Um, so, a conference. I don’t do conferences, because usually there are doctors or scientists or vacuum-cleaner salesmen attending them, but this week I am — Bloomberg’s Cars and Fuel Briefing in Los Angeles, on December 1, 2009. It’s in conjunction with the LA Auto Show. I’ll be moderating a discussion with the CEO of Edmunds, Jeremy Anwyl. We’ll be talking about cars of the future and what it will take for consumers to go to electric and hybrid cars (read: the cost differential). I’ve got a Jason H. Harper bio and everything. So official. So… geeky. I almost want to punch myself.
Oh, and in the garage (the LA garage, I suppose): The Audi A5 2.0 with manual transmission.
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) — Sometimes the Southern California beach bustle is just too much. We’ve got two days of downtime on the West Coast and are trying to get away from the noise and the crowds.
Driving north from Pacific Beach to La Jolla, we’re beset by rampaging reality-TV film crews, get-out-of-my-way surfers and as much concrete as beach.
Not quite what I had in mind when I was envisioning sun and solitude around San Diego.
When we reach the beachside community of Del Mar, we point our car inland, toward the lushly moneyed hills of Rancho Santa Fe. Silence, the kind that can only be bought with bucketloads of cash, soon surrounds us. (more…)
Blow off steam: You too can make loud noises
Concierge.com
By Jason H. Harper
Deep breaths just aren’t working anymore. You’ve sworn off CNBC and your local paper is now history, but there’s no escaping the tsunami of bad economic news. A beach vacation would only give you more time to obsess over how much your 401(k) is losing with each oncoming wave. No, you can’t take this crisis lying down. It’s time to be proactive, to take up arms against a sea of trouble, to really and truly vent. Go ahead, break something, shoot something, blow something up! Hell, even set yourself on fire. We’ve assembled a list of the world’s most aggressive vacations, our picks for the best places to blow off some steam. Firing an AK-47 may not bring back your stock portfolio, but it’s way more fun than egging the houses of AIG execs. {Read the full story Concierge.com]
OUTSIDE GO
The nose knows: The fire-breathing Ferrari California
[This article appears in the Spring 2009 issue of Outside Go—click to read it on their site. All photos shot by Joshua Paul.]
A quintessential Italian landscape: Rolling grapevine-covered hills, sheep tended by crooked-back herders, and ancient stone castles outlined against the bright-blue Sicilian sky. Beautiful, no doubt, but as I’m screaming down the road in a brilliant-red Ferrari at 130 miles per hour, there’s precious little time to look.
Fifth gear, and the Ferrari California’s 454 horses are absolutely howling. I trigger sixth, and the convertible picks up more speed, the wind ripping at my hair. My apologies for spoiling the peace, but chances like this come along once in a lifetime. [It's true: Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse in my blog.]
City scape: Slipping through back alleys in a Sicilian mountain town
There are road trips, and there are road trips. Exploring the dramatic island of Sicily by sports car is a good start, especially knowing that Italians adore any bella macchina. Bring the newest Ferrari out on the road-a car virtually no one has seen in the actual aluminum flesh-and you’re an insta-hero. Cries of “Bravo!” and “Bello!” follow in the California’s hot exhaust like ticker tape. (more…)
