LavaCon 2026 and the future.

-
Image
LavaCon is a conference now going on 25 years. Its always fun at conferences where folks collaborate on what the future holds. This year I drove to Charlotte NC from Duluth GA to attend. I used the Tesla in Full Self Drive. I went park-to-park without touching the wheel for over 200 miles. It's crazy. I don't think most people understand how well it works. Lots of nay-sayers still, but it really does work. Be on guard, but enjoy. I spent some of my time "driving" while conversing with Grok as part of my daydreaming. I was discussing with Grok an idea I have of building a West system (cold molded) old style barrel-back runabout maybe 20 feet long- all varnished Mahogony. Of course this boat would have an exotic 12-cylinder engine under a transparent engine hatch between the twin cockpits. We discussed the designs, available actual study plans and pre-lofted design documents for the hull. We also discussed the best engine (perhaps a BMW N73) coupled with a Velvet Dri...
Post a Comment
-

It turns out I don't have to go out to Taylor Dome for the put-in. I will be on a follow-on flight in an LC-130 (Herc). I don't know the day yet because I have not had my gear manifested yet. The tractors have been out there at Taylor Dome unvisited for the last two years. This is the begining of ITASE phase 2. The tractors similar to the ones pictured but much larger pull sleds with a mechanical shop, berthing, kitchen and the other absolute essentials. We have to get all the equipment ready for another traverse to for the rest of the season. They will be drilling ice and obtaining Ice core samples in key loacations that can provide valuable historical climate data for 100s of thousands of years. I have some radios to install. I am sure after two Antarctic winters there will be some other stuff to repair. My boss said that he noticed my ability to fix things so that is why I got the gig. There may be a lot of other stuff to fix besides radios. You do what you need to do in these camps.

I have to get up at about 3:45 AM so I can participate in a teleconference for 11:00 AM Eastern Time (Wednesday).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Google News I will be moving my server host soon. The place I am using now could screw up anything. That is the reason I have not posted anything (seemingly) for quite some time. The name of the crapper server hosting company is IQuest Hosting. They just plain stink. They bought out the service I was using. Now because of their screw ups I am moving. Avoid "http://www.iquesthosting.com/"
Read more
-
It doesn't seem like it has been a week since I last blogged. Apparently it has been. I have joined the 1990s! I now have a cell phone along with Bonnie. We got Tracfones which are prepaid PCS type digital phones. It works at the house so that is great. Coverage is pretty good. Out here coverage is a big deal and something you cannot take for granted. I am doing a NPV analysis of the prices over minutes over time to ensure I am getting the best deal. Homework is taking quite a bit of my time. I am learning a lot about finance. This week we did regressions for portfolio analysis of beta among other financial models including Fama-French and emerging financial behavioral models. We have ducks! I picked them up Friday. Currently we have 8 ducks. Liz and Ken will take 5 leaving us with two hens and a drake. They are young mallards. I leared how to clip their wings as to not let them fly away. They are quite nervous still. I hope they settle down. They are really uptight. The chi...
Read more

Upper Peninsula Michigan and Auction Win Outcomes

-
Image
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.
Read more

Machinery Infatuation

-
Image
I bought my first NEW piece of farm machinery. I am not sure if this is a failure or a success, but it is different. I picked up a NEW Rotary Cutter (bush hog, brush hog, mower, etc) from a dealer. It cost me almost as much as the tractor did with its bits of hardware and options. It seems to work well on the CNH Boomer 33. I planned on getting up to NY in the next couple of days, but Gracie has been sick.. she has been up and down. The steroid treatment and a change in diet seem to be helping at this point. Besides hauling the tractor and mower up to NY I have numerous events planned over the next month. I will be in Charlotte for a conference as well as Tucson Arizona and of course other events and activities. I started installing radio equipment in the Humvee. It now has a telescoping 30 foot antenna, a 24 volt to 12 volt converter, a removable SDR radio and some other stuff to be sure. I'd like to get it to the Stone Mountain Hamfest -- thats what i am shooting for. I thr...
Read more