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Showing posts from September 26, 2021

Commercial Items Identified on my Commute

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I see a lot of interesting commercialitems on truck on I-75. When you make the commute many times you start to see the same items over and over again. Sometimes it is huge equipment tires, sometimes heavy equipment of different types. I see these huge blocks of aluminum going North. I think about what the mill must look like and where it is going. And how much aluminum foil a block like this will make. Using the Tesla Full Self-Driving (supervised) allows me to look for these things on the highway. The FSD also helps me through the crazy stop and goes. Easily over 70MPH and then sudden traffic at dead stops, frequently. I see accidents every trip. It is amazing there aren't more. A side note- aluminum foil has a shiny side and a dull side. The reason why is that the foil is folded as it goes through massive rollers. The shiny side is the side that faces the steel roller. The dull side faces itself - aluminum.

Joro Spiders in Georgia

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Arachiphobia-- Joro Spider Edition The Joro spider has made it's grand debute in our back yard. At first I confirmed the spiders were Joros with the University of Georgia. The first picture was confirmed as a juvenile female. The second picture I grabbed off the net showing what they're really like---large and very scarey. Their appearance is one thing, but there are other notable characteristics. The webs are large, deep and sticky. They are considered 3-D. They have facets of typical spiral webs all connected. The size is immense compared to other spiders around here in North Georgia. The web can easily span 10 or more feet. The filiments are incredibly strong and clingy. You find out how strong the filiments are when you walk into them. For additional amusement, the Joro's webs are often built at human face level. Yes, that's right. That big scarey spider in a large gooey web (built overnight) at face level just right for walking into. Great experience. These Joros...

Checking In

I havent blogged in awhile. No reason, just doing other things. Fall weather has been a great relief here in Duluth. The summer seemed hotter, more humid and had more bugs than usual. I have been flying more, logging simulated instrument time "under the hood" doing approaches. Instrument flying (IFR) is quite a bit different than VFR (Visual). As I was told many years ago: VFR flying is a lot more emotion and feeling whereas instrument flying is a lot more about thinking.