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Showing posts from August 27, 2006

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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We are working through mounds of paper work to be able to deploy. Most of it is pretty clear but it is voluminous. I am still unsure at this point if I can keep my wisdom teeth. The dentist will set my fate. There is just a lot to do in a short time to get PQ'd to get to work in Antarctica. The following photo is from an accident about 2 1/2 hours plane ride from McMurdo in 1998. The c-130 hit a crevasse and twisted the craft into the chasm. I don't think anyone was hurt. Used without permission from http://www.gmra.org/n0nhj/ice99/p14.htm
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Bonnie and I ran down to Washington DC for the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking. We had a good time. We caught up with Jim Thompson for the event. We both noticed the overall quality of the speeches was even higher than last year. One of the rules is to have 2 minutes of silence in between speakers. This year I noticed that two minutes is not enough to get the last speaker out of your head. The speeches are all that good. Everyone of them moves you. Often times the speaker has you taking an emotional roller coaster with some unexpected twists. The guy who won second place has been trying to win, I think he said, for 28 years. This is as close as he got so far. After that we got right back to Berkshire. There is a lot to be done before winter. As part of the trip I had some more good conversation with someone that has been to the ice. I also got a book that was published this month on "How to Survive Antarctica". It was a super quick read. Thi...
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