Day Three

(Days One and Two, for reference)

This Note's For You

I forgot that the pool wasn't open until 4 PM. Silly me. We stayed at home counting down the hours until that time, when we could pull on the sandals, tool it on over to the pool, and commence the incessant jumping-in the little guy seems to love to do right now. If he could swim better, I'd sign him up for diving lessons, he's that enthralled with getting out and jumping in. Hey, the swim lessons come first.

We returned to our house to find our tenants on the front porch, one of them strumming a bass guitar. This inspired my son to run upstairs and retrieve the six-string acoustic he got for the holidays that he still can't play - yes, I'm in the market for guitar lessons for him as well. The talk got onto why the tenant's guitar had only four strings and why the strings were so thick and what's with the hole beneath the dials on the bass and why wasn't it plugged in and hey, which hand is your dominant hand? Speculation wandered over to other guitarists and musicians who were lefties and how they worked around the very right-handed world of guitars (Kurt Cobain restrung his Stratocaster and turned it upside-down to play it, as did many others like Hendrix. There are more lefty models of guitars being made, but it's just another thing that makes you realize what a righty-dominated world we live in), and somehow, we got on the subject of Neil Young at JazzFest.

Our bass man reported that friends of his said Young brought more equipment than he'd ever seen before at the Fest, and that the man's guitar was still out of tune, plus, the equipment was mostly junk. A thought popped into my head concerning the antiquity of the stuff.

"He might be saving it for projects like the train set he built that one of his sons who is stricken with severe cerebral palsy could operate. After all, it's got stuff like old vacuum cleaners as part of the scenery."

It's funny how many people know Young for his music, but have no inkling of how much he loves to tinker with toys large and small. Some more searching by me found this Lionel train set he designed. Only 500 of these have been made:

Take a ride to Greendale and discover a place where the citizenry believe in personal rights, protection of the environment, and sanctuary from corporate greed. A place that has, as its motto says, “everything you’re looking for.”

Based on the popular “musical novel” by renowned recording artist and Lionel part-owner, Neil Young, the Greendale train set evokes some of the most powerful messages from the story. From the Millennium News Network (MNN) television car and BIG OIL tank car, to the Devil animated gondola and presidential election campaign observation car, the set tells the story of modern day issues that besiege all of us on a daily basis.

It certainly ain't your grandpa's train set. Hey, I don't even know if my dad would get much of a charge out of it, and he's clued into stuff like the misstep that is the Lionel "girl's set".

Well, one of the biggest projects Neil has embarked on as of yet in the tinkering department is the LincVolt, an attempt to take a '59 Lincoln Continental convertible and transform it into an electric car. The object in doing so:

Values
We want to build a zero emissions automobile that eliminates roadside re-fueling entirely, a safe powerful automobile that is comfortable and economic on both long trips and the commute to work, an automobile that can generate power to the home when it is parked, potentially creating an income stream for the owner.

Methods
By working with established technologies in new ways, with the best people and companies available in each field, and creating a film about the innovative re-powering of a 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible and its trip around the USA, we aim to publicize our story of innovation to make a major difference in the knowledge of, creation, and use of clean power in the 21st Century. a 2.5 ton 19.5 foot automobile, making automotive history with an extended range and mpg that has never been attained in a full size vehicle.

Obstacles
Obstacles like resistance to change, the need for economic rebalance created by change, and the limitations of existing infrastructure will be met with education and proof of a clean power technology system that provides economic savings for the owner, helps to save the planet, and enhances the security of the world.

Measures
We will know we have succeeded when we have one or more major companies building automobiles that use our technology or something similar, creating 0 emissions, while saving money for the owner. We will also know we have succeeded when the world's power generating plants start using our clean technology or another clean technology that delivers comparable results.

Having checked out the LincVolt site, a video made of Young's "Johnny Magic" with him driving the thing (The way the video was shot, it's amazing the Lincoln didn't crash), and Neil Young as blogger: If the Big three cannot agree to make only cars that are fuel efficient enough to get at least 50 MPG by 2011, 75 MPG by 2013 and 100 MPG by 2015, then they should go into bankruptcy and fend for themselves like all the other businesses that are having trouble. The truth is this can be done and innovators know the way to do it. -I am now convinced that the man needs to replace our hapless Setback Czar come June 1st.

And I don't CARE how junky his sound system is. When he wants to lend an operational hand to making it state-of-the-art, he most certainly will.

Oh, and we're out of pickles. None of those for breakfast today.