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There’s been a growing amount of attention focused on alternative energy for vehicles. Much of that talk has placed emphasis on pure electric cars, hybrid electric cars and ethanol based solutions. I’m certainly not the expert on alternative energy but as a consumer, and a car enthusiast, I’m disappointed at the direction (or misdirection) of where tomorrows cars might look like.

At the 2008 Concorso Italiano in Monterey, I was able to immerse in almost 100 years of automotive progress. It’s astounding how much the car has and has not changed. But I won’t bring up the gas guzzling Ferrari Maranello in this blog, but rather talk about what crossed my mind when I sat inside the Tesla (yes, it was there between the Maseratis and Jaguars).

Besides its 0-60mph time of 3.7 seconds and that it will not directly contribute to global warming, the car was… well… blah. And for $100k USD, I was between a “huh?” and “wtf?” state of mind. Is it just the cool factor? I mean it’s a Lotus Elise with an electric engine - oh wait, it’s 3 Lotus Elise’s (cost wise) but you only get one. There’s more - after driving for 275 miles (Tesla’s numbers), I have to park it and find a plug - wait for 15 hours (tests show that it’s actually 15 hours - not the touted 4 hours) to fully charge. Really?

Therefore, I need 2 - one to drive and one to charge. That’s now a $200k USD garage. But wait - where will I put the family, the girlfriend, my kids, the groceries, ahhh. No problem, let’s get a minivan. Ok, now I just killed my cool-factor by getting a minivan. And I’ve also urinated on the “save the world” reason because 9 out 10 trips, I’ll have to drive the minivan. Sigh.

And what about my years of training. Every man in this planet grew up having to make the “errrrrrrrr (shift), errrrrrrrrrr (shift), aaaarrrrrrr, (shift) AAARRRRRRRRRrooommmm” sound when playing with their toy cars. You hope one day to make enough money to own a real car and NOT have to make that sound again. In fact, there are $24,000 exhaust systems as add-ons for cars just to improve that sound. Accessorizing your car with a Tubi exhaust or a Fuchs exhaust is like telling the world that you just had the best sex ever. But now you’re telling me that I don’t hear that in a Tesla? $100k USD and I now have to scream that f-ing sound in my car like an idiot?

Well how about a hybrid? You still have to make f-ing sound like an idiot but at least you only spent 1/3 of the price. Perfect - that Toyota hybrid car is not the prettiest car on earth (apologies now to all my friends that drive a Priu… Wow, I can’t say the word let alone write it). I can’t admire a car with such a close resemblance to the Aztek - sorry all around. But how about the GM Volt? At least it looks like a car and not a toaster. How about… ok, ok - I’m sure there’s going to be a slew of others that will continue this hybrid concept in the next 5 years. But a couple of things still bother me - they will still need petrol (albeit less); they are designed to be economical first - beautiful last; there’s an unknown on their longevity (Road and Track just documented a 700,000 mile Corvair Monza); and they take a huge step backwards in automotive performance. But my biggest worry is “will the emissions you saved be all for naught when they dispose the car’s batteries?”

Then you have the genius of ethanol. I can stop here and let you think about it. Better yet, use your favorite search engine and look for “ethanol genius” (no wait, that won’t give you a result). I’m not the ethanol expert - however, when you can sniff the political cologne seeping through the gift marked “Ethanol”, something is wrong - you don’t want it.

Ok here’s the executive summary: ethanol augments fossil fuel consumption because it’s derived from things like corn, algae, human hair harvested from all barbers, old light bulbs, or whatever new formula some Cal Berkeley professor preaches. In it’s most common source, we are subsidizing corn farmers, who in turn are giving their corn to ethanol processing, which you and I pay for in the fuel we buy. Isn’t that somewhat wrong? Maybe my facts are skewed - feel free to comment. But wait, corn for ethanol makes the farmer more money so they skip the potatos, wheat and chili peppers (I like those) because those are not as profitable - who cares about feeding the rest of the world.

Ok, I’m going too fast. Let me spell it out. America is one generous country. We like to give food (as aid) to starving people around the world - something that the rest of the world’s citizens (and probably most Americans) don’t know about. For a country with only 350 million people, we donate a lot of food per capita (that’s my nationalistic pride peeking out). But since corn is more expensive due to ethanol needs, farmers are (and I can’t blame them) focusing on corn only - less food, more corn. See how that happens? Corn = profit. Anything but corn = not as much profit. Smart farmer = make more corn. Hungry kid in Africa = sorry, ran out of food but here’s a gallon of gas for your car - enjoy.

So then what is the answer? Am I just going to be the one that defecates on these brilliant solutions?

Those that know me (and I feel sorry for you) have probably heard me many times from my virtual mountain top next to a fake burning bush preaching about… tada!!! HYDROGEN. This is the future. Let’s not get into the science (because I don’t know it - and you can find better sources on the web) and give you this… “Hydrogen engine cars drive like normal cars, except they run on hydrogen - the most abundant resource in the entire universe (except activists)”. It emits the most beautiful thing - “water”. That’s it. No carbon dioxide, no nasty fumes, no nothing zip nada. Just water (mostly evaporated).

I know what you’re thinking - “holy magic car Batman, are you sniffing felt tip pens again?” Not as much my good friend. The future is here - take a look at the Honda Clarity. It looks like a car - it’s not gorgeous (I save that word for Ferraris) but it’s attractive. It drives like a car. It sounds like a car (very important). It seats regular adults like a car. It’s 0-60mph performance is like a normal Honda. And I don’t have to make that damn sound - because it’s a car (except it uses Hydrogen). There are many running around in Los Angeles (where they have Hydrogen filling stations all over town) today. Price - not for sale. $600/month lease for 3 years, that includes all maintenance except for consumables (oil, tires, etc). Ok, it’s still a hybrid (Hydrogen plus an electric engine) but it’s progress. No petrol required.

Problem: where in the hell are you going to get hydrogen? Yeah, that is indeed a problem. But here’s the solution. I’m going to send an email to President Obama (he has a Blackberry). And you should too. The president’s infrastructure plan should include this - because it can be a catalyst for an economic stimulus but also the direction of where the automotive industry should go. Oh and by they way, since my tax money are going to bail out the big-3 automakers, we should require them to follow this direction within 3-5 years. And the beauty of all this - it brings back dependence of energy to - well, just us. Hydrogen provision requires a technological solution - not some country who has access to fossil fuel buried beneath their dirt.

This transformation will change our need for fossil fuel. It also lessens our impact against the environment (at least when it comes to emissions). But there’s also another side effect to this direction. It frees up the petrol for the enthusiasts that like to keep their vintages and exotics running. And because there’s so few of them, emissions will be insignificant.

But alas, we are in a world of influence. And the future of hydrogen is uncertain. There will be better fuel sources - I don’t doubt that. But until then, I can’t imagine Hydrogen not being a big part of that future.

This is a copy of a letter made public today by the Oakland Raiders sent to Lane Kiffin, who was replaced by Tom Cable (Offensive Line Coach) as the new Raiders head coach.

September 12, 2008

By Hand Delivery and Federal Express

Dear Lane:

Over the past months, you have made a number of public statements that were highly critical of, and designed to embarrass and discredit, this organization, its players and its coaches. I left you alone during training camp in hopes that you would cease your immature and destructive campaign.

However, you continue to make public statements that are critical of the organization, its players as whole as well as individual players. Such statements constitute conduct detrimental to the Raiders and I will no longer stand silently by while you continue to hurt this organization.

Further, your contract is quite clear that you work “subject to the direction and supervision of the General Partner” and that the General Partner has “the exclusive right to do all things, which in its sole discretion are necessary to maintain and improve the Club, the football organization and their activities.”

I realized when I hired you that you were young and inexperienced and that there would be a learning process for you. Your mistakes on player personnel and coaches were overlooked based on our patience with you. But I never dreamt that you would be untruthful in statements to the press as well as on so many other issues. Your actions are those of a coach looking to makes (sic) excuses for not winning, rather than a coach focused on winning.

For example, with the exception of Gibril Wilson, you were involved in recruiting all free agents and determining salaries for them and you were explicit about your desire to sign Javon Walker and DeAngelo Hall amongst others. All were a must to sign in your eyes, Hall, in particular, because he played for Greg Knapp in Atlanta and Knapp gave him high grades. Do not run from that now.

I do realize that you did not want us to draft JaMarcus Russell. He is a great player. Get over it and coach this team on the field, that is what you were hired to do. We can win with this team!

In regards to your recent fabrications about the defense, during the final cuts you made every cut on offense and every cut on defense except for (Fred) Wakefield on defense and (Seth) Wand on offense. Furthermore, during the game Monday night (defensive coordinator) Rob (Ryan) played your Cover-2 defense and we got killed on an approximately 50-yard touchdown pass and an approximately 70-yard gain that led to a field goal.

You meet every week with the defensive coaches to go over both the past game and to get a general feel for what will happen during the week in practice. You have the ability and authority to provide your input during those meetings and the preparation of the game plan. I do not have weekly meetings with Rob — you do.

During the week no one has ever told you what to do on either offense or defense. In addition, no one has ever told you during a game what to do on either offense or defense and you call every play on offense. During a game if you want to blitz more, all you have to do is let Rob know what blitz you want and he will do it.

Although you continue to use the media to express your dissatisfaction with others, no one has publicly pointed out to you that in four preseason games and one regular-season game played this year, your offense has scored one first-half touchdown. That put tremendous pressure on the defense.

I know that you wanted to bring your father in to run the defense and that Monte told me that he wanted to come here even though he as (sic) under contract to Tampa. However I did not want to tamper with another team. In any event that was over seven months ago. Do not now also run from the defense and your responsibilities.

This letter constitutes notice that if you further violate any term of your contract, in any manner whatsoever, you will be terminated for cause. I trust that this will not occur.

A.D. Football, Inc.

New England - It seems like everyone believes they will pick up just where they left off.  I don’t think as many players will have the type of career years they had last year, and I think the defense has sustained some key losses and has gotten older.  Still, they should have enough to win this division.

NY Jets - In addition to Brett Favre, they have an interesting group of receivers - sort of like Favre had with the Pack last season.  If the offense does click, they should be back in the playoffs.

Buffalo - If there was some hint that their defense was going to be vastly improved, I’d give them a shot at making the playoffs.  If Trent Edwards falters they have no chance.

Miami - Probably will elevate from pitiful to mediocre.

Pittsburgh - The combination of Holmes and Ward at WR makes them explosive.  The depth at RB is much better than last year.  You know Pittsburgh defense is going to be tough as always, so if the O Line keep Big Ben upright this team is one of the AFC elite.

Cleveland - Is the defense going to be improved enough and is their offense going to stay as hot as it was last year?  I’m not so sure.  Last year, the team had no expectations, but this year expectations may be too high.

Baltimore - As usual, the roster looks pretty loaded with 1 gaping hole at QB.  When they had decent QB play with McNair two seasons ago, they won the division, and without it they plummeted.  It looks like they are in for another year without it.

Cincinnati - One of my candidates for worse team in the league.  Defense still looks like its lacking in talent and the offensive cohesion they showed a couple of seasons ago looks to be all gone.

Indianapolis - As always, will be near the top - how close to the top will depend on how well the D plays.

Jacksonville - Everyone’s sexy pick.  Unless Jones-Drew and Taylor are running wild their offense sputters.  Let’s face it, the O is not as good as Indy or New England, and the defense is not much better than the Steelers if at all.  It’s illogical to think they will be better than any of those teams.

Tennessee - It’s apparent that Young has not picked up the pro passing game.  I wonder what sort of magic Jeff Fisher is going to come up with to work around this problem.

Houston - Developing a pretty decent roster.  So far Schaub has not had to endure any harsh criticism.  It’ll be interesting to see what he can do now that he’ll actually be given a fair chance with the level of talent around him.

San Diego - With or without Merriman, probably the most talented roster in the league.

Denver - I think Denver is going to be involved in a lot of very high scoring games this year.

Oakland - They still don’t quite look like a playoff contender but it’s nice to finally go into a year with an expectation of more than 4 wins.

Kansas City - Herm will get as much out of his defense as he can get, but even if it’s much improved their season could still be torpedoed by Croyle’s inconsistency. (Read interceptions)

Dallas - Crayton gets by because he’s got T.O. on the other side.  If they had a real #2 WR the offense would truly be scary.  Even still, it’s way better than anything else in the NFC.

NY Giants - This was a decent team that rode a hellacious pass rush through the playoffs and to a Super Bowl victory.  I really never felt like the rest of the team was championship calibre however.  I still don’t.

Philadelphia - Was almost going to be my surprise pick for the NFC.  But the most talented receiver on the roster is a rookie and probably cannot be relied upon.  Also, the cutting of Jerome McDougle befuddles me.  This guy spent the pre-season wreaking havoc in opponent’s backfields.  They cut him and the Giants snapped him up.  Weird.

Washington - Why am I always having to be the one who has to point out how overrated this team is?  Two seasons ago people got all excited about their free agent signings and I had to be the voice of reason and point out that the free agents hadn’t actually improved their chances of winning - and lo and behold, they stunk.  Last year I knew they would struggle with Campbell at QB and when he went out and Collins came in they eeked into the playoffs.  But last year there were really only 5 playoff teams (if that many) in the NFC.  They got in by default.  Heck, they barely beat out the Vikings, a team that had NO passing offense.  Now this year, just because they were a “playoff” team last year, prognosticators have taken it for granted that they will be good.  Nope. They are just as bad as they were last year because Campbell hasn’t shown any signs of vast improvement. 

Green Bay - I have faith in this offense, even with Rogers, but it’s going to be hard to expect everything falling into place as it did for them last year.  I’d be a little surprised if they do not win the division (given the competition) but I don’t think they are on the brink of a Super Bowl invitation either.

Chicago - If the defense plays as poorly as it did last year it will be another long season for them.  I expect a little better this season.  One thing is for certain, the play of the QB can’t get any worse.

Minnesota - I’m just not sure the D is going to be a great as everyone is expecting.  I’m not a big fan of their LBs.  Even with Bernard Berrian, the passing offense is still going to be hit and miss with Tavaris Jackson.  I’m not saying this is a bad team, I just think it getting too hyped up.

Detroit - Looking at the roster it really woudn’t surprise me if Detroit won this division.  But this is Detroit so I’m not going to believe it until I actually see it.

New Orleans - Even if the offense doesn’t play to the calibre it did 2 seasons ago, there’s just too much talent on the roster to believe it will struggle as much as it did last year.  The questions remain on the other side of the ball.  If the off season acquisitions improve the defense then suddenly they are one of the better teams in the NFC.

Tampa Bay - They keep drafting players I like and then playing other people.  And Gruden seems more interested in winning with a QB off the scrap heap than just plain winning.  The fact that they won the division last year lends no credibility.  That was done by default.  I think they are about as good as they were last year which probably won’t be good enough this year.

Carolina - I think Dwayne Jarrett will have a break out season.  Add him to Smith and Muhammed and that’s a lot of talent running around in the secondary.  I wonder if Julius Peppers will return to form cuz he didn’t do much last year.  I want to predict big things for this team but after seeing them disappoint me the last two seasons I’m gun shy.

Atlanta - You can’t expect much from them this year being that they’ve got a rookie QB playing with a shabby group of receivers, but don’t be fooled.  I think they have really drafted well the past couple of seasons and they could very well be my surprise pick for the ‘09 season.

Seattle - The Sean Alexander replacements seem to be decent so I don’t expect their offense to suddenly begin to struggle even though they have some injury problems at WR.  Their defense doesn’t get a lot of attention but it actually looks pretty talented.

Arizona - I really feel like the Cards have finally accumulated the critical mass of talent needed to reach the playoffs.  But it’s the Cards.  I’m not actually going to believe it until I see it.

San Francisco - I think the defense is going to play better than most people are expecting this season.  But just because Alex Smith is lacking what he needs between the ears to be a competent NFL quarterback, does not mean J.T. O’Sullivan is going to be the second coming of Montana.  I think the QB situation keeps the Niners from doing any real damage.

St. Louis - I think it’s between them and the Bengals as to which team will be the worst in the NFL this season.

Super Bowl Prediction:  My Super Bowl predictions stink.  Last year’s pick of the Patriots v. Cowboys was about as well as I have done in the salary cap era.  I’m better at making sleeper picks.  Three seasons ago I went with Cincinnati and lo and behold they won their division.  Two seasons ago, San Diego, and they had the best record in the AFC.  Last season I foresaw the emergence of the Packers.  Now in the case of Cincinnati and San Diego I got carried away and predicted they would make the Super Bowl.  I finally learned my lesson and didn’t go so far with the Packers. (and they came within an overtime of actually making it.)  This season, I don’t have a sleeper pick.  There are no under the radar teams that I see big things for.  Thus, I predict the favorites will all succeed.  In the NFC, the clear favorite is Dallas.  In the AFC, you could go a couple of different directions.  I’m going to say New England won’t be as good as last year, Indy will struggle on D, San Diego will have injury problems leaving Pittsburgh as the team to come out on top.  And just because the AFC remains stronger than the NFC I’ll take Pittsburgh over Dallas in the Super Bowl.

The bombardment of “he said, she said” type of information that’s being peddled by ESPN and other sports networks over the Brett Favre situation just does not sit well with me.  I guess the proliferation of sports networks and the amount of pre-game, post-game and week in review type shows is to blame.  There is a lot of air time to fill.  Substantially more time than on the game itself.  The result is that it has turned the talking heads into a bunch of sissy gossipers.  If they are not wearing skirts underneath the desk I’d be shocked.  I wish someone like a Mike Ditka who still has a little testosterone left in him, would call out his counterparts on this point.  Now that would make for some interesting television.

I take occasional road trips and afterwards I write up a little journal of my experiences in order to preserve the good memories.  From my latest trip to Vegas I made an entry that I felt was more appropriate for a blog.  It goes as follows:

When it was about a quarter to 7, I headed out for Cashman Stadium.  I arrived without difficulty, paid to park, bought my ticket for nine bucks and was at my seat before the National Anthem was sung.  Since the game hadn’t started I decided to go get something to eat.  I got a hot dog, pretzel and a Pepsi.  I was dressing my dog when the National Anthem started and it’s really starting to peeve me at how un-American people have gotten about showing their patriotism.  As an American, I should not have to observe the National Anthem if I don’t feel like it.  But everyone in the whole damn stadium came to a stand still so I had to stand there at the condiment stand like an idiot waiting for the fat lady to stop singing, else risk offending these so-called Americans.  These people are too stupid to realize that they are acting more like Nazis then Americans.

“Crash” won the Oscar for best picture before I saw it.  I had high expectations when I finally saw it.  I was dissappointed.  I thought it was terrible.  Painfully so.  Now that it’s been a couple of years since I watched it, I don’t remember all the details, I just remember that all of the characters were bi-polar idiots and that all of the conflict could have been avoided if any characters could have used a smidgin of common sense.  But they couldn’t do that because then there wouldn’t be a movie.  I hate movies like that.

“No Country For Old Men” won this year’s Oscar for best picture and last night I finally saw it.  It exceeded my expectations.  In contrast to “Crash” the characters here are driven by their nature, not stupidity.  In fact, the characters are all exceedingly cunning and crafty.  The conflicts are unavoidable.  Some people may fault this movie for being dark and cold-blooded.  Also, they may not appreciate the open ending.  I didn’t have a problem with it.  I was absolutely riveted for 2 hours.  That’s the kind of movie I love.  This definitely gets added to my fantasy blu-ray collection.

In my humble opinion, when choosing a paint color for a car I think people should follow this simple guideline.  Generally speaking, metallic colors look good on cars with sharp angular edges and non-metallic colors look good on cars with rounded edges.  For instance, if you get a Chrysler 300 you want a metallic color.  If you get a VW Bug, you should get a non-metallic color.  The caveat being that some cars look good in any color (Aston Martin DB 9) and some cars look bad in any color (Toyota Prius, doh!) 

I’m going on record that in a few seasons we’ll look back on this post and say “wow, Scott’s scouting ability is the s—.”  Shawn Bailey is an undrafted rookie free-agent.  The Kansas City Chiefs picked him up.  Though undrafted players have a huge hill to climb to make any team, I believe Bailey’s skill and smoothness as a wide receiver will eventually get him on the field and producing good numbers for the Chiefs.  The way teams structure their rosters I doubt he’ll have much of an opportunity to make anything other than the practice squad in his first season.  So we’ll just have to wait a few seasons to determine if I am right or wrong.

Okay, by the third installment, I’ve become familiar with the fact that someone in a CIA office in Langley or NYC can hear and see everything going on at any given place in Europe in real time.  I’ve accepted that outlandishness.

What ticks me off about watching a movie like this is the MTV editing.  The quick cuts, zooms, poor framing and general jostling around of the camera are a total distraction.  I can’t see what the hell is going on.  You know camera manufacturers spent a lot of time in R & D to develop cameras that won’t shake regardless of what the operator is doing.  Why would the director turn off this feature?  Is it to obscure the fact that he has no story and that the action is completely preposterous?

The shortened time for picks was much nicer.  There was just enough time for an interview, analysis by the talking heads, and a commercial and then the next pick would be coming up.  I still wish they would have started it in the morning like they used to.  I’m a West Coast guy.  I like getting up and having sports on in the morning.

 As for the picks themselves, I was pleasantly surprised.  I looked at a bunch of mock drafts that had a lot of picks that I would have questioned.  But in the actual draft, I thought the teams did an overall good job.  For instance, if you include Matt Ryan as a “blue chip” prospect, than the 7 “blue chip” prospects were taken 1-7 in this draft where they should have gone.  Usually some team reaches early and misses out on a stud.  Also, I was pleased to see that all the mock drafts that had 2 and 3 WRs going in the first round were wrong.  Not a single WR was picked in the first round and that’s the way I thought it should be.

 One last thing:  I will make the prediction right now that even though a lot of people were luke warm about this year’s QB crop, I have a feeling that in the end, it will produce more solid starters than the draft of a few years ago that featured Leinart, Cutler and Young.