Tag: Model 3

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Weightlessness, No Gravity

I thought I had a call this morning, and sat waiting for far too long before I realized it was actually Monday. Matt came in to install the data loggers, so that project is at least started with minimal actual effort. I spent the rest of the day playing around with IDRAC and deciding whether to just nuke the Dell server they bought late last year.

We went to Casey’s for a slush before making it to Taco Bell for some lunch. Rather than fight the dog who follows, I left Muad’Dib in the car, picked up our food, and left it at the picnic table outside before letting him out. As soon as I did, he ran to the table and laid down next to it like the best boy. We had a good time in the cooler weather.

We had pineapple upside-down cake for Rhonda’s birthday as soon as we got back, and then I texted Brandon for a little more insight into the server issue. That gave me the confidence to go all-in on wiping it to start fresh. I backed up what I could, and got through updating a bunch of firmware before leaving for the day.

We got another slush and made it to the house where Summer was working on some sort of cold chicken salad she had made before. I ended up eating a leftover Crunchwrap since the kids weren’t there anyway. She went to clean up and immediately made it to bed, so I took Muad’Dib out for a good run.

Summer noticed we had caught another rat, so after the run, I took it to Washburn park for release. It was small and cute and afraid, so much so that it didn’t immediately jump away when I opened the trap. Its lilttle head was down in the corner and didn’t realize it was free, so I had to shake it out.

After that, I went by both Casey’s in search of more slushies, but they both had their machines turned off. I had the car take the long way home while I relaxed to some music and enjoyed the view.

A bird’s-eye view of San Luis

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Weird Recovery

I slept in for just a little while since I was working from home today. Summer left for work and I brought my laptop to bed. There still hasn’t been much asked of me, so I did a couple tasks and then tried to sit through some more Microsoft training. It felt a lot more like a sales pitch than training for how to do something specific, so that was a bore. Muad’Dib dozed on my arm, snoring all the while.

Eventually I got cleaned up and took Eaddie to meet Summer at Cicis for lunch. They’re running their early week deal for the remainder of the year, and it’s by far the best salad bar you can get at that price, even if you don’t eat the pizza.

After we ate, I took Eaddie home and went back to work for a while. Later in the afternoon, I took Muad’Dib to Clear View to see if they could fix the chip in my windshield. When I walked in, they were all in the office folding paper airplanes, and asked if I was any good at it. I asked if she just saw my Asian eyes when I walked in and assumed I was good at origami.

Mike pulled the car into the bay and got to work on the glass, and I let Muad’Dib out to wander around. We chatted, along with another kid that was there, until the job was done. When he finished, I offered to pull the car out and then give him my insurance information to he could get paid, and he ran me off and said not to worry about it. I left feeling really conflicted, because he’s always super nice when I talk to him, but there’s always something wrong with the work I have done. Last time it was tiny bubbles in the tint. This time, he didn’t level the surface of the chip, and it left a bright spot that catches the light, plain as day.

I stopped at Casey’s for a freebie Celsius and then pulled into the Tri-Mountain driveway next to Airgas to try and exchange my CO2 tank. The gate was closed, and I learned that they had actually closed at four, so I went back to the house without any gas. Summer got home from work just shortly after that, and tried to wind down pretty quickly.

Dad texted that they had eggrolls, so I eventually ran Muad’Dib over there while Summer drove. Julie and Kevin beat us. It was a quick dinner with some fried rice, and then we finished our run while Summer went home to crash. I gave Muad’Dib a good bath and tried to clean him up enough to last a couple days, then picked up around the kitchen before bed.

He needs his own CPUP.

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At the Table

We had a staff meeting this morning, and it was interesting to have a seat at the table. I learned a lot about the business in a short amount of time, and it doesn’t look like there’s any slowing down. Later in the afternoon, I had a meeting with Shane as well, and came up with a few tasks to actually resolve.

I took a rock to the windshield on the way home and got a round-looking fracture on the far passenger side of the glass. It looked like it formed a cone that went deep into the glass, so I don’t know if it will be fillable, but if it is, at least it will be out of my line of sight.

Summer worked really late. I stopped to see her for just a moment, then made it to the house to bake some potatoes for dinner. She fried potatoes the other night, and it looked like she left a bunch of small ones for some reason, including one that had been cut to remove a bad spot. I wish she had chosen differently.

Noah was still at the house, but Eaddie was nowhere to be found. He was in and out, smoking on the porch, and dragging his stank into the house. I opened some packages and then ate alone before taking Muad’Dib out on a walk. I helped Dad fold the pool cover when we stopped by there, then had a bite of some fried noodles Mom made.

It was a quick and frustrating winddown, but early to bed.

Un-

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This Ain’t It, Chief

I had a Soylent this morning when I got to work, and I think it really did help settle my stomach after the last few days. Joel said we could talk about HubSpot after I got settled in, so I went upstairs for a while. He eventually stopped by and we went down to the conference room to chat. I still really can’t tell what my day-to-day is going to look like, but it feels less based on specific projects, and more about just being ambitious enough to find things to improve. I could be way off base, but I haven’t really been given any other direction yet. I joked that it didn’t seem like this was an IT job, but I think it’ll be good for me. It feels like I’m moving in the right direction.

A little while later I went to MethDonald’s for lunch. The drive-through was packed, but even more people were standing angrily around the counter when I went inside. I had already placed my order online, but the app crashed and I couldn’t see the number. I eventually went to the counter myself, and a nice lady went back to make it fresh. All the while I watched as the druggies and teen mothers with barely any clothes paced back and forth, coming in and out the doors, to and from the counter.

My food was great, and the app ended up refunding me later in the day because it thought I never picked up my food. I made it back to the office and re-racked some stuff upstairs. Teisha came up and said they were shutting down at three, and luckily someone came to get me later because I had lost track of the time.

When I got back to town, I stopped to see Summer to see if I could finally install my yoke. I ran home to get the parts and tools, cleaned up the laundry room a bit in the process, and got back out there just before closing time. I had the process down, but the new connectors for the scroll wheels didn’t seem to have clips to release, so I ended up having to drive Summer’s car back home after they were closed so I could get needle nose pliers. I made it back, and Summer got angry because they hadn’t properly cleaned the pit. I finally got my old wheel loose, all the components moved to the yoke, and after a little bit of back and forth, got the yoke properly installed.

Summer headed home, exhausted and filthy. She sent me to Zaxby’s for dinner, and it took them over 20 minutes to cook our food. I had already planned to stop at KFC for some coleslaw, and they weren’t much better. That restaurant has gone downhill so far that it should just about be condemned. I listened as a young drive-through attendant yelled at a customer through the speaker. Then, who I presume was the manager, went to the window and yelled at him some more. He demanded his card back, then peeled out away from the building. Meanwhile, I appeared to be joined in the lobby by the special education class of 1975. I miss the glory days of going there for the lunch buffet with Allen and whoever else would join us.

I finally got home, and Summer had let Muad’Dib back inside without cleaning him. The frustration and disappointment and depression of the whole situationship washed over me, and he and I immediately left for a walk around the block.Of course I didn’t have a waste bag, so he pooped and I had to pick it up with a napkin I had in my pocket. We got home and I put him out back for the night, then unloaded my car before going to cool off in the bedroom. Summer came back to find me after a while, and fell to the floor in her own bout of frustration. I left her to go eat some cold chicken, then cleaned everything up and came back to put her to bed for her race in the morning. We laid down to talk for a little bit, but I’m really at a loss. Things are bad, but the fact that things are bad is making things worse.

Too much attention.

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Destinare

I slept pretty hard last night and didn’t set an alarm, so it was lucky that I woke up just in time to get cleaned up and hit the road to make it to Stephen’s visitation. We decided to take Muad’Dib with us since Eaddie had plans to go boating with some friends. Summer and I just drove ourselves and planned to meet my parents and Julie in Bismark.

We made it to Ola where we stopped for some Chester’s Chicken and a dried up chimichanga to tide us over. The drive down Highway 7 was mostly fun, but before we got to Jessieville, a Camaro and I got stuck behind a long line of people driving 15 miles under the speed limit. The internal monologue was not kind. The external monologue wasn’t much better.

Once we got into Hot Springs, I decided to stop at the Franklin’s Charging Station to get a little bit of juice just in case we were stuck out in the middle of nowhere for a while. I figured we would be leaving Muad’Dib in the car for a while as well, and I wasn’t sure how much power that would take. It wasn’t as nice of a place as their Little Rock location, but it was fine to be in a place just outside of town.

We made it to the Bismarck First Methodist Church just after the rest of my family, and we let Muad’Dib out to stretch his legs. He made a quick loop through the church before we put him back in the car. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the service because it felt very impersonal to me. We didn’t really even stay long enough to visit with the family for very long. Once they had the flag unfolded and folded back up again, we left.

Julie was pretty hangry, so I suggested Fisherman’s Wharf for their dog-friendly deck over the water. When we got there, I was surprised that there wasn’t a wait for outside seating, since there appeared to be a line of people waiting to sit inside. We made it through the restaurant to our table, and Muad’Dib had lots of fun looking around, and staring at geese in the water. It took awhile for our food to come out. Letting our waitress, named Destiny, choose my entire meal seemed only fitting.

My food was good, but Julie complained about her fillet. I ate what she didn’t, and I agreed that it was overcooked and under-seasoned. The gator tail appetizer was also an incredibly small portion of incredibly small pieces. At least they tasted pretty good.

We parted ways after our early dinner. Julie took Mom and Dad back through Little Rock again, and Summer and I went into Hot Springs to wander around. I first took us through the car wash a couple of times since I wouldn’t be back again, presumably ever. Then we made it downtown where the Tesla chargers were all occupied. Luckily, the power pole right behind the available spot had a piece of plywood with multiple varied outlets available. I got my mobile connector out, and wouldn’t you know, the very first plug I tried was energized and we were up and going.

Muad’Dib had a great time walking the strip off-leash with us. He behaved super well, except for one moment when he wouldn’t stop sniffing a poodle walking the other direction. I held onto his e-collar remote after that, and he immediately returned to my side any time I beeped him. We walked down a ways, crossed the street, and walked down to find some ice cream. Summer asked for a pup cup, and though that wasn’t something they normally did, the girl gave her a cup of whipped cream anyway. We sat outside, fed him, and shared a banana split. Then it was back to the car.

Take my hand!

Take my hand!

I filled up some water bottles, and then we loaded up to head home. I let the car drive the entire way home up Highway 7, and it did fabulously. Muad’Dib appreciated not sliding back and forth in the seat from hitting the curves at three times the recommended speed, and Summer didn’t have to stop to throw up. I just accepted that the drive would be less exciting, and more relaxing instead.

I stopped at Casey’s for a freebie, and then we made it home. Eaddie was back and didn’t bother coming out of her room to greet us. I took Muad’Dib out in the dark for a short, cool, evening run. We went straight to my parents’ house, then a modified route back home. He did great, and was ready for bed once we got home.

My Vine reviewed appeared to be up to date enough that my review period was over. The girls both went to bed, I vacuumed Muad’Dib and gave him a spritz of cologne, and eventually went to sleep.

Choose your own adventure. Or not. Whatever.

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Big, Bad Waffle

I hardly got any sleep again last night because I stayed up too late writing reviews, and then when I finally laid down in bed, my mind was racing. I eventually passed out and woke up to a bright orange sun peeking over the horizon beyond the lake. I didn’t take much time to enjoy that before taking a shower so I could meet the guys for breakfast.

I met Randy, Kyle, and Jim at Phil’s Family Restaurant across town, and it was a cute little restaurant in an old house. I ordered their waffle special, and it was a ton of food. The waffle was awful though, and had a rubbery pancake texture like it was just pressed into a waffle maker after it had already been cooked as a pancake. It wasn’t crispy on the outside at all, and they charged me an additional $1.29 for a tiny cup of peanut butter. The servings on the eggs and hashbrowns were enormous though. It said it came with two eggs, but there had to be at least four scrambled on my plate.

I think Randy was the only one that had anything scheduled today. I was pretty sure I told Maggie I wanted another class in the afternoon, but I didn’t get anything. Jim disappeared, and I don’t know if Randy took Kyle to sneak into another class, but I ended up heading back to my room by myself, but I stopped at Proglide Car Wash first because I was long overdue.

I ended up signing up for an unlimited plan because they had a $10 special for their best wash. When I got around to the entry, I saw that they had a guide that I was worried about hitting, so I stopped and talked to one of the employees. He insisted they had never had any trouble with Teslas, so I took the chance. I wasn’t super excited when the two of them then got some soapy sponges out to try and scrub off the worst parts. I’ve had bug guts with grit in them, and I didn’t want them to scratch my paint. I let it happen though, and made it through the wash without incident. I stopped to vacuum my car, checked the rims and paint, and then went back around for a second wash to get some more of the bird poop that it couldn’t remove the first time. The guy cleaned it off by hand, and then I finally made it back to the hotel.

I worked all day on Vine reviews to try and get my ratio up, and I’m still showing only 80% reviewed for some reason. I can’t seem to figure out how they’re calculating their number. Beverly Hills Cop II was on, so I watched most of that, followed by some of Beverly Hills Cop. That seemed counterintuitive, but what do I know? A storm started to roll in, and I watched part of the new RoboCop remake. Eventually I met Randy and Kyle downstairs and took them downtown to meet Todd at The Rooftop Bar for the ProMAS social.

The food and drinks, and the outdoor restaurant atmosphere was more my speed, even if our server appeared to be the only one serving the entire restaurant, but the guys wanted to move on to the Howard social across town. We went straight to H2O HAWG, the usual biker bar that Woody rents out. We were followed by Sam, the Jessieville coordinator that we had met at the previous place, and we chatted among a small crowd. Kyle, Sam, and I played some darts, and I won a Yeti mug in a drawing at the end of the night.

We got back to the hotel and it was a slow wind down for me. I tried to crunch some more numbers, but I could just never make it work out. Hopefully it all comes together in a couple of days though.

Wing and a Prayer

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Greatest HSTI Album

I had so much trouble getting to sleep last night. I had to go outside a couple of times to drain the basement because the water was nearly up to the door. I even had to turn the pump on again this morning because it was full again. I got up with my normal work alarm and got out the door without too much trouble. I stopped at Burger King for a croissant, and then hit Highway 7 like a madman.

The roads were completely wet, but I didn’t encounter much rain. It wasn’t enough to make anything particularly dangerous, and it was fun to triple the suggested speed warnings and get white knuckled on the way to Hot Springs again like I used to do in the olden days. I carved off nearly half an hour of the estimated drive, and got to experience a newer highway that I hadn’t been on before once I got closer to town.

There weren’t a ton of people there when I arrived, and that was because the first class didn’t actually start until nine. I worked so hard to get there at 7:30, and I could have really used the extra hour of sleep. Randy, Jim, and Kyle eventually showed up for a little bit of breakfast before we split into our different rooms.

My network security class was mostly stuff I had actually just done this year in North Little Rock, but they didn’t tell us that in the course description. I breezed through the morning, then had cold, boxed burgers with the guys, and then had a short afternoon wrapping things up.

I got to the hotel early, but it took about half an hour for the old, seemingly clueless lady behind the counter to process the three people in front of me. I did get checked in and up to the room to rest for a bit though. Jim was humorously the last one out of class, and then I met Randy, Kyle, and Jay downstairs. Jay drove out just to visit us for some shooting and dinner. We drove forever to get to a shooting range in the mountains. There was one other guy there with some high-powered stuff, and they took turns blowing chunks out of the mountainside.

I borrowed Summer’s gun and shot a few rounds. Then Jay let me shoot his pistol and I blew several holes into a coffee can before it flew off its post. I was pretty proud of those shots. Summer’s gun was super small, so it was much harder to hold onto. The guys had their fill, and then we headed back to town to have dinner at Back Porch Grill.

It was a pretty quiet night there. I split a special with Randy, but our steak was super bland. It was cooked well, and was obviously a pretty decent cut of meat, but it just didn’t have enough seasoning. The lobster and shrimp were okay, but I think the scallops were my favorite. After we ate, Randy, Kyle, and I thought we’d go to A&W, but they were closed. My second suggestion, Kringles and Kones, was closed permanently. That took us to a whiskey tasting at Hotel Hot Springs with ProMAS. I had a bunch of banana “moonshine” that had been mixed with coconut syrup and orange juice, and it was delicious. We sat and the guys talked for a while, and then it was back to the room.

I spent most of my night alone writing Vine reviews to get my ratio up over 90%. I’m still not quite there, so hopefully they’ll get approved quickly as I finish them up tomorrow.

Whatever you do, don’t touch the water.

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Along for the Ride

I picked Dad up this morning and we headed to Tulsa, stopping in Van Buren for a charge and some breakfast pizza. We got there about half an hour early and checked in, but they didn’t offer a loaner, and the demo vehicle I requested wasn’t available until later in the afternoon. Dad and I waited in the lobby for hours and waited for the estimated completion time of 1:30, which turned into 2:45. I ended up asking for any demo vehicle at all, and we got a Model 3 to take to the 50’s Diner for lunch.

I had a Monte Cristo and Dad got a burger. The onion rings were different and better than I expected as thin, small rings with only a light batter. As we were finishing, I got a call asking to come back and demonstrate the passenger seat popping for the tech, even though I had showed Blake, the service advisor, when we checked in.

The popping had quit, but the seat controls had phantom actions that weren’t intended. When moving straight back, the backrest would recline a bit intermittently. The tech said he couldn’t do anything more about it until they released a new firmware for the controls, which didn’t make any sense to me. We also couldn’t get a confirmation that they would cover the paint issue, so we ended up waiting until the car was finished around five o’clock.

We did get to demo the new Model Y Juniper, and it was quite nice. It did feel tighter and more refined than Summer’s. We also got to demo a Cybertruck, and Dad even drove that one. We only took it around the block, but I liked it well enough. If I wanted a larger vehicle, I would totally drive one.

They finally finished around five, and Mykel confirmed that they would cover the paint issue under warranty. They also said the air conditioner was overfilled by about 200 grams of refrigerant. Hopefully fixing that will make it cool better.

We headed home, and the car did great both ways. We didn’t even have to stop to charge on the way home, so I took Dad home and then went home to find some leftovers and a drink before bed.

I told you once, you fooled me twice.

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The Patriarchy

I got to work pretty early this morning after a reasonably focused and optimistic drive in, but I could feel myself slipping pretty early. I slunk down in the back and accomplished one task by accident, and there was hardly a soul around to pat me on the back for it. I plowed right through into the afternoon, but decided to get up to take a break for a Big Mac not long before quitting time. I ended up staying a little bit late anyway just to kill some time before I could meet up with Mitch, who was in town for work.

I made it over to his hotel and found a free charger at the Tropical Smoothie where I waited for him to get off work. Then we drove across town toward Southern Tail Brewing, stopping first at Stone’s Throw Brewing for a quick flight and to see if one of Mitch’s old friends was working. We finished there and got to the restaurant where service was friendly, but a bit slow. Blake showed up out of nowhere, walking straight onto the patio from the street, and the three of us had a great time trauma dumping and catching up.

I felt a little bad to monopolize the time Mitch had in the state, but Blake and I never knew each other very well back in school, so we really are kind of connecting for the first time. We had some great laughs, and some interesting, yet delicious salmon fish and chips.

Mitch went with Blake after that since I had to head home for bed. It was great catching up, and I’ll have to make more of an effort to keep up with Blake in the near future since he lives so close to my office. I got home and got to witness my matrix headlights doing their partial dimming, which was cool, but a little anticlimactic. The girls had cleaned up house a bit and were ready for bed, so I wasted no time to get there myself.

Three Male Incomes

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A Dog and a Magic Show

Summer’s phone started ringing pretty early this morning, so we didn’t sleep in very late. My legs felt swollen all night even after I woke up and put a pillow under them to lift them up slightly. It was a really slow start to the day, but we eventually got ready and everything packed to go to Eureka Springs. Eli came over because Eaddie was staying behind for their anniversary. I had to run to my parents’ house for a shirt that Dad forgot, and the dog food he still had since we were out of the good stuff that Muad’Dib liked.

I liked the back seat protector I got for my car, so we set it up and loaded Muad’Dib up, and we headed up to Arby’s for some lunch before we left. We tied him to a light post outside where we could see him, then made the trip to Ozark to charge and get snacks, and give him another break.

That stop went well, and he handled the ride perfectly up to that point, but we were about to hit the curves and I was a little bit nervous after he threw up in Eaddie’s car the other day. He took it like a champ though, and calmed down enough to play with his little stuffed raccoon that we brought for him. We stopped just before we got to Eureka for another quick potty break, and he jumped right back into the car without any trouble.

My parents were getting a group together for dinner, so we arrived at La Familia Tex-Mex just before everyone started ordering. I tied Muad’Dib up on the deck outside and gave him a little bowl of food so he wouldn’t look so abandoned. I checked on him a couple times, and then Summer and Dad went out after they ate. She ended up spending more time with him while I finished up, and then we finally made it to the hotel.

We got checked in, and then I took Muad’Dib around the parking lot for a run to burn off some of that pent-up energy he had from the drive. He did pretty well, but was expectedly excited to be in a new place. I did learn that he really needs a rigid leash instead of an elastic one, because he responds perfectly to the feedback I can give him on a rigid line. The elastic completely ruins that feedback loop for us, but makes it more awkward than just going outright off-leash. We eventually made it down to the convention center for the evening magic show, and it took him a while to calm down, but he did eventually lay down in the floor at my feet.

The show was really good, and I was surprised at the amount of people in the crowd. When we got back to our building, I ran him around the covered walkway since it had rained slightly while we were at the show. He still had a bunch of energy and pounced on Summer in the bed for a while, but eventually laid down in the floor by me while I worked on my computer. I was up a lot later than I intended, but there’s nothing new about that. We’re only here for one day, so we’ll have to figure out charging tomorrow sometime, while also having somebody that isn’t allowed everywhere we might want to go. He’s still been great, but that’s why I chose this familiar trip to learn how to travel with a dog.

No accidents yet!