A good method I have used is to acclimate people around you to the idea of you wearing headphones Start by announcing "I'm going into the 'cone of silence'," or whatever before doing something that requires uninterrupted effort, like a large spreadsheet. After a while of doing that, people stop questioning.

To respond to your rant, I went to a non-Ivy League school and most of my professors were just fine. I'm not certain your experience can be so easily pressed into the prestigious-vs-non-presitigious mold. Some schools just hire better teachers, and some excellent teachers exist outside of the Ivy League.

Actually, in Spanish, it would most likely be 'meh-LAH-nee-ah', and I was going for a minor variation on that, as the spelling is not "Melanie" in Spanish. So not that bizarre. Incorrect, sure, but not bizarre.

Technics SU-V5 Amp paired to a Technics 10-band EQ (I sadly cannot remember the model at this moment). I don't know who manufactures what now, but back in the day, Technics was manufactured by Matsushita (Panasonic) in Japan.

"Ivy league schools like Harvard are looking for people who will..."

I don't know, I'm not really for encouraging kids to be something starting at 14 (where you'd have to begin, at the start of their high school tenure) in the hopes they might get a little pat on the head and an open door to a school whose overall academics aren't any better than a lot of state schools.

I second this, for other reasons. I bought some vintage equipment, including an early-80's stereo amplifier and 10-band graphic equalizer on the Bay of E's. Made-in-Japan stuff you can't find anymore (because very little is manufactured in Japan anymore, alas).

Here-here, well said. I am in the exact same boat, except my wife and I are expecting our first (probably only) child.

Said no one, ever. :)

If they could do that, there would not be that many arguments to begin with. Maybe.

Am I the only person who reads this and thinks that although relationship are (and have always been) occasionally tough and require work, this sort of basic conflict resolution is something we seem to have lost over the years?

I'd go classy. I assume we're talking 60's-70's vehicles? If in France, the Citroen DS. If in Germany, a Mercedes 6.9. Elsewhere in Europe, a BMW 5- or 7-series. If in North America, the Cadillac Fleetwood, and if in Africa, Central or South America, the Land Rover Defender 90.

Huh, neat tip!

Thanks for the incredibly informative post!

That would make sense. Back in March '97 it seemed like EVERYTHING closed right around 8PM, unless you hit up Soho.

Nice. :-)

Ah, thanks for the correction on the Porsche motor. I'd read a while back that the engine was bisically a bolt-in, but that was probably some zealous doink who either didn't know what he was talking about, or was showing off how 'easy' it was for him to do it.

This is pretty neat, although it rapidly becomes apparent why the cheap months are cheap in some cases. Who wants to go to NYC in January? Or Thailand in July?

"One caveat, though, is you should definitely have a good backup system in place, because if one drive fails, you'll lose all the data."

But.... but... setting aside one's opinion of the 2.3 SOHC from a Pinto (sure, it had a long life and was used in many cars both here and abroad), at an anemic 88hp stock, this wasn't that much of an improvement over the Ghia's stock 60hp flat-four. With the added weight, that gap narrows even further.