W7YV Ham Radio

Both MGM and the movie-going public picked up on Smith's flair for comedy, and he was given his own series, Pete Smith Specialties; he produced and narrated 150 short subjects for MGM from the 1930s to 1955. This is one of them. By today's Facebook standards, it is a bit corny. But, I liked it. Your mileage may vary.  

On this 4th of July, I've spent time studying Laird's Applejack and how important this spirit was to the American Revolution. Some troops, especially, in New Jersey, were paid in the currency of Applejack. Applejack is a blend of 50% apple brandy and 50% neutral whiskey. The reason this post is made here is my discovery of the cocktail called the "Marconi Wireless." Here is the recipe: 2 oz Applejack (or calvados) 1 oz Sweet vermouth 2 ds Orange bitters  Stir, Straight Up Enjoy! REFERENCES: http://leftcoastbonvivant.blogspot.com/2010/07/patriotic-libations-applejack-and.html http://www.mybrilliantmistakes.com/tag/applejack/ http://tastylibations.com/2009/01/applejack/ http://imbibemagazine.com/Elements-Applejack

Why notable? This is the first real "rag chew" QSO. It was challenging, interesting, and rewarding all at the same time. Details:  06/13/13 0400Z 7046 KHz CW (using Kent Twin Paddl e) Charles was calling CW and I bit. Nice QSO. He was using a Chinese Army K5 key with a modified soft spring from a local hardware store. For a straight key, his fist was very stable and easily copied. We discussed magnetic keys and I had to admit ignorance on my part but said that I felt magnetic keys might be very efficient. IDEA: Go try one! In any event, Charles and I chewed the rag for forty minutes. That is quite long for me and I appreciate the chance to do that -- to let my hair down as it were! In any case, TNX to Charles - a FB QSO.

Tonight, I attended a local ham radio meeting. At one point, I commented that I used Linux rather than Windows in my daily operations. A comment was made that went something like "Yes, it is free, for the stuff you get free." .... or something like that. I interpreted the comment as implying that, to really get anything of value, you needed to pay $. In my usual curmudgeon way, I said, "Not true, my crusty OM!" I run Ubuntu Linux and have made a vow to shy away from commercial operating systems that I have to pay $ to use. In the last few months, I've discovered ( http://www.libreoffice.org/ ), an open source free application that rivals Microsoft Office. I knew it had the equivalent of Microsoft Word but, later, discovered that it has Microsoft Excel. But, what really blew me away was that it, also, has the equivalent of Microsoft PowerPoint!!!!!!!! Being the paranoid prepper anti-government anarchist that I am, I like to be "off-the-grid" as much as...

This video made me chuckle but, if you can get past that, this series has some really good advice.

REFERENCES: http://archive.org/details/gov.dod.dimoc.23735