The Vent - Part 2

[The_Dude 1,142]

I've gone through phases with cars. My first cars were muscle cars. I absolutely loved my 67 Camaro SS.... The perfect car to give a 16 year old kid. Fun, flashy, impractical, and 450 BHP to boot Then I had to start buying my own gas and quickly bought a Honda Civic. I swear that car was indestructable. I had that car forever. I tried to kill it for about a year and a half. I drove it cross-country, never changed the oil etc. I finally just sold it and got the car I wanted. Last two cars I've had have been Audi's. I absolutely love Audi. My next car however will be a Subaru WRX. They are a bit cheaper to maintain than an Audi or BMW, and have the same level or higher performance.

Funny thing about Scions, I threaten Mel that I'm going to buy her one every time we pass one on the road. She gives me the look of death. They are very stereotypical here in Los Angeles. The sportscars are 99% of the time driven by women in their 20's, and the box ones are driven by young kids (wannabe hipsters) or just as frequently by older drivers in their 60's.

[Sprailenes 47]

Maybe they figure you don't have as many roll overs if you're in a box.

[Krikit 1,164]

I really don't like jeeps. I find that it's a really tight drive and there really isn't a lot of room in the driver's seat.

I had a Jeep Cherokee LTD and I loved it.... but mainly because it was pretty. (Also had a basic Jeep which was mainly for use at the cottage.... no carpets, nothing fancy.... you could just take a hose to it. LOL) But the wheel ratio thing.... yeah. I remember letting my son drive it when he had his learner's permit and OMG.... he nearly tipped us over taking a corner, even though I had warned him about it before he drove. Well... you know teenagers.... yeah yeah, blah blah.... they know everything. Well, it sure frightened the life out of him! You should have seen him panic. I never let him drive it again.

Anywho.... the Jeeps. Both my Jeeps ended up having problems with the 4WD eventually. I don't trust them, anymore, in that respect. Oh. And don't turn the steering wheel too hard.

The perfect car to give a 16 year old kid.

When my son got his DL I bought him a car so that I wouldn't have to keep driving him back and forth to school anymore. (He attended school in another city.) It was a little black convertible which he told me years later "Thanks for that car, Mom. It was a chick magnet. All I had to do was lean against it in the parking lot, and the girls would come flocking over asking 'Is this your car?'"

[xtinab 0]

Only car I ever had was this one:

Anybody from the GTA will agree that this is a different Vent all on its own

[Holliday 4]

Been a pricey and pain in the butt here,lol! Had to replace the front brakes in the Scion and chg the oil, etc. Our camry is next up for inspection and I have a feeling it will require new front brakes as well as it is due.

Last week our water heater bit the dust, knew that as it leaked! Leaked right down to the lady below us, ouch. No real damage, and lucky she likes us! BUT they installed the new water heater incorrectly, so it leaked! 2nd floor condos and above, according to 'code" must have a pan, and pipe leading from the pan to pipes---thus, you according to theory, if it breaks, you dont flood out ur neighbors below you! Well the kid that installed the heater, didnt pay much attention, and the pan was to high for the heater---thus it put pressure on the plastic outflow valve--thus that valve was resting on the pan---so about a weak later, that valve broke off, and water everywhere. As well he didnt glue the pipe that lead from the pan to the wall, so thats where the water came out! fun stuff!! BUT, the owner of the company came by and admitted it was thier fault! So they have cleaned it up, getting new flooring in my laundry room, and another new water heater! probably look better than it did before,lol! Just a pain as this happened on Sunday, so we have been without hot water since then! I dont mind cold showers, wife refuses too, and showers at her close by brothers place,lol Hopefully that sage will come to an end today!

On the bright side, got a new Vizio LCD HD, Tivio HD and Verizon FIOS gets installed next Tuesday! Comes with the NHL network, sweet!! Not sure if one actually gets live games on the NHL network or not???? Anyone know?? As I know they have another option called NHL center Ice, which does show live games!

back to the books

The NHL Network is pretty sweet. They sometimes show live games, and their other content is pretty cool too. They show lots of classic games and stuff. Center Ice is even better, because it shows pretty much all other games, except the ones that are nationally broadcast, and of course the ones that are locally broadcast. Center Ice is the greatest thing in the whole world.

[thetreble 19]

Only car I ever had was this one:

Anybody from the GTA will agree that this is a different Vent all on its own

Or Ottawa, Vancouver, etc. Believe me, I'm thinking about moving just so I can take public transpo. again. I loved my Ottawa Transit. They have a bus system like no other.

Krikit-That's EXACTLY what it was..the wheel turn ratio..it was so bizarre to me.

[Sprailenes 47]

Only car I ever had was this one:

Anybody from the GTA will agree that this is a different Vent all on its own

You don't know how lucky you are and how great the TTC is until you move to a place that has little to no public transportation. Even Septa in Philly is terrible, not to mention extremely unsafe.

The TTC is clean, well organized and yes their prices have tripled in the last decade but I would take that over what I have now.

I always refused to drive because I always lived in places with great forms of public transportation, even Midland had a bus and cabs were all flat rate. Then I came to NJ and realized that wouldn't be happening anymore. I had to quickly adapt.

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

My mouse is dying!

are we talking a pet mouse or a computer mouse?

computer

clean your mouse ball(s)

[thetreble 19]

Yeah it's a shame. There are lots of buses in the north jersey area but I only ever used them to go to the city. Where was I going to hop on a bus to besides there? Newark? Elizabeth? Might as well be hopping on a bus to Hell.

But South jersey, forget it! The little buses they have only come once every hour.

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

Aww.

I have a phobia of elevators so I know how it is.

I have recurring dreams of falling in them. Whenever I do get into one I quickly try to figure out where the emergency buttons and exits are.

you'd so enjoy a ride in a paternoster.

[Holliday 4]

Or Ottawa, Vancouver, etc. Believe me, I'm thinking about moving just so I can take public transpo. again. I loved my Ottawa Transit. They have a bus system like no other.

Krikit-That's EXACTLY what it was..the wheel turn ratio..it was so bizarre to me.

WOW! That is the first time I've heard someone say something positive about OC Transpo... well... ever!

[thetreble 19]

I find people LOVE to complain just about anything and everything. OC Transpo was awesome, but then again I lived in Centreville so I don't know what other areas were like. I was on a bus every day for 4 years pretty much at any time I wanted to be. If I missed my bus, another one came in 10 minutes. The buses are very clean and the staff is good. The only time the bus did not come for me was my brothers VERY first game in the OHL for the 67s. He had just moved to Ottawa that day and we had a snow storm. I went to go take the bus from my area on Bank St and it never came..so I ran down Bank street quite a few blocks to the game. It was a laugh, actually! haha

[Krikit 1,164]

The lack of public transportation in our area is appalling. And we didn't even get a taxi company until last year! (Must have been a huge demand for designated drivers. ) What's even funnier is that I've started seeing commercials encouraging people to take public transit. Kind of a backwards way to do things when you don't already have the infrastructure in place. Who wants to wait hours for a bus in the blinding sun and tropical downpours (no shelters) or walk miles to the closest bus stop? Not I.

clean your mouse ball(s)

It's a laser mouse. But I think I figured out the problem. My computer was experiencing a performance problem this morning, so it was causing a lag. Everything seems to be working well again, though. *knock on wood*

[xtinab 0]

LOL this is true. TTC Compared to COTA is like a dream. (COTA is Central Ohio Transit Authority) It runs around Ohio State University and other than that, nowhere else. When in Columbus, I miss ttc like no tomorrow. When in Toronto, I miss Buddy (read: I miss Buddy's car LOL!) At the same time, I miss having the ability to walk out my front door and catch a bus 24 hours a day. It really is a case of I want my cake and to eat it to

My sister lived in Ottawa for about 4 or 5 years with her now husband and Ive heard horror stories about how they'd had so many accidents hitting pedestrians. Is it as bad as I've heard?

[Holliday 4]

I find people LOVE to complain just about anything and everything. OC Transpo was awesome, but then again I lived in Centreville so I don't know what other areas were like. I was on a bus every day for 4 years pretty much at any time I wanted to be. If I missed my bus, another one came in 10 minutes. The buses are very clean and the staff is good. The only time the bus did not come for me was my brothers VERY first game in the OHL for the 67s. He had just moved to Ottawa that day and we had a snow storm. I went to go take the bus from my area on Bank St and it never came..so I ran down Bank street quite a few blocks to the game. It was a laugh, actually! haha

Yeah, people sure do love to complain about anything and everything. However, I think the complaints about OC Transpo are incredibly justified, especially lately. They went on strike and all transit services were suspended from early December to mid-February. Lots of people lost their jobs, or couldn't visit family during the holidays, or had to walk 3-4 hours to and from work or school each day in a few feet of snow in very cold temperatures, students missed their classes and exams, etc. Those of us who don't use public transit were inconvenienced as well, because it would take 3x as long to get anywhere, and finding parking was nearly impossible. There was a shuttle arranged at different points of the city for students to be able to get to their exams, and the striking workers were threatening people and blocking the shuttles. A lot of businesses were hit VERY hard financially because patrons didn't have the time or energy to go out shopping or out for dinner or whatever else during the normally busy holiday season. It just wasn't worth the hassle. I think those are all pretty good reasons to complain.

Even when OC Transpo is up and running, I still think it's terrible. It might be great if you live in the downtown area (but even then, you're kinda within walking distance of most things you may need anyway, so it's convenience added on to an already convenient situation), or if you live near the Transitway. But for people who live in the rest of the city, it's very inconvenient and inefficient.