Eureka! I found another use for the new widget

It is a pleasure to report that embeds will work within this scrollable paragraph widget-thingie that I concocted. I will continue to experiment with it, while seeing where the limits are with respect to its potential.

New e-bike has arrived

 Haven't tried it out yet. Wrong! It has, see the scrollable window below for new details.

7:39 PM:

There's something different about my posts lately. The difference is the scrollable windows, with a different background color and text combination.

The advantage is that it extends how much can go on one page. Other posts don't get lost in the verbiage of long posts. If a post is long with a lot of updates, the reader can scroll through as long as it is of interest to the reader.

It wasn't used here on this post because I got lazy. It takes a bit more effort to set it up. ---on the other hand, it wasn't so hard, and I cut and pasted it on this post instead!  BTW, I got an idea that I will try out tomorrow.  If it works, then I can use the e-bike after all.

9:10 AM:

Putting the e-bike together was a dream. But the road test was a nightmare. The problem isn't the bike. It's me. I'm in such poor condition that I cannot manage the thing. At least not yet. There's no alternative here. Either I get this thing working, or it's another  mistake.   

Incidentally, this came as a bit of a surprise.  I didn't even consider the possibility that I would have a physical problem handling it.

5:38 AM:

It still needs some assembly. It pleases me to report that the e-bike looks almost ready to go. It is mostly assembled already. Happy days.

The items left to put on should be no problem. But it is still dark as I type this in. I'm anxious to try it out.

This gives me an idea. Rather than to go on YouTube or Rumble, why not make a video about this e-bike?

Bet the Big Tech companies don't like you cutting them out of their action. If you learn to code, then you can make your own webpages, and you won't need their services anymore. How nice!

I can be a real a-hole if you get me going. Seems like these Big Tech guys want to get something going. Well, we'll see about that.

 

It is best to acknowledge your errors. Only then can you move forward.

11/23/25:

Deleted update on put it on a different post as an update.

11/18/25:

 

Let's see here. Since the last update, I've gone back and repeated the same things over again. I'm coding again, and I'm going to try an e-bike! It's on order--another powered thingie, but this one will have pedals. Maybe I learned from my mistake, and this purchase will be a better one. Otherwise, it will be another mistake! By the way, in case I haven't mentioned it, I've got the Microsoft app called "GitHub" mentioned earlier. But I hardly use it.

 

10/21/25:

 

Yep. Got out of those mistakes. Not learning to code anymore. That was quick, huh? The problem was GitHub. A little digging uncovered a fact that triggered a "a hah!" moment. The damned thing seems to be geared towards Microsoft. You may be able to use it with Linux, but I had a lot of trouble. So that's when I started digging and found out that it might go a lot easier if you used a Microsoft product to interface with GitHub--that idea was a non-starter. Then, a little more digging finds that Microsoft owns GitHub--ah hah!

 

While digging around, I found this video. It may give me some leads on how to do it myself. That is, if I want to actually follow through and learn to code another way.

 

That was one of the mistakes. The other was the scooter. I gave it away. So on to the video.

 

 

10/5/25:

 

It is also good to make the most of your mistakes. For example, if the purchases I made were in error, the error may be minimized through getting the most out of what I've already committed to, or get out of the situation.

 

To get out of the scooter, I could get rid out it. This will incur a loss. Maybe I want to keep using it until I figure out if I want to get rid of it. Likewise, with the programming course that I purchased. I'll keep using it until I figure out if I want to stop or not.

 

It may turn out to not be a mistake after all. That's why it is a speculative post, and is posted here.

 

Here's one way to get the most out of the Python course:

 

 

9/28/25:

 

Just took a look at the course that I'm on. I was under a false impression, because I didn't look closely enough. This course is pretty comprehensive. There's a lot of stuff that can be learned here.

 

It might well be useful for getting a job in the real world. But it would require a commitment in time. This will take a substantial amount of time. Now the kicker here is whether or not I can complete the course. In terms of ability, at this time, I feel good enough to do it. The risk is that I may not feel as good along the way as I do now.

 

9/27/25: Buying that scooter awhile back may have been a mistake. It seems that I've been making some mistakes like this in recent times. Another example was to buy Rick Beato's music course. That was definitely a mistake too. Now I've gone and done it again, maybe.

I bought an AI-directed computer programming course. The sales pitch asked why would you do this, and I responded "for fun". After doing some of the exercises, I'm finding it not as much fun as I thought. Indeed, if it was primarily for fun, then it was a mistake. But rarely do I do anything for fun. Fun has its consequences. If this really was for fun, and not some other reason ( in which case, another reason could be to make money), then maybe that will have to be the reason going forward.

After thinking about that one, the effort at making a living at programming didn't work out too well before. Why would it work now? I didn't think this through very well, and it may be a mistake. If it is indeed a mistake, then at least I can get a refund. But wait! I'm just wondering maybe I COULD make money this time. This could pay-off. Maybe. Kinda sorta.

That'll be the day. Even if the demand exists for this kind of skill, there may be other issues involved. I don't want to punch a time clock, or go into an office. I'd prefer to work right here. That was presented as a possibility, but are such possibilites really feasible? It has to play out in order to see.

So it is a matter of sticking with it and see what develops from it. I know from before that programming is very time-consuming, and it really isn't fun. It is work. There's a saying these days---learn to code. I learned this skill before, but it has been so long that I have to almost start over. But not from scratch. It should go easier, but I'm no spring chicken.

I could use a little extra spending money... Blogging isn't going to pay, either. Nor do I wish it to. But I've got this land in West Texas that is just sitting there. Another mistake. Maybe.

Busy as a bee

 Yep, there's a lot of good ideas that I've written about.   Here's one from the other blog, but it might be here in this one too.   In case it isn't, here's the link.   Actually, there are already wild bees out there on the property.  I saw a swarm of them on one of my trips.  Glad I wasn't outside when those went by.  I've actually drove through a swarm of bees once.  Imagine all the bug splats on the windshield.

What's up post

 

HTML--hyper text markup language

 

It can be a pretty unpredictable thing, at least for the moment and for me. Even this blog is acting in an unusual manner.

 

It seems that I cannot access a post for some reason. It just ignores my click.

 

Anyway, the links to the web page developmental project are now broken. There's a reason for that, as I am going to start up another project. The other page still exists, but seems to be unavailable at this time. If possible, I may bring it back. I see no reason why it couldn't, if I so choose.

 

Quick update:

 

Demons?

 

As the late comic Flip Wilson liked to say, the Devil made me do it.

 

 

Odd thing about this post, too.  The link on that post doesn't work properly.  That's a bit strange.  A possible explanation is that the post was taken down.  However, the link is not at fault.  It is pointing to an explicit referenced link, but when it goes to the link, the page doesn't show---something else does.

Rapid iteration is like what you do in coding

11/19/25:

 

Rapid iteration doesn't seem very rapid at times. After a good deal of trial, and mostly error, I got the video player going the way I'd like. It cycles through the videos that I have on the list. I can add more to the list, and make a small addition to the code, and the video player will accomodate it. It had two videos for awhile, now it has three. If I add another, it will take minimal programming to do it.

 

It sure took a lot of effort.

 

11/18/25:

 

Brief observation here... While learning to code again, I note that I have to keep correcting errors. There's a bunch of those. Well, as you may know, SpaceX uses the rapid iteration technique to improve their rockets. It seems that Elon Musk's first big commercial success may have been a programming project--it may have been PayPal.

But it is better to not to make so many mistakes. Blowing up rockets is an expensive undertaking. Blowing them up in virtual reality may be a lot cheaper...

Incidentally, there's been talk about landing the heavy booster out in the Gulf. Why would Musk want to do that? Could it be that he wants to land them out in the Gulf in order to improve performance. Bringing the booster back to the launch site costs a lot of fuel, which hampers performance. If the booster could land in the Gulf, and then transport back to the launch site, it would enable better performance.

 

An idea that he may have, or may not have, is to re-fly the booster back to the launch site after a launch. The boost back to launch site from the Gulf would involve adding fuel to it again, and then launching a booster alone from the Gulf for the short trip back to the launch site. Why do this? It would save time. It may take a day or two to get it back to the launch site by sea, you see.

 

After all, the whole idea is to have short turnaround time. A booster that can be re-used several times a day could reduce launch costs even further. Also, landing out in the Gulf could increase useful payload to orbit up to maybe 75 tons--instead of 200 tons to orbit, it may go up to 275 tons to orbit. All that while maintaining rapid launch cadence.

 

So now's there's a plan

There's a saying out there in the world that goes something like this: "Make your plans, and God will smile." That means, whatever you make plans for, there's likely to be a few things that you haven't allowed for. Incidentally, I may have mangled that quote up pretty badly, and adapted it to what I'm thinking.

Which allows me to segue into another quote that might get mangled. All war plans do not survive contact with the enemy. The enemy of any plan, including war or any other endeavor, is the radnomness of existence. Now that I've bored you with philosophical nonsense, the plan is in effect. It is to use the results of my learning to code in order to make money. Or to sell the land in order to obtain money for some other plan that I've not concocted yet. The plan is underway, and things appear to be going okay. But the reality hasn't hit yet. No money may be made, no sales may get transacted. That's the way things may go, but there's enough optimism to try.

 

Learning to code is easier said than done

11/15/25:

8:25 PM:

No javascript is necessary.  Just a little html.

2:42 PM:

There's this idea that has popped up, and it involves embedding my own videos on my own site. That means, no more YouTube. Or Rumble. Is that possible? Well, before it is over, I will find out. Basically, the javascript just plays the video. You supply the video, and the javascript plays it. It may involve some other things, but that is the basic concept. If so, I just may embed a video into the spot that I've reserved on my page.

I have a video in mind. It took a little while to locate it. It is a video of my trip out to the land, so it fits right into the site. I want to edit it a bit before I put it up. My narration sucks, so I'll just dub in some music or something. I need a video editor. There's one that will work in Linux, but probably not on my Raspberry Pi.

If all goes according to plan, I'll kill a couple birds with one stone. I'll be able to present the land for sale (if I choose), and be able to show it as an example of my computer skills. Who knows? Somebody might think it is good enough to pay for.

11/14/25:: (oops!--got the date wrong, fixed now)

Time flies, it's almost halfway through this month. As time goes by, I'll continue practicing my html. I'm working new ideas I learn as I go, and put it into places on this website, and on the main site. Plus there's a couple other sites that I work with for practice.

See what this paragraph does in blogger..., looks like it doesn't do anything at all. hmmm, it works on a standalone page, but that cannot be proven here.

I messed with the font, and that may be getting blocked. The blogger platform has font directives available--shown in this paragraph. Maybe I have to content myself with those, and cannot add my own. Or there could be some other explanation.

Update:  Now all these a linked together.  Starting from the canva page, I can get here, or to the one I designed from scratch and back again.  Made a few changes to the canva page too.

11/11/25:

I'm collecting practice pages as a hobby. Another one here.

11/9/25:

A glutton for punishment. Back to this again. I found another place that has a few features that will allow me to practice some skills. It doesn't cost anything either. (w3schools) Actually, I've tried this one before, but stopped for some reason. Maybe I didn't like it.

So it's back to where I began a few years ago. At this rate, it will take me 20 years to learn anything if I learn anything at all. Twenty years is never as far as I'm concerned. Good reason for it. I won't last that long.

10/29/25:

Now we're talking. After watching many videos, and experimenting, I finally got a button on the darned thing. It goes to a website of my choice. Also a text box as link that goes to a website. It isn't much, but it is something. I try to do a little something to the new site each day.

10/26/25:

If you want to learn to code, you may spend a lot of time, and you may not be able to do anything significant.

 

Trouble is in finding a place and a way to practice some skills. The online teaching may leave something to be desired also.

So far it has proved to be a disappointment.

Does SpaceX know how they're going to land on the moon?

 

With so little said about the details of how they're going to fulfill the mission requirements, it seems like the scene in a Dirty Harry movie, thusly:

One could legitimately ask if SpaceX really knows what they're doing here. Of course SpaceX knows rockets, but they've never done this kind of thing before, which is something that they've got to master before they can be successful.

Why not copy what worked before? What worked before was basically the solution for the tyranny of the rocket equation. NASA's solution was shed mass as you go along. The Saturn V's first two stages did the heavy work of getting to the edge of space, then the IVB third stage finished off the orbit phase, and served as the translunar injection phase. After its job was complete, the mass was discarded, as were the first two stages of the Saturn V. At this point, there is about 100k lbs that has to finish the mission. That's just 50 tons.

No need for complex operations like refueling in space. The last part required only a relatively small amount of thrust and fuel. Even that obeyed the same strategy. The lunar module had two sub-modules. The lander part got the lunar module on the surface, and the ascent module got the astronauts back to the command module. Let's say the lunar module massed out at 16 tons. That left 34 tons to get back to Earth. To get from the lunar surface required only 10k lbs or 5 tons total mass. These are approximate numbers, but that's not the point. The point is that in landing such a large spacecraft on the lunar surface requires a very complex set of maneuvers.

Refueling may work, but the shedding of mass has been proven to work. So SpaceX is basically re-inventing the wheel here. With the heavy lift capability of the superheavy, it should be well within its capabilities of landing a spacecraft on the moon. Just not the Starship. If Musk insists on the Starship, then he is incurring far more mission risk on something that hasn't been proven in action before. Just sayin'.

School bus conversion to tiny home

Very nice.

 

Shorter Starship?

 

A shorter Starship may not be a SpaceX idea. All the same, I like the idea. I even speculated on such a proposition myself.

 

So here's a video that discusses it, but with a lot of added filler at the beginning. I skipped that, and got to the point.

 

 

 

 

Do you need a $30k trailer?

 

This video challenges that notion. Looks interesting.

 

 

Coding on Raspberry Pi

10/7/25:

Interesting. It may be hard to understand the narrator, because he is obviously not a native English speaker. Anyway, Thonny is on my Raspberry Pi machine, so the example he gives is easy to follow. It may be a bit embarrassing at first, because it seems TOO easy. But it has been 20 plus years since I coded anything at all. I'm pretty rusty. Not to worry, it's coming along fine.

10/6/25:

 

Can you ride your motor scooter, Billy Boy, Billy Boy

10/4/25:

 

The scooter didn't come with mirrors. For a nominal cost extra, it now has them. It's a little more reassuring to be able to see if there's a car coming in behind you. This scooter may have a problem with hills. If not that, then it seems to have some other problem because it quits sometimes. That's rather annoying. It could be a long walk home if that thing quits on me in the middle of town.

 

7/12/25:

 

Making the ramp now. It's almost ready to be tested. If that test works, then I can get the scooter outside and try it out. I tried it inside a bit. Everything seems to be working, and I'm nearly ready to ROCK n' ROLL!

 

But do I ever get tired easy. Maybe if I am lucky, I can rebuild myself while I'm doing this. This is embarrassing.

 

By the way, did I mention that I found the missing bolt? However, the other wire basket between the seat and the handlebars, and is actually large enough to carry some cargo, is IN THE WAY. So, I had to take it off. The seat feels okay for now, but I'm not bouncing up and down on a bumpy road yet. We'll see.

 

7/11/25:

 

The scooter came, I saw, but it did not conquer me. Not yet, anyway. There was some assembly required--for the scooter, that is. The cursed thing arrived late afternoon. I got the bright idea to take it out of the box while outside in the sun. By the time I got it out of the box, I knew I was in for a battle.

 

I fought this thing for the rest of the day, and retired for the evening in a very tired state. In theory, the assembly should have been easy. Among the issues were that the handle bars "quick disconnect" mechanism would not go on properly. Fortunately, this feature is not necessary. The status of the assembly was mostly finished by bedtime. But I was still in the fight.

 

First thing this morning, the battle raged on. The parts of this scooter have a very annoying tendency to want to fall to the floor. I have a strong tendency not to want to bend over and pick things up off the friggin' floor all the time. So I battled this thing for another hour before finishing up the assembly. That is, what I could do of it. A part went missing when it hit the floor. I spent another hour looking for it with no luck.

 

The original idea was to build it outside because I wanted to store it in the van. But it is too hot to store it outside, says the manual. So I have to keep it in-friggin'-side. So that is the current state of this adventure. The question being, how to I store this thing inside, and move it outside where it can be useful when I want it to be? I will build a ramp. There's some stairs to traverse in order to get it back down to ground level.

 

More assembly required. I'm getting too old for this shit.

 

7/10/25:

 

Amazon and UPS needs to get their heads wired up to their asses. They are giving conflicting information. It's not a problem so far. We'll see.

 

7/9/25:

 

The scooter is still on its way. Not due for a couple more days.

 

I tested the battery by using it to power the weed eater. The weed eater pulls about 700-800 watts estimated. It will drain a battery of this type in a relatively short time. It will run a dehumidifier for 3 hours continuous if it is in as good a shape as last year. It has seen little use since I stopped that experiment. Now there's this experiment.

 

There's always something, said Rose Ann Rosanna Dana.

 

7/8/25:

 

The repairs are complete, but there may be some tweaking ahead. Still in testing phase, but it appears to be working as intended.

 

Still waiting on the scooter to arrive.

 

7/7/25:

 

The solar panel system has been acting up. When I moved the trailer recently, I may have pulled a wire loose. I forgot to unplug everything, and while pulling the trailer, I notice something was being dragged along behind me. Oopsie.

 

It's been a slog to figure out what got messed up. It's charging the battery again, so that's good. I want the switches to shut it off and on to work, but these aren't cooperating at the moment. No biggie. I'll figure it out.

 

7/5/25:

 

Awaiting my moto scooter, and it is no ring-tail tooter. (Ref: Slick Willy Update of the Rush Limbaugh show dating back to 1992's election campaign ) Getting my stuff ready, as preparations are needed.

 

The following video is a little closer to the update version, but it isn't quite there. I can't find it on YouTube.

 

 

 

 

07/03/2025:

 

Got an idea about buying a mobility scooter. The one that would seem most handy would cost over $3k, and can be obtained on Amazon.

 

It is electric, and would have a 30 mile range, or so it says.

 

Having experimented with an electric scooter before, the range would seem be inflated. It all depends upon battery capacity. This one has a 48 V, 20 AH electrical setup. That's about 1 Kwh. If it is anything like autos, it may get 4 miles.

 

Even so, it would be sufficient for ample mobility.

 

The price is high, but not beyond me. What about a golf cart?

 

07/04/2025:

 

Here's what I did: I got an electric scooter. It is pretty much the same thing I had before, so it won't cost much, and it can't do all that much, but it can do a few things ( I hope ).

 

Back in 2003, I bought one for $150. It is now $450 on Amazon. Now that is what I call "progress". Free delivery! Like wow, man.

 

I'll use my solar panels to provide electricity for charging the thing. Maybe this idea will actually work. Most of my ideas don't work worth a sheet, main.

 

 

How small can you make a nuclear weapon?

 

YouTube video by Curious Droid

Comment:

He mentions the objections that would arise if such were actually proposed for use in spacecraft propulsion. The advantages would be in increasing ISP, which determines the amount of propellant mass needed. A nuclear device may have an ISP hundreds of times greater than the best chemical engines.

There was a proposal to do atomic propulsion back in the fifties, but the idea is moot since it is outlawed by international treaty.

Nevertheless, it is an intriguing idea, which forms the basis of the Jumbo sized Aldrin Cycler. You could transport a massive structure out there using atomic propulsion. Once out there in its orbit around Mars and Earth, it could be used to transport lots of people and cargo to the Red Planet.

Continuation of the Aldrin Cycler series of posts

8/28/25:

Not too much more to say on this, but I'm still playing around with the numbers.  You may be able to transport a much smaller number of people, and with great protection.  How many people?  I'm thinking at least 3k per trip. 

How do you get 1 million on Mars, then?  You'd have to find another way.  It will likely take longer than 20 years.  I think that is pretty much baked into the cake.

If you do it Elon Musk's way, you're going to get a lot of dead people.  That's why I ran this thought experiment.  There's no protection on the Starship.  No artificial gravity.  Those folks are going to be in rough shape when they get there.  That's assuming that they make it.

8/26/25, 10:10 AM:

Began on the other blog, but should've been here. Just one thing to mention is that denser materials give better radiation protection, but there doesn't appear to be much literature available about HOW much better. Generally speaking, lead is preferred. But lead doesn't have the structural strength you'd like, and it is toxic. That's all for now.

3:30 PM:

I haven't run the numbers, but lead might need less mass in order to shield half the energy of gamma rays as opposed to iron.

This gave me an idea.  It turns out that you can synthesize gold, which would be a better shield than lead.  If the same pattern held, then less gold mass would be needed than lead, as less lead mass is needed than iron.

If you synthesized the gold, you could plate it on the outside of the iron, which would be needed for structural strength.  The synthesized gold would be radioactive, though.  What form of radioactivity would need to be determined.  For example, does it emit, alpha, beta, or gamma radiation?  That would be important in terms of shielding.  Gold may decay to normal gold eventually, and could be harvested.

At the moment, this is just an idea.

A Mars Colonization Strategy

 

Count me as a skeptic of Elon Musk's plans to colonize Mars. However, his Starship could be used as part of a system that I will present here. The proposed system will consist of several elements. These elements could be lifted into space on an economical basis by Musk's Starship. The Starship will be best used for such projects, as it is not suitable for long term space habitation. The Starship could be used for lifting large amounts of cargo from Earth for a reasonable cost. That is its most advantageous use.

For getting to Mars, an Aldrin Cycler could be employed to transit the distance. The cycler system will consist of two parts. One part will transit between Earth and Mars, and the other part will make the return transit. Since the Delta-V budget for accessing the cyclers will be large, the Starship could be used for the transit between the respective planets and their respective cyclers.

 

The cyclers will be able to hold massive amounts of cargo and people. Consequently, it must be very large so as to be able to handle this function. The Starships could be employed to lift all the components necessary for its construction. Since these cyclers will be very massive, there will need to be a very strong propulsive kick to get them into proper position in their cycler orbits. How to do this?

 

Once the cyclers are constructed, I suggest an Orion nuclear propulsion tug that will push the cyclers into their appropriate orbits between the respective planets. The Orion will have the advantage of giving large mass the necessary Delta-V in order to perform their tasks.

 

There is little doubt that the Orion concept can work. It isn't new, as the ideas have been tested with conventional explosives. The last testing will have to take place in space. Once all the requirements are met, and the technology has been developed, the Orion can do the job. Once in place, the cyclers will need only small amounts of fuel for course corrections, and can serve for many years.

At the Mars end, JP Aerospace's technology could come into play. JP Aerospace is developing an Airship to Orbit concept. Such a concept would be much easier and more elegant on Mars. The Delta-V to Orbit for the Airship on Mars would be much reduced, and there's little doubt that it could be feasible on Mars. His ships could land on top of Olympus Mons. Olympus Mons could be jumping off spot to transit to any place on the Martian surface, while using his Airships.

 

Large amounts of Cargo and people could be transited in this manner, and that would be all of the transportation needed. The rest of the tech needed could be transited via a Starship to Cyclers system. Thus, all of the machines and people could be tranported this way, and the Mars colony could beome a reality.

 

What about the long transit times? The cyclers could be optimized for that. The Orion propulsion system could provide the necessary thrust to get large objects into position. A conventional fuel system would be too cumbersome. The use of atomic bombs as propulsion would yield ISP's of nearly a million. Therefore, the Orion propulsion method could simplify the logistics of moving large stations into an Aldrin Cycler orbit between the planets.

 

The cyclers themselves could be rotated, which could give artifical gravity to its traveler guests. It could be shielded from cosmic radiation so that the travelers wouldn't be harmed during their long transit times. They will arrive at Mars in optimal physical condition.

Of course, Mars could be configured to be safe for human habitation as well. What will be needed is a transport system to move the necessary mass into place. The machines could do the rest.

 

Who would do this? Elon Musk? He wants to use Starships, but those are only a small part of a viable system. His current plan is too risky. It is incomplete. It is not likely that simply economy of scale can still achieve everything that needs to be done.

 

But it could be a good start.

 

Asking LEO AI about the space station as Aldrin cycler:

 

Could you produce a graphic of a large space station which rotates in order to give artificial gravity to its inhabitants?

 

 

LEO's Answer: 

I apologize, but as an AI language model, I do not have the capability to generate or produce images. My primary function is to process and respond to text-based inputs. If you would like to create a graphic of a rotating space station that provides artificial gravity, I would suggest using a graphic design tool or software, or commissioning an artist to create the image for you.

 

However, I can provide a textual description of what such a rotating space station might look like:

 

The space station would be a large, cylindrical structure, spinning around a central axis to generate artificial gravity through centrifugal force. The cylinder would be large enough to accommodate living quarters, research facilities, and other necessary infrastructure for the inhabitants.

 

The exterior of the station would likely be made of a durable, lightweight material, such as aluminum or composite materials, to minimize the weight and maximize the efficiency of the rotation. The interior of the cylinder would be divided into different sections, with living quarters, recreational areas, and research labs arranged around the circumference.

 

The rotation of the station would create a gravitational force that would be felt by the inhabitants, simulating the effects of gravity on Earth. This would allow the inhabitants to live and work in a more Earth-like environment, reducing the negative health effects associated with long-term exposure to microgravity.

 

The station might also feature windows or viewports along the outer walls, allowing the inhabitants to observe the Earth, the Moon, and other celestial bodies as the station rotates. This could provide a unique and awe-inspiring perspective on the universe.

 

Overall, the rotating space station would be a remarkable engineering feat, providing a sustainable and comfortable living environment for its inhabitants in the vastness of space.

 

Never mind, this will do! 

 

Rock 'n Roll done rocked and rolled

7/24/25:

 

Just for grins, even though the scooter didn't need a charge, it got one anyway. For comparison purposes, the fully charged battery clocks in at 41.7 volts. Before the solar powered charge, it was under 34 volts. It works on 36 volts, btw.

 

The indicator on the display showed 20% discharge, but it's probably more than that. Distance so far is about 2 miles. Not as impressive as it appeared to be at first. The display is not going to be much use, I'm afraid.

 

7/23/25:

 

Rain was in the forecast yesterday, so no go on a trip. Today, I ran it around the place a bit. Still worried more about ME than the machine. This may take awhile to get in enough shape to really try it out like I want to. Cut it short because of fatigue.

 

7/20/25:

 

The scooter is now prepared for a real trip, but I am not... I want to practice with it some more, but I woke up with a sore foot. I will take it easy today, and hopefully the foot will stop bothering me.

 

I'm not as sure about its range as I should be. The last thing I want is for this thing to run out of juice before I get back. I may have decided to get an e-bike instead. It would've cost more, but I would have the option to use muscle power to get back to the comforts of home. Water under the bridge, as it is said.

 

7/18/25:

 

Things get disorganized around here sometimes. Focus gets lost, and things get started and not finished. Well, not this time. I re-read the manual, and I'm getting more familiar with the controls. Therefore, there's something to report. Most likely, I haven't used 20% of the battery, as earlier indicated. The readings "bounced" back up. It's a 36 volt set up, and there's a reading that shows 38.4 volts. My guess is that this is another way to read a discharged state.

 

The trip odometer reverts to zero on every new trip. There's a history odometer too. But you have to jump through a few hoops to find it. It doesn't show but 1 mile. I know I've done more, but since it doesn't show tenths of a mile, it could be close to 2.0 miles. Once it exceeds that, it will show 2 miles and no more. Still practicing with it. Until I feel a bit more confident with it, the trips will be short.

 

7/15/25; 1:47 PM:

 

Yesterday was rainy, so I stayed inside. Today is sunny and dry, so it was time for further tests. I made some adjustments to my ramp and to the scooter, and gave it another whirl.

 

This trip was longer. A total of 1.4 miles. It still has a good charge on it, according to the indicator. Very impressive. My adjustment made the speedometer too hard to see. Therefore, there's no speed to report. Seems like I got another comment from the locals. We met at an intersection at the same time, and he said, "go ahead, Bart". I got a kick out that, so I went on ahead.

 

It looks like it has discharged about 20% over about 2 miles on that last full charge. It may extrapolate out to 10 miles on a charge, which is a lot better than anticipated. It's already beyond my expectations as is.

 

7:38 PM; continued:

 

Some more adjustments were on tap, and now these are done. More adjustments to the ramp, but these are not yet done.

 

There's a chance I take her out for another spin tomorrow.

 

7/13/25:

 

That was so much fun I forgot to post about it. The ramp was completed, and off into the breeze did I go with my new scooter. I got a compliment on it as I breezed on by one house.

The seat may be hard on my achy breaky butt, but I may be able to tolerate it. I'm getting a little worried about a spill. I have enough trouble standing up. If I fall down, I may not be able to get back up. That would not be good.

Don't have any safety equipment. Shoot, I used to ride a bicycle all over the danged place, and never wore a helmet, but I did wear clothes.

These days, they may give you some shit about anything you do. Besides, it's probably good safety practice to have a helmet and guards for the elbows and knees.

The thing says it will go over 15 mph. That's faster than the electric scooter I had in the fairly recent past. When I rode that thing in Houston, there was a lady who went out of her way to laugh at me. I don't give a hoop. If I did, would I have bought another one of these things. I'm worried about other things.

Focus Fusion video

 

7/18/25:

 

There's another report out, and they're still making progress. It's a slow slog through all the problems and difficulties. If it was easy, anybody could do it.

 

Investing is easy, even a caveman can do it. Doesn't cost much, and the rewards could be revolutionary. It's a good way to put your money where your mouth is, if you believe in climate change. Even if you don't, as I most certainly DO NOT, it is still a good investment play. This thing will be worth some serious money if they're successful. Maybe the so-called greenie folks have something against making money.

I own a share.  It split so I really own two.  See, I made money already.

 

6/29/25:

Crazy idea has a certain charm to it

7/17/25:

 

My hometown is Houston, and there's an inland port that goes all the way into downtown. Or it once did. Back around the time the Panama Canal opened, the Houston Ship Channel was dredged out to within a few miles of downtown.

I recall seeing an old picture of a ship at dock in downtown Houston, with visible landmarks like the Harris County Courthouse in evidence. The pic I recall was about the time the Canal opened. If you go down to Allen's Landing, you can see where the ships tied up. It looks really different down there.

 

The Ship Channel is one of those interesting ideas that is somewhat like the outback sea idea. How so? You could use tides and such to keep it filled, and to replenish the water a bit so that it won't get so alkaline.

The idea is to dredge a very large pool, in which the tides can overflow, but can only channel back out through a narrow opening. In this way, large amounts of water can be impounded behind a type of dam that can be overflowed during high tide, and re-emerge during low tides, with the water rushing out through the channel.

 

Fresh water can be captured in dams as well in order to provide additional flushing. This is kind of the way the Houston Ship Channel Works. Houston is 50 feet above sea level. How do you get ships up stream, except some way to impound a lot of water to keep them afloat?

The outback sea will require a lot more water than the Houston Ship Channel. You would definitely need a LOT.

 

There are flood control dams in Houston. It rains a lot in Houston, and so I am to understand, does the Australian northern shores. Rainfall will help provide water, but there may need to be much, much more to make a really large lake so far inland.

 

7/15/25:

There's at least a couple videos like this one on the subject of the inland sea down under. Now they've got me thinking about it!

 

What if you could use the natural tidal action and siphoning effect to move massive amounts of water for long distances?

Here's the other video: