100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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Fawna is doing a little better. She still cannot get up on her own but we are hopeful she will be able. We got some more acupuncture needles (controlled in NY, I wonder if pins are..) I will give her the acupuncture treatment tonight or tomorrow.

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I am getting mentally prepared for re-integration when I return. I still have quite a bit to do before I head back, but it it won't be long now. The ships are in! I got aboard the Polar Sea last night and I was one of the fortunate few who was able to purchase a hat and a patch from the ship's store. If you look close at the picture you will see two UHF antennas I installed on the ships railing near the bridge a few days ago. The peir the ship is moored to is a huge block of ice covered with fine volcanic sand (fines). It is the ice pier of McMurdo. Town was really hopping last night with over 100 coast guard folks ashore to spoil and pillage. I got approval for a couple of missions to recce some potential new radio sites to make our networks simpler. Simple is better. Complex is problematic. The skill is understanding why things are complicated without having to start over. There may be a reason for the complexity. There may not be a reason. When you learn why it was complic...
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Today here in NY it was -12 F with a pretty good wind. It didn't feel very cold to me. The cold air as it comes into the lungs is quite familiar. The air is much more damp here and the snow is not as crisp as it would be at the same temperature in Antarctica. Even at -12 it feels damp. I do have to get some better winter clothes though. I respect the cold more than I used to. I see folks around here not preparing for the cold at all before they go out into it. I understand that the car will be warm in a few minutes and all that and it it is only a short walk between buildings. I guess the question is why suffer? Not dressing and getting cold even for brief periods is self imposed. If you get cold and you don't want to be cold something is wrong. I wish I could summarize the last 4 months on the ice but that just won't be happening. I guess it was too big of a deal, too much to summarize. I will be trying. I am off concentrating on some financial plans, aviation plans, a...
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100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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Image
We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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