Posted By RichC on October 17, 2007
Fellow Sonex Aircraft builder Don Gum flew his AeroVee powered Waiex (V-Tail version of the original Sonex) successfully on October 14th. I would like to extend my congratulations to Don who lives north of me in Beavercreek, Ohio. Making a successful first flight in his beautiful tri-gear experimental airplane is indeed a grand accomplishment … one that I hope to eventually duplicate. Nice job Don. (larger photo)
Posted By RichC on October 16, 2007
Subaru was ahead of the game featuring all-wheel drivetrain which offered safe, practical and reliable cars which had performance all in a small sized passenger vehicle. Their boxer engine design has proven durable and the utilitarian Forester and Outback came out well before other manufacturers decided to produce ‘car based’ cross-over SUVs. Unfortunately they have lagged behind in improving engine efficiency and desirable design — the ant-eating Trebeca – need I say more?
In the last few years though, Subaru engineers have been working with Toyota to develop hybrid technology and at the same time worked on their new boxer turbo diesel powerplant. An article in LeftLaneNews has also mentioned that diesel is moving past the hybrid development and that they plan on getting a diesel car to the market next year … in Europe. Unfortunately, the article also hints that “the U.S. market could have to wait until 2012 to get the new diesels.”
🙁
Posted By RichC on October 16, 2007
As the 2007 baseball season inches toward a close, the Cleveland Indians move one step closer to becoming the American League champions by topping the Boston Red Sox 4 run to 2 in game 3. This was the first game against the Red Sox at Jacobs Field for the Cleveland fans which no doubt gave a tremendous boost to the players.
Although veteran Kenny Lofton is a fan favorite, particularly considering his 2 run homer put Cleveland up 2-0 in the second inning, Brady Sizemore has the specialty fans … known as “Bradys’ Ladies.’
🙂
Nevertheless, the real credit tonight goes to Jake Westbrook who’s impressive pitching quieted the Red Sox bats. He was able to control the game generating 11 ground balls out until being relieved in the 7th by fast ball pitching rookie Jensen Lewis. I think its “TRIBE TIME!”
Posted By RichC on October 15, 2007
Although my experimental airplane project is still moving slow, most of the parts are now ready to be put together this winter. The assembly process requires me to fit an engine mount to the fuselage, therefore I need to select a powerplant for that to happen. I had thought the U.S. dollar would strengthen against the Australian dollar so that I could import a new Jabiru 3300, but that hasn’t happened; instead, this past week, I purchased a 4 cylinder Aerovee 2180cc engine for my Sonex project. It has an early serial number, so I will have an engine expert look things over.
Posted By RichC on October 14, 2007
If you are married and enjoy a little ill-placed humor, you’ll enjoy this Toyota RAV 4 commercial below. If you don’t laugh at it … I’m sure you’ll at least smile? Actually I don’t know how long it has been out although I noticed it was posted to YouTube in 2006, but I never noticed it on television. It most likely caught my interest over at Autoblog only because my wife drives a RAV 4 … which she continues to brag ‘optimistically’ about. She has had a positive experience with ti as its a well used 1997 model at about 200,000 miles. About the only thing mechanically wrong is that it uses oil, which is particularly noticeable on startup. Don’t get me started on the cosmetic list since it would be easy to mention was doesn’t need to be repaired or replaced!
Posted By RichC on October 13, 2007
My EAA chapter (www.eaa284.org) met at Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio today (AirNav) to see a vintage World War II Boeing B-17 G restoration project, or should I say ‘creation’ project. (many if not most parts are being manufactured onsite or locally) The project is sponsored by the Tech II Inc company and the many volunteers contributing time and money.
Jack Bailey and Dave Burdick (Project Manager) were extremely cordial, as were the volunteers working diligently on parts. The project is daunting considering the shear size of the B-17 Flying Fortress. Our admiration and appreciation go out to those devoting the tens of thousands of hours to reconstruct this part of aviation history.
Posted By RichC on October 13, 2007
In nail-biter fashion, #17 ranked Kentucky beat #1 ranked LSU on Saturday in some of the most intense college football I’ve seen in a long time. The game went into triple overtime and ended with each player giving their all and then some. It was quite the intense game.
Since I regularly comment about using my Palm Treo 700p, I couldn’t help but to include an interview photo with someone using their Treo to document the action. I’m not sure the video would be worth sharing, but its great to see the technology being used. I’m looking forward to the next generation that will sport improved resolution, better optics and image stabilization. (it would be nice to have some improvement in the audio too)
Posted By RichC on October 12, 2007
The framing crew has been moving along quickly as the back porch project starts to take shape. Like most building projects, framing is an exciting part as one get a feel for the size and feel of the space. I’m looking forward to getting the stone in place and the artist/stone layer working on the fireplace. Hopefully we’ll keep the pace moving so we can yet have a fire and enjoy the back porch before winter settles in.
Treo 700p photo above
Posted By RichC on October 11, 2007
I wanted to write a bit more this week while I was out of town, but instead will just include a photo that I thought was interesting. I saw a BMW motorcycle on a trailer with a message on the pick up truck window insinuating either buyer’s remorse, suffering a breakdown, or frustration with getting it serviced. Whichever it was, its not the best marketing for the BMW line of motorcycles.
Posted By RichC on October 11, 2007
Although I personally would be hard pressed to give up the large battery capacity (2400mAh) of my aging Palm Treo 700p, the new Centro being introduced by Sprint this month is looking pretty attractive. The new smart phone is considerably smaller than my 700p and the current antenna-less full featured 755p version (on the right above). In my ‘changed‘ opinion, the Sprint based Palm Centro offers a considerable amount of phone for $99.00 … plus the contract requirement through Sprint. Many of the Palm ‘smartphone’ competitive features are still part of the Centro such as the easy to use Palm OS, full QWERTY keys and touchscreen screen. The Centro also comes with a hidden stylus, although like their sibling Treos, will probably be rarely used?
As with my Treo 700p, one of the most appreciated features is the expandable memory by use of the SD, or in case of the 755p and Centro, the micro SD slot. With the low cost of extra cards, its a great way to carry extra data with you, be it movies, mp3 music or podcasts, photos or programs. Recently I’ve dedicated my SD slot to the Tom Tom GPS Navigator software along with the Palm bluetooth GPS receiver. It really works well.
Still, the reason I appreciate the Treo (and recommend the Palm based Centro) is for its ability to have ‘data’ at your fingertips. The Palm OS doesn’t come with the greatest ‘Contact’ manager, but it works well for me; its the most used software component on my phone. Second would be the ‘Calendar’ and function to trigger date and time based appointments and alarm triggers. SMS works well and is great for passing messages to and from the office or family. Personally I don’t use my phone for email very much, its just not easy to read, reply and archive important messages on my phone. The list could go on to include the other gadgets that I’ve mention in prior posts … whether its the camera phone, video phone or watching TV using Slingplayer software.
If you have been wanting to tip toe away from ‘just a cellphone,’ you might want to try a Palm Centro. I’m thinking about upgrading my wife’s Treo 600 (old) with this new phone … and have almost talked my daughter into it. (after adding pTunes software and a micro SD card for MP3s, it would be a great for listening to music)
