No worries! I'm quite busy myself these days! Looking forward to the New Year already, lol.

So, I have no idea what sights there are to be seen in Singapore in 1889, so if anyone wants to be adventurous and fill in some details, go for it!

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 669): Here is an article on what could be seen (and felt and eaten) in Singapore at the time Kipling visited there, close to the time of our story.

ttps://mothership.sg/2017/01/jungle-book-author-rudyard-kipling-ate-turtle-steaks-in-spores-raffles-hotel-in-1889/#:~:text=Singapore%20in%201889%20was%20a%20territory%20under%20the,grown%20into%20one%20of%20the%20world’s%20major%20ports.

A Merry Christmas to you all, ladies & gents.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Belated Merry Christmas and early Happy New Year!

Happy 2022 and 1890, or whenever we are at the moment!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:52, Wed 29 Dec 2021.

In reply to Grimsby Baskerville (msg # 675):

Same to you.

     So ... Idiot Boy (me) finally went and bought a New Laptop.  Oh, and not just a new laptop -- oh no! -- I went and bought an up to date, current technology laptop.  Super-duper Processor, fast as a rabbit internet, more graphics power than I'll ever need, and it even has Windows 11 installed ... this thing is something the NSA would be jealous of.

     So of course, I have no idea how to make this damn thing do any of the things I want it to do!  I keep giving it commands ... it keeps refusing ... I keep hitting the Run button ... it just runs around my house, yelling "Nyaa-nyaa" ... I keep chasing after it, waving a 3-pound ball peen hammer ... sigh ...

     So please bear with me, until I beat some obedience get through the learning curve of this new machine.

In reply to Denholm Hawkesbury (msg # 677):

I just transferred to a new computer a few months ago, so you have my profound sympathy, though I was lucky in that mine was not fitted with Windows 11.

Happy Easter.

Happy Easter everybody.

Happy Easter to all those who follow the western tradition. (I belong to a Greek Orthodox church, and for us it is still only Palm Sunday --one week to go.)

In reply to Grimsby Baskerville (msg # 681):

"Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer."

     Happy Holiday #13, everybody!

I've been under the weather for the past two weeks with insufficient mental energy to post, and then Thursday morning the AC went out so I've been melting in 90-degree heat for the past 4 days. Tech finally got here yesterday and the AC was working fine when he left, but now it's out again! Aaargh!

Oh I HATE it when the AC breaks! That happened to us in 2020 during the summer and it took over a month to get a permanent fix. It was ridiculous. I hope yours gets fixed for good soon!

I thought I had posted my sympathy on the AC breaking. I do hope it gets permanently repaired.

Actually ... if you're interested ...

Rudolf Diesel's original engine was designed to operate on petroleum (specifically crude oil).  But initial tests with his prototype proved petroleum to be too viscous, so it was soon replaced with regular petrol and kerosene for further testing purposes.

During early diesel engine development, fuels such as petrol, kerosene, gas oil, vegetable oil and mineral oil, as well as mixtures of these fuels, were used.

Eventually, the fuels specifically intended to be used for diesel engines were typically petroleum distillates and coal-tar distillates due to their higher "lower heating value" [LHV] -- aka net calorific value [NCV] or lower calorific value [LCV] -- all of which are measures of available thermal energy produced by combustion of a fuel.  Petroleum and Coal Tar distillates provide more energy from less fuel.

Vegetable and other Bio-Sourced fuel oils tend to burn "cleaner" -- but still produce some "bad" emissions -- and are, of course, more "sustainable".

A truly global diesel engine fuel standardization didn't happen until after WW2 -- and the modern European diesel fuel standard was established in 1993.

You burn fuel, you're going to get some emissions no matter what you do, chemistry at work.

Call me old-fashioned, but I've always been more of a steam engine man. Everyone always seems to think it's a relic of the past, when the electricity to power their smart widgets most likely was spun up by steam turbines.

Long had a soft spot for steam locomotives, something else to watch when they run, even more of an experience to fire and drive them.

Yep, model train sets as a kid and the old Westerns with the Iron Horse... there was a certain fascination with them. Then came maglev and bullet trains and it just wasn't the same. Still cool in their own way, but just not the same.

Then there's the steam locomotive from Back to the Future III! Ultimate cool!

I rode regularly in trains when young, until passenger service almost died in our region. The engines frightened me at the time, but looking back I think riding in trains, even coach, was much more comfortable than busses or packed planes today.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:25, Tue 14 June 2022.

In reply to Denholm Hawkesbury (msg # 686):

Fascinating.

Okay, Dash has tried to crunch the numbers, I've tried to crunch the numbers, and it just gets confusing. This game is an altered reality anyway, so here's what I've come up with.

The Black Ship has a cruising speed of 30mph. In no wind. Without going into weather patterns, altitudes and similar details, I'm simply saying that headwinds and tailwinds will even out over all. Now, if the Black Ship gets 30mpg (Vril advanced technology?), it takes one hour to go 30 miles and uses up one gallon of fuel.

Based on the Graf Zeppelin's range of 10,000 miles, that means the Black Ship should have to carry 300 gallons of fuel to cover that range. That, of course, is flying in a straight non-stop direction. The reality is that a course is probably never that smooth or without interruption, so 400 gallons seems reasonable, perhaps even 600 gallons.

Now, let's say that's using monohydrazine as fuel.

Next best option is diesel fuel at, say, 80% efficiency.

Gasoline at 70% efficiency.

Kerosene at 60% efficiency.

And finally cooking oil at 50%.

Based on these numbers, the coconut oil Dash and Connor are buying can fill up the Black Ship's fuel tanks (600 gallons), but will only give it a range of 5,000 miles.

Does this all make sense or am I blowing smoke?

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 691):

I can live with those handwaves...