Quotulatiousness

September 9, 2010

Terrafugia moving swiftly towards terribly expensive, impractical

Filed under: Technology — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 12:09

The ever-hopeful reporters at The Register‘s flying-car desk are lowering their expectations for the Terrafugia Transition:

The firm behind the world’s most plausible near-future flying car has pushed back delivery dates again, and suggested that vehicles may wind up costing substantially more than had been planned.

Terrafugia Inc, engaged in developing the Transition “roadable aircraft”, made the announcements in a statement issued yesterday. The company says it is now setting up for “low volume production” in a new facility in Massachusetts, and that this “could allow low volume production to begin as early as late 2011”.

The most recent Terrafugia forecast had suggested that initial deliveries would begin in 2011, but it now appears that actually the company will only commence building the aircraft at that stage. Furthermore, Transitions were originally expected to sell for $148,000: Terrafugia now says the initial price is “expected to be between $200,000 and $250,000”.

Along with the pushback in production dates, the design has been down-rated for carrying capacity: now only 330 pounds of passenger and cargo when fully fueled. That won’t be enough for two average American men, never mind their kit.

QotD: Why football is king in America

Filed under: Football, Quotations, USA — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 09:37

You probably remember the pain, the feeling of deja voodoo.

You probably remember a sense of disbelief, as the Vikings and Brett Favre blew another epic game.

If you can forgive the Vikings their sins of that day — the 12th man in the huddle, the five turnovers, that fateful Favre pass — what you should remember is this:

The Vikings’ 31-28 loss to the Saints in the NFC Championship Game stands as the latest, best demonstration of why football is king in America.

Baseball is a beautiful and comforting game. Basketball showcases the world’s most spectacular athletes. Football reaches into our guts, reaches into the most evolved and most prehistoric portions of our brain, combining all of the elements of our greatest dramas, from violence to pathos to unpredictability to intricately interwoven plots.

What happened in the Superdome on Jan. 24 was Shakespearean. Not Shakespearean in the popular use of the word, meaning “effete” or “intellectual.” Shakespeare became popular by writing plays filled with blood and revenge, lust and greed.

And tragedy.

Shakespeare would have loved Favre.

Jim Souhan, “Take your seat, the big show is about to resume”, Star Tribune, 2010-09-09

Vikings-Saints preview

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 08:49

The 2010 NFL season starts tonight with a rematch of the NFC Championship between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints. Last time the teams faced one another, the Vikings had all the advantages, except in turnovers, and that was what eventually decided the outcome. A late interception prevented the Vikings from attempting a field goal for the win, and the Saints got the ball in overtime, driving for the winning score.

The Vikings need no further encouragement than the opportunity to prove that the Championship game really was a fluke. Not all the same players will be on the field tonight: Sidney Rice had surgery that has him sidelined until the middle of the season, and other players are still recovering from injuries (Cedric Griffin and rookie Chris Cook for the Vikings, and Darren Sharper for the Saints).

The stakes aren’t as high as last time, but each team wants to set the tone for the new season.

Of course, it being the official kick-off of the new season, the game is getting a lot of analysis. I’ll summarize what most coverage is saying:

  • Quarterbacks: Drew Brees is still one of the top five in the league. Brett Favre is 87 years old. Edge: Saints.
  • Wide Receivers: New Orleans loves to play four wide: Minnesota only has four receivers on the entire roster, and their best one is recovering from surgery. Edge: Saints.
  • Running Backs: New Orleans has Reggie Bush, a very elusive, dangerous back. Minnesota has some guy who’s best known for fumbling the ball. Edge: Saints.
  • Offensive line: New Orleans won the Superbowl. Minnesota didn’t. Edge: Saints.
  • Defensive line: The Vikings may have a few guys who are well known, but they only sacked Drew Brees once in the NFC Championship. New Orleans nearly disassembled Brett Favre into separate pieces. Edge: New Orleans.
  • Defensive backfield: Finally, an area of weakness for the Saints. They’re not fielding the same four guys as last season. Minnesota had to round up the vagrants down at the bus station to man their corner and safety positions for this game. Edge: Saints.
  • Special teams: Minnesota just traded away a top punt return guy to the Giants. Brad Childress may have to suit up for punt return duties. Edge: Saints.

As you can see, the media is pretty uniform in their opinion. The game is being played in New Orleans, which is a very loud stadium. The Vikings don’t have a chance to win. That’s why I think it’ll be the Saints who’ll disappoint their fans in the opener.

Ever wonder why Japanese cars didn’t become popular at first

Filed under: Economics, Japan, Technology — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 00:09

Even with an American ad agency working for them, the market wasn’t ready for this in 1969:

Books aren’t a problem . . . I could stop any time . . .

Filed under: Books, Media, Randomness — Nicholas @ 00:01

I think I need to build more bookshelves.

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