Autumn Catch Up

Welcome to Autumn! Or as the coffee shop near my house has on its sign, "happy fall y'all". That's a bit much for me, but I'm not above ordering a pumpkin spice drink. My go-to is a Half Sweet White Mocha with Pumpkin Pie; it's the right balance for me without being too sweet.

I've not been writing publicly a lot lately, as the whole situation of the world out there hasn't had me in a good mental place. So this post will be a collection of more random bits and bobs. Expect some more consistent posting again after the election dust settles.

I also see more than a few folks (like the U.S. National Park Service) trying to make "leaf peeping" a thing to describe going and looking at the changing colors. I'm unsure why they needed to go and make it sound weird. I'll stick to "foliage tour" for now, thank you.

The last few weekends I've done my own Fall Foliage Tours to Leavenworth and Mount Rainier. Both of which were successful, and the latter was extraordinarily so. We got there the weekend before snow hit Rainier, and so experienced about the most peak fall possible. It also gave rise to some of my favorite photos I've taken this year.

What I'm Reading

When the days get shorter, I find myself being magnetically attracted to more reading. A soft blanket and my Kindle with a warm cup of hot chocolate when it's dark outside is peak fall enjoyment for me. I've been reading two books in particular that are adding to my understanding of the current state of our society. Namely, I've been enjoying What's Our Problem by Tim Urban and Very Fine People by A.R. Moxon.

What's Our Problem is delightfully illustrated by the author with stick figures that break down the evolution of societies, ways groups think and work together, and models of how societies can change for better or worse. My Kindle copy is now covered in highlights of amazing illustrations that explain ideas I struggled to explain for years, as well as concepts I'd never even considered before. It's worth your time, and if you don't want to plunk down on the e-book, there's a good chance you can grab it for free with Libby from your local library.

Very Fine People is a tougher read, as it speaks to me on a deep level but isn't reassuring. It spells out the patterns of society in America and helps put into words the sense of dread you might also have felt when watching events since 2016. A.R. Moxon as a whole is someone whose work I've shared more links to with friends than likely anyone else. I'd recommend subscribing to his newsletter and, of course, reading the book. It's the perfect combination of revelatory and disturbing that you'd rarely see in nonfiction.

There's also a lot of fuss in the e-reader space this year. I have a previous-gen Kindle Scribe I've used a fair bit, but have been sad that Amazon's put minimal effort into software updates. A number of new software updates (like proper handwriting recognition) are only in the new model, which has left me with a bad taste. Because of that my next e-reader update is likely to the Kobo Libra Color. I'm just waiting for a good Black Friday deal. I'm also seeing a lot of love for the Boox Palma from people I follow, but I can't bring myself to buy an eInk Android phone. At this point I'm reading about half the time on my phone directly, half on the kindle; but nothing beats an eInk device when you're traveling.

An EV Update

Last year I snagged a 2023 Ionic5 with a great manufacturer’s deal. A year later, I have what I think could be the best review for a new EV; nothing interesting has happened.

I've been able to use it as a daily driver without ever having an issue. The range (usually around 240 miles) is enough for anything I've wanted to do with it, and I've even driven it between Seattle and Portland without issue, and it fit easily within the driving range. I've heard complaints about the changing infrastructure, but it's rare I drive beyond that range in general. When I have, I've not had trouble finding charging stations.

It's actually made driving my Jeep (my off-road/camping vehicle) more annoying, as the amount of power in an ICE engine isn't nearly as good as from EV motors. I also despise the annoyance that is stopping for gas, as with the EV I always leave the house with a "full tank" and so never need to think of stopping and dealing with gas.

If you've been interested in getting an EV but have been putting it off, I'd say now is the time as the technology is great and the cost of new and almost new EVs is super low.

Put a Ribbon On It

That's it for me for now. I expect my ability to focus on writing to improve with the shorter days and the end of election season, so I'll be back here in your inbox soon. If you have topics you'd like to hear about, good books you've read, or anything you'd like to share – please reach out! I'm an introvert, but I do love hearing from people.

Happy Halloween! 🎃