Harry P.

Are you a dummy?

That's odd. You never hear about South Americans coming here in any large numbers. Isn't the economy in Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile, etc. going pretty good these days?

True for some. There will always be slackers and people trying to game the system any way they can. But I think most people wouldn't fit that description.

Immigrants seem to come in ethnic or geographic waves. There was a time when almost every immigrant was from Europe... it seemed like every immigrant was Irish, then there was the huge influx of Italians, and eastern Europeans, etc. I guess it's a Hispanic wave these days. Of course, the fact that they don't have to cross an ocean like the Irish and the Poles and the Germans and the Slavs and the Greeks and the Swedes and the Lithuanians, etc, did, has a lot to do with it.

My parents came to America legally. They were legal the day they set foot in New York City. Yes, they had to wait to become citizens... they (and I) became citizens when I was 13. That was the way the system worked. It wasn't "broken" then and it's not "broken" now. The difference now is that certain people demand special treatment. My parents never demanded (or expected) special treatment. They did what the law said they had to do, and they were fine with that. They didn't protest or march or carry signs or make demands or carry on about "immigrant's rights." They came to America looking for a better life, and they knew that if they came here, they had to play by the rules in force here, like them or not. And that's how millions of immigrants did it...if you came to America, you had to play by the rules. You didn't demand special treatment or demand that America change it laws to conform to what you want. You conformed to the laws in effect in America.

Ok, I have to weigh in on this, even though we're not supposed to be "political." But this is a real pet peeve of mine. I came to this country as an immigrant. A legal immigrant. I was born in Europe, as were my parents. They (with me in tow) came to America for the same reason almost every immigrant comes to America... the promise of a better life. In my case I was a month old... so I didn't have a whole lot of input into the decision to emigrate to America. But my parents did it the right way, jumping through all the hoops and playing it strictly by the rules. The same immigration policy that they obeyed is the immigration policy that is somehow "broken" today... ... but that's another issue. But as far as language goes... my first language is not English. I learned English by playing with my friends. Seriously! That's how I learned to speak English. It's amazing how easily a young kid can pick up a language just by being exposed to it. By the time I was old enough to be enrolled in school, I was perfectly fluent in English. However... I don't remember ever seeing any product labels that included my native language. I don't remember any school classes being taught in my native language. I had to learn English... or be left behind. And I don't remember any school bilingual programs being offered in Italian, or Greek, or French, or Dutch, or Chinese, or Portugese, or Danish, or Greek, or Russian, or... well, you get the point. Singling out one particular group for "special treatment" makes no sense to me. Either we all get the same special treatment... or none of us do. Sorry if this came across as a rant, but this issue really bugs me, for reasons I just explained.

Coast AB is probably the best place for all things airbrush.

Awesome2 ?

Recently I posted a comment about how my homeowner's insurance policy hadn't really gone up much in many years... maybe 20 bucks every couple of years. I spoke too soon. Got my latest policy in the mail the other day. The rate has gone up by more than 50%. So I called the agent and asked him why the sudden huge price increase. Turns out that I lost my "multi-policy" discount when I dropped these guys and went with Geico for my car insurance (because Geico charges me literally half what these guys were charging me for car insurance). They also "bumped up" my home replacement coverage (due to inflation and the rising cost of building, they tell me), so the premium rises to cover that. And finally, they just had an across-the-board rate hike for everyone. So much for my "good deal" on homeowner's insurance! BTW... I asked him why my homeowner's insurance includes a special coverage for "other structures" when I don't have any "other structures" on the property (like a detached garage, a gazebo, a guest house, etc)... he said its "part of the policy" and can't be removed. So I'm being forced to pay for insurance to cover "other structures" that don't exist. That's insurance company logic right there...

Same here. No pool, but the landscaping is done by landscapers. Like Rob, I have no interest in that aspect of home ownership. My guys come in with a crew of usually two, sometimes three, and can do the whole job in 30-45 minutes or so... an hour, tops. What they do in less than an hour would take me an entire Saturday morning, and I still wouldn't have the sharp, clean edges these guys give me. As far as cost, I think they charge a fair rate ($30 per week). I think thirty bucks is a very fair exchange for the time and effort they save me if I did that work myself. My biggest regret is that I spent way too many years doing that chore myself. I wish I had wised up years earlier!

Remember, don't post any hints or answers here! PM me with year, make, and model. The answer, and who got it right, coming FRIDAY!

"I wanna live alone in the desert. I wanna be like Georgia O'Keefe."

What do you mean? How do you work with kids?

Assuming there is any.

And if you caught up to it, how would you know what engine it had?

Get them each a simple snap kit.

If it builds into a good looking shelf model, how is it a "horrible" kit? Yours looks fantastic, except for the black panel lines. Notice how the "real" panel lines (the hood) are nowhere near solid black? The door and trunk lines shouldn't be black either. BTW... love the avatar.

Just because you saw it in a magazine doesn't mean you'd be cheating! In fact, that's where I saw it! In that same magazine...

Or is it so good that it's bending your mind???

I know... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=93661

Guys... last warning about the political stuff.

Maybe you're dealing with the wrong people...