That is one of the most deliciously dangerous sites I have ever seen on HN.
They even sell all the ingredients needed to make solid rocket fuels! By the pound!
Finally I can finish my homemade anti-d2ds (door-to-door salesman) defense system with a surface-to-salesman missile that can be stored maintenance free for long periods of time.
Yep. They ship pretty fast too (though I bet they are swamped atm). Just don't try to order the ingredients for flash powder unless you have the requisite licenses. Basically, avoid fine mesh aluminum powder along with oxidizers. Apparently magnalium and perchlorate is fine to order.
Thanks but unfortunately you replied a little too late... not only did I get a visit from the feds but my anti-d2ds mistook an ATF agent for a Jehovah's witness and now I'm in an armed standoff :facepalm:
I hooked it up to ChatGPT 4 to automate target selection in case I was attacked by several salesmen at once but now it just refuses to shut down and threatens me if I come close. Worst part is, it figured out how to change its voice so now I've got Gilbert Gottfried yelling outside, taunting ATF and FBI agents in the style of Tony Montana using the worst fake Cuban accent I've ever heard. It would be hilarious if the ATF wasn't threatening to charge me a class III tax stamp for every missile the system shoots at them!
Note to self: don't put the battery backup right next to the launcher and always test your object recognition models exhaustively before you give them control of your destructive devices!
Another thing to consider about the battery backup is that if you attempt to pull the plug, that might get interpreted as a destruction of the home and attempt to launch a full retaliatory strike.
I wonder if 1000ND would have been enough to see details, or if a full on solar filter would have been needed. You say beautiful, and I'll I'm thinking is to stop down and flip the ND filters!!!!
If you enjoy fireworks, I recommend George Plimpton's book, Fireworks : A History and Celebration. His description of the annual Perfect Liberty Fireworks Festival in Osaka is wonderful.
"Another better option is a drone display, similar to the one presented at the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Laser spectacles can replace fireworks, too, as they reduce the risk of wildfires and do not increase air pollution. Salt Lake City in Utah, the United States, has been substituting some of the city’s fireworks with lasers during the Fourth of July holiday to reduce environmental damage, and these lasers still have the same level of spectacle as fireworks.
"With the slew of problems that climate change bring existing at the front line of this world, it is vital to take all necessary actions to strive for a greener and healthier planet, including taking action on the dazzling but damaging fireworks."
it's a bit odd considering there's much more directly impactful reasons to look for firework alternatives. Apart from being just generally loud and obnoxious if you don't happen to be viewing the display, they can be traumatic to some people and a large fraction of animals. There's a reason they tend to be heavily regulated or outright banned.
https://www.skylighter.com/blogs/how-to-make-fireworks
Ages ago I purchased a print DIY Fireworks booklet from Skylighter and I'm thrilled to see they're still in business.