Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

Electric Chariot

Sure, this electric chariot combines all the inconvenience of a scooter with some of the frustrations of an actual car, but it looks cool. Sort of. Though it’s made by a medical equipment manufacturer, at least it conforms to the rule of auto shows and objectifies the women demoing it as much as the vehicle […] » about 100 words

Do Air Taxis Actually Work?

I just thought to follow up on this 2007 story about DayJet, a high-flying air taxi service that planned to operate tiny, three-passenger Eclipse 500 jets. The story doesn’t deviate from economic trends: DayJet ceased operations in September 2008, and the aircraft manufacturer entered Chapter 7 in February 2009.

The Air Taxi Association says their operators save big money over scheduled airline service, but finding the price of that service can be hard.

Aside from DayJet’s inventory of planes, the company has a lot of transportation research and service algorithms that may stand as assets. The research includes a “Sim City on steroids” that models “the entire U.S. transportation system. They’ve mapped travel patterns into 10-square-mile blocks, complete with income levels, demographics, historical driving patterns, airport drive times, and airline schedules and fares.” Further, they’ve developed an algorithm that supposedly could manage the resource allocation issues and estimate the cost for passengers trying to hail such a taxi.

Sweet VW Bus Scooter Sidecar

I spied this drool-worthy scooter and sidecar combo on Scooter Sidecars. » about 100 words

Weird Screw Drive Russian Truck

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Derailed

Eu-Jin Ooi‘s picture of rail trucks piled up after a derailment isn’t nearly as scary as this derailment found at Dee’s Inbox: Can anybody name that incident? (The top one is BNSF, Barstow CA, April 2008. What’s the bottom one?) » about 100 words

Abandoned Cars, Yes, But Abandoned Jumbo Jets?

Residents of Mumbai (Bombay) were wondering who was responsible for removing an abandoned 737 in their Chembur neighborhood. Then, as quickly and mysteriously as it appeared, it vanished. The Times of India says the plane arrived by truck, but the driver took a wrong turn and couldn’t maneuver the 75 foot long hulk out. Wingless […] » about 100 words

Presidents Change…Presidential Limousines Change

Presidential Limos are armored, yes, but Gregg Merksamer reveals that George W. Bush’s limos sport five-inch thick glass, more than twice as thick as in Clinton’s limo. Merksamer should know, he wrote the book on so-called “professional cars”. He says half an inch is enough to stop a .44 magnum at point blank range, and […] » about 100 words

Dragonflyer X6 UAV Remote Control Helicopter Is Sneaky, Awesome

I so want one of these sweet Draganflyer X6 helicopters. The two pound powerhouse can carry up to one pound of camera equipment, carrying it smooth enough to get decent video and stills. More videos are at the Dragonfly website, including one which supposedly demonstrates that it’s quiet enough for wildlife photo work (scroll down […] » about 100 words

2002 Honda Civic iPod/iPhone Install

Last weekend, while I was putting an iPod interface into my Scion I did the same thing for my 2002 Honda Civic. Using Ben Johnson’s story as a guide, I bought a PIE HON98-AUX interface and dove in. Aside from tools (screwdrivers and 8 and 10mm sockets), you’ll need: The interface adapter Audio wiring — […] » about 700 words

2004 Scion xB iPod/iPhone Install

Based on this story about an iPod interface install I purchased a PIE TOY03-AUX aux input adapter so I could finally listen to my iPhone without using the lousy FM transmitter. Sure, I coulda bought a new car, as the manufacturers seem to have finally come to their senses and started including such inputs, but […] » about 400 words

Cargo Aircraft Safety

Who knew FedEx and UPS planes crashed so often? (Blame the intronetz for making this too easy to discover.)

UPS plane catches on fire, lands in Philadelphia (2006). Apparently the source of the fire remains a mystery, as with a few other UPS fires.
FedEx planes have crashed and burned in Tallahassee (2002) and Memphis (2006). In 1994 a fired FedEx pilot attempted to murder flight crew with hammer and hijack the plane. Amazingly, they landed safely.
A DHL plane struck a passenger plane in mid-air. Both planes were lost in the tragedy, though some think the passenger liner was shot down. Investigators blamed the air traffic controller, a Russian man killed the controller and is now in prison for the act.
Small planes are problematic too. Contract flyers have crashed into the sea, and onto houses. Some even carry vials of herpes and influenza virii for research, and some apparently get struck in mid air by UFOs.

Moscow Subway’s Underground Palaces

Photographer farflungphotos describes: All the stations in Moscow’s metro are completely different from one another. Some of them are so opulent, with grand marble halls and chandeliers, all hidden away underground. People seemed to be using them as places just to hang out and meet up with friends. The trains were really frequent too, practically […] » about 100 words

Seven Person Bicycle: The Conference Bike

I saw this bike here, here, and here on Flickr, but nobody said what it was or where I could learn more. Some googling revealed it was Eric Staller’s ConferenceBike, first sold by Hemmacher Schlemmer. One person steers while all seven riders peddle, and it looks like a lot of fun if you’ve got a […] » about 200 words

Stupid Trademark Law

Story: Timbuk2 develops a new line of messenger bags that features fabric made of <a href=;http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/dont_shoot_the.php">recycled material (engineered by RootPhi). Some of the fabric contains a symbol that Target lawyers say is their logo. Target lawyers cease and desist Timbuk2.

Thing is, the trademarked Target logo is a roundel, commonly used around the world (easily recognized in British aircraft of WWII). The particular design Target has chosen appears to be a copy of Peru’s official insignia.

Trademark law isn’t my thing, but I wonder if the roundel is trademarkable. “Most jurisdictions totally exclude certain types of terms and symbols from registration as trademarks, including the emblems, insignia and flags of nations….”

Small Is Beautiful

Will found this on the side of the road, and after he told me about it I begged him to show me. It’s tiny, rusty, and a little older than I expected. Like a very, very small VW Bus, it has a rear-mounted engine. I think it’s a Subaru Sambar, but that’s mostly based on […] » about 200 words

Lessons In Change From Ford Motor Company

I probably spend too much time considering competition and change management, but just as I figured I was done with it for the week, a comment from Kathryn Greenhill regarding Model Ts got me going again. Just like railroads, those “any color as long as it’s black” Model Ts looked like freedom, until General Motors […] » about 600 words

Cliffy’s Office Prankd

Office pranks are a bit of a thing here. Well, at least in IT. Last year Matt took charge and put together a quartet of pranks that got the attention of the London Daily Mirror.

This video is from a May 2002 prank that put a golf cart with fuzzy dice and bobble headed Jesus in Cliffy‘s office along with a Vote Bush sign and other things. He was mad, to be sure. Zach, Matt, Jon, and Al did all the heavy lifting, I simply offered (not like I had a choice) my golf cart to the cause (Zach would quickly point out that I’d basically abandoned it at his house).

Colophon: Why am I publishing this video only now? Because the new iMovie 08 rocks. Really. The source material was shot on my old Sony Clie, but until now I didn’t really have tools that would make editing it down easy enough to be worth the effort (it’s still five minutes, I know).

A good day to land the shuttle?

A hurricane, high crosswinds at the landing site, a nitrogen leak, and two damaged tiles. Watch the shuttle land live on NASA TV.

73,764 structurally deficient bridges

About 597,000 vehicular bridges nationwide, and 73,764 are “structurally deficient.”

Sources: 2006 National Bridge Inventory compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation, American Society of Civil Engineers‘ Infrastructure Report Card, and Gannett.

Fuel Economy: Is Diesel An Option?

In response to my previous kvetching about the scarcity of cheap fuel efficient cars, JWK commented that his 2001 Golf TDI gets 48 MPG (it’s rated for 44). Meanwhile, TreeHugger pointed out that Volkswagen’s Polo BlueMotion gets 62 MPG (Volkswagen UK claims the current Polo hatchback gets up to 72 MPG in diesel (I assume […] » about 400 words

I Want A Cheap Fuel Efficient Car

I’m looking for a new car, but I’m finding that the market for cheap and fuel efficient cars is no better now than it was in 2005. I drive about 140 miles round trip to work (all highway), so I’m looking for the best available highway fuel economy. I can drive a standard, but Sandee […] » about 500 words

What Is That Thing

Kent Wien posted this photo of the tail of a Boeing 757 showing what looks like the exhaust end of a turbine. I had to ask what it was all about, and Kent explained: Ahh, very good question! There actually IS an engine back there. It’s the APU (auxiliary power unit) and it’s what keeps […] » about 200 words

Biofuel: Good Idea, Bad Practice

Yes, gas prices are high, and gas doesn’t grow on trees (well, in geologic time it does), but that doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea to run on cars on corn, even if it does grow on, um, trees (yes, alright, cornstalks). I mean, people talk about photovoltaics being inefficient, but wow, think of […] » about 1300 words

Increased Fuel Economy, Easy

Here’s an irony: I used to live in the country, a small town with fewer than 900 residents, and I used to speed. Now I live in the city, well, as much of a city as New Hampshire can manage, and I’m driving slower. Driving slower not just because Manchester‘s traffic lights are on timers […] » about 300 words

Miles Hilton-Barber Flies Blind From Britain To Oz

I learned of it last night on The CBC’s As It Happens: Miles Hilton-Barber, blind since age 30, has flown from Biggen Hill, south of London, to Gosford, outside Sydney, by ultralight in a journey that took almost two months. Aviation regulations required he take a sighted co-pilot, but in the As It Happens story […] » about 300 words

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