Come on now Raoul. We both know you were poking fun but unless you have money it's easy to say you can have just as much fun without it (poormans analogy). If you would take a job that pays next to nothing compared to another just because you don't want to have your nose so high in the air, that's flatout foolish. Your reaction to money is controllable, I've met many fine people who have more than they need, so to put. I know too many people who have grown up with hardly enough to put food on the table, moeny could do wonders to improve their quality of life and they will tell you this no problem. It would be nice to have a little extra money so you don't have to go into work an extra day of the month to spend time with your family. I am not itching to get into a discussion about the things you can do without much money as we would be sitting here trying to prove something we already know can be done with money. As sadistic as that sounds money does make this world turn and can make life a little easier, no denying so. I find no comparison between burger king and a fine restaurant and I already know you don't either. It would be nice to pretend I could afford to eat there, sound better? So how much does a meal cost

 

Ah, it's subtleties like this that define the differences between cultures:

Then again, you've got this big cultural difference too:


Zero crime?!?!?! I can't even imagine that. What's that like?

 

Wait . . . are you asking how much a meal costs at Burger King?

I'd imagine it's comparable with McDonald's and such.

 

Josiah -

Taverna Tony is not some fancy place.

It's a total casual restaurant. It has a greek theme and the presentation is mildly fancy but not pretentious.

It's not expensive either . . .

for example, on their lunch menu you'll find (you can see all their menus at their web site www.tavernatony.com)

TAVERNA SANDWICHES & BURGERS (Lunch Only)

FRESH GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST SANDWICH $12.95

ROTISSERIE BABY LAMB SANDWICH - An Unforgettable Experience! $13.95

GRILLED FRESH FISH SANDWICH $12.95

GRILLED VEGETABLES, AVOCADO & GOAT CHEESE SANDWICH $11.95

GRILLED BURGER, TAVERNA STYLE (with or without Feta) - Tony’s Specialty $9.95


It's quite the place to see and be seen which is why it's as popular as it is (which explains the cars). If you're into that kind of thing then it's the place to go . . . which is why we ate at Howdy's just a few doors down, which is essentially a taco stand.

 

It's pretty nice (the near zero crime). Of course we have some crime- usually petty theft, vandalism/propery damage destructions (kids breaking car windows, etc..). But, no gang violence, I think in the last 7 years, there have been maybe 10 murders, and a mother who killed her children accounted for 3-4 of those 10). Most of the crime here is traffic violations, domestic violence, and stuff like that. No armed robberies, no home-invasions, the occasional rapist will hit this area, but- for a city with almost 300,000 people- it's very quiet.

http://www.plano.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plano,_Texas

We have had a few crazies though:

1.) 2002 - 2003, A man stopped his car (Mercedes) in Plano, on the George Bush Turnpike Over pass, and threw his wife over the rail down onto the Dallas North Tollway; then jumped to his death.

2.) Late 2004, early 2005: Strong Arm Bandits robbed a bank in Richardson, TX, then ran into Plano. When a Plano Police officer approached their truck, they opened fire on his cruiser with a machine gun, believed to be an AK-47 (fully automatic). And, they fled into Plano, before managign to escape. Since then, I think 2 of the 4-5 have been caught/captured/killed- another one's mother was pleading for him to turn himself in... I don't know what ever happened of that. These guys have allegedy hit bank in other areas of TX, and maybe even Californa, if memory serves.

3.) Late 2004/Early 2005: A lady, who belongs to a church here of questionable direction, (based upon the news and interviews) said she heard voices, or something of that nature- and cut both her infant daughter's arms off, and the baby bled to death.

4.) Another woman, and young latino girl, snapped and killed both her kids. She was later acquitted (And you guys think OJ beat the system). How that happened, I'll never know. I'm just glad that none of the time's I;ve ever been called for Jury Duty, have been for anything more serious that shopliftintg.

 

Things are expensive in the city...

I just paid $7.60 for 7 strips of bacon, four slices of bread, and a coke.

I wish I was exaggerating, but- I'm not...
The only "cheap" place to eat around here anymore, is CiCi's Pizza. All you can eat for $4.99.

 

And you just said you had 'zero' crime....

 

My 'zero" crime stat, does not include highway robbery.

 

Ahh, very wise of you Kobi...check the website, mhmm!

 

It's all about Pizza Street Hersh. Same price, better pizza, wider selection.

 

I live in Calgary Alberta..which is cold half the year..you wouldn't expect to find many nice cars here..but saturday i was driving down town when i passed 3 ferarris and a lambo! Then in Banff (very small mountain town) i saw a modena!! There are only a few in Canada. Yet i was on vacation for 2 weeks in California..and not one nice car did i see..(by nice i mean ferarris and lambos) crazy world! i'd love to have a chance to drive one of those!!

 

My wife had to work Christmas day, 2003- and immediately upon close of business, she and I were hoping a plane and heading for San Francisco. On my way to pick her up, when I pulled onto Preston from Lorimar, Five Dodge Vipers pulled onto Preston (heading the same direction); one new body style, and four old body style Vipers. Most of the Vipers were GTS'.

My friend (The one that has the 745Li & GL450) went to Huffines Dodge in 2002 to inquire about the new bodystyle Viper. They didn't have any new ones on the lot at the time, but they did have a dark silver old bodystyle that we sat in. My eyes dead even with the top bar of the windshield... The sales man told him, "Dodge has a restriction in place for the new Viper. In order to get on the list to purchase a 2003 Viper, you must already own a previous generation Viper. New buyers cannot have a Viper until the initial run has been offered to all current Viper owners." he said, "So, what you're saying is- if I come in here with $100,000 and tell you I want a Viper, you're not gonna sell me one?" He said, "No sir- I'm afraid I couldn't."

That was twice a Viper had me perplexed, the first time being in 1999. My wealthy friend and I looked at a Viper GTS at Manuel Dodge in Richardson, TX. The GTS (at the time) was MSRP'd for $70,000 the RT-10 for $64,000. Manuel had it marked at, $99,999.99.

I asked the salesman, "So, what's with the $30,000 "market-adjustment" ?" (They had Market Adjustment written in black marker, right on the sticker). The salesman told me, "Because we know somebody in this town will pay that much for it, just to be one of the first to have it... So, we marked it to that price."

Wouldn't you love to be the commissioned salesman that sold THAT S.O.B. with a 30K pad on top of an already inflated MSRP. That would have been a nice day...

I don't know about you guys, but- I'd never pay "over MSRP" for anything.
Not even for a Honda Odyessey(sp)!

 

please tell me what in the hell is a Honda Oddysey. When I was selling my F-150 in my sig on ebay, I had a trade offer for a 97 GTS Viper w/32k on the odo, perfect condition. Blue with white racing stripe. I don't know squat about the car and he mentioned + cash so I don't even know if I responded. I wonder if I'm a sucker for passing that up, I can still find his email address and get back to him.

"For your sake I hope it does this is a very sharp looking truck. If you could email me your number and Ill give you a call because I am interested and would like to have the truck. I use to have a hummer with FTS lift, and 20 inch rims with 40 inch tires and I miss having an offroad vehicle. Also if interested I have a 97 Dodge Viper GTS, blue with white racing stripes with 36K miles in PERFECT shape if your interested in a trade with cash, if not ill give you a call after auction and see if we can work something out.
Thanks
Trevor"

I'm contacting him, that thing is worth around 33-38k and maybe I can resale it if I give him my truck with a little cash. Does anyone have anything negative to say about this idea?

 

It's a van.

 

I saw a Bentley GT Coupe yesterday...

$120K car, brand new- still had paper plates on it.

Yeah, anytime LIncoln Navigators and Escalades can sit you back $60,000 - $85,000. The definition of "Nice" is being pushed further and further upscale.

In the Plano, Frisco, North Dallas area. LS400, LS430's are a dime a dozen. If you drive down Preston from Plano Parkway to Legacy, and don't count 30 of them, it must be between say 11:30 PM and 6:00 AM...

Anywhere else, (Except L.A. area,and maybe Miami) an LS is a very nice car. In this area, an LS is darn near second-rate transportation; just like everything else than a variant can be purchased for under $70,000.