Ok, so I admit that last night wasn’t the kind of geeking out that most hams dream of. I didn’t contact a ham in a far-off-place, nor did I participate via HF in a search and rescue operation in the Grand Tetons.

It was fun, though!

N8MIQ (Karl) and I were playing around with the PSK31 digital mode on 2m SSB last night. He lives about 15 miles away. He had his rig set at ONE watt, and I had mine at it’s lowest setting of 5 watts.

We copied each other 100%, the signal floating in on the ether just fine.  Never mind that if we were working FM 2 meters, we likely wouldn’t have been able to hear each other.  I sent him a link to Ham Radio Deluxe and to the Feld Hell Club, and we’ll likely be exploring those (and other!) modes in the very near future.

Wow - I can’t believe it’s been a week since Dylan was born, and I haven’t even posted his picture here!  I’ve posted to FaceBook, all of my friends via email…but you’d think I would keep up with my blog!!

Dylan was born on November 19 @ 1:26p.  He weighed 6 lb 15 oz, and was (and remains) in perfect health!  

Mommy & Baby are both doing well a week out, and Evan and Jessica are absolutely enamored of their new brother!

You can check out more pictures on my family photo album.

The talk radio maggots are going NUTS this morning because Congress might not pass legislation before the week’s end to fund a $700 BILLION bail out of the huge investment banks that have started to fail, putting our economy in a “crisis mode.”  

I say, “Good! Let Congress take its sweet time!  Take all the time you want…but get it RIGHT.”

I firmly believe that Congress does its absolute best work when it works slowly, ponderously, and deliberately.  Our Founding Fathers knew this, and set up checks and balances to ensure that this was the norm.  The entire Senate vs. House of Representatives structure is designed around this very purpose - work so that the peoples’ interest (represented by the possibility of relatively quick turnover in the House) is equally represented alongside those who might have more lingering political interest (as represented by the longer terms of office in the Senate).   That the two houses of Congress are having a difference of opinion about the currently-proposed plan of action is the top sign that they’re working the way they should be. 

Now, admittedly, I’m no economist.  However, neither is your average Senator or Representative.  And although they have better resources to dedicate to understanding any proposal the Government throws their way, it is still prudent to take a pause to carefully consider any move proposed to be undertaken.  In my opinion, the current situation is not one that throwing a bale of greenbacks at is going to fix.  In fact, I think that a haphazard plan might make our economic situation worse by further burdening the American taxpayer.

(PSST:  Click on the card for a larger version!)

So the Large Hadron Collider came online today, and has passed its first few tests without blowing up.  As a scientifically-minded individual, I’m amazed by the numbers of folks who are really, truly afraid that this device is going to somehow end the world.  I’m not even going to acknowledge any of these kooks with a link, but here’s a breakdown of their fears:

• The LHC will spawn off a [microscopic] black hole that will consume the Earth.
• It will create “strangelets” that will convert the Earth into a lump of dead, Strange matter.
• It will somehow create a wormhole that could open extra-dimensional doors.  (sounds a bit like Half-Life!)

What WILL happen through operation of the LHC is an expansion of our understanding of elementary particles, quantum physics, space-time, special relativity, and the conditions in which our Universe was created.  We will further our species’ knowledge and capabilities.  The LHC will take us places that Einstein and Hawking could only dream about.  

Well, isn’t this interesting? Google has decided to put the smackdown on Microsoft (and to a lesser extent to Firefox) by launching their own open-source browser, called Chrome

They even explain in an online comic-book why they’re doing this (to give back to the ‘net that made them, and to drive innovation - in short, to Not Be Evil), and how Chrome will be different…and better.

I’ll be downloading this today, and will post impressions later on.

I bought a real ham radio today!  Not the radio, but at least something…

My old (1994 vintage Icom Z-1A) HT was on the fritz, and I’ve been desperately seeking some way to be active…so I got myself a Yaesu FT-2800M 2-meter FM mobile.

$129.95 at R & L Electronics, a decent amount of bells & whistles, and good output power - not a bad deal!