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Showing posts from January 9, 2011

Wyoming and Idaho

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We are back from a quick vacation. I managed to score three (actually several more) bucket list items in 4 days. 1.) Long Snowmobile Trip. 2.) Yellowstone Park and 3.) Wyoming. I reached my 50th State --Wyoming! And we took a 90 mile snowmobile trip in Yellowstone National Park. We went to the "Craters of the Moon--National Monument and Preserve" in Idaho and also stopped at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) where I got to see (with my own eyes) the very cool nuclear powered twin turbojet engine. It was a successful experiment in the 1950s and 1960s. https://whatisnuclear.com/safety-minutes/htre-3-meltdown.html Of course, I had my Radiacode scintillation detector with me and yes, the apparatus is "Hot". The screenshot of the readings from my three walk-arounds the artifact. I swear you could smell the radiation. There was a very un-natural burnt smell something reminiscent of burned bakelite. Although, I am quite certain the emitted radition was not the source...
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My First Winter in the South Well the snow catastrophe continues in Atlanta. The situation is a curiosity to be sure. We had a snowstorm Sunday evening and by my accounts we received 4 or 5 inches of snow in Duluth. Now Atlanta does not have snow removal equipment or the means to deal with these things when it gets "this bad". So the snow stays on the road. It gets packed down and subsequently into mostly a 1-inch thick ice pack. Tuesday the temps today got slightly above freezing and dare I say I saw liquid water. I am not accustomed to seeing liquid water during a snow crisis. By the way, Atlanta Schools will probably be closed for a week. This whole thing is probably the biggest culture shock I have experienced in the last 6 months and over a dozen countries. I have been tending to business as I would up North. Monday they closed work when I was there. Tuesday they closed work as well. I wish I had a job on days like this that we could really call it a snow day and go...
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It snowed here last night in Atlanta. The whole place shuts down. Lots of businesses closed (including mine). The snow had decent traction, a lot better than the cold micro-ice crystals we get in Berkshire NY. The snow is light to moderately heavy. I had the roads to myself coming into work before they shut down.