1/30/15 1:32 PM

Prior to this, we had (because my eldest son was too lazy to learn to use a stick) a Ford Taurus Wagon. Absolutely the worst car in nearly every way possible. If anyone can imagine getting onto Route 15 in Connecticut with one of these? Then you'll know what I mean.

Four years ago (+/-) the god-awful heavy chunk of s__t spun out on new snow and tagged a phone pole. $1,200 worth of bodywork. I declined (because I hated the car) to have the parts painted to match). Seven or eight months later, my wife is driving that car because hers is in the shop. Somebody runs a light and the front end is creamed again. Tess says, "I know you hate this car. Let's see what we can do with the insurance." Better still, I am able to sell the remains.

On Craigslist I find the apple-green Y2K Bug. And the thing that sold me on it? STICK SHIFT! It's nearly worthless for carrying more than two passengers or a bicycle (though I have figured that one out, just barely) but it's fun to drive.

1/30/15 2:14 PM

Through age 60 I drove only sticks - when I'd have to drive an auto rental or whatever they'd be balky and cumbersome and I'd hate them. However my A4 has an 8 speed auto that shifts smoother and better than I can - don't miss the stick one bit.

Taurus wagon - sweet! Rick Hardy had one of those draggin' wagons.

1/30/15 3:59 PM

The original Taurus and Taurus wagon (c. mid-'80s) were kind of interesting, in a weird way.

This one (2003, IIRC) was just seriously, seriously, seriously underpowered. And heavy. Since there are nearly no entrance ramps on Rt. 15 (you launch from a stop sign into high-speed traffic), it always felt suicidal to drive that thing (NB: I had nothing whatsoever to do with the purchase--my wife bought it after learning that our son had [a] broken 100 MPH in our Plymouth Voyager coming down the hill toward East Rock, and [b] that the strut towers in said minivan were rotting out).

Taurus. What a load of bull.

1/30/15 5:29 PM

I assume you mean lived not liver. 😋

1/30/15 6:59 PM

I was down there visiting my brother around the Holiday and chased my nephew up East Rock, as he stood and sprinted on his single speed. I caught him near the top and he was toast the rest of the ride.

1/30/15 7:41 PM

I still get confused between the rocks after all these years.

The divebombing on my son's part was near WEST Rock.

EAST Rock is a pleasant ride (when there are leaves on the trees)--the park is only about four or five miles from my house. I don't dash up (I do dash down) but it's a pleasant way to get out of New Haven and up to Ridge Road.

And on summer Sunday afternoons, the park is one of my favorite places to read...

I do ride up Fountain Street and Ansonia Road, which takes me up under Rt 15 near West Rock, from time to time...

1/30/15 7:54 PM

I didn't remember a nearby downhill, but I'm often not that observant. My brother lives basically across the street from East Rock and is over there all the time, usually with the dog.

2/2/15 11:05 AM

Having roamed far and wide--

Parkin asked a while back if anyone had used Office 365. I'm using it for my own business, and I've been very happy with it, but I didn't want to answer right away because I hadn't yet tried the Office 2013 applications that are part of it--I had tried an early release and disliked it.

This thread, plus a free year through the school at which I adjunct, got me back into messing with O2013 a little.

I've decided that I like O2013 a lot. In fact, it does one thin that would make it my favorite even if there were *no* other changes (watch someone tell me now that this is a setting in O2010!).

In O2010, suppose you set the ribbon to "hidden" to give you more writing space. Suppose further, you're working in Word and you want to indent a block quote a couple of tabs in. You go to home, hit "indent," and you're immediately back in the document. To indent again, you have to go through the sequence again.

In O2013, same situation, the ribbon doesn't hide until you're typing in the document again. It sticks around while you perform multiple actions, but it's only when you resume writing that it vanishes, restoring your screen space.

I also think Outlook 2013's layout is improved by putting the shortcuts across the bottom.

O2013 seems to run plenty fast--maybe faster than 2010. Not very many new features, as far as I can tell. And some people don't like the (very) limited color choices (white, lightest gray, slightly darker light gray). It's very clean looking, though.

I *have* discovered the occasional .docx that Word 2013 doesn't seem to like. I haven't yet narrowed the reason, but it will hang on certain documents.

Anyone else using O2013? Or anyone not using it with a question? I'll try to be helpful.

2/3/15 12:45 PM

Libreoffice is a fork. I've used OO for years and years. Never had a problem with the XML file types from M$0. Docx opens and saves just fine. Only issue I've ever noted was that when you open a word doc with a bulleted list the bullets are changed to a weird design.