Tuesday, August 26, 2008
LAVO
Knowing a guy who knows a guy is an important part of being in Las Vegas. One of those connections got me into the latest nightclub in town, Lavo, in the Palazzo, adjacent to the Venetian. The Palazzo is owned by the same, well, rich idiot who owns the Venetian, sort of the anti-Steve Wynn, if you will. Lavo made me wish I was twenty-five and out with my friends. Really. It's loud, it's got go-go dancers (no, I'm not kidding) and it's got a lot of exotic decor dealing with, well if you know any Latin, you'll know it's washing up. Sinks abound, and other watery stuff. There were a couple of actors posing as sort of Cleopatra and a feather waving slave, even. If you're of the night-clubbing age and in Las Vegas, you could do worse.
S.
S.
Labels: Reviews
CARS!
For the love of . . .
I'm through with Ford, I have to say. I have a Focus from '01 with 85,000 miles on it. A bit over a week ago the oil pressure light blinked on when I turned a corner. Oops! What could that be? It was time for an oil change (inspection was due anyway) so I had it changed, and the light went off until it got warmed up, when it started blinking on again.
So, I took it to the Ford dealer, where they fixed something electrical on the cooling fan, giving a reasonable explanation as to why that might make the oil pressure light blink. I'd told them I thought the oil pump might be going out, but anyway, they charged me over $400.00 to do what they did, and hey, it worked for about three miles. At which time they were closed. I drove home very very slowly and the next day had it back to Ford.
Hey hey, now it turns out we have a bad piston rod bearing, which is not a good thing to hear, and it needs a new motor. I took it home at a moderate pace. I put a can of good old STP in it, and that worked for about ten minutes, when apparently the failing bearing gave out completely, as the car now sounds like a pile of pots and pans being dropped down a staircase if you turn on the motor.
I have a Mitsubishi with 165,000 miles on it and no bad anything that I know of other than some ooze from the hydraulic clutch. I'm going to buy a not terribly used Mitsubishi or similar to replace the Ford which I shall strip of anything useful and sell for the scrap it is. 85,000 miles for a failure like that is a material defect, but as they didn't offer a warranty beyond 36,000 miles, and we only extended to 65,000 miles, we are out of luck. Well, not to put too fine a point on it, screw you, Ford Motor Company, it was nice while it lasted.
And the American auto companies wonder why people buy foreign cars. Sheesh!
I'm through with Ford, I have to say. I have a Focus from '01 with 85,000 miles on it. A bit over a week ago the oil pressure light blinked on when I turned a corner. Oops! What could that be? It was time for an oil change (inspection was due anyway) so I had it changed, and the light went off until it got warmed up, when it started blinking on again.
So, I took it to the Ford dealer, where they fixed something electrical on the cooling fan, giving a reasonable explanation as to why that might make the oil pressure light blink. I'd told them I thought the oil pump might be going out, but anyway, they charged me over $400.00 to do what they did, and hey, it worked for about three miles. At which time they were closed. I drove home very very slowly and the next day had it back to Ford.
Hey hey, now it turns out we have a bad piston rod bearing, which is not a good thing to hear, and it needs a new motor. I took it home at a moderate pace. I put a can of good old STP in it, and that worked for about ten minutes, when apparently the failing bearing gave out completely, as the car now sounds like a pile of pots and pans being dropped down a staircase if you turn on the motor.
I have a Mitsubishi with 165,000 miles on it and no bad anything that I know of other than some ooze from the hydraulic clutch. I'm going to buy a not terribly used Mitsubishi or similar to replace the Ford which I shall strip of anything useful and sell for the scrap it is. 85,000 miles for a failure like that is a material defect, but as they didn't offer a warranty beyond 36,000 miles, and we only extended to 65,000 miles, we are out of luck. Well, not to put too fine a point on it, screw you, Ford Motor Company, it was nice while it lasted.
And the American auto companies wonder why people buy foreign cars. Sheesh!
Labels: Reviews, Social Commentary
Tropic Thunder
Sorry for the lateness. See above.
I saw Tropic Thunder over the weekend, and it was the funniest damn film I've seen in a good long while. Try it, you'll like it!
I saw Tropic Thunder over the weekend, and it was the funniest damn film I've seen in a good long while. Try it, you'll like it!
Labels: Reviews
Sunday, August 17, 2008
It had to happen. You can find me on Facebook. The title link will take you to the site. Facebook is what My Space never quite achieved. The entertainment's here, though. ;-)
Labels: Info
The Campaign So Far
Well, okay then, I had intended, and tried a few times, to critique individual efforts as seen on TeeVee in Nevada. I can't do it like that. It's just too much.
First, both candidates are talking about the other candidate. No better way to lower yourself than to talk about your competition. Remember those funny Pepsi ads where the Coke delivery guy sneaked a Pepsi? Sure. Did they make you buy Pepsi? Didn't think so. Pepsi has more problems than simply making a joke about Coke could possibly cure.
(Coke and Pepsi are trademarked by their manufacturers. And don't you hate reading this legal BS?)
In my opinion, Obama's chief recommendation is that he's not a boomer. He's not an idealist at all, so far as I can tell, so that's one thing. One thing.
The problem I have with McCain is all that "leadership" hoo-hah. I mean, a lot of people flew missions over Vietnam and managed not to get shot down and imprisoned. Who would you rather have been following in 'Nam? The guy who got you imprisoned in a hell-hole for years or the guy who landed back at the base outside of Saigon? Leadership? Anybody can lead, I suppose. Hell, Bush led us quite decisively until everyone finally caught on to his lack of anything approaching the brains of a rutabaga. Was that a good thing? McCain led right to a North Vietnamese prison. He behaved wonderfully while there, but a leader?
On the other hand, what can Obama lead? Well, we don't know, and that's a problem.
So, instead of talking about anything substantive, these two quite honorable and likable guys are sniping at each other. Well, what can you do? The plan to get us out of this economic mess is apparently fairly simple, since Bill Clinton figured it out sixteen years ago. Maybe we should elect him again. There are worse things than eight years of peace and prosperity, as it turns out. Failing that, I haven't heard anything but hot air from either candidate concerning what should be done. Besides, as the recipient of criticism of Presidential policy always points out, Congress passes the laws in the first place.
The worst negatives about both candidates? McCain is too easy to tie to Bush, plain as that. And Obama? Well, crimony, folks, he's a black guy. PC or not, that's still a drawback on the public stage.
Well, I still think the black guy's gonna win over the old white dude. Conventions start directly. Stay tuned for the show.
Steve
First, both candidates are talking about the other candidate. No better way to lower yourself than to talk about your competition. Remember those funny Pepsi ads where the Coke delivery guy sneaked a Pepsi? Sure. Did they make you buy Pepsi? Didn't think so. Pepsi has more problems than simply making a joke about Coke could possibly cure.
(Coke and Pepsi are trademarked by their manufacturers. And don't you hate reading this legal BS?)
In my opinion, Obama's chief recommendation is that he's not a boomer. He's not an idealist at all, so far as I can tell, so that's one thing. One thing.
The problem I have with McCain is all that "leadership" hoo-hah. I mean, a lot of people flew missions over Vietnam and managed not to get shot down and imprisoned. Who would you rather have been following in 'Nam? The guy who got you imprisoned in a hell-hole for years or the guy who landed back at the base outside of Saigon? Leadership? Anybody can lead, I suppose. Hell, Bush led us quite decisively until everyone finally caught on to his lack of anything approaching the brains of a rutabaga. Was that a good thing? McCain led right to a North Vietnamese prison. He behaved wonderfully while there, but a leader?
On the other hand, what can Obama lead? Well, we don't know, and that's a problem.
So, instead of talking about anything substantive, these two quite honorable and likable guys are sniping at each other. Well, what can you do? The plan to get us out of this economic mess is apparently fairly simple, since Bill Clinton figured it out sixteen years ago. Maybe we should elect him again. There are worse things than eight years of peace and prosperity, as it turns out. Failing that, I haven't heard anything but hot air from either candidate concerning what should be done. Besides, as the recipient of criticism of Presidential policy always points out, Congress passes the laws in the first place.
The worst negatives about both candidates? McCain is too easy to tie to Bush, plain as that. And Obama? Well, crimony, folks, he's a black guy. PC or not, that's still a drawback on the public stage.
Well, I still think the black guy's gonna win over the old white dude. Conventions start directly. Stay tuned for the show.
Steve
Labels: Politics
Thursday, August 14, 2008
And Another One Aimed at Obama
There is a problem with this one in that I can't find it on the Internet. If I do, I'll come back and add a link here. Otherwise, this ad ran during the Olympics, so maybe you saw it. It ends with a feminine voice saying that "Obama will protect our families."
I mean, gag me with a spoon! From what? And how, for heaven's sake? The way we're protected from illegal drugs? The way being humiliated in airports keeps us safe from people using airplanes to blow up buildings? How?
Barak, give me a break, okay?
Steve
I mean, gag me with a spoon! From what? And how, for heaven's sake? The way we're protected from illegal drugs? The way being humiliated in airports keeps us safe from people using airplanes to blow up buildings? How?
Barak, give me a break, okay?
Steve
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Bagles (and Lox?)
We didn't realize it, but the dog I once wrote about for six weeks or more in terms of what she'd "destroyed this week" isn't a purebred basset after all. We do have a regular old basset hound named spike, and he's a good old boy, typical hound, likes to sleep and bark at the mailman, preferably at the same time. She's smaller, more stubborn, and about as willful as you could ask for. What she apparently is, is a mix of a basset and a beagle, which is a recognized cross known as a 'bagle hound." I'd never heard of bagle hounds, but apparently I've been living with one for years. Sweetest collection of evil tendencies I've ever known.
The lox thing? Just something to put in a headline. Sorry.
The lox thing? Just something to put in a headline. Sorry.
Labels: Social Commentary
