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Post by epaul on Sept 9, 2023 8:33:03 GMT -5
I recall when nearly the entire nation was hoodwinked into rooting for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Evil is so sneaky.
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Post by epaul on Sept 8, 2023 11:53:19 GMT -5
OK, so you don't like Trickster figures and boundary breakers, there is nothing new, or contempery, about their use or appeal. Old as the hills.
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Post by epaul on Sept 8, 2023 9:02:14 GMT -5
I got some nice ones of Casper in the lake. I will post when I get home.
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Post by epaul on Sept 8, 2023 8:43:19 GMT -5
What bad guys? The bad guys that save small shop owners from greedy developers or keep tenants from being thrown out in the street because a landlord sabotaged their apartment by planting lease-breaking bedbugs?
We can't be watching the same show. The results of the young trickster's actions result only in good, and this is by intent (he is an unusual trickster).
Regardless of our reaction to the main characters' fundamental goodness or badness, there is nothing new or contemporary about encouraging the audience to root for "the bad guys". Some of the very first novels in the English language, such "Tom Jones" by Henry Fielding, did exactly that in a very "picaresque" fashion.
As did some of the very best, period, such as "The Confessions of Felix Krull", by Thomas Mann, a story of a trickster who by wits was able to float through all levels of society despite being born at the bottom.
There is far more to be said about Felix Krull and the Trickster in literature an Mythology, but I'm on my phone and I am not going to do it. Suffice to say there is nothing new or decadent about the scamp in novel or film or the desire to root for him. And the breaking of boundaries that restrict and limit, even if the result is punishment and chaos, is not only the story of mankind, it is why there is a mankind.
And in the case of "Suits",if you consider the results of the young lawyer's actions rather than how by fate and his innate wits he can to be in the position to enact them, where is the "bad"?
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Post by epaul on Sept 5, 2023 17:52:22 GMT -5
Morning.
Twins have game two tonight in a big series against Cleveland. They took game one last night in a squeaker, 20-6.
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Post by epaul on Sept 5, 2023 17:29:17 GMT -5
Universities have been around for a couple thousand years, or so. The idea that it was a good idea for most of a country's young to attend one for "cultural seasoning" has only been around for forty or fifty.
It was a good run.
(I went seven years (and another half year (combined) or so of assorted online classes once I got a computer. And sent two kids, five years apiece and counting. I've done my part to keep it going. But, unless I send Casper, I can do no more.)
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Post by epaul on Sept 5, 2023 17:16:25 GMT -5
That's what I said! (hurries to edit)
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Post by epaul on Sept 5, 2023 15:39:47 GMT -5
Consumer Reports likes the Crosstrek a lot. There is a Crosstrek 'plugin' hybrid, but in this one case only, Consumer Reports does not recommend getting the hybrid. They said Subaru just didn't get it done right (no useful battery range and the battery consumed too much storage space). The Crosstrek is a sub-compact SUV (it is built on the Impreza platform, so it is one click smaller in size and interior room than the Forester (and the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV-4, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5/CX-50). www.consumerreports.org/cars/subaru/crosstrek/2023/overview/(if you want a Subaru, get the Forester. It is the best vehicle Subaru makes. (and if you get the Outback, for heaven's sake, don't get one with the standard 2.5 "Boxer" four cylinder. That engine should have been shot and buried years ago. It is an embarrassment. Get what they call the 2.4L engine. It has much more pep than the 2.5 Boxer, which is a real dog (I had one, it is a dog. And it melted on me). The 2.4L (X engine) come standard with the "Limited" line. Skip the Premier, get the Limited.)
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Post by epaul on Sept 5, 2023 8:55:23 GMT -5
Fortunately, most viruses come to realize they have better chance of multiplying and seeing the world if they leave their host upright and walking while sneezing and coughing.
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Post by epaul on Sept 5, 2023 8:46:50 GMT -5
Honda CRv hybrid, Toyota RAV4 hybrid, Hyundai Tucson hybrid, Mazda CX50 hybrid. (Forester won't come as a hybrid till 2025 model year) (Kia Sportage runs well but is just too goofy looking ((for kids that like video game creatures)). (((Chevy Equinox and Ford Escape just aren't up to the competition))) The Hyundai PHEV (plug in hybrid) runs on battery power for the first 30-35 miles, then switches over to its gasoline engine (and starts recharging the battery through regenerative braking). Qualifies for up to $7,000? Fed tax credits. www.hyundaiusa.com/us/en/vehicles/tucson-plug-in-hybrid
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Post by epaul on Sept 4, 2023 22:06:34 GMT -5
If I lived in Phoenix, had money and a nice garage, didn't have to do daily driving or long distance driving, I would be tempted to get an EV and grab the govt. money to help pay for it.
In some situations, EVs are a pretty nice fit, and the rebates are a good deal. (make sure what you get qualifies for the Fed subsidy)
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Post by epaul on Sept 4, 2023 19:47:52 GMT -5
If I had to buy tomorrow, I would get one of Hyundai hybrids. Hyundai is the same as Kia, but I like the current models styling better.
(the performance advantages (speed and pep) offered by the hybrids over the gas only models is just too tempting to pass up. It's true with Hyundai/Kia, Honda, Toyota, Everybody. The hybrid versions are much peppier than the gas only models.)
((and they get better mileage. 8-10 mpg better.))
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Post by epaul on Sept 4, 2023 19:44:29 GMT -5
209,453 miles on my 2012 Kia Sorento.
Runs like a top. Just routine maintenance (except for the non-routine anti-theft ignition update which was free). Not unusual for cars to make 200,000 miles and still run like new. But, with this Kia, there is more. The car has never spent a night in a garage, it spends it time outside in front of the garage, yet there is no rust to be found and the paint looks like new. Washed up it still looks like a new car.
And I am not the lightest guy, yet the seat suspension and fabric is in fine shape. And the interior of the car still looks new. No dash cracks or splits, no broken knobs, all buttons work. And on the road, no rattles, squeaks, or undue wind noise. The car is solid as a tank.
I really like this car. I don't how long it can go, but right now I wouldn't bet against 300,000. And if the paint hasn't faded yet, maybe it never will (it is some kind gray, not sexy but very practical).
All of which is leaving me a bit of a pickle. I am thinking it is soon time to buy a new car, timing the market before EV regs price conventional cars to the moon. But, I still really like this car. The only reason I would want a new car is for some of the safety features (particularly those that wake you up when you are on the verge of dozing off while on long, sunny trips). I don't know how long the window will stay open for decent buys on gasoline powered cars, but I don't want it to shut before I can get through it.
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Post by epaul on Sept 4, 2023 12:52:36 GMT -5
Excerpts from Car and Driver's review of the Mitsubishi Mirage. (a car that can sell new for under $20,000)
- That said, the Mirage is a rather disappointing vehicle: it's slow, not especially comfortable, and its interior feels chintzier than a watch from TK Jewelers. Much as a mirage taunts the dehydrated desert wanderer, the Mirage teases consumers in search of a reasonably well-equipped new vehicle on a budget. Unfortunately, it's like discovering that the desert oasis out in the distance is indeed mere heat waves; the Mirage looks like a great deal from afar but its value quickly vaporizes upon closer inspection.Slow, unrefined, an interior that's cheaper than a Palm Beach retiree.
- A continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) is standard across the board, and it only exacerbates the little car's uninspired nature. Blame the transmission's tendency to hold the engine at higher revs in a vain attempt to make the most of its limited power. The resulting drone makes the Mirage's straight-line acceleration seem even more tedious than it is—and it is tedious.
- The Mirage is among the cheapest new cars sold today, and its interior reflects this. Hard plastic abounds, and the cabin's design is as plain as an unsalted rice cake.
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Post by epaul on Sept 3, 2023 13:10:50 GMT -5
We got heat up here, as well. Going to hit 90. My tomatoes and peppers will love it. Casper just asked about getting a buzz cut. Don't worry this heat I told him. Neither one of us are going anywhere near it.
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Post by epaul on Sept 2, 2023 17:14:09 GMT -5
... I also mused that Kia must be selling a lot of Telluride SUVs, cuz I sure see a lot of them on the road. Or maybe I just notice them more than most because of their distinctive amber running lights: The Telluride has been Consumer Reports top rated full-sized SUV for the last couple years (edging out the Toyota Highlander).
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Post by epaul on Sept 2, 2023 14:44:38 GMT -5
... I think the whole Star Trek fascination we have with space travel is so far out of whack. Alien visitors? UFOs? Not a chance... Not a chance? Not so fast, pilgrim. I know several Makis that disagree with you. And Delbert Maki has proof that aliens have visited Newfolden, his cousin Milton Maki. I tend to agree. Milton is very, very different, even for a Maki.
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Post by epaul on Sept 1, 2023 10:37:14 GMT -5
Sounds like time to move on to #2.
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Post by epaul on Sept 1, 2023 8:35:02 GMT -5
... Oh look...a summons for jury duty. Awesome. No problem. Half-way through the judge's initial instructions, stand up and loudly say, "I have to wee wee!" Then cross your legs and hop up and down. You'll be excused.
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Post by epaul on Aug 31, 2023 23:06:44 GMT -5
I see EVs working great for someone making pretty good money and living in the suburbs. Two car garage. Plenty of amps available and the money to install what needs to be installed.
I don't see EVs working at all for someone renting in the city and needing to park at least one car on the street. Possibly a different section of the street, depending. And needing to move cars around for street cleaning and snow days. What a mess of extension cords crossing sidewalks and streets.
And if you need to park on the next block? Oh, no problem, just leave for work an hour early so you can find a spot at a charging station and do a 30 minute charge. Or, no problem, just get home an hour later each and every day because you need to find a place to charge up in case you can't park within reach of your extension cord.
And if money is tight and an older used car is what the pocketbook calls for. Great. Pony up for a new $7,000-8,000 battery right off the bat.
Got plenty of money and a large, nicely-equipped, garage? No problem. Where's my EV?
Money's tight, garage is small or non-existent, the apartment only has one parking slot with outlet, a car has to street park or you live in an upstairs room in an old house in an under-served part of the city... you are screwed. No getting ahead, just sinking lower and lower.
"Them EVs, theys for the rich folks".
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