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Showing posts from November 1, 2009

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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My mom is doing better. She is still in the hospital, but somewhat better. This week has yielded several insprirational elements. Let's focus on a few. Look for inspiration. Look! It is all around you all the time. We forget to do that. It is easy to be distracted by the everyday events and moments. Every element of nature is inspirational. They are all miracles. Everything is internal. Choose your character. Choose. Changes aren't easy. Choose, and move towards the target. "If you haven't ever have been at least a little embarassed by your past you don't understand growth and development. For goodness is made of that stuff." ---Charles Dowdell My friend and co-worker Clark Wallin passed away very suddenly Saturday Night-Sunday Morning. He was in good shape Friday. We didn't have a lot of discussion or contact Friday, but we talked. He seemed a little pre-occupied, but nothing much out of the ordinary. Clark and his wife were fellow llama/alpaca...
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This time of year is always busy getting ready for Winter. I spent most of the weekend working on the solar system. I had some successes as well as a set back. The heat exchanger is broken! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I charged/filled the the domestic side of brand new unit (although waiting for me to install for almost a year) and water started coming out the loop. I plugged the loop and I am planning on some interesting conversations with the Rheem people. It was a good thing that I didn't have the loop connections tight. I wouldn't have noticed the defect and the cross contamination would have put antifreeze in my hot water supply and regular water in the loop possibly breaking my collector. I have just a couple more fittings and some control wiring. This was a bigger project (still not done) than expected (usual). I look forward to the next project at this point. The basement partially flooded this week (drainage issue). What a drag. I mean my advice is to e...