I Speed Silver & Black

Here it is, the first installment of what will become a very common occurrence on this blog. The cornerstone of my new blog. The license plate spotlight. This is my very first one, so comments are welcome, but here we go.

The perpetrator: a silver Dodge Magnum with black racing stripes. There it was sitting in the scalding hot parking lot of the Dublin Best Buy. In case I was unsure of the fanaticism of the vehicle, it was adorned with a back-window filling Oakland Raider's sticker. In seven characters this driver let it be known that he was the biggest Raiders fan this side of the Caldecott Tunnel.

"ALDAVIZ" on this California piece of stamped aluminum is what it said. That is a reference to Al Davis, the Oakland Raiders owner and overseer of operations. The aging and possibly senile captain of the Silver and Black has lost a majority of popularity among die-hard fans since the team's return to the Bay Area.

This would not phase this fanatic, since his car could not be older than the 2002 model, the year the ugly car was introduced. Seriously it looks like a sumo sat on a Dodge Durango.

In seven characters, this person decided to enshrine his team and their senile leader. Don't get me wrong, I love the Raiders and have season tickets, I just don't think it was the best choice for this person to put the slightly Hitler-like owner on his car. And to spell it with a "z" instead of an "s" makes me wonder if there is a bigger idiot out there (or maybe Al himself) who has claimed the original spelling.

Who knows? It could be Al's son, I know he lives in the area, but putting your Dad's name on your car would be a little strange. Like making a Michael Jackson joke now that the King of Pop has passed away. It is OK, Al Davis is better at collecting debt. I just am not sure about the motivations of a person who chooses to put the name of an NFL team owner on their car.

Do you think this use of seven characters on a license plate is worth the extra money each year you have to pay to keep it? I don't think so. The person with the plate could have spent the money on something more pertinent, like parking at the Coliseum's lot. $20 a game adds up.

Second Transformers, Twice the Awesome

I saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen the other day and I thought it was fantastic. Megan Fox running around looking scandalous and Bumblebee kicking butt, it was awesome. So awesome, that it made me forget that I was watching a two-and-a-half hour Chevrolet advertisement. I am all for helping bail out a major corporation, but I have to say as a Chevy owner, that I was disappointed with a couple of the vehicle selections.

Bumblebee is the the Camaro Transformer, and like the last movie, I thought he was awesome. The other Autobot I was happy to see was Sideswipe (Movie version pictured). He originally was a Lamborghini in the cartoon version, but like Bumblebee switching from a Beetle to a Camaro, Sideswipe makes the transformation into the jaw-dropping Corvette Stingray Concept. Ratchet and Ironhide return as their original vehicles from the 2007 movie, a search and rescue Hummer H2 and a GMC Topkick.

The cars I was disappointed with were the twins, Mudflap a red Chevy Trax and and Skids a green Chevy Beat. The third disappointment was Jolt the Autobot who transforms into the blue Chevy Volt. The nature of these Autobots are small cars that work together to form a powerful combination. The twins ended up being a bunch of babbling idiots and Jolt ended up only doing one thing in the movie. The choices for their cars were what had me struggling to eat my popcorn. I loved the movie, but Chevy almost ruined it for me.

Other than my slight disappointment with a few of the vehicle choices for the Autobots I thought the movie was great and I can't wait for the next one to come out two years from now.

Box This Lap: Full Service

Hello everyone. I am back from my blogging break and I have decided (once again) to change the format of my blog. I tried for a while, while I was commuting via bus to campus, to try and write about my daily commute. While that plan didn't turn out to be a success, I found in its attempt my love for everything automotive. And the most common thing I come across on my daily driving (other than people who cannot drive) are those oh-so common vanity plates.

This is going to be the "new" shtick of my blog, while also talking about new vehicles, my own vehicle searches and professional motor sports. Sorry, no NASCAR here. I for one think it is not difficult to turn left for 500 miles.

Since I have changed the blog format, the URL and my blog name, I am hoping that you will hang in with me while I change around the settings and try to come up with a custom blog design that fits the new format. I have sort of a backlog on vanity plates that I am itching to get up on this thing and some will come real soon.

So make sure to drop in regularly and also add/comment about the absurd, funny, freaky and confusing vanity plates you see out there on the roads.

Only in the A.M.

I woke up early for the first time in a while, and I couldn't go back to sleep. So I decided to go on campus early. How early. I think I beat most of the students on campus for their 7 a.m. classes. Other than my sheer absurdness for choosing to go to campus so early, especially when my class doesn't start until 10:30, I kind of like the morning ambiance.

All the crazy people are here, drinking their coffee and studying what seems to be molecular biology. I can't understand what they are talking about, but I read the cover on the test book. I don't know why I decided to adventure out so early this morning, but I like it. Well, I like it because today it is supposed to be 90+ again and it isn't hot out right now.

I also have a ton of work to do today and maybe I can convince myself that getting such an early start to day will help me complete my tasks. But we will see. I am the self-proclaimed king of procrastination after all.

As for what I am going to do for the next three hours, I don't know. I am just having breakfast at a reasonable time and maybe I will have a "Late" lunch, according to my roommate. That would be at about noon. That is a whole other story. All this brain power sitting around me makes me want to study. So in preparation for my mid-term tomorrow and on Wednesday, I will do just that.

'Till next time. Oh and the student cafeteria plays good music in the morning — The Who, The Animals, the Beatles and WHAM.

Update: I have collected a decent amount of license plate evidence for the blog I wanted to write, so expect that later this week.

A Slight Change In Content

I know it has been a while, you and I. It seems ironic that not too long ago I said I was back for good, just to throw you for a loop and be gone for multiple weeks.

But now that the countless pages of research papers and the endless amounts of poem analysis are over. I am, well ... I won't use the "B" word, but I am anticipating getting back into my blogging habits.

As far as the "Bus Ride of the Week" or BRW goes. I am going to can the idea. I have been getting to school earlier and earlier with each growing week and have, out of my own determination, eliminated the bus out of my commute.

Instead, I will take on new ideas stemming from one of the things I love most. Automobiles. I have found myself shuffling up and down the highways of the Bay Area for the last few weeks and I figured, "why not write about that?"

So here is my new idea. I will write more often if you keep checking in, and as often as I can, I will write about my love and some of things I hate about driving and inevitably the roads of a few East and South Bay communities.

So look out, you might see me snapping a photo of you driving with your cellphone, or my car traveling up and down your street ... if it reminds me of a famous race-track corner. The first topic I am going to tackle is specialty license plates. I have been gathering photos and debating whether I like them or not.

Until next time.