Visitors

The parents and grandparents were out on this coast to visit last weekend. We took them out of the city, hopping a ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and the Olympic mountains, then another from Port Angeles to Victoria, where we stayed for a few days, and yet another to Salt Spring Island.

As the elected chauffeur, I had a small bit more thinking to do than the others, so it was probably a slightly less relaxing trip for me, but that is okay - I think it worked out well for everyone else.

Photos are here:

http://www.maslows.net:12110/Site/Photos/Pages/Victoria_BC_Road_Trip.html

A few thoughts on the trip:

- The Olympic Mountains are still majestic. Hurricane Ridge on a clear day is about the best place in the world to spend time. Clean air, mountains in one direction, water the other.

- Victoria is still touristy. But the old architecture has been kept up well enough. Reminds me of Asheville.

- Salt Spring Island would be nice when not a market day. It's a quiet town with a nice harbor - too many people ruins the relaxed mood of the place. Calvin's bistro is well done - owned by a couple people from Bern - nice patio, Warsteiner on tap, excellent salads - I'd go back.

- Ferries are an inefficient way to travel. Next time I'm going by seaplane.

Globalization Day 2

Shirt: Reyn's: Honolulu

Undershirt: Hanes: Haiti

Pants: Old Navy: Phillipines

Undershorts: Merona: Thailand

Honolulu will count as 0 miles because it was both made and puchased there. The other 3 add up to about 17,500 miles.

New Idea - My Globalized Life

Until it gets old, I'll post a daily snapshot of where the various bits of stuff that I interact with on a daily basis come from:

Some of the common characters which I won't list everyday are:

Watch: Seiko: Japan

Shoes: Ecco: Thailand

Belt: label removed, leather stamped Italy

Rough estimation of total distance of travel between manufacture and purchase points: 17,800 miles

Today's variables are:

Shirt: LL Bean: Malaysia

Undershirt: Hanes: Haiti

Pants: Perry Ellis: Indonesia

Undershorts: Hanes: India

Rough distance estimation between manufacture to purchase points: 26,400 miles

From the Ashes

Thinking more about http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&subject=ami&story=amMade0709&referer=&aff=national and the general decline of the American car companies, I would like to ask: what is an American car these days, and what should an American car be?

It could be my opinion, but I'd imagine that if a group of people were asked to name their favorite American car, it would be something 1) old and 2) overtly styled and 3) powered by a v8 engine and 4) rear wheel drive

On the sporty end people would choose a Corvette or Mustang. On the normal car end it would be a 50's Chevy or Cadillac or 60's Lincoln.

By all non-rose-colored-glasses accounts every car on that list is less safe, less efficient and less reliable than any modern car. However they are all still remembered and adored 50 years later because they have style.

Current American cars are just cheaper (in every sense of the word) copies of cars from elsewhere in the world. Sometimes they're even built on platforms cast off from other car manufacturers : Ford Taurus == previous generation Volvo S80, Chrysler 300 == Two generations old Mercedes E-Class, Chevy Malibu == Previous generation Opel Vectra.

Instead of trying to compete with the Honda Accords and Lexus RX350's of the world, I'd like to see a return to an American style car.

Take the styling, chrome and all, from a 50's era American sedan body, galvanize it so they don't rust out like they used to, then just update the safety features (design in some crumple zones in the hood and fenders, add airbags and seat belts) and modern brakes (discs instead of drums) and drivetrain. Keep it rear wheel drive so that the hood is low and engine bay less cluttered and thus easier to work on.

Even a modern interpretation of a classic design is better (Google 'Ford Forty-Nine Concept' for a good example) than the current state of American non-design.

As things are - meaningless brands with mostly uninteresting products, solely appealing to nationalism in their advertising to sell cars - the current C11 bankruptcy is too kind an option.

Economic thoughts...

This is a prime example: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124580784452945093.html

It would be nice to know how much corporate bribery it takes to get a member of congress to espouse an idea/plan that is flawed on that many levels.

More (and more risky) debt does not equal economic growth or recovery.

It will be interesting to see how the government thinks they can influence corporations to grow the US economy and provide jobs for US citizens. Once the average citizen feels well off enough they'll buy the houses and condos in question.

As long as there is cheap, exploitable labor in other countries, and that there is no tax disincentive for companies who are based in the US yet use cheaper foreign labor this disparity will continue.

Let's take a simple example. The apple juice in the office fridge here has ingredients of water and apple juice concentrate from "China, Chile, Argentina". Approximately half (per USDA statistics) of the apples grown in the US come from about 100 miles east of where I'm sitting. It is shocking to me that the cost of growing and harvesting apples is that much cheaper in China, Chile and Argnetina to make up the cost of transportation. Or conversely, how much more expensive would it be to buy apples from the farmers in the country where this corporation is based and pays its corporate income taxes? Would the foreign apples still be cheaper if the company had to be based in the country of their suppliers and deal with the (arguably less stable) sociopolitical climate or tax laws there? Should the company not be allowed to be based in the US if a majority of its people are foreign or a majority of its product is imported?

It may be a fallacy, but I am thinking under the assumption that if companies were more localized then the business, and thus the economy in the region in which they operate, would be more stable/sustainable in the long term (less money would go to transportation, more to the producers), than always having to find new sources of exploitable labor, and new markets. The reason they're mentioned separately is that the producers and consumers of so many products in the modern world are thousands of miles apart. How many Chilean/Argentinean/Chinese would pay the prices that this juice company asks for their product in the US? I'm betting it's an unsustainably small number.

There isn't an easy answer given the current global trade situation, so I can't offer much in the way of insight here... it's easier to see the unsustainability of the current situation rather than a path to a long term stable solution.

Small details.

http://maslows.net:12110/2.jpg

A month or so ago I picked up a second watch. A simple cheap Timex in the submariner style. I had been wearing the dressier not for US sale Seiko hiking and thought it might be a good idea to not do that, since I would rather not want to mail it back to Japan for repair if I were to hit/drop it against a rocky trail.

Today I just felt like wearing the Timex for the orange strap. It's a cloudy/drizzly day, I'm wearing dark brown pants and a dark grey shirt. Brighten life up a bit.

Unfortunately it also uncovered a new unconscious twitch - the Seiko is an automatic winding mechanical watch. The winding mechanism makes a barely audible clicking noise as it rotates when you move your wrist. It also has a slightly impreceise fitting leather band, so I have to shake my forearm slightly to center the watch on my wrist occaisionally.

The Timex has a quartz movement. It has neither the feedback nor the odd band, but I've done the centering shake of the wrist a couple times expecting it to do something.

It's a Virtue

Blogger apparently limits importing of old entries to 50 per day, so I will slowly back-fill the few hundred livejournal entries I had into here. Patience.

Abandoning Ship

I've gone google.

http://npmaslow.blogspot.com

It makes it easier to follow multiple sites at once.

Time

In the last week 1) It has been hot - over 80. Today is back in the 70's though. It is nice.

2) I have been thinking of things to do. The mode of life I've chosen out here allows for frankly obscene amounts of free time. Set work hours. No notable commute. No house to rebuild. No homework.

In the winter the free time is easy to fill. It's cloudy and gets dark early. Make some tea and pick up a book (or dozen over the course of the winter). Problem solved.

In the summer it is nice, so I feel the need to be outside. Wandering parks and around the city after work is nice, but not really that productive.

I see why retired people take up golf. It formalizes the whole walking around in a park thing and calls it a sport.

If a garage space was not over $100 per month in this neighborhood I'd pick up another old German car and start working on it. Something to think about when choosing the next place to live.

I also like the idea of sailing, though it too involves expensive parking and lots of maintenance and ordering expensive bits and pieces from the internet.

The whole reading thing... I've read more in the last year than in the previous 5. It has been nice. Some serious books, some frivolous yet fun. There are still many 'classics' to read though. Perhaps that could be a goal for the next year. Or learn another language. Though that is near impossible without daily use/immersion.

I think the whole idea of a goal, or lack of one presently, is what is causing me to run in circles about this. Life is presently good, though the state of the economy makes me very risk averse presently so I'm to keep my options open and not be too ambitious or burdened.

It's odd to be able to think like this. Life to this point has been one interminable series of next steps... there has always been something that needs to be accomplished. I'm still young in a relative sense. There should be something out there better to work toward.

But lately, sitting on park bench looking out over the mountains, with nothing to do but enjoy the breeze, it has been hard to see what that step could be.

Wallet Longevity

Tumi Meridian Slim Single fold in black leather. Purchased immediately after I moved back to Charlotte for the bank job, 6 years ago today. Just noticed that the leather is worn through on the spine. Not bad for a $60 wallet (about 2.74 cents per day of use). That's good value.

Current Reading

The Geography of Bliss - Eric Weiner.

Before picking this up I was aware of the existence of the World Happiness Index and Bhutan's idea of a Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product. I like the idea of happiness... trying to figure out what the good life is... what it represents... how to get there. I also examine every aspect of my own life. This may be counterproductive after a point. I also travel some, and listen to NPR. I am pretty much exactly the target audience of this book. So, how did it go?

It's light, but worth reading. The style is perhaps a bit too much of a travel log and too light on statistics, but that may be the point. It is well illustrated that happiness is neither economic nor cultural, and more due to an individual's ambition or expectations matching up with their current place and mode of life. Different societies (countries in the book's case) tend to produce different expectations of their residents, so the premise that an individual can find happiness easier some places than others is, in my opinion, valid. As long as the individual realizes they can't go to a place and instantly be happy, just that the place is an enabler.

Additional Simplifying

Sold the Mercedes.

Zipcar works well.
It feels futuristic.
Their website shows what cars are available where and when.
Check one out and provide a return time (SMS message extensions are available if you're running late).
When you walk up to the car just put the proxcard next to the sensor and it unlocks.
The key is on a cable next to the ignition.
Drive as needed.
Return it to the original parking space and wave the proxcard at the sensor to lock it and check it in.

Car #1 - the Honda Civic Hybrid. Basically, it's a Civic which is worse to drive than the original in exchange for a few more MPG. Which is disappointing because the whole point of the Civic is a small car which drives well. (Given the vtec engine option and decent tires)

On the hybrid: between the regenerative brakes, battery assist and poor tires it makes for a hopelessly non-linear driving experience. Constant brake pressure produced inconsistent levels of braking depending on whether regeneration was working. Consistent accelerator pressure produced such poor acceleration that it didn't matter whether the batteries were working or not.

At least the interior build quality was good - no notable rattles or wear at 28k miles on this car.

Come to think of it, in the last year or so I've driven nearly every sub-15k-new sedan platform on the market. I'll use Flexcar to get to the last couple (Toyota/Scion and Subaru) and then come up with a list. Current leader is the Hyundai Elantra.

Light at the end of the tunnel? Is it the end or a headlight of the train engine.

NY Times article on the effects of the current recession on the city's notoriously consumerist culture ( http://nymag.com/news/features/56623/ ) has an advertisement for a $4000 watch on the sidebar. It's a flash add, the other options seem to be other gaudy jewelry.

I suppose it's a value option compared to a $15,000 Audemars Piguet or others...

Hawaii

Supporting pictures here: http://maslows.net:12110/Site/Photos/Pages/Hawaii.html

I suppose Honolulu-Waikiki was what I expected out of Hawaii - a very tourist dependent economy with lower taxes than most states to make shopping 'friendlier' to visitors, fancy hotels and crowded beaches. A place for people to go who want to be seen, in a bikini. Basically like Los Angeles or some of the major Florida beaches. You don't initially see any reason to have travelled 5 hours to get here.

The interesting part of Honolulu was to find the small places where tourists weren't around. For instance the bento counter where the owner addressed a probable regular customer and her kids in Japanese, then when leaving her kids turned to the owner and said 'Good Bye' in English. (Good chicken with ponzu sauce and very properly done sticky white rice - chopstick friendly) Or the drive-in restaurant a dozen streets back from the beach which did not have a single rental car in the parking lot. There is normal city life there, it's just not obvious.

Going to the north shore of Oahu was a very quick and stark contrast - the beaches were nearly empty, and the only crowded places were the good restaurants in the small beach-y towns. It's a relaxing place. Only a half hour from all the conveniences of a major city, yet it might as well be an entirely different island.

However the vacation really started after leaving Oahu for the big island. Oahu, even on the north shore, seems 'normal' and 'American' - everything is familiar. Hilo and the volcano seem to represent Hawaii as it was when it was its own country - and it's infinitely more interesting for it.

- The Hilo airport doesn't have walls on all sides. There are comfortable padded lounge chairs in the main lobby area, which is not air conditioned - the breeze is comfortable even on an 80 degree day. In this era of making a grand show of security it's refreshing to see a chain link fence as the most formidable barrier.

- Even the main hotel area of Hilo, Banyan Drive, hasn't changed since it was built in the late 50's/early 60's. Hotels are family run, restaurants use locally grown or caught ingredients, the beach-y areas are filled with decidedly non-tourists - families setting up a tent and grill for the afternoon, children play on the rocks in the bay, so on. The local drive in menu is half American, half Polynesian. Quaint is the word I'm looking for, or a tropical version of Lake Woebegon(e), I suppose.

- The volcanic national park is a interesting geology 101 course - see how earth gets made - plate tectonics at work. And the miles of desolation caused by lava flows are beautifully alien to someone that is used to hiking in forests. Trees do provide shade though, which would have been appreciated, as it was hot.

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Rental cars:
- Chrysler Sebring convertible. This is the absolute worst car that I have driven. I was about to add 'except for any early 90's GM product' but even those didn't break during the rental period. Partial brake failure is one thing, falling-apart levels of quality at 20k miles is another.

- Hyundai Elantra. Perfect commuter car. Quiet, comfortable, good design. Mini-Lexus levels of fit and finish. Nice sound system. Just over 12 grand brand new - that's incredible value.

- Chevrolet Corvette. Plasticky, garish, yellow, chrome, showy, extroverted... everything I don't like in a car. And yet - the ride is comfortable and the exhaust is quiet when cruising, the engine/automatic-transmission combination is perfect, and the handling is very easy to exploit. 2nd gear through a tunnel at 60mph is one of the better automotive experiences you can have. Tire smoking sliding exits from parking lots, with an automatic transmission no less, is another. Passing a car on a 2 lane road with a quick tap of the downshift button is a third. To drive it is as fun as my previous BMW 540 or Porsche. To be seen in... I just wouldn't fit. Maybe in dark grey or black, no stripes, no chrome, maybe.

Quick update

It's been a busy couple weeks.

Hawaii - interesting. Especially Hilo. Oahu is a bit too touristy for my style of travel. Longer update to follow during downtime at work this week.

3 day workweeks should be standard.

Sold the car. Going car free at least until the move. If it goes well all the better, if not it's old Porsche time again. They're just too much fun.

Mt. Si is a good intro to climbing a mountain - steep hike (3600ft up in 4 miles of trail) followed by a very rocky summit area. Too many people though. Want a more remote route next time.

Sounders played to a draw with some really crappy refereeing and lots of missed chances.

Quiet week ahead.