ZiggyKD

Quent Cordair also entered a great blog entry about Lance Armstrong here.

I am following le Tour de France, though only recently have I been introduced to world of cycling. Thusfar, I have found Lance Armstrong's undying will to achieve inspiring. I am reminded of Dr. Bernstein's open letter to Michael Jordan:

John Cox and Allen Forkum just made a deal with The Detroit News and Investor's Business Daily, they're being syndicated this week! I for one am real happy to see these guys finally get the success they deserve. If you're a fan, go give them your congrats! http://www.coxandforkum.com

Yes I see your point, Scott. What car is that in particular? It does look like it would fit the role rather well.

The E-Type! What a classic. My physics professor from last semester owns a 72 E-Type V12 coupe (same year as the car pictured above, after a little research), loves it to death. That car would easily fit the description I think Ayn Rand gave of Rearden's car, long-hood/short-deck. Funny story Stephen. "The fastest sculpture on wheels," glad to see someone else who considers that car a work of art. I am definitely looking forward to the C6. I love how the designers managed to keep the car easily identifiable (by retaining its iconic identity through design cues) while continuing to evolve and refine the design for increased aerodynamics. Americo: I thought the Vette would be impractical for Rearden because he and Dagny would have no place to stow their luggage on their vacation -- though now that I really think about it, I made an assumption that they even brought luggage with them, I can't remember Rand specifically mentioning that they did. That's a good observation on your part.

I should have placed my statement in context, as I meant for it to be: the Stingray is my favorite Corvette as far as looks go, my favorite version of the car esthetically speaking. I am very much a fan of the C5, didn't mean that previous statement as a put down to the current Vette's performance, which I have much respect for. Interestingly, Zora Arkus Duntov ("the father of the Corvette"), fought to keep the small block 327 V8 in the line-up on the Stingray -- handling was more nimble with the lighter engine as opposed to the more popular (and heavier) big block 427. Do you remember which engine you had in the 69? Needless to say, I think you have great taste in cars!

Yeah the Stingray is my favorite version of the vette, particularly the 67 and 69. I think the 67 would suit Rearden well esthetically speaking, as the roadsters had very elegant styling, more so than the 69 in my opinion. But the car would be impractical for him, since the Stingray (or at least the second generation Corvette) had no trunk.

The base trombone must have been very well mic'd because it sounded like he was rockin out, which I didn't mind one bit I did find it intersting that there was a good amount of philosophical content, since it's rare these days. Plus the heroic depiction of the characters was good. Overall I liked it.

That's right, it was a Hammond. There were certain characteristics about the look of the car, I think it was a classic long-hood/short-deck design, is that correct? I'd like to see him in a 57 Corvette convertible, red leather interior, with a fuelie

I remember Rearden drove a real nice black convertible in Atlas, does anyone know if Ayn Rand mentioned the particular car he drove? If not, then what would you imagine him driving? 1957 and earlier.

The new site design reminds me of a typical powerpoint presentation (especially the opening page). But navigation is more streamlined now, which is why I prefer it over the old layout. I think the title at the top (The Ayn Rand Institute, The Center for the Advancement of Objectivism) could be a bit larger.

From the what I know about discussion board software in general, thinkonaut's idea about a mini-forum requires moderator status to be granted to the author for only that particular thread, automatically if possible. I am certain that this is impossible with phpbb (I use it on my own site), but I'm not sure if it is with Invision Power Board, though I doubt it is. Usually, moderator status is granted to a user for an entire forum, such as Aesthetics or Science, not just a particular thread. If an author would really like total control over the discussion of his essay, then why not create a blog or livejournal (both free services) elsewhere and host the essay both on this site and the blog? A link can be included at the bottom of the essay with a brief statement indicating that all discussion of this essay will be had there. This is, of course, if GC doesn't mind.

Objetivista. Bienvenido al foro Manuel.

V6 Mustangs, though probably the most underpowered in the family of Mustangs, can still be modified to perform better, something the kids around my age (20) seem more than willing to do. The existence of aftermarket products makes this car more appealing to those who can't afford the 8 cylinder, again making the business case for this kind of car more feasible.

Monstrocities, overly-expensive whales -- call them what you will; they're success proves that a car of this curb weight is still profitable, meaning that a business case can be made for the return of the F-body. Further, Mustang sales prove that not only can this car be profitable, it doesn't need to be a niche car either (like the other cars I mentioned) -- it can actually sell quite well: 140,350 Mustang sales in 2003.

Bearster, I disagree that kids have given up on the pony car segment because they view sports car ownership as a selfish pleasure. Real sports cars are still profitable, as is shown by the success of the Mustang, 350Z, and other performance cars like the WRX, Mitsubishi Evo and (to a degree) the S2000. From my experience, kids buy these cars because they derive a selfish pleasure from owning a car that can perform well, or they'll buy it to attract second-handed esteem, or both (this one is usually the case). My point is that the "selfish motive" is not a deterent in buying this kind of car these days, but still a favorable cause. The ricers haven't killed the sports car segment, not yet anyway. --~-- As far as the demise of the Firebird and Camaro, I agree with Scott, but I also blame a parent company that gave little attention to the car, as is shown by how few updates were made to the F-body it in its last generation. There were plenty of customer complaints about ride, interior quality, rear passenger room, etc. over its 9 year run to understand what customers in this market were looking for, and they failed to react. The car would still be alive if they only paid more attention to their customers, as is shown by the incredible success of the C5. There are plenty rumors going around that GM might bring the Camaro back (in 2007 I believe), however, with a retro-themed design, unfortunately.

I've played piano since I was four years old, and guitar for about 2 years now, self taught on both. I also played trombone for four years in middle school and high school. I've always played for my own enjoyment and relaxation, though when I was a kid I just found it funny and entertaining. My dad taught me to play the music from Super Mario Brothers, the first one on NES, and I remember laughing when I'd play it. I pretty much taught myself from there on, learning the other levels, and music from other games. I'm glad my dad didn't force piano lessons on me when I was young. I played because I wanted to; if I were to have been forced to play, I think I would have taken a different attitude, and maybe even chosen not to play at all.

Bob did say he was sending it to his grand-daughter, maybe she's still pretty young. Cliff notes wouldn't hurt, and from what I hear, Bernstein did a great job writing them.

Lately I've been rereading some books I have dealing with speaker building (a hobby of mine), and I'm planning on picking up some more books on the subject soon, so I voted crafts. Otherwise, I'd usually read some peotry, but not much. I mostly read Ayn Rand.

Hey David, can I get a gmail invite? As my contribution to your site, I'm already allowing you to use my database for your wiki. Pretty please?

If he were dyslexic, wouldn't he wie alake wondering if there deally is a rog?

Sorry about both links going to the same page, meant to post this one along with the first one (though I think the first one provides all the info you need): http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:d_GUh...stotle%22&hl=en And thanks for the reference. By the way, not sure how proficient you are at using google, but it's definitely a skill worth learning. The search string I used was: "immovable mover" "aristotle." This means search for articles matching these phrases exactly, with the phrases appearing in any order in the document.

Could you possibly refer me to the page where this is mentioned in Atlas?

I don't remember this reference in Atlas, but nevertheless... See if this is useful: http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:HFCgV...aristotle&hl=en http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:HFCgV...aristotle&hl=en The actual urls are given at the top of the page.

My brother wrote an interesting article on his site about Space Ship One, and I agree with his remarks. I do think this a pretty cool event, specifically because it's a private venture. But the media coverage I have seen regarding Space Ship One seems a bit out of proportion and exaggerated. The craft is clearly not designed for sustained earth orbit, as it does not have the elements required for such a task. This is key to acheiving commercial space flight, and because Space Ship One is not an orbital space craft, it is not (technologically speaking) the first step towards space tourism.