“I guess I thought I was Elvis Presley but I’ll tell ya something. All Elvis did was stand on a stage and play a guitar. He never fell off on that pavement at no 80 mph.” — Evel Knievel
A lifelong hero of mine died today… Evel Knievel is a true American Legend through life and death. This man had balls the size of church bells. As a kid, he inspired me to crash more than a couple times while attempting to mimic his bad-ass-ness. Plywood…. cement blocks… and you got a jump. If you were a kid from the Evel era, and tried to clear the jump again– even though your body was stiff or oozing from scabs– you can relate.
Is this truly the end of an era? Evel was the one of last major American Icons that symbolized the way America used to be– you know the home of the brave…. the people who weren’t afraid to take risks to be the best and go above & beyond. He represented good times before the pussies and the lawyers of today took over our country. God Speed to the bravest and craziest mother fucker on the planet– and now in heaven.
-scott noteboom
November 30th, 2007
I’m not impressed by the Prius. I see it as another disposable piece of garbage. Here’s why:
1. It gets a tad over 40mpg realistically. At what expense?
- just like a AA battery, it’s disposable. Like a computer on wheels. You buy it, you use it, it breaks and then you throw it away and spend money on a new one.
- two engines in one car, an electric and a gas one. twice as much stuff to have problems.
- the batteries, just like all batteries, are an environmental disaster.
- the entire car is not engineered to last 200,000 miles
- the batteries cost $4,000 to replace and last about 100,000 miles
- the car itself is quite a bit more expensive than similar looking shit boxes.
Here in California, “Hybrid” cars can get these fancy little stickers that allow one person in a car to drive in the carpool lanes– being that Prius owners are sooooo much more responsible. What’s so impressive about 40mpg anyway? That threshold was bettered years ago…
What about diesels, that have been evolving forever w/ better mileage?
- diesels are simpler.
- current diesel cars that look similar to the Prius cost less and get much better gas mileage. Take a look at the Volkswagen Lupo, which gets a tad over 70mpg at under $17k. Cars like the Lupo cost considerably less than the Prius and will last much longer. Lot’s of this kinda stuff going on in Europe– long lasting, efficient, high performing diesels.
- Biodiesel is available and runs notably clean….. with no dependancy on foreign oil.
I believe that the long proven and evolving diesel solutions are better right now for people looking for cars that get great gas mileage, are environmentally friendly, last a long time and are simple.
As for me….. well, even though im only 36, my newest car (20mpg) has lasted 45 years. My oldest car is roadworthy and has lasted 67 years. Underlines the fact that im not into disposable stuff…
By the way– i make up with environmental responsibility points by living close to work– i dont do long commutes, i drive short distances. in addition, i ride motorcycle and use public transportation. SO…. everyone please save the oil for me to use in my old cars 
-scott noteboom
November 18th, 2007
1) One of the things that i value in life more than anything is the fact this i’ve held the same friends to so long. Having a loyal crew of friends you can always trust is about as valuable as anything gets. Here are some of us in San Felipe, Mexico earlier this year:
2) When i was a kid, my mom always referred to my friends as “boyfriends.” For example, “oh scott, he’s not here. he’s over at his boyfriends house.” LOL. That made me sound like such a homo (note: to my gay friends, “homo” is said out of love…)
Here is a sweet pic of me and one of my life long “boyfriends.” I know what you’re thinking. You’re just jealous….
3) Here is what happens when one of your lifelong friends turns into a respectable professional and can’t handle his alcohol. NOTE: I wont name who this is, but you know who you are….. and remember, i still love you as a brother and i’m upholding my promise of never letting you forget this:
oh, and by the way…. being a lifelong friend i remember when you didnt use to be so respectful. Behind that nice collered shirt lies a hell raiser in there.
4) Lastly, i’ve been working on something i’ve had for quite a number of years and it’s almost back on the road. A ’62 convertible Lincoln Continental. Here’s a old picture of it in from 10 years earlier. Note: I’m sporting sporty green hair under my hat that matches the hat at this time. Also in the pic is my sister, who i also love greatly.)
I lived in Hollywood during these times. And, yes, i was the king of Hollywood with this car. It obviously made me better looking, as everybody wanted a ride (Note to wife: I never took them for that ride, because you were much hotter, thus i didnt need to :-) )
Enough playing Blog dork. It’s almost 1pm on Sunday and my ass is still in bed. Late night last night, as I got the 1940 Ford running again!!!! Bitchen, i love working on my cars late into the night.
-scott noteboom
November 18th, 2007
First of all, i’m listening to “Fear” right now as tunes as i type. Point that out, as music always possesses / influences people. “I love living in the city” is currently on. Anyway…..
OK, i come from a background where some people i know are some racist fucks. To me, that’s just another form of insecurity– an insecurity that is little different from the opposite side of the spectrum, where some “minorities” carry a chip on their shoulder thinking every challenge in life is all racism and discrimination (hint– anybody that exhubes a chip on their shoulders ensures their own destiny– as who wants to deal with that kinda person?) So, no matter the case, i’ve heard differing opinions on immigration and wanted to type my thoughts as it helps me determine where i sit with my own feelings…
First of all, i think a lot of politicians like to point to immigration as a major problem in this country. To that, i believe these same politicians are channeling attention away from true problems that have more to do with them. If you can’t tell, i’m about tired of politicians, the political process, corruption, lobbyist payoffs, etc. Almost to the point (not quite) that i feel REVOLUTION is in order (if the white house is dirty, burn it down and start clean)….. at mimimum, MAJOR change. I think we need to go back to our American roots, our traditions, and our values. If that involves stringing up some corrupt politicians to underline that point, so be it (Note to “The Man”– im just joking, maybe.)
Getting bored typing paragraphs, so let’s put in some bullet thoughts….
- This country became great due to immigration and immigrants. It’s integral to what we are– look at our history.
- We need to insist on equal trade with other countries. As a matter of fact, perhaps in the short term we need to be a bit heavier on the export side until our trade deficit is clear. If we cant have $29 DVD players, or 5 TVs per house… who cares? I’m tired of disposable shit anyway.
- Equal trade is not in the interest of the corporations that control our country and the “global economy.” Thus, separating corporation and state is a must. Cut the cord fast and clean. Why is it that a single person can only contribute $2300 to an official running in an election, but a corporation can fund huge amounts through contributions, lobbyists, etc. Who the fuck does the politician work for, me or the corporation? Yes, we already know that answer….
- I agree that immigrants milking the system sucks. However, i dont blame the immigrant, i blame our system. It’s not the immigrants fault for taking what is offered– that’s actually pretty smart. It’s the dumb fucks giving it away…. I believe that we should have open borders and immigrants should have opportunity to come here if they want, to work hard and pay full taxes, etc. No tax breaks, and no governmental benefits until the immigrant has been here for a number of years. Maybe 10-15-20 years? Therefore, come here– but dont expect *any* handouts and work your ass off. Make it and contribute to our success or get the fuck out. It’s the american way and historically the strongest americans came from this path. America 101 on building a strong population base…
- How about the hiring of illegal immigrants who dont pay taxes and work for sub-legal wages? Well, first of all strongly prosecute / fine companies or people that hire these “illegals.” If people face real risk of financial ruin or jail for hiring an illegal, they’ll likely not do it. Maybe it’s the american companies and people that hire these folks that should be the “illegals” and not the immigrants?
- Through taxation of imports or legislation, insist on a level playing field with our trade partners. We value fair wages, health care, environmental safety & responsibility, etc for all americans in this country– so why is it ok to support buying things from other countries that dont have it? If China isnt clean or legit, tax their imports until they are– and then use that tax revenue to help Americans and our values. Then the playing field is more fair, and I bet others will improve as well.
Can you live without cheap foreign made shit created in environmental messes by slave labor? It might mean i have computer instead of 4, and my cheap DVD player way cost $500 instead of $29. Im ok with that– bring it on….
- With the playing field level (min wages ensured, safety, health care,) people who complain that immigrants take their jobs need to shut the fuck up. Once the playing field is level, if you cant compete with an immigrant– then you need to work harder to improve. Protecting lazy American workers from harder working immigrants is a form of *welfare* for sorry ass lazy Americans, and with the level playing field should be unnecessary.
- By the way, i also hate those rules that say you MUST hire a certain % “minorities.” I believe the best qualified should get the job. That said, i also believe that local governments should hire people local to their communities though… For example, i dont think white cops from Thousand Oaks should be LAPD hired and patrolling in South Central LA. Keep people close to their communities and use fair hiring.
- Speaking of welfare…. I HATE IT. Take all the welfare money and put it into community shelters, soup lines serving hot meals, and healthcare access for everyone. No American should be without a roof, a meal or health care– but, handing out cash so that people can afford to have another kid, sit on their assesat home and not work is lame. TWO EXAMPLES:
1) I lived in LA in the years past. I’ve seen welfare. I’ve seen food stamps being sold for 25 cents on the dollar. I used to buy junk food at 7-11 all the time with food stamps. Give me something for free, smart of me to take— yet, dumb of you to give. Get the point?
2) Later in life, I lived in a pricey neighborhood by a family that had A LOT of kids and didnt work hard at much more than having kids. The government has paid $2000 of their $2800 rent through section 8– which is fucked. Is living in a $2800/mo house in Cupertino really welfare material? Oh, and then they dont have to pay taxes due to various credits, get free money every month, etc.– a leach to America’s success. In the mean time, I worked my ass off hard across the street, paid my taxes and got no benefit except the pride of being a American…
Welfare is fucked, and it’s not the fault of the person taking what is offered to them. It’s our American systems fault, and it needs to be fixed.
I’m typing too much…. To conclude though…. First step is radical change.
Fix what is America. Don’t sell out our values in the interest of big corpration and the the hype of the “global community.” Globalization is fine as long as it’s secondary to the success of country, and thus ourselves as Americans.
-scott noteboom
November 18th, 2007
