New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft Company’s flagship product is an unconventional flying machine: a jetpack that might seem like a prop from a sci-fi movie, were it not for the fact that it’s well on the road to commercialization.
In October, New Zealand’s civil aviation authority cleared the company’s Prototype 12 model jetpack for manned flights. The fan-propelled jetpack, when shown in June at the Paris Air Show, could soar almost 1,000 meters and fly up to half an hour. The company’s jetpacks are expected to become commercially available sometime in the second half of 2016.
The jetpack’s development is one example of the big ideas and big bets being made across transportation-focused enterprises, where companies like Martin Aircraft are racing to the far edges of what’s possible. We live on the precipice of a time when cars will be “fully autonomous in the long term”, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In a call with electric vehicle shareholders this month, he gave it 15 to 20 years.
Dancing With Fools 
I wanna be:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Ranger
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Pretty nice day here in Mid Michigan. Sun shining, birds happy. We watched last week’s Bill Maher, then I had to feed us and ran to town to return a couple movies and a library book, now we’re going to watch Friday’s Bill Maher.
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Jay Leno was a hoot. Will watch his ‘Garage’.
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Excellent show. Have one on DVR, better go watch, cold and rainy outside.
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It’s due to start snowing here. Think some habanero enhanced chili is is order.
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Lightning strikes closeby had to shut ‘er down, BB size hail hammering on this tin roof, deaf now thanks, no twisters yet tho.
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The Worst Car in the World
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Ride of the Valkyries soundtrack, perfect.
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🙂
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3 pm.
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Rain in 60 minutes.
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Light rain turned to light snow on my way to the Tokyo Seoul.
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Weather advisory now states ice pellets but I haven’t noticed any yet.
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My icon changed. 😐
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Yup
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Weather subsided here, still cold and damp,
oops, forgo that last remark, the hail is back. 😦
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Still hasn’t reached here.
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Time to bail and play dodge the hail.
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Pluto on acid:
https://astronomynow.com/2015/11/13/psychedelic-pluto/
Wowzer!
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The discoverer of Pluto was Clyde Tombaugh, great uncle of Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
You might enjoy doing a wiki on ole Clyde, Doc
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I visited New Mexico State University at least 3 times when I was in high school. So I might have seen Tombaugh and perhaps even met him although I have no memory of it. But growing up in Los Alamos I certainly knew about his discovery.
Curiously I instantly recognized the Pluto discovery spectrograph picture from the Lowell Observatory Wikipedia page although I have no memory of having visited Lowell Observatory. Might have as we went to the Grand Canyon twice when I was growing up.
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Astrograph
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Man, the Alvan Clark telescope, built for $20,000, 119 years ago.. Spectacular.
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