Fractured Friday

My wonderful wife is a big fan of John Mellencamp’s music and has been for a long time. Me not so much, but he did earn my respect for what he said during part of his speech at his recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I’ll quote part of that speech, “Fuck antisemitism.”

With the horrifying increase in antisemitic sentiment coming from all sides and from all types of people, famous and otherwise, it is heartening to see people like Mellencamp make a public stand in opposition. He also said that silence is complicity, which is very true.

******************

This CNBC article quotes Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, as saying, “If the lesson was learned from Ukraine, we need cheap, reliable, safe, secure energy, of which 80% comes from oil and gas.” Dimon is right, in my very strongly held opinion, and the eco-mentalist (thanks, Jeremy Clarkson) zealots are wrong. A modern, industrialized country/society will not be able to have its power needs completely met by “renewable” energy sources for decades to come, if ever.

I probably won’t be around when the folly of the zealots manifests itself in a diminished standard of living and would laugh when the earth’s temperature continues to rise (although not as much and not as fast as the lemmings claim) because less than half of whatever is happening to the climate is a function of human activity. For these blind patrons, the issue is not one of science, but of punishment of what they believe is evil behavior.

******************

My wonderful wife sent me a link that, ultimately, led me to this story about a very valuable concept car that is about to be sold at an auction. From that Robb Report piece, a picture of said vehicle.

 

The 1957 Chrysler Ghia Super Dart 400 concept car.

 

This is 1957 Chrysler Ghia Super Dart 400 concept car that will be on the block at the Bonhams auction in Scottsdale, Arizona next month during “Car Auction” week. Of course, the car is very much of its time with the exaggerated fins and nod to the burgeoning Space Age, but is still an interesting example, in my opinion, of an era when regulation and lack of courage had not yet dampened imagination.

I don’t know if famed designer Virgil Exner actually drew this car or if it was done under his auspices, but this is–of course–a classic Exner design and an example of the Forward Look design, with its continually rising beltline, that he introduced to the Chrysler lineup in the late 1950s. Many people don’t know that Exner worked for General Motors and for Studebaker before going to work for Chrysler in 1949.

******************

Is this report the end for asshole NFL owner Snan Dyder? While I think Congress probably has more important things to do than to investigate an NFL team, the report titled “Conduct Detrimental: How the NFL and the Washington Commanders Covered Up Decades of Sexual Misconduct” is not a good look for the league and is probably, hopefully the final nail in Dyder’s NFL coffin.

Dyder, who is Jewish, is an example that anti-Semites use to conclude that Jews are evil, like Bernie Madoff. All groups of people have evil members. One of the paradigms that really makes me angry is that so many people want to judge others based solely on that they are part of Group A or Group B. People should be judged as individuals, on their collection of strengths and weaknesses, NOT because they are an A or a B. That’s why I am vehemently opposed to affirmative action schemes. First earn, then receive.

 

#FracturedFriday

#JohnMellencamp

#JamieDimon

#ChryslerGhiaSuperDart400

#VirgilExner

#FirstEarnThenReceive

#somanyCARSjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.

 

Advertisement

Fractured Friday

Poutine is always good, routine not so much.

 

That (bad) joke notwithstanding, I am struggling to fill the void left by the completion of my computer football season. I don’t think I would want a season so long that it took 9-10 months to complete, but for five months looking forward to a game or two gave me some focus. I really want to show league leaders from the recently completed season. What the hell, it’s my blog.

 

RUSHING

Jonathan Taylor, Toronto: 401 Carries, 2000 Yards, 20 TD

Lamar Jackson, New York Atlantics: 212 Carries, 1233 Yards, 9 TD

Nick Chubb, Detroit: 247 Carries, 1212 Yards, 10 TD

PASSING

Joe Burrow, Texas: 573 Attempts, 74.3 Comp Pct, 13.1 TD Pct (yes, Burrow threw 75 TD passes), 1.9 Int Pct, 11.68 Avg Gain/Att, 144.3 Passer Rating

Justin Herbert, Phoenix: 486 Att, 68.9 Comp Pct, 7.8 TD Pct, 1.2 Int Pct, 8.56 Avg Gain/Att, 116.1 Passer Rating

Aaron Rodgers, Seattle: 562 Att, 66.5 Comp Pct, 7.5 TD Pct, 1.4 Int Pct, 8.15 Avg Gain/Att, 110.5 Passer Rating

The four statistics that comprise the NFL passer rating system are completion percentage, touchdown percentage, interception percentage and average yards per pass attempt. The last of those four is actually the most “important” in terms of correlating with scoring points and winning games.

RECEIVING

Tyreek Hill, Boston: 115 Receptions, 1235 Yards, 10 TD

Justin Jefferson, Houston: 110 Rec, 1708 Yards, 13 TD

Cooper Kupp, Texas: 105 Rec, 2049 Yards, 22 TD

SACKS

Nick Bosa, Baltimore: 19

Trey Hendrickson, Las Vegas: 14

Five Players Tied With 12

INTERCEPTIONS

J.C. Jackson, Phoenix: 10

Casey Hayward, Houston: 8

Jordan Poyer, Toronto: 8

 

Not surprisingly, Texas kicker Justin Tucker led the league in scoring with 178 points. The Tornadoes scored 97 touchdowns in 18 regular season games; Tucker was 97-for-97 on extra points and 27-for-28 on field goal attempts. Jonathan Taylor was the leading scorer among non-kickers with 134 points: 22 touchdowns (20 rushing, 2 receiving) and one two-point conversion.

I feel better and I’ll stop here.

******************

A couple of links to posts from Why Evolution Is True:

 

An Academic Freedom Declaration

I don’t think this is a harbinger of a return to common sense, but one can hope.

Debate the way it should be

******************

My wonderful wife sent me these:

 

A Jewish grandmother is giving directions to her grown grandson who is coming to visit with his wife. “You come to the front door of the apartment. I am in apartment 301 . There is a big panel at the front door. With your elbow, push button 301. I will buzz you in. Come inside, the elevator is on the right. Get in, and with your elbow, push 3. When you get out, I’m on the left. With your elbow, hit my doorbell.”

“Grandma, that sounds easy, but, why am I hitting all these buttons with my elbow?

“What…You’re coming empty handed?”

 

 

“Football is NOT a contact sport, it is a collision sport. Dancing IS
a contact sport.”
– Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State

Ohio State’s Urban Meyer on one of his players:
“He doesn’t know the meaning of the word fear. In fact, I just saw his
grades and he doesn’t know the meaning of a lot of words.”

“Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble the
football”…
– John Heisman, first football coach at Rice

“We didn’t tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking.”
– John McKay / USC

 

McKay was also the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They lost their first 26 regular season games (0-14 in 1976, lost the first 12 in 1977). Once when asked what he thought of his team’s execution, McKay replied, “I’m all for it.” I think today’s head coaches, especially in the NFL, are utterly devoid of humor.

******************

In light of my entry into the world of Mustangs, I thought it appropriate to share this link and this picture.

 

 

This recent Autopolis piece is titled, “2024 Ford Mustang – The American Muscle Car Survives For Now.” Here are a couple of excerpts:

 

“The Mustang could carry on in its gasoline powered form indefinitely. If only as a low volume halo heritage car in some electric/hydrogen future. Its sales for now continue to be high as it is an aspirational car not just for America, but all over the world. It’s rare that any American car is wanted on almost every continent.”

“For now the Mustang continues to be an attractive sports car that has changed and adapted to make itself desirable across borders and cultures. No wonder it will be the last traditional American muscle car standing.”

 

FoMoCo is the only one of the American Big Three automakers who is still allowing choice for dealers and customers, at least for now. The other two are telling us that in the near future if we want to buy a new vehicle from them it will have to be electric. Where can I get off the carousel of nonsense?

 

#FracturedFriday

#ComputerFootballSeason

#2024FordMustang

#CarouselOfNonsense

#somanyCARSjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.

 

Fractured Friday

In my opinion…unlimited freedom, especially in the context of a country or a society, is not freedom. It’s anarchy. You don’t have to like your neighbors; you don’t even have to care about your neighbors. However, you do NOT have the right to risk the health of others through what I can only describe as willful negligence. Yes, that phrase sounds like an oxymoron like “current American music.”

We are all suffering from coronavirus fatigue and we all want to be back to normal as soon as possible. However, the timetable is not up to us and it’s not up to government, either. The virus and the pharmaceutical companies will determine the course of events.

******************

Yesterday I had a long (two hours) and very enjoyable conversation with my long-time friend, Mel Kiper. Believe it or not, most of the conversation was not about football. He and I have known each other for almost 30 years, but I think we both learned things about each other that we did not know before yesterday.

I really do know a fair number of famous people. Fame has eluded me, not that I have been actively seeking it. From our “hometown” newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, a picture of Mel.

 

See the source image

******************

I have not really written about this car in about three months and seeing one yesterday (or was it the day before yesterday?, time compression secondary to aging is no fun ☹️), in addition to receiving a listing for one in my daily email from Classic Cars, were the impetus I needed to show this car again.

Originally shown as the EVOQ concept at the 1999 Detroit Auto Show, the Cadillac XLR was the make’s second unsuccessful attempt to sell a two-seat roadster to compete with the Mercedes-Benz SL models. Success or not, I have thought these cars were simply stunning in design from the first time I saw one at an auto show. From the aforementioned Classic Cars a picture of a 2007 XLR-V (the “V” means the engine is supercharged):

 

See the source image

The XLR-V was powered by a supercharged 4.4 liter/267 cubic-inch V-8 that produced 443 HP/414 LB-FT of torque. The XLR was based on C6 Corvette architecture and was manufactured in the same Bowling Green, Kentucky factory that builds the Corvette.

Before I bought a used BMW Z4 in May of 2016 (was that really more than four years ago?!), I considered buying a used XLR. While at breakfast some time before I bought the Z4 I asked a friend, a “car guy,” if he knew anything about the XLR. I didn’t know he had owned two of them that he had purchased new and that BOTH of them were re-purchased by Cadillac under our state’s lemon law. One of his cars had been in the shop for 244 of 365 days. That was enough bad news for me. Of course, the Z4 hardly turned out to be a trouble-free car and I sold it after 29 months.

Maybe Cadillac thought it had to get the XLR to market as soon as possible although the car was not available for more than four years after the EVOQ was shown in Detroit. Just like with the Allanté, though, maybe just another year of refinement would have enabled the XLR to be released with far fewer issues. In all honesty, Cadillac overpriced the car and, in all honesty, the market for cars like this collapsed in the wake of the beginning of the “Great Recession” in 2008. The XLR was built from 2003 through 2009 although the first cars were sold as 2004 model year.

Initially projected to sell between 5,000 and 7,000 units per year only 15,460 were sold in total, including 200 leftover 2009 models sold new in 2010 and 2011. The most sold in a year was about 3,700 in 2005. Problems with the car became well known (welcome to the Internet age) and even though cars built from 2006 on are supposed to be quality vehicles, the damage was done and the “Financial Meltdown” was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

I don’t think Cadillac will ever build another two-seat roadster, which is a shame in my opinion. I still think the make is the most logical builder of an American super-luxury car that I think could sell the number of units originally projected for the XLR. I don’t know how much it would cost to design and to tool for a new car. Maybe the car would have to be priced way too high to recoup those costs in a reasonable period of time. Then again, maybe such a car would be a “Giffen Good,” a product that contradicts the normal law of demand and is consumed more the more expensive it is. A really outstanding car could be such an exception.

For quite a long period of time, I really thought I would own an XLR someday. Who knows? Maybe I still will, warts and all. I’m talking about the car, I think.  🙂

 

#FracturedFriday

#MelKiper

#CadillacXLR

#GiffenGood

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.