Pursued by Paparazzi

Owning a Model S in our area makes for a minor dose of celebrity.   At the time of our delivery there were about 50 other Teslas in greater Pittsburgh, which made them more rare than Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc.   The biggest difference, of course, is that the Tesla is an ideal daily driver so people have a decent chance of catching one out on errands.  Even now, months later (surely Pittsburgh is nearing triple digits of Teslas), we still get a fair amount of attention.

Funny.  No one seems to notice when I drive my Subaru... which is even more rare.

High Horsepower Cleveland Day Trip

It's funny how the planning pendulum swings.   As a pre-kid hip young couple you do everything on a whim-- but then the kids arrive and ruin that.  Now you're planning around naps, eschewing long distance anything and schlepping tons of paraphernalia (items vast in their array of complexity and use), all of which conspire to keep you closer to home.  The trips you do take are planned with military precision and coordinated attacks with other similarly constrained family units.  Ah, but the kids... you feed them = they grow!

  Suddenly the kids are the ones asking to go places.  They pack their own stuff and eagerly leap into the car ready to depart-- with all their mishmash of backpacks still safely in the house.
Well... it is progress?   Whatever it is, we'll take it!  Off we go!

Cheap Shots & Missed Ops

This was originally posted/written for my Facebook account.  Despite the lack-of-Tesla-ness in it, it was partly prompted by several Tesla-prompted comments made by people who had--for years-- ignored everything else about me.  So.  Here it is on my Tesla blog because I bet some of you have had similar experiences.

It's been a while since I stepped up onto my Facebook soapbox but two trends have caught my attention and I'd like to draw yours to them as well.  Perhaps with greater transparency we-- the collective "we", not the royal one-- can endeavor to improve communication within our own circles for the betterment of all.  If I thought anyone reading this were "guilty" of these things they'd not have opportunity to read this for long (as my tolerance is very low) but rather I'm trying to encourage you to help me purge these as best we can.  For the record, I don't approach this as a master of the language arts and I'm probably guilty of both these things either due to time, attention, bad recollection or laziness.  I do claim, however, that it is the exception and not the rule.

This is long... so click on through to get to the meat.

To P or Not to P

It is, perhaps, the biggest question many prospective hand-wringing owners of the Model S wrestle with.  Should I get the Performance version?  After all, once you've talked yourself up the first $10k from a 60kwh to an 85kwh battery... what's another $12K or so for the Performance version? 

  And if you don't pay for the upgrade to the more powerful drivetrain, WILL YOU REGRET IT LATER?!

Want to know the bottom line?  Well, in my opinion and at the risk of setting off a big controversy, here goes....

June Trip 2014 - Part 9: My Neck of the Woods

After nearly a week of celebrations, reunions, traffic and sightseeing, we finally found our trip winding down.  The last stop before home would be in Somerset, PA at the Supercharger.  Serena would get a snack and so would we... and we were happy to be back in familiar surroundings.

The Somerset Supercharger is one of the cross-country lynch pins in the network... but it isn't the most impressive place to charge.

June Trip 2014 - Part 8: Honoring a Place I Avoided

I've tried for years to work up the nerve to go to the Flight 93 crash site.  As far as I know I don't have any personal connection to anyone who was killed in the attacks for September 11-- and I'm sure by now I'd know if I were.  Nor was I a first responder or a new recruit or the fulfillment of any other heroic role that was necessary that day.  I was a father, playing with my son in our living room when the attacks happened.

Watching the initial reports in shock like everyone else, I was soon summoned to work-- like many who work in the news business-- and it wasn't until later that it really hit me.  Unlike the viewers at home, glued to their televisions, I'd spent the day watching the uncensored, unfiltered news... and it was horrific.   It was sad.  And as deeply inspirational as the story of Flight 93's passenger uprising is now, it was just another tragedy on top of many tragedies that day.  I had the luxury of avoiding the crash site ever since then-- despite wanting to WANT to go-- and I had availed myself of that luxury for too long.

June Trip 2014 - Part 7: I'm a Big Fan

Well, blow me down, me-hearties!  That might not be as well known "pirate slang" as the shivering of ye olde timbers, but the meaning is the same.  It's meant to convey a sense of such amazement and shock that you are startled to the point that you could be "blown down" as if dead.  I suppose the modern equivalent would be something like "you could knock me over with a feather" but they hardly allows for a good "ARG!"

When we'd left their mountaintop my uncle had suggested that by following Route 30 we would come across some of "his" windmills.  Some?!   Well, blow me down-- we came across LOTS!!