Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

We are back from a quick vacation. I managed to score three (actually several more) bucket list items in 4 days. 1.) Long Snowmobile Trip. 2.) Yellowstone Park and 3.) Wyoming. I reached my 50th State --Wyoming! And we took a 90 mile snowmobile trip in Yellowstone National Park. We went to the "Craters of the Moon--National Monument and Preserve" in Idaho and also stopped at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) where I got to see (with my own eyes) the very cool nuclear powered twin turbojet engine. It was a successful experiment in the 1950s and 1960s. https://whatisnuclear.com/safety-minutes/htre-3-meltdown.html Of course, I had my Radiacode scintillation detector with me and yes, the apparatus is "Hot". The screenshot of the readings from my three walk-arounds the artifact. I swear you could smell the radiation. There was a very un-natural burnt smell something reminiscent of burned bakelite. Although, I am quite certain the emitted radition was not the source...

We had two colleagues from Japan join my team for two weeks. It was a great expereince to share cultures, workflows and real work expereince for comparison between the US and Japan. We did lot of activitys outside of work and had some fun. Angie joined for on the weekend activities. It will be a very memorable time for all involved.

I have had a serious of "near zero days" (reference hiking jargon), but I think they mostly just seem like zero days. I am getting stuff done, just not at 100% efficiency. Not sure anyone can move with 100% efficiency... Anyhow, I am planning on starting my next journey on May 1st. -- more details as they unfold. I know what I like and dislike. I know what turns me on and off. It's time for that knowledge to be guidance. We booked a trip to Wyoming/Yellowstone park in a few weeks. It will tackle at least three items that have been on my list 1.) Visit Yellowstone (in winter). 2.) A longish snowmobile trip. 3.) A visit to Wyoming. That will be my 50th state. That will make it all US states, 100 countries and all continents. I will likly be getting involved with MTP (Most Traveled People) https://mtp.travel/ where they break countries into regions. I decided I like this music. DiDuLa - "On the way home"

Weird. The smoke alarm went off, not incredibly odd when I am using the fireplace, but it wasn't the smoke detector. It was the CO alarm. I was totally surprised. It had never gone off as long as I have had one, over many many years. Yep, after resetting it a few times. It was getting a reading over 200 ppm CO. When I took it downstairs I got a reading near 300 ppm. I started getting light headed at this point. After thinking maybe the furnace heat exchanger failed and puzzling around a bit I figured out what happened. As part of the huge winter storm that recently covered almost half of the US, we lost our electricity. So, being well prepared, I rolled out the generator and started doing what I normally do. The generator (although it was completely outside) was creating CO to get in the house. Using the fireplace draft (and possibly other leaks) the whole house created a vacuum around the seal of the basement garage door. After the CO got into the house the forced air heat...

I prefer to pronounce brainwashing with an Ohio or American Midland Dialect. "Warsh". Its a catchy pronounciation. Step one of any effective brainwashing is to eliminate any notion or self-evidence of brainwashing. "I am absolutely sure I am not brainwashed. I am an American. I believe in the individual. I believe that all of my ideas and thoughts are my own." Those thoughts are a good starting place. The fact is that you, as a human, are a herding animal. It is a lesson that I found in my time in Antarctica and watching my own herding animals. "No man is an island" --John Donne (1572–1631). Is also a good start. We are all affected by our instincts. Tribalism being one of them. Many of us have lost a lot of our instincts. When we loose enough we probably fall somewhere into the vast ontology and categories of mental illness. So, You are what you eat, both informationally and physically. Think different. Use what you learned in school about empathy. ...

I am no longer part of the Vestry at Christ Church Norcross. I served my full term as the Buildings and Grounds liaison. It was three years. There were a lot of items to deal with over the years. But the effort wasn't the work. It was the responsibility and knowing that I wasn't doing enough. I think most people get that feeling with obligations. Maybe not. I am sure the time and responsibility will be quickly reallocated. When I signed on I figured I would learn something. Now I am thinking about what I learned along with the hows and whys. I think my Grandfather would have approved. He is mentioned on page 12 in the folowing time capsule. https://digitalarchives.episcopalarchives.org/the_witness/pdf/1941_Watermarked/Witness_19410515.pdf His noteworthy translation: Kant