At 9:30 am seven riders set out from Mann’s Construction Yard (David A, Rob H, Rusty, Norm T, Jim McN, John C and Tom A) while Norm L had gone on ahead whistling past the start point at high speed. On the way up to Canoe Cove we encountered him on his way back to town. After a somewhat cloudy start the weather improved and by the time we reached our coffee stop the sun was breaking through although there was a cool but significant breeze. Conversation on the deck was of the usual eclectic sort and ranged from tax evaders, tax havens and venal politicians, including UK PM Cameron whose family connections were mentioned. Rusty, our local expert on blown concrete told us about “Shotcrete”, also known as “Gunite”, that was invented in 1907 by American taxidermist, Carl Ethan Akeley (May 19, 1864 – November 18, 1926), to repair the crumbling facade of the Field Columbian Museum in Chicago (the old Palace of Fine Arts from the World Columbian Exposition. He used the method of blowing dry material out of a hose with compressed air, injecting water at the nozzle as it was released. In 1911, he was granted a patent for his inventions, the "cement gun", the equipment used, and "Gunite", the material that was produced. There is no evidence that Akeley ever used sprayable concrete in his taxidermy work, as is sometimes suggested. Akeley specialized in African mammals, particularly the elephant. As a taxidermist, he improved on techniques of fitting the skin over a carefully prepared and sculpted form of the animal's body, producing very lifelike specimens, with consideration of musculature, wrinkles, and veins. He also displayed the specimens in groups in a natural setting. Many animals that he preserved he had personally collected. Carl Akeley also helped mount P.T.Barnum’s Jumbo after he was killed in a rail road accident.
Akeley was also one of those geniuses who turned his inventiveness to several disparate fields: he also invented a highly mobile motion picture camera for capturing wildlife, started a company to manufacture it, and patented it in 1915. The Akeley "pancake" camera (so-called because it was round) was soon adopted by the War Department for use in World War I, primarily for aerial use, and later by newsreel companies, and Hollywood studios, primarily for aerial footage and action scenes.

Rusty's next bike??  http://www.diggitalos.net/?p=1020 — Rusty's next bike?? http://www.diggitalos.net/?p=1020

The ride home was uneventful. Jim left us early on the way back to check out his new marine acquisition, Rusty left us at Michell’s while David and John peeled off at Royal Oak and Rob, Norm and Jim abandoned poor Tom at Mann’s Yard. By this time the wind had died down and the sun shone.