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Showing posts from April, 2019

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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Angie and I took a few different metros trains to Santa Monica. It takes awhile from Costa Mesa, but it sure beats taking the car. Besides, the Leaf wouldn't make it there and back on one charge anyhow.
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I spent this year's birthday traveling alone again. I can't say I like that, but I had some ice cream cake a few days later. I went to a the CIDM conference in Durham NC. I didn't speak this year, but it was good. There was quite a bit of new stuff. This is a pic of me with George Bina. He has to be one of the most respected people in the XML industry. The koi fish seem to be wrestling in the pond outside my apartment window. The ducks even get into the fray. Good show to watch while I am drinking morning coffee.
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Angie and I walked from the apartment to the Newport Beach Pier. I saw at least 2 Lamborghini, 5 Ferrari, 1 Rolls Royce and a bunch of other rare species of urban crawlers. It is the natural habitat for these machines.