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Showing posts from December, 2013

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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Some more flying today.
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I had a great Christmas and holiday. Many Activities. The weather still continues to be bad pretty much only when I have the opportunity to fly, well almost. Here are some pics of activities where our rights in the US are slowly, but surely eroding, firearms and the right to fly. Feel free to ask me for examples. The drones in the sky are not the problem. It's the drones on the ground.
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Here is a pic of some Manatees that we saw when in Florida a couple weeks ago. I am planning another adventure. This time in the US Virgin Islands. I plan on doing some island hoping in a rented plane next month. It is going to be fun!
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Moscow Subway and a Moscow Winterland pic with twinkle added.
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Fall has been good. Plenty to do for sure. My boat will be in the water soon. I ended up putting a new speed controller and motor on it. It is a 24 volt propulsion motor with 12v accessories. Leaves are everywhere in the yard now. They need to get cleaned up. The pine cones and needles certainly keep coming. My new electric car is fun. I had it plugged in at the Doraville MARTA station when we flew down to FL to see my Brother and Sister for Thanksgiving. I find opportunities to plug it in at most stores. The electric signs often have electric outlets as a convenience for electric vehicles. The cold weather really surprised me on the de-rating of battery capacity. I had read about the de-rating in the manual, but when the battery heater comes on and it reduces range quite a bit. The car is a perfect fit for my everyday needs. I am still shopping for a sports car. Here are some pics I like from a few months ago.