Ruminating...

"Thinking deeply about something."  It's a good word; I don't get to use it all that often.

There have been discussions regarding electric motorcycles and scooters on the scooter forums where I participate.  Most people seem to think they are not quite ready for prime time: too expensive, not enough range.  A few people are predicting the end of internal combustion engines, one person saying, "Internal combustion is dead - it just doesn't know it, yet."

I'm somewhere in between.  For urban commuting, I think an e-scoot would be great.  Or, for local small town errand running.  But, if you live in a suburb where you have to drive at highway speeds for any significant distance - not so much.

At the recent Milan Motorcycle Show, most of the manufacturers were showing at least one electric model.  They are coming.  I presume things will shake out with some standardization of battery technology.

I really like our e-bikes (bicycles), where a 25 to 28 mile range is plenty.  In fact, I was way ahead of the curve with a folding e-scooter back in 1997...

Yeah, that was 21 years ago - I had a lot more hair back then.  But, the electric scooter was great in the RV parks and folded to fit in an underneath compartment in the motorhome.

It isn't just the e-scooter market that hasn't caught on with the general public: electric cars haven't been selling significantly, either.  In fact, the Chevy Volt (an electric car with an internal combustion generator for added range) is one of the models that GM just announced it is discontinuing.

I remember the days when "as goes GM, so goes the nation"... it was a quote from the then CEO of General Motors back in 1953.  His viewpoint was that GM was so big, and so important, that the country's economic fortunes were inherently dependent on a robust General Motors.  Yesterday, General Motors announced it was closing 5 plants and laying off 15,000 employees... and today, the stock market was up over 600 points.

Vehicles in general just aren't the big driver (see what I did there?) of the economy that they used to be.  Digressing Notice: the public, especially the younger segment doesn't seem to be as excited by vehicles of any sort; at least not the way that folks of my generation felt about it.  When I got my first motorcycle, it was freedom!  I still feel the same way about our scoots.  And the motorhome.  When I was 16, everyone I knew took drivers' ed so you could get your license at 16... plenty of younger people now that aren't concerned about driving or owning a car - they'd rather call for an Uber.

There was some media buzz with Tesla and their electric car offerings, but that seems to have cooled off, too.  So, to round back: I don't think it is just the e-vehicle market that is languishing.

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Thanks for hanging in there for the ruminating.  Here's why you check in to this blog...

Rufus being his regal self...

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And, a movie review:

Another gray day in the Tropical Tip, so we took in an afternoon movie.  When I paid for our tickets, it was less than we usually pay - I questioned it, not wanting to take advantage.  "It is $5.00 Wednesday - all afternoon movies are $5."  What a deal!

Apparently, word of this hasn't gotten around - we arrived 15 minutes before the movie started, and we were the only car in the parking lot.  By the time the movie started, there were two other couples in there... pretty much a private screening.

The Movie?  "Instant Family," starring Mark Walberg and Rose Byrne; a story about them adopting 3 siblings that had been removed from their Mother, who was an addict and in jail.  Sounds depressing, but it was a heart-warming movie.  Predictable, but really well-done.  Isabela Moner plays the 15 year-old and is the most interesting part of the fostering situation.  Octavia Spencer and Tig Notaro are great as the social workers who teach the foster parenting class.

The other couples in the foster parenting class (and then in a support group) may be the funniest part of the movie.  It is billed as a "dramedy" - some humor and some tear-inducing drama.

The story line borrows heavily from the real-life experience of director Sean Anders' adoption of 3 siblings.  He also directed the "Daddy's Home" movies (also starring Walberg) and the Adam Sandler movie "That's My Boy."

As of right now (a couple weeks since its release), the movie hasn't broken even.  I hope it does better with time - the movie is definitely entertaining.  We both give it a thumbs up.  Go see it.