The Blizzard of '09

The weathermen started talking about it about four days before it hit (these guys really are much better than they were 20 years ago!). The forecasted track of the storm was changed several times but was always near Tulsa.

The sleet started about noon on Christmas Eve and fell for about two hours before it switched to snow. Louise and I took the grandkids to their aunt's house during the sleet and the road conditions deteriorated while we were delivering them! We had wind gusts to about 40mph and, later in the afternoon, almost had "whiteout" conditions. By the time the snow quit, we had about 6" on the ground here.

I used to think having a "White Christmas" was neat. Now I think its a Pain in the A**. Oh well, everyone did survive the Blizzard of '09!

Moral Dilemmas

Dan and Dorinda were visiting over the Holidays and they found a dog in downtown Tulsa. They brought it to our house and ran an ad on Craigs List to try to find the owner.

In the meantime, everyone fell in love with Herb (we found out his name later). He is about two years old, neutered, housebroken, and very well mannered. I had already decided that Louise and I would keep the dog if the owner wasn't found.

Dan and Dorinda made a pass through the neighborhood where they had found Herb and, sure enough, there were posters up looking for him. It was an extremely difficult decision for everyone in our family to call the number on the poster and tell them that we had their dog. In the end, though, we were glad we did and I'm sure Herb's owner was glad.

The picture shows Herb licking Dan's boot with Lucy, our Granddog, looking on. It was one more event in a very memorable Christmas season.

Christmas is Coming

I'm excited! Only 11 more days and we get to have our family all together. Dan and Dorinda will get in this Saturday - that night we will have them, our grandchildren Nathan and Gabby, and possibly a couple or three granddogs staying at the house.

The weather here would lead you toward getting into the Christmas spirit. It was 50° at 7:00 a.m. this morning and by 8:00 a.m., it had dropped to the mid-30's. Nice and brisk!

I'll take a picture of the Guineas this week and post it. We are about to get them grown enough to not worry about them. Just in time too, if we are going to go off to south Texas.

Christmas Lights

Well, I finally got around to taking pictures at night of the lights on the tower. This would make a good picture for a ham radio Christmas card. If I had painted the tower flat black it would not have shown up as brightly as it did.

This is a "yucky" day. It has been drizzling and overcast all day and the temps didn't get over 46° all day.

I also took a picture of the tree inside the house and posted it just for grins.

We've got a lot of things to do to get ready for the Holidays and our upcoming trip to South Texas. If this weather stays like this, I'll be ready to go next week! My most fervent wish is that everyone has a very happy holiday season.

Running a Net

In my work, I have always had to do a great deal of public speaking. Like most other people, I would always get apprehensive before a presentation, but I got to where I could almost enjoy it.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran the two meter net for the Tulsa Amateur Radio Club for the first time and it was just like public speaking. I had some jitters but, as soon as I got started, I really enjoyed it. In fact, I was pretty proud of myself after it was over.

Well, last night was a totally different story! I still had the jitters but things only went downhill from there. The repeater I was supposed to be on didn't work and I didn't have the presence of mind to switch over to the UHF link which was also supposed to be involved. I knew something was wrong but I couldn't figure out what to do about it.

At any rate, after the equipment problem, I never could seem to regain my composure. The only good thing is that the club is not going to cut my pay! Being the eternal optimist, I'm sure I'm gonna do better next year.

Guineas

I don't know whether I've mentioned it before, but we have a new flock of guineas. Milt's fiancé, Bobbie, gave us 23 chicks and we're raising them. We've had some ups and downs but I think we are on the downhill side of the ordeal now.

Today I took them all for a walk. If you've never herded guineas before, you should give it a try! They go everywhere but where you want them to. I hadn't thought about it until just now but I should take a picture of them and post it.

Stay tuned for the exciting picture of the guineas. I know that the excitement is almost more than you can stand.

Deer Hunting

Today was a once in a lifetime deal in the deer woods. I was about to give up and go to the house when I heard a deer walking behind my stand.

I froze and, when he walked under my stand, my first reaction was that his antlers looked like a moose's. To avoid scaring him, I had to wait until he was about 30 yards beyond me. Fortunately, I got a good shot and was able to get him. He had 18 points and weighed 150 pounds.

The bad news is that the taxidermy bill is going to be considerable. He is not something that I could pass up having mounted, though. Its extremely doubtful that I will ever even see another deer like that!

Tower Christmas Tree

Well, this week I got the bright idea to decorate the new tower in the form of a Christmas tree. I made a star out of 1/2" pvc pipe and put lights around it. Then Louise and I mounted it about 35' in the air and ran a pair of light strings down from it to the ground at an angle.

When it got dark, we took a look at it and it doesn't look too bad. We will, however, turn it off and wait until the day after Thanksgiving to light it again. I may try to take a time exposure picture and post it later.

Also, tonight is my debut as a net control on one of the local 2 meter repeaters. I would tell you that I'm not nervous but I would be lying. It's kinda like getting ready to give a speech in front of 100 people; its not bad after you get started but a little scary beforehand.

Deer gun season opens Saturday and I'm looking forward to that. Unfortunately, I'm going to miss a work day at a friend's Habitat for Humanity house. This is a great program and if you get a chance to participate, I would urge you to do it.

Funerals and Nets

Louise and I went to a funeral today in Siloam Springs. Her sister's oldest daughter, Arlene, died last week at the tender age of 56. It's interesting that, although it is a very somber occasion, you still get to catch up on what all the relatives are doing.

I'm becoming very apprehensive about the TARC net Thursday night. I have agreed to run the net and I do not have a clue! It will probably last about 15 minutes and then I'll be done forever. You know, I've been through two tornadoes and a hurricane and I'm still nervous about this. Do we thrive on adrenaline or what? Why do we volunteer to do these things? Oh, well (as Stan would say) life goes on.

My biggest goal this week is to get the fifth wheel "radio ready" to go to South Texas. I've got to get both antennas mounted, hooked up and the screwdriver antenna power hooked up. Also, I'm gonna go to Tom's (KE5NCP) house and see his antenna setup.

More Tower!

After using the new tower for the evening, I'm convinced it was worth all the effort. The signals are great in all directions. Here is another view of the tower.

Success at Last!

Well, I finally got the tower project completed and the tower is standing upright. Now I can move on to other tasks. I can't believe the difference this height makes in my radio signals. In fact, I committed a faux pax as soon as I got the tower up. I ran in and turned the radio to 146.91, the Broken Arrow repeater, and made an almost instant contact.

As it turns out, the guy was in Nashville, TN, which was amazing on 2 meters. I knew I wasn't supposed to be working him off the repeater but I couldn't get loose without coming across like an a**hole. Eventually, I got off though. My apologies to all the guys listening to the 146.91 repeater.

We had a very enjoyable visit with Dorinda, our daughter-in-law, and hated to see her go back to Atlanta today. She and our son will be back for Christmas, however, so we can stand it till then.

I don't have a lot planned for this coming week. I'm gonna work on the fifth wheel trailer a little bit, getting it ready to go to South Texas in January.

Primitive Arms Season Ends

Well, today is the last day of the season and I am "naught for naught". I think Jethro on "The Beverly Hillbillies" used to use that phrase. We did have a good time, however, and I'm looking forward to regular gun season.

My goal this coming week is to get my new tower in the air. I've procrastinated too long and now is the time. I already have a battle plan and will start on it tomorrow. I'll post some pictures as I go.

I opened the barn door today to let the Guinea chicks out if they so chose. They opted not to venture out but I expect that will change in a couple of days. I have 23 of them but I think I will probably lose at least three. One is a runt, although it acts OK, another has a broken or paralyzed leg, and yet another appears to have some sort of illness. Hopefully, they will all make it but the odds are long.

I did work both Spain and the Dominican Republic today on PSK-31. I had good copies on both of them. It's always exciting to work a foreign country.

Tepees

Louise and I spent the biggest part of yesterday at the Tulsa Convention Center helping set up the stage for the General Grand Chapter meeting of the Eastern Star. At last count, there were 4116 people signed up to attend from across the United States - most of them women (no editorial comment meant here).

I helped erect a 22' tepee, two smaller tepees, and move a 6' aluminum buffalo. I must say that I have never done any of these things before. The good news is that I don't have to sit through the entire weekend attending this soirée. We have two days of primitive arms season left and I intend to spend both of them in the woods.

I did dig out my "Benjamin Franklin" costume tonight in case we decide to go out tomorrow night for Halloween. I hate to brag but I make a pretty good Benjamin Franklin.

Hunting Results

Well, we've been black powder hunting for three days now and haven't done any good at all. I did see two does on Saturday morning but they were off in the bush and I didn't take a shot at them. Saturday was the best day, weatherwise, with a temp of about 38F, a light frost, and NO wind. This morning there was so much wind that you could hardly stay in the tree.

We're gonna go again in the morning and then take a break Wednesday.

I've still got to get busy and get that tower up in the air. Maybe I can work on that next week. How's that for procrastination?

Deer Hunting

Well, tomorrow is the beginning of the 9-day primitive arms season in Oklahoma and I'm gonna be out there among 'em.

Usually, we are sweating like turks during the black powder season but this year is going to be kind of nippy. The low tomorrow morning is supposed to be about 38 degrees F. If the wind isn't blowing, I'll be OK.

I'm looking forward to some fresh venison. Hopefully, I'll have some luck!

Trout Fishing

We just returned from a fishing trip to Branson where we absolutely slayed the trout. We went with two other couples, one from Mannford and one from Denver, CO. Charles, who lives in Denver, has stomach cancer, and we were glad to be able to spend a couple of days with him and his wife.

The highlight of the trip was the 2 1/2 pound brown trout I caught just before we had to quit fishing yesterday. He sure was a pretty thing but was not anywhere being a keeper up there. On Lake Taneycomo, the minimum length for browns is 20".

Now its time to start thinking about deer hunting - the primitive arms season starts Saturday and I plan to be out there "among em".

Our 1946 Chevy Cabover

If you have received a QSL card from me with a picture of our '46 on it, here is a little bit of information on it.

When my son (who is now 33) was about 16, we decided to build this truck. The plan was that he would drive it to school during his senior year in high school. Optimism is a wonderful thing but we did finally get it completed about three years late!

The sheet metal on this hot rod is all stock; the chassis is a '77 Chevy pickup, and the engine is a 350 GM crate motor. It is not fast at all but it is unique. We named it "Butt Ugly" and even have a license plate which says that.

We used to take it to a bunch of car shows but we seldom do that anymore. We do have a lot of fun cruising around in it, though.

Lack of Discipline

It sounds easy enough - I'm gonna have a blog and post to it at least every couple of days. Well, if you look at the dates on this blog, its obvious that you have to be disciplined to keep up with it.

Well, I'm not a very disciplined person so it may be a long time between posts. As Stan would say, "Oh, Well!".

Visitors from Atlanta

My son and daughter-in-law just arrived yesterday from Atlanta. She had eye surgery this morning and is doing well. They were fortunate to get out of Atlanta. Their apartment there was flooded and they lost a few things. They were in the process of moving out to a house and had most of their possessions already moved.

I haven't been able to work on the tower any. I'm hopeful that I can get started back on that next week. I went to court last night because of the ticket I had received but the judge took mercy on me and let me off with a tongue-lashing (very mild).

Concussions and Other Injuries

I took the little D3 over to a friend's house today and was pushing some trees down in his pasture when a limb reached inside the operator's compartment and "whacked" me. I was bleeding like a "stuck hog" (sorry, thats an old Oklahoma phrase) and I asked the friend who was standing there if I needed an ambulance. He replied that, no, I didn't need an ambulance, but I did need some stitches.

I got Louise to take me to the minor emergency place in Sand Springs and the doctor (who went to school with my daughter) took a look at it. He said that no, I did not need stitches, since there was some material missing from my forehead which would have made it easier to stitch up had it been there. I learned two important lessons from this:

1) Don't get whacked in the head.

2) I'm getting older when I find that the doctor went to school with my daughter.

Since my camera broke on the cruise, I won't be able to post pictures of my wound. Oh, well, it's probably just as well.

Caribbean Cruise

Well, we just returned from our cruise to the Caribbean and enjoyed it thoroughly. Louise and I and Mike and Rachel and their two children went. We hit Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, three places I had never been.

Impressions? Jamaica is a sad place; we were warned to not go downtown so we didn't. Grand Cayman is a nice clean place but very touristy. The Mexican jungle is very, very hot and humid. All in all, though, it was a great cruise. Now its back to eating like a normal person.

Projects this week? Getting the tower in the air is Number One on the list. Unless it rains a great deal, I should be able to get this done. I'm also going to start studying for my extra license.

Horse Pens

Tomorrow morning my brother, Milt, and I are going to Robbers Cave State Park to set up some horse pens. He is President of the Oklahoma Equestrian Trail Riding Association and the club bought a bunch of panels to put up at the Park.

I'm gonna take the tractor down and do some levelling and gravel moving for the pens. It's about a three hour drive from here to Robbers Cave so we'll probably get down there about noon.

Joplin Hamfest

I just returned from the Hamfest in Joplin, MO. I rode up there yesterday afternoon on the motorcycle and returned this morning.

I'm really surprised that the weather is so cool. On the way up yesterday, I began to wish that I had more clothes on. It was downright cold on that motorcycle! It didn't get any warmer this morning on the way back to Tulsa. I didn't spend a lot of money at the Hamfest but did purchase several items which I had been wanting (antenna for the HT, speaker for the desk, and a Rigrunner). I did manage to avoid buying a new radio, which surprised me a little bit.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna chill out and do nothing for a day.

Dust to Dust

I was thinking yesterday that very little has changed in what I know or what I do in the past 40 years. I jokingly stated that, 40 years ago, I was soldering PL-259's onto coax and today I'm soldering PL-259's on to coax again.

A lot has happened in my life between these two episodes but it is ironic that we return to what we have done in the past. I would be remiss if I didn't include a picture of me from 40 years ago. I'm sitting in front of a radio and amplifier that I made myself from a kit. In spite of my lack of skills, both of these units worked fine and I would love to have them back today.

One other story about this radio setup: I was living in Stillwater and, one night, I was talking on the radio to someone, I don't remember who. All of a sudden, the signal meter went beserk! I went outside and discovered that someone had walked up to my garage apartment and cut the coax to the antenna with a pair of wire cutters. Apparently, my signal was not as clean as I thought it was. As Stan would say, "Oh, Well!".

Concrete Finishing

I found out today that I am not a concrete finisher. I got by but it was not a spectacular job. My "pooter" is dragging the ground and I'm not going to do another thing today.

Tomorrow is laser surgery on the lenses I had put in when I had cataracts about five years ago. They are going to go in and "zap" the lenses to remove clouding. The opthamologist says that this is a common occurance with new lenses and that they only have to do it once. We'll see!

I spent most of last night listening to 20 and 40 meters. There were some very strong signals on and I'll spend most of the evening tonight on those frequencies as well.

Motorcycle Ride

Well, I went for the motorcycle ride yesterday, about 200 miles, but didn't make it to Wapanucka. It's probably just as well since the last time I rode through there I got a ticket. I finished up the hole for the tower and ordered the concrete. It's supposed to be delivered at 9:00 am tomorrow. According to my calculations, it should require about 3.6 cu. yds. I'll post the actuals tomorrow after the delivery.

I'm sitting here listening to the Broken Arrow Amateur Radio Club net on 146.91, being hosted tonight by Scott Haley, KD5NJR. I don't think I've heard him before but I don't listen to evening nets that much. That's one thing about ham radio; you can always find something interesting that you haven't heard before.

I'm looking forward to the Joplin Hamfest this weekend; I'm planning to ride the BMW up there on Friday and stay the night, returning to Mannford on Saturday afternoon. Next Monday, Milt, my brother, and I are going to go to Robber's Cave State Park and do some work on the corrals down there.

A Big Hole

Yesterday I accomplished most of what I set out to do, that is get the tower base ready to pour. Today being Sunday, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to call the concrete company which means that they probably won't deliver until Tuesday or Wednesday. Thats ok because I'm not in a terrible hurry anyway.

Since I don't have anything pressing today at the house, I think I'll go for a motorcycle ride. I'll take the BMW and go south to, perhaps Wapanucka, then over to Sulphur and then back to the Cromwell area. That ought to make it about a six hour loop.

Blogs vs. Facebook

I have dabbled around a little bit in Facebook but never really got into it. I've decided that blogs like this one are a lot better, at least for me, than social websites for the reason that this mode of communication doesn't carry much social pressure with it.

In Facebook, I'm always being asked to join this or play that or be this person's friend, most of which I have absolutely no interest in, probably because of my narcissistic tendencies. Or maybe I'm just a really unsociable person.

My son, Dan, and his wife, Dorinda, closed on their house in Atlanta yesterday and I'm very happy for them. They've lived in a basement flat for the past year and this will give them more room and give Dan a garage to play in. The bad news is that this means they will be in Atlanta longer than Louise and I wanted them to be. I think, however, that they really do enjoy living there.

My plans for the day include building a rebar cage for the hole I dug yesterday. By the way, the hole wound up being 4 ft. by 4 ft. by 6 ft. deep. According to my "expert" calculations, that's about 3.5 cubic yards of concrete. I'll post a picture showing it later today.

Digging Ditches

Well, today will be exciting. I'm gonna finish digging the ditch for the new antenna tower base. The hole is 4 feet square and 5 feet deep. It will take 3 1/2 yards of concrete to fill it. If I get the hole finished, I'm gonna start working on the rebar "cage" which will go into the hole.

At 63, I should be done with hard physical labor. If this wasn't for a hobby, I wouldn't be doing it! Believe it or not, I am digging the hole by hand. I'm just using the backhoe to clean out the dirt. You can't use one of these in a very small hole.

Intro

Well, I'm gonna try this and see how dedicated I am. We do a lot of different things including travel, riding motorcycles, ham radio, hunting, fishing, etc., etc.

I've never been particularly good at any one thing but I know a little bit about a whole lot of things. I admire people who dedicate their lives to one avocation (or vocation) because they are usually very good at what they do. That's just not me. As my Dad used to say (and yours may have said it too, "jack of all trades, master of none".