So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[KILO NOVEMBER]

I'm told that musicians refer to flute players as "flautists". Go figure.

 

[Zombie_61]

I'm told that musicians refer to flute players as "flautists". Go figure.

That was the term I was prepared to use, but I looked it up just to make sure I was right and the 'Net says "flautists" and "flutists" are both correct. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Hercule]

That was the term I was prepared to use, but I looked it up just to make sure I was right and the 'Net says "flautists" and "flutists" are both correct. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In more than forty years as a professional musician, I have absolutely NEVER heard that term used seriously. It is purely an affectation.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

So, nobody actually plays a flaut?

This vaguely reminds me of a continuing bit on "The Smothers Brothers' Show". A regular cast member was the deadpan comic Pat Paulsen. In 1968 there was a "Pat Paulsen for President" schtick that went on for weeks.

During one of his monologues he remarked that some people had advised him to drop the presidential ambitions and enter the gubernatorial race in California instead. Pat rejected the idea saying, "Who wants to be gubernor, anyway?"

 

[Harp]

I remember Paulsen's Wild Wild West guest spot where he did a karate stairway skit.
Always liked the guy but thought his presidential schtick stuck in reverse.

 

[Zombie_61]

So, nobody actually plays a flaut?

Maybe when they're flautulent.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Ugh. That joke stinks.

 

[Hercule]

Re recent car woe (see post 13834)

Complained like a fishwife about the company's stance of the situation not being a safety concern, and I reminded them in no uncertain terms of the current environment. They ended up covering the cost of the motor which essentially cut the cost in half. In the end, I'm good with that, but I'm still miffed on principle.

I did enjoy the loaner though. The heated steering wheel was quite nice amid the current throws of winter. The heads-up display, however, got old an annoying really quick. Same model as my own car but somehow the interior seemed bigger. Hmmm... maybe I should clean the inside of mine.

 

[Harp]

Re recent car woe (see post 13834)

Complained like a fishwife about the company's stance of the situation not being a safety concern, and I reminded them in no uncertain terms of the current environment. They ended up covering the cost of the motor which essentially cut the cost in half. In the end, I'm good with that, but I'm still miffed on principle.

Understood miff with the dealt riff raff. Congrats.
Not to toss any rock salt sulphur atop sugar but check with your accountant to ensure subsequent taxable
income not subject IRS increase estimate because of motor repair allowance.

 

[Hercule]

Why are radio announcers, or perhaps more on point, the engineers behind them, so seemingly smitten with cranking up the bass on the microphone? Is it supposed to somehow impress? Convey commanding power? Credibility? (No, you need an English accent for that.) Erudition? Apparently they don't realize that with such a booming bass not a single word that is being said can be understood.

 

[Harp]

Inspector Morse drove his own Burgundy Mark II Jaguar which brought in 100,000 British lbs sterling
on Ebay; once trolled EbayMotors for a Jag, refined search to high end dealers not likely to accept
trade in junk. Found a '94 XJS Jaguar convertible at McGrath-Lexus in Chicago for $5,200 flat down.
EbayMotors offer iron parked on concrete lots, warehouses, garage and street.
A must see inventory when out on prowl.

 

[GHT]

If you like the XJS then well done you. Most people don't recognise the name: Malcolm Sayer, reason being, his design for the E-Type was often accredited to Sir William Lyons, the head honcho of Jaguar at the time of Sayer's famous car, becoming a world-wide-icon. It's Lyons, not Sayer that most people remember.

The XJ-S was introduced on 10 September 1975. The design and development had begun in the late 1960's by the code name of project XJ27, with an initial shape penned by Malcolm Sayer, but after his death in 1970 it was completed by the in-house Jaguar design team.

Note the late 1960's, in 1966 Jaguar amalgamated with the Austin-Morris interests (i.e., the British Motor Corporation) to form British Motor Holdings Ltd., which two years later merged with Leyland to become British Leyland. The dead hand of nationalisation, the design team turned out a car that would sell, not a car like it's predecessor, that lit a fire in your soul.

It's one of life's conundrums, what if Sayer had lived, what if he had been given a free hand. One thing is for sure, today's Jaguar cars would sell like crazy instead of being the fuel efficient, best wind tunnel design that it's possible to make.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Not really qualified to speak from personal knowledge… but I’ve heard that those Jaguar V-12 engines are black holes of maintenance costs. I can easily imagine it. Any truth? Or is this a trope circulated by those who hate the beautiful lines of the vehicle.

 

[Harp]

I was in hospital, reading the Wall Street Journal which featured a Jaguar corporate story.
A nurse popped in, remarked to walk around occasionally. Left bed, went to the window.
Gun metal gray rainy overcast day. Across the street a Jaguar emerged out of the parking lot,
smartly turned the corner, drove off.

Still clutching the Journal. A Jaguar XJS convertible. Obviously a sign from Heaven.

God wanted me to have a Jaguar.

 

[tonyb]

Red-blooded American male of his time as I am, I’ve often lusted after sexy automobiles, and had on a few occasions indulged the urge, back in my earlier years, when my impulse control was still underdeveloped.

Maybe it was because I did live the single young man’s lifestyle when I was a single young man that I’ve never been tempted to “relive” my youth. No sports cars. No hair implants. No girl on the side 20-plus years my junior.

But I gotta admit that I was intrigued by an itty-bitty two-seater Suzuki with roll bars I spotted in a parking lot a few days back. It was a model I’d never seen before, apparently never sold in the U.S. This thing was pocket-sized, smaller than a vintage MG Midget or A-H Sprite. Bet it’s a blast to drive.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Looked it up. It’s a Suzuki Cappuccino, made for the domestic Japanese market and to meet “Kei” car standards for sub-sub-compacts. Produced 1991 thru ’98 model years.

A 657 cc three-cylinder DOHC 12-valve turbocharged engine. Puts out 65 hp. That’s plenty for a car that weighs 1500 lbs and for which economy is much the point.

 

[GHT]

But I gotta admit that I was intrigued by an itty-bitty two-seater Suzuki with roll bars I spotted in a parking lot a few days back. It was a model I’d never seen before, apparently never sold in the U.S. This thing was pocket-sized, smaller than a vintage MG Midget or A-H Sprite. Bet it’s a blast to drive.

When I saw the MX-5 Mazda it made me wonder why MG and others, thought that the two seater was history. That car is the best MG that never was.

 

[Edward]

Not really qualified to speak from personal knowledge… but I’ve heard that those Jaguar V-12 engines are black holes of maintenance costs. I can easily imagine it. Any truth? Or is this a trope circulated by those who hate the beautiful lines of the vehicle.

They can be; auto boxes similarly. Cars with auto boxes are a rare sight on UK roads. You can do your test in an auto here, though if you do so your licence isn't valid to drive a car with manual gearing. That said, I'm told the number of kids these days only bothering to learn to drive auto is rocketing, as they're all assuming everything will be electric in a few years' time, so they won't need to drive manual. It'll be interesting to see if driving a manual box becomes of of those quirky, hobbyist things like knowing how to double de-clutch a pre-synchromesh...

The biggest killer with those Jags, though - especially the V12s - is the fuel cost. My dad was offered an XJ10 a couple of years ago for buttons. Took it for a test drive, was averaging 9mpg at one point. The reason these cars have long been so cheap second hand is simply because if you can afford to feed one, you can afford to buy new... Back in the days before new safety legislation effectively killed the kit-car market, XJ10s used to be a common donor for various kits aping pre-1950 Jaguar models. That used to make them almost affordable to run, as the fibreglass bodies instead of steel (and usually two seats instead of one) radically improved the MPG.

Don't forget that petrol has long been typically three times the price in the UK that it isin the US, one reason these big engines have never been mass-market.

^^^^^
Looked it up. It’s a Suzuki Cappuccino, made for the domestic Japanese market and to meet “Kei” car standards for sub-sub-compacts. Produced 1991 thru ’98 model years.

A 657 cc three-cylinder DOHC 12-valve turbocharged engine. Puts out 65 hp. That’s plenty for a car that weighs 1500 lbs and for which economy is much the point.

Always liked those. Never was a fan of the big performance stuff. Best car I ever owned was a 1982 Daihatsu Charade: five speed box, 900cc, would have sat at ninety all day if you were interested in pushing it (not me, I always hated going much over forty, which is part of why I failed my first driving test). Hugely efficient, very easy on fuel. One of the last modern motors I found much aesthetically pleasing too. I think we'll see far more of that sort of design philosophy, albeit electric motors in it, in coming years rather than the performance stuff. I've never much seen the point in a daily driver that has huge performance capacity you just can't realise on a public road, but then when I drove it was always more of a necessary evil than something in which I took any pleasure.

View attachment 399867
When I saw the MX-5 Mazda it made me wonder why MG and others, thought that the two seater was history. That car is the best MG that never was.

Certainly a nicer motor than the RVB V8 or the MG F of the 1990s. THey're starting to catch on as collectors' pieces the early ones too.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Why are radio announcers, or perhaps more on point, the engineers behind them, so seemingly smitten with cranking up the bass on the microphone? Is it supposed to somehow impress? Convey commanding power? Credibility? (No, you need an English accent for that.) Erudition? Apparently they don't realize that with such a booming bass not a single word that is being said can be understood.

When I was in radio, ending in the late '90s, the vogue was for "a consistent sound" as sort of an aural trademark setting your station apart from all others on the dial, and it was program directors who mandated it. The individual personality or performer or even the engineer had no say whatsoever. The idea was to simulate the rich "voice of God" sound that was intrinsic to vintage ribbon microphones using cheap condenser mics hooked up to processors. If you had a high, thin voice it wasn't so bad, but the performer who already had a deep bassy voice came out sounding less like God than like Santa Claus at the mall.

Of course, getting this "consistent, distinctive sound" meant absolutely nothing when every other station on the dial was doing the same thing.

And as long as we're talking about radio gripes, why must we have all-news stations that try to snark up their broadcasts with baby-boomer-relevant sound effects, voice clips, and musical drop-ins that try to make a supposedly serious station sound like something Charlie Tuna would do over KHJ in 1967? I didn't even like that kind of radio when it wasn't trying to be serious, and I absolutely loathe it when applied to "news." WBZ, I am staring straight at you. Oh, and also at your offensive "Big Lou and his trophy wife" insurance commercials.

 

[Zombie_61]

^^^^^
Looked it up. It’s a Suzuki Cappuccino, made for the domestic Japanese market and to meet “Kei” car standards for sub-sub-compacts. Produced 1991 thru ’98 model years.

The smallest car I've ever been in was a Suzuki Samurai. It was known as the "Jimny" in Japan, and made it's way to North America back in 1985. Killing time before a movie, a friend and I visited a dealership to take a look. Sitting in the front seat, we made the mistake of trying to close both doors at the same time and found ourselves literally wedged door-to-shoulder-to-shoulder-to-door inside the silly little thing. No wonder they didn't sell well here.