Musings

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!

Posted at 7:09 PM | 2 Comments »

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….

Posted at 11:11 PM | Comments Off on Above…

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.]

Posted at 8:37 PM | 2 Comments »

Today could easily have two (obvious) headlines.

The first would indicate that the powers that be reopened the interstate (actually, last night), and we drove through in glorious sunshine and fine road conditions. (Whew!) Despite the bone-chilling temp.

Finally, we descended to the level of and met up with the Columbia, which is a major and navigable river even this far inland—thanks to a dam/lock system and terrific water flow. The tug is burning some diesel to push those barges upstream against considerable current. Note Mt Hood poking above the cloud layers in the far left (“above” the power plant).

Traffic crossing the river between Washington and Oregon is also substantial. Note another tug-and-barges just upstream from the railroad bridge also plowing against the current. Note that the snow is persisting at elevation on the tree-free round-crested peaks. Still, it’s MUCH warmer at river level as we continue westward.

Here’s the second headline: A new car!

Edited out of this photo is how filthy old-Prius was from crossing the pass. The sand they put down was fine (so it stuck) and very dark—dramatically ugly on a white car. Soooo. Well, that’s not really the reason…but we nabbed a Prius Prime on our way down the Columbia. It’s metallic grey outside and black that looks almost very dark grey inside. Its EPA estimate is quite high because it is not only gas-battery like the old one, but it also has a 25mi range in plug-in electric miles. This means it can be electric for doing around-town errands, but it’s still suitable for driving long distances…like from sea to sea (or similar).

We are so pumped.

Posted at 11:13 PM | 1 Comment »

Went out for a short wander in the mixed overcast—not smelling smoke today (have I gotten accustomed to it?). Took the fish-eye gadget. Nothing original here, but you sometimes have to try things yourself.

I call this Rose’s World. Exposure is wonky, but the composition has promise.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Round world

The lack of rainfall means the leaves have stayed fluffy for weeks.

Here’s the same scene with a new fisheye gizmo the Guru found that clips on over the phone lens.

I took the two shots hours apart, hence the different light.

Posted at 7:05 PM | Comments Off on Table, chairs—twice

Of course, the headline is that this is election day. Or at least, it’s the day the polls close. And the predictive polls become irrelevant (when the vote-counts come in). We voted in mid-morning. We got in line, and had finished voting 40 minutes later. Nice weather. Lots of faces turned down toward smart phones…. [BTW, keep electioneering and guns away from the polling place.]

If you want to think about something else, here’s a control panel from a (an electric?) bus we saw on Sunday…designed back when the paradigm was to have knobs carefully identical in form and spacing, and black commonly predominated. Graphic designers have made headway with engineers in the intervening years, and the repeated sameness largely has disappeared….

Posted at 7:10 PM | Comments Off on Vote-count day

We took a Sunday drive to the mountains to check the leaves and get out of Big A-Town. On the way up, we talked about how super-dry our autumn has become, and remembered that there have been forest fires in the mountains. I thought NC; the Guru said GA. Here’s the smokey evidence, and, yes, there are fires west of here in Georgia. That tree line and ridge are not far away. And, peeuwww.

Although many historic homesites have been abandoned, I think the number of standing structures has decreased over the last decade. This, then, is a bit of an outlier. That looks like a relatively narrow staircase inside the front door. [See how dry the grass is?]

Then we stopped at a train museum—even heard a whistle blow (not on this locomotive, however).

The Guru gifted me with this photo for a visual reminder of this morning’s time change…. Different world, catching the train for long-distance travel….

Walked through several dining and sleeping cars, even the Pullman car that Warren Harding used for a post-Presidency trip to the West Coast. After his untimely death in San Francisco, it carried his casket back to Washington DC. We were told that they had to remove a window to slide it into the lounge into the rear of the car.

No picture of Harding’s Pullman, but here’s the side of a Milk Tank Car. Don’t see those anymore. This pre-plastic jugs….

Posted at 6:24 PM | Comments Off on (Smoky) Blue Ridge Mountains

I have no touch bar*; I offer flowers instead. Lantana.

Zinnia.

* The new round of high-end Apple laptops debuted today, and have a touch bar instead of a row of function keys. It changes depending on what you’re doing and is taptic. Sounds like a step forward to me. I also wonder if the company is meaning that fancy laptops will be the most powerful machines they offer—not desktops….

Posted at 6:18 PM | Comments Off on No drinks at the new bar

Still grooving on the white ginger flower-clusters.

Asymmetry isn’t always apparent…as with these lights. Mostly we don’t look up and notice such details.

Okay, not a total report….

Posted at 5:49 PM | Comments Off on Friday report