THE LONE WRITER

EDITORIAL AND COMMENTARY WRITING

2009-10-20T20:47:00.002-04:00

Ford and the Power of Choice

I started pondering the new Ford Fusion Hybrid today after reading the Hybrid Car Wars on Jalopnik. The car cognoscenti have been making hay of Ford's effort; it's definitely come as a surprise, not so much because it's a hybrid (Ford has had its Escape Hybrid for a few years now) but because as a car, it's really quite good. But Toyota has released a new Prius as well, timing the release to a good month or so after the Fusion was unveiled, and Honda has a new hybrid, the Insight, coming out as well, which looks like nothing more than an attempt to keep the old Prius popularity alive; it looks and is sized almost like a clone of the outgoing Prius, but undercuts the pricing by a few thousand dollars.

Pricing is one interesting element of the hybrid shootout. Obviously, Honda is aiming low, maybe even planning to sacrifice profit in the name of publicity. It wouldn't be a surprise...Honda admitted as much when the original Insight two-seater was released. That car was as much a science experiment as a usable car. Two seats, very aerodynamic (the rear wheels were faired in and not as far apart as the fronts), and pretty spartan, the original Insight soldiered on until a Civic Hybrid was released that gave the science experiment a more useful carlike wrapper. The new Insight could have been more distinctive looking...it could easily have been more like Honda's popular Fit, but it's almost defiantly Prius-esque. If it weren't for the sub-$20K price point, I'd see it as a massive blunder, but I think they're onto something.

Honda pulled a massive hybrid blunder before. The other really notable Honda hybrid was its Accord Hybrid, which traded the concept of max efficiency for performance. What Honda wrought was the most powerful Accord ever at that time, with a hybrid-boosted V-6 that put out a remarkable 255hp (more than the standard V6) while turning in slightly better fuel efficiency numbers than the four-cylinder version. It was also the most expensive Accord, loaded with features and technology, and by any standard, it was at best a lukewarm seller. I remember "greenies" blasting Honda for releasing a performance-oriented hybrid and wasting an opportunity to save the world or whatever. My guess is that between the price and the negative response from early adopters, it just wasn't ever going to be a winner, and it's surely why Honda has declined to hybridize the new Accord (which could certainly use the same concept of electric "boosting" to add some oomph to the modestly powered four-banger).

So what does this have to do with Ford and the Fusion Hybrid? I think a couple of things. First, Ford has clearly ceded the greenest part of the market to Toyota and Honda. Ford isn't even beginning to make a space-pod of a car wrapped around a hybrid powertrain...that's a statement vehicle, and everyone who watches the hybrid market knows that if you want to make your "Saving The World One Mile At A Time" statement, you're going to do it in a Prius. That's the power of several years of brand equity and celebrity endorsement, and I don't think it would do any good for Ford to try to fight the battle. Second, the lesson of the Accord Hybrid certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. And yet, here's the Fusion Hybrid priced a few thousand above the Prius and about $10K above the Insight. What gives?

Well, I think Ford has done something rather clever here. I've played with pricing the Fusion Hybrid and also non-hybrid Fusions, and here's the thing. If you equip a Fusion Hybrid and a V-6 powered Fusion essentially the same, option for option, the cost difference between the two is minimal...about $1000, maybe $1200, with the Hybrid coming in slightly higher. However, the difference is less than the federal tax credit for hybrid purchases, basically making the driveaway cost more or less a wash. So...same vehicles, same equipment, same cost...just pick your powertrain.

And that's where Ford has been clever. The company isn't asking its buyers to make sacrifices. They're not trying to put drivers into spacepods in order to drive green. They're providing us with a choice between decent (certainly adequate) power and high efficiency from the hybrid powertrain and a stouter, sporty V6 powerplant (which, it's worth noting, does pretty decent MPG numbers itself).

Personally, I'd never buy a Prius...I don't like how they look, I don't like how they drive, and I have issues with the whole Prius "scene". But given the option between a V6 Fusion and a hybrid Fusion with the same equipment and at the same price, I'd be hard pressed NOT to take the hybrid. If nothing else, it'd be an easy resell if six months from now, I realized it wasn't for me, but since Ford has been diligent to make sure that the platform has retained its "driver's car" characteristics, I would be surprised to find myself finding downsides. I think this is Ford's goal...to reach drivers who don't want the Prius "lifestyle/stigma/experience", who want a car that seems like a car, and it doesn't hurt that it's a domestic manufacturer in these days of embattled carmakers.

I do think (expect) that Ford has to remember that there are buyers who can't stretch to the upper $20s, and that there is something in the works to fill the lower echelon. A less-well equipped Fusion Hybrid for $22K or a Focus hybrid at $18K ought to be on the product planner's schedule, but Ford needn't telegraph that move too much in advance. They've got a solid year or so to market the hell out of the Fusion Hybrid, get the cars into dealerships and customers' hands (and dear God, please don't let the dealerships screw this up), and REALLY cement their position as the dominant American car maker.

LINKS

2009-10-19T23:04:00.004-04:00

The following links are to websites that have used my services. Links are posted with the site owners' permissions.

Dextera Corporation (CEO, Kathryn Daut) - I have worked for Dextera as a freelance business/technical writer for two years.

Demand Studios - I recently started writing how-to and other articles for the Demand Studios website, mostly related to paintball topics for eHow.com.

Richmondmom.com - I contribute to the "Real Richmond Parents" section of this popular website.

PRICING

2009-10-17T21:50:00.004-04:00

New/Original Content (You provide the subject and any notes you want included)

200-400 words – $10
401-600 words – $14
601-800 words - $18
801-1,000 words – $20

Rewrites/Editing (You provide a draft of your content and I overhaul for usability, incl. proofreading; price is per draft)

200-400 words – $8
401-600 words – $10
601-800 words - $14
801-1,000 words – $18

Proofreading (Your provide a draft and I review for spelling, punctuation, and word usage; price is per draft)

200-400 words – $5
401-800 words - $10
801-1,000 words – $15

MARKETING AND PRODUCT REVIEWS

2009-10-17T21:42:00.003-04:00

The following is written as a marketing sample for demonstration purposes. -JH

The Tippmann Pneumatics 98 Custom Pro paintball marker was recently released to much fanfare among field owners and casual paintballers alike. Based on the extremely successful and popular Model 98, the 98 Custom Pro builds on the solid construction and legendary Tippmann durability by incorporating a number of features to appeal to today's players, while holding the line on affordability.

The first improvements are the most obvious. The Custom Pro comes standard with a drop-forward bottomline mount, improving marker handling while using a CO2 or compressed air tank. In addition, Tippmann ships the Custom Pro with its 12” ported stone-honed barrel, a nice upgrade from the stock barrel from the Model 98. These two features alone make the Custom Pro a better-shooting marker out of the box. The third improvement is the standard-equipment double trigger, which is easily switched out to a single trigger if preferred.

Another set of improvements is not so obvious. The Custom Pro has been designed from the start to accommodate Tippmann's various internal modifications and upgrades with minimum user effort for installation. For example, the body panels have been cast with the spaces required to accept the air-powered Tippmann Reactive Trigger (RT), so that if a user chooses to install that package, only one thin disc of metal needs to be punched out on the side before installing. Everything else fits right into the provided spaces. However, the mounting points for installing the Tippmann electronic trigger are also already cast in place, so a paintballer on a budget can start off with the basic Custom Pro and then upgrade it with minimal effort depending on which setup is preferred. Air routing channels for the Tippmann low-pressure kit or the E-bolt kit are also already in place, making this the most flexible paintball marker design ever released.

The Custom Pro also is compatible with all of the Model 98's upgrade options, such as the Flatline barrel, the Cyclone air-powered force-feed hopper, and most aftermarket barrels, parts, and accessories. This means that current Model 98 owners won't have to give up their favorite accessories to enjoy the design innovations in the Custom Pro.

The best new innovation in the Custom Pro, however, is Tippmann's new Anti-Chop Technology, or A.C.T. This is a new design that adds a separate spring and new connecting rod between the bolt and the hammer. The design permits the bolt to stop on a partially fed paintball while the hammer continues to cycle, which helps cut down on chopped paintballs due to misfeeds. The A.C.T. design is not compatible with older Model 98s, but Custom Pros with A.C.T. start at $139, so even casual paintballers and field owners can afford to upgrade their existing markers to this new model and enjoy the built-in benefits and expansion potential that Tippmann has engineered into its latest marker.

This is an article that I wrote for inclusion on the Palmer Owners Group website, where it still can be found today. This is an example of an article written for a knowledgeable audience; it includes some history, some personal quotes and experiences, and some technical knowledge.

The Palmer Nasty Typhoon is the creation that came about when former employee Dan Debone asked Glenn Palmer to combine a double-barrel pump with the then-new Hurricane/Typhoon pneumatics system and build a double-barreled semiautomatic. Said Glenn in a Warpig interview, "The second Hurricane that I built was a double-barreled version in a pistol format (in other words, a Typhoon) that wasn't a conversion but built entirely from scratch. Dan (who became Palmer's Service Manager) came to me and said, 'you build double barrels and you have a good semi, can you marry the two and build me a double semi in a pistol format.' I said that I would give it a go and that it would take some time and money but I would let him know when it was done. Well, three months and $900.00 later I presented Dan with Hugo (the only hurricane that I could think of that was "badder" than Camille)." Glenn soon built himself one as well, and named it Domination.

It was only a matter of time before word of the creation spread, and other players wanting an extremely unusual and effective paintball gun came forth. Since then, about 65 Nastys have been built, along with 25-30 Nasty pumps. I found that of the seven listed Nasty owners in POG, two had two Nastys, another guy also had a Nasty pump, and five had at least one other Palmer gun. Whenever I pull out my Nasty Typhoon, I can usually count on some player practically dropping his Mag or Cocker and coming over to check it out. And just imagine…when the first "production" Nasty Hurricane appeared in 1990 (some non-SN# Nastys were produced even before then), the standard for semis was the F1/PMI-3/Pro-Am generation, and it was Domination that Glenn used to show Budd Orr how the autococking mechanism worked. (These very early guns used a sliding trigger and more of a Cocker-type layout).

The Nasty Typhoon can be had in one of two configurations: over/under or side by side barrels, with any of the normal Typhoon's bottle-mounting options, and also as a Hurricane variant with a wooden stock. The first "production" Nasty Typhoon, which I own, is a side-by-side, as are most other Nastys. The over/under configuration mounts the barrels one on top of another, and the barrels sit on top of the regulator/valve housing. The gun (before putting on hoppers) looks (to me) like a really long nickel-plated PGP, and I refer to this configuration as "the plank." Only four have been built in this configuration, and one was pictured in APG's Paintgun Roundup (Dec.96). All Nastys are built from scratch, so there are no Nasty Strokers.

The first thing you notice with a Nasty is its weight. Its all-brass construction and dual barrels make it a good deal heavier than many paintguns (I wish I still had my featherweight (2lb.?) F2 for comparison), and with dual loaded VL2000s and a 20oz tank, the gun weighs about 10 pounds. The second thing you notice is that you don't care, because very few paintguns can match the Nasty's business end for sheer menace. With the black muzzle brakes on the nickel barrels, the twin barrels resemble (IMHO) an aircraft's cannon and the prospect of having two .68" holes pointed at you instead of just one is a bit unnerving. Other than that, the Nasty shares all of the Typhoon's features: battle grips, easily accessed adjustments for velocity and pneumatic pressure, a wide trigger shoe, integral sight rail (which bridges the gap between the barrels), valve-matched barrels and Quikstrip bolts (well, except on mine…it predates them, I believe).

The Nasty also shares the Typhoon's accuracy. With the gun set up in a single-barrel configuration (more on this later), I found myself landing many of the same shots that I can with my single-barreled Typhoon, despite my Nasty's back-bottle connection that bumped my mask when I tried sighting (I need a bottomline). The sound signature was a bit higher and more distinct, which I attribute to the non-ported barrel versus my single's porting. However, there is a caveat. In my experience shooting with both barrels (and for the other players who've also used it in double mode), I've found that it's rather distracting trying to aim by tracing the path of your shots. Trying to see two balls moving at 285fps while not losing your target behind the two view-blocking hoppers is tough. A red-dot sight zeroed for one of the barrels might help. Or you could just concentrate on high-volume fire support. Or even low-volume…Brent Hoefling, on being rushed by two players: "They were both spraying, yelling and running. I stood up, fired one time and took them BOTH out! My Nasty Typhoon is sure one sweet gun!"

As with the Typhoon, use of agitated hoppers is highly recommended. Otherwise, ball misfeeds can cause firing errors unlike anything you can imagine. Since both bolts are linked and fire from one valve, chopping paint on one side can cause the other to also chop, to shoot erratically (from broken paint making it onto the other ball detent), to shoot with low velocity due to the bolt not fully coming forward or high velocity due to the splooged side providing extra gas flow resistance, or for the whole thing to jam. If there's a downside to such a paintgun, this is it. Here's why.

The Nasty Typhoon, except for the twin barrels, is essentially the same gun as the standard Typhoon. It uses a single valve and hammer/sear assembly, and is powered by a single Rock regulator. The difference starts where the valve feeds the barrels. The gas flow is split, so each barrel has a port that flows into the bolt and fires the ball. On the over/under, the gas actually flows to the top barrel through the bottom; Glenn says it's "a little tougher to get the velocities matched in both barrels." Of course, the actual volume of gas used by the Nasty is almost double the Typhoon's usage, but that's what it takes to fire twice as much paint per trigger pull.

(For the purposes of this walkaround, I refer to the side-by-side variant. The over/under corresponds by having the lower barrel work like the left barrel, and the upper like the right.) The hammer is actuated by a pin in the left bolt, just like the standard Typhoon. On the left side, the bolt connects to the pump rod and the pin notches into the hammer. On the right, the bolt has no protrusions except for the pin at the back that connects it to the left bolt. This is the linkage that makes the right bolt cycle in conjunction with the left. (On my Nasty, the bolts are connected by thumbscrews, again because it predates Quikstrip bolts.) The barrels mirror each other, including feed ports and ball detents, and ideally will shoot at the same FPS. You do want to make sure that both are clean and that you're firing the same paint through each, otherwise you'll have velocity variations between barrels. "The biggest trick," says Glenn, "with the doubles is getting both barrels to put paintballs in relatively the same place at the same time. It gets to be quite a balancing act sometimes."

It's a simple, perfectly logical system that suffers only in that what happens to one side affects the other. Call it the yin and yang effect. As long as paint is feeding on both sides, the gun will shoot and shoot. But if you chop one side, the other (usually) has problems. If you run out of paint on one side, the other will shoot a much lower velocity. Gas follows the path of least resistance, and that will be the side without a paintball. With the Nasty, keeping an eye on your paint load is important. Also, keeping both bolts properly lubed is essential. One Nasty I've heard about had problems with "binding," which I took to mean problems getting both bolts to cycle without sticking. (Of course, even though the owner called it a lemon that he wanted to sell, other Typhoon lovers engaged in a bidding war for the gun. Go figure.)

Switching the Nasty from double-barrel to single-barrel operation really shows why making sure the barrels are "balanced," i.e. both feeding paint and both clean, is important. Switching over actually is simple. All you have to do is unlink the two bolts, and rotate the right side one so that the gas port is not aligned with the valve port. The o-rings in the bolt create a seal, and all the gas from the valve flows through the other bolt. Adjust the Rock down a bit (it has a good bit less of a load to deal with now), and chrono. I'd generally see at least a 100 fps increase or decrease going to or from single-barrel mode. The velocity variation when one barrel's out of paint or obstructed by paintball fragments and the other one isn't shouldn't be as extreme, but it is noticeable. Also, when you switch from single to double, there's actually some kick from the extra mass of the other bolt and the extra gas flowing through the barrels. The valve and valve chamber are larger than on standard Typhoons, in order to deal with the extra gas flow, which would also suggest a lower operating pressure (and very nice efficiency) in single-barrel configuration.

The Nasty runs well on CO2, but of course in extended shooting the Nasty will chill a tank much more than the single-barrel will. Glenn Palmer has stated that the CO2 usage from the Nasty is a little less than double that of a standard Typhoon. Probably the ideal setup for a Nasty would be a remote line to a 68ci regulated tank full of CO2 (if not HPA), since that would create more room for expansion, a larger, more consistent supply of CO2, and would take some of the weight off the gun. But I use my Nasty (currently) as stock, with two VL2000s and a 20oz antisiphon in the back bottle, and other than sighting and weight, it's fine. In fact, my teammate Mike switched to the Nasty on a 40-degree morning after his Cocker got balky. For the first game or two, the Nasty was spitting snowflakes of CO2 when it fired, but it still worked perfectly (which I think finally convinced him to get his own Typhoon). The only mod I foresee is a bottomline, but that's not a big deal.

So…the big issue is shooting experience. What's it like? Again, the first thing you notice is the weight. I jury-rigged a sling from a 6+1 suspender that is most helpful between games. If you don't have it, two or three games later you'll wish you did. Of course, when you're seeing action, you don't notice the weight so much. The second thing is (are) the hoppers. The two of them rise up into your field of view, and basically block out a decent-sized area. You have to carry the Nasty low or shouldered in order to maintain your field of view, because it's tough to carry shouldered all the time; this gun calls for shoot-from-the-hip accuracy, although the trough formed by the two barrels makes for a natural sighting plane. The third thing is the trigger. Mine is longer than and at least as heavy as a Pro-Am's, although smoother. It's a rhythm trigger... you can't rip off a quick burst without shortstroking, but there is a definite cadence to rapid fire. True, a trigger job could help, but I don't think it's fitting with the gun.

Re-reading that, I realize it sounds like it's all work and no play. This is not true; the Nasty is one of the most entertaining guns you can put to your shoulder, about dead even on the grin-meter with the TS-1 in full-auto. But you do have to position yourself to take advantage of the gun's strengths while negotiating with its faults. That means don't try to take the upfront bunker. The Nasty is at its best when following front players, as mobile suppressive fire. You can put a sheet of longball at opposing players, giving your point opportunities to move, and it's accurate enough to take out opponents before your flankers can. And a Nasty at full cry is impressive indeed. The Viewloaders start buzzing, the pneumatics are pumping, and both barrels are popping away at 3 bps or so (I told you, the trigger's stiff) EACH. Imagine the Minigun in Predator, and you've got a bit of an idea. Glenn's comment in response to someone saying Nastys are just for show was "You've never been on the receiving end of a well-used double." Indeed.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZED (SEO) WRITING

2009-10-17T21:29:00.004-04:00

This was written as a sample of a Search Engine Optimized article for a fictional website.

Travel agencies are reporting to [website] that more than ever, airlines, cruise lines, hotels, and resorts are looking for incentives to encourage international travel for prospective customers. Overseas air routes are usually underbooked due to impressions that a soft international economy makes long-distance flights and foreign accommodations costly, but travel agents have discovered that overall, costs for travel to European and Scandinavian destinations are near all-time lows and cheap plane tickets can be found at most airlines. In addition, major hotels in many cities are offering package deals that include accommodations, dining, sightseeing, and special events at a discount.

The question that most potential travelers raise is “How do we find these deals?” Self-booking online can be confusing and makes it difficult to effectively compare deal against deal; the biggest sites don't necessarily offer the best prices, and the smaller sites don't provide the most peace of mind about the booking options. Most travelers also think that online shopping is the only way to find cheap plane tickets, cruises, or accommodations, and that using a travel agent means paying additional fees for the services provided. This, however, is an assumption that often leads to shoppers actually paying more for international travel.

Travel agents do work on a commission basis, but instead of the customer paying the agent fee directly or it being “built in” to the overall travel package cost, the agent fee is typically paid by airlines, cruise lines, hotels, and resorts that are sold by the agent to the customer. Travel agents are trained specialists in determining the best, most affordable, and most desirable options for international travel, and indeed usually have more first-hand knowledge than anyone because of the extensive travel that they do as part of their work. A travel agent knows how to tell when a cheap plane ticket is a bargain versus a bummer. A travel agent knows when a four-star hotel isn't located in a four-star neighborhood. A travel agent knows which cruise line or bus tour to take when you're more interested in food or in adventure. And most importantly, a travel agent knows how to work with you and ask you the questions needed to help find the trip you'll love the most. This is the travel agent's job, and it's why those airlines, cruise lines, hotels, and resorts pay them to sell services to you.

To find out more about how using your local travel agent can help you plan international travel or find cheap plane tickets, visit [website] today and find travel agents in your area.

This is another example of a Search Engine Optimized article for a fictional website.

These days, restaurants of all kinds are turning to the Internet and email mailing lists as a way to reach customers. Enrolling customers in membership clubs like Qdoba's eClub or Dave & Buster's Rewards program allows restaurants to more effectively target promotions to repeat customers, who in turn benefit from great deals such as two-for-one meals, free appetizers or desserts, or other benefits, sometimes without even using coupons. For people eating out on a budget, this is a must-do in terms of maximizing your entertainment dollar.

However, the complicated part is that for each restaurant that offers memberships and promotions, customers must complete a survey or online registration form, a process that is sometimes frustrating and time-consuming. Diners may or may not be able to tell if their favorite restaurants offer these kinds of memberships, and when eating out on a budget, customers may not be considering all of the potential options at a time when completing those online enrollment forms is convenient.

The Restaurant Roundup.com website offers a solution to diners who want to get the best bang for their bucks in restaurant deals. Users sign up on www.RestaurantRoundup.com, enter the typical enrollment information that most restaurant websites request for memberships, and select the types of dining establishments that they want to add to their membership portfolio, such as “Mexican”, “Steak”, or “Pasta.” Members can also select specific restaurants from the directory of restaurants. Restaurant Roundup then automatically enrolls the users in individual restaurant membership clubs for the selected establishments, and can even update members each month with new options to try out! Dining out on a budget has never been this much fun!

Restaurant Roundup is great for restaurant owners and franchisees as well. It offers area-targeted searches and solicitations to Restaurant Roundup members, and lets owners connect with enthusiastic diners who are interested in discovering great places to dine while saving money. Promotions can be run using coupons or optionally using a magnetic swipe card that saves both customers and vendors the need to exchange and redeem paper coupons.

Eating out on a budget no longer means having to clip coupons, chase down short-term specials, or be stingy with the dining experience. Restaurant Roundup puts more exciting dining experiences in the hands of more people, conveniently and quickly. Enroll today to join in the fun and start saving money!

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS

2009-10-13T21:23:00.005-04:00

This sample is hosted off-site. Click the link to view.

Quick Exhaust Vent Installation
Hosted by Palmer's Pursuit Shop