Short and sweet…
I l-o-v-e this incredible tank.
The Merkava IV!
It blows all the others away. đ
What an amazing birthday gift from my beautiful kids.Â
A model of the awesome Merkava IV battle tank from Israel.Â
They know how much I love this tank which the brave soldiers of the IDF use to protect the Holy Land of Israel.Â
As a son of Holocaust survivors, this gift left me so emotional and literally brought tears to my eyes.Â
One of the real tributes of the Merkava is that unlike almost every other tank in the entire world which has its engine in the rear to protect it from enemy fire…
The Merkava IV has the engine in the front to protect the lives of the Israeli soldiers who man it.Â
To the Jewish people, it’s not the tank that is important in and of itself, but it is its ability to protect each and every sacred life behind it.Â
That is the noble creed of the Israelite people–nothing is more valuable than human life.Â
70-years after the founding of the State of Israel–established from the very ashes of the 6,000,000 murdered in the Holocaust–I am so proud to say that IDF, despite being under almost constant threat from enemies near and far, protects the people and country with the utmost bravery, human dignity, and as a true light unto the nations.Â
They are true heroes! May G-d Almighty bless each and every defender who stands watch over the Holy Land, and may He speedily bring a true and lasting peace to us all.Â
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Absolutely loved the article and video in Bloomberg Businessweek on the Tankchair.
Brad Soden makes these amazing ruggedized wheelchairs for wounded veterans and other disabled people in need of getting around some rougher terrain.
They are customized for each user and cost about $15,000 each.
They are built on tank-like treads and can go up stairs, through fields, across streams, and over snow.
“Basically, it’s get off the couch and go enjoy life!”
They are tough and can last 15-20 years!
He first made one for his wife who was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident and was having difficulty keeping up on a family camping trip.
Soden is truly inspirational–he produces these not too make money, but too help people.
“The body can’t keep up, so we’re gonna fix it.”
This is an awesome man making an extreme machine. đ
(Source Photo: Tankchair)
Scientific researchers in Britain, Norway and the U.S. are bringing us a major breakthrough in material scienceâby developing a âsuper strengthâ substance called graphene.
According to the Guardian (26 December 2012), graphene has âunmatched electrical and physical properties.â Itâs made of an âatom-thick sheet of carbon molecules, arranged in a honeycomb lattice,â and promises to revolutionize telecommunications, electronics, energy industries, not to mention the untold applications for the military.
– Conductivity: Â Transmits electricity a million times better than copper
– Strength: The strongest material known to humankind, 200 times that of steel (Sciencebuzz)
– Transparency & Flexibility: Â So thin that light comes through it; more stretchable than any known conductor of electricity
Just a few of the amazing uses graphene will make possible (some of these from MarketOracle):
– Home windows that are also solar panelsâclear off that roof and yard
– TV in your windows and mirrorsâthink you have information overload now?
– Thinner, lighter, and wrappable LED touch screens around your wristsâeveryone can have Dick Tracy style
– Medical implants and organ replacements that can âlast disease-free for a hundred yearsââgiving you that much more time to be a helicopter parent
– Vastly more powerful voice, video and data and palm-size computersâgiving the average person the âpower of 10,000 mainframesâ
– Both larger and lighter satellites and space vehiclesâimagine a skyscraper-size vehicle weighing less than your âpatio barbecue grillâ!
– Tougher and faster tanks and armored personnel carriers with the plus of an invisibility cloakâeven âHarry Potterâ would be jealous
The potential is truly amazing, so whomever thinks that the best technology is behind us, better think again. Better yet, soon theyâll be able to get a graphene brain implant to help them realize what theyâve been missing. đ
(Source Photo: here with attribution to University of Maryland)