Month: June 2011

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Tesla in Colorado

Tesla makes very fast electric cars. Very fast expensive electric cars.

Boulder has had a showroom for a while, but Denver recently got one – in a mall! (Funny enough, the Boulder store is now missing from their dealership listings page.)

The store is small. Just two cars are on the floor. But at $140,000 each, I’m not surprised.

The Roadster is the only model currently available. It’s basically a Lotus Elise at more than double the price. That’s a lot of saving the whales you can do for the difference.

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Thanksgiving

I know that it’s a long way from Thanksgiving. But I’m thankful today. Two years ago, My mom passed away. I am thankful for her life and the indelible influence she had on me.

(This was a letter to the editor of The Dallas Morning News that she got published on Thanksgiving Day, 2000. You can see that she shared my love of writing.)

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Unclaimed $100

(Yes, I know you’re wondering, has Paul gotten into spam? No, I haven’t.)

During my last year of college, I made a bet with my roommate. It was a significant bet. It was perhaps the only real financial bet I’ve ever made (in the strict definition of betting). I bet him $100 that ten years after we graduated from college, I would be more into classical music than I was into rock.

It was based on my love affair with the Andante movement of Mozart’s 40th Symphony. To this day, in my opinion, it’s one of the finest musical creations ever. Even though I’ve heard it tons of times, it still evokes deep emotion within me.

But alas, I lost the bet. Rock is still my first love. If you like, compare rock to cotton candy (UK: candy floss), but it keeps me consistently coming back for more.

So Brian Wells, if you are reading this, shoot me an email and I’ll send you $100. (Sadly, I lost track of him several years ago.)

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Remember what a privilege it is

This “Discover Riches at Your Library” bookmark was given to my daughter as part of a summer reading program at our local library.

I remembered that in Nairobi, a city of about 4 million people, there are a few libraries. Most of them have old tattered books. There is not a selection of the latest best sellers. There are no libraries at all in Kakamega, a city in western Kenya with maybe 250,000 people.

So be thankful for what you have, people of “the western world.”

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The loss of something

As life moves forward, we lose some things.

When I was a kid, my family had encyclopedias. I used to enjoy sitting down and reading them. Or skimming them to find interesting articles. Hours and hours of my childhood were spent learning that way.

Today, kids have Wikipedia and Google. Both offer huge advantages over encyclopedias. But some things are lost. I wonder how many kids spend hours combing Wikipedia for interesting articles.

I have a Kindle, and I love it. But it’s far from perfect.

Recently, I learned of a high school not far away that is “paperless.” No books, except eBooks. Again, some good things come with that – but some things are lost.

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One thing I regret giving away

My first iPod.

I bought it on eBay. It worked great for maybe four years. Then it died.

Compared to more recent iPods, it was a brick. But it was amazing for the time – and is still a work of art.

My minimalistic lifestyle sometimes betrays me.

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Super 8 movie review

ET mixed with Aliens mixed with Jurassic Park. Add in a lot of intelligence. Then you have Super 8.

My 15-year-old son and I saw Super 8 last night. We thoroughly enjoyed it. J.J. Abrams, the director of the TV series Lost, added that same level of suspense to the film – except you don’t have to wait five years to solve the mystery.

Visually, it’s stunning. The crashes and attacks are totally in your face. The slow-moving scenes are treated with care and respect.

There is way more character development than most action movies provide… a teenage romance is almost the film’s centerpiece.

The PG-13 rating is appropriate. My 10-year-old daughter would have been too scared. And some of the kids swear like sailors.

Verdict? Go, if my description makes the film sound appealing to you. It may be the best film of the summer.

Finally, here’s another worthy review from my brother: on Amazon. (Scroll down on that page.)

Still photo courtesy of collider.com.

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A SXSW sight

There are not many places where you can see disposable wallet-sized guitar pick shells discarded on the pavement. South by Southwest Music Festival is one.

Just noticing the shiny bits for you, once again.

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Wall of strings

Last weekend, Heather and I went to see the Colorado Symphony perform Mahler’s 9th Symphony. It was excellent.

Normally I see wild loud indie rock music, but it’s nice to experience something different on occasion.

Sitting in the third row, we didn’t have the best seats for hearing or seeing the full orchestra. But it was loud. And it was powerful. The fourth movement was truly a wall of strings.

So if you’ve never been to a major symphony performance, I’d urge you to branch out and give it a try.

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