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Showing posts from February 26, 2012

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...

Dachau Concentration Camp Visit

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I had the opportunity to visit the Dachau concentration camp near Munich Germany a couple weeks back over the weekend. I found the visit to be enlightening and moving. It was a solemn experience thinking about the mindset of 70 years ago and the nature of war. The thing I did not expect was that I could faintly smell rotten flesh in the crematorium -gas chamber area. Some stink never comes out I guess. "Brausebad" is "showers" where people were apparently gased with Zyklon B gas instead of geting hosed down as they thought they would be. I will be in Atlanta for the next 6 weeks (I think).
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I knew I might out-do myself on this most recent trip. It has been a busy-busy trip and complicated. Thankfully, I really did not have any significant travel or meeting disruptions. I am currently in NY and headed back to ATL tonight. I have been away from Atlanta for 17 days. Although, I liked the bed in one of the hotels in Italy, I am looking forward to my favorite bed in Duluth. I am staying at Douglas and Becky's in Lisle NY. It has been pleasant. We have moved a lot off the farm into storage. It is good to see horses on the farm. There is nothing sadder than a farm without animals. The truck front right wheel bearing is about to totally fail. I have just a couple more trips to make today. I will need a little luck, but the contingencies are coming clear. Knock on wood, I can complete my mission with it today. Ian is shown wearing a carnavale mask from Venice Italy playing with his turtle flute from rural Argentina. Friday I had a productive meeting in Detroit with a ...