Tesla full self driving: my experience
Tesla offered a free 30-day trial so I decided to try it out. There were a few things I liked, but overall I don’t think I’d pay for it
There were some very confusing moments, a few times when I had no idea what it was doing based on traffic, and it really struggled when it came to construction (which is everywhere!)
I can see why there are issues and why governments want to better regulate it.
In the end, it was fun and I’m glad they offered to let us try it. But that’s enough for me.
229 views • Apr 28, 2024
Reusable rockets
I take a look at NASAs solid rocket boosters and compare them to SpaceX.
The link to the cost document I reference: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19730016075/downloads/19730016075.pdf
54 views • Apr 9, 2024
Gas or Electric in cars. Which is cheaper?
I do a calculation to compare $/mile driven for both gas and electric cars?
In summary it is very possible that gas could be less expensive (gasp!) if you are stuck using public charging most of the time.
Paying 50 cents or more per kWh vs around $3 a gallon is a break even.
But as always, your mileage may vary.
583 views • Mar 26, 2024
Teslas supercharger network: a happy accident
The superchargers look to be a big item, perhaps as high as $20 billion a year. But did you know that a charging network was kind of an afterthought? And now everyone is ready to use it.
268 views • Mar 9, 2024
Landing on the moon
I look back into history at moon landings, and then talk about our recent attempts - and successes in having unmanned moon landings.
And yes, I’m aware that the video I show of JFK was not the one at Rice, but it was a version of the same speech.
In the latter part of the video, I spend some time discussing what went wrong with Odysseus and how to possibly avoid it in the future
The video "Making a tin foil hat" may be found here: https://youtu.be/gFf8sHPkjzo?si=AF5Bs7cAITt5XdI9
15 views • Mar 1, 2024
Hydrogen cars?
The idea is great. But in practice? Much harder to say.
505 views • Feb 28, 2024
Disney has a proxy war on its hands
I’m talking about Disneys proxy war. There are two challengers who want seats on the board to help steer the company’s direction differently.
Disney wants the status quo. So as shareholders (even if you have one share), we have the ability to vote.
I’m talking about who the players are and what they’re saying.
— I did vote by the way. Care to know which way I voted?
123 views • Feb 25, 2024
I’m talking about the Columbia space shuttle disaster
It’s maybe a little personal to me since my graduate research was on heat tile replacement - heat tile loss was the issue that caused the disaster.
I also reflect on what Richard Feynman found when he was looking at the challenger disaster 2 decades before.
296 views • Feb 20, 2024
