Monday, August 15, 2011

The project list just got a lttle longer...

Krugman says some important stuff about Texas, Vigor offers some good advice, and Adafruit points us to a great op-ed on ideas...

I've been thinking...

Yeah, I know thinking is something of questionable activity these days (apparently soon to be made illegal in some states) but it sometimes does come in handy.

Case in point, I've been reading way too much about single speed bikes (the new hip thing for those cyclists who need a quiver) as you simply can't get away from them on the cycle circuit. A lot of my dissatisfaction with the idea of single speeds is the common thread that going to a single speed (and I won't even begin to go into the nether regions of things Sturmey-Archer) is that you can use a belt because chains and derailleurs apparently are such a hassle. Just for the record, there are no plans in my future to ever have a single speed.

As it happens, a friend was telling me how neat the new Native Watercraft Ultimate kayak was and that it sported a Propel drive...



Folks may also remember I'm a big fan of the Hobie Mirage drive and how I wish more folks would design dinghies around the drive (right now there is only one that I know of). Part of the reason for the lack of designs is that the Mirage is not well suited to boats that have a lot of rocker and it has occurred to me that the Propel drive or a DIY version might be more readily adaptable...

So, we were talking about thinking... right?  As it happens, while I think a single speed bike with a belt drive is dumb as a box of hammers, I do get a tingle when I look at the Propel drive while thinking DIY thoughts along with dinghies and off-the-shelf bike parts.

Houston, we just added another project to the list...

Listening to BTO

So it goes...