Sean,
Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
I also alerted Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, of Amateur Radio Newsline, about
it. I'm sure that'll be the lead story on the Newsline to be released on Friday, July 21. I've seen at least 2 videos on YouTube about it, telling
hams to STRONGLY OPPOSE it...as ARRL has indicated.
The strange thing is that this was apparently filed in April, and hams are just hearing about it NOW??!! It's as if they didn't want us to know about
it. I guess they're paying big money to the FCC for approval...I thought bribery was illegal...well, I guess it's not in Washington, DC. :P
I just filed a public comment on the FCC website:
Well said. Apparently, it'll cause a lot of problems on HF, especially
with bands from 2 to 25 Mhz (basically all of HF, except maybe 10 meters),
but it won't bother things like VHF, UHF, SHF, etc.
That's mainly where I operate, due to having congestive heart failure.
I don't have a pacemaker, and hope I don't need one. Successful cardiac ablation surgery a year ago got rid of the erratic heartbeat, but I'm
still on Lasix, and that wasn't my pee-rogative (hi hi). CHF was what
killed my Mom 4 years ago, but I've known several folks who've had that
for years. At least I got a good report from the cardiologist last May.
On a more positive note, I checked into the TAG (Tennessee, Alabama,
Georgia) Net last night...and really enjoyed it. Apparently, they're based
in the Chattanooga area. I used to have family there, but I think they're
all dead and gone now. The topic they noted was "what got you into ham
radio, what does it mean to you, and what have you done to ELMER folks,
or get folks licensed??".
Several years ago, I had gone to the Austin, Texas, Summerfest...and
they had a forum on an overview of the hobby. I took the idea of that,
and created a PowerPoint Presentation called "You're Licensed, Now What?"...
a comprehensive overview of the hobby, for prospective, new, or long time
hams. You can download a PDF of that (along with Excel Spreadsheets of
selected D-Star, Echolink, and D-Rats Nets, in Eastern, Central, Mountain,
and Pacific Time), plus PDF files related to ham radio, from the hyperlink
off of my QRZ bio (
http://www.wx4qz.net/elk.htm). I also recommend the
file on "Ham Radio Humor"...if you need a laugh. <G>
Over 30 years ago, my Dad and I went to visit other family in Nashville, then drove to Chattanooga, to ride the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Fall Foliage Excursion from Chattanooga to Oneida and back, behind the Norfolk
and Western 611 steam locomotive, the last surviving Class J locomotive (I
love its whistle). I brought goggles, as I knew it was a coal burner, as
one had to worry about the cinders getting in their eyes...and I also had brought eye drops. My Dad ended up getting cinders in his eyes, but I was spared that.
However, dry corneas and suspect glaucoma are my issues now...but, there
is no sign of macular degeneration. I underwent successful cataract surgery years ago...the visual acuity went from 20/2000 to 20/20 with a bit of astigmatism. But, I still get asked if I need blind ham radio operators
to help me get out of a hamfest parking lot -- and hospital parking decks
are just as bad (hi hi).
Sadly, my Dad passed away in early 2007, 2 1/2 months before Janice died.
... Laugh and the world laughs with you...fart and you stand alone.
But, you feel better afterwards. Besides, July is National Baked Bean
Month <FRRRAAAAPPPP!> -- excuse me...whoof!! That was a bad one...now,
my eyes are really burning and watering. <BG>
I was at a local hamfest several years ago, and this one ham, standing
by this big open garage door, let out a huge fart. They asked him if he
felt better, and he, laughing, replied "Very much, thank you". <G>
Everyone farts...some as little as 15 times a day to as much as 20 times
an hour...I wonder how much of our tax dollars were used to determine that??
Even the animals do it, and they don't care. A few years before Janice
died, we were otherwise intimately occupied on the Futon, and the dachshund
was in his bed on the floor next to us. All of a sudden, this horrid stench permeated our nostrils...the dog had dropped an SBD bomb!! :P So, any sense
of CW (continuous whoopee)(hi hi), was gone...and I had to get dressed, and take the little booger out for a walk. It reminded me of the meme that noted "Dog takes a 90 minute walk, and still poops on the kitchen floor". :P
I guess he was mad that he wasn't getting our full attention. When I asked the vet why the dog did such (and other bizarre behavior), I was told "He's
a dog", and I replied "He don't look like no d@mn cat, doc!!". To which, the vet replied "Correct. That'll be $250, please". And, he went to vet school
for this??!! :P
I saw a comic strip once (I think it was "Shoe"), where the character
was recording a message for his answering machine. Basically, "leave your
name and number at the sound of the <FRAP!>", and he proceeds to let out
a huge fart!! Then, he says "That should make more than a few telemarketers consider a career change". Besides, after a colonoscopy, you will join everyone else "in the wind section". <G>
A fellow BBS Sysop several years ago, was about to be "rather intimately occupied" with his wife...and a telemarketer called. Well, they weren't
going to let that "spoil their fun", so "they pulled out all the stops",
and it sounded like the guy had dialed a porn line. The caller was so mortified and embarrassed, that he hung up, and he never bothered them
again. <G>
He also had a wicked sense of humor. I was chatting with him and his wife
via Ventrilo...and he was helping me with an item on the BBS (when I was running VADV32 (Virtual Advanced)). Now, if I'm having trouble with a BBS configuration, I just need to be shown a basic template of the structure,
and I can take it from there.
I've heard of cases where a Sysop has another Sysop do all the work, but then "the lazy Sysop" takes the credit for it. In that case, it was the
work of the helping Sysop, not the original one.
With my doing the work, if a similar glitch develops, I try to fix it on
my own (that may be a disaster waiting to happen <G>)...but if things don't work out, then I ask for help.
Anyway, I said "If I run into a problem, I can give him a ring" (meaning
a phone call). He immediately interrupted, saying "Boy!! You're a pervert,
and a cheap date, and want to go right to the honeymoon!!". He and his wife were laughing uncontrollably, and all I could say was "I am so RED"!! <G>
The perfect T-shirt for him would be "Sarcastic Remark coming in 3... 2...1...". <G>
Tragically, lung, then brain cancer, claimed his life a few years ago.
Daryl, WX4QZ
... H.A.M. stands for H)ave A)nother M)eal OR H)aven't A)ny M)oney.
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