"18,000 Word Draft"

"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction) 04/02/2015 at 09:53 • Filed to: None

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If you didn't read the whole thing yesterday, it's worth it. They had a lot of people going (who clearly didn't read the whole story - ha!). !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Also, after some additional reading and listening yesterday, I'm convinced that Baruth, while a very good writer, is a prick.

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Sir Halffast > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/02/2015 at 10:04

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I'm firmly on the record as not liking JB, but that was very well done. Just plausible enough to have actually happened, just enough questionable bits to tip off those who would know better. That's how April Fools should be done if it must be done.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Sir Halffast 04/02/2015 at 10:20

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A truly astounding amount of time and energy went into it. I'm honestly surprised that they didn't let it stew a little longer, but then Roy would have had to start giving interviews, etc., and the spirit of April Fools is to give up the ghost after the day is over.

Listening to the episode of Smoking Tire where Baruth revealed his "true self" was enough for me. Apparently he's a very principled journalist, and maybe that's where some of his dislike for Doug comes from, but that, and being a great writer, don't give you the right to denigrate some people the way he does.

Bullitt417 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/02/2015 at 10:28

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I am going to agree with your final assessment. While I have not read much of Baruth's library of work, what I have read, is laced with a sense of pretentiousness that is off-putting. You get the sense that he thinks he is the only "true" journalist in the industry. Talented yes but the only one, no.

Anyway... It was a great article that had all the elements to draw someone in. A great story, a credible subject, and a ton of detail. The interesting part of it all, is that at the end of the day, the final time is not what draws me in, but rather the investment that is required for one of these runs. Bolian went out and bought a CL55, then had all sorts of mods done for the trip at a cost of thousands of dollars... Roy had his modded M5.... so the thought of doing it over with a custom built Infiniti, while ridiculous, just grabbed me.

How bored do you have to be to just say "screw it, I'm gonna burn some money." But that's actually it. The cross-country run isn't born out of boredom... because you can't half ass it and be successful. It takes a goal driven, detail oriented person, with time and money to spend; and that type of character grabs my attention every time. Well done again JB and Alex...

Or maybe this is like they said in the article... Heat from authorities started coming down on them and they are just hiding behind the April Fools cover. #conspiracy

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Bullitt417 04/02/2015 at 10:38

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Ha! I love your last line. If you want to peer any deeper into Baruth's psyche, listen to the Smoking Tire podcast with him on it.

I agree with you on the record; it's a truly impressive thing. The fact of the matter is, it puts people at risk that aren't choosing to be a part of it, so it's unacceptable for that point alone, but the preparation and execution are still awe-inspiring. Honestly, I hope no one else attempts it, because it's absolutely tempting fate to try to beat the record, but I know that some will (just like people will continue to climb Everest or sail solo across oceans). There's something within the human spirit that is always wanting to test the limits of what it possible...

Bullitt417 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/02/2015 at 10:59

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If I ever have time I'll check out the pod cast.

In terms of the record, I'm honestly just waiting for a rich guy to just buy out the municipalities and close down the road. Thinking about it, the logistics would be astounding to pull it off but the reality is, each state would be shut down for maybe two hours. Double that to add time to clear the roads so your hat 4 hours for each state. The problem is that now you put a price on the record and more will attempt it... but hey at least passengers are off the roads.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Bullitt417 04/02/2015 at 11:51

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Fun idea, but it just can't happen. No one's rich enough to shut down entire stretches of interstate highway, even for that short of a time, and even if they had the cash, the backlash would be so huge that the government (local, state and federal) would never agree to it.

RallyWrench > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/02/2015 at 12:35

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The holy books as wheel chocks & other stuff was a dead giveaway, but truth be told, I was willing to buy a lot of it, as seemingly unbelievable as the time was.

I honestly didn't even know who he was before R&T, and most everything I've read of his, though well written, basically reads as follows:

"On turn in, the initial response is HAVE YOU SEEN MY FUCKING GUITARS I JUST SPENT $3500 ON ANOTHER ONE. MY HAIR FUCKING RULES. WHY ARE ALL THESE OTHER "JOURNALISTS" SO FUCKING SLOW. I'M KIND OF A BIG DEAL AND HAVE DONE MORE AWESOME STUFF THAN YOU."

BurnerJB > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/03/2015 at 11:34

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I just happened to be, ahem, LOVINGLY CARESSING MY PRS PRIVATE STOCK 14KARAT BIRD INLAY GUITAR AND LOOKING AT MY NASA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY when I saw this topic and thought I would reply :)

Alex and Greg Ledet put their heart and soul into this prank/parody and my involvement was limited to cleaning up the articles for publication. Most of the things that "Jack Baruth" wrote in the article were actually written by Alex as a parody of me.

As you'll see on Jalopnik today/tomorrow there's more to come. But yeah we had to shut it down because Alex got mobbed at the New York show by local TV. They wanted him to go on "Fox and Friends". It was taking on a whole life of its own.

With regards to the podcast et al —- we did that podcast at Matt's house, everybody around the table was either too drunk to stand or too high to sit up straight. Nothing about it is meant to be taken seriously except a few of the statements about what we as "journalists" owe our readers.

I don't take myself seriously. That's why I wear bizarre shit like disco-ball sweatshirts and that's why I had a bright-green car built and that's why I play Pat Benatar covers in public. During a race —- yeah, I'd kill my own mother for a plastic trophy. At all other times, however, I'm just trying to have fun with cars, same as the rest of you.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > BurnerJB 04/03/2015 at 11:39

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Thanks for the reply, Jack. I've said plenty of things while drunk that should not be taken out of context - ha!

RallyWrench > BurnerJB 04/03/2015 at 12:14

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Thanks for being a good sport. We're really just jealous of your job. One thing I'm curious about: why don't you buy Bolian's time?

BurnerJB > RallyWrench 04/03/2015 at 12:33

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A few reasons:

* The suspicious disappearance/nonexistence of the video. Everybody else in the "community" runs video and has been doing so for over a decade. The supposed reason for not having video —- to avoid giving the cops evidence —- doesn't wash, because you could always stream it or encrypt it. We live in a world where people wear a GoPro to pickup basketball games and these guys just couldn't be bothered?

* The mystery GPS company which "proved" the run by providing a spreadsheet full of traces. That would be like me "proving" that I slept with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders by giving you a spreadsheet with their names and "YES" in a box next to each one.

* The choice of Doug DeMuro as the verifying journalist. If you're trying to prove that you just accomplished something that nobody else has ever done, do you notify the New York Times, do you notify Car and Driver, or do you notify a guy you met a Cars and Coffee in the ATL? Not to put too fine a point on it, but I think Ed and Dave knew Doug pretty well and know that he'd be disinclined to seek too much proof of the "record".

I should point out that these are *my* suspicions, not Alex's suspicions, and I that I don't speak for Alex here. For the record, I think Ed and Dave actually went across the country, and they went pretty quickly, but I think they fudged their data afterwards to claim the record. I can't prove that —- but they also can't prove they went, so it's a standoff :)

RallyWrench > BurnerJB 04/03/2015 at 12:52

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Fair enough, thanks for the detail.