Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

It's going to take a while

As of two days ago, California has fully opened back up from the pandemic. That means no masking practically everywhere, and zero capacity restrictions. Yesterday after work I went to the local Target to re-up on mouthwash, and everyone inside was still masked - even me! I guess returning to our formerly maskless lives is going to take some adjusting.

I am very happy to stop wearing masks, but my workplace still requires it as of this writing. And since I walk to work, I put on a mask before I leave the house. It makes no sense for me to wait until I get to the office to put the mask on because I hate touching my face with unclean hands. At the ripe old age of 33, I am still prone to acne breakouts for some inexplicable reason.

So if you encounter me on the sidewalks and I have a mask on, it’s not because I am fanatical about mask-wearing and don’t trust the science. I am merely following the rules of my workplace! Hopefully things will change soon. The governor has signaled that he will sign an executive order to fast-track the relaxation of workplace COVID restrictions. I suspect once I return from vacation in a fortnight’s time, I can freely enter the office without face covering.

That’s right: to perfectly coincide with the state opening back up, I am taking a two week vacation from work. Indeed it’s the first proper time-off since the start of the pandemic. Time to load up the Kindle… app on the iPad!

Mechanical sculpture

It’s somewhat ironic that there’s a Chevron gas station just a few blocks down from where I live. The convenience and proximity is very nice, obviously, but I don’t commute to work! It would be nice in theory to be able to fill up before I set off on another slogging drive. Thankfully, it’s only a 10 minute walk to campus; my daily two miles of exercise.

And thankfully I don’t drive very much, because gasoline prices have gone through the proverbial roof recently. A gallon of 91 octane at that corner Chevron station is currently at $4.75, which is rather high. I joked that if I did have to commute, I’d have to get rid of my BMW M2 and its ~20 miles-per-gallon average fuel mileage and get something way more efficient. Or perhaps a fully electric vehicle.

But then the question becomes: could I really afford to own a particular car if higher gas prices will force me to sell it? That’s a deep-cut into my spending numbers that I don’t really want to go into. It’s scary. Besides, the reality of the situation is: I can drive as little as I want. Just enough to keep the engine healthy by running it periodically if I have to.

That’s why I can afford to keep the M2 around. At present moment, car ownership is more symbolic than anything. Sure I use it at least once week to visit my parents, but other than that, the M2 simply sits. It’s more living room decoration than kitchen utensil. Admittedly, the mere fact I own the car is a large part of the whole experience. I get a sense of joy just seeing it parked outside through the window of my room.

All this is to say: gas prices are too damn high, but it hasn’t affected me much at all.

Pristine front end

It’s been a little over half a year since I’ve bought my BMW M2, and it’s a minor miracle that I haven’t yet done something I’ve done in all my previous cars: scrape the bottom of the front-end. I mean, just look at that intricate shape of the M2’s lower fascia: it is begging to be scraped on a driveway entrance into a Safelite AutoGlass location. That’s how my previously-owned Subaru WRX STI got a really nasty abrasion on its front lip.

Coming from a Porsche 911 GT3 that’s got a plastic front-lip designed to be scraped and replaced, I am an expert in doing all sorts of exotic angles entering and exiting driveways, so avoid impacting the front bumper. Even so, there’s only so much you can do. It takes one momentary lapse or misjudgment of steepness, and there goes the your pristine front-end. This is such a problem for car enthusiasts that there’s been a slight cottage industry of lower bumper protectors for sale.

And yet my M2 remains unharmed under my admittedly clumsy hands. I think the reason is due to the front-end, rear-wheel drive layout: the front overhang is relatively short. Therefore, the front wheels are quick to contact the pavement on driveways, saving the lower front from taking impact. Comparatively, In a front-wheel drive car where there’s more bumper and fender ahead of the front wheels, the chance is higher for the bottom of the bumper to hit the driveway incline before the front wheels can elevate the car upwards.

Of course, now that I’ve written all of this, I naturally just jinxed myself. Within the next few drives, I’ll surely ruin the virgin front-end of the M2. Such as it goes.

Mission Peak done

Three miles up, three miles down. Nearly 2,000 feet of elevation. That’s the the Hidden Valley Trail at the Mission Peak Regional Reserve. A friend and I hiked that yesterday in all its steeply elevated glory. It took about three and half hours in total, though I reckon at my own pace I could do the thing in less than three. Obviously I am feeling the soreness this morning, mostly at the knee joints. On the way down is really when the joints take a tremendous pounding.

Mission Peak is reputed to be one of the gnarliest hikes in the Bay Area, and now that I’ve done it, I have to agree. The constant incline utterly grinds on you, and the last bit up to the summit is the most torturous and difficult. Some folks actually run up and down that trail! That’s far too hardcore for me. If you’re just starting out on your hiking adventures, I definitely would not recommend coming anywhere near Mission Peak.

Pro tip: there aren’t any water stations once you leave the base. Do consider fully the recommendation to take at least two liters of water with you. On hot weather days - like the one we had yesterday - I definitely needed every drop of my two liters. What would be even better is have some Gatorade (or your favorite electrolyte water) ready in the car when you return. And a change of clothing because the one you hiked on will be appropriately dirty and sweated through.

And obviously: go at your own pace. There’s plenty of opportunities to stop and rest along the way. A few benches and tree covers here and there. The view out towards Fremont and the Bay Area is beautiful no matter what elevation you are at. There’s absolutely no shame in taking it slow. Or turning back midway; we certainly passed some people who did not make it to the top. And that’s okay. Three miles up with nearly 2,000 feet of elevation is really tough indeed.

Douchebag drivers

BMW drivers have a reputation for being mean douchebags that don’t use turn signals and generally flout all the rules of the road. I of course don’t contribute to that reputation with my BMW M2. I’m the guy in the slow lane going the speed limit, happy to take my time and enjoy the scenery. It was curious that when I bought the M2, the concierge showing me the interior functions didn’t mention where the turn signal stalk was…

“Sir, you drive a BMW. You will not be needing the turn signals.”

Jokes aside, I have a pet theory on how BMW drivers got their unseemly reputation. Historically, BMW cars have been some of the more agile vehicles on the road, with decent amounts of power. This allows drivers to do maneuvers that would be tragic in a Toyota Corolla. The ability to dart in and out of traffic with ease makes BMW an outlier in a sea of slowness. Those drivers are able to leverage that power if they are feeling slightly naughty.

Presently there’s many more cars on sale - for relatively cheap - that have decent power and maneuverability. Therefore the bad reputation of BMW drivers have spread to other makes and models. Namely the Nissan Altima, and the Dodge Charger/Challenger duo. The worse offender are Tesla drivers. Electric cars are so superiorly zippy and accelerative that Tesla drivers tend to bully others into submission. You will never out-accelerate one, and if a Tesla wants a particular spot on the road, it can filter in there faster than you can speed up to fill the gap.

This is to say: driver of Tesla cars are now the new crown douchebags of the road.

The second oldest courthouse in California.

Pandemic over

Finally, some good news about San Francisco: we are on track to become the first city in California to reach the herd immunity against COVID 19. We’ve always had the lowest COVID numbers of any major city, so it’s no surprise we would be the first to reach that immunity milestone. Soon as California fully opens back up on June 15th, I think San Francisco will return to normal really quickly.

Ergo there’s absolutely no excuse for the San Francisco Unified School District: full in-person classes must happen in the Fall semester. We should vote the school board members out of that isn’t the case. For shame.

In certain parts of California, the pandemic is effectively over already: no more masking, everything is fully open. This past weekend we were in the rural areas north of Sacramento, and walking around there felt rather jarring because it was business as usual. I would say only two percent of the people wore a mask at all. There are no covering requirements to enter an establishment. Our friend went into a coffee shop in Calusa, and he was the only one with a mask on.

I have to say though the people there weren’t mean about seeing someone with a mask on. It’s truly live and let live.

Moving on to Marysville, there was a taco festival in the city’s small downtown area. The scene looked like Disneyland before the pandemic. Crowds mingling closely together and having a good time. The only people with masks on were the vendors, perhaps to keep up with current rules. Everything else resembled everyday life before COVID. I absolutely love it. I didn’t care whether or not anyone else were vaccinated, because I myself am vaccinated.

Can’t wait to see the same here in San Francisco very soon indeed.

Truck town USA

Full-size trucks in America are big business. The venerable Ford F-150 is the best selling vehicle in this country for well over two decades. The GM and Ram trucks also sell in very lucrative numbers. It’s a head-scratcher from my perspective here in San Francisco. I would never buy one of these behemoths in our area of narrow streets and scarcely little parking space. Imagine parallel parking a modern four-door pickup truck; I’m not sure one would even fit in one of the city’s metered spaces.

I get the appeal of trucks, though. It’s literally one vehicle to do absolutely everything. The typical “crew-cab” four-door configuration can seat five people with space and comfort rivaling large sedans. The high-seating position is easy to get in and out of. The pickup bed needs no explanation for its utility. Four-wheel drive version of trucks can go off-road with the best of sport-utility-vehicles, provided the trail has the width for these super wide machines. If parking weren’t ever a problem anywhere I normally frequent, a full-size truck would definitely be something to consider.

This past weekend I was up north of Sacramento in the rural town of Calusa. I was amazed at the sheer amount of trucks there. It seems everyone in town is driving a half-ton, crew-cab pickup, about 80 percent of all vehicle traffic to my eyes. The lone Ford dealership in Calusa has an inventory of mostly F-150s! Surely a confirmation of pickup truck’s popularity in those parts.

And why wouldn’t it be? Parking is wide and freely available there. Calusa is a farming community, so the trucks are actually being used to haul stuff. The 4X4 systems will take care of any beaten path with ease. From what I can tell, these people own trucks not for some machismo image, but rather they truly need the utility of these type of vehicles. I can dig it.