Today’s post title doesn’t exclusively refer to the duplicitous nature of many people. It also refers to my belief that very few life journeys have a straight route.
One reason I didn’t post yesterday is that my GI tract revolted Thursday night basically keeping me awake until about 5 AM, a time by which I am usually awake, anyway. The culprit was likely, although not definitely, something I ate for lunch. I must give credit to the customer service department of the national chain restaurant where I ate lunch as they quickly replied to my question about the contents of a specific dish.
One ingredient, however, was simply labeled “Spices.” As I know have written, I have an extreme sensitivity to spicy red items like cayenne. A tiny amount of such an ingredient, even if it’s barely noticeable upon taste, can have a hugely negative impact on me.
Speaking of posting, it is highly likely that my posting will be sporadic or non-existent while my wonderful wife and I attend the Mecum auction next week. While we are looking forward to the event, we will have some long days.
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The state of Utah recently passed the nation’s first law designed to restrict “social media” use by minors. Two features of the legislation are that companies like Fack Fucebook must verify the age of someone before they can open an account and that these companies are prohibited from using a “design or feature that causes a minor to have an addiction to the company’s social media platform.”
According to some legal scholars, Utah’s new law might not survive a First Amendment challenge. In 1996, the US Supreme Court basically made the Internet a free speech zone in its ruling in Reno v. ACLU. In 2011, the court said a California law limiting the sales of violent video games to minors violated the First Amendment in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association.
The Supreme Court once ruled that separate but equal was equal and then “changed its mind” less than a person’s lifetime later. In Roe the court ruled one way on abortion and on the recently issued Dobbs decision it ruled another. I am aware of the judicial principle of stare decisis (precedent should determine a legal decision in a case involving similar facts), but we should all be aware that the only constant in the world is change.
In my opinion, revelations by people like Frances Haugen about the inner workings of social media companies should be a relevant consideration in any court case involving usage of such platforms. Yes, I believe in capitalism above all other economic systems, but all systems are flawed and none can be allowed to operate without any restrictions. Of course, the courts are flawed as well.
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Maybe Duncan can weigh in on my concerns about operating the manual top of a Kappa platform convertible, i.e. a Pontiac Solstice or Saturn Sky. Philip Maynard has written to me that the top is no big deal. I still have some trepidation about having to exit the car in order to put the top up or down.
I have owned two convertibles, both of which had a power top that operated with the use of a button. Conceptually, it is difficult for me to give that up when I buy another convertible. In all honesty, one of the biggest draws to a Solstice/Sky is simply that it is the least expensive of the three cars I am considering, which means if I want to scratch that itch sooner rather than later, I can.
Buying either a Cadillac XLR or Jaguar F-Type convertible would probably have to wait at least until the beginning of next year. Even though the XLR has never appeared in any iteration of an Ultimate Garage, I distinctly remember saying to my wonderful wife, “I have to own one of these someday,” the first time I saw one at the Dallas Auto Show in 2004.
Via the book Cadillac at 100, Legacy Of Leadership comes this at-the-time performance comparison, according to Road & Track, of the XLR to other similar cars of the day:
| 0-60 | 0-100 | Cornering | |
| Cadillac XLR | 5.6 sec | 13.3 sec | .94g |
| Jaguar XKR | 5.8 sec | 14.1 sec | .89g |
| Lexus SC430 | 6.2 sec | 15.0 sec | .84g |
| Mercedes SL500 | 6.1 sec | 15.0 sec | .91g |
The Jaguar XKR is a ringer in that it is/was powered by a supercharged engine, unlike the other three that were naturally aspirated. The V-spec XLR, the supercharged version, could accelerate from 0-60 MPH in 4.4 seconds. If the cornering number for the XLR surprises you remember that it is, in large part, a C6 Corvette.
Yes, I am now leaning towards the XLR, even if it means I have to wait. Of course, I could change my mind dozens of times between now and a purchase. Remember, life is not a straight path.
#Life’sCrookedPath
#UtahSocialMediaLaw
#KappaConvertibleTop
#CadillacXLR
#somanyCARSjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Disaffected Musings 
“design or feature that causes a minor to have an addiction to the company’s social media platform.”
An addiction to the platform is inherent in the design of these companies’ products. It’s all about the ads they run, as they sell nothing. The more screen time you spend there, the more ads they can run past you. As I don’t InstaFaceTwitToc am I missing out on something? Maybe. I’ve had many friends send me a link to something for sale on Marketplace. I’ve yet to see anything that would compel me to sign up for an account, just so I could stare at my phone for hours. I have enough people I know who are addicted to stuff like that. I have no interest in becoming a “bent neck zombie” like many of them. I already spend about 1 hour 20 minutes a day of “screen time” on my phone (according to my weekly report), usually for emails and calls. Perhaps 15 minutes is on website like this one. My phone is more a tool than an entertainment device.
Happy hunting at Mecum. Perhaps the right car for right now, will present itself.
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Many thanks, DDM. Enough testimony has been given by industry insiders for us to know the “social media” companies try to make their product as addictive as possible.
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