Good News by Edward Abbey: A Book Review...

Written in 1980 how bout this quote from Page 2:

The fragile webs of a planetary economy frayed apart in an ever-intensifying struggle for the resources to support a worldwide industrial system. One breakdown in a small Mideastern nation led to massive dislocations, anger and panic in great nations thousands of miles away. War became continuous, limited in scale but never ceasing, breaking out in a new locality as it subsided into chaos and civil war in another.

Reading that I was reminded again why I love Abbey.

While I'm not a Luddite agrarian anarchist (and neither was Abbey in whole) Abbey's works speak to the modern world--particularly the modern American West the way no other writer I have come across has.  He was and is, remarkably ahead of his time in terms of themes and accurate prognostication.

While Good News is one of his lesser known works it continues typical Abbey themes inclusive of the encroachment of government upon individual liberty, the wanton destruction of the environment by modern man and the need to fight against such forces with more than just sit-ins and parades.

Occurring in a post-modern, post-industrial, post centralized government Arizona and pitting the remaining military forces holed up in a downtown tower vs. anarchist students, hard scrabble cowboys and a shamanistic Indian, Abbey presents an incredibly entertaining story and infuses it with his enviro-radical views--and it works.

Yes, parts of it feel incomplete and less than wholly fleshed out--but that's part of what I enjoy here.  Abbey is not one to dwell on details so long as the broad stroke images get across.  Abbey spares no one, skewering all institutions--government, religion, miltary, industrial, etc.  Its like a violent, bloody, testosterone filled, post-apocalyptic, obscene comic book in novel form and it's wonderful.

Nissan Wins!!! The Contest For The "Taxi of Tomorrow" That Is...

 Happily I was wrong!!

Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced today that the Nissan NV200 van will become the next standard "Yellow Cab" for NYC.

Nissan will be awarded a one billion dollar contract to supply these vans for the next ten years.  The vans will begin showing up in 2013 after the current Crown Victoria model is retired.  They will be made in Mexico and then have their "taxi" parts installed in New York.  The engine will be a 25 mpg four cylinder and they will be wheelchair accessible.

If they're good enough for NYC expect other cities to jump on board as well.  This is a good win for Nissan's bottom line and image.

Nissan awarded Taxi of Tomorrow contract...

LOORRS 5/1/11 TV Ratings on CBS...

So this weekends ratings are out.

I wish I could say they blew it out of the water again, as they did back at the end of November 2010.

Unfortunately the ratings were back down and close to their historical norms once again.  The spike in ratings for the November program is seeming more and more like a one off event due to the number of people sitting on their couches rather than a wider acceptance of the sport or growing popularity amongst the country at large.

The Sunday 5/1/11 show was on at 1-2PM Eastern--again a poor time slot for a west coast centric sport, putting the show on at 10AM for many fans.  That being said, it did have a topical lead-in show with Supercross on from 12-1.  While Supercross garnered a 0.8 rating, the LOORRS broadcast grabbed a 0.6 rating.

This is exactly 1/2 of the 1.2 rating seen at the end of November.  It is, however, an uptick over the 1/8/11 broadcast that had an audience rating of 0.5.  This rating also is significantly better than the somewhat comparable "Rallycross" coverage seen on NBC during their World of Adventure Sports series in recent months that has only seen ratings of 0.3 and 0.4 and has lost some 60% of its lead-in audience at times.

The 0.6 rating equates to 0.6% of the 115.9 million TV households in the US being tuned into the broadcast.  This means there were approximately 695,400 TVs showing the LOORRS broadcast this past Sunday.  As always using my conservative 1.1 actual "viewers" per TV means some 765,000 people were watching shortcourse racing this Sunday.  It may not be the number of viewers we saw last fall...but 3/4 of a million people is nothing to be sneezed at either.

Moving the broadcast to later in the afternoon could only help viewership and seeing a drop off of viewership from the LOORRS broadcast to the golf broadcast at 2PM is also good news--it means LOORRS is carrying its own viewers who then turn off when something not in their demographic comes on, thus representing its own "niche" in the marketplace.

"ESPN Sports Saturday"	4/30	ABC	4:00-6:00pm	0.5
"NCAA Winter Highlight Show"	4/30	CBS	2:00-3:00pm	0.3
PGA Tour: Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Third Round	4/30	CBS	3:00-6:00pm	1.2
MLB: (regional)	4/30	Fox	1:00-4:00pm	1.7
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Crown Royal Presents the Matthew & Daniel Hanson 400	4/30	Fox	8:00-11:00pm	3.4
NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals:  Bruins-Flyers Game One	4/30	NBC	3:00-6:00pm	1.5
"NBA Countdown"	5/1	ABC	12:30-1:00pm	1.3
NBA Western Conference Semifinals:  Grizzlies-Thunder Game One	5/1	ABC	1:00-3:30pm	4.1
NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals:  Celtics-Heat Game One	5/1	ABC	3:00-6:00pm	7.0
Monster Energy AMA Supercross (taped)	5/1	CBS	12:00-1:00pm	0.8
Lucas Oil Off Road Pro2, Pro4 (taped)	5/1	CBS	1:00-2:00pm	0.6
"Sunrise to Sunset - A PGA Professional's Life"	5/1	CBS	2:00-3:00pm	0.5
PGA Tour: Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Final Round	5/1	CBS	3:00-6:00pm	2.2
National Heads Up Poker Championship (taped)	5/1	NBC	12:00-2:00pm	1.0
Rolex Equestrian Championships (taped)	5/1	NBC	2:00-3:00pm	0.7
NHL Western Conference Semifinals:  Red Wings-Sharks Game Two	5/1	NBC	3:00-6:00pm	1.6

And Then There Were Two...

Just announced today is the elimination of the Karsan van/taxi from NYC's competition to settle on what will be the "standard" taxi found there in the future.

Karsan, a Turkish auto manufacturer, had promised to actually build the taxi in Brooklyn but NYC officials felt that their lack of experience and history made them a weak candidate.

So it is left to two candidates--The Ford Transit and the Nissan NV200 (pictured here).  With the UAW screaming for Ford to be awarded the choice (Transits to be built in UAW plants, the Nissan NV200 not so) I would expect Ford to get the nod due to the political winds of influence in the Big Apple, especially at the lower levels of government--where this decision will be made.

Bloomberg is reportedly to announce the final result later this week.  Fingers crossed as this would be a big boost for Nissan's commercial division.

Karsan eliminated from NYC Taxi competition...

NISMO Stuff Racer--Light as a Feather it is...

Went and gave the truck her official weigh-in today.

I had heard a number of concerns as to the total weight of the vehicle likely breaking the 4,000 lb. barrier and thus requiring (in SCORE) 2 inch tubing vs. the 1.75 I had chosen.  Boy would that have been a kick in the pants!

Fortunately my initial weigh-in of the vehicle, oh so many months ago, gave me a good baseline to work with and I felt comfortable (as did the cage builder) that the truck would not cross the 4,000 lb. mark.  Today, however was the true test.  Honestly, approaching the scale at my local transfer station my stomach was a bit jumpy and my heart beating faster.  Had I made the wrong decision?  Had I underestimated the weight of all the modifications?  Would I be stuck with a truck that would never meet SCORE and other desert racing sanctioning body's rules?

Stepping out of the truck and running up the stairs to the office of the transfer station manager, I almost didn't want to know...

He hands me the sheet and I almost jump through the ceiling with delight. 3,880 pounds--wet...

Figure I have about 20+ pounds of fuel on board and thus have about 140 pounds to spare.  Not bad...not bad at all...

The truck was fully kitted out at the time of the weigh-in--full spare, spill kit, medical kit, 1/2 a tank of fuel, all radio and electronics installed.  Pretty much the truck is ready to race from the cab backward.  There does remain the front suspension and engine cage to install but given the relatively minimal additional weight taken on by the suspension (taking off stock parts and adding aftermarket parts will be more than a wash but not THAT much more) and the engine cage itself will use smaller tubing that the cage itself and will be kept very simple.

In the end?  I will likely be up around 3,950 lbs. when all is said and done.  Close...but good enough for government work as they say!!

NISMO Leaf RC Video...

So we saw the static images of the NISMO Leaf RC concept the other day and while it looked interesting, one always has to wonder about "concept" vehicles.  To show that its not just a shell on wheels and incapable of moving anywher, NISMO has released this video...While it doesn't pit the NISMO Leaf RC up against a Porsche or anything, at least it shows that the can move and look good doing it...Now if we can only do something about its range and 93 mph top speed...

Factory Effort Rally Datsun for Sale...

If you live in England or want to have it shipped over here to the States.

Originally a factory race Datsun Stanza and run in stage rallies in Australia, this car has been wonderfully restored and has an excellent pedigree while carrying the appropriate red, white and blue livery.

Sale info: here...

Chad Hord and Nissan Leaf to Race Pikes Peak...

No, the picture to the left is not the car Chad Hord will be racing up Pikes Peak come June, but I am just so sick of seeing that light blue Leaf model everywhere I just can't take it anymore...

To the story itself--Chad Hord, once again Nissan sponsored in the TORC short-course series will be entering a stock Nissan Leaf in the electric vehicle class at the 2011 Pikes Peak race.  Right now there are only two entries and Hord's Leaf is the only production vehicle of the two.

With the recent showing at the New York International Auto show last week of the Leaf Racing Concept vehicle and now with the Leaf in its stock form to at least enter a world class race I think Nissan is attempting to show that electric vehicles can be more than just the newest toy to be shown off at the local PTA meeting or "green" showpiece.  Furthermore...as always...racing betters the breed.  Putting the Leaf through a demanding event like Pikes can only help Nissan learn more about the improvements needed for later generations.

Press release as well as pictures of Hord's Nissan Titan Pro2 that will be racing in TORC this year and recently saw updates to give it the proper Nissan look.  Lastly is the soon to be released Traxxas body for the Slayer and Slash that will mimic Hord's ride--it will be the first Nissan body (though the grill is not a Nissan match, to come out for the short course R/C racers...

Chad Hord Will Pilot New All-Electric Nissan Leaf At The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb On June 26

Colorado Springs, April 25----------With electric automobiles popping up like dandelions across the landscape of American driving, it's no surprise that they will be part of the field at the 89th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26.

The latest entrant in the Electric Division is professional racer Chad Hord (Felch, Michigan), who will be driving a stock 2011 Nissan Leaf at Pikes Peak, with its high response 110 hp, 80kW AC synchronous electric motor capable of delivering speeds as much as 90 miles per hour.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf was named the 2011 World Car of The Year at the New York Auto Show on Thursday last week.

The Leaf, which went on sale in the United States in December and is also available in Japan and Europe, beat the BMW 5-Series and the Audi A8 for the top spot.

Hord's competition on the mountain this year is the returning Electric champion, Ikuo Hanawa of Japan, who will drive his Concept two-wheel drive 2010 Custom Summit HER-02 model again this summer.

His Yokohama tire equipped EV won the Electric Exhibition class with a time of 13:17:575, a 93-second improvement over its time from 2009. That mark shattered the previous Pikes Peak EV record, set by Jeri Unser in 2003, by 65 seconds.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which began in 1916, is America's second oldest motor sports race behind the Indy 500. The race is staged on a 12.42 mile course with 156 turns. It begins at 9,390 feet and ends at the famous mountain's 14,110 foot summit above Colorado Springs.

A featured event along with the race, is the popular "Fan Fest," which takes place on Friday evening, June 24, in downtown Colorado Springs, with more than 30,000 fans on hand to meet the competitors, see the autos and motorcycles, and enjoy music, food and entertainment.

Ticket prices begin at $40.00, with a Family Four-Pack available at $125.00 and VIP admission priced at $80.00. Tickets, limited camping permits and all other race information is available at www.ppihc.com

The Fighter: A Film Review..

The Fighter was nominated for numerous Academy Awards this past year (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor being four of the seven it was nominated for) and I can't think of a single one it deserved, though it went on to win both of the supporting acting categories.

I came in thinking I would really like the film--Boxing??  Cool...True story??  Cool...Boston (or nearby) based??  Cool...

Oh how I was surprised--particularly given the massive amounts of praise heaped upon it--Cover of Sports Illustrated which called it the best boxing film since Raging Bull.  And how bout Mr. Wahlberg himself saying that the boxing filmed in Raging Bull and Rocky wasn't realistic enough for him and that they went really over the top to get it right here...

I'll come right out and say that this film is an outright disaster.  I can't think of a single part of the film I really enjoyed.

Wahlberg's acting has always been subpar, consistently playing a one string monotone fiddle.  Give him some steroids and an AK-47 and Wahlberg could be the next Sylvester Stallone--and I'm talking the Rambo 3, plastic surgery, HGH Stallone, not the slightly more tolerable, late 70's, just out of pornos, Stallone.  The boxing sequences?  Truthfully, your average WWE match is more "realistic" than any of the pitty-pat sequences herein.

Christian Bale won an Academy Award for his supporting work here and also didn't deserve it.  There really isn't anything here (Bale plays a crack addict) that rises above an Afternoon Special on cable TV.  We've all seen crack addicts on the big and small screens and Bale doesn't come up with anything new or memorable.  Yup, he's a wacky junky...sometimes funny, sometimes pathetic, always looking out for himself--until that is, he goes to prison, sobers up, learns the importance of family and loyalty.

Cliche??  Yup, but so is the whole film.  Down on his luck boxer with overbearing family finds a good woman to set him straight and who, in turn, he rescues from being a bartender.  Boxer rises to prominence via hard work and learning to push aside the negative aspects of his family only to succeed at the highest level when those family members mend their ways and make peace with the Boxer.  Ho...hum...

And no, it doesn't matter that this is a true story.  Directer David O. Russell, who crafted Three Kings which I think is fantastic, might as well be asleep at the wheel here.  For the entire movie I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his characters--it often felt like the director didn't know what he wanted his audience to do either--particularly when dealing with female characters.

So if you want to see another fine example of cliche American drivel being shoved down the movie viewers throat as being the most wondrous thing since sliced bread give it a try, just don't say I didn't tell you.

Andrew Ference Gives the Finger to Habs Fans...

Single best thing (other than the goal that preceded it) that Andy Ference has done for the Bruins.

Well, not really...he has been quick to jump to the defense of other Bruins after cheap shots this year and has been more than happy to throw down the gloves when necessary.

Here I'm just glad he pissed of the troglodyte Canadian fans by giving them what they deserve.  Now go call the Police you fraudulent frogs!

Lower Arm and Spindle Now Mounted...

The upper arm is on the jig currently and being fab'd as we speak.

This is how the lower arm and spindle look on the truck that is being used as a "model" for this kit and is identical to mine.  Again, as each piece you see is being made, an identical one is being created for me and BTF Fabrication will be keeping the design on hand should you want the kit for your Frontier...or Xterra...

I am sooooo hoping this will be done in the next few days as I now have my fabricator for the engine cage and suspension install on tap and just waiting to get his hands on these parts.

Brad Lovell Joins Nissan Motorsports for TORC Series Effort...

And so the Nissan Motorsports resurgence continues.

Today it was world class rock crawler/racer Brad Lovell and his Lovell Racing short course effort partnering with Nissan for it's Pro Lite.

That now makes two Nissan Frontiers in TORC (Casey Currie and Brad Lovell) as well as the TORC Pro2 Titan of Chad Hord.

Certainly Nissan is pushing back into the offroad world and I could not be more excited!  Press release below...


Lovell Racing today unveiled the redeveloped AMSOIL Nissan Frontier Pro-Light in preparation for the opening rounds of TORC in Red Bud, MI May 28th – 29th. The partnership with Nissan Motorsports is a highlight in the team’s preparations for 2011 and team co-owner Brad Lovell expressed his enthusiasm, “The racing heritage at Nissan runs deep. They have amassed plenty of championships and we are proud to be on the team. Nissan is passionate about racing as has some really exciting things in store for 2011.”

A year ago, Lovell had a tough start adjusting to the breakneck pace and intensity of short course racing but returns stronger and better prepared. The team has completed hundreds of test laps, built a barrage of spare parts, and finely tuned the truck. 2011 will take every bit of grip the team has as the burgeoning TORC Pro-Light class continues to draw new talent. Lovell added, “Last year was pretty hectic for us and I was not satisfied. We have been focused all winter quietly preparing to come out of the gates strong.” Nissan Motorsports Manager Ron Stukenberg commented, “We’ve followed Brad’s activities for the past few years and have been impressed with his performance and team operation. Nissan is thrilled to have Brad and Lovell Racing as part of our Nissan Motorsports team in 2011!”

In addition to the regular TORC schedule, Lovell will pilot the #44 AMSOIL Nissan in the 89th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and attempt to better his 3rd Place effort of 13:17 to the top of the 14,110 ft mountain. Roger Lovell will headline the team’s rock racing effort by chasing Ultra 4 season points and joining Brad for various rock crawling, desert, and short course events. Additionally, Brad will continue to pilot the #232 rock racer in choice rockcrawling, desert, Ultra 4, and hill climb events.

AMSOIL returns as the team’s title sponsor along with BFGoodrich Tires, Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems, Spidertrax, and 4 Wheel Parts. The team’s sponsors include TrailReady Wheels, Aeroquip, Fox Racing Shox, Eibach, FK Rod Ends, Dynotech Driveshafts, Howe Performance Steering, Motive Gear, Powertank, Proformance Unlimited, Robinson Construction, and WARN.

Restrepo Co-Director Dies in Libya...

Tim Hetherington, the co-director of the film Restrepo, a Oscar nominated, director with Sebastian Junger (Junger on left, Hetherington on right in picture here) has been killed in Libya in the last day or so.

Restrepo is/was an excellent first hand account of our soldiers at a firebase in Afghanistan's Korengal valley showing the soldiers there, warts and all.  Its a truly picture that fills an American with pride, laughter, sadness, anger, and frustration--all emotions driven by great works.  If you haven't seen it, Netflix it or stream it or whatever.  It's worth it.

Hetherington (an Oxford educated photojournalist) has a long history of going where others fear to tread including behind rebel held lines in the Liberian Civil War in '03 and Chad/Darfur in '06.  He was killed by an RPG in the Libyan city of Misrata.  With evidently Internet/cell phone access still up in Misrata, his final Tweet was a chilling "In besieged Libyan city of Misrata. indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO."

He was knowingly taking big risks to bring back stories and images that no one else was willing to.  He paid for those risks with his life but as a race we should be proud of people who take risks and go beyond the humdrum of everyday life to bring back stories and take actions that the rest of us can or will not.

Tim Hetherington, co-director of 'Restrepo,' killed in Libya...

Buy Apple...Stock That Is...

So, if you've been following along with me for a bit you'll know that I have on occasion, proposed a few stock picks.

Here are the picks and results to date:

Ford [F] on 2/24/10--Up 30% since purchase...
(vs. +19% for DJIA, +23% for NASDAQ and +19% for S&P 500)

Yoox [YOOX] on 12/2/10--Up 54% since purchase...
(vs. +11% for DJIA, +10% for NASDAQ and +10% for S&P 500)

Orbital [ORB] on 12/2/10--up 8% since purchase...
(vs. +11% for DJIA, +10% for NASDAQ and +10% for S&P 500)

So all in all, not bad and well outpacing the major averages.

Of course this is a small sample so it likely could be just luck and good timing and nothing to do with anything except throwing darts at a board in a time that the market has performed well.

Never the less...here is my new purchase/pick.  Apple [AAPL].  Why?  and Why now?  Simply because the stock is relatively cheap (P/E ratios equal to Google and Adobe and less than hosts of smaller, high growth companies), generates cash like almost no one else, possesses an unparalleled image, could see a stock split in the near future and is constantly bringing new products and ideas to the market.

Apple is priced like a company in a newly mature phase.  I believe it is only in the beginning of its growth with products and services not likely to be replaced or substituted for.  As the desktop and laptops die, so Apple picks up more and more share.  The iPhone is ubiquitous and continually releasing new versions of it will feed an ongoing revenue stream at a rate faster and perhaps greater than the good old "Windows" updates from Microsoft.  Apple does stand to be hurt in the changeover from "iPods" and the like to cloud storage of media and that is where they could loose an edge.

But with Q1 earnings coming out today, Apple on a roll, the economy picking up a tad bit of traction, and the next iPhone due in September, I'm betting for a significantly positive one year return.  As always...Buy early and buy often...