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...
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I am working mostly on computers again this weekend. I am moving all the files into their appropriate storage areas. I have a quite a bit more to do. I am stuck with a 10 Mbps NIC in the machine I am typing on now (Pentium 233 we threw together). Simultaneous Internet access and file transfers can take quite a while. The progress box on the other machine here says 98 minutes.... uh oh, something is weird.

I am setting the new "work box" up to easily accept strange hard drives. It is a dual boot machine with linux and windoze. I will be adding a 5-1/4 in floppy drive to the complement of I/O. It has both MFM and IDE controllers. I am skipping all SCSI and CDROMs for now. Other future projects will be to figure out how to get the data of the C64 disks so we can run those games we had so much family fun with in a 6500 emulator that must be out there.

I sent out a bunch of RFQs for my new truck and dump trailer. It will be interesting to see what I get back. I did it by paper and mail. The option to submit RFQs is available on the web but that kinda defeats the purpose since I suspect there is a bidding arrangement via the web. Everyone knows who has the goods, and there are rules of engagement. I suspect a paper based is not there yet... too much data entry.

I am going out of town for three days to ride along with dealer technicians so I can further empathize with their work (and what I put the department through). This is not mandatory for me. The snow on the ground is the crustiest snow I have ever seen. We have been alternating between rain, freezing rain, and snow for the last few days. The llamas don't like it one bit. It is warm though. It has been over freezing in their llama house so I have not been running the heater.

Hopefully, I can get the EPROM burned for my 2 meter GE radio project tomorrow. I want to get some data links set up. With my satelite internet connection and all the batteries, generators, and inverters I have I will be able to be in touch without any power, cable tv, phone, gas, water or any other physical infrastructure. My tractor and jeep would fit the bill ok if the road went away as well. (I think I just jinxed myself)

I have been reading short stories lately which has been a great deal of fun. It is great to kick back a little. My finance class starts on the 24th.

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