Waiting On My Ride
Current Wx: Temp: 66.79°F Pressure: 1016hPa Humidity: 89% Wind: 5.75mphWords: 352
Well, let's see if this works.
Got up a little before 0300, out of the house a 0315. No traffic at that hour. No line at TSA pre✅. Somehow my phone fell out of the x-ray bin, but fortunately I realized I didn't have it before I left security and found it on the floor next to the conveyor. I guess it came out when I pulled my backpack out.
Two plus hour layover before heading on to Albany. Figured I'd play with the marmot. Brought the OM-5 along and shot this with it.
Dozed a bit on the flight out of Jax. Wouldn't mind a nap right now, but that's kind of difficult. Made the mistake of getting breakfast at TGI Friday's. Horrible. It was supposed to be an omelet, but it was just a mess.
Connected up to wifi through my phone's personal hotspot, seems pretty speedy.
Tried doing an online check-in with Hertz, but since I reserved the car under the name "Dave Rogers," I can't confirm check-in because that doesn't match the name on my driver's license. It's 2024 and we're worried about AI taking people's jobs and we can't have a computer figure out that "Dave Rogers" and "David Rogers," each with the same address and phone number, aren't the same person.
I guess in an era of ubiquitous surveillance and corporate, government and malefactor intrusions the fact that computers and the software they run are so limited ought to be encouraging.
Can't say I enjoy traveling at this hour, but it does have the advantage of avoiding crowds. It also gets me out of Atlanta before the weather starts getting weird. Summertime is worst, but I'm not sure you can rely on past patterns anymore. Flying at this hour is more affordable too, to the extent that I was able to book first class without breaking the bank. It really is hard getting up that early though.
Ok, rambled on enough. Let's see if this will upload.
✍️ Reply by emailThis Morning's Moon 4-18-24
Current Wx: Temp: 59.9°F Pressure: 1022hPa Humidity: 91% Wind: 0mphWords: 3
Because of course.
✍️ Reply by emailMaverick Update
05:57 Friday, 18 April 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 59.34°F Pressure: 1023hPa Humidity: 95% Wind: 0mph
Words: 1384
I've had the Maverick for just over a month now, and I haven't quite hit 1,000 miles on the odometer yet, but I've had it long enough to form some impressions.
For those just tuning in, we've been a one-car couple for at least 7 years now. I'm retired, and while Mitzi worked full-time, I could walk to just about anyplace I needed to go when we were living in the condo. When we moved to Nocatee, I could bike or golf-cart my way to most places.
But now we're moving to rural New York and if one of us had the car, the other would be kind of stuck. And we hope to begin something of a "farm-lite" lifestyle, grow some food, maybe raise some chickens, having something to haul stuff that's easy to load and unload suggested that a pickup truck might be a good choice.
I wanted something small, easy to get in and out of, and Ford had recently introduced the Maverick, a low-cost, fuel-efficient small pickup for people who don't need a big truck. (I could say unkind things about people who buy those huge trucks, but I'm trying to do better. Plus, my youngest brother is one, and he's a good guy.)
I also didn't want to spend a ton of money, since this late-life adventure promises to be somewhat capital intensive in the first few years anyway.
Used Mavericks had held their value well on the resale market, and while I could save a few thousand over a new vehicle at retail, the used ones were going for near their original sale price with less warranty coverage. So I decided to buy a 2024 XL hybrid, the base model. I only wanted one option, a part of the Ford CoPilot driver-assist package that offered rear crossing traffic warning. Parking lots scare me. That feature also came with the blindspot warning system, which gives you an indicator in the sideview mirror if there is traffic in an adjacent lane. It also has lane-following assist, which wasn't terribly important to me, but it all came as a package.
I should clarify here that the hybrid power train is optional equipment. When it debuted, the hybrid engine was the base configuration, but when Ford couldn't build them fast enough, they made the 4-cylinder turbo the base engine and added $1500 to the price of the hybrid. Ouch.
There was a delivery freeze on the 2024 Maverick issued in September last year, due to a glitch with the backup camera. The video would freeze and might show the rear of the truck was clear when there was something behind it. So there was a lot of inventory on the lot. I put a $500 deposit down in January in anticipation of a camera fix, and finally took delivery on the 12th of March.
The price off the lot was just over $30K, with over $3000 of that being all the administrative crap they tack on. I did get a $500 veteran price incentive. I put an additional $8K down and financed the balance. My car payment is $500 a month for 48 months. Affordable for us.
So far, I've been very pleased it. I'm past the age where I get enamored with cars. I don't need it to express some aspect of my identity. But as an expensive artifact, I do want to take care of it and, hopefully, enjoy using it. I spent some money adding mud flaps, rubber floor mats, a rubber mat for the bed, a plastic cover for the tailgate, a roll-up soft tonneau cover, and a bug/stone shield for the hood. It adds up.
It's important to bear in mind that this truck was designed and manufactured to be a low-cost vehicle, and it shows. Hard plastics that scratch easily in the interior. The dash buzzes from time to time, depending on speed, road surface, interior temperature, etc. The infotainment system is kludged together, though the 2025 models get a Ford Sync4 system, which is supposedly on par with other Ford products.
That said, they also added some nifty features that weren't expensive to implement. The cab has stowage everywhere, the most impressive being beneath the rear seat. The 12v battery is also back there in the hybrid, but there's still plenty of storage and I've got it filled with a bunch stuff this old Boy Scout ("Be prepared.") likes to have handy. You do you, just sayin' there's a lot of space under that rear seat.
There's less space behind it, but the seat back folds forward, and I've got a folding sun shield back there, and a gardener's kneel-pad in case I have to change a tire. You could put some other thin stuff back there if you wanted. The jack is back there as well.
It rides well. While it's a truck, it's a unibody design, so it's lower to the ground than a body-on-frame truck. Easier to get in and out of, for sure, but it doesn't give you the elevated driver's position a traditional truck would. I think the RAV4 has a higher view than the Mav.
Seats are comfortable, but nothing fancy. Rear seat room is adequate for short drives to the lake or the state park. I wouldn't want to sit back there for a road trip.
The bed is short, I think it's about four and a half feet. But it's bigger than the cargo area in the RAV4, and you don't have a roof to contend with. You can handle larger loads with the tailgate either all the way down, or in a mid-position designed to make the top of the tailgate at the same height as the fenders in the bed, so sheet material like plywood or drywall can lie flat and level (albeit still sticking out over the tailgate).
We used the truck to buy a bunch of sod at Home Depot. There is an astonishing amount of sand in Florida sod, and it goes everywhere and sticks to everything. I think most of it is out now.
I'm still learning how the thing works. There's a recent thread at the Maverick Truck Club online forum that is a collection of gripes, but it's also where I learned that the drive "mode" isn't persistent. You have to select "Eco" every time! The RAV4 is in Eco mode all the time, and I never have to think about it. I assumed the Mav was the same way, but apparently, it's not. I'll need to add this to the pre-flight checklist.
Nevertheless, the gas mileage has been impressive. I've taken it to the pump twice since delivery. I don't let the tank get below half. The first fill-up worked out to 43.6 mpg, and the second was 39.6 mpg. It's rated at 37 mpg combined, and I've been doing city and highway driving. I'll have to pay attention to the Eco mode and see what the next fill-up shows. Ford says the engine doesn't get its best efficiency until it's been "broken in," at about 4K miles. A recent video on YouTube seems to support that, although the testing was decidedly unscientific.
Ideally, I'd like either a fully electric Maverick, or a plug-in hybrid. But for what it is, it's impressive. It's the Prius of pickups. The Maverick has had a troubled history with recalls, and if you frequent the forum, you'll find people who obsess over its perceived flaws, and there are many. I think the best value is found in the base model. The luxury upgrades are all being bolted onto a vehicle designed and manufactured to be "low cost," and it'll show. And that thread I linked to will document many of its shortcomings, but people still seem to love it.
So far, no regrets here; but it's still early days. I think Ford found a market that was aching for a vehicle like this, but it seems like they're doing their best to price it out of that market. I'd say the best value today is in a new 2024 XL, and there should still be plenty of inventory on the lot.
✍️ Reply by emailIf There Was Any Remaining Doubt
10:57 Friday, 18 April 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 77.38°F Pressure: 1025hPa Humidity: 67% Wind: 11.5mph
Words: 35
America is now a police state. What is being done to supposed "illegals" is intended to cow and intimidate genuine citizens. ICE are the secret police.
I don't know how we pull back from this.
✍️ Reply by emailProve You're Alive
12:19 Friday, 18 April 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 79.41°F Pressure: 1025hPa Humidity: 61% Wind: 12.66mph
Words: 221
Just got this text from a neighbor, who is a lifelong Republican, a retired executive and not a crank, but think of it what you will:
A friend in California just texted me they found out yesterday her husband has been declared dead and is being removed from Social Security Going to cost them roughly $10,000 and one to two years of their lives. SS gave no explanation and demanded proof he was alive and putting him on the phone was not enough. Wanted them to wait six weeks for appointment to prove he’s alive. Now they have to provide his work history which luckily they have a printed copy of his work papers. Their credit and Medicare are gone for now. They reached out to Paul Ruiz their representative. This all occurred recently since DOEG! They are from California, life long Dems and somewhat outspoken critics of all that’s going on.
I don't know if I could lay hands on my work history, or even my tax returns going back through my civilian employment.
If this is true, is it a mere "clerical error"? Is it a result of an AI hallucination? Is it just fucking with people in Blue states?
I hope they go to the press.
We are through the looking glass. They can do this to anyone.
✍️ Reply by emailFrank's Confession
16:02 Friday, 18 April 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 81.05°F Pressure: 1024hPa Humidity: 62% Wind: 14.97mph
Words: 126
April 18, 1946
MORNING SESSION: Frank told how he passed the bar exams in 1926, became legal advisor to Hitler and the Nazi Party, a member of the Reichstag in 1930, President of the German Academy of Law in 1933, Governor-General of Poland in 1939. Then came the decisive question: "Did you ever participate in the destruction of Jews?" Frank took a deep breath and answered: "I say yes… We have fought against Jewry; we have fought against them for years; and we have allowed ourselves to make utterances, and my own diary has become a witness against me in this connection - utterances which are terrible ... A thousand years will pass and this guilt of Germany will not be erased."
Nuremberg Diary, G.M. Gilbert
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