RW> Mine comes up for renewal this month. If they don't lower the premium,
RW> I'm moving on. Already have a quote for less.
 
The older you get, the higher the premium.  My insurance company has had
mimimal increases on me over the years, but they can't single me out,
especially since I'm a very careful driver and have no accidents or moving
violations.  They have to increase everyone in my age bracket.  The older
you get, the more it costs to live.
 
RW> I don't eat the stuff, so that wouldn't bother me.
 
Turned out to be my daughter who was up that early and she wasn't frying
bacon.  My nose deceived me.  She was making French toast.
 
RW> And a lot different person than they were on foot.
 
Dr. Jekyll toward drivers while a pedestrian and Mr. Hyde when a motorist.
 
RW> Not here...the stop or yield signs are for the local traffic.
 
Wow!  I don't believe I've seen that here.
 
RW> And a crazy place to have to drive.
 
Especially at night in the rain.
 
RW>RN> That seems like an extreme amount of money just to run some pumps.
 
RW> Union labor...
 
Maybe so.
 
RW> I was there for only a couple of hours and figured that out. Another Los
RW> Angeles I don't need.
 
While New Orleans wasn't as big as Los Angeles when I lived there, I have
gotten to like Houma, especially when I lived here before despite the types
of drivers it has.  The only difference between Houma when I lived here
before is the amount of traffic it now has.  It's unbelievable for a
relatively small town.  The phone book has doubled in size.
 
RW> Last time I was in San Diego I asked myself, what am I doing here?
 
If I went back to New Orleans, I'd probably say the same thing.
 
RW> Yeup...out of curiosity at first sight, I stopped and asked what they
RW> were allowing and what they were ticketing for. Allowing 85mph on the
RW> freeway, 65mph on the off ramp and 55mph in the 45 limit. Then later, it
RW> became 45mph in the 45 limit zone.
 
I don't know if you can trust what they say.  Normally they are telling you
what they were told at the morning briefing, but that can change the next
day or even the next shift, depending on the mood of the watch commanders.
 
RW> Yes it is and they keep a tradition going all year long. The town began
RW> as RW> a German immigrant settlement, funded by a German Prince, named
RW> Solms.
 
I didn't know that.
 
RW> I'm told that up until the 1960s, everyone spoke German here.
 
It might be worthwhile to visit there someday just for the German potato
salad and the German chocolate cake.  A lot of factors have to come
together.  At the moment, I don't trust my car's steering.
 
RW> Not from something he got here, I hope.
 
Naw, I think he had some kind of pre-existing condition which the parents
of the kids making that trip were aware of (I hope), but didn't consider it
life-threatening.  I wish I had gone.  The pictures and movies they brought
back looked like fun.  The tubing down the river would not have been my
favorite thing, however.  I like to be in control.
 
RW> I suppose it could be if you're starting out from the south side of SA.
 
Alright.
 
RW> Yeup, the extra pressure could blow some seals. That happens on regular
RW> steering as well, just not as easily.
 
I think I may need two outer-lower steering rods as well.  Those things
don't come with grease fittings.  I hate that.
 
RW> I 'bounce' the steering wheel off the stop in those cases. You can hear
RW> the difference where you're on the stop and the pump is working harder
RW> than it would be if it weren't against the stop.
 
I haven't tried that to see if Ford products differ than the others.
 
RW> Not something I would enjoy...but the riverfront job might be.
 
As it turned out, I was very popular with the folks who hired me (States
Marine) and they gave me a lot of overtime.  That didn't sit very well with
the union members.  This was the Clerks & Checkers Union and 2/3rds of
the membership had to vote you in as a member, so because I was well liked
by one company, I was disliked by the membership because I made more
overtime than they did.  You can guess what happened from there.  It was a
fun job because all I had to do was get the plan from the plan man and tell
the longshoremen what to load first (FILO) in the freighters.
 
RW> Heh! We still have half of half a pound of coffee given to us when we
RW> moved in this house. That was 2005. Pulled it out of the refrigerator for
RW> Thanksgiving and it was still good stuff.
 
If kept in the freezer, it's still good.  One of the guys on my bowling
team eats breakfast and lunch.  He eats nothing for supper.  He has a flat
stomach and so does a man 90 years old who also bowls on my team.  I'm
jealous!  (-:
 
RW> A friend of mine who owns an alignment and muffler shop here has a cherry
RW> 1966 El Camino with the buckets and console in it. He wants to trade it
RW> for my 98 Z28, but I'm reluctant to do so. His son owns a body shop, so
RW> there's nothing wrong with the car, even has a rebuilt 350 in it, but I
RW> don't want an El Camino. I sold mine and replaced it with a pickup and
RW> never looked back.
 
If in your place, I would not consider it.
 
RW> I would trade my Z28 for a 1966 Chevelle SS though.
 
My daughter bought a 1965 (I think) Nova SS.  It sits out front on four
brand-new tires, needs an engine and some interior work.  The body looks to
be in good shape and it's painted a royal blue, which just happens to be my
favorite color.
 
RW> Owning a classic GM product shouldn't bother you...they have nothing in
RW> common with the company today, save for the name.
 
If I had my '57 Bel Air back in the shape I put it in, I wouldn't give a
thought to what those jokers are doing today.
 
RW> They screwed up by asking for government aid...you'll notice Ford wasn't
RW> that stupid and is doing just fine without it.
 
You got that right!
 
RW> They're around, you just have to keep looking. Although, they were
RW> uni-bodies and may not be as stout as the El Camino with a frame under
RW> it.
 
Last week I decided I wanted to trade my Mark VIII in on an Explorer.  The
guy I spoke with said he'd call me back in a few minutes, but I have yet to
hear from him.  The exact same thing happened when I went online at another
dealership.  (-:
 
RW> That figures...I wasn't a fan of theirs when I had their service in San
RW> Diego.
 
My experience with DirecTV here has been excellent.  Every time I asked
them for some technical help in the past, I got to speak with some very
knowledgeable people and if my problem couldn't be solved over the phone, a
tech was sent (I had the protection plan) to fix it.  I recall the first
problem I had was getting monaural sound through a stereo receiver which
was sent to the stereo TV.  I made a mental note of everything done so I
wouldn't have to call unless something new came up.  Then I switched to
Dishnetwork...
 
RW> The catch is that for the price, you only get the basic channels, 100 of
RW> them.
 
And, as I discovered later on, no technical support.  I was aghast!
 
RW> We have their 200 channel package for $49.95/mo, no premium movie
RW> channels...they also offer 250 channels, including all of the premium
RW> movie channels, for $99.95/mo...I block quite a few of the channels that
RW> don't appeal to me, such as CNN, MSNBC and all of the religion and
RW> auction channels. I wish they'd offer a pick and choose package, because
RW> I can probably put all of the channels we watch into a 100 channel
RW> package.
 
I had that same argument with Charter Comm. (Cable TV) when I lived in
Mandeville.  I'd rather go without TV if cable was the only choice.  I
often wonder if the owner (Paul Allen) knew what was going on in that
company.
 
 
Regards,
 
Roger

... If you don't like how I drive, get off the sidewalk!
--- D'Bridge 3.26