This makes 4 days in a row that I’ve made at least one PSK31 contact.

I’m trying to stick to making at least one contact a day when I’m home. I have a good bit of travel coming up that’s going to limit me but I can make up for it on the weekends I hope.

Today I made a contact in WA (KB7DY) and one in European Russia (RU6CH).

Managed to nab these while I was grilling up some yummy T-Bone steaks for my munchkin and I.

Update on life in general I guess.

Grandmother died a couple of weeks ago. That sucked.

Went to Colorado for the funeral with my daughter. That actually was very nice and much needed. Helped me feel better about some things that have really been weighing on my mind.

I could go on for a long time about my trip and the time with my munchkin there, however I’ve take on a personal vow to stop sharing many personal things, especially thoughts and feelings. Not easy.

Got spinal cord stimulator trial last Thursday and felt amazing all weekend. They removed it today and things already suck. Fingers crossed I get approved for the permanent one soon and can get that scheduled ASAP. I have a very optimistic outlook about it and what I think could really put my life back on track. I won’t blame all my troubles as of late on my health but I know how much it impacted me physically and thus emotionally and I know without a doubt it did not help in regards to some other things. Sadly whats done is done and nothing can change that.

I FINALLY got back on the radio this weekend! Not entirely sure why. But I just felt it. Maybe it was how I was feeling physically which helped a bit coping with some emotional feelings. Who knows. But I made 10 contacts throughout the weekend. Cuba, Fiji, Dominican Republic, Canada, NJ, MA, FL, WV.

I think I shared enough.

Peace

Dear Brooke,

In 2000 while living in Denver, CO I got very involved with USPSA shooting competitions. It was so much fun and very challenging. I started to gain more weight and wanted an activity that really got me moving and out there but wasn’t just some boring exercise. I happened to come across a flyer for some shooting competition while visiting a local gun shop and decided to go see what “Practical Shooting” was all about.

Needless to say after that first day of watching these guys in action and how nice everyone was (except for a few quirky ones, the camo wearing, either ex or wanna be military ones) I decided this was the “sport” for me. They had competitions almost every weekend in some part of Colorado. It got me traveling around all over the state and seeing new places. It got me some great exercise. It was also a “practical” skill and was really challenging.

I went and purchased, one of my favorite guns to this day, a Para-Ordnance P16-40. With the help of some great local people I got some slight modifications done to make it a little smoother and learned a lot about doing some of those things myself which was pretty educational. I was out just about every weekend shooting and it was TON’s of fun! I even went and spent a week training practically one on one (only one other student that week) with Ron Avery who at the time was one of the top shooters in USPSA / IPSEC and a well known trainer.

Just in that first year I had won a few awards for my class & division and really started to get the hang of it and loving it.

I quit however for a few reasons. Falling in love and not wanting to waste time and money on anything or anyone but her, your mom. She didn’t like guns at all at the time for very personal reasons so I gave it all up. Nothing meant more to me then her so it was what it was. No real regrets to be honest, without that love there wouldn’t be you.

Love,
Dad

Dear Brooke,

When I moved to Colorado one of the first hobbies I took up (among others; photography, USPSA Shooting) was fly fishing. There were many reasons for why I was drawn to fly fishing; solitude, calm, nature, beauty, skill, knowledge. It was a hobby that was very challenging, required a good bit of knowledge and research, I was constantly learning. It got me out there where I dreamed of and wanted to be, in the mountains on a river. It was so relaxing and calm, sense of solitude (never went with anyone else, although I probably should have after some of my close calls). Let’s just say those rocks are slippery, the river is a wild beast when it wants to be and DAMN that water is COLD! You slip and that water hits your chest, ugh the cold alone can knock you out.

Anyway, I was new to it all, didn’t know many places but I was somewhat familiar with the Big Thompson river due to how many times I had driven up to Estes. I have to admit I didn’t really care much about catching anything (damn good thing cause I would have starved), but I just enjoyed being out there. The beauty of the water which was so clear. The rocks and boulders. You could see spots of calm followed by chaos and then calm again. You could be standing right next to this sheer wall of mountain and feel like you were nothing in comparison.

Every where you looked was just amazing. I could stare at the mountain wall and look at the striations and try to envision how this all came about. By the way, Geology classes are a must in college! Anyway, I think you get the gist of it. I loved it, plain and simple. It encompassed all the things I loved at the time, and yes I even dreamed back then way before your mom or you came into the picture of one day getting to share this feeling of awe with my child.

Love,
Dad

I found this picture of someone fly fishing on the Big Thompson, no pics of me of course but I think it serves well.

Dear Brooke,

I decided to document some special things and places in my life so they are not forgotten to those close to me. Without my wife anymore and the fact that anything could happen to anyone and we could so easily be gone tomorrow I thought I needed a way to share some personal memories that could be passed on to my daughter if something ever happened to me. It’s a hard thing to think about but I feel its important for a child to have and share these memories with their mother or father.

This is a picture of Glacier Creek in Rocky Mountain National Park. This is right near or off of Bear Lake Rd. It’s an amazing spot which is why I chose it to propose to Nicole. This spot had special memories for me before I ever proposed and is why I chose it. Amazing views of not only the creek but surrounding mountains. I fell in love with this spot and RMNP as a kid and when I moved to Colorado I spent a ton of time up here. Visiting this spot and day dreaming, going to Bear Lake and walk around it. Going up to the continental divide and feeling like you were on top of the world. Even better was the drive up to Estes from Loveland and fly fishing in the Big Thompson river. Then there was the turn when you get into Estes Park and all of a sudden the view opens up to this amazing valley. Just amazing. Hope I get to take you there one day and share this with you.

Love,
Dad

Read a really good post on Google+ by Michelle Marie regarding her take on how others (society in general) try to push what they think is the “norm” on to others, particularly in regards to labeling many of us “antisocial”.

It’s a battle if you will that I’ve been fighting a lot lately. Others claiming I’m unhappy or couldn’t possibly be happy because I prefer what they view as being “antisocial”. It’s my opinion that when you say or call someone “antisocial” what your saying is they simply don’t conform to your ideals or idea of fun or social. So then your view must be right and their feelings don’t matter or are wrong?

Anyway… I’m reposting her take on things here and I hope others read it and consider her perspective on things.

Original Link: https://plus.google.com/114618043230336563405/posts/VazNeT7o9gk

Original Post:

A rant to those who think they’re social experts – by Michelle Marie

“Public schools create artificial societies and these societies are not true to real life. Besides public education, there isn’t a time at any other point in your life that you’ll be living around people who are all the same age as you.

Kids don’t just learn from teachers in public education/private education they also learn from their peers. Some of the lessons I learned in school (even though I had parents who taught me otherwise) were downright bad for me. I did a lot of really stupid things when I was younger, not because of public education but from the insecurities that grew from learning in an unnatural social setting. It wasn’t social skills I learned in school, what I learned is that life is a big popularity contest. Those who were thin, athletic, good looking, and wore name brand clothes were accepted in popular social cliques. Those who weren’t (that’s me!) were made to feel like a social outcast and unworthy of being part of those “special clubs”. Popularity contests are so prevalent in many areas of our adult life. Such popularity contests are rare in societies where social skills are learned in a more natural setting in which socializing occurs amongst a diverse group of people. It’s becoming more and more apparent to me that public and private schooled children are molding and prescribing a decent part of destructive social norms which carry over into adulthood. One that stands out the most – the accumulation of nice things makes you better than those who can’t afford to accumulate nice things. Power and greed is learned at a very early age and it’s learned through the constant surroundings of immature people who have yet to form decent solid values unassociated with selfishness.

Public/private schooling has its disadvantages but I would not pull my son out of school due to the negative influences that surround him, he’ll have to face temptation and pressure outside of a school setting as well. I don’t believe in sheltering but I would never condemn another parent if sheltering is part of their parenting style. I’m in no position to tell someone else how to parent their kids and enforce what’s best for them (unless there is abuse). We all have different beliefs and different styles of living. Individual choices produce diversity and free thinking. What’s good for the goose is not always what’s good for the gander.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with someone who is socially awkward or antisocial. Most people don’t know this about me but I’m probably one of the most antisocial people (outside of socializing online) you’ll ever get to know, or hardly know I should say. I very rarely go out, I don’t converse with people at work unless it’s work related, I hate small talk and avoid it at all costs, and I don’t talk on the phone with friends except for one person (+David Bowden). Why? Because I really enjoy my solitude and freedom to be me without ridicule or pressure to conform.

I laugh at the claims of others who often tell me my antisocial behavior is unhealthy. Not all antisocial people are callous, aggressive, irrational, and criminally minded people who are prone to depression! Just because people don’t fit in with social norms does not mean they are leading an unhealthy and destructive lifestyle. In fact, I think quite the opposite. I live my life to be free, happy, and comfortable by being a good person and doing what I feel is naturally right, not right because it’s expected by a society. When people live their lives in a way that society expects them to live often times they fail. If someone follows legalities, ethics, and morals then it shouldn’t matter how they socialize or even if they socialize as long as they are happy and not hurting others. People could never understand that I’m happy being free from conforming to social standards. I have never suffered from depression, which from an outside perspective is found to be rather odd considering some very terrible life experiences I’ve gone through. I’m highly resilient and wonder why it is that people are always expecting me to go postal assuming I’m burying emotions that need to be dealt with which will eventually surface dangerously. I don’t have post-traumatic stress disorder and I’m not going to explode and lash out at the world. Not because I’m lacking empathy or emotion but because I don’t feel emotions from negative past experiences should determine my current state of mood or level of happiness. Where others define success by the accumulation of goods I define success by emotional balance and control. I have emotional control and balance therefore I’m successful. Since I’m successful I’m emotionally controlled and balanced.

Am I socially awkward? Very much so. And had I been homeschooled my awkwardness would have surely been blamed on not going to public school where I would have learned good social skills! I’m not antisocial due to the lack of socialization in school, I’m unsocial because I don’t see eye to eye with most of societies thinking and their “standards” of living. Excuse me for not conforming! People can be antisocial without having antisocial personality disorder. Not all of us antisocial people are sociopaths who violate the rights of others. Some of us find it more entertaining and moral to live in our own heads. Social norms bore me because norms lack creativity.

I teach my son to be a free thinker, to never let anyone tell him he’s doing something wrong because it’s not the “norm”. As long as he is happy, comfortable, and free to have his own mind away from societies mind then he will live a fulfilling life. Society should not determine what “fulfilling” means, society should not determine what someone needs in order to be happy, it’s something individuals should determine on their own without social influence. I only see one rule that everyone should follow – be good to each other. Like Dr. Amit Goswami, Ph.D (The Quantum Activist) said “do good, be good. Do, be, do, be, do!”

Some of the most intelligent people in the world are the most socially awkward or antisocial people. Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison just to name two. Had Edison spent more time socializing with the outside world than he did obsessing in his lab life would have been much more different but not better. The same goes for Einstein.

We need diversity. We need antisocial people who live in their heads and obsess over science. We need people who are happy flipping burgers, working at a convent store, washing cars, and driving garbage trucks. Not all of us need or should be successful entrepreneurs and business people. Society needs balance not universal conformity. Lets stop focusing on money and power and start focusing on love and acceptance. And lets stop chastising antisocial behavior, it dilutes creativity necessary for innovation. Thank you.”

This is an extremely interesting article. I think this has bigger social & life implications then one may think:

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

Perception. Key word I think. Makes me think about just life in general and family life and our interactions. Also how we interact with others in life, for instance what makes us put up with or tolerate more from say a complete stranger in say a work or life situation, versus how we interact with family for instance? Take some real time to ponder this.

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Bell

This website is a personal blog. There isn’t much here that is useful to many. I have posted a couple of things here that have gotten quite the response via comments and some attention at some rather large companies. Some of the attention has been good and some bad. Mostly good though so I’m proud of that.

SOPA / PIPA has the potential to kill this blog, it could be from a blog post I’ve done or a comment left by someone.

Obviously I’m completely against SOPA/PIPA.

Here we have piece of legislation that can erode freedom of speech, among other issues, comes straight from the big corporations and lobbyists such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) who bought OUR politicians off to support this with no regard for true public comment or sentiment.

This bill is to solely protect the interests of greedy corporations and has gotten where it is due to greedy politicians. Absolutely no democracy at work here.

But it would appear that the people have and are speaking out. Finally taking a stand and united front on a cause. This I would say is democracy in action and now only time will tell if the voice of the people can win out over the pocketbooks of the corporations.

I beg you to please don’t stop calling your Senators and Congressmen and voice your opposition to this bill. The calls take just a couple of minutes but means so much.

You can find your Senator or Congressman here:

http://www.stopthewall.us/

If you live in Louisiana and have not already done so, please call the offices of Senators Landrieu (202-224-5824) and Vitter (202-224-4623) and (for the Lafayette area) Representative Boustany (202-225-2031) and tell them to vote NO on these bills!

You can also sign Google’s online petition here: http://www.google.com/landing/takeaction

Making a list of the ham radio contests I’m hoping / planning to participate in this year:

Jan 7-8 RTTY Roundup
March 3-4 International DX Contest – Phone
April 15 Rookie Roundup – SSB
June 23-24 Field Day
August 19 Rookie Roundup – RTTY
November 17-19 November Sweepstakes, Phone

Please share with me any others you think I might be interested in.

Ok well I think I’m ready for my very first real contest. ARRL RTTY Roundup! I’m going to really give a true go at it. I don’t expect much, but I’m hoping to really make some serious contacts. Don’t think a small dipole, single op is gong to compete with te big boys but I plan to have fun none the less.

I have worked on getting my MMTTY and N1MM configured and seems to be working. I have messed around with and tweaked some macros based on suggestions from http://rttycontesting.com and I’ve been reading both the RTTYContesting.com pages as well as AA5AU’s site at http://www.aa5au.com/hamradio/hamradio.html

Apparently AA5AU is a pretty big RTTY contester and seems to live pretty case by here in LA. Also paid a recent visit to my friend Charles KI5XP who lives just a few blocks away and discovered he was once pretty involved in RTTY competitions and has a lot of plaques from contests he won. He gave me some tips also that I’m going to give a shot and see how that helps.

My goal is simply to see what I can accomplish and how my setup works out. Hopefully I can actually have a real chance to win an award at the ARRL RTTY Rookie Roundup on August 19, 2012

Time to have some fun!