Month: December 2019

B “You’re fat!”

A “I am not!”

B “You’re a fat clown!”

A “Am not.”

And on it goes. Sounds like a schoolyard argument between two second graders. If they were older, perhaps in high school, then the swear words would start to come out:

B “Listen, &#£¥, you’re a fat, annoying, and out of shape idiot!”

A “So what, you ¥§£*#*.”

And if in their twenties and thirties:

B “I challenge you to a push-up contest!”

A “A what?”

B “You heard me, you fat F***!”

A “What does a push-up contest have to do with what I asked you?”

B “Let’s go! Drop and give me ten!”

If in their fifties:

B “I am in much better shape than you!”

A “And how is that somehow relevant to what I asked you about?”

B “Come on, let’s go for a run, chubby.”

If in their seventies:

B “You have implied that my logical thought processes are not as not as good as they use to be.”

A “I am 86, and I know that I am not as sharp as I used to be. At 77 you are getting up there . . . close to me.

B “Well that’s you, and I am not you, pop. Let have an IQ test challenge!”

And finally if this exchange were to involve a politician, perhaps campaigning in Iowa:

B “You are a liar, old man!”

A “You’ve been a Congress for fifty years, and what good have you done for us?”

B “I’ve around for a long time, and I know how to get things done.”

A “I hear stuff on MSNBC, . . . 

B “You don’t listen to MSNBC. They do not say any bad stuff about me. Look I am not going to get into an argument with you, man. Look fat – . . . here’s the deal, here’s the deal, . . . “ 

A “Mr. Biden, you know what it looks like? You do not have any more backbone than Trump does.” I am an independent, and I will not be voting for you, sir.”

B “I knew that. You’re too old to vote for me.”

The latter exchange occurred, almost verbatim, on 12/5/19 at a campaign event for Joe Biden (B in the last paragraph) in New Hampton, Iowa. Gentleman A, a retired farmer, was trying to ask candidate Biden a question about his son, and Joe obviously did not appreciate the question. In the next six months this exchange or just selected parts of it will be played over and over, although probably not on MSNBC. After that it be no longer necessary, as Sleepy Joe will be out, and 12/5 will be known as the start of Biden’s Waterloo. Calling a politically independent senior citizen fat and old, was not a smart move, Joe!

Today’s piece is specifically for those who think that this blog is purely a slanted political far-right piece of crap . . . I maintain that it is always not a piece of crap. I thought that it might be nice to escape from all of this impeachment nonsense, and go solely for an educational piece. To start, especially for those of you who do not live in California, a little bit of basic geography.
California is very similar to a rectangle – very long and relatively narrow. There are mountains to the east and the long arid San Joaquin Valley in the center. It is in this valley that the majority of crops are grown, and crops equal food. (As you drive through this Central Valley, there are multiple signs that stress that water is the key to growing food, and that when the water is cutoff, bad things happen, not only to farms but also to jobs. We can all thank the Democrats in this state for the sad situation in the Central Valley.) But I digress! 

Throughout the length of the state, from the top to the bottom, including through the Central Valley, runs Interstate 5. However there is a problem for I-5 when it transitions from the Central Valley to Los Angeles. That problem is the steep Tehachapi Mountains which separate the Central Valley from the basin in which Los Angeles sits. In 1970, the long awaited solution to getting across the Tehachapis was finished. Since then I-5, an eight lane divided highway, (four lanes traveling north separated from four lanes traveling south) provides a way that cars, trucks, and buses can now go up, over and through the Tejon Pass, which sits at just over 4100 feet in the Tehachapi Mountains. (Actually at the junction of the southwestern Tehachapi Mountains and the San Emigilio Mountains.) The locals call this “The Grapevine.” Interestingly this nickname was given to this area because of grapes growing in the area, and not because of the winding traversing roads that use to be used. Technically “The Grapevine” refers to the steep 5.5 mile grade at the northern end of Tejon Pass, although what most locals call “The Grapevine” is the entire eight lane divided highway from the Santa Clarita Valley, up, over and through Tejon Pass, down to the San Joaquin Valley south of Bakersfield. Tejon Pass is just over 4100 ft. elevation, and gets hot in the summer and gets closed oftentimes in the winter because of snow. Yes, The Grapevine was closed on the night before Thanksgiving because of snow. It is 6.5 miles from Fort Tejon to the bottom of Grapevine Grade coming down northward after Tejon Pass, and this is potentially the most dangerous area for accidents with inclement weather. Last week while driving south, just starting up the incline, there was a horrendous backup of traffic on the northern downslope. I estimated that the backup was at least 20 miles. Twenty miles of nobody moving across all four downhill lanes. That backup was apparently due to jack-knifed semis on the downhill side because a wind gust blew one semis across a lane line into a second semi. The problem for these travelers is that once they are past Hwy 138, there is no way to get off . . . ”Oops, Google did say there was a backup on The Grapevine, but OMG!”
I now know a lot more about “The Grapevine” than anybody will ever need to know, but wasn’t it fun, not talking about politics? BTW:”Tejon” means “badger,” as one of the early explorers to the area found a dead badger near the bottom of the pass. (Another useless piece of information, except possibly on your future Jeopardy appearance.)

While driving back and forth to Sacramento over the Thanksgiving holiday, I pondered what would happen to holiday travel if the liberal supposition of having five million Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) on the road in California by 2030 were to come true. From my house in San Diego to just outside of Sacramento, where my daughters and their families live, is 565 miles one way. It typically takes from nine to eleven hours to traverse these 565 miles, including the stopping for 30-60 minutes to get gas and food. The average speed during the long stretch of driving on I-5 in the San Joaquin Valley is 70+mph.
For a trip like this traveling by ZEV has a few basic problems. The most obvious problem is the distance that a ZEV can go on a charge. A new Nissan Leaf can get close to 200 miles on a charge, while a moderately expensive Tesla can get approximately 300 miles on a full charge. This translates into stooping 2-3 times to recharge the battery if you fully recharge each time that you stop. In addition, charging the battery does not occur instantaneously. At a Tesla Super-charging station it takes 30 minutes for a 170 mile super-charge,and if the ZEV is being charged at a standard  220 volt charger, it could take up to 10 hours for a full charge. Assuming the best possible scenario (30min of super-charging for 170 miles in a new ZEV), the recharging time would add close to 2 hours for this standard trip, compared to 0.5-1.0 hours for a gasoline powered car. However, obviously this down time of only close to two hours assumes that there is no wait at any of the charging stations. After personally observing the number of cars on the road for this Thanksgiving holiday travel, the chance of driving up to an empty charging station is nil. “Wait your turn in line like everybody else!”

Likewise, this estimated optimum mile capacity per recharge is for new ZEVs and is not nearly as good for the older used models. What percent of Californians can afford a new $60k Tesla . . . not many who are driving the 565 miles, instead of flying. As many of you are probably aware, a charge will provide for the maximal number of miles as long as the ZEV is not traveling over 60 mph. For every 10 mph over 60mph about 50 miles of potential distance is sacrificed. Trying to keep your speed at 60 mph on I-5 in the San Joaquin Valley or while going down the Grapevine can only be considered a suicide gesture!

I could go on, but my point is that thousands of ZEVs cannot be driven expeditiously for any significant distance during the times when one expects significant holiday traffic. Note that I said “thousands,” and not millions. Those liberal dreamers who envision 5 million ZEVs by 2030 have never driven from San Diego to Sacramento, or possibly have not even driven from San Diego to Los Angeles!