the iMentor

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This weB-LOG is about the musing of a technical consultant. It is the iMentor's thoughts on technology and the human condition.

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Author: Rick Thues

Heat

August 17, 2023 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #759 August 19, 2023 The world wide heat wave has me concerned. Land temperatures under a Spanish heat dome are as high as 140°. Ocean temperatures in Florida exceed 100°.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdxh2tvh9Y8   20,000 people die from heat in Europe on average every year, yet 62,000 died from the effects of heat in Europe last year. Recently US deaths due to heat hit a yearly average of 700 people. Not surprisingly, Death Valley, CA, Big Bend, TX, and Grand Canyon, AZ are responsible for half the deaths in National Parks, because of the heat. Heat is the deadliest type...
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Skydiving road trip – part 6

August 8, 2023 Uncategorized 8 Comments
Episode #758 August 12, 2023 The sixth part of a 6 part series, 2023 skydiving road trip.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imNRmIujsPk Last week's episode (part 5) of this travelogue left us parked for the night behind Skydive Northstar, Minnesota after a Tuesday skydive. It is the next morning (Wednesday). We have only South Dakota left to jump on this trip. I have tried to get in touch with the Hot Springs, SD drop zone for weeks, with no luck. We worry that we will be unable to complete our quest. My iPhone rings, waking me from my rememberings. Skydive Hot Springs is...
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Skydiving road trip – part 5

August 3, 2023 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #757 August 5, 2023 The fifth part of a 6 part series, 2023 skydiving road trip.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5pcOMKtkI0 In part 4 of this travelogue we have just finished visiting Mary and Bob at Skydive Wissota in Wisconsin. We wake to a beautiful Tuesday morning. We are traveling to North Dakota from Wisconsin. Fargo, North Dakota, is our next skydiving stop. Our plan is to stop in Minneapolis for a couple of days while we wait for Skydive Fargo to open on Saturday. We get a text from Mary Bauer suggesting that we take a scenic route on our way...
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Skydiving road trip – part 4

July 26, 2023 Uncategorized 5 Comments
Episode #756 July 29, 2023 The fourth part of a 6 part series, 2023 skydiving road trip.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wxcWLgOfNA In Part 3 of this travelogue Paula and I have just parachuted into West Virginia Skydivers. While we are flying over the Ohio River, Paula’s sister Gail is driving 10 hours from Poughkeepsie, New York to meet up with us this evening in our RV. It is grand chatting and visiting with Gail. We put her up in the overhead bed. When she closes the curtain we hear her exclaim, "This is so nice. I have my own little room."...
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Skydiving road trip – part 3

July 19, 2023 Uncategorized 7 Comments
Episode #755 July 22, 2023 The third part of a 6 part series, 2023 skydiving road trip.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2fgwsOH5p8 Part 2 of this travelogue ended with Paula and I jumping from Mike Mullins Super King Air this Saturday morning. After jumping in Tennessee, our next state on the road trip is Alabama. Skydive Alabama is also a weekend only drop zone so we drive the 3 hours this Saturday afternoon so we can jump in Alabama tomorrow, Sunday. When we arrive at the clubhouse the owner asks: “Do you like tacos?”  “We are from Southern California. Of course we like...
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Skydiving road trip – part 2

July 12, 2023 Uncategorized 4 Comments
Episode #754 July 15, 2023 The second part of a 6 part series, 2023 skydiving road trip.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcXpKiY2MXE Part 1 of this travelogue ended with Paula and I visiting the Omaha Nebraska Zoo. After the zoo we drive to Topeka, Kansas. I find a nice wooded campsite on Lake Shawnee. It is an easy drive to Topeka where we will see the sights tomorrow. We awake to a beautiful clear sky, morning sun filtering through the canopy of trees. The urban city does not interest us, so we visit a prairie town which has been cobbled together by the...
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