Lost Continent Words

In Love

I usually don't include a lot of personal items in here, but I thought it was important that I share something with all of you. I'm in love. Her name is "Vette.
Here's a picture.

She is a C6 and she's absolutely beautiful. I've never really been the type to go for fancy wheels, or to worry too much about what I was driving. Mostly I'm concerned about transportation and let what other people think be damned.

But what a great car! One of the definite perks of working in an automotive company is the opportunity to drive really sweet vehicles on a regular basis. But really, none of the cars I've drive have really affected me quite as strongly as the new 'Vette. The most striking thing for me: I've driven Corvettes before, and they drive like sports cars. That's fine because they're supposed to after all, but it makes them less practical, and in the wrong conditions it makes them dangerous. But the C6 drives like a dream. This was further heightened by the fact that she was (unfortunately) an automatic, but it was the smoothest I've ever seen a sports car be. If you want you can drive very easy and controlled without effort. Acceleration isn't jumpy and turning is smooth. But when you want it, its all there. Pinned to the back of my seat I could feel that she was hardly even warmed up. (Of course, as in accordance with company policies I was always driving in a controlled manner and well within the posted speed limits.) Driving along the videogame-like expanse of Westbound I-696 I knew I could be anywhere on the road that I wanted to in a second, but cruising was still very comfortable.

In fact the engine absolutely screams at 400 HP in a V-8 and yet it still manages mid 20's in Highway mileage. It's better in every way than the C5 and yet costs *less* at a base price of $44,245.

I've had a few days to settle down and have decided not to sell my house and live in the C6. But I did think about it. My few complaints: I didn't like the radio very much. It has the keyless electronic ignition and door system that is currenly in the XLR, which might be nice next year, but still seems a little buggy. I really can't think of anything else, and if I had an extra $44,000 in a drawer, neither of the above would really make me think twice.

But I suppose in the meantime I'll just continue to live with my 10-year old 180,000 mile Honda, and let my love languish unrequited. But perhaps someday in the future we can make it work.

Notes: Pictures produced by my cell phone in unlit garage, which don't really do the car justice. Go to the Chevy site for the good ones.

Corvette commercial which shows young boy driving wildly pulled from the air

Car and Driver waxes ecstatic

Update: Julia

Julia was very understanding, and she knew that everyone has busy lives. But she regularly pointed out that it doesn't actually take that much extra time to cook a great meal, and the effort is well worth it. So while she would understand, she would also gently suggest that if you can't take the time to be good enough to yourself to make a good meal, perhaps you should re-examine your priorities.

So I'll echo Andy's response: Where are the cooking stories? Remember that the criteria is something that is challenging *to you*, so if you normally only cook Krafft Dinners, perhaps you could step up to *real* Mac and Cheese, or a mixed pasta. I'm willing to give suggestions, and with proper bribery I might be willing to share my mother's brilliant and inspiring homemade Mac and Cheese recipe. Let's make Julia proud, yes?

Parallel Universes

Got this referral from Andy.

Click on 'President' when you get there

The real question is: How much could I make by being in a Boy Band?

(I could be the "moody sarcastic plain one". There's an archetype for that, right?)

Yahoo Radio

Some of the visitors here may remember back to the days of Internet Wine and Roses when Echo Radio existed. In a marketing plan that could only have come in the tech bubble dotcom insane late 90's, Echo.com offered a great streaming radio station. You could rate different songs and then it would adjust the playlists for your personal station to match your tastes, which it did quite well. It did well enough that I discovered several bands I had never heard before which I absolutely loved, and several more which I had heard of, but not actually heard and found out that I either loved or hated. Even cooler was that it was set up almost like an IM client, so that you could see the people you referred and other friends that were online listening at the same time and jump in and listen to their station with their own peculiar tastes for a change. I remember several pleasant nights listening to Bill's "Jello Puddin" station.

All of that sounds pretty normal and reasonable, right? Here's the goofy part: They gave you money for listening. Only in the dotcom era. For every however many minutes you listened they would award points, which could be redeemed for Gift Certificates or even bigger prizes. They didn't really check whether you were listening either. AND, if you referred other members, your points went up quicker, and you got a rake from your underlings points.

So, after discovering several bands I really liked I subsequently got several CD's (fo free!) to match. In the summer of 2000 there were very few seconds that my computer was not playing Echo. (And I was actually there listening for most of it.) I think it was the same for Bill and Amanda both of whom I got hooked (or they got me hooked, don't remember who found it first).

Given this brillian business plan I don't really need to explain that they went out of business within a year. But several friends got new CDs and a couple more got free 5.1 Cambridge Soundworks speaker sets.

Fast Forward to 2004: While I know better than to expect money for nothing in the modern slightly more sane US economy (that's only available for CEOs), I still miss the format, and several times since Echo went under I've been wishing I could get my station back, cause it was just the way I liked it. Enter Yahoo LaunchCast! A very similar interface and plan, just no free money. Brings me back and its great to be able to hear a station with tastes as varied as mine. I've just started listening, so I need some more time to tweak before its perfect, but its pretty awesome already. (Thanks, Charli, for finding it!)

Note: Echo still exists actually, although they seem to have given up the radio thing. They are involved in some 7-way investment from Music Retailers to explore ways to tap the digital market. Best of luck, Echo, sounds a little more sane. Do watch out for them, as they were ahead of their time with a great interface and design way back in 1999. There could be enough smart people involved that they could be the next thing to take on and supplant iTunes.

TMQ Returns

For those of you who are past afficionados, I just wanted to announce that Tuesday Morning Quarterback is back from the long Pro-Football offseason, and can be found here.

For those of you not so informed, Tuesday Morning Quarterback is a pro-football column. This, by itself is only vagulely interesting. The interesting part is that it is a Football column written by Gregg Easterbrook, a member of the Brookings Institution, Senior editor of "The New Republic", and Contributing editor of the Atlantic Monthly, who's other publishing credits tend to be about environmental and public policy or space science. He brings an interesting slant to the game, and by now (his fourth year I believe) he has brought with him a ridiculous amount backstory, including new names for almost all of the teams (highlights include the Seattle Blue Men Group, the Tennessee Flaming Thumbtacks and of course the Chesapeake Watershed-Area Indigenous Persons) and several "Running Items" included in each column (like the New York Times Final Score Score, This Weeks Star Trek Complaint, and Obscure College Score of the Week.) By this point, the column stretches across several screens. Its an interesting read, especially if you follow football at all, despite the daunting length.

One of the more interesting features is that his column has moved (mostly unchanged) to at least four different homes (Originally formed on Slate (I think, it's where I found him anyway) then to ESPN, then to Football Insiders, and then finally to NFL.com.) So the interesting question will be, can he make it a whole season at NFL.com or will he move again?

Notes:
Easterbrook Bio Page

Easterbrook was also the other of the excellent "Easterblogg" hosted on The New Republic. Unfortunately he gave up on it after about a year, but it would not be unfair to say that I have tried to approach my writing here with some of the same spirit he had in his blog. So for that, at least, I thank him. Which isn't to say I didn't disagree with him quite often (I did) and which isn't to say that I'm not still burned by his failure to correct some errors in his description of gravity in his November 10th article, and which isn't to say that his take on Kill Bill and the furor following it wasn't embarrassing. But it was a great blog.

Memoriam: Julia Child

Julia Child died last week, and leaves behind a legacy of joy and inspiration for cooking. Child is largely credited with being the inspiration behind the modern "cooking show" which was not a genre when she released her first cookbook ("Mastering the Art of French Cooking"). She went on to be a staunch and serious defender of the importance and fun of home cooking, and helped to ease people's intimidation of cooking at home with her easy-going manner, her ability to mess things up and keep going, her humor, and yes, her silly voice. Every interview I've heard with her has always been gracious, intelligent, funny, and wise, and given my love of food and cooking, it didn't take long for me to love Julia.

So, this week sometime, in memory, I'd like each of you to cook something that you think is way too difficult, but you've always wanted to try. Then, share your experience with me in the comments. I haven't decided what I'll go after, but I've got a lot of Thai dishes I've been meaning to get to.

Bon Appetit!

---------------
Fresh Air interview with Julia

Slate Diary with Julia From 2000

NPR Feature

back in the middle of somewhere

Just returned from the Great White North (OK, only the upper penninsula, actually). It's always a pleasure to be back in the middle of nowhere. I just wish it wasn't so far away. They need to move nowhere closer. But, I got to stick my toes in Lake Superior and catch up with friends and eat good Hunan style Chinese food (which you can't find down here for some reason). Interesting note: GSM cellphone service works in the UP now.

Also, still experiencing Internet Impotence. However, my friend and service provider is pursuing an Internet little blue pill to keep things staying up the way they should. Thanks, Chet!

Lastly, for those of you keeping score at home, my boat has beaten me yet again, in my attempt to get the thing into the water. After a new floor, engine tune-up, two carb rebuilds, water extraction, electrical fixes, outdrive rebuild, water pump replacement, intermediate shift cable replacement, throttle cable replacement, cable, water, exhaust and drive shaft bellows replacement, U-joint replacement, outdrive shaft seal replacement, and about a dozen engine oil or gear oil changes, it is still not ready to go in the water because of a recurring drive shaft bellows problem. This makes the score so far about 49--1. However, because I'm a truly ridiculous optimist, I sense a comeback brewing.

mump

Backposted article added finally (been very busy).

I'll also be going out of town this weekend which means I'll continue to be negligent. I'm sorry blog.

A link to keep you happy: "Mr. President, Argentina brings you lamb-burgers."