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N5VLZ > ALL 30.07.24 06:32l 267 Lines 8539 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 9488_NS2B
Read: GUEST
Subj: PCL NET SCRIBE JULY 29 2024
Path: IZ3LSV<DB0ERF<DK0WUE<DK0WUE<VK5RSV<VK2RZ<W0ARP<N9PMO<NS2B
Sent: 240730/0527Z 9488@NS2B.#WNY.NY.USA.NOAM BPQ6.0.24
PCL NET SCRIBE JULY 29 2024
N5VLZ, Daryl, Arkansas (Net Control/Scribe)
K1MAL, Chris, Connecticut (First Time Checkin)
NS2B, Bob, New York (Backup Net Control/Sysop)
KF5TVG, Bob, Oklahoma
KX4AC, Carl, Florida
**
N5VLZ:
First, welcome to Chris, K1MAL, a first
time checkin. Chris, I'll get to you
shortly.
Hard to believe that next week, it'll be
August, which means our next net holiday
is September 2, which is also Labor Day.
At least the kids will soon be going back
to school, instead of running around the
neighborhood, creating a ruckus, which
destroys my nap time during the day. And,
speaking of trying to catch up on sleep,
I'm going in for that sleep study tomorrow
afternoon, but it may be a waste of time.
I know I have severe sleep apnea, but I
can't sleep on my back, and with being on
Lasix, I might as well sleep in the
bathroom, and that is not my pee-rogative
(hi hi). I can't get that Inspire CPAP,
as my BMI is way too high, but I'm afraid
to use the unit when thunderstorms are
around, for possible electrocution from a
lightning hit. Having suffered 2 indirect
lightning strikes in my life, I don't want
the third time to be the fatal charm; but,
I carry no electrical charge, and can be
handled safely (hi hi). But, I have severe
nervous system damage as a result.
My lawn guy is coming by Thursday to mow
the yard, and trim the bushes...that will
cost me nearly $200, then I have to again
get the lawn mowed twice more this month,
so I'll have spent nearly $400 on yard work
for August (getting it done every 2 weeks,
for all the rain we've had lately), then I
have to pay nearly $300 for the house
insurance. That is over half of what I get
on disability, which leaves less than $700
for food, utilities, transportation, medical,
and other bills. No wonder I'm on a diet of
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches only. That
is not very good being a heart patient, but
I have no choice. If I didn't need the meds
so much, I'd just eat one meal a day, and
sleep the rest of the time, after the ham
radio nets. The thing is, if I moved to an
assisted living facility, all of my hobbies
and my cellphone would be gone, and I'd lose
the will to live really quick...never mind
folks wouldn't know whether I was dead or
alive. I'm busier than I was when I was
married, but some days, it gets very lonely.
At least we are not dry as a tinderbox here,
dealing with wildfires, but the rapidly
growing grass is a pain to deal with.
The extreme heat is back, and August is our
hottest part of the year. The tropics are
heating up with activity, but I'm glad I'm
not along the Gulf or Atlantic Coast. I'll
be so glad when the colder weather arrives.
As crazy as the spring and summer have been,
I'll bet this winter will be a doozy. I'm
in desperate need of a shave and a haircut,
and it'll be more than 2 bits (50 cents)...
actually about 100 times more ($50) with
the gratuity...as I get a trim of the beard
and moustache, the hair, then a good shampoo.
The West Little Rock Great Clips has always
done me good...however, I have to get a ride
via Lyft to/from there, so that adds to the
cost. With a shortage of Lyft drivers, a
round trip can run $70, and I don't have
that kind of money.
Speaking of money, or the lack thereof, I
still have to find an economical probate
attorney to handle my brother's things
after his suicide 4 weeks ago now. One of
his ex-wives is taking over paying of the
bills, cleaning it up, etc., and since she
took such good care of him after the freak
motorcycle wreck that nearly killed him 17
years ago, I have no problem with her doing
it. If she gets any money from a yard sale
from stuff she didn't want, I'll be very
surprised...but I'm not expecting much, if
any. I did send a fellow ham in Iowa an
extra ThumbDV USB stick that one could use
with the BlueDV program, to do D-Star, DMR,
Fusion, and NXDN...and he sent me a check
for $150 to cover the cost of it, and the
priority postage. I'm waiting for him to
tell me he's ready for help with setup.
With hams being frugal cheapskates, we do
whatever we can to get on the air in an
economical way...considering the price of
rigs nowadays!!
I was up much of Sunday night to prepare
and release a square dance publication,
one of my other hobbies, as I'm the Editor.
Now, I don't have to mess with that again
until mid-August. I may have to update the
website sooner, but that's a bit easier.
**
K1MAL:
Thanks, my week so far has been fine. Nice
weather now in the low 70s. A nice change
from the last week of 90s and high humidity.
Been playing with System Fusion a little
bit and Wires-X now that the club got a
new DX-2 Yaesu repeater.
**
NS2B:
GE All.
A rather uneventful week radio wise. The
last cables I needed for my portable Xiegu
G90 FT8 station arrived today, so maybe in
the next day or 2, I'll set it up in the
yard, and see what I can do with it. The
plan is to use it for a POTA activation
maybe.
In other news, got my driveway sealed a
couple days ago - it always looks nice
freshly sealed.
The tomatoes are about to be productive -
lots of green tomatoes on now.
**
KF5TVG:
GE Daryl and all on the net!
Ham Holiday (hamfest in Oklahoma City)
was over the weekend. 3 of my buddies
from the Tulsa area came over for it,
and I had lunch with them. When we got
back to the hamfest, we were joking
about who was going to win the grand
prize. I told them I knew I wasn't
going to win anything... then 15 minutes
later they called my name for one of the
hourly prizes. It was a little Yaesu
FT4X and a $50 gift card from ARRL. So,
not the grand prize, but much better
than my expectation. I just bought a
few trinkets, nothing big. Maybe next
year there will be something I can't
live without. Hi Hi.
**
KX4AC:
GE All,
Well, my birthday was last week (the
23rd), so I took a week's vacation. I
did not go anywhere, just kicked around
the apartment. I got a nice new fountain
pen for my birthday ... a replica of the
one Sean Connery used to squirt ink in
the face of the Nazi in the holy grail
movie. So, I am all set if Nazis show
up :-) I also picket up a Btech UX 5x3
... a nice little sub $100 HT. It seems
pretty good. Not digital, but it does
include the 1.25m band, which I like ...
not too many radios have that. There is
not too much activity on 222, but a
little, so it is nice to have. Besides
that, I saw both the new Inside Out and
Minions movies. Cute nuttiness, about
what you would expect.
This week, the National Weather Service
is running "Florida Tropical Training"
week. A one-hour presentation each
night Monday through Thursday. We had
the first one just before this net.
Then, the local club is having an
emergency drill on Saturday. So, it
looks to be a busy week.
Yes, I did get that steak. I went to
Outback Steak House, and had a
center-cut sirloin with baked potato,
salad, and their nice brown bread.
It made for a nice birthday.
Next week I will send an early checkin
because it is PCARS club meeting night.
**
Replies from N5VLZ:
Chris, we're glad to have you with us.
We're here every Monday, except during
the weeks of Easter, Memorial Day,
Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, and New Years. FB on System
Fusion and Wires-X with the club's DX-2
Yaesu Repeater.
Bob (NY), FB on the FT8 cables, the
sealed driveway, and the tomatoes. You
have got me craving a BLT now (hi hi).
Bob (OK), FB on Ham Holiday. Winning the
gear reminds me of the deal I had at the
Shreveport hamfest several years ago. I
was about to buy this HT from Richard
Lenoir, KI5DX, from Main Trading out of
Paris, Texas...when they called my name
from the front...I had won the rig I was
going to buy!! Richard growled "You've
got to quit giving away radios" (hi hi).
I went to Ham Holiday several years ago,
and got to meet Tim Duffy, K3LR, Bob
Heil, K9EID (now a SK), and several
others.
Carl, glad you had a Happy Birthday.
We'll pause 3 minutes for drooling on
your birthday meal (hi hi). Your comment
on "the Nazi's" reminded me of the segment
from "The Blues Brothers" movie, where
they chased the Nazis off the park bridge
into the lake. FB on the 222 Mhz HT...in
some parts of the country, it's busy, but
not so much elsewhere. As for the tropics,
you may have to worry about "Debby" in a
few days. No problem with the early email
message checkin next week...enjoy the
meeting!!
**
Daryl, N5VLZ, Little Rock, Arkansas
Please see my QRZ bio for more info.
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