Dust

This morning, after I took a shower I wiped my face realizing that my towel started moving slowly, then i realized something else.....

LOL!

Look at this for 20 sec.

Mr silly is back

SANTA CLAUS: An Engineer's Perspective

I.

There are approximately two billion children (persons under 18)in the

world. However, since Santa does not visit children of Muslim, Hindu,

Jewish or Buddhist religions, this reduces the workload for Christmas

night to 15% of the total, or 378 million (according to the Population

Reference Bureau). At an average(census) rate of 3.5 children per house

hold, that comes to 108 million homes, presuming that there is at least

one good child in each.

II.

Santa has about 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the

different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels

east to west(which seems logical). This works out to 967.7 visits per

second. This is to say that for each Christian household with a good

child, Santa has around 1/1000th of a second to park the sleigh, hop out,

jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining

presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left for him, get

back up the chimney, jump into the sleigh and get on to the next house.

Assuming that each of these 108 million stops is evenly distributed around

the earth (which, of course, we know to be false, but will accept for the

purposes of our calculations), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per

household; a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting bathroom stops

or breaks. This means Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per

second--3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the

fastest man-made vehicle, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4

miles per second, and a conventional reindeer can run (at best) 15 miles

per hour.

III.

The payload of the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that

each child gets nothing more than a medium sized Lego set (two pounds),

the sleigh is carrying over 500 thousand tons, not counting Santa himself.

On land, a conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even

granting that the "flying" reindeer could pull ten times the normal

amount, the job can't be done with eight or even nine of them--Santa would

need 360,000 of them. This increases the payload, not counting the weight

of the sleigh, another 54,000 tons, or roughly seven times the weight of

the Queen Elizabeth (the ship, not the monarch).

IV.

600,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air

resistance--this would heat up the reindeer in the same fashion as a

spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer

would absorb 14.3 quintillion joules of energy per second each. In short,

they would burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer

behind them and creating deafening sonic booms in their wake.

The entire reindeer team would be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a

second, or right about the time Santa reached the fifth house on his trip.

Not that it matters, however, since Santa, as a result of accelerating

from a dead stop to 650 m.p.s. in .001 seconds, would be subjected to

centrifugal forces of 17,500 g's. A 250 pound Santa (which seems

ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by 4,315,015

pounds of force, instantly crushing his bones and organs and reducing him

to a quivering blob of pink goo.

V.

Therefore, if Santa did exist, he's dead now.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Very nice, I love the balance on the car. Looks like its going to give you a much smoother ride. Looking great.

Welcome to the club and enjoy your ride.

Richie, did you ever play UT by anychance? Its a game of which I recognize your name from long ago.

Yeah that's what I thought. Thanks for the backup! :)

I also know that freezing point is obviously below 0, I was just assuming the coldest weather which is a *BLEEP*ing ice bucket here is 14-16 or 30 on the average cold day, in Brooklyn NY at least =)

so for defrosting/defogging when the temperate is lets say below 30 degress, should you should turn off your AC? Because the AC turns on automatically when you press the front and back defroster.

What about fluries of snow, should the AC also work at maximum temperature to keep the heat if the snow is coming down and it is below 30 degress outside? to still collect condensation and moisture from air?

Very impressive. Good job :)

Great post.

I've got to say this, and I hope you don't stomp on me here. There are few comparisions between a BMW and a Lexus. Infact, there are few comparisions between a BMW and any car. Same said for Lexus and any car. Both have DNA characteristics that nobody can compare with...period. A BMW is one hell of a fine driving machine. I believe they have the best braking system ever designed, and the ability to communicate the road to the driver like nobody else, except for maybe Porsche, but completely different cars. However, nobody can touch a Lexus of sheer glide ability. Lexus is like warm butter on the road, and BMW is like PhD on the road, with an undergrad degree from 1982 Fiat. But that might be a little harsh. But like they say about Bose "no highs, no lows...it must be bose"....BMW = Better Maintain Weekly. Of course who am I to complain? I think I've got Bo Duke's old LS400 sitting in my driveway.  

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You put the words in my mouth. Excellent post.

Consumer Reports gives thumbs up to Lexus.....thumbs down to German imports:

http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx?con...rc=LP+Passenger

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What do you think about both cars, it states that you own the LS430 2005, wow! and a 530i BMW 2003, the 5 series....among my favorites...what do you think? I know the slogan for BMW is The ultimate driving machine, but which car is giving you better results right now, as far as reliability, comfort and power.

Congratulations buddy, enjoy the smooth ride. This machine will bring you nothing but power, joy and comfort. With proper scheduled maintenance, expect this beast to last for a very long time.

Despite the smooth comfortable ride the LS series has to offer, my friend owns a 1998 GS 400, what a coincidence. Me and him are always in those cars, we know how they feel what to expect of them on the road. Hands down the GS400 is a beast. It keeps winding up everytime it wants more and you keep feeding it to completely unleash the animal. Just look at this way, what do you have to lose. You are not having a 6 year Honda civic lease, nor your throwing away money, you are simply feeling a different side of what Lexus has to offer you. I love the interior inside the GS, The engine is a beast. I believe if you want something " different " different is what you will get. The only thing I dislike in the GS is the steering wheel. I don't know, that's just me. Also my friend went to the mechanic to replace the brakes/oil change past 1.8 years, other then that the software, hardware problems with it are minimum.

Good luck and keep us updated on how your transition goes. The sun dont shine forever but as long as its here you and the Lexus might as well shine together, better now then ever.

My friend is 195.000 miles. She has been loyal to me from day1, we are still riding together hoping to reach 300.000! :)

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wow, that is definitely nice. I didn't know they had a 1989 LS 400.

Hey welcome!

Unfortunately people will help you right away if you state more information. What is the maximum mileage would you prefer on the car? How much are you looking to spend? Because obviously the early 2001 years will make about a 3-4 thousand dollar difference.

( My opinion if I was in your shoes )

2002 - 45.000 miles a good deal would be $28-30.000

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;j...5802&aff=duluth

2003 - 26.000 miles a good deal would be $35.000

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?t...5802&aff=duluth

If I was to get a 2004, 2005 LS 430 I would just go to various dealers, depends on your location and get their quotes. Remember they have to make a profit too but there are hassles you should look out for. My opinion is to make sure you have warranty up to 100.000 miles

If you would like to learn about your dealer, what feedbacks they have received over the years, search here www.dealerrater.com

Good Luck and happy hunting for the next best thing on the road.

For those who are interested. Driving directions, etc...One of the best Dealerships in New York.

Happy Hunting for that next best thing on the road.

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Yeah just looked at this again, totally mint. From what I've read it will be v8 and the fuel compensation will be fair. That in black is like wow :o

ps : hey nc211 :D

wow that looks sick.

Because I am not considering it. It's just the expectations for this car were set too HIGH. Too much hype. I am waiting for the model to be revised and maybe the price change will make me consider buying the car, but certainly not now.

bartkat, I sent you a pm please get back to me whenever you can. :)

As for IS 250/350 - Dashboard - Cheap Plastic - Mirrors - What were they thinking? - Backseat - Unless you have 3 midgets hanging around with you, this isnt a 4 door car. Overall - Too expensive, I am waiting till prices drop. If it goes to 25 grand, I will maybe consider something.

Thank you so much bart.