Robert Hall

My Jeep needs an oil change, but I probably haven't driven it more than 100 miles since the end of January, the Trax I drove back from Florida at the end of January, and to a couple doctor's trips here w/ my sister (with her broken foot, she really can't easily get in and out of the Jeep). The STS hasn't been out of the garage since January, but I start it every couple of weeks.

Did the pharmacy run yesterday (drive through only) and will make a vet run Monday to get a refill of meds.

Your Flex looks great. Interesting about the spare...I can't recall if my Jeep has a normal full size 20 inch spare tire/wheel or something smaller (they also came w/ 17" inch wheels in '14). I recall checking the spare when on the lot before I bought it, but don't recall what's there...huge well under the rear cargo floor.

Had to go out today, got gas and it was $1.39 for regular. $10 filled up the Trax. Funny thing is the sign at the gas station said .39 on one side and 1.39 on the other side... beautiful sunny day, no traffic.

Hopefully will get some decent weather this weekend to do a bit of yard work in the back. Got a shipment from Home Depot yesterday of top soil, mulch, grass seed, etc to start the season. Had my wheelbarrow out..felt real.

I assume it was a marketing move to give Aurora it's own identity. Oldsmobile (like Buick) was too associated with an older, conservative demographic. The Aurora looked pretty radical compared to the dowdy 88 and 98 of the era.

My brother would do that to a Ferrari... he's covered his 740i w/ PepBoys/JCWhitney cheese...

I've noticed that with both of the older Cadillacs I've been around..the '00 DTS and '06 STS...I have to jump the STS if it sits too long (I start it every two weeks).

Do EVs have a normal car battery for non-propulsion functions (security camera, radio, power locks, etc?). Seems like the accessories would be separate from the EV motor and its batteries...

Yes, I miss the little normal things. WFH full time, I enjoyed going out for dinner or breakfast. Or going downtown to some of the brewpubs, esp. once the weather gets nicer..sitting outside on the Cuyahoga River watching the huge cargo ships go by... or going to the beach.

Something about the last post triggered a thought...do batteries in EVs retain their charge for a sufficient period? i.e. if you charge up a Tesla or other EV to 90% or whatever the recommended maximum is, then leave it parked for a week, two weeks, a month, does it lose range and charge?

One of the nicer office cube alternative arrangements I saw was back in '99 at the then-new Broomfield, Co campus of Sun Microsystems when I interviewed w/ them..they had small offices for all developers w/ sliding glass doors on each office and a glass wall, and two solid walls. I almost took a job w/ them as a sales engineer, but it was 100% travel. Back in '98 I interviewed at Object Space in Addison, Tx and never forget what one of the devs said to me..I asked him where are the cubicles--everyone was in offices--and he said it would be inhumane to put engineers in cubicles' or something like that...got an offer, didn't like what I saw of the Dallas area, too flat compared to Colorado.

I have thought about shopping for used office furniture and building a cubicle in my home office. I do have a name tag. (only semi-serious)

Always liked the C-pillar shape and rear quarter window shape on those...the 4dr did a good job of keeping the same roofline and pillar shape. There is a silver GTP coupe of that era I see at the grocery occasionally...paint is shiny, but lots of rust on the doors are rear quarters. Also see a rusty white early 90s GXP coupe at the same grocery occasionally also, wonder if it's the same person.

Some cube environments are better than others. Some people elaborately decorate their cubicles, make them a home away from home I guess. When I worked in a cube before, I kept mine minimal, never knew when I'd have to pack up in 30 seconds and run. (per one of my favorite movie quotes--"Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner" I hate the open plan style offices, where I sit in a row a foot from other people w/ no divider. I've had a few windows cubes in the past, some with a view of a parking lot and a couple that were up high (3rd and 8th floors) w/ mountain views. I did have a private office for a few months early in my career, that was nice..had a view of Pikes Peak.

I don’t miss the fluorescent lights and beige cloth covered walls. I do sometimes miss the team lunches and team happy hours. Working out of the house, a free-range software engineer, a man without a cube.

Virtual racing, becoming more and more wide spread. (maybe car makers can have virtual test drives and virtual track days)

I like the dash, though the screen seems an afterthought stuck on top of the dash. Odd steering wheel. i like the horizontal light pipes on the headlights and taillights...a distinctive detail. The profile is clean, the 6 window fastback reminiscent of the A7 and others..

Peri Peri Biltong (my favorite flavor and style of jerky-type product)

I went to my grocery to pick up my curbside order (did the proper social distancing and didn't get out of my Jeep, glad I have a power hatch)..very little traffic on the streets, but I did see a new C8..in red. First I'd seen on the road, looked great on a gloomy wintry looking spring day.

After almost 3 years of doing WFH full time, I'd find it difficult going back to cube life. At some point, though, I probably will, down the road..a cube somewhere out there...will be interesting to see how things in IT and office work in general evolve once things 'return to normal' in 6-18 months or whenever...

Today is such a Monday at work. Most of the people I work with in the Scottsdale and Tampa offices are WFH, but our data center in Miami had a major hardware failure and all our DEV/QA/PROD systems and servers are down--internal and external systems. Email, MS Teams, and the VPN and my VM are still working as they are in the Scottsdale office. Also the A/C is out in the Scottsdale office.

A great 80s pop song w/ an apocalyptic video..love this song.

My Dad was born in 1921, spent WWII in the US Army Air Corps stationed at Miami Army Airfield..spent the war there and in the Caribbean, stayed in until '46, then went to the U of Kentucky on the GI Bill for college and grad school. He worked in an airplane factory in Baltimore before the war (Martin?). Very handy guy, could do anything w/ tools it seemed....furnace installations, roofing, framing and sheetrock, etc. I learned how to dig and install septic tanks, paint a barn, remove an engine, bleed brakes... though I haven't had to use those skills because at an early age I really wanted to be an academic (which led to my long time in grad school and career in IT). I dug so many ditches as a kid...'family drainage projects'. And so much mowing (6 acres out of 150 were usually treated as lawn).

1960.