Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

venture · December 2018

Good news about Rusty and Lily. Hopefully they both continue to improve.

venture · December 2018

One of our Sheetz (like 7-11 or Wawa for non east coasters) stores here installed about 8 Tesla charging stations recently. I go past there occasionally and haven't seen a car using one yet. Actually, I have only noticed 3 or 4 Tesla's around here. With the types of cars people in my neighborhood enjoy, that's a little surprising to me.

This particular store is very close to I-99 so there will probably be signs along the interstate soon mentioning the charging capabilities.

Are any EV able to use these charging stations or are the connections proprietary? Surely they don't all have their own system.

I understand Tesla stored a bunch of equipment in Sheetz warehouses during the hurricane in North Carolina. This may be why.

tjc78 · December 2018

venture said:

One of our Sheetz (like 7-11 or Wawa for non east coasters) stores here installed about 8 Tesla charging stations recently. I go past there occasionally and haven't seen a car using one yet. Actually, I have only noticed 3 or 4 Tesla's around here. With the types of cars people in my neighborhood enjoy, that's a little surprising to me. This particular store is very close to I-99 so there will probably be signs along the interstate soon mentioning the charging capabilities. Are any EV able to use these charging stations or are the connections proprietary? Surely they don't all have their own system. I understand Tesla stored a bunch of equipment in Sheetz warehouses during the hurricane in North Carolina. This may be why.

I always liked Sheetz. I always thought Wawa ripped off much of what they do and caterered it more to us east coast people.

Oh and to those that were asking about my Cousin’s truck. Yes he was made whole and the truck is fixed on the companie’s dime.

tjc78 · December 2018

Took the kids to a Chrismas light hay ride last night that a local farm does. Really cool and they had a blast.

Here are some pictures

tjc78 · December 2018

Up early getting ready to shop for holiday dinners! Italian 7 fishes tomorrow night and Prime Rib for Christmas Day. Two crazy days and we host both!

Yesterday spent a lot of time doing “honey do” lists. Touching up paint, hanging some new pictures, etc etc.

My wife really tries to make everyone’s visit special. Today my SIL has our kids so we can put the final details on all the gifts as well so all we have to do is bring them up from the basement after they fall asleep tomorrow night. So exciting for them!

In case I can’t check in, Happy Holidays/ Merry Christmas to all!!! Have safe travels wherever you are heading!

qbrozen · December 2018

explorerx4 said:

Right now here in the northeast we are getting about 9 hours of daylight. My house is a 3400 sq/ft(including 700 sq/ft finished basement space) colonial style house. Have natural gas heat with central air cooling. My total gas/electric/water cost was just under 3k last year. Saving $500 a month electrical says someone has a huge house.

Its not the size of the house but how you use it.

Seriously, though, my father's house isn't very big, but he somehow manages to use twice the electricity we do. I imagine they must just leave everything on all the time.

ab348 · December 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

I’ve always been intrigued by tidal power. I remember proposals for that area going back 50 years. They did a pilot project in the East river off Manhattan a few years ago to harness tidal forces. Don’t remember if it was successful but I do remember reading that the tidal forces were so strong they tore the generator off it’s mounts. That’s power.

The exact same thing happened here. The company that was partnered with the utility and had made the equipment that is underwater went bankrupt, so the derelict generator is still on the ocean floor. Will be a mess figuring out who is responsible for removal/repair.

ab348 · December 2018

venture said:

Are any EV able to use these charging stations or are the connections proprietary? Surely they don't all have their own system.

I believe they are Tesla-only, but stand to be corrected.

benjaminh · December 2018

tifighter said:
Some topical youtube viewing-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RhtiPefVzM

Good video. If I'm understanding it correctly, it says that if you live in a state that burns coal for electricity, as I unfortunately do, there's not much of an environmental advantage to owning a Tesla. Plus a Tesla costs a lot more than a regular car, and so for those of us for whom the total cost of ownership is important it makes no sense in terms of economics (or the environment) to own a Tesla.

In the video below, this guy says that when someone ran a red light and wrecked his Tesla this year (dash cam of that about 1 minute in) it took more than 3 months to get it fixed. Because of that he decided to replace his Tesla with a Honda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cCtg44Ixas

driver100 · December 2018

28firefighter said:
I’m quite enjoying the discussion on this topic because I’m not nearly as educated as I possibly could be on the subject. Just don’t want to see anyone being offended unnecessarily because the information sharing is great.

I try to save offensive discussions in my personal life for important events like weddings, bar mitzvahs, and funerals.

Even though we don’t celebrate Christmas, my company is closed this week so we are off to Philadelphia to spend a week with my folks.

Merry Christmas to those celebrating, and to the rest of us, enjoy your Chinese/Japanese/Thai food and going to the movies!

+1 .....couldn't have said it better myself

driver100 · December 2018

Michaell said:
Sorry, haven't given any updates on Lily for a few days.

She is improving - she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection of E.coli. Antibiotics seem to have made some headway against it. Appetite is returning.

With regards to the balance issues, we suspect that is orthopedic in origin. As we have decided not to do surgery, there is no need for an MRI, which the docs were reluctant to do anyway, as they were concerned about her ability to handle the anesthesia.

We have some non slip booties on the way so she won't slip and slide on our hardwood floors.

Glad to hear Lily is on the upswing health wise. Hope it continues.

benjaminh · December 2018

Nice tour of a new Tesla model 3. Didn't know it has both a regular trunk as well as a front trunk or "frunk."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfIjMxyg00o

abacomike · December 2018

@Michaell
@ab348

Good news, guys - Your Christmases will be that much more enjoyable and peaceful now that your pets are improving. My prayers and wishes for continued improvements.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

ab348 said:

venture said:

Are any EV able to use these charging stations or are the connections proprietary? Surely they don't all have their own system.
I believe they are Tesla-only, but stand to be corrected.

Correct. Tesla superchargers and destination chargers are Tesla-only. Superchargers communicate with the car and determine VIN and owner. Most S and Many X get free charging. Model 3 owners pay about 22 cents a kWh.

Tesla vehicles can charge at non-Tesla stations with adapters included with the car.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

Tesla has been slow with parts due to their Model 3 focus, which has been unfortunate for some owners needing them after an accident. I’m hoping to see aftermarket companies start offering parts. Now that Tesla has caught up to demand and even have cars in stock, I personally think we’ll see an improvement in part supply. The Tesla forums indicate this is already happening.

abacomike · December 2018

While I am up here posting, I wanted to remember to extend my sincerest wishes for a Very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago.

Both my grandsons are participating in their Lutheran Church’s Christmas Pageant at 11:00 AM PST this morning. My x daughter-in-law emailed me a link I can log on to in order to see the program streamed from Palm Desert California - isn’t technology marvelous - couldn’t do that 10 years ago. I’ll be enthralled to see the boys - I am so thrilled both grandsons take their religion seriously - it’s a true blessing considering the majority of young people today.

cdnpinhead · December 2018

Solar on a micro scale certainly has its place, and storage systems for a single house or building are practical and do exist -- for an entire city or a steel mill, not so much. Wind power can supplement the grid, but the fact remains that for large-scale macro power a conventional generating and distribution system needs to exist for times when there's no wind, or night-time base load, in the case of solar.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

tifighter said:
Some topical youtube viewing-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RhtiPefVzM

I like the content creator but in this situation he made some serious oversites. One glaring omission is that he estimated the carbon created in battery production, but didn’t include carbon release in the extraction, transportation, refinement, and second transportation of refined fossil fuels. Another major oversite was only including carbon dioxide as a source of pollution. There are many more to be considered.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

cdnpinhead said:
Solar on a micro scale certainly has its place, and storage systems for a single house or building are practical and do exist -- for an entire city or a steel mill, not so much. Wind power can supplement the grid, but the fact remains that for large-scale macro power a conventional generating and distribution system needs to exist for times when there's no wind, or night-time base load, in the case of solar.

Makes sense. I recommend watching that show I mentioned, “Search for the Super Battery”. It’s really well done and shows energy storage options available today. Utility level sustainable energy is possible today.

qbrozen · December 2018

cdnpinhead said:

Solar on a micro scale certainly has its place, and storage systems for a single house or building are practical and do exist -- for an entire city or a steel mill, not so much. Wind power can supplement the grid, but the fact remains that for large-scale macro power a conventional generating and distribution system needs to exist for times when there's no wind, or night-time base load, in the case of solar.

Now that I can agree with. Due to fluctuations in availability, neither solar nor wind should be seen as an entire solution. While quite expensive, it is quite feasible that a combination of renewable resources, such as both of those plus hydro plus geothermal could supply everything that is needed. Although, if everyone were driving electric cars and charging them at night ....

[Deleted User] · December 2018

driver100 said:

From that picture, it seems pretty obvious the car is fully charged and hasn't gone anywhere since then.
Maybe. But that big circular gauge in the center confuses me. The scale on the left looks like speed, but what is going on with the right side of the circle?

From that picture, it seems pretty obvious the car is fully charged and hasn't gone anywhere since then.
Maybe. But that big circular gauge in the center confuses me. The scale on the left looks like speed, but what is going on with the right side of the circle?
The battery icon with 100% is the vehicle's battery capacity, which can also be changed to miles instead of percent. My wife likes miles, so her profile is set that way when she drives, but my profile shows percent as I prefer that view. The right side shows consumption based on different time intervals, including a trip meter. My Model 3 looks way different than Model S shown, but the same information is available. Think of it like a miles-per-gallon meter coupled with a distance-to-empty estimate based on recent driving, and you have the ability to change how many of the previous miles you drove in that distance calculation. For the dial, the left side is another view of MPH. On the right side, the upper half is how much power a vehicle is consuming, and the bottom half is how much electricity is regenerated and fed back to the battery.
Ty, OK, got the round dial now.....although not sure what regenerated electricity will do for me in the big scheme of things. Whether miles or percentage.....how do I know how many miles I can still go.......and what if it starts to get hot and I turn on the air conditioner at full speed? And, where is that reading?

So sorry to be slow. I missed your reply last night.

Regen might be might favorite feature because it drastically reduces energy losses from braking that would go to waste heat in the calipers and brake pads. A Tesla owner is highly unlikely to ever replace brake pads or rotors in normal driving. The only time I touch brakes is when I’m in the last 3 to 4 mph and coming to a stop. Regen is powerful enough to act like a strong brake.

Use of AC or cabin heat reduces range and how much depends on the difference between the outside temp and the desired inside cabin temp. The range estimator in miles will take that into account based on recent driving history, and you can change that driving history to different miles or even current draw.

The view you see in that picture is just one of many and designed for at-a-glance info. There are other views. When I get a moment I’ll take a picture and post it so you can visually see what I’m not explaining well in words :-)

berri · December 2018

I think if you are going to add something like solar, before you invest you need to understand its life cycle costs (expected life, repairs, etc) and how the general marketplace views it if you sell the place. I think it is kind of like a swimming pool. Some really want one, but many will avoid it and buy something else. They don't want to deal with maintenance and repairs, don't like how it looks, etc.

carnaught · December 2018

A blessed and joyeous Christmas to all of our group who celebrate!

qbrozen · December 2018

berri said:

I think if you are going to add something like solar, before you invest you need to understand its life cycle costs (expected life, repairs, etc) and how the general marketplace views it if you sell the place. I think it is kind of like a swimming pool. Some really want one, but many will avoid it and buy something else. They don't want to deal with maintenance and repairs, don't like how it looks, etc.

I've been told it adds nothing to the home value. I wouldn't think so, but, like you said, I guess it scares some people. Both systems I've bought are waranteed for 20 years. And they are actually owned rather than leased, which is very rare in NJ. So it comes down to attempting to educate buyers before they overlook the house in the first place. Nearly impossible, methinks, which leaves you waiting for the next buyer who knows what it is and wants it. Kind of like a manual transmission. Haha.

imidazol97 · December 2018

qbrozen said:

berri said:

I think if you are going to add something like solar, before you invest you need to understand its life cycle costs (expected life, repairs, etc) and how the general marketplace views it if you sell the place. I think it is kind of like a swimming pool. Some really want one, but many will avoid it and buy something else. They don't want to deal with maintenance and repairs, don't like how it looks, etc.

I've been told it adds nothing to the home value. I wouldn't think so, but, like you said, I guess it scares some people. Both systems I've bought are waranteed for 20 years. And they are actually owned rather than leased, which is very rare in NJ. So it comes down to attempting to educate buyers before they overlook the house in the first place. Nearly impossible, methinks, which leaves you waiting for the next buyer who knows what it is and wants it. Kind of like a manual transmission. Haha.

To me as a buyer, it would be more like having a car with every option in the book on a premium vehicle. So many more things to break and be expensive to fix or be nonrepairable.

When we were shopping for this house in the 80s solar heating panels were the then current salesman's rage to convince customers they needed. I just skipped the listings.

imidazol97 · December 2018

How do people here who invest in the markets and buy and sell view the current pull back?

I was leery of the earlier pull back after long uptrend in the booming economy when the fourth-estate folks kept telling us it was just awful and the indicator of the end. It appeared to be a rotating readjustment.

Now we have the politicized screaming ninnies yelling the end of the world is near. But having suffered through many faces on TV who knew it all through decades, it seems like a pullback and buying opportunity to me. A fairly strong one, but having survived 1987 October surprise, I just wonder.

Summary is that there's been a long slow pull up which accelerated in the last two years. The earlier portion was fueled by pouring tax money into the markets to keep prices up benefiting the Wall Street houses. Then, like a step kid who was allowed to misbehave by an earlier parent coming into a marriage, the household requires some control be applied to the behavior of the undisciplines kid. The screaming and yelling at the new step-parent who's in control along with the original parent who didn't discipline means the stepchild is going to scream and manipulate wherever he/she can get by with it.

But bringing the discipline or higher interest rates into the market balance added to the uncertainty of the resistance efforts of some with their media arm along with the typical reluctance to be invested into a holiday break in the markets especially at year end, I see this rearrangement as a buying opportunity. The increased interest rates are helping lots of the older citizens who have investments that languished for 10 years with zero interest rates.

What are others here expecting and doing.

abacomike · December 2018

When I lived in Palm Desert, CA, as you approached Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs from Los Angeles going east (along Interstste 10) there were hundreds and hundreds of wind turbines planted in the desert sands. The reason they placed them at the Banning Pass was due to the constant winds blowing through that pass - sometimes from the east and sometimes from the west. Those turbines produced sufficient electricity to power most of the residences and businesses in the Coachella Valley (Indio, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Bermuda Dunes, LaQuinta and Coachella).

The sun shines 98% of the time with few, if any clouds, which conceivably would support solar as a major source of electricity. However, the wind turbines are more highly productive than solar.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

qbrozen said:

berri said:

I think if you are going to add something like solar, before you invest you need to understand its life cycle costs (expected life, repairs, etc) and how the general marketplace views it if you sell the place. I think it is kind of like a swimming pool. Some really want one, but many will avoid it and buy something else. They don't want to deal with maintenance and repairs, don't like how it looks, etc.

I've been told it adds nothing to the home value. I wouldn't think so, but, like you said, I guess it scares some people. Both systems I've bought are waranteed for 20 years. And they are actually owned rather than leased, which is very rare in NJ. So it comes down to attempting to educate buyers before they overlook the house in the first place. Nearly impossible, methinks, which leaves you waiting for the next buyer who knows what it is and wants it. Kind of like a manual transmission. Haha.

That’s a great analogy. Just like a standard transmission you have a limited market. Also like a car you have a depreciating asset which I suspect doesn’t lose value in a straight line. You will probably not get back 50% of your investment 10 years into a 20 year life cycle.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

imidazol97 said:
How do people here who invest in the markets and buy and sell view the current pull back?

I was leery of the earlier pull back after long uptrend in the booming economy when the fourth-estate folks kept telling us it was just awful and the indicator of the end. It appeared to be a rotating readjustment.

Now we have the politicized screaming ninnies yelling the end of the world is near. But having suffered through many faces on TV who knew it all through decades, it seems like a pullback and buying opportunity to me. A fairly strong one, but having survived 1987 October surprise, I just wonder.

Summary is that there's been a long slow pull up which accelerated in the last two years. The earlier portion was fueled by pouring tax money into the markets to keep prices up benefiting the Wall Street houses. Then, like a step kid who was allowed to misbehave by an earlier parent coming into a marriage, the household requires some control be applied to the behavior of the undisciplines kid. The screaming and yelling at the new step-parent who's in control along with the original parent who didn't discipline means the stepchild is going to scream and manipulate wherever he/she can get by with it.

But bringing the discipline or higher interest rates into the market balance added to the uncertainty of the resistance efforts of some with their media arm along with the typical reluctance to be invested into a holiday break in the markets especially at year end, I see this rearrangement as a buying opportunity. The increased interest rates are helping lots of the older citizens who have investments that languished for 10 years with zero interest rates.

What are others here expecting and doing.

I think rising interest rates are the culprit here. When interest was near zero what other choice did you have but stocks to get yield. Now with secure government bonds giving 3% some people are rotating out of stocks which pay smaller dividends.

If you panic and sell now you’re locking in losses. 20% pullbacks are quite common but long term, the stock market makes a historical 7% gain per year. Depends on your timeline I guess.

To look at it this way, if you dollar cost average, your money is buying more shares now because they’re cheaper. When the market goes back up those extra shares will multiply your investment. If I had a lot of free cash I’d be buying right now.

Just remember, free financial advice is worth every penny you pay.

berri · December 2018

There don't appear to be any attractive options to invest in right now. The stock market will be volatile, probably going up and down, reflecting the chaos in our gov right now. Timing the market seldom works unless you get lucky. Don't forget that tariffs end up as a tax on consumers and that in the S&P 500 many of the listed corporations get 20-40% of their revenues outside of the US. The tax cut so far is not being invested that much according to what I'm reading at least, but it drove the budget deficit way up. That has the potential to hurt bondholders because it often drives up interest rates leading to a shrinking of the bond's redemption value. If interest rates and inflation keep increasing (no sure bet either way) then the consumer portion of our economy will probably pull back on things like autos and houses. The latter can impact other purchases like appliances and furniture. Cash - most current interest on savings lags inflation, meaning you are actually losing implicitly because over time your cash is worth less than inflation's impact on goods and services. If you are comfortable with your current diversification, I'd probably sit tight for now. Over time, a good diversified portfolio generally wins out despite any short term losses. But another major recession will be bad news for most. However, right now at least, few are forecasting more than a milder recession. Bottom line - who knows? If you are over concentrated in a particular investment sector, then you might want to fix that aspect.

Michaell · December 2018

Like @tyguy, I live in Colorado. Also, I have a solar array on my house.

And a nice app on my phone to show how much energy it produces. Here is a screen shot from last week. It’s nice that we get so much sunshine here.

berri · December 2018

I'd think Colorado would be a good place to have solar personally.

cdnpinhead · December 2018

imidazol97 said:
How do people here who invest in the markets and buy and sell view the current pull back?

What are others here expecting and doing.

My policy is to hold 110 minus my age in equities of various sorts (S&P index, International, Growth, Value) and the rest in bond funds and money markets. I make absolutely no attempt to time the market -- I rebalance annually to let the winners pay the losers and ride the dips out. I've heard that if you weren't in the market on the top 20 days when it went up the most over the past 50 years, your aggregate yield is much lower than it would have been otherwise. Many of those 20 days occurred during or after big downturns when people who fled the market weren't able to take advantage of them -- very hard to predict.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

My wife is bingeing on the SiFY channel which is showing the most god-awful bunch of Santa themed movies I have ever seen. Among the offerings are ‘Santa Jaws’ and Santa Slay’. Right now a crabby old woman is being chased down the highway by a demonic Santa in a sleigh pulled by a monster.

Brother!

[Deleted User] · December 2018

I think solar home value will depend on where you live. We had a professional appraisal performed and they added quite a bit to the value of the home for our area as they're seeing increased demand for homes with solar. I investigated a relo recently and we wanted a home with solar, and noted solar-installed homes were going for increased $/sq ft than comparable homes without. I could definitely see that in some areas it could be more problematic trying to sell a home with solar.

As for maintenance needs, there are none unless you have overhead trees that could necessitate brushing off leaves and limbs. Our solar install has a full 25-year warranty on all components, so repairs for us are a non-issue. There are no moving parts and the typical install should outlast all your appliances, water heater, and furnace.

berri · December 2018

That's certainly a valid approach and your stocks/industries look diversified. The only potential issue (and it looks like you've probably got that covered) is to make sure if you die, your spouse has sufficient cash to pull from in case stocks and/or bonds have nosedived at that point in time.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2018

ab348 said:

venture said:

Are any EV able to use these charging stations or are the connections proprietary? Surely they don't all have their own system.
I believe they are Tesla-only, but stand to be corrected.

Yes, other EVs can use the "Destination Charging" stations, but not the Supercharging Stations--those are Tesla-only.

Also you'll need a special adapter plug, and you will charge at a maximum rate of about 7 kW max, unlike a Supercharger station which can deliver at 100 kW+.

https://shop.quickchargepower.com/JDapter-Stub-Tesla-Charge-Station-Adaptor-JDPTRSTB.htm;jsessionid=504BD0C8C73B0D32D47C4665BCF67C77.p3plqscsfapp001

The business you mentioned no doubt has partnered with Tesla to install the Destination Charging type. I doubt they are Superchargers but I really don't know---go look and tell us!

explorerx4 · December 2018

Any warranty is only good if the company stays in business and is willing to honor it.

henryn · December 2018

Speaking of home buyers and what they will like or not like (swimming pools, solar, etc) …

I live in what a few years back would be called a ghetto, now undergoing gentrification. It’s inside Loop 610, close to downtown, the University of Houston, Rice University, Texas Southern University. And perhaps most importantly, very close to the world famous Houston Medical Center. But up until 3 or 4 years ago, no one wanted to live here. The local television news didn’t help, highlighting crime and gang activity (most of which was made up in their pointy little heads to sell advertising revenue).

I will admit, when I bought my present house and moved here in 2011, there were a few spots that you needed to avoid. There was a night club / dive called “The Turning Point” which was a very bad place. They made the top 10 list for the highest number of police calls in a month quite frequently, and it wasn’t unusual to see crime scene tape around their parking lot on a Saturday or Sunday morning. And then there was the coin operated car wash two blocks down from the Turning Point. A (now retired) Houston Police Officer once told me it was the largest open air drug market in the city, which is saying something. Quite a few shootings took place there as well.

The coin operated car wash is gone, now a strip shopping center. The Turning Point is still there, but it’s been a couple of years since the last time I saw crime scene tape around the parking lot. Gentrification. But really, all you ever needed to do was avoid a few spots, which were pretty easily identified by anyone with the ability to see.

The old timers tell me that there was a big apartment complex where my house now sits. The city condemned that apartment complex back in the early 2000’s, a developer bought the land and put up 5 houses, one of which I now live in. Standard city lots (about 1/5 acre), similar enough to look cookie cutter but with slightly different floor plans and varying from 1250 sq ft up to 1500 sq ft. The developer built the houses in conjunction with HUD, which means they met some pretty high standards. Double pane windows, electric and gas outlets everywhere (hot water heater, clothes dryer, cook stove, etc).

But they sold the houses to people who weren’t really qualified to handle the mortgage. This house sold in 2005 for $105k to people who didn’t have a snowball’s chance in h___ of making the mortgage payments. Every single one of the five houses were foreclosed in short order, and I bought this one from HUD in 2011 for $50k. And spent another $12k before I could move in, but still a very good deal.

This neighborhood is now a very mixed bag. There are a lot of empty lots, and value of the lots has been skyrocketing. Six or seven years ago I could have bought any number of empty lots around here for $20 to $25k. Right now, I don’t think I could find a lot for less than $50k or $60k. About 4 blocks from me, a developer put up 4 town houses on a double lot. Three stories, 2100 square feet, $325k asking per. They have been on the market for a year now, with none sold. Two blocks over, someone is now building 5 townhouses on a double lot. Which seems a little overconfident to me, but what do I know?

But what I started intending to talk about here is the new house just across from me. This is a custom house, and a very unusual one at that. It took the builder 14 months to build it, and I had the chance to converse with the builder a number of times. The woman who built the house is an architect, and she designed the house herself. And specified all of the materials, some of which were hard to obtain, which made the process take quite a while. Okay, so what makes the house unusual and difficult to sell once she gets tired of it?

The entire ground floor is a 3 car garage, and is built of cinder blocks. The first unusual thing I noticed during construction, the north facing cinder block wall has air gaps. A bunch of them. And, the front of this garage is a mesh or chain type fabric. It has a motorized opening and closing mechanism, but is completely open to the elements. I have seen such on commercial buildings, but never on a private home. Okay, number two, the only access to the upstairs living quarters is one staircase. Outside. Covered on top, but completely open on the side.

The upper floor is covered in steel. Nothing wrong with that, but the windows … They all appear to be custom, and apparently none of them open. Not one. Mostly long and tall, about 6 feet high by 1.5 feet wide. The house looks strange from the street, and the more you know about it, the stranger it becomes. This may suit the present owner, who designed all of it, but sooner or later she will want to sell, and just who is going to want it?

venture · December 2018

Mr_Shiftright said:

ab348 said:

venture said:

Are any EV able to use these charging stations or are the connections proprietary? Surely they don't all have their own system.
I believe they are Tesla-only, but stand to be corrected.
Yes, other EVs can use the "Destination Charging" stations, but not the Supercharging Stations--those are Tesla-only.

Also you'll need a special adapter plug, and you will charge at a maximum rate of about 7 kW max, unlike a Supercharger station which can deliver at 100 kW+.

https://shop.quickchargepower.com/JDapter-Stub-Tesla-Charge-Station-Adaptor-JDPTRSTB.htm;jsessionid=504BD0C8C73B0D32D47C4665BCF67C77.p3plqscsfapp001

The business you mentioned no doubt has partnered with Tesla to install the Destination Charging type. I doubt they are Superchargers but I really don't know---go look and tell us!

How would I know? How about a picture?

Mr_Shiftright · December 2018

It might say something on the charger.

venture · December 2018

Mr_Shiftright said:
It might say something on the charger.

I didn't see anything on the charger itself except for the symbol on the interior red part, but I didn't get out of my car so maybe there is small print somewhere. Maybe someone can tell by looking at a picture.

There are 8 of them. 6 in one row and 2 located 90 degrees from the 6. This sign is near the 2:

Here's a close up if it helps:

[Deleted User] · December 2018

venture said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

ab348 said:

venture said:

Are any EV able to use these charging stations or are the connections proprietary? Surely they don't all have their own system.
I believe they are Tesla-only, but stand to be corrected.
Yes, other EVs can use the "Destination Charging" stations, but not the Supercharging Stations--those are Tesla-only.

Also you'll need a special adapter plug, and you will charge at a maximum rate of about 7 kW max, unlike a Supercharger station which can deliver at 100 kW+.

https://shop.quickchargepower.com/JDapter-Stub-Tesla-Charge-Station-Adaptor-JDPTRSTB.htm;jsessionid=504BD0C8C73B0D32D47C4665BCF67C77.p3plqscsfapp001

The business you mentioned no doubt has partnered with Tesla to install the Destination Charging type. I doubt they are Superchargers but I really don't know---go look and tell us!
How would I know? How about a picture?

The Tesla destination chargers are the same as what owners can buy for their homes:

https://shop.tesla.com/us/en/product/vehicle-accessories/model-s_x_3-wall-connector.html

[Deleted User] · December 2018

For those interested in the Tesla Model 3 screen, this is the left quarter of it when in park. Ignore the weird pattern. In real life it's just white. You can see your distance to empty, the "gear" you're in, can open the front trunk and rear trunk, open the charge port, and open other applications.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

This is that same view, but with one of the apps open for tire pressure:

[Deleted User] · December 2018

And another look, this time with driving data for the current trip (we stopped at our neighborhood mail box then arrived home, so just a mile on this trip. It shows distance, time (including sitting in park with the car on), and energy consumption. You can scroll down and see that same data since the last time it was charged.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

And here's the other side of the screen. I have the energy app open that shows consumption over miles. This view is looking at the last 5 miles, which, if averaged for the remaining battery capacity, would give me another 298 miles (I'm at 80% charge at this point). Different historical mileage can be used to change that projection. Underneath the energy app is a large navigation screen, which is the default view. On the bottom are the "sticky" functions that stay regardless of the app open. I'll need to take a picture of what it looks like when we drive, but I'll need my wife's help for that to stay safe.

houdini2 · December 2018

Imid, I was flying pretty high and even looking forward to a small rally at the end of the year until last week happened. I put last week on the Fed. Seemed it was planned and premeditated to me. Absolutely no reason to dwell on planned increases for next year.

Though flying high, I was also flying scared and only had about a third of available investment funds in the market. I got hurt, but not as bad as it could have been.

An investment adviser brow beat me about a month ago for having too much cash on hand. Sure glad I didn't listen to him. I am just sort of holding steady right now, no big moves, and waiting to see which way everything breaks. Some equity prices look really low right now, but I guess "low" is a relative term.

imidazol97 · December 2018

henryn said:
The local television news didn’t help, highlighting crime and gang activity (most of which was made up in their pointy little heads to sell advertising revenue).

...

Media slanting stories? Say it's not true... LOL

Atlanta let the area north of downtown go to seed with little law enforcement so then the properties could be picked up cheap and friends and family could benefit from the resurgence when the policing started returning. My buddy was flipping houses back in that era in Atlanta.

imidazol97 · December 2018

berri said:
The stock market will be volatile, probably going up and down, reflecting the chaos in our gov right now.

The chaos is mostly in the media arm of the party. Most of the actions are similar to previous administrations. So the market movement I read in terms of markets and the great economy I see all around me here.
As for the investing, that's what I was curious about--how others were seeing the current market.

I suspect in January after first couple o weeks which are treated as a sign for the year by some, more normal reactions will occur.

I've learned that when the general public decides there's a problem in the market, it's already been sold by the Wall Streeters and the lay people absorb the losses selling at the lowest point while WS is buying for things to go back up. So I tend to do contrary moves. Earlier in the year the Fed, a private institution allowed to manipulate our monies, said they were doing 3 or 4 increases. The goal was to have interest rates high enough that were there a slow down and stimulation needed, there would be the ability to stimulate by lowering rates. It was hard to lower rates in the previous admin because they were 0 and being held by printing money. So is the Fed acting to cause political push or are they acting responsibly. Right now, I'll go with responsibly and suggest the media has used the large move politically when it's not really that.

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