36 people for Rosh Hashanna, 1 blocked and plunged toilet, 1 telekinetically bent spoon.
Watched a guy bend this in front of my eyes without touching it. That's a wild start to the new year!
Osher (Andrew) Günsberg
http://andrewgunsberg.com
Archive for
I was hooked straight away, and proceeded to hassle the Nissan Head Honcho at the Test Drive event relentlessly via email (he probably regrets giving me his card), and he managed to get me on the reservation list for a Nissan Leaf. It’s 100% electric. No gas tank. Without a doubt, the most fun car I’ve ever owned. I’ve had it for almost a month, driven just over 900mi in it (1440km), and love it.
Here’s some answers to the most common questions I get asked:
But what if you want to drive to Vegas?
Driving to Vegas is for amateurs. If you want to spend 5hrs in blistering desert heat living out your Hunter S. Thompson land shark fantasy through bat country at 85mph, knock yourself out. I can fly there in 45 minutes and will be poolside playing blackjack at the Encore before you’ve got to Barstow. How far can you drive on it?
This car is not for everyone. I figured out my average driving habits on my old car, and this car is perfect for my needs. I average between 40mi and 60mi a day (64km-100km), and I always come home with juice in the batteries. I live in the hills, so the range is somewhat effected by the climb - but I’d say I could easily get 40mi out and back (80mi) in one charge. I’m yet to test that out though.
The furthest I ever need to go is LAX to fly somewhere (more about that later).
How long does it take to charge?
I’ve had a 240V home charger installed (for free by the LADWP, thanks very much California!) and it charges quite happily overnight, usually between five and seven hours, depending on how I drive it. If you want you can trickle charge it on a standard 110V outlet, though that will take about 18hrs to get to full. It’s all about planning ahead.How is it on the freeway?
Fast. Like petrol cars, the harder you push it, the more energy you use. He can sit quite happily on 70mph, though that does tax the batteries. Usually, I’m flying down the freeway on the way there because I’m late, and I can take it easy on the way back - so I just put it into cruise control and happily scoot along at about 58mph.
I checked it when I had driven 366mi (589km) and I had used US$6.53 in electricity.
That’s mind-numbing considering I couldn’t drive that far in my old car on a full tank which would have cost me US$65But it’s not really Zero Emission is it?
No. Considering I currently power my car from a coal-fired power plant, it’s probably not completely zero. However, if you would like to compare how much electricity/pollution it takes to drill for oil, refine oil into petrol, transport that petrol to this country, transport that petrol to your local station, then pump it and then burn it in your engine, we can.Soon, I hope that California will go the way of my home country of Australia where I could buy my electricity from a wind farm - then I’d truly be able to look down my nose at Prius drivers.
What if you run out of battery when you’re on the road?
The car comes with 36 months of Roadside Assistance, so you’re only ever a phone call away from a tow or a charge, or both. Just like a regular car running out of gas.
Where can you charge it?
Besides my house, charging stations are starting to pop up everywhere. I shot a video today down at Santa Monica using a public charging station to show you the process. I didn’t need to charge up, but I did just to try it out.
There’s also FREE parking at LAX for up to 30 days in the EV charging bays, which is jammed with Teslas, Leafs, Minis and Volts any day of the week.
Being the TV nerd that I am, I was taping a lot of American TV so that I could review it when I got home, and I wanted to tape the local NY Morning show, so I flicked on the TV.
There was a locked-off shot of a smoking hole in the side of one of the World Trade Centre buildings. I shook Ben’s bed to wake him up.
“That’s no good”, he said. No sooner had I slipped a VHS into the machine and hit record - than the second plane hit.
We saw it on the TV and then a second later, the live sound travelled up the street and thundered through our ears. I, alongside pretty much everyone else in the world at that moment - had never been more scared in my life. We pulled on our shoes and headed to the hotel on the next block where our cameraman and sound operator were staying, and I will never forget the looks on people’s faces in the street. Everyone was in a daze, staring downtown. We got to the second hotel, made a plan to all convene back in our room to wait and see what would happen and then set off. On the way back, I stopped in at the bar below our hotel to join the throng of people, packed shoulder to shoulder, all staring up at the TV in the corner, as we watched the first tower come down together. In a haze, the first words I remember hearing spoken after so many animalistic groans and sounds of despair from the crowd was by a man to my left, “That’s it. The world will never be the same”.Knowing we were in for a long day, or days ahead - I walked as calmly as I could, back out on to the street, and to the convenience store on the corner. People everywhere starting to rush, just a little. People jostling a little too much like you’re trying to get to the barrier at the Big Day Out when they open a section up before the band. A guy in front of me gets his mobile phone stolen right out of his hand by a man running past him. The hairs on the back of everyone’s necks start to bristle. I walked into the store as calmly as I could, bought a few litres of water, some sandwiches, some nuts, and then withdrew every single dollar that I could from every account the ATM would let me access. If it got so bad that we were going to have to walk out of here, I figured cash would come in handy. So I went back upstairs to our room, joined my crew - and we waited. It was during this time that we shot some video.
I have never shown this to anyone except my family.
I was 27 years old, scared shitless, with the smell of burning in my nose.
My girlfriend at the time didn’t know what was happening until her phone started ringing off the hook and people told her to turn on the TV.
It took about 18 hours until we could get word back to Australia that we were ok, so she didn’t know what was going on. Her Mum took the three-hour drive up to Sydney from Canberra in the middle of the night to be with her. The phones worked on and off, and I eventually got through to tell her and my brother that we were safe, but this was not until much, much later that night. I can’t imagine how she felt not knowing what was happening for so long.
To my café, a coffee, a cleansing dip in the ocean, and a cuddle with our cats. We were very, very lucky. We made it out alive and safe. The only physical thing that affected us was that we were coughing up black gunk for weeks. It was a really, really long time before anything felt normal again. So, here I am. Ten years later.
I now live in the country that I was so desperate to escape that day. Every year, my producer and cameraman and I all check in, call each other to say “Happy September 11th” and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I was 27, but still very young and very, very afraid. Without those two battle-hardened men to pull me through an understandably terrifying day, I don’t know what would have happened. So today - I’m going to remember family, friends and the people I love. I am incredibly grateful for every one of them, and for the incredible fortune that I’ve been allowed to live since then. For today - I'm alive and well, unlike so many people that haven’t had that chance because of what happened that day, and from what happened because of that day.
September 2011
Blog+Video: Life with the Leaf. One month on from switching to a 100% electric car.
A few years ago, my younger brother Martin and I talked our way into a test drive of a Tesla Roadster here in Los Angeles. 45 minutes of fanging pure electric torque down the 405 and I knew from that exact moment that my next car would be 100% electric.
We drove out of the Tesla Dealership, down Santa Monica Blvd past all the car dealerships - just looking at the lots full of ancient technology that ran on dinosaur juice, largely imported from countries that may not have my best interests at heart.
I was hooked straight away, and proceeded to hassle the Nissan Head Honcho at the Test Drive event relentlessly via email (he probably regrets giving me his card), and he managed to get me on the reservation list for a Nissan Leaf. It’s 100% electric. No gas tank. Without a doubt, the most fun car I’ve ever owned. I’ve had it for almost a month, driven just over 900mi in it (1440km), and love it.
Here’s some answers to the most common questions I get asked:
But what if you want to drive to Vegas?
Driving to Vegas is for amateurs. If you want to spend 5hrs in blistering desert heat living out your Hunter S. Thompson land shark fantasy through bat country at 85mph, knock yourself out. I can fly there in 45 minutes and will be poolside playing blackjack at the Encore before you’ve got to Barstow. How far can you drive on it?
This car is not for everyone. I figured out my average driving habits on my old car, and this car is perfect for my needs. I average between 40mi and 60mi a day (64km-100km), and I always come home with juice in the batteries. I live in the hills, so the range is somewhat effected by the climb - but I’d say I could easily get 40mi out and back (80mi) in one charge. I’m yet to test that out though.
The furthest I ever need to go is LAX to fly somewhere (more about that later).
How long does it take to charge?
I’ve had a 240V home charger installed (for free by the LADWP, thanks very much California!) and it charges quite happily overnight, usually between five and seven hours, depending on how I drive it. If you want you can trickle charge it on a standard 110V outlet, though that will take about 18hrs to get to full. It’s all about planning ahead.How is it on the freeway?
Fast. Like petrol cars, the harder you push it, the more energy you use. He can sit quite happily on 70mph, though that does tax the batteries. Usually, I’m flying down the freeway on the way there because I’m late, and I can take it easy on the way back - so I just put it into cruise control and happily scoot along at about 58mph.
How does it drive?
This is the most fun car I’ve ever owned. Being electric, it means 100% of the torque is available from the moment you touch the accelerator. It’s fast, fun, and did I mention fast?
I checked it when I had driven 366mi (589km) and I had used US$6.53 in electricity.
That’s mind-numbing considering I couldn’t drive that far in my old car on a full tank which would have cost me US$65But it’s not really Zero Emission is it?
No. Considering I currently power my car from a coal-fired power plant, it’s probably not completely zero. However, if you would like to compare how much electricity/pollution it takes to drill for oil, refine oil into petrol, transport that petrol to this country, transport that petrol to your local station, then pump it and then burn it in your engine, we can.Soon, I hope that California will go the way of my home country of Australia where I could buy my electricity from a wind farm - then I’d truly be able to look down my nose at Prius drivers.
What if you run out of battery when you’re on the road?
The car comes with 36 months of Roadside Assistance, so you’re only ever a phone call away from a tow or a charge, or both. Just like a regular car running out of gas.
Where can you charge it?
Besides my house, charging stations are starting to pop up everywhere. I shot a video today down at Santa Monica using a public charging station to show you the process. I didn’t need to charge up, but I did just to try it out.
There’s also FREE parking at LAX for up to 30 days in the EV charging bays, which is jammed with Teslas, Leafs, Minis and Volts any day of the week.
It’s all about planning ahead, it doesn’t take much to plan your trips out, and plan them around places you can charge up.
At the end of the day, it’s a great car to drive, and a simple paradigm shift to get used to.
I plan to write more and shoot more in the coming weeks.
Let me know if you've any questions!
Blog: Ten Years after 9/11. Video we shot in NYC that morning.
I woke up on the morning of September 11th, 2001 to what I thought was the sound of a large truck going by.
It was a hot summer night the evening before, so we had slept with the window open.
Being the TV nerd that I am, I was taping a lot of American TV so that I could review it when I got home, and I wanted to tape the local NY Morning show, so I flicked on the TV.
There was a locked-off shot of a smoking hole in the side of one of the World Trade Centre buildings. I shook Ben’s bed to wake him up.
“That’s no good”, he said. No sooner had I slipped a VHS into the machine and hit record - than the second plane hit.
We saw it on the TV and then a second later, the live sound travelled up the street and thundered through our ears. I, alongside pretty much everyone else in the world at that moment - had never been more scared in my life. We pulled on our shoes and headed to the hotel on the next block where our cameraman and sound operator were staying, and I will never forget the looks on people’s faces in the street. Everyone was in a daze, staring downtown. We got to the second hotel, made a plan to all convene back in our room to wait and see what would happen and then set off. On the way back, I stopped in at the bar below our hotel to join the throng of people, packed shoulder to shoulder, all staring up at the TV in the corner, as we watched the first tower come down together. In a haze, the first words I remember hearing spoken after so many animalistic groans and sounds of despair from the crowd was by a man to my left, “That’s it. The world will never be the same”.Knowing we were in for a long day, or days ahead - I walked as calmly as I could, back out on to the street, and to the convenience store on the corner. People everywhere starting to rush, just a little. People jostling a little too much like you’re trying to get to the barrier at the Big Day Out when they open a section up before the band. A guy in front of me gets his mobile phone stolen right out of his hand by a man running past him. The hairs on the back of everyone’s necks start to bristle. I walked into the store as calmly as I could, bought a few litres of water, some sandwiches, some nuts, and then withdrew every single dollar that I could from every account the ATM would let me access. If it got so bad that we were going to have to walk out of here, I figured cash would come in handy. So I went back upstairs to our room, joined my crew - and we waited. It was during this time that we shot some video.
I have never shown this to anyone except my family.
I was 27 years old, scared shitless, with the smell of burning in my nose.
My girlfriend at the time didn’t know what was happening until her phone started ringing off the hook and people told her to turn on the TV.
It took about 18 hours until we could get word back to Australia that we were ok, so she didn’t know what was going on. Her Mum took the three-hour drive up to Sydney from Canberra in the middle of the night to be with her. The phones worked on and off, and I eventually got through to tell her and my brother that we were safe, but this was not until much, much later that night. I can’t imagine how she felt not knowing what was happening for so long.
Law enforcement was everywhere, in the lift we met a man who was young, fit and with a haircut that meant business. He carried an overnight bag, had an automatic pistol and spare clips on one side of his belt, and in a time before Blackberry - the most sophisticated communications device I'd ever seen on the other side of his belt. He was clearly from some sort of super-secret government agency, so we wished him safety and good luck and thanked him for keeping us safe as we got off at our floor.
That night at the packed hotel bar, we went for it. No-one could leave the island, so we joined the workers who couldn't get home in the mother of all benders. The rumours were flying around "don't go near Trump Tower tomorrow at 1pm", "They've isolated the island - the big attack is still coming". We figured if this was it, we'd better go out in style. So we put on our nice shirts, ordered a $400 bottle of red, had a lovely dinner and finished off with triple-fingers of Belvedere.
We were supposed to fly back to Australia that day after our interview (it was with Incubus), but we ended up being stuck in NY. Like everyone else, I was in a daze walking around that week.. I do remember one thing very clearly - we were walking across Central Park a few days later, (which was packed as no-one was at work, and it was a lovely day) when the FAA opened the airports up again to start to fly the empty planes back to where they were supposed to be.
As the first commercial plane to fly again took off out of Newark and banked over Manhattan, everyone in Central Park froze in their tracks, like in an Improv Everywhere stunt, and looked up. All you could hear was the sound of the plane echoing in an odd doppler way up and down the canyons of buildings. It took a few aborted attempts to re-open the airport by the authorities but after about five or six days, we managed a flight to Denver. The next morning, we were off to LA to get stuck for a few more days before the international flights started flying again.We managed to find some tickets on Air New Zealand - and as the plane took off for Auckland, there was a sigh of relief from everyone on board, we were leaving all that fear and nervousness and uncertainty behind us - heading for the safety of our homes thousands and thousands of miles away. When we got back to the airport in Sydney, nearly two weeks late, we landed at about 6:00am. Even so, as we came out of customs, our wives, girlfriends and the entire staff of Channel [v] were there with signs and banners and balloons all screaming “Welcome Home” with a cheer that probably scared a few on-edge security guys. It was an incredible surprise. Once all the cheers had died down and all the hugs handed out, I headed back to Bondi.To my café, a coffee, a cleansing dip in the ocean, and a cuddle with our cats. We were very, very lucky. We made it out alive and safe. The only physical thing that affected us was that we were coughing up black gunk for weeks. It was a really, really long time before anything felt normal again. So, here I am. Ten years later.
I now live in the country that I was so desperate to escape that day. Every year, my producer and cameraman and I all check in, call each other to say “Happy September 11th” and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I was 27, but still very young and very, very afraid. Without those two battle-hardened men to pull me through an understandably terrifying day, I don’t know what would have happened. So today - I’m going to remember family, friends and the people I love. I am incredibly grateful for every one of them, and for the incredible fortune that I’ve been allowed to live since then. For today - I'm alive and well, unlike so many people that haven’t had that chance because of what happened that day, and from what happened because of that day.
Osher (Andrew) Günsberg
Full-time TV/Radio guy, part-time photographer, some-time muso, occasional beard grower.
I like to say things and eat stuff.
Hollywood, California
(via Bondi Beach, Sydney Australia.)
