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Thing #3 is in the kitchen making chicken and dumplings for dinner tonight. Yesterday Thing #2 made galumpkis (cabbage rolls). (He did have supervision.) The wife and I have decided that our children will not be allowed to leave the house without the ability to cook for themselves.
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"That's it. No more Japanese food before bed."
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totm aug 2023 What funny/interesting thing happened in your life today?
TheSaint replied to Ultimate Steve's topic in The Lounge
I love driving. There is an independence there. Twenty five years from now, when the government is telling you that you are no longer allowed to drive, you have to let a computer do it, remember that you were allowed to do this. With pride. -
I loved Interstellar. Apparently I was in the minority. As always. "We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars, now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt." "Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here."
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The Rest In Peace thread: Joe Flaherty, April 1, 2024
TheSaint replied to StrandedonEarth's topic in The Lounge
I didn't even know he was in The Mandalorian. Don't have Disney. Glad he was still getting work. -
The Scrape of Things to Come - Phase 7: Inner Planets Missions
TheSaint replied to TheSaint's topic in KSP1 Mission Reports
Y2 D163-209 Near-Kerbin Asteroid Mission So the folks over in the Science department have been talking about doing an asteroid mission for a long time. Apparently these giant space rocks keep hitting Kerbin every couple thousand of years. Science would like to learn more about them, their composition and such, to help us figure out ways to divert them in the future. To, like, you know, save the world and stuff. Sounds like a pretty big deal. But apparently not a big enough deal to get funding from Kongress. Go figure. So we were putting our heads together trying to come up with a plan for another mission for NP-1, and one of the interns said, "Hey! Why don't we put together an asteroid sample return package for it!" And everyone thought that was a terrible idea. So we kicked around a couple more ideas, and then I said, "Hey, I know! Why don't we put together an asteroid sample return package for it!" Which was obviously brilliant, since everyone immediately told me so. We forwarded the idea to the executive team over at Kerman Systems Group, and they were all on board with it. They got with our science team and cobbled together a science package. It's basically a framework with a capture arm, the science experiments, and sample return capsules attached. It's all designed to be run by the computers onboard NP-1. It's super-cheap, totally affordable in our current science budget. And it gives us a chance to test the nuclear propulsion systems on NP-1 on an extended mission. Win-win. We'll be sending the NKAM package up on Robby, along with an LH2 tank to refuel NP-1 at Kerbin Station. NP-1 departs from Minmus Station and begins its 8-day journey back to Kerbin Station. Then Robby lifts off from KSC and delivers the NKAM package and LH2 tank to Kerbin Station. About a week later, NP-1 arrives at Kerbin Station and docks with the NKAM package. During this time the Science team has been busy picking a target asteroid. The one they have selected is FHT-377. It's a large-ish body that is in a stable orbit slightly behind Kerbin in its orbit. So it should be relatively easy to get to, well within NP-1's dV capability. When Kerbin Station comes around to the departure window, NP-1 undocks with the NKAM package. Once it is clear of the station, it jettisons the package shroud, revealing the capture arm. Then it burns to exit the Kerbin system. A week later, NP-1 reaches the edge of Kerbin's SOI. Here it burns to intercept FHT-377. A couple of weeks later, it arrives at the asteroid and burns to match velocities. Now the Flight team carefully plots an intercept course and, over the course of several hours, guides NP-1 in to contact the asteroid. As the capture arm sinks into the asteroids surface, it secures the package to the asteroid. Success! Once the package is secure, the science team gets to work. They activate the sample retrieval devices, which collect core and surface samples from the asteroid. Several other experiments collect pictures and other data from the asteroid over several hours. Then, once the science team is satisfied with the results, it is time to depart. Because we could not be assured that the capture arm would successfully disengage from the asteroid, we designed the package to separate from the capture arm. It does so now. NP-1 backs away from the asteroid. When it is clear, it burns for Kerbin. About a month, and several burns later, NP-1 arrives back in Kerbin orbit. After a couple of hours, it arrives back at Kerbin Station. It docks once again, it's long mission over. Stupendous! Now we need to get the sample return capsules back down to Kerbin. We also need to refuel NP-1. We could just have it take the LH2 tank up to Minmus and refuel. But CKAI would like to take the opportunity to test another of its capabilities. Gort is up in the rotation. It will be bringing up another LH2 tank and two sets of radial docking adapters. NP-1 and the LH2 tanks are designed to be connected (and disconnected) radially. These connectors may be used in the future to assemble arrays of fuel tanks for large interplanetary spacecraft. The radial docking adapters we are sending up now will allow normal cargo drones to handle the LH2 tanks (and potentially other cargoes) radially during these assembly procedures. We're sending up two sets, one for Kerbin Station and the other for Minmus Station. Gort launches perfectly and soon Captain Keeney is bringing it in to dock with Kerbin Station. Once there, we need to shift some vehicles around to get things where they need to go. We extract the two sets of docking adapters and install one on Kerbin Station and then set another in a position where it can be picked up by NP-1 for transfer to Minmus Station. Then we shuffle around NP-1 and the Orbital Tugs to make room for the radial docking evolutions that need to take place. Kerbin Station's docking complex gets pretty crowded sometimes. We should probably do something about that at some point.... When we finally get things organized, Keeney uses CD2 to bring the NKAM experiment package to Gort's cargo bay for return to Kerbin. Now we can start with the radial docking stuff. Keeney moves CD2 over and picks up a radial docking adapter. Then she moves in and picks up the new LH2 Tank. Then she takes the whole package to the other side of the station and docks it to the existing LH2 tank. Once there, she undocks the drone and moves it over to dock radially with the LH2 tank. Success! She undocks the LH2 tank and gets a feel for moving it while it is attached radially to the drone. Then she brings the tank over and docks it radially to NP-1. Excellent! She brings the drone around again and docks it to the other LH2 tank, then moves it in and docks it to the other side of NP-1, balancing the vessel. Then she brings the drone over and returns the docking adapter to its holder. Success! The crew has added fuel tanks to NP-1 to triple its fuel capacity. Now it will test the in-flight fuel transfer capabilities of the connections during its flight to Minmus. There the crews of Minmus Station will train with the docking adapters as well and test the use of the LH2 tanks to refuel NP-1 with liquid hydrogen from Minmus. Once the drone is back in its parking spot, Kerbin Station is just about at the departure point for Minmus. The engineers have just enough time to balance the propellants in NP-1's tanks. Then the vessel undocks with the adapters and departs. Then, when Kerbin Station has come around in its orbit, Gort undocks with the NKAM package and returns to KSC. Fantastic job, everyone! -
Looking at his Wiki page, apparently he was CO of the Key West when I was in. So, nope, never ran into him.
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Speaking of which: I drove my free car home from California on Saturday. Which was great, got to spend time with an old friend on Saturday afternoon. After pouring over the car on Sunday and yesterday, here is the to-do list: It keeps getting a CEL with multiple codes due to the emissions system. This is the main reason he gave me the car, because this is preventing the car from passing the smog check in California, and if it doesn't pass smog you can't register it, you can't sell it, you can't do anything with it. (At least not in California.) He thought the problem was with the catalytic converters burning out, but now that I've driven the car and looked at the codes, I think it may just be the oxygen sensors. So first task: replace all of the oxygen sensors, this car has four of them. If that doesn't work, then replace the catalytic converters, which is obviously a much bigger, more expensive job. The battery is dying. Not dead, but dying. He hadn't replaced it because, see above. Easy fix. The right-rear tail light is cracked. Apparently he got a love-tap in a parking lot a couple years ago and since he stopped carrying comprehensive on the car he never bothered to get it fixed. Easy changeout, although most of the inexpensive replacements are aftermarket and don't exactly match the OEM lights, so I'll probably have to buy a pair and replace both of them. The engine leaks oil like a sieve. More than a quart between changes. So valve cover gaskets probably need changing, probably need to look at the crankshaft and camshaft seals, possibly the oil pan gasket. First step though is to drop a vial of dye into the oil and make sure there isn't anything out of the ordinary happening. Engine also has a coolant leak. Not a major one, just a top up with each oil change. But should be tracked down and fixed before it becomes a real problem. The SRS/air bag light flickers. This is probably due to either a loose sensor connector under a seat or in the bumper, or a loose connection at the airbag control module. Not difficult to fix, just a PITA to track down. It's also possible that this is an early indication of a dying alternator, but he said he just replaced that about 50,000 miles ago. Possible, but unlikely. The paint on the top of the roof and on the hood is flaking off. It's gone beyond the cosmetic stage and is threatening to become a rust issue, especially on the roof. Apparently this was a known issue with this particular model/year/color of car. Ford bought a bad batch of paint. So the roof I'll need to take down to bare metal then prime/paint/clearcoat. The hood I can probably still get away with just a quick wet sand then paint/clearcoat. The rear bumper cover is cracked. (Same incident as the tail light.) It's not that noticeable, but it bugs me, so at some point I'll buy a new bumper cover and paint it to match. The rear wiper arm is missing. Super easy fix, but also super unimportant. I'll replace that whenever. It may not sound like it, but it's in better condition than I was expecting, considering it's 22 years old with 195,000 miles on it. He did take pretty good care of the car.
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The Scrape of Things to Come - Phase 7: Inner Planets Missions
TheSaint replied to TheSaint's topic in KSP1 Mission Reports
I have been very remiss in updating this thread. Had a lot going on since Christmas. Nothing catastrophic, just committed to other projects. Rest assured, the thread is neglected, not abandoned. Hopefully I will get an update out this week or next. -
totm aug 2023 What funny/interesting thing happened in your life today?
TheSaint replied to Ultimate Steve's topic in The Lounge
So, we have been trying to figure out how to get a third car for Thing #1 ever since he got his license back in September. But, in case you hadn't noticed, the used car market is insane right now. I'd been hoping to buy a new(er) truck for myself and give him my old truck, but (for example) right now a ten-year-old Tacoma with 100,000 miles on it is literally selling for about the same price it was when it was new. Even old econoboxes are stupid expensive right now. So we've thought about it and prayed, and decided to wait and see if the bottom drops out of the used car market this year like a lot of folks think it will. So, last month I got a call from a guy I worked with twenty years ago back in California. He'd been thinking about me, just wanted to catch up. We spent an hour on the phone chatting about work and family, it was great to hear from him. This week he sends me a text: "Hey, you mentioned that you were looking for a car for your oldest? We've got this 2002 Mazda Tribute. Bought it new, drove it 200,000 miles. It runs great, but the catalytic converters are worn out and it won't pass smog. Not worth fixing, can't sell it unless we do. We were going to donate it, but we were wondering if you wanted it? No money, just come pick it up." So, free car, just have to drive out to California and get it. Woot! -
totm march 2020 So what song is stuck in your head today?
TheSaint replied to SmileyTRex's topic in The Lounge
Can't believe it's been twenty years. -
The Rest In Peace thread: Joe Flaherty, April 1, 2024
TheSaint replied to StrandedonEarth's topic in The Lounge
Gaston Glock passed away today. No matter if you love Glocks or hate them, you have to admit that he revolutionized the firearms industry. -
I didn't get my Red Ryder BB gun.
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You want the meat to cool down as fast as possible, because heat encourages spoilage. And fur traps heat, because that's what it's for. So the best practice is to gut and skin the animal as close to the time it was killed as possible. This is true regardless of refrigeration, because even today it may still be many hours or even a day before you can get your carcass to a refrigerator, depending on where you are hunting.
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The Scrape of Things to Come - Phase 7: Inner Planets Missions
TheSaint replied to TheSaint's topic in KSP1 Mission Reports
Y2 D50-162 - Eve Explorer and NP-1 As the Duna probes continue their exploration of The Red Planet, we approach the departure window for the last of our Explorer-class probes: Eve Explorer. Once again, Kerman Systems Group has taken the basic Explorer probe bus and modified it to produce a customized probe to continue our exploration mission. Eve Explorer is very similar to the two Duna Explorer probes, but instead of bearing a rover payload it carries a smaller, lighter lander. This will give the probe increased dV, which is necessary for entering the Eve system. A couple of months before the launch window, Eve Explorer is loaded on board Marvin and lifted into orbit. Once there, it is transferred to an orbital tug and hauled out to Minmus Station. Then it's just a matter of waiting for Minmus to align itself for the departure, which happens about a month-and-a-half later. In the meantime, Orbital Tug 2 has been fully refueled and is ready to go. We've determined that an extra tank is unnecessary for this launch. The tug pulls away from Minmus Station with Eve Explorer in tow and then burns to exit Minmus orbit. Once the tug is clear of the station and on its way out of Minmus SOI, it jettisons the probe's protective shroud. Once it has left Minmus SOI, the tug burns to trim up its inclination and periapsis. Then it coasts down Kerbin's gravity well for eight days until it reaches the departure burn. All systems check out, so the tug begins its burn. Once the burn is complete, Eve Explorer separates from the tug and deploys its solar panels. Then the tug turns retrograde and performs its braking burn. It will perform a series of maneuvers over the next week or so to arrive at Kerbin Station to pick up an empty hydrolox tank and then return to Minmus Station. Now Eve Explorer is on its way! A few days later it reaches its first course correction burn at the edge of Kerbin's SOI. It should be arriving at Eve in about six months. In other news, I had a four-martini meeting with some executives from Combined Kerbal Aerospace Industries this week. Apparently Project Draco is moving along smartly. They've successfully tested their nuclear-powered rocket engine in a land-based prototype, so now they are ready to move on to a space-based prototype. They have taken an orbital tug chassis, converted it to use a nuclear engine, and dubbed it Nuclear Prototype - 1, or NP-1 for short. We'll be lifting it to Kerbin Station this week so they can get it up and running and run it through some tests. NP-1 is loaded on ArToo and ready for liftoff. Funny, there's normally a larger crowd here on launch day.... Once ArToo is docked, Captain Kline guides NP-1 out of the cargo bay and docks it with the station. Then ArToo undocks and returns to KSC. Once NP-1 is docked and safed, the crew of Kerbin Station break out their new procedures from CKAI. They check the prototype reactor's systems and double-check them, and consult the engineers on the ground. Once everyone is sure that the reactor is ready to go, Captain Kline gives the GO, and NP-1 is undocked from the station. The vessel is maneuvered to a safe distance away from the station, and then Mission Control gives the instruction for the reactor to be brought critical. Everything appears to go smoothly, so then the flight plan is updated and the ship burns for Minmus. While the prototype is enroute to Minmus, safely between worlds, the CKAI engineering team puts the reactor through its paces, performing startups, shutdowns, brief burns, and safety drills designed to test the reactor systems. It passes all of them flawlessly, and these tests provide excellent data for future reactor designs in the project. Eight days later, NP-1 arrives at Minmus Station. It burns in at twice the normal distance to minimize radiation exposure. Then the reactor is shut down, and Captain Kirkwood at Minmus Station guides NP-1 in to dock. So far the testing and development have been a resounding success! But now that NP-1 has arrived at Minmus Station, many additional procedures need to be tested and developed. Busy, busy, busy. And if this prototype is working well, maybe we can find a practical use for it too.... -
totm aug 2023 What funny/interesting thing happened in your life today?
TheSaint replied to Ultimate Steve's topic in The Lounge
Tonight we had our family Christmas dinner. Rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, fondant potatoes, green beans with caramelized shallots and garlic, mushrooms with white wine and garlic, and then my wife's fruitcake and fine bourbon for dessert. It's all downhill from here... -
The Upcoming Movies (and Movie Trailers) MegaThread!
TheSaint replied to StrandedonEarth's topic in The Lounge
The wife and I just watched Clue (the 1985 movie) on Amazon, because she is going to audition for a community theater musical based on the movie in January. And my takeaway was that I'm nostalgic for the days when Hollywood would throw their A-list screenwriters, producers, directors, and actors, after a comedy. And that I still have a man-crush on Tim Curry. -
I believe I posted this upthread. Worth posting again. How AI will actually end the world.
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My Kerbals used to celebrate by having a Secret Santa gift exchange. But then one year nobody could find the launch keys until they opened the presents on Christmas morning, so....
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The Rest In Peace thread: Joe Flaherty, April 1, 2024
TheSaint replied to StrandedonEarth's topic in The Lounge
Yeah, Dad's brother was a waist gunner on a B-17, KIA. It's funny, the story that the family was told, that my father always knew, was that he was shot down over Germany. But I came to find out, after reading stories on his unit's reunion site, that it was suspected sabotage. His plane was taking off for a mission and exploded just after lifting off at the end of the runway. In the investigation afterwards they found evidence that there were German spies operating in the area who may have infiltrated the base and planted explosives on the planes. The War Department decided to tell the families that they were shot down over Germany to preserve morale back home. -
The Rest In Peace thread: Joe Flaherty, April 1, 2024
TheSaint replied to StrandedonEarth's topic in The Lounge
My dad readily admitted that he spent most of the war skirting the ragged line between getting shot by the Germans and getting shot for desertion. If there was an opportunity to not see combat he took it. I don't blame him either, he was just a kid for Pete's sake. -
The Scrape of Things to Come - Phase 7: Inner Planets Missions
TheSaint replied to TheSaint's topic in KSP1 Mission Reports
Y1 D229-Y2 D49 - Duna Probes Arrival Well, it's a monumental day here at KSC. No, I'm not referring to the new espresso machine. (Although, that is kinda cool. Have you seen it? You just put your cup underneath the spout and press the button and, wham-o, instant espresso! I mean, does it get any better than that? Well, anyway.) Today we will be discussing the arrival of the Duna Explorer probes at Duna! These probes represent kerbalkind's first exploration of worlds beyond the Kerbin system. If you recall, several months ago while the rest of us were distracted by the latest crew rotation, Mission Control guided the Duna Explorers and Jool Explorer through their mid-course correction burns. Then, early last week, Duna Explorer 1 arrived in Duna's SOI. Mission Control guided the probe through some burns to adjust its periapsis and inclination, and then we waited. While Duna Explorer 1 was coasting down to Duna, Sarnus Explorer reached its mid-course correction. It will reach Sarnus in just under three years. Meanwhile, back at Duna, DE1 approaches periapsis. As the altitude ticks down, the probe reaches its burn point. Its engine ignites and brings it into a 100km orbit around Duna. Another milestone reached: Our first probe to orbit another planet! The probe then continues to orbit the planet waiting for the rover's target landing site to come around into daylight. Then the probe burns for rover entry. Once its trajectory is set, the rover is decoupled from the orbiter. Then the orbiter burns to regain orbit. Once back in orbit, the orbiter will decouple the rover cradle and then begin its Duna observation mission. Meanwhile, the rover continues its descent. Thus begins the "Seven Minutes of Terror". It's almost as stressful as when my phone rings and my ex-wife's number is on the screen. After the rover capsule has shed most of its velocity, it begins to descend rapidly towards the dunes of the Midland Sea. 3,000 meters above the surface the heat shield and aeroshell separate and the parachutes are deployed. Almost there... And...TOUCHDOWN! As soon as the rover hits the dirt, the parachute assembly decouples and two solid rockets carry it away. That's it, ladies and gentlekerbals! Break out the champagne! Duna Rover 1 has made it to the surface in one piece! And right side up! The Science team waste no time. They start giving the rover instructions to begin its mission. Up in orbit, the Flight team instruct the orbiter to raise its inclination to 45 degrees to increase its coverage of Duna's surface. This uses up almost all of its remaining fuel supply, but it makes the Science team very happy. Four days later, Duna Explorer 2 arrives at the edge of the Duna system. Because the probes are identical, their mission profiles are obviously very similar. At the edge of the system the probe performs burns to trim up its inclination and periapsis. Then when it reaches periapsis it burns to enter orbit. Once again the rover's target landing site is in darkness, so the probe orbits until dawn breaks at the site. Then on the night side of Duna it performs the rover entry burn. Once the trajectory is confirmed, the orbiter and rover separate. This time we separate the cradle with the rover. This will reduce the mass that the orbiter has to bring back to orbit, decreasing the amount of fuel it will expend. Not sure why we didn't think of that before. The orbiter then burns to regain orbit. The rover sheds the cradle, allowing it to burn up in Duna's atmosphere. It then orients itself for entry. After the rover has shed it's velocity, it finds itself plummeting towards the Dunatian surface. At 3,000 meters, the aeroshell and heat shield are jettisoned and the parachutes deploy. And the rover touches down on the surface and the parachute assembly is jettisoned. And it's official, Duna Rover 2 has successfully landed! As the science team gets to work with DR2, Flight instructs DE2 to adjust its inclination to 45 degrees as well. So now the scientific study of Duna can begin in earnest. Additionally, the orbiters and rovers will also be evaluating the best locations for future kerballed Duna landings, and a possible permanent Duna base.