[Toshi]

First ride of the season. Cold.

Started up Zorro as Green Mountain was posted as very muddy. Zorro has incredibly tacky mud. Made it about 500 feet in before the bike was so packed up with mud that it wouldn’t move. This mud caked onto my 5-10s, filled all the voids on the pedals. It was quite something.

So we turned around, pried out some mud with a stick, went up the road, and did part of Dakota Ridge proper from where it intersects the road. North out and back and then almost to the upper Zorro intersection and back to the road.

Dakota Ridge itself was fine to ride. Tire tracks left but not sinking in. No trail damage.

 

[Toshi]

 

[Toshi]

An illustration of how adding a BEV might change one’s utility bills.

One year ago was already post-RAV4 EV and the PHEV minivan was a constant. That our NG use stayed constant is a nice internal control.

 

[Toshi]

As of today the Colorado Department of Revenue has accepted my extra documentation regarding last year's PacHy and Tesla purchases, so sweet tax refund cash dollars will be redistributed from my fellow Coloradans to me, just as I had claimed on my original return.

Aw yiss

(They needed extra documentation to confirm that the dealers hadn't credited me the amount up front, which they are allowed to do but which only Nissan does here in reality, afaik. They took a solid 8 weeks to confirm this trivial thing.)

 

[CBJ]

Not impressed:

Waymo’s self-driving cars are able to consistently paying attention to many other road users simultaneously. It’s able to do so thanks to a multi-layered suite of sensors that see all around the car in 360 degrees. This makes Waymo a very careful driver. Here, a Waymo car has approached a crowded school crossing and waits for the children to cross.

Did you read the comments?

After last weeks Tesla presentations I come here expecting higher quality self driving news than that

 

[Toshi]

I try not to read the comments a la @SkaredShtles . I was impressed by each of those videos. Specific corner cases that will need to be addressed.

 

[Pesqueeb]

As of today the Colorado Department of Revenue has accepted my extra documentation regarding last year's PacHy and Tesla purchases, so sweet tax refund cash dollars will be redistributed from my fellow Coloradans to me, just as I had claimed on my original return.

Aw yiss

(They needed extra documentation to confirm that the dealers hadn't credited me the amount up front, which they are allowed to do but which only Nissan does here in reality, afaik. They took a solid 8 weeks to confirm this trivial thing.)

Hey Doc,
I suppose I could look it up, but is the state credit still 5000? Surely it must phases out similar to the federal tax credit?

 

[Toshi]

Hey Doc,
I suppose I could look it up, but is the state credit still 5000? Surely it must phases out similar to the federal tax credit?

Still 5k this year. 4K in 2020, 2.5k 2021, 0 after that. Phaseout unrelated to Fed.

 

[Toshi]

I saw a very cool, unique pickup truck today while filling up at Costco gas.

F-550. White single cab. Black flatbed with an extra tire/wheel strapped down behind the cab.

19.5" black steel wheels, SRW rear setup.

Probably about 33-34" very workman-like AT meats on there--no flash at all.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

I saw a very cool, unique pickup truck today while filling up at Costco gas.

F-550. White single cab. Black flatbed with an extra tire/wheel strapped down behind the cab.

19.5" black steel wheels, SRW rear setup.

Probably about 33-34" very workman-like AT meats on there--no flash at all.

what are the possible uses for that?
tow truck? crane for electric lines?

I read the F150 is a half ton truck. The Ram 2500 a 3/4 ton, and the F350 a 1 ton truck.

In the rest of the world, The hilux/ranger/bt-50 are 1 ton trucks (manufacturer spec). I have driven a hilux with a 1 ton payload without much hassle actually. I´d say they are adecuately equipeed for that (Mazda/Ford even say they can carry up to 1.2 ton)

Hell, In an emergency I have even placed a 1.6 ton forklift battery on a hilux for a 20 mile ride and surprisingly, it didnt bottom out (long braking distances were long, though)

 

[Toshi]

I think just for the dude's own work and play. Maybe carting some sleds around in the winter? No crane on it, no commercial logos anywhere, and the dude was in civilian clothes. (I complimented him on the truck and confirmed with him that those were 19.5"s.)




Re: "half ton" pickups.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content/dam/brand_ford/en_us/brand/resources/general/pdf/guides/19Towing_Ford_F150_Oct25.pdf

The nomenclature for pickups is stupid. Take the F-150 for example. For payload it can vary from 1,200 lbs (Raptor) to 3,270 lbs (2019 F-150 XL regular cab long bed 4x2 with the 5.0 and a special heavy duty payload package).

Looking it up on that chart it looks like it's more like 1,800 lbs is typical for what we see in real life F-150 configurations (4x4 crew cab XLT or Lariat).




The F-550 that that dude built (noting that his SRW conversion may have changed things) had a cool 18,500 lb bumper-tow rating and a 20,300 lbs rating for a 5th wheel. It was clearly gas and the shortest 145" wheelbase as Costco doesn't do diesel. The crazy thing is that with the stock DRW setup his payload capacity would have been between 10,610-11,670 lbs depending on what max GVWR was picked.

 

[Toshi]

Today was a very emotionally satisfying day.

Dropping my girls off at school, with Yuna blowing kisses and making a heart with her hands at the window to see me off.

A ride snuck in where I scared myself just the right amount.

A half day of work with people that I enjoy working with, and getting an email while there that said another paper got accepted (#32, I think).

Having the elder kids super excited to see me when I joined them at the food trucks after work.

Then a musically and emotionally satisfying concert in which I and the group both stepped up. The ending of our last piece, Maslanka 10, was particularly touching: quoting a Bach chorale with one part sung in a tribute to the guy’s father, who had sung and played such chorales every day for decades.

Not all days can be like this, but this was a particularly good and balanced day.

 

[Westy]

what are the possible uses for that?

Commuting
Bitching about gas prices
Sticking it to the libs

 

[Toshi]

SkyNet approaches. (Not my photo—my 3 has been just fine since the driver’s seat with too much play was replaced.)

 

[Toshi]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/04/us/key-fobs-north-olmsted-ohio.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage

 

[Toshi]

Attn @stoney

Not your generation but still cool to see transformed.

 

[dan-o]

E34s Ms are my favorite.
I almost picked up a mint 3.8 when living in NL but getting it back to the states intact proved more of a headache than I wanted to deal with.

 

[Toshi]

Whoops.

See the dog circled here? He apparently ran out in front of the Cherokee:

Neither I nor my fancy car responded in time.

Now I get to find out how slow Tesla's body shop really is.

 

[dan-o]

Good thing you weren’t having sex on Auto Pilot when that happened.

 

[CBJ]

Maybe you need to drive with the auto pilot on all the time

 

[6thElement]

Now I get to find out how slow Tesla's body shop really is.

Might take a while according to this unless you run a YT car channel so Tesla expedites your parts delivery.

 

[Toshi]

Maybe you need to drive with the auto pilot on all the time

Such intersections must wait for those Full Self Driving features to roll out later this year. Interestingly the car didn’t squawk at me or anything.

Might take a while according to this unless you run a YT car channel so Tesla expedites your parts delivery.

I have heard such stories from a few sources. Good thing I have the Land Cruiser, eh?

 

[roflbox]

Might take a while according to this unless you run a YT car channel so Tesla expedites your parts delivery.

Based on the number of motor vehicles he has / rents / buys with some frequency, this is not outside the realm of feasibility

 

[SkaredShtles]

Neither I nor my fancy car responded in time.

I'm gonna tell you what I tell my teenage drivers - pay attention and don't run into shit.

I know that doesn't help in this instance... but for future reference.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

:Nelson Muntz haha!:

 

[Toshi]

So deemed by my insurance as my fault, which makes sense since I was behind him irrespective of the stopping for dog hijinx. Oh well.

 

[Toshi]

“My hero is my daddy because he lets me sleep in his bed when I’m scared.”

-Mariko, who nailed the beard, too

 

[Toshi]

In non-fender bender topics:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1126611407984779264

We could have gamed an LA/NY Autopilot journey last year, but when we do it this year, everyone with Tesla Full Self-Driving will be able to do it too

Recall that I sprung for Full Self Driving back in March. So if Elon Time(tm) proves to be accurate I should have this capability by year's end!

Also new news on the VW ID Buzz:

VW said that there will be two options. The most high-end will feature an all-wheel drive system with a total output of 369 horsepower powered by a massive 111 kWh battery pack. Surprisingly, especially after their previous range comparisons, VW also offered the estimated range based on the U.S. driving cycle, which the company claims will be 270 miles.

The German automaker claims that this version of the I.D. BUZZ can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 5 seconds and has a top speed of 99 mph.

Another less expensive version will feature a rear-wheel drive setup producing up to 268 hp and a smaller 83 kWh battery for a range closer to 200 miles.

 

[Nick]

So deemed by my insurance as my fault, which makes sense since I was behind him irrespective of the stopping for dog hijinx. Oh well.

otherwise known as "being in physical control of the motor vehicle at all times".

 

[Toshi]

From my own billing activity report for last month. Relevant to discussion of Medicare for All, etc. From this it’s already apparent that the government is the payor for 54% of my practice (Medicare, Medicaid, and government managed care, whatever that latter thing is).

 

[CBJ]

Tesla, for better or worse, is not cautious, so they seem to plan to push self-driving features (albeit with supervision still required) to the whole fleet as soon as possible, provided the owners have ponied up for the Full Self Driving software package as I have.

Its funny that the tech is pre installed in all the cars but you have to pay to turn it on. I guess its in there for the training purpose plus maybe they will even offer it turned on for free if you offer robot taxi. The car ownership business model is under change for sure.

 

[6thElement]

/waiting to see if @Toshi 's victim is on a Frank Azar commercial soon

 

[Toshi]

So Esurance truly does seem to believe that it will all buff right out:

$822.79 estimate, all labor save for $5. Yeah, we'll see about that...

 

[Pesqueeb]

I'm in just for the number of "compliance" cars that would become available.

 

[6thElement]

@Toshi what's your fastest motorbike time to do Belcher, LH and Whippletree back to the lot?

I just did a human powered 1hr15 but I've 83 miles/14000ft vert in my legs from the prior 3 days.

 

[Nick]

@Toshi what's your fastest motorbike time to do Belcher, LH and Whippletree back to the lot?

I just did a human powered 1hr15 but I've 83 miles/14000ft vert in my legs from the prior 3 days.

Dude.

 

[SkaredShtles]

@Toshi what's your fastest motorbike time to do Belcher, LH and Whippletree back to the lot?

I just did a human powered 1hr15 but I've 83 miles/14000ft vert in my legs from the prior 3 days.

I can't even get up Belcher in that sort of time.

 

[Pesqueeb]

@Toshi what's your fastest motorbike time to do Belcher, LH and Whippletree back to the lot?

I just did a human powered 1hr15 but I've 83 miles/14000ft vert in my legs from the prior 3 days.

#humblebrag

 

[Toshi]

@Toshi what's your fastest motorbike time to do Belcher, LH and Whippletree back to the lot?

I just did a human powered 1hr15 but I've 83 miles/14000ft vert in my legs from the prior 3 days.

You are an animal.

Right around 45 minutes for the short loop is my moped record. 48?

 

[6thElement]

*Maths mistake above, it was 123miles/14000ft from Sat/Sun/Mon rides. So not as impressive as I originally mistakenly posted while waiting for Evan at the Lithic lot for a couple of NT loops. Apologies

But I did add another 22miles/3600ft to my totals today.

No way can I compete with 45minutes for that loop. I might get close to an hour with fresh legs, but not a chance I could knock another 15minutes off that.

@Nick your taco joint was out of tacos on a Tuesday. Evan will be lodging a complaint with you alongside mine.