We’ve all heard of excess packaging, but this is absurd

Recently had a box delivered. That’s it in the picture above. By my measurement, its 370 x 495 mm (14.5 x 19.5 inches). Not shown – the packing material in the box, to stop the card from rattling around.

The part I ordered on the ’Net? The small dark rectangle in the middle of the card. Up close, it looks like this:


SanDisk iXpand Mini Flash Drive
Credit: SanDisk

Sandisk says it’s 12.1 x 4.6 x 53.0 mm¹ (0.48 x 0.18 x 2.1 inches). As far as I'm aware, Sandisk doesn't quote a spec on that absurd, oversize card it’s attached to in the image at the top.

Initially, this article was headed: “We’ve all heard of excess packaging, but this may be a record” – obviously had to change it on seeing the the image below:


Credit: Emily-Jane Clark

Emily-Jane Clark (pictured) received the “spider catcher” she's holding, in the box she's crouching in.

More from Emily-Jane Clark at: https://metro.co.uk/2017/10/04/10-examples-of-ridiculously-pointless-packaging-6976457/

Excess packaging & online shopping – When convenience costs the Earth
https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/packaging-labelling-and-advertising/packaging/articles/excess-packaging-and-online-shopping

Changing the Culture of Excess [Packaging]
https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/saying-no-to-excessive-packaging/
__________

¹ SanDisk: “The iXpand Mini Flash Drive For Your iPhone”, https://www.sandisk.com/home/mobile-device-storage/ixpand-mini

/ tonnes consumer packaging landfill packaging litter overall recycling rate consumer packaging volume of packaging material mail postal system grown increasing popularity online shopping clicks plastic foam paper cardboard packing packed retailers transport transit transportation companies take responsibility damaged products bulk up buffer packaging cost environment extra material costing money creating new problem re-use re use recycle discarded recycling lighter more compact packaging more stuff being shipped consumers greater volume packaging higher product prices increased fees for recycling consumers concerned excess packaging retailers e-commerce companies minimise packaging lobby local government local councils state governments environmental organisations information on recycling understand the size of the problem /

New Jamstik Guitars – for learning & creating (update)

Jamstik
Credit: Jamstik/Zivix

Update 07 July: crowd funding period has ended, with over half a million dollars raised, but you can still pre-order on Indiegogo – see below.

● Short enough to fit into your backpack – 7 fret version is just 18 inches (45.7 cm) long – but if you’d prefer, the 12 fret version is 24.5 inches (66.23 cm)

● Length is OK, but where’s the body? – add on body available for both models

● Teaches you to play with software for iOS & the Chrome browser

● Never needs tuning – overcoming a significant barrier for many beginners – & very unlikely to ever need strings replaced

● Already a player? ‘Jamstik 12 is designed as a no-compromise MIDI controller that simply, “works” with the studios & production software producer-guitarists are used to. Finally, a way for guitarists to express themselves the way keyboardists & drummers have been able to for years.’

More detail & pre-order (substantial discount over retail – 20% & up) at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-new-jamstik-guitars-for-learning-creating-iphone-bluetooth/x/9010251#/ / Jamstik guitar /

Elon Musk: Tesla compact car, battery energy density, Elon time & improvements in the Model S

At the Q&A following the Tesla Shareholders’ Meeting on Tuesday, some interesting questions were raised & some even more interesting answers were forthcoming. See the video below, or more briefly:

Will Tesla build a compact car – around the 00:30 mark – “... compact car in less than 5 years …”

Autopilot remains a work in progress, with no promise of a major improvement any time soon – 00:45

Steering wheel – 13:16 – “Model Y ... will not have any leather in it … in the steering wheel, even if it does have a steering wheel.”

Battery energy density – 13:45 – “Twice as much is tricky, but we can certainly see a path to about a 30% improvement, maybe a 40% improvement in energy in the same size battery pack, that’s technology we are confident does work & needs to be scaled up & made very reliable … 2-3 years to get to about a 30% improvement in volumetric energy density … 6 to 8 years to get to a doubling … highly dependant on … lithium anode …”

Tesla time estimates – “Elon time” – 23:37 – “I think I do have like an issue with time [laughter & clapping] … my brother used to, like when we were catching a bus to school, he would lie to me about the time … & then we’d actually be able to catch the bus.”

Will Tesla make a motorcycle – 25:30 – “… used to ride motorcycles when I was a kid … dirt biking … had a road bike until I was 17 & was almost killed by a truck, so we’re not gonna do motorcycles.”

Improvements in Model S¹ – 29:45 – “One thing we haven’t been good at educating people on is that the Model S ... has improved very dramatically from 2012 … arguably on version 3 or 4 of the Model S right now ... really a gigantic improvement … I really encourage anyone who’s got an early Model S to test drive the current version. I think you’ll be blown away by how much it has improved.”


__________

¹ It’s easy to forget that the Model S has been in production since 2012 – partly because the original aesthetics were so good (after 6 years, it still looks as fresh as tomorrow). To the casual observer, the only change has been the revised nose in 2016.

Credit: fau4u2.wordpress.com

For anyone following the Tesla story, there have been many improvements, including:

● Supercharger network – wasn't even promised when the first owner took delivery – not a change to the car per se, but as important to the long-range driving experience as petrol stations (gas stations, service stations – what ever they are called where you live) are to a fossil car

● Greatest available battery capacity has jumped from 85 kWh to 90 & most recently, 100 kWh

● 4 wheel drive

● Software, including Autopilot has seen many upgrades,² which has necessitated;

● Computer upgrades – more than 40 times increase in computing power in October 2016³ & a further upgrade in February 2018⁴

● Autopilot hardware upgrade – increase in the number of cameras (8 cameras provide 360° vision) & other sensors³

● Redesigned seats

● Adjustable air suspension

² Tesla: “Software Updates”, version 8.1 as of this writing – https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/software

³ hhg2Tech: “As of 19 October 2016, all Teslas produced will have the hardware necessary for fully autonomous driving”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/10/as-of-19-october-2016-all-teslas.html

⁴ Electrek: “Tesla confirms recently updating Model S/X media computer, results in faster and smoother experience”, 14 March 2018, https://electrek.co/2018/03/14/tesla-updates-model-s-x-onboard-computer/

/ searchkeys /

Stephen Hawking interviewed by John Oliver

Stephen Hawking with Felicity Jones & Eddie Redmayne at the London premier of the biographical movie, “The Theory of Everything”
Credit: independent.ie

Many were saddened by the death this week, of Professor Stephen Hawking. There is some comfort, though, in the memory that Stephen Hawking was a really funny guy. Take this interview with John Oliver:

JOHN OLIVER: First off, congratulations on being the first subject of our, “Great Minds”, series. Be honest, is this the single greatest honour you have ever received?

STEPHEN HAWKING: Yes.

JOHN OLIVER: Good. It’s a little hard to read your tone of voice. When you say that, are you being sarcastic?

STEPHEN HAWKING: Yes.

&

JOHN OLIVER: You’ve stated that there could be an infinite number of parallel universes. Does that mean that there is a universe out there where I am smarter than you?

STEPHEN HAWKING: Yes. And also a universe where you’re funny.

Here’s the entire interview:



Interesting to see John Oliver abandon his irreverent tone & use of expletives (mostly).


Stephen Hawking
1942-2018 / Professor Stephen Hawking /

Another use for a Tesla Model X – towing a semi – update

Update 15 April 2018: Another Model X towing a semi, this time from Bjørn Nyland in Norway: “I know that this is not the first time a Model X pulls a semi. But in that other video, it was done with the help of the semi as well. And the Model X had poor all season tires not fit for snow and ice. I wanted to see if it was possible to pull a semi trailer despite having slippery surface like ice and snow.”



Lots more from Bjørn Nyland on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/bjornnyland/videos
__________

Recently, on these pages, we looked at an unexpected use of a Tesla Model X: speeding up an fossil car at the drag strip (check it out at https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/12/how-to-make-alpha-romeo-alfa-romeo-4c.html).

With the recent cold snap in the USA, another use has come to light: towing a semi truck after it has become stuck in the snow.



Update: Unfortunatley, videos on YouTube are removed or have availability changed from time-to-time. If the video above no longer works for you, try this:



Electrek – Watch a Tesla Model X all-electric SUV pull a semi truck out of the snow
https://electrek.co/2018/01/04/tesla-model-x-all-electric-tow-semi-truck-snow/ / Tesla Model X electric vehicle EV traction 4 wheel drive 4WD 5000 pound rated towing capacity traction control LiIon lithium ion battery /

How to make an Alfa Romeo 4C Spider faster at the drag strip (Hint: Tesla Model X) – update

Alfa Romeo 4C Spider
Credit: Motor Trend Canada

To add a little perspective – an Alfa Romeo 4C Spider can do 0-60 mph in just over 4 seconds.^1,2,3

Question: How to make an Alfa Romeo 4C Spider faster at the drag strip?
Answer: Put it on a trailer & tow it with a Tesla Model X.



Better coverage with additional material below. Don't be put off by the first frame you see.



Video above no longer available, but check this:



At one point in the video above, the reporter says, “They get in the passenger's seat & go full Tourette’s⁴ on us.” This is the sort of thing he’s talking about:
https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2015/02/how-much-fun-is-tesla-model-s.html
__________

¹ “Factory testers say it’ll hit 60 mph in 4.1 seconds” – Motor Trend Canada: “2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider First Drive Review”, http://www.motortrend.ca/en/news/2015-alfa-romeo-4c-spider-first-drive-review/

² “Alfa Romeo 4C Spider can do 0-100km.h in 4.5 seconds” – Finance: “Tesla’s Model X races a sportscar towing an 1800kg trailer”, https://finance.nine.com.au/2017/12/01/14/38/tesla-model-x-beats-supercar-while-towing-an-1800kg-trailer

³ “... zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds which means it would embarrass a Lamborghini Diablo in a straight line.” – Motor Trend Channel: “2017 Bentley Bentayga vs. 2016 Tesla Model X P90D Ludicrous - Head 2 Head Ep. 76”, see second video above

⁴ Merriam-Webster: “Definition of Tourette’s syndrome”, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Tourette's%20syndrome

/ Tesla Model X electric car vehicle EV battery BEV lithium ion LiIon Alfa Romeo 4C Spider /

Tesla Truck event – video – update 3

Left to right: Tesla Truck, Elon Musk, Tesla Truck
Credit: Tesla/SlashGear


Tesla Truck – view through the windscreen – note central seating position & screens on either side
Credit: Tesla

Updates Saturday 18 & Monday 20 November – two new videos – text updates in this font.

Update 15 December – added Tesla's video of the entire event – 35 minutes.

Some highlights:

● 500 mile (800 km) range – full load at highway speed
● Megachargers add 400 miles of range in 30 minutes
● Network of Megachargers world wide
● driver sits in the centre with a screen on either side
● passenger/alternate driver seat is behind & to one side

● one million miles (1.6 million km) without a breakdown! – guaranteed! – with four motors, two can fail & the truck can complete delivery – & still out-torque a diesel

● “You never need to replace brake pads ever.” – long brake life is a recognised advantage of electric vehicles because in large measure, braking is regenerative – also improving range, efficiency & total cost of ownership

● enhanced autopilot standard¹
● platooning included²

● torque vectoring enabled by 4 motors with microsecond control makes jack-knifing “impossible”

● “A diesel truck will be 20% more expensive than a Tesla semi per mile ... worst case scenario.”

● with platooning, make that 100% more efficient
● with platooning, efficiency exceeds rail
● “Production begins 2019.”

Video of the entire event – if you don't have 35 minutes, check the next video down





And, “some unannounced”?³ – the new Tesla Roadster

● 0-60 mph 1.9 seconds – that's 1.44 g⁴ – first production vehicle to go under 2 seconds

● 0-100 mph 4.2 seconds
● quarter mile 8.9 seconds
● 250 mph (402 km/h) top speed

● “The new Tesla Roadster will be the fastest production car ever made – period.” This means a top speed in excess of the 257.87 mph (415 km/h) (arguably 267.856 mph (431.072 km/h)) attributed to the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, World Record Edition.⁵ Alternatively, as Elon Musk has done before, it may be a reference to the 0-60 mph time – &/or 0-100 mph &/or quarter mile times.

● 200 kWh battery pack
● range 620 miles (just under 1,000 km)

● three motors – two driving the rear, one driving the front

● 2+2 seating
● available 2020

“Roadster Test Ride” video below, includes 0-60 mph in under 2 seconds.


__________

¹ “Enhanced autopilot”, aka, “full self driving capability”, as Tesla describes it on their Model S order page: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pdkXbCCJ7TzXm184bA-N2-w2PbE=/1800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9022425/autopilot.png

² hhg2Tech: “Platooning lets trucks make better use of roads, save fuel & reduce greenhouse gasses”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/04/platooning-lets-trucks-make-better-use.html

³ hhg2Tech: “Tesla Truck – new teaser image + invites to unveiling event”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/11/tesla-truck-new-teaser-image-invites-to.html

⁴ 60 mph = 96.56 kph
= (96.56 * 1000) / (60 * 60) metres per second
= 26.822 metres per second

final velocity = initial velocity + acceleration * time
26.822 = 0 + acceleration * 1.9
26.822 = acceleration * 1.9
26.822/1.9 = acceleration
acceleration = 14.117 metre/sec/sec

Acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 metre/sec/sec

acceleration = 14.117 / 9.8 g
acceleration = 1.44 g

⁵ Wikipedia: “Production car speed record”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_car_speed_record#Bugatti_Veyron_limiter_removal

/ electric vehicle platooning enhanced autopilot full self driving capability electric vehicle EV truck semi semi trailer semi-trailer 500 mile range unveiling 1000 mile range /