If you haven’t failed, you haven’t lived.
Browsing Posts published by Kenn
BoGo Lights are solar powered flashlights with rechargeable batteries that last for 750 to 1,000 nights of individual use (photo by BoGo Light)
The average family in the developing world can spend 20 to 30 percent of their disposable income to purchase sources of illumination. A solar powered renewable light source significantly reduces or eliminates this cost for families who live on $1 to $2 per day.
Two billion people living in the developing world rely on kerosene lanterns, candles, and single-use battery flashlights for light at night. Not only are these options expensive, dangerous, and harmful to the environment, they also negatively impact health, education, and security.
You can provide light to those in developing countries who need it and get a BoGo light for yourself. Check out the Buy One Give One offers for the Mini-BoGo Light or the larger SN2. You can even choose where you want to send your donated light.
The BoGo Light is a handheld solar powered flashlight with rechargeable batteries that provides light for years. When the energy is exhausted, simply replace the three standard AA rechargeable batteries and keep going. Most flashlights are made by companies that sell batteries. A great way to power battery sales is to offer disposable flashlights with a short life measured in hours. BoGo Light life is measured in years and they are reusable.
Mark Bent founded two companies–SunNight Solar to sell solar lights to commercial and government clients; BoGo Light as a non-profit organization to provide lights to charities and under-developed countries. He has partnered with the World Bank on a program called Lighting Up the Bottom of the Pyramid.
Re-manufactured hybrid battery in a first generation Toyota Prius, view looking into trunk with rear seat removed (photo by Javier Escalante at Raul's Automotive in Austin, TX)
It’s what every hybrid vehicle owner fears: having to replace the expensive hybrid battery buried somewhere in the back of the car. Our 2002 first-generation Toyota Prius has 130,000 miles and all symptoms indicated it was time.
We spent a lot of time researching the differences between Gen 1 and Gen 2 Prius batteries and read up on Toyota options, memos, recommendations, and pricing. Pricing diversity across Toyota dealers is concerning. For a Gen 1 Prius, $4,000-$6,000 will buy a new curiously somewhat obsolete hybrid battery that, like the expired battery, is prone to leaking cells and corrosion (those issues were addressed with the Gen 2 battery but Toyota has not passed all those improvements to the Gen 1 version). Some dealers require replacement of more than essential hybrid battery components while others try to convince us the hybrid battery is not the problem and lobby for more analysis. We spent $200+ on various Toyota dealers’ interpretations of inconclusive data held within our Prius on-board computer.
After talking with several Toyota dealers and probing online, we select Re-Involt Technologies in North Carolina. They have a unique innovative method of re-manufacturing Gen 1 and Gen 2 Prius batteries, but more importantly they’ve updated the Gen 1 battery with some Gen 2 enhancements, plus common sense elements of their own design. We couldn’t find a repair facility in Houston so with help from Re-Involt we shipped the battery and moved the car to Raul’s Automotive in Austin, TX. Javier with Raul’s and Tracy with Re-Involt kept us informed at every step along the way, from battery exchange and shipping to installation and road test results. Javier even emailed photos taken during the Re-Involt battery installation.
The results speak for themselves: we saved money, had the pleasure of dealing with motivated independent businesses, kept a battery out of the landfill, and early reports indicate the self-diagnosed performance issues have been resolved.
Raul's Automotive mechanics lift the 130+ pound hybrid battery into place (photo by Javier Escalante at Raul's Automotive)
Universal Studios Florida (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Hollywood Rip Ride RockitSM, The Simpsons Ride™, Shrek 4-D™, Revenge of the Mummy®, MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™, Terminator 2®: 3-D, E.T. Adventure®, Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast™, JAWS®, Animal Actors On Location!SM, Curious George Goes To TownSM, Fear Factor Live, Fievel’s Playland®, and TWISTER…Ride It Out® are some of the popular attractions at Universal Studios Florida which opened on June 7, 1990.
2010 Seniors: Victoria, Valery, Namrata, Tiffany, and Elizabeth (photo by Kenn Stearns)
What a blast shooting 2010 Seniors at multiple locations. While the storm clouds gathered we didn’t let it dampen our spirits. Thank you ladies for the great attitudes, smiles, and energy. It makes a photographer’s job easier and a lot more fun. Check out their Slideshow.
Salt and pepper (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Just what every table needs: salt and pepper
The iconic fairy-tale castle that's the Fantasyland gateway in the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Disney is the largest theme park operator in the world. Herbert “Herbie” Dickens Ryman created the first master drawing of Disneyland. He worked on every Disney theme park until his death in 1989.
As the chief designer of the castle, Ryman combined architectural elements from popular French castles with those from the fortress in the movie Cinderella. The iconic castle was constructed with a steel frame and fiberglass exterior to withstand Florida hurricanes. The mote around the castle holds more than three million gallons of water.
A popular attraction at SeaWorld Orlando (photo by Kenn Stearns)
The Blackstone Group, L.P. was founded in 1985 and over the last 25 years has evolved into one of the largest global private equity investment firms. The company has four primary business segments:
- Corporate private equity – six funds totaling $36+ billion
- Real estate – $28 billion in a series of funds
- Marketable alternative asset management – includes the acquisition of GSO Capital Partners
- Financial advisory – clients include AIG, Comcast, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Sony, and Verizon.
In October 2009, Blackstone acquired Busch Entertainment Corporation for $2.7 billion. When the acquisition was completed three months later Blackstone changed the company name to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, which in 2009 was the fifth largest amusement park operator in the world.
Baby Texas Longhorns at the Sutton's spread in Dayton, TX (photo by Kenn Stearns
Celebrating Memorial Day at the Sutton’s spread east of Lake Houston with two excellent examples of Texas Longhorn with burnt orange coloring, descendants of the first domestic cattle to reach the Americas from Spain in the late 1400s. Texas Longhorn calves are tough – they can stand up sooner after birth than other breeds. This breed of cattle is distinguished by their innate gentle disposition and intelligence.
Chefs Chris Shepherd and Randy Evans at Eastside Farmer's Market (photo by Kenn Stearns)
The community benefits when chefs and farmers connect through locally-produced vegetables, fruits, and farm products. Yesterday I spotted these locavore chefs – Chris Shepherd (chef and managing partner of Catalan Food & Wine) and Randy Evans (executive chef of Haven) – comparing notes in the 90+ degree heat/humidity during a break in their buying activities at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market at Eastside. Farmers appreciate the restaurants’ buying power and restaurant customers enjoy fresh ingredients that taste good. It’s all good!
Farm-grown eight-ball zucchini (photo by Kenn Stearns)
This variety of zucchini doesn’t vine all over the place. It’s usually confined to a compact bush. Its leaves grow on sturdy stalks that grow straight up from the middle of the plant. Zucchini form in a cluster from the center of the plant.
Laredo Taqueria in Houston, Washington @ Snover St in The Heights, Washington Corridor (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Colorful, hard to miss, best breakfast tacos in town, owner does not like people to take pictures of his bidness
Charleston, SC (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Radishes at farmer's market (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Lake Travis (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Lake Travis winds 65 miles through the central Texas hill country. The reservoir on the Colorado River was formed in 1942 by the construction of the Mansfield Dam (formerly Marshall Ford Dam) three miles northwest of Austin.
