Planes, cameras, and automobiles

Do you want to carry one camera that is good at almost every kind of photography, including portraits, landscapes, children running around, wildlife (including small birds in flight), macro, etc I recommend the Sony RX10 IV. If you want to save some money, the previous version (RX10 III) is the same camera, but does not have the tracking focus, which can help take pictures of active kids and birds in flight. TLDR (see below for more details): Has an incredible 24-600 mm equivalent lens. The lens has a very bright aperture range of f2.4-4 The lens is very sharp throughout its zoom range The camera is super versatile: landscapes, portraits, wildlife, fast action... Requires no changing of lenses Has great 4K video Has a built-in flash Has very fast autofocus (with tracking) Is water resistant Shoots RAW files  No need to use the menu for anything (this is really an amazing, underappreciated, and misunderstood feature) Can shoot 24 frames per second, which is crazy More details:

  Intro to electric vehicles (EVs) (updated in December 2023)   This may be a good time to switch from internal combustion engine (ICE) to electric vehicles (EVs) for a lot of people. Good reasons to buy/own an EV: They can be super fun to drive. A Tesla can be as fast and handle as well as some super cars. The acceleration and cornering are a lot of fun. They are much cheaper to run, if you charge them at home (and your electric rates are not very high). In Seattle, it costs 2.5-3 cents per mile to run our EVs (10 cents per kWh). Our gas SUVs used to cost us about 20 cents per mile, when you include the fuel and regular maintenance. Please check your rates to get accurate numbers. They are super easy to operate. In our busy lives, even going to a gas station can be a chore. With an EV, pull into your garage and plug it in. There is no scheduled maintenance, ever. No oil changes, no tune-ups, no timing belts, etc. You will not even need brake pads, since the motors brake

  If you are curious about the cost savings provided by electric cars, below are some numbers I calculated for 100,000 miles driven.  Besides the cost savings, electric cars have other advantages that should not be overlooked. I outline some of them in this article .   Tesla Model Y and Lexus RX350     Nissan Leaf and Nissan Sentra Assumptions Electric car is charged at home Cost of electricity: 10 cents per Kwh. This is a flat rate in Seattle, but it ranges from 4-30, depending on the state and time of day. Average efficiency of Tesla Y (291 Wh/mile) and Nissan Leaf (275 Wh/mile) is 283 Wh/mile. No unscheduled maintenance Gas car is provided with regular maintenance (oil changes and tune-ups) Batteries and tires are not included, as they would be the same for both types of cars  Average gas price as of Sept 2022 is $3.7 The gasoline car does not use premium or diesel fuel Oil changes are every 5,000 miles and cost $80 Tune-ups are every 30,000 miles and cost $1000 Both gasoline a

    I have a 2021 Model Y Long Range (here is my mini review of it and our 2021 Nissan Leaf) with 20" wheels. After 26,000 miles on my original Goodyear F1 tires, it was time to replace them.  TLDR: The Pirelli P zero ELECT tires dramatically improved the ride quality and road noise, while maintaining efficiency. If I had spent several grand for a suspension upgrade, I would not expect to see this kind of a ride quality improvement. In summary, compared to the stock tires: Ride quality is much better Road noise is reduced by 20% Efficiency is equal to the OEMs Handling is not quite as good (the car leans a bit more in the corners) The traction is not as good, but still very good I considered these: Goodyear F1 (amazing traction in all conditions, including snow and ice) Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus Elect (specifically made for EVs and have foam inserts) KumhoSolus Majesty 9 TA91 (super cheap) Michelin Primacy MXM4 Michelin CrossClimate2 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S Continenta