My wife is telling me that Simon KittyCat is concerned about my mental health. I am ok Mr. Kitty Cat…I just need some time off and more support staff at work.

Mood of the day:

My loving wife cooked up a big batch of Carnitas (go go Costco pork butt) that will probably last for a good bit of the week. I expect tomorrow will be enchilada or maybe burritos. She makes a great Spanish potato soup that uses it, which is outstanding. Tonight….tacos. :-)

Booked all the hotels for the upcoming road trip in September (assuming I get the car in time. Cheyenne….Jackson Hole…. Aspen… Vail… Colorado Springs….Cheyenne. Will drive back on the day I check out from the 5 years at the VA (drop off computer and get my final SF-50). I could not ask for a more entertaining and appropriate way to close this chapter in my life. Total mileage 1400-1700 or so. Should be a bit of fun. If it all falls apart secondary to late delivery I will just cancel the drive and do it next year.

Looks like the my little move to the Iowa townhouse will unfortunately be in several trips, mostly secondary to moving a couple bits of furniture in a U-Haul and a couple of cars. If I time this right I will finish my last real day at the VA, pack up a U-Haul, drive that out and drive back to pick up the new car. Will then need to drive that out when done here. Not excited about doing the least interesting drive in America several times in quick succession. :/)

Was listening to a zombie song in some random bar having dinner and thought about the Hammond L 100 which took a starring role in that song. When I was a kid, it seemed like everyone had one of these in their living room.

Looking at how I can incorporate Pikes Peak into the trip @fetta69 Just for you. :-)

The SpaceX IPO was cool and all, and good on Elon for his payday, but now we have to listen to the endless prattle by the press and social media every time the stock goes up and down about and how it relates to both of their valuation or how capitalism is awful because of this or that. I am already pretty bored by it all. In any case it rarely is a good bet to buy the IPO even if you are a fan, especially with the current insane valuation of the company. Take a look in a few months and see where it settles.

Drinking a cup of coffee with ‘Ms Stern Kitty-Cat” is a great way to start a long weekend.

> you’ll never start a rocket company > you’ll never build your own engines > you’ll never be able to use off-the-shelf parts > you’ll never survive three launch failures > you’ll never reach orbit > you’ll never win NASA’s trust > you’ll never launch cargo to the ISS > you’ll never compete with Boeing > you’ll never compete with Lockheed > you’ll never make rockets reusable > you’ll never land a rocket vertically > you’ll never land one on a drone ship > you’ll never reuse a booster > you’ll never fly the same booster 10 times > you’ll never fly the same booster 20 times > you’ll never fly the same booster 30 times > you’ll never recover and reuse the fairing > you’ll never lower launch costs > you’ll never launch every month > you’ll never launch every week > you’ll never launch multiple times a week > you’ll never carry astronauts > you’ll never replace Roscosmos > you’ll never fly civilians to orbit > you’ll never manufacture satellites at scale > you’ll never build the biggest constellation ever > you’ll never make satellite internet work > you’ll never make satellite internet fast > you’ll never make satellite internet affordable > you’ll never serve rural customers > you’ll never serve aircraft and ships > you’ll never build a methane rocket engine > you’ll never make full-flow staged combustion work > you’ll never build the most powerful rocket ever > you’ll never build a rocket bigger than Saturn V > you’ll never build it out of stainless steel > you’ll never launch Starship > you’ll never separate Super Heavy and Starship > you’ll never relight Raptor in space > you’ll never bring Super Heavy back > you’ll never catch a booster with Mechazilla tower arms > you’ll never launch 85% of mass to orbit worldwide > you’ll never change the economics of space > you’ll never force the entire industry to copy you > you’ll never win > you’ll never IPO   Congratulations to @elonmusk and the SpaceX team. You did what countless people said was impossible, and you did it time and time again.   Today is your day. You deserve this. May it be a glorious one.

Good…because that would be an abomination.

Took the day off to drive down for an appointment with a medical sub specialist and sure enough they canceled their day in clinic and I had to reschedule. I just chucked more than being unhappy. Paying karma for having to cancel my clinic to see them.

Same as it ever was….

Spent a bit of the day booking hotels for the up coming road trip. Trying to min/maxing several charge cards to maximize their ‘benefits’/bonuses and maybe justify their costs. Comparing costs by just booking with the hotel, kayak and their cronies, or through the cards. It’s a twisted miserable game that is not fun and that honestly I don’t even know if I won or lost but I play it anyway because that is the way I am built….so a bit like EveOnline I guess….some days.

One of the best versions of this melody song…in my opinion.

I think I have sorted out the hotels for my “fingers crossed the new car will get here in time inaugural 911 grand tour” trip. Going to do a 9 day tour of from Cheyenne on to Jackson hole, Vail, Aspen, Boulder, and then back home. The hotels… Aren’t inexpensive sadly but they’re pretty darn nice so it should be fun. Driving anchors will be Snowy Range/Togwotee, Moose-Wilson, Independence Pass, Trail Ridge Road, Peak to Peak among other lesser drives. Not everything I wanted to do but enough to be enjoyable and a lot better than working.

The nice thing about having a lawnmower that requires charging the battery is that it forces you to take a break every few hours and not feel like a complete wuss. Who am I kidding? I feel like a complete wuss and I’m begging for that battery to discharge enough that I ‘have to’ stop.

It is time to end this war. But Russia’s ruler wants to keep fighting. That is why Ukrainian sanctions against this aggression are working. Last night, our drones covered a distance of about 1,000 kilometers to the St. Petersburg region – to the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt. Our long-range sanctions also reached about 500 kilometers into the Krasnodar region – and hit an oil depot. These are important results of the joint efforts by warriors from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. Russia must end its war and stop its attacks on life. Any manifestation of injustice against Ukraine will receive a just response. I thank our warriors for their precision.

Could be a Porsche advertisement.