G. David Felt

Very interesting read on Future energy Battery and Storage Tech. Energy's Future - Battery and Storage Technologies (forbes.com) While this report is from Aug 2019, they do talk about the challenges but the aggressive change in technology that will change our life style over the next Decade. Quote: It’s not like we’ve been idle. We just haven’t been wildly successful. Battery technologies do keep getting better. Recently, Jack Goodenough, the inventor of the Li-ion battery, came out with a new fast-charging battery technology using that uses a glass electrode instead of a liquid one, sodium instead of lithium, and may have three times as much energy density as lithium-ion batteries. The exciting part of the rapidly changing battery world is the move to not only solid state batteries but WattJoule batteries that will benefit the Commercial market more so than the EV or Residential market. Quote: Li-ion batteries have too short an operating life and have issues such as rapid heat generation. For the near-future, they will dominate the small-volume niche such as personal devices and electric vehicles, but for the utility-scale commercial battery market, we need bigger systems that last longer. The latest technology to emerge is the vanadium redox battery, also known as the vanadium-flow battery. And the best one seems to be from WattJoule, especially because their cost is so much lower than other V-flow batteries. V-flow batteries are fully containerized, nonflammable, compact, reusable over semi-infinite cycles, discharge 100% of the stored energy and do not degrade for more than 20 years. The Earth’s crust has much more vanadium than lithium, and we produce twice as much V as Li each year. While this is all valid science from the University level, commercial production is coming and I believe we will see a rapid change from the current Lithium Ion battery to Solid State to WattJoule which is where I can easily see Semi truck long haul to residential EVs having very long range use.

Yet todays Electric motors and batteries are far more advanced than they were in 1912. Technology progressing beyond what we had back then. With reports showing that instead of 2025 we hit the $100 per kWh battery pack wholesale pricing this year is exciting as I truly believe that between now and 2025 as we see a large assortment of Subcompact to full size EVs hit the market at a wide range of price points we will see a move to EVs over ICE and then as I do agree with you, it will take a few decades to fully replace ICE. Long term, I believe that Green (solar, wind, hydro, ocean) power will allow even in remote places of Africa and central to south america where transporting fuel has been the norm, it will be replaced with cleaner easier to generate power that can benefit both quality of life living in a home to modern transportation. Here is one of the latest research reports and I think it makes valid real reasons why in the short term petro is and will remain King for Now, but a Mixed Energy Future is what the next decade will be and eventually a Green energy future. 2030 is a valid tipping point of moving from petro to green energy production in the US as well as around the globe. Renewable Energy vs. Fossil Fuels for Electricity: Facts and Forecasts - Beachapedia

While this year we saw price increases on EVs, Pandemic affect I think might be one reason, we have seen as battery prices have dropped, range has increased. So while prices have not come down, the range has increased which is a similar affect. Keep the price static and increase what you get in this case how long you can drive on a single charge. Hopefully with the higher density Solid State batteries which in turn means smaller over all battery pack we can also see a lower cost come to EVs and more than anything, entry level and mid level competitive EV products.

Interesting survey showing far more interest in EVs than most are aware of and yet both pricing and recharging is the top two concerns. New Consumer Reports survey finds majority of drivers are interested in electric vehicles A Major PLUS for Green Energy as the largest Coal Power Generation plant and Smoke Stakes are destroyed. Seems Arizona has chosen to be carbon neutral if not free by 2050 using only Green Energy to run the state. [Update] The West’s largest coal plant’s smokestacks will be destroyed Friday (electrek.co)

I know you have stated that EV prices have not moved, but then ICE technology has also just like EVs always started with the best at the top which is what we are seeing with EVs. This is on par with recovery of extensive R&D costs. We have Hyundai, Kia, GM, Ford all saying that EVs need to also have entry and mid range cost auto's. GM has been the only one to publish a road map of auto's coming by 2025 and here we see that Chevrolet will have both entry level to truck level EV's and GM has stated they will be ICE comparable in price. Time will tell, I see that Nissan Leaf EVs are following normal used car pricing and that gives great inexpensive auto's for teens and college students as well as low income people to afford. Yet their short range battery packs might also have something to do with the pricing. Chevrolet Bolt with double the operational range seem to be holding a better than average resale price. I think a more traditional look that the Next generation Bolt and Bolt EUV will have will make it more palatable to many more buyers. Here Chevrolet will have their SubCompact Bolt and the Compact Bolt EUV. Being on the next generation platform that will also be used by the other brands all the way up to Cadillac, I wonder what the new price points will be. If they stay the same as you have stated, then I do think it will be hard for more conquest sales. Yet if they do the right thing in moving each auto into the proper price tier for the size, I think conquest sales will follow.

I would agree with you that the early models out that are pretty much all subcompact and expensive are maxing out in the market. I truly believe once midsize / full size EVs are out especially as trucks / SUVs we will see sales take off especially as the prices come into line with the products. ICE / EV Full size trucks priced the same I expect many to move over to EVs, charge from home and be glad to not have to deal with various fluid / maintenance of ICE auto's.

Possible the power supply got fried. You could take apart the monitor and see what type of power supply it uses. Then check online for pricing, a possible cheap way to see if a new power supply would bring the monitor back to life. I use UPS in my home on all computer gear to protect it against outages/brownouts.

When the product is not available yet, it is understandable that people are not buying. America wants big trucks and SUVs. Once they are there in EV mode, you will see that more and more will buy just like me. I will be buying once I can compare and sit in a Rivian and Hummer. Both are what I want, Not a Tesla, but a full size EV.

Here, water heaters seem to run in 5, 10 and 15 year warranties. A test to see if the water heater needs replacement is to take a clear bowl or plastic container, fill it up with hot water. If it looks rusty colored, then the water tank is starting to wear out and needs replacement. I usually flush mine once a year. I have been lucky to have 5 year water tanks last about 15 years this way. Not a fan of Tankless water heaters, they can fail far easier than a water tank and flood a house. My sisters house was built with one and the first one lasted 4 years, second is at 6 but leaking so they have it scheduled to replace it. Plus if you loose power, a gas hot water tank at least gives you 30 to 50 gallons to use depending on size where a tankless unit is not able too till power is restored.

ViewSonic has been a hit and miss for me both home and at work. They tend to pick up the surplus parts / stuff that needs to be dumped and so I say buyer beware. They have some good deals, but you need to read reviews and see how the life is on the specific model. Be careful! I tend to stay with NEC and DELL monitors as they just last, at least for me they have.

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/tctoqwf1md7hfdyqmefz.mp4 Crazy unsecured flat steel cuts off cab of semi truck. Crazy to watch.

Love seeing this, a review on all the various headlight cleaning / restore kits and which ones are best. A ranking which helps based on oxidation level for which ones work best. I Can See Clearly Now: The Best Headlight Restoration Kits - The Truth About Cars OUCH, OUCH, OUCH, VW was hoping to wrap things up in the European courts about Diesel gate and instead found themselves punished by the courts which will lead them to having to deal with more appeals. Volkswagen Experiences Déjà Vu in the European Court of Justice - The Truth About Cars Interesting write up and video showing how to use a Trailer Hitch Plow to clear your drive way. This Trailer Hitch Snowplow on My Subaru Saved My Driveway From a Massive Winter Storm (thedrive.com)

For those of us that like the black out packages or RS/Sport trim over chrome, Chevrolet seems to be embracing it as Chevrolet has stated 1/3rd of all SUV/CUV sales where RS/Sport/Blackout versions are available sold and it is one of the hardest trims to keep on the lot. Chevrolet has announced as they refresh all SUV/CUV/Truck products, if the RS/Sport/Blackout editions are not part of that product line, they will be added. Chevy SUV buyers adore RS, Midnight packages, so there will be more - Roadshow (cnet.com) Ram 2021 TRX Hellcat production has started and the first one off the assembly line will be auctioned off for Charity. Ram kicks off 2021 TRX production, will auction the first one off the line for charity - Roadshow (cnet.com) In 1968 Ford did a special Santa Bronco add. Now in 2020 Ford brings back the Santa Magic again. Seems Santa uses something a bit stronger than Reindeer for the snowier areas of the Globe, a Bronco! After 52 years, Santa still digs the Ford Bronco - Roadshow (cnet.com)

OUCH, Seems VW while talking big on EVs has failed to get their Dealer network in Germany alone trained on how to sell their EV and as such failing to move the ID.3 EV. The dealers point back to VW claiming it failed to give them enough notice, training and incentive to sell a low maintenance auto compared to an ICE auto. VW has said they have spent 7 figures alone in Germany on training. Guess the question is who reviewed and said the training was proper for getting the dealerships to sell EVs? Someone failed. Of the secret shopping, only 16% upon qualifying the potential buyer recommended the EV but 50% of the info they supplied was wrong. This low sale suggestion rate and high misinformation will hold VW back as it transitions to a total EV auto line. Part of the problem seems to be that VW is shooting themselves in the foot as they offer traditional incentives for selling an ICE auto where the dealership gets a kickback once the auto is sold and yet none are give for selling an EV. Right there is reason enough for a dealership to ignore selling an EV as they make more money on an ICE. VW needs to change and put the EV's on the incentive list. Study: German dealers refuse to sell ID.3 even as VW talks big on EVs - Electrek Could Toyota be shooting itself by the bad mouthing of EVs over hydrogen and Hybrids by their CEO? Seems Toyota's CEO is against Japans government putting in place a 2035 mandate of no new ICE auto sales in the country. Japan is focusing on going all EV new auto sales five years before China 2040 mandate. As such, Toyota according to various web sites seems to be bad mouthing EVs. The details seem to be best at Electrek so I posted the link below for you. I do wonder if Toyota could end up in the same position GM was a decade ago due to the resistance to embrace change. Toyota CEO shows lack of vision, spreads EV misinformation, and spells the end for the automaker - Electrek

Tesla announced today that they have made a change to a CCS adapter that will work with their existing cars proprietary connector. 2021 will start off as Tesla Model 3 and their Supercharging V3 in Europe will change to CCS standard. Asia also will get this adapter and Tesla will with new updated versions of their product lines move to a CCS interface starting with South Korea and China in 2021. This will open up thousands more charging options to EV drivers across Europe and the Asian rim. The big question is when will Tesla do this for North America? Tesla announces new CCS charging adapter but North America launch still unclear - Electrek

ProTerra, one of the US biggest EV bus manufactures has brought online their LA battery production line next to their EV bus manufacturing line. As such adding more jobs locally. Here they will be building their 3 different battery packs that can be bought with their EV buses, the largest being a 675 kWh battery pack giving the Proterra 40FT EV Bus a 329 mile range before recharge. Charged EVs | Proterra opens new EV battery production line in Los Angeles County - Charged EVs Interesting fact, EV buses have one fleet that is adding it's 500th bus and that is Moscow Russia. Russia is on track to have a total of 2,600 EV buses running around Moscow by 2024 and yet admits that this will only make up 1/3rd of their city bus fleet. Yet that is 1/3 less diesel as Moscow never went to hybrids or CNG buses. Going from a full Diesel fleet to pure EV by 2030. As of October 2020 London has the 2nd largest fleet with 300 EV buses running around, 259 in Paris, 200 in Berlin and 164 in Amsterdam. Charged EVs | Europe’s largest electric bus fleet adds its 500th vehicle - Charged EVs

2020 has seen one thing drop good and that is the price of battery packs per kWh. While the average EV saw the price drop to $137 per kWh per battery pack, EV buses which help mass transit saw the prices drop below $100 per kWh. In 2012 the industry reporting was that we would be at $200 per kWh battery packs and that was gonna be a challenge, but the industry is bringing down costs faster and now with Solid State batteries going into production, low cost EVs are making sense to bring to market with many starting from $18,000 to $25,000 which should make adoption of an EV even faster and more common. EV battery pack prices fell 13% in 2020, some are already below $100/kwh (greencarreports.com)

Baby

I see Season 4 has been green lighted, should be good.

Wife and I have gotten into this week Season 1 of Stranger Things. We really are enjoying it, almost over and will start Season 2 tomorrow. Stranger Things (TV Series 2016– ) - IMDb Yes, while I do love Netflix, their 1 week notice is a bit short if you have a series that is like 5 to 7 seasons long. Seems I was wrong or they have changed it, they now give 1 month notice of shows or movies that are leaving. How to find out if a TV show or movie is leaving Netflix

This is an interesting read in regards to our discussion about the 1% not paying their fair tax bill and clearly the 50 years of reviews of tax cuts for the Rich have not helped the rest of us be you middle income or poor. As @Drew Dowdell pointed out, we really need to remove all the holes and abuse tax write offs to balance out the tax system including capital gains tax which should always be at the persons tax rate. 50 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says - CBS News

Very cool simple charger to plug into the EGO riding lawn mower. POWER+ Z6 Zero Turn Riding Mower Charger (egopowerplus.com) Like ccap41 said, great that you can take out the batteries and use them with the other tools. Base is 4 batteries for 2 acres of mowing and yet add in the 2 additional batteries for 3 acres of mowing.

Same here have a very nice Mountain bike that now just hangs in my garage. Was used all the time with the kids and wife, but the last 10 years or so has not been touched. I have a Thul swing away. Love it as it makes it so easy to still get in the auto even with bikes loaded.

Is it the angle of the picture or is that 2500HD actually sitting higher than the Elevation truck?

Crunchy