Every once in awhile I stray away from the staple content of all things pancakes and skateboards. The introduction of Urbee the hybrid car is one example that comes to mind.
Meeting the team behind the Urbee project reminded me of the passion I had when diving in to my first hydraulic installation on the first lowrider I built.
Anytime I come across that sort of passion towards a hobby, a collection, a career or anything for that matter I take note. The other day I was introduced to an old concept with a sleek modern adaptation. The Stirling Engine.
This individual walked up to me with a box in his hand and declared "I've got something to show you". He didn't care what I thought of what he had to show me or what I might think of him when he expressed his passion for the concept of the Stirling Engine. He was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning to show me this working version of the engine and give me the run down on how it works.
He urged me to go home and check out all the variations of these engines on youtube. I did. Some famous words ran through my head "...you ain't no nerd?...I could have sworn you were!" If he wasn't so passionate to share what was on his mind... I may never have learned about the Stirling Engine. Maybe there was a chapter on it in school...I was probably too busy day dreaming of skateboarding to notice.
I urge you if you're not already...get passionate about something now!
Certainly then he would have seen this version of the build-it-yourself Stirling engine which runs on the heat of a cup of tea! Turns out engineers DO have a sense of humor sometimes!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/Gift/45k3990s1.jpg
ps. have I given myself away yet?
I think I had it figured out a few posts ago...but if Lee Valley Catalogues and references to engineering are supposed to help my insight then I am lost all over again!
ReplyDeleteThe 17 year reference, combined with knowledge of Dag Nasty and a few other comments here and there had me puzzled for quite some time.
My guess is that you are a former Winnipeger who keeps in contact with me above and beyond this blog on a semi-regular basis and it never dawned on me that you'd be leaving comments under the guise of "byrd". If I am way off...then I give up!
Way off, haha
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