Subj : hamfest etc was: Eggs! To : Daryl Stout From : Nancy Backus Date : Sat Feb 15 2020 20:05:54 -=> Quoting Daryl Stout to NANCY BACKUS on 08-Feb-2020 23:26 <=- DS>> The thing is, many of the smaller hamfests are "shutting down" DS>> because they can't get attendees, vendors, or workers. Most folks order DS>> the stuff online, and have it shipped to them. There isn't even a ham DS>> radio store in Arkansas anymore. NB>> That's a shame... the camraderie is such a big part of the hobby, just NB>> as with others.... DS> It is...but it seems that only the "really big hamfests" are the DS> ones where the vendors are going...including: DS> 1) Hamvention, Xenia, Ohio (mid-May) -- originally in Dayton. DS> 2) Hamcation, Orlando, Florida (early February). DS> 3) Huntsville Hamfest, Huntsville, Alabama (mid-August). I guess it makes sense for the vendors to go where the larger gatherings are, although I'd hope that one could get somewhat local vendors for the smaller ones... And the vendors aren't really the main attraction, although I'm sure they think they are... DS>> You'd be surprised how many want to try to get something via DS>> nefarious means. NB>> No, I'm not surprised, really.... sad, though.... DS> Many kids nowadays think they're entitled to everything. Now, while DS> I lived at home when I went to college 40 years ago, it was a commuter DS> campus (no dorms back then), but I worked 40 hours a week, and put DS> myself through school. That was when tuition was $400 a semester, $100 DS> a semester for books, and a $20 parking permit for a year. Now, it's in DS> the tens of thousands of dollars, if not more. Times have changed, to be sure... but the nefarious means has been around for a long time... predating us, even... ;) NB>> Some people think they are above the law, or that it doesn't apply to NB>> them.... and sadly, quite a few seem to get away with it.... DS> I have wondered so many times "Where's a cop when you need him?". DS> Around here, I don't know why they have speed limit signs...no one DS> seems to obey them. It gives something to enforce, should the cop show up at the right time.... DS>> In emergency communications, it is. When all other regular modes DS>> fail, we can still get out. NB>> Indeed, that is a critical function you perform.... :) DS> I remember one year, we were providing communications for the Susan DS> G. Komen Race For The Cure for breast cancer research. They were DS> kidding me as Net Control, that I was going down there to oogle at all DS> the good looking women...and admittedly, there were a lot of good DS> looking women. But, any "fun" stopped, when we got a report of a woman DS> "being trampled". I thought "How are we going to get her out of DS> there??". Then, a follow-up report noted "she was suffering from DS> claustrophobia"...to which I asked "What in the world is a DS> claustrophobe doing in the midst of 40,000+ people??!!" We had a heck DS> of a time getting paramedics to her, and she had to be hospitalized for DS> a few days (she was in a bad way). Fortunately you did get the paramedics to her... and I trust she did eventually recover....? I think I'd develop claustrophobia if I were being trampled by a crowd of people in a race.... NB>> Higher standards before... :) But I understand that there's less of a NB>> need for ham operators to be quite so technically proficient now... DS> Well, for one, the technology has changed. One letter noted in the DS> current issue of QST, published by the American Radio Relay League, DS> the National Association for Amateur Radio in the United States, that DS> "the 7 last words of a ham radio group are 'we never did it that way DS> before'". For that matter, you can apply that to churches, and other DS> organizations. There's a certain amount of keeping up with technology changes, but there's also benefit in staying compatible with older technologies... DS> But, people are learning Morse Code now, because they WANT to, and DS> NOT because they HAVE to...and are discovering "it's fun"...but it can DS> get you in trouble. DS> Years ago, four old boys were sitting around a restaurant table in DS> Annapolis, Maryland, telling each other dirty jokes in CW (Continuous DS> Wave, another name for Morse Code). This drop dead gorgeous, DS> curvaceous, voluptuous female walked up to them, and sternly admonished DS> them "You boys need to watch your language. I teach CW at the Naval DS> Academy across the street", and walked out. They were as red as DS> tomatoes!! Yes, you've told that story before... :) One shouldn't assume that whatever language one is using as a "cover" won't be understood by those bystanders.... whether it's a foreign language, CW, or American Sign Language or the like... ;) NB>> So, for Amateur Extra, it's a peer-to-peer setup... :) DS> Basically. My examiner team gave one ham the Extra exam, right after DS> the pool had changed, and had been heavily modernized for "the digital DS> modes". He aced the darn thing, and one of my examiners growled "I DS> want to take him outside and beat the [daylights] out of him". Poor Sport... DS>> It gets a rest during thunderstorms, which are forecast here Monday DS>> night into Wednesday, with a threat of severe weather as well DS>> (unfortunately). NB>> Hopefully it wasn't too bad... DS> We are forecast to get at least 4 inches of rain here by the end of DS> next week, and if the heavy rain axis shifts northwest, it could be 8 DS> inches or more. The severe weather threat, for now, appears low, but DS> the flash flood threat is increasing. Always something. ttyl neb .... I feel like a fugutive from the law of averages. Bill Mauldin --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .