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Showing posts from November 18, 2007

100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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Today is Thanksgiving and I am emailing folks in Antarctica to wish them the best. My friend Dave is stuck about 5 hours (LC-130 Aircraft) away from McMurdo at a god forsaken place known as "WAIS Divide". WAIS is an acronym for "West Antarctica Ice Sheet". There has been a seasonal science camp out there for years taking ice core samples. Dave has been out there 3 years in a row. We use a an old C-band satellite dish to get Internet through an old NOAA satellite through the University of Miami. I think he gets 5 hours of visibility at 56 kbps. Good for email for the scientists. At least they have a regular camp cook out there. I am looking for a new controller for my electric car. I have been doing a lot of research and planning. It won't be cheap. I want to do it right. I know if I don't it will be a mess and give electrics a bad name. I am diligently looking for what the the EV folks call a "Donor Car". I have reduced my goal to a 40 mile range...
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It is a normal weekend I suppose. We went to a Toastmaster event in Ithaca last night. Jason and Claudia both competed in the district contests. This was the contest that culminates 2000 toastmasters from across the state. Unfortunately, neither won, but to compete at this level is certainly an achievement. The Columbian guy who won the Humorous contest was a real hoot. I have been patrolling the woods out back with the jeep looking for hunters and getting firewood. There were no signs of hunters on opening day which was great with me. I take my camera and my note pads to capture back tags. Anyone I catch will get a ticket from the DEC. I have a bunch of firewood to process. I should have enough for this year, but you really can't have too much. Worst thing is that I will use it next year. As long as I can get out back (snow not too deep) I might as well bring it forth. It is a great excuse to spend time in the woods. Even though it was in the 20s I was down to a t-shirt working ...
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