Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

I got out on the Appalachian trail again Saturday. I do better and better each time. Backpacking is definitely different than walking. I am looking forward to crossing the North Carolina and Georgia border. It will be a while yet. There are some grueling hills getting into the Appalachians. North Georgia is really a very nice place. I have been getting messages from all over the world with concerns about Hurricane Irene and the Farm. We will probably get less damage than he have in the several storms over that last year that went unnoticed by the rest of the world. In one of those storms in the past year, my neighbor was telling me how someone knocked on his door telling him his barn roof was in the middle of the road.

DJ and I toured the CNN studios in Atlanta Sunday. I almost bought a house last week in Duluth. I wasn't quite fast enough on the trigger. Someone else got the deal a few hours ahead of me. There are some really good deals out there when you are bottom fishing like me.

This study has come up through the wires (many different wires). It makes perfect sense to me. http://newsinfo.nd.edu/news/25416-flying-bosses-new-study-highlights-why-ceo-pilots-make-good-leaders/ Study http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1785413

Flying was fun last weekend. It was very gusty. The Metlife blimp was in town for the PGA thing. It couldn't fly because of the winds. There was a special NOTAM regarding the airship at the end of the runway. Between the airships, banner towing, and small jets Gwinett County airport it is a great place to maneuver as a new pilot. I was in Jacksonville, FL. Monday with my Mom and Sister. I flew down for the day.

I walked the next section of the Appalachian trail. I am doing what they call "In and Out Hikes." That means I hike, turn around and go back where I started. There are no downhill or uphill hikes when you do it that way. This hike was a bit extreme. It was really too much, but I feel good today. I hiked about 15 miles with lots of vertical in about 7 hours. There were lots of squirrels and I almost stepped on a decent sized snake. Even after I drank 5 liters, I almost broke out my reserve liter of emergency water.

I was in Kansas City, Missouri earlier this week (I was there 39 hrs and 26 mins wheels down to wheels up). We had a big product launch, something like 50 new products, just for North America. As part of the celebration we had Charlie Daniels perform. I thought it was great. I got to meet a lot of our dealers. I was struck by the fact that I saw absolutely no graffiti in KC, MO. None. I got my FAA medical renewed yesterday. I am good to go for another 2 years. Sunday, I will be solo'ng around North Atlanta. There really is nothing like the feeling of being alone in the air. Saturday, I am hiking my next section of the Appalachian Trail (AT). Monday, I am flying down to Jacksonville, FL to visit my Mom and Sister. The picture of the traffic officer: Some people just need their picture taken.

Today was an exciting day. I bought some laps in a Winston Cup car at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That was a real hoot. Now that I have had a few hours to think about things I know I could have picked my line better and really optimized. You definitely get going fast, especially since it is only a 1.5 mile tri-oval. You are almost always in a curve.The banks are 25%. They are so steep you can certainly fall down them if you are walking. I understand that I got it up to at least 140 MPH. The car had a lot more to give. When I watch the video I feel like a cat watching a bird out the window. I am grabbing the desk and my breathing changes... what a hoot! It was a great experience. I might do it again. The guy with the Gen 3 T-shirt is Randy Baker. http://www.speedtech500.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=118 After my racing thing I went and toured Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Little White House" in Central Georgia. That was great too.

I did some tree cut-up in NY over the weekend. In addition to ripping off barn roofs and taking out bridges the storms (a couple months ago) did some damage to trees as you might imagine. This tree has a diameter of 40 inches. I had to borrow an old fashioned crosscut saw to finish the cut off since my largest chainsaw has only an 18 inch bar. Man that is hard work using a hand saw. I need to really appreciate things like chainsaws. There is a lot of firewood in that oak. I think I have a few beams as well for the barn. It was 111 degrees in Wichita the other day. Man, that is hot. Here a few pics from the air taken recently. Not in order, Speedsville, NY; Berkshire, NY; Cincinnati, OH; Atlanta, Ga; Ithaca, NY.