Posted inCars

Best description of Tesla Full Self-Driving I’ve ever come across

I"m a big fan of Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised). It's what tilted the scale in favor of my getting a 2026 Model Y Juniper last May. Taking a test drive and trying FSD out convinced me that a Tesla needed to replace my Subaru Crosstrek. Since, I've been using FSD 95% of the time. Tesla keeps track of that stat automatically. It feels strange to drive the car manually, which I mainly do when parking, especially in a parking garage, given that FSD sometimes handles parking fine, but sometimes does decidedly weird things. It's kind of difficult to describe why…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Sustainability

A very strong El Nino means upcoming warmer weather for Oregon and maybe more precipitation

El Nino is coming. A story in the Oregonian describes what El Nino is and what its usual effects are. An El Niño event occurs when central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures become unusually warm, shifting weather patterns across the globe. Historically, El Niños have caused severe heat and droughts in parts of Asia and Australia, warmer and drier conditions in Canada and the northern United States and heavy rainfall and flooding in California and the southwest U.S. Ten days ago the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center said that there's a 90 percent chance the upcoming El Nino…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

My 1966 high school graduation speech describes the United States in 2026

I had one semester of college French. So one of the few French sayings I know is Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. "The more it changes, the more it is the same thing." That was the thought I had after I found my 1966 graduation speech at Woodlake Union High School (go Tigers!) in central California yesterday. My wife and I just had our carpets replaced, so everything had to be taken out of drawers and cabinets. Then replaced. When I was putting an unorganized pile of my early writings in a somewhat more organized state before…
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Posted inCars

Here’s 20 reasons why I’m liking my Tesla Model Y Premium more than any other car

Having gotten my driver's license at 16, I've driven lots of different cars in the past 61 years (from that you math wizards can figure out how old I am). This makes the title of this blog post a huge endorsement of the 2026 Tesla Model Y Juniper -- a car I'm liking much more than I thought I would after I leased a red model about nine weeks ago. In mid-June I listed some of the things I enjoyed about the car. Here's an updated list, now that I'm considerably more familiar with my Tesla. In no particular order...…
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Posted inSports

Spain deserved to win the World Cup. Pleasingly, Trump hates Spain.

It took several hours of dedicated concentration, keeping the focus on a clear goal, not being distracted by extraneous goings-on. I could be speaking about the Spain soccer team's marvelous 1-0 win over Argentina in the World Cup final today, but actually I'm referring to me. Because I exhibited world-class television-watching discipline in how I managed to leave our house at 12:30 pm, half an hour after the final started, returned home at about 3 pm, and managed to watch all of the recording I'd made of the World Cup final (except the halftime show) without learning the outcome. Didn't…
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Posted inSports

Today I became a soccer fan. Thank you World Cup!

I had a breakthrough in my soccer watching today. My habitual joke -- which isn't really a joke because it's been true -- is that the only way I can watch soccer is record the match, then fast forward at triple or quadruple speed until I see the score has changed, then go back a minute or two to see how the goal was scored. Something changed today. I started watching my recording of the England vs. Norway World Cup quarterfinal match and didn't feel an urge to fast forward. Yes, I did press the 30 second advance button a…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Mention of possible Salem data center on Facebook stirs up fears

While lots of people, me definitely included, find AI models like Claude (my new cyber friend) really helpful and interesting, the data centers that make AI possible are viewed with considerably more skepticism. For good reason. Data centers typically consume huge amounts of electricity, need lots of water to cool the massive amount of computer servers, make plenty of noise, and in general have become a flashpoint for communities who don't want them to harm the quality of life of residents. So it wasn't surprising that a post today on the Salem City Council Forum Facebook page stimulated numerous concerned…
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Posted inFood and drink Salem

Royal Thai restaurant in south Salem has a great Pra Ram entree

I love Thai food. But I'm picky when it comes to what I order. Being a health-minded vegetarian cuts out a bunch of Thai dishes. I don't like green or red peppers, so that's another no-no. And while I like curry dishes, I prefer entrees with rice. So Pra Ram usually is what I order at Thai restaurants. Googling its origins just now, so I could sound knowledgeable in this blog post, I was surprised to learn from a seemingly reputable source -- Claude, my favorite AI model -- that Pra Ram is viewed by some like Chop Suey, a…
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Posted inCars

Warning: ask me how I’m liking my Tesla Model Y Juniper at your own risk

You know how it goes. Sometimes before arriving at a social gathering, a wife or husband will say to their partner, "Be sure not to mention _______ to Kurt; once he starts talking about this, he never shuts up." That _______ could be fishing, golf, a trip to Europe, his job, or anything that Kurt finds way more interesting than anyone else at the party. So you've got to be careful in choosing conversation topics around him. At all costs, avoid any mention of his passion unless you enjoy listening to monologues. I sympathize with guys (and gals) like Kurt,…
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Posted inEntertainment Uncategorized

Beowulf movie is a 2007 hidden treasure that I just enjoyed

I have no idea how I learned of the 2007 Beowulf movie, which I never saw back then. I use Apple's Reminders app to keep track of movies and streaming shows that seem enticing. Beowulf has been on that list for quite a while. I just got around to watching it. Enjoyed it a lot. It was worth the $3.95, I think it was, that Apple TV charged me to buy the movie. Couldn't find a free way to stream Beowulf, though maybe there is one. It features some excellent actors: John Malkovich, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright, and…
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Posted inCars Home life

If you’re a Tesla owner, beware of Tesstudio

Buyer beware. That's always good advice. It's especially good advice if you're thinking about buying something from Tesstudio, which sells Tesla accessories and has horrible customer service. My tale of Tesstudio woe hasn't reached a conclusion yet. But I've learned enough about the company to make me want to get this blog post warning out into cyberspace as soon as possible. As a new Model Y Juniper owner, I was concerned that the large glass roof would heat up my car too much in the summer. Actually, I've learned that this isn't a major concern here in western Oregon, as…
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Posted inSports

Oregon beat Oregon State in baseball regional, but both are winners to me

I thought it was screwy when the pairings for this year's NCAA baseball playoffs were announced, and the Eugene regional had Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, and Yale. Huh? How could it be that the surviving original members of the PAC-12 conference, Oregon State and Washington State, were in the same regional double elimination tournament hosted by Oregon, along with Yale? But baseball works in mysterious ways, so I tried to look on the bright side -- even though I had been hoping that both Oregon and Oregon State would advance past the regional stage. Pleasingly, Oregon and Oregon State…
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Posted inCars

Meet my end-of-life crisis car: a 2026 Tesla Model Y Premium

I'm too old to have a mid-life crisis. So I'm calling my just-leased Tesla Model Y my end-of-life crisis car. While it isn't a red convertible with a beautiful blonde sitting in the passenger seat, I can check two of those three boxes: the Tesla is red and my beautiful wife of 36 years , Laurel, is blonde. (Note: 36 years is how long we've been married, not her age.) Here I am with the car in our driveway. We picked up the 2026 Model Y Premium from the Salem dealership two days ago, May 27. The car arrived more…
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Posted inCars

Goodbye BMW iX3. Hello Tesla Model Y. I’ve decided who I love the most.

A test drive made a heck of a lot of difference. On May 6 I wrote "I’m one step closer to having a 2027 BMW iX3. Sadly, it’s a small step." That was when I put down $1,000 on a reservation deposit for BMW's new electric vehicle with 434 miles of range and fast charging. I wasn't wild about the styling or color choices, but was fine with silver. After paying the $1,000, I figured it made sense to check out the main competition to the iX3 in my mind, Tesla's Model Y. I'd never even sat in one, much…
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Posted inCars Current affairs Uncategorized

Loving Tesla doesn’t mean I love Elon Musk. Loving Washington Post doesn’t mean I love Jeff Bezos.

I usually don't read comments on Facebook posts where I've shared a link to one of my blog posts. It isn't that I don't care what people think about what I've written. It's more that after I write something, I feel good that I've expressed how I feel about some subject, and now others are free to express how they feel about what I felt. Today I made an exception. My wife was driving us back to Salem from Eugene, where we'd visited our granddaughter, Evelyn, who is finishing her first year at the University of Oregon. Entertaining myself with…
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Posted inCars

Driving a Tesla around Salem with Full Self-Driving, I was super impressed

Amazingly, I had never ridden in a Tesla until today, after I'd made an appointment to try out Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which for me is the main reason I'd choose a Tesla over other electric cars. So not only was I able to ride in a Tesla, after Rylan, the general manager (hopefully I recall his name correctly), took me for a demonstration ride with him in the driver's seat, when we returned to the dealership on Mission Street I was given the opportunity to take out the Model Y on my own. I came away really impressed with FSD.…
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Posted inGrowing older Home life

When it comes to friends, quality is more important than quantity

It's been a while since I've heard the proverb, two's company, three's a crowd.  But it fits with an important conclusion in a story I came across in the May 11, 2026 issue of TIME magazine, "The Myth of the Adult Friend Group." Here's a PDF version of the story in case that link doesn't work for you. The Myth of the Adult Friend Group The author, Meehika Barua, speaks of chasing the fantasy of TV shows like Friends and Sex and the City where a tight-knit group of close friends hang out daily, sharing the ups and downs of…
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Posted inCars

I’m one step closer to having a 2027 BMW iX3. Sadly, it’s a small step.

In late March of this year I wrote, "With Tesla easing out of the car-making business, the BMW iX3 looks appealing." Excerpt: For my next car, I’d like to either get a plug-in hybrid or an all-electric vehicle. Rumor has it that the 2027 Hyundai Tucson PHEV will have 62 miles of electric range, up from 33 miles in the current model. That would beat the RAV 4 PHEV. So I’m keeping my eyes open for news about the 2027 Tucson, which will feature a major redesign. As long as I’m car window-shopping, the recently released (in Europe) BMW iX3…
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Posted inDogs Home life

Our rural south Salem property is looking good in its Spring greenness

We don't get a lot of visitors to our home in rural south Salem, Oregon. I like to share photos on my blog, so all the work we put into our property -- either hired, which we're doing more of as we age, or directly by my wife and I -- gets more views than it otherwise would. This is my favorite view of our yard. Our house is barely visible on the far left. Trees abound. The large old oak in the center of the photo, at the end of the lawn, lost a huge limb in the Great…
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Posted inHealth Philosophy

Treat life like a science experiment: embrace trial and error

Many years ago, a female massage therapist said, while we were chatting during the session, "I make more mistakes than my sister because I try more new things." I've never forgotten that line. It often comes to mind when I make a mistake, which is frequently. Mistakes bother me, especially when I should know better and simply screw up because of a lack of concentration, my mind having drifted off to another time and place instead of focusing on the task at hand. Yet if I make a mistake while trying something new, I do my best to look kindly…
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