It is near official

So I have set a date for the chocolate thing. I am looking at the 9th of January at the Wymount Multipurpose building. I think that getting 25-30 people signed up is a very real possibility. I have already gotten about 20+ people who have told me they are in. I am excited. More as it develops.

Withdrawals

Carrie can attest to all of this, but it may be more comfortable to not ask her opinion. I am suffering from 2-wheeled withdrawals somethin fierce. This snow is about to make a not-swear-er start rippin off lots of naughty-list-making words because of this dang snow! Whys is so freakin cold and everywhere!

Rain goes away. Maybe you get 2 weeks of rain, but then it drains. Snow, especially in stupid Utah valley, just sits on the roads, in driveways, in piles left by the plow idiots on the back of driveways blocking people in, EVERYWHERE! Except empty parking lots where it is useful. And, I'll have you know, I have gotten to put my snow idiocy to use in some situations where the car did not want to turn normally, so I got to play mode and stayed safe. It works.

But anyway, last Tuesday, Carrie and the girls and I went to Salt Lake to see the temple lights and buy chocolate at Caputo's. And, while we were going anyway, I requested a stop at the Triumph store in North Salt Lake. I got to sit on several short-list dream bikes and make engine noises in my head. I have been looking at so many bikes online, Carrie wants to throw a heavy, dull object at the computer. Well, at me - the computer is rather inanimate and therefore impervious to blame.

I am day-dreaming all the time about the first 10 bikes I want to get when I theoretically finish school, get a job, and start getting paid. I want comfortable air shooting up my sleeves and up the front of my helmet as I waft along straddling a big piece of machinery. I love sliding my butt off the seat and leaning into turns. I love taking off from stoplights with my feet dragging until I have to shift. I love smoking idiots in cars who are actually trying to race, then backing off and letting them fly by in a fit of attempted glory. I love being so involved in the whole process and feeling the camaraderie with other fools like me on the road - but not scooter riders. They are wannabes. The left-hand-down, two-finger wave between brothers on bikes feels good.

I don't showboat, and I don't push things. I don't have close calls anymore - not since week two, really. But I do have my bike under a cover under a foot of snow, and it bites. If snow was a person, I would probably fight him.

Where are the good bands?

I think the newest band I like at all released their first record in 1999. I got a bunch of iTunes money for Christmas, and I bought a bunch of stuff from the '90s and one album from a band who released their first 12" in '93 (though the album was from 2004).

Why aren't there any new bands coming up that are worth anything. There are some bands that I tolerate, and maybe even some whose music I can drum along with on the steering wheel, but new bands just don't get my blood moving. Am I turning into a newfangled version of my parents? I am I going to treat my kids' music like Mom and Dad treated mine? The problem is that I really liked the music from the '90s, and I think the music was more "real."

That sounds cheesy, I know, but bands then often played with real conviction, and it seems to me that more recent musicians are so formulaic. And while I decry self-indulgent solos, I still like some showcasing of musicianship. I do like some "recent" (coming onto the scene since 2000-ish) artists, but not in the same way. Here is a sampling of newer people I like OK:

One Republic
Alicia Keys
Chris Brown
Kelly Clarkson
Paramore
Natasha Bedingfield
Black Eyed Peas
Blue October
Chevelle
Coldplay
Death Cab for Cutie
Gavin DeGraw
John Mayer (electric era)
Los Lonely Boys
Maroon 5
Mars Volta (though they were around before, sorta, as At the Drive-In)
Modest Mouse (they made it big relatively recently, though they have been around forever)
Shinedown
Wolfmother

Several of those are artists that I probably wouldn't have ever heard of or listened to if not for Carrie. I want more Muse's, Mars Volta's, Clutch's, COC's, Down's, CKY's, Pearl Jam's, Nirvana's, AIC's, Soundgarden's, Rage Against the Machine's, Audioslave's (it's hard to count them as "since 2000" as the previous bands are so familiar to me from long ago), Bush's, Institute's, etc.

I really need to get my band going. I can cure the world with ROCK!

Can I live in Utah?

So I was positive I was going to leave Utah when I finish school next year up until a little more than a month ago. I had my world turned upside down as far as that goes the day before I had my chocolate world turned upside down.

A guy by the name of Jason Perry came and spoke to my professional seminar class thing at school. Jason happens to be the head of the Governor's Office for Economic Development, and he reports to Governor Huntsman daily. He and his office are trying to turn Utah into a brainiac and manufacturing hotspot through incentivizing companies to come here. They are offering significant tax breaks to companies IF they hire people from Utah (as I am a registered citizen/voter here, I count as that. Please hold the jokes.) and pay them at least 200% the county average where they show up.

I thought that no amount of money could keep me in Utah, but for the first time, I had concrete-ish figures. He looked me in the eye and told me $90-95K is perfectly plausible straight out of school. I wasn't even going to talk to companies in Utah before that. Also, the places where these companies are going are far away from the parts of Utah that substantiate my stereotypes, which I like. So here is a pro/con list:

Pro (for Utah):
Money (in theory - if not, then I am gone for sure)
Twisty Roads
Racetrack
Great Chocolate
Good outdoorsy things
Strong/stable economy
Strong entrepreneurship/investing culture and resources
Educated populace
Low crime
Really low gang activity
Tons of temples

Cons:
Provo
All that stereotypical piety
Snow
Cold
Drivers
Lack of long-term family (depending on how long they take in school)
We would definitely move at some point - moving sucks
BYU
Costs of living and housing


I am open to feedback about the situation. In fact, please send it my way, so I can add to my list. I may need to apply weights and rate each category for various places and narrow down that way. But I really don't know.

More chocolate

I freaking love chocolate.

Thursday, me and a couple coworker friends/classmates went with me to a chocolate tasting class at Tony Caputo's in Salt Lake City. I think I have officially been ruined on crappy chocolate. Real/good chocolate SO much better. When we were about 2/3 of the way through the course, the teacher dude gave us some typical American "dark chocolate" you can pick up in any number of grocery stores. First, we smelled it, and it smelled like fake vanilla - but not chocolate. Then we put it in our mouths, and there was a universally murmured "ugh" around the restaurant area. Matt, the guy teaching, said "it tastes like dirty peanut butter" about the same time I noticed it tastes like peanut butter. It was wrong, and it was not chocolate.

Anyway, when we were looking around afterward to see where to blow our money on fancy chocolate, Rob, one of my buddies, said that I should have a little tasting class down in Provo since I have received chocolate instruction twice. Clearly I am a pro, so I waved it off as ridiculous. Then today, we were talking, and I mentioned it would be cool to host some friends in teaching them about chocolate. Rob naturally pointed out that he said that exactly 4 days ago.

So now I am wondering how to go about having a chocolate class. I am thinking that I can find interested parties and have them chip in some money to get some good chocolates and then explain the funness about chocolate some evening. I am just wondering if I should do that, or if I should try to get Matt Caputo down to Provo to host something like that here.

Tonight it occurred to me that maybe I could get one of the guys from Amano in Orem (the makers of the best chocolate in America) to come and teach us and give us some of his. I figure that if I were to get like 5-10 bars, I could spread the price around the people to get a good assortment of good chocolate, and maybe some bread to cleanse pallettes between chocolates, expecially if I torture everyone with some crappy Dove midway through. Though, that is a bit rude.

I think that could be fun. I love chocolate SOOOOO much.

Chocolate tasting

I hosted my first "chocolate tasting" last night. I had a friend and his wife come over last night and Carrie, Naomi, and I hosted them through a mystical journey of delicious Criollo and Trinitario from Ecuador, Venezuela, Madagascar, Bali, Jamaica, and Trinidad. I think that when I go to that chocolate class next month I will have a whole caravan of interested people. Caputo's is going to love me.

Viva Cioccolato!

Close-minded

Who decided that close- or narrow-mindedness should have a direction and a meaning? Who decided that if you agree with a certain vocal group about a given issue such as "gay rights," unintelligent design, or what have you, obviously you are an ignorant fool? Who decided that if you have a moral code that aligns with an organization on any sort of level, certainly you have been brainwashed?

Who decided that if you can't or don't articulate intricate arguments about every issue with bleeding heart passion, you are a simpleton? Who decided that guaranteed rights in the Constitution are mere suggestions unless they fit perfectly with a given ethos?

I am disturbed by the crap hitting the fan with Proposition 8's fallout. People opposing are demanding that there be a recant of the vote because the quiet majority disagreed with them. Religious groups are being attacked as brainwashing centers of ignorant bigots, and Mormons are the bullseye in the target. Mormons tend to disagree with some issues, so they are wrong, evil, and infathomably stupid?

This is truly a phenomenal time in our history. I mean "phenomenon." Apparently some gay rights activists are trying to make connections with the civil rights movement in the 60's, except no one is stopping them from being jerks, let alone civilly responsible. Minorities before 1964 couldn't bring their issues to court barring such fiascoes as Brown vs. Board of Education Topeka, Kansas. Here, the issue was brought to a referendum. The hate was directed by the minority at the groups who ended up on the majority side. Weird twist, huh?

Now in Colorado, someone burned a Book of Mormon at the temple and the act is being investigated as a hate crime, and that is blowing people's mind's? How can you have a hate crime against the majority? Who cares about the majority? They clearly can be lumped into a large, handy group and are all doing just fine.

I will lay out my beliefs. Some people are gay. I don't know why or where it comes from. I am not thinking we should try to "fix" anybody. I think that people in relationships should be able to visit each other in the hospital. I think marriage is one man and one woman. That is what I believe. I have thought about it. I don't take anything like this on any one else's word. I have my own brain that I have been involved in developing. I think for myself, and I disagree with the very vocal people crying foul and brainwashed and stupid and bigot. I feel there is an important need for being able to discuss even very difficult topics civilly and diplomatically. But I may not change my opinion, and I may disagree forever. And some people may just have to learn to deal with that, and some may agree with me. Basically, we all need to be nice. My mom taught me that.

Pictures...of the cars

From 2008

From 2008

Music Therapy

I thought, up until relatively recently, that I was a weirdo for the following observation. I have found that when I am frustrated or angry, soft or chill music seems to piss me off. Why? I had no clue until recently. I have found that when I am feeling aggressive, matching music chills me out pretty quickly.

A few months ago I mentioned this to a friend/coworker. He said he understood and agreed that the same worked for him. I thought perhaps he and I are freaks together, but I have learned better. 

I have have come to understand that trying to change my emotions is pointless and a little stupid. However, if I accept that I am feeling whatever it is that I am feeling and just identify it and with it, it will pass to be replaced by the next one. Carrie has caught on to this, and there are times when some typically Utah idiot does something completely stupid on the road or something and I get all worked up. When this happens, I will ask Carrie for a particular CD to listen to for 3 songs or so. Then I am all relaxed and ready to continue. Carrie has even picked up that I like to just focus on the song and sing along or think about the music or the guitar part in particular, and she lets me zone for a few minutes, and then I am generally just fine.

This is rather counter to everything my parents tried teaching me my whole life - everything pretty much everyone has told me my whole life. It is funny, because my family is not one to harness and/or embrace emotions, but instead we tend to denigrate emotions we deem unfit or unworthy. It is dumb because, like it or not, everyone has emotions of all kinds. Trying to unnaturally prevent or sabotage them just breeds conflict and confusion and unrest. Thus, a little Soundgarden or Deftones or Chevelle can do a lot people a lot of good. I would love to hear people's thoughts.

TRUE LOVE

So - Last week Carrie facilitated me in doing some things that were, in a word, awesome. Thursday, she was supportive of me going to watch a movie a rich dude's place so I could see and sit in his Lamborghini Murcielago Spider, and watch Iron Man on a home theater that would blow any mere mortal away. Full Stadium seating, a 20' wide screen, electrically reclining seats with personal blankets. Awesome.



Then, Friday, she took to a chocolate expo at the expo center in Sandy. There was a lot of crappiness there, but that did not overshadow the two really awesome exhibitors. One is a store in Salt Lake called Caputo's that sells southern European foods including a huge variety of high-end chocolates. They had some truffles made by the guy who makes the truffles for the French Laundry - the most acclaimed restaurant in the country. I had a pumpkin chocolate truffle that blew me away.

Then they had this wall of amazing chocolates with chocolate experts and samples. I learned about the varieties of cacao beans and the differing qualities based on location and growing practices. Then I got to sample them for myself like Chuao by Amadei - widely considered the best chocolate in the world several years running. It is from a bean grown in a specific location in Venezuela. I had some chocolate from (bean source - the chocolate makers were primarily European) Jakarta, Bali, Madagascar, Trinidad, Ecuador, Grenada, etc. We bought some chocolate from them and what we have had so far is incredible. For those who don't like typical really dark chocolate (~70% or so from Lindt or others), you may have a different reaction to the high end stuff.

The other great exhibitor is Amano - an Orem based chocolate maker who is making the best chocolate in the country right now. They source their beans from specific plantations and make one-source bars. I bought a couple regional bars from them (we spent a pretty penny on awesome chocolates), but have not eaten (I "taste" - I don't merely consume) them yet. I had samples and got one each of Carrie's and my favorites.

Caputo's has a chocolate tasting class that I plan to attend when I can. I am very excited about that. I have decided that I will be a connossieur of chocolates. It is a relatively new thing (70% bars have only been showing up since the mid 80's), and it isn't that expensive, and it isn't alcoholic. Wine is ridiculous with the price and complexity and whatnot, and it is evil. Pure evil. Chocolate is goodness in a bar. Love the chocolate.

My point in all this is to say that Carrie knows me, and I love that she does stuff like this for me. It makes me feel all special and loved. Also, it allowed me to get a bunch of world-class chocolate, and there is no going wrong with that.

Various

So . . . 

Morgan (my brother-in-law - just in case there is another person reading this besides him and Carrie) read my last post, and he commented saying that he actually liked my pretending to be a motorcycle writer. Naturally, I was encouraged when I read that. Perhaps I will write more than once every other month or so. 

There is a writer for Automobile magazine who is my favorite writer in the world with J. K. Rowlings coming in second. His name: Ezra Dyer, and he has his own column entitled "Dyer Consequences" that is just fantastic. I commonly force Carrie to read it, and I even got my mom chuckling reading it while she was out here. My mom chuckling about a guy driving a Lamborghini - truly a testament that Ezra Dyer is more than a car writer. I don't know my point in saying this other than to subliminally persuade you all to read his stuff.

Anyway, at the times when I get all write-y, I would love some good blasting feedback from the snobs among you to develop my writing chops. Please understand this going in (if it is not painfully clear by simply knowing me): I am sarcastic and/or joking at all times. But Carrie, Chanda, Jennifer, Morgan (that is the complete list of people I know have looked at my blog), if you like anything, or especially hate anything, I would be jiggled to hear about it.

So - I went to SEMA last week. SEMA is the Specialty Equipment and Marketing Association which is basically the organization of the makers of absolutely everything a person can buy for their car or truck after they buy the car or truck. It would have been hellish torture for people who have even a mild interest in cars, but euthanasia for most of my relatives. Seriously, if almost any of my siblings, in-laws, or parents were very sick but did not feel comfortable with pulling life support or taking a more pro-active approach, I could take them to the SEMA show under the guise of bonding at the end, and upon sight of the Las Vegas Convention Center bedecked with truckloads of car-ish paraphernalia, the eyes would close for the last time, and the last breath would be an indignant, frustrated sigh. I would get past it quickly, though, because they have Lamborghinis there!!!

Anyway, the show is not merely a show to say - look! new cars! It has companies that make fast cars faster, slow trucks slower and stupider, and mundane things eye-blindingly flashy. Sometimes, a booth like Pirelli tires will have some race cars and maybe a Lamborghini Reventon just to say "We make tires that people put on these. Imagine how much awesomeness will rub off on you if you put our crappy all-season tires on your Corolla." For the perceptive among you, Lamborghini is a oddly long and Italian name prevalent today. Seeing the Reventon was hard-hitting.

There was some seriously awesome machinery and products there, but it turns out that actually cool things are the diamond in the rough. For every functional turbo kit, there was a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe convertible on some 24" wheels. For every real piece of aerodynamic coolness, there was a Hummer on 32" or bigger wheels. I got a picture of a 42" wheel!!! That is 3 1/2 feet of metal hoop waiting to rupture the kidneys and herniate the spinal discs of the fool who puts a set of wheels like that on their car.

Slammed old hot rods and brightly painted supercars with ridiculous wheels, and scandalous "models" were everywhere. Luckily, there was enough rough to provide plenty of Diamonds. I saw a Ducati Desmosedici RR motorcycle ($72,000 for the most awesome/extreme road-going bike on the planet), some cool new Hyundais (past me wants to reach forward in time and pimp slap future me - but they are cool and good cars now - some of them), a Formula1 car, Travis Pastrana's Rally America car, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Corvettes (including 1 of the new ZR1's - the most expensive and extreme Corvette e er), Aston Martins, Daytona Prototype Race cars, Nissan GTRs, etc. 

When it comes down to it, though, I was wanting more. I am not sure what else I wanted, but I could have handled some seat time with it, I suppose. Maybe I was just disgusted with the wretched bling excess. Maybe I wanted to meet some of my racing or tuning heroes from recent times or past glory days. Or maybe, I just wanted to see my ultimate dream car: the McLaren F1. There is no substitute - forget that Porsche propaganda. I loved that Lambo, though. I should have some pictures at some point soon.

Well, this has been scatterbrained and a little fun. Enjoy!

Motorcycle mania

So, Adam (my youngest brother at 19) made it into the MTC this week without significant drama, and we had fun with my mom staying with us this week. She even made bread! I came home for lunch one day kind of randomly, and several loaves and a pan of rolls still warm from the oven awaited - it was awesome.

Anyway, my mom was asking what my ideal job would be after school since now the end is in sight. I had a few fun ideas including designing race cars, high performance OE cars, et cetera. Then the real ideal hit me - automotive/motorcycle/guitar journalist. And honestly, writing about guitars ranks far behind the other two, though I would still take it.

So yesterday was fun for me at least. First, after sending Mom off to the airport, I went to play guitar with friends Austin and Erik. It was my first time to play with a drummer. A few weeks from now our betrothed bassist will join us when his senior film project is wrapped up. It was cool, but I saw a lot of need for improvement for me. I am certainly the weakest link in our fledgeling "band." My concept for starting the band is to play whatever sort of music strikes any of us from, as I tell people, bluegrass to metal to house/trance. 

Side note - Carrie is playing with the girls in a traditionally me fashion - laying on the floor as they swarm over her. This sounds bad, but I am much better at being trampled than her. I respond coolly to the tortuous subjections of my daughters so they stay cheerful at least, if not calm. Carrie worries a bit more which lends some tension to the girls. There is something I do "better" as a parent! Yea! I have a niche!

So anyway, on to later yesterday. Last week, I went to the local Aprilia store to test ride a Shiver 750SL with my friend Will. It was a fun, fast and comfortable bike, but it left me feeling a bit cold. The steering was a bit heavy, and something was missing. I just didn't love it. I certainly liked it, but it was not a striking machine. That said, I rode a Tuono R (998 cc 60 degree V-Twin) yesterday, and aside from an ever-so-slightly less comfortable riding position due to the higher pegs, I liked everything else about it more than the Shiver. Also, aside from the cost. The Tuono starts at about $5500 more. 

Getting on the Tuono with the engine running was exhilarating before even putting the stand up. The engine is raspy and crisp. It revs quickly, and the revs fell just as soon as I released the throttle. The bike is essentially a Mille RSV sport bike shorn of its full fairing and given a single-piece handlebar raised a few inches. The chassis is largely the same, and the peg position is virtually the same. I will admit being a little nervous and shaky as I put my helmet and gloves on, putting the stand up, and kicking that sweet shifter down into gear.

As I throttled away, it pulled smoothly with the engine behaving itself at low speeds with a gentle on/off throttle transition. Tooling my way out of the parking lot saw me noticing the nice dash and learning the basic controls like the turn signals and horn - which would have been better to notice before rolling off. Pulling on to the street, the power came on smoothly and easily. Going slow is doable and natural, but a quick flick of the wrist leaves speed limit signs feeling unloved in a hurry.

I only stalled once, and I still feel like a man because the clutch is a bit more than I am used to with my bike having 1/4 the engine. So I should qualify that: I still feel like a man with a 250. I could stand having a gear position indicator so I don't have to count like most other 2-wheeling plebians out there. I feel confident I am above such banalities. When I got to my second stop sign, I made my right and saw a bit of no one in front of me and thought it a good time to feel the power of a Rotax twin. I saw a healthy multiple of the speed limit (which is certainly too low - Utah is conservative in many ways) fast. The brakes work great, too.

As I approached my first and only roundabout in my test loop, I wondered how much speed I dared carry. I stayed conservative - the bike isn't mine. Further, I want to stay married, and buying a wrecked Italian exotic could strain that status. The Tuono stayed incredibly composed and stable, but I was going slow. As I got to the underpopulated side of the freeway, I felt the urge to open a gap between me and the car ahead. So I stopped. Then I promptly closed that gap. I have read of the bike's propensity to go one-wheeled, so I leaned forward and kept it sticky side down, expensive side up. And the bike rips. When I start talking to myself aloud in my helmet, that generally means that I am liking what is going on. I was bordering on schizophrenic.

The next while was spent following other cars in light traffic, and it gave me time to notice that it is quite easy to miss the turn signal switch and honk Turret's style at random houses I passed. Turning back on to the major thoroughfare I discovered a trait I had not noticed before in the articles I have read - low RPM in higher gears and big throttle movements are not welcome here - downshift necessary. Back on the throttle, and the smile again masticized over more and more of my face. I turned back off the major road to hit a few more corners before I returned the bike to safety. The bike leans and corners with incredible composure - it feels like gravity changes direction temporarily the way it maintains stability even at healthy lean angles. That said, I had a lot more lean clearance to explore, but again, public roads and tester bike. I had a little more time in regular traffic, and I was surprised by a lack of apparent reaction from my fellow roadsharers. The bike just plain behaves and is comfortable. I has having visions of commuting, road-tripping, and canyon-blasting in sublime serenity and comfort. 

Upon returning, I was happy and sad. Happiness is obvious in this particular situation to most people with a pulse, but the sadness was that I won't be able to buy one for a while. The used prices are going down, and it sounds like even the early models have comparable performance, comfort and features which is easy to understand given the model's relatively short life thus far.

Now I will need to try the Speed Triple from Triumph before I pass final judgement on my dream future bike. As of now, I want to go Italian.

Changing perspective . . .

So today I had a perspective changer. I was at school and I needed to run up to Best Buy, but my bike was at home with electrical issues (even my bike hates the cold - I am taking it as a sign). A friend named Brooks told me a while back that I could ride his 2007 Yamaha R6S sometime. I figured today was as good as any, so I called and requisitioned his ride for a brief trip. He acquiesced, and I promised no wheelies or stoppies. I thought I had gone fast before. 

The R6S is essentially the continued 2003-6 R6 but overshadowed by the newer, updated R6. His has an exhaust and frame sliders, and is in beautiful Yamaha Team Blue. Getting that screamer above 10000 RPM is INSANE! I have ridden some relatively fast bike before, but this thing was a different class. Looking ahead in traffic, I could pick a spot and teleport there. It was uncanny. I only zinged it twice, and each time giggled in sporadic fits for minutes afterward like a little girl. I thought to myself: I want to tell Carrie that I love the thing, but she should never let me buy one. As I got home, she told me I looked much cooler on that bike than on my little putter. 

"Dang it! I was just about to tell you to never let me buy one!"

I still want a Triumph Street Triple 675 R or a Speed Triple 1050, and today's experience confirmed that riding a Japanese 4C is a bad idea. All the power is at speeds you should not really see in daily around-town riding. A good twin or triple has torque which you can actually use at sane/safe speeds. I have long thought that the law and safety don't necessarily coincide, but a bike like that is begging for trouble. I just hope I always have friends who have bikes like that who will let me borrow them . . .

Guilty Pleasure and more

I have a TV guilty pleasure I am a little ashamed of . . . The Unit. Some out there may gasp and guffaw with this type of mention of the show. But here is the deal - the acting is pathetic - as is the story-telling.

That said - the action is awesome. I do like the depiction of the action and the good guys winning every week. I will be the first to admit that I generally like my entertainment to be emotionally easy. I don't like to work for my entertainment. Perhaps that is why I tend to lean toward comedies more than dramas. But the acting - especially among the wives of the Unit, is horrific. I mock it incessantly as I start the next episode on dvd.

As for the more - there are a few topics - cars vs. motorcycles, racing, and eclairs. I will start with the eclairs. Today, we had a little grill action with some friends from an old ward, and I made eclairs. For the filling, I used French Vanilla pudding with finely chopped strawberries. However, I rocked the chocolate topping perfectly for the first time ever. As many of you know, Utah is bland and featureless in the food department, by and large. BUT, a little restaurant called Kneader's has wonderful eclairs that inspired me. So today I got some milk (1/2 - 2/3 cup) with some butter (1-2 T) boiling, took it off the heat and melted most of a small bag of semisweet choc chips. Then I spooned it onto the eclairs and refrigerated them. The chocolate was soft and melted easily and was sweet but dark. It was the best chocolate topping I have done by far.

Cars vs. motorcycles - Chanda, if you are reading, stop now so as not to exacerbate your aneurism. I had my ideal motorcycle picked out for after college. I was planning on a Triumph Street Triple. It is affordable, sporty and liveable. I was excited. BUT, on my birthday, I went over to a friend's home who is building a Lotus 7-ish replica thing in his garage from scratch. For about $10K TOTAL, he is building a car that will be over 400 hp - possibly pushing 500 - that will weigh only about 1400 to 1500 lbs. For reference, that is quite a bit less than half of my family sedan, our silver Altima. Now here is the thing, there are even cheaper ways to build the car - even well. This guy was telling me I could build a basic, not all hotted-up version of the same thing for about 5K. So I can have a car I can build (which is awesome in itself) that is high-performance (also awesome), just as liveable as a bike (still awesome but in an old-man way), yet is a bit more practical and safer than your average motorcycle. And, I think I can make the passenger seat removable to make room for a LATCH system to bring one of my girls along for the crazy ride.

Lotus 7's and their spinoffs and ripoffs are motoring at its most elemental, pure form. The mildly masochistic and even mildlier (making up words makes you feel ALIVE[lier]!!!) pragmatic purist in me begs for a car so stripped it has a rear rack instead of a trunk. That said, passenger footwell space allows for perhaps an entire shopping trip as opposed to my backpack on my motorcycle. And, with goggles and perhaps a helmet, being able to bring Naomi or Gwen with me would be awesome. Plus, it would be fun to bring some in-laws for a ride (I'm think of you Jen and Morgan) to see if I can confirm their worst fears about me. Just kidding. Sort of.

Racing: I went out to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele yesterday to watch some race practice and qualifying. There was some minor racing in the evening, but I was busy ogling a gorgeous Aston Martin V8 Vantage race car built by Prodrive and campaigned by some good-natured Londoners. They were great to talk to. Some of these guys have crewed in Formula 1, worked on the development of the McLaren F1, all kinds of stuff. Also, Tiff Needell was in town and around somewhere, and supposedly loves to meet adoring fans (that would be me). Tiff is a presenter for a British car show called Fifth Gear and still an active racer. And he is a top-level car hero for me.  Apparently, he was off making use of the facility's free liquor for high-falutin' guests somewhere, so I didn't get to meet him. They crew was asking if I was going to be around today, because I could meet him then, but alas, Sunday and racing and me is an impossible combo.

The Aston was beautiful, but I also got up close to the Audi R10 - Audi's amazing diesel race car. The thing is beautiful and so saturated with technology that even the most uninformed person can see the elegant developments in going faster better. Come to think of it - I can show you pictures. The sounds are wonderful. The Audi diesels sound like a muted jet - they probably make less noise than Carrie's car. Some of the other prototypes scream like bleeding banshees, the Corvettes and Panozes rumble and roar - your chest thrums as they pass, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs are actually relatively quiet, the Ferrari F430GTs scream and pop and burble on overrun as they downshift, and the Ford GTs sounded like they have truck engines (which they do). I was hanging  out at the end of the front straight right where the brake for the first turn after going nearly 200 mph. It was insane seeing how fast they turn. Also nuts was watching when sometimes their tails would step out and the drivers had to catch it to keep it on the track. Occasionally, they would go off, but the track is designed with so much runoff that hitting a wall is practically a non-issue. All the padding in the world can't match not contacting anything. It was awesome. I can provide more pictures if anyone is curious.

Anyway, 

those who have made it this far, I thank you and I am sorry. There hasn't been anything quite substantial in here, but I have been having fun. Anyway, shalom to you.

Utopia - Part Two

I had some ideas about the transportation: Golf carts. Little electric carts that are small enough to take up little space and tiny amounts of electricity gathered from easy renewable resources would be perfect. Maybe they are collapsible so they can be stored in a bus that drives around. That would even enable farther trips with less energy expenditure.

Jen - I must say I was very pleased with your comments - in large part because I agree with so many of them. I have wanted to have driver clinics for varying levels of ability since the get-go. I want basic driver's ed, but I also want basic car control courses to teach people how to deal with slides and water and ice and what-not. People could even send their kids in from outlying areas for my ultimate drivers' ed on my bullet trains.

I want to encourage to the point of coercion building materials that are highly eco-friendly - low processing expenditures, sustainability, recyclability, etc. I also want to encourage on-the-spot decisions on the creation and spelling of new words like recyclability. I personally am a fan of bamboo (obviously), cork, teak, earthen tiles, stuff like that. I am sure that no one would mind if I used hackberry trees.

I would want a nearby commercial area with banks, stores, shops, venues, restaurants, etc. I want another area for more "business-ey" things like engineering firms, small-scale manufacturing/machining, design studios, warehouses, etc. They should be stepped outward so nothing is too far away from everything. In the other direction, toward the track, there will be condos, hotels, timeshares, garages, and speedy shops (tires, repair, fix-it stuff). Also there will be nice restaurants overlooking the track and cheap restaurants for track-day people who don't have the time, money or patience to sit down. The cheap ones will be the following: McDonald's, Wendy's, Del Taco, Subway, and a sweet cheap hole-in-the-wall Mexican taco-shop. It will be awesome!

Actually, I want to stack as much of that as I practically can in a stylish and functional way. I must say, the most seemingly insurmountable issue is the balance between spaciousness and efficiency. I think it will be crucial to have protected open areas surrounding so that we can have space to roam and explore.

Beyond all of that, I mostly want to get the ____ out of Utah and go almost anywhere! 

Have a nice day.

Utopia - Part One

I want to build the greatest community this country has ever seen, and I want to do it in Texas.

First off, I don't want it to focus on and be built around a golf course - the world has an excess of those. However, I still plan to have a country club - only it will be for a racetrack. The indulgence of the community will be for driving fast cars fast.

That said, I hate commuting, so I want to to be structured around not needing a car to get by. Ideally, day-to-day travel can be done on foot or via public transportation. The details are still being worked out in my dementobrain. I want it far enough from municipalities that it can be run with HOA and deed restriction governing, but close enough for a bearable trip via light-rail or more preferably by bullet train into San Antonio and Austin (the trains ought to be equipped with WiFi to encourage the move out to my dreamland). 

I want the place to be a haven for car nerds and have ways of transporting cars that are not strictly street legal to and from the track(s). I want people to be close enough to each other to inspire a sense of community but still have that time-honored American need for some isolation. That and the transportation stuff is proving the most difficult to conceive.

I think that a lot of parks with easy access and easy monitoring would be a great alternative to lawns, if it can be executed properly. I want to be as self-sufficient with energy as possible with solar/wind fields incorporated into the community. I want a family-friendly, eco-conscious society that gravitates toward powersports. My motorsports complex would incorporate a wide variety of sports and be set up for large racing events to take place there. I would like to attract high-profile racing there to encourage the overall buildup of the place. I want it to be a visitor-friendly place that encourages learning in a hands-on way. I want to foster an environment of thinking and real community. Americans are terrible at community. The advantage of such a car-themed community would be a thread connecting the residents.

From the business side, I want to have timeshares and rentable storage next to the track to draw in visiting outsiders. I want the place to draw tourists and enthusiasts and their dollars for short stays. The motorsports park could be the largest of its kind in the world, and I would welcome virtually every form of racing short of NASCAR - maybe even drag-racing. 

I would invite universities and companies to compete in green competitions - either racing or parameter challenges (like mpg shootouts or zero-emissions endurance racing). 

In short, I plan to remedy most of America's problems in my uber-society. 

Thank you,

Energy

I mean this post to be one for comments.

I have heard that the biggest expenditure of energy in America is in transportation of people and goods. Thus, to reduce the infamous "dependence on foreign oil," people feel we ought to burn less petroleum to move stuff. Plus there are environmental reasons and finite resource reasons. So my question is this: where do we get our energy if not from oil?

Hydrogen. I don't think hydrogen will work because getting H2 is such an energy intensive process, and every time you use energy to procure an energy source, some of that energy is lost. So why waste it? Plus burning hydrogen is weak and provides a nice compressed-Hindenberg situation. Fuel cells are boring and lame and complicated. Hydrogen is a waste of time. BTW, burning H2 may only chemically yield water, but it also produces heat - and why not pollute the air with toxicity if you are already going to heat it up?

Biofuels and ethanol. Still no. Even if everyone could make ethanol from sugar cane (a la Brazil), we still don't want to raze all open lands in America to produce it. Corn is a complete joke with something like 1/8 the possible ethanol yield of cane. Plus, you still CO, CO2, N2O, and heat. Biodiesel is a similar story, except you get to smell like French Fries - and who doesn't want that?

Electricity. I am partial to straight electricity, and I like the idea of getting it from renewable resources like our heat, sunlight, wind (made by the previous 2), water movement, geothermal, gerbils and other rodents in varying-sized wheels, etc. Maybe we can have our inmates turn large wheels to power their prisons - we'll rehabilitate them while teaching them how significant the energy situation is. Big downside: batteries. How do we make that many; how do we dispose of them or recycle them; can we use anything else like capacitors? Heat is hardly an issue as electric motors are so efficient, they produce SO much less heat than a comparably powered internal combustion engine. Plus, that gives yet another great reason for a windmill in my backyard - yes. 

Also, I think we ought to look more into nuclear energy. We can launch nuclear waste into space - possibly at the moon. Once we get cold fusion worked out, we will be set!

separate issue: Trains. I recently saw a commercial for some train company that said it can transport 1 ton of goods 438 miles with a gallon of fuel. I would like to personally experience both MagLevs and bullet trains - they are both awesome and efficient. I think future communities and developments ought to make greater use of various rails to move whatever. Equip them with WiFi and remove the higher-end work-people's and students' complaints. That would take away some of the pain of commuting. 

I would like to "hear" ya'll's comments on the subject of energy sources. Fact, figures and especially rumors and fiction are quite welcome. Is there a crisis? Is there even a problem? Any proposed solutions or un-solutions? Are SUV's to blame? (of course) Should we ignore it or make it priority number one or something somewhere in between? Think and speak!

Eco-Auto

Back to cars: I love them. I especially love fun, involving cars.

BUT, I feel sad that internal combustion's heyday seems to be drawing to a close. That said, I feel a strong responsibility to promote alternate energy and mobility solutions to reduce mankind's impact on our earth and to lengthen the availability of our finite resources. I think it is crazy that people who do not think humanity is to "blame" for global warming use that as an excuse to not take responsibility for their actions or purchasing.

Burning anything (e.g. combustion) releases chemicals into the air: CO2, CO, and NOx - not to mention unburned fuel molecules, sulfur, ash, particulates, and whatever else is in the fuel being burnt then. And, miracle of miracles, not burning those things does NOT release those chemicals into the air. So, as the day follows the night, less burning creates less combustion by-products. Thus - electric vehicles are good and will be better (Hydrogen is lame and boring and horrifically impractical - Ethanol is a publicity stunt).

However, this (electricity) does not sort out two issues with cars: making batteries which I am uninformedly guessing is a dirty process and will need a lot more work, and making the cars themselves. The latter motivates me to propose the following: let's try to make a car from a very renewable resource - bamboo.

I have been growing ever more fond of bamboo in recent years. It is a grass that can grow astonishingly rapidly (some species can grow over 3 feet in a day). It cares little for where it is grown. It is a low maintenance plant. It can reach usable maturity in as little as 3 years or so. It grows right on top of itself. It has more strength to weight than steel - although I have yet to discover what manner of strength that is (I am hoping both tension and compression). Oh, did you know that is a little bit prolific, as well?

I think that it would be fun and educational to build a bamboo-space-frame car. Ideally it would be electrically propelled, to be charged by energy captured from the sun or wind or geothermal sources. However, in earlier testing stages, it might be prudent to prove the bamboo-chassis concept with a more mainstream powertrain such as a small (possibly turbo-charged) motorcycle engine with chain drive. 

Obviously, bamboo won't last as long as a steel car - provided that car is not an old Japanese one. Obviously, there are construction issues to work out. Possibly, there are severe safety issues to iron out, but I don't intend for bamboo to replace the steel industry. I think that the awareness that such a versatile resource is at our fingertips would be invaluable. Honestly, it even tastes good! Pandas have it worked out! I think that more people need to think ecologically. I think that if enough gasoline-blooded people can think "green" (I hate the connotation this is taking on with all your liberal media people and their Priuses - I think it is too divisive), then maybe adrenalin junkies won't have to "sacrifice" so much.

We have a lot of ingenuity left in us, and I don't think we need to wallow in pathetic hermitism to save the planet. I don't think that thinking green requires opposition to the idea of liberating Iraq (although I think we need to liberate the country from us momentarily). I want to promote the idea that people like me can have fun in a car built from material grown in 3-5 years on a 4x4 ft plot of land.

I am actually pursuing the idea of making a bamboo car, and I have received interesting feedback from a few very different people. Car people tend to like it because it is weird and interesting and challenging. Green people tend to like it because it is green. I would like feedback on this idea from any interested parties - or even disinterested.

Flabbergastation and music part uno

I must say that I am amused by Morgan's comment - partially his witty wordsmithing, and partially the incidence of his commenting on my car rant. 

Today, I shall begin railing on popular music. And then possibly drop my latest eco-auto idea.

I think more people should listen to the band Muse. I have often told people that they are the music version of blockbuster cinema. People look at music (generally) so differently than other forms of media. They want "honesty," "realism," and - frankly - whining. Why not have some drama in a purely fictional sense? Why not have intense, emotional music combined with real technical prowess?

I love guitar, but guitarists' guitarists (Yngwie, Vai, Satriani, Johnson, etc.) are unequivocally lame. That ridiculously self-indulgent aural manure does nothing for me. Stevie Ray Vaughan combined technical virtuosity with fiery passion like few before or since. Matt Bellamy from Muse is a great musician and composer, but his energy is mind-boggling. Plus, the fact that he fits in a pint carton of milk never ceases to amuse to the point of a random chuckle. 

I saw Muse this last September (at UVSC - how funny that one of the world's biggest bands made it to an obscure college gym in Orem), and they put on a show to end all shows. Fast or slow, they infuse their music with such energy that one cannot help but be affected. For those crazy enough to even be reading this, I strongly recommend some good Muse listening - but not really their radio singles, per se. I would start with a good version of their songs "New Born," "Plug-In Baby," "Time is Running Out," and "Sing for Absolution." By the way, it is also a great idea to find their Later with Jools Holland performance of "Feelin' Good" and their live version of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" on YouTube.

Back to Stevie Ray Vaughan, or, hereafter, perhaps just SRV. He was more than a capable musician with an uncanny ability to make his songs transcend his admittedly mediocre voice. He could sing and play songs that would be at once both blue and joyful. He could blast so much energy through his music in just one note, basically every musician alive today ought to put down their instruments. I would rather hear him hit one note, than listen to a good 99.8% of the junk coming out now. 

As a guitar wannabe, I love his tone and his ability to communicate any emotion. Just as you don't have to speak a foreign language to catch the gist of impassioned speech or rhetoric, you can understand SRV's guitar playing. There is a version of "Leave My Girl Alone" where his guitar sounds like an frustrated and angry Latin person. It is uncanny. I love good music, and my tastes are still leaning toward exciting, but I am ever welcoming of new music. I am open to suggestions. I am open-minded, yet still I am quite picky. 

More on that later. . . 

Introduction

Carrie told me I should vent here - it is supposed to be healthy. I am unique in a way that is not normally thought of as "unigue." Generally, people think of people like me as annoyingly-likely-to-rant, lame, or geeky in a focused and exclusionary way. So here I will drop harangues like Texas raindrops about subjects about which the world at large could not care any less.

I don't really have any friends that share my opinions about my passions (a special thanks to my focused, exclusionary hobbies). I am way into cars in a way that made more sense directly after the War to car enthusiasts - only I like fuel injection. I love fast cars, and I love reliable cars. I like cars that can handle well. I respect cars with a comfortable ride even though comfort is not very high on my list of priorities. However, quantifiable attributes take the back seat for me to the intangible: fun. My short list of dream cars includes the Mazda Miata (I want one SO BAD!!!), 1st and 2nd gen MR2's, basically every Lotus ever, and the McLaren F1. 

I love to drive; I hate to commute. Other driver's definitely don't share priorities with me. They are slow, stupid, and typically predictably unpredictable. I love engineering prowess in a vehicle - if it serves a real purpose. Making room for twankies will never count. Mostly, I love when a car can show real verve and spunk beyond its outright capabilities. 

I like car racing, but I have not yet had the opportunity to get very deep into it. I despise NASCAR for its comatose-levels of excitement. The "high"-lights are when things go wrong. I want to see the engineering and driving talent coalesce into something beautiful. Formula 1 in slow-motion is visually symphonic to me watching the suspension and the rest of the chassis turn untoward levels of power into forward motion and bumps into ether. It astonishes me to think of the forces those machines see and to see the cars absorb and dissipate them so elegantly. 

Sports Car racing - especially Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series - is perhaps my favorite. The rules allow for so many interpretations and such varied solutions to the same problem that I am interested before regarding the movement. It doesn't hurt that there is nary a shortage of action one the races are underway. 

I would love to know someone who can both speak in car-code with me, and love the magic of communicative steering. I know they are out there - I read their columns and articles every month in my four car magazine subscriptions. Here at BYU, and many other places, people who are into cars tend to be blinded by numbers. Speed, acceleration, lateral G-forces, braking force, and transient response can all contribute to some adrenalin, but there is more. I want a Lotus Elan. The first one - not the cheesy cop-out FWD that came later. I believe in lightness by design. I believe in fun in relative slowness. I believe that new Mercedes can be a yawn embodied in a car compared to a BMW. I have driven some wickedly fast, boring cars. I have owned a slow, deliriously fun car (MkI MR2). Of course, the WRX I just sold was fast and fun, but I really miss my MR2 - or Senor Dos as I knew the little guy. I understand perfectly the advantages of automatic transmissions and automated constant mesh gearboxes, but the connection between man and machine with the use of three pedals is irreplaceable. 

I love high-tech - for family cars. And possibly for hypercars. But I hope the Miata and Lotuses in general stick around. I wish we Americans weren't so stuck on airbags, stereos and A/C - without preaching about bling presently. It weighs so much, adds so little (except perhaps for the A/C - but I want the choice to go the masochist route), and has been over-hyped. I want a car with no radio and no place to hang my phone while set on speaker-phone-operation. The freedom that could provide might put masseuseses(es) out of business permanently. Unless they want to work on the stiff forearms and clenched jaws. Honestly, the biggest downside I can see in moving back the Motherland (obviously, Texas) someday is the lack of curves in the roads. I want a whole string of different character bends to test my mettle and let me meld with machine.

Pennsylvania, conversely, appeals to me solely for its delicious blacktop. Silky black ribbons meandering through gorgeous forests abound for my gleeful pleasure - pure automotive heaven. 

I think I could be buddies with Peter Egan - he is a sucker for an old Lotus, an old Ducati, an old Strat, and an old Marshall. I'll take all four, please.