February 2010 Archives

No, not Curling as in pumping-iron like Hans and Franz, but as in the sport that we used to see played on ABC's Wide World Of Sports, in the '70s, when there was nothing else to show, and Curling, as in the sport that we sometimes see in the Olympics.

Why am I talking about Curling, you ask? Well, it would seem that I have become somewhat obsessed with it this past week. I've always had an interest in Curling, because right here in Utica, NY, the humble town of my birth, we've had a curling club in continuous operation since 1868. I used to walk past it twice a day, when I walked to and from my high school, but despite its proximity, I never went inside. It was a place of mystery, like Willy Wonka's factory.

In the intervening years, I hadn't thought about Curling that often, except for when it would occasionally pop up on television, and on that day in 1995, when the Utica Curling Club, on Francis Street in West Utica*, burned down. Fortunately the club had proper insurance, and the the club was able to relocate, and build a nice new home in the suburbs.

These Olympics also mark the first time that I actually decided to learn the rules of the game. A quick read on the Internet explained much, and a few hours of viewing filled in the rest. As the rules started to sink in, and the tactics started to become more clear, it became quite obvious to me that this game had much in common with another game that I love: Billiards. It also struck me that the things that make me a good pool player, might also make me a good Curler, and because of this, I have decided to give Curling a try. If I enjoy it as much as I think I will, I plan to join the local club for next winter's season, to have some fun, and also in the hopes that this will make the normally endless winter, seem shorter.

I'm sure that most of you have seen Curling on television this Olympic season, and have turned the channel. I have no idea why NBC has decided to give so much coverage to this event on their cable channels, but I would encourage you to become a little more familiar with the game, and try to appreciate the elegance of its play.


 * The Google Maps image to which I linked is where the club used to be, on Francis Street, before it burned down. The club used to occupy the back lot where the 'A' is, and the area above the 'A' where the two houses are now.

This post is about electric cars. Real electric cars, not fake electric cars like the Toyota Prius, and the Honda Insight, which are two among many other Hybrids (half gas and half electric), currently on the market.

I really can't talk about electric cars in the modern age without first talking about the General Motors EV1, which was manufactured between 1996, and 1999, and leased under the now defunct Saturn nameplate. The story of that vehicle was chronicled in great detail, in the film Who Killed The Electric Car. I highly recommend the film, and won't go into great detail about that vehicle, but after producing eight hundred vehicles, and leasing them to happy customers, nearly all of the cars were destroyed at the end of their lease term. A few vehicles survived, were hobbled, and exist in various automotive museums.

After seeing the film, I was left with many questions, not actually about who killed the electric car, but about things like why General Motors even tooled up to manufacture the car, if they were only going to stop manufacturing them, claiming the expenses were too high, and various other excuses. Don't costs go down when you pay for the tooling over time? Something was up. Suffice it to say that none of GM's excuses added up to me.

It has always seemed to me that the automotive industry, and the oil industry were in bed together. Makes sense, right? They have a kind-of symbiotic relationship... or do they? The oil industry needs cars with internal combustion engines to sell lots of gasoline, but does the auto industry really need the oil industry? I don't think so. They get to make and sell cars no matter what powers them. It seems to me that Detroit needs to get out of bed with big oil, since they simply do not need them.

For decades, there have been many small companies doing electric car conversions, to normal automobiles. Simple. Rip out the engine, and gas tank, and replace them with an electric motor, and some batteries. But these companies are very small boutique-style companies, with little to no market penetration, and little to no funding for research and development.

In 2003, a company with real financial backing, called Tesla Motors, incorporated, with the goal of producing an electric sports car, as well as more run-of-the-mill sedans, and as of today, are producing about twenty five vehicles per week. I have seen their offerings, and they are impressive.

But where are the big boys? It's been eleven years since the EV1 project was scrapped; why have none of the other big car companies come forward with an all-electric vehicle? Well, I recently started seeing commercials for a new, all-electric vehicle, called the Nissan Leaf (oh please). After visiting their web site, it is unclear to me when we will actually see these cars for sale at the dealerships, but it does seem clear that Nissan is making a real commitment to production of both the new-technology battery, and the vehicle, itself. I am encouraged by this, and think that this is a huge step. Hopefully it will pressure the other manufacturers to start designing and releasing their own electric cars.

Nissan reports that the Leaf will initially have a range of one hundred miles. To many people that doesn't sound like much, when we are used to our cars being able to travel many hundreds of miles on one tank of gas, but studies show that most people only drive about thirty five miles per day. I think that people just need to re-adjust their thinking. I also know that the technology exists today to give electric cars a three hundred mile range on one charge. Don't worry, that technology will reach these cars in a very short time.

I was having a conversation about electric cars with a friend, just the other day. We both agreed that each of us could live quite nicely with a one hundred mile electric car, and are thrilled that one of the major manufacturers is finally getting on board, and will be offering a mass-production vehicle, in a more affordable price range.

I can't wait to see them on the dealership lots. Make mine silver, please.

Burt Reynolds And Slim Whitman: Separated at birth??

(Images of Slim)

Any economic system that can not provide jobs for all those who want to work, any governmental system that honors the minority of the elite over the majority of the common person, and any health care system that does not take care of everyone, can not be said to "work" in any meaningful way.

I recently decided that I need an unhealthy obsession. I want to worship some ridiculous brand, or inanimate object to the point where I alienate large groups of people, and I need your help. Only, I am having trouble deciding what brand/object to worship, so I am soliciting suggestions.

Now, most of you are probably thinking that I should pick a popular computer brand, like so many before me have, but I consider that to be a rather mundane, boring choice. I want something different, and off-the-beaten-path.

I know, I know, right now you're probably all thinking that I am very lazy, but that's not true! I've put an awful lot of thought into this, but didn't like any of my choices. For example, I briefly considered becoming a fan of the American Standard Toilet brand, but that didn't seem appealing for very long. I also briefly considered obsessing over the Ticonderoga Pencil brand, but that lost its luster when I realized just how hard it was finding those wall-mounted pencil sharpeners like we used to have in grade school. Lastly, I mulled over the idea of worshiping the Swan Garden Hose brand, and I would have, if I still had any idea where my Slip and Slide was.

So as you can plainly see, I need your help. Please email any suggestions that you might have to either of the email addresses on my Contact page.

I extend my thanks in advance.

Last year at some point, I was asked by a local fellow to come to a Board of Directors meeting for a local music fest, and they would have some sort of job (unpaid) for me. I had been wanting to get involved with some sort of project like that for some time, so I ended up going to the meeting, and giving them my contact info, and an idea of what I'd like to do, and where I thought my skills might best be applied within the constraints of the jobs that were available. They took my info and I basically never heard from them again, which was a disappointment, since because of my twenty five years of working in and around the music business, I definitely think I have some skills and connections that would benefit such an organization.

It's amazing how things often come full circle in this life, and the other day, I got a call from a friend who is organizing a small but local, outdoor music festival for this summer, and he asked if I would like to be Technical Director. Well heck yes! This is exactly the kind of thing with which I've been wanting to be involved. This event is scheduled for a weekend in August, but I can't give out any other details yet. As things become more concrete, I will be able to do so.

At Salon last night, we also started a kind-of ad hoc committee to organize a local Spring picnic, to as one attendee put it, "Bring in the Spring with great exuberance!" This event will be in May, and again, once details become a little firmer, I will be able to divulge more information.

I was watching some political show last night and they were discussing the possibility of a renewed Health Care Bill, with a Public Option, and the host asked the guest what the chances of that were, with Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader. The guest didn't know, but did offer that Harry Reid leads by watching the majority.

 Ummmmmm.... isn't that called following??????

Feature 1: The Aviator

Feature 2: Amelia

Feature 1: Kinky Boots

Feature 2: The World's Fastest Indian

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the impossibly minuscule likelihood that there is a God. I tend to always be thinking about things like this, but finding this website, a few weeks ago got me thinking about it even more.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an Agnostic who leans toward being an Atheist. I can't absolutely prove there isn't a God, but I suspect there isn't one.

I always wondered what actually made people switch from polytheistic belief systems (Paganism, many gods), to monotheistic belief systems (one god). It seems to me that if gods do exist, and there is only one, that he is going to be one hell-of-a busy entity. Watching over the universe is probably a very big job, which is why Paganism always made more sense to me. In fact, I think Paganism is a lot like the Unix Philosophy, which is why Paganism makes the most sense. In the Unix Philosophy, you design and write programs to be small, and to do one task very well. Why have these gigantic, bloated, memory-hogging programs that do a million things, when you can have a bunch of smaller programs, that do one thing each, very well? Why shouldn't this be true in theism as well? Have a bunch of gods, each doing different things, and doing them very well. Most Pagan Mythoi also seem to have a God King, with the lesser gods being under him/her in the power-structure, which implies a kind of hierarchical command structure. This also makes sense to me. We all know that military organizations, which employ hierarchical command structures, can be very efficient in delegating responsibility and duties. Again, overseeing the universe sounds like a big job, and delegating duties to many lesser gods seems like the way to do it.

Among my friends, their opinions on the topic of gods, and the afterlife occupy a pretty broad spectrum. Not that there being a God, or gods implies an afterlife, but they do seem to go hand in hand. Despite the fact that I don't believe in the likelihood of any God, or gods, and I am not expecting to run into any old, deceased friends in any sort of afterlife, I have many friends who do believe in these things, and we get along fine.

What got me thinking about this topic, today, was while I was flipping around the TV dial (remember when TV's had DIALS???), I whizzed past a channel showing the movie, Ghost. This film deals very much with death, and the afterlife, and I began to think about my friends and their beliefs. More specifically, the friends who tend to believe in some sort of something, after we die.

Some believe in Heaven and Hell, and others believe in some form of reincarnation. One of my friends who would profess to enjoy life, once told me that she has already picked out her husband's next partner, in the case of her own death. Yet, in films like Ghost, and other romantic films, they talk about people being soul-mates, who are meant to be together, forever.

In real life, sometimes, when one half of a married couple dies, the other never remarries, and spends the rest of their life, alone, and one would think, very lonely. My friend who has already picked out her husband's future partner finds this choice very distasteful, and thinks that just because your partner has died, that you shouldn't stop living, and enjoying life, and despite what anyone else thinks, you should, in whatever time-frame is appropriate for you, get back in the game, and begin again to enjoy life with a partner.

This is where I begin to have a problem.

Example:

Hypothetical Mr. Smith believes in God, and the afterlife. If Mr. Smith's wife/soul-mate dies, and in time, Mr. Smith finds another partner, isn't he, in a way, cheating on his wife, who is waiting to meet him again in the afterlife, when he dies? And if Mr. Smith then dies, leaving his new partner behind, and reunites with the previously deceased Mrs. Smith, isn't Mr. Smith then cheating on his second partner, that he left behind, living her mortal life? Say nothing of the fact that the deceased Mrs. Smith may have already found a new partner in the afterlife, by the time Mr. Smith arrives at the Pearly Gates.

This is complex stuff, and raises a lot of quasi-serious questions for me, on the topic of fidelity and morality. It seems like there is great potential here, for there to be a lot of problems in the afterlife, when all of the parties finally arrive, and start sorting out their issues and feelings.

At the end of the day, I suspect that no one will have any good answers for me.

Anyway, just my two cents.

Now that the sport with the non-round ball is over, we can all exhale and start thinking and talking about real sports like Baseball (and Cycling, but that's another post).

My favorite team, the NY Mets, have a lot of question marks surrounding their lineup this season. They have several players coming back from off-season surgery, including their nameplate player, Johann Santana.

Many people are criticising them for not attempting to acquire more free-agents in the off season, but considering that the talent pool wasn't that great this winter, I am not holding it against them. They did sign Jason Bay, one of the few true impact-players that were available in the off-season. Bay should provide a lot of power, and protection for other people in the lineup, which is good, since Carlos Delgado will not be returning.

With Delgado not returning, there has been a lot of discussion about what the Mets will do at First Base, this coming season. Most people were hoping that they would go out and sign a veteran, and relegate Daniel Murphy to either a trade, or riding the bench. I am actually a Murphy fan, and was hoping that they would give him a shot as the starting First Baseman, and at this point it looks like that is exactly what is going to happen, with Fernando Tatis backing him up.

I would like to see Murphy play every day, regardless of who is pitching against the Mets. I am not a fan of platooning at any position in baseball. When you have two guys playing one position, and neither gets to play full time, I don't feel like either player has a chance to get in a groove, and really achieve any sort of pattern of success.

In addition to three pitchers, and several position players returning from various levels of surgery in the off-season, Jose Reyes, the premiere shortstop, is returning from am injury that required surgery, and kept him out for almost all of last season.

The state of sports medicine today is nothing short of amazing, and players usually are able to recover from these sorts of injuries, but it is never guaranteed. I guess we're just going to have to wail until April to see how things play out.

I'm crossing my fingers!

Noun

1: All life as you know it stopping instantaneously, and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.

On another blog, I once wrote an article about a local pizzeria that was offering a gluten-free pizza. Ironically, I wrote that post almost exactly two years ago, on February 6th, 2008. For me, the idea of getting a take-out gluten-free pizza was amazing, because I had not been able to do it for five years. Sure, there were a few fine frozen gluten-free pizza offerings, but there's nothing quite like being able to feel normal again, and being able to go to a local pizzeria, and get something to go. Sadly, that pizzeria, the NY Pizza & Deli, had to close for reasons that I won't go into, here, but the good news is that there is another famous local pizzeria offering a gluten-free pie.

O'scugnizzo's Pizzeria was the first pizzeria that ever opened in Utica, in 1943. Why, just the other day I learned that my dad took my mom there for their very first date. Our family always enjoyed their pizza, and it was our pizza of choice for many years. When I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, of course, that all changed. But now that O'scugnizzo's is offering a gluten free pie, I am happy to report that they will once again be my pizzeria of choice.

Right now they are only offering a 9-inch personal pie, but I know that their gluten-free crust supplier offers other sizes, so I hope that they expand their menu to include larger pies in the future.

Buon Cibo!

Hi folks.

I haven't felt like writing in a while. I am not sure where the Muse went, but I hope it returns, soon. In lieu of a real post, I thought that I would talk a little bit about some recent extracurricular activities that I have engaged in.

I played chess for the first time in many years, earlier in the week. At one time, chess was pretty big in my life. I used to play in tournaments, and I even ran a local chess club with my friend Joe. We formed our club in 1991, and we called it The Robert J. Fischer Memorial Chess Club. The astute among you are probably saying to yourselves, "But Bobby Fischer was alive in 1991!?" That is correct, and that is why our motto was, "Not Dead, But What Has He Done For Us Lately?" Gallows humour to be certain, but if you are familiar with his story, you know that after his 1972 World Championship victory against Boris Spassky, he went into seclusion, only occasionally popping up to denounce those whom he hated. The very ironic thing that happened in 1992, was that Fischer came out of seclusion to play Spassky once again. This was a huge event in chess circles, and Joe and I would often joke about how we were responsible for Fischer's having come out of seclusion, because obviously he had heard about our chess club name!

Bobby Fischer died in 2008, and despite his issues, we at no time meant any disrespect with the club name. It was only our attempt at dark humour. In fact we were an officially recognized club by the United States Chess Federation, while the club was active.

The reason I began to play less and less chess, was because as I played more tournaments, the game began to become stressful for me. Having to play many games in a single day, constantly being watched over by that relentless task-master known as the chess clock, started no longer to be fun. So my goal now is just to play a little chess, and see if I can enjoy it while getting my head wrapped around it again.

My car continues not to start on cold days. I was told that it would be easy to source a new ignition switch, but that does not seem to be the case. I should find a replacement switch just in time for summer.

I discovered an excellent gluten-free alternative to the Cream Of Wheat that I grew up eating on cold winter mornings. The product is called Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal, and it's delicious.

Last night I was at a friend's house trying to get his very old scanner, working with his very new computer. The device driver did not seem to be cooperating with his operating system, so I ended up going to my backup plan which was to simply photograph the pieces with my digital camera, on his art table. That ended up working very well, and we were happy with the results.

And no, I still have not seen Avatar.

Be well, and hopefully the Muse will return in some small way, soon.