Infrastructure

[Farfromgeneva]

10 hours ago - Politics & Policy
The infrastructure Republicans
Andrew Solender
Andrew Solender
Don Bacon
Rep. Don Bacon. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Some of the swing-district House Republicans who crossed party lines to help Democrats pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill told Axios they believe they can survive the political fallout from their own party — and that their vote strengthens their own standing with general election voters a year from now.

The big picture: The 13 GOP votes gave Speaker Nancy Pelosi the numbers to pass the bill despite no-votes from six liberal Democrats who held out trying to secure a bigger version of the companion Build Back Better social spending package.

They included a combination of lawmakers who are retiring and who will seek re-election. Some did — but most didn't — vote to impeach former President Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection.
What they're saying: "I weakened their hand. They have n0 leverage now," said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), who had shaped a GOP-friendly spin on her vote by the time she exited the chamber: "I voted against AOC and the squad tonight."

Malliotakis told Axios that progressives will no longer be able to hold the bill hostage and predicted Build Back Better will be "drastically weakened" in the Senate or "die altogether" as a result of the infrastructure bill passing.
A damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't choice is what Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Axios he faced, so he said he did what felt right. "You vote one way, maybe it hurts in the primary. You vote the other way... in my district, it'd hurt me in the general."

With Republican leadership whipping against the bill as "inextricably linked" with a larger social spending package opposed by all Republicans, Bacon says he faced "pressure" on the House floor from GOP colleagues to sink the bill.
While "certain elements of our party did not like it," he said, the bill is popular among his constituents, with broad support from farmers, unions and businesses — with internal polls showing two-thirds support or higher in his district.
"I helped draft this bill," Bacon said. "To do a flip wouldn't have been appropriate. Wouldn't have been right." He acknowledged he could face a primary challenger who tries to tie him to the social spending package, but he predicted, "I'll still win."
The other side: Hardliner and provocateur Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), has pledged to support intra-party challenges against Republicans who voted for the bill.

She tweeted out the office numbers of the 13 Republicans and claimed they "handed over their voting cards to Nancy Pelosi to pass Joe Biden’s Communist takeover of America via so-called infrastructure."
Bacon shrugged: "She wouldn't do too well in Omaha."
Details... The 13 House Republicans who voted for the bill include: Bacon; Malliotakis; Don Young of Alaska; Adam Kinzinger of Illinois; Fred Upton of Michigan; Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith of New Jersey; Andrew Garbarino, John Katko and Tom Reed of New York; Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio; Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania; and David McKinley of West Virginia.

The six House Democrats who voted against the bill include: Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts; Rashida Tlaib of Michigan; Ilhan Omar of Minnesota; Cori Bush of Missouri; Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York;

[a fan]

....looking at the votes, what did we all learn about how much power the left wing of the Dem party holds?

Zippo. The corporate Dems have all the power.

[youthathletics]

....looking at the votes, what did we all learn about how much power the left wing of the Dem party holds?

Zippo. The corporate Dems have all the power.

Kasich was speaking of this last night on CNN....in a sense. Making an argument that Joe go across the isle to get some R’s rather than working the partisan angle. And in the end it gives the left wing the Heisman hand.

[a fan]

....looking at the votes, what did we all learn about how much power the left wing of the Dem party holds?

Zippo. The corporate Dems have all the power.

Kasich was speaking of this last night on CNN....in a sense. Making an argument that Joe go across the isle to get some R’s rather than working the partisan angle. And in the end it gives the left wing the Heisman hand.

And maybe.....just maybe....the reasonable moderate will drive the bus for the next year.

Fingers crossed. I WANT the Republicans who aren't playing games to have a hand in all these bills.

I have to see what's in this bill. Maybe it's better than what I saw weeks ago. Hope springs eternal, and all that....

[Brooklyn]

Hardliner and provocateur Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), has pledged to support intra-party challenges against Republicans who voted for the bill.

She tweeted out the office numbers of the 13 Republicans and claimed they "handed over their voting cards to Nancy Pelosi to pass Joe Biden’s Communist takeover of America via so-called infrastructure."

Far right radicals like her are so full of schittsky. Had even a fraction of that money had been on military industrial complex corporate welfarism it would be praised as an example of capitalist excellence.

[Farfromgeneva]

Hardliner and provocateur Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), has pledged to support intra-party challenges against Republicans who voted for the bill.

She tweeted out the office numbers of the 13 Republicans and claimed they "handed over their voting cards to Nancy Pelosi to pass Joe Biden’s Communist takeover of America via so-called infrastructure."

Far right radicals like her are so full of schittsky. Had even a fraction of that money had been on military industrial complex corporate welfarism it would be praised as an example of capitalist excellence.

What opinion do you have of the Dems that voted against it?

[Brooklyn]

What opinion do you have of the Dems that voted against it?

I understand they wanted Build Back Better to be a part of the bill rather than take a separate vote. So long as they fight for that later on and not betray Biden like Manchin and Sinema did, I can understand their motivation.

[Farfromgeneva]

What opinion do you have of the Dems that voted against it?

I understand they wanted Build Back Better to be a part of the bill rather than take a separate vote. So long as they fight for that later on and not betray Biden like Manchin and Sinema did, I can understand their motivation.

So politics over function? Are “protest votes” legitimate? Or is someone’s record how they vote? If that’s a position I’d hope to see consistency on that. I personally think folks should vote for what they think is right. One could argue they attempted to “hijack” the system just like they accuse Manchin and Sinema of if there wasn’t a number of Republicans who voted for this bill.

In other words when they assault their own party members for this behavior they look like hypocrites and selfish at the risk/expense of their constituents. Further they will sh*t on Pelosi but that woman provided them the cover to make this dishonest political vote and still get what they want.

I’m not saying what’s right or wrong here other than that I wouldn’t give a shred of moral authority to those folks when they make moral milks about others. It’s all tactical.

[Brooklyn]

Biden has created multiple million jobs (without a single word of praise from the Dems) and has set the USA in the proper direction after the mess created by that idiot tRump. Why do anything to stop the momentum he started? In this I'm referring to those two DINOs who appear to be more hellbent in destroying that agenda rather than in helping it or improving the USA in any way. We saw the same thing when Blue Dog DINOs impeded the creation of Obamacare as it was endorsed in the DNC. Dems always shoot themselves in the foot and refuse to fully fix the mess Repuekblicons always create. Small wonder why they failed to make a sweep in the recent election. Watch for 2022, 2023, and 2024. Unless these idiots shape up and support Biden, things are going to get far worse. Who knows, we might even see tRump back in the White Wash House so that he can finish his job of fckkkkking up the USA.

[Farfromgeneva]

Good news for Staten Island!

SURFERS WANT TO TRANSFORM YOUR COMMUTE WITH HYDROFOILS
Entrepreneurs are seeking to make so-called foil boards as ubiquitous on the water as electric scooters are on land
AUTHOR
JEN MURPHY
PUBLISHED
NOV. 6, 2021 11:00 AM ET
READING TIME
8 MINUTE READ

SAVE

SHARE

TEXT
18

Listen to article
Length 10 minutes

Queue
The Future of Everything covers the innovation and technology transforming the way we live, work and play, with monthly issues on education, money, cities and more. This month is Transportation, online starting Nov. 3 and in print Nov 10.

The last time surfer Kai Lenny visited the Statue of Liberty, he skipped the ferry and hovered across the Hudson River and around the landmark on a hydrofoil board.

“It’s the fastest way to commute in New York,” says the Maui-born and based waterman. And if he has his way, hydrofoil-assisted surfing will become a popular way of commuting on the water.

The world’s smallest personal watercraft, the hydrofoil, or foil, board is made up of a surfboard and a mast that extends below the water, which is attached to a hydrofoil, essentially a fin with an airplane-like wing. As the wing deflects water pressure downward, the hydrofoil lifts the board 1 to 2 feet above the surface, moving it with the momentum of the waves, even small ones, and allowing the rider to glide without drag. Riders stand upright, steering as they would on a normal surfboard, by shifting pressure between the feet and pumping their legs to augment the momentum from the water. Some models, known as efoils, have battery-powered electric motors that keep riders in motion.


Maui-based brothers Kai Lenny, left, and Ridge Lenny want to introduce the masses to hydrofoil boards. They started a company in 2017 to develop more advanced versions of the technology.
PHOTO: FLORA RUDE AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
The Future of Everything

A look at how innovation and technology are transforming the way we live, work and play.
PREVIEW
SUBSCRIBE
Mr. Lenny wants to bring the foil board to the masses. Alongside companies like Puerto Rico-based Lift, Australia’s Fliteboard and New Zealand’s Manta5, he is seeking to use century-old hydrofoil technology for personal, water-based mobility devices that travel vast distances and don’t require surf experience or athletic expertise to use. Electric motors, better batteries, Bluetooth capabilities and beginner-friendly designs, proponents say, are primed to turn the foil board into a mainstream form of water transportation—as ubiquitous as shared electric scooters are on land.


In an era of traffic-congested roadways and rising gas prices, quiet, zero-emissions water travel has the potential to transform the urban commute, says Juan Matute, deputy director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

“Affordable, reliable, quick personal watercraft options that can embrace a shared-fleet business model would be a game-changer for people who live near waterways,” he says. “To have a board that can essentially work in any water conditions is a real innovation. But a lot of that innovation relies on building a network and regulations that allow the technology to be used by the masses.”


A surfer since age 4, Kai Lenny says he has reached speeds of 40 mph in open ocean swells on a foil surfboard, and can get moving in waves as tiny as 6 inches high.
The hurdles are daunting. Mass transit via foil board would need to meet water-safety requirements, including lanes that avoid boat traffic, as well as personal flotation devices and possibly helmets for riders, in case they fall in the water—the foils are sharp. Companies or authorities would also need to install infrastructure for efoils such as a network of solar charging stations and docking stations. Efoils cost upward of $14,000 or more and weigh around 60 pounds, making them luxury toys, for now. And even with an e-assist, riders need a basic fitness level to avoid tiring on longer rides or ending up wet.

The Lenny brothers’s big plans

Mr. Lenny, 29, makes it look effortless. An ocean athlete who has surfed since age 4 and ridden waves the size of Manhattan skyscrapers, he has the balance and strength necessary to be his own engine. He is able to keep the foil board moving for distances of up to 50 miles, and has crossed nearly every channel in the Hawaiian Islands.

He started the Hydrofoil Company in 2017 with his brother, Ridge Lenny, 24, and engineer Carlos Marino to research and develop foil technology. The first year, they engineered a wing design for a standup paddleboard that allowed Kai Lenny to cross the 26-mile channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu in 2 hours and 52 minutes, more than an hour faster than the previous record. Their foils are relatively narrow with long wingspans, similar to the wings of a glider aircraft, allowing for more forward momentum, Ridge Lenny says. Kai Lenny says he has reached speeds of 40 mph in open ocean swells on a foil surfboard, and can get moving in waves as tiny as 6 inches high.


The wing of the hydrofoil deflects water pressure downward, lifting the surfboard 1 to 2 feet above the surface of the waves. A rider can glide without drag or, in Kai Lenny’s case, do tricks. PHOTO: JAKE ATWOOD AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

PHOTO: FLORA RUDE AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Lenny brothers’ short-term goal is to develop foil technology for recreation and performance—designs sturdy enough to ride 100-foot waves—on surfboards, kiteboards and stand-up paddleboards, as well as inflated, hand-held wing assistance. Their first line of foils is set to be released in 2022. Someday, commuters could use efoil boards to travel waterways in cities like New York and Stockholm, just like they use municipal bike-sharing programs today, says Ridge Lenny.


“We believe the breakthroughs we’ve made in speed, stability and efficiency have the potential to dramatically increase the viability of use for personal transport going forward,” he says. “Our dream is to get the technology to the point where foils become a prevalent way of traveling across the Hawaiian Islands.”

The next wave of foil transit

Hydrofoils have been used on boats since the late 19th century, when early iterations helped increase boat speed while saving fuel. More recently, America’s Cup yacht-racing teams have added foils to their 72-foot catamarans, revolutionizing sport sailing. Ocean athletes have experimented with hydrofoils since the 1960s, adding them to everything from kneeboards to chairs. The 2003 film, “Step into Liquid,” featured big-wave riding legend Laird Hamilton being towed into giant waves wearing snowboard boots attached to a hydrofoil board and surfing the waves. With boards as light as 5 pounds and as small as 4 feet long, foil boards are now as common as surfboards in watersports meccas like Maui, Southern California, Australia and Hood River, Ore.

Nick Leason, a surfer and trained engineer, is credited with inventing the first efoil, which became available in 2018. The co-founder of Lift, he began developing the efoil in 2013, tapping into advances in batteries, brushless motors and Bluetooth and wireless communications.

“The number of smartphones, drones and electric vehicles released in the market has driven demand for the development and mass production of these components,” he says. “It has enabled companies like Lift to take advantage of technology that would otherwise not be available at scale.”

“Affordable, reliable, quick personal watercraft options that can embrace a shared-fleet business model would be a game-changer for people who live near waterways.”
— Juan Matute, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies
The company’s newest model, the Lift3 efoil, released this year, uses the same powerful lithium-ion battery as drones and electric vehicles. It can sustain a 2-hour ride on a 2-hour charge, reaching speeds of 30 mph. Emission-free, wake-free and almost silent, it’s like the Tesla of personal watercraft, says Mr. Leason. Four board designs and 14 wing shapes make it possible for riders to customize the device. Riders control their speed by a waterproof, Bluetooth controller.

Rudi Miklosvary, general manager of Fliteboard USA, expects that advances in battery, wireless and foil technologies will make efoils more accessible. This summer, riders used Fliteboard efoils to cross a 23-mile section of the English Channel. A rider in a suit and backpack, meant to simulate a commute, remained dry while circumnavigating a 55-mile route around the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England.

Lighter, longer lasting batteries and enhanced foil designs could make long-distance efoil travel a reality, says Mr. Miklosvary. In five to 10 years, he envisions efoils with fully automated stability, seating for multiple riders and watertight compartments for storage.

“The electrification of everything is resulting in significant investment in battery technologies and the rise in nonpowered foil surfing is leading to innovations in foil design and construction techniques,” he says.



Kai Lenny, left, and Ridge Lenny plan to release their first line of foils in 2022.
PHOTO: JAKE ATWOOD AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Manta5 is using hydrofoils on electric bikes that riders use on the surface of the waves. A seat and handlebars provide more stability, allowing riders to save energy and travel farther. Their model reaches speeds of 12 mph and gets up to 4 hours of ride time with pedal assist on a single battery charge, double the charge of efoils. The company tested the bike’s sturdiness at sea this summer by having a rider cycle across Cook Strait, the 16-mile stretch of rough water between New Zealand’s North and South Island. He completed the crossing in 2 hours and 28 minutes; ferries currently take more than 3 hours.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

How likely are you to commute on a hydrofoil board? Join the conversation below.
The current model, which costs $9,000 in the U.S., is designed as a watersports device. It semi-submerges when not in motion, meaning riders get wet mounting and dismounting. The company is developing prototypes that float and even detach from the foils, allowing users to continue cycling on dry land.

The motor broadens the market for who can use Manta5’s bike, including older people. Mark Robotham, the company’s chief executive, says that he expects that in a year or two, we’ll see manual foil bikes, floating hop-and-go electric-assisted foil bikes and performance models used for catching waves.

“Water covers 71% of the planet,” he says. “Foil technology is going gangbusters right now. As technology improves, costs will go down, and it will give the masses the freedom to get off congested roads and use waterways for travel.”

The Future of Everything | Transportation
Explore what's next for transportation in the November issue.
Surfers Want to Transform Your Commute With Hydrofoils
3-D-Printed Bridges Promise Smarter, Greener Transit Links
Why Your Car Will Become Even More Like an iPhone
A Former Uber Executive Takes a Fresh Approach to Self-Driving Vehicles
Read the full issue.

Write to Jen Murphy at [email protected]

[PizzaSnake]

....looking at the votes, what did we all learn about how much power the left wing of the Dem party holds?

Zippo. The corporate Dems have all the power.

Dem with the gold call the tune.

Same as it ever was.

[PizzaSnake]

Good news for Staten Island!

SURFERS WANT TO TRANSFORM YOUR COMMUTE WITH HYDROFOILS
Entrepreneurs are seeking to make so-called foil boards as ubiquitous on the water as electric scooters are on land
AUTHOR
JEN MURPHY
PUBLISHED
NOV. 6, 2021 11:00 AM ET
READING TIME
8 MINUTE READ

SAVE

SHARE

TEXT
18

Listen to article
Length 10 minutes

Queue
The Future of Everything covers the innovation and technology transforming the way we live, work and play, with monthly issues on education, money, cities and more. This month is Transportation, online starting Nov. 3 and in print Nov 10.

The last time surfer Kai Lenny visited the Statue of Liberty, he skipped the ferry and hovered across the Hudson River and around the landmark on a hydrofoil board.

“It’s the fastest way to commute in New York,” says the Maui-born and based waterman. And if he has his way, hydrofoil-assisted surfing will become a popular way of commuting on the water.

The world’s smallest personal watercraft, the hydrofoil, or foil, board is made up of a surfboard and a mast that extends below the water, which is attached to a hydrofoil, essentially a fin with an airplane-like wing. As the wing deflects water pressure downward, the hydrofoil lifts the board 1 to 2 feet above the surface, moving it with the momentum of the waves, even small ones, and allowing the rider to glide without drag. Riders stand upright, steering as they would on a normal surfboard, by shifting pressure between the feet and pumping their legs to augment the momentum from the water. Some models, known as efoils, have battery-powered electric motors that keep riders in motion.


Maui-based brothers Kai Lenny, left, and Ridge Lenny want to introduce the masses to hydrofoil boards. They started a company in 2017 to develop more advanced versions of the technology.
PHOTO: FLORA RUDE AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
The Future of Everything

A look at how innovation and technology are transforming the way we live, work and play.
PREVIEW
SUBSCRIBE
Mr. Lenny wants to bring the foil board to the masses. Alongside companies like Puerto Rico-based Lift, Australia’s Fliteboard and New Zealand’s Manta5, he is seeking to use century-old hydrofoil technology for personal, water-based mobility devices that travel vast distances and don’t require surf experience or athletic expertise to use. Electric motors, better batteries, Bluetooth capabilities and beginner-friendly designs, proponents say, are primed to turn the foil board into a mainstream form of water transportation—as ubiquitous as shared electric scooters are on land.


In an era of traffic-congested roadways and rising gas prices, quiet, zero-emissions water travel has the potential to transform the urban commute, says Juan Matute, deputy director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

“Affordable, reliable, quick personal watercraft options that can embrace a shared-fleet business model would be a game-changer for people who live near waterways,” he says. “To have a board that can essentially work in any water conditions is a real innovation. But a lot of that innovation relies on building a network and regulations that allow the technology to be used by the masses.”


A surfer since age 4, Kai Lenny says he has reached speeds of 40 mph in open ocean swells on a foil surfboard, and can get moving in waves as tiny as 6 inches high.
The hurdles are daunting. Mass transit via foil board would need to meet water-safety requirements, including lanes that avoid boat traffic, as well as personal flotation devices and possibly helmets for riders, in case they fall in the water—the foils are sharp. Companies or authorities would also need to install infrastructure for efoils such as a network of solar charging stations and docking stations. Efoils cost upward of $14,000 or more and weigh around 60 pounds, making them luxury toys, for now. And even with an e-assist, riders need a basic fitness level to avoid tiring on longer rides or ending up wet.

The Lenny brothers’s big plans

Mr. Lenny, 29, makes it look effortless. An ocean athlete who has surfed since age 4 and ridden waves the size of Manhattan skyscrapers, he has the balance and strength necessary to be his own engine. He is able to keep the foil board moving for distances of up to 50 miles, and has crossed nearly every channel in the Hawaiian Islands.

He started the Hydrofoil Company in 2017 with his brother, Ridge Lenny, 24, and engineer Carlos Marino to research and develop foil technology. The first year, they engineered a wing design for a standup paddleboard that allowed Kai Lenny to cross the 26-mile channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu in 2 hours and 52 minutes, more than an hour faster than the previous record. Their foils are relatively narrow with long wingspans, similar to the wings of a glider aircraft, allowing for more forward momentum, Ridge Lenny says. Kai Lenny says he has reached speeds of 40 mph in open ocean swells on a foil surfboard, and can get moving in waves as tiny as 6 inches high.


The wing of the hydrofoil deflects water pressure downward, lifting the surfboard 1 to 2 feet above the surface of the waves. A rider can glide without drag or, in Kai Lenny’s case, do tricks. PHOTO: JAKE ATWOOD AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

PHOTO: FLORA RUDE AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Lenny brothers’ short-term goal is to develop foil technology for recreation and performance—designs sturdy enough to ride 100-foot waves—on surfboards, kiteboards and stand-up paddleboards, as well as inflated, hand-held wing assistance. Their first line of foils is set to be released in 2022. Someday, commuters could use efoil boards to travel waterways in cities like New York and Stockholm, just like they use municipal bike-sharing programs today, says Ridge Lenny.


“We believe the breakthroughs we’ve made in speed, stability and efficiency have the potential to dramatically increase the viability of use for personal transport going forward,” he says. “Our dream is to get the technology to the point where foils become a prevalent way of traveling across the Hawaiian Islands.”

The next wave of foil transit

Hydrofoils have been used on boats since the late 19th century, when early iterations helped increase boat speed while saving fuel. More recently, America’s Cup yacht-racing teams have added foils to their 72-foot catamarans, revolutionizing sport sailing. Ocean athletes have experimented with hydrofoils since the 1960s, adding them to everything from kneeboards to chairs. The 2003 film, “Step into Liquid,” featured big-wave riding legend Laird Hamilton being towed into giant waves wearing snowboard boots attached to a hydrofoil board and surfing the waves. With boards as light as 5 pounds and as small as 4 feet long, foil boards are now as common as surfboards in watersports meccas like Maui, Southern California, Australia and Hood River, Ore.

Nick Leason, a surfer and trained engineer, is credited with inventing the first efoil, which became available in 2018. The co-founder of Lift, he began developing the efoil in 2013, tapping into advances in batteries, brushless motors and Bluetooth and wireless communications.

“The number of smartphones, drones and electric vehicles released in the market has driven demand for the development and mass production of these components,” he says. “It has enabled companies like Lift to take advantage of technology that would otherwise not be available at scale.”

“Affordable, reliable, quick personal watercraft options that can embrace a shared-fleet business model would be a game-changer for people who live near waterways.”
— Juan Matute, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies
The company’s newest model, the Lift3 efoil, released this year, uses the same powerful lithium-ion battery as drones and electric vehicles. It can sustain a 2-hour ride on a 2-hour charge, reaching speeds of 30 mph. Emission-free, wake-free and almost silent, it’s like the Tesla of personal watercraft, says Mr. Leason. Four board designs and 14 wing shapes make it possible for riders to customize the device. Riders control their speed by a waterproof, Bluetooth controller.

Rudi Miklosvary, general manager of Fliteboard USA, expects that advances in battery, wireless and foil technologies will make efoils more accessible. This summer, riders used Fliteboard efoils to cross a 23-mile section of the English Channel. A rider in a suit and backpack, meant to simulate a commute, remained dry while circumnavigating a 55-mile route around the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England.

Lighter, longer lasting batteries and enhanced foil designs could make long-distance efoil travel a reality, says Mr. Miklosvary. In five to 10 years, he envisions efoils with fully automated stability, seating for multiple riders and watertight compartments for storage.

“The electrification of everything is resulting in significant investment in battery technologies and the rise in nonpowered foil surfing is leading to innovations in foil design and construction techniques,” he says.



Kai Lenny, left, and Ridge Lenny plan to release their first line of foils in 2022.
PHOTO: JAKE ATWOOD AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Manta5 is using hydrofoils on electric bikes that riders use on the surface of the waves. A seat and handlebars provide more stability, allowing riders to save energy and travel farther. Their model reaches speeds of 12 mph and gets up to 4 hours of ride time with pedal assist on a single battery charge, double the charge of efoils. The company tested the bike’s sturdiness at sea this summer by having a rider cycle across Cook Strait, the 16-mile stretch of rough water between New Zealand’s North and South Island. He completed the crossing in 2 hours and 28 minutes; ferries currently take more than 3 hours.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

How likely are you to commute on a hydrofoil board? Join the conversation below.
The current model, which costs $9,000 in the U.S., is designed as a watersports device. It semi-submerges when not in motion, meaning riders get wet mounting and dismounting. The company is developing prototypes that float and even detach from the foils, allowing users to continue cycling on dry land.

The motor broadens the market for who can use Manta5’s bike, including older people. Mark Robotham, the company’s chief executive, says that he expects that in a year or two, we’ll see manual foil bikes, floating hop-and-go electric-assisted foil bikes and performance models used for catching waves.

“Water covers 71% of the planet,” he says. “Foil technology is going gangbusters right now. As technology improves, costs will go down, and it will give the masses the freedom to get off congested roads and use waterways for travel.”

The Future of Everything | Transportation
Explore what's next for transportation in the November issue.
Surfers Want to Transform Your Commute With Hydrofoils
3-D-Printed Bridges Promise Smarter, Greener Transit Links
Why Your Car Will Become Even More Like an iPhone
A Former Uber Executive Takes a Fresh Approach to Self-Driving Vehicles
Read the full issue.

Write to Jen Murphy at [email protected]

“Water covers 71% of the planet,” he says. “Foil technology is going gangbusters right now. As technology improves, costs will go down, and it will give the masses the freedom”

There’s that word, freedumb. When I hear I check my wallet.

71%? Really? Gonna picnic out in the Sargasso Sea? STFU with rgat nonsense.

“Figures lie, and liars figure.”

[Farfromgeneva]

Good news for Staten Island!

SURFERS WANT TO TRANSFORM YOUR COMMUTE WITH HYDROFOILS
Entrepreneurs are seeking to make so-called foil boards as ubiquitous on the water as electric scooters are on land
AUTHOR
JEN MURPHY
PUBLISHED
NOV. 6, 2021 11:00 AM ET
READING TIME
8 MINUTE READ

SAVE

SHARE

TEXT
18

Listen to article
Length 10 minutes

Queue
The Future of Everything covers the innovation and technology transforming the way we live, work and play, with monthly issues on education, money, cities and more. This month is Transportation, online starting Nov. 3 and in print Nov 10.

The last time surfer Kai Lenny visited the Statue of Liberty, he skipped the ferry and hovered across the Hudson River and around the landmark on a hydrofoil board.

“It’s the fastest way to commute in New York,” says the Maui-born and based waterman. And if he has his way, hydrofoil-assisted surfing will become a popular way of commuting on the water.

The world’s smallest personal watercraft, the hydrofoil, or foil, board is made up of a surfboard and a mast that extends below the water, which is attached to a hydrofoil, essentially a fin with an airplane-like wing. As the wing deflects water pressure downward, the hydrofoil lifts the board 1 to 2 feet above the surface, moving it with the momentum of the waves, even small ones, and allowing the rider to glide without drag. Riders stand upright, steering as they would on a normal surfboard, by shifting pressure between the feet and pumping their legs to augment the momentum from the water. Some models, known as efoils, have battery-powered electric motors that keep riders in motion.


Maui-based brothers Kai Lenny, left, and Ridge Lenny want to introduce the masses to hydrofoil boards. They started a company in 2017 to develop more advanced versions of the technology.
PHOTO: FLORA RUDE AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
The Future of Everything

A look at how innovation and technology are transforming the way we live, work and play.
PREVIEW
SUBSCRIBE
Mr. Lenny wants to bring the foil board to the masses. Alongside companies like Puerto Rico-based Lift, Australia’s Fliteboard and New Zealand’s Manta5, he is seeking to use century-old hydrofoil technology for personal, water-based mobility devices that travel vast distances and don’t require surf experience or athletic expertise to use. Electric motors, better batteries, Bluetooth capabilities and beginner-friendly designs, proponents say, are primed to turn the foil board into a mainstream form of water transportation—as ubiquitous as shared electric scooters are on land.


In an era of traffic-congested roadways and rising gas prices, quiet, zero-emissions water travel has the potential to transform the urban commute, says Juan Matute, deputy director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

“Affordable, reliable, quick personal watercraft options that can embrace a shared-fleet business model would be a game-changer for people who live near waterways,” he says. “To have a board that can essentially work in any water conditions is a real innovation. But a lot of that innovation relies on building a network and regulations that allow the technology to be used by the masses.”


A surfer since age 4, Kai Lenny says he has reached speeds of 40 mph in open ocean swells on a foil surfboard, and can get moving in waves as tiny as 6 inches high.
The hurdles are daunting. Mass transit via foil board would need to meet water-safety requirements, including lanes that avoid boat traffic, as well as personal flotation devices and possibly helmets for riders, in case they fall in the water—the foils are sharp. Companies or authorities would also need to install infrastructure for efoils such as a network of solar charging stations and docking stations. Efoils cost upward of $14,000 or more and weigh around 60 pounds, making them luxury toys, for now. And even with an e-assist, riders need a basic fitness level to avoid tiring on longer rides or ending up wet.

The Lenny brothers’s big plans

Mr. Lenny, 29, makes it look effortless. An ocean athlete who has surfed since age 4 and ridden waves the size of Manhattan skyscrapers, he has the balance and strength necessary to be his own engine. He is able to keep the foil board moving for distances of up to 50 miles, and has crossed nearly every channel in the Hawaiian Islands.

He started the Hydrofoil Company in 2017 with his brother, Ridge Lenny, 24, and engineer Carlos Marino to research and develop foil technology. The first year, they engineered a wing design for a standup paddleboard that allowed Kai Lenny to cross the 26-mile channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu in 2 hours and 52 minutes, more than an hour faster than the previous record. Their foils are relatively narrow with long wingspans, similar to the wings of a glider aircraft, allowing for more forward momentum, Ridge Lenny says. Kai Lenny says he has reached speeds of 40 mph in open ocean swells on a foil surfboard, and can get moving in waves as tiny as 6 inches high.


The wing of the hydrofoil deflects water pressure downward, lifting the surfboard 1 to 2 feet above the surface of the waves. A rider can glide without drag or, in Kai Lenny’s case, do tricks. PHOTO: JAKE ATWOOD AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

PHOTO: FLORA RUDE AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Lenny brothers’ short-term goal is to develop foil technology for recreation and performance—designs sturdy enough to ride 100-foot waves—on surfboards, kiteboards and stand-up paddleboards, as well as inflated, hand-held wing assistance. Their first line of foils is set to be released in 2022. Someday, commuters could use efoil boards to travel waterways in cities like New York and Stockholm, just like they use municipal bike-sharing programs today, says Ridge Lenny.


“We believe the breakthroughs we’ve made in speed, stability and efficiency have the potential to dramatically increase the viability of use for personal transport going forward,” he says. “Our dream is to get the technology to the point where foils become a prevalent way of traveling across the Hawaiian Islands.”

The next wave of foil transit

Hydrofoils have been used on boats since the late 19th century, when early iterations helped increase boat speed while saving fuel. More recently, America’s Cup yacht-racing teams have added foils to their 72-foot catamarans, revolutionizing sport sailing. Ocean athletes have experimented with hydrofoils since the 1960s, adding them to everything from kneeboards to chairs. The 2003 film, “Step into Liquid,” featured big-wave riding legend Laird Hamilton being towed into giant waves wearing snowboard boots attached to a hydrofoil board and surfing the waves. With boards as light as 5 pounds and as small as 4 feet long, foil boards are now as common as surfboards in watersports meccas like Maui, Southern California, Australia and Hood River, Ore.

Nick Leason, a surfer and trained engineer, is credited with inventing the first efoil, which became available in 2018. The co-founder of Lift, he began developing the efoil in 2013, tapping into advances in batteries, brushless motors and Bluetooth and wireless communications.

“The number of smartphones, drones and electric vehicles released in the market has driven demand for the development and mass production of these components,” he says. “It has enabled companies like Lift to take advantage of technology that would otherwise not be available at scale.”

“Affordable, reliable, quick personal watercraft options that can embrace a shared-fleet business model would be a game-changer for people who live near waterways.”
— Juan Matute, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies
The company’s newest model, the Lift3 efoil, released this year, uses the same powerful lithium-ion battery as drones and electric vehicles. It can sustain a 2-hour ride on a 2-hour charge, reaching speeds of 30 mph. Emission-free, wake-free and almost silent, it’s like the Tesla of personal watercraft, says Mr. Leason. Four board designs and 14 wing shapes make it possible for riders to customize the device. Riders control their speed by a waterproof, Bluetooth controller.

Rudi Miklosvary, general manager of Fliteboard USA, expects that advances in battery, wireless and foil technologies will make efoils more accessible. This summer, riders used Fliteboard efoils to cross a 23-mile section of the English Channel. A rider in a suit and backpack, meant to simulate a commute, remained dry while circumnavigating a 55-mile route around the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England.

Lighter, longer lasting batteries and enhanced foil designs could make long-distance efoil travel a reality, says Mr. Miklosvary. In five to 10 years, he envisions efoils with fully automated stability, seating for multiple riders and watertight compartments for storage.

“The electrification of everything is resulting in significant investment in battery technologies and the rise in nonpowered foil surfing is leading to innovations in foil design and construction techniques,” he says.



Kai Lenny, left, and Ridge Lenny plan to release their first line of foils in 2022.
PHOTO: JAKE ATWOOD AT FLOCUS STUDIO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Manta5 is using hydrofoils on electric bikes that riders use on the surface of the waves. A seat and handlebars provide more stability, allowing riders to save energy and travel farther. Their model reaches speeds of 12 mph and gets up to 4 hours of ride time with pedal assist on a single battery charge, double the charge of efoils. The company tested the bike’s sturdiness at sea this summer by having a rider cycle across Cook Strait, the 16-mile stretch of rough water between New Zealand’s North and South Island. He completed the crossing in 2 hours and 28 minutes; ferries currently take more than 3 hours.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

How likely are you to commute on a hydrofoil board? Join the conversation below.
The current model, which costs $9,000 in the U.S., is designed as a watersports device. It semi-submerges when not in motion, meaning riders get wet mounting and dismounting. The company is developing prototypes that float and even detach from the foils, allowing users to continue cycling on dry land.

The motor broadens the market for who can use Manta5’s bike, including older people. Mark Robotham, the company’s chief executive, says that he expects that in a year or two, we’ll see manual foil bikes, floating hop-and-go electric-assisted foil bikes and performance models used for catching waves.

“Water covers 71% of the planet,” he says. “Foil technology is going gangbusters right now. As technology improves, costs will go down, and it will give the masses the freedom to get off congested roads and use waterways for travel.”

The Future of Everything | Transportation
Explore what's next for transportation in the November issue.
Surfers Want to Transform Your Commute With Hydrofoils
3-D-Printed Bridges Promise Smarter, Greener Transit Links
Why Your Car Will Become Even More Like an iPhone
A Former Uber Executive Takes a Fresh Approach to Self-Driving Vehicles
Read the full issue.

Write to Jen Murphy at [email protected]

“Water covers 71% of the planet,” he says. “Foil technology is going gangbusters right now. As technology improves, costs will go down, and it will give the masses the freedom”

There’s that word, freedumb. When I hear I check my wallet.

71%? Really? Gonna picnic out in the Sargasso Sea? STFU with rgat nonsense.

“Figures lie, and liars figure.”

It’s the type of pitch that gets billions in VC money. Identify a “large” market. Estimate some small yet unrealistic penetration and BAM! Son and Silicon Valley followers are making it rain like NBA players and rappers at the gold club!

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020 ... talism/amp

(Have posted this before but if you haven’t seen it, it’s a good piece)

[Farfromgeneva]

....looking at the votes, what did we all learn about how much power the left wing of the Dem party holds?

Zippo. The corporate Dems have all the power.

Dem with the gold call the tune.

Same as it ever was.

One of the greatest fading in culture and history bands ever

[Farfromgeneva]

https://www.bakertilly.com/insights/hou ... cture-bill

House passes infrastructure bill, advances Build Back Better bill
Nov 08, 2021
Subscribe to our newsletters
Share


Related sections
TAX
PRIVATE WEALTH
FEDERAL TAX
STATE & LOCAL TAX
Authored by Paul Dillon, Michelle Hobbs, Mike Schiavo, Kasey Pittman, Michael Wronsky, Pat Balthazor, Christine Faris, Kathleen Meade, Joe Schlueter, Jim Lawson, Christopher S. Brown, Kevin Kao

The House of Representatives has passed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Infrastructure Act), commonly referred to as the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The Infrastructure Act now heads to the White House for signature where it is expected to be signed as soon as President Joe Biden receives it. The House also passed a rule allowing it to bring to the floor its version of the president’s Build Back Better (BBB) agenda. Additional action by the House is not expected before the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores the bill, which could take one to two weeks. It is anticipated the CBO score will confirm earlier estimates that the bill is fully paid for by revenue offsets. Assuming that is correct and the House passes the BBB bill, it will then head to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future.

The Infrastructure Act is the largest infrastructure investment in decades. It also contains three tax provisions: the termination of the employee retention credit (ERC) as of Sept. 30, 2021, an interest rate smoothing extension for pension plans, and new reporting requirements for digital assets. Under the new law, the definition of a broker will be expanded to include those who operate trading platforms for cryptocurrency and other digital assets. In addition, brokers will be subject to new reporting requirements for purchases, sales, transfers and transactions involving cryptocurrency.

For a discussion of the tax changes in the Infrastructure Act, see our previous alert.

Build Back Better

The BBB contains major tax change proposals, which you have no doubt read about over recent weeks, including a surtax on millionaires, a corporate minimum tax, changes to the business interest limitation rules, expansion of the net investment income tax, and a variety of other provisions designed to raise revenue in order to fund the bill’s expenditures of roughly $2 trillion.

Notably, several anticipated provisions of the original BBB agenda did not make their way into the final bill, including some hallmarks of President Biden’s domestic agenda. These include corporate and ordinary individual rate changes, a capital gains tax rate increase, the short-lived billionaire tax as well as the step-up in basis rule modifications following a taxpayer’s death, reductions in the estate tax exemption and changes to the grantor trust rules.

The bill could be altered after it proceeds to the Senate, requiring the House to approve any changes before the bill goes to the president’s desk for signature. Unlike the Infrastructure Act, the BBB has received only Democratic support to date. Without bipartisan support, the bill can only pass the Senate using the reconciliation process, which will require the support of all 50 Democratic senators. At this time, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, arguably the driving force behind reducing the price tag of the BBB from the original cost of $3.5 trillion, has yet to signal his support of the current bill. Consequently, amendments are expected as negotiations continue. Rulings by the Senate parliamentarian as to whether some BBB provisions are eligible for inclusion in a reconciliation bill are also anticipated.

Provisions not in the final bill

Throughout 2021, there have been multiple versions of the BBB in various formats — House draft bills, Treasury’s Green Book and White House frameworks. While focus is on the current proposed legislation, it is important to enumerate some previously discussed provisions that did not make it into the most recent bill:

Individual tax rates: No increase to the individual regular or capital gains tax rates. However, as mentioned earlier, there is a surcharge on high-income individuals, trusts and estates.
Billionaire wealth tax: No “mark to market” requirement for securities of wealthy taxpayers.
Corporate tax rates: No increase in the regular corporate tax rate. As discussed above, there is a new corporate minimum tax for large companies.
Section 199A qualified business income deduction: No new limitations on the section 199A deduction.
Trusts and estates: No changes to the estate tax exemption level and no changes to the step-up in basis of assets at death.
Grantor trusts: No changes to grantor trust taxation.
Carried interests: No change in the treatment of or the three-year holding period for carried interests.
Tax-free conversion from an S corporation to a partnership: The one-time ability to convert an S corporation to a partnership tax-free was not included in the current bill.
Bank reporting to IRS: No new requirements for banks to report certain account activity to the IRS.
Child and dependent care tax credit: No extension of the expanded child and dependent care tax credit.
Visit the links below for a high-level overview of the most significant proposed tax changes in the House-passed BBB.

[CU88]

Great clip about the failure of 2xIMPOTUS on infrastructure, who after 4 years of talk, did nothing.

https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/stat ... 7574471683

Let's Go Biden!

[kramerica.inc]

Biden to sell infrastructure law in visit to 'structurally deficient' New Hampshire bridge
The bridge has been on the state's "red list" since 2013, requiring inspections twice a year because of poor conditions.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white- ... e-n1283931

Sad when an old broken down bridge commands more of the news than Biden.

[MDlaxfan76]

Biden to sell infrastructure law in visit to 'structurally deficient' New Hampshire bridge
The bridge has been on the state's "red list" since 2013, requiring inspections twice a year because of poor conditions.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white- ... e-n1283931

Sad when an old broken down bridge commands more of the news than Biden.

Did you prefer a POTUS who got all the attention, every day, and got no infrastructure?

[kramerica.inc]

Biden to sell infrastructure law in visit to 'structurally deficient' New Hampshire bridge
The bridge has been on the state's "red list" since 2013, requiring inspections twice a year because of poor conditions.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white- ... e-n1283931

Sad when an old broken down bridge commands more of the news than Biden.

Did you prefer a POTUS who got all the attention, every day, and got no infrastructure?

Who was president before Drumpf? Who has been running the show in NH for the past decade? The bride has been derelict for 8 years now.

[seacoaster]

Biden to sell infrastructure law in visit to 'structurally deficient' New Hampshire bridge
The bridge has been on the state's "red list" since 2013, requiring inspections twice a year because of poor conditions.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white- ... e-n1283931

Sad when an old broken down bridge commands more of the news than Biden.

Did you prefer a POTUS who got all the attention, every day, and got no infrastructure?

Who was president before Drumpf? Who has been running the show in NH for the past decade? The bride has been derelict for 8 years now.

Chris Sununu has been the Governor since January 1, 2018. Hassan was the Governor from 2013 to 2017. In a state that is a notoriously cheap can-kicker. The infrastructure money will be very helpful here. But sure, excoriate on behalf of your team.