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Archive for June, 2010

If you don’t have plans yet for your July 4th weekend, then Munising should be your destination! (If you already have plans for somewhere else, cancel them!) This is the time of year when the population about doubles (for this small town) as family and friends return “home.” The celebration dates back many years and people from all over look forward to Munising’s big July 4th celebration and the traditions it holds. To kickoff the celebration is always the “Firecracker 2-Blocker” Soap Box Derby on July 2nd @ 5pm. Come cheer the kids as they race their homemade vehicles to the finish! Also, on July 2nd is a huge fundraiser for the Munising Volunteer Fire Department at the Barge Inn from 7pm-midnight. For the second year running, the fundraiser will include live music, a silent auction as well as hat and t-shirt sales to benefit the volunteer firefighters. Then on Saturday, July 3rd is the Munising Bay Arts Festival. This great event was moved to the July 4th weekend and features some amazing artwork from around the Upper Peninsula. The art festival is being held from 9am–5pm in the People’s State Bank parking lot on Elm Avenue. Come out and see how talented Yoopers really are. And finally, July 4th!!! The day everyone in the area looks forward to every year! This day features something for everyone! From the early morning “Fun Run” to games, music, food and entertainment throughout the entire day. Some of the highlights include:

• Parade through downtown Munising, 12:30pm
• Pet parade – dress up your pet & yourself, 3:30pm
• Fire dept. water fight, 4:30pm
• Grease pole, 5:30pm
• Fireworks – one of the best displays in the U.P., 10:30pm or dusk

So there you have it! A great weekend is on the horizon and the weather forecast is looking perfect! We hope to see you in Munising!

Sunday, June 27th

After a very dry spring, we have moved to the other end of the spectrum. For the month of June, so far, we’ve received around 5.5 inches of rain! This is about 2 inches more than our normal June average. With all the rain, the impressive waterfalls in the Munising area are excellent viewing right now and the streams should be up for some good trout fishing. Bring your camera and the bug spray. As for the temperatures, it has been really warm but muggy. The extended forecast is showing mild temperatures and a few chances of rain.

This weekend is a busy weekend here in Munising and in Grand Marais. Here’s what’s going on:

Pictured Rocks Road Race – Run for the Red Cross – June 26th & 27th
Here in Munising is the annual Pictured Rocks Road Race “Run for the Red Cross” on Sunday morning. Everyone is invited to take part in this great event as it features a Half-Marathon, a 5K Run and a Fun Walk. Also, join everyone for a spaghetti dinner at Bayshore Park on Saturday night from 4:30-7:00pm. For those registered to run/walk, the meal is free! Visit the Pictured Rocks Road Race website for additional race info and race starts.

Grand Marais Offshore Fishing Tournament – June 25th-27th
Here’s your chance to fish Lake Superior and potentially win $4000 with a first place fish as well as other great prizes. To kick off the event, there will be a dinner and captains meeting on Friday night beginning at 5:30pm. Everyone is invited! Then on Saturday and Sunday the boats will head out to catch that winning fish. Once the boats return to the marina on Sunday afternoon, the awards and a fish-fry will take place. Visit the Fishing Tourney website for more information, online registration and pictures from last year’s event.

Grand Marais Garden Tour – June 26th
For those looking to view some beautiful gardens and learn a few new gardening tips, head to Grand Marais on Saturday for this annual event. From 10:00am-4:00pm there will be garden tours, workshops and a silent auction. The event is hosted by the Green Space “On-the-Bay” Committee.

So there you go, a few great events happening in the beautiful central Upper Peninsula. Check back next week for details on the Fourth of July Celebration!

Wireless Power: Has The Time Come?

Tesla: Reading in the Light of Wireless Power at Pike’s Peak, Colorado, 1899

We fill the fuel tanks of our cars, aircraft and ships with refined oil and then breathe the smoke from these transporters as they burn dirty hydro-carbons along with many toxic chemicals, including some known to cause cancer. Not only that, but when the “black gold” is extracted from deep underneath the sea, we can get the Gulf of Mexico toxic gusher which we can’t seem to stop.

Did Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) — the famous inventor of the alternating current power system deployed worldwide — have the answer?

With the discovery of electricity, everybody expected that all cars would be electric and run on rechargeable batteries. Tesla had gone one step further and actually produced a working automobile that ran on electricity taken from the surrounding air like an antenna picks up radio waves. This would revolutionize travel just like his AC induction motor had fundamentally altered the industrial world.

John Pierpont Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford were not pleased with Tesla’s wireless power travel solutions. No gasoline engine meant no oil monopoly for the Rockefellers. Their Standard Oil Company was losing its key market of home lighting to Thomas Alva Edison’s electric light bulb.

The legendary investor and banker JP Morgan did not like the idea of wireless energy based travel — road, air or sea — because where would one put the meter to charge? He favored the joint solution of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil and Ford’s modern car based on the internal combustion engine for its clear income stream!Although there is some skepticism surrounding Tesla’s work in wireless power, there is no doubt that he was a towering figure responsible for many key advances that enable the modern electric world.

Shouldn’t we revisit applications of Tesla’s wireless power solutions? As we find ourselves surrounded by 21st century intractable challenges, there is a need to reconsider some of his seminal thinking in wireless power generation and transmission.

We need to incorporate those ideas, systems and solutions into the innovation which humanity collectively seeks for the age beyond oil. Unless we are able to increase energy efficiency during transmission and utilize the power already generated, it is difficult to envisage how we may slowly begin to wean ourselves away from massive oil dependency.

There can be no doubt that there are some vital answers lurking in the closet marked Tesla. This time around, with modern computing technology solutions at our disposal, wireless power might make even more commercial sense whilst reducing our dependence on oil at the same time.