What are you doing today?

lizkat said:
Last time I used a soldering iron, I think, was when I put together some Heathkit short wave radio as a kid. I had only done it in response to a dare from some kid down the block, when she and her brother and I were graduating from putting together model airplanes to doing something with more practical application than hanging yet another mobile objet d'art from the ceiling.

I do remember being thrilled as a novice user of that radio to realize I "could actually get" faraway stations. Like from across the ocean!!

My mom was not especially pleased during the 1950s that in the post one day was the consumer-friendly equivalent of a QSL card addressed to me from... yeah, Radio Moscow. They always included in their broadcast the mention of an address to which one could write with details of when and where one had received their signal, and promised that one could expect a "souvenir" postcard in reply.

Heh, could probably have pulled in that signal w/ just the fillings in one's teeth, but I was so excited.
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That's a great story! I was an avid shortwave listener as a teenager starting with a used (and very old) Hallicrafters S-38A receiver. That's pretty much how I learned about the world, listening to English language broadcasts from a lot of different foreign countries. And then submitting reception reports, and a month two later getting a QSL card and small trinkets back in the mail. I still have a lot of my QSL cards from the past.

Sending reception reports to communist broadcasters (Radio Moscow, Radio Havana, Radio Peking, Radio Budapest, etc, ) was always interesting, getting a lot of anti-American magazines, literature, and swag back with the QSL card. Best was from Radio Peking who sent me a small Mao Red Book and a red Mao shirt pin.

I also built a couple of Heathkit radios, including an SB-301, after I earned my ham radio license.

Years later in my 20s working at a government aerospace contractor, all of that came back after I was put in for a security clearance. Most amusing was when one of my references was visited by a government investigator and asked my friend a bunch of questions about myself, including what I liked to do (hobbies, etc). Apparently when my reference/friend mentioned that I communicated with people in different countries in both voice and *code*, his eyes got big and wanted to know a lot more about that. It all worked out OK in the end when I was interviewed and talked about ham radio. He already seemed to know I listened to and sent reception reports to foreign broadcasters. :)
 
lizkat said:
Last time I used a soldering iron, I think, was when I put together some Heathkit short wave radio as a kid. I had only done it in response to a dare from some kid down the block, when she and her brother and I were graduating from putting together model airplanes to doing something with more practical application than hanging yet another mobile objet d'art from the ceiling.
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Our school district offered electronics courses in high school, and my degree in college included electrical engineering courses, even though I went into the software side eventually. So I got some practice in, but never had to deal with these tiny surface mount components. Lately I do at least as much surface mount (re)work as anything else, and I’m still getting used to it.

That high school class was interesting. It included designing simple PCBs using sharpies, dunking them in a chemical “etch” solution to eat away the copper, and drilling holes to mount components using a drill press in the shop. Is it even possible to do that these days in public school I wonder? The chemicals were toxic, and these were industrial drill presses. It’s somewhat amazing there were zero injuries in the three years I was at the school.

I did have a passing interest in ham radio as a kid though, but got dissuaded by the need for a license. Specifically because you needed to demonstrate a working knowledge of morse code at the time. I am not sure if it is still a requirement.
 
Nycturne said:
I did have a passing interest in ham radio as a kid though, but got dissuaded by the need for a license. Specifically because you needed to demonstrate a working knowledge of morse code at the time. I am not sure if it is still a requirement.
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The morse code test requirement was done away with some years ago. And the exams for the three different license classes (Technician, General, and Extra) are a lot easier and administrated by ARRL volunteer examiners, rather than the FCC as it was in the past. I think the exams are 35 questions of which you need to get 74% right. I understand there are on-line study aids and ARRL practice exams to get people prepared. I haven't been active in amateur radio in decades, but still renew my license (simply sending in a form to the FCC - no exam) every ten years.

Go for it!
 
More chance of seeing a dead body on a e bike?
Never saw any the years I road a regular bike or recumbent but got the second one today since I have had e bikes. First was on the road to our house by a business thought the cops were busting someone. But when we went by 20 minutes later a coroner van was there someone had died in a mini van in the middle of summer. A few days later someone in a full hazmat suit and pumped air was cleaning out the car.
Today saw a bunch of cop cars in this small parking lot beside the bike path with someone somewhat human covered in a tarp and woman standing around crying. I think I have passed a few that died in homeless camps too.
 
fooferdoggie said:
More chance of seeing a dead body on a e bike?
Never saw any the years I road a regular bike or recumbent but got the second one today since I have had e bikes. First was on the road to our house by a business thought the cops were busting someone. But when we went by 20 minutes later a coroner van was there someone had died in a mini van in the middle of summer. A few days later someone in a full hazmat suit and pumped air was cleaning out the car.
Today saw a bunch of cop cars in this small parking lot beside the bike path with someone somewhat human covered in a tarp and woman standing around crying. I think I have passed a few that died in homeless camps too.
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My daughter was a student rep at SCAD, which meant she took prospective students on tours of the campus.

One day last spring she was on the bus with a group of prospective students and their parents when they went past a gas station and there was a body covered in a sheet. Of course someone on the bus had to point it out to the rest of the bus. She said it was one of the most awkward tours she ever gave.
 
Herdfan said:
My daughter was a student rep at SCAD, which meant she took prospective students on tours of the campus.

One day last spring she was on the bus with a group of prospective students and their parents when they went past a gas station and there was a body covered in a sheet. Of course someone on the bus had to point it out to the rest of the bus. She said it was one of the most awkward tours she ever gave.
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ya I can imagine.
 
Became an Elon Musk customer. Not a Tesla, but Starlink.

It finally popped as being available at the new house in AZ, so I placed the order. Don't really need it until spring, but since in theory it is based on capacity, I wanted to get it just in case there was a run. Most people in the area have ViaSat and I did Hughesnet 20+ years ago, but they both have very constrictive data limits.

This is just a short-term solution as the new neighborhood is wired for cable, but the provider has not made it up the main road yet. But they will. Too many new homes being built for them not to.
 
Sausages (organic, locally produced, ethical, environmentally aware, and yes, delicious) were delivered today.

Yet more (ethical, locally produced, i.e. small, artisan producers) woollen socks were delivered earlier this week.

Sausages, and socks: What can I say? What does this say?

Oh, yes, and coffee.....that, too, was also delivered this week.....
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Sausages, and socks: What can I say? What does this say?
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Winter is here!

For me it has been heartier soups lately, and oatmeal for breakfast again.

In warmer weather it's broth with a few fresh veggies and a few diamonds of tofu if I'm inclined to have a soup... and by summertime, breakfast is sort of catch-as-catch can, either pita w/ hummus or maybe some fruit and yogurt.

But once that northwest wind acts as if it owns the place, my whole idea of a suitable menu takes an abrupt turn.

And yes, socks, and boots, scarf, hat, mittens and a parka get fetched to the ready again. It's that time.
 
I’m going to find something to do today. It’s gorgeous out. The sun is shining, there’s a warm wind blowing. I could easily just sit on the patio all day and enjoy it. But I think I’d rather get out and do something.
 
Alli said:
I’m going to find something to do today. It’s gorgeous out. The sun is shining, there’s a warm wind blowing. I could easily just sit on the patio all day and enjoy it. But I think I’d rather get out and do something.
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Cold here, but I forced myself out to do a few jobs in the garden. We won't go anywhere unless absolutely necessary until the NY now. Not our favourite time of year.
 
Apple fanboy said:
Cold here, but I forced myself out to do a few jobs in the garden. We won't go anywhere unless absolutely necessary until the NY now. Not our favourite time of year.
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I completely understand. Seasonal Affective Disorder is not something people here worry about for the most part. We went out for brunch this morning and sat outside so we could watch the fog roll out.

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When we came home I took a nap (didn’t sleep well last night), and hubby did his usual puttering. He got overheated and cooled off by getting in the pool for a little while.
 
shadow puppet said:
Seeing my electrophysiologist this afternoon and putting out the positive mojo he still thinks I don't need an ablation.
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Was talking to a friend the other day whose neighbor just had an ablation. And then he had a second one. According to the nurses “it’s pretty much a given that men will have to have it twice.”
 
Alli said:
Was talking to a friend the other day whose neighbor just had an ablation. And then he had a second one. According to the nurses “it’s pretty much a given that men will have to have it twice.”
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I've heard twice is the norm for either male or female. Thankfully, for me right now the outcome was NOT TODAY SATAN! So yay for that. Now waiting for my health insurance to approve whether or not they will cover me wearing a Zio patch for a week and an updated echocardiogram.
 
Found this coolio site that lets you launch an asteroid at any town you want, fun for the whole family!

neal.fun

Asteroid Launcher

Design your own asteroid and launch it at Earth!
neal.fun neal.fun
 
Apple fanboy said:
Talking about snow on Wednesday.
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We are done talking about snow here. On Saturday, the sun was out and what little snow we had was plopping off the trees and forming shrinking patches of more ground than snow. On Sunday, the sullen sky said "Ha ha, just kidding" and spent 6 hours delivering the punchline. Today, it got onto turning into a sloppy, sodden mess. Weather app says it might be gone, for real this time, by the weekend.
 
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