Saturday, March 25, 2023

skip the first 14 minutes while natural selection thins the herd of those who don't know how to race, and carts that couldn't (half the entries). Only 5 carts even made it to the last lap of the 20 that started


great trojan horse in this commercial


coffee and donut video! A Tonka VW restoration



the most impressive company at Conexpo 23 was a tie between Caterpillar and Bobcat, they bot had extensive commitment to attendees, but Bobcat had more fun interactive things for attendees



the video screen was playing interesting marketing interviews with customers and how their businesses benefitted from using Bobcat products, but that wasn't as impressive as the commitment to get attendees involved in communicating with Bobcat:



photo op wall, with the display boards to the right


corresponding to this brilliant marketing idea of getting attendees to self identify as one of these categories, and when pushing the button, the display had a definition for each term, they were making me laugh









I think you'll agree, their marketing PR people are damn clever


if you've been to a convention you're familiar with the badge holders and how it's common for clever companies to give or sell you silk or satin ribbons that have adhesive on them so the colored ribbon hangs below your badge... and once you've selected your category/tribe/identity as an Innovator, Ground Breaker, Maker, Game Changer, Rule Breaker, Dreamer, or Doer... you could have one of the ribbons for your badge holder - and of course, choose the right sign to hold for your photo op wall picture

Hollywood actor/celeb Josh Duhamel 








the Bobcat booth was enormous, and had free coffee



and the had the Bobcat video game Groundbreaker that awards points for accomplishing construction work with a forklift, skidsteer, or loader


move stuff, avoid obstacles, etc  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp0YjyJJTu0/

Bobcat originated with a request by a turkey farmer to the Keller Bothers, to make a piece of loader equipment for him that would be light enough to operate on his 2nd story floor in his barn, what they made, was the original skidsteer loader


https://www.bobcat.com/na/en/company/about/history

Happy BurtDay!


few work trucks either stay this nice, or get restored

even fewer in snowy areas

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6214836101906863&set=gm.3287207101609868&idorvanity=1605827519747843

the 1970 Darlington Southern 500, skip to the 8:15 mark


Friday, March 24, 2023

Australia-based company is sending low-cost drones made out of cardboard to Ukrainian forces.






The Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) drones come flat-packed and can launch, fly up to 75 miles, and land by themselves.

The ‘Corvo’ can still fly without the need for an operator. Although it uses GPS guidance, the drone’s control software is also able to guide it in the absence of the satellite system. This means that the equipment can perform missions even under conditions of complete electronic interference.

Stadium trucks are a hoot to watch


there were some good ideas


filling in all the empty spaces with balls that would float? Good idea. Balls filled with a gas that would extinguish fires? Good idea. 


And some not so good idea

It's been a while since I've learned of Goldbeaters' Skins

a Curtiss Cessna connection

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=Lgsn8NtjVikC&printsec=frontcover&rview=1&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

today's Google doodle celebrates Kitty O'Niel

https://www.google.com/doodles/kitty-oneils-77th-birthday

O’Neil was born on this day in 1946 to a Cherokee Native American mother and Irish father in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

O’Neil began experimenting with high-speed sports like water skiing and motorcycle racing. A true action-lover, she also performed dangerous acts such as falling from daunting heights while set on fire and jumping from helicopters. 

In the late 70s, she made it onto the big screen as a stunt double for films and TV series including The Bionic Woman (1976), Wonder Woman (1977-1979), and The Blues Brothers (1980). .

In 1976, O’Neil was crowned “the fastest woman alive” after zooming across the Alvord Desert at 512.76 miles per hour! She drove a rocket-powered car called the Motivator and surpassed the previous women’s land-speed record by almost 200 mph. 

Once she broke the women’s record by a landslide, it became evident that she could likely beat the men’s mark too. Unfortunately, her sponsors did not allow her to break the overall record as it threatened the status quo — they wanted to reserve the feat for a male driver.



Thursday, March 23, 2023

passed down in the family since 1935


When vanity plates were first introduced in Ohio, their grandfather went to the BMV and requested to have the lowest number, which just so happened to be 7, followed by the letters MV, for McVay— his wife's maiden name.

When he passed, his oldest son was gifted the plates, and when he passed, his was next in line to sport 7 MV.

Just before he passed he requested one thing: That the family keep the tradition of passing the plate on to another family member.

I wish I'd seen what this game was, but I came by the booth after they closed for the day


CONEXPO attendees competed to fill out a detailed time card in under two minutes. In addition to hours worked, they filled out the diary, quantities, and even jobsite photos.

effective way to clean tar off construction equipment, with a great demonstration on a Tonka truck



well done carving, not sure why

 

a submersible pump is a perfect canvas for a terrific paintjob




I didn't expect to see a basketball hoop at ConExpo on a wheeled loaded bucket


mobile ground penetrating radar for checking for underground obstacles before using excavators or dozers


Dick Van Dyke, is 97, and still driving

https://nypost.com/2023/03/22/dick-van-dyke-wishes-for-rain-in-eerie-video-before-car-crash-on-slick-road/
he was in the news today for sliding off a road because of the rainy conditions

Farmer’s Table, a San Diego restaurant. Why tractors in San Diego? I don't know.


two locations



really? Seriously?

 https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/gm-kills-the-camaro/

I know a lot of younger people are not good at spelling, it seems it's not important since I graduated high school and spell check can be helpful, but really, it's pathetic for simple words to be spelled wrong, when it's obviously not a typo made by hitting a key next to the right key