Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

I was in Chicago for a couple of days for work. I got a pic with an unavailable micro-excavator. Big contrast with the largest earthmoving equipment in the world that Komatsu makes. My truck got so incredibly dirty from the trees and other pollen this spring. I had to finaly wash it. I only got the top layer off with the soapy power washer. It will take several sessions. The paint is coming off the service body. It was shot with a topcoat by the upfitter in Ohio where I bought the truck. The primer from Knapheide (the service body manuafacturer) looks like it held up great. I am looking to get the truck repainted. I bought it new in Columbus Ohio in 2017 and it only has 30k miles (most of them highway between the my farm in NY and Duluth GA.) We stocked Canary Lake with new fish. About 10k fish flew into the lake off the delivery truck. We have a healthy lake and we grow some large fish. Angie and I went to a Cat Show in Gwinnett county. It was a smaller show than the other sh...

I am back from a speaking engagement at a familiar conference (CIDM) in San Jose California. Afterwards, I met Angie at the ATL airport and headed to the farm and to see my cousins, Aunt and Sister (and my newest relative) in Baltimore and Washington DC. It was a densely scheduled trip, but nothing compared to our typical overseas vacation trips. I have been having educational fun with my recent birthday gift. It is a Radiacode 103. It is a very sensitive scintillation radiation detector. Loads of fun. The 1k µS/hr spike shown is what the carry on baggage x-ray machine doses out. I am glad I wasn't inside the x-ray equipment. Stopping at some antique stores along the way, I found a number of uranium glass pieces. Yes, they are radioactive. Yes, the dose is comparable to that you get from riding in a commercial airplane. I took a couple of pics of property in Upstate NY. Unbelievable. It will beat out images of the best trailer trash anywhere. And yes, the vehicles are systemica...

We made some Chakalaka stew recently. I had a can from South Africa and it was time to eat. Canned foods taste better after a year or two. It was quite tasty and I thoroughly enjoyed pronouncing Chakalaka. The Tesla has an impressionist side for its full self drive robot. The screen shows a string of buses as a train passes ahead. I kinda like it. The robot definately likes to consider objects with people rather than just objects. The weather really turned nice at least for a few days. The leaves are really popping out, as well as the pollen. It was a good oportunity to run the whole fleet. I am planning the radio systems for the Humvee and getting my electrical problems sorted out. I am still quite angry about the shop that decided to hook up the batteries incorrectly and cause some issues. It's fun to drive, not comfortable. Almost the exact opposite of the Tesla.

It has been busy and somewhat stressful. I am reflecting on the comparatively relative low stress of traveling alone in Southern Africa last year at about this time. I mean in Africa, I only had to worry about getting in car accidents (maybe running someone over), missing flights, getting robbed or attacked. All of these possibilities in a very unfamiliar land. Now interestingly, I seem to have more stress -- over what? It is probably a very good example of good stress versus bad stress. Good stress comes from calculated self-directed challenge. Bad stress comes from captivity and what we feel we "should" be doing. "Should" indicates there are external forces we are beholden to --without our own devices or agency. In April, I am speaking at CIDM Convex in San Jose CA. https://convex.infomanagementcenter.com/ . I also learned I am speaking at LavaCon in October https://www.lavacon.org/ . There were 150 speakers considered and only 40 selected. It will be my first t...

[Chorus] No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing Neither the good that was done to me Nor the evil, I couldn't care less No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing It's paid for, swept away, forgotten I don't care about the past [Verse] With my memories I lit the fire My sorrows, my pleasures I'm no longer in need of them Swept away the loves With their tremolos Swept away forever I'm starting over [Chorus] No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing Neither the good that was done to me Nor the evil, I couldn't care less No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing For my life, for my joys It starts with you  today Non, rien de rien Non, je ne regrette rien Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait Ni le mal Tout ça m'est bien égal Non, rien de rien Non, je ne regrette rien C'est payé, balayé, oublié Je me fous du passé Avec mes souvenirs J'ai allumé le feu Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux Ba...

We had a storm last night in Georgia just like the recent storms that have seemingly have covered the whole country. We lost power and I have been doing a 3 hour on- 3 hour off with the generator. I am definately prepared. Generator started up 2nd pull, plenty of gas and all the other stuff incluing supply chain readiness getting more gas, oil, etc. I like helping neighbors when things go wrong. I have my service truck, my large chainsaw and lots o' tools. I can be quite helpful. Someday (perhaps soon) we will be amazed that we have to have these noisy reciprocating gas engine generators. I like the quiet. I also like having electricity in the house I think I am going to sell my IFR 1200S Service Monitor. Its a fantastic tool. Although they aren't the the newest, they are in great demand because they are incredibly versatile, durable and most of all- trustworthy. It will be on ebay. I am looking forward to Spring. I will be working on the humvee and boat and the property in...