apple juice

Of all the parts of my car that I feel comfortable installing, windshield wipers give me the most joy.

Actually I would say I have a love/hate relationship with my windshield wipers. They’re never as good as the first day you get them. A slow, downward trajectory, like riding a slip’n’slide that isn’t wet enough.

However, I have great hope for my recent wiper purchase. Instead of going for the seemingly generic brand they sell at Checker Auto Parts, I spent an extra $10 each for the Bosch Icon wipers. I am in wiper heaven.

They could  be described as a slightly al dente spaghetti noodle. That, in and of itself is cool, because there is none of the typical metal bracket features. Just a sleek rubber and plastic noodle.

Minnesota winters are tough though, so I’m withholding final judgment until the snow flies. But so far, my new windshield noodle friends are living up to their billing.

I found this amazing blurb in the latest issue of The Atlantic:

"… rich people in poor states are much more likely to vote Republican than rich people in well-off states… as a state’s average income rises, the correlation between being wealthy and voting Republican disappears. In Connecticut, for example, there is almost no connection between income and voting behavior: both the poor and the rich tend to vote for Democratic candidates."

Maybe it’s just me that finds that a bit amazing, but I think it says a lot about the platforms of the two major parties.

Here’s how I voted:

• Governor – Becky Lourey
• US Senate – Amy Klobuchar
• US House – Keith Ellison
• MN Attorney General – Steve Kelley
• MN Secretary of State – Mark Ritchie
• MN Senate District 62 – Patricia Torres Ray

Now it’s on to november!

From today’s Startribune, two potential light rail lines are being considered from the Southwest, option B travels through Uptown as well!

The second route would follow the same path in Eden Prairie but would go through Minneapolis between Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles through Uptown to a final stop on Nicollet Mall. The study estimated that in 2030, it would attract about 28,000 riders, 6,800 of them new to transit, at an estimated capital cost of $1.4 billion in 2015, with operating costs of more than $20 million.

They say that this one is not the "preferred" line however, but do not say why. I’m guessing it’s because the estimated cost is $200 million more. It’s the better route though!

Anyway, good news!