Fred's page: 2019

I know you all get tired of me talking about how great electric cars are, for the last 20 years or so. Especially when we owned a Nissan Leaf from 2011 to 2016, and often posted additional great things we realized about driving electric. But then we had to sell our favorite car ever, when we moved 80 miles away from Phx, and realized that the 90 mile range car would not be usable for our drives “down to the valley”. We considered buying a 300 mile range Tesla, but only for a second, because they were $100,000 for a new one, and $80,000 for a used one! But now five years have gone by since they started making 300mi range models, and as with any car, you can buy a 5 yr old car for about half of what it sold for new. Except, …unlike buying a 5 year old internal combustion engine car, an EV has over 300 less moving parts to wear/break/need replacing, and so, buying a used EV is much less risky. The only part of the drive train that has moving parts is the AC motor, and they have proven to be extremely durable, many lasting over 100 years, invented 150 years ago by a guy named Tesla. The battery of an EV is the shortest longevity major component, and even it is estimated to last 500,000 miles. Even the brakes on an EV last five times as long due to regenerative braking. EV’s consistently rank at the top of reliability charts. So EV’s are the best cars to buy used, and now we are, for the first time, seeing used 300 mile range Tesla Model S’s at well under $50,000!

These were high priced luxury cars, and as such, they were driven less, and taken care of better, than any other car category. They also tend to have had more upgrades added at the time of ordering, due to the typical wealthy buyer. So you can now find these fully loaded, well-cared-for, low-miles gems on the market for reasonable prices. Quite reasonable, when you consider their low cost of ownership, due to extremely low maintenance and fuel costs. They have an equivalent-to-gasoline-expense MPG rating of 98MPGe! - And that’s only when you pay for the electricity to charge them,…there are used Tesla Model S’s on their site that include ‘free unlimited supercharging’! So you can 'fuel up' at any of their 2,000+, "300mph" (re-fills the 300 mi range capacity in 1 hr) stations for free as you travel around the country, or pay a little (and charge a little slower) at any of the other 22,000 EV charge ports around the U.S. Or just charge at home. It doesn't cost much. Even at the full retail national average price of 11cents/kw, it only costs $9.90 to 'fill the tank' and charge the 300mile range car completely from empty. 'Try doing that in a gas car. And if you have solar on your home, you’re literally driving for free, for life.

Other than being cheaper and more reliable in the long run, the Tesla Model S also happens to be one of the most sought after luxury sedans available, at any price, and including all gas cars. When you look into detailed ratings and specs, you’ll see that the Model S is the number one best over-all car for highest safety, best reliability, smoothest, quietest, most aerodynamic, most luxury features, most cargo room, highest horsepower, highest torque, quickest acceleration, highest top speed, lowest center of gravity, and best handling cars on the market. And if you get one with “D” after their trim-level name, like “85D”, or “90D”, those are ‘dual motor’, and are very capable all-wheel-drive models as well. And those are also available used for under $50k.

So, while you’re waiting for the full realization of the electric car revolution to take place, where EV’s are mainstream, and represent the majority of car models manufactured (which may take another ten years), …and even if you don’t usually buy used cars, due to their lower reliability, you might want to consider finding one of these terrific, used Model S’s, and help promote the revolution. Stats show that every one of these cars was traded in on a new Tesla, because once you drive electrically,…you’ll never go back to oil and transmissions again!

https://www.tesla.com/inventory/used/ms

http://fredbellows.blogspot.com/2013/05/do-you-like-tesla-model-s-would-you_16.html

Well, I made it to my 40th consecutive CES attendance! I thought they’d have a big ceremony for me, but,… nothin!? It was just like every other time I had gone, bright lights, big booths, full of wildly high tech, useful gadgets, all trying to re-invent the wheel, more or less. Cuz if you think about it, we’ve pretty much already invented everything we need for a comfy life on this rock. But maybe if “it just went a little faster, a little smoother, a little easier”. So that’s pretty much the mantra at one of these things.
And, oh,… of course,

everything has to be ‘smart’ now. And ‘connected’.
As long as we can ‘connect’ it, and watch how ‘smart’ it is from our phones, then there’s a reason to make, sell, and buy a new one of something. Of EVERYTHING, actually. It’s hard to think of an item we use that doesn’t have a new, ’smart’ and ‘connected’ version of it coming out for us to buy and replace our old one with. I’m actually fine with most of this. I mean, our old speakers used to just play whatever we plugged into them, but now they play anything we ‘ask’ them to, tell us the weather, turn our lights on, and even tell us a joke, if we’re bored! I heard a statistic that there were over 100 million Alexa enabled products sold in the last year. ! And that’s not to mention google and Siri enabled! Google was visibly trying hard

to not be outdone this year at CES. They were everywhere it seemed, with little products and brochures and even spokespersons in so many booths of other exhibitors, co-promoting the google assistant built into hundreds, if not thousands of products,….and then,… they had built the biggest booth ever, right out front of the show, with the first ever amusement park-style ride at CES! Yes, you sat in a little train and it took you on an “It’s a Small World” type of journey into the googlesphere of the wonderful world of google connected devices and services! They even handed out free snacks after the ride! Free snacks! They sold me! People can sell me with free snacks. I’m easy that way.

My son, Ethan, drove and met me there this year, as he is LA based now. We also saw my friend Sean, who lives there now and works the shows, and we all had a great time finding all the most wiz-bang tech. (And of course, free snacks)(did I mention free snacks?). There was a company there sending power over infrared light waves! (see the model train video below) And there was another company there converting heat into cool using sound waves, and not using any additional electricity! ‘Very freaky!

Although I guess I should say very “cool”! (I’m so proud my generation invented that, ‘coolest’ adjective). You know, CES has branched out now, and there are various kinds of companies that feel it’s an important big first place to shout-out to the world about stuff they’ve created. Like how the big auto companies have begun to have huge booths there lately, etc. And this year, one of the all-time biggest talked-about booths was a new… hamburger! Yes, they’ve re-invented the hamburger! And apparently it’s delicious, without any meat! So in televisions, the OLED TV’s are back in production from more companies, due to their infinite contrast and super thin screens. LG even showed one (that IS going to ship) that rolls up and disappears into a little box when you turn it off! HDR is a growing format making our home theater movies and shows look a lot better. And Dolby Atmos, the “object-based” audio format with more accurate surround, as well as height, is getting very popular. Also, more TV’s are mastering the art of being good

speakers as well, where the surface of the screen produces GOOD sound! 4k (“UHD”) Bluray is steadily growing in popularity, but still a little pricey with players starting at $100 and discs at $15. True wireless earbuds are awfully popular. The Jabra 65t one’s seem to win a lot of the ratings contests. I prefer the Jabra 45e’s because they ‘dock’ easily when you’re waiting to listen or phone some more. I got Wendy a pair, and she loves them.

This was the year of VR (virtual reality). And some AR (augmented reality. -that’s where you see thru the glasses, but there’s all kinds of information over-layed on top of what you’re seeing as well). There musta’ been over a hundred booths showin’ VR this year! Imagine a world where half of everybody is wearing a headset, they can’t see or hear you, and they’re wiggling’ all around interacting with their ‘world’, and if you tap them on the shoulder to ask them something, they TOTALLY freak out!? -It’s ‘comin! Yamaha debuted a 3-wheeled motorcycle they say is more fun to ride, and safer.

The Audi booth was my favorite. Huge,
multi-story, spiral design, showcasing their latest tech with great interactive displays and personable, knowledgable people. (see pic Ethan took of me looking at the ‘sensory-smart external-aware morphing grid display, where future cars will accurately assess pedestrians’ intentions in city travel). I really liked this home elderly-care support service, that uses regular cameras but super-smart algorithms to watch your grandmother in her own home, and can alert you of any unusual behavior. This little foldable bluetooth keyboard caught my eye, for times when you just need to do a lot of typing, like some long emails or something, and you’re out and about, with just your phone, at a coffee shop, no laptop, ….this is all you need!

This has got to be the best pepper spray ever. It has a snap-flip lid that keeps it from firing prematurely in your pocket/purse/backpack, and when you do use it, it flashes a strobe, a siren, and it tells your phone to send a text to any designated contacts of yours with your location,…and then calls them! For that “last mile transportation” category, I liked this entry, it’s sorta half way between a scooter and a bike, I talked with the developer/designer for a long time. Here’s a cool camera tripod mount that will pan and tilt and follow you all around the room or the yard, or anywhere, like you hired a cameraman, and you don’t even need to wear a pendant or anything. Once you’ve told it what to follow, it just recognizes it and stays on it! Sony’s Robot Dog AIBO is back! He’s $2,900 this time, and smarter than ever! More motors, more life-like movements, more dog, …less robot! (still no accidents on the carpet!) If someone comes in while you’re at work that he doesn’t recognize, he’ll take a photo and text it to you! This Dell Windows Laptop is the highest rated of all! They’re raving about it! They say is has a beautiful screen, great battery life, and is thin and light! In other words, it’s about as good as the MacBook has been for years!?! (costs as much, too!)

So, I stupidly took this high-mountain state road (hwy 3/209 Lake Mary Rd.) from Payson to Flagstaff to go to CES this year, when I knew it had snowed just a week before, but didn’t think about much, because it had all melted in Payson, of course. Anyway, it looks iffy, but feels ok,…it’s clearly been plowed a lot, but has a thin, white layer of snow, but I know there’s probably ice under there. Some tracks from some traffic, but not hardly any traffic I see, and I figure the tracks were no doubt from 4 wheel drive’s,…you know,…smarter people than me. I’m in a two wheel drive, rear wheel drive, Sprinter van, with hardly any weight in it because it’s only half converted to a camper yet! But, like I say, it feels ok, although I’m not touching the brakes, that’s for sure, ‘fortunately there’s nuthin’ to really have to stop for, I’m just takin it easy, ‘bout 40mph, praying the road will get better soon, ‘course, I’m an atheist, so, how much good is THAT gonna do? And as I look up ahead, I see some huge black monolith-looking thing on the side of the road. I slow down, just deceleration, “don’t touch the brakes” “don’t touch the brakes”,… and as I drive by, I see it’s a big SUV,…on it’s side, just the bottom facing me,…and two guys walking around it, on their cell phones,… in t-shirts, and they just look at me sailing by, no frantic waving or anything, sorta surreal,…and I think “Hmm, ‘look’s like they’re fine,…got it under control,…on the phone,….ok, well, I’m not a good one to help…” But then I think “I don’t KNOW they have a signal, MY phone ain’t showin’ much signal,…they’re in t-shirts,….’could be awhile til anybody else comes along…..” So, I continue to stay off the gas pedal, but the road is now going slightly down hill, and takes for ever to fully slow,…and then I touch the brakes to fully stop,…and I slide, about 30’! ‘Fortunately straight. And put it in reverse,… it spins a little, but then I back up, up the slight incline, for a long, long time. It was maybe a mile by now. And I reach them, staying in the middle of the road, roll down my window, “Anybody hurt?” “No?, ‘Good” And just then we see a state plow truck making it’s way toward us, from the direction I’m goin, and he gets out and says he can help them, and I’m on my way. To Hell,… as far as I know. So now I’m goin even slower, and the road seemed to take forever, but it finally started getting more black and less white, and I realized what happened is that they were on the dryer part of the road first, and were used to going faster with good traction with only slowly increasing patches of white, and then they didn’t slow way down progressively. Anyway, I had snow chain cables with me the whole time, but was too lazy to stop and put them on thinking it was not too bad/starting to get better. When really, I should’ve stopped early on and just gone thru the motions for safety. I just didn’t know how bad it could be until I saw them, and tried to stop myself. The good news is the van does ok on snow and ice, the bad news is that I’m still about as stupid as I was when I was younger. But I guess still as lucky! - So when I was at the show, I saw this terrific thing! You know how we all need a good, high power (3.1 amp) dual USB charge port in our cars? Well this one is also an emergency belt cutter and glass breaker, so you always know where it is, and within reach! Would make a great gift for someone you care about, because we won’t spend the extra 10 bucks for these features on ourselves.

You know, there’s this thing, where people often get the dreaded, famous, killer CES cold, because of so much hand shaking and international visitors, etc. But I have not had it in many years! (hand shaking is actually down quite a bit, at the show) So the last day of the show closes 2 hrs early at 4:00, and Ethan and I rush over to my nephew AJ’s and his wife Jessie. Where we hear that they are moving into their new first home, from an apt. across town. And we help them unload their last big uhaul truck load, along with my sister and her husband (Carol and Bill) who have been at it all day and are all pooped. So, we unload, …unload, …take heavy stuff upstairs, then we mount tv’s on walls and stuff while Carol gets (wonderful Olive Garden) take out. We eat, we laugh, we visit,…and I

seem to be getting very tired and kinda chilled by 11 ish. So I say, let’s go Ethan, and he’s like “I’m gonna hang here tonight, do some serious gaming with AJ, you take my car, and AJ will run me back to the (CircusCircus) RV park in the AM. “Cool”, I say, and I’m outta there. “Hmm,… ‘never noticed it being this very cold earlier,…is this heat on?” I get to the RV, and it’s like all I can do to drag my but into bed. Wake up with all the starter symptoms, but have to drive my ass back home to Payson, ‘bout 6 hrs,…’better get moving fast. Ethan shows up, we pack up, say goodbye, ‘get goin. ‘Drive about an hour to Kingman, stop at Wendys,…chili will help me,…yeah, all I need is chili,…still sitting in the driver’s seat, haven’t moved,….kinda half a sleep. ‘Better just lay down a bit. (It’s an RV! no problem) Laid down, pulled every cover over me, blinked awake,…4 hours had gone by! Shivers. Headache. “Chili!” - “That’ll fix me!” Go in. Eat chili…with 3 spicy seasoning packets. Go to van sit in drivers seat,….shiver,…doze,….shiver, ….doze. ‘Prolly not good for driving. Especially since it’s all high country and forecast says below freezing all night all along the way, so If I do stop, I have no heat (camp heater not installed yet) and not all that many blankets. So I get some Nyquil and stay at an RV park in Kingman so that I can run the portable space heater I brought, and I sleep another 15 hrs before then feeling ok enough to drive home. And then sleep most of the week, which is why this Summary is so late this year and you’ve probably already heard all about the show last week! Well tough! This is MY Summary, …it’s my thing I do! So, there it is. OK, so, I know you’re wondering, so go ahead and say it. “Are you going to keep going to ces now that you hit your goal of 40 times, and you’re old and decrepit, and it’s more of a ‘young man’s game, easy to get sick there,….and yada yada?” ‘Answer is, I don’t know. I still enjoy it. But I may skip

some years (now that I have my 40-consecutive award badge)(my theoretical/virtual one, in my mind, anyway), especially if say, we happen to be on the other side of the country traveling at that time of year, or stuff like that. So, I may not go every year now, but one thing’s for sure, technology advancements aren’t slowing any, and so for an interesting measure of our evolution, continue to watch this space, and read some reviews after each annual CES to see what the next generation of innovators has planned for our future of useful gadgets.