My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on July 23, 2006

eFlybook is on sale for pilots at myairplane.com for $899.00 which includes a 6 month update subscription to charts and data. It is one of the first ‘electronic paper’ products out this year. The much ballyhooed Sony Reader has made its way around trade shows, but is not available to the public just yet.

ARINC Incorporated is marketing the eFlybook using iRex Technologies electronic paper based eReader system called the iRex Iliad ER 0100. The product is tailored for the aviation market and provided a non-glare white plastic screen that displays electronic documents just as if they were printed on traditional paper.

“A user can also “write” on the screen with a stylus just like regular paper. The handwriting can be captured electronically, stored and erased, and the screen can be used again and again. The iRex iLiad has a high-resolution black and white display that closely matches the appearance of printed paper. The glare-free white surface incorporates iRex’s high-brightness electrophoretic display technology which remains as clear and readable as paper under all conditions, including direct sunlight.”

ARINC eFlyBookâ„¢, a self-powered portable flight document library intended for use by U.S. based general aviation pilots. It stores hundreds of FAA charts and essential documents in memory and displays them with high legibility on the electronic paper screen.

ARINC introduced eFlyBook will be available for review at the world’s largest general aviation gather, AirVenture 2006, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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Posted By RichC on July 23, 2006

Don’t get too worried that I’m switching automotive brand loyalty just yet, but with Honda eventually entering the US diesel game I’m going to be taking a close look. (within 3 years we’ve been told) A recent article in the Atlanta Constitution discussed three models most likely to receive the oil burner — starting with the one I personally expect, the Honda Accord. The other two models that were mentioned are the Civic and the CR-V. John Watts, manager of Honda’s US product planning, suggested that “That 2.2 could probably crank out about 200 horsepower and about 220 [pounds-feet of] torque at little rpm, vehicles like the Pilot [SUV] and Odyssey [minivan] are too big for a four-cylinder.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m happy Honda is considering importing the clean 2.2 liter diesel showing some pretty impressive performance over in Europe, but actually a vehicle like the Pilot and the Odyssey currently operate pretty well on a gasoline engine delivering 244 horsepower and 244 lb.-ft of torque. My thought is that a 2.2 liter diesel at 200 horsepower isn’t necessarily all that far off considering that Volkswagen’s Jetta, New Beetle, Golf and even the Passat operate with 4 cylinder diesels that develop only about 100 HP. (hey … its a diesel and low rpm torque is the key)

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Posted By RichC on July 22, 2006

Although I am a VW TDI ‘diesel’ owner, I do keep my eye on the hybrid world too. This weekend in Madison Wisconsin the 2006 Hybridfest is being held. It is an event where vendors and owners show off their products and cars in what is called “the nation’s largest hybrid car festival.” Bill Robbins, secretary and spokesperson for the non-profit group, indicates that he would like to see this repeat next year. For video and press coverage see Madison’s NBC15 News.

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Posted By RichC on July 22, 2006

Dylan Ratigan of CNBC hosted a special last week that I recorded thinking that it would focus a bit more on a variety of alternatives … it did sort of, but for the most part was disappointing. There were two brief mentions of biodiesel at about the 25 minute and 36 minute marks and considerable conversation about ethanol. (not all that informative or complete in my opinion) The GE plant video segment on wind turbines was interesting as was the debate on what we should be doing to reduce our addiction. The conclusion that conservation techniques could really make a difference in the US demand was good as was the debate about producing more domestic petroleum. I don’t recall any concern for environment but all guests seem to agree that depending on middle east oil was not healthy for America.

Note: This video clip requires quicktime and is 40 minutes long and a fairly large download. A broadband connection is helpful for streaming. (watching while downloading)

Category: Energy, Misc, Video | 4 Comments »
Tags: addiction, cnbc, energy, oil

Posted By RichC on July 21, 2006

Correction: On September July 29th New Zealand’s car owner and driver Maurice O’Reilly is going to attempt to show just what is possible with a diesel tuned for perfomance. He will attempt to break a speed record for a 1.9 liter turbocharged diesel in a 2001 Volkwagen Jetta TDI. The car is coupled to a 6 speed transmission and has successfully raced in Germany’s 24 hour race in Nurburgring.

The VW factory tweaked TDI has a prototype engine and uses a high quality diesel fuel refined to European standards, but the real secrets is something diesel owners already know: Torque. Diesel torque is the key to keep a vehicle accelerating in high ratio gears and this combination of high torque and appropriate gearing should provide Mr. O’Reilly the chance to achieve some very high speeds. I’ll try to report back after the September July run — stay tuned.

Maurice O’Reilly belongs to the Tauranga Mount Car club in New Zealand who is sponsoring the challenge. O’Reilly has ad a long career in motorsport driving most classes of vehicle including GP single seaters. He was the Bruce McLaren Champion in 1995 and now drives with international teams in 24 hour endurance events around the world.

*** Tauranga Club secretary corrected my post and informed me that the speed run is scheduled for July 29th or 30th depending on weather.

Category: Volkswagen | 8 Comments »
Tags: volkswagen

Posted By RichC on July 20, 2006

DaimlerChrysler’s new pitchman, Dieter (Dr. Z) Zelsche has been promoting the Jeep diesels even as the Liberty CRD is being discontinued. I found the ads remenicent of what Lee Iacocca did for Chrysler some years ago. Zelsche is obviously the new face for the company and about every television advertisement, public display (see racecar above) and website is taking full advantage of his unique face.

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Posted By RichC on July 19, 2006

A couple of days ago I commented that after donating our minivan to a family in need of a car and that we were need to replace it with something? I was not happy with my options since there were no commonsense ‘efficient’ diesels in vehicles with extra room; both my wife and I have small cars. As the 2006 year vehicles are liquidated, I was hoping for a better deal on something … we ended up with a Honda Pilot. Oh well, so much for waiting for a diesel.
🙂
(FYI — post from Palm Treo700p camera and used ’email to blog.’)

Category: Automotive, Misc | No Comments »
Tags: 2006, awd, car, honda, new, pilot, SUV

Posted By RichC on July 19, 2006

Quite the busy day today and I knew that there wasn’t going to be much time to post … so I’m posting this simple video clip from YouTube in advance. I found the mixing of video and song to be quite impressive while including a relevant message through song. (sad state of the world we’re finding ourselves in) I suspect that there will be a few who might not appreciate the creativity and talent it took to produce this video clip using President Bush as the subject, but I found it intriguing.

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Posted By RichC on July 18, 2006

I’ve been saddened by the destruction and killing taking place in Israel and Lebanon while slowly coming to the conclusion that a negotiated peace is not possible. It is interesting to compare what is happening in the middle east to what is proposed by those in the US with a more ‘liberal’ point of view in dealing with terrorists and the nations that welcome them. (I’m referring to those with the political hands off or isolationist approach to world affairs)

I’ll start by assuming that ‘most normal people’ in the world want peace? To achieve this, there has to be some acceptance that they must live and operate with other countries, races, political views and religions on this planet. For decades now, peacemaker after peacemaker has talked with both the Arabs and Israelis in hopes to build a bridge to peace. They’ve worked with leaders on both sides time and time again to move toward some agreeable solution for people to live together. Ever since Israel’s ‘forced’ occupation, (6-day war when they were attacked), many have tried to negotiate their pull back from these territories and allow Arabs to freely govern themselves. It was not something Israel felt comfortable in doing … for the very reason we see today. Yet over time, each peacemaker convinced them that the only way to have a chance for peace was to give up control and this land. Slowly they made agreements and took multiple steps in giving those living in this area a chance. Unfortunately the agreements made on Lebanon’s part 6 years ago, and most recently the good faith on the Palestinians part have only allowed for a stronger terror element to operate freely within those areas. The radical arm grew, with support from other Arab countries, and they were permitted to take control with little more than lift of a finger from those desiring peace. (other Arab countries included)

Sadly in this area (and perhaps others), those Arabs desiring peace, must work and fight for to press for it. I’m referring to those decent Lebanese and Palestinians who by doing nothing allow Hamas and Hezbollah to operate and grow in their country. I’m also referring to those countries to those funding and supplying their weapons, although the assumption is that a significant number of people from Iran and Syria approve. No matter how you look at Israel turning policing power back over to Arabs, little was done to prevent terrorists operating within … or perhaps very few actually desired to stop them?

What can we (the US) learn from this?
First, a hands-off approach to countries permitting terrorists to infiltrate their country, train and carry out attacks doesn’t work. (Israel, under the guise of a peace settlement, was talked into trying this again and again — yes I know “Blessed are the peacemakers.”) Unfortunately when you’re negotiating with religious radicalism, one must realize they do not want peace. When you are negotiating with countries and leaders permitting terrorists safe-havens, you are often talking with people who beyond talk of peace are actually approving of what radical Muslims do to Jews and infidels. Unfortunately it is an issue that very little ‘leave them alone’ style peacemaking can change.

I’ve concluded that no real peace can exist in a country or territory that allows radical Muslims to spread their hate through terrorism. It is a cancer that must be removed before a country can govern itself or has the wherewithal to continue to eliminate the scourge.

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Posted By RichC on July 17, 2006

The space shuttle Discovery landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:14 AM after a successful 13-day mission and hopeful return to future flights. NASA has been overly cautious since the 2003 Columbia disaster. The mission demostrated the success of the new ‘arm’ that can reach all parts of the shuttle while in space permitting repairs if it should be necessary. According to NASA, the improve foam on the shuttles external tank worked well and most hope that problem is behind them. The six-member crew are in excellent spirits and if it were not for drumbeat of war in the middle east, America’s focus would have certainly offered them more attention. Nevertheless, congratulations from from this American on mission accomplished to both the crew and all who made STS-121 successful.

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