Icewind's Ramblings

It’s almost time for Anchorage’s annual FOCC . . . (Festival of Car Crashes) The festival is traditionally held the first day that there is more than a dusting of snow. It's played much like Pamplona's ‘Running of the Bulls’ except everyone is in their car or rig’s and the object are to avoid all the other cars. This is no easy feat given treacherous road conditions and "Auto Alzheimer's" . . . the yearly loss of memory of how to drive in winter that afflicts most drivers in this town. The weak and cowardly stay home those first few snowfalls as the truly macho strut their stuff in the legendary places of traffic mayhem, like the intersection of Tudor and Lake Otis or the S-curves of the Glen Highway by Fort Richardson.   The annual festival is a boon to both body shops and hotels as tourists flood the town from around the world, hoping to see the ‘Northern Lights’ with many getting caught up in the action in their rental cars.   That's the spirit, eve...

When you think that our kids may be suffering from a lack of ideas for school projects this kids Dad give him something to capture the imagination and brings back some much needed “how to” to school projects. I saw this over on “The Next Web” blog and thought it would be fun to share. It reminds me of building soap box derby cars in my youth and other science projects I did as a kid.   My favorite project I built was the Gemini 6 & 7 rendezvous mission in December 1965.   I built two models and had a motor underneath with cables that brought them together and backed them up again.   It was pretty cool and this one tops anything I can think of in the last thirty years. Enjoy. Ice