One of my favorite “toys” died Saturday. A mysterious death: the power would not cycle on for my (formerly) reliable Heathkit SB-220 linear amplifier. Dead as the proverbial door nail. Things like this usually happen when I’m planning something not in agreement with Universe. Specifically, the Major and I had penciled in a 75-meter ham radio … Read More
We always pay close attention when BIG (>7.0) earthquakes take place. The latest down off New Zealand today: Event type: Earthquake Region: Kermadec Islands, New Zealand Geographic coordinates: 29.747S, 177.224W Magnitude: 7.8 REVISED 8.1 Depth: 10 km Universal Time (UTC): 4 Mar 2021 19:28:30 Time near the Epicenter: 5 Mar 2021 08:28:30 Local standard time … Read More
It was time to take a walk around the yard Saturday. Besides the obvious (put in seeds, lay out bug killers and a round of weed n feed) there were a number of “signage” projects that showed as needing work. Visual Cueing Theory When comes to designing a space, you will have a progressively cooler – … Read More
There is an old saying – beneficially learned growing up in a racially homogenous community – among Chinese: Crisis is often accompanied by opportunity. In fact, though I don’t remember the characters for it, they are similar. Now, in the wake of the BlizTex21, is a good time to remember this linkage. There are steps … Read More
My first foray into the Frozen South results in several “life in the Outback” notes. Solar panels had to be re=swept – remove overnight frost. Daily here shortly. Computer 2 is on charge. Big energy bank is 23.8V. Only spot freezing in food storage (mushroom soup cans 31.7F…) No broken water anywhere (waiting for the … Read More
Super short this morning because Elaine and I are short of power. No matter how much contingency planning you do, a high of 8 F and chills well below zero – are not the kind of thing you normally plan for. Here’=’s the national picture and this snap of all the cold parts will ove … Read More
Sure – this site is about finance. Dispensing with that: Bitcoin is still absurd ($47.5K ea.) and the stock and bond markets in the U.S. are closed in honor of my upcoming 72nd birthday Presidents Day. Markets are open elsewhere in the world: Europe was up modestly earlier. And Japan was up almost 2% to … Read More
Since I’m updating my book “How to Live on $10,000 a Year – Or Less…” over on the Peoplenomics side of the house (free there, update will be $4-bucks here when done), this whole matter of America’s Assinine Auto Addiction (quadruple A) was my focus Saturday. Cars as Investments Pappy always taught that cars were … Read More
With 72 ahead for me in a few short weeks, and with Elaine tuning up for hip surgeries, we continue to enjoy all the adventures we can in life. But life is indeed changing and all around us. Especially in the Shop. I’ve told you before about my concerns with America becoming a third-rate place … Read More
Send some of them ‘hot air politicians’ out, pronto! We wanna show ’em why even in sunny East Texas, there’s a reason why solar is not the sole answer to climate and powering fleets of cars…can you figure it out without help? Next up, repair of an MFJ-989C antenna tuner (long lead turns counter belt … Read More
Instrument Check! Takes me back to my flying days. Checklists Galore! And they work great for keeping a lot of variables arranged for safe travel into an uncertain future. Checklists facilitate something called RKA. We don’t talk about it much here (*more on the Peoplenomics subscriber site). It means Rapid Knowledge Acquisition. When you couple … Read More
Yes, Better BBQ! I promised a while back that I would write a review as soon as we got the new infrared BBQ rolling and I got some steaks under my belt. (By the look of it, there’s a lot more than one there, already!) As you can see, the Master Chef snapped this after … Read More
Around the ranch Sunday: Fall weather arrives. And that’s when prepping and ham radio projects come into view!