Understatement of the day, month…year?
“The problem is we get oil from some parts of the world and they simply don’t like us,” Bush said. “And so the more dependent we are on that type of energy, the less likely it will be that we are able to compete, and so people have good, high-paying jobs.”
Data integrity issues live at the heart of any reference material, but Wikipedia and the rapid-release cycle of Internet content has created a whole new level of controversy.
The Onion has put together a fine example of this in their fun article: Wikipedia Celebrates 750 Years Of American Independence
“At 750 years, the U.S. is by far the world’s oldest surviving democracy, and is certainly deserving of our recognition,” [Wikipedia founder] Wales said. “According to our database, that’s 212 years older than the Eiffel Tower, 347 years older than the earliest-known woolly-mammoth fossil, and a full 493 years older than the microwave oven.”
I love reading the razor-sharp work of the Onion, but I have just two words for them: Pot. Kettle. Black.
Take, for example, their recent analysis of the recent cease-fire by Hizbullah:
As the cost of rocket fuel soared to $630 per gallon Monday, Middle Easterners who depend on the non-renewable propellant to power 10-kilogram rockets have been forced to severely restrict their daily bombing routines, bringing this latest round of fighting to an unexpected halt.
“The way things are going, I won’t have any money left over for other necessities, such as anti-aircraft missiles, land mines, and machine guns,” said Hezbollah guerrilla Mahmoud Hamoui, who is just one of hundreds of Islamic militants compelled to scale back their killing until rocket-fuel prices return to their pre-2006 levels.
That’s rediculous. Everyone knows rocket fuel hit $972 per gallon.
HDT’s production apparently has been delayed due to the popularity of diesel motorcycles as military vehicles in Afghanistan and perhaps Iraq. Their latest newsletter mentions this, along with the use of biodiesel and tests to increase mpg. I was doing some reading and reasearch the other day and am sure that it is really a Kawasaki hiding in the HDT Bulldog. Anyway, while some might see their delay as negative, I like the idea that more testing will be done in extreme conditions before they are released for public consumption:
The text of the June 2006 Newsletter:
As most of you already know, HDT has had to delay production of the commercial D650 Bulldog due to recently increased orders for our military models.
During the last 6 months, in anticipation of our commercial model release, we have greatly increased production capacity with the completion of our engine and motorcycle assembly lines. Unfortunately, for our commercial customers, the expansion is now needed to fill our ongoing military requirements.
We maintain plans to produce our commercial diesel motorcycle, the D650 Bulldog, and are increasing our production capabilities as fast as we can.
I want to personally extend my thanks to all you who have shown interest in our diesel motorcycles. We will continue to publish updates of our commercial motorcycle release through our newsletter.
Fred Hayes
President
HDTUSASome good news: In the last few months, we’ve been able to improve performance and overall operability. We’ve been able to improve power throughout the rpm range and further reduce vibration at cruising speeds. Fuel mileage has also been improved. (See Economy Run in Upcoming Events).
Biodiesel: We’ve had a number of requests to do more testing using various blends of biodiesel, including B5, B20, and B99/B100. We’ll keep you up-to-date on the test results.
Motorcycle Assembly Line: We’ve started using our new motorcycle assembly line. It will allow us to improve efficiency, increase production rates and retain high quality.
Engine Assembly Line: We are just finishing our new diesel engine assembly line. It is a big step from modifying existing motorcycles to producing our own motorcycle engines. HDT is using innovative production techniques, such as these specially designed engine stands to try and keep costs down and quality high.
R&D Center. We finally moved into our new R&D Center where we’re continuing to find more power, smoother operation, better fuel economy and lower emissions. Currently we’re testing various blends of biodiesel. Very interesting stuff!!! More on
biodiesel later.Dynos. We just took delivery of our 3rd Dynomite motorcycle dyno from Land & Sea. (www.land-and-sea.com) This makes our third dyno from Land & Sea. We have the original engine dyno, our eddy current R&D dyno, and the latest unit that will be used for final production testing.
News like this and more, all on DieselBike.net. They even have links to numerous diesel motorcycles of the past.
Ever heard of a lightbulb with its own website? The reason for celebration is the quality of engineering. Apparently it has been burning since 1901, the product of an energy pioneer named Dennis Bernal who lived near Livermore, California. Ironically, the webcam setup to monitor the bulb failed after only a few years of use, the same as the average life of a basic modern lightbulb:
Unlike the bulb, the first camera had a limited life of about 3 years. We are hoping this one will give the bulb a run for it’s money.
This Cam image will continue to be updated every 10 seconds. So to enjoy the view of Fire Station Number 6 either hit your refresh button, or click the picture above!.
Imagine if every house in America had been running on a bulb like this. For some reason consumers do not demand this kind of quality. Do they prefer things engineered for failure. Quality doesn’t have to be cost prohibitive, does it? Alas, if you read their website even the fire station believes it is sheer luck, rather than sound engineering that keeps this bulb burning.