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Showing posts from December 22, 2002

Wyoming and Idaho

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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...
The New York Times on the Web Christmas eve was eventful again this year. We left to go to Rochester on Christmas eve and I again this year managed to damage Bonnie's car. Last year we hit some black ice on an overpass up in downtown Rochester. This year I went down a seasonal road that I thought was clear like all the regular roads. It was not. We hit the hardest, thickest, slipperiest ice I have ever seen on a road. I had to put the car in the ditch to avoid getting us killed. The car is still there. We moved it out of the first ditch and then after getting some chains made it down most of the hill. This is the low stress version of the story The chains slipped off at that point and it is back in the ditch. Of course, I can't even get a wrecker up on the road since it is seasonal road. I will not drive on Christmas eve again, I doubt.
Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters I asked my friend in Japan whjat christmas is like there. His Answer: Generally very commercialized. But we do it at home like we always did in the States. Unfortunately, Dec. 25 is a working day here, so we will be celebrating this weekend. Having some friends over Saturday for our yearly drink-a-thon, then Sunday Motoko's family comes over for a turkey dinner, and we do present exchange, etc. There's a strip of road with nice shops in Harajuku which is lined on either side with trees, and for a few weeks this time of year they light up the entire street. HUGELY popular spot for young couples. I guess it's a crime (or it simply means I'm a pervert) for a man to be walking around the women's fashion floor of a department store over here. I always but Motoko gifts, often clothing. You should see the looks I get and the comments I hear... dayum... I think most fathers here think their single contribution to ...