On Nov. 16, 2012, Vestas Sailrocket II became the fastest sailboat in the world, when skipper Paul Larsen raced it along a 500 Meter stretch in Walvis Bay, Namibia, at an average speed of 59.23 knots (109.6 KpH or 68.1 MpH) and top speeds of 63 knots. (Subject to WSSRC ratification) Check out the video:
What a fun weekend! Saturday afternoon we had some friends over, cooked hot dogs and potatoes in a campfire and tapped a keg of Foothills Brewery’s Sexual Chocolate Stout. Sunday, Jacob and I went to check out a friend’s new 10-acre slice-of-heaven in Northern Orange County. A couple of the guys had brought their arsenal […]
… looks like it. UPDATE: Romney concedes the election
Congratulations to Felix Baumgartner on his amazing skydive yesterday. Here is a very excellent 1:350 scale re-enactment: Kitties below the fold!
Dies ist die Burg Hohenzollern, einer der definitiven Höhepunkte unserer Reise nach Deutschland im August. Wir fuhren vom Rheintal in den Schwarzwald nach Hechingen, am Rande der Schwäbische Alb. Wenn man sich der Burg nähert, werden die Straßen schmaler und steiler, bis die Burg direkt üher dem Besucher im Wald aufragt. Dort parkt man das […]
This is Hohenzollern Castle, one of the definite highlights of our trip to Germany earlier this month. We drove from the Rhine valley across the Black Forest to Hechingen, at the edge of the Schwaebische Alb. As you approach the castle, the roads become narrower and steeper, until the castle looms overhead in the forest. […]
On the July 4th holiday, Laura and Julia went horseback riding in the morning. I had hurt my back at work, so I stayed home. They had been gone for a while, when Laura called me and explained that Cleo had a serious cut in her leg and I should call the vet while they […]
Ghana’s President, John Atta Mills died today at age 68. Mills narrowly won the presidency in 2009 and was reportedly planning to run for a second term in December. According to the BBC, mills died of throat cancer. John Dramani Mahama, his vice-president, has been sworn in as his replacement in a ceremony in the […]
Today, on the way home, this Google streetview car (on the right) turned into our neighborhood and followed us for a couple of blocks. When we got home, Julia and I ran inside and go a couple of masks and then came back outside to wait for the Streetview car to prank them, but we […]
Today marks the sixth consecutive day (July 3rd – 8th) of 100 degrees or higher here in the Triangle and that sets a new record. The previous record was five consecutive days set last Summer from July 20 to July 24, 2011. Today’s 105 degree temperature also sets a new record for this day (previous […]
Thanks to Suzanne Unger Young for the photos in this post The 2012 Doughman race was another great success for team @Overheight When Flashing@ – sponsored by 11foot8.com. We finished in 8th place, again, out of 82 teams this year – so again, like last year, a top-ten-percent performance for our team at this […]
When the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last December, it caused an uproar among those paying attention. The NDAA expanded the authority of the US military to detain and deprive of any due process anyone the US Government suspects of being involved with a […]
Auf Deutsch hier … During spring break we took Wally and Cleo on their first over night trip with us. We loaded them on their trailer and hauled them 100 miles South, to a horse farm near Southern Pines. The weather was great – dry and sunny and in the 60s – so not too […]
Happy Earth Day! Today I made biodiesel batch no. 82.* It is still in the processor right now. Today was a rainy, cool day. It rained all day, and that’s great, because we really need the water. Yesterday I cleaned my two 250 Gal (1000 Liter) rainwater containers. One of them was already 1/3 full […]
“A well designed product does not require decorations” Ferdinand Alexander Porsche gave us one of the most beautiful cars, and one of the most enduring automotive legacies – the Porsche 911. He passed away today at the age of 76.
Spring is in full swing this morning. It’s warm and a bit breezy, and the forest is bursting back to life. Noch ein paar Fruhlingsbilder hier …
März ist Ausnahmezustand hier in NCAA Country – March Madness steckt alle hier an. Besonders hier in North Carolina, wo wir dieses Jahr 4 Basketball teams in der nationalen Hochschulmeisterschaft hatten. Vor ein paar Minuten hat es UNC in das regionale Endspiel geschafft. Das heisst das Team ist eins von 8 Teams die noch von […]
Today, Joachim Gauck was elected the 11th President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The non-partisan consensus candidate of the five mainstream parties (SPD, Green Party, CDU, CSU and FDP) was elected by a majority of 991 votes out of 1228 votes cast in the Federal Convention. In the previous Federal Convention in 2010, Joachim […]
Last week the starter on my truck died. I had had some problems starting the truck, but I blamed the old batteries. I installed new(er) batteries, and all seemed fine. Until last week. The starter was dead – not even a “click” – nothing. I was just lucky that we made it home. At the […]
