A 39 year old Italian solo circumnavigator finished his non-stop sail around the world voyage in the smallest sailboat to do it on July 22. Alessandro Di Benedetto and Mini, his 21 foot boat, set sail on October 26, 2009 from Les Sables d’Olonne France on the Bay of Biscay and finished the voyage with a jury rigged mast last Thursday. His small boat was damaged after the notoriously rough conditions after rounding Cape Horn, but after creative repairs he was able to salvage his damage mast and complete his record breaking voyage. He is in good health and good spirits.
Very impressive — congratulations to Alessandro Di Benedetto. Clip below … although ‘pardonnez la langue française sur la vidéo.’
Although the article is from last year, my son noticed that our Australian Cattle Dog / Blue Heeler made the top 12 mens’ dogs list in Men’s Journal magazine (Below – Sept 4, 2009 p.56). There is certainly some accuracy to the characteristics, although I’m not sure how well our dog would do on a sailboat – Tootsie has feared water ever since she fell through the ice as a pup.
Still for 13 years old, I don’t think one could find a more energetic beast. If I’m not careful when running her around the yard, I’m convinced she would injury herself before slowing down. As for ‘nipping’ … they don’t call them “heelers” for nothing … but it would be nice if ours knew the difference between livestock heels, tractor tires and little kids who love to run around in bare feet! Potential owners be warned … it’s not easy to train out such an instinct.
In the comments below, I particularly liked the “fell off a sailboat and survived four months eating baby goats.” I could see that happening.
For alternatives to petroleum, the hype has recently been about EVs and almost all auto makers are rolling out their electric vehicles, yet for most American automotive owners they are far from practical considering the miles of highway and distances we travel. For that, efficient clean diesels running biodiesel makes a lot of sense … here’s a NYTimes article offering some positive news on this carbon neutral renewable fuel especially if it is produced from genetically engineered algae.
Algae are attracting attention because the strains can potentially produce 10 or more times more fuel per acre than the corn used to make ethanol or the soybeans used to make biodiesel. Moreover, algae might be grown on arid land and brackish water, so that fuel production would not compete with food production. And algae are voracious consumers of carbon dioxide, potentially helping to keep some of this greenhouse gas from contributing to global warming.
Clouds building in Butler County Ohio as the summer heat persists (photo with Palm Pre)
In the 35 days of summer 2010 this season, 27 days have seen temperature 85 degrees or hotter … with 10 of those days in the 90s. Of course that doesn’t tell the entire story, as 26 of those sweltering days have been in humidity above 90% … and 11 at 100%. (link)
So I think it is fair to say … it has been hot this year.
Although I’m not a germ-a-phobe or a neat-nik by any stretch of the imagination, I’m often repulsed by the cleanliness of some local area restaurants. Being the one who is responsible for the health certificate for my EAA chapters annual Fly-in and Pancake Breakfast, I know how challenging it is to pass health inspections (Warren County Ohio does a good job) … so it has me wondering just how do some restaurants pass their inspections? We ate at Steak n Shake this weekend … you make the call, but this doesn’t look as if it has been cleaned for a while?
I regularly email customers and friends with something that needs a follow-up from them, but I often forget to check back IF I don’t hear from them. Simple things like setting up a meeting or gettin gan ok on a proof often go unanswered … easy to do. I’ve tried adding it to my calendar (which often gets passed over), scribbling it on my hand written to-do lists (which get ignored) and am now giving the very simple to use followupthen.com a try – you might like it too?
It is super easy to use and require only the addition of a CC or BCC “dated” email when contacting someone. There isn’t a registration and currently there isn’t a cost or any bothersome advertising (yet). Here’s how it works:
Write your contact an email as usual and add a “dated” email address like 7days@followupthen.com or 7hours@followupthen.com to the CC or BCC address line. (CC if you want all including yourself to be reminded in xx days/hours and BCC if only a reminder to yourself.)
Send the email.
At the appropriate time/date, a follow up email will be sent to both or just yourself and a copy of your previous email message will be included.
So far the service has work flawlessly although I’m not sure I would want to include all that much personal or confidential information.
For those who watch the Fox NewsGlenn Beck television program, you’ll recall one of Glenn’s props is a “Red Phone” which supposedly has a private number that has been given to the Whitehouse — so that they can correct any misinformation. In the year or so it has been installed it never been used except for test calls or the regular “call me” program prop. According to a segment of audio on Beck’s radio show today, the phone rang sending his staff scrambling to remember how to get the signal into the control booth and recorded. The segment of audio from Glenn Beck was posted on his website(or below) and isn’t exactly what was expected.
During a commercial break, the Red Phone rang. It does get tested from time to time to make sure it’s still working, BUT this time it was no one from the control room. Turns out as Glenn picked up the Red Phone on TV, the number on the bottom of the phone was visible and a fan called in as a good Samaritan. Mediaite reported on the story and Glenn tells what happened on radio today.
What do dogs, kites, and beer have in common? West Chester holds festivals celebrating all three.
It has an active town center called The Square where activities from a summer concert series to a weekly farmers market take place.
The town has a prime location 20 minutes outside Cincinnati and a bit more than a half-hour from Dayton. And there are many corporate employers right here.
This should be a bigger story (editting with Poster for WordPress on the Palm Pre) …
“The Ohio EPA said Thursday, July 22, that the latest lab tests for toxins produced by the cyanobacteria at Grand Lake St. Marys show readings still too high to recommend resuming contact with the water.”
“The latest microcycstin levels are lower than the previous sampling round, but some samples remain higher than the 20 (parts per billion) considered by the World Health Organization to be safe,” said spokeswoman Heather Lauer.
“In addition, anatoxin-a levels are at their highest since testing began,” she added.
Anatoxin-a is a neurotoxin, which effectively is a nerve poison.
Because of high levels of anatoxin-a, Ohio EPA, Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources and Ohio Dept. of Health are maintaining the advisory level at the lake to ensure public health, she added.”
I liked this blackboard image from Glenn Beck, a controversial radio and television host who has spent the last year right-teaching American history to the millions that tune in or DVR his 5PM FoxNews program. Although I don’t watch all that many of his broadcasts, I have enjoyed his Founders Fridays broadcasts which focuses on those who dedicated their lives to our nation’s independence and structuring our democracy; it has been very educational.
