Brash Dot Com

Goodbye Brash.com

I have been posting at brash.com for three years.  But lately you are more likely to find me over at Skydeck's blog.  It shows - that left sidebar has been vacant for far too long, the links are stale, and the fonts need changing.

Now brash.com has a new owner.  I can't say any more, but expect some big changes soon.  I'm packing boxes, arranging to have my mail forwarded, and taking a last look around.

From now on, you can find my personal writing at jasondevitt.com.  (Update your feedreaders to http://feeds.feedburner.com/JasonDevitt.)  And thanks for reading.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

My wonderful wife Summer is taking part in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in San Francisco next month. "Walk" makes it sound easy; it's almost 40 miles, spread over two days.  Breast cancer is a terrible disease that has touched our family and, I know, some of your families too.  Summer wants to raise $3,500 towards research and she's 75% of the way there.  Can you help?

Just click here to donate.

Your contribution will help to support medical research into the possible causes of and cure for breast cancer, education and early detection programs, and clinical care and support services for women with breast cancer in communities across the country.  There is a special focus on helping medically underserved women, the poor, minorities, the elderly, or those with inadequate health insurance.  And much of the money granted by the Foundation goes back to the communities where it was raised, supporting everything from local grassroots programs to national organizations.

The Elusive American Smart Car

Seen in the wild in the US

For the first time in my life I am planning to buy a car.

When I was 17 my parents gave me one, a hand-me down Ford Fiesta that my friends fondly recall as 'Old Red', a car that was herself 16 years old when I left Ireland and gave her away for scrap. I moved to London and later to New York, two cities so well-served by public transport and so choked with traffic that I saw owning a car as a liability. But now Summer and I have moved to San Francisco and, while there are some deeply committed pedestrians and cyclists who live and work in the city, my new company will probably be based in the Valley, and so our carbon footprint will soon expand.

I am not sure that we have the strength of character to buy a Smart car though. I saw this one last night outside Terminal 1 at Oakland airport. A man standing next to me broke off his cellphone conversation and said "I don't believe it, it's a Smart car!"; a woman walking by said "Ohmygodasmartcarthat'ssocuuuuute!"; and another woman stared after it, looking very confused, and said to me "what kind of a car is that?"  I told her that it was European. "Ah," she said, this being the only explanation she needed.

There may be more ivory-billed woodpeckers than Smart cars in America. The exclusive dealer, Zap, had sold just 300 of them as of September last year. (Note that they are the least odd-looking cars sold by Zap.) Perhaps SmartUSA will have more luck.

In Europe they are everywhere of course. In Barcelona last month I saw a convoy.