Occasional depression thread

[Yankie]

I'm angry and depressed at the same time because no matter what i try i cant convince my mum about pyro. she never listens and it really annoys me, i have gone to great lengths to show that i know what im doing but she never listens. does anyone know how to get your parents to actually listen to you? even after making a detailed powerpoint on how fireworks work and why I'm not just a kewl bombz dude but it really gets me angry and depressed when she doesnt take a workd of it in.

any hints or tips?

[mormanman]

I must not have told you guys this. The judge doesn't know that they were home made. The fire department want to shoot my devices off.

And if you love something enough would you be willing do sacrefice your life for it. I sure as hell would.

[Frozentech]

I must not have told you guys this. The judge doesn't know that they were home made. The fire department want to shoot my devices off.

And if you love something enough would you be willing do sacrefice your life for it. I sure as hell would.

NO ONE should sacrifice their life for pyro. 'nuff said.

[tentacles]

If you're doing what you love, it isn't a sacrifice or a tragedy... unless it happened because you were blatantly ignoring safety protocols. Then again, that would be more of a darwin award than the other.

[tentacles]

So I'm pulling into work today, behind some guy in a pickup, he turns to park, I go around him and then he decides to toss it into reverse without looking first.. He backed right into my passenger door, broke the window.

 

The worst part is that the insurance company here will probably just write my car off and pay me chump change for it. Then I'll have to pay taxes on importing it. Not that I like this car all that much, but it's got a lot of miles left and I'd much rather get them out before I get rid of it.

 

To top that off, I get off work at 11 pm - so I get to go home, find something to cover the window with, cover it, take all the shit out of my car I don't want stolen (go kart engine, etc) and then go to bed probably at like 1 am. Then I have to be at work at 7:30 tommorow morning.

[Swede]

I'm angry and depressed at the same time because no matter what i try i cant convince my mum about pyro. she never listens and it really annoys me, i have gone to great lengths to show that i know what im doing but she never listens. does anyone know how to get your parents to actually listen to you? even after making a detailed powerpoint on how fireworks work and why I'm not just a kewl bombz dude but it really gets me angry and depressed when she doesnt take a workd of it in.

any hints or tips?

Some thoughts - I am a parent of teenagers. Some day you will be too. I know exactly the frustration that you feel. The first thing you must understand is that your Mom is simply afraid for you. That's the way parents function. General fear for their children is an instinct so powerful it can easily overcome logic. For example, my girl wants to walk to walk to the store, 2 blocks, in a safe area. Logic and intellect tells me she'll be fine; abductions are rare but sensational. But my gut screams "NO!!" because the image of what could be is so horrifying, it simply overwhelms the logic. That's where she's coming from. You are working with 10 grams of BP... she sees quadruplegic in that scene.

 

Safety: Show her your protective gear. You have a full face shield, correct? Gloves, a shop apron, all cotton. Show her how you separate components as needed, and work in an uncluttered, safe area. Work outside the house if possible.

 

Size: It's hard, but for now, while gaining trust, work with small quantities of material. Make a few 3/4" flying fish mines, or fountains, or small rockets. Parents don't like big booms. The quieter and more colorful, the better, because it shows that you aren't into the "kewl bomzz"

 

Track record: This is the big one. Do you have a track record of responsible behavior, good grades, honesty, integrity, hard work? Do you do the things asked of you, the little things? Pick up after yourself? All of that stuff creates a mental image of trustworthiness. It sounds stupid, but if she can trust you to pick up your socks, she'll be more apt to trust you with pyro. It is very hard to overcome a bad history. I lied more than I should have to may parents. Got away with it 90% of the time, but I would eventually get caught. Sometime around 14 or 15, I decided to become an honest person. Even after two years of 100% honesty, my parents would still say "You are a known liar. Why should I believe you now?" It sucked, but that is the way it is.

 

I don't mean to sound like a parent here, but this is the way we think. And you'll do the same, trust me! Seriously, the big thing is the track record. You need to come through in the other areas of your life... then the pyro will be far more palatable to them. Good luck.

[oskarchem]

I am no parent here, but, I'm 100% with Swede, you have to get the trust of you parents to be doing stuff. I personnally don't lie a lot, (hell, I eaven tel my mother that I drank a few months ago), and this way, she let's me stay a long time at friends houses (and a girlfriend's houses too btw ), let's me take flying lessons, and do pyrotechnics. She's still worried like hell that I will get a hand blown off, but, she trust's me, unfortunatly in my early kn3wl days, I nearly lost my eyes, this fact diden't really give her more trust into pyro, but I got streight out of kn3wl shit, and directly into pyrotechnics.

 

So your best chance to get her let you do pyrotechnics, is just mix up a BP fountain, why not eaven with her behind you, and just as a precaution, allways have an Extinguisher in your lab, just in case that your bin catches fire, like mine did...

 

You might want to make her smell some BP smoke, who knows maybe she is a pyro deep inside.

 

Any way, good luck.

[Yankie]

Thanks Swede, that helped alot. I have been following some of those tips already but some are new to me.

good news, my dad got me a kilo of potassium nitrate, i havent had time to use it much, but i did make a tiny bottle rocket which flew really well.

Also my mum is ok with it and she will even let me test some devices at her place (big block of land in the country), she is willing to let me buy some fuse online but only if its legal to import it from the USA into Australia. does anyone know if it is legal or not to purchase and import visco safety fuse into Aus? She doesn't care that other people have done it before without getting caught only if its legal.

[WarezWally]

Not legal

[rocket]

does anyone know if it is legal or not to purchase and import visco safety fuse into Aus? She doesn't care that other people have done it before without getting caught only if its legal.

Its illegal to ship by air but I think so that pretty much rules it out from importing but I think its ok to own it, there are a few gun shops that sell cannon fuse though whether the will sell it to you is another thing and it may turn of to be thermalite.

[WarezWally]

does anyone know if it is legal or not to purchase and import visco safety fuse into Aus? She doesn't care that other people have done it before without getting caught only if its legal.

Its illegal to ship by air but I think so that pretty much rules it out from importing but I think its ok to own it, there are a few gun shops that sell cannon fuse though whether the will sell it to you is another thing and it may turn of to be thermalite.

I don't know about that, safety fuse is listed in the explosives legislation along with detcord and other wonderful things and I'm not about to call anyone up to see how much potential shit I'm in.

 

It can be purchased, I don't know if you need a liscense though.

 

http://www.acmefireworks.com.au/MISC.htm

 

Anyone want to call them and ask? I'll split you for a roll of visco ($25 for 250m) and quickmatch ($12 for 50m)

[rocket]

I've had a flick through the explosives legislation and all it really says about fuse it where it should be stored.

 

BTW Acme only sell to licensed persons. The company I work for now and then buy from there alot of the time.

[Swede]

Visco is nice to have, but if you can't get any, that would be yet another item that'd have to be homemade, like rocket tubes. Nice to buy them, but they can be made in a pinch.

 

Making a true visco machine would be useful AND I think, fun.

 

Anyhoo, good luck with everything, and I'm sure a series of consistently safe and effective smallish, colorful, and relatively QUIET displays will put the fears down a bit. Emphasize the science of it all. Talk about ratios of fuels, oxidizers, toss out "chlorine donors", make it seem educational and scientific... which is definitely is!

[oskarchem]

Humm.. I'm having some trouble with my rolled TT stars, they are about 1cm diamiter, and drying in a warm room, where it is like 29-32°C and since sunday morning, they are still not dry, it's a pain because I really want to put this 4" ball shell together, if they don't dry by saturday, I'll just make a new batch of other stars...

[pudidotdk]

Your problem is a very common problem for charcoal streamers known as driven in - basically it is caused by force-drying like in a drying chamber or in the sun. They should be dried in the shadows!! This is important, otherwise the surface dries and the inner moisture will be "trapped" inside the star.

[tentacles]

There's been some discussion on passfire that driving in is more of a problem with dextrin bound stars (particularly so with high % of charcoal) and less so with SGRS or other binders.

[Bonny]

When i make TT stars and comets, I usually dry for a day in open air, then into the drying box. I did however dry some 1-1/2" comets in the drying box right after pressing with no problems, but they were probably not dampened as much as your rolled stars.

[oskarchem]

Ah, Pudi thanks alot, so I guess Ijust have to crush them up and remake the stars to let them dry in my shop..

[Mumbles]

Well, first and foremost I am having a pyro problem. I was getting all set to build some shells. 5" 5 timed spider and a 5" sun and planets. I am getting everything together, and I can not find a single solid 5" disk. I have 5" disks with 1/4" and 3/8" holes everywhere, but not a single solid disk is anywhere in my shop. So, I am going to have to cut up some of my much more expensive 6" solid end disks. Very sad.

 

In addition to that, most of the electricity in my house is out. Most notably everything I can use to entertain myself, and all the lights so I can't even read.

 

Also my computer is totally messed up at the moment. It most certainly will require a total wipe. The virus has disabled my ability to install new programs, such as the new anti-virus that can take care of it, and the one that unlocks the registry, which the virus has also taken the liberty of disabling.

 

While I'm at it, my most recent batch of beer had a pretty vigorous fermentation and popped the lid off. It has been off for somewhere between 0 and 24 hours. I'd suspect somewhere in the 6 hour range. On the plus side, I hit a higher gravity than reported despite spilling a bunch of the wort. I am slightly worried it was involved in the whole power outage thing though. It got under the cabinets and was leaking through the floor into the basement, and am worried it messed up some of the wires or something.

[FrankRizzo]

Well, first and foremost I am having a pyro problem.  I was getting all set to build some shells.  5" 5 timed spider and a 5" sun and planets.  I am getting everything together, and I can not find a single solid 5" disk.  I have 5" disks with 1/4" and 3/8" holes everywhere, but not a single solid disk is anywhere in my shop.  So, I am going to have to cut up some of my much more expensive 6" solid end disks.  Very sad.

NO!! Don't destroy a larger disk, just tape over the hole with a few strips of masking tape.

[Mumbles]

Normally I would do that, but something about masking tape and some pasted paper doesn't comfort me when theres 7lbs of shell sitting above it. If I was thinking I would have grabed some solid 3" disks, and glued them on either side of the 5" disk. One on the very interior of the shell, and one on the very exterior, just under the spiking.

[marks265]

Well, first and foremost I am having a pyro problem. I was getting all set to build some shells. 5" 5 timed spider and a 5" sun and planets. I am getting everything together, and I can not find a single solid 5" disk. I have 5" disks with 1/4" and 3/8" holes everywhere, but not a single solid disk is anywhere in my shop. So, I am going to have to cut up some of my much more expensive 6" solid end disks. Very sad.

 

In addition to that, most of the electricity in my house is out. Most notably everything I can use to entertain myself, and all the lights so I can't even read.

 

Also my computer is totally messed up at the moment. It most certainly will require a total wipe. The virus has disabled my ability to install new programs, such as the new anti-virus that can take care of it, and the one that unlocks the registry, which the virus has also taken the liberty of disabling.

 

While I'm at it, my most recent batch of beer had a pretty vigorous fermentation and popped the lid off. It has been off for somewhere between 0 and 24 hours. I'd suspect somewhere in the 6 hour range. On the plus side, I hit a higher gravity than reported despite spilling a bunch of the wort. I am slightly worried it was involved in the whole power outage thing though. It got under the cabinets and was leaking through the floor into the basement, and am worried it messed up some of the wires or something.

Quick run to the fridge and drink all the cheap beer before it gets warm!

 

Then head for the front porch, raise the white flag and mumble "I Give".

 

 

Sorry to hear that but that's what I'd do!

 

Other than that I have made some 3" canisters and hot glued the hole in my end discs without a flower pot. But I know what ya mean-ya just open yourself up for failure when improvising!

 

If you still hate cutting up your 6" disks, make 6" shells then you won't have to cut them.

[Mumbles]

One step ahead of you on the beer. I'll have to see if I have enough stars for a 6" sun and planets. I will probably have to find a makeshift 6" former though. As it is the sun and planets will be cutting it close. I don't think the glitter sun stars are dry. Plus they were producing some H2S, so we shall see how they work.

[mormanman]

When i make TT stars and comets, I usually dry for a day in open air, then into the drying box. I did however dry some 1-1/2" comets in the drying box right after pressing with no problems, but they were probably not dampened as much as your rolled stars.

I have a star drier made with a some peg board, a flood light, zip ties, a small metal fan, and some paper.

 

Its a box missing a side with a hole cut in the top for the light and bound with zip ties. Then the fan blow all the evaporated gases away from the box and cool everything down. I can dry anything in around 24 hours, 48 to 72 on humid days.

It works great, I made if for around 5 bucks. I only bought the zip ties the rest was scrap.

[marks265]

Humidity is starting to become my enemy. I made a small box myself and put a 100w light bulb in the bottom last night. Now I am pasteing 2 ea. 6" shells and 4 ea 3" shells. Then I turned the coals to my dehumidifier! I am not going to do a lot until I get a good break from my 6" shells. Plus I want to get some fishing in @ winnebago.

Lastly the race track had fireworks. At first I thought it was a lightning storm. I could only hear them as I was pasting. I was starting to wonder if i was sitting in the right place. After sipping on a beer I thought so!