1/24/26: Odds, Ends, and Musings

These are very interesting times we are living in.  I could go on about what's been happening in Minneapolis recently, but I am not.  Anything I could say about it has already been duplicated many times over on social media platforms and comments sections of news sites that choose to have them.  And as it is, this really isn't something I feel like discussing, thus this post will be odds, ends, and random musings.  So here we go.

As of the past couple of months I have developed an appreciation for hot sauces like never before.  This started some six months ago when I started putting some on some of the food that I eat, and bolstered more by that trip to New Mexico last November.  I have since broken open those bottles that I've brought back.  I've since discovered that most of the brands I got over there can be gotten over here, with one exception, and that being the La Anita red sauce that I got in a four ounce bottle.  That was one of my favorites of that bunch, with El Yucatero being almost rocket fuel and is used somewhat sparingly.

Of the major brands, my favorite are the Cholula sauces, with their red sauce and their chili garlic sauce being the favorites there.  Zing, but not rocket fuel.  I still have those chili pods that I brought back from Silver City and yes, I really need to get off my sitting end and make some from scratch.  I have found that adding sauce has helped some with my digestive tract.  The issues I had been having have since passed with using sauces.  I am convinced that there are health benefits to these sauces.  I don't usually add them though when we're out to eat at any Mexican place, since the local favorite dishes don't need any additional ingredients.

Also over the past couple of months, I've been very busy in ham radio.  The thinking is that the solar peak has passed, and the we're in the downward slope of the solar cycle.  I am trying to make the most of these conditions while we have them.  I'm up to 159 countries worked already.  I've also made some good friends via the local ham radio club scene, as that I'm active in two clubs and I've learned a lot.

Over in the precious metals market, I'm amazed at what gold and silver has done, especially silver.  I have kicked myself many times over for not buying more gold back when it was $310 an ounce or so, but I did stock up on silver coins when silver was $4.50 an ounce.  I wanted to get some dates/mints that I didn't have, and the side benefit was that I regarded it as a long term investment.  I could sell off 10% of what I bought and recover the dollars that I put into it, but it goes without saying that the dollars I recover are worth less than what I spent back in the day.  I can make the argument that I should have bought more silver, but I stopped when I felt like I had had enough, aside from the one ounce bullion coins that some countries have issued.  Now that silver's broken the $100 an ounce barrier, I don't see myself buying any.  I'm wondering if we have a bubble here that's getting ready to burst.  My gut tells me there's still some upside potential, but I'm also old enough to remember silver breaking the $50 an ounce barrier back in 1980 and how far it fell from that level before it picked up again.

As for retirement, I'll admit that I've toyed with the idea of coming out of it and returning to one of my former employers as a consultant, but that won't be happening until April at the earliest if I do.  If the work is interesting I could see doing some.  Thing of it is, I have given myself too much to do, some of it fun, some of it necessary, and things aren't where I want them to be.  My problem is that if I get too close to the goalposts then I move them further back.  Maybe deep down inside there's this fear of not having enough to do.  I have changed jobs on the grounds that there wasn't enough to do.  I am busier now than I was a year ago, and yes, I sometimes joke about going back to the workforce so that I can get some rest.

Yes, there's more to do.  More recipes to try out.  More books to read.  Some foreign languages to study.  Some things to sort out.  Some guns to shoot.  Some fish to catch.  Some places to visit.  And some family history to research.

And speaking of which, there is an unverified trace to William the Conqueror, as well as an unverified trace to Charlemagne.  I have read where ole William is the ancestor to quite a percentage of those of British blood, and I've got at least a pint of British blood flowing thru my veins.  I probably ought to go ahead and pop for one of those DNA tests.  

With that I'm going to call this one a wrap, and maybe in the next entry or two I'll do some musing about Star Trek.  

Cheers, beers, and don't forget to pet a dog or a cat!

Tuesday Evening, 12/23/25

Well here we are, my first holiday season as a retired person.  I find that I am nowhere near as stressed as I used to be at this time of year.  I don't have to travel anymore these holidays, and if I need something at the store then I can go in the midmorning before the 9 to 5ers get off work and make things more crowded.  It is busy at the church I'm a member of; I am supporting most of the services we are having this month.  I will be glad when Christmas is behind me as that we seem to have this lull of a few days before New Year's Eve arrives.  My boss at Radio Shack said that New Year's Eve is Amateur's Night as that the professional drinkers stay home.

Anyway, we have been blessed with some really fine weather.  When it's in the low 80s in the early afternoon, I want to be out on the shaded back patio with a good book or a radio and with the dog.  The view to the back of me is the back wall of a public storage place that's on the other side of the wash, and that wash is gated off so the only foot traffic is that of javelinas and roadrunners.  Well, some coyotes might get back there too but I won't know for sure unless I remember that I eventually want to get a motion-sensitive trail camera to see if anything really happens back there when I'm not looking.

As for Christmas, I'm sure that the family I married into will be gathering together for some quality time.  Years ago I would usually be off to San Jose to visit my family and friends up there, but with each passing year I have less and less reason to go there as that a lot of the people I was close with have either moved out or are planning to.  As I am tracking down the histories of the families I am researching that I am descended from, everyone scatters and that seems to be a common thread throughout most of human history.

Meanwhile, in the news, it's being reported that the Powerball jackpot is up to $1.7 billion.  The drawing is tomorrow night, and maybe for grins I will pick out some numbers here and we'll see if I have "won", which I won't, because I'm not buying a ticket.  When I had to go to Albertsons for some scrip I noticed a line of five customers itching to make a donation to the Powerball jackpot, and I overheard one of them getting $20 worth of tickets.  

Well it's their money, and it really isn't a societal ill that needs addressing as long as the casual lottery players aren't robbing liquor stores to get money to buy the tickets.  The lottery addicts, on the other hand, are spending much more of that on every drawing, and those are the lottery players that have the problem.  The addicts really wouldn't be that much of an aggravation if they would stop insisting on holding up the line at the Circle K wanting to "go over" all the scratcher games................"are there a lot of winners with this game?  How long will this game go on?  How many winning tickets did you sell with this one?  How often do you see a thousand dollar winner?  What are the new games that are coming out next week?"  And on and on and on.  

As for the casual players, or maybe even the addicts, I'm sure many of them are saying to themselves, "if I win this jackpot, I'm going to do good things with this money.  I'm going to donate some of it to charities.  I'm going to give gifts to my friends and family members.  I don't want to be like one of those rich people who I hate."  The reality is, they're going to go into hiding first, and then face problems they never imagined.

All right.  Enough of that.  Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.

I want to find time to send out some emails to some people I am close to, and hopefully the day won't get away from me like some of them have been.  I have been spending a lot of time with ham radio and getting my logs caught up.  I joined six other hams yesterday for an outing at Saguaro National Park, where a station was set up and we participated in the long running Parks on the Air program.  I QSOed enough hams to be credited with my first activation, but I'm going to have to first register with POTA and get that credit.

There is also a Summits on the Air program, and an Islands on the Air program, which gets people with licenses on the airwaves and communicating.  Yesterday's outdoor operation was a great deal of fun, and we'll be doing more of these in the near future.  We're also talking about going over to New Mexico and operating from there.  

In the meantime, Merry Christmas!  

11/3/25: A Warm Monday in the Old Pueblo

One great thing about living in Tucson is the mild winters.  Those of you up north or back east probably don't want to hear me tell you that we are in the mid 80s this afternoon.  The sky is clear with a few clouds here and there, and the desert is just as beautiful as it ever was.

There really isn't much in the way of news to pass along, so it's going to be random thoughts this afternoon.

One of my retirement projects has been re-reading an anthology collection of history articles back when I was taking History at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose.  We had a great history teacher, a Mr. Ron Zarcone, who was a gifted lecturer and made it interesting.  I have kept almost all of my college textbooks since, and these two anthology volumes were on the re-read list.  I haven't read these since 1977.  Although all were not assigned reading, all of them are interesting, as I am working my way thru articles of what Christopher Columbus really knew before sailing across the ocean, details about indentured servitude, and the Salem Witch Trials.  It makes me wish I had continued studying history after college, and although I have read some books about history I have only scratched the surface.  That's one favorite activity.

Another is going thru my coin collection, but that's been on pause these past few weeks.  I have had to work on two necessary projects recently, and one was taken care of last week.  The other big one?  Not much left to do on that one except for a phone appointment with a senior manager helping to get my second pension activated.  

And as you might guess, ham radio has kept me busy too.  We had really great band conditions during a major worldwide contest the last weekend of last month, and I picked up two new countries.  The 10 meter band was the best I've ever heard it in a half century of this hobby.  A total of 48 countries were worked, thanks to the sunspots and low geomagnetic activity.

I said half a century.  It isn't lost on me that I have many memories that are half a century old or more.  I was still in high school, taking electives in electronics, and fifty years ago at this time we were preparing to move from Virginia to California.  I did not intend to stay in San Jose for as long as I did, but a lot of the memories there are good too, and two lifetime friends were made there.

Now here I am in Tucson, retired, and still not missing work.  It was a great field to be in and I lived really well because of it.  I don't miss a lot of the corporate crap that I went thru.  It was fun, but there were times when it was brutal.  Now I go back to it if I want to, and this time in an advisory capacity.  The thought of doing that is intriguing, but not until I catch up on some things and do some more fun stuff.

With that, I think it's time to wrap this post up.  

Odds, Ends, and Corrections

 I am going to start off to note the passing of Myles Goodwyn, one of the founders of one of my favorite bands, April Wine.  The man was undoubtedly a talented songwriter, who covered a wide variety of styles ranging from ballads to hard rock to blues to eclectic.  I had the pleasure of meeting him, but only once, and that was back in 1993.  Myles retired from touring earlier this year, but wanted the band to continue, which they are.  Unfortunately no one down here is booking them, so they play most of their gigs in their native Canada.

Myles was a nice guy when I met him, but I can't describe him as a people person.  He was strictly business, but he had a sense of humor.  Later on he did interact with the fans on a message board, and answered a lot of our questions.  

I hope that the Good Lord is giving his family the peace and strength that they need at this time.

* * * * * * *

I have started a new assignment at work this past Monday.  It is so far going well, but I am looking forward to our year end holiday break,   I'm going to decline comment on my previous assignment other to say that I really wanted out of it.  The new assignment will likely have the effect of delaying my retirement.  There's part of me that wants to retire right now, but the other part of me is saying that it isn't yet time.  But that day is one day closer than it was yesterday.

* * * * * * *

From the Department of Corrections:  I am NOT descended from John Dudley, the 1st Duke of Northumberland, as I reported a few posts ago.  I spotted an error and the web page where I got that from has subsequently been corrected, as that someone else must have spotted that too.

I am descended from a Mary Dudley who was born around 1575, but not from the Lady Mary Dudley.  I am still doing some digging into my roots when time permits, which it doesn't a whole lot.  I may create some pages about my family history, with the first page being about my Parker roots.  There's also the Pilkington and Bonsall lines to research.  

* * * * * * *

Most of my spare time has been spent with my ham radio hobby.  With active sunspots I am able to get out a lot more on the high frequency bands.  Country #130 was worked this afternoon, that being Eastern Kiribati.  

* * * * * * *

I have this craving right now for some New York style pizza, and I think I will now get some of that ordered.

Checking in, 8/24/21

I'm not as prolific of a poster here as I used to be.  Way back when, I actually had people reading this blog, and although I still do, let's just say that I'm not exactly making it in the Nielsen ratings.  To be honest, that doesn't really bother me.  Occasionally there will be a post that returns views.  Like deer hunting near Willcox AZ.  Or about that guy who counterfeited nickels.  Maybe I need to lead a more interesting life?  Folks, I've had enough unusual things happen to me. 

That said, it's time to catch up.  

I was contacted by one of my former employers yesterday about a job in Houston.  I'm going to break with tradition, and identify that employer:  Jacobs.  Jacobs is a damn good company to work for, and is one of two that can hold a candle to where I'm working right now.  

I turned them down.  The job would have meant a relocation to Houston, and I'm not in a position to relocate right now.  Even if I were, I can't say that Houston is on the short list of cities I would want to live in.  I could easily find work in Houston if I wanted to......if not Jacobs, then NASA, or Axiom Space, or Lockheed.  

I told the recruiter that I felt that Jacobs is an excellent company to work for, but that I couldn't do it.

I guess this means that I should touch upon where I'm at now.  Maybe one day I will identify this company, but not today.

Work is going mainly well.  I will admit that this job comes with frustrations.  Those frustrations are what comes with the territory, and it is its own unique set of frustrations and can be seen as an improvement over previous collections of frustrations.  I won't get into them in detail.  I will tell you that I won't trade these for another set if I don't have to.

Life.  Well I have that to take care of too.  We've had a heavier than usual rainfall this monsoon season, and the weeds are taking off like crazy.  Each day I go into the front yard and pull out the worst offenders.  Each day I go into the back  yard and do the same.  With the heat it's advisable not to be out there that long.  As we slide into September and get into the equinox, I'll be able to do more.

Also, because it's a fun diversion, I am working a little with wood......something that I haven't done since high school.  I had some shelves outside that needed replacing.  These reside inside of a metal frame.  My recollection is that I put these together in the 2004 timeframe.  Last week I noticed that the pressboard that those shelves were made of needed retiring, after all those years of being exposed to the elements.

I had two choices.  I either buy new shelving, and throw away perfectly good metal frames.  Well, almost perfectly good.  I should paint them.  But for the shelving, it occurred to me that I ought to go to ACE Hardware and have them cut some shelves for me.  You know about ACE, right?  That's the one that Pat Sumrall goes too.  Or does he?  Is he still with us?

I went to the one at Tanque Verde & Bear Canyon.  Paul McCartney is said to have been there several times, back when he and Linda were maintaining a home here on my side of town (I've been by it).  Now I didn't go there because Paul McCartney goes there, but I go there since I like them.  The fine folks there had the shelves cut for me.  I can't say that it was cheap, and I did not select a cheap grade of wood either, but in the long run it's better than buying new shelf assemblies and it was an opportunity to be handy so I took it.

Then I had to learn about weather sealing it.  I asked some knowledgeable people about it, and did some online research.  I have started sealing these with boiled linseed oil.  I have some more to do.  I am thinking of adding another finish on top of that and I may experiment with the scrap of wood that ACE gave me.  I'll admit.....this is fun!  

Now on to radio.  I've been having a lot of fun with that too.  Sunspots and solar flux slid down, but I've been able to get Europe on some evenings and Japan on most mornings.  I'm gloating over getting Bulgaria on the 30 meter band, along with Western Australia, also on 30 meters.  I can get the eastern states of Australia when conditions are right but Western Australia is something of a challenge.  Yes, I'm patting myself on the back for those.  

OK, it's time to sign off and catch up on some other things.  Like supper.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.

End of February 2021

 Here we are at the end of another month.  It didn't seem that long ago that January was ending.  When was that?  I want to say that was about fifteen days ago.  I know, it's been longer than that.  But it doesn't seem like it was longer than that.

This week, I had the weekend off.  I spent a good chunk of it in pursuit of the ham radio hobby.  I was on the air yesterday and having a lot of fun with RTTY.....that is, radioteletype.  I was hoping that some DX would be rolling in but it didn't.  This afternoon I heard Cuba on 17 meters, and it would have been great to have gotten him.  That said, I've worked Cuba plenty of times.  I haven't started tracking Cuban provinces and that's something I should consider doing.  I track Mexican states, Japanese prefectures, Chilean regions and provinces, Spanish regions and provinces and Argentinian provinces.  Ham radio will teach you plenty about geography.  

On the work front, I am glad that last week is behind me.  I took the weekend off but was on call in case program management needed me for something.  I put in a full day tomorrow and I'm taking Tuesday and Wednesday for round number 2 of the surgery.  They are not charging me PTO either.  They are allowing me to flex hours from the last pay period into this one as that I was not paid for those hours.  That's nice of them.

I was going to say more, but I've been itching to try my hand at tikka masala curry, and I think it's time to sign off and get that going.  

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.  

Five Years Ago Yesterday

Five years ago yesterday I returned home to Tucson after a 14 month exile in Las Vegas.  I have not been back to Las Vegas since and if I never see that place again I'm fine with it.  I really hated living there, and if you've been a longtime reader of this blog you'll know that my pet name for that place is "Trashcan".

Anyway, some good came from that, although some of that good wasn't realized until much later.   I might not now have my present job if it weren't for my being up there and working where I worked.  That company went out of business almost a year ago, and I could spill some beans, but I won't.  I've got co-workers where I'm at now who were my co-workers up there, and those who were let go last March got letters threatening them with lawsuits if they said too much.  I never got that letter but I'm not saying very much as it is.  I don't need to.  The reputation of that place is forever trashed.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying my job and I can't remember ever enjoying a job this much.  The people that we have are what makes this.  The culture is that everyone goes out of their way to help everyone else, and what this does is create a feedback loop to where success is the rule and not the exception.  I can't understand why more companies don't see this.  My first employer here in Tucson runs anyone 55 and over out of the company (they do keep a few older dudes for tokens).  A major aerospace firm that you've heard of but I won't name runs people out when they hit 35.  Big tech?  Almost all of the companies in Silicon Valley has that kind of practice.  Well, enough of that.

Weather here in sunny southern Arizona has been very good lately.  I sometimes take the company laptop out on the back patio and work there during the afternoons.  In a few weeks the evenings will get warmer and I will likely be out there longer.

On another front, I think I might be going thru a second childhood.  I spent the past few weeks learning some of the advanced features on my 2 meter (ham radio) handheld.  I knew it could function as a scanner, and I started playing around with that some.  Before I knew it I was programming aircraft and business channels into it and learning the memory bank features.  I even started, just for grins, spotting aircraft, looking up their tail numbers online, and spreadsheeting them.  I then did some online research, found that Uniden/Bearcat had discontinued an analog model last year, but you could still get some new from some dealers that had them still in stock.

I placed an order, it arrived this week, and now I'm learning how to use this radio.  It too is a handheld, but does not transmit.  The Yaesu FT60R (handheld) will scan some frequencies that the Bearcat won't, and vice versa.  They each have different sets of bells and whistles too.  

Now I find myself wanting a digital scanner, as well as a handheld digital ham radio.  I use 2 meters to chat with some local friends, but in the digital realm there are three different systems.  DMR, or Digital Mode Radio, System Fusion by Yaesu, and D-STAR by Icom (and now Kenwood).  D-STAR, from my research, is the most difficult to program.  System Fusion is easier, but I'm not sure of what the repeater infrastructure for that system is.  With DMR I might have to set up a hotspot.....the radio would link with the hotspot, the hotspot to other hotspots, and then talkgroups with other ham radio operators.

I don't know enough about the talkgroups to know if I really want to venture that.  Yet, radio is a neat thing, and I like the idea of owning lots of radios.  Yes, they're toys, and I like my toys.  Oh, and there's a portable shortwave I'm looking at too.  It's all good and it's all fun.

Anyway, I haven't forgotten about my surgery.  I have a few more days before I get the COVID test and I find myself getting out of the house at least once per day before I test.  Quarantine isn't exactly my idea of fun, but the toys should make it more bearable.

Sunday, 8/9/20: Tucson AZ

I am doing much better today than I have for these past few days.  I am getting used to not being followed upstairs by a black furball who demanded a lot of attention from me.  I'm still sad, but I am not second-guessing myself.  Cancer is a cruel disease.  It was going to take a loyal friend away from me if I didn't intervene.  Moe died with cancer, but not from it.

I am also getting back into doing what I normally do on a weekend.  I went on the air Friday night and worked several European stations.  A new country emerged from that:  Luxembourg.  That one took three different series of attempts.  I've heard that station on before but he only activates during a major contest.  It was a special contest call....LX7I.

Yesterday afternoon I went back on.  Conditions weren't great here.  I could hear the east coast guys working Europe, but I couldn't hear the Europeans.  I took a break, returned later on, and got Europe a few more times.  And another new country:  Estonia.  That makes 94 countries I have worked from here and that magic number of 100 is closer yet.

Also last night, I cooked an Indian dish.  I love Indian cuisine and I'm thinking that I will soon make an attempt at making butter chicken from scratch.  The Patak brand of butter chicken sauce is delicious and you can find it at the Evil Walmart Neighborhood Market store.  Sheila tried to find it again yesterday at the Evil Walmart big box store down the road, but couldn't, so she brought back a different brand.  We didn't like it as much.  Yet this morning I finished the leftovers and it tasted great!  Chili will do that too.  So is the secret to make it the night before, and then wait until the next day?

The afternoon is still young here, so the next thing I will do is go out on the back patio with a good book and a cold brew.

I will miss Moe terribly for some time.

It's not easy losing a loyal friend.  Even if he was a Lieutenant Demander.

It's September Already, and Tomorrow Will be Christmas

I woke up yesterday morning and it was September.  It was day two of a four day weekend (I took Friday off) and now I'm at the end of day four.  It was a good opportunity to rest and I got some of that in.  There were also other things to take care of and some of them were, but there's more to do with respect to others.

I had hoped to be on the air this weekend.  I got on Saturday morning, worked two stations in Colorado, and the bad conditions got worse.  Two coronal holes on the sun triggered a geomagnetic storm which made radio almost useless.  I tried going on for a little bit today when the geomagnetic field quieted down some.  I knew I was getting out as that spotting stations in Alberta got my signal, but there weren't that many people on the air.  I then called Mark and we discussed some antenna ideas, bouncing our thoughts off each other, and I've now got another antenna project I want to work on.

On another front, Sheila and I had a discussion about the house.  We've decided that we're going to fix it up and get it ready for sale.  I know I've mentioned it before, years ago, but life got in the way.  We are in the process of applying for a HELOC and we're prepared to put some serious money in upgrading a few things.  The front yard has a small (as in one foot height) wall around it.  That needs to be removed, and replaced.  Some plants have to go (the eucalyptus tree and the saguaro get to stay, and two barrel cacti will get to stay as well).  

In the back, the brick planter around the spa needs to be removed, and either replaced or left as if it was never there.  I am sorely tempted to have the spa itself removed and hauled away.....I've put some good money into it over the years but we don't use it any more.  

Electrical work needs to be done.  I want an outlet next to my workbench in the garage.  I want some work done outside.  An oleander tree needs to removed (do NOT buy property that has oleander on it!).  The interior needs painting.  And we need new carpeting.  New sinks (two down, three to go).  

After all that, we'd like to move.  My preference is Vail, though Sheila is open to Sorry Vista (I'm not, but it's on its way to being a better place to live than Tucson).  The idea is to get a few acres in Vail where I can have an antenna farm.  

If we don't move, then we end up with a better house to live in.  My original plan was to retire and then some day die in my own living room right here inside the house, but I'm thinking I might as well die further out in the desert. 

And now it's September.  The monsoon season is still with us, and it's been hot and humid outside.  Once things cool down I'll be doing some yardwork.  I also want to do an antenna project....maybe next Saturday if the conditions won't permit being on the air.  

I figure on some trips to Ace Hardware (the one that Pat Sumrall goes to) in the very near future.

With it being September, I'm afraid I might see Christmas decorations being available for sale.

Situation Report for Wednesday, 6/19/19

As of tomorrow I will be one month into the new job.  Things are slower than I would like for them to be.  That though is dependent upon my new employer getting some things worked out with the customer.  I know that the process is on-going and I've been promised that this time around, I will not be pigeonholed into a specific role like my previous employer did.  My task lead this time around wants his engineers to be able to wear more than one hat.  That was made clear before I had a chance to voice any concern about being typecast.

The vacation, sick time and comp time policies are also miles ahead of their competition.  Vacation time earned has no expiration date, like most companies do.  That said, I have to make sure that it doesn't back up to two years worth.  Most employers confiscate it from you; allowing only 40 hours carry-over into the next calendar year.

Sick leave is also accrued into a separate account.  I didn't know there was any company around that still did that.  Folks, this is not a small employer I am working for.  They have tens of thousands of employees and a presence in several locations.  I am feeling more and more like I did the right thing with accepting the job offer.

On another front......well guess what, I had another dream about that trial.  I really didn't want to talk about this soon after the last post but the dream had its own appreciable merit of absurdity.  We were standing around the defendant, confronting him......and I was yelling at him.  I kept yelling over and over, "you're going to the river!  You're going to the river!"  We were overlooking a river that the bank we were standing on was some ten feet above the river, and we were going to throw him into it and never see him again.

Thing of it is, I was yelling it so loud in the dream that I woke up Sheila.  This wasn't the first time that she's had to settle me down about some dream that's a consequence of being there at the trial.  I'd like to think though that it will be several months before I wake her up again in such a manner.

On the ham radio front, conditions haven't been that great lately.  I have concentrated on chasing sporadic E, which is much more dependent on season than it is solar flux, and have made some good contacts.  And in spite of the dismal conditions, I was able to get France twice one late afternoon on the 20 meter band, which isn't affected by sporadic E.

I have it in mind to try two new antenna projects.  I can get to both of them right away but one of them will take a little more effort and probably could use some more deep thought.

And on the political front..........I don't have much of anything to say, aside from the observation that the theater might be akin to watching a squirrel short out a transformer.  Yes, this is the second time in two posts I am mentioning the squirrel, but that is how life is sometimes.

End communication.  Beep.  Boop.  zzzzzzzzzzt.

Forward Motion on the Transition (and other things on my mind)

This afternoon my badge access to the labs went into effect.  As that my office is physically inside one of those lab buildings, this now lets me come and go as I please.  I also got my laptop and docking station this morning but until my network access is switched over to Arizona from Maryland (why did they think I was there?) the laptop, docking station and monitors are decoration.

I am feeling better about taking this job.  I was really vexed over the long weekend about these "assignments" that come out of left field from the corporate office in Florida that I can't get to until I'm on my home computer that they want turned around right away.  I also couldn't log in to get the family signed up for medical benefits, and I really didn't want to write a check for COBRA.

Well, that's all taken care of, and although I'm not seeing playing time on the field my turn to step up to the plate will come.  I probably ought to enjoy this lull while I can, because things can and will get frantic later on.

Like I did two years ago, I'm staying down in Sorry Vista two to three nights per week.  The commute really isn't that bad but I don't want to get burned out on driving.  The vanpool drivers continue to exempt themselves from the vehicle code and common courtesy while on the freeway, but they seem to know where the state troopers and the county mounties hang out.  I see the marked (and sometimes unmarked) patrol vehicles strategically placed along state highway 90 every day I make the drive, and on some (if not most) they're also watching drivers in Huachuca City, which has the local reputation of a speed trap.

Next Monday, if I'm not too tired, I hope to attend my first meeting of the Cochise Amateur Radio Association.  I think Wendell will offer to drive me there.  I know where it is but I don't know how well I would find it at night.  I attend meetings of the Radio Society of Tucson whenever I can get to them as well as the Southern Arizona DX Association of which I'm also a member.  So will I join CARA?  I likely will for as long as I'm working down there.  Membership in ham radio clubs is a great deal more affordable than other clubs.

In the meantime, I'm being bombarded with lots of calls from recruiters.  I'm beginning to think that some of them suffer from ADD.  I don't like talking on the telephone (truth is I hate telephones) and I especially don't want to take these out of state jobs that they want to tell me about.  Most of them won't leave messages, but they'll call two or three times a day.  A recruiter based in Georgia has already called me 8 times this week (I'm now keeping score) and one of Florida is in second place with 5 calls.  I get emails from them too, mostly the impersonal "Hi, I hope you are doing well.  Below is a job description...".

Not to mention that my office is inside of a building where cellphone reception isn't the greatest and I wasn't going to step outside to yak on the phone since up until this afternoon my badge wasn't working to let me back in.

Anyway, we'll see tomorrow if that guy in Georgia can get past ten, and the lady in Florida narrow the gap to first place.  I could block the numbers, but I suffer from this morbid curiosity about how many times they will call before they give up.

And I haven't stated this yet in this post, but I believe that some of these calls are schemes to get personal information with the purpose of identity theft.  I know of two agencies that have street cred, and neither one of these has been calling me lately.  Of course, one of them knows that I just started a new job, and the other one in my opinion is not as good.

That's a wrap.

Transition to a New Job

I am now in my second week of the transition.  My start date was on the 20th.  It almost didn't happen.  My new employer hired a third party to conduct a background check on me.  I gave that third party all the information that they wanted.

The next day, they wanted some W2 forms to verify previous employment in Nevada and down here in Sorry Vista.  I had those FAXed in, and asked for a callback to make sure that they got them by leaving a voicemail to the point of contact.  I didn't hear anything until the next day.  "Well now we want W2 forms for this other employer".  And I'm thinking, why didn't they ask for those the previous day?  I called my point of contact again, and left a message.  Just like the previous day, he refused to return my phone call.

I then had to escalate it.  I called my employer, and was referred to their corporate HR.  I made them aware of the situation.  Then within one hour, my phone call got returned.  He admitted that he got some of the W2s, but he wanted another one sent again, and then some others.  OK.  I got them sent.

The next day, they claimed I gave them the wrong birthdate.  Yeah, like I would do that.  They refused to fix the date.  I had to do it all over again.  I called corporate, and corporate pretty much asked me to humor them.  So I did.

The second time, it went thru, giving credence to a saying I came up with two years ago:  you need to do things twice in order to get them done once.

The pain of onboarding may or may not be over yet.  I got an assignment from someone else over in corporate.  Yes, I filled out the W4 forms, but now I need to call this toll free number and get a confirmation number from Ernst & Young, who are somehow involved in determining something called WOTC eligibility, which I know that I am not eligible for.  But I had to go over that with them all over again, was issued a confirmation number, and that was emailed to that corporate lady who came in out of left field to want that little tidbit of information.

Meanwhile, I'm not getting any real work done.  I haven't been issued a laptop yet.  That has to come from their customer, through whose network I must interact.  My task lead (who is a great guy) told me it might take three weeks.  Then, I can request that my badge be accessed to the labs that I will need to get into (not to mention the building where my office is).  He pointed out that the customer is low on computers, and that there's no guarantee that I will get one that will actually work.    He told me it would be his job to worry about that and not mine.  While I am waiting, I am reviewing test procedures and documentation for some rather specialized methods of radio communication.  One standard I am very familiar with and the others are new.  Being a ham radio operator, I'm being paid a good salary to read this.  That said, they'll be getting their money's worth out of me once we are up and rolling with funded task orders.

As I (think I) explained previously, this is essentially my old job again.  The employer back then lost the contract to the employer I have now, and it has taken both the new employer and the customer 18 months or so to transition this.  Neither side expected that length of time.

I'll have to be honest about something.  I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing going back to this job.  The Good Lord opened that door, and as painful as it has been for me to get settled, I ought to stay in this one.   The task lead is a great guy.  The engineering manager who hired me likely is also but I have yet to meet him in person (I'll try to get that taken care of this week).  The deputy program manager is as down to earth as anyone can come.  And the company has an excellent reputation.

On the other fronts in life, I have been very busy in ham radio (still).  I put up a new antenna for the 40 meter band and results have been great.  I've already worked Spain, France, Curacao, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Japan, Korea and Australia.  Lots of hams are complaining about conditions lately (and I remember when they were better), but when there's a solar minimum then great things happen on 40 and 80 meters.

You just have to go where the fish are biting.

The Situation Report for 4/12/19

There hasn't been much change in my situation to report other than that today I am under the weather and have some flu-like symptoms.  Sinus issues have come largely into play due to unusual weather this week.  Two straight days of gusty winds (and a session this afternoon of them) have kicked up lots of pollen and I think that's what's really got me slammed.

I remain on furlough.  It's been passed along to me that they're trying to bring me back.  Meantime, they are paying my medical/dental/vision benefits and I'm accruing vacation.  Two of our biggest customers have had recent management shakeups and the new sheriff in town always takes it out on the subcontractors.  I've seen this before and I will see it again as long as I remain in the industry.

I have intelligence that one of our customers is trying to bring in some help via independent contractors, but lowballing them by offering rates 30% less than what they were paying before.  That's their right to do that of course, but they're not getting any takers.  They certainly are not going to lure away people from our other major customer that needs that kind of talent, and it should go without saying that engineers who are smart enough to qualify flight hardware are also smart enough to qualify medical devices, and the medical device industry appears poised to expand in the near future.....along with mining.

On a brighter note, aside from the past three days, the weather here has been great and I've taken to barbecuing again.  It is amazing what you can do with a grill.  Did you know that scrambled eggs from the grill taste a whole lot better than those cooked in the kitchen?  Yes, I've done that before....spraying cooking spray into a foil pan and then cooking eggs in that pan.

Yesterday I slow-cooked some pork tenderloins, potatoes and green beans.....wind be damned.  I don't have the energy to do that again this evening, but later on this weekend I've got some ideas I want to try out.  One of them is marinating some chopped steak in tequila, and then cooking that out on the grill with the intent of it being burrito filler or fajitas.  Salmon and ribs are on the short list as well.

On the political front, I'm not going to say very much of anything this post.  The political theater these past few weeks has been unusually good.  We haven't had a President like this since Andrew Jackson.  As far as Congress goes the whole lot of them get better at being more useless as time goes one.

And on the ham radio front, it's been a slow week but a good one.  My last time on I was able to get Spain and Chile.  A few weeks ago I bagged Uganda and I now have the WAC, or Worked All Continents award pending.  The equinoctial propagation conditions will give way to the sporadic E season, which for me means more time on VHF.  We're about one month away from that.

With that I'm going to sign, and slam down some liquids.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.

Situation Report for 3/19/19

Last night I had a dream of the type that I hadn't had for a while.  It was again about that jury trial.  I dreamt that I came on here and spilled the beans about it, without giving away very much.  I know that I have mused before about venting, but I stopped thinking about it a couple of months ago.  Life was returning to its new normal and I got involved in other things.

No, I'm not going talk about it here.  I'm not going to talk about it in any online forum that I frequent nor do I say anything about it over the air.  I have discussed the matter offline with a ham radio friend of mine who knows the details, but not on the air.  My co-workers know about it.  My family knows about it.

I am willing to discuss what happened, but only with those that I know well.  I'll leave it at that.

* * * * * * *

My furlough from work is now in its fourth week.  These past two weeks have been more sabbatical in nature than the first two weeks, although I have been busy with other projects.  I am occasionally heard joking that I need to get back to work so that I can get some rest.

I have been catching up on a lot of reading (mainly ham radio magazines) and I've been on the air too.  This time of year, being an equinoctial period, has been good for propagation to South America in the mid to late afternoons.  I tend to go QRT (off the air) around sunset, though I should stay on longer to see if I can get Australia and New Zealand.  Propagation to Japan is almost year round; I either talk to them when it's late afternoon here and morning there, or I get up at 3:00 AM when it's past their sunset (which I've only done once).

One thing I am doing.  Whenever I make contact with someone, I will later on go online and look up where they are on Wikipedia to learn more about their area.  One locale I learned about in Argentina turned out to be a tourist destination in the province of Córdoba.  It's a great way to learn about the world.

* * * * * * *

Unless you've been on Mars for the past six months, you can't help be aware of the alt left hijacking the Democrats.  They've got what.....20 people running for President?  All of them in favor of reparations, strict gun control, strict Internet control, Green New Deal, free healthcare, free college tuition, free pre-school, etc..

I know that I have raised the question before, where is the money going to come from?  It's like no one stops to think about that anymore.  Where the money is going to come from is a non-issue.  They might admit taxing the rich, but a lot of wealth is in stocks and bonds that are worth something because there are a lot of people who think it's worth something.  In other words, the entire global economy is based on an illusion that a piece of paper is worth something.  Yes, you've heard me say this before.

Asking the question "where is the money going to come from?" doesn't work with these people.

So......I'm going to propose another question.

If something is free, is there ever going to be enough of it to go around?

Global Warming? Not Here.

Some winters down here are mild.  The last three were.  This one isn't.  We had snow earlier this month, which can and does happen in Tucson, and it wouldn't surprise me if it happens again this week.

We've had cold temperatures, and rain......a lot of rain as far as a February goes.  It's drizzling outside as I write this.  We had some last Friday.  We have another installment this coming Friday.  And once again, we're in for some freeze warnings this year.

Last year about this time, we had a few days where it was in the lower 80s.  I remember talking to another ham in Cold Lake, Alberta.  He told me what the weather was doing there and yes, Cold Lake was living up to its name.  When he turned it over to me, I said "Mike, you might not want to hear this, but it's 80 Fahrenheit right now".  I explained that those temps were unusual for Tucson in February. 

I haven't talked to him since.  The three Alberta hams I've talked to have been great guys; one of them I've chatted with a few times and he has relatives down here in Tucson. 

* * * * * * *

There's been some chaos at work.  The customer I'm supporting has abruptly decided that there won't be any environmental testing for a unit we're supplying them that monitors other aircraft components.  I was told today I'm being furloughed for one month, though there's a possibility of my returning to help out another customer we have in Oro Valley. 

To be honest, I could use some time off......but not a whole lot of time off.  I have a week's worth of ham radio projects to work on.  Two of these are antenna related.  And I need to work on the coin collection some.

When our Phoenix customer decides they want my services again, then my employer will have to make a decision on who gets me if I'm tied up in Oro Valley.  My preference at this point is the Oro Valley gig, even though the commute is a pain.  (I support the Phoenix customer from our business office right here in Tucson).  I have a very good friend working there in OV and we and our wives get together once a month or so for a Saturday night dinner. 

As it is though, my employer will put me where they need me the most, and our Phoenix customer lacks the expertise in environmental testing.  It's also possible that my furlough may be delayed as that I might be needed for an odd job.

I wouldn't mind a situation where I work three months, and then take one month off.   I could do that for the next five years.  That's not how it works, as that we're task-driven and work at the whim of our customer(s).

Odds, Ends, and Random Thoughts.....8/12/18

I got a phone call from my employer a few days ago.  Some work is coming my way, starting in two weeks, give or take a few days.  I forgot to ask who the client was but it isn't the same one that I had before.  They were based in Oro Valley and although it was a longer commute than I would have liked, I really enjoyed working there.

As it is, I've been in touch with a friend of mine that I made while I was there.  We're heading out for lunch tomorrow.  His gut feeling is that they are going to be asking for my services again in a few weeks, which I'm good with.  They're just going to have to work it out with my boss.

The one thing I like about the new gig is that I can work out of our business office, which is on my side of town.  I won't have to leave the driveway at 6:15.  I can leave at 7:30, and be home in time to support the ham radio traffic net that I've gotten involved with somewhat recently.

There will be some travel associated with this.  I presume it will be to Phoenix metro which is where a lot of aerospace components are qualified using environmental chambers which subject the units under test to extreme conditions involving temperature and humidity.  My experience in qualification test procedures was for electromagnetic environments as well as mechanical shock and vibration, but I'm familiar with climatic testing.

I won't say that having all this time off has been easy.  I am simply not ready for retirement.  I might be ready in five years.  I might not be ready at all.  Solar conditions as of late have not been great for amateur radio activity, but when the sunspots come back in a few years then maybe that will be time.

- . . . -

I've been following the political scene from a comfortable distance.  That means listening to talk radio and online reading, but not letting that dominate my daily routine.  Organized Media and their sycophantic followers have three things on their mind these days.  Those three things are Russians, Russians, and Russians.

It's gotten so bad that incumbent Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, who is facing a tough re-election fight with challenger Rick Scott, claimed this week that he has evidence of Russian hacking in some of Florida's counties.  Governor Scott has already asked for proof of this statement, but no one should hold their breath waiting for it.  Senator Nelson knows his chances of losing are excellent, thus he needs to get his excuse ready.....knowing that Organized Media will harp on this for a while.

- . . . -

Here in Arizona, we have former Tucson City Councilman Rod Glassman running for the Arizona Corporation Commission......as a conservative Republican.  I had forgotten all about him.  He got on the City Council, to use as a stepping stone for the U.S. Senate, but lost to Senator Benedict McCain. (excuse me, that was a typo).  Back then Glassman seemed to think he was entitled to that job.  After his defeat, he disappeared as far as I was concerned.

It turns out he moved north, and became acting Town Manager of Cave Creek.  I can find no evidence that Cave Creek was in any way dissatisfied with him.  He appears to have switched parties to Republican upon moving to Cave Creek.

His credentials and experience are impressive.  He may make a good commissioner.  My problem is, is that I'm not sure I want a career politician in that slot.  I have no beef with the Arizona Corporations Commission as I write this.  I'm just not sure I want a McCain Democrat to be elected to it, and I'm not sure if that's what he is.

- . . . -

Weatherwise, we're in the monsoon season.  Last weekend we had excessive heat warnings and I was outside last Saturday way too long.  I was useless the next day and for part of the day after that.  Yes, I should have known better, now having lived here for 19 years, but I was enjoying myself on the back patio with my ham radio setup and didn't want to quit.

Monsoon season doesn't really wind down until Labor Day.  Some years we're treated to a grand finale, with intense bullet rain and cars sliding off the freeway.  There's already been a fatality here in Tucson due to the weather.

- . . . -

Finally, I have received a jury summons, my third since moving to Tucson.  I doubt that I'll be selected.  I served once in San Jose, back in 1985,  for a DUI trial.  We returned a verdict of guilty.  California law at that time (and probably still does) states that refusal to take a blood alcohol content test is evidence of guilt, and that's what happened.

However, that wasn't why I voted guilty.  I initially joined one other person in voting not guilty so that a discussion was forced on the issue, which we had.  I ended up voting guilty mainly based on the testimony of a subject matter expert on alcohol and toxicology that the prosecution brought in, and I told the prosecutor that if it hadn't been for that expert I would have voted not guilty as that there still may have been reasonable doubt.

Anyway, because of that, there's no way a defense attorney will want me.  My NRA membership would also get me off, especially if a gun crime is involved. And if it's an armed robbery, there's no way I'm getting on since I've already survived one, even though it's now close to 40 years ago since that happened.

I would willingly serve if for some reason I got on.  It's an interesting experience.

Thing of it is, it's hard to want to do this since there's no way a defense attorney would let me on, and that it's a waste of my time to show up in the waiting room.

A Vacation of Sorts...or Two of Them?

A week and a half ago Sheila and I flew to San Jose to visit my parents.  It was a long overdue visit and while there we had some time to play tourist.  We visited San Juan Batista, which I hadn't been to since March 1991, and then it was over to Monterey and their Fisherman's Wharf, which I hadn't been to since the day I bought my truck which was in November 1995.

We also got to visit with family and friends.  Sheila has now finally met Franz and his wife.  Circumstances did not allow for a visit with Chip and Gabriela but we plan on being up there again in a few months so hopefully we can get that done.

Upon returning home and returning to work, some news came my way.  Our client's customer has delayed a design review by a few weeks.  This affects me in the sense that my services are restricted to that specific program, so I'm on hiatus.  I think what will happen is that I will be on furlough until things pick up in about a month.  Maybe sooner, or maybe later.  So I've got another "vacation" on my hands. 

I don't really feel like I need any more time off, but I may as well enjoy it.  I plan on getting my Morse Code proficiency up greater than or equal to 15 words per minute.  I may build an antenna or two and experiment with them.  I've recently gotten involved with one of the public service aspects of amateur radio.

As for work, it's likely I'll return to what I was doing within one month.  That's plan A.  It's always prudent to have a plan B, which I do, and no one will hold it against me if I execute that plan in the even that the first doesn't materialize. 

I really enjoyed that gig; it was my first exposure to commercial aircraft systems.  It's a different set of challenges to satellites, circuit cards, and missile payloads. 

The only downside here is that with the lull in sunspot activity, radio conditions on the higher frequency bands aren't what they could be, but I'll still manage to have fun.

Sunday, 4/22/18

It seems that as of late I haven't had the time or the motivation to be checking in here.  Sometimes it's both.  Like a lot of people out there I'm scratching my head over the Fresno State professor who is screaming for attention in a most horrible way, and I'm wondering if former FBI director James Comey played football without a helmet when he was in college.  I could comment on that, and even thought about it doing just that, but it's not that there's very much I can add to these two grotesque little plays going on on the world's stage.  It's no bother to me if both of these continue acting the way that they are, but if they get too much attention then the Hildebeest is going to inject herself back into the news.

That said, all is pretty much well with me.  I am continuing in the assignment for that company on the other side of town.  I'm having a blast developing test procedures to verify performance of specialized aerospace equipment when subjected to shock, vibration, magnetic fields and electromagnetic radiation.  A job that makes you think is a good job as far as I'm concerned.

The client has let go two contractors, which I think is their way of getting the skill mix that they want.  A lot of us are concerned about the impending departure of a well-liked and well-respected senior manager.  From what I'm able to tell the replacement will be a hand-picked successor and I don't see things changing very much.  Change is inevitable and can be scary, but it must also be realized that it can be good.

On the personal front, I am still busy with amateur radio, but have slowed things down quite a bit.  One reason was a desire to vary what I like doing in my spare time.  Another reason is that conditions haven't been the greatest, though with today's solar numbers it's possible I will disturb the ether later on this afternoon to see if I can get through to Japan.  Nebraska, Michigan and Ontario all had "QSO parties" this weekend so I made contacts with all three.  I'd love it if some more the Canadian provinces would have QSO parties, as that it's an opportunity to bag those that are more difficult to work.  

Anyway, that's pretty much it.  I'm hoping for a quiet pleasant Sunday afternoon, where I can catch up on some yardwork and some laundry.  And some reading as well.

Javelina, the IRS, and More

This past Sunday afternoon I was in my garage, programming a new ham radio that I purchased (I'll get to that shortly).  I was testing out repeater frequencies and subaudible tones when I heard some animal footsteps nearby.  I'm thinking OK, the neighbor's dog got loose again.  I've met the dog, she's a real sweetie but shy, and can wander whenever she feels the urge.

Well it wasn't.....(dang it, what is her name?  Lola?  Lulu?  I think Lola).  I looked up in time to see two javelina, one of them halfway inside the garage and the other just about ready to enter too.  We ended up spooking each other, though one of them stopped to turn his head to get one more look at me.

It was captured on video.  Sheila installed a security camera last November.  We've captured videos of these interesting denizens of the Sonoran Desert, and this one is the best.  Enjoy!

VIDEO

* * * * * * 

The Internal Revenue Service is after me.  Well, someone out there wants me to think that.  I've once again gotten the robo-call from the robotic female, informing me that four serious charges are against me, and that "local cops" will take me into custody if I fail to return the phone call within 24 hours.

I've gotten two, maybe three of these calls before. 

So far failure to return their phone calls has not resulted in me being granted long-term accommodations at Leavenworth.

* * * * * * *

As you've just read, I'm still busy in ham radio.  Last week I purchased a mobile 2 meter rig, though I'm using it as a base station.  Ham Radio Outlet had a special on this make and model, and 30% off of a newly introduced radio will capture my attention.  No, I'm not in the market for another rice box for HF (high frequency) work, but I have been wanting a 2 meter base station for some time as that my handheld on some nights won't hit the local repeaters well.

I'm pleased as punch with the purchase, even though 2 meter operation can make you feel like a CB operator at times.   Yes, some of us hams look down on CBers, and I've been one of those hams more times than I can remember.  That said, when the CB craze of the mid 70s got going, some of the more technically inclined CBers went on to get ham radio licenses and swelled our ranks.....which is a good thing. 

Anyway, there were some GREAT conditions on the 20 meter band a few weekends ago.  In one session, I worked 19 different countries, or more accurately, DX entities which are counted as "countries" for awards purposes.  Hawaii counts as a "country" due to its distance from the mainland, as does Alaska.  I  worked Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, but I also got Asiatic Russia, Japan, Ecuador, French Guiana, Suriname, and some others.  This past weekend I was again able to work Russia, Japan, and Ecuador. 

One local ham told me there was a sporadic E opening on 10 meters to South America, which I think helped out on 20.  The openings to the Far East though was good old fashioned daylight propagation.  I think maybe the equinoctial period we're in right now had something to do with it too.

That said, that's a wrap, and time now for a cold one.

SITREP for Sunday, 2/18/18

Lately I have been overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed in a good way.  Overwhelmed with the amount of blessings that I am currently on the receiving end of.  There seems to be a break from the "buzzard luck" that I've had off and on over the past six months.  Well, that was more blessing than buzzard luck, as that the surgery worked well, I'm working locally, and I get to sleep in my own bed with my own lady.

The job itself is intense.  I am constantly busy from the moment I arrive to the moment it's time to close up shop and go home.  I get going, and I look at my watch, and I think, has two hours gone by already?  There is some pressure at the client company.  In the past they've suffered from turnover as engineers have left to find something less frantic so that they can have their nights and their weekends off.  I have noticed that everyone is going home at 5:00ish.  They also have a new policy.  If the managers ask for their people to come in over the weekend, then they have to come in too. 

In my case they have to pay me overtime if I come in, as that I'm on a contract with the client company.  I could use some extra shillings to catch up on some bills, but I'm not going to volunteer for it.  My projects are being done on time and yes, I have to be innovative to keep them on time.  I'm allowed pretty much to do things the way that I feel they should be done, but I also have to adapt to changing priorities as the design of the equipment gets under way and matures.  Working on hardware intended for commercial aviation is new to me and interesting.  Yes, it would be great to go back to satellite engineering, I'll admit that, but I would have to relocate to do that and if I have my way I'm staying in Tucson.

Aside from work, I have been active in ham radio and having a lot of fun in spite of the low sunspot numbers affecting propagation on the higher frequency bands.  Most of the other hams I talk to are stateside or in Canada, but I get the occasional "DX", which means Caribbean, Oceania, Asia, Europe, or South America.  I was able to talk to France a few weeks back.  Yesterday I QSO'd Curacao.  QSL cards from foreign countries have also arrived.  I got a really neat card from Costa Rica last week.  I'm saving the envelopes for these.  I'm not a stamp collector, but these foreign stamps can be and are, artwork.

I think at this point I'm going to sign now.  I have a long intense week ahead of me that starts tomorrow.  But the best part of that is being home with Sheila seven nights a week.