SfanGoch

It's an old horse racing term, originally meaning a requirement that a horse be checked for health and soundness before being allowed to race. Like other sports-related terms, it's been co-opted by politicians, pundits and anyone else who attempts to sound like an insider to mean "check and thoroughly investigate" someone's background.

You can give Gene Bagnoli, the owner of S & J Hobbies in Staten Island, NY, a call at 718-979-0882. Gene is a great guy to do business with. His prices are fantastic and he can get any and everything, books included, in the modeling universe.

Man, I miss catching shows at The Bottom Line...

Them's the best kind. Amateurs don't know what they're doing.

He bears a striking resemblance to my high school chemistry teacher, Dr. Cornell. He was responsible for developing "bat fire bombs" during WWII.

The guy on the left, natch! He taught Bobby Fisher everything he knew about chess.

Cool! Harry was involved in a lot of charitable causes and always performed benefit concerts. He and Father Bill Ayres began World Hunger Year in '75 and had Hungerthons every Thanksgiving on NEW-FM.

My nephew owned a 1964 Biscayne. He used it to haul his band up and down the East Coast for gigs. My Taurus was getting a new engine and I asked him if I could borrow his car to take care of a few things. As I was driving along, I heard a loud rattling sound from the engine compartment and saw steam. I pulled over into a gas station and popped the hood. First thing I did was take off the radiator cap. Weird, no more steam and no water in the radiator. I also smelled burning oil; so, I checked it. The dipstick was bone dry. Almost 5 gallons of coolant/water and 5 quarts of oil later, I cranked it up and drove straight home without any problems. I told my nephew what happened. I then asked him when was the last time ( he had the car for almost two years at this time) he checked/changed/added anything. "Huh? You mean I'm supposed put oil in the engine?"

The Ryton books are fantastic references, Kevin. "Tiger I & Sturmtiger in Detail" and "Schutzenpanzerwagen in Detail" are also "must haves"

Those people probably missed first through eighth grades. Their absence notes must've been a hoot.

It's an open book test.

Personally, I think Wal-Mart, and other big chain operations, suck big wind. I'm glad that there isn't one in NYC. Wal-Mart, and other big box stores, follow a simple, and abhorrent, business model. They move into an area; start offering items which are found in the local mom & pop stores; lowball prices which the local stores can't match, causing them to lose business and eventually close, leaving the box stores with a monopoly. Once they establish themselves as the only players, they jack up their prices on those items and/or eliminate them from the inventory because they weren't profitable in the first place. Their only goal was to eliminate the competition. It's a tactic reminiscent of blockbusting once used by real estate agents and developers.

Smart phones, TVs and cars; just stupid end users. Your move.

Harry received extensive airplay in the NYC area, especially on WNEW-FM. He was a Brooklyn guy who didn't forget his roots and a fellow Brooklyn Tech alumnus.

Remember Manfred Mann's "Doo Wah Diddy"? You've NEVER heard a cover version like this. It makes one want to tape up the windows and turn on the gas jets. It's so bad it's good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s55g2dUVBfk

And, it's in mint condition: http://nypost.com/2016/02/28/this-guys-1966-volvo-has-over-3-million-miles-and-isnt-slowing-down/

My mother would say something similar. She, and my father, were guests of the former German government during WWII and knew from breadlines. The last place she was interred was a DP camp in Wildflecken. Most of the people there were Poles. Mom received her first English lesson there. The Third Army liberated the camp in May 1945 and Gen. George S. Patton toured the place. A couple of G.I.s pointed him out to my mother and told her to walk up and say, "Hey, you stupid S.O.B., give me a g_dd_mn cigarette!" She did. Mom told me that he stared at her for a few seconds, his face turned a really bright red and he started laughing. He asked her, through a translator, who told her to say that. She turned around to point out the guys; but, they "disappeared". He took a liking to my mother and made her a part of his household staff.

One favorite heard by every kid when I was growing up was "Get in there and clean that room! It looks like the Collyer brothers' house!" For those not familiar with the Collyer brothers, they were famous hoarders in New York. Unlike Homer and Langley, I can safely say that my mother never found a car chassis in my closet.

You think that there would be nostalgic interest in Wilhelm Gustloff Andrea Doria or General Slocum replicas?

Does yours have an altimeter and attitude indicator? They're available as optional equipment on some models.

Had you going there, huh? Why let facts get in the way of a good story? You say it's not logical; yet, you think there might be some truth in it.

I once asked a telemarketer who was annoying me what was her cup size. She said it was none of my business. I asked, "Why not? You want my personal information." She let off a string of expletives before she hung up.

Artie the Seal sez

Ah, Okay. Got it.

Suicide doors facilitated dumping a stiff out of a moving car after taking him for a ride. "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss told me that.