Jerry Lewis, Statues, Et. Al.

Jerry Lewis passed away in Las Vegas yesterday.  Although I would not consider myself a fan of his, that guy made me laugh a lot when I was a kid.  It was a real treat to be up late one Friday night during the summer, and learn that a Jerry Lewis movie was on that night.

DC Comics also had a Jerry Lewis series, and those were my favorites.  His dealings with life, his rebellious nephew Renfrew, getting a job at the circus where he was mistaken for a liontamer named Terry Lewis......I am not a comic book collector, but I would love to get my hands on the entire series.

We have lost a legend.

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Tearing down Confederate statues seems to be the big rage these days.  This isn't a burning issue as far as most of the public goes.  Tearing them down will in no way erase the results of slavery or the Civil War itself, yet the malcontents want this done.

I personally have no issue with the statues myself.  I view it as part of our nation's history.  The way I see it, if we have statues in the North to honor those generals who fought for the Union, why can't we have statues in the South that honor those who fought for the Confederacy?

The reality is that both sides of this war had brave men and great generals.  I personally think it's regrettable that a bloody war such as this came about to settle the issues of slavery, secession, nullification, and state's rights.

In the Manassas Battlefield, there is a statue of General Stonewall Jackson, placed where he earned his nickname......"there's Jackson, standing like a stone wall!"  I attended Stonewall Jackson Senior High School when I lived there.  I cringe at the thought that a bunch of malcontents who have never been to Manassas would demand that the high school be named for someone else.

Reality is, is that when the war was over, Abraham Lincoln wanted reconciliation with the South, and not retribution.  When Lee surrendered, General Grant ordered his band to play "Dixie" for the defeated Confederates.

Tearing down statues, in my opinion, runs counter to what Abraham Lincoln would have wanted.

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As I have stated earlier, I have been active again in amateur radio, and I really love it when I get to sit down in front of the rig and try to make contact with somebody.  I put up another antenna, this one for the 20 meter band.  I was able to make contact with two stations each in Indiana, Illinois, and Hawaii.  Yesterday I talked to a station in northern California and another one in Pennsylvania.

Conditions weren't really the greatest.  In fact, I can't remember when they have been worse.  Today they are better, but I am away from home this evening to enjoy them, so all I can do is look at the propagation reports and hope that whoever is out there is having a lot of fun.

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

It's All Good?

Often in the face of adverse circumstances it is psychologically healthy to tell yourself "it's all good".  However, I am not under adverse circumstances as I write this, but I think society is and in that regard it's quite the stretch to say "it's all good".

I am referring to the parole of one Orenthal James Simpson, better known as O.J. Simpson, the Butcher of Brentwood who will soon be ending his stay at the Lovelock Correctional Facility in Nevada.  Now I can make an argument supporting the State of Nevada in this decision if I frame that argument in terms of they don't want him in their state any more.  I wouldn't in my right mind make this kind of argument as that he's been more of a liability to society than an asset.  What O.J. Simpson proved to the world is that you can get away with murder if you have the money for a legal dream team.  I honestly thought he was going to skate again when he burst into that hotel room in Las Vegas but I was proven wrong when I posted that in a predecessor blog (and I don't mind being wrong in that instance.)

But still, why turn him loose?  So what if he's been a model prisoner.  Is Charles Manson a model prisoner?  I don't hear very much about him but California at least keeps that guy away from the rest of us, because they feel he's a threat.  So the question really here is, is O.J. Simpson a threat to society?

There was some interesting speculation on Tucson talk radio last week, that from the morning hosts of KNST Garret Lewis and his team.  They feel he will be back in the custody of the Department of Corrections before too long, but there was disagreement on how he was going to get there.  One said it would be a DUI.  Another said it would be from some sort of physical altercation.  I can't remember what the third theory was.

Regardless of whether or not O.J. goes back to the slammer, to this day I still will not rent from Hertz due to their previous association with him.

Yes, I know he was running through airline terminals for Hertz long before he whacked his wife and Ron Goldman.  Yes, I know Hertz dropped him quickly after he was up on charges.  Yes, I know it's been almost a quarter of a century since he called Hertz the "Superstar of Rent a Car".  Even though I am not a full blood Kraut, I can be just as stubborn as a fullblood when I want to be, and on this one I want to be.

I will back off on this provided Hertz does one thing:

They advertise a rental called the "O.J. Special", where you can rent a white Ford Bronco for a weekend, and have a fake beard and hidden compartment for a passport and revolver.  If Hertz can own up to that mistake like that, then at that point I'll have respect for them and not rent from anyone else.

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.

The New Job, and Other Odds and Ends

As of today, I have been officially back in the workforce for one week.  The drive back and forth to Sierra Vista is longer than I would like, but I have been bearing up well.  A decision has been made for me to stay there for two nights a week in order to provide me midweek driving rest.  So, for either a Tuesday/Thursday night or a Monday/Wednesday night arrangement, I will be staying at a motel down there.  I have already been traveling with a two changes of clothes in case I was too tired to drive home, and I may up that to three when monsoon season starts as that you don't want to be out on the highways when there's bullet rain.  I have seen people skid off the road.  I have never lost control while driving, but that goes back to something Clint Eastwood said in Magnum Force.  "A man's got to know his limitations".

With today being a paid federal holiday, I rested at home today, but coming off a three day weekend might make tomorrow night a good night to stay down there.  Then again Thursday night for this week.  I may go over to the 9/80 schedule so that I can get every other Friday off.  That was mentioned to me during the interview as a selling point, and it was mentioned to me this week that I can flex my hours at my discretion, as long as I get in 80 hours in the two week pay period.  I think I will make tomorrow and Thursday nine hour days, and do an early out on Friday.

I'm not going to get into specifics about the work that I am doing.  As my blog profile says, I'm an engineer, and in this job I will be performing test engineering functions.  I see an opportunity here to develop some skills while leveraging those that I already have.  And my marketability is greater than it was when I was testing medical devices, though my intention is to ride this train some.  That's all for now about the job..........it's a good fit for me, and I like it that one office tradition is to go out for a walk on some afternoons.  That's good exercise and the 1.14 miles we did on Wednesday gave me the adrenaline that I needed for the drive home.

On the ham radio front, I have been somewhat active on the local 2 meter repeater scene and developing some good on-air friendships with some local hams.  I probably ought to develop a separate post with some musings on the local 2 meter scene here.  I'm also thinking of starting another blog page and devoting that entirely to my amateur radio activity and using this blog for life, other interests, and anything else that strikes my fancy.  If I do that, I would place a link on my qrz.com webpage.

I have also started building another antenna, this one for the six meter band, that is, from 50 to 54 MHz.  I recently purchased a brand new transceiver with that capability.  Six meters is a fickle band and exciting on occasion, and operating there is something that I've wanted to do for some time.  I've been reading some back columns from QST magazine that's devoted to VHF/UHF enthusiasts.  I still strictly consider myself an HF guy, and getting on the 20 and 40 meter bands is more in line with my interests.  Conditions haven't exactly been the greatest as of late, but with sporadic E openings on six meters that may be where I will hang out once I get back on the air.  Perhaps I should do that separate blog page and chronicle my activities there, so I can editorialize on current events, coin collecting, and other things here.

Getting back to that six meter antenna project, what I have in mind is for it to be quasi-portable.  Each leg of the antenna will be 56 inches in length, and I have purchased some PVC pipe sections for this antenna.  I want ease of assembly and disassembly as that I could see taking this setup out into the field and seeing what I could do from mountaintops.  My new rig will easily do portable operations as well; all I would need is a marine battery and the antenna, and I'm good to go.

As for the political scene here, the obsession that Organized Media has for deposing President Trump I think is bordering on some sort of mental sickness.  On one day you read about fired FBI Director Comey alleging that Trump wanted an investigation shut down, and then one or two days later another news source credibly discredits that, but Organized Media by that time has a new story for the day.  They may on occasion quietly admit that there is no evidence of Russian hacking, but continue to pursue that story anyway.

The Russians did not flip even one vote from the Electoral College.  Voting machines are NOT connected to the Internet, and thus they cannot be hacked from some hooligan in St Petersburg or Blagoveshchensk..  Then there's the "well the Russians influenced things somehow!", but the reality is, is that the Democrat Party has lost 1100 seats in state and local races since Obama took office.  They are in decline and are now a regional party.  They are in the process of self-destructing as are the Republicans at times.  I think the upshot here is that the last election was a referendum on the political establishment of both parties.  It was a chance to blow them up, and we took it because if we didn't we would risk not ever getting that in the future.

Now I'm hearing rumblings that Hillary may run again in 2020, and if she does, she'll do even worse that time around.  From what I'm able to observe, the jobs are coming back, and so is consumer confidence.  How do you run against a better economy?

Anyway, I need to jet out of here, as that I owe one more phone call somewhere, and some emails.  Maybe I can catch up from my motel room tomorrow night.

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

Back to Work Soon!

Word came to me via email that my background check came back with a favorable result, and my new employer's HR department didn't waste any time in calling me to set a start date.  My return to the workforce is set for the 22nd of May, pending passing yet another drug screen, which I did last Friday.  I figure the first week will be rough as that I'll be doing the long drive back and forth, unless I can somehow get set up in the vanpool within the first week.

Because of this, I've been trying to get as much done as possible on the house, garage, yard, and ham radio.  The yard is looking a great deal better than it did when I came home from Vegas, though there's still work to do there.  I'm well past the half-way point regarding the yard.

I wish I could say the same thing about the garage, but what I can say is that it's improved on that front.  I've filled a few boxes of donated items and I've sent other stuff to the curb.  I need to get a "new" bookcase in there to replace one that I built some ten years ago.  I say "new", as that I need to check out thrift stores first before I go out and buy a replacement.  I need this "new" bookcase to be a foot wider than the one I'm going to toss.  A large part of that is filled with old radio magazines that I don't want to part with, and some reference books for integrated circuits.  I could if I wanted to, toss the references as that I can get data sheets online.

The house itself will be a work in progress.  Sheila's done some work on the kitchen cabinets.  I need to do get some faucets replaced and eventually the sinks.  I've made at least two trips to a nearby donation bin to get rid of some clothes that I don't use anymore (saving some for wearing while doing yardwork) and one more trip is coming up soon.

Finally, the ham radio part of this post.  I finished building a 20 meter dipole antenna and I now know where I'm going to put it up.  It will be more or less, a "starter" antenna.  It will get me back on the air (hopefully that old transmitter still works!).  It's cut for the 20 meter band, and I may experiment with a tuner to see if I can get it to work on 40.  I already have an existing 40 meter dipole, but I want to add traps to it so that it can work on both 20 and 40.  The "starter" antenna will eventually be cut for 15 meters, and I might add traps for 10.  Right now the 10 and 15 meter bands are somewhat useless due to low solar activity.  I'm picking the wrong part of the solar cycle to get back into this, I know, but I still want back on the air, HF-wise.

On the local repeater scene, I am noticing that the 2 meter band is popular, but there's not much action on 70 cm, or "440" as I call it.  There are UHF repeaters in the area and I've done a lot of listening to them, but only once have I heard any activity on them.

I have had some nice chats with some locals.  There's a gentleman in Silver City I've chatted with, and a retired lady here in Tucson who was kind enough to send me antenna plans in case I want an outdoor 2 meter antenna (which I do).

That's pretty much it for right now.

I'll be glad to be back at work.