Cap'n Ken

@Genius "Hello, this is the Minneapolis Police... the party is over."

what’s the greatest opening line to a song?

@MGTOW_Mot @CostaKapo "Pay 37.5k in cash for a 50k sticker price EV that will be driven 35+k miles per year with zero gas-car maintenance and much cheaper fuel. And drives itself" - person pretty familiar with economics.

@capnken @CostaKapo "Spend an extra 20k to save 150 a year" - people unfamiliar with the time value of money

I made fun of Take 5 for being the first oil change co offering After Pay and Klarna but I had all our guys call their local competitor, Take 5/VIOC/Jlube and do some price shopping. Some of them are already at $150 BASE price.

Sure, sure ... people are dropping $15 a gallon at the health food store to give their cat unpasteurized milk.

@captgouda24 Speed limits are generally valid, but I think you're right that stops tend toward a) revenue and b) fishing, especially out in rural areas. I got stopped once in my crappy old car and just got a "warning" - clearly the cop expected me to be someone he could arrest for something.

Many people misunderstand the point of traffic stops. They are not to regulate speeding. They exist to drag a net through the people likely to have warrants. Speed cameras are missing the point — speed limits are set to give probable cause, not describe appropriate travel speed.

100%. But "Football on TV" became such a valuable thing that ESPN created NFL Lite and conferences / schools bought in and cashed out. Maybe it's better overall that more people watch games now without the rival / regional thing being what matters. My interest is low now, but life is like that.

This is such an important/forgotten point. College football was built as a regional sport. The big goals were to beat your rival (good year assured), and win your conference (great year assured). It was understood that a national championship was a fantasy requiring huge luck!

@BigPoppaPanda Spot-on. Atlanta owes its entire modern existence to Ted Turner.

Know this about Ted Turner... If not for him: -The Braves leave Atlanta. -The Hawks leave Atlanta. -No TBS. -No CNN. -Atlanta loses its "international" status and probably loses the Olympics. -Coke probably relocates. -WCW Wrestling never comes to fruition. 1/2

Ted Turner's impact on me started in the early 1970s, at my grandmother's house in East Point watching random old TV shows on Channel 17 whenever we visited her.

@MeganBozman @PTBwrites I always kept Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law" handy to play when we were doing stuff we "shouldn't".

@capnken @PTBwrites Agreed!! I took my son to the gym (where I work) & the "Men's Locker Room" is for ages 16+. He was 14 or 15 & absolutely a man, biologically speaking. He's been taller than me since 13. I told him use Men's, not Boy's. "Mom, why don't you just follow rules!?" Ha!

My stance on phone bans in schools is that even if they have absolutely zero measurable effect on outcomes they are still worth doing because we want to habituate students into having real-life conversations and not withdrawing into digital life during lunch periods.

Georgia badass.

@MeganBozman @PTBwrites Recognizing dumb rules and how to conduct yourself in a way that adheres to the goal without having to participate in the dumb rule process is a great cognitive and societal skill to develop.

@capnken @PTBwrites Oh, yeah prohibition of phones on school grounds is a bit much. At my kids' schools, they can use once the school day ends. At my son's high school, if they want to use at lunch, they can do so outside. LOL, good way to get them to get fresh air & sunshine.

@MeganBozman @PTBwrites I think the school was surprised to learn that a lot of parents know about this and are fine with it. But also, the dumb state testing is going on this week and mine decided it was right to turn hers in this week because having phones for testing is a big no-no. Responsibility...

@MeganBozman @PTBwrites This is middle school and most kids carry phones (a lot of kids walk to school!), so they're supposed to leave them in security pouches up front. But that's a pointless pain, so mine and others just pocket them and deny having them...

@MeganBozman @PTBwrites Yes, though I should clarify I'm talking about the prohibition / confiscating of the device on school grounds, not simply prohibiting their use during the school day.

@capnken @PTBwrites I'm confused, are you saying banning phones is "authoritarian crap" that you want your kids to "ignore"?

@ExSanFran2010 @congressdj 250 miles at 70+ feels a bit ambitious. But the real point is it won't really matter unless you're out in the middle of nowhere. The car will know when and where to charge. You'll get the feel for all that stuff, just know going in its no big deal. Congrats on the purchase!

So 10% buffer is safe? I had a 3rd party tester do a PPI on it before buying. It’s at 87% capacity. So I figure I should be able to get at least 250 miles between charges when doing 70+ speeds on the interstate. It has an accident recorded. But was done by pros according to the tech. Front right bumper. Not catastrophic.

So let’s talk EV battery efficiency. And other stuff. I have had my ‘26 Tesla Model Y Performance (MYP) for 5 months. I travel by air avg 4 times on month, meaning it’s parked. A lot. I have 7500 miles on it. So even when I’m home, I drive. A lot. The MYP has ones of the lowest ranges in Tesla’s current lineup. I knew this buying it. In fact, I owned a 2023 MYP previous to this one that had almost 60K miles when I traded it in. And guess what? I’ve never once. Not ever. Not around town. Not on a road trip. Not anywhere, had range anxiety. Why? Because there are chargers everywhere. Especially at my house. I can count on one hand the times it dropped below 10% (in 60K+ miles). And even then, I knew a public charger was within reach. Even though I never needed it. I wake up with an 80% charge every day at home and drive all over northern Virginia, Maryland, and DC - almost every day. That’s hundreds of miles a day. I am an outlier, and I realize this. But that’s why you should listen. 95% of Americans drive FAR less per day. And we have a big country. So what’s the point of this post. Well, it’s to say that range isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Unless you do long haul trips every day or are a traveling salesman, you’ll most likely never need to worry about a mid-day charge. Ever. Do you know I’ve never come close to “running out of charge”? Did you know I have a large bladder than can go 500 miles if needed? My car doesn’t get anything close to that range. But I don’t care. I’ve learned that stopping every once in a while isn’t the existential threat to my way of life that you think it is. And remember, I have the Tesla with one of the worst ranges. To those of you who are beholden to range anxiety, you do you. Numbers are imoortant for some people. Personally, I don’t care about it. And I’m betting many people who are afraid of EVs because they are scared by the Range Mafia posts about “degradation” and such would be just fine, even if their car only got 100 miles to a charge. Because most Americans drive less than that. So for crying out loud. Buy the car you want. If it goes fast and gets *only* 299 miles per charge instead of the advertised 306, do it. If it goes slow, is used with over 100K miles, and only gets 150 miles of range, go for it. It’s STILL superior to owning a gas vehicle. So get a grip and drive an EV today. I’m partial to Tesla because it also drives itself. I don’t even get referral credits for Tesla because I live in ridiculous Virginia. But that doesn’t stop me from sharing what I know. Because as someone who “loves to drive” and previously said he would never own an EV, I know something about both worlds. And in both, range ain’t nothin but a number. It’s about the fun along the way.

@ExSanFran2010 @congressdj Also, I've lost 20% of my battery capacity driving so much and Supercharging so often. But it doesn't concern me.

Serious question for you: I am picking up a used model Y long range next week. 2023 with HW4 and 87000 miles on it. My main reason for the purchase is to do cross country trips. How accurate is the battery and software to get me from Florida to California without running into charging issues?

@ExSanFran2010 @congressdj Software is generally great at estimating range and working in Supercharger stops. I've found range estimates to be less accurate in really rural areas (probably less data on average speeds there and stuff), so leaving a 10% buffer is smart.

@ExSanFran2010 @congressdj I own just about that same car. Have put 86,000 miles on since picking up new in January 2024. Road-tripped from the Florida Panhandle to Atlanta to the Grand Canyon among other long road trips. You'll do fine!

@Cybertruck0001 @TeslaCharging Buc-ees is a hellscape even with a perfect charging experience. I always avoid them.

I HATE F’n Buc-ee’s! Am I the only one consistently running into annoying jerks while @TeslaCharging . Don’t we have bigger problems in the world? RECOMMENDATION. Find a place that wants your business. 500 stops around the country ZERO Problems. 3 Buc-ees stops, 3 problems! That’s not a coincidence!