“We have a terrific turn-out for our first-ever PEEPs diorama, attracting 26 entries.”
It Doesn't Feel like Easter Without Someone Doing Something Unusual with PEEPS
Appearing in SFGate.com, April 18, 2019
If you’ve not seen, heard about, or tasted a PEEP®, chances are you’re part of a rather small American minority. Colorful, versatile, and nearly as impervious to destruction as a cockroach, these confections have been taking center stage in Napa County Library’s first-ever PEEPs diorama competition.
“We have a terrific turn-out for our first-ever PEEPS diorama, attracting 26 entries,” said Melinda Mathis, teen librarian for Napa County Library. “Sets of siblings, parent-and-child, even entire families collaborated to create small-scale dioramas whose main characters could be found in a book.” Read more >>
Appearing in SFGate.com, April 18, 2019
If you’ve not seen, heard about, or tasted a PEEP®, chances are you’re part of a rather small American minority. Colorful, versatile, and nearly as impervious to destruction as a cockroach, these confections have been taking center stage in Napa County Library’s first-ever PEEPs diorama competition.
“We have a terrific turn-out for our first-ever PEEPS diorama, attracting 26 entries,” said Melinda Mathis, teen librarian for Napa County Library. “Sets of siblings, parent-and-child, even entire families collaborated to create small-scale dioramas whose main characters could be found in a book.” Read more >>
The Ocean Cleanup Annual Report 2020
2020 Annual Report The Ocean Cleanup
2020 was the year the world stood still as the effects of COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the globe. As the pandemic permeated the lives and livelihoods of people around the world we shifted our attention, finding ways to curb its detriments. Even faced with these conditions, the mission of The Ocean Cleanup remained as valid as ever, if not more. Single-use plastics, such as masks and medical materials, proliferated. Our cleanup and recycling efforts slowed down, some coming to a complete halt. Despite the challenges, The Ocean Cleanup team persevered and continued working towards our mission. Read more>>
2020 was the year the world stood still as the effects of COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the globe. As the pandemic permeated the lives and livelihoods of people around the world we shifted our attention, finding ways to curb its detriments. Even faced with these conditions, the mission of The Ocean Cleanup remained as valid as ever, if not more. Single-use plastics, such as masks and medical materials, proliferated. Our cleanup and recycling efforts slowed down, some coming to a complete halt. Despite the challenges, The Ocean Cleanup team persevered and continued working towards our mission. Read more>>
“Regatta racing is the only thing that completely unplugs my mind from business pursuits.”
West Coast Grand Prix Racing with Dutch Roots
“Regatta racing is the only thing that completely unplugs my mind from business pursuits,” says San Francisco Bay Area resident Frank Slootman, Pac52 fleet co-founder and owner of the Invisible Hand, hull two designed by Judel/Vrolijk and built by Cookson in New Zealand. A native of Huizen in Holland, this Netherlands School of Economics graduate, Erasmus University Rotterdam, reveals his passion for building companies to be as strong as his passion for developing winning crews. He’s helmed various yachts, including a Reichel/Pugh 63, the Invisible Hand (first to finish 2014 Pacific Cup, first in division 2015 Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas), his J/111 also named Invisible Hand, plus a J/70 Little Hand. His newest investment in Pac52 silver, plus leadership role building the West Coast (United States) fleet, seem destined to yield top dividends. A good luck talisman adorns all his vessels—skipper claims an invisible hand has been aiding him in business and racing. Read more >>
“Regatta racing is the only thing that completely unplugs my mind from business pursuits,” says San Francisco Bay Area resident Frank Slootman, Pac52 fleet co-founder and owner of the Invisible Hand, hull two designed by Judel/Vrolijk and built by Cookson in New Zealand. A native of Huizen in Holland, this Netherlands School of Economics graduate, Erasmus University Rotterdam, reveals his passion for building companies to be as strong as his passion for developing winning crews. He’s helmed various yachts, including a Reichel/Pugh 63, the Invisible Hand (first to finish 2014 Pacific Cup, first in division 2015 Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas), his J/111 also named Invisible Hand, plus a J/70 Little Hand. His newest investment in Pac52 silver, plus leadership role building the West Coast (United States) fleet, seem destined to yield top dividends. A good luck talisman adorns all his vessels—skipper claims an invisible hand has been aiding him in business and racing. Read more >>
“So what's the deal with bananas? I mean they're small and neat and come with their own packaging.”
Bananas to Blame: Why Sailors Ban the Banana
To paraphrase something that Jerry Seinfeld might say: “So what’s the deal with bananas? I mean, they’re small and neat and come with their own packaging. Why don’t sailors like them on boats?” This question has come up yet again, so time to peel back some insight. It’s true that a ‘no bananas on board rule’ is followed without fail in Hawaii. A Florida firm, No Bananas Fishing Charters, insists the fruit remain verboten. Yet when I asked a few racer pals about bringing a banana onboard, only one skipper was adamant that it remain in absentia. Read more >>
To paraphrase something that Jerry Seinfeld might say: “So what’s the deal with bananas? I mean, they’re small and neat and come with their own packaging. Why don’t sailors like them on boats?” This question has come up yet again, so time to peel back some insight. It’s true that a ‘no bananas on board rule’ is followed without fail in Hawaii. A Florida firm, No Bananas Fishing Charters, insists the fruit remain verboten. Yet when I asked a few racer pals about bringing a banana onboard, only one skipper was adamant that it remain in absentia. Read more >>
“California’s unrelenting wildfire threat faces additional challenges from ever-increasing scrutiny and government regulation.”
Navigating a Potentially Difficult Year: Data-Driven Conversation
Current climate conditions in California reveal that 2020 may have a higher than normal risk for wildfire losses. The probability that California will undergo losses of more than $10Bn in a non-drought year is ~2.5% (1 in 40 years) but that probability jumps to 3.5 % in a drought year (a whopping 40% increase). The combination of high resolution aerial imagery, property-level loss history and artificial intelligence (AI) can yield actionable insight into where future fires are more likely to flare up and how structures may fare if involved in a fire perimeter. That data can be used to help insurers better understand risk and increase transparency with homeowners, agents, and regulators. Read more >>
Current climate conditions in California reveal that 2020 may have a higher than normal risk for wildfire losses. The probability that California will undergo losses of more than $10Bn in a non-drought year is ~2.5% (1 in 40 years) but that probability jumps to 3.5 % in a drought year (a whopping 40% increase). The combination of high resolution aerial imagery, property-level loss history and artificial intelligence (AI) can yield actionable insight into where future fires are more likely to flare up and how structures may fare if involved in a fire perimeter. That data can be used to help insurers better understand risk and increase transparency with homeowners, agents, and regulators. Read more >>
“My Everest is to do the Whitbread and sail around the world.”
Onne van der Wal: Setting a Course in Marine Photography
A young Onne van der Wal said this once upon a time. Not only did this young man achieve that goal of sailing the world, but also put in motion a career that, to this day, still loops him around the globe. With lens in hand, the master photographer rides the wave of an enviable career creating maritime art for private collections, international companies, publishers, major regattas and America’s Cup athletes. Read more >>
A young Onne van der Wal said this once upon a time. Not only did this young man achieve that goal of sailing the world, but also put in motion a career that, to this day, still loops him around the globe. With lens in hand, the master photographer rides the wave of an enviable career creating maritime art for private collections, international companies, publishers, major regattas and America’s Cup athletes. Read more >>
“We have to work with other industries to find common solutions for FRP.”
Breaking Up is Hard to Do
As appearing in June 2018 Points East magazine
Boating is a major industry in America. As of 2016, there was an estimated 11.9 million registered boats in the U.S.—the vast majority being made of fiberglass. An average fiberglass boat has a lifespan of 30 to 40 years. Durable and relatively lightweight, production of fiberglass boats began to take-off in the 1960s as manufacturers were able to quickly and affordably produce them for a growing middle-class; a boom in sales was seen between 1960 to the late 1970s. Dan Spurr, editor at Practical Sailor and author of "Heart of Glass" (a book on the history of fiberglass sailboats), states that Ray Greene of Toledo, Ohio, was the first to build a fiberglass and polyester sailboat in 1942; it was likely a Snipe. Spurr tags development of polyester resin as the tipping point for this fiberglass revolution. Interesting to note though, a November/December 1999 Good Old Boat article by Steve Mitchell reads, “It turns out there were several earlier boats made of fiberglass and various plastic resins, but most of them were too brittle for practical use.” Unfortunately, fiberglass is not an eco-friendly material. Read more >>
As appearing in June 2018 Points East magazine
Boating is a major industry in America. As of 2016, there was an estimated 11.9 million registered boats in the U.S.—the vast majority being made of fiberglass. An average fiberglass boat has a lifespan of 30 to 40 years. Durable and relatively lightweight, production of fiberglass boats began to take-off in the 1960s as manufacturers were able to quickly and affordably produce them for a growing middle-class; a boom in sales was seen between 1960 to the late 1970s. Dan Spurr, editor at Practical Sailor and author of "Heart of Glass" (a book on the history of fiberglass sailboats), states that Ray Greene of Toledo, Ohio, was the first to build a fiberglass and polyester sailboat in 1942; it was likely a Snipe. Spurr tags development of polyester resin as the tipping point for this fiberglass revolution. Interesting to note though, a November/December 1999 Good Old Boat article by Steve Mitchell reads, “It turns out there were several earlier boats made of fiberglass and various plastic resins, but most of them were too brittle for practical use.” Unfortunately, fiberglass is not an eco-friendly material. Read more >>
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