Belts from America
Drat. McMaster-Carr won't ship outside of America anymore:

"Thank you for sending us this inquiry. Due to the ever-increasing complexity of U.S. Export regulations, McMaster-Carr has decided to only accept orders from a few, long-established customers of ours overseas. We are not able to provide a quote nor can we accept your orders. We regret any inconvenience this causes you."

I might be jumping to conclusions, but I get the feeling this has something to do with the war on terror.
Back from vacation
Here in Luxembourg we get a one week vacation for Hallowe'en. Too bad I really hate vacations. They mess with my work schedule and habits. Today I really didn't get much done on the project because I've been taking care of frisbee stuff all day.

I've still got a little tidbit, though: the Plettenberg Predator. It's the motor I ordered, a 15HP motor in a 1.5kg package. It's probably not suitable to my specific task, but I plan to make a larger version of the motor if it really is as easy to build as it looks. It's an LRK motor, which is actually quite the elegant thing. It uses its construction to act like an electromagnetic gear box, reducing speed and increasing torque.