Motor oil is the lifeblood of your engine. Just as your body operates best with a specific blood type, your engine operates in a similar way. Do you know what type of motor oil helps protect and optimize your engine’s output?

When you take your vehicle to a service department for an oil change, do you know which oil to request in your vehicle? With so many motor oil choices available, it can be confusing to know what type of oil will work the best in your vehicle’s engine. The easiest answer to this question is found in your owner’s manual. For most passenger car and light truck gasoline engines today, any oil that meets the American Petroleum Institutes “SH” rating. While that’s a pretty broad range of oils, here is a breakdown of the different types and functions of motor oil to help you choose which type is best for your engine.

Every motor oil is rated by viscosity, which indicates the oil’s resistance to flow. The higher the viscosity the slower it will flow. Most engine wear occurs immediately after a cold start, so it’s important to have oil that is thin enough to circulate easily.

5W-30 – most new engines today require a multi-viscosity oil for all-round driving. The lighter 5W-30 oils contain friction reducing additives that help improve fuel economy, and also allow the oil to quickly reach critical upper valvetrain components when a cold engine is first started.

10W-30, 10W-40 – used in older engines and engines that are driven at sustained highway speeds during hot weather.

20W-40 – used in high RPM, high-load applications primarily and are not recommended for cold weather driving.

Synthetic oils are also an option when choosing the right oil for your vehicle. Synthetic oil offers greater engine protection in high temperatures, increased durability and a better all-around performance than ordinary petroleum-based oils. These can cost up to three times as much as ordinary petroleum oils because they are manmade rather than refined. The premium priced synthetic oil is recommended for vehicles operated in extremely cold or hot climates, turbocharged or supercharged engines, performance or high output engines, vehicles used for towing and anyone who wants ultimate engine lubrication and protection. Synthetic oil improves the performance of your engine in virtually every aspect:

• Superior temperature resistance. Synthetics can safely handle higher operating temperatures without oxidizing (burning) or breaking down. The upper limit for most mineral based oils is about 250 to 300 degrees F. Synthetics can take up to 450 degrees F. or higher. This makes synthetics well-suited for turbo applications as well as high RPM and high output engine applications.
• Better low temperature performance. Synthetics flow freely at subzero temperatures, pouring easily at -40 or -50 degrees F. where ordinary oils turn to molasses. This makes for easier cold starts and provides faster upper valvetrain lubrication during the first critical moments when most engine wear occurs.
• Better engine performance. Synthetics tend to be more slippery than their petroleum-based counterparts, which improves fuel economy, cuts frictional horsepower losses and helps the engine run cooler. The difference isn’t great, but it can make a noticeable difference.
• Longer oil change intervals. Because synthetics resist oxidation and viscosity breakdown better than ordinary motor oils, some suppliers say oil change intervals can be safely extended — in some cases stretched to as much as 25,000 miles. Such claims are justified by the fact that synthetics don’t break down or sludge up as fast as ordinary mineral-based oils do in use.

Synthetics are available in the same grades as ordinary motor oils (5W-30, 5W-20 and 10W-30) as well as “extended” grades such as 15W-50 and even 5W-50.

Are you still unsure of what oil is best for your engine? The next time you take your vehicle for service at your local Capital Eurocars Service Department, be sure to talk with our knowledgeable service advisors to determine what type and viscosity of engine oil will help keep your engine running like new for years to come.

Source: [Yahoo.com]

The Apple iPhone has a built-in accelerometer that rather accurately detects even the slightest motions. Developers have been quick to create applications that capitalize on the iPhone’s hardware, including software that helps enthusiasts obtain g-force and 0-60 times from their phone. We’ve tested a few ourselves and they work pretty well, although most of these apps come at a cost, ranging from $4.99 to $10 or more. If you like the idea of timing your vehicle with the aid of an iPhone but don’t want to pay for an app, BMW has a free solution for you.

It’s called the M Power Meter and does most things those paid apps can do, but it’s free and also very easy to use. Simply download the software from the app store, place your phone upright in a cup holder or flat in the direction you intend to drive, hit start, accept the terms and go. The M Power Meter defaults to timing a jaunt from 0-50 km/h, but you can change that by clicking on settings and choosing from several acceleration options up to 200 km/h or distances ranging from 100 meters to 2,000 meters. We downloaded the M Power Meter app and found it worked fairly well for being free and nearly as good as those apps we spent a few bucks on in the past.

If you have an iPhone and a car, test it out for yourself (without breaking the law or doing anything that could endanger yourself or others). It’s free, so it couldn’t hurt to give it a whirl.

Source: [Autoblog]

Mercedes-Benz has announced that its next-gen S-Class will be launched with a plug-in hybrid model. As promised, it will be a full-sized luxury sedan capable of doing 0-62 mph in under 6 seconds, at a fuel economy of at least 70 mpg. The hybrid technology that will feature in the next-gen S-class will eventually be rolled out across the rest of the automaker’s range.

The information was the result of an interview between Mercedes-Benz’s Research & Development boss Thomas Weber and Autocar magazine. In the conversation Mr. Webber explained that “it makes a lot of sense to bundle the high price tech option to the sort of customers willing to pay for this sort of thing.”

Any doubts regarding a purely electric version were ruled out by Mr. Weber mainly due to concerns over its [battery] range. As a reply to it he said, “It could be possible, but no. Our customers expect a certain range and a level of comfort, safety and space. Such things lead to a certain weight, and that won’t mean a good range.” However, for short distances the plug-in hybrid version could drive on electric power alone.

The hybrid technology was first observed in the Vision S500 Plug-In Hybrid Concept last year. It had a combination of a 3.5-L V6 gasoline engine with an electric motor powered by lithium-ion batteries. The next-generation S-Class is expected to undergo a drastic weight reduction program and an aerodynamic make over. That, when combined with the hybrid drive-train, allows the sedan to easily achieve the promised 70 mpg mark.

The rest of the Mercedes’ line-up includes less expensive versions of the next S-class. It will be offered with next-gen “MoVe” modular V-6 and V-8 engines that will have direct injection and stop-start. It could also implement a turbocharge technology that can be used in conjunction with electric motors. Even more, the company claims it will be better than the existing petrol engines in terms of power by 10%, torque by 25% and fuel economy by 25%.

Source: [Nitro Bahn]

With Porsche’s new four door Panamera, the German sports car maker is trying to appeal, at least in part, to your sensible side. It’s inherent practicality, with four doors, four seats and a hatchback style trunk with a reasonable amount of cargo room, making the Panamera much easier to convince yourself into over one of Porsche’s many two-seater sports cars.

While Porsches have always been about what you want, the Panamera adds a bit more of what you need.

And then they went and built the Turbo model.

A V8 ENGINE, TWIN TURBOS AND 500 HORSEPOWER

Having just completed out test already impressively powerful 400 horsepower Panamera S, we just had to grab a Turbo model for a short stint.

With the same 4.8-liter V8 motor mounted up front and two turbochargers, this model makes an exotic 500-hp … and feels even faster. There are few cars on the planet that really push you back into the seat. We’re not talking about a slight tap or a nudge, we’re talking about a burly lumberjack putting his two hands on your shoulders and making sure you leave an indent in that pricey leather coated sport seat.

There’s more than enough power across the rpm range and it really doesn’t take long before full torque is available. Unlike a lot of turbocharged cars that need a good bit of time (and rpm) to spool up, the Panamera Turbo has access to a 516 ft-lbs of the good stuff at just 2250 rpm. That engine speed seems to be just perfect. Any lower and the power would almost be too smooth. This way, when you accelerate, you feel the power come on, and then at 2250 rpm it really comes on. It’s a good thing there’s Porsches fabulous AWD system, or you’d be left with aluminum wheels sparking on the asphalt after turning your tires into a smoky cloud.

Keep on the power as the gears fly by and you’ll soon be wondering if the afterburners ever peter out. The Turbo model is rated at an incredibly quick 4.0 seconds to 60 mph. Opt for the Sorts Chrono package with quicker shifts and that time is reduced to just 3.8-seconds.

Helping in the acceleration department is a lightning quick dual-clutch gearbox, which Porsche refers to as PDK. With a fully automatic setting, as well as a manual mode, you can choose to let the car do all the work or finger the steering wheel buttons yourself.

The technology behind this gearbox is incredible, with this new dual-clutch setup the latest and greatest – so much so that even Ferrari has opted to use a similar setup on its new road cars in favor of what, up until now, was the best paddle shifter system on the market.

It’s also the only available gearbox as Porsche has decided (for practical business reasons) that it’s just not worth the expense of bringing over the manual transmission model from Europe for the four people who would buy one.

ACCELERATES SO FAST YOUR ADRENALINE WILL HAVE TO CATCH UP

Things get scary fast in a hurry and it’s not until you run out of room, or realize just how much you’ve exceeded the posted speed limit, that you lift off the throttle and grab hard on the brakes. Only then do you realize you haven’t taken a breath and in the calmness of this moment you feel your adrenaline start to catch up. And that primal feeling urges you to do it all gain.

Like I said, this car isn’t about what you need, as much as Porsche would like you to believe it is. Absolutely no one needs this much thrust. This is a want car, and after just one drive you’re going to want it.

And yet, there is so much that makes the Panamera practical, but you’d never guess it from the driver’s seat. If you could pilot this car on a racetrack with blinders on, it would take a seasoned racer to know there were two extra doors out back.

Porsche attributes this to the fact that the Panamera is a purpose built car, designed exactly for this application. Cars like the BMW M5 or Mercedes E63 are built as standard luxury cars first, and then transformed into high-powered machines afterward.

ACTUAL SPACE FOR PASSENGERS AND USABLE CARGO ROOM

As for those practicality aspects, the Panamera has ample seating for four and even boasts cargo room of 15.2 cubic feet (432 liters). That space can be expanded to 44.1 cubic feet (1,250 liters) with the rear seatbacks folded flat.

It’s important to note that while there are four doors, there are also just four seats – not five. The rear area is almost identical to the front, with two well-bolstered, yet comfortable, sports seats divided by a rather wide tunnel, which runs the length of the cabin, straight from the dash back.

Rear room is spacious thanks to seats that actually recline. In fact, there’s enough room for a 6″-plus passenger to sit behind a driver of the same size.

LUXURIOUS AND SPORTY DRIVER-ORIENTED INTERIOR

Up front it’s a driver’s paradise – mostly. Rather than a complex iDrive-style system that requires you to drill down through menus for even just the simplest command, Porsche has opted for individual buttons – lots of them. Somehow, however, the designers managed to not make the dash and center console look crowded.

About the only thing we don’t like about the driving experience are the shift buttons on the steering wheel. After a while we managed figure out a comfortable way of using them, with fingers on the back for up shifting and the base of the thumb on the front of the wheel for down shifting.

After a while it wasn’t all that bad, but we’ll still be thankful when Porsche does introduce more conventional paddle shifters – which they have already debuted on the 2010 911 Turbo.

Had we only driven this particular model we might not have a very glowing review of the car’s interior design, especially with the blue (yes, blue) leather interior (not shown here…thankfully). The Panamera S model we drove just before gave a much better idea of what the Porsche designers are capable of. So depending on exactly how an owner equips his or her model, it will depend, but there are certainly the right options to make a first rate luxury interior.

On item we just have to point out is the additional navigation screen that sits inside the traditional five-gauge cluster on the dash. While slightly more basic and limited than the large LCD screen in the center stack, its location means the driver doesn’t have to look far from the road when in need of a little route guidance.

STILL NOT THE PRETTIEST OF CARS

From the outside, the Panamera is less impressive, although it’s starting to grow on us. We’d rate our current feelings on the car’s design as having improved from disgust to indifference. Possibly a bigger issue is that, like all Porsches, its hard to tell one model apart from the rest. From the front and at a distance it could be confused with any vehicle in the Porsche lineup. More importantly, however, from up close, it’s hard to see where it differs from the less powerful and significantly less expensive Panamera S model; or worse, from the upcoming V6 versions.

At least the larger 19-inch wheels help to spice it up a little and the lower profile tires help to diminish some of the car’s overall rotundness.

Source: [Auto Guide]

For 2010, Volkswagen offers the Eos in two trim levels: Komfort and Lux. Also, all 2010 Volkswagen Eos convertibles come with the same engine: a 2.0-liter, 200-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder with plenty of torque across the rev-range, strong thrust, and a brisk 0-60 mph time of 6.4 seconds. This fuel-efficient mill can be matched with a choice of a six-speed manual or dual-clutch transmission, the latter having the ability to be shifted like a manual without the clutch pedal. One of the Eos’ best attributes is its handling, which is relaxed enough so that you can enjoy the convertible experience but still firm enough to power through tricky corners. Taking fuel economy into consideration, the Eos is impressive at 21 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.

When compared to other hardtop convertibles such as the Volvo C70 and Chrysler Sebring, the cargo area is a larger 6.6 cubic feet with the top stowed, which is impressive. In less than 25 seconds, a total of eight electric motors work in conjunction to unlatch the roof from the windshield header and flip and fold it under the metal trunk lid. The convertible roof also has a setting that opens the front section only like a sunroof.

Safety is a strong card for the Eos, which boasts as standard traction control, head/thorax airbags for front seat passengers, and a pop-up roll bar located behind the rear seats. The 2010 Volkswagen Eos also gets a rating of “good” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for front and for side impacts.

The 2010 Volkswagen Eos has been slightly updated for the latest model year, with new chrome accents for the Lux model, which also offers optional 18-inch wheels and a sport suspension. Standard on all models are Bluetooth connectivity and a touchscreen interface for the stereo, as well as a leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel and instrument cluster.

Visit Capital Eurocars in Tallahassee to test drive the new 2010 Volkswagen Eos today!

Source: [The Car Connection]

With competition for a slice of the sales segment in the beleaguered auto industry so high, manufacturers have turned toward more innovative methods to launch their products.  Volvo is no stranger to viral marketing and announced plans early today that they would release the first official video of their new S60 on You Tube, ensuring it will be the first new car video on You Tube for 2010.

Like many companies these days, Volvo is relying on social media to reveal products to its target audiences, rather than on the more traditional and mainstream media forums. Accordingly, Volvo says that its ‘Facebook fans were the first to see [the S60] exclusively already in 2009. The video will then be released to the general public on You Tube as soon as the new year begins.’

“We will ensure that this is the first car video on You Tube in 2010. It will be released on Volvo Car’s channel on You Tube a few seconds after we have entered the new year,” says Olle Axelson, Senior Vice President Public Affairs at Volvo Car Corporation.  The first photos of the all-new Volvo S60 were released to the world press on 10 November 2009, however no TV or video footage was released at that time.

“We want to acknowledge all the Volvo enthusiasts around the world by giving them an exclusive pre-view of this video on the Volvo Cars Face book fan page. Then it will be available to everyone through Volvo Cars’ channel on You Tube right after midnight on New Year’s Eve,” says Olle Axelson.

The all-new Volvo S60 video will be released to the public on the You Tube channel VolvoCarsNews a few seconds after midnight on Jan 1, 2010 CET (Central European Time).

According to a company press release, production of the sporty sedan model will start in early summer 2010 at the Volvo Cars’ plant in Ghent, Belgium.

Source: [Examiner]

Pulsating pop music bounces from the plush leather lounge chairs to the flat-screen televisions on the wall to the chandeliers that look like cascading bubbles.

The lights are dim, and the murmuring crowd mingles as cocktails are ordered from the bar. A new nightclub? Hardly. It’s the lobby of Hotel Duval, one of two boutique hotels that have opened in Tallahassee over the past six months. Aloft Tallahassee Downtown, affiliated with the W Hotels chain, opened a block away from Hotel Duval in September 2009.

Boutique hotels, which emerged in the 1990s, are typically smaller hotels not affiliated with national chains. They’re often outfitted with trendy furnishings and attract a younger clientele. These fashionable accomodations eschew the cookie-cutter décor and floor plans that many national chains offer. Instead of carpet, one might find wood floors. Instead of room service, a martini bar.

Traditional hotel perks, such as room service and pools, may not be available at boutique hotels. Such amenities are often swapped for moderate prices, modern furniture, bright colors, flat-screen televisions, hip music, and popular bars and restaurants.

“It’s like a bed and breakfast on steroids,” said Christopher Muller, a professor at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida.

In Tallahassee, Aloft Tallahassee Downtown and Hotel Duval opened their doors within a month of each other.

Florida’s capital city is attractive to hoteliers because of its young population and its steady flow of tourists to the town’s universities and state Capitol, according to hospitality industry officials.

Tallahassee isn’t a large enough market to attract five-star luxury hotels like the Four Seasons or St. Regis, Muller said, so boutique hotels fill the need for more high-end options without resort-style amenities, such as a spa or Olympic-size pool.

Major hotel chains don’t flip a coin to decide which markets to enter, hotel experts say. It’s a strategic decision, made after thoroughly examining a community, its demographics, its need for hotel rooms and average room rates.

Tallahassee’s new boutique hotels are here because their operators are confident they will fill their rooms, said Woody Kim, director of the International Center for Hospitality Research and Development at Florida State University.

In the first six months of 2009, Tallahassee’s average occupancy rate was 54 percent and its average room rate was $77.46, according to Smith Travel Research, a hospitality industry research firm. These disappointing figures reflect the economic wallop the hotel industry is experiencing statewide, industry experts say. Still, Tallahassee typically offers better occupancy and room rental rates than other Florida cities, Kim said.

Aloft chose Tallahassee as only its second Florida city to debut its brand.

Hotel Duval is owned by Hunter & Harp Holdings, a real estate development firm headed by local investors Chad Kittrell, Frank Whitley and J.T. Burnette. This is the trio’s first hotel development project, though they have worked on other commercial properties.

“We did a lot of feasibility research,” Kittrell said. “There was a need for a high-end, full-service hotel that hits a certain price point that is affordable for the Tallahassee market.”

Aloft and Hotel Duval’s rates vary, with summer and winter offering lower rates than spring and fall. Aloft’s rates range from $100 to $200 a night, and Hotel Duval’s rates start at $159 a night and rise to $589 for its top-floor, apartment-size suites.

A Block Transformed
They sit only a block apart, on opposite sides of North Monroe Street, and opened at around the same time. But although they both cater to a hip clientele with trendy, modern furniture, Hotel Duval and Aloft Tallahassee Downtown offer different amenities and atmosphere.

Hotel Duval is steeped in history. Called the Duval Hotel when it was built in 1951, it later became an FSU dormitory and offices. In the 1980s it was retrofitted back into a hotel under the Radisson banner and later became a Park Plaza hotel. In 2007, Hunter & Harp bought the property and sank $15 million into a down-to-the-studs renovation that aims to evoke some of Hotel Duval’s namesake history.

The managers and owners of Hotel Duval and Aloft say their goal is not just to lure out-of-town visitors, but to become a popular hotspot for Tallahassee residents looking for a place to eat, have drinks after work or host a work meeting, birthday party or wedding.

“Our goal is to reach anybody with good, disposable income who is looking for an upscale experience in Tallahassee,” said Hotel Duval general manager Marc Bauer.

In hopes of meeting expectations of clients with polished tastes, Hotel Duval offers three dining options: Shula’s 347 Grill, a steakhouse named for Hall of Fame NFL coach Don Shula; a lounge, LeRoc, that transforms from a Starbucks-serving breakfast stop in the morning to a lunch bistro at midday to a cocktail bar in the evening; and the posh Level 8 rooftop lounge, with much-raved-about views of downtown and Florida State University.

Down the block, visitors to Aloft Tallahassee Downtown are greeted with “Aloha!” by a peppy desk clerk.

Rock music blares from well-hidden speakers, and the lobby is swathed in swirls of vibrant turquoise, purple and green colors against muted shades of gray, black and brown. A news ticker scrolls headlines above a round reception desk.

The open lobby encourages visitors to enjoy the billiards table, stop by the WXYZ lounge for a drink and appetizer, or hit the snack and breakfast bar.

“I wouldn’t tie us to one demographic,” said Cara Hardiman, the general manager of Aloft. “It’s young families, a tech-savvy crowd, business professionals, attorneys, lobbyists. We’ve had members of Congress stay with us.”

Aloft was built on what used to be a vacant lot at the corner of Monroe and Tennessee streets. It was the site of the Floridan Hotel, which was demolished in 1985. Tallahassee Mayor John Marks helped the city purchase the site for $3.4 million in 1989 with the idea that the valuable land would one day hold something worthy of the Floridan’s footprint.

“I wanted to get a development that would fit that particular corner,” Marks said. When developers approached the city with the Aloft hotel concept, Marks approved. “I consider it a signature corner … The concept of putting another hotel there appealed to me.”

There are some major differences between the two boutique hotels. Hotel Duval, for instance, offers three dining options and catering, while Aloft has no sit-down restaurants and limited in-house catering options.

Aloft has a pool and outdoor patio, while Hotel Duval does not. Aloft visitors can self-park, while Hotel Duval offers valet parking only. And Hotel Duval has large suites, while Aloft only offers traditional rooms.

The Downtown Vision
Aloft Tallahassee Downtown and Hotel Duval are considered integral components of the city’s push for a more vibrant, 18-hour downtown, with shops and restaurants open late in the evening.

Though the hotels are competitors, managers of both say the synergy of two boutique hotels near one other may boost the popularity of the area with local residents.

“Each will appeal to a different market and audience but will play very well together and really be the anchors of this 18-hour downtown vision that has been bandied about for the better part of 10 years now,” said Bauer, the Hotel Duval general manager.

Hotel Duval will help “bridge the gap between Midtown and downtown,” local investor Kittrell said, as well as help retain students who might flee a city that is sometimes perceived as lacking in social life.

“We wanted to create an experience in Tallahassee for both travelers and local folks,” he said. “You can come and experience things you wouldn’t normally see.”

Hardiman agrees.

“Downtown Tallahassee needed something new and fresh,” said Aloft’s general manager. Out-of-town visitors who weren’t pleased with hotel choices may reconsider, Hardiman said. That means more people downtown, and more dollars going to local restaurants.

Tourists will be happy to see a hotel that can meet expectations for luxury they’ve seen in other cities, said Muller, the UCF professor.

“The people who come back (to Tallahassee) have some money and are willing to spend it in a semi-luxurious environment,” he said.

Muller also believes Hotel Duval and Aloft’s proximity to one another is a good thing. The competition between Hotel Duval and Aloft will likely keep room rates low, he said.

“There will be some great deals.”

Source: [Tallahassee Magazine]

On a cold day in February 1959, William Harold “Harry” Harper looked like he’d been in a hatchet fight. His face was scratched up and bleeding, his tailbone busted. But he was alive. “I was some sorry-looking stuff,”
he recalled.

Despite years of service during the Cold War and in Vietnam, this wasn’t a war story: This was the story of the night he had to bail out over America’s heartland.

At a well-rounded 83, the Waverly Hills resident is far removed from his lean, ramrod-straight days as an Army officer and pilot, which included a stint flying for three U.S. presidents. Those glory days live on in a large, wall-mounted shadow box frame containing photographs, presidential seals, letters of commendation and the various medals he has earned in his career. And in the adventures he recalls … .

Any Landing You Walk Away From …
On the fateful day in 1959, Harper was flying home to Dothan, Ala., on a weekend trip from his studies at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. He had borrowed a small, single-engine observation plane from the Iowa National Guard for this trip.

At 33, he was an experienced pilot and was on the staff at Fort Rucker, Ala., the Army’s new flight training post. Before Fort Rucker, he flew fixed-wing observation planes through the mountain passes of the Austrian Alps during the Korean War. After Austria, he learned how to fly the MASH-style helicopters of the 1950s. In 1957 he was stationed in Iceland as part of NATO’s Iceland Defense Force.

“If you can fly a helicopter in Iceland, you can fly one anywhere,” he said.

But it was the start of the Cold War, and in that era of new technology the Army demanded smarter officers. Those who didn’t have college degrees got sent back to school. That is how Harper, a captain at the time, found himself taking classes at the University of Nebraska.

During this particular flight, the engine of his small plane quit when he was somewhere over Russellville, Ark. He was 7,000 feet up, wasn’t wearing his parachute, and the 3,000-foot Ouachita Mountains were somewhere down below. Harper’s restart attempts were futile, and so were his distress calls. So he slipped into the parachute and tightened the straps.

At 4,000 feet, he jettisoned the door and rolled out into the cold, empty air. He deployed the chute and gently dropped through the clouds, unaware that he was drifting and not going straight down. With a mountain looming beneath him, the parachute started swinging him around like a pendulum.

Unable to stop the oscillating, Harper crashed parachute-first into the trees.

Dazed by the impact, he turned loose of the parachute and fell to the ground. He tumbled down the slope and lay there a moment, checking himself out.

“The only thing that was broken was my coccyx, and there were scratches on my face like I’d been in a hatchet fight. It’s cold and I’m in my shirtsleeves, but I didn’t mind (because I was alive),” he said.

Shaking off his stupor, Harper walked back up the hill and found a barbed wire fence, which he followed for a while, not entirely sure he was out of the woods quite yet.

“I thought, ‘Here it is, Friday night, in the middle of nowhere, in Arkansas, and I know I’m not going to be welcome company to anybody out here,’” he said with a laugh.

Luckily, Harper found a helpful man who wasn’t averse to aiding a bloodied stranger and got the man to take him to the hospital. A week later he was back in class.

Charm Will Get You Anywhere
Harper relishes telling stories about his 30-year career in the Army, the highlight of which came right after he finished his college studies in 1959. That’s when he flew the helicopters transporting presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Harper laughs when asked how he got picked for such an elite mission.

“My savoir-faire, my charm, my personality – and a good friend in Washington,” he said.

But at the time, it was no laughing matter.

“Well, it was a hell of a responsibility,” he said. “For one thing, you just prayed nothing went wrong.”

Harper’s assignment came at a historic time. Just two years earlier, in 1957, Eisenhower became the first U.S. president to make regular use of a helicopter. Back then, the Marines and the Army shared the White House flight program, called Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, or HMX-1. Harper shuttled presidents around until 1965. The Marines took sole charge of the program in 1976.

When Harper was picked for this duty, the chopper of choice was the Sikorsky VH-34. The cockpit was configured such that pilots sat high above the cabin and had to climb up from the outside. This meant that pilots had very little actual contact with their Very Important Passenger.

“We sat up above, so when Ike would come to get in, I would salute him and sometimes he would salute back but most of the time he’d wave a little bit, you know. But that’s about all the contact I had with him,” Harper said.

During the Kennedy administration, Harper flew a new helicopter, the VH-3A Sea King, which featured a cockpit in line with the passenger cabin. This allowed friendly exchanges between crew and passengers.

“We generally turned around and said hello, or something, and (Kennedy) would shake hands with you.”

Picking up JFK at the Joe Kennedy home in Hyannis Port, Mass., was always memorable.

“While sitting there on a Monday, Jackie came down with clam diggers and no makeup and John-John would (get in the cockpit) and pull all the levers,” Harper said. “We’d have to slap his hand away. He was bad about that … but it was fun to watch him.”

Harper was not as enthralled by President Lyndon Johnson.

“He was bad news,” Harper said. “He was always complaining. I was glad when I left that unit and got away from him, because he was so bad.”

Shuttling the Weekday Warriors
Early in 1967, Harper – at that point a lieutenant colonel – commanded a helicopter battalion in Vietnam.

“We had over a million troops in Vietnam in ‘67,” he said. “I was leading the parade getting in.”

Harper commanded the 13th Combat Aviation Battalion in IV Corps, based in Can Tho in the Delta region. The battalion had just more than 200 helicopters and airplanes. Aside from his outfit, there were hardly any American forces nearby.

“That was all Vietnamese – Army of the Republic of Vietnam,” he said. “There were three divisions of ARVN down there, and my battalion provided their helicopter support.”

The ARVN troops looked at the war a bit differently from the Americans fresh on the scene. The American soldiers were there for only a year and wanted to “get in there and really get with it,” Harper said. The South Vietnamese, he added, treated it like a 9-to-5 job.

“They had been fighting that war since ‘62 or ‘63 … and treated it like a business,” Harper said. “They didn’t want to get picked up for their combat assaults until 8 or 9 in the morning, and then they wanted to be brought back by 4 or 5 in the afternoon so they could go home to mama-san. They also didn’t want to do anything on the weekends.”

Harper said the only way to tell friend from foe was to have an ARVN officer or interpreter riding along in the helicopter who knew where the VC operated and could identify them. Harper said you could also use age as a guide. Young kids were supposed to be in the army, and old men could reasonably be expected to be peaceful farmers.

Even so, if a “farmer” dropped what he was doing and picked up a rifle to take a potshot at you, “it was pretty obvious who they were,” Harper said.

During his one-year tour, Harper earned the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and 20 Air Medals. He returned to the United States that December and was promoted to colonel in 1969. Harper taught helicopter tactics at Fort Rucker until 1974 and retired from the Army in 1975.

Back Home
Harper and his wife, Jean, moved to Tallahassee in 1975. He worked for the state Department of Natural Resources until 1980; from there, he was a bureau chief for the Florida Marine Patrol. Harper retired again in 1988 and two years later founded Eagle Aircraft, which offers flight instruction and airplane rental services at Tallahassee Regional Airport.

In 1996 he retired for good, loaded up his Beechcraft Bonanza, and flew all over Canada.

“Gas was cheap in those days,” he said.

In 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded him its prestigious Master Pilot Award for 60 years of flying. The next year, he was inducted into the Tallahassee Airport’s Aviation Hall of Fame.

Harper is no longer an active pilot – but he’s OK with that.

“I logged about 14,000 hours in my career, so that’s enough,” he said.

Source: [Tallahassee Magazine]

How to decorate your home’s interior is a big decision; it sets the mood for your life in that space. If you’re moving into a new home, or redecorating your current one, here are a few new trends to look for in 2010:

• With the economy struggling, and threats of global warming, the idea of natural, “green” products has struck a chord that resonates throughout the house. Nature-like patterns featuring the colors of sand, sea, sky and trees are in full force, while materials from the earth, like stone, wood and glass, predominate.
• Just as the fashion industry is cyclical, so goes interior design. Vintage is in, especially looks from the 1940s and colors such as beige, off-white and faded yellow. Pieces with a history, such as a bureau made of aged wood, can serve as centerpieces of rooms in the new decade. And wallpaper is back – this time with large, bold, graphic, eye-catching prints.
• The watchword for the new decade is “adventurous.” Redecorators are encouraged to layer and mix fabrics with a variety of patterns and textures. Or embrace your inner Bohemian with bold colors and funky styles.
• In 2010, kitchen appliances will be all about convenience and camouflage. Stainless steel remains a strong trend and, because the surface isn’t magnetic, it tends to stay clutter-free without the notes and magnets. Also, appliances “disappear” when covered with overlays that match the cabinetry, another look that’s gaining traction in the New Year.

Source: [Tallahassee Magazine]

Jesse O’Shea Seeks to Recruit College Students Worldwide to Help Haiti

Some of my best ideas come to me while I’m in the shower.

An unlikely forum, but Jesse O’Shea isn’t kidding when he says his best leadership initiatives have popped into his head in random places. A Florida State University junior, O’Shea is no stranger to leadership programs. But his grandest idea, and the one with the most national success, is the Global Haiti Initiative. Most 20-year-olds don’t have life-changing revelations, but O’Shea has been passionately pursuing his goal to change the way Americans view and aid Haiti since the day a year and a half ago when the idea came to him.

After an initial trip to Haiti, O’Shea wrote about what  he found there in a blog (jesseoshea.blogspot.com). Calling his trip “a crash course in poverty,” he eloquently writes of the fetid smells and ubiquitous trash he found there – as well as children playing soccer and “dancing and running around as if the world is fine.” He continues: “Although through all of the political turmoil, through all of the corruption, the killings, the murders, the starvation, they still hold their head up and manage to smile. Despite it all, they still have hope.”

Bill Moeller, the educator O’Shea calls his mentor, is the founder of the FSU Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, which oversees the Global Haiti Initiative and provides the program with student support as well as a network of staff. Moeller heaps praise on O’Shea, calling him “energetic, charismatic and ambitious,” and points to the potential longevity of the Haiti initiative.

“Many successful nonprofit organizations – Teach for America and Break Away come to mind – were started by college students with a passion for a cause and a drive to make a difference,” he says. “The Global Haiti Initiative, with sustained leadership and a little bit of luck, has the potential to be one of those.”

O’Shea has been involved in several intercollegiate groups, including the Student United Way and Protect Our Professors, but the Global Haiti Initiative is his biggest project to date and the one that promises the most national engagement. As stated on its official Web site (haiti-initiative.com), this is the “first intercollegiate clearinghouse for developmental programs in Haiti.”

The beauty of the program is the freedom that it allows. Each participating university founds its own chapter and then decides what type of work to accomplish in Haiti.

“For example, MIT could have more of an engineering and agricultural focus, while FSU might have more about education and small health care pushes,” O’Shea says.

The program is currently in universities across the nation, ranging from the University of Florida to Skidmore College in New York. O’Shea is hoping to have it on 60 campuses nationwide by the end of the year.

Though this might seem like an ambitious undertaking, O’Shea’s vision for the program is crystal-clear – and he is taking his time putting it together to do it right. The Global Haiti Initiative’s Web site is simply yet effectively organized, even featuring a direct link to PayPal where visitors can make a donation.

The initiative, which officially launched in the fall of 2009 at Florida State, already is gaining significant support from students. With an understanding that technology is the best way to reach out to college-age students, O’Shea began a Facebook page (http://tr.im/BBfK). When he posted on Facebook that he needed members for his board of directors, he got 60 responses for a handful of positions. The same kind of outpouring occurred when he asked for donations of toys, clothes, sports equipment and other items.

“I believe in humanity – whenever I need something, I am not afraid to just ask people, and it ends up working successfully,” he says.

Although he has taken several individual trips to Haiti over the past year, O’Shea put his research to the test and brought two other students with him on a trip in mid-August 2009.

“This was a preliminary trip to see how we would be received in Haiti before we bring a huge group of 40 students,” he says.

So with suitcases packed with donations, Lucas Parsons and Matthew Chapman, both juniors at FSU, joined O’Shea on his trip. The three young men helped a nongovernmental organization organize a sports tournament. This was especially well received because of the lack of recreational activities in the impoverished country.

Since it was an exploratory mission, the students’ days were filled with organizing a town festival, volunteering in local clinics, working with children in schools and even assisting in surgeries. O’Shea speaks some Creole, and between hand signals and a translation dictionary, the resourceful students were able to make themselves useful.

It’s impossible to describe the joy of the trip without mentioning the state of destitute poverty that people are born into, the students say. Ninety-five-degree heat, minimal electricity and no Internet are hard for Americans to adjust to, but not shocking. Instead, it was the little things that surprised Parsons: “I’ve never been out of the country, let alone to a Third World country, so I noticed that I take for granted our transportation system in America, like smooth roads and stop signs.”

To O’Shea, the trip was successful because of the human contact he had and the friendships he forged. An example is the 18-year-old whom O’Shea calls his Haitian brother. Makendy (pronounced McKenzie) is from a village called Destra, which O’Shea describes as “a National Geographic picture of a clan that hasn’t been touched by technology.” Makendy is like an American teen at heart; he loves hip-hop music. After losing his father at a young age, Makendy was adopted by the nonprofit organization O’Shea has been working with. And with the Haitian trait of perseverance, Makendy still seems to be the happiest person in the world despite his situation.

The trip had lighthearted moments too. Both O’Shea and Parsons laugh and agree that their minor vehicular accident was adventurous.

“We got around on these precarious motorcycle taxis and one day, someone came swerving toward Lucas and just hit him head on,” O’Shea says. “Fortunately, everyone was OK.”

O’Shea is the youngest member of a clan with values deeply rooted in civil service and volunteerism. All four children are pursuing careers in those fields: Eldest brother Rob is a recent graduate of FSU’s law school and sister Mykal is at Duke University studying nurse practitioning. Joe, a former FSU student body president, is completing his Rhodes scholarship in Oxford, England.

The O’Shea children have been struck by tragedy, with the untimely deaths of their father in 2007 and their mother in 2008. Without their parents, the siblings use each other for their main support system.

“Though we are very independent, Joe and I push each other to help other people,” Jesse O’Shea says. “Whenever I have a solution to an idea about helping society, the first person I talk to to bounce ideas off of is Joe.”

The youngest of the family, Jesse O’Shea admits that it’s hard to live in the shadow of such accomplished siblings, though he is certainly blazing his own trail.

After returning from the trip, O’Shea has even clearer goals. He hopes to unite various nongovernmental organizations in Haiti; get college students to come down during every school break; make the Haitian cause “sexy,” similar to what Hollywood has done with Darfur; and document the whole process on film.

“I used to say that people in America were dying simply because they could not afford life; but in Haiti, people are dying simply because they have no other choice,” O’Shea says.

The Global Haiti Initiative and Jesse O’Shea have dreams to change that.

Source: [Tallahassee Magazine]