I Blame the Chinese (At least it’s a change from blaming America). Specifically: at 105 Alford Forest Rd, Ashburton New Zealand between the hours of 12noon and 12.30pm on Wednesday the 15th of October 2008, Tan Xi Bo and Wang Xiaping did fail to prevent one blue ultra light [...]
How NOT to get invited back to Kite Festivals. ‘orrible weather here; our coldest October since 1943 and November’s even freezinger. It’s 8 degrees today and this is summertime and we’re on the same latitude as the south of France. Our warming seems to have been stolen- probably it’s [...]
The PL Kite Economy. Herman & JeannetMichel DekkerJenny CookCraig HansenSimon Chisnall & Cuttlefish kite I’ve now been back in New Zealand for nearly four weeks, intending not to travel away again until after Xmas. Three months uninterrupted workshop time!: Winch systems for UKS, the next Stirling engine [...]
Rip-Offs. A Chinese Allegory: Long ago in a land far away there lived a very poor couple. They had nothing except a one roomed shack to live in and a raised platform for sleeping on. One evening the husband was awoken by an intruder. There’s a thief in our [...]
Errata Yes, mistakes have been made! Religion for one thing: faith based beliefs are a really really bad idea- and nothing will persuade me that this isn’t so. Climate change for another. What if we’re about to tip the planet into meltdown?- and what about if we’re not? And [...]
Back in 1973 I reckoned I'd have this done by my 30th birthday (1976), but it's taken a bit longer: Why kites (don't) fly- single line kite stability. For a kite to fly on a single line, it must, as the most basic condition, have some way to detect [...]