But we do a little
We don’t get out much
You are probably wondering
…why I haven’t sent out any pictures of pelicans gracefully gliding inches above the sea surface lately.
I was wondering the same thing.
We loved our Mazda RX-7
So much so, that we had two of them, back-to-back way back when. The rotary engine was fun to drive but there were production issues with engine wear, fuel economy, and emissions. Mazda eventually moved on from it.
Now there is a new rotary concept. It’s called the Astron Omega 1. It’s not from Mazda, it’s from somebody else. The designers figured out that all four parts of a four-cycle engine don’t have to happen in the same place. Separate them into intake/compression in one part, move the air to the next section, and perform the combustion/exhaust functions there. Both parts run at the same time, so it’s intense like a 2 cycle engine, but without the lubrication and emissions issues.
Front view.
Side view.
Here are some old guys talking about how it works.
They talk about other stuff too. The rotary engine part starts at 6:30.
It’s small. The model they’re showing here weighs 35 pounds, turns at 25,000 RPM, and puts out 160 horsepower with 60% efficiency. (That’s a lot better efficiency than a piston engine.) And it can run on hydrogen too. I guess that’s all on computer simulations though. It’s early in development. Mazda, are you listening? RX-9?
Did I tell this story?
Belle Isle.
Years ago, I spent an entire summer in Detroit on an accounting assignment. It was a contract with the federal government and the reimbursement rules only allowed travel home to Colorado every other weekend, so I did a lot of driving around to explore. I found this wonderful place called Belle Isle. It’s in the Detroit River which runs between Lake Huron and Lake Erie.
Drive across a lone bridge to get there. The entire island is an urban park. A sharp contrast to downtown Detroit. There are roads to explore, trails to walk, lakes within the island, grassy sports fields, a conservatory, playgrounds, forests, and a giant old crusty multi-tiered fountain on the south end. I found some photos on the internet.
Everything about Belle Isle in the 1980s felt a little long in the tooth, run-down, but run-down just added to the character. It was magical; my favorite place to spend time away from work. (While I had to be out of town.)
Mom was still alive then, so immediately when I got home the first time after my discovery, I shared it with her; my new favorite place. She sat quietly while I described everything about it, then said, “You know, your dad was from Detroit. That was his favorite place.” He took her there to show it off, way back when it was fresh. Long after Dad was dead, I had unwittingly discovered a favorite place of his that I had never heard of. We got to share that, not at the same time, but together.
Signs
There are lots of ways to say it.
This one is the best.
Practically even charming.