Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

I agree with the institutional investors that Musk is full of BS and even if he steps back from DOGE, his focus will be on AI and Robots, not TESLA Autos.

Major Tesla Investor Rips 'Delusional' Elon Musk After Earnings Call

This story pretty much reenforces that the focus is on everything else but Tesla Auto's.

Elon Musk says China wants assurances that magnets for Tesla's humanoid robot won't be used for 'military purposes'

[trinacriabob]

My day through mid-afternoon:

monoliths

and macaques

The Barbary macaques are hilarious.

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[ccap41]

21 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Eron started out as a Legit business, a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth but then changed under CEO Kenneth Lay into energy trading and utilities, and I agree with you that they did commit fraud on many levels, but the review by the SEC showed that the last few years just before the collapse was when this all happened. So, two companies wanting to become bigger, merge, continue to have success and then move into other areas of possible growth, but due to incompetence by the executives on risky trading and other areas started to inflate profits to hide the trading losses. 

The CEO was like a Gambling addict who wanted more and more and yet as he lost, he figured he could hide it till he struck it big and then right side out the company. Sadly, at the expense of so many people he destroyed the company and many employees and investors savings.

I have NOTHING against the Technology or the people at Tesla who created very solid Motors, Controller boards and battery packs. My issue is with the person who bought himself a CEO position and the constant lies even now at the quarterly report on what Tesla will deliver. He now hides things, and I suspect the use of AI, Robots, FSD, Robotaxi, etc. are all used to conceal the shaky nature of Tesla.

I do suspect Tesla is playing a house of cards and is not as secure as they tend to present.

IMHO

So you're predicting they will attempt to commit fraud..? What an asinine prediction for a company, just because you don't like the CEO. If you honestly believe this, why aren't you shorting the stock? Or, you don't actually believe what you're saying. 

I'm sure there are dozens and dozens of crappy, trashy, classless, and idiotic CEOs out there. You just don't know about them because you're not looking for them. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

So you're predicting they will attempt to commit fraud..? What an asinine prediction for a company, just because you don't like the CEO. If you honestly believe this, why aren't you shorting the stock? Or, you don't actually believe what you're saying. 

I'm sure there are dozens and dozens of crappy, trashy, classless, and idiotic CEOs out there. You just don't know about them because you're not looking for them. 

If I was rich with extra cash I would have shorted Tesla stock back at the start of Idiot47 having taken office and Black Maga Puppet Master Musk having done the stupidity he is doing.

At this point, I do not see Tesla recovering and the market is not really recovering either. I suspect it would take forensic accounting review of Tesla, but I think Fraud has already happened in many ways, just look at the GPU issue thing and the movement of them to his AI project. Things are moved around, does not seem to be any paper trail or transparency of the business. Manipulation all for his own personal interest.

If the Tesla Cyber Truck was the winner Musk promised, then the 800V system and the style would be selling over and over without the thousands sitting around and the idling of the assembly line.

If Tesla was truly leading the auto industry, then the New Y would be on 800V and not still running on a 400V system. Other auto companies, especially in China have far exceeded Tesla now.

Tesla is becoming irrelevant. Their biggest plus is their supercharger stations, the rest of their auto line is pathetic.

[ccap41]

14 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

If I was rich with extra cash I would have shorted Tesla stock back at the start of Idiot47 having taken office and Black Maga Puppet Master Musk having done the stupidity he is doing.

You don't need to be "rich". Plus, you would have supposedly made a ton of money with your prediction! There's still plenty of time, because you think they're going to commit accounting fraud and go bankrupt. 

[Drew Dowdell]

@ccap41 I think they've already committed fraud on multiple occasions. There's the odometer issue playing out in the courts now. There's the tax credits issue where Tesla suddenly submitted tax rebates for thousands of vehicles. There's been material misrepresentations in product presentations. Misrepresentations about autopilot capabilities. Misrepresentations about range. There's probably a service and warranty class action brewing. It's shocking that they haven't been sued more.

@G. David Felt can't play with automotive stocks without informing me. We have an ethics agreement here for writers that we do not directly hold shares of automotive companies or their suppliers. Holdings through broad based managed funds are fine. If he does start buying/shorting shares, we have to put a disclaimer of his holding on all of his articles.

[A Horse With No Name]

Interesting, like this take...

As far as Tesla goes, Thunderfoot has great YouTube videos.  I have posted this one before, but he has a ton. All of the Musk/Tesla ethics issues are wayyy out in the open, you pretty much have to be willingly blind to ignore them.

 

I may have posted this a long time ago, but it really shows how some folks go way out of their way to avoid reality.

This is a response to the reality denying Musk/Tesla fanbois. I consider CCAP 41 to be very rational and this is not a direct response to him.

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

@ccap41 I think they've already committed fraud on multiple occasions. There's the odometer issue playing out in the courts now. There's the tax credits issue where Tesla suddenly submitted tax rebates for thousands of vehicles. There's been material misrepresentations in product presentations. Misrepresentations about autopilot capabilities. Misrepresentations about range. There's probably a service and warranty class action brewing. It's shocking that they haven't been sued more.

@G. David Felt can't play with automotive stocks without informing me. We have an ethics agreement here for writers that we do not directly hold shares of automotive companies or their suppliers. Holdings through broad based managed funds are fine. If he does start buying/shorting shares, we have to put a disclaimer of his holding on all of his articles.

So I have to disclose the back ally sexual encounter with a Toyota employee that was the issue behind all of my anti Ford posts here? Shocking that we actually have enforced ethics agreements, the rest of the country seems adept at ignoring them.

3 hours ago, ccap41 said:

You don't need to be "rich". Plus, you would have supposedly made a ton of money with your prediction! There's still plenty of time, because you think they're going to commit accounting fraud and go bankrupt. 

They may not go bankrupt right away, they do things like Energy Storage and the like that generates cash. And there is a federal pipeline of cash into Tesla.

[A Horse With No Name]

A much shorter Musk/Tesla video, gives you some flavor of the longer video.

[A Horse With No Name]

Interesting and thoughtful on streets and fire departments...

 

[ccap41]

3 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

@ccap41 I think they've already committed fraud on multiple occasions. There's the odometer issue playing out in the courts now. There's the tax credits issue where Tesla suddenly submitted tax rebates for thousands of vehicles. There's been material misrepresentations in product presentations. Misrepresentations about autopilot capabilities. Misrepresentations about range. There's probably a service and warranty class action brewing. It's shocking that they haven't been sued more.

@G. David Felt can't play with automotive stocks without informing me. We have an ethics agreement here for writers that we do not directly hold shares of automotive companies or their suppliers. Holdings through broad based managed funds are fine. If he does start buying/shorting shares, we have to put a disclaimer of his holding on all of his articles.

I'm sure PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP isn't looking to go under with/for them. I couldn't imagine any accounting/auditing firm would be willing to put their life at stake over allowing fraud to happen under their oversight, but there's always a chance.

I should clarify. I'm not trying to say they're clean of any wrongdoing. I'm just saying I couldn't imagine a company committing fraud that's comparable to Enron ever again, because of the measures that were put in place BECAUSE of Encon. 

I guess with David never saying anything positive about Tesla, it would be advantageous for him to continue to trash them while he's trying to short a stock. 

Buuuuut, it would be really smart of him to bet against the company in which he supposedly believes will fail. 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

I'm sure PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP isn't looking to go under with/for them. I couldn't imagine any accounting/auditing firm would be willing to put their life at stake over allowing fraud to happen under their oversight, but there's always a chance.

I should clarify. I'm not trying to say they're clean of any wrongdoing. I'm just saying I couldn't imagine a company committing fraud that's comparable to Enron ever again, because of the measures that were put in place BECAUSE of Encon. 

I guess with David never saying anything positive about Tesla, it would be advantageous for him to continue to trash them while he's trying to short a stock. 

Buuuuut, it would be really smart of him to bet against the company in which he supposedly believes will fail. 

Agree, but I think the timetable of that downfall will be highly variable.

BYD is probably the biggest competition.

[trinacriabob]

Today is this individual's birthday.

With this birthday, she now qualifies for reduced price deals at Denny's and many fast food restaurants.  I wonder if she has ever set foot in a fast food joint.

Interestingly enough, she is attending the Pope's funeral today.  

She's looking very "angular" in this photo. 

[trinacriabob]

22 hours ago, ccap41 said:

I'm sure PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP isn't looking to go under with/for them. I couldn't imagine any accounting/auditing firm would be willing to put their life at stake over allowing fraud to happen under their oversight, but there's always a chance.

I should clarify. I'm not trying to say they're clean of any wrongdoing. I'm just saying I couldn't imagine a company committing fraud that's comparable to Enron ever again, because of the measures that were put in place BECAUSE of Encon. 

I guess with David never saying anything positive about Tesla, it would be advantageous for him to continue to trash them while he's trying to short a stock. 

Buuuuut, it would be really smart of him to bet against the company in which he supposedly believes will fail. 

There are different stock price patterns toward the end.  They can just drift downward exponentially.  Sometimes, they enjoy some weird upward ticks, and then drop.  I'm not the biggest believer in efficient markets and some geek PhDs in econ/finance study them, but they probably have to give props to market efficiency so they don't rock the boat.  I wonder how many academics think otherwise.

TSLA is not a value stock, so people who aren't really, really financially comfortable should just stay away from it.  

The Enron thing was mind boggling ... the flow chart of how they did this was mind boggling, as in overly complex.  There's an interesting movie called "The Smartest Guys in the Room" which we watched in a night class I took.  The head perpetrator has an MBA from Northwestern.  Of all the firms who recruited undergrads from the business school, Arthur Andersen was by far the most arrogant.  (Not enough time and space for details.)  I was actually pleased that they bit the dust and that they were the sacrificial lamb for reform.

[A Horse With No Name]

Why I always run really expensive gas in my chainsaws. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Political but non polemic and explaining how the transition to clean electric is going, which impacts electric automobiles. 

 

[ccap41]

On 4/26/2025 at 6:33 AM, trinacriabob said:

There are different stock price patterns toward the end.  They can just drift downward exponentially.  Sometimes, they enjoy some weird upward ticks, and then drop.  I'm not the biggest believer in efficient markets and some geek PhDs in econ/finance study them, but they probably have to give props to market efficiency so they don't rock the boat.  I wonder how many academics think otherwise.

TSLA is not a value stock, so people who aren't really, really financially comfortable should just stay away from it.  

The Enron thing was mind boggling ... the flow chart of how they did this was mind boggling, as in overly complex.  There's an interesting movie called "The Smartest Guys in the Room" which we watched in a night class I took.  The head perpetrator has an MBA from Northwestern.  Of all the firms who recruited undergrads from the business school, Arthur Andersen was by far the most arrogant.  (Not enough time and space for details.)  I was actually pleased that they bit the dust and that they were the sacrificial lamb for reform.

I will definitely have to look into that movie. I watched a documentary on Enron on Netflix a few years ago. I think it may be this movie, but I don't 100% recall the title, so I'm not sure. That whole situation is incredibly interesting to me and I love to learn more about it. 

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

I will definitely have to look into that movie. I watched a documentary on Enron on Netflix a few years ago. I think it may be this movie, but I don't 100% recall the title, so I'm not sure. That whole situation is incredibly interesting to me and I love to learn more about it. 

 

On 4/26/2025 at 7:33 AM, trinacriabob said:

There are different stock price patterns toward the end.  They can just drift downward exponentially.  Sometimes, they enjoy some weird upward ticks, and then drop.  I'm not the biggest believer in efficient markets and some geek PhDs in econ/finance study them, but they probably have to give props to market efficiency so they don't rock the boat.  I wonder how many academics think otherwise.

TSLA is not a value stock, so people who aren't really, really financially comfortable should just stay away from it.  

The Enron thing was mind boggling ... the flow chart of how they did this was mind boggling, as in overly complex.  There's an interesting movie called "The Smartest Guys in the Room" which we watched in a night class I took.  The head perpetrator has an MBA from Northwestern.  Of all the firms who recruited undergrads from the business school, Arthur Andersen was by far the most arrogant.  (Not enough time and space for details.)  I was actually pleased that they bit the dust and that they were the sacrificial lamb for reform.

Having worked in energy not long after this happened and going through SOX audits was..... fun

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Political but non polemic and explaining how the transition to clean electric is going, which impacts electric automobiles. 

 

Some weird news as Coal power plants turn up production.

Data shows surprising shift at power plants across the US — here's what's happening

[Drew Dowdell]

3 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

Some weird news as Coal power plants turn up production.

Data shows surprising shift at power plants across the US — here's what's happening

We're going to be in a huge natural gas crunch by next winter. I just locked in my rate for 12 months.

[trinacriabob]

23 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Having worked in energy not long after this happened and going through SOX audits was..... fun

I remember a little about oil and gas among energy segments.  So much of it relies on estimates to account for DD&A (depreciation, depletion, and amortization), which can really change the financials.  But I'm sure they can audit a lot of things in energy - financial, operational, and more, as in many ways to skin a cat and a lot to look out for. 

When I've flown into Houston and you fly over the renowned insanely wide I-10 between the Galleria and Katy, that's now known as the Energy Corridor, it reminds me of these topics ... and how many of those people may occupy the nearby newer McMansions out that way!

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

I will definitely have to look into that movie. I watched a documentary on Enron on Netflix a few years ago. I think it may be this movie, but I don't 100% recall the title, so I'm not sure. That whole situation is incredibly interesting to me and I love to learn more about it. 

It very well could have been.  There's a lot of recounting personal experiences and mini "interviews" in the film.  I liked it more than I thought I would.

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

 

When I've flown into Houston and you fly over the renowned insanely wide I-10 between the Galleria and Katy, that's now known as the Energy Corridor, and it reminds me of these topics ... and how many of those people may occupy the nearby newer McMansions out that way!

 

My sister used to work out there at Conoco Phillips...did a consulting contract for a couple of years that had her flying between Phoenix, Bartlesville, OK (in and out of Tulsa airport) and Houston most every week.  Said the drivers on I-10 outside Houston were among the worst she'd seen.. 

[trinacriabob]

Just now, Robert Hall said:

My sister used to work out there at Conoco Phillips...did a consulting contract for a couple of years that had her flying between Phoenix, Bartlesville, OK (in and out of Tulsa airport) and Houston most every week.  Said the drivers on I-10 outside Houston were among the worst she'd seen.. 

For being a large metro area, people are unusually nice at restaurants, stores, etc., and even strike up conversations with you in coffee places, but they become demonic on their big freeways.  I'm put into high defense mode when I drive there.  Add the big highways and multi-lane boulevards in big Florida cities to that.

[A Horse With No Name]

Interesitng post WW 2 footage of Germany, non censored. 

 

23 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

For being a large metro area, people are unusually nice at restaurants, stores, etc., and even strike up conversations with you in coffee places, but they become demonic on their big freeways.  I'm put into high defense mode when I drive there.  Add the big highways and multi-lane boulevards in big Florida cities to that.

Houston strikes me as one of the last places I would want to live in the USA. 

[G. David Felt]

39 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Interesitng post WW 2 footage of Germany, non censored. 

This shows that we must never forget the history of how lying men can destroy a country. Kill others all to justify a personal blindness to the multi-cultural society that the planet is and will always be.

It was interesting to see the Mercedes Benz, BMW and Volkswagen logos all over. Clearly these three companies played a big roll in arming Germany and hurting the world. Yet we also can see some amazing technology that was created and used in the auto industy.

[G. David Felt]

OUCH another CyberTurd fail, no so water capable even at the waterline.

Instagram

Story on it here: A driver believed Elon Musk's wildest Cybertruck design claim, and it didn't end well

I hope the lady continues to win and keep Musk from taking an out of line pay package that he is not worthy to receive.

Tesla Investor Fights With Musk Over Billionaire’s Pay in Appeal

[G. David Felt]

This will be interesting to see how it plays out now that a Banker is PM of Canada and has no respect for Idiot47. They now look to take a more central roll on the Global Stage and in Commerce. This will be an interesting time as the U.S. could find itself struggling especially from an Auto Industry stand point to continue the growth they had. 

Mexico is supporting Chinese auto companies, Canada is looking to embrace BYD and other imports, this does not bode well for the U.S. economic engine.

'Trump is trying to break us': Carney wins in Canada riding fury at Trump to victory

This from GM along with others I am seeing in the news today pretty much tells us we are in for a recession.

GM pulls forecast due to tariffs as nervous consumers rush to buy

As company's pull their forecast, that speaks volumes about what they see for the rest of this year, long term future of growth as people pull back from spending money.

GM pulls forecast due to tariffs as nervous consumers rush to buy

[G. David Felt]

Ughhhhhhhhh

UPS cuts 20,000 jobs, GM delays investor call as Trump's tariffs create corporate chaos | Reuters

The Companies Lowering or Ditching Guidance Amid Tariff Chaos - Business Insider

Trump tariffs: Pepsi, Chipotle, P&G cut earnings forecasts

Major companies face a difficult task in estimating the impact of tariffs on their business | RochesterFirst

Interesting reads on the auto industry.

Cox Automotive Forecast: First Quarter New-Vehicle Sales Expected to Increase Year over Year as Market Momentum Shows Signs of Fading - Cox Automotive Inc.

The rush is over from Q1, expect everything else to slow dooooooooowwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnn.

Tariffs will lead to 2 million fewer auto sales in US this year, auto advisory firm forecasts | Reuters

5 Predictions For The Auto Industry In 2025

[G. David Felt]

Very cool to see
This Hyundai Ioniq 5 Owner Managed 413,991 Miles In Under Four Years, With One Big Catch

[trinacriabob]

3 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Houston strikes me as one of the last places I would want to live in the USA. 

I'm laughing.  

There are always reasons why things are "discounted."

With me, it's DFW and Austin that give me heartburn.  San Antonio, too, even though I don't know it as well.  I just don't like the look of the DFW area, whether natural or built.  I don't like Austin for being the governmental engine of a big red place next to a massive university with over 50,000 students that is a big blue place.  I'm more of a moderate and don't want extremes in either element.  I also don't like the "way cool" leanings in Austin.

Houston has its negatives, but I'd take it for nearby Galveston, and water in general, the extensive pinewoods, the dark red brick homes, an attractive downtown, and for being America's most ethnically diverse city that has always rolled with that spirit.  There is no "you shouldn't be here" factor.  IIR, I've heard of a saying about Madrid that goes, 'When you're in Madrid, you're from Madrid.'  Having lived in various places, I pay attention to those subleties.

[G. David Felt]

This is too funny and I HOPE HOPE HOPE Amazon moves forward with this as all the auto's on Amazon for sale will have a TRUMP TARIFF line that shows how much TARIFF tax they will pay.

Trump’s ‘Pottery Barn rule’ problem

[Drew Dowdell]

We got walloped here in Pittsburgh last night. Power company is saying 5-7 days before power is restored. No damage to my property. I ran out and bought a generator first thing this morning. T Mobile cell network is struggling and I lose service once I leave my WiFi connection. 70 mph winds and lots of destruction.

[G. David Felt]

2 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

We got walloped here in Pittsburgh last night. Power company is saying 5-7 days before power is restored. No damage to my property. I ran out and bought a generator first thing this morning. T Mobile cell network is struggling and I lose service once I leave my WiFi connection. 70 mph winds and lots of destruction.

WOW, Sorry to hear the storm is so bad. All the best for riding it out.

[trinacriabob]

I learned of this today.  This is interesting and even hilarious.

https://news.delta.com/media/image/60136

Delta will soon start flying from JFK to Sicily daily through early fall.  It makes sense and eliminates that extra step.  Instead of Palermo, the island's capital, it will go to Catania, the second city but busier airport, since the beach resorts and Mt. Etna are on that side of the island.

I'm betting the passengers will be quite a bit more colorful than on the JFK to Rome flight.

[A Horse With No Name]

On 4/29/2025 at 12:54 PM, G. David Felt said:

This shows that we must never forget the history of how lying men can destroy a country. Kill others all to justify a personal blindness to the multi-cultural society that the planet is and will always be.

It was interesting to see the Mercedes Benz, BMW and Volkswagen logos all over. Clearly these three companies played a big roll in arming Germany and hurting the world. Yet we also can see some amazing technology that was created and used in the auto industry.

...and the pain of authoritarianism on actual human lives. Nothing going on now will end well for any of us...

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I learned of this today.  This is interesting and even hilarious.

https://news.delta.com/media/image/60136

Delta will soon start flying from JFK to Sicily daily through early fall.  It makes sense and eliminates that extra step.  Instead of Palermo, the island's capital, it will go to Catania, the second city but busier airport, since the beach resorts and Mt. Etna are on that side of the island.

I'm betting the passengers will be quite a bit more colorful than on the JFK to Rome flight.

I so want to see Italy. Want to spend some time there, will be one of the first stops when I retire. 

14 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

WOW, Sorry to hear the storm is so bad. All the best for riding it out.

Likewise...

14 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

We got walloped here in Pittsburgh last night. Power company is saying 5-7 days before power is restored. No damage to my property. I ran out and bought a generator first thing this morning. T Mobile cell network is struggling and I lose service once I leave my WiFi connection. 70 mph winds and lots of destruction.

More bad weather coming...

On 4/29/2025 at 7:58 PM, G. David Felt said:

This is too funny and I HOPE HOPE HOPE Amazon moves forward with this as all the auto's on Amazon for sale will have a TRUMP TARIFF line that shows how much TARIFF tax they will pay.

Trump’s ‘Pottery Barn rule’ problem

I own almost everything I need, and buy tools I want used, usually. Folks can suffer for the idiotic election. 

On 4/29/2025 at 2:23 PM, trinacriabob said:

I'm laughing.  

There are always reasons why things are "discounted."

With me, it's DFW and Austin that give me heartburn.  San Antonio, too, even though I don't know it as well.  I just don't like the look of the DFW area, whether natural or built.  I don't like Austin for being the governmental engine of a big red place next to a massive university with over 50,000 students that is a big blue place.  I'm more of a moderate and don't want extremes in either element.  I also don't like the "way cool" leanings in Austin.

Houston has its negatives, but I'd take it for nearby Galveston, and water in general, the extensive pinewoods, the dark red brick homes, an attractive downtown, and for being America's most ethnically diverse city that has always rolled with that spirit.  There is no "you shouldn't be here" factor.  IIR, I've heard of a saying about Madrid that goes, 'When you're in Madrid, you're from Madrid.'  Having lived in various places, I pay attention to those subleties.

Maybe I need to heed your advice. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Yep, game over for Tesla and others in the real world outside of US borders. 

[A Horse With No Name]

This will affect the auto industry to an enormous extent...

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[ccap41]

16 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

We got walloped here in Pittsburgh last night. Power company is saying 5-7 days before power is restored. No damage to my property. I ran out and bought a generator first thing this morning. T Mobile cell network is struggling and I lose service once I leave my WiFi connection. 70 mph winds and lots of destruction.

Daaaamn, best of luck with everything, bud. We've been hit a couple times pretty bad this year, luckily power loss was limited to only a few hours. We were pretty fortunate because there were areas out of power for days.

Smart move to go get a generator ASAP. This is probably a stupid question, but if you were to get one in an emergency situation, like yours, how do you connect it to your house? I thought usually you had stuff ran so you can just plug it in. 

[Robert Hall]

Yeah, I have a coworker that lives in downtown Pittsburgh and heard this morning her building has a generator but it's been on and off... 

[Drew Dowdell]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Daaaamn, best of luck with everything, bud. We've been hit a couple times pretty bad this year, luckily power loss was limited to only a few hours. We were pretty fortunate because there were areas out of power for days.

Smart move to go get a generator ASAP. This is probably a stupid question, but if you were to get one in an emergency situation, like yours, how do you connect it to your house? I thought usually you had stuff ran so you can just plug it in. 

I got a mid-size portable one rated for 4500w. It doesn't run the whole house. It's enough to keep the downstairs fridge and freezer going, the internet up, and the phones/laptops charged.  In the wintertime it can also be used to run the furnace. We lost power for 18 hours overnight this past winter when it was 11 degrees out, so getting one that will run the furnace was on my list of requirements.  We get multi-hour outages several times a year, during the worst of covid we had a transformer blow a couple streets over and they couldn't get a replacement for days, so I think it was an overdue investment.

While it does have a connection available to wire into the breaker box, my breaker box is not set up for it. So for me, it was just stringing orange extension cords under the garage door and out the living room window to plug into the unit in the driveway.

We got power back for a short time at 11 p.m., then again at 3 a.m., I was able to power down the generator at 3.  Last I looked, there were still 134k without power, over 400k at the worst of it. 

They're saying more bad storms tonight.

[ccap41]

11 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

While it does have a connection available to wire into the breaker box, my breaker box is not set up for it. So for me, it was just stringing orange extension cords under the garage door and out the living room window to plug into the unit in the driveway.

Ahhh that makes sense. Just get things running and get the "proper" install done when you have time. 

For some reason, my I completely forgot about the conventional outlets on generators (face palm) and I could only picture them running to a breaker box.

[A Horse With No Name]

19 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Ahhh that makes sense. Just get things running and get the "proper" install done when you have time. 

For some reason, my I completely forgot about the conventional outlets on generators (face palm) and I could only picture them running to a breaker box.

Its really exciting when people bootleg wire them into panels without disconnecting the panel from the main utility. Utility comes back on and...boom.

[A Horse With No Name]

Tesla would be so gonzo if markets were free.

 

 

This lumber yard is in central PA, I think a Ranger road trip is in order.

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Nothing but heavy, heavy freight movements with steam power.

Bit by bit detail of BYD teardown...

 

[ccap41]

37 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Tesla would be so gonzo if markets were free.

They never would have gotten off the ground if it weren't for the government holding them up. 

[A Horse With No Name]

7 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

They never would have gotten off the ground if it weren't for the government holding them up. 

Nor would BYD. The Chinese government has dumped a metric crap ton of cash into auto development.

[Drew Dowdell]

44 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

They never would have gotten off the ground if it weren't for the government holding them up. 

That's every car company out there.

Toyota and Honda only exist today because of the US government getting Japan back on its feet and then later the Japanese government supporting them with currency manipulation and socialized pensions and medicine.

Subaru was originally Fiji Heavy Industries which built busses, trains, heavy construction machinery, and was a major supplier of airplanes. FHI is still a major aerospace company who supplies parts for the Airbus 380 and just about every model Boeing makes or has made that starts with a 7. They also make military helicopters and both military and commercial drones.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and VW are all here today because of the Marshall Plan and later their countries' social medicine and pension programs. Mercedes makes a lot of military and construction equipment purchased by governments.

BYD (and others) is where it is because the Chinese government spent loads on battery development and incentives to its citizens to by EVs. Prior to that, BYD built their industrial might on building busses and other heavy machinery for the Chinese government and local governments all over the world.

GM and Ford had major defense contracts during WWII, the 2008 bailouts, the Biden EV tax credits, the Obama cash-for-clunkers incentives, and much more. However, they famously have always had to manage their own healthcare and pensions systems which are what put them at a competitive disadvantage throughout the 80's and 90's.

Stellantis's ownership timeline is too convoluted to even tackle, but Chrysler was bailed out in 1979, then they bought AMC/Jeep which had been kept afloat by the military, then they were bailed out again in 2008 by both the US and Italian governments. Fiat is/was a major equipment and bus supplier in Europe. The French government has always supported Peugeot and Citroen... the list goes on.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

That's every car company out there.

Toyota and Honda only exist today because of the US government getting Japan back on its feet and then later the Japanese government supporting them with currency manipulation and socialized pensions and medicine.

Subaru was originally Fiji Heavy Industries which built busses, trains, heavy construction machinery, and was a major supplier of airplanes. FHI is still a major aerospace company who supplies parts for the Airbus 380 and just about every model Boeing makes or has made that starts with a 7. They also make military helicopters and both military and commercial drones.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and VW are all here today because of the Marshall Plan and later their countries' social medicine and pension programs. Mercedes makes a lot of military and construction equipment purchased by governments.

BYD (and others) is where it is because the Chinese government spent loads on battery development and incentives to its citizens to by EVs. Prior to that, BYD built their industrial might on building busses and other heavy machinery for the Chinese government and local governments all over the world.

GM and Ford had major defense contracts during WWII, the 2008 bailouts, the Biden EV tax credits, the Obama cash-for-clunkers incentives, and much more. However, they famously have always had to manage their own healthcare and pensions systems which are what put them at a competitive disadvantage throughout the 80's and 90's.

Stellantis's ownership timeline is too convoluted to even tackle, but Chrysler was bailed out in 1979, then they bought AMC/Jeep which had been kept afloat by the military, then they were bailed out again in 2008 by both the US and Italian governments. Fiat is/was a major equipment and bus supplier in Europe. The French government has always supported Peugeot and Citroen... the list goes on.

Exactly why the myth of totally free markets is just that, a myth.