Saturday, 21 January 2017
Pretty darned rainy until later in the day. I did go out and try to find a mystery iPhone bracket that screws onto our tripods. That’s when it changed from strong drizzle to pure rain. Lucky me, eh?
Didn’t find the bracket…so, yup, Amazon….
Friday, 30 December 2016
We had an errand at the camera shop outside the perimeter (OTP), where this rubber (?) camera is part of an art installation welcoming customers.
It’s rocking it?
This is from the other day, but illustrates Toyota-math. When the vehicle runs on electric only, that is, from the battery, Toyota reports the mileage at 199mpg, meaning no petrol was used.
For our old car, when it ran on battery, it reported the “infinite” mileage as 100mpg. Thus, the new vehicle is a mathematical upgrade?
This sign was inside a gravel parking lot, at an angle that would make it difficult to spot as you entered. No other signs (e.g., arrows). The label read “Park as indicated.”
I suspect traffic gets stuck in the back loop going round and round.
We continued our rural drive down two-lane roads OTP, some abandoned…. The rusty metal panel is intended to keep the dogs and vermin from crawling under the house.
Maybe kids, too.
Tuesday, 27 December 2016
We got out the new technology—well, the new one for this FirstWorld household. Charge battery. Deploy arms. Put iPhone into controller. Turn on devices.
Go!
Go up! (Look back at Dronemaster.)
Enjoy visual angles*! (Check out leaves in gutter.)
* Angles not angels!
No, we did not aim camera at any windows, even our own.
Monday, 26 December 2016
Apologies, Gentle Reader, for going on about our new Prius Prime over the last few days. We feel that the new safety technologies are a big win, and the sporty handling (etc.) make it a fun buggy. [We are enamored; if you spend that much dinero, that seems a good thing—jes-sayin’.]
HOWEVER, we are embarking on other technology in our immediate personal consumer zone. This item has been charging and further study is needed of the operator’s manual before actual usage will be embarked upon. [Feel free to be overwhelmed by passive voice en este momento.]
I know you’re super-excited (#sarcasm aka #sarcasmo) as you await further details. Me, I’m yawning, so…tomorrow…. And, yes, this photo is a cheat—from the (very Apple-style) packaging.
No explanation on why Spanish phrases are on my fingertips right at the moment….
Sunday, 25 December 2016
We pushed east in fog, as we had through most of Oklahoma last night. It stayed with us for a long time, then switched to gloomy overcast. We kept at our chosen task: east-bounding.
Even the Mississippi Bridge seemed dreary. I saw only one set of barges, and they were parked along the shore. Perhaps even the locks were not operating in honor of the holiday?
In a sense, the fog switched from being outside to being in our brains. Yesterday we drove 810mi; today was in the high 700s. That will certainly fog you!
We arrived home on this round number. We had only one charge since leaving SEA (became 16 road miles, lower than the predicted 25mi because of conditions), and this reflects gas mileage since SEA of 48.1mpg. We didn’t baby the vehicle (exercise elements of hypermiling)—we drove fast and the temps also were cold enough to bring down the mileage. Still, a real-world test of the gasoline/regenerative system—equivalent to the old Prius, which I estimate would have gotten 8–10mpg lower in the same conditions. We knew this vehicle is supposed to have higher mpg, and clearly it does….
We figure that today our vehicle is one of the highest miles-operated privately owned Primes in the USA.
We predict a stint of around-town, electric miles ahead!
Thursday, 22 December 2016
Hollywood goes out of town for some shoots. “Justified” used this bridge many times during its five years.
Clint Eastwood’s younger self…
…came through here. No word on whether he spoke to any of the chairs.
William Shatner (and many others) spent time on/in front of the formations in the Vazquez Rocks park. [Note me for scale.]
Ian/Spark walked by here on the PCT, crossing by the gate of the same park.
Several times we crossed the California Aqueduct. It carries water south from the Sierra Nevadas (snowy highlands) to SoCal, usually in an open canal. Ladders scale the sides every 1000ft, signs say; it’s wiser to never get into the water, however (duh!).
Speaking of water, we drove east all day toward an east-bound rain system. During this part of the day, we were behind it by several hours, and the desert had standing water—very unexpected to find the dryness ameliorated.
Eventually, we did drive into clouds, and the rain. It never came down hard, but for a bit we couldn’t see far. The radar sensors on the New Car gave us an extra measure of safety.
One more bit of technology…after several hours of driving, the vehicle presents a schematic of a steaming cup of coffee, and kindly enquires (in a rather Japanese way) “Would you like to Take Rest?” [BTW, the blue shading behind the MPH figure turns to red when Ludicrous (boosted speediness) mode is engaged…not that you’d forget!]
Tuesday, 20 December 2016
We crested 1K miles in the new buggy today. We find the handling tight and super-fine—a pleasure to drive long miles. Speaking of which, that 61.2mi next to the 1K figure indicates the miles per gallon of gas for the car’s “life.” This figure includes a mileage boost from plug-in electricity and also regenerative braking energy. At the end of today the figure was 60.0. And today we began with no “stash” of plug-in energy…we just ran like the old Prius, using gasoline and energy from downhills and braking that the vehicle stashed in the battery. We think the new car gets around 10mpg better than the old one in the SAME conditions. Pretty sweet!
We found redwoods! We also drove through clouds and past a few lingering bits of snow earlier in the day. We are now basking in mist, sometimes wind, and salt air during a pretty dark night. Best, all!
Monday, 19 December 2016
Sometimes accuracy requires setting up in the middle of the street. We also went by two reflectors, each with a quartet of orange cones, and no human attendants. Does spitting rain make it safer to hunker down mid-intersection?
This cowboy is a new friend. He tips his hat when the transaction is complete. This was a quick stop to return a spoiled bottle of wine (it smelled like mold when we opened it and the cork was not quite right), so the charging period was only about seven minutes.
Our next errand was at a super grocery store. I let myself get momentarily mesmerized by the oysters (and their barnacle friends). Cropped this way, if you squint (perhaps), it will look like the shell may be the size of a person-eating clam!
Thursday, 15 December 2016
We were busy with various chores today, but did spot these two eagles (left) cruising over the edge of the sound. I thought there might have been a second pair a bit later, but they were farther away, and I wasn’t sure. Still: whatta show!
We ended up dining at Chiang’s Gourmet, which I often call “chang’s”, and GooMaps still knows what I mean. The magic of modern technology…. Also, note the reflection showing the double-curved rear window….
Friday, 9 December 2016
The ice was over wet-snow, and once loosened, came off easily. Thankfully.
So, we headed out to familiarize ourselves further with this technological wonder. We speculated that ice on an exterior sensor was triggering the parking-assist, which kept beeping at us. Then, we discovered user error as some button over on the driver door somehow got poked; after disengaging, great!, no more beeping. The learning curve….
Under the bridge (right in Portland) above we discovered four deer browsing. Otherwise the area was sparsely used, so good place for wildlife….
The traffic and perhaps some de-icing meant the downtown streets were quite passable.
We tried electric charging in two different parking garages. The first time was a breeze. The second time we goofed somehow. The charging station accepted the plug-in, but somehow we didn’t trigger the flow of electricity. More study needed….
The Guru found us a lovely French restaurant for a celebratory late lunch (yum). We took the caribou rack over the door to the kitchen as a good omen. [Long story.]