Monday - April 29, 2013
To Infinity, And Beyond!
The spaceplane being developed by UK billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made its first powered flight. The vehicle was dropped from a carrier aircraft high above California’s Mojave Desert and ignited its rocket engine to go supersonic for a few seconds.
Sir Richard’s intention is to use the spaceship to carry fare-paying passengers on short pleasure rides above the Earth’s atmosphere. His company Virgin Galactic has already taken hundreds of deposits. The rocket vehicle is known as SpaceShipTwo (SS2).
Although it has been in the air on more than 20 occasions, this was the first time its hybrid motor had been ignited. It was only a short burn lasting about 16 seconds, but it propelled SS2 beyond the sound barrier to a speed of Mach 1.2. Future outings should see progressively longer burn durations, enabling the plane eventually to reach sufficient velocity to climb more than 100km into the sky.
Monday’s mission began at the Mojave Air and Space Port at just after 07:00 local time (14:00 GMT). Test pilots Mark Stucky and Mike Alsbury were reported to be at the controls of SS2. It took off slung beneath the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, which does the job of lifting the rocket plane to its launch altitude - some 45,000ft (14km).
A little under an hour later, SpaceShipTwo was released, dropped a short distance to get clear of WhiteKnightTwo and then lit its engine, which burns a combination of a solid rubber compound and liquid nitrous oxide. After shutting down its motor, the vehicle then glided back to the Mojave runway, touching down just after 08:00 local time.
Sir Richard said in a statement: “For the first time, we were able to prove the key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight. Today’s supersonic success opens the way for a rapid expansion of the spaceship’s powered flight envelope, with a very realistic goal of full space flight by the year’s end.”
The flight did not involve a trip to space. Virgin Galactic says it’s ramping up to go beyond the atmosphere later this year and begin passenger flights shortly afterward.
SpaceShipTwo is the commercial version of SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 became the first private manned rocket to reach space.
More than 500 aspiring space tourists have paid $200,000 or plunked down deposits for a chance to experience several minutes of weightlessness.
Pretty darn awesome. Gizmodo has kept abreast of all the Twitter tweatings and has some more pictuers
Here’s the video -
Sir Branson’s little test sled looks a tiny bit familiar I think.
Posted by Drew458
on 04/29/2013 at 12:14 PM
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Permalink • Wednesday - January 16, 2013
One For Rich
because he asked for it, indirectly.
The bridge at Riegelsville PA crosses the Delaware River and connects to the roads to Bloomsbury and Milford on the NJ side. This very rural ex-suburban corner of the state is chock full of lovely old iron bridges. The Riegelsville bridge was built by the sons of John Roebling, who was the guy who built the Brooklyn Bridge. After his death, his sons went on to build the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, but they made this one here in my corner of NJ first.
See the comments in the Mr. Big Wheel post for a More Info link.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/16/2013 at 11:16 AM
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Permalink • Thursday - January 10, 2013
A Wing And A Prayer … And A Broken Landing Strut
[Monday 1/7/13] Airport officials say an antique Spitfire aircraft owned by engine company Rolls Royce collapsed shortly after landing at East Midlands Airport in central England.
The airport said in a statement the World War II-era plane’s undercarriage failed as it touched down Monday afternoon. The pilot was unharmed and the damaged aircraft was towed away.
The sleek-looking Spitfire played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain, when the single-seat fighter helped beat back waves of German bombers. More than 20,000 were built, although only a few dozen remain in working order today.
Rolls Royce, which built the Merlin engines used to power the fighters, says it bought this plane in 1996. It typically appears at airshows and corporate functions.
Well, mostly. Warbird junkies will look at that photo, see the 5 bladed prop, the shape of the tail, and the longer fuselage and immediately realize that this one was one of the late models that was built with the Griffon engine. So it’s a bid of an odd bird for Rolls Royce to have, but it’s good that somebody is keeping the old lady in good condition.
Rolls-Royce bought the aircraft in 1996 and it underwent a major overhaul in 2010 - the first since it was built.
A spokesman for Rolls-Royce, which has a base at the airport, said the pilot was not hurt in the incident and they would co-operate fully with the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is looking into the circumstances of the incident.
Extensive restorationThe airport was closed was shut while the plane was removed from the runway and the area cleared of debris.
An airport spokesman said seven flights were diverted to Birmingham and hundreds of passengers were bussed from Birmingham back to East Midlands.
The AAIB said a report on their investigation would be filed in due course.
Staff at Rolls-Royce could not confirm the condition of the plane since the incident but said it had been in the process of being made ready for a new season of air displays starting in April.
The Spitfire, PS853, was delivered to the RAF 68 years ago and designed as a fast, high-flying aircraft.
It was engaged on active service with 16 Squadron until the end of the war and participated in Operation Crossbow to detect German launch sites.
It remained on duty in Germany until March 1946 when it returned to the UK and was placed in storage.
Edward Coxon, from Hartshorne in Derbyshire, who was plane-spotting at the airport near Derby, told the BBC: “I was just looking at the planes coming in when, all of a sudden, there were loads of blue lights coming in from the other end of the runway.
“That’s when I saw the plane in the middle of the runway. I could hear on the radio that there was only one person on board and he was fine.”
The runway was closed because of the incident, which happened at 3.19pm on Monday, and flights were suspended while the plane was recovered and safety checks were made.
The Rolls-Royce Spitfire, PS853, is an unarmed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, one of a batch of 79 built at Supermarine, Southampton.
It is powered by a 2,050hp Griffon engine with a top speed of 446mph and is capable of flying at 42,000ft.
PS853 was delivered to the Central Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at RAF Benson on 13th January 1945, before moving to Belgium and Holland.
The aircraft was engaged on active service with 16 Squadron until the end of the war and participated in Operation Crossbow to detect German launch sites.
At the end of the war it remained on duty in Germany until March1946 when it returned to the UK and was placed in storage.
In 1950, PS853 was one of several Spitfires selected for conversion to conduct meteorological research, known as the Temperature and Humidity of the Upper Air Masses (THUM) Flight. PS853 performed the last ever Spitfire THUM sortie on 10th June 1957.
It then retired into ceremonial and display duties to form the RAF’s Historic Aircraft Flight, the forerunner of today’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
In 1996, Rolls-Royce bought PS853 to replace the original Rolls-Royce Spitfire XIV, G-ALGT, which had been destroyed in a crash in 1992.
The Rolls-Royce Spitfire, as PS853 is now popularly known, has become widely recognised as an ambassador for Rolls-Royce.
The aircraft is based in a dedicated hangar at East Midlands Airport and can be seen around the display circuit between April and October.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/10/2013 at 10:15 AM
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Permalink • Tuesday - January 08, 2013
A big bad combination
Ships and bridges ... two things that just don’t go together
Coast Guard investigators on Tuesday plan to interview the pilot of an empty tanker that struck a tower in the middle of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while navigating beneath the hulking span.
The 752-foot Overseas Reymar rammed the tower on Monday afternoon as it headed out to sea, according to the Coast Guard and state transportation officials.
The unidentified pilot will also report to the state Board of Pilot Commissioners, which will conduct its own investigation of the accident. That board regulates bar pilots.
The pilot has been a San Francisco bar pilot since 2005, said Charlie Goodyear, a spokesman for the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association. The association did not release his name.
Lansing said the ship’s double hull wasn’t breached, and state officials said the bridge sustained minor damage but remained opened immediately after the accident. The crash damaged 30 to 40 feet of “fender” material that will need to be replaced.
same story at other places -
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=8945133
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2013/01/07/live-video-tanker-strikes-bay-bridge-tower/
Now there are calls demanding that even piloted ships not sail around San Fran Bay when visibility is less than half a mile. And that bay is pretty much the fog capital of the west coast. Golly, think of the economic impact such a move would entail. But it’s for your own good!
Posted by Drew458
on 01/08/2013 at 12:13 PM
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Permalink • A Bigger Boat
[12/31/12] ‘Vale Sohar’ docked at Vale’s deep-water jetty in the Port of Sohar to unload iron ore on its first voyage from Brazil.
The ship, one of the largest bulk carriers in the world with the capacity to transport 400,000 tons of minerals and the length of four football fields, was welcomed to Oman by members of the North Al Batinah community headed by H.E. Sheikh Hilal bin Ali Al Habsi, Wali of Sohar.
The two remaining vessels, ‘Vale Shinas’ and ‘Vale Saham’ are currently in the final stages of construction and are scheduled to be handed over during the first quarter of 2013. The first vessel to arrive to Oman was ‘Vale Liwa’ which unloaded its shipment of iron ore last month and is currently en route to Brazil for reloading.
Due to the very large capacity of these carriers, the shipments create a ‘virtual iron ore mine’ in Oman which ultimately allows Vale to serve its growing network of clients in the Middle East, North Africa and Indian Sub-Continent faster and more efficiently.
I had no real intention of doing a big ships post at first, but this bit of news caught my eye. Well, the name of the ship did; I thought it was something similar to the “valar morghulis” expression from the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy/sci-fi books by George R.R. Martin that are the basis for HBO’s fantastic but slow moving series A Game of Thrones (fans of that show who have already read the books: can we please poison Jeoffrey already? Please??) But it was instead a bit of shipping news, which turned out to have a bit of sci-fi about it regardless.
You’ve probably heard of a ship size classification called “Panamax”, which is a set of dimensions for the largest ship that can navigate the Panama Canal. Now that Panama is busy building a new and larger third set of locks, there is a larger set of specs called “New Panamax”. And you may have heard of several container carrier ships and ULCC oil tankers that are far larger than them. And there is at least one cruise ship out there with a 150 foot beam (ship width) that is also to big to transit the locks. Well, it turns out that there are a couple of other even larger maximum size specs for ships. The next level up is called “SuezMax” for obvious reasons, and now we have the latest mega-boat specs called “ChinaMax”. And ChinaMax is so damned huge only half a dozen ports in the whole world can handle them. The Vale Sohar is a ChinaMax class vessel. It’s a ship so huge that just one load of ore is enough to impact production prices in that hemisphere.
400,000 DWT is 8,000,000 pounds. That’s enough iron ore to make enough steel to build the Golden Gate bridge more than half a dozen times. The Vale Sohar is part of a huge shipbuilding order put out by Brazilian mining company Vale SA; within the coming year there will be 35 of these ships. Each one is over 1100 feet long - about the size of an aircraft carrier - but with tremendous beam of 213 feet. That’s roughly twice as wide as a typical super large cruise ship. Bloody huge. And they carry so much cargo that, when loaded, the keel is nearly 76 feet under water. That’s not only too deep to use most of the world’s ports, it’s far too deep to even use the English Channel. Unreal. Sci-fi. But they are real, and they’re fantastic. And they cruise along at 15 knots, powered by a 39,000hp two stroke diesel engine. And they make economic sense, lowering the fuel cost per unit ton shipped to about half what other smaller freighters can manage.
Yes, the largest container ships are a good bit longer. And the next generation of container ships will be even longer than that. And none of them come near the mass of the largest ship ever built, the Seawise Giant, a giant daydream of an oil tanker that was too big for any port anywhere, and spent half its life being used as a floating oil tank. That one went to the ship breakers 4 years ago. Lesson learned: get the world to upgrade its ports before building the next class of super ships.
But still ... eight million pounds of cargo. Horry clap.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/08/2013 at 09:51 AM
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Permalink • Friday - September 28, 2012
The Berk Still Works
These pictures are pretty much brand new, both taken in August.
Visit RailPictures.net for thousands more.
The “Berk” in this case is the Nickel Plate Road engine 765, a 2-8-4 Berkshire locomotive. Built in 1944, this anthracite eating 400 ton chugger is again making steam and delighting rail fans around the northern mid-west.
Read a bit more about her here. And here as well. And there are loads of pics and videos as close as your nearest search engine.
For more about the Nickel Plate Road, aka the NKP, which is the TLA that the NPR actually goes by, because “New York, Chicago, and St. Louis Railroad Company” takes too long to say, venture over here.
Bridges? Nah, I’m not saying anything about those two, although the stone one is quite famous. And the other one is wrought iron.
Posted by Drew458
on 09/28/2012 at 11:50 PM
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Permalink • Monday - September 17, 2012
EYE CANDY OF A DIFFERENT SORT
Shutting down and leave with this I found today. I LOVE these planes. Why are they so much sexier and sleek and awesome then the more modern variety? Cept the Warthog. I like that one a lot. Don’t know why ppl say it’s ugly. It isn’t.
Anyway, this is a P47 Thunderbolt. Must be awesome in spades to be able to fly one.
Ok, I’m gone.
GRAB THIS PAGE FOR LOADS OF PIX AND INFO
Posted by peiper
on 09/17/2012 at 11:04 AM
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Permalink • Thursday - September 06, 2012
Cross My Fingers, Hold My Breath
I’m off to P-burg to get my old chuggy buggy from the shop. The bill is “only” $575 for a tow and a new set of shifter cables and their installation. Several grease monkeys I know tell me this is a reasonable amount, since the parts are nearly half that number and it’s a 3 hour job by the blue book. Whatever, fine.
I just can’t wait to get my “big” “wide” “fast” “powerful” Saturn back.
This little Chevy Spark I’ve been driving the past week scares the hell out of me.
And I have to take it on the highway, up over Jugtown Mountain and down the back chicanes, in amongst every tractor trailer truck in NJ, to get to P-burg. I’m going to die. That’s why I’m waiting until after Rush Hour is over, even though most of the commuter traffic goes the other way.
A 1.25 liter engine with a mere 85hp (at 6500rpm I think) and a slushy automatic transmission just doesn’t cut it on American roads. Well, maybe it will be Ok in the cities where you only go 3 blocks before stopping. Or maybe it might be just barely Ok out in the flatlands where you can get up to speed and then stay there for a couple hours at a time without turning. But here in western NJ, the hill country, where the roads go up, down, and all around all the time ... this thing is God awful. It is not a driver’s car. I don’t know who’s car it is, but I’m ever so glad it’s not mine.
The transmission is programmed to have a dead point at around 36mph. New Jersey generally has a 40mph speed limit on local roads. So it’s hell to keep the thing at marginal speed, because the car wants to slow down. The transmission is programmed to short shift out of first after about 10 yards, which means the car goes half way across an intersection when the light changes and then slows down. WTF?? Manual downshifting, either out of impatience or a desire to save your own life, is a frequent necessity.
The engine, apparently recently removed from a low performance touring motorcycle, has no power at all until around 5500rpm, and redlines at 7000. Which means you have to wind it up like a CB750 to get it to go even a little bit, and the enjoyment of that high winding moment is mitigated by the mpg monitor telling you the car is currently getting 6mpg. So overall, this car which is sold as getting 38mpg manages no better than 28mpg on the tank, because it’s so damn wimpy you’re beating it like a rented mule just to get anywhere in reasonable time.
Interior comfort? You’ve got to be kidding me. As a typical overweight white guy, all my flab is carried up front. I don’t have a big old butt and big thighs. And yet my mini-booty and thighs hang over the edge of the hard flat “bucket” seat, which is really sized for underfed North Korean women. The foot pedals aren’t bad, and there is a large “dead pedal” area you can brace your left foot in where the clutch ought to be. But I still wind up driving with the square edged driver’s door armrest digging into my left thigh, and the center console cup holder sticking me in the right calf. That sucks. And hurts. And for all it’s high roof and nearly vertical windshield, I still can’t see the stoplights above me at an intersection. Thankfully NJ almost always puts in another light on a pole on the far side of the where the roads cross.
Driving it ... oy vey. Ok, I never actually managed to slide the thing, or to lock up the brakes, and I really doubt that I got it actually airborne. But it felt that way. Nearly every time I drove it. Short short SHORT wheelbase, high cabin, and the car is so narrow ... I mean, stretch out your right arm: your fingertips are touching the passenger door window. That narrow. And hard flat seats you roll right off of. I’m afraid to push it into a corner the slightest bit ... especially since, “for comfort”, the suspension has been set to medium-porridge and the thing rolls like a log raft in a typhoon. Funny how they managed that and yet at the same time put in double extra jounce in the shocks when you go over sudden bumps.
Driving the Spark in the rain is a thrill I’ll happily leave to others. The car is so small and the body is so thin that road roost - the spray coming off your tires - sounds like gravel being thrown against the underside. It is startling the first time you experience it, and it does not inspire confidence. I’m wondering if the spray is going to knock me over, or if the scrawny little tires (factory inflated to 40psi) are going to hydroplane me right into a ditch. But I will go to my death in that culvert with a laugh, because the Spark comes with a built in traction control system, anti-lock brakes, and 8 or 10 air bags. They may as well give me a parachute and a life preserver for all the good those things do.
Good features? Hmm. Well, now that I’m taking it back to the rental agency, I’ve figured out how to program the automatic door locks to actually let me out of the car when I turn it off. Well, as long as I remember to put the shift lever in park. All bets are off if I shut down the engine while it’s in “D”, and I think I have to use the remote control to unlock the doors to let me out. This auto-lock shit is for the birds. No thank you, I don’t want any. Same goes for the “you must step on the brake to shift the car out of Park” BS. No. Give me a 6 speed and a clutch, and get out of my life.
Nothing else Drew? Ok, it rides just as nicely as my 16 year old SC-2 that has 280,000 miles on it. Maybe just a little better. As long as the roads are smooth and straight. And the mirrors are stylish, if too small to be at all useful.
My God, I can’t count the number of times I’ve jumped on the brakes in this crate, because I’ll be toodling down some rural road with the speed ever so slowly increasing, and then I’ll spot a sudden bump coming right at me! Nail the brakes, because if you hit that bump at 50, you’re going up up and away. Even at 40. That happens to you just ONCE and the lesson is learned forever: fear the road. The thing has a 93 inch wheelbase ... I’m pretty sure I’ve owned longer motorcycles. It’s just too damn skippy over the the bumps. Stretch it out another foot, drop it down 6 inches, and widen it by at least 6, and it might actually become drivable. Well, as long as you DOUBLE the size of the engine. And put in a real transmission. This car is not safe to drive over 30mph in my opinion. And it sure as hell is just plain ANNOYING to drive it here in New Jersey.
Rental miles driven: about 275
Phew: I survived. You know, I should have something positive to say about the little car. Um ... ah ... ok, here: it has a perfectly tuned horn that gives forth a pleasing “toot”. It’s the happy kind of sound you might imagine a Parisian mime would make as you choked the last gasp of life out of him. Loud? Raucous? Intrusive, even startling? None of that. It’s exactly the kind of horn Americans DON’T want on their cars.
Posted by Drew458
on 09/06/2012 at 07:33 AM
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Permalink • Tuesday - August 21, 2012
Another Short Boat Ride
BOSTON—At 215 years old, the USS Constitution is the U.S. Navy’s oldest commissioned warship afloat. But it’s not too old to take a quick sail.
For 17 minutes on Sunday, the ship cruised west across Boston Harbor, reaching a maximum speed of 3.1 knots. It was its first sail under its own power since turning 200 in 1997.
The short trip—a distance of 1,100 yards—was to commemorate the Constitution’s victory over a British warship of a similar size in a fierce battle during the War of 1812. The victory earned the ship its nickname, “Old Ironsides.”
Chief Petty Officer Frank Neely, a Constitution spokesman and crew member, said he was among the 285 lucky people who were aboard on Sunday. It was a warn day with a few clouds, but still perfect for the sail, he said.
“This was really terrific,” Neely said. “It couldn’t have been more memorable.”
The trip marked the day two centuries ago when the Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812.
As thousands of onlookers cheered from Castle Island in South Boston, the USS Constitution sailed under its own power Sunday for just the second time in 131 years, marking the 200th anniversary of the battle that earned it the nickname Old Ironsides. “It’s a twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity, sailing on her own power,” said Bob Poundcq, 48, of Quincy, referring to the last time the USS Constitution sailed on its own in 1997 for Marblehead’s 200th anniversary.
Patriotic music sounded from Fort Independence as the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat came into view. “Once again, Boston well shows her history,” said Ken Smith, 47, of Cambridge.
“We’re hoping she goes rogue and goes off on her own,” joked his wife, Anne Marie, 47.
The Constitution was towed past the crowd to a point between Castle Island and Deer Island. About 200 sailors then unfurled four of its sails before it was released from its tugboat tethers and sailed toward open water for about 10 minutes.
Then, it slowly made its way back toward Castle Island, aided by a tugboat. After it approached and fired its cannons, the crowd cheered and boats honked their horns as they bobbed in the harbor a safe distance away.
Meanwhile, the Post Office has issued a commemorative stamp.
More links at the top of the comments section, including several videos, none of which actually show the ship under sail. duh.
Posted by Drew458
on 08/21/2012 at 09:21 AM
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Permalink • Saturday - July 28, 2012
Old Tech Comes Back Stronger And Greener
Ok, none of this is really new news. It’s just something that I find interesting, and I’m going to try to write about it ... quickly. That’s my challenge for today.
Back in the post WWII period, the US Navy developed a system to hide their ships from sonar using air bubbles. This is called the Prairie-Masker system. A couple of thin bands are attached around the hull of a ship, and air is pumped through little holes on the bands. This makes lots of tiny air bubbles, and if the ship is in motion the under water part of the hull is covered with them. The difference in acoustic properties between the hull, the water, and the air bubbles causes internal ship noises to be reflected back into the ship, and thus it is harder to find with sonar.
Experiments at the time also showed that the ships seemed to use a bit less fuel. Eventually Prairie-Masker became declassified, and now the idea has been greatly enlarged, studied under advanced computer simulation, proved in several sea trials and real world experiments, and is being put in place on several of the largest new bulk carriers and cruise ships being built. These super giant ships already use the most modern hull designs, engines, and every other efficiency enhancing trick, so the bubble curtain’s 6% efficiency improvement is even more impressive. Sure, that’s a lot down from the theoretical 50% gain, or the postulated 25% gain, or even the controlled sea trial proof-of-concept 13% gain; 6% is a real world number, and when you are talking about hundreds of thousands of tons of fuel oil, 6% starts adding up to some real money real fast.
This time around the bubble system is called MALS, for Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System. And it works.
This post has pretty much already been written though, so look at the neat pictures, and then go here if you want to know some more. Or here. This version tells it short and sweet too. Hey, there’s a 1 minute video if you want. One thing I do find a little misleading is the “green bias” in the stories that expresses fuel savings as reductions in CO2. But as they say ... whatever floats your boat.
But another article I ran across, that said how ship’s hull efficiency could be increased by heat, using the Leidenfrost effect:
Named for its discoverer, German doctor Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, the Leidenfrost effect is the phenomenon wherein a liquid, when exposed to a solid that is significantly above that liquid’s boiling point, forms an insulating vapor layer between itself and that solid. This is the reason that water droplets dance across a sufficiently-hot skillet, instead of just evaporating on the spot.
Applying that principle to a ship, Chan believes that a hull kept at an outer temperature significantly above the boiling point of water, should cause a low-friction vapor layer to form between that hull and the water.
Once upon a time in the bad old days of Dangerous Education, college professors used to demonstrate the Leidenfrost effect by dipping their finger in and out of a crucible of molten lead. Right there in the classroom, without any air scrubbers or other safety equipment. While demonstrating to the class how the molten lead could set little strips of wood on fire, they’d dampen their finger on the sly and stick it in and pull it right out without getting burned. Science In Action! and students paid attention, you betcha!
Ok, so if the bubble hull thing is more important as a CO2 reducing device, and a hotter hull is more efficient ... let’s try pumping the exhaust gas from the engines into the bubble makers. Hey, your Mercury outboard motor does it’s exhaust under water, so why not the big ships too? Actually, I’m pretty sure the Leidenfrost effect is all or nothing. A little heat won’t make a difference. But pumping the exhaust (already well scrubbed and cooled by the latest ship pollution control/waste energy capture systems) into the ocean might capture a tiny bit more CO2.
Container Lines Set to Repeat Mistakes in Supply Glut: Freight
Maersk and rivals such as Hapag-Lloyd AG and CMA CGM SA lost money last year as high fuel costs exacerbated a price war. In addition to raising freight rates in response, they pooled or idled ships and reduced speeds to curb vessel supply. The decline in the index indicates those price increases are reversing as ships are added back to the world fleet.
...
Flagging European trade, too many container ships and signs that container companies are turning to rate cuts should prompt investors to stay away from shares in A.P. Moeller-Maersk, Frans Hoeyer, an analyst at Jyske Bank A/S in Silkeborg, Denmark, wrote in a May 21 note. Hoeyer advises investors to reduce their holdings of Maersk stock.
So the container shipping industry is having problems. They’re pushing efficiency - economies of scale - to all-time highs, building the biggest bulk carriers and container ships ever made. Mega ships bigger than aircraft carriers with a crew of just 13. They’ve got all kinds of energy saving tricks on their ships, and now they’re giving the bubble hull thing a go. But the world economy keeps slowing down, and to survive this industry needs to grow. In a stagnant economy they suffer, and new ship orders get canceled or reduced. High speed transits get slowed down, dropping their on-time efficiency rates. And that in turn slows other businesses, who have come to rely on international shipping timeliness so accurate that they can run the most minimal and flexible Just In Time inventories. Now that’s failing. The downward economy is a death spiral; it’s self-reinforcing.
PS - Oh, Mr. President? The entire world paradigm shifting business of container shipping? WE BUILT THAT. Not a cent of government investment. The whole international ocean shipping business? WE BUILT THAT. Not a government in the history of civilization has managed to pave the oceans; ships go where they will and they always have. Ports to unload cargoes? Dockyard facilities? Offshore islanding for crude oil tanker unloading? All built by capitalism. Private ventures. Profit motives. Ok, sure, some cities may have invested in their ports, or offered tax breaks, or policed most of the corruption out of the longshoremen. But it’s in their best interests to do so: more business means more tax dollars. And the ports were there before the cities saw them as tax revenue sources. They were there before the cities ever invested a dime in them. They got there without teachers - for thousands of years sailors didn’t need to know how to read. They got there without police or firemen - at sea, sailors do both jobs, or they die. And they got there without infrastructure; as I’ve said, the sea is it’s own highway network, and ships have been delivering things and trading since they were skin boats or hollow logs. The land routes often started as game trails to the beaches, and towns grew up along the trade routes, not the other way around. So trade was first. Then towns and cities. Then government. Then infrastructure, education, and non-production specialization. But trade was first. And to make trade happen, somebody somewhere had to produce more of one thing than he needed, and found a way to get together with someone similar who had things that he wanted. So production specialization - wood carving, grape farming, beer making - driven to excess by the profit motive, came along around the same time that trade began. Tens of thousands of years before government.
Ok, this still took me too long to write. But I’m getting better. Now, off the internet. Enough.
Posted by Drew458
on 07/28/2012 at 08:04 AM
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Permalink • Wednesday - July 25, 2012
cars, cars and more cars and they’re going on the block
Wow! What a collection of cars.
The late Prince Rainer of Monaco, a name familiar to Americans due mostly to his wife, the very pretty Grace Kelly, had one of the most famous collections of cars of different types in the world. And they are going on the block.
While not all are to my taste, there are a number of them that I’d love to own. But then, I say that about most cars being as how I am car crazy.
I’ve had so many cars over my 70 plus years, I think I recall almost all of them. I also think I was in love with the darn things. More so when younger.
Some of these are quite nice. But nothin’ beats a Doozy. Or is it Doosey? And certainly nothing beats a Cord. Not ever. IMHO.
Or a Packard or a Hudson. The Hollywood Coup. Hudson Hornet? Damn. There’s so many. Hey, how about the Vet and the T-Bird? I loved the ride and the looks of the 62, 63 and 64 T-Bird. And then there was the Mustang. Had one of those too.
I once had a 52 Caddy convertible. White leather like top and a light metallic green body. She sure was pretty and fun too when she worked. Sometime she wouldn’t run. Get her fixed and something else went. Loved her anyway. Who says men can’t be faithful? Of course we can.
As I reflect on my buying habits and youthful exuberance, it only now occurs to me why I was broke so much of the time. Even with gas under a buck. Heck. I remember when it went up to 25 cents. lol.
From Bentleys to Beetles: Monaco prince’s car collection up for auction (and there’s something for all tastes… and budgets)By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
This fantastic array of classic, sporty, unusual and downright down-to-earth cars offers millionaires and the common man alike a ‘unique opportunity’ to own a piece of motoring history.
They are being auctioned off tomorrow by the Prince of Monaco, whose late father Rainer III spent years assembling one of the most famous collections in the world.
The vehicles range from immaculate examples of a 1953 Cadillac and a 1950s Bentley S1 through to a number of bargain basement models such as a Fiat 500 and a Citroen estate.
More than 100 of his vehicles have been on display at the Terrace of Fontvieille Museum in Monaco, but now his son, Albert II, has decided to sell 38 of them - with no reserve.
While there are a number of classic cars, the bulk of the vehicles on offer are ‘real world’ models which are affordable to the man on the street.
The eclectic mix has everything from cute city cars to American muscle along with a retro Mercedes built specially for the Prince.
Among the strangest cars for a Royal to own is a 1971 Fiat 500 with the diminutive Italian model expected to fetch around £4,800.
A bit of a side story but nothing to do with cars.
Wife once worked as nanny to Hollywood ppl and while working for one them had occasion to meet and look after the kids of the Prince and Princess Grace for the day. She always said they were nice people. Nothing false or put on. Nice to know really, as these days we read so much that’s negative about celebrities.
Posted by peiper
on 07/25/2012 at 02:38 PM
Filed Under: • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles •
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Permalink • Friday - July 13, 2012
ANOTHER CLASSIC ROLLS UP FOR AUCTION. ONCE OWNED BY TOM MIX
WOW-za! Another car and what a beauty she is. Wouldn’t it be nice to own this one and the one from the other day? Wouldn’t want to use em to go grocery shopping that’s certain. Of course, assuming one could afford these toys, one would not do the shopping. And not with this sort of car.
Is it just the way I imagine things or were folks a bit more careful about other people’s cars in parking lots in those bygone days? Bet the parking spaces were bigger. I have an image, probably fantasy, that folks were more polite in an earlier age. But maybe not.
Cars were sure pretty though.
Have to make some allowances for the writing here. I mean after all, how could someone be a “finest” star during the silent period. And then when talkies arrived in the early years, the acting wasn’t exactly prime time. I used to listen to the Tom Mix radio show in my day when radio was good but sadly dying. Of course, Mix was gone by then so someone played him on radio. But the name was alive sure enough so he must have been extremely popular. I also recall seeing one or two of his movies in later years on TV, but by then I was used to better acting. Still, his was a name remembered by many.
Got carried away there. This is about a car.
Now that’s horse power! 1927 Rolls Royce owned by legendary Hollywood cowboy Tom Mix set to fetch £130k at auctionStunning vintage car was later owned by Warner Brothers
It appeared in films such as Inside Daisy Clover and The F.B.I. Story
Will go under the hammer at Blenheim Palace this Saturday
By DANIEL MILLER
A car which belonged to one of the biggest names in the history of Hollywood cowboy films is set to fetch more than £130,000 when it goes under the hammer in a UK auction.
With its impressive Hollywood history and a whopping a 7.7L engine, the incredible Rolls Royce Phantom I Playboy Roadster is expected to cause a stampede of interest from film buffs around the world.
Auctioneers estimate the hammer will fall in excess of £120,000 for the 1927 model once owned by Tom Mix, one of Hollywood’s finest stars during the 1920’s.
( £120,000 = 186.384 USD )
Cowboy Tom was the biggest names of the Hollywood silent film generation, appearing in a staggering 291 films between Between 1909 and 1935.
( cowboy tom? i don’t recall anyone writing about or referring to him as, “cowboy tom.” although he once was according to legend.)
He bought the car in 1933 and spruced it up with the latest features to ensure that it was special enough to be driven by a star such as himself.Former owner: Actor Tom Mix appeared in a staggering 291 films between Between 1909 and 1935
The headlights were lowered, the wings underwent a radical updating, a fog light was added and an ultra-modern radio was built into the dash.
Despite being 85 years old, the beautiful motor still has a top speed of 90mph enough to send any bidder sailing happily into the sunset.
The lot is due to go under the hammer at Coys specialist motor auction this Saturday at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, and has been drawing lots of attention from film fans with enough cash to splash.
Potential bidders have also been impressed by the chance to own a car with such a dazzling Hollywood history outside of the US.
Tom was fatally injured in a car crash with his other classic car, a Cord L29 in 1940 but this was not the end of the Rolls’ big screen roles.
Posted by peiper
on 07/13/2012 at 08:39 AM
Filed Under: • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles • UK •
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Permalink • Tuesday - July 10, 2012
I’m in love , I’m in love with a beautiful car …..
That’s what’s the matter with me.
(with acknowledgment, Hank Williams)
As all know by now, I LOVE these cars. I know ours are better today. Much better. But hey, many of em also look alike. There’s hardly any individuality.
I wish I could own this car beside the look. It was Big Al’s car. Hey, that counts for something.
Capone was probably my first boyhood hero before I discovered Jazz of that era.
He had some nifty quotes too. Like the following.
My rackets are run on strictly American lines and they’re going to stay that way.
I don’t even know what street Canada is on.
When I sell liquor, it’s called bootlegging; when my patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it’s called hospitality.
You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.
“Public service is my motto. Ninety percent of the people of Cook County drink and gamble and my offense has been to furnish them with those amusements. My booze has been good and my games on the square.”
“If the United States government thinks it can clean up Chicago by sending me to jail, well, it’s all right with me. I guess maybe I owe the government this stretch in jail, anyway.”
Capone’s Cadillac complete with steel armour, bulletproof glass and painted like an old Chicago police car go on sale for $500,000
Steel armour weighing 3,000lbs and bulletproof windows to protect prohibition mob king
1928 Cadillac painted to mirror those driven by contemporary Chicago police and the city’s official
Windows especially designed for exchanging fire with pursuers and protects it’s precious cargoBy DAILY MAIL REPORTER
The bulletproof armoured car that kept Al Capone safe from his enemies is up for auction.
The U.S, gangster’s 1928 Cadillac V-8 Town Sedan was fitted with 3,000lb of steel armour and painted green with black fenders to mimic a police car, with flashing lights, a siren and police-band radio receiver.
The bulletproof windows could be raised to reveal holes through which machine guns could be fired, while the rear window could be dropped to let his henchman fire on those chasing them.
(I don’t think that last ever happened. But not an altogether bad idea.)
Capone was eventually jailed for tax evasion, and ironically his 84-year-old car is classed as a classic and is therefore tax exempt.
Latterly owned by a U.S. car collector, it will be sold at RM Auctions in California on August 20.
The car even had a flashing light, siren and the first police-band radio receiver in private hands.
Posted by peiper
on 07/10/2012 at 05:20 AM
Filed Under: • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles • USA •
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Permalink • Thursday - July 05, 2012
ROLLS ROYCE AUCTION
WOW! What else can I say?
This is one nice automobile. Early Rolls. What’s not to like?
I would sure love to get a ride in one of these.
Note to Drew. I am mindful of what you wrote (with great accuracy) on the early models and safety etc. Would that also apply here?
It doesn’t look as though it would. I’d guess they built the Rolls a lot better then the average production line models of the later years.
The most magnificent Rolls-Royce ever built: Ivory and silver fittings, silk door panels and a china tea service… £5m salute to opulence and British craftsmanship
Unique Silver Ghost known as ‘The Corgi’ after being copied by toy maker
Price driven sky-high as two enthusiasts duelled in £100,000 increments
Hammer fell at £4.7m to anonymous buyer - more than twice £2m estimate
Six-cylinder, 7.3l vehicle in immaculate condition with perfect provenance
Originally bought by a man from South Croydon in 1912 for around £1,000
Put up for sale at Bonhams after latest owner was killed in a road accident
By VANESSA ALLEN
It manages just six miles to the gallon and has a top speed of only 60mph.
But this 100-year-old Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost has zoomed into the world record books, selling at auction for almost £5million following a fierce bidding war.
It was originally bought for £1,000 in 1912 (almost £93,000 in today’s money) but has now gone under the hammer for £4,705,500, making it the most expensive Rolls-Royce ever sold at auction.
Its gleaming interior fittings are made of silver and ivory, while the door panels are embroidered silk, with brocade tassels attached to silk window shades for privacy.
The passenger footrest hides a full picnic set for four, a china tea service, complete with an alcohol-fuelled burner and kettle to heat the water, and a set of six decanters – three in sterling silver and three in leather-wrapped glass.
The sale took place at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex on Friday. Auctioneers had expected it to sell for around £2million and were astonished when the bidding between two rival collectors topped £4million.
James Knight, from Bonhams auctioneers, said: ‘There were three bidders, then one of them dropped out at £2.3million and we thought it would end there.
Unlike most car enthusiasts of his time, Mr Stephens, from Croydon, South London, asked the makers not to include a glass division window between the driver and the passengers as he wanted to drive it himself rather than rely on a chauffeur.
The car even had an early speedometer – an important addition given that a 20mph speed limit was introduced in 1912.
The car’s distinctive cream and green design echoed the luxury ‘Pullman’ Railway carriages of the time, and it was known as a Double Pullman Limousine.
But it was nicknamed ‘the Corgi Silver Ghost’ in the 1960s after the toy-maker based its Silver Ghost toy car on this model.
Mr Stephens’s car is believed to be the only one of its kind to survive with its full interior and bodywork, as many Rolls-Royces from the era were converted into ambulances during the First World War.
Auctioneer Bonhams said: ‘It is a statement of refinement, grace and gentility that for many defines the qualities and the Edwardian period in which Rolls-Royce established the unsurpassed reputation it still enjoys today.’
The identity of the anonymous telephone bidders has not been revealed but sadly Bonhams has confirmed the car will now be leaving Britain once more.
It left Britain in 1992 after it was bought by a US enthusiast. A Texas lawyer bought it from him in 2007 for £1.9million and kept it until 2009, when he was killed in a crash in a different car.
The Rolls was then sold once again before the latest seven-hour auction, which saw more than 80 cars go under the hammer for a combined £22million.
Astonishingly, the Silver Ghost was not the most expensive lot. That honour went to a 1929 ‘Blower’ Bentley single-seater racing car, which sold for £5,042,000, the highest price ever for a British car at auction.
Posted by peiper
on 07/05/2012 at 02:31 PM
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