How Car Racing Can Save the Environment

    The article that I referenced in this blog post can be found here.  It was written this year, and was featured in a well-known racing magazine.
    Car Racing has contributed greatly to many green technologies. The current system on which most electric or hybrid vehicles operate was first researched for racing cars. A few years ago, KERS systems were implemented in formula one, after years and millions of dollars in testing were completed. KERS stands for kinetic energy recovery system. Formula one cars can reach speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour on the straight parts of a track. A momentous amount of energy is taken away by friction in the braking system. The KERS system uses some of the heat the brakes produce to produce electricity, which powers an electric motor, along with the gas or diesel motor the car already has. If all of that research was not done by sponsor-funded racing teams, we may have never seen it on the street. Another area that racing has helped with is aerodynamics. Many modern cars save fuel by using aerodynamic designs, first pioneered by racing teams searching for speed.

Why is Your Car Different Because of Racing?

    Information is from this article. The source being timely does not really matter, because racing cars have been contributing to technology for over 100 years, and the source does not have to be the best, as it just contains some general information.
   For the next two blog posts I will focus on the impact racing cars have on the cars that you and I drive every day on the street. Racing teams spend millions of dollars every year to make their cars faster. To do this, they try to maximize power, handling, braking, fuel efficiency, and every other aspect there is of a car. One thing that racing teams contribute to the most is safety. A car on the street is much safer if it can stop quickly, handle well, and perform well in a crash. Braking power and handling also have a large effect on how fast a car is on the track, and crash safety ensures the well-being of race car drivers. Tire companies are always competing to produce the most grip while still lasting a longer period of time. Even though these tires are very different from the tires on a street car, this technology can then be used on street tires. The car manufacturers also spend time developing brakes that perform well, and do not overheat, even in the most extreme situations.  These features help a car on track, but they also make a street car that you would want to buy. Another area that racing has helped develop is materials. Carbon fiber, and other super light, but strong materials, were first used on race cars to save weight, but are now seeing use in street cars to improve structural integrity. Weight savings on the street also effect another issue that has become important, fuel efficiency and the environment.

Where did these guys come from?!

Most of the greatest bands of rock and roll history appeared out of thin air. My favorite of these great bands, and arguably the best of all time, is the Beatles. They were four young school boys from Liverpool. Three were average teenagers when they formed the band. In just ten short years they changed the way music sounded forever.

Source:http://www.thebeatles.com/#/history

Source:http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-beatles

Interview With Author Jessica Park

Jessica Park is the NY Times Bestselling Author of one of my favorite books (and her most popular), Flat Out Love. Although she is currently finishing work on her latest book, Jessica was kind enough to allow me to interview her over the phone, and shared her thoughts on several topics-
*Note: this is not the entire conversation, just the more significant clips

A: What was your experience when you first released Flat Out Love? Obviously, you had already published several other books, but how was this one different? Did you have any idea of how successful it would eventually be?
J: Response

A: I feel that most people would assume that if you wanted to be successful, if you wanted your book to have readers, you needed to get a really big firm to back you, for that sense of prestige. Obviously that wasn't the case with you, as you did so well self-publishing. Do you think you're kind of the exception to self-publishing, or, like you said, you paved the way for other indie authors?
J: Response

A: FOL has mostly been characterized as "New Adult"- the gap between Young Adult and Adult. Do you think there was something about that genre that specifically appealed to you, or that you thought could appeal to others?
J: Response

A: A lot of times, a books success has to do with their genre. What genres do you think tend to attract the most people, or tend to do the best? And how did you choose your genre?
J:Response

A: {on writing style/prose and how that affects a book's success}
J:Response

A: {on controlling the market}
J: Response

Why Athletes are Paid the Big Bucks

Why Athletes are Paid the Big Bucks

     Do professional athletes deserve to be paid more than the working class of America, consisting of people who keep our country and society functioning normally?  To the majority of the citizens of America, the answer would be yes because of our craving for entertainment. Personally, I believe doctors, teachers, police officers, and firemen deserve a much higher salary than men who play a sport that most of us have played in our adolescence.

     -Americans' value in entertainment overwhelms our care for teachers' salary.

Teaching, medicine, and law can all be taught over a period of time. This is different for sports though, since there is a very few amount of people who are naturally gifted with amazing athleticism. The amount of teachers, doctors, and cops in America overwhelms the population of athletes.  Most of us would agree that those other jobs are much more important, but we love watching the few extremely athletic humans compete against each other.

More On Endorsements...

     To learn more about endorsements, I contacted Ms. Jackie Woodward, a sports marketing professional. I asked her how much do endorsements really help companies getting their name out there, since the endorsements play a big role in determining the superstar athletes' salaries.  To make it easier for me to understand, Ms. Woodward told me companies use endorsements for 3 reasons: Awareness, Brand Affinity, and Ability to sell more products.
 
     Whenever you watch a sports program, the league or association will most likely have an official sponsor.  Companies pay enormous amounts of money to become the official sponsor of something.  Just look at "the official gas company of the NHL", or "the official shaving cream of the NFL". The more your product is displayed, the higher amount of  consumers you'll have who are aware of your product.

     Because of Americans' craving for sports entertainment, what better way is there than to display a product that a professional athlete uses him or herself?  This is how companies get consumers to have an affinity for something. For example, I'm a Chicago Bulls fan. If I see Derrick Rose say how much he likes wearing nike footwear, not to mention he has his own shoe named after him, I'm going to have a more natural liking for that company's shoes since I am a fan of the Bull's best player.

     Lastly the ability to sell more product will sky rocket with the combination of awareness and affinity. Imagine from a Steeler fan's judgement of Heinz ketchup.  Not only is the stadium named "Heinz Field" but one of there favorite players, big Ben Rothlisberger, says he uses Heinz ketchup whenever he has a hot dog. Plus, "if a professional athletes like Rothlisberger is eating this stuff, it has got to be healthy!", is something you'll find a lot of people thinking.

 

So, to sum it up, companies are willing to pay the big bucks to individual athletes and entire sports programs because of the fame they will get from it.  This technique goes back to when Babe Ruth played ball, and is still used today because of how well it works. To answer my original question of "how effective are endorsements for companies?", I would say EXTREMELY.

Interview With Author Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is the author of NY Times Bestsellers Slammed and Point of Retreat. The third book in the series is set to be released in 2013, while she has a new standalone novel, Hopeless, coming out December 31. After sending her an email, I got the opportunity to ask Colleen a few questions about her books and the success she has accomplished thus far-

Q: What did you expect when you first released Slammed? Were you confident enough in your writing to know it would become as successful as it did, or were you uncertain about the outcome?

A: "I expected absolutely NOTHING.  I wrote the book for fun and only put it on Amazon because my friends wanted a way to read it.  I was poor and didn't want to print a ton of books out, so I put it on Amazon and made it free for the five days they allow, so everyone could get it and not have to pay for it.  I was STUNNED when it was downloaded 4,000 times over the 5 day period.  After that, the book just started selling through word of mouth. 

And no.  I had absolutely zero confidence in my writing.  Like I said, to me it was just a story that I wrote for fun.  I never even tried to get it published."

Q: At what point after the release of your two books did you realize you had "made it"?

A: "I don't know that I'm even at that point yet.  When I hit the New York Time's Bestsellers list for six weeks straight, I was scared to answer my phone because I knew they were calling to tell me they had made a mistake. lol.  I'm still in shock that it's been received so well. "

Q: Do you believe a good story is all that's needed for a book to become successful, or does writing, genre, etc. play into that as well? How did you choose which genre you wanted to write in?

A: "I didn't have a clue about genre's.  I had no idea that publishers were at a point that they were refusing to accept anything with characters ages 18-22 and anything with poetry.  If I would have researched this before writing the book, I'm afraid it may have influenced what I wrote.  So honestly, I think a book needs heart.  It needs to be written by someone who isn't writing it just because they want it to be a financial success.  It needs to be written because the author has love for the characters and wants to share that with readers, whether or not it becomes a success.  I think readers also look for different things in a book. Some look for easy reads, some look for quality writing, some look for simply a great story.  That's what's so amazing about writing.  Not everyone will love what you do, but someone will."

Q: I heard that Slammed and Point of Retreat got optioned for films (so exciting!). Do you think upcoming films increase a book's success significantly, and what are you expecting, if anything, if they do become films?

A: "They did get optioned!  I was so shocked when my agent called with the news.  We had received offers in the past, but none of them seemed legit, so I wasn't getting my hopes up.  I think if they do become films, it does increase the success and exposure of the book.  So while there are still a lot of hoops we have to jump through to actually see them get to that point, it will be surreal if it happens."

Q: In regards to your latest book soon coming out, Hopeless, do you think the success you achieved from Slammed and Point of Retreat played into your decision to write this book, because you knew you would probably already have an audience?

A: "No.  The fact that I have an audience now scares me more than it motivates me.  When I wrote the first two, I had zero expectations, and no one had expectations from me.  Now that people are expecting another book that can grip them on the same level the others did, I'm definitely feeling the pressure.  But I'm in love with Hopeless and the characters and went into with the same expectations that I went into writing the others. I kept my focus on the fact that I loved the story, loved the characters, and if people love the book I'll be happy.  But if they don't, I will still love that book and won't regret writing it.  It's what I love to do and whether I have readers or not, I'll keep on doing it!  Of course, I am HOPING beyond all hope that people love it.  ;)"