The Future of Transportion and Ray Lahood

I remember watching a Daily Show episode a while ago that quite intrigued me. The guest was one Ray Lahood, the Secretary of Transportation. And as you might imagine, he and John Stewart were discussing the Future of Transportation in the U.S. Usually, I have no idea who the guests on Coldbert and Stewart are, and I just tune in for the yucks. However, this conversation struck a chord with me for some reason. The first point he makes is that they are currently rebuilding America's infrastructure, using a total of 48 Billion Dollars, and are giving many people who were previously unemployed jobs rebuilding America. And I think thats pretty awesome. The next thing they talk about is how the Dept of Transportation is working on building high speed rails in America, which is also pretty cool. Starting with the Midwest no less! Anyway I think the most important point made during the clip is that while many people fear terrorism and whatnot, thers no huge reason to be. As John Stewart says, he asked someone after 9/11 how to stay safe and they said, "Stop smoking and wear a seatbelt." And thats true, you've gotta watch your own back

Product Placement in Movies

Though this post may not be very timely, I watched Minority Report over winter break, and one thing that struck me was product placement in the film. Companies pay to put their products in movies and tv shows, as well as commercials and billboards and whatnot. Anyway it was quite interesting during the scene where Tom Cruise walks into the mall and he is bombarded with ads. The film company could've quite easily made up some fake products and put them in, but instead we get cameos from Guinness, Lexus, and American Express to name a few. Another scene where this comes up is when Cruise travels to the lake house and as the shot pans out, you can see the Lexus badge on the sleek looking future car. If you pay attention you can notice all kinds of products appearing in films, from Audi in I-Robot, to Reese's Pieces in E.T, and where would we be without the iconic "Vote for Pedro" shirts from Napolean Dynamite. I think product placement is healthy, its a way for people to make money, but when it isn't done well, it can be just downright pathetic. Whats your opinion on this?

The Comercialization of Jackson Hole

For nearly every family vacation I've been on as long as I can remember, my family has taken the 2 hour flight out to Jackson Hole Wyoming, where we ski, raft, hike, fish, eat, and be merry. The story goes that my Dad took a business trip out there once and loved the place, and as a result of countless trips out to Wyoming, my brothers and I have fell in love with it as well. Pictured above is Jackon's main street, complete with the world famous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, and at the bottom is one of the areas many iconic views of the Teton Mountains. Anyway over the past 9 or 10 years we've been travleing out there, I've noticed a dramatic change in the atmosphere of the town and ski resort. Prices of lift tickets, parking, food, nearly everything has increased and the place is catering more to tourists and less to locals and loyal visitors every year. The moment that this idea for a blog post came to me was when my family was pulling up to the parking lot in our rental car. The price for parking close to the mountain was 12 bucks, and what my dad said intrigued me, he said, "I remember when parking was free if you had 5 people in your car." The lady just smiled and gave my dad his change. And in the locker room I overheard a group of locals talking about the very same issue. Allegedly back in the day, if you bought a lift ticket and a six pack of beer and you knew someone who knew someone you'd get a free ticket no problem. Nowadays, its about $90 for a full day all mountain pass. Another noticeable change in the area is the food. When we first started skiing there, the only food right on the mountain was a bagel shop called Bridger Bagels with no more than a half dozen tables. Now, Cafe 6311 charges 6 dollars for a bagel with cream cheese. It's ridiculous, I understand that they're trying to make money... but it seems they're trying to nickel and dime you at every turn. Another long winded example would be the rental shop, though I have my own gear and no longer rent we all used to. And our first winter the man who helped us out was named Albi Miller, and he was from Winnetka also. He and my dad hit it off and enjoyed chatting, and when it was time to ring us up, we got 6 pairs of skis, boots, and poles for the price of one. Sadly, there is no longer an "Albi Discount", partly because he's long gone, but partly because I know that would never fly now. Its really sad, my favorite place in the world is slowly becoming the next vail and its hard to watch.

The Beginner's Bible

As a young kid I remember being read a book called 'The Beginner's Bible', and looking back now I wonder, why make the Bible simplified so that it can be read to little kids? I remember Mr. O'Connor talking about how in Huck Finn's day reading the Bible was considered to prove literacy and intelligence. So why take that away, why not let kids choose the path of religion themselves rather than have it almost forced on them at such a young age. I don't necesarily agree with that idea, but I understand the importance of introducing kids to faith, both sides make sense. Exposing kids to the Bible from toddler years will teach them the importance of religion, but is that necessarily a good thing?

Why Honda is Saving the World

Yes indeed its another post from the beloved boys in Britain, on Top Gear. And this time I would like to discuss the other 'car of the future' that Top Gear highlighted in the episode on the Tesla Roadster. At the end of the episode host James May travels to California to test drive the Honda FCX Clarity, a hydrogen powered vehicle. The Clarity is only avaliable in California, and looks... just like a four door sedan, it looks no different than the Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys of today. And as James May reports, it drives like them too, just like a normal car. The only difference is that is is fueled by hydrogen, which is just like gasoline, except it is the most abundant element in the world. The one moving part motor is powered by electricity from the hydrogen fuel. The more amazing thing is that filling up a hydrogen car is just like filling up a petrol car, you pull into a hydrogen fueling station (the one May uses is a Shell station) and fill it up like you're putting gas in your petrol-head. It takes no longer than refueling a car today, (you get about 270 miles a tank) and furthermore, hydrogen will never ever run out. The FCX Clarity has emissions of course, but only water vaport will come out of the exhaust pipe, because what do you get when you mix H and O? H20 of course. And now on to the fun stuff, the speed. It does 0-60 in 9 seconds, and boasts 136 horsepower. Now I've been raving about this car for awhile and I'd like to sum it up in the statement James May makes at the end of the segment that the Honda Clarity is the car of the future, because it is just like the car of today. It doesn't go for a dissapointing amount, then take hours on end to recharge, and the fuel will never run out. And that is why Honda is saving us from a very slow, painful, lack of oil-related death.

Cars as Status Symbols

Sam's most recent blog post sparked a similar idea in me. It is pretty common knowledge that cars are often thought of as status symbols. And this got me thinking, in what way are vehicles status symbols? I drive a Jeep, what does that say about me, or what does that say about my dad who bought the car over 10 years ago? In fact my dad bought a Mercedes Benz ML 350 (pictured) recently. It is the first luxury car he owned, and I never really thought about what that told people about him, until a teammate of mine brought the subject up on today's run. We were on the subject of cars, and he asked why dad bought an MB instead of a BMW or an Audi. I didn't know what to say except, "uhh, he liked it I guess." Maybe it says my dear old dad enjoys the height of motor vehicle engineering, or maybe something else. On another note I have a friend who drives a BMW M3, which is basically a 60 grand racecar, and its an absolutely awesome car, but its definetely a status statement. Do you have any thoughts on this subject? What do certain cars say about their drivers? 

An Electric Sports Car??

While browsing for a some 'in flight entertainment' for my trip to Wyoming this winter break, I came across a television show that quite interested me. It is a British car show, called Top Gear, and its on the BBC. It features hillarious hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond, and they interview British celebrities, cause shenanigans, and of course drive some awesome cars. And in an episode I recently watched from the 12th season, they highlighted two vehicles that greatly intrigued me. The first of which I will talk about in this post. In this episode, host Jeremy Clarkson test drives an electric sports car called the Tesla Roadster. The Roadster is manufactured only in California at the moment and it is based on the Lotus Elise. And Clarkson's findings are quite interesting. He puts the Tesla up against a normal gas powered Elise in a drag race. And the Tesla kills the petrol powered vehicle, doing 0 to 60  in 3.9 seconds, and reaching 10,500 RPMs in the short drag. Another upside to this car is the cost of fueling it, since it is electric, filling it up from a power source costs just $5.5 dollars, as opposed to filling a Lotus Elise with gas for $65. Furthermore, Tesla claims that even if you drive fast or sparatic, it will travel 200 miles between 'refuelling'. But despite Tesla's promises, both of the Roadsters that Top Gear was provided with broke down one way or another, and the one lasted only 65 miles. However, it takes 16 hours to fully charge a dead battery on a Tesla, and it costs three times as much as a normal Lotus Elise. But keep in mind that it went round the Top Gear track slightly faster than a Porsche 911 GT3, so it is a true sports car. I think that if Tesla makes the charge time shorter, and improves the longevity of the Roadster, it very well may be 'the car of the future'. What is your opinion of the Tesla? The car of the future, or dead in the road? Watch the clip and decide for yourself.