Mattes's Musings by KC2GIK

Now there was specific reason why I broke this into two entries while one would have been sufficent. Of course the main theme is collecting license plates, and a lot of that went on, the stuff that went on after t he convention hall closed was just as exciting. Wenesday is the usual Welcome Reception where everyone mingled and got caught up on the latest news outside of collecting. Since this was my fifth convention I have become accustomed to the pattern, trading during the day, the bar scene at night. This time I got to do something I have always wanted to do, have dinner with Marco, who co-hosts the Garden State Meets with me. Sure we've had dinner before but there's something about havingl dinner at a convention that's special. I also got to formally congratulate him on his engagement to Kristy. So we chatted about our meet in November and some other stuff that couldn't be one via e-mail.

\ Alright well I tried to write this e-mail three times last night and three times I hit send too early! Driving eight hours certainly home had more of an effect on me. Note to self next time listen to the little voice i your head when it says, do some swimming instead of hanging out at the bar. Although I had so much fun with John Ferguson, Tom Smith and the gang it was definitely time well spent. OK onto the big convention. I arrived Wednesday about 2PM, mom and dad in tow. We got to the convention and immediately bumped into Tim Laughlin. Well not even a hello, Tim just said "You HAVE to be Justin!" we exchanged strong hand shakes from that time on I knew this was one for the books.......and I was right By the time I got there the trading was in full swing. I entered to see Roger Haynes greet me with "Here's speedy!". I went to the registration desk and was warmly welcomed by Scott Mitchell. With his trademark military, but friendly military tone he said...

Alright since the postings have been a bit light these past few weeks I figured I would try something a bit different......a preview of the convention whichj starts tomorrow! Well this makes the fifth convention I have attended since joining ALPCA in 1994. IO know other members have made everyone since the seventies, but each convention I have tried very hard to attend, this one isn't any different. Like the title infers this gathering of ALPCA member is in Erie,PA. Erie is about a seven hour car ride, not a record for me but close. The majority of the driving will be in Pennslyvania which is kind of anti-climatic, as a matter of fact the trip is the same as a round trip upto Lake George. Something tells me my back will not be same for a few days, just in time to come home. The convention itself is three days of wall-to-wall license plates!! I don't think it's possible to visit every singhle table, but I usually cover 90% of the floor. My scooter becomes the "license...

Well the PODXS 070 club has come and gone for another year. Even though I have participated in contests ever since I got on the air, the last few times have become a bit more competitive. I have sat down and actually "worked" the contest although not continuously like I do on Field Day or the January VHF contest. Some highlights, I bagged 31 qso's, which is a pretty modest amount. Mark,N8MNI, the king of PSK made 4X as many QSO's but he's located in Ohio really to perfect spot to work all states on 20 meters. Anyway the main goal was to work a new state and I managed to get New Hampshire on 40 which is a new state for me. After the contest, the next three days were spent going over my log and converting them into HTML to be put up on Bergenscanner.com which is a bigger task than writing this soapbox! I then submitted the log into the contest manager and then composed this entry. It then occurred to me I haven't been keeping track of the 070 Members I worked ...