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Showing posts from April, 2008

Wyoming and Idaho

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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...
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I had the opportunity to go to a workshop by Lance Miller the 2005 World Champion of Public Speaking. I made a point to attend. I saw his winning performance in 2005 and have the DVD of the speech as well. It was truly a masterpiece. It was a great privilege to meet with him.
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I am in NJ staying the night. I am picking up my new equipment trailer I bought from some guy on ebay. The trailer is out on long island. I got some new chicks. They will be fun. I built a couple of nice picnic benches from hemlock. They weight about 300 pounds each.
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The weather is great today and we are expecting it to get better and better over the next two days. I went up with my aviation mentor the other day. We went over to Sidney NY and got gas for the plane. My instructor has been out of town. I am still working on my Chinese. It is clear that it gets harder as you learn more characters. I need to practice more with Google in Chinese. These are pictures of downtown Coventry NY and the Silo Restaurant in Greene NY. The video is final approach at Greene NY 4N7 runway 25. This is the runway I practice on.
There is a lot going on. I have been hiking and running. I shoot for at least five miles either running and hiking. They are different exercises for sure. The hiking is therapeutic for contemplation. The running is good for the stress of "gotta do something now!" In the past few weeks, a cat has been put down, a llama was put down and five chickens were killed by a weasel that got into the chicken pen. Spring has sprung in Upstate NY. What you do is all a matter of priorities. Make time for creative stuff, plan for the necessary work stuff. Get lots of sleep and don't drink.
I haven't been blogging much. I do have a lot to say, however. I will get to it. I have a bunch of nice pictures to post soon. The following movie was filmed when I was on the ice; the premiere is this month. It is a movie about my co-workers and I think I am in the film. They got a great shot of my beard all frosty. I pretty much went every where the film crew went. http://icepeople.com/
NPR has been doing a lot of pieces on Antarctica lately. This one caught me because I was so familiar with the folks in it. Dave Ainley, the helo 36J, were all very familiar and I could easily recognize the pilot's voice as Scottie's. That particular clip was short so it escaped capturing his normal profanity. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89239211
Here is a tough job. Sous Chef – Field Camps (2008-2009) Raytheon Polar Services Seeking a unique adventure as well as employment? How would you like to be one of the few people on the planet to have the opportunity to live and work in Antarctica? Raytheon Polar Services is the primary contractor for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) U.S. Antarctic Program. We are currently looking for a Sous Chef to deploy to field camps outside of McMurdo Antarctic research station on a contract basis from approximately October 2008 to February 2009. We are looking for Primary and Alternate employees to fill all contract positions. The Primary is first in line for the position. The Alternate is next in line to deploy should the Primary be unable to meet deployment requirements. If you like to live on the edge and are interested in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – go to www.RayJobs.com and apply today. Responsibilities: Produce high quality meals, in accordance with ...