The Automobile Industry and Me!

As you know from my first post, this blog will cover all aspects of the auto industry in the USA. What you don't know is me, the writer, the idea man, the great creator, the omnipotent savior to all those who follow this blog- not that there are any yet, besides my loving (and beautiful) girlfriend- Hi Melissa! Now, you may be asking yourself, is the writer that full of himself? Or is he just trying to set a funny, casual mood for his blog? Well, mostly it's the latter reason, but it's also because this is my blog, and, because I write it, I can really say whatever I want; but of course I know I won't get much of an audience if I don't write what the people want to hear. Fortunately, I think I can do that- especially if you're into cars!

Although I have a profile on my site, I feel I should give a slightly more detailed account of myself. My full name is Daniel Marvin Schuldenfrei. I am an eighteen-year-old freshman at the University of Maryland: College Park, majoring in Physiology and Neurobiology. I hope to be a veterinarian in the future and possibly focus on neurobiological research. As I mentioned, I have a girlfriend named Melissa (Augustino), and, although this blog's topic has nothing to do with her, I must mention her because she is truly my better half (and because she'll be the first to read this post). She is a freshman Microbiology major attending the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State- she's even smarter than me, and I'm not afraid to admit that. Moving on- I am a self-proclaimed movie and television buff. I truly enjoy watching anything- old television shows to dramas to monster movies-, as television shows and movies provide an excellent service- silent communion, followed by active discussions. My favorite movie is "Pulp Fiction," directed by Quentin Tarantino, and my favorite television shows include "Arrested Development," "Scrubs," "Lost," "Community," and "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia." I am also an avid singer- I have participated in the Maryland All State Choir for three years, performed in a barbershop quartet (The Naturals) for five, and sang for roughly 13 years of my life. Lastly, my favorite books are the "Pendragon" series, an excellent collection of fantasy novels, and "Crime and Punishment," the classic by Fyodor Dostoevsky. All in all, I am a pretty well-rounded person- better yet, I have roughly no background knowledge of cars.

This blog, inspired by my Information 3.0 class, is a semester-long project, requiring me to post a couple educated posts a week. As I said, I really don't know anything about cars beyond how to drive one (well, I might add). Today, coincidentally, my father gave a run-through of what I needed to check my car for in order to visit my girlfriend at Penn State this weekend. And to be quite honest, I had almost no idea what he was talking about. I believe at roughly 9 o'clock tonight I became more knowledgeable about cars then I've ever been before. Despite my lack of technological knowledge, this blog will truly be brimming with note-worthy posts concerning everything from past automobile technologies to future developments to major players in the industry. I will post as I learn, and I will learn many things every week. Fortunately, I do have knowledge about the industry and, more importantly, I have an opinion and ideas. And that's what a blog is- a news feed with striking opinions. Now, I never would have dreamed I would be a blogger. I actually didn't know much about it until I saw "Julie and Julia," a very good movie following the realization of a young chef's dream to become a top chef. In that movie, the main character (Julie) blogged to make known her fantastic goal. I also have a goal. I am going to explain, criticize, commend, thoroughly crush, praise, and again crush the auto industry, their products, and their actions so that you, the reader, can create your own opinion of big business, new and old auto technologies, and the road that our nation is currently driving down. Is it paved with new-age tech as far as the eye can see? Or has our nation passed the yellow "No Outlet" sign?