KMOX Radio, St. Louis

That one night back in high school where I discovered that I could tune in distant radio stations at night will forever remain special to me.  I was able to get all sorts of stations.  WCFL in Chicago.  CBM in Montreal.  WWWE in Cleveland.  WWVA in Wheeling.  WJR Detroit.  And more were to follow that night.

The prize catch of them all was KMOX St. Louis.  That was the most distant signal I got that night, and certainly the westernmost.  I remembered that station from a road trip when I was not even a teenager, as that the family favorite baseball team was the St. Louis Cardinals, and their games were carried on KMOX.  On one trip we stopped to take in a Cardinals game.  This was back in the era of Lou Brock and Bob Gibson.  Curt Flood and Orlando Cepeda.  Nelson Briles and Steve Carlton.  They were America's team in their day.

We had to resume the trip, so after catching the last half of the first game (it was a double header) and the first half of the second game, it was back on the road.  We listened to the game on KMOX as we continued on to Kansas.

I hadn't heard KMOX since then, until that one night.  KMOX was the standout catch, and I hadn't heard KMOX since then..........until last night.

I've been spending some nights tuning in those distant stations.  The radioscape here, of course, is different.  I've been getting stations in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, and other places.  Stations from Mexico have been tuned in and identified (my Spanish has gotten quite rusty over the years but it has been a help).  But the one station I had been most wanting to get, KMOX, just wasn't coming in.  I have checked on those nights set aside for listening, checking 1120 kHz, but nothing.  Oh, there is a station in Utah on that frequency that I can get almost every night, but I would null them out to see if KMOX was there.

Last night wasn't set aside for radio listening.  Several nights are spent laying upstairs in bed with Sheila.  She's watching her favorite shows and I'm working on some favorite novels.  Lots of time we talk.  I enjoy being with her and I very much enjoy being married to her.

Anyway, it was time to check the garage, and I thought, I'm going to go out there and turn on the radio to see if KMOX is there.  It was almost the top of the hour, when station IDs take place, and I didn't want to miss out if they were there.

This time, there was a signal on 1120.  Utah had been nulled out and the signal that I had was weak to fair, but copyable.  I thought I had heard a mention of KMOX but I wasn't sure.  There were some local commercials, some local weather, and I'm thinking, that might be the type of weather one would expect in St Louis this time of year.

I continued listening, and then got a definite ID.  It was them!  I was hearing KMOX for the first time since high school!  I then came back inside, and making use of a distance calculator, I learned that they were some 20 miles further away than KOMO out of Seattle, which I got a week or so ago.  KMOX held in steady, but I couldn't stay long as that I was tired and bedtime was fast approaching.

Long distance radio listening, called DXing within the hobby circles, is one hobby that I've indulged in off and on over the years.  Winter is the "season" for AM broadcast band DXing, and I've been doing plenty of it during this sabbatical.  Logging KMOX here has been a goal since I've resumed this, and I figured sooner or later I would get them.  KMOX has been heard in Europe and in South Africa.  I knew they would be heard here sooner or later.

Now if I can only get a positive log on WWL from New Orleans.

So Why Did The Donald Win?

The most interesting election in my lifetime is now behind us, and we're watching a transition get under way.  There has been lots of interesting speculation on talk radio, the newspapers, internet forums, and the foreign press.  Some folks are looking at at what went wrong, while others are trying to figure out what went right.  Why did Trump win?  I've touched on it in my previous entry, but I want to expound on this further.  Here are the reasons why, in no particular order.

(1)  Hillary Clinton wasn't exactly likeable.  Ever since she became prominent in 1992, half the country has hated her.  Books I've read on 1980s Arkansas politics strongly suggest she wasn't exactly well liked there either.  When the rest of the nation knew about her, there was a lot of chatter about her being Co-President.  I remember a conversation with a taxi driver in Rome that took place in 1995, who made a snide remark about "Presidente Hillary".  So, even the Europeans could see right through her.

(2) Serial betrayal of their base by the Republican Establishment.  For years we heard their message that if we would just give them a chance, we would get a lot of great results.  They promised us conservative judges.  We got David Souter on the Supreme Court, and a Harriet Miers nomination.  They promised us a secure border.  They tried to join forces with the Democrats and force "amnesty" down our throats instead.  They said they would defend the Constitution, and instead we got the Senate Majority leader Trent Lott saying that talk radio ran the country and that something needed to be done about that.  It got well past the point to where they could be trusted, much less given credibility.  All members of the Republican Establishment wanted President Obama to "succeed", and many of them voted for Hillary.

(3) Widespread hate for Organized Media and a repudiation of their way of thinking.  Rush Limbaugh calls them the "drive-bys"; I call them "Organized Media" and have for years as that it connotates a sinister purpose like the term "Organized Crime" does.  Organized Media talks down to us.  They act like they are visionary, that they know what's best for us, that we're just a bunch of stupid uneducated dumptrucks who need our freedoms taken away since we don't know how to properly use them.

They are in meltdown over this election.  They are also in denial.  You have Van Jones telling CNN that this was a "whitelash", which is a cheap shot and an attempt to suggest that there was a racial component involved in supporting Trump.  He has to know that this is a cheap shot, but he runs with it; CNN lets him run with it, and they arrogantly think that we're too stupid to figure all of this out.

I despise Organized Media, they are the ones misusing their freedoms.  In spite of that statement, I honestly want them to continue going down this road in the hopes that more of the masses will wake up to what they're doing.

(4) Trump connected to the people.  No, he didn't connect to that part of the country that voted for Hillary, but he connected to that part of the country that counted.  I wasn't on board his train at the start.  I voted for someone else in the primary.  I wasn't sure he was for real.  He is still technically an unknown quantity to me, but I found that preferable to a known evil, and that's why I voted for him.

Now I want him to make America great again.

(5) The country has been heading on the wrong direction, and you'd have to be stoned on marijuana to not be aware of this.  Really, are millions of more Americans on food stamps going in the right direction?  Home ownership at a 51 year low an improvement?  Well, that would be seen as an improvement by those who think that the State should own all property and distribute it as they see fit, but in my mind that view can only be seriously entertained by those who think they are entitled to assets that they were too lazy to earn.

(6) Multinational trade agreements are much more of an issue than Organized Media and the fatass politicians realize.  Now personally, I think a free trade agreement between the United States and Canada makes a lot of sense.  Standard of living of the two nations is practically on par.  NAFTA?  There is no doubt that Mexico is still a developing country, and if she would make proper use of her resources and rid herself of institutionalized corruption, she would be a great asset to a trade pact.

Mexico's not there yet.

(7) This was a repudiation of the Obama agenda.  Trump won the primary because his supporters knew that Jeb wouldn't fix it, and Rubio wasn't going to stop.  Jeb was proud of the similarity of stances that he had to Hillary, and Rubio was fixated on shoving "amnesty" down our throats.  We didn't want more of the same!  We wanted it to end!

(8) Big Hollywood actors threatening to leave the country.  We heard this in 2000, and they didn't leave.  We heard it again in 2004, and we gave them another reason to leave.  We were hearing it again this time around.

Well what the hell were we supposed to do?  Give in to these Hollywood millionaires and beg them to stay?  Do they really think that the rest of us are just as stupid as their fans who fawn all over them?

This time, will you just shut the firetruck up and make good on your promise?  Leave, and don't come back!


If I think about it long enough, I could come up with some more reasons, but I think I will instead observe our sorry-ass Organized Media wring their hands and moan about how the rest of us (that is, the real world) just doesn't get it.  

The Donald Wins It!

I didn't think it was really going to happen.  Organized Media went all out for Hillary, as did the welfare class, the Silicon Valley titans, and even some members of the Republican Establishment.  I honestly thought that there would be some vote-rigging in five states.  My home state, as I write this, hasn't yet been called.

My gut feel in this, is that this is more of a rebellion against the Establishment than it is support for Trump.  Well, there are also a lot of people out there who don't like Hillary.  Some in her own party either stayed home and voted for others, while others voted for Trump more in order to keep her out of the White House.

Not being able to return to the White House isn't, in my mind, going to bother Bubba any.  There's no shortage of babes out there who would try to be that one who gets to satisfy him.  Personally I have thought for a long time that he was more qualified to be an assistant manager at Burger King than he was President, but Ross Perot didn't think so and was able to siphon votes away from Bush 41.

So, what's next?

Expect a lot of university protests and riots in California.

Do not expect court filings from the Hillary camp.

Her political career is over.

As Predicted......Hillary Will Skate

I figured I was going to be proven right in my last posting about there not being an indictment brought against Hillary "What Difference Does it Make" Clinton.  I didn't think it would happen this soon.  The announcement yesterday by FBI Director Comey effectively squashes any chance of criminal charges.  It spares President Obama any repercussions of having to pardon Hillary on his last day in office, which he may do anyway just to be on the safe side, but the upshot here is that Hillary will walk.

It is unfortunate that there are going to be other repercussions from this.  I've read where the FBI has had a lot of agents resign over this, and more are sure to follow.  When you put your heart and soul into investigating something and then have your work consigned to the trashcan, that has to be demoralizing.  Yes, I've had that happen to me as an engineer due to program cancellations and stretchouts.  You get to where you want to work on something else.

Anyway, the big day is tomorrow.  I will offer no predictions on that one.  My gut is telling me that The Donald has the momentum, but if Hillary has the machines rigged in five key states, it's in the bag for her, and knowing that she will never fear indictment for anything criminal that she does, she may be encouraged to implement the fix.  That is, if the fix really exists, and I have no way of knowing if it does or not.

One other scenario may play out.

If The Donald wins the electoral votes that he needs, is it really in the bag for him?  What are the chances that his electors are more beholden to the Republican Establishment than they are to the will of the electorate?  What's going to stop them from voting for Hillary?  I bring this up as a possibility as that I have no way of knowing if any of them are "Never Trumpers".  There is already one Hillary elector in Washington state who's declared that he is not going to vote for Hillary.

Maybe another question is, are there other Hillary electors who won't vote for her?

That's extremely unlikely in my opinion, but it may only take a small handful to throw the election to the House.

The October Surprise of October Surprises

While out on a day trip yesterday I learned that the FBI is re-opening their investigation into what is largely called the Hillary Clinton email scandal.  As most of you know, FBI Director James Comey held a news conference last July announcing that he would not recommend charges against Hillary "What Difference Does it Make?" Clinton.  This came a few days after a so-called accidental meeting on the tarmac at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix between Bill "I Did Not Have Sex with That Woman" Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch where we are told that they only discussed grandchildren.  They discussed grandchildren?  Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and it snows in Death Valley in the summertime.

Now for reasons that are known at this time only to Director Comey and God, the investigation is being re-opened.  There has been, of course, a lot of speculation about this, with theories being posted on the internet and social media, and discussion on talk radio and cable news channels.  I am not going to offer any speculation as to why this happening, but I will offer speculation as to what's down the road on this.  I don't very often make predictions because I might be wrong more often than I would be right, but on this one I'm going to be upfront on this and tell you that I very much want to be wrong on what I'm about to say.

No matter how bad or how damaging the information to be revealed is, Hillary Clinton will not be indicted.

I will say this again.

Hillary Clinton will not be indicted.

There are two reasons why.

One:  she enjoys the protection of Organized Media.  Organized Media very much wants her in the White House no matter how corrupt she is.  Organized Media, that self-appointed Fourth Branch of Government has an agenda, and they want to see it carried out.  They know that the Donald won't carry it out, or at least, have no reason to believe that he will carry it out, and they've been in the tank with her for far too long to get out of that tank and throw her under the bus.

Of course, Organized Media isn't quite the monopoly on news that it used to be, and if you know were to go you can get other opinions and perspectives on things.  But the support of Organized Media is, lots of times, a formidable obstacle when it comes to elections, and they've been known to publish known false stories in order to advance their agenda.  But the support of Organized Media isn't the only factor here in why Hillary will not be indicted.

The second reason she won't be is that Hillary enjoys the support of the Establishment Republicans.  If you doubt me on this, then do some googling on Republicans who have announced they are going to vote for Hillary.  There's a former President said to be on that list, we have Republican Senators up for re-election who have said they are going to vote for her, and we have Republican Congressmen and Congresswomen who have said they are going to vote for her.

You have heard of the "Never Trumpers", haven't you?  Your very own beloved Organized Media has told you about them on more than one occasion.

With the support of the Establishment Republicans firmly in place, Hillary also knows that she will not be impeached, even if she is indicted, which she won't be.

Do you honestly think that Speaker Ryan will allow an impeachment vote to reach the floor of the House for a vote?  And even if he does, will there be 67 votes in the Senate to convict her?  Do you think for one moment, that the public "Never Trumpers" in the Senate will vote to convict?  They're on her side!

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has publicly stated that no matter what President Obama does, impeachment is off the table.  One surprise I can identify at this time is that he hasn't (yet) made a similar announcement regarding Hillary, although he's going to wait until the votes (including the fraudulent ones) have all been counted.

Impeachment, in my mind, is an impossibility.

Indictment, although not impossible, is extremley unlikely, in my opinion.

I think it would be much easier to get the Beatles back together than it would be indict Hillary Clinton.

The Bombing of the Republican Office in North Carolina

The Republican office in Orange County NC was firebombed over the weekend.  Organized Media hasn't had a whole lot to say about this.  Hillary "What Difference Does it Make?" Clinton has spoken out against it, as well she should, but she really should consider asking her supporters to join her in this.

Looking at online comments on the Yahoo boards and sound clips from Organized Media, you would think this incident is the fault of Donald Trump and his supporters.  One yoyo even suggested that the Trump supporters did this in order to generate sympathy for the Republican party (oh please!)

I'm going to give the Trump supporters this:  they are not going to take to the streets for a protest designed to escalate into a riot.  They won't be throwing rocks at police officers and setting fires to police cars.  They won't be smashing storefront windows downtown.  They won't be looting Nike stores to steal Air Jordans and they won't be trashing convenience stores that they steal beer from.

Yet Hillary's supporters seem to think that Trump supporters are what's wrong with the country.

Go figure.

A Favorite Silicon Valley Attraction (and more)

I've been up here in San Jose for almost a week.  There has been a lot to do in terms of people to visit and necessary family things that need to be done.  Until today I haven't had the opportunity to go out and visit a place purely for pleasure, until this afternoon.

The place that I visited was Weird Stuff Warehouse in Sunnyvale.  I've known about this place for several years and visited it a few times when I was living and working here.  It's a museum of old abandoned surplus computers and peripherals, except that if you come across an exhibit that you really like, you can purchase it and take it home.  I've gotten an old computer monitor there before, and a power supply for use in some electronics experiments, even though I've built a power supply.

I was telling myself that I needed to drop in look around when I got up here, and before meeting Franz and his new bride for dinner I did just that.

I wanted to spend more time hanging around, and maybe my next visit here I will.  I picked up a surplus surge protector that I intend to use in my garage, because during this sabbatical I see spending some time in my garage doing some more experimenting.

I have it in mind to build a low power transmitter for ham radio use, though the idea of building an FM radio transmitter is also lurking back in the recesses of my mind.

* * * * * * *

The drive up here last week was a blessing, in the sense that it was uncomplicated.  Oh, the luggage key did break in the Samsonite suitcase that I bought, so I had to wear the same clothes on day two of my drive here, but fortunately my parents had a Samsonite key.

I don't normally lock my suitcases, but I had to before leaving Quartzsite, in order to comply with California's laws regarding transport of a firearm.  I couldn't get my gun case to lock, so I locked up my revolver in the main luggage.

Now the gun case is locking, and the revolver is safely there, until I'm back across the state line in Arizona.

There's no doubt that California's laws cause great inconvenience to the gang members whenever they transport their guns, but everyone knows that they don't want any trouble with the police so they very much cheerfully comply.

* * * * * * *

This was my first time meeting Franz' wife Diane.  My regret was that Sheila wasn't there to meet them too.

I think Franz did as well as I did in getting the wife that he got.

* * * * * * *

I'm already homesick and missing Tucson.  I wanted to leave Friday but rain is in the forecast, and I don't like having to go through Pacheco Pass in that kind of weather.  So, it looks like I'm out of here on Saturday, but if it rains then I'll be here a while longer.  I may not want to leave on a Sunday and thus have to share the road with those nice wonderful super-considerate southern California drivers on their way back to the smogberry trees in Los Angeles, so I may hang around here a while longer.

* * * * * * *

I guess that I'm supposed to comment on the latest in the Presidential campaign, and about what Trump said some 20 years ago when he had no idea he would run for President.

I'm not going to defend what he said.  I'm convinced that he regrets it, just as I regret saying some things I said back in junior high, high school, or college.  Yes, I have skeletons in my closet too.  As do you.

What gets me is that those who are going to great lengths to appear genuinely outraged about this can't wait to vote for the wife of a serial rapist.

* * * * * * *

I'm thinking that I will be in San Jose again for Thanksgiving, and possibly also for Christmas.

I don't particularly like San Jose, but I spent several years here and in one way this place is part of my being.  I got my degree here and I came away with some lifelong friends.

This place isn't a trashcan, though I do frequently think the state is as morally bankrupt as they are financially.