Sometimes, I wonder if the cars that magazines have me dreaming about have nothing to do with the cars I'd dream about on my own.

The richest man in the world

Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world, per pound.

How to get Zero Cavities!

Today, for the first time in a year-and-a-half, I went to the dentist. He took a full set of x-rays before congratulating me on having no cavities at all. It wasn't a shock; I've been fastidious about my oral hygeine since I learned two importing things. These are they:

1. Flossing stinks - Years ago, my friend Alexis and I happened to be talking about flossing. "Of course I floss," she said, "if you haven't flossed for a while and then you do, it stinks!" I was disgusted and intrigued; I ventured a whiff the next time I flossed. If whatever is in between your teeth actually stinks, then you're probably better off without it. From then on, I was a little sicked out about kissing people who don't floss.

2. Bacteria, not sugar, rots your teeth - I'm not Nick D.D.S., but I do know that it isn't sugar that rots your teeth. It's the acidic byproduct the bacteria in your mouth produce as they feed on sugar--sugar meaning any carbohydrate, including otherwise non-sugary foods like bread or even Grape-Nuts. When you're trying to clean your teeth, don't imagine scrubbing sugar off of them, imagine scrubbing all the food away so bacteria have nothing to eat. You want them to be spotless, bacteria are microscopic and can live on tiny amounts of food.

Then rinse with mouthwash. It starves the bacteria by rinsing out all the minute food particles you dislodged with floss and your toothbrush. Mouthwash also makes your mouth inhospitable to bacteria like S. mutans, which is one of the first bacteria to attack your teeth, and actually has special receptors to bond to them.

Tooth decay is a chronic infectious disease - it isn't just sugar rotting your teeth. Treat it as such, and use your toothbrush, floss, and mouthwash--every morning and night, at least--to make your mouth as inhospitable as possible to bacteria. These procedures are nothing new, I just wanted to shed some light on the mechanics of tooth decay--visualizing it this way (the actual way) helped me be more careful about my oral hygiene.

360 in a Car!

I finally did it. After years of watching stunt drivers do 360's, and even asking Autocar how to do it (they didn't know how), I've done a 360.

For the record--handbrake turn in neutral at above 40mph (75+ if its dry pavement), release the handbrake brake and turn the wheel the other way when you're nearing 180--- car should do a reverse flick (dab the footbrake here if you're having trouble) and you're on your way again...

Cold Air Balloons - 3M Window Film

It may be a little late in the season to begin thinking about insulation, but when I learned about window films I couldn't resist trying them. The windows in our apartment are double-hung, double-pane, and metal-framed--and they look absolutely top-notch. Even so, it is possible to feel a draft around the top of the bottom pane and the bottom of the top pane. Cue 3M's Window Insulator Kit.

The "kit" is just a giant piece of plastic film and a few rolls of tape. After all, its only objectives are to seal any of the window's leaks and to capture a layer of insulating air. That little piece of film can more than double a window's insulating ability. Of course, if windows aren't the main source of drafts, then doubling their effectiveness might not make a difference. But they are and it does (other possible sources are the hole around a ceiling fan, a dryer vent, or even wall sockets facing exterior walls).

Have a look at 3M's Calculator to see what you might save with a bit of film...

But the best bit is seeing the film puff up after you've installed it (I'll try to get a picture). I reckon its the dense, cold air pushing in past the window frame. It's like a cold air balloon. My window films are bulging 3" at the center of the pane (see top picture)... I can't wait to see the difference it makes to the bill.

The Cub made it to the BBC!

The BBC called me up a week or so ago and asked me to chat about unemployed people in New York reinventing themselves.  Perfect, right?  So we wound up doing a short film about the Honda Cub, a 100mpg step-through motorcycle which is the most-produced vehicle in the entire history of the world.

Here's a link to a Wired article about the 60 millionth cub being sold, and here's a little video about what makes it so great.  Don't know why they tried to wreck it though--  seems to me to be in poor taste.

The Unemployment Olympics were a great success!

I lost my job in February after nearly three years at a computer firm in downtown Manhattan- It was liberating-- I walked out and into a chilly day holding a big bag off stuff, but the day felt fresher, and I knew that many adventures were ahead. That night, or the next day, I wondered aloud to a friend about how great it would be to be able to compete in athletic events to win prizes--"The Unemployment Olympics", I would call it.

A few weeks later I decided to create and host the Olympics. I applied for a permit at New York's Parks and Recreation office, and submitted an event listing to Time Out.  I put out a press release, and FOX NEWS called and asked if I'd come on their show. It was a huge thrill-- you can check out the bit here-

A whirlwind of making stuff, getting more donations, planning events, responding to the RSVP'ers, and just generally freaking out later...

And check out how it turned out! Everyone had a ball, and it got news coverage from LA to Montreal, Australia and Shanghai--

New York Times
Gothamist

Cup of Jo

Here is some video from the New York Post and The Associated Press...

Fiesta movement winners being picked-

Ford has been contacting the agents of the Fiesta Movement for the past few days-- If you want to see a list of those chosen so far, check out this thread at focaljet.

I spoke with Leslie today from Ogilvy PR in Manhattan, and she confirmed that there are still a few agents who have not yet been contacted/selected. Check out this video below (and my Fiesta Movement video posted 3/25) and keep your fingers crossed that I am one of the remaining few to be contacted...

BBC motorcycle ad-

I've gotta say, this ad Think Bike made in England is pretty spooky. Watch it, and look out for us motorcyclists when you're looping around in your car.

Ford's Fiesta is storming the internet

Ford is holding a contest where people can win an unreleased car (in this case a 2011 Fiesta) and roll around in it for six months. I made a video two days ago for the contest--



I hope you liked it.

So good it Hertz

Ford used to own Hertz, and they did a special deal in the 60's where Shelby tuned some Mustangs and created the Hertz Rent-a-Racer program. Well, they've done it again. This is old news, apparently, as the deal has been going on for over a year.

Anyway, there was a AMA supermoto race in Stafford Springs, CT, and we needed to rent a car to get there. After a quick look through the various rental car sites, it seemed that a $69/day Ford Fusion was going to be the day's chariot. There's nothing wrong with a Fusion, but renting it would ensure highlight of the day was the time spent spectating at the racetrack.

Then something halfway down the Hertz list caught my eye. A black and gold Shelby Mustang convertible.

Sadly, the Mustang was all sold out in Manhattan for Sunday. I called Hertz in New Jersey, and they only had V6 Mustangs. I booked an inexpensive Fusion from Avis and went to bed, after reading a series of glowing reviews of the Hertz, both from magazines and from lucky bloggers who found one to rent--there are only 500 of them, and they are only available in a handful of locations, mainly on the coast.

The next day, I looked again, and BAM, there it was, fairly jumping off the page at me. Some fool had cancelled his reservation for my Mustang--even if I weren't obsessed with the idea, I'd defy anyone from resisting the opportunity to rent the top car- I mean, come on, it only costs $70 more! (actually, mine was a bit more than that, plus .26/mile over 100 miles).

It was difficult to concentrate Saturday night, and I a bit aloof at the party I attended--the whole time I was looking forward to squeezing the throttle and hearing the hollow warble of the big V8 with the wind in my hair. Thankfully, I turned 25 last month, so someone thinks I'm responsible enough to bring the beast back in one piece.

This was all still unknown to Sarah Wilson, who wouldn't share my enthusiasm about "what an awesome day this is going to be" as we ate bagels. Little did she know I had a fire-breathing Mustang lined up just minutes into the future. On second thought, that probably wouldn't get her as riled up as it would me.

We walked into the Hertz, just 2 blocks from Sarah Wilson's apartment, and to my great surprise there were Hertz Mustangs in every corner of the garage. I fired ours up and coaxed the beast onto the street, picked up Sarah Wilson, and roared onto the FDR.

Even before we got there, however, a Jeep wanted to race. Once on the FDR, a tinted Explorer window rolled down, and an approving face looked out. This was the first sign that the Hertz Mustang is dear to the American heart. But man, would it continue throughout the day. People LOVED it.

I had expected it to make a great noise, spin the tires, and put a big smile on my face. And did it ever, on all three counts. I'd drive through tunnels at full throttle, the nose would lift and the tail would squat down.

There was the 10 year-old kid smiling as I did a huge smoky burnout right in front of his house, who gleefully exclaimed "it's coming back" as I looped around to pick up Sarah Wilson before we fled the scene.

There was the guy at Starbucks, who demanded I pop the hood so he could check out the motor, and it looked pretty clear that he was going to head to Hertz and try one out for himself.

And the lady whose just-past-infancy pointed and said "momma, what's that?" "that's a Shelby darlin'.

When I arrived at the motorcycle race, I had a few long conversations about the car that ended with the guys saying "well God bless you man, have fun in that thing."

On the way out, some kids yelled "light 'em up Mustang!" and I obliged, and soon did it again when I heard "do it again!" from someone else.


I stopped to pee on the high way at night, and just for fun brake-torqued it and slithered off in a cloud of smoke. I passed a car a minute or two later who gave me a big thumbs up.

But the best bit was when we were on the way back into Manhattan, we took a wrong turn in Harlem and wound up pulling up to a stoplight next to another Mustang convertible with 3 fairly aggressive looking characters in it. "Oooh, a Shelby, go easy on me!" At the next light the driver said "how many cylinders does that thing have? 68?" and the passenger offered me some hennessy.

There hasn't been a day since when I haven't thought about excuses to rent one again.

Slow Bikes – A Tour de France Special on Slipstreaming

Every July, skinny men on colourful bicycles pedal up mountains in the Tour de France. The riders average over a hundred miles per day for three weeks. How do they do it? Fitness and technology are only part of the story; no rider could be competitive without the invisible boost of the slipstream – the same effect used in NASCAR and by dicing GP racers like Gibernau and Rossi.

At 25mph, roughly 90% of a cyclist’s effort goes into moving air out of his way. Slipstreaming cuts that figure dramatically. In a pack, all but the front row of riders feel the benefit of the draft (there's very slightly more to it than that, and it involves vacuum--the first riders get a tiny benefit from the people behind them), so they take turns slipstreaming to conserve energy. This energy-saving teamwork is the reason a group of riders can catch a solo breakaway with relative ease.

Want to feel the spooky calm of the draft? Get hold of a racing bike and find a bus route along a 30mph street – you’re going to draft a bus. Ride along the route until you pass a stationary bus, then shift into a big gear and accelerate hard as the bus pulls away. Once it passes you, check there are no cars and then duck in behind it, maintaining a distance of 5-10 feet. You should hardly have to pedal, and the wind will disappear. Cover the brakes in case the bus begins to slow.

It is much easier to ride a hundred miles a day if you barely have to pedal. Indeed, a pro rider generates less than 1bhp. So if you cannot arrange the suggested thrills, fear not. Hop on a Fireblade and you’ll be sitting on more power than is in the entire Tour de France peloton.