ABC meetup

I'm a pretty private person so announcing a future 4D location (x, y, z, time) is a stretch for me.  However we are hosting the monthly ABC meetup this Saturday 2-5pm  1-5PM at Chino Bandito's takee-outee Chandler location.  Let your taste buds off the leash and give 'em a go.  ABC is a loose affiliation of Arizona Bloggers Conservative.  en Friends.  Conservative Bloggers and readers are all welcome.  Drop in and say hello!

Recommend the  two item combo which will run about $8.  Add in a soda (Pepsi products) drink and the afternoon will cost ~$10.  Beer & wine are also available.

Directions:
From the SEast valley, take the 202 W, exit Dobson North.  Turn right into the driveway past the SRP substation/just ahead of the tire shop.  Chino's is back in the knee of the driveway.

From the West  (202 Eastbound), exit Price road North.  Then Right onto Frye....
From the North (101 Southbound) exit Chandler Blvd, straight through Chandler Blvd, left on Frye....  

....Thence East on Frye, North on Dobson, right into the driveway past the SRP substation to Chino's in the back.

If you miss the driveway, turn right at Chandler Blvd, and another right past the Walgreens (2nd Driveway).   Chino's is ahead on the left.

If you've never experienced Chino's before, step to the left at the counter and identify yourself as a first timer.  There you will receive samples of their fare and they will walk you through the order process.

Update:  Corrected the meeting time 1-5PM.  Also they have free WiFi.

Grandpa's code key

While the FCC has dropped the code requirements to earn licenses, There is still a family historical interest driving me to learn.  You see my Grandfather was in the Signal Corps in WWI and this was his telegraph key:

I think he would be happy to see his key in action again by his offspring.

We don't know much about it, though it's probably at least 100 years old.   There is am 1899 date cast into the receiver(?) frame.  If anyone knows more about it, please answer in the comments (Bobbi?, anyone) or via direct email sandcastlescrolls at msn dot com.

Slant Alpha Golf

Woo Hoo!

I gave a talk to a local low power (QRP) group back in July.  In the process of hanging out with the club the SCSon learned he can get his own license.  We bought him the book and he started studying on his own.  He ran into trouble with the electronics stuff as he has had no formal instruction.   I've tried to teach him the basics but he's at an age where he won't listen to dad.

I got to thinking though about my own license.  It will expire next year and just "sitting" while he takes his exam.  Hmmm... Might as well upgrade my own ticket to General. 

So a few weeks later and I'm ready to take the exam.  He hadn't been studying but rather than let him sit I figured the $15 was worth it to get the experience with the exam format.

I mentioned I was taking the test to a couple co-workers and they all offered "Good Luck!".  I said "Thanks, but it's not a matter of luck".  Either you know the material or you don't.  There are a couple questions I just wasn't going to attempt to memorize "Which of the following frequencies are within the General class portion of the 10M band?"  Then lists three frequencies and All of the above.  I suppose I could get an exam that had enough of these "write off" questions to trip me up but I was confident.

In the end, I passed and he failed.  There's a correlation there between "I studied and he hadn't".   We are looking for a formal class for him to take.  We thought we had one, 6 Satudays and close by.  Unfortunately he's at a local community college and they won't register him because he's under 16.  FAIL!  Supposedly there are other classes that run regularly but nothing on the calendar as yet.

Suddenly I'm regretting living in an HOA neighborhood.   Even though I sleep with the HOA president, external antennas are clearly a CCR violation.  This is going to take some creativity!  Stay tuned.

*  /AG tells the world that I have passed the exam even though the exam application and results has not been processed through ARRL and posted to the usual databases.

Where's Waldo...

...with guns.

Supposedly there are guns in this sequence of pictures, but they are surprisingly difficult to spot ;-)

Seriously though, They obviously drilled the models on the four rules.  So I'll assume pic 10 is not a rule 2 violation and instead is just an artifact of camera angles.

Nicely done!

Steel Meme

I'm in... Here's my daily carry:

That's a Victorinox on the keyring.  No I don't know which model.  These take a beating in my pocket.  I'm sure I could trade it in for new under warranty but I figure it's "cost of doing business".  I'm not sure the use of the hook or the 'drill' pointing south in the picture, but the corkscrew is top notch.  I have opened many bottles with the corkscrew and it's sure fire.

The blue knife is my Smith & Wesson.  It's made in China so don't be too impressed. IIRC it was about $12 at Big 5.  Straight blade on one side, serrated on the other.  It's solid enough that it's  the first knife I reach for and cheap enough to walk away from should I accidentally walk away from it.  There have been a couple scares already and it's cheap enough I can write it off without a lot of heart burn. 

BTW, Breda broaches the subject of cheap vs inexpensive.  When it comes to knives, it's the quality of the hinge.  If the blade wobbles, it's cheap.  If it's low cost and the blade is solid, it's inexpensive!  The S&W is inexpensive, but cheap enough that I won't lose any sleep if I lose it.

I carry the S&W in favor of other knives in the harem, including  an NRA blade picked up at last year's Friends of NRA dinner and several straight blades.

What's in your pocket?

No words... just prayers

A race plane at the Reno Air Races crashed into the spectator area.  Video here at around 39 minutes (not for the squeamish).

I pray for the wounded...

2204 Update: 3 dead.  One of those is the pilot leaving two spectators.  That my friends is a miracle!  Prayer for the deceased and the families there of...

Update 9/18 2117:  The death toll has risen to 9, one was a local.  His dad is still alive but in critical condition, I pray he pulls through.  I am still thankful the accounting is so low, but I will not be surprised if it continues to climb.

Update 8/19:  now 10.  Prayers continue the toll climbs no higher.

August ePostal Results

Here are the results of the August ePostal match. As one of the competitors observed, larger bullets make the 4's easier, but the 2's harder.

Thanks to everyone and drawing winners will be notified in the next few days.

danno

	Shooter	Distance	Make	Caliber	Score
Class 1  air pistol Iron Sights
	Bea	25 ft	Crosman	0.177	10
	True Blue Sam	25 ft	Crosman	0.177	9
Class 3  Rim Fire Iron Sights
	Mr. Borland	7 yds	S&W K-22 Revolver	.22 LR	32
	Mr. Completely	21 ft	High Standard	.22 LR	18
	Thor	7 yds	Sig Mosquito	.22 LR	10
	True Blue Sam	25 ft	Ruger Single Six	.22 LR	9
	Billll	7 Yds	Ruger Mk 1	.22 LR	20
Class 5  Centerfire Pistol  Iron Sights
	Mr. Borland	7 Yds	S&W K-38 Revolver	.38 spl	27
	Mr. Completely	21 ft	Tanfoglio Gold	.22 LR	21
	Thor	7 Yds	Springfield XD	.45 auto	15
	Thor	7 Yds	Springfield XD	9 mm	14
	Billll	7 Yds	CZ-82	9mm Makarov	9
	Billll	7 Yds	Rossi 971	.357 Magnum	12
	SandCastle Queen	11 yds	Sig 225	9mm	2
Class 7 Other
	Thor	7 Yds	Baretta CX-4 Storm	9 mm	18
	Billll	20 yds	HiPoint 4095, 4x scope	.40 S&W	10
	Thor	25 yds	Baretta CX-4 Storm	9 mm	9
Class 8 null entry