Learndorphins

Part 1: here. Part 2: here. Suburban practice: 30-45mph streets Goals: Be able to drive to (and park at) Trader Joe’s then Metropolitan Market and get back home. Continue building good habits, two-way communication with parental unit in right seat Relatively simple drive to there, some complexities coming back. Scanning and naming things to keep an eye on (e.g., pedestrians looking like they may cross, lights about to change, etc.) Lane changes. Left and right turns, signaling. An example of a multi-lane left turn; there are no lane dots to assist. ...

(A belated followup to Part 1. Part 3 is here.) Neighborhood Practice: 25mph streets Goals: Back out of and pull into our driveway. Complete point-to-point drives in a gentle environment, build good habits – speed control, scanning, and learning to recognize potential issues. Two-way communication with parental unit in right seat. For example, when I say stop, you need to stop right away. Otherwise, I’ll suggest things like “let’s pull over ahead” or “right turn at the next traffic light.” I need you to articulate things you see and actions you’re about to take (e.g., “I see a child on a bicycle weaving; a pedestrian is about to enter the crosswalk, so I will plan on yielding.”). If you don’t do that, I will assume you’re unaware of the issue and will point it out with varying degrees of subtlety. Locations: Klahanie Blvd – This is a wide road with ample shoulder, traffic calming devices, and pedestrian crosswalks. The speed limit is 25mph and visibility is excellent … once you’re off our street. Neighborhood beginner level. Source: Google Street View ...

In 2004, I was pondering saving for my kids’ college tuition, considering my options between Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition program and the Missouri MOST 529. At the time, the GET credits were priced with an equivalent of a 2-year front-end load. Based on my relatively late start, I felt it was enough of an issue that I should stick with a 529. I revisited this in 2010 shortly after the market had its 2008 meltdown. It was too late to really do the GET. Carolyn Adolph, the local NPR affiliate interviewed me. I couldn’t find the transcript, but I think I was feeling kind of dumb for going with a 529 vs the Washington State GET plan. ...

[From mid-2008] My dishwasher’s been making a bad grinding noise that, I think, is the remnant of a broken coffee cup sloshing around in the sprayer assembly. I noticed the screws holding this on are the TORX shape. This got me wondering about the type of screws available and what their trade-offs were. Enjoy! The flathead (or “slotted”) screw is an old design, but suffers two shortfalls: it’s hard to center and it’s too easy to apply too much torque, causing the screwdriver blade to pop out and destroy the head. Thus, it’s used primarily in wood products assembled by hand. ...

I will be teaching my adult children how to drive and found it helpful to cobble together a syllabus of activities. This will be in multiple phases, starting with … a parking lot. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Parking Lot: Goals: Use and feel of steering inputs, mirrors and other controls. Car gauges and lights. Learn how the car handles at different slow speeds. Parking. Basic turns and navigation around stationary objects. Locations: Sammamish Park and Ride ...