A rocket enthusiast since age 7 when I learned how to make them with my own black powder, at age 74, I am six miles away from Starship test launch #6 tomorrow after driving: Left about 1 PM and arrived before 3 PM the next day for motel check-in $113 estimated charging cost at $.36/kWh. Some easily corrected Full Self Driving flaws. For example, the car map expecting an exit that was removed the year before and a new style STOP sign Mississippi is installing. There was one cat nap while putting a deep charge on the car and left before the charging ended. Paid $155 for three days in a room with a fairly complete kitchen (an efficiency apartment class.) There was one accident when another driver bumped my rear bumper cover and neither needed to call the cops. My car has the video recording. So yes, Full Self Driving (FSD) has some driver identifiable and correctable bugs. But it is head and shoulders above the TSS-P of my former, 2017 Prius Prime. The FSD payoff is in the quality of my 74 year old life. Bob Wilson ps. Local weather reports the launch slipped to Tuesday. Monday is free for exploring.
The trip back with a stop at Solar Alternatives, the contractor for my solar roof, took 27 hours. So this is what the two legs cost and total for the trip: $8.50 / 100 miles = ($217.10 / 2554) * 100 $8.50 / ($2.69/gal) = $3.16 gallons :: using GasBuddy cheapest regular in my zip code 100 mi / 3.16 gal = 31.7 MPGe 2,554 / (25+27-1) = 50.1 MPH block-to-block speed My previous Prius were running 52-56 MPG, so they would have been cheaper, $122.68 vs $217.10 in the Tesla. But driving 25 and 27 hours would have been impractical as the Tesla has Full Self Driving and charging with biology stops every 1.5-2.5 hours. Bob Wilson
When I was a kid some of us got into mixing saltpeter, charcoal and Sulphur; is that black powder. We tried to make "solid boosters": none got off the ground; but were nevertheless spectacular, at least to us. One time, my friend and I were simmering a pot of water with saltpeter and sugar, on a hot plate, with the aim to make twisted crepe paper fuse, it got a little too warm and started to vigorously smoke. This was in a utility shed 'round back. No flames but one heck of a lot of smoke. We got out, closed the door and tried to be nonchalant. The town fire hall was just across the street, and the fire chief happened to be pulling out in his car. He came right over, gave the smoking shed a glance, and asked what we were doing. We told him, he told us to be careful and drove off. Very laid-back guy... Anyway, I was talking to that friend a few years back, after about 50 years hiatus: much of his adult life he was fire chief in a neighboring town, lol.
Same recipe I used. I never knew about 'candy' fuel but later read about zinc sulfur. A black powder shooter, it has become 'difficult' to buy because it is called an explosive. But I can by the ingredients from Amazon and there is a great YouTube channel about how to make quality black powder: Everything Black Powder - YouTube Happily, I'm a 'day trip' away from Dixie Gun Works in western Tennessee. I'm not adverse to making my own but my preference is in the shooting. Bob Wilson
Ditto. And Sulphur from the nearby pulp/paper mill. Forget where we got carbon, maybe barbecue briquettes.
i didn't have to mix mine, and it came with all the accoutrements can you imagine shipping gunpowder in the mail today?
