The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Yamaha pays employees to walk

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Quite a few companies have incentive programs for employees who use mass transit or bicycle or walk to work instead of driving, but you wouldn't think a company that makes those vehicles people are supposed to give up would pay for the same thing. Well, Yamaha in Japan is doing it. They aren't paying very much, 1000 yen (about $9.71 per month) but still, they're doing it. They … [Read more...]

No Smartuki for you – Smart Cars says No to Zap

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DaimlerChrysler has refused to sell Smart Cars to Zap, a company planning to import and modify Smart Cars to meet emission requirements for sale in the U.S. DCX says it did not want the liability of having someone else modify and sell the cars and feels, at the present time, it cannot make money selling Smarts due to dollar fluctuations. So, shelve those Smartuki plans. … [Read more...]

Motorcycle fab labs

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Mentioned fab labs a while back and I noticed in the last few days there's been a lot of buzz due to the release of a new book, Fab, by Neil Gershenfeld of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. He teaches, "How to make (almost) anything," which is exactly the kind of course I would have enjoyed when I was in school, of course, back then, our tools were, ah ..., a bit more … [Read more...]

Biodiesel motorcycles

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When I first started writing about diesel motorcycles it struck me as a bit unusual, I really wasn't aware of some of the latest advances in adapting diesel engines to a motorcycle frame but of course, the Thunder Star 1200 got me thinking about the possibilities. That bike gets 150mpg and looks like it should get pretty impressive performance to boot. Now there's biodiesel to … [Read more...]

Machining model engines

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Some hobbies or skills are so utterly amazing and turn out such fine work as their end product, it almost takes your breath away. It's no secret The Kneeslider is biased toward the technical side of things and I personally find mechanical components that work together totally fascinating. The other day I posted about metal casting and today, in a related area, I want to touch … [Read more...]