Today, Everet’s post was titled: Imagine a World Without Books. In it, he brings up the usual talking points:

-    Print is dead.
-    It’s hard to get published.
-    Authors see relatively little of the proceeds in the end.
-    Fat cat publishing houses are akin to pompous gatekeepers.
-    Super mega popular blogger announced his future books will be digital.

While I agree with many of these points and can see the benefits of self-publishing digitally, there is one benefit to books which I think the iPad/Kindle/Nook crowd seem to be forgetting. It’s not really a big deal, but I can’t help but think it’s worth mentioning.

Books do not require batteries.

Yes, digital media is smaller, lighter, and you can get more content into a single package/form factor, but when the battery dies, game over. Not that many people do this sort of thing these days, but suppose you went on a month-long expedition to the African interior, or hiked the Appalachian Trail, or lived with the bears in Alaska for a summer – roughing it off-grid, including the power grid. What would you read when the batteries died? I’ve yet to see a solar charger for the iPad or a hand crank for the Kindle.

More to the point, how well do such devices – they are still devices – hold up to the rigors of the world outside of the local Starbucks? A grizzly bear steps on your knapsack in Denali, you get caught out in a torrential downpour in the Appalachians, or rebels attack your caravan somewhere on the Dark Continent – only an actual book is likely to survive (or not be stolen).

Not that I’m any kind of bookworm, or even global explorer. On the contrary; I read about a dozen blogs daily and have only read three actual books in the last decade. My last camping trip had a paved parking spot and was less than 2hrs from my front door. I just thought this was interesting.

Smart goals: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
Resolute vision: a vision so believed in, it should not change – ever.

I think a lot of people today feel lost and are looking for road maps to get them where they want to go. “Hey. I’ll start a web-based business.” No shortage of maps to those destinations these days. They “like money,” so they hire Frito Pendejo as a consultant. He draws them a map to the “Time Masheen.” Now they have a map. Hooray!

Unfortunately, many focus on going into business first to make money for themselves, all other considerations, second. Haven’t they looked down at their ID cards and noticed they are “Not Sure?” People don’t part with hard currency unless they perceive some benefit in doing so. So, back to resolute vision, I’m not focused on making money whatsoever. Any money I might make with my business goes right back into serving the community – in providing them value. Yes, I would like to make enough with Gearbox to allow me to devote myself to the community full time, but I’m not looking to get rich or anything like that.

I say forget the maps.
Maps merely show the paths already trodden, paved over, and packed with mindless commuter cattle. You can’t innovate with road maps. To truly innovate, you need a compass. A compass guided by those core, resolute visions of the future. Look into the future. How are my customers more than just customers? How are they partners, friends, family? How will my efforts today make their tomorrow better?

One of, if not – the – resolute vision for Gearbox Magazine:
Show automotive enthusiasts they matter on a global scale.

This is our compass. This is our sense of direction. We’re going that way. We’ll take established roads and highways when and where it makes sense on our journey, but don’t be surprised to see our turn signals coming on where there are “no exits” right before we jump the curb, cut across the park, and disappear into the woods.

What about goals, though?
I would still like to do a separate piece on SMART goals, but it would be daft of me to link back to Valeria’s post about goal-oriented content without actually touching on goals. In a nutshell, SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. How much easier is it to set goals on this order when you have a sense of direction unencumbered by trying to follow someone else’s map? Smart goals keep you on course. If we say we’re going “that way,” how do we make sure we stay the course? Answer: smart goals or, as Valeria put it, goal oriented content.

With Gearbox, I’m trying to get gearheads talking to each other irrespective of platform, pursuit or place. The only way I can produce goal-oriented content is to ask myself, with every question I ask an interviewee, with every little tweak I make to the website, “How does this encourage gearheads to get to know each other?” Now, because I truly, with every fiber of my being, believe in my vision for Gearbox, I know the questions I need to ask to stay on course, though it’s easy to get caught up in the sheer awesomeness of how it feels seeing this start to get traction, so friendly reminders from time to time certainly help.

Thanks for the reminder, Valeria.

This post is really just a quickie to prove I’m still alive. Just been pretty busy of late. Maybe I’ll post up other “Why Arizona” quickies in addition to some “Explore AZ” posts as I get out and see my state. In any case, here’s some camera phone sunset pictures taken in the last month or so.

Picture below taken en route to Mitsubishi Owner Day.  (click for details)

Picture below taken at Lynx Lake in Prescott. “Explore AZ” post coming soon.

In pure electric form, the Volt will be charged by a wall outlet in the garage. Save the few cases where Volts will be charged by confirmed renewable sources, this vehicle merely shifts carbon footprints elsewhere, often to filthy, coal-fired generating stations. At best, electric vehicles (EVs) charged from these sources are 5% cleaner than their conventional counterparts. You can reduce your emissions by 5% by driving 5mph slower on the highway.

The Volt has a gas engine on-board to generate electricity for the motor and batteries when needed. GM states this to be at the 40 mile mark, but if they’re being as optimistic about this figure as they were about paying back their loans and bailouts earlier this year, I wouldn’t hold my breath. If Volt drivers are anything like the Prius owners I see every day during my commute – one person in the car, drag racing away from the metered on-ramp, aggressively cutting across four lanes of traffic to the HOV lane – I definitely wouldn’t hold my breath.

To make things more appealing to potential consumers, GM has announced exciting lease terms! $350/month for 36 months, $2500 due at signing. Many media outlets will be quick to point out that this lease pricing is competitive with the Nissan Leaf, but it strikes this gearhead that people who buy into this scheme will be giving GM almost $15,000 and, at the end of three years, won’t actually own anything of value. American taxpayers should be used to this by now!

Speaking of American taxpayers, aren’t there millions of us unemployed going on a year these days? Aren’t there millions of us facing foreclosure, eviction, and bankruptcy? Come to think of it, isn’t the whole, global economy in the shitter right now? Perfect time for GM to demonstrate they’ve been paying attention. They understand the market, especially the American market. That’s why they’ve just announced the Volt – which costs over $40,000.

Let me put that in perspective for any non-gearheads still reading at this point. $40,000 will buy you any one of the following vehicles:

-    Audi A5
-    BMW 5-series
-    Land Rover LR2
-    Lexus IS C Convertible
-    Saab 9-5
-    Volvo C70
-    Porsche Cayenne

Okay, so that last one starts about $3000 more than the Volt and for that price, you get the crappy, poseur V6 model, but whatever. The point I’m trying to make is the economy sucks, everybody’s broke, but GM, the great American car company, who builds $100,000 Corvettes that are almost as good as Ferraris, who builds $60,000 Cadillacs that are almost as good as BMWs, now brings a $40,000 compact car to market that’s almost as good as a Hyundai.

In the interest of being fair, the Volt isn’t going to end up costing you $40,000 if you buy it outright. You see, Uncle Sam has promised a $7,500 tax credit to anyone who purchases one of these things. This brings the price down to somewhere in the low thirties, but when do we stop funneling money to GM? The bailouts weren’t enough? The cash for clunkers fiasco wasn’t enough?

I’m sure there will be plenty of people lining up to lease or buy these things in the initial markets later this year. Some of them might recharge the vehicle from certified renewable sources and they might carpool with others and within the 40 mile range of this thing, but many will buy into the false environmental impact benefits, many more will simply buy into nu-math miles per gallon estimates, and the rest of us will just watch more cash end up in GM’s undeserving hands.

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Stupid.

SS1
SS1 is Special Stage #1. It’s a rally term for the first stage of the event where competition occurs. Rally is a special form of motorsport. Each special stage begins in one place and ends in another. Over the course of the event, teams will cover multiple special stages, sometimes even finishing on another continent. So it will be with this project.

SS1 is all about getting started. Maybe SS2 will focus on merchandising? Could SS3 be about international event organization? Time will tell. Each stage represents a new focus on our journey. The analysis stage is about questioning where we want to be in the future relative to where we are today so we can come up with a sense of direction.

Where do we want to be in the future?
This is my vision. Gearheads around the world getting to know each other better, uniting around brands or pursuits, sharing knowledge and experiences, doing things right, discussing what works, how it works, why it works, getting more enjoyment out of automotive projects, and living better lives through the power of knowledge and networking.

Building a new kind of global automotive community which does not cannibalize existing forums, instead providing a means for the best organized and most passionate communities to be positively represented in global automotive culture, to grow stronger and provide more value to active community members is a priority of Gearbox Magazine.

In short, Gearbox Magazine aims to unite gearheads around the world under common pursuits, to bring them together and empower them to live richer, more rewarding lives.

Where are we now?
I’ve spent the majority of my time online in the Mitsubishi community, so I’ll use examples from this experience. We are highly segmented. DSM owners stick to mostly DSM forums. Evo owners have their own forums, and it’s more of the same for the Galant, Colt, and GTO platforms.

In the early days of the internet, we congregated according to platform because it presented the best opportunity for technical craft mastery. You had a DSM, you subscribed to the Talon Digest email list. You joined DSMtalk or DSMtuners or whatever forum you could find where people were going fast with class in the hopes that you might be able to replicate their success.

Over time, forums grew increasingly popular. As technology has advanced and hosting prices have dropped, an ever greater number of online communities have sprung up. Some were started to serve local or regional communities, some were started to slight more established communities where people felt somehow marginalized. Today, there are likely dozens of choices for any popular platform.

The problem with forums.
Platforms come and go. The newest DSM you can buy – a 1999 model – is now more than a decade old. Many owners “get out,” selling off their projects and parts in order to pursue new projects with newer platforms. As these “old school” members leave, they are replaced with new members who bought what was once a US$27,000 vehicle on Craigslist for US$2,700. Priorities and attitudes change. The selection of viable project vehicles begins to dwindle. You can almost hear the Langoliers.

A summary
There are still passionate owners of nearly every platform ever made. The knowledge they possess – the sum of their experiences – both technically and socially are of immeasurable value. These are the community veterans who have likely seen and done it all. They have much to offer, but they face a constant battle with entropy as platforms age and fade.

I’ve seen forums which I’ve joined as member #3 wither and die, turning into little more than affiliate link real estate. I’ve seen other forums spring up with a broader focus, signaling a readiness to lead the online gearhead community into the future. The trick, it seems, is to yoke the strengths of the current online community and to make the most of opportunities available to us today.

Analysis Part I
First gear is designed to overcome inertia and get the vehicle moving. Well, we’re moving. We’ve decided where we want to go and we’ve got an idea of where we are right now. Next up, some good, old fashioned SWOT analysis. What do we have to work with? Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Then we’ll see about shifting into 2^nd gear – design – and setting this thing up for the first corner.

If you’ve got any thoughts on this part of the process – have I painted a decent picture of the situation, am I missing anything, etc. – please leave a comment below. Much of this process is based on asking the right questions. My familiarity with the subject matter for nine months now lends itself to the possibility of glossing over things now and again. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!