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Sunday, December 06, 2009

Likewise, as already noted, the 10-meter band is one of my favorites. By extension, this is one of my favorite contests.

When the sunspots are really going, this band can be, 24-hours per day, a worldwide band.

Look for me around the Ten-Ten frequencies of 28.380 and 28.880, the Straight Key Century Club frequency of 28.050, and on 29.6 FM simplex.

Don't forget to check out the map at
http://vhfdx.net/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=28&Map=NA&mycall=&myloc=&freq=∝= and add your spots as appropriate.

Check out the article regarding 10 meters elsewhere on the blog.

Hope to see you on 10.

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10M QRV?

via QRZ Forums by N8CPA on 12/6/09

As 160M winds down, it's time to start thinking about the other end of HF. The 10M Contest is next weekend.

Unlike the 160M, Phone and CW may be used, locators are states and provinces, rather than sections. And all license classes now have some 10M privileges. So it presents an opportunity to all to get a taste of why contesting is so popular. And you learn a bit about the vagaries of near VHF propagation, Sporadic E, etc.

I will have a few hours to participate, from time to time, at least. And when I do, I'll be in the bottom of the band, CW only. Hope to work you there.
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/10-meters.html

Contest ravers and ragers, you know what to do! ;):D

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Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Twitter and Rural America

The Tweet says it all.

In Mangum, OK, there was a shooting during a domestic. The outcome was the shooter taking his own life.

We normally take these issues with a grain of salt. These are Big City events. They are not supposed to happen in Rural America ... on a Holiday ... on Twitter.

The Twitter got the news on Twitter, not conventional media. I even learned of this over twitter, since I was on the other side of the State.

In rural America, the use of Web 2.0 is coming around. In two zip codes, I have monitored some of the most touching expressions of life along with the threat to crime and violence. Twitter, along with being a tool for ground truth, especially in weather, can also be used as a monitoring tool, ex. gangs use Twitter to recruit so LEO can use Twitter to monitor.

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man i got more news about mangum from twitter than from tv

via near:73521 within:25mi - Twitter Search by mtdewlvr74 (Shawnna Pierro) on 11/27/09

man i got more news about mangum from twitter than from tv

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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Two Preparedness Principles: Buy Quality and Take Care

Survival Mom regularly offers tips to move people down Preparedness Lane where they can gather items for their 72-hour bag.

For years, Citizens have been saying they don't know how to build a 72-hour bag. After 30 minutes reminding folks of "It's happened before. I will happen again.", "where do I start?" is just ONE question. Even the calendar at http://altusem.us gets mixed reviews because Americans still tend to be overwhelmed by the elephant, even when shown the small bites it takes to eat it.

Sites like this help take the small bites.

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Two Preparedness Principles: Buy Quality and Take Care

via The Survival Mom by thesurvivalmom on 11/24/09

Last year about this time, our family was vacationing in Disney World. We were having the time of our lives when a depressing thought occurred to me. "This could be our last vacation here." Likewise, when I was admiring a particularly beautiful Brighton purse I own, I thought, "I might not be able to afford one of these again." Tumultuous times of unemployment, record home foreclosures, and reckless government spending don't exactly portend a prosperous future.

With this in mind, I've decided to always buy the best quality products I possibly can. In a way, it seems counter-intuitive. Our income has decreased, so shouldn't we be switching to the cheapest off-brands on the market? Not at all. Going, "cheap" is often more expensive than buying quality in the first place.

Last month I switched to Levis jeans for my son after his knees had poked their way through the eleventh pair of off-brand jeans this year. So far, the Levis, all bought on eBay, seem to be tougher than he is, and that's saying a lot! My daughter needs a pair of winter boots and found a pair she liked that was made of faux leather. The cheap materials won't keep her feet warm nor will they stand up to the wear and tear that I know she'll deliver. A pair of $19 boots that are scuffed and ruined in a month are more expensive per wear than a $50 pair that ends up being worn by two siblings and later sold at a garage sale for $10! That's the real bargain!

photo by afsilva

A partner principle to buying quality is taking care of what you own! "Oh, well. I'll just get another one!" was a common statement when something I owned was lost or broken. That's not how I think anymore. I can't think like that anymore! There is no guarantee that I'll have the extra dollars to buy a pair of replacement sunglasses. Instead, the habit of always, always putting my sunglasses in a special pocket in my purse insures they'll be there when I need them and will be far less likely to disappear. (By the way, I am notorious when it comes to losing sunglasses!)

I've been teaching my children to take care of what they own. We make sure that every Uno card makes its' way back into the box and that no puzzle pieces go missing. There are plenty of bookshelves in the house, and that's where our books belong. Not only do these extra steps insure our belongings remain in good condition, but it teaches responsibility and respect.

Whatever direction our economy and our own personal fortunes take, these two principles will never be outdated. They make too much sense to ever become obsolete.

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