Coffee and Sandwiches

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Once upon a time, I attempted to be self-employed.

I got a membership to the Woodworkers' Club at Woodcraft and started to build things that I designed myself. A grand total of 3 furniture projects were completed before I was forced to quit.

Not satisfied with merely designing the look of these projects, I felt compelled to be innovative with joinery. The philosophy was to approach woodworking from a fresh perspective, largely ignoring traditional methods. Each project was successful -- or, would have been...


A complex combination of factors led to my ultimate failure. One of them, I have to admit, is my general lack of a work ethic. I take too long to finish things even when they're projects that I enjoy...

In the end the issue was time. For time spent in the shop, I was supposed to pay a monthly fee. For a while my fees were overlooked, but then someone decided to crack down -- and they wanted back dues. I forget how much it was per month, but over several months it added up to something I could not possibly pay. I could keep up with monthly dues, but that wasn't enough.

It might have been possible to complete those coffee tables before I was forced out. Even when I did manage to find a few hours to spend in the shop, though, there was no guarantee I'd find the space to work in, and often the equipment I needed was being used by someone else.

Another factor was my personal rule of not getting near power tools when I was pissed off. You have no idea -- or maybe you do -- how often a rule like that can impede progress.


Those coffee tables were set to become a pair of impressive pieces, and probably would have led to more consignments. I would still very much like the chance to complete the project, but I have no idea how that could happen. I don't even know whether my materials still exist as I left them.


All I can hope for is to one day be able to pay back the advances I was given, adjusted for inflation. Alternatively, if I had the space to start a woodshop at home, I could try to get my unfinished project back from Woodcraft (or start over) -- but considering how much time and money would be involved, I think the first option would be best.


It gnaws at me from time to time. Don't think I've forgotten.


Will I ever build furniture again? Maybe -- but probably not as a business venture.




Phil Smith
September 10, 2008

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I'm an Asshole?

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I'm an asshole.

Apparently I can be condescending as Hell, and I bitch a lot.

Apparently I can also be funny and insightful, and certain people appreciate my genius, so things balance out...?

'Conceited'. That goes on the list. According to some I'm also pretentious, but no, I don't pretend. I'll admit to lack of knowledge where appropriate -- and that right there, being able to admit you don't know, being willing to learn, is the key to gaining knowledge. If you think you know everything, you cannot learn.

No one can ever know everything. To some it may seem as though I think I know everything, just because I have paid attention to a lot of things over the years, and I'm not afraid to voice my opinion.


'Opinionated'. There's another one. Maybe I do think I know better in a lot of cases, and everyone would be better off if they listened to me. You know what? Maybe I'm right, and everyone needs to fucking listen. In that case I have a few nuggets...

• Don't talk on a cellphone while driving. If it rings, don't answer unless you're on a highway with very little traffic around you (or some similar low-pressure situation) -- and even then, keep it short. If you have hands-free, that's a different story, but you still have to remember that your most important task is DRIVING. Pay ATTENTION.
• Don't get caught up in politics. In the United States of America at least, it's been proven that whomever has been chosen by the elite will win the Presidency. Even the very few we have to choose among have been preselected, and if by some chance the 'wrong' one gets through 'they' can still take measures... 3 letters: JFK.
• Don't fall in love. Now, the last time I was in love I jumped into it... Let me tell you something: Unless the person you're 'in love' with is an actual soulmate, and there's nothing standing in the way of you being happy together forever, you have no chance. Eventually it will end, and your shattered heart will be in pieces on the floor. If you start having feelings for someone, please take a close look. Try to be rational. You may think you're in love, but you may have just not seen the things about the other person that would be dealbreakers. Enjoy the relationship, have fun with the sex, but try not to hang all your hopes on that person. If it works out, great. If it doesn't, at least you have fond memories...
• If you have indeed fallen in (or jumped into) love with someone, despite all the warning signs, take a step back and look at the situation. Will you be able to maintain the relationship? Will you be able to provide everything the other person needs? I jumped into love, and was in bliss while I was with her, but in the end had to place family above all else. It was the most painful decision I ever had to make, but I let her go. I was a complete mess after that, mentally unstable for more months than I care to count. All prior heartbreaks seemed trivial. Please try not to fall, and be very careful when you think you want to jump.
• Eliminate fear. I'm not sure when, but at some point I realized I was not afraid of ANYTHING. You can go ahead and be cautious, and by all means exercise restraint, use your judgment. Just, you know, have no fear. Live right, and you'll have nothing to fear anyway. Things have a way of working themselves out. Exercise trust.
• Forget guilt. Have no remorse. Try to make up for the mistakes you've made, sure, but don't dwell on the past. What's done is done. If you made a mistake, learn from it -- and move on.

I should be writing other things (or maybe I shouldn't be writing anything at all in my present state, after X amount of beers)...



Stay crunchy.



Phil Smith
August 20, 2008

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mercy

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Once upon a time, I met a woman. There was nothing about her I didn't like, and she was pretty far into me as well. At the time I thought I'd be getting a divorce soon...


...but it didn't happen. It was possibly the hardest decision I've ever made, choosing to stick with my family above all else.

Duffy - Mercy (Dunproofin's Thankful Mix)

Challenges are presented to us. This was a big one. I wanted to be with her forever, but I didn't want to be away from my children. Never mind the wife, I mean seriously. She's a train wreck, and I was ready to call the wedding off and never see her again -- but she was pregnant, so I manned up.

Don't get me wrong -- I do love my wife. She's family. I have to. Loved her enough, apparently, to grow our family to a total of 5...

...but we were going through an 'in-house separation' when I met the woman in question.

Duffy - Syrup & Honey

It was a beautiful love affair, from my perspective. In retrospect, it had to have been incredibly wrenching for her. Eventually I had to let her go, as painful as it was for me -- and I stayed in love with her for at least a year afterward.

Life sucks. And, it bites.

Am I over it? Yes and no. I managed to convince myself, over time, that I never REALLY knew her. She kept enough of herself private, probably in self-defense...

We'd both been hurt by love before, had both sworn we'd never fall in love again -- but the night we met, we held hands and jumped. And, it was bliss -- while it lasted.

Somehow Duffy gets close to expressing what it was like. Enjoy the videos.



Phil Smith
July 15, 2008

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What's Going On?

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I've been feeling like I need to post something on the Nation of Earth blog, and something else over at Tellurian Motors... Really, I suppose, I've had the itch to write and am not quite ready to jump back into my novel.

I can feel it coming though, as the story keeps taking form in my head. It being set in the near future, of course I'm going to have to get serious about writing this novel very soon...

##

On the Nation of Earth blog I was going to write something about an intentional community -- or 'tribe', if you will, within the 'nation' -- but then got conflicted over where the post should appear. While the subject of a 'colony' that I would like to establish certainly falls within the subject matter of the Nation of Earth blog, the post I've been working up to probably fits better here at Phil's Mythos...

So anyway as a sort of update, I guess I'll tell you what I've been thinking (or daydreaming) about the place, and put off writing a full post until later...

While I still look at mountaintop removal sites as being nearly ideal, there is some concern about what the mining activity has done to the water table. A good source of clean water is an absolute must, and I'd rather not have to go to extreme measures for it...

There is a company in California that produces premanufactured homes that are about as 'green' as you can get, so as a measure of expedience I'd like to commission one to be sent to the site, shortly after the site is established. If you watch television at all, you may have seen commercials for steel Quonset-style buildings. I'd like to get a few of those as well -- and so right away you see that architectural planning has gone out the window.

The thing to do would be to make every effort to survey and plan for the future use of the grounds...

[break*]

...from the beginning, even without time for full architectural planning. My dream 'lodge' can be added later, but certainly not before the greenhouses go in.


Look for a new Nation of Earth post soon...


[*had to stop yesterday]


I'm the only one in our family of five who drives, for now, so I was pulled away from this blog to play chauffeur. Had to wait in the car for almost an hour...

Started thinking about my first flat-panel design, the Brubeck, and how it might be updated. Happened to have a pencil and a couple of blank, unlined 3X5 cards in the car, so... I did a few quick (and small) sketches.

The Brubeck was originally intended to be powered by a pair of largish bike engines (finally settled on Kawasaki ZX14s) fuelled by propane, as a sort of farewell celebration of internal combustion. Now, all the concepts for Tellurian Motors are electric -- and if there's going to be an electric Brubeck, I thought, it should benefit from the packaging advantages inherent to electric vehicles.




Meet the Brubeck 2.

The original is front-engined, and its proportions are reflected in that. The redux can have its electric motor mounted between the rear wheels, and its ultracapacitors can be tucked away in various places throughout the chassis. With electric vehicles, the packaging constraints designers have always had to deal with in order to fit in an engine and fuel tank are gone. What freedom!

The Brubeck 2 retains a long nose and short deck, but the base of the windshield can be brought farther forward, without having to worry about engine access.


What I had wanted to write about before, concerning Tellurian Motors, was the future availability of ultracapacitors (which can be fully charged in five minutes, and will eventually replace batteries in countless applications). I've learned that Zenn has acquired exclusive rights to purchase EEStor's ultracapacitors for a very wide range of civilian applications, including conversions and production vehicles.

This means that until someone else starts producing this key component, anyone who wants ultracapacitors for their vehicles will have to go through Zenn. Shrewd move on their part, but now they'll be even more difficult to acquire than I imagined.



Speaking of imagining, of course without a ton of money I'll never be able to establish a planned community, or build a line of electric vehicles there. No, for now I'll have to be satisfied with daydreaming and writing about them.

However there's no reason I can't incorporate these fantasies into my novel -- and so all the mental effort I put toward them will not be entirely in vain.


Meanwhile I continue to carve 'utensil art', and have been taking photos of my current work-in-progress...




Phil Smith
June 24 & 25, 2008

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the Biker

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Learned to ride on a little hard-tired monstrosity, frame broke underneath me when I jumped a curb. Later, after a move, my brothers pitched in and built a bike for me, mostly from spare parts.

The frame may or may not have been from a (20") Schwinn Stingray. The handlebars were 'ape-hangers', and the fork was from a 26". The only new parts were innertubes and a striped banana seat. The older sissy bar eventually failed, at which point I had to bolt on a conventional saddle.

They had painted it flat black, and that used saddle was powder blue. Sure I missed my black banana seat with its offset stripes in 2 shades of orange, but its replacement gave me better control, and was lighter. Riding on my paper route, with the bag resting on the top tube when it was heavy, wore down the paint in one spot to show the frame's previous colours...


When I was 12 (and 5'10"), I used my paper route money to buy a new 27" Raleigh Rampar. $140 was a lot to spend on a bicycle in 1979, but I still have it, and would still be riding it today if it didn't have too many broken spokes on the front wheel. Should really get that taken care of...

As a teenager living far outside of town in the 1980s, I found nothing more entertaining than riding my bicycles. Plural, because as nice as my metallic red British ten-speed was, that old 20" junkyard special was still loads of fun. With the high handlebars and the long fork, and a loose front hub that gave a vibration over 10mph, the thing felt like a Harley to me...

And hey, there's something to be said for single-speed, coaster-brake riding.

I gave that bike to my oldest nephew eventually, and his dad (my brother Dave) at some point had to clear his basement of old bike parts, so it's gone.


Speaking of Dave, recently he's been gifting my family with bikes. Last year he gave us a generic Chinese-built mountain bike, has a quick-release on the seatpost so everyone in the family can ride, no problem. About a week ago he came by with a women's Huffy Saratoga and a Schwinn Suburban...

Never mind the Saratoga, for now. Its front innertube wouldn't inflate, got the wheel off today but darkness intervened... We haven't ridden it yet. The Suburban's front tube failed the day after we got it, but not before I got a serious taste...

Today I got to ride the Schwinn Suburban again. Man, I can't tell you how many hours I spent on the Raleigh, until it was an extension of my being, as natural as walking, but this Suburban is a different trip altogether. I probably rode something similar in 2 previous lives...

While I haven't had the pleasure, in this life, of riding this type of bicycle, it feels incredibly natural -- as natural as it felt to swing up into the saddle on the one and only opportunity I've had in this life to ride a horse.


On a bicycle you are completely in control. You're not prompting an animal, or an engine. You pedal, and it goes. It's a very simple device that you can largely maintain and repair on your own -- and yet it can take you places, or simply give you a ride for the sake of riding. Meanwhile, you're getting exercise.

My new-to-me old Schwinn has full fenders, so if I ride when it's wet I won't be damp all up my back.


Don't even mention fuel prices. If it's at all convenient for you to ride a bicycle instead of driving, why would you choose a motorized vehicle? And hey, if it's nice out why would you play video games or putz around on the computer when you could be riding?


If you don't have a bike, get one.



Stay crunchy.




Phil Smith
May 31st, 2008

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2Nite

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Tonight I'd like to be inspired to write something ground-shaking, or to text-conference with friends I've made online. These things are not happening.

No, I'm just sitting here listening to surf music, from my own files and from MySpace, as my buzz increases...

Here is the image currently on my desktop:

I keep looking at it... Horrified as I am by the process -- and political conditions -- that allowed this space to be created, I'd like to be the person in charge of what happens to it next.

In the center is a prime spot for a flying saucer landing pad. Elsewhere there is plenty of room for a fully functional and self-sustaining 'intentional community'...


Just imagine, if you will, life in such a community. Though the landscape was altered by coal mining, all your electricity is provided by solar panels and windmills. Greenhouses provide much of your food, while many other needs are met through on-site production facilities. You know your neighbours, and are friends with them. You work side-by-side with them, producing the things your community needs and those things that will be traded with other communities.

Utopia? Yes, that is what this image helps me imagine. I'm one lottery win away from beginning to make it happen...



Phil Smith
May 10, 2008

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The Cellphone Number of the Beast

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~~~This is a rant I started on the 3rd...~~~

WHY?


Why do you suppose cellphones have become so popular?

If you have to think about that for a moment, you might say that it's because it's very convenient to be able to make calls and receive them, no matter where you are. You might also mention texting, and GPS, and whatever else -- but those things are ancillary.


It just may be that there is something about cellphones that is like a drug.

Look it up for yourselves, for that is the best way to be informed. Haven't looked into it myself, to verify my suspicions, but there has been a lot of work with electromagnetic frequencies -- and I suspect that cellphone companies have tapped into that research.

There is a natural frequency that the Earth herself emits, and that keeps us on an even keel. Other frequencies can agitate us, or make us feel very loving, or anything in between. There are resonant frequencies, as scientists in secret government programs established decades ago, that are capable of inducing just about any emotional state you can name.

Music, just with its tempo, can effect our mood. Is it such a stretch to consider that electromagnetic frequencies might do the same?

Seriously, there were scientists who spent many years studying the various effects of different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation on human subjects, staring in the 1950s.


Now, I'll readily admit that I absolutely hate cellphones. It would be reason enough, if the extreme rudeness of users was my only gripe -- or that as a driver I see the worst infractions being made by other drivers who happen to have one arm dedicated to holding a cellie, seemingly oblivious to the rules of the road. Another issue, though, for me at least, is the radiation those things emit. I'm particularly sensitive to such things, and on one occasion experienced a very painful and sudden headache in a grocery store, only to examine my surroundings and find a woman out of my previous sightline, answering a call.

The one time I myself used a cellphone while driving, I was in an unfamiliar vehicle, and in answering the call experienced a level of disorientation hardly consummate with that particular combination of piloting a strange conveyance while, odd as it may have been, answering a phone. The disorientation I experienced was very much like being on some kind of mind-altering drug -- and then and there I vowed never to attempt to combine vehicle operation with cellphone usage.

I was more or less forced to put one of those things up to my head since then, a couple of times...

~~~and, break~~~

Should I even go back and read that before going on? Okay, I skimmed it...


Anyway, my point is that I seriously suspect cellphones, by the carefully selected frequencies with which they operate, act like a drug -- and a quite addictive drug, at that. There is no need, for most of those who carry them, to own these things. For the most part, their use is frivolous.

Yes, there are plenty of people who get legitimate use out of them, just as there are plenty who would never think of walking around a grocery store -- or driving -- while on the phone. I'm not saying these things can't be useful, and used responsibly and politely...

What I'm saying is that cellphones have turned into a craze, the level of which can't be explained by how 'cool' it may be perceived to be to have them.


Their minds already dulled by fluoride, their education artificially diluted, today's sheep carry devices that, at the touch of a button, subtly alter their brainwaves -- and (as always), they have no clue. They're being fleeced in a way that (almost) no one saw coming.


I just wish they had the sense not to drive under the influence of microwaves.




Phil Smith
May 6, 2008

_____

Loss?

_____

I'm upset. I've been losing sleep, and don't feel like eating.

While I try to remind myself that it's just a thing, and that it's immature to get so emotional over the potential loss of a physical object, a big part of me says "Bullshit!"

We become attached to things. Some of them can come to represent much more than the sum of their parts. A vehicle, for example, is by definition something that takes you somewhere -- and that's not always a physical destination.

I have a car that doesn't run. It hasn't, in fact, run for years. Parked on the street, it has finally come to the attention of a certain member of the local police department that its registration has long since expired -- and today, unless something can be done, it is to be towed.

Others would have gotten rid of such a thing shortly after it was evident how difficult it would be to get it moving again. Others, however, have no clue about how that car moves me even as it sits.

When I got it, it was the first car I'd owned all by myself for about a decade. Never mind 'community property' -- it was my idea to get it, and it's titled in my name. When you share a house with a spouse and three children, there is great value in having something large enough to sit in, that you can call your own. Beyond that, of course, there has always been the promise of one day getting it running again -- or better still, converting it into an electric vehicle.

A large red-orange sticker was affixed to its rear window Saturday morning, with a hand-written notice at the bottom that it was to be towed "Monday, March 21st 2008" -- a date which, strictly speaking, does not exist. It's a simple typo, and the officer obviously meant today, the 31st...

...but it also has a number to call if you have questions. I've called, and been told to call back during regular business hours -- which I have done, and left a voicemail.

The first question that springs to mind is, "How can I possibly get my registration renewed over the weekend, to bring this car into compliance?"

\\\ cut to over 14 hours later \\\

It was late in the afternoon when the officer finally showed up, and WITHOUT a tow truck, um, in tow. He turned out to be very reasonable, giving me until noon on Thursday to get the car registered (while gently reminding me that our daily driver's registration is also about to expire). Of course a prerequisite for registration is insurance...

Pet peeve time. I can't believe the number of people who mispronounce that word. Somehow they manage to put the emphasis on the proper syllable with 'insured', but...

Anyway, insurance is something I've learned to live without for most of the year -- if only because there are times when one must choose which bills are most important. While it's a compulsory, legal requirement, I won't be convinced it's lawful for the State to require anyone to take out a policy with a private company. Now, if one could only manage to gain some kind of equity in an automotive insurance policy, I might feel better about it. Why shouldn't a portion of MY money accumulate until all I will have to pay for a certain level of insurance is a basic fee?

I have never been the cause of an insurance payout.

Accidents can be prevented, and/or avoided. I have many hundreds of thousands of miles behind me, and I always take the task of driving very seriously. You might think I'd be extra careful during those months I drive uninsured, but no. Am I just used to it? Maybe, but I really really don't want to hit anyone or anything, or be hit by anyone else. There are some incredibly bad drivers out there -- you just have to keep a constant vigil.


I've wandered off-topic...


This afternoon, for a while, the very thought of losing that car actually brought a bit of serenity. I thought maybe, if I could just let it go, something better would come along in my life to fill the gap...

Not long after, of course, I no longer had to concern myself with the possibility of such an event. As absurd as it may seem to insure and register a car that doesn't even run, I don't want to have to move it -- and as the officer explained, as long as it's registered it can sit there on the street indefinitely.


The automobile in question is the 1981 Toyota Cressida that I traded a six-pack of Guinness for in late 2004. I have nicknamed it The Defiant both in honour of the cloaked Federation warship on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and for my own determination to keep it, even though it hasn't run since December 2004.

I remain defiant, and the Cressida remains in my possession.




Phil Smith
April 1, 2008

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Things That Don't Exist

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THINGS THAT DON'T EXIST

As some of you may already know, I'm working on a novel. It's near-future science fiction, so that means I'll be writing about things that don't exist...

Guess what? There are many things already that exist pretty much within my own mind, and nowhere else, except where I've been able to describe and/or sketch them, so that they can exist (to some extent) within the minds of others as well.

A short list of things that don't (really) exist:

• The Nation of Earth
• democracy
  
• Tellurian Motors (and all the vehicles I've imagined I would like to build)
• Nuts Behind the Wheel, which is more of a drivers' club than a car club
• Spicy Encephalopods! (my band)
  
• the technology that makes the world of my novel possible
  

To that list you might add the novel itself, but you see, I have a cover, so it has to be real:

...Right?

Anyway, by writing a novel I get to take all my visions (and some of my fantasies) and put them together under one roof. People can drive my cars, participate in my drivers' club, listen to my music, make use of this technology that I stumbled upon the concept of (almost as soon as I started to write this thing) -- the last of which will inexorably lead them to form something very much like the Nation of Earth that I've been prattling on about for the last few years.

I really shouldn't give more details in this space, even if you may be able to guess a few things from the title alone. It's not that I think some enterprising plagiarist will steal the idea and write it before I do, but that I'm not sure myself how the story will play out -- and I wouldn't want to give it away, even if I did.

THINGS THAT MAY EXIST

Now, something that MIGHT happen as the result of this novel is that some of my visions may begin to be translated into reality. First off, if it sells reasonably well I may be able to build at least one vehicle of my own design, and you know, really get the drivers' club going -- and have the time and money to spend on my band (which hasn't been able to get together yet, and needs equipment).

Secondly, it would only take a small group of the right people to be exposed to the technological concept that is the main driver for this novel, be inspired by it, run with it and make it work.

Thirdly, and with or without the development of that technology, readers will be exposed to the idea of the Nation of Earth, be inspired by it, run with it and make it work. It's not as simple as that of course, but the technology will help tremendously. You'll see.



What's that? You're wondering why democracy is on the list? At best we have a representative democracy (not a bad thing, if handled properly), and if you can see things objectively you know that things are not at their best. This world is controlled by cryptocratic oligarchy -- but not for long, at least in my novel.


Am I saying my novel will change the world? Well, the world will certainly be changed WITHIN the novel... What I'm hoping is that I'll be able to write it well enough that yes, millions upon millions will read it, and that it will change the outlook of each reader to some extent. I would very much like it if those millions could begin to share my optimism for the future of Humanity. After reading the story, perhaps they will find my vision of the future plausible...

...And, you know, if and/or when the technology is developed there'll be no turning back. It will be incredibly transformative, and in a positive way...


So you see, after having imagined all this there is no choice but for me to write it, and to write it to the very best of my ability. In order to do so I'll have to retreat a bit, delving more and more into the fictional realm I'm creating -- you probably won't hear from me as much. I don't have a remote cabin and an Underwood, but I can and will reduce distractions...



Wish me luck.



Phil Smith
January 12, 2008

_____

eNeRGy

_____

This post is related to both the automotive industry and the Nation of Earth -- however I'm posting it here, as I feel it will take on the form of a personal rant...

eNeRGy

Among the tabs I have open in my browser are a couple of items from Autoweek. Both are about vehicles planned to be released sometime next year -- and in my opinion, both of those vehicles miss the mark...


The Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid, scheduled to be ready for the 2009 model year, is little more than yet another hybrid entering the market -- and by that I mean yet another hybrid that isn't a PLUG-IN hybrid. The simple facts are that no method of wheeled vehicle propulsion is more efficient than electric motors, and most drivers hardly ever need a range beyond what a battery-powered electric vehicle can provide.

When they do, they need a range extender. It would be nice to be able to rent a generator on a trailer -- and when a significant percentage of drivers own electric vehicles, that kind of rental service will be widely available. Meanwhile, if you go to a car dealership, the closest you're likely to find to an electric vehicle will be a parallel hybrid.

Parallel hybrids, instead of relying mainly on electric propulsion, use electric motors to augment propulsion. They are a step in the right direction, but in an unnecessary circle, walking backward. While many, the Silverado included, offer an electric-only mode, they all rely completely upon their internal combustion engines.

Some of these hybrids are being converted. With extra batteries, modified controllers, and charging ports, they become plug-in hybrids and then don't necessarily need their engines. Unless their motors are upgraded, though, they suffer from poor performance. The electric motors fitted to hybrids, after all, were meant to work in concert with internal combustion engines.

Parallel hybrid vehicles are only a little better than internal combustion vehicles. SERIES hybrids, on the other hand... A series hybrid is basically an electric vehicle with an onboard generator...



The Honda FCX Clarity will be available for lease in southern California next summer. As a series hybrid, it is closer to what we ought to be seeing in showrooms everywhere. It has a fuel cell to generate electricity, which is a good idea -- but what is NOT a good idea is that it uses HYDROGEN.

The use of hydrogen as a fuel is, excuse me, just plain stupid. Use all the safeguards you want, I don't care, because safety isn't the issue. Go ahead and build all the hydrogen fuel stations you like -- once again I don't care. Fuel availability isn't the issue either.

The problem is that somewhere, somehow, the hydrogen has to be generated or extracted -- and it takes more energy to generate or extract than you'll ever get back out of it.

Considering all the added expense, including the trillions it would take just to set up a distribution system, it baffles me that hydrogen is being pushed as the fuel of the future. Equally baffling is all the time and money being spent by automotive manufacturers to develop hydrogen-powered vehicles.

I'm downright confounded at the industry's refusal to offer pure electric vehicles.

The good news about the FCX Clarity is that it would be relatively simple to replace its tank and fuel cell with more batteries. As conversions go, it would be an easy one. The bad news is that these cars will be leased, not owned -- so if anyone is going to convert them (even by replacing their hydrogen cells with ones that use a different fuel), it is going to have to be Honda.

Here's hoping they use the FCX platform for a pure electric, somewhere down the line...

RANGE

The ONE disadvantage of electric vehicles is slow recharge. When you reach the end of your range, it takes hours instead of minutes to restore. Even when range is increased to over 200 miles (as Tesla Motors has done with their Roadster), recharge time becomes an issue. As stated above, it would be nice if drivers could rent trailer-mounted generators (perhaps fuelled by propane, using exchange tanks designed for outdoor grills) for longer trips -- but there are other solutions.

If electric vehicles were designed so that their battery packs could be easily removed and replaced, and enough battery-swap stations were established, range would no longer be an issue. We'd want these packs to be standardized -- one size would have to fit all -- but some (larger) vehicles could use more than one pack. For that matter, most could use two smaller packs, and smaller vehicles could operate on one.

You're absolutely correct if you think that would be a huge undertaking. It would take years of planning and require cooperation among dozens of corporations. Here's the thing: If the electric car hadn't been driven to near extinction during the last round, and this plan had been implemented, by now we'd have those standardized battery packs ready to go in swap stations all over the world...

...but that would be a world where the most sensible actions are the ones that are taken -- a world without 9/11 and the Iraq war, without Katrina and other engineered disasters, without an unelected puppet in the Oval Office -- not the world we find ourselves in today.



What those who run everything from behind the scenes don't seem to realize, or care about, is that many of the things that have been held back would be extremely good for the economy. The only reason we aren't moving more quickly toward a changeover to electric vehicles charged by solar panels, windmills, and micro-hydro is that THEY want to continue to control energy and keep making money hand over fist.

They try to tell us that WE are the cause of global warming (when we would all know, if the information were broadcast, that every planet in our solar system is experiencing global warming) and that global warming causes more extreme weather (when they've secretly developed weather engineering so precise as to be able to generate a massive hurricane and deliver it to a specific target -- and could instead be using the technology to combat damaging storms, bring rain to drought-afflicted areas, et cetera).

They foster violence in an incredible range of manifestations to frighten us into giving up our civil liberties, and try to tell us that the unlawful invasion of a foreign country is in our best interests -- when we know, or should know, that freedom is in no way being defended. Can't everyone see how much money is being made through all this killing?

In case you've forgotten, or don't know me very well yet, I happen to be an Army veteran. I was quite young and didn't know better, had just dropped out of college and didn't know what to do next. Almost all of our armed forces personnel join at a very young age, technically adults but not wise enough yet to see things for what they are. They do not get paid well, and have to jump through hoops to receive medical care (if you can call it that) from the Veterans' Administration. Military personnel are cannon fodder -- expendable Humans...


Now, see? I start by revealing why a couple of upcoming 'green' vehicles aren't what they should be, and end up ranting about oligarchic cryptocracy. But, you know, it's all tied together. When there is power without accountability, everyone suffers.



Phil Smith
November 17, 2007


PS Look for a post on the Tellurian Motors blog in the next few days about my truck concept, the original version of which was to be powered by steam. I updated it to be an EV, but after writing the above I feel it should be a (plug-in) series hybrid -- with a propane-fired steam turbine generator...

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Festivus

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I could hardly believe it.

Today, ten days BEFORE Thanksgiving, I stopped by the grocery store for some juice -- only to be confronted with the incessant annoyance of a Salvation Army bell.

My senses and sensibilities assaulted, I marched past the offender with a scowl, shaking my head at him. The mental message: "You ought to know better. It's too soon!" I might have added, in the thoughts I was trying to send the guy, how I never ever want to hear the sound of that bell again, and that if it only had a more pleasant tone their collections would doubtless increase, but I was in a rush...

It's not that I was in too much of a hurry to think about donating. I was just trying to get past the noise as quickly as possible -- a noise that, at the very least, no one should be hearing for a couple more weeks. As much as I felt like asking him how much it would take to make the noise stop, I couldn't have gotten close enough. It's horrendous. What I really wanted to do was grab the damned thing and silence it, shouting something in his face about how it was much too soon...

It's enough to make me drive farther, to another store, for my groceries. I've done exactly that in years past.

I know they're collecting donations to help the less fortunate. I know they mean well. I just wonder what measures I have to take, to keep from seeing and hearing Xmas-related things before Thanksgiving! Seems there's nothing for it but to go on a month-long hermitage near the end of October.

I also wonder, seriously, what kind of mindset it takes to look so forward to Xmas that you start shopping for decorations in October -- and if retailers ever think about the possibility that some potential customers might AVOID their stores when they decorate too soon.

I know I'm not alone. A LOT of people get depressed during 'the holidays', too many for it to only be about lack of sunlight. There's the sheer pressure of not being able to escape the commercialism, the near-constant reminders of a day you are pretty much forced to spend time with people you'd rather not see -- never mind the expectation of gifts, to give and receive, trying to make people happy, whether you want to or not.

Checking Wikipedia, I was somewhat astonished. It seems nearly every culture has, or has had, a midwinter celebration of its own. Can we hope that, after an end to the rampant commercialism that has ruined the season, people will use this time of year to embrace their heritage and celebrate as their ancestors did?

Now ask yourself: How soon do you think people began decorating for those celebrations? A few days? Maybe a week?


I look forward to the Thanksgiving when I'm able to give thanks that I haven't been bombarded with Xmas crap before the 4th Thursday in November.



Phil Smith
November 12, 2007


PS YESTERDAY was Veterans' Day, and I see no good reason to ever 'observe' it on a day other than 11/11...

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Limbo

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Maybe I'm supposed to have taken control of my life by now -- but you know, all my life it seems I've been waiting for something...

What that something is, I couldn't tell you. I feel lost -- adrift -- and it's nothing new.

I love having creative projects to work on, but it's hard to maintain focus on them in this house, as part of a family of five. Writing? Yeah, writing I can do, but I can't tell you how many trains of thought have been derailed in that realm -- how many words, sentences, paragraphs have begun to form in my head only to be blasted away by some random (non-) emergency. Writing is the easiest thing to get back to and the best kind of project to be working on while staying connected to e-mail and instant messaging (while drinking, smoking, and listening to music).

Yet, working on fiction requires the same kind of solitude I can't seem to find in order to work on my music...

What I need is to be able to wake up when I want to, with no one around to bug me, and an open-ended frame of time in which to create. Novelists often go off somewhere to work in private, and other artists have studios. I have a crowded house, and only a few hours at a time by myself. There's always some demand or other on my attention. When I do get to be alone, in the back of my mind is an expiration date on that solitude -- one I often can't read...

One great fantasy that I share with countless millions is winning the lottery. But, would that solve my dilemma? Only if I made it a priority, naturally. I've told myself that, if such a windfall does come, that will be my chance to finally build (electric) vehicles of my own design. Wouldn't that be a way to not only make a significant creative contribution, but help change the world as well?

I'd also like to set up shop, picking up where the late Jim Cadle left off, producing copies of the Flag of Earth to sell. Seriously, I still think it's an image, just when people see, it, will help bring us all together. Mugs, T-shirts...



Is that it? Am I waiting for a lottery win, so I can do whatever the bleep I want? Sounds pathetic. So what if someone once told me (and repeatedly confirmed) that it was in the cards for me? Should I really take that on faith, or should I be taking hold of my own destiny, making things happen for myself?

It's all too easy to dream of the things you'd do, if you could pretty much do anything you wanted. It's all too easy, for that matter, to sit here and write about it.


Maybe I'm waiting for The End of the World As We Know It, the inimitable change that will happen at the end of this particular Long Count of the Mayan Calendar. I'm quite convinced the world will be a much better place after that, one I'm much better suited to. Maybe then, and only then, will I be able to reach my true potential.

Maybe all the experiences I'm having in this life are leading up to that, preparing me for something I can only dream of...

But what of the next five years? What will I do until then?

I need to get organized, and doggedly apply myself to the project at hand, whichever project that is at the time. I need to stop dreaming long enough to DO something.

Yeah, sure, I'm doing something right now. I be bloggin'. Big whoop.


One of my favourite all-time drivers, Colin McRae, bit it this weekend. He crashed his helicopter, taking his son, and his best friend, and his son's best friend with him. Ouch.

I once asked myself how long I'd live, and the answer came back so quickly and clearly that I can't doubt it: 147. I'll live to be 147 years old, this time around. Plenty of time to make some sort of impact, one might say, but it's tough to be 40 and try to rely on the next 107 years for my life to begin to mean something.

Yeah, here I am, kicking myself in the head. Self-admonition...

I have too many unfinished projects to count. I have spoons to carve, to sand, to apply oil to. I have an abandoned novel, and a short story that was supposed to have been the beginning of another novel. I gave up on a career in furniture-building, mid-project (in my defense, there were circumstances beyond my control). I have several automotive designs in my head, and way too few visual representations of them. I'm supposedly in a band, but I have yet to compose anything for it or teach myself to play my bass guitar.

In short, I have little to show for my life, so far. Colin McRae was 39. Even closer to my age, at the time, was Kurt Cobain. If I were to suddenly be no more (which I won't -- see above), I'd hardly be missed.

No biggie, no pressure, more than a century left. Right? Not exactly.

There will be those who will say that my being a part of a surf band (even if we create a new genre, 'electrosurf'), at my age, is evidence of a 'mid-life crisis'. Bleep all those people -- I won't reach 'mid-life' until I'm in my seventies.

Yeah, maybe I'll look back at tonight, and this post, glibly. I'm looking forward to that. You're reading the post of someone who is about to BURST. I can't take it anymore.


Something's gotta give.


Phil Smith
September 16, 2007

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Ear Candy

_____

In the late Eighties, I got together with a couple of friends in the forming of a 'band'. Before we could get beyond a few experimental recordings -- we would simply set things up and start rolling tape -- in 1991 my fiancee pulled something worse than 'a Yoko', leaving me for another member of our little trio. Not only did she break up the band, but she took a close friend away from us.

Gary was gracious enough to give up all rights to the existing material, so now Patrick and I can do whatever we want with it. So far, that has amounted to bupkis. However, since that time, technology has caught up with us. All we have to do is get the material from cassette to digital...

...and then we can grab those occasional brilliant bits and use them as the basis for several brilliant tracks. There is at least one, for that matter, that can stand on its own.

Meanwhile, Patrick has been producing music using computers, gathering all the necessary software and pumping out some very interesting stuff -- that he mostly keeps to himself. For my part, a few years ago I bought a bass guitar...

...but then, after idly messing around with it for a while, I came up with a new concept for how to play a bass that, quite frankly, intimidates me. I can hear how it will sound, in my head, but I haven't attempted it. In fact, my red & white Peavy Fury (named Christine, after Stephen King's Plymouth Fury) has been largely confined to her case ever since.

Oh sure, I found a site where I could compose music online, and created a track that some of you reading this have heard. Big deal. I like it, and my son likes it, but that track will go down as a footnote if anyone remembers it at all. The program was very limited. I did my best, at the time...

Yes, it is possible for one person to author music and make it successful. Dave Grohl, for example, after drumming with Nirvana wrote all the music and played all the instruments for the first Foo Fighters album. The thing is, it really really helps to have someone else there to tell you whether it's any good, and/or to add something. There is a reason that we (mostly) listen to music created by bands rather than by solitary composers.

Not that I know what it will sound like, exactly, but Patrick and I have been talking about collaborating on new music for quite a while now. There is, of course, apprehension, as we know it will take untold hours and the creative process will temporarily eclipse everything else in our lives.

Tension builds. This fall, Patrick and I will have known one another for 25 years. A quarter-century is nothing to sneeze at. When my kids are back in school at the end of August, I'll have some time alone in the house to finally approach my so-far-conceptual bass method without interruption.

Actually I may try to tackle it before then, or at least grab hold of it and wrestle it to the ground. We'll see...

One may think that a slacker like me would have plenty of time for creative endeavours, but you have no idea of the demands on my existence that keep me busy. I'm the only driver in a family of five, for one thing...

One thing is clear: When we have music to share, it will be available at no cost, downloadable from whatever site we set up. Not that we won't pursue CD sales, but Patrick and I both feel that copyrights and litigation are bullshit. It may be a while, but you may eventually find a link in this space to some mind-blowing ear candy.


Phil Smith
July 16, 2007

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Saying Goodbye To an Old Friend

____

Old brown chair, you were a good friend...

...but the time has come, to say goodbye.

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Spoon Season

Spoon season is in full swing. I've got a crop of 3 at the moment, one left over from last season.

What is spoon season? I create wooden utensil art, far removed from traditional spoon carving. If I carve inside, there's a mess to clean up. Outside, I can literally let the chips fall where they may. Spoon season covers those months where it's warm enough to carve outside.

Problem is, creative projects often get quite a grip on me, so it can be hard to quit when it gets dark or starts raining. As I type this, there are some wood chips under my chair...

The one left over from last season is fairly large, and of furniture-grade cherry. I knew it would take a long time. By the way? It wasn't always the case, but nowadays I carve these things completely by hand.

My main carving tool is a utility knife. This season I treated myself to some new steel -- a folding, one-hand action, quick-change Craftsman with Brazilian cherry (a hardwood from Brazil that merely resembles cherry, and is much harder -- many owners of this model knife likely mistake it for plastic).

I've carved Brazilian cherry before, but not by hand. I like a challenge, but...


The other two spoons I've got going right now are of wild cherry -- but get this: As unusual as you might think wild cherry is, this wood is special.

Let me tell you why:

One night last year I had a sudden urge to run out into the woods behind my house (I live in town, but near a steep ridge). I was in some sort of state of heightened awareness. Found a log and rushed back to the yard with it, stuck it in the shed.

Next day I brought it out to look at my prize. It was damp, had some white rot fungus on it. Peeling back some of the bark confirmed its species. Back in the shed it went, to dry...

The first I've started with this wood, I'm not sure of yet -- but the second? One of the best I've done, so far...


Images when available.



Phil Smith
June 1st, 2007


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MOTHERSHIP NEW CHICAGO

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MOTHERSHIP NEW CHICAGO

Jane hadn't been abducted, exactly. Things had been explained to her, after a fashion. She had known what she was getting into, sort of.

She looked around the main room, still unsure whether she should call this place her 'quarters' or her 'apartment'. Over on the desk were her MacBook and iPod, the two things she was most glad to have been allowed to bring along. One small bag, she had been told, and those had been stuffed into her backpack first.

There was a cover story Jane was supposed to keep using while in contact with friends in ‘Old’ Chicago and elsewhere on the surface, but her disdain for dishonesty kept her offline most of the time and caused a shortage of details in her instant messaging and e-mails. She was somewhat out-of-touch. Her blog page had been virtually abandoned.

Maybe it was time for a new blog. The mental question was sent out, and the immediate answer was yes, as though they had been waiting for her to ask. Maybe it was to be one of her duties all along. Jane couldn’t be sure.

In the background of that answer were what could be referred to as a set of instructions. Jane immediately sat down at her computer and created a new Google account to work from, then went to Blogger and began to compose her first post to the Mothership New Chicago blog, calling up a playlist after deciding on a title. With some of her favourite music to keep her company, she was soon finished. Then she asked another mental question and contacted the half-dozen other Earth Humans on board, inviting them to become contributors and alerting them to her alternate address.

It was nice, after three months, to be able to honestly share some of her experiences. Her only complaint, really, about life aboard the mothership was the veil of secrecy. Who would believe her, even if she were to try to tell them?

As the replicator produced a flip-top bottle of Grolsch at her request, Jane asked another question. Yes, there were three, but only three, of her previous contacts that she could e-mail with her alternate Gmail address and new blog URL. The replicator had to produce another pint before that message was complete, but it was soon sent...

...and then they would know. Meanwhile she had gotten responses from a couple of her shipmates, who both wanted in on the blog action. Awesome, but then she had to arrange for them to do so while her buzz intensified. No big deal, done and done.

With the absence of a proper day/night cycle, Jane’s body clock had set her on a 30-hour day -- twenty hours awake, ten hours of sleep. She’d had to check her computer clock for Chicago time and date before publishing her blog post, and now realized her e-mail had been sent out at a crazy hour. She made a mental note to tell them about her new schedule in the next message, then rocked out to the sounds of her iPod docked into the incredible sound system her place had come with, losing track of how many Grolsch bottles she’d put in the sub-molecular recycling unit.


Ten hours of sleep are a big help when you’ve reached a point of near-oblivion with alcohol. As Jane made use of her alien-alloy lavatory, the details of the previous ‘night’ slowly came back to her. Showering could wait. Her replicator produced black Columbian coffee at the perfect temperature for drinking. She powered up her MacBook, signed in with her new account, and re-read her blog post.

This ‘morning’ was a good one, one to go down in the books. Virtual windows around her simulating a beautiful post-dawn, Jane cupped her mug lovingly and basked in the telepathic approval of the beings who had brought her here.

It was a wonderful moment.

Soon, the silent voices in Jane’s head began to speak again. Her role in upcoming events became more clear. She was compelled to message her shipmates again, to stress the responsibility they had all taken on with the blog. Her mug drained, Jane got up to get another and mulled things over.

She was here on Mothership New Chicago for more than one reason. To begin with, as a former resident of ‘Old’ Chicago she was expected to be a barometer for what Chicagoans would expect from an orbital (and incredibly mobile) version of their city. Also, with her telepathic abilities, she was expected to be a sort of ambassador between her people and the rest of Galactic Society. As it turned out, the blog she had just created was to be the first of many.

Soon Jane was online with the contacts she had been given from other motherships. She sent messages to New London, New New York, New Tokyo, on and on until the silent voices finally shut up about whom she ought to alert. Though the messages were all in English, all the recipients instantly understood. Within hours, pages in many languages were published, recounting the experiences of those involved and giving the people of Earth a taste of what was to come.

Breakfast. Brunch. Lunch. By teatime Jane’s inbox was full of messages containing links to new pages where people could learn about how Humanity was to enter into Galactic Society. As she went out to tour the robotic construction of New Chicago’s interior, Jane was filled with the unparalleled sense of accomplishment that can only come from the approval of an entire telepathic delegation of a more-advanced race.

Dinner? Forget dinner. Time to send out a telepathic invitation to the few other Human residents of New Chicago for a party. Might as well invite the Syrians too. Jane is told to move the event to a larger space, and a mothership connection ensues.

Fortunately, Jane has ample George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic available on iPod for this extraglobal celebration...




Phil Smith
May 23, 2007
Earth (just west of Appalachia)


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Phil of the Future

Am I a 22nd Century man?

(For those of you blissfully unaware of cable television, there is a show on the Disney Channel with the same title as this post...)

Anyway yes, I do expect to live until the year 2114, so I will be a 22nd Century Man -- or if you entertain the idea that time is only linear from our current, limited perspective, maybe I already am.

Does this qualify me to perhaps be in some sort of contact with my future self, in order to lay down a few foolproof predictions? In a word, no. My writings on the future are merely based on my personal impressions of how things will go, extrapolations from the information I have at the moment...


While I find it quite annoying that people began to discuss the 2008 election even before November 2004 and have barely taken a break since, I can't help thinking about it myself. Never mind that I've never voted and don't plan to -- unless they bring up a vote to dissolve the Federal government. Looking at the candidates, and having gotten a better feel for the pulse of the American people, I have a prediction.

A prediction, I might add, that I made in November 2004; During an instant messaging session, or in an e-mail, can't remember which (nor to whom I was typing), I said, "looking forward to the Giuliani Presidency"...

It's not that I'll think he'll do the best job, or that I like him better than all the other candidates, but simply that I think he has the best chance of getting elected. It seemed inevitable 2 1/2 years ago.

I look for John Edwards to either win the Democratic primary or repeat his role as Dem VP candidate. As for Giuliani's running mate, I won't venture a guess at this point...

...But you know what I'd like to see? I think it would be only fair if the 'first loser' in the race got to be VP. Second place, second-in-command makes sense, yes? And then maybe the Prez and VP should take turns making Cabinet appointments, like team captains in dodgeball...


Next elections after 2008 will be in 2012, and since "the end of the world as we know it" is scheduled for the Winter Solstice (December 21st) 2012, it might not matter. Our next President -- or at least whomever holds office at that time -- will be the one to deal with it all. Perhaps Giuliani will gain reelection...


My thoughts on the future are many and varied. The above represents but a single aspect. If anyone out there has a question for me about the future, please leave it as a comment on this blog. If so inspired, I'll answer as a subject of the next post here...


Yours in time,


Phil Smith
May 17, 2007


PS Today is the 37th anniversary of the day Jim Cadle first flew the Flag of Earth...

http://www.setileague.org/general/whatflag.htm



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Who Needs 3 Blogs?

The image above is a capture from the Pinzgauer factory video.


There's no denying it; The Pinzgauer 710K definitely played a part in the inspiration for EXOVAN (it's a 710M in the capture, but never mind that). Other vehicles that can be credited are: the Tesla Roadster, various extreme rock-crawlers and, believe it or not, Grave Digger...


Now to the question posed, "Who needs 3 blogs?" Well I'm sure lots of people feel they do, though a couple of years ago I myself would've thought it excessive. This one here was my first, and then my baby Unified Settlement / Nation of Earth needed its own, and now with the advent of a concept that just begs to be built, all of a sudden we have the Tellurian Motors blog as well.

Last night found me at work on my 3D CAD model of EXOVAN. I cropped screenshots and posted them along with some text. There are people out there who are excited for me, in that I've realized I AM an automotive designer and am now applying myself in that field as never before, so if nothing else the 3rd blog represents a link I can provide to them for updates (having 2 Google groups helps here as well). The main reason for the Tellurian Motors blog, however, is to give me a web* presence as a designer.

Now, if I want to contact someone in the business about one of my designs, I have a URL to direct them to. I can even provide a specific link to the post I'd like them to view. Suddenly, 3 blogs doesn't sound like too many.


By the way, I've decided to alter the EXOVAN concept a bit by moving the forward portal (a 2-part hatch, much like the ones on the sides, with drop-down pneumatic steps and a glass upper that slides electrically up between the body and exoframe) over toward the passenger side. This offset is meant to allow better visibility for the driver. As a welcome side-effect, EXOVAN becomes somewhat asymmetrical, adding to its outlandishness. Expect the next Tellurian Motors blog post to show this feature...


Phil Smith
May 1st, 2007


*I refuse to capitalize 'internet' and 'web'.

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Design of the Times

All my life, I've been an automotive designer. In public school, no one ever encouraged me to pursue it as a career. Had I been encouraged, I might have lived a very different life thus far.

Just because I wasn't, and just because I didn't pursue it later, doesn't mean I'm not still an automotive designer. And, just because I do not hold a degree in Industrial Design, that doesn't mean I don't have the talent and passion for it.

There is nothing that holds my attention more than automotive design. I continue to think about it every day, and I continue to come up with new designs of my own. Can I be forgiven for not being interested in employment? The one thing I'm meant to do, I've been unable to. It's not an easy industry to crack your way into, now is it? And, at this point in my life, there's no way I'm going back to college.

HOWEVER.

However, having recently come to terms with this dilemma and realizing that I should make it a definite goal to get at least ONE of my designs built, I've come up with something new...

...and this latest design just happens to be something that a couple of companies may be interested in building -- and so, if I can present it to them well enough, I just may be able to finally break my way into the world of professional automotive design. Better late than never, right?


EXOVAN

It's a vehicle designed specifically for Mattracks -- rubber tracks made to replace wheels and tires on four-wheel-drive vehicles. To my knowledge, no one except the Mattracks company has built a vehicle with those tracks in mind -- the Gladiator. I actually didn't know about Mattracks' little TUV until after my own tracked utility vehicle concept had taken shape in my mind.

The other company I'd like to involve is Tesla Motors. They are demonstrating, with their Tesla Roadster, how well electric vehicles can perform. I understand they're working on a sedan, but haven't heard of anything for off-road.

It's important for EXOVAN to be electric -- I've given up on internal combustion for new vehicles (though not, it must be said, for customs and hot rods I'd like to build). The Brubeck twin-engined sports car (conceived while listening to Dave Brubeck albums on vinyl) may be the last of my designs to use internal combustion. The future is electric, and Tesla Motors is leading the, um, charge.

My concept is called EXOVAN because it's a van with its frame on the outside. For me, and for this vehicle, the term 'exoskeletal frame' is shortened to 'exoframe', and it's more than a rollcage added to the outside of a rock crawler's sheetmetal. Any serious off-roader can expect a certain amount of body damage -- this vehicle is designed with its frame on the outside to minimize such damage while avoiding the extra weight of a body-on-frame or unibody with an external rollcage added on.

The name also refers to the outside, as in 'the great outdoors' and/or 'outside the realm of experience'. Photovoltaic panels in the roof may offer only a very slow charge, but a properly outfitted EXOVAN could theoretically travel far into the wilderness, having been charged perhaps at home but returning on power harvested from the Sun -- or for that matter travelling a great distance without once having its charging port opened.

One area in which the Tesla Roadster excels is in its range -- up to 250 miles per charge. For this and many other reasons, you can see why Tesla Motors is the company I want to deal with.

And what about the other company, Mattracks? Just take a look at the videos presented on their site. Vehicles can do astonishing things when their wheels are replaced with Mattracks. Plus, they look really cool...

This vehicle represents a real challenge, as there are two distinct layers of exterior design. I intend for the exoframe to stand on its own (which will be a good thing, as one version of EXOVAN has no body at all, open to the air for the dunes) with sweeping curves of tubular steel -- while the body, in stark contrast, will be comprised of flat glass and flat aluminum panels, and flat solar panels. Now that I think of it, the open version will have the option of some roofing, in the form of those solar panels.

I had indeed worked up a preliminary sketch of a flat-panel van with Mattracks before, and not too long ago. It made me think of a van design I used to draw way back in the 8th grade, and it was yet another thing I'd like to see and own and drive -- but it didn't have the cachet of the EXOVAN.

Since it IS a van, EXOVAN can be built in any number of configurations. It can be an ambulance, a party car, a small camper, or a cargo hauler. Anything you want. And, it can go anywhere (if relatively slowly, since Mattracks can't take sustained highway speeds). The layout I keep thinking of, though, is 8 seats with the rear 6 on swivels, packed to the rafters with electronics.

At least 2 more companies can be brought in on the project, those being Skyjacker for the suspension and Rhino Linings for the tough coating (in any colour) that the exoframe should have.

This is a vehicle that should be the star of SEMA and gain attention at many other auto shows, attention that will be beneficial for any company involved.

It is a vehicle for these times, the early 21st Century. It is the very model of mobility and eco-friendliness (one thing about Mattracks, by the way, is that they scar the landscape much less than tires do).


I've got much work ahead, doing pencil sketches to scan and manipulate with a few graphics programs before I actually approach Tesla Motors and Mattracks. An image or two may show up here on this blog before I send them anything at all.


It won't be for everyone -- no vehicle is -- but if I'm right about it, it will damn well get built and cause a minor sensation. If it ever reaches (limited) production, my guess is that each example will go for somewhere over $100,000 and be greatly prized by each and every owner.

It's up to me to turn this dream into a reality. I've left a few details out of this blog post, partially because of the time it would take to describe them. EXOVAN may not be the best design I've come up with, but it's the ONE that will get me noticed as a designer.

Slacker I may be, but this is my life. Automotive design is one thing I truly care about, and this is (finally) my chance to make a contribution.

This is something I feel strongly about, something I have to pursue. Someday I'll be designing flying saucers, but EXOVAN is the thing that will have people asking me to pen those space yachts for them.

Nation of Earth? Will anyone ever credit me for thinking of something that is inevitable? Do I even THINK of being credited for things? No, I only want to CREATE, which in the world of automotive design is not an easy thing to do. I've built furniture of my own design, which was immensely rewarding in its own right, though a few projects got left undone. Over the decades I've drawn countless automotive designs, but only several furniture designs.

Automotive design is my passion. Maybe, just maybe, I've come up with something that someone else will care enough about to build. I was barely able to build wooden furniture of my own design -- no way I could construct an entire VEHICLE myself.

This is it, this is my chance. Wish me luck.



Phil Smith
April Fourteenth, Twenty-Oh-Seven

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The Great Indoors

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Lately (and again) I find myself guilty of escapism.

There are e-mails from caring friends that I've left unopened, but I can tell from what I see of them in my inbox that they're in the category of small bright things in this dark dark world -- and not wanting to be reminded of the dark dark world, I just don't want to look.

Instead I visit other realms, chief among them The Sims 2 for PC and Gran Turismo 4 on PlayStation 2. While I'm playing God, creating and controlling Sim-ulated people, and when I'm racing cars I could never afford in events I could never attend, I can forget...

Forget about politics and the politicians themselves. Forget about what capitalism has done to this world. Forget how hard it seems it will be to fix everything. Forget that a major part of the problem is the LCD, lowest common demonitator of human intelligence -- I keep having to remind myself that the majority don't have the capacity to think for themselves, and that's seriously depressing...

No, I disable my connection and load the disk, or in another room I insert a different disk and grab the controller. Hours of fun can be had.

Should I feel guilty? Oughtn't I be out in the world (or at least online) trying to make a difference? Or am I merely preparing myself for a future in which gaming is how we occupy our minds, when everything is running smoothly so long as we're all in our respective saucers in orbit and not down on the planet damaging the ecosystem?

My son coined a new term: "disencouraging". To me it means, instead of a youthful alternative to "discouraging", a negative effect on the ability to be encouraged. This, to my mind, puts a mirror up to the state of Humanity. There is so much to put us DOWN that it's hard to see the UPside of things.

Upside is, once the technology is available we'll all be doing as we please, without ecological impact. We will have left the planet, orbiting or zooming off somewhere in everything from motherships to space yachts. Everything we could need or want will be either replicated or simulated. Work? Computers and robotics will take care of all the actual work, except where we want to do it ourselves, and except for those of us who wish to maintain the computers and robotics or get our hands dirty doing things they could take care of.

There will be room for a segment of the population to live like the Amish or similar agrarian societies, because we as a species need to keep in touch with the skills necessary to flourish without advanced technology, should advanced technology fail.

Meanwhile our personal environments will be as fantastic as we want, or as realistic as we want, or actually real -- and even our real environments can be rich with objects either salvaged or replicated, or even brought to existence out of our own original thoughts. Good thing, too -- because the preservation of this planet (and therefore the survival of our species) demands our removal. Cooped up in a flying Winnebago or in quarters aboard a floating city, we'll need to be able to entertain ourselves...

Which reminds me: Another escape I have is writing an as-yet-untitled science fiction short about a man who has spent ten years alone in space...


Phil Smith
March 23 + 30, Twenty-Oh-Seven
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