Xenosthesia.com

Concept Vehicles

These are some of my favorite concept cars with links to where you can learn more about them.

Okay, the Trezor has the best soundtrack in their video, no question. The best feature on this concept car is the body. It looks sleek, fast, and expensive. Looks expensive, but the reality is that this car wouldn’t be. Sure it looks stylish, but the negative features would bring the price down to suburban levels. Like many concept cars, the Trezor has an impractical door style. The entire top folds up and forward. You’d never be able to drive it in the rain—or you’d be afraid to get out unless you were in a garage. Also, because the interior is so bowl-shaped, it looks like it would collect water. Who would want to drive around while immersed in water? The red windshield looks cool in a video, but it would probably give some people a migraine to be subjected to the colored light on long trips.

Lamborghini Terzo Millenio Lamborghini.com

This one doesn’t just look fantastic, it boasts some genius ideas. Batteries are stored in and around the base of the vehicle, to distribute the weight more evenly. Other ideas are quality, but they only seem to be ideas. Lamborghini car company wants to develop systems to capture and create and store more electricity. They’ve designed the wheels to look like generators, but from what I’ve studied on this one, the wheels don’t really generate, they just look like they could. The body is a composite (carbon fiber) that utilizes low voltages to “heal”. It’s such a low-slung car it would need that sort of talent. I could imagine cringing at every bump in the road while driving this beautiful and fanciful machine.

Audi Ai Trail Audi.com

The simple design of the Audi Ai Trail is somewhat better than many of the fancier concept cars. I could imagine it being a little longer and able to seat more people. They’ve saved some weight by making seats out of a hammock material. Electric motors are good, but they’re not great for heavy loads, so Audi tried to shave off some weight with the seating. The design of the Ai Trail is high off the ground for rugged terrain. The one design they came up with that is debatable is the drone headlight idea. Drone headlights would be fine in open spaces, but not in forested areas. Trees, especially tall trees, would block out all the light from a drone.

Ferrari Pininfarina Modulo Modulo on YouTube

The Ferrari Modulo is one of the first beautiful concept cars from way back in the 20th century. It is one of the first concept cars to have the open top design. Again, the open top would be no good in wet weather, though it might draw attention at car shows. This one looked super cool. The inadequate science of the times made the designers stick a V12 in the car. The V12 engine is typically too big for its own good. Heavier than it was powerful, the V12 couldn’t brag about miles per gallon, ever. You could get better gas mileage from pickup trucks of the same era. We’re talking 18 miles per gallon for trucks of that time, while the engine in the Modulo got closer to 8 miles per gallon. So basically, this concept car just looked amazing. The wheels were almost hidden to make a casual observer think the car was hovering. Overall, the shape of the Modulo might give someone the idea of sighting a UFO. If the “pilot” emerged with a green mask, no one would be surprised—shocked maybe, but not surprised.

Jeep Hurricane Hurricane on YouTube

Yeah, baby! This beauty is the king of cool. It was introduced in 2005. The articulating wheels are only the second most amazing thing about this concept vehicle. (See the video.) The low top design is the best, though it was never used in any vehicle in the Jeep lineup. Headroom in Wranglers, and Wagoneers always seems much higher than it needs to be, so the Hurricane appeared to be an advance for some of the most popular off-road vehicles ever. The box design of most Jeeps is a wind trap. It’s inefficient and consumes fuel. Borrowing from the Wrangler many of the great features, the Hurricane design introduced a button start option, front and back wheels that could articulate in perpendicular directions, and some sweet lift. It has beautiful distance from tire to body and from body to ground level. It has good distance front and rear for tire traction without body interruption, and with what looks to me like a wider stance than the standard Wrangler, which admittedly could be advantage or disadvantage depending on the shape of the climb. The engines Jeep used in the years around 2005 were adequate climbers so the Hurricane is probably an off-road dream.

Wordswirl

ornamentalcat

Recollections wreck elections. I know there are things needing to be done.

Lope to the kitchen. I watch ditches. Sink spirits like a loose cannon. Water cannon.

Cold sweat overtakes me. I know there are things needing to be done. Anxiety knew long before as it crowded my brain migraine. Ache eats into my subconscious. Need something to occupy my mine.

Resort to electronics but the terror vision is no relief. Too many nude dead love triangles to handle in one day. Too many scandals in sandals. Judgements to be made, judgements to be forgiven, and we all get flushed through the news cycle like wet herds. If I can resist the social media wagon, I can resist the negative commentary troll baggin’. I could witch mice elf out of this crazy place. Sometimes our escapes make us fools. Sometimes fools are wise as wizards.

Digital pastimes fill me with guilt because I know there are things needling to be done. Virtual comforts pass when the power goes out. Then it’s so quiet I can hear the gangs down the sloped street chuting each other. No one thinks they’re alone, and yet everyone does. Everyone gets up and goes for a ride. Everyone stops at the end of the slide.

What does it all mean? Why are we here? To do better? To make it all better? To be like Eddie Vedder? The search continues through the sinews. Learning hits me like a ten ton ruler on the back of the hand. When I feel it I remember again, and I don’t say it, ’cause there’s no need to repeat the spin.

From the Vine

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For centuries, people used grapes in amazing ways. They used grapes instead of water to quench their thirst. They used grapes as nature intended: as food straight off the vine. People even used grapes as raisins because dried fruit kept longer and could be used in the months when nothing grew on the farm except chickens and teenagers.

Then in 1873, during a heat spell in California, some knucklehead stuck a marketing flag all over the dried grape and called it a “Peruvian Delicacy”. From that simply evil prevarication came the sick ideas of sticking grapes and raisins in everything—everything that never called for it. Grapes in salad would only be good if it’s a fruit salad, and yet more knuckleheads, probably related to that first knucklehead, threw grapes and raisins in a perfectly good vegetable salad. It could be argued that eating grapes with tomatoes is healthy, but the sanity of such an act is questionable.

Grapes in a chicken salad? The chef must have been cleaning out the left-overs in the fridge.

Grapes on a tuna salad sandwich? Was the sandwich-maker drunk?

Raisins in oatmeal cookies? What other way could you destroy dessert?

Raisins in trail mix? Sure, fine, it kind of makes sense because it goes back to the ancient way of storing food for long periods of time with little effort. The only problem I have with this idea is that it has gone too far. It has become difficult to find trail mix without raisins. It’s come to the point where I have to make my own trail mix.

Cashews? Check.

Peanuts? Check.

M&Ms? Check.

Done. No raisins needed.

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To put the raisin craze in even better perspective, did you know you could dry mushrooms? And what if some advertisement industry knucklehead portrayed mushrooms the same way they portray raisins? Would we have dried mushrooms in everything?

Meanwhile, the cat…

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If you were a dog, would you be an inside dog or an outside dog?

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From my personal point of view, I’d rather be an outside dog. The freedom entices me. Would I play in the snow? Absolutely? Would you? I hope so, but don’t be worried about having a different opinion. Having different tastes or likes or desires from someone else doesn’t necessarily make you wrong. The world would be a dull place if everyone enjoyed the same music, or ate the same kind of food, or preferred the same exact activities.

The dog chases sticks. I don’t want to pretend to know what the dog is thinking when he enjoys this activity. I probably have a clue, though. If I was that dog, why would I chase a stick? For the mystery and excitement of seeing where the stick landed. For the thrill of seeing how fast I could return with it. Did the stick fly farther than last time? Where will it land? Can I differentiate the one thrown from all the other sticks in the world? What will the stick smell like when I pick it up this time? Did you see how fast I ran? Want to see me do it again? Want to see how fast I am when the wind changes direction?

If a dog could throw his own stick, would he ever come back?

Your dog will follow you anywhere. Dogs don’t likely know when you’re homeless. Dogs don’t likely know when you’re lost. Dogs follow because they have a loyalty uncommon to the animal kingdom. Not many animals would stick with you no matter where you go.

A dog chases his own tail. I’m not even going to pretend to know what the dog is thinking when he chases his own tail. Is he thinking he’ll catch it? I don’t know. Is he thinking, “Look how fast I can move my tail!”? Not sure. There’s an answer. Only the dog knows, and it should probably stay that way. Let the dogs have some secrets.

It’s no secret that dogs need to go for walks. If a dog is an inside dog, Mister Owner-Man will need to leash him up and take him around the block a time or two. Exercise still happens outside for the inside dog.

Leashes are less of a necessity for an outside dog. Do you sense the freedom of being an outside dog? Have I convinced you yet?

An outside dog has the freedom to chase other dogs, to bark at other dogs, to bark at passing vehicles, to cower under a rock during lightning storms, to howl at midnight, to growl at outside cats.

A dog can chase and race and fetch. A dog can shatter bones with his teeth. A dog can growl and howl and bark.

Meanwhile, the cat…

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New Arrivals

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Spring means new things.

This one goes out to the babies, and those who’ve had babies, and to the ones who adore the babies.

The young ones, with their new smell, their eyes waking, smiles grinning wide to the world. They’re ready for what’s next and what’s next is everything. Everything is new to the young and they want to experience it all. Their knowledge of the world is trusting and innocent. Their judgement is uncluttered, unhurt.

New to walking, the baby will need help up. New to talking, the baby will need an example, like the sound of mom’s voice, dad’s voice.

The young one’s legs are weak, at first. They seem to get strong quickly. From a mewling lump of flesh, quickly building sinews in the neck. Strength in the core means rolling over…and over again until baby stands and starts bossing mama and papa around. Barking out orders no one understands. Rebelling against everything. Playing loud music at all the wrong times of the day.

Just kidding. That was total exaggeration.

Seriously though, before they become teenagers, they’re still as cute as a wild wolf pup. Babies are cute so that the animal kingdom will take care of them and give them the protection they need to survive and grow old and have their own babies. Survival, not only of the individual, but of the group. A cute baby means a healthy species.

A baby may not seem to have much to give, no skills to put on a resume, no bank account, no amassed assets, and yet, any new mother and father can tell you their baby means the world to them. A true mother would give her life for her child. So many mothers have given, and still do give, their whole life for their child. Why? They don’t owe anything to the child. The babe has nothing to offer in return for the mother’s devotion.

It’s most likely obvious to some, the reason is love. Love is the ultimate parental motivation. It’s the kind of feeling not limited to one species. A parent can look at someone else’s baby and feel concern and caring. A parent can look at newborn chicks in a nest with the same feeling.

Then again, do you have to be a parent to feel this feeling?