The Thrifty Rocketeer

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues.... So, it started as I was driving into work and spotted a flash of red in the median of the divided highway. I craned my neck as I went past, and recognized it as a red plastic flag laying among the green grass in the median. A new Lumber yard/hardware store has opened just recently, and I had been seeing a number of these red flags along  the highway as I drove past... apparently being blown off from an extended load out of a pick-up truck leaving from  the adjacent lumber yard.  The increase in wind and velocity had either worked it free, or ripped it off the stapple. After a week of seeing this laying in the median, I decided it was time to do something about it. I would stop. It was the hottest day of the summer, with heat index over 100 on the day I decided to stop.  So I pulled into the median  and made a quick dash for the flag. I got back in and made sure the A/C was on full as I pulled out in traffic. Yes, I ...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... One thing that escaped me when first entering this hobby, was the need for additional plastic parachutes for your fleet of rockets.   I naively thought that since one came with each kit,   I was good to go for good... forever. Let me burst the newcomers' bubble right now... There are such things as rocket eating trees, thorn bushes, sharp objects and sun-fading weakening plastic in our world.  Never mind that we're working with hot gases to push our payload and chute out of the body tube.  The risk of damage to a thin plastic chute is almost inescapable.  Sooner or later, you're going to melt, rip or tear your plastic chute. And while some limited damage can be avoided or dealt with...you will eventually need to replace a plastic parachute. Most all rocketeers worth their salt have constructed a thin plastic chute on their own. It's almost a rite of passage for the hobby.  And it teaches you some basi...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I would share a real world observation here. Now, the Thrifty Rocketeer is all about saving money, doing things cheaper and saving a few steps. But it occurs to me that there have been some "False Economy" moves over the last several years that run counter to your natural inclination.  Or counter-intuitive. Case in point:  As we head into the  Thanksgiving season, everyone in America is beginning to shop for their meal supplies including cooking aides, consumables and food stuff. Recently somewhere, there's been a suggestion made to the average housewife that she can save a lot of money by not buying paper towels. Now, at first, this may seem to make sense, as most of us grab a towel for a spill or to wipe off glue, or oil or something. And then we toss it away into the trash...never to be seen again. A number of years ago, manufacturer got smart and started adding perforati...