Mitra and electric Soul arrive as drought (almost) ends
“…except for Santa Barbara,” Nazy claims. “Lake Cachuma is still at about 12%.”
As usual, Nazy is right. In spite of record snowfall in the Sierra Nevada and steady rains in most of the state, our local reservoir will be the last to refill. Fed by the San Ynez river and with little runoff, it will take a lot more time.
Clueless amateurs simultaneously blame weather for the drought while crediting weather for the end of the drought. I, on the other hand, blame the Santa Barbara project manager leading the effort to start local desalination plant. Two years ago, I predicted that the drought would end when the desal plant came on-line. At the time, the completion date was last year and the stars, in the form of El Nino, a harbinger of heavy local rain, were aligned. Desalination was delayed when the city discovered a plethora of damaged, missing and corroded parts. Not only were things delayed, the cost increased by $1.5M. Now, however, the plant will begin working in mid-February. Mark my words: the drought in Santa Barbara will officially end at that time.
As you might guess from the previous paragraph, it’s raining here. Moreover, for the first time since we moved, lawns and trees are green. Wildflowers are in bloom. It is beautiful.
As you probably know, California is populated by progressives who care about glutens and planetary welfare. Mitra and Stefan are gluten-free non-polluters. And when they needed a car to replace the Honda Insight hybrid, they considered an all-electric car — a Kia Soul. Naturally, they asked for my advice.
“How far does it go before needing to be recharged?” I asked. Practically.
“104 miles,” Mitra replied.
“Do you know how far it is from your house in LA to our place in Santa Barbara?”
“Google Maps says 103 miles.”
“That’s cutting it a bit close,” I replied. “Are you out of your mind?” I thought.
“I’m sure it will go a little farther than they say,” Mitra replied.
“Really?” I replied. “That would be a first,” I thought. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked.
“I hope so, because we’ve already signed the lease.”
“How long does it take to recharge?”
“I don’t know.”
“I see,” I said. “Do you know that if you stop to go to the bathroom on the drive up, you won’t make it to our house?” I thought.
Mitra and Stefan — with Soul
Later, Nazy opined. “I’m so glad they got a practical car, Dan. Stefan’s van had 450,000 miles on it and Mitra’s car didn’t work.”
“Mitra had a zero emission car, my dear,” I explained. “It didn't start so it didn’t pollute.”
On her first trip to Santa Barbara, Mitra arrived at our driveway. Barely.
“It’s a good thing we don’t have a long driveway,” I said. (The car said that it could go another “37 feet”.)
“It’s a better thing that the last two miles are downhill,” Mitra replied. “The battery recharges when I drive downhill.”
It turned out that charging the car with 110V house electricity was, eh, time-consuming. We plugged it in and charged it up all night. The next morning, it was at 43% capacity. Luckily, a nearby parking lot had a 220V charging station and that took only a couple of hours.
The next weekend, Stefan joined Mitra on the journey northward. Unlike Mitra, Stefan read the manual; he adjusted his driving approach accordingly. (E.g. “measured acceleration” and subsonic top speeds.) He arrived with 23 miles to spare. He also had a device that created a 220 volt charging experience using two 110 volt outlets….
“… provided that they are on different circuits,” we agreed after trying several combinations. In the end, we connected one end to an outlet in the carport and the other to the outlet near the water softener. I threaded the first 100 feet from the water softener, under the house to the creek. Stefan, considerably more nimble, scrambled over the (raging) creek and up the steep embankment. The car recharged rather quickly.
This week, when Tom had a conflict, I was substitute instructor for Arrow’s swimming lesson. (I’m prime for Tiger’s lesson.) Arrow is…
“… lighter, Nazy,” I explained. “Much lighter,” I thought. “And, I don’t have to worry that he’s going to jump in the water when my back is turned.”
So: Arrow is emulating Tiger in swimming lessons. But, Tiger is taking solo soccer lessons. (Tom and Mel thought it would be best for Arrow to wait on soccer until he learned how to walk.) I asked Tiger about soccer..
“You just have to kick the ball in goal, Dan.” He replied. Exasperated.
Finally, I can report that in spite of Donald (of Orange), Darius did make it into the country last weekend. Because he was coming from Lebanon, he was selected for secondary screening and a hand search of his baggage. Then they asked him:
“Have you seen any extremism in Lebanon?”
Darius said “No.” because “I think they were looking to see how I’d respond, Dad.”
In my opinion, he saw extremism when he arrived at US immigration. I understand that this Executive Order appeals to people who are afraid. It’s disappointing to me that our country is so fearful. More to the point, I can’t understand who we’re afraid of and how this action will alleviate the fear. Moreover, the most important responsibility of the administration is not to protect the ‘security of the American people’. Rather, it is to protect the ‘liberty of the American people’.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
- Benjamin Franklin
It’s sad that so many in our country have lost confidence and live in a fictional world of pessimism and fear. As a people, however, we are resilient. Optimism will return.
For last week's letter, click here
Tiger Adams with Adams School mascot in Santa Barbara