Tag: travel

How Much?

On By JohnIn uncategorizedLeave a comment

One of the things about a Tesla is that it gives you some exact numbers to help you calculate efficiency.

Since I’ve bought it, I’ve traveled about 9,600 miles.

My diesel truck achieves about 14 mpg.

That 9,600 miles would have required 685 gallons of fuel. In this region, over the summer, diesel fuel was as high as $5.75/gallon. Presently, it’s about $4.00/gallon. The mean has been about $4.90/gallon.

In my 23 year old diesel truck, that 9,600 miles would have cost about $3,360.

So, cost per mile would be $3,360 / 9,600 miles, or $0.35 per mile.

In the Tesla, that 9,600 miles required 3,944 kWh of energy. My charging has been about 60% household and 40% Supercharger. My household rate is 4.9¢/kWh. The various Superchargers that I had used since April were around 39¢/kWh.

The Tesla cost tally has been $623. Divide that by the number of miles…

$623 / 9,600 miles = $0.07 per mile. Rounded up to the nearest cent.

With Winter beginning in a few days, we’ll also see temperatures drop further in this region. And as there are loads of anecdotal horror stories from people* about how bad Winter is and how it destroys the range, it’ll be an interesting three months.

*who don’t own an EV

Additions to Wattson

On By JohnIn uncategorizedLeave a comment

Some of the additions, in no particular order, I’ve made to Wattson shortly since bringing him home.

  • J1772 Adapter – this was included with the car. I can’t foresee needing it, but I’ll keep it in the kit. You can also find them elsewhere online.
  • A Karen lock – for the J1772 adapter. It’s sad that this is a thing, but it will discourage people from casually pulling the charger out.
  • Mobile Connector – also included with the car.
  • Wall Connector – also received it with the car. But, I won’t have a chance to install it until we have a house. We also need a high-amperage receptacle.
  • Control screen sunshade – similar to this. I wanted the red one. Unfortunately, I think it’s too stark against the white interior. I’ll have to correct the problem.
  • Center console organizer.
  • All-weather floor mats.
  • Screen protector – this is an anti-glare sheet and is extremely effective.
  • Trash bins – a place for everything and everything in its place.
  • Trunk hook.
  • Air compressor – super-cheap. USB-C rechargeable. Quite effective checking and adjusting pressures with temperature changes.
  • Jack pad stabilizers. There are two different sizes. They’re not interchangeable. All North American models use 25 mm.
  • Leather door-handle covers.
  • Rear organizer.
  • Pet liner – I have white seats. I have a dog. She has paws and claws. I’d rather not hasten the deterioration of the upholstery. She still doesn’t understand riding in the back seat.
  • Snow chains – König chains. See the important notes on Snow Chains, below.
  • Roof rack – yes, it does, indeed, degrade the air flow around the car. I don’t care. It makes the vehicle more utilitarian than just a hatch-back. See note below on Roof Rack.
  • Tow package – Yes, a tow package. The dual-motor Y is rated for it. Yes, you can get a cheaper hitch online and install it yourself. But you’ll be doing it all yourself.
  • Sunglasses case – Keeps my sunglasses readily at-hand.

—

Note: Snow Chains

This is a kit of two snow chains. With all-wheel drive, they go on the front axle to enhance braking, steering, and traction. I need to say it: buy snow chains in the summertime, when the weather is warm and agreeable. Learn how to put them on and and take them off the car in perfect weather. That way, you know how to put them on beforehand. It’s better than trying for the first time when it’s night, next to a heavily-traveled road, during a snowstorm.

Find a method that works for you. I like to lay them on the ground then pull forward onto the chains. Then, I’ll pull them up and hook them at the top. Same way that I’ve done as a truck driver off and on over the years.

Note: Roof Rack

Pay close attention to the installation instructions!

Yes, the car does, indeed, have a glass roof. The rails are rated for 165 lb evenly distributed across and between them.

It has you measure distances from the front and rear edge to determine where the anti-abrasion tape needs to go. But here’s a tip: Use a bright light to help find the locating-arrows on the glass top. That’s where the tapes go.

The instructions also have a suggested torque listed, there’s a reason. Use an actual torque wrench to tighten the mount points. It calls for 2.5 to 3.5 Newton meters. That works out to 22 to 31 inch pounds — aim for 25 in. lb. Keep one of the keys in your mobile tool kit. Don’t over-torque them. Why? Did you forget that you have a glass roof? It’s sturdy. But not indestructible.

England

On By JohnIn travelLeave a comment

Now that we’ve been back to work for a week, I’ve a few thoughts:

It was a pleasant change from the previous trips a few years ago to London that consisted of making my way to the office for meetings or discussions and the like.

This time, entirely for personal reasons — to be a tourist.

So, you’d seen, of course, that I had posted a photo of the Strand (WC2), and a photo of part of the London skyline, and even a photo of The World’s End.

But now, a quick review of some other things. No photos, just thoughts:

  • A narrowboat trip on the Lady A up the Union Canal from Little Venice (next to Paddington station) to Camden then back down again. Seemed intriguing to us because we were once full-time RV-dwellers and narrowboat-living is a thing in England and Wales.
  • A walk from Little Venice, around Hyde Park, to Mayfair, St. James’s, Whitehall, and back to Strand.
  • The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Although, with the number of people, it was really a very clear view of guards marching in and out.
  • Back up to Camden, but to see the markets on its High Street.
  • The British Museum — and honestly, you need to give yourself far more than the two hours we did.
  • A walk through Bloomsbury, Soho.
  • A very early morning to catch a bus to King’s Cross Station. Yes, there is a Platform 9-3/4 tribute. No, we didn’t make the time to see it. We instead took the National Rail from King’s Cross up to York, 200 miles to the North primarily to see Shambles. While Shambles was our goal, we rapidly decided we’d like to visit York for much longer than we could on this trip. For the Harry Potter reference, Shambles was Rowling’s inspiration for Diagon Alley.
  • Dick Turpin — I honestly thought it was a made-up comedy bit. Nope. He was a real highwayman, and wasn’t nearly as jovial as Noel Fielding makes him out to be.
  • Clifford’s Tower. Read its history.
  • York Castle Museum.
  • Torture Dungeon. Okay, this was quite fun.
  • We had an opera day in Soho — well, Piccadilly Circus, really: Phantom of the Opera on Haymarket then Moulin Rouge on Sherwood a few hours later.
  • Tower of London and a brief history of London… from its founding in 43 AD to present day. Also its guards — but I’ve no idea whether they’re Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish, or Welsh Guards. I simply don’t know enough about them to form the question. But an observation: their uniforms and movements don’t seem to be to the same degree of precision as I was once accustomed to.

Now that I think back on it, we did, indeed, see a great many things. Far, far, more to see and experience along with more and longer trips are in order.

“Real Customer Complaints”

On By JohnIn education isn't, human condition, sociologyLeave a comment

Found on the internet – no idea if it’s legit, but funny and a bit sad if it is:

THESE ARE ACTUAL COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY “THOMAS COOK VACATIONS” FROM DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS:
1. “On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food.”
2. “They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax.”
3. “We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish.”
4. “We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price.”
5. “The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room.”
6. “We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow.”
7. “It’s lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallartato close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during ‘siesta’ time – this should be banned.”
8. “No-one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared.”
9. “Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers.”
10. “I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts.”
11. “The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun.”
12. “It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair.”
13. “I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends’ three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller.”
14. “The brochure stated: ‘No hairdressers at the resort.’ We’re trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service.”
15. “When we were in Spain, there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners.”
16. “We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning.”
17. “It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel.”
18. “I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes.”
19. “My fiancée and I requested twin-beds when we booked, but instead we were placed in a room with a king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be re-reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked.”