Good Morfnoevight All!
Been making chocolate meds this morning. I feel like crap, dizzy, stomach aches. I may have eaten something with gluten not on the label or some kind of cross contamination in manufacturing? Did not get high yesterday because it did not sound like it would help - same today.
My dad was a member in the Elk's Club back in the day. Whenever they had a Turkey Shoot we would go and buy our spot then they would just give us a turkey and ask us not to shoot so others would have a chance. I went 49 for 50 one year and my dad went 50 for 50. I shot a 20ga Ithica Pump and my dad had a 12ga Browning Automatic. We ended up helping new shooters improve their stance and form. When we were working the hunting dogs on the river we always took the clay pigeons and launcher and would shoot up a couple boxes of shells. To make it interesting we would take the shell out of the chamber and lean the gun down on a tree. Turn our back to the shooting zone and initiate the clay pigion with a shout of "pull". Pick the gun up, load the chamber while turning around and then shoot. My dad was a better shot than me but just marginally. I was a better shot with a pistol and he was a better shot with a rifle. The competition was endless between us. It was great fun.
I was 11 when I got my first rifle. A nice little 243 lever action Winchester, still have it. Pop got mad at me the first time we went to the range with it. I wouldn't shoot it because I didn't have hearing protection. He got it sighted in pretty close. After Mom had her say with him when he complained about me not shooting it, he came and apologized to me. and told me he would get ear plugs that week and we would go back out.
That week I was with my Uncle in Dallas and we passed by a gun store. Not many around back then, so I asked him to stop. I found a pair of ear muffs and bought them. ........lawn mowing money, baby!!!
Me being the little devil, I put the muffs in the back of the truck before we loaded up. I was the one that loaded the guns in the truck and sat them on the bed/mattress in the back for protection of the scopes getting bumped. With everything unloaded, I pulled out the muffs "Let's get this show on the road!" Pop just shook his head. I loaded my own gun and got the sand bags ready.
"Alright Pop! Let's see how well you sighted this thing in!" The only thing I had shot on my own was his little .22 squirrel gun, but I was very good.
First shot was high and to the right. "You're off Pop!" "Shoot another round, boy!" LOL! Second round almost touched the other. "You're still off Pop!" "Empty the magazine, boy!"
"Damn Pop! I didn't know you pulled off so much!" He gave me such a hard time last time out, I thought he needed a little back. We got it dialed in fine at little 50yd and moved to the 100. No need to tweak the scope for that flat shooting rifle.
We went out every other weekend until deer season. 50 yd was easy to cover the group with a penny or a dime and a few times at the 100 I got that penny, but most times it was a 50cent piece. Pop was very happy and a little jealous.
I won the first kid turkey shoot I entered that fall and popped the head of that turkey at the live shoot on the 100yd with the adults. Pop had the biggest shit eating grin when I popped that head in front of about 70 fellow shooters.
Let me break this one apart a little bit. Having been fully electric for almost 10 years now and tried out a couple different vehicles I've hit the snags and range anxiety head on.
Range is basically a non-issue any more. People just don't like change. For some people, a full electric probably will not work and thats ok. Charge time? Yes. A very real issue. My first electric car just plugged into the wall. Small battery and it could trickle charge overnight. Getting a rapid charger elimnates that quickly but a charge unit is $500-1000 and then you need an electrician to run a large amp circuit to mount it to. Literally a dryer plug. Newer cars with large multi-hundred mile packs, they will basically require a rapid charger and if you run it down to say 5% battery could take a full day to recharge. But, you just get used to plugging your car in when you get home just like your phone. Those huge packs should last several days for most people.
Charging at work is becoming more available and shoot, the couple times I didn't have enough to get around? Find a charger near a bar and stop off for a break. 15min is enough time on the fast charge to add significant miles.
I would not push anyone to trade in a reliable vehicle for a new electric. However, anyone looking for a new car should seriously consider an electric option. I mean a new Honda Accord or Toyota Camry pushes $40k pretty easy these days. The new Nissan Leaf has a 200 mile range for $35k. It's just an idea. My first electric car was a 2013 Leaf, for $35k, and it only got 75 miles on that tiny old pack. There were maybe 3 times I needed to go further and just rented a car for the day. Quite the improvement on just that model from gen 1 @75miles of range to gen2 with 200+ for the same price.
I wish they had continued with cars like the Chevy Volt. It was electric for 30 or 40 miles and then switched to the gas engine. No range issues, just plain old gas engine when you need it. If you were only short trips, all electric. I know loads of people were in the high 800 to 1000 miles without needing to fill up. A really nice compromise
Early gen1 cars? Yes. The new cars? Not so much. There are finally plenty of old Teslas running around and the SOH, state of health, on their batteries is still above 80% after 10+ years and several hundred thousand miles of driving. There was a lot of bad battery chemistry early on. Most of that is significantly better now. I was quite surprised at how well Tesla did from the get go. PS I cannot stand Elon, however, I am glad that he is petty and whiny. If anyone makes a faster electric car than his, he doubles down on "whiny brat" mode and makes the next Tesla Model faster again. That I can appreciate.
You also have to remember that maintenance on an electric car is basically 0. No oil changes, no filter changes, belts, spark plugs, etc. Far fewer moving parts. It's very possible that even on a work/industrial use level that battery swap will even out with general maintenance. I do think there will still be times where a good old fashioned gas engine is going to be the answer.
Ok, I think I wrote enough of a book. Hah! Sorry. Just something I like to talk about and I haven't got much social contact re-established yet so you all get to hear me prattle on. Thanks for listening to this old man yell at a cloud.
I have a friend in Austin that builds electric hot hods. He salvages old batteries and rebulds them to conform to what he's building. It's not really THAT difficult, but it is very tedious. The battery packs are just comprised of a BUNCH of little batteries. He was aircraft line foreman in the Air Force.....a by the book guy. His work is impeccable.
He has a first gen fastback Mustang that is all electric with two big motors, but 2wd. Insane only touches the description of the car's performance. It's like a turbo car on steroids! It shames any Tesla in performance.
I absolutely HATE wiring or I'd try my had at it.
Apparently bb guns are totally legal in PA, but require a firearms permit in Jersey
..sharing one.....
