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‘Round and ‘Round We Go

We may never know the name of the ancient Sumerian who invented the wheel in Mesopotamia some 7,000 years ago, but we’re pretty sure nothing’s been the same since. The most crucial component of how we transport ourselves and our stuff, the wheel is an undeniable cornerstone of human existence, an invention that encouraged trade, enhanced agriculture, expanded civilization’s range, and paved the way for the modern world. Whether you’re pushing watermelons in a wheelbarrow (one wheel) or hauling refrigerators in a big rig (18 wheels), there comes a time when you’ve got to bow down and worship these round, rolling objects.

Lucky Cab Jumpstarts Eco-Friendly Taxiing in Santa Barbara

While the greenest of green elitists will go out of their way to demean the car as a worthless, wasteful pollutant, most can concede there are certain instances when four wheels and a motor are just downright necessary. For example: luggage-filled trips to the train station, picking up a wheelchair-bound grandma for Thanksgiving dinner, and-perhaps most importantly-those long, drunken treks home after a night of downtown barhopping. Cue a downtown reveler’s favorite form of transportation: the taxicab.

Be a Bike Commuter

It’s an odd time to be on earth. We know peak oil is approaching, the planet is getting warmer, and human-generated greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to that. You’d have to be living in a climate-controlled cave to not be worried that life as we know it is in grave danger. And yet the vast majority of us continue to get in our cars and drive alone to wherever we need to go, day after day. And in the U.S., about 50 percent of those car trips are for distances less than two miles.

The Granada Garage’s Bike Parking Lot Is in Full Effect

One of the chronic problems confronting downtown bike commuters is bicycle parking. There just aren’t enough bollards, streets signs, and bike racks to get the job done. And not many people want to leave their high-end bikes-or even their modestly priced machines-affixed to paint-scraping surfaces or exposed to the vagaries of the elements, not to mention would-be thieves.

Zoom Motors and the Road Ahead

In the garage at Zoom Motors, the newest car dealership in Santa Barbara, a chrome figure reclines on the hood of a ’59 Nash Metropolitan convertible, contemplating the road ahead. She lies patiently atop wings, her mouth formed into an enigmatic, endless smile. These are the kind of cars on which hood ornaments served as the driver’s crosshairs, the target to shoot down the miles of highway as one sped along. At Zoom, the promise of yesterday is the currency by which it is buying its future.

Rookie Race Fan

Last month, Felicia Tomasko followed her instincts and went to the Indy 500 race, which was wet, wild, and fun.

East Asian Travels

The tallest building in the world loomed on the Taipei skyline, its 101 stories rising ghostly in the morning mist. I leaped out of the taxi and soon was in the world’s fastest elevator, zipping from the fifth floor to the glassed-in 89th floor observatory in 37 seconds. Other than a moment of ear-popping, I was hardly aware I was smoothly traveling aloft at 37.5 miles an hour.

iSpeak French

Although I studied French for six years during high school and college, I never became very good at it. Then I went to France for two months and my language skills improved; I could say important stuff like “O¹ est la boulangerie?” and “Je viens des tats-Unis.” Not scintillating conversation, but it got me around.

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