Here's the actual Romney ad -- at least until it gets yanked... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TobmtxHQoZE

I once had a candidate (for Mayor of Baltimore) lift an op-ed piece I'd written for the Baltimore Sun and use it, full-length, as a campaign flyer without asking permissions I billed her. And after a little screaming, she paid -- once she realized that I was a freelancer and had sold *only* first publication rights to the Sun.

A carbine (16" - 18" barrel) ought to fit. And a pistol doesn't take up much room. If you don't want it on your belt while you sleep on your way to work, surely you could rig up some sort of mounted holster between the seats. But you'd also need to make sure your side windows opened so you could shoot without breaking them.

Oh, the heck with it. I'll stick with the Jeep and Hyundai we already have.

Yes. :)

Old radio operators were called Sparks, not Sparky. Typical nickname for a ship's radio operator.

Good question, although I'd be leery about driving or riding in a car called "old sparky." Or maybe even just "sparky." Here's why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_sparky

They quoted "about $37000" to Tim at the auto show, and when I checked their website Saturday it showed $37,400. It seems to have changed since then. Interesting.

I wouldn't mind having a low-power, very cheap electric car for in-town use. Think glorified golf cart, which is now being called a "neighborhood electric vehicle" (NEV) here in Florida, and is legal to drive on roads with low speed limits in some jurisdictions. To attract me, an NEV would need to be able to comfortably hold 45 mph into a headwind, carry two people + groceries or other items, and have enough range to make it to the beach and back, which for us is about 12 miles each way. And I'd only pay around $5000 (max) for such a limited vehicle.

We'd keep our current Hyundai for longer trips, of course. And if we drop to having one car, which we may, it will have to be one with enough range to make Miami -- 4 hour drive -- or Atlanta -- all-day drive. And that means a gasser. Oh, well. Guess we won't be joining the cool elite electric car kids anytime soon.

"Gasser" is going to become the new "hooptie." I say this as someone who drives an 18-year-old, gas-powered Jeep Cherokee with peeling paint.