Cooled off slightly to allow reasonably comfortable walking around the neighborhood. Later, Ivi and I go shopping, browse the magazine stand, spot a rare Norwegian Think City ev (electric vehicle) and visit with Janet.
Finally, the special effects of the day, capturing Ivi as she helps air the tires and check all systems prior to a P-car run.
Today, once past a downtown walk to run some errands, is mostly about staying in the shade. And I did try to lose a neighbor’s Triumph motorcycle in the bushes.
Living here in the backwater affords few opportunities for encounters in the flesh, up close & personal, of even mildly exotic equipment like the new generation C-7. I was photographing her Stingray when the grandmotherly Zola came upon me, introduced herself and proceeded to regale me with facts and figures and stories about her three-month-old machine. So I learn that hers is one of the “lesser” variants, at a mere 455 horsepower and 460 foot-pounds of torque, that a design parameter for the rear luggage compartment was the capacity to hold exactly two golf bags, that it has five computerized driving modes from Wet to Track, that Track mode provides a stiff ride but amazing handling and responsiveness with five levels of further adjustment, that the interior glows in soft blue, and much more. And she did open the passenger door to point out the “oh-sh#t” grab rail. The harsh midday sunlight made photographing a real challenge, but I did try to get a few images:
Whoops. This was supposed to go in my car blog, not the family journal. Oh, well …
Up and out early enough for a walk through balmy (mid 70s – mid 80s) air. Just a jaunt around the neighborhood. Saw the latest art piece to mysteriously appear again in a neighbor’s front yard bushes. After visiting my PO box, I drop by the historic Texaco service station to see the mostly 50s and 60s derelicts and project cars in residence.
Oh, yeah. There was also the matter of Zola. Next up.
Too hot. Again. Finally made it outside the house at 8pm, still under heavy sun. Tried to get the Hulking Beast to run a bit, while we watch Kim spot-water in the back yard.
Headed downtown for an early morning walk. Too hot; had to return to the old homestead.
You’ve read in previous posts over the years about my fascination with space exploration (probably stemming from my days as a Congressional investigator studying and experiencing directly the aerospace industry in the mid-1960s) and particularly the later exploits of Elon Musk.
Just the other day I finished reading “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance. Recently published (May 2015), I had it on order from the local library and seem to be its first reader. (Best book yet, IMHO, on Musk.)
Almost no sooner than I put this extraordinary and gripping book down, we learn of the explosion of SpaceX’s Falcon 9, two minutes into a launch last week. This, following many successful launches and supply runs to the ISS (International Space Station).
Here’s the latest I have read on the accident.
And more on the book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062301233
Almost too hot to move (again). But, recovering from some maladies, self-inflicted and otherwise, it seems time to start walking about again. Downtown before it reaches too high in the 90s, noticing that animals have the good sense to stay in the shade, encountering an animal in Janet’s front yard about six feet from her front door, watching some tennis with Janet in the cool of her house, then later running errands with Ivi — the highlight being a sighting of a circa 1978 Mercedes-Benz 500SL
