Mattes's Musings by KC2GIK

Yes it's the Monday after the last weekend in June, that means it's time for Field Day Fingerings 2008!! Once again I transmitted with the 10-70 Repeater Association from inside the Campgaw Ski Lodge in lovely Mahwah New Jersey. The past three years running I have been doing PSK-31, but this time with my new Yaesu FT-897. Believe me it made all the difference In the world! Like every other year Rocky had to struggle with the computer not noticing the interface right anyway but with a bit of trouble shooting I was running by the traditional 2:00 start. This year my co-pilot was Tim,KA2A (yes I love that call too. Now if we can only get him to get ham license plates) who was jumping on my station every time I got up to stretch which unfortunately was quite often. In the end though we both roped in quite a few stations. There were two major pluses this year, one I had the FT-897 so I was able to bust through some great interference and second, unlike in previous years,...

Today marks the tenth anniversary of my high school graduation......and the "unofficial end" of the Journal. I had always thought the 1998 Pascack Valley High School graduation ceremony would be the last entry but t he different big events happened, and I had to write about them. Then I started this blog which is a bit more of a relaxed format. Now I could go into the different friendshipsI had and still have o-r write about the events that made my high school year memorable, but that's in the Journal and in my autobiography. Instead I wanted t o highlight my thoughts of THAT DAY , kind of a reflection piece so here is the one journal you'll ever see on Mattes's Madness . If there any 1998 PV alumni reading this entry, PLEASE COMMENT June 26,1998 For the first time in along time I feel the urge to write! This has been a crazy couple of days that I won't soon forget. First of all, I finally got out of high school for good,that's a big accomplishment. One...

Let me preface this by saying my first HF rig bit the dust right after Field Day last year. I couldn't even usx it for Lighthouses on the Air!! So I was off HF from the end of June until a few weeks ago when Isaac visited from Germany and we hooked up my Yaseu FT-897 I bought of Mike,W2MLS, in December/. Unlike the Patcomm which is a dual band QRP rig, the FT-897 is an all-band, all-mode radio, in other words my first "real" HF rig!! So of course with this new fllexibility and a lot more power. I tried 10 meters when Isaac was here and managed to pick up a station from of all places Hillsdale,NJ which for those who don't know is the next town over. Talk about your major DX!! Although I also bagged Georgia on 10 Meters and a few guys on 30 Meters It's just something different some new. I would compare iit to fishing in different waters. My old rig I only had the two bands which is the equvilant of having two streams to troll. with this new rig, I can expl...

Well since Natalie wanted a report I figured I would kill two birds with one one stone and write something here and just drop her the l ink to this entry. We had ten days of relaxation, a little less sun then we hoped but it was great to finally see my Uncle Matt, Au nt Shannon and little Tess out there instead of them flying to New Jersey. Even though I went out with Chris a few years ago, this trip we did it all. A trip to Universal Studios, a drive upto wine country and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Mom, Dad and I flew out on a Wenesday so that gave us two days before Pete and Chuck joined us. Also Shannon was on a business trip in Germany so my folks and I spent some time with the newest edition of the family, my soon-to-be 2-year old cousin Tess. We took her to the park where I got to sznap some shot of her playing on the swings, and the slide she must have went down that slide more than a dozen times. I felt more like an uncle help her up those stairs and making her laugh I thi...

Well it's official the disgraced Elliot Spitzer finally resigned. When the news broke Monday people from both sides of the aisle called for him to= step down. Unlike the Clinton scandal the Governor did have a handful of supports, I have to question their devotion to the state of New York. Spitzer broke the law, period the end. Who would want to support the highest law enforcer who broke the law? It's just unbelievable. From what I hear the irony that Spitzer was known as a tough on crime guy is now asking for a light sentence. I don' t think that should fly. Honestly I really think they should go harder on him because he was truly leading a double life. Priding himself on being tough on corruption when it turns out he was just as corrupt as the people he prosecuted in his early career as a District Attorney and Attorney General. People can forgive lapses in judgment, but people can not and should not forgive hypocritical behavior. Just a few comments on the Lt. Governor....

I have never endorsed a canidate on here but there 'sw a first for eveything. As a self-proclaimed political junkie I have been glued to the election of 2008! Now many want to peg me as an extreme right or left winger depending on the atmosphere, but I am and alway will be an independent. I voted for John Kerry in 2004 not because I liked him, although I admmired hisa courage. My vote was against Bush and to correct a mistake that I made four years earlier. As you might have read on the Internet I was involved in the medical malpractice debate=. Since Bush was totally for the insurance companies and wanted to cap damages on medical malpractice lawsuits, I voted againat him. Kerry wasn't any bargin, but I would rather die then vote for a third party. Bush won anyway and continued to flush the country down the toilet. Now here it is the beginning of the next election cycle and with it comes a fresh set of canidates. I was originally secretly rooting for Rudy Guiliani and def...