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Showing posts from February 7, 2010

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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Spending time in PA last week it was interesting to see the impact of drilling the Marcellus Shale. There were growing businesses, activity in the small towns, booked hotels and generally a feeling of prosperity. The active drilling sites had less of an impact (lights, noise etc) than a single mini-market. "The engine is the heart of an aeroplane, but the pilot is its soul." - Sir Walter Raleigh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh_%28professor%29 The other Walter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh These pics are from a while back.