Virgin's Richard Branson and friends board their new plane, "My Other Ride's a Spaceship" for a trip to their partner Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites, and the beginnings of a new era in space, starting with launch vehicle White Knight.

"I'm old enough to have seen the moon landing ... I've wanted to go into space when I saw the moon landing ... I've never had that opportunity ... and ... it will be one of the most exciting things I've done in my life." --Richard Branson

Filed under: space, scaled composites, virgin, richard branson, and burt rutan

Another review of the Tesla Roadster, this one of Martin's personal car, delivered at last, by one of the most active posters on the independent Tesla forums.

Filed under: tesla motors, martin eberhard, and

This is a story I've been following for what seems like years. Tesla Motors, the innovative Silicon Valley startup that promised to deliver a no-excuses electric sports car, has finally delivered Production Model 2 to founder Martin Eberhard.

Martin put his heart and soul into the car and was then tossed out by the main investor Elon Musk when they couldn't come to terms on the company's future direction. I thought Martin's management was first rate. Of course he made some mistakes, but surprisingly few for a project where nearly everything was new and original.

But like Jim Jannard of RED Digital Cinema, Martin and partners founded Tesla largely to build the car of their dreams, and now Martin drives his dream. A brilliant achievement, and I hope he can get back into the car biz soon.

Filed under: tesla, tesla motors, martin eberhard, and cars

Someone decided to enter a Radiohead remix contest using a comgination of the strangest musical instruments ever -- old scanners, hard drives, dot matrix printers and ancient computers!

Don't be too spooked by the computer at the beginning - the better parts come to those who are patient.

Here's another link with more videos.

Filed under: music, ancient hardware, dot matrix, scanner, and hard drives

I normally try to post positive, uplifting stories on amazing.com, but this one's close to my heart.

Martin Eberhard, founder of Tesla Motors, is not being treated well. He was kicked out of the company by financier Elon Musk, despite having attracted numerous fans as the company's open and genial public face. Martin created the whole conception behind the company.

During the employment negotiations, he was promised Roadster #2. Even after his firing, he recommitted his order for Roadster #2 and was told it would ship as the second production prototype.

Tesla appears to have broken that promise by shipping serial number 3 to a happy new owner but #2 has yet to leave the Lotus factory on its leisurely way to the US.

The whole shameful story is at the link. Not so amazing, but an interesting clash of egos over what is still said to be a wonderful car, well worth your interest ...

if the company survives long enough to build it for you.

Filed under: Tesla, Tesla Roadster, and Martin Eberhard