Posts

Summer's End - Hopefully.

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My sister took a picture of an iceburg near Greenland that looks a little like a cat, our white cat, Jewel. I been using the M998 without doors and the back curtain rolled up. Much better in summer. Redneck A/C. The Moon, Jupiter and Venus in the early Morning, using nothing but my cell phone to take the pic.
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Today I managed to fit in a dealer visit. My guide was great. Not only is he a pilot he was also an Antarctican. He was involved for years with the British Antarctica survey at Rothera Station. We had some great discussion. It has been a week of Antarctica in Europe. My workload is very high, but there are worthwhile tidbits. I am adjusting to driving in England. Every mile breeds competence and confidence.
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I think I may be growing new taste buds here in France. The food has been great of course. I also had another treat. The Massey Ferguson Museum at the plant has the original lead tractor "Sue" that Sir Edmond Hillary used on his drive to the South Pole. I had seen pictures and had read about it. It was totally unexpected to see it there. It was good. I met one of the original members of the team that made that famous third traverse to the pole when I was on the ice. It must have been a good tractor. http://www.fofh.co.uk/articles/pole.htm Tonight I am in England where the tractor was made.
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It figures the day I am set to leave for two weeks in Europe the US puts a alert up for Americans in Europe. I will be ok. If not, my will is on my blog. Saved, not published. This place on Buford Highway caught my eye. I finally had time to stop and take a photo. I was in the market for new tires. Of course I was thinking of IFY tires. I can't make this stuff up.
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DJ and I met in the Berkshire Mountains this past weekend. I had a meeting in Boston Monday. I noticed that Delta spelled backwards is ATLed. How appropriate. I have to face it. Delta is my new airline. They do good with their marketing with upgrades and so on. The Atlanta airport really is quite a marvel. It is the world's busiest airport measured by the number of passengers. There are 5 parallel runways. When I am walking out to my car it is normal to hear more than half a dozen planes in the air around the airport all the time. You are almost always landing or taking off with at least one other plane next to you. It is a busy place. I am getting to know the subtle tricks getting around in there. Private pilots and corporate jets don't come close to this place. PDK (Peachtree Dekalb) is even too close for most private pilots. There are a lot of corporate jets in and out of there. I spotted a doodlebug in a junk yard in MA. They are Americana at its finest. Unfortunately t...
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I have a quick trip up north for a couple of days (leaving tonight). The first couple of weeks in Oct I will be in Europe. I am planning a weekend in England. I'm not sure what I am going to do, but I will have a car. This will be my first right-drive car experience. I will also be going to France and Finland. I am getting in the air in a couple hours with a new instructor. I need to finish up with my license before all the prereqs start expiring.. Its all about the tractors. The open window pic needs a clever caption.
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I am a bit home sick this week. The lows at night in Duluth have gotten into the 60s. It is still touching the 90s in the afternoons. I like the picture of guy working on the mega mart sign. I don't know why. It says something though. How big is big enough? The other pic captures a guy in a pickup with a flasher behind a cop. I am not sure what the whole story was. It was just weird to see a cop getting pulled over by a guy in a pick up. Weird.
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Just a few weeks ago I was telling a friend that I would never go for a ride in an old Ford Tri-motor. Today I did just that. I decided to go down to the Gwinnett county airport and bum around. The pilot's lounges are nice, people are friendly and it sure beats sitting around. Unknown to me the EAA's Ford Trimotor was there offering rides at the airport today. No waits; no hassle. I also met some ham radio operators giving an HF demonstration. They got a big kick out of my former callsigns, KC4AAA and KC4USV. I just couldn't resist going for a ride. My only regret was not jumping at the opportunity to sit in the right seat. The slight hesitation cost me the opportunity. The plane was built in 1929, has (3) 450 HP radial engines and cruises at 87 knots. The pilot's window was open the whole flight. There is a lot more legroom than there is today's airliners! The plane only holds 9 passengers. www.flytheford.org