to an audiologist. Compare the rides on a cross-country trip. Especially when a tandem trailer blows by you at 85mph. The cute little socially-conscious and environmentally-friendly go-karts get blown over two lanes. The Caddy just laughs. Try merging onto a freeway with heavy traffic. In that situation, more power is likely to SAVE your hide. Try hiding several bodies in a Toyota trunk - it ain't happenin'. Caddies are BUILT. Econoboxes are glued together from a kit. Add in the fact that there are tons of hidden problems with many new cars that aren't widely known about until the third or fourth model years, and that's why I like used. Don't get me wrong - new is nice. Personally I won't throw money into one, only to see it bleed out the minute I leave the lot. Plus, I don't really miss the monthly payments and finance charges - cash on the barrel head is a great feeling. Look at Merc Wench's trials and tribulations in this thread - ask her how nice it would be to be able to just reach in her pocket and pay for the car.

Cadillacs - best way to go! Comfy, powerful, easy to get parts, good depreciation. I get 'em used, usually 8-10 years old - old enough to be cheap, new enough to be in decent shape. 'Course, I'm mechanically handy, so checking them out isn't too hard. As Misson said, I'd never buy a new car again. Waste of moolah, you ask me.

If anyone is going to be at the New York Ren Faire on Sunday August 5th, look for a run-down pyrate with a black bandanna and pants, white shirt and greenish vest, along with the ship's cook - he's the one with all the cooking utensils hanging off him.

Why not? That's how the IRS works...

I seem to have more Family members the last few months than I thought possible - the permutations boggle the mind. Almost makes me long for the days when my good friends, the widows of the late African-nation Presidents, wanted to send me money.

So, by your own standards, critical thinking is only important for boring, inane and ultimately unimportant topics such as particle physics and economics. OK - I agree. Maybe it depends on your Meyers-Briggs scores, or what you majored in in school - not sure. Some people seem to have a predilection for one or the other, and shape their lives and resulting actions around that single facet. Others, like me (*harumph*), are masters of both. BTW - "Most people can agree they like pizza"? Really? I wasn't aware of the world-wide poll on that subject... And what's wrong with cheese and pepperoni? That's MY favorite...

I think it depends on your big-picture beliefs - is there a cosmic consciousness? If so, then I think we'd all have the same basic starting materials, but of course what we choose to DO with those materials is up to the individual. There are exercises that can be performed that actually increase your intuition, or at least heighten your awareness of it. I teach them as part of my self-defense curriculum, since in so many cases a good dose of intuition can help you avoid a nasty encounter before it starts.

Black Hat SEO - how lovely...

So just as we pyrates gather together from the Seven Seas in this one place then go forth to other places, so do the spammers. Their motivation? What is anyone's motivation? Answer that and you'll have the answer to why spammers do what they do. I think it might be the evil chaotic faction just practicing their craft. If they can make some money off the deal, so much the better - that might be one way the thing is happening. They figure they're getting the best of both possible worlds - making a profit while sowing discord and confusion.

You KNOW they have their own hangouts, right?

cosmopolis Aesculapius wanhsien murrhine menuhin swordcraft ...I must admit - "swordcraft" caught my eye...

We all are, to one degree or another. Often it seems that the lack of quality of intelligence is more than amply made up for by a surfeit of volume. But anyway, yer a chicken, and I'm a chickenhawk! Now don't make any sudden moves, see, or yer gonna' get hoit!

...has to be a woman...my sympathies, mate...

I tend to mistrust anyone whose last name translates as "He Who Insults the Hebrews"...

ROFLMAO!!! Excellent - PERFECT translation except I think you left out the first line - "Greetings: I am Haktoof Howgul Abul Arhu, the wife of the recently deceased Haktoof Howgul Abul Arwee. " It's amazing how inventive these Nigerians are, isn't it???

Oh, Mr. C, I'm SO disappointed in you... ...don't you recognize a Constantine Formation code when you see it? Just think..."E" is the most common English letter, so go through the code and see which character appears most frequently...repeat ad infinitum, ad nauseum...

As Bugs would say -

LOL - a writer is nothing if they don't read voraciously. Related - of COURSE I love writing - several books and dozens of articles published, more to come (hopefully). Granted, a success newsletter might not exactly be my cup of tea, seeing as how I'm such a complete and utter failure in life, but still worth a read I'm sure. LOL OOOhhhh yea - from NYU, no less! It was an "experimental" program for several years - it just so happened that when I finished my Psych degree the Metaphysics doctorate course was starting up, so I jumped on for the ride. I apologize - I really should make better use of the smileys here - especially the "sarcasm" one. They can both be fascinating - if you have the right prof. We're both probably on the same M-B board and don't know it. Email coming after I post this... Just kidding about Bucky, really - he was a great mind. Ah, but what if you help yourself to the females? Works for me. That sounds suspiciously like: "Every person, all the events of your life, are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you." - from "Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" - Richard Bach DMC's - didn't know that about them vs. Vettes. A pity.

ROFL! Aww, poor ninja...everyone makes fun of his/her/its strap-on sword/shovel... And thank you, Patrick, for calling me evil - it's a calling, don't ye know?

Yeah, that's the only problem with that one - that weird ninja...still trying to figure out what he/she is doing...

I still prefer this version

*pirates - OK, I'm there - but only fantasy *educational theories and testing - ehh...not really - had enough of that with MUD (see below) - plus was married to an Early Childhood Education type *Deloreans - never got into them as such, although they intrigue me - I'm more a Vette guy (had 3) *drawing - blood? charcoal? finger-painting? *Classical music - taught myself "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Air on a G-String" on a Fender-Rhodes-88 and original-model Moog Mini *creativity - don't have any *metaphysics - "MUD" - My Useless Degree, as a ladyfriend always told me *regular physics - as opposed to "irregular"? Not really into it except as it applies to beating people up LOL *anti-Global Warming rhetoric - GW is just a by-product of Eureka research - didn't you know? *Richard Feynman - who's that? *psychology - "MOUD" - My Other Useless Degree *Myers-Briggs testing - *INFP groans* - have I got a site for you - I'll email *movies (I do so love movies) - very selective in this respect - or should I say, eclectic *writing - oh, yeah - big time - can't ye tell? *website design - yep - I'm there *engineering - never understood the appeal of running a train *locomotives - ibid *Key West - OH yeah - I want to live there again before I die - actually, I want to live there UNTIL I die *Mad Magazine (the old ones that were good, not the new ones) - agreed *James Bond - one of my childhood idols - well, him and Capt. Kangaroo *Buckminster Fuller - again, I fail to see the appeal of the inventor of Fuller's Earth, but different strokes... *Star Wars - funny, but I never really got into it - Star Trek, tho, yeah *coin collecting - used to - now I only practice coin spending *ethics - have none *plate block stamp collecting (but only occasionally) - sorry - stamps bored me to dizziness - must have been all that licking *movie soundtracks - depends on the movie *training people about self-help - my life work - well, that and pleasing the female population of the US *personal responsibility - have none *SCUBA diving - used to - see "Key West" *economics - have none *Australia - hmmm...used to be interested - not sure now - I do have a few friends there, though *AC Bulldog Mack Trucks - if that bulldog EVER gets up on his hind legs at ME, I'll knock him back to his Momma's womb! *business - have none *Warner Brothers cartoons - OH YEAH! *Jazz - certain types - hate wailing saxes; love Chick Corea *the inner workings of the brain - have none *magazine design and publishing - eh...only principles shared with web design *Haunted House design - I suppose it would be an intriguing concept, but never had the opportunity *just ideas in general - have none Now if THIS didn't scare off the rest of the population here, NOTHING will! PS Awww...MySpace is mondo coolio - where else could you have hot chicks wanting to be your friend and have you look at their site?

Yeah - I'm kind of the stray dog of the Net myself...I wander around with big eyes; a forum will let me in; they play with me for a while; then, when they discover I have fleas and am rabid, they throw me out. Well, I know BlackJohn was just having some fun down MD way - saw his pics on MySpace. Looked like fun! As for Mlle. Duchess, I don't know - perhaps she's off splitting atoms or beating quarks or something... "Blondiiieeee! Don't leave me like this, Blondiiieeee!"