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Showing posts from June 20, 2010

Worst Weather in the World

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I flew up to Maine to see my sister and cousins for a few days. As part of the trip we went up Mount Washington in NH. We went up on the Cogged Railway. It's A unique old vehicle system that only uses a large cog underneath the engine hooked into a ladder type of rack on the tracks all the way to the top. The modern engine uses a 600HP John Deere driving a hydraulic pump which in turn drives several hydraulic motors turning the large cog. Mt Washington is known for the extreme cold and highest wind in the world. Yes, the world. That was not the case when we went up. The winds were 3 MPH and the temp was 62 degrees. the highest ever temp ever recorded was 72 degrees and a 3 MPH wind is generally unheard of. So, the weather was quite kind for us.
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 ...