Ace-Garageguy

Not a smile so much as a dark chuckle... I got a notice from LinkedIn that Twitter is looking for a "Director of Engineering, Societal Health". Boy oh boy; could I wreak havoc in that position.

Beautiful model, beautifully photographed.

Two flat tires in one day. I've put off buying new ones for the #2 truck until I get the front end aligned (after a moron ran me off the road and down an embankment a couple years back, then lied to the cops at the scene and lied to the judge...for which he paid dearly). In the interim, I've been using up my stash of old dry-rotted takeoffs. They don't call 'em "Maypops" for nothing.

And an Allison 1710 V12-powered Isetta...

Two more BMW V12-powered early Fords...

Blown BBC-powered Isetta...

VW-powered Isetta...

Blown Rover V8-powered 600...

Chevy LS-powered 2002 rat...

Z3-based Cosmotron...

More's the pity.

All right...but it's a moot point. When the potential is there to cost-effectively fuel or recharge a vehicle at point-of-use from essentially free sunshine, continuing to harp on the rest of the equation is rather like endlessly debating what form of balloon would be best for air travel...after the invention of heavier-than-air flight. EDIT: Quoting from the referenced article: "The entire efficiency question loses importance with the energy regime we’re moving into. We’re coming from a mentality where we are used to thinking about energy as a limited resource. If you have a barrel of oil, it’s extremely important to use it efficiently. However, you can use it across several days or years. Whatever you don’t use one day, you still have it for the next day. Whereas when we look at renewables, you have to use them when they’re there. We have to look at energy with new eyes. What matters is what does it cost? It’s not necessarily all about the total efficiency. Prices are low enough to make hydrogen and distribute it to fueling stations at costs that are comparable to what we’re used to today with gasoline and diesel. If you charge your car from your rooftop solar at home, it’s obviously more efficient than converting it to hydrogen first, but you won’t see people driving their electric vehicles to a solar farm far from their homes to charge whenever it’s really nice and sunny outside. That is why the two technologies will live side by side and complement each other."

AN OVERVIEW OF THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HYDROGEN COST-EFFECTIVELY FROM SOLAR https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/08/30/future-pv-the-feasibility-of-solar-powered-hydrogen-production/

I have before. For years. Every time this topic has come up. From wayyyyyy back when Harry was the moderator. But see...there was actually a time when I cared enough to try to dispel some of the endlessly rebleated nonsense that's presented as facts. In recent years, it has become rather like spooning water out of a pool that's being filled with a firehose. And I no longer have sufficient motivation.

READ? Surely you jest.

Not necessarily. Hydrogen can be made in sufficient quantities to power the "average" commute from a rooftop photovoltaic array. In a fuel cell, it's the cleanest and most efficient of currently available tech, and puts zero additional load on the grid. The research has been done, the numbers are in. It works beautifully, and a business model that works by leasing the necessary equipment to consumers on a cost basis competitive with other forms of transportation energy has been developed. It does not require billions in additional infrastructure and generating capacity, and can be phased in gradually as market acceptance grows and costs come down. It's a logical, permanent solution that really has no appreciable downside that can't be worked through. So of course it won't be implemented.

Boy howdee. Them folks sure as tootin' woodunt like it 'roun here. Our ideer of a good time of an evenin is gettin' a buncha ol frigerators outen the yard n blowin the dang doors offen em with shotguns.

Thank you, sir. Reciprocated 100%.

That's one of those rare models that looks so good, somebody really should build a full-scale version.

I believe you get that flag because this site doesn't use "HTTPS", but rather only "HTTP". Explanation here: https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/ssl/why-is-http-not-secure/

OK. I hike a lot. I'm often the last person on the trail in the evening. I see the little bags constantly, with very obviously nobody coming back to get them. And it's an ongoing, frequent occurrence. Getting more and more frequent. If it was a one time thing, or only an occasional thing, I wouldn't have bothered complaining. But when it's CONSTANT...

Nice. Very, very nice.