Finally, Canada Gets An EV-subsidy

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Robert Pogson

“To encourage more Canadians to buy zero-emission vehicles, Budget 2019 proposes to provide $300 million over three years, starting in 2019-20, to Transport Canada to introduce a new federal purchase incentive of up to $5,000 for electric battery or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of less than $45,000. Program details to follow.”
 
See Canada announces new $5,000 EV incentive – but no Teslas need applyYes! A 20% discount on my new Solo!

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Filling In The Gaps

Posted on March 17, 2019 by Robert Pogson

I’m still impatiently waiting to receive my Solo EV two years after making a deposit and progress is there but too slow… On the other hand, PlugShare now shows two new charging stations scheduled to come on line on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg, one at McGregor, MB, a Petro-Canada station, and another at a Canadian Tire store in Portage la Prairie, MB. It’s about time. Now it will be much more fun and with less range anxiety to turn my Solo loose in that direction.

PS No joy! The new stations are using CCS EVSEs which only connect to CCS cars. J1772/Level 2 can connect to CCS cars but a CCS EVSE can’t connect to a J1772 car like the Solo. Damned multiplying standards… A converter would have to be very expensive as it would have to convert high-voltage DC to AC as well as signal properly. Canadian Tire and PetroCanada all through Manitoba don’t want my Solo to visit…

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Truth and Consequences

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Robert Pogson

“when the news came in late February that the White House was putting together a panel to see if climate change is really a threat, even though the Defense Department has already said it is, and that this panel would be run by renowned physicist William Happer —who thinks carbon dioxide is “a benefit to the world” — it felt like an opportunity to delve a little deeper.
 
But in an interview in his brand-new office next to the White House, Droegemeier evaded questions about his own views. He told VICE News he has no opinion on the president’s winter-storm tweets and has no plans to talk to him about them. ”
 
See Trump’s new science adviser says it’s not his job to correct the president on climate changeTrust Trump to keep on hiring people with no moral compass. Science is about relating measurements and observations of the real world to our ideas and theories about Nature. Knowing the truth about how Nature behaves provides a moral necessity to accept responsibilities for our actions. Neither Trump nor his new “science adviser” has a conscience apparently.

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4 White Solos Arrive From China

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Robert Pogson

Four white Solos arrive somewhere via 40 foot container from China. Jack’s Towing in Vancouver is hauling them away from the container. It’s neat how two can be placed on a “tilt-truck” and four in a sea-container. It’s been a long wait but finally there is a trickle of good news. Keep it coming! Eventually, I’ll get my RED Solo…

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We Can Relax. Trump Is Toast.

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Robert Pogson

“In head-to-head matchups on the 2020 ballot against President Trump, all Democrats have a lead over the President, though all differences are within the margin of error, with one exception. When asked if voters would cast their ballots for Biden or Trump, 55% said they would vote for Biden, and 45% for Trump.”
 
See
Majority of Americans disagree with Trump’s national emergency despite a plurality agreeing with border wall extensionWe have a backup plan. If Trump is not eliminated sooner, the 2020 election is in the bag. Trump can’t beat a ham sandwich if nominated by the Democratic Party. Thanks, Emerson. I needed that.

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Racist, Con-man, and Cheat

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Robert Pogson

Tomorrow, Cohen will use these words to describe Trump. You don’t have to wait. His words are already published. I think Cohen missed a few: LIAR! BULLY! TRAITOR! PIG! MISOGYNIST! CRIMINAL! ILLITERATE! NUMBSKULL! PARROT! WEAK! DESPICABLE! WASTREL! GREEDY! IMPOSTER! RUDE! WILFULLY IGNORANT! PRESUMPTUOUS! REPETITIOUS! BIGOT! HATER! RECKLESS! No doubt I’ve missed a bunch, but it’s late and I’m tired.

See Read: Michael Cohen’s opening statement to Congress

UPDATE: Watched most of the session before the House Oversight Committee. Some gleanings:

  • AOC was sharp, like an arrow, with minimal BS and questions that cut to the quick.
  • Trump definitely violated campaign finance laws.
  • Trump definitely violated charitable foundation rules.
  • Trump is the scummiest politician in Washington. He’s a racist bastard who lies and bullies people to get what he wants and the rest of the country be damned. Anyone who thinks Trump represents the poor and the downtrodden is a fool.
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Electra Meccanica Begins Production

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Robert Pogson

“The Company expects to produce approximately 50 SOLO EVs in the quarter ended March 31, 2019 as it ramps production considerably over the course of 2019 to deliver a total of 5,000 vehicles by year end.”
 
See Electra Meccanica Hosts Factory Grand Opening Ceremony for SOLO Electric VehicleI thought we were there a couple of months ago but apparently not… EMV has announced the commencement of production of the Solo EV again.
 
That factory should be able to crank out nearly 50 Solos in a day or two. I have no idea why they are so slow to ramp up. Perhaps they are on a steep hill…

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Manitoba Government Sells Out Pineland Forest Nursery

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Robert Pogson

“The Manitoba government has concluded a deal to revitalize and bring new economic opportunities to Pineland Forest Nursery and the surrounding region, with the successful bidder being a company that plans to grow and develop hemp, Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen and Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires announced today.
 
…
 
Pineland Forest Nursery, near Hadashville, was originally established to produce seedlings for the province and supplied some seedlings for customers outside the province as well. An extensive review determined the nursery was not viable as a provincially operated entity as it was losing nearly half a million dollars a year.
 
See Province Concludes Deal to Bring New Economic Opportunities to Pineland Forest Nursery“Manitoba needs all the trees it can grow, and hemp too but the government has decided to stop growing the seedlings needed to grow the trees… Who cares if it takes some money to do that? The trees have value the bean-counters are not counting. I feel the need to vote coming on.

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Gas-Guzzlers And Diesels: Nowhere To Go But Down

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Robert Pogson

“Since the three largest auto markets are already seeing falling combustion vehicle sales, is there any hope left for the internal combustion engine?
 
No. It’s firmly headed for the dustbin of history, and it is going to happen quickly. Most serious auto analysts (see here, and here, and here) think that 2018 may well have been the peak sales year for combustion vehicle sales globally, and the figures we’ve discussed above certainly support the idea.”
 
See Fossil Vehicle Sales Are Officially Now Decreasing In China, Europe and USIt’s what I believed would happen years ago, burning stuff to get from A to B is obsolete. It’s not right. It’s not efficient. It’s dirty. It’s expensive. EVs are the way to go. They are efficient, clean and inexpensive. Even the herd buying pickup trucks can’t roll back the tide and neither can the automakers who’s infrastructure has been built on burning stuff.

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Lies, Damned Lies And More Lies

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Robert Pogson

I finished watching the primetime shows on CNN and took a bedtime snack. While chewing, I switched to “that other channel”, you know, the one beloved by Trumpists. There was Tucker Carlson raving about how USA should not try to clean up the environment because China pollutes way more. Besides that being irrelevant, he ignored that China was doing way more than USA to convert from fossil fuel to renewable energy. e.g. making and selling millions of electric vehicles annually and putting up more gigawatts of solar power by far. You can’t even afford to register a gas-guzzler in some parts of China because of the taxes. People are pressured to buy EVs and they love them because they cost less to drive and less to maintain. China registered over a million EVs last year. USA? About a third as many. China did produce nearly double the CO2 that USA did but China has four times as many people. The Chinese are doing their part to fight global warming. They aren’t all trying to drive a pickup truck to work…

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Schultz

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Robert Pogson

That’s Howard Schultz, the Starbucks coffee guy.  He participated in a “Town Hall” session on CNN last night. He’s half-baked. He’s like Trump, hiding massive details behind a single number or “fact”. He couldn’t answer simple questions like why he was running except to say he’s not them, pointing to the left and the right of the political spectrum. He did differentiate himself from Trump, having a heart and some good intentions but he hardly differentiated himself from many Democrats who are long on ideas and short on details.

Healthcare: All he would say is that the idea of universal health care is impossibly expensive and nothing like that could ever be done by government. He likes the idea of corporations providing health care insurance instead as if corporations had hearts. What about the unemployed and the unemployable? Should we let them die homeless? The fact that many other countries can afford universal healthcare seems utterly irrelevant to this man because it doesn’t fit his world-view. If he does run for POTUS, let’s hope he learns a few things during the campaign or it will be Trumpism all over again.

Green New Deal: He heaped scorn on this as disruptive, impossible and too expensive without weighing the cost of doing nothing and nothing was all he had to offer. No idea about fighting global warming and reducing CO2 production dramatically. He might as well be Trump’s EPA-guy.

VA: Oh, yes, he’s going to fix that by hiring the best people and holding them accountable… Where have we heard that? Oh, yes, Trump.

I think this guy is a pitiful excuse for a presidential candidate. He may have a few good ideas but he has no idea how to implement them and he’s woefully ignorant of many operations of government. He never once mentioned hiring a team who actually knew something about government. He’s just Trump 2.0, a little more moral but an idiot still. Worse, he will syphon a few votes from Trump and a lot from the Democratic candidate, guaranteeing the worst possible outcome in 2020. When asked whether he would drop out in 2020 if the polling suggested he was boosting Trump, he declined to answer. All he would say that he would not run if the numbers showed he was boosting Trump “in the next few months”. Also, he promised to be transparent about his finances but refused to promise to divest, even after he was reminded of his huge coffee-empire in China. No doubt he’s more concerned about his net worth than running the government for the greater good. Selling his shares in Starbucks would likely tank the price of the shares after all. He’s Trump 2.0, Trump plus some very minor improvement.

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The Buzz

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Robert Pogson

I’m taking a little break from Trump and thinking positive thoughts for the future.

There aren’t a lot of bees around my yard most times. I see the occasional one in the caraganas or the dandelions but I fear there are not enough for when my fruit trees flower profusely, probably in a year or two. I’ve thought of setting up homes for mason bees in logs but it’s hard to be sure of the numbers. If I had a hive of honey-bees however… I could be rolling in bees and perhaps get some honey. I have a neighbour whose fruit trees are mature but production is quite variable. I don’t see a home for mason bees there so I’ll just do my own thing. If I put up bee houses and hives this year, I should be able to meet the need next year. Even TLW is OK with the idea of increasing production of fruit. She loves raspberries and other berries. What harm could a few bees do?

There is lots of information on the web about starting into bee-keeping and governmental regulations are rather simple. Register the hives and check frequently the health of the colonies, particularly against varroa mites. One can obtain queen bees and a starting colony from local retailers. They are expensive but if you do your part, the bees will prosper and be very productive. One can let them keep most of their honey to overwinter. One needs to treat for mites in the fall after the honey season if the infestation is above a few percent threshold. One can either sample the bees, inspect the bees or watch for mites falling out the bottom of the hive onto a screen. It’s all good. If I start with a mite-free colony I should be good for at least one season. Treatment consists of allowing bees to brush by miticidal strips at the door. I’ll plant some extra clover, dandelions, alfalfa and marigolds to help the bees near the end of the season of nectar. Diverse and plentiful supplies of nectar and pollen are the other half of the equation to keeping bees happy and productive.

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