Justin Hughes

@justinhughes54.com

747 Followers 355 Following

A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a nerdy writer, editor, motorcycle rider, ham radio geek, former van lifer, and current all-around weirdo. Writer at Jalopnik and elsewhere. a.k.a. Smokey Da Van, Knerd Rider.

Air Force One in a museum
JFK's Air Force One on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum near Tuscon, AZ
Donald Trump's private Boeing 757, which bears a striking similarity to the new color scheme for Air Force One.
"Ferrari aims to prove doubters wrong after divisive debut of electric Luce"
My 2003 VW Jetta Ute, manual of course
The fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and Harry Sullivan from Doctor Who
Me and the old train station in Wolfeboro, NH
NASA's "The Edge of Two Worlds" photo of the moon with a cresent Earth in the background, plus an Eagle from "Space: 1999"
The Thermians from Galaxy Quest. Too close to the real thing?
My TV showing the Artemis II lunar flyby, the far side of the moon, and a UFO on a poster
Watching the Artemis II launch on TV
Me giving my new tiny house a motorcycle escort the last few miles to avoid any wrong turns with such a big load.
Google map of a 4 hour, 200 mile route from the Grand Canyon's North Rim to South Rim, vs. the route AI suggested to simply jump across the canyon
Screen capture from the game Schedule 1 showing a white van with “Smokey Da Van” spray painted on the side
Two 6-month old kittens, Zuki and Busa, sitting in a window staring outside at the snow, which they’ve never seen before.
A washing machine with an EcoBoost knob
“Homeland Security: fighting Terrorism since 1492”
Me with the Wienermobile during its short ill-advised name change.
Andy Warhol BMW M1
Me posing with a KITT replica. I saw an actual screen-used car at the Petersen Museum, too.
My black cat, Lister, sitting on top of a cat tree that’s way too small for him
Ouroboros, or a snake eating its own tail.
A very real picture of the aurora, but nowhere near as good as Wil Wheaton’s.
A clear, starry sky with absolutely no aurora activity, so I scribbled it in very poorly.
Alternate words to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” implying that Gordon Lightfoot caused it so he could write a song about it
“Save yourselves. Avoid the United States at all costs.”
My Suzuki V-Strom 650 parked by a small lake with hills and trees
The President of the United Federation of Planets saying “Save yourselves, avoid the United States at all costs”
USS Reliant, NCC-1864
2012: "This streaming is pretty good. I don't need you anymore, pal." *puts down pirate hat* 2019: Watch exclusive content here (across a bunch of streaming services) "Hello old friend!" *picks up pirate hat*
2012: "This streaming is pretty good. I don't need you anymore, pal." *puts down pirate hat* 2019: Watch exclusive content here (across a bunch of streaming services) "Hello old friend!" *picks up pirate hat*
“Hey Bandit, do you know what day it is?” “That’s a big 10-4”
Kittens in my lap
Shepard Book from Firefly: “You are going to go to a very special level of hell… reserved for child molesters. And people who talk in the theatre.”
There’s a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state. The other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.
Me standing in a Chevy Caprice engine bay helping a friend replace his engine
Groundhog Day: “Well it’s Rapture Day… again”
Two kittens stacked on top of each other on my lap
Muddy water from flash flooding in what was a dry creek hours ago
Sandwich police car
Two kittens on my lap
Screenshot from 80s Outrun game
Bagheera, the black jaguar
A pair of tigers stalking me. Good thing there’s a strong fence!
My camper van, trailer, motorcycle, and cat in a desert sunset
My cat snuggled up to and wrapped around my arm
"Hi, Justin, The average price for used cars climbed faster than new car prices last month, rivaling pandemic-era highs, as inventory limitations and tariffs push costs higher. We want to hear from you: How do you think this will affect buyer and seller behavior?" With a "Share your thoughts" button
Kittens Zuki and Busa sitting on my chest
Me and my motorcycle standing next to a sign for the town of Boston, Arkansas.
Two kittens curled up together looking like a yin yang symbol
A tree fell on our Dodge pickup
Harley, the awesome orange cat, sitting in the hood scoop of my wife's Toyota 4Runner.
Two cute sleeping kittens all stretched out
Kawasaki Z125 with knobby dirt tires
Oh shit. There goes the planet.
“Many three year olds have trouble staying within the lines. Maybe if you practice coloring this turtle, it will help you with your parking.”
Z55B CarPlay motorcycle riding system