Recent on-board videos of street luging by Steve Baumgartner, Oelwein native killed in accident Saturday April 29, 2008
Posted by John in Accidents, Deaths.Tags: Kansas City (Kansas), luging, Maquoketa (Iowa), Steve Baumgartner, U.S. Navy
1 comment so far
Image via Wikipedia5/1/08 UPDATE: Gazette obituary here.
~~
UPDATE: Steve Baumgartner is actually from Oelwein, Iowa, not Maquoketa, as reported earlier.
Four videos in past month appear on Steve’s MySpace videos page.
Also, here is a photo of Steve
050514-N-5526M-012 14, April 2005 Fire controlman Steven Baumgartner from Oelwein, Iowa, assigned to Combat Systems Department aboard the Ticonderoga Class Guided Missile Cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60), fires the twin .50 Caliper Machine Gun during a pre aimed calibration (PAC) fire exercise. …
4/30 UPDATE: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier has additional information about Steve Baumgartner from family: Former Oelwein man killed in street luge accident
~~
April 28, 2008
From Kansas City Star:
Kansas City, Kan., police have identified the man killed Saturday while riding a street luge as 28-year-old Steve Baumgarter of Iowa.
Authorities said Baumgarter had come to the area to participate in an unsanctioned race on Sunday. The race was canceled after his death. …
KCCI reports that he was from Maquoketa:
The accident happened about 8 p.m. Saturday in Rosedale Park and killed Steve Baumgarter, of Maquoketa.
Friends of the victim said he was a Navy petty officer 1st Class who was home on leave. …
And from KMBC (includes video news report):
According to police, Steve Baumgarter was preparing for the unsanctioned event. He was going down a road on a luge about five feet long when he lost control and hit a tree. He died on impact.
Friends of the victim said he was a Navy petty officer 1st Class, who was home on leave.
Investigators said Baumgarter was wearing a helmet as well as protective leather.
Building a better crossbow: Patent issued to Iowa City inventor April 29, 2008
Posted by John in Business, Engineering, Government, History, Technology.Tags: inventions, inventors, James J. Kempf, James Kempf, United States Patent and Trademark Office, weapons
add a comment
Image via Wikipedia
Abstract from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
A crossbow having an increased powerstroke and reduced noise. The powerstroke is increased by inverting the limb orientation from the standard crossbow arrangement and locating string guides at least partially forward and rearward of the ends of the limbs. The bowstring is drawn from the tops of the string guides to maximize the powerstroke, reducing noise and increasing the retained and delivered energy over existing crossbows.
[more...]
| Inventors: | Kempf; James J. (Iowa City, IA) |
| Assignee: | J & S R.D.T. Archery (Coralville, IA) |
See also: Historical information on crossbows from Encyclopedia Britannica or Wikipedia.
