EMB Blog: 2023 Camps and Preseason - NO POLITICS

[paco]

@BigEFly you made all valid points and in a vacuum I don't disagree with any of them.  But allow me to make a few comments, counterpoints\play devils advocate, etc.

  

12 hours ago, BigEFly said:

I inherited my sister’s electric car (a Bolt) and hated it.  Couldn’t sell it quick enough.  Constantly watching the gauge to see whether I had enough remaining battery.  Choice of heat or mileage in winter was a pain. In my gas car, I could easily go from Houston to her place at Canyon Lake (northwest of San Antonio) on a tank of gas with miles to spare. The Bolt required a charge to make it although a quick charge would just make it.  ...  With no commute or traffic, electric makes no sense for me.  Other than carbon footprint. But on months I am not traveling, one vehicle gets filled about every three months and my main vehicle usually no more than once a month, if not six weeks. 

 

I stripped out the middle since the beginning and the end kind of go together in this discussion.  You mention watching the gauge to see if you had enough remaining battery.  I would ask, do you watch the gauge on your ICE cars?  If the answer is yes, then your issue isn't with EV's themselves but the infrastructure to allow you to charge them on long commutes.  And we are in agreement there, the infrastructure is not good enough yet.

 

We have two cars.  Our Explorer and our Mach-E.  Our Mach is our every day car for getting around town while our Explorer is for long haul trips.  And long haul trips when you have a toddler and 3 dogs means you are setting up for the night somewhere else, and the Mach doesn't have the storage anyway.  Honestly the only time we would use the Mach is for long distance but quick trips is to the Jersey shore (we have a little condo in Brigantine we rent out, so we need to make trips down there to clean it from time to time) and we were legit excited to see the Ford partnership with Tesla, since the rest area on the expressway has a charging station there.

But for us, we view the EV as freeing in a way.  For one, we don't travel a ton, so for the most part we have eliminated trips to the gas station entirely, and to be honest I never knew how much I hated going to the gas station. (the lines at Christiana Costco don't help ) I like to say it takes me 5 minutes to gas up my Explorer (More in NJ because.... NJ) but 6 seconds to charge our Mach; 3 seconds to plug it in and 3 seconds to unplug it.  So in that way, I view going to the gas station as an inconvenience. 

Also, it brings in long day trips into play.  We live in southern Chester County and bought season passes to Dutch Wonderland for our daughter. It opens at 11 and she needs to get home by 2 for her nap, so why do it?  Well, considering it costs me less than $9 for 200 miles of range (and I'm being very conservative, its probably 25% less, but that's a whole other conversation) we think nothing of making those trips.  Conversely, on our way home from Brigantine, I put $40 of 93 gas at the shell station at the rest stop, and it added just a tad over half a tank.  From a range perspective, gas is more than 3x more expensive for us.  So I don't think twice making a 30 mile trip each way so my daughter can have fun at an amusement park for a few hours.

 

Which brings me to why I included the latter part of your post.  IMO, for your current lifestyle, the EV actually makes a ton of sense, just not for the long commutes.

  

12 hours ago, BigEFly said:

 My cousin’s Tesla has had major failures. I have had my Hondas longer with no issue although I do have to have the fluids changed and he only fills his windshield wiper.  He now owns two cars, one gas car for road trips and the Tesla for in town (Houston).

This isn't an inditement on EV's rather an problem with Telsa being notorious at failing at form and fit.  It's like saying back in 1996 that cars are crap because KIA's were junky.  No, cars are fine, KIA was the new kid on the block and they needed to improve to be on the same level as the major automakers. It takes a while to master form and fit  

  

12 hours ago, BigEFly said:

But electric is rarely carbon free.  Let’s be real about the environmental damage done mining the minerals that go into electrics too.  

Agree 100%.  Anyone who smells their own ass thinking they are saving the planet with an EV needs to see what those mines look like.   That's why two things are very, very important:

1) Making sure there are strict regulations when it comes to EV's to recycle the batteries and making sure they don't go straight to the junkyard

2) Continue to R&D battery tech.  LFP is a good start.  Solid state will be a game changer.

[mattwill]

10 hours ago, RememberTheKoy said:

I think we could see a situation where Chiefs-Eagles play in 3 straight Super Bowls.  If the Eagles win the second one then it sets up probably the most hyped Super Bowl in NFL history for the best of 3 tie breaker.  If Eagles end up 2-1 in Super Bowls over the Chiefs over the next 2 seasons then Jalen will have stake to best QB of his era claim.  Especially if he gets league MVP at least once and wins both Super Bowl MVPs on top of his already unbelievable performance in the 1st Super Bowl.  

 

[greendestiny27]

With Miles chirping about his SB usage, it was reported he had hurt his wrist early on in the game that's why he wasn't used. I wonder if this is true or not now... 

[RememberTheKoy]

Hurts and TO

 

 

[bpac55]

 

[Iggles_Phan]

15 hours ago, mattwill said:

I like your EV too.  I’m not sure why @Iggles_Phan has a hard on about EV’s … or iPhones.  He may have an argument in his Oat Milk hate though.

A hard on?   No.

iPhones have turned this current generation into mindless drones staring at a screen and seeking validation on social media, while losing the ability to interact with other humans.  The iPhone (mix Android in there as well) has pros.  It also has cons.

EVs?  Shall we discuss the environmental impact of all the components that go into the batteries needed?  The tethering that they force on travel to stop for however long is required to recharge? 

And oat milk?  Nah, that's not milk.  

 

Something being new doesn't necessitate it being 'good'.  Equally, something being 'traditional' also doesn't necessitate it being 'bad' either.   Of course, the reverse of that is also true.  New isn't inherently 'bad', nor is 'traditional' inherently 'good'.  

 

Baseball's change to focus on analytics and the excessive emphasis on strikeouts and home runs isn't an improvement.  Relief pitchers coming in and just throwing gas constantly isn't 'better'.  I much prefer sliders, curveballs, splitters... just throwing 100 mph is boring.    Gone are the hit and runs of the past, the suicide (or even safety) squeeze.  The classic double switch is also gone with the push of the DH to both leagues.  "Managing" is hardly managing anymore.  The need for depth of the roster being able to play multiple positions so that they can be inserted into games in double switches... pitchers being able to handle a bat... just not a great change for the game.

The most exciting at-bat in the 2008 World Series run for the Phillies was Brett Myers facing CC Sabathia.  Sure, it resulted in a walk... but it was a 2 out at-bat with a runner at 3rd, and the crescendo built from there, before the climax of the grand slam by Victorino.  That drama just isn't there with a position player batting 9th.  

[Aerolithe_Lion]

that’s what happens when you’re loaded

[Cochis_Calhoun]

4 hours ago, greendestiny27 said:

With Miles chirping about his SB usage, it was reported he had hurt his wrist early on in the game that's why he wasn't used. I wonder if this is true or not now... 

I heard he coughed the ball up early on and had sucked his way to 7 carries for 16 yards when they stopped giving him the ball, he was awful in the Superbowl, that isn't Sirianni or Steichen's fault

Fact is he's got sand in his vag because the Eagles didn't think he was worth what he thought he was worth after his one good rushing season, and now he's in Carolina while the team tries to get back to the Superbowl.

 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

3 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

A hard on?   No.

iPhones have turned this current generation into mindless drones staring at a screen and seeking validation on social media, while losing the ability to interact with other humans.  The iPhone (mix Android in there as well) has pros.  It also has cons.

EVs?  Shall we discuss the environmental impact of all the components that go into the batteries needed?  The tethering that they force on travel to stop for however long is required to recharge? 

And oat milk?  Nah, that's not milk.  

 

Something being new doesn't necessitate it being 'good'.  Equally, something being 'traditional' also doesn't necessitate it being 'bad' either.   Of course, the reverse of that is also true.  New isn't inherently 'bad', nor is 'traditional' inherently 'good'.  

 

Baseball's change to focus on analytics and the excessive emphasis on strikeouts and home runs isn't an improvement.  Relief pitchers coming in and just throwing gas constantly isn't 'better'.  I much prefer sliders, curveballs, splitters... just throwing 100 mph is boring.    Gone are the hit and runs of the past, the suicide (or even safety) squeeze.  The classic double switch is also gone with the push of the DH to both leagues.  "Managing" is hardly managing anymore.  The need for depth of the roster being able to play multiple positions so that they can be inserted into games in double switches... pitchers being able to handle a bat... just not a great change for the game.

The most exciting at-bat in the 2008 World Series run for the Phillies was Brett Myers facing CC Sabathia.  Sure, it resulted in a walk... but it was a 2 out at-bat with a runner at 3rd, and the crescendo built from there, before the climax of the grand slam by Victorino.  That drama just isn't there with a position player batting 9th.  

I have some bad news for you on the baseball front. I’m going to the Diamondbacks Phillies game on Tuesday and Thursday. The Phillies have lost 10 consecutive games I’ve been to in Arizona. So lower your expectations for what they’re going to do in Arizona this week.

[BigEFly]

9 hours ago, paco said:

@BigEFly you made all valid points and in a vacuum I don't disagree with any of them.  But allow me to make a few comments, counterpoints\play devils advocate, etc.

  

I stripped out the middle since the beginning and the end kind of go together in this discussion.  You mention watching the gauge to see if you had enough remaining battery.  I would ask, do you watch the gauge on your ICE cars?  If the answer is yes, then your issue isn't with EV's themselves but the infrastructure to allow you to charge them on long commutes.  And we are in agreement there, the infrastructure is not good enough yet.

 

We have two cars.  Our Explorer and our Mach-E.  Our Mach is our every day car for getting around town while our Explorer is for long haul trips.  And long haul trips when you have a toddler and 3 dogs means you are setting up for the night somewhere else, and the Mach doesn't have the storage anyway.  Honestly the only time we would use the Mach is for long distance but quick trips is to the Jersey shore (we have a little condo in Brigantine we rent out, so we need to make trips down there to clean it from time to time) and we were legit excited to see the Ford partnership with Tesla, since the rest area on the expressway has a charging station there.

But for us, we view the EV as freeing in a way.  For one, we don't travel a ton, so for the most part we have eliminated trips to the gas station entirely, and to be honest I never knew how much I hated going to the gas station. (the lines at Christiana Costco don't help ) I like to say it takes me 5 minutes to gas up my Explorer (More in NJ because.... NJ) but 6 seconds to charge our Mach; 3 seconds to plug it in and 3 seconds to unplug it.  So in that way, I view going to the gas station as an inconvenience. 

Also, it brings in long day trips into play.  We live in southern Chester County and bought season passes to Dutch Wonderland for our daughter. It opens at 11 and she needs to get home by 2 for her nap, so why do it?  Well, considering it costs me less than $9 for 200 miles of range (and I'm being very conservative, its probably 25% less, but that's a whole other conversation) we think nothing of making those trips.  Conversely, on our way home from Brigantine, I put $40 of 93 gas at the shell station at the rest stop, and it added just a tad over half a tank.  From a range perspective, gas is more than 3x more expensive for us.  So I don't think twice making a 30 mile trip each way so my daughter can have fun at an amusement park for a few hours.

 

Which brings me to why I included the latter part of your post.  IMO, for your current lifestyle, the EV actually makes a ton of sense, just not for the long commutes.

  

This isn't an inditement on EV's rather an problem with Telsa being notorious at failing at form and fit.  It's like saying back in 1996 that cars are crap because KIA's were junky.  No, cars are fine, KIA was the new kid on the block and they needed to improve to be on the same level as the major automakers. It takes a while to master form and fit  

  

Agree 100%.  Anyone who smells their own ass thinking they are saving the planet with an EV needs to see what those mines look like.   That's why two things are very, very important:

1) Making sure there are strict regulations when it comes to EV's to recycle the batteries and making sure they don't go straight to the junkyard

2) Continue to R&D battery tech.  LFP is a good start.  Solid state will be a game changer.

All valid points.  I should mention I used the Bolt at the place I inherited from my sister in Canyon Lake where the main shopping area is 21 miles away.  It just didn’t make sense there. It was the second Bolt sold in Houston and one of the first in the country. I am sure they improved since then.  Both Ford and GM are going with Tesla charging which is good because that is one thing they have right. (My comment about Tesla was targeted at Tesla.)

I mentioned my cars are Hondas. I have always gone for good gas mileage vehicles since my muscle car (which I ironically owned through the gas crisis and yet never had to wait in line or sweat an empty tank).  My CRV actually tells me my average MPG and gives me an approximate range which I glance at occasionally but gas stations are plentiful, charging stations aren’t yet.  If I lived in a more populated area, an electric might make sense but State Store, Walmart and two grocery stores are less than a half a mile to all round trip from my house. 

But I do travel long distances because I am retired and this is a beautiful country. I suspect my next small SUV will be a hybrid.  

[jamiller]

3 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

I have some bad news for you on the baseball front. I’m going to the Diamondbacks Phillies game on Tuesday and Thursday. The Phillies have lost 10 consecutive games I’ve been to in Arizona. So lower your expectations for what they’re going to do in Arizona this week.

We're due.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

2 minutes ago, jamiller said:

We're due.

I mean the eagles did pull it off last year when i went. So that ended the overall streak of Philly teams I’ve seen lose in Az. Then again lost SB out here but i didn’t go. 

[Iggles25]

1 hour ago, BigEFly said:

All valid points.  I should mention I used the Bolt at the place I inherited from my sister in Canyon Lake where the main shopping area is 21 miles away.  It just didn’t make sense there. It was the second Bolt sold in Houston and one of the first in the country. I am sure they improved since then.  Both Ford and GM are going with Tesla charging which is good because that is one thing they have right. (My comment about Tesla was targeted at Tesla.)

I mentioned my cars are Hondas. I have always gone for good gas mileage vehicles since my muscle car (which I ironically owned through the gas crisis and yet never had to wait in line or sweat an empty tank).  My CRV actually tells me my average MPG and gives me an approximate range which I glance at occasionally but gas stations are plentiful, charging stations aren’t yet.  If I lived in a more populated area, an electric might make sense but State Store, Walmart and two grocery stores are less than a half a mile to all round trip from my house. 

But I do travel long distances because I am retired and this is a beautiful country. I suspect my next small SUV will be a hybrid.  

Fellow CRV owner. Great ride and 30 mpg.

[D-Shiznit]

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-captain-checkdown-quarterbacks-checkdown-passes-2023

[Desertbirds]

Good series win versus the Dodgers.

 

[paco]

1 hour ago, BigEFly said:

All valid points.  I should mention I used the Bolt at the place I inherited from my sister in Canyon Lake where the main shopping area is 21 miles away.  It just didn’t make sense there. It was the second Bolt sold in Houston and one of the first in the country. I am sure they improved since then.  Both Ford and GM are going with Tesla charging which is good because that is one thing they have right. (My comment about Tesla was targeted at Tesla.)

I mentioned my cars are Hondas. I have always gone for good gas mileage vehicles since my muscle car (which I ironically owned through the gas crisis and yet never had to wait in line or sweat an empty tank).  My CRV actually tells me my average MPG and gives me an approximate range which I glance at occasionally but gas stations are plentiful, charging stations aren’t yet.  If I lived in a more populated area, an electric might make sense but State Store, Walmart and two grocery stores are less than a half a mile to all round trip from my house. 

But I do travel long distances because I am retired and this is a beautiful country. I suspect my next small SUV will be a hybrid.  

Dumb question.  Did your bolt come with a portable charger?  If not, then I can definitely see it being a PITA. 

 

I put a 240 line with a 50 amp 4 prong plug for the Machs charger and was THIS close to re wire it for a Charge Point charger I bought.  Then for announced the Tesla partnership.  Then GM. So I sent that bad boy back this weekend and just use the plug until they figure out what the standard is going to be   

[Iggles_Phan]

2 hours ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

I have some bad news for you on the baseball front. I’m going to the Diamondbacks Phillies game on Tuesday and Thursday. The Phillies have lost 10 consecutive games I’ve been to in Arizona. So lower your expectations for what they’re going to do in Arizona this week.

 

[RememberTheKoy]

The 4-4 Philadelphia USFL team down 7 heading into half against the 2-6 NJ team on Fox right now.

[BigEFly]

7 hours ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

that’s what happens when you’re loaded

PFF ought to consult the dictionary definition of "duo”.

[BigEFly]

3 hours ago, Iggles25 said:

Fellow CRV owner. Great ride and 30 mpg.

I drive so much highway I get 32-36 mph if I drive the speed limit (I rarely do that.)

[mattwill]

8 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Something being new doesn't necessitate it being 'good'.  Equally, something being 'traditional' also doesn't necessitate it being 'bad' either.   Of course, the reverse of that is also true.  New isn't inherently 'bad', nor is 'traditional' inherently 'good'. 

It isn't good or bad or sad.  It is evolution.  It is change.  It is human nature.  It is also inevitable.

[BigEFly]

3 hours ago, paco said:

Dumb question.  Did your bolt come with a portable charger?  If not, then I can definitely see it being a PITA. 

 

I put a 240 line with a 50 amp 4 prong plug for the Machs charger and was THIS close to re wire it for a Charge Point charger I bought.  Then for announced the Tesla partnership.  Then GM. So I sent that bad boy back this weekend and just use the plug until they figure out what the standard is going to be   

My sister had a 240 charger and a Tesla conversion plug (at Tesla charging stations that’s still not their fast charge.) I just went with what she had. BTW, she had solar panels so a fair amount of home charging was cheap.  She didn’t do a home battery system to store electricity.  Huge mistake from my viewpoint.  I sold the home as well as the Bolt.  The plug wiring is a must, in my view.  My electricity is nuclear at this time.  I keep hoping for residential sized wind and then I may adopt that with some American solar.  Don’t want the Chinese panels at this point.

[RememberTheKoy]

Genuinely fun ending to this usfl game.

[ToastJenkins]

17 minutes ago, mattwill said:

It isn't good or bad or sad.  It is evolution.  It is change.  It is human nature.  It is also inevitable.

Most change fails and for good reason

[Miami]

4 hours ago, D-Shiznit said:

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-captain-checkdown-quarterbacks-checkdown-passes-2023

Thanks.  Good stat.  No question Hurts needs to adjust.  Swift is really good at swing passes.