Nuts and Bolts

Ever wonder what that is that is traveling overhead at night? You might wonder if it is a satellite or the International Space Station.

Well, just pull up Orbiting Frog’s iPhone web app. It works of course on the iPod Touch and the iPad as well. You can access it with any browser on a Mac or PC, but is optimized for the iPhone. Just type in your location and it will give you an option to search for the ISS, satellite or even the Hubble Space Telescope that will be above your area. It gives information such as direction of travel and brightness and the amount of time it will take to travel overhead.

If you like to use Twitter, you can follow some preselected cities to see what’s going on overhead ( example: @overseattle ).

Make sure to check out the website as well for the above and much, much more!

Wow! What a day!

Today it was announced that an all electric car broke the world land speed record. It didn’t just break it, it smashed it.

The Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5 built by a team of enterprising engineering students from Ohio State University, averaged 307 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats. It actually had a top speed of 320 mph!

I find it ironic that this was announced on the day I attended an event put on by Ford, Seattle City Light and Microsoft about the future of electric vehicles and electric infrastructure needs. It was held at Daniel’s Broiler on South Lake Union.

It was a very well attended meeting with people from the private, business and government sectors. The Mayor of Seattle was there as well as a Senator, various council members from different cities, executive managers of power companies as well as members of different electric vehicle associations.

Ford announced their upcoming vehicles and the future of Ford vehicles too. Microsoft presented their fine work on the hohm.com project. Individuals from power companies and all the aspects of getting the power into the vehicles gave presentations and answered questions as well.

After the question and answer session (very informative) we were able to drive 3 different models of the new Fords. We drove a plug in hybrid (Escape), a hybrid Fusion and the all electric Focus. I was very impressed with not only the vehicles, but the infrastructure that is planned. The neat thing about the Pacific Northwest is, we are a perfect place to launch the electric and hybrid vehicles. We typically don’t get too hot or cold and we have plenty of electric power thanks to our hydro electric and nuclear power generation facilities.

I would like to thank all the people that put this event on and all the individuals I had the pleasure of talking with. Many thanks to Daniel’s Broiler for the fantastic lunch!

Below are some links to some of the sites available that can provide information on electric vehicles and related infrastructure and equipment.

Ford Vehicles www.fordvehicles.com
Microsoft hohm microsoft-hohm.com
Seattle Electrical Vehicle Association www.seattleeva.org
Coulomb Technologies www.coulombtech.com
Charge Point www.mychargepoint.net
(local distributor and service)CHARGE NORTHWEST www.chargennw.com
Puget Sound Solar www.pugetsoundsolar.com

Have you ever watched the movie Incredibles?

Ever notice the iPad in the movie? Hmm..

Just say’n!

A few days ago I wrote about finding inspiration in many places.

I like to work out to focus/re-focus after a long day of work. I have always been active and have done lots of different sports. From running, Tae Kwon Do to downhill, I have always been active.

After having both my hips replaced, I have had to adjust a little on the things I do. No more running, but have found swimming to be very enjoyable and free weights to be a blast(there’s a point here).

While working out recently I was asked where I find the energy to work out. The young man said I was the strongest old guy he knew (compliment I think. I’m 52). I told him besides enjoying the me time and knowing it did me good, I shared a story I had read once.

Two brothers were talking and the oldest was complaining about working out and how he hated the soreness and pain. The younger brother just stared at him and said, ” I wish I could could feel the soreness!”. He had broken his neck while diving into a lake years before and now was paralyzed from the neck down. Very sad.

So, next time you are feeling lazy or sore, just remember this story and get back to it! Be glad you can!

It is easy to get caught up in the grind of the now and not pay attention to the important things. Life has so much to offer and often people don’t discover that until there is little time left to enjoy what we have been given. Family, health and all the wonders God has given us.

Stop and smell the roses, or, maybe the rubber! From the smoking tires!

As any of you that know me know, I have always loved cars. Or, awesome machines in general. One thing that I learned early in life is, take time and enjoy life. Having seen people close to me pass away way too early and some without experiencing all the wonderful things life has to offer, I make it a point to enjoy right now. It is possible to do just that without being selfish. Helping others without them knowing and watching their surprise can be one of the greatest enjoyments there is. And it doesn’t have to be a big thing. Just try it.

I try to find inspiration wherever I can. It can be watching someone in their craft or listening to a speaker. I also enjoy reading the many tweets that people post on Twitter. I follow quite a few and enjoy many of the people’s tweets. One such person is Tina Stull. I recommend taking a little time and checking out her blog and following her on Twitter. Then next time you feel like whining or wimping out on something, just take a moment and see what she has been through and where she is today. Thanks for taking the time to inspire us Tina!

You can follow Tina at http://www.tinastullracing.com/ or on Twitter at tinastullracing.