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Comment Re:Premature much? (Score 1) 24

Do you know much about the Copenhagen Suborbitals project? They've launched quite a few test rockets over the past couple of years, each a milestone of its own. They launched these from their mobile launch platform from the Baltic Sea, and streamed all them live over the internet. Quite an achievement in itself, I believe. I do agree with you that it's quite a leap from a not-completed suborbital test program to a (manned?) moon landing. I'm curious to see how detailed the information is we'll get to see on Oct 1st. Will they just be beautiful drawings - Kristian is an awesome artist - or will we get to see technical and financial details?

Comment Re:gets things done, eh? (Score 2) 24

That is not true. All launches so far have been test launches, testing some technology or other. Many flights have not been complete successes, but all have produced valuable data for use further down the line. The two founders leaving CS (and the turmoil leading up to that) have set them back a year or two, but they seem to have regrouped and from the outside it seems as if they're on a much more solid path than before. I've donated $ 25. This weekend they have a (test) launch planned of their Nexø 1 liquid fueled rocket. They'll stream the launch live, from their mobile launch platform from somewhere in the Baltic Sea. That "normal" (I wouldn't call them quite normal, but still...) can just do this shows that we live in fantastic times, I think.

Comment Mildy colourblind under low light levels (Score 2) 267

I am mildly colourblind under low light levels, I find it hard to distinguish between blue and green in that situation. This doesn't impact my life at all, except when playing board games. I always make sure I don't play with either the green or blue tokens because I keep randomly grabbing my (green or blue) opponents' tokens. So, it's just a small handicap :-)

Comment I miss the hardware-keyboards (Score 1) 544

I've come through a long line of hardware-keyboard-enabled phones; Nokia 6820, Nokia E70, Nokia E61i, Nokia E90 and the HTC Desire Z. Of these phones, the E90 had the best keyboard, by far, five rows of large keys. I sometimes dreams about it ;-) After the Desire Z there were really no realistic options on the market so I switched to a touch screen phone. I regret it every day. My HTC One X+ cost à 500 in 2013, which is expensive but worth it (IMO) for a high-end phone. I would actually pay à 50-75 on top of that for a phone with exactly the same specs (except weight and physical size) which has a hardware keyboard. I would think that adding a hardware keyboard should be doable for that amount of money?

Submission + - World Solar Challenge starts one day from now (worldsolarchallenge.org)

SustainableJeroen writes: On Sunday morning (Australian time), October 6th, 40 solar-powered vehicles from 24 countries will depart from Darwin and make their way south along the 3000km Stuart Highway towards Adelaide in the 2013 World Solar Challenge. About half of the vehicles compete in the Challenger class, the class which features what many people will recognise as typical solar racing cars: flat, UFO-like vehicles, built exclusively for efficiency and speed. For the first time, however, much more practical vehicles will race each other in the new Cruiser class. These vehicles will seat two, three of four people and be road legal.

In both 2009 and 2011, Michigan University Solar Car Team finished third, Nuon Solar Team finished second and Tokai University finished first. The fastest vehicles will be expected to reach Adelaide on Thursday or Friday, depending on the weather.

Submission + - World Solar Challenge to start in less than two weeks (worldsolarchallenge.org)

SustainableJeroen writes: On October 6th, the 2013 World Solar Challenge will start. This year, 43 teams (more than ever before) from 24 countries around the world will compete in this biannual 3000 km road event, which runs from Darwin to Adelaide. In both 2009 and 2011, Tokai University (Japan), Nuon Solar Team (the Netherlands) and University of Michigan Solar Car Team (USA) finished in first, second and third position, respectively. Who will win this year? We'll know for sure on October 13th, the end of the event. Team details (photos, car specifications, links to websites) can be found here.

Comment World Solar Challenge news (Score 1) 9

As there really isn't a central site with up-to-date news in the weeks before the World Solar Challenge, I decided to do it myself. In the weeks and days before the WSC I started collecting all information about all the teams I could find. Some teams have extensive websites, social media accounts, youtube/vimeo accounts while other teams simply had no online presence at all. Very frustrating. I managed to collect detailed information of only eight teams. During the event I took a week off from work, and together with ex-Nuon Solar Team (Nuna2, 2003) member Diederik Kinds I provided near-round-the-clock coverage of the race. It was hectic, intense and very exciting but the large number of compliments we received was worth it. After the top-5 teams finished Friday things have quieted down quite a bit. I'm still waiting for the final timing/distance results of all the teams, it's a bit frustrating that this should have to take so long. All in all, it was an extremely exciting event, with bush fires, a race suspension, more cloudy weather than ever before, more rain than ever before and only seven (!) of the teams made it to the finish line under solar power alone - of 37 that started the race. I hope to be able to do it 'closer to the front' line in 2013.

Submission + - World Solar Challenge about to start (solarwebsite.nl)

SustainableJeroen writes: On Sunday morning 08:30 (local time) — that's less than seven hours away — the World Solar Challenge will start. The first solar racing car and its support fleet will depart Darwin to traverse the 3000+ km to Adelaide through the Australian outback. It will be followed at two-minute intervals by 36 other racing teams, from twenty countries from all over the world..

The qualification round, held on Saturday, saw Solar Team Twente secure the first starting position in the race, closely followed by Nuon Solar Team and Michigan University. The top ten times in the qualification round were within eleven seconds of each other, and while driving one lap around a race track is very different from driving 3000 km on a public motorway, it does show that the top cars are quite close in performance.

With the top cars and teams being very, very close to each other it's sure to be a very exciting race. The fastest teams are expected to reach the official finish line just outside Adelaide late Wednesday or early Thursday (local time) after which the teams will continue on for the traditional dive in the fountain on Victoria square in Adelaide.

Submission + - World Solar Challenge starts in two weeks (solarwebsite.nl)

SustainableJeroen writes: "In less than two weeks the bi-annual World Solar Challenge will start. Around forty teams, mostly made up of university students from around the globe, will battle each other for first place in the de facto world championship of solar car racing.

The teams will race each other on the 3000km Stuart highway between Darwin and Adelaide, while dodging road trains, dust devils and kangaroos. The fastest teams will cover this distance in four to five days, while it is by no means certain that all teams will make it to the finish line.

In 2009, the Tokai University team from Japan unexpectedly took first place in this high-tech brain sport, with four-time winner Nuon Solar Team having to settle for second place. Who will win this edition? There are a number of very strong contenders, but as the differences between the top teams and their cars are very, very small it's impossible to say in advance."

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