Funny: Elon Musk's Starman Seems Familiar

http://www.theartofdiesel.com/funny-elon-musks-starman-seems-familiar/

Audi Update

Before I get to Elon Musk and SpaceX, let me give a quick update. It's been a long journey, but my son's Audi is almost back on the road. It's together and it doesn't leak, but it still has a performance issue. After whipping out my VAG-COM and doing some data logging, the things I can measure look OK. It seems to provide really good performance at random, but especially when little demand has been made of it for a few seconds. I think the fuel filter is plugged. "Cheap" Audis? Don't let anybody tell you that an old Audi is cheap! That said, the car is shaping up to be a lot of fun to drive, once everything is sorted out, and we might actually buy another for my daughter. AWD is a really nice thing to have and these cars are actually quite cheap to insure.

My Space Background

I have an MS is in Astronautical Engineering and I'm a genuine space guy at heart. I'm also big on entrepreneurial ventures, so I have to say that the SpaceX Heavy launch recently was really cool, including that they brought two of the boosters back for a soft touch down side-by-side.

Not a Huge Fan, But...

I'm not a huge Elon Musk fanboy. All the heavy subsidies on Teslas make him look more like a crony than a real entrepreneur. However, I must admit that he's still doing some cool things.

The Heavy Metal Connection

The Falcon Heavy Launch featured an unusual payload. SpaceX put a Tesla Roadster in orbit. Here's a live feed of it.

An obvious reference to science fiction (or at least sci fi parody) is found in the "Don't Panic!" displayed on the dash. However, a more obscure reference is found in the whole concept of an astronaut driving a convertible in Earth's orbit. The opening sequence of Heavy Metal, a rather ...um... adult, R-rated rock-n-roll sci fi cartoon from 1981 featured a similar theme in their opening sequence. Have you ever imagined reentry in an early model Corvette convertible?! Set to some fun rock 'n roll music, this opening sequence had my friends and I rolling around laughing back in he 80s.

I thought I'd just share this because it's fun!

May God bless you and keep you running on all cylinders!