Machinery Infatuation

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I bought my first NEW piece of farm machinery. I am not sure if this is a failure or a success, but it is different. I picked up a NEW Rotary Cutter (bush hog, brush hog, mower, etc) from a dealer. It cost me almost as much as the tractor did with its bits of hardware and options. It seems to work well on the CNH Boomer 33. I planned on getting up to NY in the next couple of days, but Gracie has been sick.. she has been up and down. The steroid treatment and a change in diet seem to be helping at this point. Besides hauling the tractor and mower up to NY I have numerous events planned over the next month. I will be in Charlotte for a conference as well as Tucson Arizona and of course other events and activities. I started installing radio equipment in the Humvee. It now has a telescoping 30 foot antenna, a 24 volt to 12 volt converter, a removable SDR radio and some other stuff to be sure. I'd like to get it to the Stone Mountain Hamfest -- thats what i am shooting for. I thr...
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I had my meetings in Berkshire England. Not only was I in Berkshire, I was in East Berkshire. It was a bit different than East Berkshire, NY (which I am very familiar). There are mostly paved roads and fewer mobile homes. They also seem to have a Government (albeit historical). I had an absolutely delightful breakfast this morning. The first thing on the menu was poached egg on haddock. It's true. I was very pleased, they seemed to know I was coming.

In Finland I had fish at every meal that I was in country. Just to make sure I didn't just have fish in my diet (for nutritional needs), I managed to buy a can of Bear Meat in Helsinki.

I left part of me in Finland. It is a great place.

I have a lot of stuff to do in Europe. I will be back in a few weeks. I see Munich on my schedule now, but I have a lot more things to do in other places in England, France, Finland, Germany and elsewhere. Building a global team really turns me on.

I am doing a good job of managing the long days and time zone changes/differences. There are all sorts of techniques, but nothing surpasses the ability to sleep well on the plane to be refreshed for work. I don't have to do any Asia trips at this point, knock-on-wood.

I will be home in Atlanta tomorrow, long enough to get packed and unpacked, catch up on work and personal business (like buying a house and a car), and head out to Brazil.

Here are some more pics of Finland.

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Machinery Infatuation

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Image
I bought my first NEW piece of farm machinery. I am not sure if this is a failure or a success, but it is different. I picked up a NEW Rotary Cutter (bush hog, brush hog, mower, etc) from a dealer. It cost me almost as much as the tractor did with its bits of hardware and options. It seems to work well on the CNH Boomer 33. I planned on getting up to NY in the next couple of days, but Gracie has been sick.. she has been up and down. The steroid treatment and a change in diet seem to be helping at this point. Besides hauling the tractor and mower up to NY I have numerous events planned over the next month. I will be in Charlotte for a conference as well as Tucson Arizona and of course other events and activities. I started installing radio equipment in the Humvee. It now has a telescoping 30 foot antenna, a 24 volt to 12 volt converter, a removable SDR radio and some other stuff to be sure. I'd like to get it to the Stone Mountain Hamfest -- thats what i am shooting for. I thr...
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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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