Upper Peninsula Michigan and Auction Win Outcomes

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I was up in Wisconsin and the UP (upper peninsula) in Michigan. It was a lot of driving after launching/landing in Appleton WI. I got an item off the bucket list by driving across the "Mighty Mac". Altough it was built in the late '50s. It is still the longest suspension span in the Northern hemisphere. It is a crazy long bridge with a crazy long suspension span. It was good to see the bridge in context of the seemingly endless forests of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan. The culture in the two haves of Michigan are noticibly different as you might expect. Great time meeting with folks both in WI and MI. The tractor I won in auction, seems to have paid off. This time I beat the odds. It was a really good deal. I have the "no-key, non-running, may have hydraulic problems, unknown hours" -auction win, running well with minimal cost and time. I have some more tweaks, maintenance and minor fixes but the major risks are gone.
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Franklin and Denise are in from Texas this weekend. There isn't much snow on the ground so we can get around back in the woods with the jeep and the tractor pretty well. I am getting firewood still, although it gets processed in the barn since I don't want to have to dig it out of the snow if we get a storm. I am getting noticeably more capable with my exercises. I am getting stronger in leg and arm as well as cardio. Once I run for half an hour I don't want to stop. Watching TV while I run on the treadmill I enjoy "Monarch of the Glen"(BBC). It is somewhat confusing why that show or why I like the show, but I do. It is basically a soap opera. Maybe that the show does not have the commercial intervals as American TV makes the difference. American TV is getting even more commericals. I think the longest stretch is 8 minutes of program these days.

I am taking my Ham radio test to upgrade to "Amateur Extra" on January 30th. You get more frequency bands on which to operate with an extra but the real reason to get an extra, since the test is pretty tough, is to "have an extra." Current ham projects in the que consist of installing a filtre on the generator bike power lines, and making a more permanent switching apperatus for the wattmeter.


Click pic for video

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