One interesting tidbit of useless knowledge I picked up on a recent trip to San Francisco: the surprising origin of the fortune cookie.
Continue reading Good FortuneBox Oil
Multistrada Headlight Mods
The early models of the Ducati 1200 Multistrada were equipped with four halogen headlamps. These use H11 bulbs rated at 55 watts and put out a decent amount of light. But there’s always room for improvement!
More modern headlight bulbs using light emitting diode (LED) technology can produce more, whiter light than halogens while using less power. Another complaint with the Ducati is the way the hi/low headlights work. Switching on the high beam turns off the low beams (or dipped beam as they say in the UK). For my aging eyes I want all the light I can get! Fortunately there’s an easy way to remedy this.
Continue reading Multistrada Headlight ModsWhat Happened to the Switchgrass?
Or: Why is All Our Ethanol Made from Corn?
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was signed into law by George W. Bush and created the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Among other things, the RFS set goals for the amount of renewable biofuels to be blended into the nation’s petroleum fuel supply. That meant gasoline would contain ethanol and biodiesel would be blended into diesel fuel. At the time the domestic source for almost all that ethanol was corn. But corn was not supposed to be the sole source. Over time, corn was supposed to be supplanted with other sources of ethanol.
Lighter Than Air
I’ve always been fascinated with dirigibles. This week, watching the Goodyear blimp floating above Tulsa covering the PGA, reminded me of the day I got a ride on the iconic airship.
My memory is fuzzy on the exact year, but it was early Seventies, so I was 10 or 12 years old. Dad, like a lot of Tulsa dads, worked for American Airlines. In the Seventies he was an inspector in the Gear & Brake Shop, which dealt with a lot of Goodyear products. As I understood it, the Goodyear rep offered him two tickets to ride the blimp during it’s upcoming visit to Tulsa.
