First Luxury car ever

December 19, 2019. I never had a BMW, Benz, Jaguar, Cadillac, Lincoln, Porsche, Audi, Lexus or Infiniti.  I once owned a stodgy '98 Volvo station wagon, which I wanted to like. After 13 years, I gladly sold it with its oil leak. I much preferred the 2011 Hyundai Elantra I owned after that.

I bought a 2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid in 2016 to replace the Hyundai Elantra. It was luxury wrapped around a mid performance drivetrain (0 to 60 in 8.5 seconds). It had many features that I enjoyed. But I didn't know that Consumer Reports said it had a harsher ride than earlier versions and more road noise, though less than the Elantra.

What I liked about my Toyota Avalon Hybrid:
proximity sensor for key fob
- lights turned on at night on approaching door
- The doors would unlock once I slipped a finger over the handle of one of the front doors.
- and I could open the trunk if I had the key on me.
dual climate control zones (left and right)
moisture sensing windshield wipers--they mostly worked.
maps and navigation
trunk, not hatchback
heated seats, front and back
electric seat adjustment

blind side monitoring

Good fuel economy for a large heavy car.

Yakima made clips to fit a roof rack for taking my canoe to the river.

What I didn't like about my Toyota Avalon Hybrid: 

the rear seats didn't fold down

I couldn't dim rear view mirror more

It didn't have: Lane centering, adaptive cruise

the seat fans didn't really cool

rear window screen--and it rattled

cold steering wheel in winter

more road noise than it should have had, per consumer reports

too much reflection from dashboard:  too much chrome in all the right places that a bright sunny day would tell you about.

no front, side cameras

I was always loathe to push the accelerator for fear of penalizing the fuel economy. 

The Yakima clip system wanted to slip off.  I had to make a rack from wood, but still want to make a steel rack.

I sold the Toyota yesterday for many reasons.
For one, I was always uncomfortable buying a car made in Japan, no matter how well it was made, in view of my mom's bias against almost all things Japanese, which came about from their rapacious treatment of the Chinese in World War II. It was 74 years ago, true, but she was there!  She has forgiven, but not forgotten. And she won't reward any company from that island if she can help it. The prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, is a descendant of a a WW II general (and likely war criminal).  Abe has not made a sincere apology for atrocities and has further honored Japaneses perpetrators of war crimes.
For another, Toyota has sided with GM and Fiat Chrysler in their acquiescence of the federal government's  recent relaxation of fuel economy standards. Despite Toyota's #1 sales of hybrid vehicles, their overall fuel economy isn't that great as they continue to produce thirsty vehicles like their trucks and SUV's.  As of November 2019, California's government announced it would halt all purchases of new vehicles from General Motors, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and other automakers that backed the White House's decision to strip the state of its power to regulate tailpipe emissions. 

Bye, bye Toyota. 

Hello Tesla. 

The back story.  My Tesla-itis has been begging a scratch for years. I admired the design and the brash attitude of its CEO, Elon Musk. No tailpipe emissions. Supercharging all over the USA.  Supercharging right here in town. I have bought and sold and bought back Tesla stock--I still hold shares. I've been trying to talk my mom into getting one for her next lease instead of a gas gulping Mercedes Benz. She countered, telling me I should buy one for myself--forget the cost, I deserved one, she said, in almost those words.  Four days ago, I saw that Tesla's online Seattle/Portland inventory included a red 2019 Model S.  Smitten, I opened an account, completed the online forms and paid the deposit.  I just needed to unload my Toyota. 

Sell or donate the Toyota? The recent tax law changes raised the standard deduction so I wouldn't get much for donating it: sell! 
Dealer or private? Dealer: they'll pay less, but I don't need to screen them and they won't drive the car off to a chop shop. Yesterday, I sold the car and deposited the check (December 18). 

After six hours on two buses, a train and two more buses, I walked into the Tesla store in Bellevue at 2 pm today. At 4 pm, I drove away in that red Tesla.

The Model S is an amazing car. It is a vast upgrade from the Toyota Avalon. It likely doesn't have many safety and convenience features that an internal combustion engine car costing thousands less doesn't have. The look exudes a stately air of simple, luxurious elegance. The key fobs have no visible buttons. You can squeeze it, though--a single squeeze locks the car and a double squeeze unlocks the car.   The car's proximity sensor unlocks doors and the hatchback as I approach with the key fob. The door handles slide out of their aerodynamically flush home position. At the same time the side view mirrors fold out from their sleep positions. 
Next: driving it home.

Back in Vegas

Sunday, January 20, 2019. My first visit to Mom's house in Vegas for this year. The partial government shutdown worried me.  If enough airport security called in sick to delay passage, I'd miss my flight. I left for the airport two hours earlier than I would have otherwise. Another upper respiratory infection, though mild, piled on top of one from which I'd mostly recovered, creating small knots of snot in my nose, and my throat. The Southwest Airlines flight had poor ventilation. I wish I'd brought the latter to the flight attendant's attention. I wanted to sleep but couldn't , because of the loud passengers sitting nearby. On final approach to the runway in Vegas, the wind rocked the plane, leavng me sweaty and unsettled as the jet taxied to the gate.

At the house, I took a shower, swallowed two pain pills, ate some of Mom's rice and egg custard and set up my hammock. I got in and slept until I awoke from the wind snapping the screen door loudly against the house. I moved to a room far from the angry door and slept on the couch.

Review: Ruta Locura Yana 2 piece adjustable trekking Pole with straps

I bought this adjustable length trekking pole set right after hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in 2015, hoping for a simpler product than the Black Diamond Carbon Distance Z, which had severe problems with the linkage between sections. Mine differs from the currently available model only in the shape of the grip and the tips which are now Black Diamond Flex-Tech Tips which accept small expendable tips in carbide and rubber. The newer grip has a more common shape with a flare at the top and a bump on the back side near the bottom, like this:

Figure 1

For a short time the pole tip was changed to the same one used on the Black Diamond Distance Z Poles, where the little basket was located 1.5" from the end--I disliked that basket for 1,000 miles--it caught roots and rocks like the latest fashion. It looks like the available tip has the basket further up, like that on most other poles. See Figure 1. One should ask why one should have a basket at all if the pole is neither intended nor tough enough for snow travel. I also question using carbide tips on any surface but slick logs or mossy boulders.

Figure 2. Expendable tips at upper right.  Removable basket at upper left.  Lower views show tips on pole ends.

. As for the pole material itself, the upper section has an outside diameter of just under 12 mm and a thickness of 1 mm. The lower section has a diameter of 9.5 mm and slides easily into the upper section. To lock the sections you thread a rod, cemented into the lower section, into a metal cylinder embedded in the far end of a rubber sleeve which expands to lock it in place inside the upper section. This locked the sections very reliably, but has not always released on demand. It likely remains expanded for a bit before relaxing and releasing the sections--pushing the sections together after loosening the lock sometimes works, but more often it requires waiting a few minutes.

Figure 3. Top: upper section. Middle: expansion fitting and bolt for hand strap. Right: lower section with expansion fitting for locking into upper section.

The hand strap is a sturdy 5/8" wide nylon/polyester strap with no contouring or padding. Another expanding plug inserted into the top section accepts a bolt that holds the strap in place. The strap adjustment is two D-rings which function as a ladder buckle. The strap fixation looks secure, but the bolt loosened after a few miles and came out. The strap itself has no padding for comfort and would serve well as a leash for users who more actively grab the grip. Those who pull down on the strap will have a more variable experience--I find almost all trekking pole straps inadequate for pulling because they run from the pole under my palms and around the back of my wrists.  The straps feel like they want to slip away from my palm on the thumb side and the pressure on the palm under the thumb hurts after a spell. Not at all ergonomic.

Figure 4

Figure 5. The strap pulls against the palm next to the thumb. Notice how the strap at the pinky side of the hand has slid away from the wrist.

My custom made straps (figures 6 & 7) wrap around my entire wrists and produce no pressure points on my palm. Nordic ski racing straps wrap completely around the wrist.

Figure 6.  Homemade trekking pole strap for more ergonomic poling, Nordic style.

Figure 7. No pressure! My hand totally relaxes during almost all parts of the stroke.  On occasion, a few muscles may activate to guide the pole tip on recovering the pole to the tip plant.

. The Yana poles adjust from 31 in to 53 in (135 cm) and separate to 27.5 in Long. My pair with straps weigh 9 oz. The newer version pictured in Figure 1 have a published weight of 4.2oz (119 grams) each, not including integrated baskets.  They are plenty stiff enough for my style of walking which at this time is mostly Urban or gentle trails. The diy pole in figures 6 & 7 is 10 mm wide from grip to tip, weighs 3.8 oz with the strap, has a fixed length, breaks down to three 17" sections linked by a shock cord and is just stiff enough. Both would suit a PCT hike from what I recall of the 2,000 miles I hiked (PCT trails are for the most part very civilized). Neither will likely last very long for rough trails or for bushwhacking, unless used very mindfully. The Black Diamond rubber tips sold at REI fit well and will likely last longer than the little tips made for the newer Flex-Tech tips.

If I didn't use the straps to help propel myself, the bolt fixing them to the pole would not have come loose. People who grab the grip and use the strap as a leash would probably enjoy this pole. If you need an adjustable length pole and don't mind waiting sometimes for the locking mechanism to loosen up you will enjoy this pole. Its collapsed weight is on the long side, though it's not a dealbreaker. Again it is really for trails that aren't too demanding. One fall on one of these poles will likely damage or destroy it. The pole is light enough that for a long trip one might consider bringing a spare along especially if on a trip with others using ultralight poles like this.

Cramps in the swimming pool

Yes, cramps in the swimming pool. I used to get those very reliably about 30 to 40 minutes into a swimming workout. Almost always I got them on my arches. Even if I wasn't pointing my toes I got them. My primary care provider said, well you can try NUUN tablets and tonic water or you can drink just orange juice and see whether that works for you. I didn't have much success with that.  Something else was going on.

I knew that muscle contracture involved a lot of things like sodium pumps, potassium calcium, magnesium and chlorine but after scouring the internet I was still confused about how to address my cramps.
About the same time I was keeping a food diary because I wanted to drop a few pounds that I had picked up over the years. An app called MyFitnessPal tallied how much protein, sodium, fat, calories and other things I was taking in. Those other things included potassium and calcium, but not magnesium. I begin to look at how much sodium, potassium and calcium I was taking in and whether I was getting enough or too much.  The app would say zero potassium in some foods that I knew contained potassium. It allowed me to make corrections in the potassium of some foods so I could continue to work with that app. Another handy tool it had--it could scan a barcode on a food product and all I would have to do was specify the amount that I ate.

I noticed that I consumed enough calcium and sodium but consistently undershot the target for potassium intake (4,700 mg) by a very large amount. After ensuring that the foods I logged did have values for the potassium they contained, I was still short. After a quick search, I amped up my potato consumption. After four or five days of meeting my potassium requirement, I had a swim workout without cramps. Since that time I have not had any significant recurrence. I still try to remember to drink diet tonic water before swimming. I also have some days when I noticeably under shoot the amount of sodium 2,300 mg--those days I feel like I'm about to get cramps, a pretty good signal for me to eat something salty.
Sometimes, I'll drop 2-4 NUUN tablets or other electrolyte product like Emergen-C into a liter water bottle to suck from at poolside.

Because of the complexity of muscle contracture and muscle cramping, I can't guarantee this approach will work for you. If you try this without getting relief then it has to be something else, for which you need a better source of information than myself.

For what it's worth, a very high source of potassium (relative to caloric content) is V8 low sodium vegetable juice (45 Cal, 851 mg per cup.  People say, eat a banana to get more potassium. One medium banana (105 cal, 26 gm) only has 422 mg of potassium--good, but not great.

Cheers!

Swimming a better butterfly

I've been working on butterfly and the other swimming strokes for years now.  What Malcolm Gladwell wrote in Outliers applies:   I need a minimum of ten thousand hours doing something to get really good at it.  I might be at 1,000 for butterfly.

Unlike the natural athlete, I have to put in pool time and watch a lot of youtube (hoping for eye->-brain->-muscle memory).  Last year, being the strongest man in the world wouldn't have helped me swim fly.  Sometimes I could swim 25 yd without feeling totally out of breath to start right away on another 25, but I'd fail to maintain my form (if you could've called it that) and momentum on the second 25 yards.  I had no idea why I was swimming well for the first 25 yards and I'm not sure I do now.  I'd made baby steps seemingly forever, with little progress for completing 50 yd of fly.  My stroke seemed to metamorphose lately.  I now often return to drills when I can't properly swim full stroke, because Einstein was right about the definition of insanity (doing the same thing and expecting different results).

My 45-60 minute workout begins with 8-12 minutes of freestyle, many laps flutter kicking, +/-200 yd dolphin kick with a snorkel, 4-8 laps dolphin kick with arms at my side, 200 yd stone skipper drill, 200-400 yd of one arm fly and 200 yd of one arm fly mixed with full stroke.  I'll toss in maybe 50-100 yd of backstroke and 100 yd of breaststroke here and there to mix it up.  I dolphin kick with fast, medium and slow tempos.  I want to feel myself move forward during both the flexion and extension phases of the dolphin kick.  Before I swim full stroke for 25 yd I want to feel good about the timing between the dolphin kick and the pull phase during the drills.  I want to time my breathing so that I've expelled maximally coming up for a breath.  I want my head to rise only enough for the breath.  I want my fly to have maximum forward motion with only as much vertical motion as necessary.

Less is more?  Less speed helps me feel the rhythm of the stroke and know where I am when I begin the arm pull.

Having other people in the pool swimming causes less distraction now.  I might watch a few people swim and think, I used to swim that badly.  Then I think, do I still swim badly, but just a better badly?  I swim OK, now--I know I do.  I used to get in the pool and jealously wince as a better swimmer cruised through the water.  Most of the time, I'm now that better swimmer.  Better swimmers still abound, but I don't let them distract me from my workout.

I don't see the point of swimming freestyle for 45 minutes--it's dreadfully and fatally boring.  The people who do that--what are they like?

December 16, 2017.  The "Aha" moments now are little "aha"s.  It has taken 'til now for me to see the benefit of letting my hips "pop" up after recovering the hands.  If they pop up (or could it be forward?) they can drive my hands and chest forward.  I have to be mindful of letting them pop during dolphin kicking laps and stone skipper laps.  And it's so easy to neglect actively extending the hips after the recovery.  All my body parts are a team.  Now, if the team captain can get them to act on time, maybe it gets easier.

Route suggestion: from Quinault to Aberdeen

About seven miles after passing through Humptulips, a sign announces YOUMANS ROAD with an arrow pointing left.

Choices 1 and 2.  2.Take YOUMANS ROAD to get out of fast traffic.  At the next junction you can choose to turn left at the Hoquiam-Wishkah Road or continue straight on the East Hoquiam Road.  Weekdays, you'll probably see large logging trucks on the Wishkah Road--I have never seen one on the East Hoquiam Road any day of the week, but it is very roughly surfaced--it's horrible.

Idiot drivers and/or their passengers have screamed and honked at me on the Wishkah Road, but never on the East Hoquiam Road.

Choice 3.  Keep going on US 101. The shoulder is wide enough for a car to park and is very smooth during riding season. Traffic depends on the season, day of the week and the time of day.

Warm showers profile pictures