Incident

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"Incident" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/15 sec, ISO500
 “Incident” Cedar Park, 2017

Yesterday evening I received a text message from my son that the entire school was on lock-down because of an incident involving a weapon, and that I needed to come pick him up. When we arrived at the school, there were dozens of police vehicles, fire engines, and EMS cars all around the campus. We joined other parents on the sidewalk and were briefed by the police officer, who told us that there was a report of a weapon on campus, but that all the kids were safe in their locked rooms, and each group had an officer with them.

After what seemed like a long time, they told us that there was no danger, but that the school needed to be searched and that they couldn’t let anyone leave until that happened. 30 minutes later all the parents were escorted to the front of the school, and the kids were released to us one-by-one. It was kind of crazy… many of the kids came out visibly shaken up, sobbing, and went to hug their parents. When Koa came out, I asked him what it was like… his response was, “Eh”.

It was a surreal situation, though, to see all the cops, many with long guns, helmets, bulletproof vests (the whole 9 yards!), police SUVs driving across the grass towards the school, worried parents hugging each other, etc.

Thankfully, everything turned out okay, and what caused the lock-down were some photos on social media of students with air-soft guns, but still, this was a serious deal. I’m really not a fan of guns, and I just kept thinking if these situations could be avoided in a gun-free society.

You can read the news story here.

Rooftop Cargo Basket for the Crosstrek

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"Cargo Basket" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/200 sec, ISO200
 “Cargo Basket” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

As you can see from the photos, I’ve mounted the rooftop cargo basket onto our 2018 Subaru Crosstrek. As expected, it was an easy one-person job to get it onto the crossbars, position, and secure. Obviously, it would have been faster with two people, but it’s certainly not necessary. The basket is light enough that I could lift it safely and place it on the crossbars, then slide it across to center it. I made sure to measure and match the distance between the crossbars with the mounting points on the basket beforehand.

It’s so nice that the Crosstrek is not as tall as a regular SUV or minivan, especially since I am only 5′ 5″ tall. That being said, I did use a footstool to get up higher to the tighten the clamps. It’s just more comfortable to turn the wingnut-type screws without angling your wrist awkwardly.

"Cargo Basket" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/220 sec, ISO200
 “Cargo Basket” Cedar Park, 2017

In addition to the stock basket hardware, I added some washers to make the tightening surface a little more beefy, and then bought some some rubber end-caps for the bolt-ends since they stick up a bit into the basket. Apart from that, it’s a nice basket, at a good price! (~$75 US)

"Caps and Washers" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/25 sec, ISO6400
 “Caps and Washers” Cedar Park, 2017

I also unpacked the waterproof cargo bag which we’ll put our gear into, and put it in the basket to make sure the size was ok. The footstool was a big help with this part and so for our camping trip, I ordered a portable version. It seems like it’s a decent item to have around, and it folds down flat. It arrives on Friday so we’ll see if it will really do the job.

Driving with the cargo basket up top feels the same as without, but the wind noise is noticeable from about 50 MPH on up. I’m sure the mileage also takes a hit with the basket on, but I’ll update this post later on when I get more drive time data. I’m not planning on keeping the crossbars and basket on the Crosstrek full-time, however. It’s pretty much just for camping. I think it looks pretty cool, though!

FYI, here are the items mentioned in this post:

I’m really enjoying the new Crosstrek!

またね～

Stew and Cargo Basket

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"Beef Stew" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
 “Beef Stew” Cedar Park, 2017

It’s time for cold-weather food! So a hot beef stew really hit the spot today. Actually, Texas is fairly warm, but it’s so grey out that it feels like it’s colder than it really is.

But any excuse to have beef stew is good enough for me. 😄

And look what arrived in the mail today! It’s a rooftop cargo basket that I am planning on using for camping gear. It looks pretty simple to set up (simple is good!) and is probably a one-person job to put on top of the car.

"In the Box" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO6400
 “In the Box” Cedar Park, 2017

The cats love it too. Especially the box it was packed in. 🐱

I hope you had a great day!

Lighting and Crossbars

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"The Set" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO2000
 “The Set” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

This evening we had a nice Korean-style dinner, with Pajeon pancakes, spicy chicken, and kimchee. It was yummy, but for the photo, I decided to take a shot of our lighting setup instead of the food. Mariko asked me to put the umbrella back up so that the light isn’t as harsh for her food photos. I was happy to oblige since I like the diffused light anyways. Sure, the umbrella looks strange, but I don’t mind. I don’t look up at the umbrella anyway. 😄

Before dinner Bay and I installed some crossbars on the Subaru. I bought an inexpensive set to act as a base for a cargo basket that should arrive tomorrow. These crossbars installed easily and seem pretty sturdy, but the only problem is that they make a high-pitched whistling noise from 40-55mph. It’s really not too bad, and if you are listening to music, you won’t notice. But I don’t plan to keep the crossbars on full-time anyways, so it’s really a non-issue.

I hope you had a nice day!

おやすみ