Wyoming and Idaho

-
Image
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...
Post a Comment
-

I started on the fence. I rented a good auger setup for the Bobcat. I had to enable the aux hydraulics and all that, but it is figured out and I am getting a process. I will be readjusting what I have in the pics today. I started in the back because I know I am going to get better results the more experienced I get. Setting all these posts in concrete is a real dilemma for me. It feels permanent. I have to get it right. It is just plain difficult. This morning I decided that this is another job that cannot be done with just one person. There are too many points to look for to make it true. Just like with all the other projects I have done, I am not going to be able to look at a fence the same way again. 89 more posts to go.

It is Field Day weekend as well. There is a Field Day radio contest thie weekend (almost all weekends have some radio contest). Field Day is a traditional time when amateur radio operators setup a radio station away from their normal station and/or get on the air using their own power. It is fun. I am monitoring 14.234 MHz for my chance to talk with the folks at the South Pole Station. The conditions haven't been right yet.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
I took the plane out yesterday for a while. Being alone in the air is really quite an experience. After I landed I hung out with the mechanic. I always learn more about the aircraft and he encourages pilots to come by and learn more about the planes. I guess they call it hanger flying. I start my new job in Duluth on the 21st. It is pretty exciting. I won't be doing much travel until after the 4th of July. There is too much to do before I start the job to realistically get much of it done, so I move forward the best I can. Sunday is canoe trip day. Hopefully the weather cooperates.
Read more
-
There must be a term surrounding the concept of analying but not understanding. I mean the alpha llama Professor can stare at me and a match, watch me strike it and light the heater so close, right next to my face with all his might and sadly will never figure out how to make his herd-friends warm when he wants. This is a fact of which I am certain. The same condition applies to watching something like the Nightly Business Report. You can talk about all sorts of stuff and show all sorts of graphs, how do you communicate what took you a lifetime to figure out to another individual? The llamas got their rabies shots the other day. In NY we have to have a licenced vet administer a rabies shot. Jim the vet said, you have to watch out, your llamas may give llamas a good name. It took about 15 minutes for Dr. Jim to get them all. He agreed, our llamas are well trained.
Read more
-
Image
It is Sunday. The day off. I slept in to 7:30 AM this morning. I usually get up at 5:00. I had coffee in the galley and talked about the International Trans-Antarctica Scientific Expedition (ITASE) traverse with the crew supervisor. He is an interesting guy with 35 years experience in the arctic. Most of the equipment is buried in the snow (from over the winter) at Taylor dome. They are going to take more equipmnet out in a Herc (LC-130) including a Piston Bully equipped with ice radar on a boom out front. We talked about radio and what they are using for frequencies for the aviation services. The aviation support is provided by a mix of miltary and private contractors. It is good to see that kind of cooperation. This is a "Delta". This particular unit is configured for cargo. Others have a passenger (PAX) compartment. They have grafitti and stickers on the inside of the PAX compartment. They are McMurdo's equivilent to an urban train. If you squint your eyes while rid...
Read more
-
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain, Author
Read more