Some Odds and Ends for 6/27/17

Greetings!

This will be a short post.  I feel the need to catch up on the odds and ends.

First, the new job is really kicking into gear.  I'm having a great deal of fun in it.  Unfortunately, I don't discuss my job very often here, and whenever that happens, it's in passing like it is now.  I put in long hours at times, and take flex days off on others.  It's something that I enjoy doing, and it's a great job for me.

Second, I've started another blog page for my ham radio activities (it is now occurring to me that I am so burned, that I can't remember if I mentioned this!  It was a long day today!)  That is intended for a ham radio audience, and I've been writing a great deal more over there than I am on here.

I am now back on the air, now adding the six meter band to my operating repertoire.  I've never operated on this band before.  It's called the "Magic Band" and I found out why last Sunday.  The frequency band is at the lower end of the VHF spectrum.  It's notionally line of sight, but some weird things can happen with propagation, especially during the summer.  The E layer of the ionosphere will form plasma clouds that reflect this signals back to earth, thus giving you "skip".

Last Sunday afternoon we had a band opening, and I was able to talk to stations in Texas and Kansas....two each.  I also chatted with a local in Tucson.  Using the QRZ.com website, I was able to determine that the record distance for me (on this band) is 979.5 miles......from Tucson all the way to northeast Kansas.  Needless to say I was pleased as punch that that simple dipole antenna I built gave me these results.  Theoretically, I knew that it could happen, and would happen if conditions were right, and it was great to be operating again!  It really was!

Third, I'm hoping to have some fun on the barbecue this weekend.  I've had to focus on yardwork and that never ending task of keeping other things in order.  I plan on doing some more hamming this extended weekend, but I also hope to get away on a day trip with Sheila.

That's pretty much it.

Another Congressman Shot

I was aware of this morning's event before starting the drive to work, but not of the details, most of which emerged while driving into work.  For those of us in Tucson, it brought back memories of the evil deed that Jarred Loughner committed.  Comparisons are inevitable.

Like with that shooter, this morning's shooter was the only person responsible for his actions.  It wasn't guns, and it wasn't a political figure.  It wasn't talk radio, and it wasn't the NRA.  James Hodgkinson is the one responsible here.

What is different is that as of yet, there is no evidence that he was under psychiatric care.  What is also different was that he wanted to make sure he was going to kill only Republicans, while Jarred Loughner was out to kill a Congresswoman without regard to her political leanings.

Unfortunately since then, we have recently had some vicious attacks on Trump that exceed those that were made on Obama.  Kathy Griffin holding a simulated severed head of President Trump.  A play in New York depicting an assassination of President Trump that was attended by Alec Baldwin and cheered by the audience.  Madonna wanting to blow up the White House.

This isn't to say that this wouldn't have happened had there not been that play, had there not been that severed head, had there not been Madonna wanting to blow up the White House.  I think the gunman would have gone forward without these.

What I am saying here, is that the vitriol has gone too far, and yes, I am going to include myself as guilty in past vitriol.

I think the nation can best go forward if we learn to live with differences of opinion, and pray for those who are involved, and for their families.

The Monsoon Season is Under Way!

This afternoon in Sierra Vista, we had ourselves a good thunderstorm starting around 2:00 PM, which in my mind heralds the arrival of the 2017 Monsoon Season.  Now the National Weather Service has a different definition.  The old definition was three straight days where the dew point exceeded 54 degrees.  Then they changed it to "June 15th".  My definition is that it starts on the day of the first afternoon thunderstorm of the summer, even if summer is not officially here yet.

This one wasn't bad.  Two sessions of bullet rain, lightning, and thunder.  To the north Benson looked like they were getting it when I left work this afternoon.  I had already booked lodging here in Sorry Vista anyway as that I have decided upon what I call "Commute Rest Night" two or three times a week.  I started this last week and found that this allowed me to rest up and flex hours so that I could have an early out Friday, though I also knew before doing the Commute Rest Nights that I had better pack a travel suitcase with spare changes of clothes in case I couldn't get home because of a monsoon event.

I hate being away from Sheila like this, but it is cost-effective for me to stay down here two or three nights a week.  I think factoring in gas, it's only $10 more expensive.  I'm hesitant to try the vanpool thing as that I get up damned early as it is these days, and I don't want to get up even earlier so that I can arrive at work at the same time I normally otherwise and then get home later than I would normally otherwise.

The drive really isn't all that bad.  It's all freeway save for the ten miles of Houghton Road that separates my residence from I-10.  Houghton moves along rather well for what is now a main artery instead of a two lane road, and with widening of remaining stretches it will be even better.

Meantime, living part time in a motel room isn't too bad if you have the means to pass the time.  Reading Scripture is a help, as is having my 2 meter ham radio with me.  I can get into one of the linked EARRS repeaters from down here, and chat with some friends that I've made over the air.

The job itself is going better than I thought it would.  I was concerned about getting into a "routine" so to speak, but as it is I have a challenging assignment with the type of work I've always wanted to do (save for satellite engineering).  The experience gained will be very valuable, and I can see it and my ham radio experience leveraging each other.

What a setup!  I enjoy ham radio as a hobby, and I get paid for doing what's not ham radio but is almost the same thing!  Not to mention that I am learning a great deal more about digital communications than I did when I worked on satellites.