It was August 1981. I was 18, and about to start my freshman year of college. I was young, I was nervous, and I was driving my mother to an OB/GYN appointment….
We have changed website hosts
Folks, we’ve moved the entire site to a new hosting service. We had some trouble with the old one (including what appears to be a hacking attempt and some lost files), so…
Telling Lies for Fun and Profit
My brother has a degree in history, and an interest in “alternate history,” where you ask “what if thus-and-such had turned out differently” and go from there. “What if the Confederacy had…
Ham Radio Encryption
Recently, someone filed a notice of proposed rule making with the FCC regarding encryption of ham radio transmissions. For those non-hams out there, encryption is strictly forbidden under FCC Part 97 (which…
The Art of the Wedding
When I’m not busy biking, coding, or radiating RF directly into the neighbor’s very annoying dog (NOTE: I DO NOT ACTUALLY DO THIS, even though the howling bastard deserves it), I play…
A bit more on APRS and bicycles
My bike rig is a Kenwood TH72, which has APRS built-in. It’s essentially the handheld equivalent of the D710, which is a fine radio. Like the D710, it allows you to tweak…
Working Events from a Bicycle
Ham operators in my area work a lot of drills and events over the course of a year. (We have well over 1000 hours in on events, and that does NOT include…
Ray Harryhausen 1920-2013
I’m sad to report that special effects legend Ray Harryhausen has died at the age of 92. Many of you won’t recognize the name, but you’ve almost certainly seen his work: he…
The power of public goodwill
I fielded an interesting call today from a gentleman we’ll call JB. He called some public service folks about some interference he thought might be from ham radio, and they sent me…
WHOA…what happened?
Okay, those of you NOT from Poland may be wondering what happened to all the old posts. Short answer: I reloaded WordPress! I host with 1and1. Love them enough to keep them,…