Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

I am back in Duluth, but in reality it might as well be a foreign country. It is all still so new and different. Some things are becoming more familiar, but I need the GPS to find my way around to all, but the simplest of destinations. After living in Berkshire, NY for 10 years, the city life really has shown the deprivation that exists in rural NY state. This week no travel. I am headed to South Dakota and rural Minnesota the week after. I am anxious to get back to Europe (England, France and Germany), but with the Europeans largely on holiday it really isn't practical for a few more weeks. I will be traveling a lot to get ahead of my objectives. I bought a car, finally. The pic shows what the Mercedes (I was planning on buying) looks like after I have had a long chat with myself. I can certainly afford a new BMW or Mercedes. I just know spending money on a fancy car won't make me better. There are lots of opportunities to make myself better (I am looking at a Skip Barber d...

It's Friday. I got back from Brazil this morning. I am in the office in the afternoon. Although the flights to and from Southern Brazil are long there is only one hour time difference. That helps a lot. The economy in Brazil is booming by 2010 standards. It has been about 17 years since I was there last. (actually, I felt like this is where I left off) A lot has changed. The food is as good and in likelihood better. There is no understating the food experience of a real Brazilian Churrascaria. They cook different kinds of meat on these swords and carve it at your table as you instruct. The variety and quality is great. The coarse rock-salt laid on the meat is multi-colored very much like Brazilian gemstones and the society itself. It is a wonderful place. I got a bit of a VIP treatment for the photo in the kitchen at one of the best Churrascarias in all of Brazil (Nabrasa in Porto Alegre). I am hoping I can get fish (and eggs) on a sword next time. That would be perfection. Of co...

"A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others." -- Chin-Ning Chu, Strategist There is huge opportunity for search. Will you be trained by google or not?

I am back in Atlanta, Duluth actually. The way airline security is setup at ATL it is a pain coming back from overseas. You have to go through security of some kind three times. So, with Atlanta being my final destination after returning from overseas I have to get searched. What I mean is that when I arrive home I have to go through security just like I was getting on a domestic flight. I had to surrender a water I purchased in the secure area at Heathrow airport before I could leave the Atlanta airport. It is not so much the surrendering the already-checked water, it is the glare you get from the Homeland Security bots. Nobody likes the glare. The situation exists largely because of the pre-homeland security layout of ATL. It is uncomfortable coming "home" and having to get security-searched (In addition to customs) just to leave the airport. I stayed in an old manor house in England. It was nice and quite reasonable for someplace less than 30 minutes from Heathrow. It is...

I had my meetings in Berkshire England. Not only was I in Berkshire, I was in East Berkshire. It was a bit different than East Berkshire, NY (which I am very familiar). There are mostly paved roads and fewer mobile homes. They also seem to have a Government (albeit historical). I had an absolutely delightful breakfast this morning. The first thing on the menu was poached egg on haddock. It's true. I was very pleased, they seemed to know I was coming. In Finland I had fish at every meal that I was in country. Just to make sure I didn't just have fish in my diet (for nutritional needs), I managed to buy a can of Bear Meat in Helsinki. I left part of me in Finland. It is a great place. I have a lot of stuff to do in Europe. I will be back in a few weeks. I see Munich on my schedule now, but I have a lot more things to do in other places in England, France, Finland, Germany and elsewhere. Building a global team really turns me on. I am doing a good job of managing the long ...

I am in Jyväskylä Finland. It is almost 11:00 at night and the sun is still well up. It is a bit like Antarctica in that regard. I seemed to have missed Rally Finland by just a few days. It is very pretty and nice. I am off to Berkshire England tomorrow.

I got up in the air today. I flew from Gwinett County Airport to Winder airport. It was good. I did about five landings. Visibility was very low. Legally I need at least three miles of visibility which is very difficult. Once the horizon disappears it is totally different flying if you ask me. I countered the counteroffer on the lake property. We will see how it goes I guess.