Saturday, May 31, 2008

Leonardo Da Vinci Design Inspires World's Smallest One-Man Helicopter...

Imagine one of Leonardo Da Vinci's designs from 1493 coming to life more than 500 years later!!!  Talk about imagination. If you think about it's amazing that Da Vinci's 500 years ago designed a machine that would allow a man to fly through the sky like a bird...

The GEN H-4 Co-Axial, Counter Rotating helicopter is the worlds smallest one man helicopter and was designed by a 75 year old Japanese gentleman named Gennai Yanagisawa.  

Mr. Yanagisawa's design was officially entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for a 75kgs helicopter that can carry a single person.

Genni Yanagisawa's design uses a two rotors spinning in opposite directions and can cruise at over 30 miles per hour.  

One Big advantage to the single person helicopter versus a jet pack is the amount of time it can stay up in the air.  A jet pack can only stay up for a few minutes, where the helicopter is much more efficient and can stay up much longer.

You can but one of these for only $58,000 here.

Quote of the Day...

"Insight is a shift in boundaries." —Neil Larson

Friday, May 30, 2008

Beautiful Home...Living in a Work of Art...

The Sowden House was Designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright and is located in Los Angeles.

In the future we will be taking an in-depth look at this Magnificent living work of art...

Bentley GTC Convertible is a Beauty...

I love this shot of this couple cruising around on a warm summer night with the top down...

Future Design: The Future of Large Aircraft...

Blended Wing Body Aircraft achieve increased aerodynamics and overall efficiency versus a standard wing aircraft, not to mention much lower emissions

This image simulates what a Blended Wing Body Aircraft will actually look like when they come to life. Very cool design...

Ever Notice Indiana Jones Dresses Like Howard Hughes ?

I wonder if George Lucas and Stephen Speilberg used Howard Hughes as an archetype for the India Jones Character ?



Ferrari California GT Striptease!!!

The upcoming Ferrari in Azzurro Blue draws on heritage of earlier spiders such as the 1961 California Spider





Gotta Love this Loius Viutton Add with Keith Richards...

Keith Richards jamming on his Gibson ES355 at 3am with his cup of Espresso on his Louis Viutton Suitcase.  

Great advertisement...

Quote of the Day...

If you think that you are too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room. —Anita Koddick

Camaro Concept Convertible

The Camaro Concept Convertible is the only American Car I have ever wanted.  I think it is so cool, I can't see straight.

I don't know why but for some strange reason, whenever I see the Chevy Camaro Concept Convertible the Led Zeppelin song Whole Lotta Love starts playing in my head 

I love the lines on the car!!!!!!!!!!!!





Free Desktop Wallpaper from the Whiteside Gallery

This is one of the latest Fine Desktop Photographs from the ultra-talented Whiteside Gallery Photographer, John Hanford.  Enjoy!!!

1961 Ferrari California Spider back in Black

The very rare 1961 Ferrari California pictured below recently set the record for the most expensive car to ever be sold at $11 Million.


Fascinatingly, Ferrari is just getting ready to re-introduce the California Spider as seen in the image below.


One think for certain is that this Ferrari is a real beauty.  A Car Enzo would be proud of.


In a weird way, the line on the new Ferrari look like a Corvette to me.

Great Design: Coffee Carrier

Thomas Edison, the greatest inventor in history siad, "There is a better way to do it–find it."

This is so much better than Starbucks corrugated cardboard version.


BMW M1 is Back...

When I was 16, the BMW M1 was a super exotic car that I liked.  It was kind of like a BMW Ferrari.  

It was discontinued on the early 80s and is coming back to life soon.   Here are some great pics...








118 Year Old San Francisco Cable Car Number 25 Returns to Service

Cable Car That Survived The 1906 Earthquake Returns To Service

I have a strange confession to make.  I was born and raised in San Francisco and I have only ever ridden on a cable care three or so times, and it was always as a point A to point B  ride.  Kind of like the shoemakers children go barefoot.

Despite this strange statistic, I am fascinated with and in love with the San Francisco Trollies.

I love the classic line from Tony Bennett' "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" when he sings, "Where little cable cars climb half-way to the stars."

That being said, this is a facinating story of a cable car built 118 years ago being completely refurbished for the second time in its life and placed back into service on the Streets of San Francisco

To watch a video click here.





Photo Credit: The Chronicle / Kurt Rogers

Solar-Powered Speedboat with Video

Dutch researchers at the Technical University of Delft designed and developed what they are heralding as the first solar-powered speedboat in the world, and of course it all started with a drawing on the back of a drink napkin.

The 33 foot speedboat is made from black carbon fiber with 150 square feet of solar cells which give it enough power to cruise at 35 mph.  




Thursday, May 29, 2008

Welcome to my Design Blog

Happy to be here...

I tried using Wordpress but I was not inspired by it.

Dean Kamen's Incredible Robotic Arm...

Quote of the Day...

We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time. —T.S. Elliot