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Showing posts from February 7, 2010

LavaCon 2026 and the future.

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LavaCon is a conference now going on 25 years. Its always fun at conferences where folks collaborate on what the future holds. This year I drove to Charlotte NC from Duluth GA to attend. I used the Tesla in Full Self Drive. I went park-to-park without touching the wheel for over 200 miles. It's crazy. I don't think most people understand how well it works. Lots of nay-sayers still, but it really does work. Be on guard, but enjoy. I spent some of my time "driving" while conversing with Grok as part of my daydreaming. I was discussing with Grok an idea I have of building a West system (cold molded) old style barrel-back runabout maybe 20 feet long- all varnished Mahogony. Of course this boat would have an exotic 12-cylinder engine under a transparent engine hatch between the twin cockpits. We discussed the designs, available actual study plans and pre-lofted design documents for the hull. We also discussed the best engine (perhaps a BMW N73) coupled with a Velvet Dri...
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Spending time in PA last week it was interesting to see the impact of drilling the Marcellus Shale. There were growing businesses, activity in the small towns, booked hotels and generally a feeling of prosperity. The active drilling sites had less of an impact (lights, noise etc) than a single mini-market. "The engine is the heart of an aeroplane, but the pilot is its soul." - Sir Walter Raleigh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh_%28professor%29 The other Walter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh These pics are from a while back.