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Showing posts from 2006

Writing while Intoxicated

Since I can't drive, drunk or otherwise, I figured tonight was the night I do a little experimenting. Yes ladies and gentleman I am drunk and there's no telling what I'll write. F or the record I juszt had four glasses of wine during and after a nice lobster dinner. This might be a mistake but it 's not like anyonce I have just suffered through the movie "Ten th ings I hate about you" and am now onto "Runaway Bride" but I am too lazy toi change the channelLV livng

The rare stuff

A few month ago I posted a fairly exciting post about signing on from home with PSK-31.. Here's a little update for those wondering. I have 14 states , confirmed meaning I have received cards from at least 14 people in different states. For those who are wondering, I am running 15 watts which when hitting states like New Mexico isn't an easy task. Since I am using the keyboard people can definitely understand me over the air. To refresh your memory this isn't anything like IMing over the Internet, it takes a lot of patience and sifting through a lot of noise. It also is a matter of timing, a station could be could be booming in one minute and drop out just as quick, even quicker. I also en joy sending out and receiving QSL cards, which are written confirmations of the contact. Being the clever computer guy I am, I have designed my own QSL card with the Baymen's Heritage license plate and posted it on Bergenscanner.com . Getting the cards give ham's a real sense

It was a success!!

Time passes quickly!! A few weeks ago I announced there was some debate over whether or not I should read the toast for my brother and his wife . Well it went right down to the wire, literally, my uncle was on standby just in case. However after escorting the Maid of Honor down the aisle, I figured the best man speech was in the bag. Let's recap the entire two day event up to the walk down the aisle and the toast. I read on multiple websites it's not right for the best man to upstage the bride and groom so I feel like I need to mention Chris. We drove down for the rehearsal dinner the night before which had an interesting twist. Every time we go somewhere it seems something always makes us late. My family decided it was me printing out copies of the toast AND NOT the accident that backed us up four an hou r. We made it to the church to find Chris pacing out front. I quickly exited the car and made my way to the back room, to sign the marriage certificate. Chris was very relax

Black eye courtesy of Michael J. Fox

In case it hasn't been clear before I do have CerebralPalsy and if you did a serach for my name on Google or even looked through the pages of this blog you'll see while I don 't focus on the topic exclusively, I write about it when the time warran ts. It also gives me a little bit of a license to point out some misrepresentations the general public makes about folks with disabilities. I am also very harsh when people accuse my of usinjg my disability to get sympathy even thou gh I admit I do it on a very RARE OCCASION! I am also extremely critical of people who use it too often.........enter Michael J. Fox. Unlike most celeberties even before he came down with Parkison's, Fox was someone who people respected, I do too. I am saying not he is flawless nor am I idiolizing him, however he has always stayed somewhat above the fray when it came to mixing politics with fame. He's a devoted Democrat but doesn't think if you're a Republican you're going to Hell

If I wrote it I should read it

OK here's the scenario my brother made me his best man for his wedding. Two things immediately sprang into my mind, the bachelor party and the toast. Without going into too many details, I, with a lot of help from my uncle, got a group of guys out to Las Vegas. If you're wondering where's that particular entry, keep on looking because I'm sitting on it indefinitely. The second more pressing issue is the toast, not writing it but reading it out loud in front of everyone. It's my decision if I want to read it or not, but I'm getting a lot of external pressure to hand it off to my uncle. Now I have been grappling with this idea for weeks, one day I want him to read it, the next day I want to get up there on my own. Writing speeches is a lot different than writing articles because a speech is not a time to exercise my massive vocabulary or compose these complex sentences. The problem lies with the fact my relatives know how I can drag out my conversations and t

Signing on from home

Well in two of the entries in this online journal I have talked about getting on the air for Field Day which is the last weekend in June. Well after years of obstacles, Ifinally have setup a HF station at home. It consists of you guessed it, a dual band HF rig and my HP. I written about PSK-31 in two previous artciles, so I won't go into too much details aboutr that. However I will say knowing that I can jump on for a few hours during the band openings is a good thing> I even made contact from folks out in Minnesota which was a thrill and a half!! It's not always easy roping these contacts in, but it is sure rewarding when I confirm a contact. One of the extra bonuses is working "Special Event" stations where they give out special certificates when you make contact with them. It's just one of the many thrills of being a ham. After a week o f trying to get them to recognize my call, the answered. So now I have sent away for a certificate that should be here s

Project Rebirth

I had this huge essay planned about September 11th. It would start out how my dad woke me out of a sound sleep and just ordered "Turn on your TV QUICK. I would write about how I) fumbled for the remote and saw the replay of the first plane striking the tower and how I stood there in total shock like the rest of the country. Then I went where I also go when I hear of an incident of such magnitude, my police scanner where I would proceed to listen to the events unfold. Altho ugh I have to say I didn't hear the first "MAYDAY" before the towers crumbled.........I'm glad I didn't hear it. The ham radio was tuned to the two ham repeaters used in an emergency in NYC. I just listened and prayed all day long, since I knew a few people who work in the towers, most of them made it out ok, one did not. Like many Americans that day I grieved both publicly and privately. I knew people who made it out alive, I knew people who didn't make it. However on that day I ju

The Traveller

I know this summer I have neglected my writing a little, but I wil l maqke it up in one shot with a review of my travels this summer. Between two trips upto Lake George, a stint down in Atlantic City, going tp a graduation party in Connecticut, I think I can fit the definition of a "rolling stone". Well I should start by saying the job at Columbiaconcluded in Mid July leaving me with more than a little spending money. So with my second to last paychech in hand I quickly cashed it and went down to Atlantic City with Pete and Jason. They made out, I broke about even. I couldn't have had a better time The first trip upto Lake George was a bit shaky because it was Chris and Natile(have to put them together becau-se they aree getting married in November) Pete, Jen, some friends and myself. It got really interesting when one of Chris's friends, despite my warnings, setup a tent right in front of the townhouse. I) objected but it took s omeone else from th e homeowners a

When TV commercials are really bad

Thi=s post could only be written after midnight during a week in the summer. I won't label myself a complete "couch potato" because most of the time when I'm home I watch TV while doing something else, like writing or chatting with friends online. However I have seen the same damn commercials for Geico and it is driving me nuts. Ok you have to see the one wit h t he stupid lizard, that's baD enough. T:hen to make matters worse then have G eico commercials of celebeties talking about this stupid lizard. I doubt they are paid a lot of money, and even i0f they are, is their self-esteem really that low?" There was a TV commercial Hummer came out with that got my dad's blood boiling, this time I could sympathize. In the beginning of t he commercial, it had kids building soapbox racecars. Then it shows them lined up to race with one car bigger than the rest, obviously representing the Hummer. The race starts and you see all of the soapbox cars racing along w

Let's see what happens

During my daily cruise around Woodcliff Lake I bumped into Paul Arsonsohn, the Democratic Canidate for Congress running against current Congressman Scott Garrett up for reelection. We shook hands and I did my typical push against medical malpractice damage caps. Then he asked me to drop him a note and maybe we'll see each other again so here's the note stayed tuned for the reply: Mr. Aronsohn, We spoke briefly during your walking tour of Woodcliff Lake this afternoon and I wanted to follow-up on our conversation. My first impressions aren't my strong point and I do tend to ramble. So I appreciated you taking a few moments from your campaigning to chat with me regarding medical malpractice and disability issues. Before I get into the heart of my e-mail let me briefly tell you a little about myself. I have lived in this town with my parents and two younger brothers all of my life. As you might have figured, I was born with Cerebral Palsy, caused by a severe lack of judge on

It would have been nice

One of the most common themes of this blog is travel. Either before, during or after a trip, I usually jot a few thoughts down. I could have been the trip to Tennessee,which required multiple enteries or a trip upto the winery, where one was more than enough. Travel is very important to write about because it helps me remember the good times. So writing a trip NOT taken seems to be a little "off" but stick with me! I have mentioned before that I have been collecting license plates for awhile, eleven years to be exact. I mentioned the club I belong to has a convention every year where we gather to trade plates and stories. Well this year the Convention is goinng on right now in sunny California! I almost had my folks flying with me out there, but "life happens". While I am disappointed I am not rubbing elbows with some of my friends. However that is the way it goes when you can't drive or even cut your own food. Collectors say the convention is a lot more than t

Canadians v. Americans

This is the transcript of the actual radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations 10-10-95. Canadians: Please divert your course 15 degrees the South to avoid a collision. Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees the North to avoid a collision. Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision. Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship.I say again, divert your course. Canadians: No. I say again, you divert your course. Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, I SAY AGAIN, THAT'S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH,

Field Day Fingering 2006--aka N2SE back on the air Part I

Ok if you didn' t read last year's post regarding the Amateur Radio Field day go back and take a peek ! Even though this wasn't my first Field Day, it certainly was the best because not only did I use my own radio, I got to actually stay up during the entire event instead of going home when the bands just starting to heat up. Over the past year I became real close friends with the 10-70's VP, Isaac,NJ3C, he's gotten me to the meetings this year ands has really helped me setup my base station right, though I'm STILL not finished! Anyway Isaac,NJ3C, knew this year he was going to try to get me to stay overnight, it's not like we sleep that much anyway!! So anyway I had my radio and arranged for a laptop, "borrowed" a table that was in the lodge and patiently waited as Paul,KC2CJW, built my station. Paul and Issac had an unspoken deal, Isaac would get me up there, and Paul would set me up. Well after a handful of tying different laptops to see if they

Solve one problem with another

On a news website, one that is truly independent, two stories caught my eye. One was about Bush's "domestic spying program" and another was about how there need to be a crack down on illegal immigration. Both deserve all the attention possible as they do affect everyone in the country. I often remarked how ironic it was that the government is tryi ng to make it harder for us to keep an eye on them (i.e. more and more encrypted radio systems) while making it easier for them to spy on us (i.e. the Patriot Act). I am also up in arms on how some groups often go after these major corporations for breaking laws and then give individuals a pass when they enter the country illegally. By now you are asking yourself how am I goingf to connect these two totally different issues t ogether? The answer is simple, only put people living here less than five years under surviellance. I don't mean be secretive about it, I want the government to be very open and direct about this polic

Right Place, Right Time

The phone rang at about 9:00am and I hear my dad say one minute and walk up stairs. I automatically assumed it was for my mom, then the foot steps grew louder. "Justin, phone call", he said partly annoyed because he had to walk up stairs. Who could be calling me on a Sunday m morming? Jeff was in Connecticut, Sean never calls unexpectedly. It was Larry on the other end of the phone. Larry is another fire and scanner buff who takes me to some of the wet downs and parades, he was in Mahwah for work and wanted to know if I wanted to go to the Newark Fire Munster. I moaned yes and as soon as I put the phone down I hopped, more like stumbled, into the tub and raced to get ready! He pulled up, we packed the walker up and left. We got there and the trucks were just starting to pull into the lot, kind of like an antique car show, but strictly fire apparatus. It was definitely OK by me!1 The lead truck was the Newark FD antique Mac truck. The license plate read Q/Q WTC343, a dedica

The DJ should be hanged

Did you hear about this? There's a DJ out there who said over the air he'd rape another DJ's daughter. Put aside the fact the police should have hauled his ass off right after his broadcast, if I) were that child's father I would have shown up at the guys house with a few of my closet friends and three feet o-f rope. Seriously folks we have all said violence doesn't sovle anything. However I really think the threat of violence does have it's place, especially when it comes to protecting children. "We all have heard it befor about the child rapists that get something like five years in prison. Give me a break. This is the perfect reason to take justice into our own hands sometimes, don't label me as an anarchist! I still believe in justice and the courts system, however like I have said before, the times are changing. It has become harder and harder to keep these guys locked up!

Exlpain this to me

Alright if you haven't heard about the "Duke rape c ase" you are living in a bubble, but here's a recap. Lacrosse players from Duke University down in North Carolina hired a stripper for a party. She claims she was raped, innocent until proven guilty remember? I am not going to give my opinion of the case, there are too many people doing that right now. I can't really comment on the accused because they aren't really doing anything different than anyone else accused of rape. They're denying it, allowing their lawyers do the talking and hanging low.; Anybody with half a brain that position would respond the same way. When something like this comes up in the news, no matter what t he outcome, I always think there is something missing. That's the problem when tragedies like this happen, all anyone does is repeat the same thing in fifty million different ways. All the reports ask the same questions in fifty million different variations. Bottom line is unt

Writing from the road--almost

When I first got into Dover and saw that I would have access to the Internet from Jane's house writing seemed like one of the main things I wouldf do while I was down there. Well my goials wher edrastically cut short. Even thought at the time it didn't seem like we were doing a lot, Jane and I managed short trips out every day. For those keeping track, we didn't go into Nashville except to go to and from the airport. Jane said Dover was more important and I had a great time! Oh yes I say this to everyone, "I went to Paris!", Paris Tennesse. Al-right I confess I didn't know about it either until I got there but they did indeed have a replica of the Effiel Tower and no you can't climb it. We ate out alot and I even tried fried catfish, which for the record didn' t kill me, yet! I'll never forget where exactly Jane lives, on the banks of a river. Of course the steamboats floating up and down the river helped also but you get the idea. She lives in

Made it in one piece

Well hello from beautiful Dover Tennessee! Yes indeed ladies and gentlmen I am officially here at Jane's house typing this entry on her computer. The table's a bit shaky so I won't write a lot but I figured I pop on here in case anyone is wondering how I did on the plane. It was great although I didn't get to use the free drink coupon Jeff gave me, they don't serve alcohol at 10 am. Although I certainly made up for it later last night!! J(ust kidding. Anyway Well I accomplished one of my major goals I set out went I decided to go on this trip. Jane took me to a bluegrass competition yesterday and I got to hear parts of "Dueling Banjos" LIVE! Alright it was almost certain I would hear the fimilar Southern tune sometime during the week, but I never imagined it would be on the first day here!

Tennesse here I come

Just when I thought it was never coming here I sit six days until my plane departs. My friendx Jane's roling out the red carpet. The best part-- this is yet another trip I am conquering all by myself!! It just hasn't felt "real" to me but now I have the confirmati0on for my airline tickets in my possesion and mom's reviewing of what clothes I'm bringing down with me, this is as real as it gets!! This trip is also taking some major prep work, last Saturay I went to the DMV to renew my photo id. For those out there who care, I am actually proud of myt picture. Now that the new ids are digital, you actually can preview the pictures which give a chance to review the mug shot. Jane and I met in Washington while we were doing the medical malpractic lobbying. Over the serious of three day trips Jane and got a chance to talk. We both discovered each other's gift for writing and the friendship grew. She is a strong lady, no wonder my mother likes her. I learned

A grown-up Birthday party

OK so birthdays have always been a bit bitter sweet for the old Jayman, bu t there have been some highlights. I'll start with this one because it was a "guy birthday", meaning all my guys friends took me out to Hooters over there in Paramus for beers and wings. I picked it for the girls but my birthdays have been known to have a hint of nostalgia behind them. My grandfather built the Howard Johnson's resturant that now houses Hooters, s ee I'm n ot quite turning into a "dirty old man". I wish I had in in the original resturant, bu t this was better"!' I was surrounded by three friends, my brother, his friends and plenty of "eye-candy". My dinner was a "JMclassic", it only consisted of buffalo wings and ice cold beer. For those out there wh o know me, yo-u know how much I love my buffalo wings! I am not a big beer fan, give me my "Jack Daniels" any day. However with a batch of spicy hot chicken wings, give me a BU

Enjoying the Arts

When you don't do something often enough, you sometimes forget how enjoyable it can be. Last night I attended Les Miserables-- A Concert Review put on by the New Jersey Choral Society, which was basically the play with just the music. As seasoned I thought I was about Broadway plays, nothing could prepare me for such a wonderful evening out. My neighbor and I sat in the autoriuml of Bergenfield High School along with abou t 100 observers as the choir belted out songs from the 100 year old play. Since it wasn't a full musical som e of the characters gave background information about the play and the French Revolution in general. Live music helped a lot, it always does in these kinds of plays, I have been to a few was they played prerecorded music and it wasn't the same. One of the neat touches was the choir dressed as well as the preformers on stage. For more information you can visit their website at http://www.njcs.org

The Old March Wind

Man it's March 2nd and the high today is 27 degreess and windy, not exactly prime conditions to take a ride in the old scooter. However I did want to do something productive with my day so I decided to jump back to a Marh day in my past! OK maybe it wasn't exactly March but it 's close enough!! When I was very little my mother hand this poem "The Old March Wind " by Jan Conder Soleging hanging up in my room. I remember it vividly because she had hand-copied the poem out of the book. So for a little chuckle I looked up the poem on the Internet and decided to post a copy on here. I don't think I could have thought of as better way to open up the month of March!! We had a tug of war today, That old March wind and I. He tried to steal the new red kite I took outdoors to fly. He huffed and puffed. I pulled and pulled And held the string so tight. That old March wind gave up at last And let me keep my kite. Jean Conder Souleging

Time to get a little wet

If you look closely at the right hand column, you'll see I have added yet another link to wetdowns.net . Actually one of my scanner buddies set to site up and I'm just keeping it up-to-date, I don't mind. Besides you're looking at a guy who loves to have his name on websites. Larry Morin is a scanner buddy who has taken me to a few of these events and we always talked about doing a site together. Sure he and I have helped on each others sites, but this is our first actual joint project. Larry builds them but is too busy to keep them updated. That's where I come in. I keep track of the datess and make sure all tfhe information is accurate! Which actually fits in nicely with my background as an archivist, seems like I was made for this kind of thing. It's very simple just fill in the blanks. OK it might not be the most exciting website on t he planet, but it does get a lot of hits and is growing. In the past I have been burned by doing websites with partners, on

Love thy "enemy"?

Ok over the weekend former Vice President Al Gore critized President Bush for basically singling but Arabs after 9/11. I don't get it, Gore has Bush on an issuesjust as important, the environment and yet he has to attack Bush where Bush is definitely still strong. He says Bush has lead abuses against Arabs, but I don't see it in the newspapers. You know ever since 9/11 there has been this overall undercurrent about the "backlash against Arabs" but there really hasn't been any widespread hate towards the Arab world. It has all been very one sided. The sad thing is nobody cares this time. While our global image isn't the greatest right now because of our stances against those who want to harm us. I worry about a lot that's going on in the world, but one thing that won't keep me up at night is how Arabs view our country nor how we view Arabs! Secondly why in the world is Al Gore defending people that hate Americans? Let's face it the majority of Arab

Pretty Cool Project

Alright I have already covered lighthouses on here and there have been times I wanted to post an article but felt it would be too boring for everyone. Although I foundthe Cape Canaveral article kind of interesting. The group is the lastest one to venture into such a massive undertaking. The entire State of Florida has always had a soft spot in me heart anyway and seeing this article brings a little tear to my eye! Alright I am overreacting as usual but it's still amazing to see the whole process unfold. Youi have to hand it to the writer of the article, he gets 100 for the title, Cape Lghthouse Goes Topless for the First Time in 100 Years. How cool is that? Give me an article to write like this and I'd be a very happy fella!! Anyway reAad the article and post a comment or two on here. http://www.blackanthem.com/scitech/military_2006020110.html

A review of the job

Alright it's been a month since I started working at Columbia Presbyterian so it's time for a little recap of how it's going! Since we last visted this topic I have been working from home using a program called Timbuktu. Basically I can control the desktop from the computer setup at Columbia from home.I jus t open a new window lo into the network, and I'm ready to roll!! Yes folks I have gone to work without taking a bath and getting dress first. Yeqah I know there are people out there who are feeling very envious right now. Especially those who have to wrestle their way into New York City at six in the morning. I still get to wake up around ten, go downstairs for a lesiurely breakfast and then come back upstairs and get to work. I pull up th e computer at Columbia and get down to business! I averange about 50-75 images a day, which is very respectable considering the connection can get caught up sometimes'. This can be a bit of a pain because I am not too quick

Fellow Ham and Writer

If you notice my links have gotten bigger, one of the links goes to a fellow ham radio operator's blog, Ed's Ramblings. Eddie Muro and I have an unique friendship, we have known each other through the Internet for the better o f fifteen years, but have never met in person. He is the one person I haven't met, bet trust completely when it comes to rad io matters. ED has written for just about every scanner radio magazine out there. From the American Scannergram to Monitoring Times, he is one of the most recognizable names in the amatuer radio and scanner writing arena. When I wrote to him about picking up my first freelancing gig a t the Pascack Press he wrote explaining how another scanner hobbyist from New York City tapped him to help out covering Long Island. He's had to deal with some of the same crap I have dealt with, stories geting butchered, not getting proper credit where credit was due. One thing about Ed is, he understands why my writing is important to me. He

Chalk one up for the little guy

I have always rooted for the underdog and when Jeff sent me this article, I just had to post it. I like mice, especially when they are in cartoons. From Jerry to Speedy Gonzales, whenever mice appear, they are portrayed as smarter than all the other characters in the cartoons! I can only imagine on how the artist might portray this particular episode! January 8, 2006 Mouse thrown into fire sets home ablaze FORT SUMNER, N.M. --A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran back to the man's house and set it on fire. Luciano Mares, 81, of Fort Sumner said he caught the mouse inside his house and wanted to get rid of it. "I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," Mares said from a motel room Saturday. Village Fire Chief Juan Chavez said the burning mouse ran to just beneath a window, and the flames spread up from there and t

New Year's Resolutions

Alright the ball has dropped and the champaign bottles are empty. Now it's time to say this is the year I am really going to change things for the b etter. We all do it wether it's trying to quit smoking, trying to lose weight or trying to improve ourselve in some way, shpe or form. I can remember a time when I said, this is just another year, but that has changed draastically. My father is reminding me he and my mother aren 't going to be around forever. A little review of my life in 2005. Well the year started out with a bang because by some stroke of luck I managed to sweet talk my brother into taking me out New Years Eve, even though I was in bed my 1 am! In Februrary my mom and I took a trip down to Washington, it was my fifth trip down in three years, hopefully one of the times I'm down there I'll actually gety to go into other building beside ones called Durksin and Heart! It's amazing to see younger kids going through what I have gone through. In other