The fall colors are really starting to make their presence known, but they’re still patchy and the colors are muted. (I am not the only one to notice that.) However, it appears that’s only around this part of New Hampshire as friends and relatives elsewhere in the state say they are spectacular. It’s true they are running a couple of weeks behind schedule, at least according to the Weather GuysTM. I have to agree with them as we are usually at peak or just past peak right about now, but we still see a lot of trees whose leaves are still green.
As I mentioned last week, the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout, aka The Boat, is coming out of the water in a week. BeezleBub and I will haul it out of the water, empty out all of the gear – cushions, mooring lines, anchors, transom light, boat hooks, paddle, PFDs, fenders, etc. - clean the cockpit, and then haul the boat to the boatyard for winterization and storage. And so another boating season will end.
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Oh, great! Just what we need…
Yet another way for our less than scrupulous citizens to collect insurance because their homes or businesses burned to the ground. In this case blaming the fires on the lithium-ion batteries in their EVs or e-bikes.
It is not uncommon for a business to burn legitimately, but there is always the chance it was an insurance fire—a way to get out from under a failing business. And not just a business. Homes too. I know that seems cynical, and my apologies. Many people lose much in any number of disasters. The flooding in Vermont this past spring was not as record-setting as advertised, but it was significant. It changed many lives, ended some, and washed out homes, businesses, and livelihoods.The “Gee, my house/business burned to the ground because my kid’s e-bike batteries ignited while they were charging,” claim will become the new mantra for those less than scrupulous citizens.
Like the COVID response. The PPP Loans. Medical and bailout money fraud. The system increasingly lends itself to the means and opportunity to do better at someone else’s expense. The entire green energy net-zero movement also comes to mind. And with it, the volatile power cells upon which it stands—lithium Ion batteries. I had to get certified to handle them at the job I used to do. They are considered hazardous materials. They can start fires that take out freighters, trucks, and aircraft. Their ubiquity has taken cars, homes, apartment buildings, businesses, and lives.
Using them to start insurance fires seems logical, as “vehicles” for arson or to hide another crime. Instead of finding the body of the DNC staffer who leaked all the internal emails in a bathtub, they could leave him in his burning Tesla, even though he never owned one. No worries, the FBI is still convinced it’s not suspicious.
Then, there are the legitimate fires caused by lithium-ion battery pack failures to deal with.
Yeah, this is going to be fun.
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It looks like Elon Musk doesn’t think much of the “work-from-home” crowd because they’re “detached from reality”.
"How detached from reality does the work-from-home crowd have to be? While they take advantage of those who cannot work from home. Why did I sleep in the factory so many times? Because it mattered," Musk said, while drawing a comparison between remote workers to factory workers, restaurant workers, and delivery workers.I worked from home during the height of the Covid panicdemic, going into the lab only on those days I couldn’t do what work I couldn’t complete from home. While there were some upsides to work-from-home, the downsides outweighed many of them, the isolation being the worst aspect.
Musk's comments marked an abrupt pivot from a prior discussion about the affordability of Tesla's cars. After sharing his thoughts on remote work, he resumed the pricing discussion by saying, "So, I just can't emphasize again how important cost is."
Musk has made similar comments about remote work in the past. In May, Musk told CNBC he thought remote work was "morally wrong," and likened remote workers to Marie Antoinette's infamous "let them eat cake" remark.
The Tesla CEO's push for in-office work could stem from his own workaholic tendencies — like sleeping in the office — according to Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk.
His workaholic tendencies were also evident after he acquired Twitter last year — he announced in November that staff were expected to have 40-hour work weeks in the office. The company even transformed some offices into bedrooms, and a former Twitter executive went viral for sleeping on the floor to meet deadlines imposed by Musk.
Once we were able to go back into work, I did, gladly. But corporate decided we could work a hybrid schedule from then on, allowing one or two days a week working from home. I will admit I do that, primarily to deal with data analysis, reports, and other paperwork that is part of my job. I find I can get it done in less time at home because I don’t have the distractions. So I work from home one day per week, usually a Friday, and am in the lab the other four days. It works for me, keeps me in touch with my fellow engineering geeks. (Yes, we can and do use electronic means for conferencing, in this case Microsoft Teams, but it isn’t the same as face-to-face cooperative work.)
Most of our software people work from home, particularly those who are across the country, across an international border, or on an entirely different continent. Then again, it seems many of the coders prefer to be ensconced in their basements, shunning daylight and direct human interaction, so coming into an office is a non-starter. (Yes, a stereotype. But it’s a stereotype for a reason.)
Some jobs lend themselves to work-from-home, so why not if there’s no issue with the employer?
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Despite its prestigious marque, it appears even Mercedes-Benz can’t sell EVs.
Like most government agencies, NGOs, and publicly traded companies, Mercedes-Benz has made a promise to be all-electric by 2030. The automaker intends to have every newly launched vehicle architecture be electric-only after 2024 and to gradually wean itself off combustion engines.Why M-B thought they would be immune to the lack of enthusiasm for EVs escapes me. Even luxury market customers aren’t stupid, understand the pluses and minuses of EVs, and will make the same decision customers in other automotive markets have made: EVs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
Unfortunately, the brand’s sales trajectory doesn’t appear to be cooperating. Despite seeing a surge of interest in its electrified EQ products initially, Mercedes has started having trouble moving EVs.
It’s been a growing problem for several brands that have started to pivot toward all-electric products. However, luxury brands seemed to have the edge in EV sales — as their customer base is more willing to be early adopters and typically has more disposable income.
Automotive News recently conducted a series of interviews with Mercedes retailers. Citing Edmunds data that shows Mercedes-Benz dealers took an average of 82 days to sell the brand's battery-powered EQ models in September (double BMW's 38-day turnaround rate while also being above the luxury segment average of 57 days), the outlet was hoping to shed some light on the matter.
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And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where fall weather has finally arrived, the foliage colors are still changing, and where we all have to put up with yet another Monday.