Homers

As we left our heroes, my family and I were in housing limbo.  The start for this entry should be familiar to those who read regularly.  Not one but two tries at purchasing a house were thwarted by feeble attempts of trickery or by pure unadulterated close-mindedness (the referenced second house fell through before we even got to request repairs from the inspection report…repairs which were absolutely necessary).  That said, I am happy to say that, on the 3^rd try, we hit pay-dirt, and now reside in beautiful, downtown Scotch Plains.  Move-in was last Saturday, and the wife and I are working furiously to get the house organized after 2+ months of our things being in storage.

That said, let’s take a break from the narrative to publicly thank my father-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law.  You may have thought that your asks of your family to be out-putting…but when we needed a place to stay, my in-laws opened their house, their rooms…their showers and fridges, with open arms.  It was, admittedly, a tight fit, but now, I bet, the house never felt bigger.  I mean, we took over my bro’s bedroom…all of our personal belongings invading every inch of their domicile.  Yes, it meant more quality time with each other…but it also added levels of stress to my extended family, including the need for some repairs on lightly used items in the house that were all of a sudden getting daily use…like the extra shower that wasn’t grouted well…sorry about the hole.  My children ravaged the delicate magnets on the fridge…and my father-in-law had to replace the clothes washer after 1 week.  More to remember us by?  Anyway, Jake, Bruce and Emily were instrumental at making us feel welcome and allowing us to invade their space for the better part of 2 ½ months.  We couldn’t have done it without you and we are forever in your debt…until we forget and need babysitting.  But I think the clause for that ask limits us to 2015 requests.  Dad’s also a lawyer and I need to read the fine print.

So, about the new house.  Completely redone/updated kitchen and updated (albeit small) bathroom.  All electrical outlets in the house, built in 1958, were updated with grounded, 3-prong outlets.  Roof was recently replaced, as well as the furnace and oil tank.  House is in a WALKABLE COMMUNITY!  I mean, we are 3-blocks from the local pizza place, the comic book store, and 2 nice bars (the schools too…but let’s stick to what’s important), woot!   House is surrounded by families with kids.  Next door neighbors have already introduced their 5 year old to my 5 year old and the two, every day after school for the last week, have played together!  AND, he’s got older sisters to babysit (eventually)!  Mom and dad are into yoga and wine…and have already introduced us to other neighborhood kids who live around the block.  And, while it’s early in our tenure here, the feel is already the polar opposite of the situation that we left in Westfield.

To say we’re happy is an understatement.  For the first time in months, my daughter is sleeping through the night.  I know I’ve jinxed it now, but it’s worth it.  This is our home, and we’re truly excited to re-start our lives.  Now, I hope I bought enough candy (the good stuff, i.e. chocolate…none of that off-brand Smarties crap!) to impress the kids who will be by tonight, enough to make them (and their parents) think “those new people are alright.”  Bribery is certainly not beneath us, and we’ve got many first impressions to make! Happy Halloween!

Loser

I’ve been a loser for a long time now.  I have a collection of Legos from when I was in my single digits.  I’ve got a healthy obsession with sci-fi books, puns, and video games.  I’ve played Dungeons & Dragons…but preferred lesser known role-playing-games (before computers).  I love computers and technology…and most of all, I love Star Wars.  I’d say that I’ve got a fairly good track record at being a loser.

This has somewhat translated into a number of pastimes I’ve gotten myself into in the last 10 years or so.  One is photography.  I think I’ve done fairly well with that in my transition from nerd loser to art loser.  It gently ties “aspiring artist” with “die-hard technophile” as my collection has evolved from owning the camera and its components to using a digital dark room to post process…and needing a more high-powered device for which to do that on. 

And, then there’s Fantasy Football.  I’m already a NY Giants devotee.  Thanks to computer tracking of stats, I’m also now completely obsessed with other team’s games, injuries to every player, and the complementary software which I MUST have installed (and check regularly) on my iPhone.  God help the dudes (or computer) at Yahoo that feeds my app the stats…because I tend to get impatient when watching a game, seeing a play that got me points, and then not immediately see it show up on my app.

Oh, and I frequently lose.  This year more than most.  Which makes for a cranky me…especially when the Giants lose.  So, why am I surprised that, as my son plays his soccer game, anything other than a perceived win is greeted with angst, crying, upset, irrational attitude?  It’s difficult imbuing a child with winning aspirations and the logic of “it’s OK to want to win, but it’s also OK to lose.”

I blame myself.  I blame video games.  I blame our culture that has nothing better to do with its vast wealth than stuff it into the pockets of 1,700 professional athletes for 17 weeks from September to December…and then another month on top of that if, god forbid, they win a lot.  So, I’m trying to tone it down.  I’ve been watching Giants games with the boy, and trying harder not to evoke the immense sadness I get when the team that I’m deeply emotionally and financially invested in doesn’t perform to spec.  Why?  Because, he’s a human sponge.  And, at this age, he needs to start learning that, while it’s great to win, it’s also OK to lose.  And, if his life’s misery is exclusively tied to professional sports losses…then he’s had a pretty fantastic life.

Embrace your inner loser (for some of us it’s easier than others), and teach the mantra that losing while trying is perfectly OK.  Were this widely accepted and applied, the world would be a better place.

Musky

Like most people who have risen to prominence, it’s due to dedication and commitment to do something not many or nobody has done before.  Now, along with this comes the responsibility to be a bit of a dick…to be pushy to get your ideas noticed, whether it’s for funding or pushing product.  I get it.  It’s what they don’t say about type “A” personalities that’s just implied.  Now, I know what you’re thinking, not all famous people are obnoxious. “Take Hellen Keller for instance,” you might say, “I’m sure she was a sweet woman with all of the challenges she faced.”  Yeah, that bitch is probably alright.  While her accomplishments were nothing short of amazing, she’s probably the one who originated the following joke:

A blind guy and his Seeing Eye dog walk into a supermarket, and in the produce aisle he proceeds to start spinning and swinging the dog above his head.  When the manager came over to stop and ask what the hell he was doing, the blind man said, “I was just taking a look around.”

There are sicker jokes about the blind, and if you write me a personal note, I’d be happy to share them.

Still, if you read technology news, you may have read that there’s a new electric sedan soon to be on the market which can out gun some Ferraris.  That’s right, you read that…a sedan…a 4-door family car…goes from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds.  Holy sedans, Batman.  That’s a jaw dropping 691 horsepower for a street-legal top speed of 155!  What’s better is that it’s all-wheel drive…and completely, 100% electric. 

Enter TESLA and Elon Musk.  The founder of PayPal has a crap-load of outside the box ideas that he’s making work…largely though initial investments from his amassed fortune of about $11.7 billion with a “B.”  But, the most incredible thing is that he’s doing it, and with huge support from investors.  Stock prices for TESLA shares have rocketed to $250/share.  He made $1.1 billion last week.  WITH A FRIGGIN’ “B.”

Now it’s not his wealth that impresses me as much as how he got it.  While I believe there’s some business sense in creating electric roadsters (at $93,000 they’re not quite family cars), it’s the fact that they’re electric…that the cost to charge them is less than $500 a year without direct impact to fossil fuels. 

1. 12000 miles/ year
2. .300 kWh/mile
3. 85% charging efficiency.
4. 10cents/kWh
=12000miles x .300kWh/miles=4000kWh
=4000/.85= 4706kWh x 10cents/kWh = $470.60/year
VS
1. 12000 miles/year
2. 25miles/gallon
3. 3.25 dollars/gallon
12000/25 x 4 = $1,560/year

MATH!

To my point that famous people are pushy, yeah, he may be a douche canoe…but I just get the feeling that his projects are for the greater good.  Not only that, he puts his money where his mouth is, and is financially supporting the creation of a TESLA museum and campus at Wardenclyffe, the site for Nikola Tesla’s laboratories where Tesla developed modern alternating current while Edison was pushing his direct current…AC vs. DC! 

SCIENCE!  ROCK & ROLL!

AND…dude is soon going to be responsible for shuttling people to and from the international space station with his SpaceX…the first private company (which received grants from NASA; full disclosure) to send a spacecraft to the ISS.  Dude wants to colonize Mars, and, it seems that the nutty aspirations are catching.  Lots of talk about Mars…and resources…and additional studies and such. 

All in all, and I know this is yet another profile/love letter, but the dude is putting money where his brains are, and is financing projects that are real, and that have the potential to change our world as we know it.  Oh, did I mention that the new Tesla S can park itself?  No big whoop…but it can also change lanes, and, soon will be able to drive by itself.  Jetson’s, Here we come!