This is an amazing new sailing record: At 23:35 GMT 51 year old sailor Francis Joyon sailed across the start finish line near Brest in France aboard his his 30 metre trimaran IDEC to set a new solo round the world of 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds. That takes 14 days, […]
The big splash about Tata Motor’s ultra-cheap Nano ($2,500) all but buried another announcement from the Indian automaker at the Delhi auto show: they signed a $20M deal with MDI, a European start-up car maker working on commercializing cars that run on compressed air. Of course, the cars don’t “run on air,” rather they use […]
What a year 2007 was. For us, it had some tough decisions, some crises, some major changes and some really positive accomplishments. In January we backed out of contract to buy a house because of serious structural problems with that house, and because of our lack of faith in the engineer and the contractor dealing […]
Laura’s grandmother Peg was born on December 6, 1908 in Trevor, Wisconsin – the same year Bette Davis was born (April 5) and Henry Ford produced his first Model T automobile. She was the daughter of Wayne and Lillian (Frank) Bush. Peg died on December 17, 2007 peacefully in her sleep at a retirement home in […]
As of yesterday, days will be getting longer again on this side of the globe. Of course here, in the Old North State that’s not that big a deal, anyway. But I did start paying more attention to sunrise/sunset this fall. When I bike to work and back home, I prefer to avoid the bad […]
As of last night, nine new members of Europes Schengen zone expanded the freedom to travel without hassle at the borders hundreds of miles toward the East and to a total population of over 400 million Europeans. This makes it possible to travel freely up to the border of the countries that were formerly the […]
Skysails is a German company that is working on commercializing a simple, brilliant way for large ships to use wind power for propulsion. Large kites tethered high above the ship can generate up to 50 percent of the propulsion energy needed for freighters and large yachts. The company estimates that their product can save 10-35 […]
German President Köhler honored the team that defended the Women’s Football Worldcup Championship earlier this year in China. All the players received the highest sports-honor from the German government. In addition, the coach Silvia Neid received the Federal Cross of Merit in recognition of outstanding leadership in raising the profile of Women’s Football in Germany and making […]
I did it! Yesterday, I finally bought a new bike, after I decided to retire my old bike. I got a really good deal on a Gary Fisher Cobia at our local bike store. So I got up at 7 Am today, and took it out on a spin, 10 miles up Guess Road to Little […]
Meet Joey – he’s a 18-hands Clydesdale and a member of the Express Clydesdales Team. When the team visited Durham last weekend, we were lucky enough to know where they were staying. so we got a special, personal encounter with these amazing hoses. (see below)
Looks like I’ll be retiring my trusted Simonelli bike sooner rather than later. Last week I was preparing the bike for a ride to work, when I noticed that the frame is damaged. Those fat off-road tires I like, wore a hole in the frame! The side of the tire was rubbing slightly against the […]
A huge storm is brewing in the North Sea. The Dutch and the Brits are closing their imposing coastal barriers to keep the water away from their cities. The largest seaport in Europe, Rotterdam, is closed for a day, and oil rigs have been evacuated. The coastal residents in Britain, Holland, Germany, Denmark, and Norway […]
Green Flight Int’l last month completed what they claim was the first-ever jet flight using pure biodiesel: RENO, NV. (October 5)… Aviation history was made earlier this week in the high desert at the Reno-Stead Airport when an L-29 military aircraft piloted by Carol Sugars and Douglas Rodante succeeded in completing the world’s first jet […]
In Togo, there was some hope that the this month’s legislative election was going to be bring about some change in the political landscape of that troubled country. In retrospect, I am not sure why. Maybe because Faure’s regime is slightly less brutally oppressive than his father’s? Maybe the increased presence of international observers? The […]
October was quite a ride. My Benz was in the shop for most of the month, which was inconvenient, but at least all the repairs so far were under the seller’s warranty (new alternator, fuel pump, fuel injector, new turbo) and he also gave me a loaner to drive while he was working on the […]
What a game! The German Women’s Football Team beat Brasil and defended the World Championship in a tough and fast game. Special Kudos to Nadine Angerer our fantastic goalie with a head like a brick and nerves of steel! She did not concede a single goal in the Worldcup!! Let me repeat this: SHE DID […]
Wednesday morning I rode my bike to work for the first time. It was a nice morning for a bike ride, and it took me about 40 Minutes to get to work – no big deal. However, riding in traffic is really not very enjoyable and many drivers passed me with just a few inches […]
Women’s Football WorldCup, that is … The German women beat Norway 3:0 and will play against the winner of tomorrow’s game Brazil-USA on Sunday. Sadly, I was not able to see the game, as it started at 8:00 in the Morning here, and I have to be at work, and I have no cable TV […]
When we moved closer Durham in June, I started seriously considering the idea of riding my bike to work. Several guys I work with already do that. It’s a great way to stay in shape and reduce your environmental footprint. So, now that the weather is cooler (less than 90F/32°C) I really ran out of […]
With three stokes of his wooden mallet, the Mayor of Munich tapped a 224-Liter beer barrel today – the first of many beer barrels to be drained at this year’s Oktoberfest in Munich. He poured the first Mass for the Ministerpräsident (governor) of Bavaria. Organizers expect to sell 6 Million Mass (Liters) at €7.90, as […]
