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Showing posts from August, 2016

100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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I have been flying the drone. Here is a pic of the Duluth City Hall.
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Its a start. I am Mr. Cautious. I don't want crash the thing nor get arrested, learning the boundaries.
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I worked in the heat today to get my irrigation lawn/garden system going, finally. I rebuilt a used 2 hp pump I bought 2nd hand and pieced together a lot of other broken stuff. Now at least, I have water coming out of the ground. Now I an trying to figure the underground piping system out. My first drone picture and the second. The video is absolutely amazing. I am really looking forward to what this thing uncovers. Unbelievable. Much more to follow.
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Things have been pretty calm these days for the most part. Work is super busy, I took a lot on this year, but I haven't been traveling much. We have been working around the house and doing hobby type stuff. It is summer and hot most days. It takes a bit of patience and stealth to get a photo like this of the hummingbird. We really do have some great birding right out the back door. I bought a camera drone. I ended up getting a DJI Phantom 4. It was time. I will get it in a week or so. Since I am a licensed pilot I can use the drone where others cannot. Makes sense.