Mattes's Musings by KC2GIK

It took me a bit longer than usual to write this post but I have been busy with other "projects" so I have a good excuse, a few weeks ago, which became a little over a month, a group of hams got together at the Woodcliff Lake EOC for the January VHF contest. It wasn't the best setup, b ut when had a 2 meter, 6 meter and 440 setup, both CW and phone. The 10-70 hadn't participated i n this contest before and since I had access to the EOC, it turned out to be a windy day which was made even worse by the artic bitter cold. We setup inside the senior center which is actually a huge room, it was perfect! I helped log, snagged a few contacts myself. I even managed to make some good use out of the digital camera I got for Christmas. Below is a link to a photo gallery we set up on the 10-70 website as well as the ARRL VHF Contest Soapbox! Links: 10-70 January Contest Photo Gallery ARRL VHF Contest Soapbox

Ok you have heard it by now, these two nutcases planted "fake bombs" around Boston to promote a show on the Cartoon Network. The devices obviously caused a scare and they were arrested for causing a public scare, and a few other c harges which I don't remember or care to lookup. The question is what kind of reactions do these idiots excpect out of the public? Trufully only druggies and other idiots would think of this is funny or a joke. I think they planned the entire thing. They knew they would get caught. They knew this would be on every major network around. The court case will be broadcasted on every nework. So if I'm so against giving these guys the publicity why am I writing about them? Well there are a lot of issues that I never write about because I don't feel they are important. However I never pass up calling people complete idiots! Although now that they got their five minutes of fame, some idiots are actually going to tune into because of this stunt....

Alright for those who have been following this blog for awhile, you have known I write about my hobbies, namely license plates and radios. The editor of t he Plates Magazine has come under fire for prioritizing his articles over other contributors . He had the two major articles this time while people who had submitted material to the magazine had seemed to be overlooked. To be fair when complaints surfaced I was first to pipe in that most articles for a bi-monthly publication take a little be longer to appear. I think the people who are complaining write for a hobby and lack the knowledge of the writing business, meaning they just write whatever their heart desires. They have no real idea about why a word count is important or why one article seems to get laid out better than the next. I am not discouraging them from submitting articles to the magazines. However I don't think they read like a writer. I mean they read the articles, extract information and come away learning s...

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

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...

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...

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...