Archive for December, 2008

Biodiesel Batch No. 30

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

The biofuels landscape has changed quite a bit since I brewed my first batch of biodiesel in Aug. 2006. Demand for alternative fuels skyrocketed when the price for barrel of crude oil surged to almost $150 this summer. Yet, now the price for crude is back below $40 a barrel, while biodiesel feedstock cost remails […]

The other Fastest Sailboat on the Planet

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

… apparently is now the Hydroptère – and again, right after breaking the speed record, they broke the boat. Alain Thébault now claims to have reached 61 knots (70 MPH/113KMH) with his 6-ton sailing hydrofoil yacht before it flipped upside down! No one on the team was seriously injured, but the boat looks like it’s […]

Happy Winter Solstice

Sunday, December 21st, 2008

Once again, the longest night of the year is upon us. Winter Solstice: A time to let the longest night of the year seduce you into stillness. Time to silence inner voices, listen to the beating of your own heart. Time to breathe slowly, become the breath. Linger here. The night is long. Too bad […]

An odd thing that happened in an odd place

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Ping-pong balls are useful. Historic evidence: A Japanese freighter had been torpedoed during WWII and it’s at the bottom of Tokyo Harbor with a large hole in her hull. A team of engineers was called together to solve the problem of raising the wounded vessel to the surface. One of the engineers tackling this puzzle […]

The Fastest Sailboat on the Planet

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Looks like the Australian Paul Larsen broke the 50-knots-per-hour speed sailing record, and then he broke his boat. So far only a couple of kite surfers broke 50 knots. Larsen claims that in his latest attempt at setting a new speed record his sailboat reached a peak speed of 52.22 knots (60.09 MpH – 96.71KMpH) […]