what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[Gumby]

Went to church this morning, followed by lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant and a matinee showing of Captain Phillips at the movie theatre. The young wife made clay pot roasted chicken with rice and greens for dinner.

 

[Major Tom]

I am suprised how many hams are on this board.

Me too. Every now and again, someone else mentions ham radio here and I think to myself, "Wow - he's a ham too?"

(Apologies for using "he", but the overwhelming majority of hams are male. We could use a few more YL's in the hobby.)

 

[harley]

We had an exciting day. I was outside doing some woodworking, and DW came out to say hi and ended up spending a while pulling weeds. A few seconds after she went back inside she stared yelling "something's on fire!" I ran in (probably more a lumber than a run, but the best I could do) and we found out she had left some lentils on the stove. It was really smoky, but no danger. We were wondering why the smoke detectors didn't come on, but then they did. So we've got a pretty good idea of the level of smoke required to set them off. Luckily the temp was decent (mid-60s) since we had to open all the windows and doors.

So later in the evening we're sitting in the family room with the dogs watching The Walking Dead. It's the dogs' favorite show. Anyway, we're sitting there and all of the sudden there's a huge CRASH!. We jump up and wander around looking to see what happened, and there's our foyer chandelier on the floor. It's been there almost 6 years, and we seldom even turn it on. No explanation, although it looks like the little finial that screws into the nipple hanging from the box might have split. But I can't get up there (20' up) to look at the box.

So far, the rest of the evening has been pretty quiet. We'll talk to the electricians who installed it tomorrow. I suspect they'll (probably rightly) blame it on the manufacturer. But we'll need their statement before we go to the people that sold it to us. Fun, fun, fun. But at least nobody was standing under it when it fell. I can't believe some of the sconces didn't even break. It must have dropped 15 feet.

 

[HappyOutsourced]

Harley, I think your house is haunted.
(It's a very pretty house, though.)

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Took my friend for her colonoscopy.

 

[Walt34]

DW and I joined a gym that is affiliated with the nearby hospital. I noticed that other than staff at 11:00 not a soul in there was under 40, most well north of 50.

And... Oh joy, oh rapture, oh ecstasy! A local pizza place now sells gluten-free pizza!

Okay, some days I'm easy to please.

 

[Ronstar]

Yesterday was a lucky day. Bears won. Blackhawks won. And we dodged a tornado. Some high winds, hail, power outage, and today now without phone, internet and cable. But we're a lot more fortunate than a lot of people around here.

 

[W2R]

DW and I joined a gym that is affiliated with the nearby hospital. I noticed that other than staff at 11:00 not a soul in there was under 40, most well north of 50.

That's exactly like my gym, and I love it! The other members are so nice and considerate, and I can lift more weight than most of them so that helps me to feel successful. Other than old people, my gym also allows free membership for firemen. When the firemen show up I can watch some pretty inspiring physical feats.

Also, when I fainted and knocked myself out a few weeks ago, you should have seen the response! Being associated with the hospital means that they REALLY know what to do in an emergency, and they do it fast. I think the trainers may have all had paramedic training, or at least were taught what to do. I appreciate that more the older I get.

 

[braumeister]

I am suprised suprised how many hams are on this board. Maybe I will string an antenna next spring.

You and me both.
We had three trees that needed to come down this fall, so that was the end of my HF antenna.

Still thinking about what will replace it. I'm leaning toward a multi-band trap vertical, but we still have a lot of trees and my off-center fed dipole worked pretty well for me. DW is not ready for a tower and yagi.

 

[ls99]

Try a slopimg V. Cheap easy to make, fairly directional.

Oh yeah another Ham here, though not active on tha air. Too many other hobbies,

 

[braumeister]

Try a sloping V. Cheap easy to make, fairly directional.
Oh yeah another Ham here, though not active on tha air. Too many other hobbies,

That's basically what I was using.
Buckmaster OCF Dipole Antenna

I've been a ham since 1977, but far more active on VHF/UHF than HF.

 

[Walt34]

That's exactly like my gym, and I love it! The other members are so nice and considerate, and I can lift more weight than most of them so that helps me to feel successful. Other than old people, my gym also allows free membership for firemen. When the firemen show up I can watch some pretty inspiring physical feats.

Also, when I fainted and knocked myself out a few weeks ago, you should have seen the response! Being associated with the hospital means that they REALLY know what to do in an emergency, and they do it fast. I think the trainers may have all had paramedic training, or at least were taught what to do. I appreciate that more the older I get.

Both are reasons we picked that one instead of others although it costs a bit more. DW has joined several times in the past but let it lapse when things got hectic dealing with FIL's issues. Since I'm not working anymore I'm hoping that we'll get into a routine so that if/when one of us doesn't want to go the other will provide the incentive/tugging/pushing to get our collective butts in gear.

I've always done some at least moderate regular exercises but for some reason the last 18 months or so I stopped doing that and I can feel the atrophy setting in. Not good. Another incentive was reading Younger Next Year a while back. FIL was a good example of the results. Although a bit overweight he was always an avid walker - 7 miles/day in his late 70's - and it wasn't until early his early 80's that he started running into serious health issues.

And now that I've committed to paying the membership fee for a year that will be another incentive to get my nickel's worth.

 

[Rustward]

Made ~6 dozen pork tamales. I'll also try to do some chicken and beef.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

Made ~6 dozen pork tamales. I'll also try to do some chicken and beef.

Yum!

 

[RetiredAndFree]

Went on a 12 mile conditioning hike with DH as ongoing preparation for a wilderness trading class we're beginning in January, made three bean chili, attended training at our university for a web portal our Lifelong Learning program is adopting, finished out day watching the 1994 documentary "Hoop Dreams."

Today - jury duty calls. First time it's not a way to have a day off from work!

 

[HFWR]

Oh yeah another Ham here, though not active on tha air. Too many other hobbies,

I'm also a ham. Oh, you meant radio...

 

[MichaelB]

Drove down to Florida. Shorts and tees again. Uneventful, despite the bad weather. For the first time in my life I'm starting to think about how nice it would be to settle down and stay put. Hopefully it'll pass

 

[REWahoo]

Drove down to Florida. Shorts and tees again. Uneventful, despite the bad weather. For the first time in my life I'm starting to think about how nice it would be to settle down and stay put. Hopefully it'll pass

If you stay there I predict it will pass by the end of August.

 

[W2R]

Drove down to Florida. Shorts and tees again. Uneventful, despite the bad weather. For the first time in my life I'm starting to think about how nice it would be to settle down and stay put. Hopefully it'll pass

I love being settled down and staying put. There is a lot to be said for being a homebody.

 

[HFWR]

I love being settled down and staying put. There is a lot to be said for being a homebody.

Yep, homebody here. I do still have some travels on my bucket list, but I like being at home, or at least at a friend's home. Food is better, drinks are cheaper, music is usually much better.

 

[MichaelB]

I love being settled down and staying put. There is a lot to be said for being a homebody.

I get that, and am the only one of my siblings like this. It's no wonder many of my favorite songs are about moving on.

If you stay there I predict it will pass by the end of August.

A wager you will most certainly win.

 

[steelyman]

Yep, homebody here. I do still have some travels on my bucket list, but I like being at home, or at least at a friend's home. Food is better, drinks are cheaper, music is usually much better.

Me too. I'm in the middle of dismantling a 30+ year life (not easy if you're intending to really do it and not just ship all your junk from point A to point B). Estimated completion: June. I'll be gone.

Then I'll be a stay at home mom. Ignore the facts that I'm not a girl and no kids. But I will be able to drive a couple of hours and be at the shore.

 

[ls99]

I'm also a ham. Oh, you meant radio...

Funny


In other news, today I replaced the starter gear, changed oil, filters on my lawnmower. Made a final grass cut and parked the thing for the winter. With a generous dose of Stabil in the tank and carb.

 

[Major Tom]

Still thinking about what will replace it. I'm leaning toward a multi-band trap vertical, but we still have a lot of trees and my off-center fed dipole worked pretty well for me. DW is not ready for a tower and yagi.

One of the net controllers on my daily net lives on 120 acres in Eastern Oregon. He has something like 5,000 feet of wire buried in the ground, towers, the lot. The nearest municipal electric line is several miles away, so he runs his whole place from solar. His nearest neighbor is several miles away too. Needless to say, it is a fantastically quiet RF location, and he seems to be able to hear almost everyone who calls into the net. I am quite envious.

On the other hand, he has to drive 6 miles to get his mail, and 30 miles to buy groceries.

However, with the kind of RFI I have to deal with here in the city, his QTH sounds like a dream.

 

[Badger]

I went in for a skin cancer treatment (Levulan Karastick PDT - "Blue Light") for my entire face. For a little over 16 minutes it made my face feel like it was being severly burned. They blew cold air on my face during the treatment to limit the discomfort. It still feels burned after 5 hours. When it was over it looked like it was severely burned or I had the plague. I have to stay out of the sun and even strong indoor lights for 48 hours then minimum exposure to sun for a few more days. Sure hope this works. I've tried every other treatment on the market during the past 15 years with little success other than a few Mohs surgeries.

Time for a beer or three.

Cheers!