Atlanta for the Week

As I finish another week in Atlanta, I am taking a moment to reflect on the past week. Sometimes I wonder why I don't blog during the week, but the fact is that I have very little time to myself in a normal working week down here. My days a full, and the evenings are busy with dinners and dinner meetings. Having Jeff always here means that I don't lack for a dinner companion, nor do I lack for someone to have a drink with , or a nightcap. The actual act of traveling at the airport and on the airplane is a different thing, however, and here I am a finally by myself again.

The focus this week has been on a.getting the final details worked out on a ship loader destined for the Port of Portland, OR. The customer is a promising a decision and and order next week, so we a taking the details seriously. The bidding as process we use goes from sloppy to increasingly accurate as the project develops. At this point it is supposed to be as accurate as we can make it, and many sets of eyes go over documents I have been sending out. Since receiving the PO is my last act in this process, I welcome the late scrutiny because this is our last chance to change anything. The customer is doing the same, as they ensure they have everything in the contract they want to have there. Since I have had 2 projects officially cancel this week, it would be good to have at least one commissionable project go this quarter.

I attended MOTAG South the past 2 days and had a chance to catch up with lots of the guys I know in the pulp business in the south and Atlantic states. For the first time in many years we have attendees above 150 and lots of them are from mills. My activity with this group stretches back to 1985 when I first attended and I have made man, many presentations here. The papers that were given this time were on many of the same subjects (chipping, screening) and people came up to me and asked why I wasn't giving them? Ha, ha. I should have.

Next week I'm on the road again, to Seattle on Tuesday, and Oregon for the balance of the week. Since snow is gradually falling out of possibility I should change out of the Blizzak tires and back into the high MPG tires I have. But not quite yet.