jazzypaul

I heard it and it was so-so. Green Chimneys is my favorite Monk tune, and I've most certainly heard better versions of it elsewhere. Considering how talented this band is, it should be a lot hotter than it is.

Hey, we're making fun of Buerhle's remarks too... But what'd you think of McCarthy?

The same Highlander Hybrid that upthread was still awful because it's an SUV (when you said you didn't care about the fuel economy, you just wanted people out of trucks)? Wow, hmmm, well, hmmm...

That's one...

$3.18 in Chicago as of this morning. I know during the summers, we're the 2nd or 3rd highest price gas in the country. What's it like in San Francisco or L.A. these days? NY?

If the tribe gets the w/c, I will be the happiest guy ever.

I'm not a no-limit guy, but you probably have the best hand here. The only hands that beat you are AA and 2x, both are unlikely. If the guy who puts you all-in didn't play very aggressively pre-flop, you can effectively rule out AA. Furthermore, anybody with a decent pocket pair (say, 99 and higher) might think they have the best hand and play aggressively. So definitely go all-in. Guy ← that said, realize that there's a good chance at a chop, so you'd effectively only be going all in just to get your money back plus whatever bets happened pre-flop and on the flop. That said, the one 2x that might actually get play would be A2. I know players that will play A-anything, and if they could have played A2 cheaply, I wouldn't put it past them. That said, I would assume the chop, and I'd get my money in.

Look! It's a straw man ← quit your pouting, and, you know, like, maybe, ummm, explain yourself? ← Thought it was clear. ← The problem is, there's no straw man here. Just people whining too much because there are actually differing viewpoints in the world. Kevin said he didn't like the big vehicles on the road and wanted gas to go up to $5 per gallon. When I stated earlier in the thread that there are some fuel efficient choices out there and more on the way, he said he didn't care about fuel economy. He just wants to see people out of big vehicles. So, I put forth some examples of people that would be hurt by such wishing for higher gas prices. My question to you then is this: are you saying that those people would NOT be hurt by astronomical gas prices? Or do you just hide behind cute pictures of straw men and pouty smilies when you can't answer a question?

EXACTLY!!

Look! It's a straw man ← quit your pouting, and, you know, like, maybe, ummm, explain yourself?

Actually, hoping for $5/gallon gas isn't really derailing the thread. However, it is INCREDIBLY short sighted, especially when the crux of your argument is that you want to see vehicles that are bigger than your car off the road. Because what ends up happening is that such a wish essentially hopes for the crippling of America. It ends up hurting the mom with the four kids that needs the minivan (or the gas sucking station wagon for that matter). It ends up hurting the businesses that have legitimate needs for bigger vehicles. It ends up stifling the 16 year old gearhead that could become tomorrow's engineer that designs a feasible hydrogen powered drivetrain. And it ends up hurting the keyboardists and drummers who make the music that you claim to love so much when they have to be more selective about the gigs they take because it costs $60 to fill up their tanks (my VW holds 13 gallons. I have to use premium. Last fill up? $40). As I've stated before, due to convenience and driving preferences, an SUV is my only real next option as I get older and my back gets worse. And so, in that wishing for $5 per gallon gasoline, you're wishing ill will on me. I see that as a personal attack. Sorry. Prove me wrong, and I'll gladly go back and do all sorts of post editing. So, your silver lining is hoping for the misery and financial strain of others? That's nuts, man.

Brown shirt? Wow, way to crap all over your own argument. ← one of these days, one of your posts will actually make sense.

At that point, that alone levels your argument. You only want people to drive exactly what you want them to drive, and that's about as fascist and stupid a thought as I've ever seen. "they're too tall! Wahhhhh!" Uggh. Remember to put two ballots in the box for Bush and his cronies next time you brown shirt driver, you. Feel like springing for one of those $60K glorified minivans? Please. Then why is it that there are people that drive their whole lives and never get into accidents? Or only manage to get into accidents where they are clearly not the ones at fault? If Buffy gets into an accident with you in either a Hummer or an Accord, I'm sorry. As for me, I'm attentive when I drive, and in the times when I have been behind the wheel of something larger (many rented SUV's) or something more classy (ahhh, the memories of a rented Jaguar...), I become even moreso, as I don't want to be the one to say that I hit that family out for a drive. And if some fucker blows a stop sign and hits me and I'm in that big ass SUV, well, that dude will certainly know not to blow another stop sign, won't he? Seriously, I could see the argument if it's a fuel economy argument. I can see it if its a safety argument. But if it's simply a matter of poor little Kevie on the way to go name drop somewhere in his glorified putt-putt wanting everyone else to drive glorified putt-putts, well, then I have absolutely no sympathy for you. Re-thinking the Hummer? I'm right there with you. They're status-symbols, and not vehicles, and someone driving around because they want someone to see them is a dangerous proposition. Just as dangerous as a skittish driver in an electric bumper car. The Explorer is a different situation altogether. They can function as minivans with some balls to them. Outfit it with the 6 instead of the 8 and it's a perfectly reasonable tradeoff, with the ability to handle the icky climates which much of this country can produce. But gee, wanting to see those F-350's go away. Gee, Kevin, you're brilliant. So, yep, no more construction crews carrying all of their gear to and from sites. No more landscaping crews able to do their work. No more park district vehicles, no more service crews, no more heavy hauling where it's actually needed (please, show me someone driving around a 2-ton duelie for fun?). But, hey, Kevin will be able to drive safely. So fuck the trades, who needs 'em. Kevin can get to the Starbucks quicker!!

Since Toyota and Ford both have Hybrid SUV's on the market, and Ford, Chevy and Hummer (?!?!?!) all have hybrid SUV's on the way, and VW has a V10 Diesel SUV on the market (35 mpg/500+lb. ft. of torque), Kevin's argument still aims the wrong way. Why not complain about cars like mine (pocket rockets)? Small car, huge performance, low-mid 20's for gas mileage. Sure, a few of those beasts might claim great gas mileage when driven the way a grandmother would drive one, but I guarantee you, there's not a person out there that owns one that drives like a little old lady, driving fuel economy on those cars way down. What about the fact that said Sienna that you talk about only does 2 mpg better than a Ford Explorer (with a V6, anyway)? If it's gas mileage you're talking about, you need to focus your argument a little more, and you should be willing to aim your ire at Cadillacs, Lincolns and big cars from Mercedes, BMW and Chrysler just as much as you're willing to make those SUV's your bad guys. Because right now, you come off as someone who would be better off not driving. It's not SUV drivers that are dangerous, it's people that don't know jack shit about what else is on the road.

the three tap hug is a mainstay of guy culture, and I became a good cook so that I wouldn't have to suffer through the really bad cooking of a few ex-girlfriends. Such talents as this have enabled me to offer baked goods as olive branches throughout the internet community. My spinach-mushroom-bacon quiche is a delectable treat, so I've been told, and I merely wanted to restart this relationship on a better note. As for who wears the pants, I would prefer to, but I am glad that the one picture that existed of me playing the lead in "Baby with the Bathwater" was destroyed in a move a few years ago... we all DO have a responsibility to the environment. Fuel Economy may or may not play into it, but I can say that one of the best things about having a souped up car is that it burns just this side of completely clean. The more efficient your engine is, the less crap it pumps out of the exhaust, and at the same time, that efficiency allows your car to run cleaner. Talk to my brother about this one. His grand national gets about 325hp at the flywheel, and its emissions tests were ridiculously clean when we went for the last 2 year check up. I've looked at the smaller SUV's and found that I'd be just as well off getting a car. Which I don't want and really can't justify. So, for me, the reasonable alternatives are station wagon, minivan or SUV. Being that there's not a decently sized station wagon in my price range, and that I am completely unimpressed with minivans (especially given the reasons I've posted earlier), that leaves me with one viable option left: a mid-sized SUV. As for the "you had it coming" bit, I can only speak for me. But, in 14 years of driving so far, I have yet to get into an accident that was my fault at all. Add to this that I'm still kinda pissed at the kid who hit me in his daddy's Lexus last week because he wasn't paying attention on the road, and suddenly, my point might become a little more clear. If I'm going to get into accidents that aren't my fault, I don't want to see my car get damaged. And if the other guy's car gets totalled, well, sorry, but fuck him. And since I feel compelled to have a larger vehicle anyway, I might as well add my safety to the reasons to own one. I've proven my ability to drive safely on the road. At which point, I've also proven that I'm responsible enough to own and drive something which, among other things, can protect me from those who aren't responsible enough to be on the road beside me. But, just to quash your worries a bit, I just found out that my dream SUV did indeed come out this year: The Toyota Highlander Hybrid That's right. 31mpg combined city/highway. In a pretty decently sized SUV. My aunt has one (non-hybrid), and I was forced to drive it around for a week. I fell in love instantly with it. I figure, if used ones actually exist on the market in a couple of years, I might be very interested in one...

I don't think I've villianized anyone on this thread or put anyone down. Except for people that drive Hummers or Cadillac SUVs. That's just retarded and a waste of money. Anyway, concerning getting a B3 and Leslie in a Suburban, that's surprising. I did not think a Suburban would be tall enough to get a B3 on Roll-A-Karis and a normal sized Leslie (a 122) upright in it's covered bed. Also, it seems like a pain. My minivan is only about a foot off the ground. How high is the bed of a Suburban? A lot higher, if I recall. Now if he's laying the B3 down on it's back, that's probably not a good idea. The oil will leak out to places you don't want it to leak to. Upright is best. ← I'll agree that Hummers (glorified suburbans with cool grills) and Caddy SUV's (the slightly smaller Tahoe) are both enormous wastes of cash. I will also say that the new H3 (based on the Trailblazer platform for about $6K more than a Trailblazer) seems like it could be fun, but out of my price range, and it's not a jeep or a highlander, so I'll be passing that one up. He got his B-3 in on its back, and never seemed to have a problem. Also, I'm sure that not hauling bass pedals around saved some space too. His new band finds him retired from the B-3 and just playing a suitcase rhodes, which has no oil.

well, for some, that is not the only responsibility out there. There are other worldviews out there other than yours. I think if this was a religious discussion, you'd probably say the exact same thing. So why is your worldview the only responsible one in this instance? You need a hug and a spin around the block in a grand national. Please read what I say, and not what you think I said. Allow me to demonstrate... This would be me calling you a girl: which is quite different than ribbing you a little bit for your choice in automobiles: Note what I am saying here...that the two "responsible" SUV's that you listed were trendy college girl cars. I am not calling you a girl here. Instead, I am saying that a look at demographic marketing would prove that Honda and Toyota wanted to make cute little SUV's that would appeal to women in the 18-25 market, and if you look at sales figures, you will find that they largely hit their target. (thanks to my brother the mechanic for such figures when I was briefly looking at a Ford Escape) Thus, if you wanted to buy one and fit in with that demographic, then you are more than welcomed to do so, but I will not be joining you in your decision. Now, if that's "calling you a girl" then I don't know what to say. I'll be happy to apologize by baking a quiche for you and delivering it to your front door. However, I do not agree with you that such a remark as "...if you want to be a trendy college girl, you go right ahead." falls into that category. WD45, I hope that you will realize that although you feel the need to treat every last keystroke of mine with contempt that I don't feel the same way about you. If something I write looks like a good-natured joke, it should be taken that way. Getting offended by everything I say will only provoke bad tastes in people's mouths. I don't want that, and I hope that you do not want it either.

For just the B-3 and the leslie, think again. I know a few organ players that get around in SUV's. The organist in the Three Blind Mice kept a B-3, a Rhodes and a Leslie in the back with all of the seats out and still had room for his tools (an electrician by day) in his suburban and never had any problems. Now, you're holding more stuff than just that B-3 and Leslie, so maybe you need just that little extra bit of room. But, once again, to each their own, and to villianize someone for what they drive or to put them down for their choice is a little asinine to me. My results DO vary, thank you very much. I don't expect a rocket on four wheels out of a vehicle that big. However, I do expect to be able to move when I punch the gas. I do expect my vehicle to be able to manuever away from a dangerous situation instead of braking and making yourself a lame duck. No minivan that I've yet seen can do that. However, a 280 hp Ford Explorer sure can. So, that's my choice. YMMV. See, I'm in a situation where most of my gigs are either less than 10 miles from my house, or less than 10 miles from work. So, I don't need to be quite so worried about it. I'd rather drive something that I really like and burn a couple more mpg than drive something that I don't like when I only fill up once a week anyway.

Basing responsibility on a website and some goofy preconceived notion of what belongs on a road is beyond me. There are plenty of points you're not taking into account here, like: comfort, amount of cargo room, safety and hundreds of others that I don't have time to go through. Just because some web guy with an agenda says something doesn't make it so. Give me that Grand Cherokee and I can load my entire drumset into the cargo bay and drive the saxophonist and our significant others to the gig in comfort. Beyond that, I'll have the kind of horsepower I like in a vehicle so that I don't have to be that timid guy driving in the right lane because my vehicle is sapped of all of its power by holding four humans and a drumset. Of course, I could also do so in that previously mentioned Toyota Highlander Hybrid. If they build it, I will come. In the meantime, the Grand Cherokee is roughly the same size, American made, easily fixable and a comfortable ride. Sorry. BTW, with both the CR-V and the RAV-4, there's no difference between them and their car counterparts. They're SUV's for college girls who want to be trendy. But, hey, WD, if you want to be a trendy college girl, you go right ahead. I will say, that will be one sad thing about giving up my GTI. I can park in the smallest of spaces in the most dire of circumstances. And it's got so much power at the flywheel that I can usually plow through snow in the winter relatively easily. I've needed a shovel to get out of a parking spot twice. And, I agree, the best way to avoid the accident is to avoid the accident. Which can be done two ways: by braking or by accelerating and getting the hell out of the way. This is why I prefer my cars overpowered. I haven't hit anyone in 14 years of driving and I don't plan to once I have a bigger vehicle. If someone hits me, and it's their fault, however, why is it my fault that I have a bigger vehicle? I agree. I don't think that anyone is denying the goodness of modern advancements in automotive technology. But, at the end of the day, having a big car (or truck) is going to help the situation as well. And while I don't sweat it nearly as much, I am soon to have a wife, and hopefully not too much longer down the line, kids. At which point, all bets are off. I want my wife and kids to survive the accident unscathed. And if the unattentive driver in the Prius eats a bumper in the process, I'm sorry, but that's life. If that makes me a bad guy, then I will be more than happy to be that bad guy.

Word. And to compare SUVs to minivans is ridiculous. My '99 Plymouth Voyager, which I need to haul the B3 and Leslie, is dwarfed by 99% of the SUVs and trucks out there. Go look at a Ford Excursion, the Dodge Durango, or the GMC Envoy and then look at a minivan. There is no comparison. Minivans also have more storage space and better fuel economy. My next minivan is going to be the Toyota Sienna! I really don't know why a musician wouldn't buy a minivan vs. an SUV. They are smaller, more versatile, have better fuel economy, drive great, and are less expensive to maintain. In fact, a buddy of mine recently sold his SUV (one of the smaller ones... an Olds Bravada) after only a few months and got a minivan (which then, unfortunately got hit head-on by an old lady driver) because the mpg were so bad on the SUV. He loved that minivan. ← It depends on the SUV and it depends on the Minivan. Blanket statements in this discussion are the truly ridiculous ones. Look at the SUV's you mentioned. The Excursion is built on an F-150 Frame (it's a full sized 1/2 ton truck). The Durango is absolutely ginormous, and the Envoy can be had in a variety of different sizes, including one that is just shy of a 1/2 ton frame itself. And as for storage, again, it depends on the SUV. I was having a lot of trouble with the VW for a while, and you're right some of the SUV's out there are woefully lacking in storage. However, some others (namely the Ford Explorer) have massive cargo areas and seats that fold into the floor. Personally, I find minivans to be sluggish. I drive a car that has been souped up enough that the thing is a rocket on four wheels, and my pet car up until recently was a 1972 Mercedes-Benz with a big ol' V8. So, the couple of times that I've driven mini-vans, I feel sadly underpowered. I'm driving the girlfriend's Mitsubishi Mirage this week, and I get freaked out when I try to make a turn, I step on the gas, and the car doesn't immediately move like a bat out of hell. Considering that I've yet to see a minivan (a 3000+ lb automobile already) without a 250-300hp engine, so I can also say that I've yet to see a minivan that I'd drive happily. So, you drive what you drive, and I'll drive what I'll drive, but don't tell me that what I want to drive is evil just because you don't like them. If I get 20 mpg instead of 23, I won't complain. And if I won't complain, you shouldn't. (and for the record, that little VW that I've mentioned only averages about 21mpg right now anyway. A Jeep or a likeminded vehicle wouldn't really hurt me anymore at the fuel pump)

You should worry about your safety. But equating bad driving with SUV's is just plain ignorant. If you worry that much behind the wheel, I guarantee that you ARE NOT any sort of safe driver. It's like driving with my mom. Sure she looks everywhere before doing anything, but she's so scared of the road that even if she is safe, she is most certainly NOT safe around other drivers. Yeah, and all of us that are musicians (especially keyboardists and drummers) that need bigger vehicles can just go get fucked, right? Again, the argument that SUV's in and of themselves are evil is just asinine. I agree that there is a mentality with these big boats (and I'm talking about the actual dinosaur trucks that are on the road, not your average Jeep/Highlander/Escape/Santa Fe here) that people can ignore everything else on the road. But is that the SUV's fault or the driver's fault? And should people that drive responsibly but need something bigger be villianized by the likes of you because of some sort of odd penis envy that you have? I think not my good man. You can say things like that if you want. However, there are two things I steer clear of on the highway: semis and motorcycles. Semis because David and Goliath doesn't apply in auto accidents and motorcycles because a 300 lb bike with a 150lb rider stops a lot quicker than a 2400 lb souped up VW with a 200 lb driver and a set of drums in the back. Gee willikers! Kevin knows more about me than I do!!! Kevin thinks that I want a bigger vehicle SPECIFICALLY so I can use more gas!!!! Wow!! Kevin probably knows everything, including how to turn lead into gold! Oh wait, nope. He's just yet another holier-than-thou twit with an agenda that thinks he can peg everyone from a couple of internet posts. So, to set the record straight, here's the deal: I want an SUV so that I can carry drums and people around. So that when I go grocery shopping in the suburbs, I can buy enough groceries to last me more than a few days. So that when I decide to take my friends out for a concert, dinner or whatever, I can take more than one in my car. And I've been drooling over Toyota's plan to make a hybrid Highlander since they announced that one might be in the works. What? Paul, the evil, horrible, SUV wanting douchebag is specifically eyeing a hybrid SUV, hoping that it will get built by the time that it's time to buy a car again? What? I'd investigate the Ford Escape Hybrid, but they're asking $27K for an otherwise $17K mini-SUV. That math doesn't add up. Neither do people who think that certain vehicles are more evil than others.

Did that history book mention the fact that the big automakers were a major force behind the dismantling of public transportation? ← It didn't get into that as much as it discussed the sheer stupidity of the woodlawn community clammoring for the teardown of a CTA station because transportation = crime. It got into the idiocy of the CTA (with seemingly not too much outside help) demolishing all of the L lines that ran from the stockyards to all of the east side neighborhoods (yes, Virginia, there is an east side of Chicago, south of lake michigan). There are more demolished lines than there are currently in use. And there are some really dumb station demolitions which make no sense (like 31st street on the red line). Most of this is also on a couple of websites. I might post them at some point if there is interest...

Honestly, I wouldn't need to drive at all if public transportation in Chicago, and ESPECIALLY the suburbs was better. The problem is that with two exceptions, the L trains only run through affluent (for the most part) areas. The bus service is awful for the most part, and the heads of the CTA keep forgetting that if you want to make more money, run MORE trains, not less. Making things even more ridiculous is the fact that there's not a north south train anywhere west of Clark, so for all of us near west side types, travelling via public transport can be a major pain in the ass depending on where you're going. It really pissed me off when I was reading a book on the history of Chicago Public Transportation and I found out that there were actually two different L systems that serviced my neighborhood (Ukie Village), and they were both torn down in the late 1950's. Grrrrr.... The suburban trains (the metra) is even worse. all trains run only once an hour, except during rush hours, and the bus service is deplorable. I mean, if the schedules were more accomodating, the only time I would ever need to drive would be to get to gigs in the suburbs, because I could (and have) just take taxis to gigs in Chicago, and then I don't have to worry about parking. But considering the way public transportation exists now in Chicago, it would be nearly impossible to really consider giving up one's car unless you lived in Lincoln Park, Ravenswood or Rogers Park. And none of those neighborhoods agree at all with my pocketbook. Oh well.

Lon, please have people in Austin talk to people in Chicago stat. $70 for a monthly CTA pass is ridiculous and only economically viable if you use the CTA for all of your transportation needs. I would take public transit everywhere if I could.