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Showing posts from June, 2010
Here is a poem, sent to me, worthy of repeating. "Designed to Fly" by Ellen Waterston After ten hours of trying the instructor undid my fingers, peeled them one by one off the joystick. "You don't need to hold the plane in the air," he advised. "It's designed to fly. vA hint of aileron, a touch of rudder, is all that is required." I looked at him like I'd seen God. Those props and struts he mentioned, they too, I realized, all contrived. I grew dizzy from the elevation from looking so far down at the surmise: the airspeed of faith underlies everything. Lives are designed to fly.
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I drove down to Florida over the weekend to visit with my Mom and Sister. I purposely retraced some of the roads I used a long time ago. I rode my KZ400 motorcycle to Florida alone 30 years ago (almost to the day). The roads looked a lot the way I remembered them. Although there were more fancy houses and Dollar General stores. The roads commonly had that "go on forever" look and drove into the vanishing point of tall trees. And yes, I did get a speeding ticket from a local sheriff.
Here is a video I took on a recent flight. We paralleled the squall line for at least an hour.
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Things are going well (understatement). Numerous companies have moved corporate HQ to the Duluth Georgia area in the last 10 years. Smart companies can move anywhere they want. My boss is great. He is a farmer originally from Upstate NY. What a huge difference. I am -truly- blessed. Everything seems to be less expensive in the Northern Atlanta area than what I am used to and the overall quality of living is higher. Gas is a two-fifty-something vs. two-eighty-something, hotels are cheaper, rental cars are cheaper. Groceries are less expensive. Even apples are cheaper. Sales tax is 6% vs 8.25%. It goes on and on. I definitely have a lot more purchasing power here vs. NY. It is clean, people are more often nice (although an old lady flipped me off in traffic today, totally weird). I have looked at 20+ properties and I am getting service from a Realtor I am unaccustomed to. It is just plain weird. It is like a different country, but it is just a different state. I will be in Finland
These quotes are in this order for a reason. The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. --Ayn Rand I want to die a slave to principles. Not to men. Ignorance and obscurantism have never produced anything other than flocks of slaves for tyranny... It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees! --Emiliano Zapata The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on... The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully. --Walter Lippman
Here is a very entertaining video that contains a positive message.
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The canoe trip was something for me to tick off the list. We put in in Marathon NY and paddled down the Tioughnioga river to Whitney point. I have been looking at the river for years wanting to do it. The perspective of the world changes so much from the canoe compared to a car. The canoe scraped a bit and we had some tricky maneuvering to do at points, but over all we increased our skill. I drove over that bridge for ten years. It is hard to believe that this is the same bridge from my post January 2008. http://www.theguysatwork.com/blogs/uploaded_images/IMG_7835-794459.JPG
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I took the plane out yesterday for a while. Being alone in the air is really quite an experience. After I landed I hung out with the mechanic. I always learn more about the aircraft and he encourages pilots to come by and learn more about the planes. I guess they call it hanger flying. I start my new job in Duluth on the 21st. It is pretty exciting. I won't be doing much travel until after the 4th of July. There is too much to do before I start the job to realistically get much of it done, so I move forward the best I can. Sunday is canoe trip day. Hopefully the weather cooperates.
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I went the the Rochester Hamfest this past weekend. It was great regrouping with company founders, hams and homebrewers. I caught up with a lot of people (it seems like) I hadn't talked to for 10 years or more. People stay the same. It is quite a community. I may not remember the callsign, but I remember the faces. I took a bunch of stuff to the scrap yard afterward. Thousands of hours of technical toil, reduced to price per pound. Sigh.
I have been involved a bit with these guys. www.aerofarms.com