Look who was being given a tour of my yard this morning by his/her parents….
After taking these pictures, I went out to explain to the deer that I’d really prefer if they would do their grazing on the other side of the wall but they didn’t stick around to listen to me.
Sharing a birthday (and cake!) with Rachel:
I went to the Tesla Model S test drive event today in Fremont. As a Model S reservation holder, I was able to go to the factory tour last November (here’s my pictures and video from that) but this weekend, with the delivery of the first vehicles to customers, this was the first of several drive events being held around the country this summer.
The test drive route was a nice mix of private and public roads and highways over about eight minutes. There’s lots of pictures, videos and commentary available on the web already from this weekend but I thought I would add my feedback comparing it to driving my Nissan LEAF (and the Audi A3 3.2 that I used to own).
My first impression on pressing the accelerator and turning the wheel was “damn, this thing feels like a tank.” It’s a beautiful, very fast tank, but oh does it feel big and heavy. As a passenger at the ride-along last November, it wasn’t noticeable — because it is so quick and handles very well (even through the slalom course). But when you’re behind the wheel and coming from the likes of smaller cars, you definitely notice the weight and the size. I was disappointed by this. I know it looks big but I had hoped to not be able to really feel it when behind the wheel.
Given that the Model S has a much more powerful electric motor than the LEAF, I think part of what I was feeling was how they’ve calibrated the accelerator. (Or perhaps it’s really just the significant amount of mass you’re having to throw around!) I suppose the LEAF’s accelerator is actually a bit touchy. It leaps forward with just a slight press. But then this contributes to the fun and lively feel of driving the LEAF around town. And this despite it’s actually rather poor 0-60 time. Of course, with full torque immediately available and no gears to shift, it is actually very quick at typical city speeds of 0-30/40 mph. And its small size helps it feel more nimble than something like the Model S. Of course the Model S is flat out faster (must faster than most cars and certainly most sedans) and it actually handles that speed and its weight far better than the LEAF. Unlike the LEAF, it’s definitely engineered for performance.
But the Model S is still a big, “executive-styled”, “BMW 7-class series” kind of vehicle and isn’t really my kind of vehicle. So I still have a lot of doubt about following through with a purchase. Yes, it is expensive, as Tesla’s business plan is built around the notion of starting on the luxury end and working to bring down costs to develop a more affordable mid-priced electric vehicle. While the expense is understandable – we’re still on the leading early-adopter edge for all electric vehicles, much like cellphones and plasma TVs when they were first brought to market – for this kind of money, I need to really love the vehicle as it is. I’m not canceling my reservation just yet as I’ll probably have until the fall before I have to commit, but what I really want is a smaller, sporty, all wheel drive hatchback – all electric, of course! Maybe I’ll have to wait for the third generation Tesla, the supposed Model E. Or maybe somebody else will step up to the plate?
I found the alien spacecraft hiding in front of the sun today!! It’s still there now as of 5 pm June 5th, slowly moving across the face. Alert the media!
Strangely, neither Pan or Hera seemed particularly concerned about this news, but at least Hera seemed to be paying attention.
(Okay, yes, for the benefit of finding this later, it’s a transit of Venus.)
I drove up to a spot near Lake Tahoe for the annular eclipse on the evening of May 20th, 2012. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan ahead and get the necessary solar filters to do any photography work — and checking around the couple of days before the event proved fruitless. But at least I had binoculars so I could set up a projection to watch it.
My little arrangement makes me think of the robot from the movie Short Circuit. Hmm, I suppose Wall-E too.
It’s that time again: upgrade time! I’ve moved to a new home in Santa Cruz and I now have the wall space to do a super widescreen (2.4 by 1) in a Constant Image Height (CIH) setup and do it big: 12 feet wide by 5 feet tall! Sweet! And I’ll give 3D a try too with the JVC DLA-RS55. (My last “home theater rebuild” was going high definition back in 2007 in the loft of my condo in San Jose.)
So here’s a photo journal of the building out of my home theater in my new home in Santa Cruz, starting with the the “before” and “after” shots:
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The house is laid out with a kitchen and a large living room area on one end and a second living room area at the other end and a dining area and entry way in-between….
Lots of pictures from another fantastic weekend of mountain biking and camping with the Outdoor Adventure Club at Boggs Mountain:
Alright, that does it. Enough “surprises”. After several mice in various states of disrepair, a bunch of live but tail-less lizards, a not-quite-dead gopher this morning and a most definitely dead and disemboweled mouse, gopher or rodent of some sort tonight… that’s it. I’ve had enough. No more pet door, guys — no more free in-and-out access. Perhaps you’ll eventually deplete whatever remains in the fenced-in area but you’ll have to do it with controlled access from me.
Oh, you want back in? Not with that lizard you’re carrying, Pan.
Hera, what’s that under your paw? No, the other paw. No, your *other* other paw!
Perhaps after many months like this (not being able to bring prey inside) they’ll lose this habit – or at least drive off all the prey.
They seem to enjoy the access to the roof though – I installed a pet door in the upstairs bathroom window instead. And there’s an upstairs patio area off of the master bedroom where I’ve put in some potted plants and grasses for them.
