NEWS: Hummer- RIP

I would like to take this time to mark the passing of the Hummer (H1), which, as recently announced, will be discontinued after 2006. Before the Hummer few had thought to use a military vehicle for civilian purposes. But with its introduction in 1992 a tool originally designed to drive through mountain terrain and across battlefields was now available for tools to drive as they went to the grocery store and picked up their kids at soccer practice. No other vehicle could so effectively endanger national security, the environment, and the lives of all those on the road all at the same time. With the Hummer no longer available where will people turn to next as they look to declare these issues are of no concern to them because they are so much better than you? Perhaps to the tank, or as Dane Cook suggested, the cement mixer.

While considered a status symbol, the Hummer itself enjoyed special status. Due to a loophole in legislation, which had originally been intended to aid farmers, owners of a Hummer were able to write off up to $100,000 as business expense. And due to another loophole it, as a vehicle weighing over 8,400 lbs (the H1 actually weighs over 10,000), was not required to reveal its gas mileage to consumers. Gas mileage however has been estimated at near 9 miles per gallon (less than half the efficiency of the original Ford Model T).

Still, while the time of the original Hummer may now be passing its legacy will live on in the H2 and H3. The H2, a slightly smaller (but still enormous) version of the H1, has seen sales triple since last year, which seems to assure that the behemoths will continue to guzzle gas and pollute the environment at a remarkable rate for years to come.

It Begins

I suppose it is fitting that I start this blog on what is almost an anniversary of sorts. In two days it will be exactly one year ago that I became a Boston College graduate. I can still remember with crystal clarity standing on top of the BC parking garage at dawn with my friends and classmates as the sun rose up beyond the Reservoir and behind the clouds. Being a little drunk and very sleep deprived from what had been a long night and even longer week of good byes it was a undoubtedly a bittersweet if not simply a sad moment for me. Soon after I would head back to my dorm room for an hour or two of sleep and just a few hours later I would have my diploma, be moved out, and, for the first time since I was 5, no longer be a student.

I apologize for that bit of nostalgia and can feel safe in saying there won't be much of it in future posts. However, the timing seems just too perfect to not at least touch on it. As I said before it is fitting because I'm creating this blog in part as a means of getting back into the habit of writing and researching as I prepare for law school( I will be starting at George Washington in 3 months). This is something that I have not really done since graduating. Beyond that I hope to use it as an outlet in offering my thoughts on movies, videogames, sports, travel, and politics, up to and during law school (should I find the time).

All that said I am going to switch gears completely and offer this advice. If you ever have the chance to take a trip and drive cross country GO. It was something I had wanted to do for years and I finally got my chance a few weeks ago when my friend Cork was moving out to Washington to start a new job. Without a doubt the experience was worth it and in my mind something every American should do at one point or another if they can. In a little over a weeks time we covered +3,500 miles going from south Jersey to the suburbs of Seattle, with numerous stops and detours along the way.

It really can be easy for people to forget how big, diverse, and simply beautiful the United States is. That being said there is a great deal that we were able to see that I honestly don’t know I ever would have seen without making such a trip. And while we went to such major destinations as Cleveland, Chicago, and Seattle what impressed us the most and the part of the trip where we probably had the most fun was South Dakota and Wyoming. This is a part of the country where I'm guessing most people never even consider going. All that I can say is that it is worth the trouble but the best way that I can think to convince you is by ending this post with a couple of pictures.