Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

My friend Pete Nystrom who passed away this past June was posthumously awarded with his 100th patent today . Seven of them were granted since June. He told me when I saw him in May that 100 was his goal. Congratulations! We miss you Pete.

Angie and I are back from our Thanksgiving holiday. We visited three Mesoamerican archeology sites. 1. Tikal (Guatemala) 2. Xunantunich (Belize) and 3. Teotihuacan (Mexico). We drove to Tijuana and flew to Chetumal Mexico. Rented a car in Mexico, and drove across Belize to Guatemala. Guatemala still calls to me, confirmed. The vibe at Lake Petén Itzá was much like Lake Atitlán down south, very nice. The leaves are Allspice Leaves. It tastes like Pumpkin Pie and makes your lips and tongue numb.

On Courage Courage Excerpt: "On a spiritual level, I believe that courage comes from within—deep within us—maybe even from our souls. On the other side of the fear, which takes courage to pass though, is the greatest freedom we will ever feel. Getting to that freedom starts with these three courageous actions: 1) soul searching, 2) allowing ourselves to be broken down to our most fundamental selves, and 3) that critical component of persistence."

Angie and I went flying today in N51594 from Long Beach. The planes avionics aren't that good, but the mechanical is strong. We flew out to Catalina island about 20 minutes from long beach and flew around the island. I decided not to land on this trip, no real reason, just decided to save that experience for later.

I haven't been feeling well. I missed a day of work. That probably makes 2 days missed in about 12 years. I had to cancel my flying this weekend. Angel and I were planning on flying out to Catalina Island. I remembered a great quote. I have probably posted it on this blog many years ago. “Courage is not limited to the battlefield. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like enduring pain when the room is empty or standing alone when you’re misunderstood.” ---Charles Swindoll

We hung low this weekend, mostly creative computer work. We did sneak out a bit though.