Salty Economics

Seth MacFarlane made a pretty neat economic analogy. Paraphrased - sometimes your soup tastes watery, so you add some salt. Sometimes your soup is too salty, so you add water or whatever to your taste. There's a balance.

You shouldn't think of real-world economies as purely socialist or purely capitalist. Either approach taken to the extreme is nonsensical. So the question becomes - how do we know whether we're too much one or the other?

Well...

• Growth: Our economy is growing, but most of that growth has been concentrated at extremely high levels of individual wealth.
• Debt: Our government's debt is shrinking compared with our capacity to pay it off.
• Spending opportunities: We're falling behind in areas ripe for investment like education and infrastructure.
• Ratio of income from capital vs. wages: It's getting harder to buy things using wages from labor, because they're stagnating. Meanwhile, it's getting easier and easier to make money if you already have it.

We could use some salt.

October 2015 Trip to Washington Part II

Mid week, we packed up our stuff, stopped by Ruby Beach one last time, and headed for Cape Flattery - the northwestiest northern westerly point in the lower 48!

There we found a pleasant trail that leads you all the way to the edge of the country. All of these trails smell very nice. I just thought you should know that.

Once you reach the coast, there are several offshoots of the trail that take you to various vantage points from which you might spot a whale if you're lucky. We spotted a wee bit of one from very far away - just a blowhole and a black, bumpy back that surfaced briefly before rolling back under the waves. That made me hate myself for not bringing my zoom lens. A seal mocked my forgetfulness from afar.

Waves pound the peninsula constantly, and if you sit quietly, you can actually feel the landscape swaying beneath you - a motion reminiscent of driving an overloaded pickup truck down a windy I-10.

After we had had our fill of not seeing any more whales, we retraced our steps up the trail and got on our way. Much to see on this mini road-trip from Lake Quinault to Port Angeles!

By now the clouds we had spotted from the lookout had started their steady creep across the mountains, and they chased us inland.

Before long we found ourselves on a cold and rainy descent to Lake Crescent, via the winding and scenic Highway 101.

FINALLY a chance to try out my new boots in the cold and wet.

The lake's waters have very little nitrogen, which limits the growth of phytoplankton and enables the water to be unusually clear on nice days.

The very prospect of seeing deep into a lake that is of unknown depth weirds me out, so I was glad we were there on a crappy day.

Even the Ranger Station is charming, with an illustrious history of its own.

We took refuge and had lunch in the nearby Lake Crescent Lodge. There we met a duck who came so close to us, I'd say he didn't know that his former colleagues were being served at the adjacent table. (as the entrée)

Once we realized the rain would be eternal, we set off on a soggy hike to Marymere Falls.

The final section of trail to the actual falls was closed, but we appreciated the trail itself for its colors, aroma and atmosphere.

Soggy and tired, we headed to Port Angeles for a hot lunch.

Something I forgot to mention earlier - back on Ruby Beach, a hiking couple told us we simply must see this mural of a ship called the Kalakala, while we were here. I thought they were a little too enthusiastic about the whole thing, but when I stumbled across the mural (completely on accident) and learned more about this weird spaceship of the sea, I came to understand their excitement. It's so utterly lifelike and vibrant, it's a little weird to see its splendor in such an ordinary part of town. I won't give away the history of the ship, go look it up yourself.

From Port Angeles we took the road up Hurricane Ridge. To Albertine's delight and my mortal terror, black-tailed deer are incredibly common along this route. The black-tail subspecies is unlike any deer I've seen before - almost unique to this area, and yet they're about as smart as any other deer (that is, daft as doornails) when it comes to leaping in front of unwary motorists with no apparent provocation.

Don't be tempted to gaze at the views out the other window.

  

When you finally reach the top, the view of the mountains will be unparalleled, and Albertine will sing Misty Mountains from The Hobbit soundtrack to you.

Windblown and freezing, we headed back down the mountain through God's smoke machine.

Upon reaching the bottom of the hill and realizing we had some time left in the day, Albertine and I decided to hike this trail -

Maybe it was to do with the moody weather, time of day or our own fatigue, but to me it seemed like Soleduck Falls (also spelled Sol Duc) was a whole different animal from the trails we had hiked previously. The trees strewn across the hillside seemed older and gnarlier, and the little light that made it past their leaves was soaked up by the dark soil, roots and rocks under our feet. Dark and spooky for sure.

We pressed on, determined to get that "soft water" shot of the falls we had been craving all week.

And with the help of our tripod, we got it!

More to come!

October 2015 Trip to Washington: Part I

I have a lot of great photos from our ongoing trip to the great state of Washington - here's a selection from the first half of the trip.

I met up with Albertine at the airport in Houston and we were off! nyooom

Upon our arrival in Seattle, we were told we could have a steep discount on an upgraded rental. Albertine always wanted to try an automatic Mustang V6 (as opposed to my manual GT), so we went for it.

Our first "home base" was a lodge in Lake Quinault. They looked at us kinda funny for taking pictures in their parking lot, but this was darn near the prettiest parking lot we've ever seen this side of Monaco.

The Quinault Lodge is the only place to get breakfast for miles.

Typically Albertine takes good photos, and I just take photos of Albertine taking photos, so that's how that works.

Sassy-squatch

It was really neat to see the mist move in and out of the lake area. You never got quite the same view twice.

This portrait cost me $250, because I decided I need a 50mm 1.8f lens like Albie's - ordered one off Amazon that night.

I can still get some pretty neat shots with my 35mm 1.8f though. I found this little fella in the parking lot at the lodge - looks like we're not the only ones who found breakfast there that morning.

We hiked pretty much all the trails in the area and saw the world's biggest spruce tree. I can confirm it is very large, and it makes all the other trees feel inadequate - especially the neighboring tree, to which the "WORLD'S LARGEST SPRUCE" sign is affixed.

Had to get a shot of our rental car (when's the last time you've heard that?) next to an actual horse corral in the famed Hoh Rainforest overflow parking lot. In my opinion, the V6 is totally underrated. I think it's probably the most desirable car under $25k in terms of looks/performance/comfort/capability (in that order).

Anywho. Here's us next to a fallen chunk off of Big Cedar. Well, it's called Big Cedar and it's just off 101. I think the people who called it Big Cedar probably weren't familiar with the world's biggest spruce tree just down the road.

Also, Big Cedar has a hole in it, through which you can see people.

Here's Albertine, hiking the Hall of Mosses trail. Someday I'd love to return and take on longer trails like Pony Bridge, or maybe even tough ones like the Hoh River trail. It's for overnight backpackers and "legit" hikers who aren't lazy and injured - they probably wouldn't give their right pinky for permission to ride a motorcycle all the way up the mountain.

Now we're off to the beach! And don't forget your booties 'cuz it's COOOOOOLD out there! What is this, Miami Beach?

Actually it was pretty much Miami beach. For the first few days of our trip, the sun was shining and my skin was burning. I'm legally a tomato now.

Albertine snapped me a new profile picture -

See my camera in my sunglasses?

Back to the 'Stang.

Time for lunch. Bean burger. Pretty bland - most of the food around here is. Must be the target audience, most of whom are retired.

La Push has beautiful beaches too.

Albertine the mountain goat -

I saved Albie's favorite for last - RUBY BEACH

People like to pile up rocks on rocks.

birds!

Didn't actually mean to have that feather in there...

Did I mention we had to come back to this beach four times before we caught it in the light we wanted? (overcast)

Most of these photos, I've either barely touched or not touched at all - this place just wants to have pictures taken of it. This last one, completely unedited, shot out the window of a Mustang on 101.

Wash and wax the GT

I meant to go the whole nine yards this weekend - minor chip repair, compound, polish, fix the stripes all the way down etc. but time was short and weather was HOT, so we'll leave those more involved DIYs for some other time. For now, I'm just practicing blogging with photos! If you want to do a "Stage II" cleaning of your black car (WHICH IS REALLY HARD BECAUSE BLACK), here's what I suggest.

Do all that you can in the shade, while the car is cool to the touch. Otherwise the heat combined with even a small amount of abrasion can mess up your paint bigtime.

Firstly - use the 2 bucket method. This means you wash your mitts in one bucket, then you re-soap them with another (cleaner) bucket. Alternatively, just buy like a dozen wash mitts and swap them out as they get dirty. That's what I do - they're cheap and they wear out quickly if you hand-wash your car every week like a nerd.

Put a couple capfuls of quality soap in your first bucket - I like Meguiars. Then fill the rest of the bucket with water (duh). This is your "clean" bucket. Fill your other bucket with just clean water. This will become your dirty bucket after you wash your mitts in it, prior to soaping them up in your clean bucket again.

A note on soaps - some are "wash+wax", meaning they give your car a thin protective layer of wax after you wash. While this isn't a substitute for periodically hand-waxing, it's an extra layer of protection that's easy to apply regularly. This week I'm hand-waxing, so I don't worry about it.

Rinse da car from top to bottom. Be thorough - it's especially important if your car is REALLY dirty. Do not pressure wash as you can easily mar the paint. Garden hose will do.

Dip your washy-mitts in the clean bucket, soak up some soap and then wipe the car from top to bottom. Don't miss any spots.

This is usually when your neighbor walks by and says HEY YOU MISSED A SPAHT.

So how to avoid missing spots? Wash one body panel at a time. Ford gave you nice big panel gaps for this precise reason.

Before your mitts get dirty, either rinse them in the dirty bucket and re-soap them in the clean bucket or toss them in your "dirty mitt" pile and get a fresh set soaped up. Dragging dirt around your paint will get you microscratches and swirls, which are particularly painful on your beauteous black paint.

Mm. Sudsay.

Fun fact: The 2015 Mustang is the only car I can think of that is so iconic, so instantly recognizable - it doesn't say "Mustang" anywhere on the exterior. So make sure you gently scrub that pony or people might not know what kind of car you've got.

Get that 5.0 badge nice and clean too, so the four-cylinders know to get out of your way.

Wipe those door jambs down - you see them every time you enter.

Rinse the entire car (once again from top to bottom, to help the sheeting action), and suddenly remember that you have wheel-wells that should probably be rinsed too - especially if you live somewhere with salted roads.

Unless you want the finished product to look spot-tastic, you're gonna need to dry the vehicle. Do this with CLEAN microfiber towels or Meguiars Watermagnets.

One fantastic discovery I've made is that "dry 'n wax" spray not only helps you wax and dry at the same time, but it makes the drying faster by absorbing the water. Turtle Wax brand seems to be more effective at this than the equivalent Meguiars stuff.

Not too bad. Pick some of the foliage out of your grille and you might have a real looker.

Here's where I usually call it a day. I usually gun it down the nearest farm road to shake the water out of the little crevices, then I spot-detail as needed. But this week, we're gonna clay. Claying strips your paint of the old wax, as well as bonded contaminants like bugs and bird disgracefulness.

I actually use a clay towel and mitt - they work essentially like a clay bar, and much faster. However, for removing wax from little body panel gaps and badges like the above, I still break out the ol' clay bar, which can contort around such nooks and crannies.

With the car in the shade, cool to the touch, spray on some quick detailer for lubricant and wipe the surface with the clay. On the first wipe, you'll feel some roughness to the paint - these are the contaminants you're passing over. After a few passes, the paint should feel smooth as glass.

As geeky as this sounds, many people find clay insanely satisfying. Seeing and feeling the bonded contaminants coming off on the clay is akin to using a pore strip. It's the one part of this routine where I can pretty much count on friends wanting to take part.

Yas. Remember to proceed one body panel at a time, to avoid legitimizing snarky "you missed a spot" comments from passing dog-walkers.

This is the car stripped down to its clear coat. Ah, that reminds me - never clay without waxing afterward. The wax isn't just cosmetic, but also protective. So we're gonna wax today too. BUT FIRST - let's give our wheels some TLC.

I have black glossy wheels - I only learned they weren't matte after I washed them for the first time. Brake dust is gross - get some wheel cleaner suitable for your alloys, spray it on, let it sit for a minute, scrub it, and rinse it off.

If you want the wheels to look REALLY great for about 5 miles after washing, dry them with a microfiber rag after you rinse the bulk of the brake dust off...unngghhhghhhhhh.

Then gel the tires for that wet look. Protip: Don't drive the car right after you gel the wheels, unless you want to gel your wheel wells and body...yikes. Wait 30 minutes to prevent spinoff.

While you're dutifully waiting for the gel to dry, wax the car. I use Meguiars Black Wax and the Dual-Action Polisher that sticks into any ol' plug-in drill. The random motion of the polisher keeps you from burning up your paint as you cover areas in a single pass. Once again - how do we not miss spots? Yeah, one body panel at a time...

Wait 10-15 minutes after you wax the whole car (longer for more wax, shorter for less), and then wipe it down in the order in which you waxed it. (this is my favorite part)

Finally, roam around town looking for unwashed black luxury cars to park next to and humiliate.