Today is EVS-23 for me…I hear that I might actually get to drive a Tesla! Now I just have to get from Culver City to the Anaheim Convention Center and cross my fingers that by 9:30 the traffic won’t be so bad. Speaking of Anaheim, I wonder how much electricity Disneyland uses on any given day…

–Refined gOil

So, we also spoke to the Reverend Gadget, of Left Coast Electric in Culver City, CA. Basically, Gadget is the coolest guy I’ve ever met. He and his partners convert ANY car to electric — and they’re on the verge of employing some breakthrough lithium ion technology. For years they’ve been satisfying customers like Tommy Chong with lead-acid battery conversions — now they want to kick it up a couple hundred notches with the lithium technology. But the coolest thing about Gadget and Left Coast Conversions, is that the future is built into their long-term business plan. They’re trying to standardize everything so that as even hotter advances in electric vehicle technology come along, they’ll fit right into the current systems the company employs. From no major automobile manufacturer have I ever heard such a philosophy; Gadget actually seems to want the very cars he works on now to have a life through the evolution of electric tech. Maybe that’s because one of his major beliefs is that nothing should ever have to go into a landfill. Okay, I could go on and on about this guy — he is the antithesis of ‘greenwashed’ thinking. His ideas are wide ranging (like his plan to use water hyacinths to purify water and undergo a process of pelletization, which will extract the water and produce burnable organic pellets), and they take into account that old time arrow in a way that’s difficult for the mere mortal to comprehend. I found myself speechless at different moments during the interview (WORSE than with Dr. Frank), because some of his ideas were so novel and astonishing, and yet so clear and sensible. He also has giant parties in his garage, the themes of which are reflected in the changing murals painted on the floor — the space also sports a kitchen and a full bar, and it has the cozy appearance of some of the co-op living spaces I became familiar with in Vermont. People stride through wearing paint-splattered aprons. There is an ancient piano in one corner, a porsche in another, a papier-mache looking cheshire cat face suspended from the ceiling, and detritus everywhere lit by big overhead flourescents and the occasional coiled energy-efficient bulb. It looks like a paradise for an inquisitive mind. I could’ve stayed there for hours past the extent of our welcome just admiring Gadget’s playground. Maybe I’ll get to go back, and hopefully I won’t stand around looking like Sandra Dee after getting hit on the head with an anvil.

–Refined gOil

P.S. Here’s Gadget’s own website: reverendgadget.com

WOW. So, two days ago, we covered the X Challenge cars leaving the Petersen Automotive Museum. I actually got to drive Mississippi State’s car — I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT! It was so friendly and smooth. One of their coolest features was an (I assume LCD) screen on the dash with all the car’s stats, clearly visible. Mississippi’s car performed SO well at higher speeds, and they also employed a regenerative breaking system (that’s when energy is recycled within the car, because at stops, the engine switches off — of course, I had no idea that technology was called “regenerative breaking”. And the car I drove was just one of many impressive alternative power vehicles that were competing and the challenge. A GM spokeswomen we interviewed said that some of the technology she was seeing with these student-built cars could very easily end up on the market in the future — that’s how smart and slick these student competitors were! And, a highlight for me: I finally got to meet Dr. Frank. Poor guy…I was totally star-struck and stuttering, but he was very gracious, and let me conduct a stumbling and googly-eyed interview anyway. Looks like I’ll be seeing him in the future again! Now, I just have to get rid of the butterflies and convince myself that I’m looking at a real human when I’m talking to him and not a genius from on high (even though that’s sort of what he is).

–Refined gOil