Blog

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

You son of a beach, I'm in

I am officially in on the Waymo app. I can now hail a fully autonomous car to take me anywhere (?) in San Francisco. Bad news for me is unlike the early invitees, rides are no longer free. But, I am excited to see what it is all about. Hopefully there won’t be any crashing into emergency vehicles. There definitely will not be any sex.

Can we trust computers fully? This morning, my Apple Watch did its hourly thing of reminding me to stand up. Problem is: I was already standing for the past 20 minutes! Kind of disappointed it wasn’t completely foolproof to detect that. I guess the Apple Watch doesn’t use a proximity sensor to gauge how far it is from the floor? That makes sense, actually. Otherwise, you can fake standing by sitting on a bar stool.

Pilots trust autopilot programs on airplanes, and by transitive properly, so do we as passengers. Obviously, there are way less airplanes in the sky compared to cars on the road. Also, there aren’t pedestrians and other objects to potentially run into.

I think the so called robotaxis are perfect for the introverts like myself. I almost never (want to) talk to the UBER driver, and always sit in the back passenger space. (Are there UBER drivers out there using two-door coupes?) With robotaxis, even the subtle pressure of making conversation with the driver will be gone! It is a completely silent car ride - there’s nobody else but me. I would totally watch a Youtube video during a Waymo ride, if I weren’t prone to carsickness.

Will I get annoyed at how strictly a Waymo ride follows the rules of the road? Example: everybody’s going 10 above, while the robotaxi is pegged to the speed limit. Unlike a human driver taxi, there isn’t (yet?) a financial incentive for a robotaxi to get to the destination as quickly as possible.

Just hose it off!

Word on the street is Tesla will begin offering vehicle wraps from its service locations. The stock Tesla color palette isn’t to your exquisite tastes? Then fork over $8,000 for the privilege of having a (presumably) factory-backed vinyl wrap. (Customers can also opt for clear protection film at a more affordable $5,000.) My poor maths says that’s over 20% of the purchase price of a Tesla Model 3. I suspect there won’t be much takers in that price category. A Tesla Model S Plaid optioned out into the six-figures? That’s far more reasonable.

I once had paint protection film done to the entire front half of my Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The not-even-the-whole-car wrap cost $2,300 in 2013 money (That’s $3,000 in today’s money). I kind of immediately regret getting that done. My WRX STI was white, and that color really shows a subtle yet noticeable difference between the wrapped surface and virgin paint. The car never looked cohesive front to rear. For a light-colored car, the ideal way to do paint protection film is to wrap the entire car. I didn’t - and still do not - have that kind of money.

What truly is worth the money - in the world of paint preserving products - is ceramic coating. For those unfamiliar: think of it as paint wax that lasts for many years. Road grime and droppings from the sky (be they avian or industrial) have a difficult time sticking to ceramic-coated paint surfaces. Therefore it drastically reduces car washing labor. My BMW M2 has ceramic coating done, and after a 900 mile road trip, I simply hosed off the grime at a local self-serve car wash. Afterwards the car looked as if it never left on a lengthy journey.

Obviously, the money be damned thing to do is to wrap the entire car in protective film, then ceramic coat on top of that. If I had that done to the M2, I would never hand-wash it again. Taking it to the spray wash periodically will be more than enough to keep it clean and shiny. But, if you’re like me and can only afford one of those options, I highly suggest going with ceramic coating. Time is money, friends.

An electric road trip

Turns out, road-tripping in a Tesla electric vehicle is eminently doable. At least in California.

During my recent trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles - driving my very not electric BMW M2 (God bless the dinosaur juice!) - a friend drove down with me in his Tesla Model 3. It gave me the opportunity to see what it is like to drive hundreds of miles, in a single day, in an electric-vehicle. What is the charging infrastructure like? Do charging times dramatically affect progress towards our destination?

It’s important to keep in mind that we are talking about Tesla. Tesla famously have its own supercharging network. Your non-Tesla EV obviously may have a wholly different experience going down the length of California in a single day.

The supercharging network is fabulous. The ones we went to were situated in malls, offering a far better bathroom experience than the dank ones in gas stations. We even did some last-minute road-trip essentials shopping at the Target next to the first supercharger we stopped at. It makes sense that superchargers are in areas of higher quality than the typical highway-side rest stops. Purveyors of six-figure Tesla cars aren’t wont to slum it with the peasants.

Improved amenities aside, the best thing about the superchargers is the charging speed. My friend charged his Model 3 Long Range from 20% battery to 80% in less than 20 minutes. Just enough time for a bathroom break and stretch of the legs. For sure that charging time is considerably longer than a simple gas fill-up, but if you coincide the charging with the need for humans to take a break as well, then 20 minutes did not feel burdensome at all.

One of the major concerns folks have with electric vehicles is taking them on long trips. I can affirm that if you have a Tesla and you’re in California, that concern is nonexistent. You can comfortably traverse the State and be confident that a supercharger station is always within reach. And once at a supercharger, the refilling experience is quick and seamless. Tesla have done a fantastic job building out the infrastructure, one that I’m sure is a huge competitive advantage.

Running in the 190s

This past Sunday was the first time running with the Apple Watch, and I have to say it was delightful. To be able to run without the iPhone - either in an armband holder, holding it in my hand, or it sloshing around in a pants pocket - is such a luxury. I preloaded my running playlist onto the Apple Watch, and it alone was able to play music through to my set of AirPods Pro. Don’t need to rely on the iPhone for tunes anymore.

I also don’t have to reply on third-party apps to track my running. The Apple Watch’s native workout app does the job superbly, without selling my information to a third party. (As always: if the produce is free, you are the product.)

What the Apple Watch can do that the iPhone absolutely cannot is heart-rate tracking. It’s interestingly informative to see the stats post exercise. For example, my maximum heart-rate during the run was 191 beats-per-minute (BPM), with an average of 175 BPM. That sure seems like a lot of blood pumping to me! What’s most fascinating is that my heart-rate remained elevated for the hour immediately after running. I was just lounging on the couch watching football! I guess the extremities are still crying for energy delivery, even after the exercise is over.

I’ve become that person now: checking their Apple Watch every now and then during a workout to see the progress. Even during the normal day-to-day, I am moving the left wrist up to see my current step count (got to get the daily 10,000!). I hope this gamification of health doesn’t become obsessive compulsive. The Apple Watch is suppose to assist, not become an albatross.

Third birthday

It’s official: I’ve owned my 2021 BMW M2 Competition for three years now. It’s the longest I’ve ever kept a car purchased with my own money. The previous three cars, my wandering interests led me to switch out of them before the three-year ownership mark. The difference this time? Interest rates. Borrowing cost is too high right now to take out a loan (or take money out of interest-bearing savings account). Especially for what is really a pleasure vehicle. I’m fortunate to not need a car for my lifestyle.

Not to say I don’t have any wandering interests currently. I am a car enthusiast, after all. The Honda Civic Type R is still calling my name. But I can be patient. Presumably, Honda will be making its flagship hot-hatch for at least a few more years. The plan is to buy a Civic Type R towards the end of its production run. That should give me a bit of time to save up further, earn some of that sweet compounding interest.

Because the goal is to keep the M2 in addition to whatever car I’m buying next. Three years in, I remain smitten with the little pugnacious coupe from Germany. It’s got just enough power, just enough utility, to fit my single car-guy life. The front-engine, rear-wheel drive dynamics is as classic sports car as it gets. The only complaint? The atrocious fuel economy. But that’s the price to pay for all the fun.

BMW offers three years free maintenance on all its new cars. That means for my M2, it has just expired. In a vote of confidence (for myself) in keeping the car for longer, I purchased a two-year extension of the maintenance contract. (Less inclined to sell a car that’s still got money on it, right?) For a relatively cheap sum of $899 (not subject to sales tax), the next two annual visits to dealership service is now paid for. The rear differential fluid change that’s due next year will more than make up for the initial outlay.

Here’s to many more years of happy M2 ownership!

Can't be me!

Now that I finally bought an OTA antenna for my LG TV, I’ve been tuning in to the local morning news during my hour of getting ready for work. Every morning I see how horrible the commute traffic is, and count my lucky stars that I don’t have to participate. I’ve got the next best thing to working-from-home: living a few blocks from work. The only traffic I encounter is the traffic light at the main thoroughfare next to campus.

I drove down to Souther California last week, and timed it horribly. I arrived in Los Angeles just as the Friday evening commute began. The 405 was an absolute parking lot in the Culver City area - where our hotel is. It was utterly despondent to see on the navigation that it will take half an hour to go a mere four miles. And to think: most of these folks do this every single work day, every single work week. Either they’re numb to the soul-sucking, or they’re watching YouTube videos while inching agonizingly forward in traffic.

If that were me, I’d move closer to work. As I have done in my current situation.

Did you know there’s a Hilton in Culver City? I didn’t, until on a recommendation from an acquaintance who does lots of business travel. Culver City is close enough to LAX that I saw many guests checking-in from their arrival flights. The Hilton Los Angeles Culver City is a finely-appointed hotel, with broad and clean rooms. The lounge area with a full-feature bar on the first floor makes it easy to hang out with friends staying at the same property (as we did). Of course, it doesn’t come cheaply: I paid (with points) about $300 for one night. Granted, any decent hotel these days is going to run you in the $200s per night. That’s inflation doing its work.

Fair warning: if you have a car, valet parking is mandatory. You absolutely cannot self-park. Cost? $42 per day. Extortion, is what that is.

It is too damn high

I was due in for my annual physical tomorrow, but in lieu of Kaiser Permanente workers commencing a three-day strike today, I had to reschedule. Because I too am a member of a union, and the unofficial rule (or perhaps official?) for union members is to never ever cross a picket line. Not the one of your union, or any other union. In respect and support for the Kaiser workers, it’s no big deal for me to delay my routine visit. It’s not like I’ve got an open arterial wound (would have been long dead by now).

A huge fist of solidarity to those healthcare workers. These inflationary times are indeed super tough. Have you guys noticed the gas prices lately? The cost per gallon of gas has jumped solidly into the six dollars. Well, except at Costco. But then you’d be queuing up with everybody and their mothers just to save a few bucks. I get it though: it certainly feels like a unit of money doesn’t get you very much these days. Workers are simply fighting for wages that keep up with the inflation. Those PG&E utility rates aren’t shrinking, that’s for sure.

Inflation is even more jarring when you know what the prices were from way before. A breakfast burrito at the taqueria on campus used to cost less than five dollars. I curiously checked last week and it has ballooned to over $11! Granted, that’s about par for the course these days for a meal, but because I know what that burrito used to cost - more than half of what it is today - I cannot bring myself to pay the new price. I rather walk to nearby Chipotle and get a bowl for $12. At least that item was never under five dollars.

Kaiser Permanente workers on strike: I hope you get the maximum possible. I shall see some of you in two weeks when I go in for my rescheduled annual checkup.