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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We are back from vacation. We took an extended time (for us) in Peru and Bolivia (10 days). It was very thrilling, interesting, intense, reinvigorating and exhausting. All at the same time. After flying to and from Lima, Peru we had 4 air segments (not including time in a 172), 4 bus trips, 2 train rides, 6 different hotels and numerous Uber and taxi rides. We spent time in the following Peru cities: Lima (Miraflores & Center), Nazca, Cuzco, Machu Picchu. Also we spent time in Bolivia in La Paz and Tiwanaku.

We hired a Cessna 172 to take us over the Nazca lines, rode the Teleferico (cable cars) in La Paz and spent a lot of time at big-name pre-Inkan archaeological sites in Peru and Bolivia. Of note, we visited Tiwanaku, Puma Punku as well as Saksaywaman and Machu Picchu.

The high altitude was a concern in the Andes. We took Diamox as a precaution, but there is a lot of mystery around what causes altitude sickness (besides altitude). So Diamox is no real assurance of protection. Even packing becomes difficult at over 13k feet. The La Paz airport is one of the highest in the world. After they start the engines on the plane you can subtlety feel the air pressure building while we are still on the runway. The "in effect" hyperbaric airplane ride provides a couple hours of relief after you land at another high altitude. As a pilot, I cannot legally fly at these altitudes for longer that 30 minutes without using oxygen. My Cessna will not fly at these altitudes.

Nazca


The breakfast bar at a hotel.


From our Restaurant table in La Paz.


Supply chain management for bus freight and baggage. We found ours after a prolonged personal search in the belly of the bus well after dark.


Front row in the upper deck of the coolest bus in the world. Although we had a three axle bus, not the coolest 4 axle machine.



El Alto, La Paz.


Bus Station in Nazca, Peru.


Cusco, Peru


Hotel terrace in Cusco (San Blas)


Machu Picchu


Saksaywaman


Alpaca in Peru.


The big stone at Saksaywaman.


The Ponce Stella at Tiwanaku.


Our plane in Nazca.


Nazca "Star".


Cats in Parque Kennedy in Lima.


Puma Punku

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