WT8P's Notes to Self

In addition to all of the geocaching I planned, I also thought I’d try activating some parks. Parks on the Air (POTA) is a program inspired by the ARRL National Parks on the Air program in 2016 by Sean Kutzko (KX9X) and Norm Fusaro (W3IZ). The idea is simply “everyday is field day,” that is, you take your radio crap […]

An old piano that's been sitting outdoors for years. It's no longer playable

Geocaching in the Northeast

geocaching

2022-09-192022-09-20 wt8p

Like a lot of folks, I had to cancel my travel plans in 2020 – this was a March trip to New York City — which left me with a moderate chunk of air travel credit$. I used some of them to visit the oldest geocaches Kansas and Colorado last year, but about by late December of last year, I […]

Aspects of Geocaching I like/dislike at the same time

geocaching

2022-08-31 wt8p

The cache lifecycle. I like that any cacher can log an appropriate needs maintenance/archive, but I find local cachers are often reluctant to do so. Nearly every time I travel, I find dozens of hides with super obvious issues (e.g., hasn’t been found in a few years, streak of DNFs, CO appears to have left the game). I’ve been logging […]

Learn to Drive Syllabus – Suburbia and Beyond

learndorphins

2022-07-112022-07-11 wt8p 1 comment

Part 1: here. Part 2: here. Suburban practice: 30-45mph streets Goals: Be able to drive to (and park at) Trader Joe’s then Metropolitan Market and get back home. Continue building good habits, two-way communication with parental unit in right seat Scanning and naming things to keep an eye on (e.g., pedestrians looking like they may cross, lights about to change, […]

Field Day 2022

2022-07-012022-07-15 wt8p

Paul (W7PEZ) and I worked field day as 2B EWA, that is, we set up with battery-powered equipment, everything self-contained. The national forest site near Cle Elum was fantastic – great view from a ledge, higher elevation (near 4000′) so it was cooler, very quiet, and trees to mount antennas. Paul brought his ICOM 7300 (HF) and a Yaesu 857 […]

Learn to Drive Syllabus: Neighborhood

learndorphins

2022-06-212022-07-11 wt8p

(A belated followup to Part 1. Part 3 is here.) Neighborhood Practice: 25mph streets Goals: Back out of and pull into our driveway. Complete point-to-point drives in a gentle environment, build good habits – speed control, scanning, and learning to recognize potential issues. Two-way communication with parental unit in right seat. For example, when I say stop, you need to […]

Zucchini-Carrot waffles

recipes

2022-05-29 wt8p

This can also be made in a waffle maker. Ingredients: 3 zucchini, grated 2 carrots, peeled and grated 2t salt 3 eggs 1/2C flour 1t baking powder 1/2C feta 1T olive oil 3 chives, chopped (or use 1t dried leeks) 1/2 t dried dill butter (for frying) sour cream (optional topping) Place grated zucchini and carrots into a colander. Salt. […]

EuroVision

rant

2022-05-262022-05-30 wt8p

(Header Image: Go_A – Ukraine – 2021 Eurovision Grand Final, Photo by EBU / Thomas Hanses) Last year, Meryl got us watching EuroVision, a music contest where finalists from each country in Europe + Australia compete. It is quite the spectacle with candidate videos dropping early in the year. Because of the large number of participants, semi-finals are held over […]

Parks on the Air