Via Paolo: Metro Bits.
Daily Archives: July 18, 2005
Fossett Crosses the Atlantic in a Vickers Vimy
Financier and adventurer Steve Fossett flew a replica of the first airplane to travel nonstop across the Atlantic recently. Aviation Week:
Pilot Steve Fossett and navigator Mark Rebholz took off from St. John’s, Newfoundland, on July 2 at about 7 p.m. in fog, heavy cloud cover and strong winds. They had a good tailwind until midway and made most of the trip under cloud cover, not seeing the Sun until about the last 5 hr.
Fossett and Rebholz expected the crossing to be completed by 4-5 p.m. the next day and, in fact, landed at 5:05 p.m. Irish time, setting down safely at the eighth hole of Connemara golf course. That was a slightly better result than the original June 14-15, 1919, crossing by Royal Flying Corps pilot Capt. John Alcock and navigator Lt. Arthur Whitten Brown. They ended up nose-down on soft ground after a 16-hr. crossing that included an ice storm.
More on Fossett
Lessons in The Art of Travel
I always go straight to the nearest supermarket, to find out what the locals actually eat and drink, rather than what the guidebooks say they do. Essential for making informed restaurant decisions later, and a dependable entertainment in itself: there’s always some arresting indigenous twist on a theme, such as lobster-flavoured Walkers crisps, and you can usually count on spotting the likes of Frische Dickmilche or Fockink Anis on the shelves.
Fast Growing Companies Prefer a Flat Tax
Matthew Phan discusses the obvious benefits of a simplified tax system. We waste hours and hours on our current tax morass:
Of the 341 executives interviewed, 48% preferred a flat corporate rate over the current tax system for businesses like their own, compared to 16% who supported the current system. 13% preferred a value-added consumption tax and 23% indicated that they were uncertain which was better.
The complexity of the current system could be one reason owners prefer a flat tax, at least from the CEOs that Inc. interviewed separately. “The simpler the tax structure and the more visibility you give it, the better,” said David Steinberg, founder and CEO of InPhonix, the No. 1 company on the Inc. 500 list in 2004. “The more complex a system, the more accountants you need to hire.”