Jamie Thingelstad

When Tammy’s Dad passed away one of the organizations that he supported was the Bee Lab at the University of Minnesota. As a thank you from the Bee Lab Tammy and I were able to visit today, meet Dr. Marla Spivak, and get a tour of the facility.

It was cool to see how Dr. Spivak had designed the lab and to see some of the work they are doing with the incredible variety of bee species in Minnesota and elsewhere.

For more about Dr. Spivak and her work with bees watch her TED Talk on why bees are disappearing and an interview about her research on Propolis and Honey Bees.

Power has been shut off to the entire hose now for nearly an hour for the electrical upgrades. Happy to see that the combination of UPS batteries and PoE for infrastructure has left the network and fiber connection online! ⚡️

We’ve had a crew from Advantage Electric at our house for the last couple days and hopefully we’ll be wrapped up tomorrow. A wide variety of improvements. They put a number of the Lutron Caseta switches in today and I’m already realizing how nice it is when all the lighting is in that system. I’m excited about all of these things. ⚡️

• Hang 7 replacement light fixtures.
• Replace halogen puck light with LED.
• Install recessed electric receptacle for TV.
• Replace 2 under-cabinet halogen lights with LED.
• Replace 4 under-cabinet halogen lights with LED.
• Replace 6 fluorescent lights with LED.
• Replace 3 fluorescent closet lights with LED.
• Replace 2 fluorescent utility lights with LED.
• Remediate 2 dangerous electric receptacles.
• Replace exhaust fan that doesn’t shut off.
• Install 5 electric receptacles with USB C power.
• Modernize electric receptacles on main floor and basement.
• Install Lutron Caseta light switches on main floor and basement.
• Remount electric meter to exterior wall, add emergency disconnect.
• Replace main electric panel, add whole home surge protection.

Yesterday we purchased a 2024 Tesla Model Y! This will be my primary car replacing the Mazda CX-9. Our Model 3 has become Tammy’s primary car since the pandemic when she started driving it more. Before then the Model 3 was always with me at the office. 😊

We test drove the Model Y, Model S, and Model X. I find the Model 3 to be uncomfortable to get in and out of and the Model S was nearly identical. We all loved the Model X but the price jump is huge — you can buy two Model Y’s for the price. Additionally, with our small South Minneapolis garage I was very doubtful the Model X doors would work.

We did consider the idea of getting a non-Tesla EV, but the infrastructure upgrades to add another model of charger into our garage was going to be very difficult. We would have had to jump from 200A to 400A service for the house, install an additional main panel, have utility work done in the yard. The dollars add up quick on that stuff. The benefit of using the same charging setup at home was a big win. If we had a bigger garage and the power wasn’t an issue we would have looked hard at the Rivian. ⚡️

I decided to get the Stealth Grey and the standard 19" wheels. I also went for the Black and White interior which is very white. It looks great, and I’m hoping I’ll still think it looks great after three or four years of wear. Fingers crossed on that. Dual Motor and long range battery. Tow hitch for bike rack. I also opted into Enhanced Autopilot so it has the same capability as the Model 3 does. I continue to view Full Self Driving as a better monthly “add on” for trips. The Model 3 computer would need an upgrade to use it, so the Model Y will be our first time to try it.

I continue to be blown away by Tesla’s purchasing process. It took 5 minutes at the dealership after I did the test drive to put down the deposit. Within seconds of that transaction completing I loaded the Tesla app on my phone and it already showed the second car in my profile. I completed the purchase process while I was brewing my coffee at home this morning. The comparison to the buying process for the Mazda where I sat at the dealership for 90 minutes is shocking.

The Model Y is on the way and I will pick it up next week! 🤩

Last weekend I drove up to Grand Marais to take Winter Along the Gunflint Photography Workshop with Bryan Hansel. It has been a decade since I took a workshop and Tammy decided it was time for me to get out in the field and shoot for a weekend so she got me this great workshop for my birthday. I was eager to go, and also a little anxious since I hadn’t done more serious photography for a few years. I was rusty for sure.

Our workshop started on Friday with some classroom learning, and then we shot sunset from the Campground Beach in Grand Marais. The winter part of the workshop was tested with the lack of any snow to speak of in Grand Marais. Hansel adapted with it though and still got us plenty of great spots to capture beautiful images.

That first night I got this sunset view of the last rays along the Campground Beach.

We were up early to get the sunrise the next morning. We drove a short distance to Cascade River State Park and captured the first rays that morning.

We did find some snow when we went in to Elbow Lake. We setup these classic snowshoes on the lake.

That afternoon the winds were going pretty good and I was hopeful that we would get some big waves coming in on the Lighthouse in Grand Marais.

The wind continued and the waves were steady as the sun set.

Hansel led a great workshop and I learned a number of new things from him. His Lightroom skills were top notch and he showed us some processing techniques that were incredible. I also liked the fresh perspective he brought to composition.

See list of Photography Workshops.

Reviewing my On This Day page today made me do a double take — so few posts. Then I remembered it is leap day, and February 29, 2024 is only the 6th leap day since my blog was started. 😁

On Artist Point in Grand Marais in pre-dawn light to catch the sunrise.

First time winter hiking today with these hiking crampons. Amazing stability and still easy to walk on.

Suggestion from Bryan Hansel to find your photography style — go through your photos for the year and pick your favorite single one from each month. Not your best, or most liked. Your favorite! Look at those twelve photos and reflect on what the common threads are between them all.

Ice Climbers along the Cascade River.

How is it possible that I’m just now discovering how amazing Swedish Cream is. Wow.

Geared up for sunrise winter photography.

Out early shooting the sunrise. Good waves on Lake Superior.

Bryan Hansel getting everyone started on our workshop.

Morning coffee and pastry at 190° Coffee and Tea. Early morning snowfall. Heading on to Grand Marais.