Life - Updated (Contest Season, Career, Wedding)
One could probably come to a conclusion, based on the date of the previous post, that my life has become a little preoccupied with current events, and they would be right. Well, that or you could just call me lazy … your choice, but I’m sticking to my guns on this one. My Proof: Contest season is over , new career starting on October 1st, and the wedding is only 18 days away!
Unfortunately this September’s VHF contest with W2SZ/1 is sans pictures due to the immense amount of work that had to be completed with less-than-optimal staffing levels. I can truly say this was my second “Full Zed” in a row, and I will be looking forward to the same next year when the summit roads finally open to the public and the lodge is reopened for buisness. I filled in as 222 primary OP for the second contest in a row and spend a grand total of approximately 29.5 hours in the chair out of the 33 hours the contest lasted. Thanks to the Rig Blaster interface hooked up to “Ye Olde TS-830 IF Rig” my voice was saved considerably and I was able to use a CW skimming program to dig out a few contact which otherwise wouldn’t have been. It really made me decide that CW is not an option for any serious VHF contester, it’s an absolute necessity!
As of next Monday I will be leaving OCD for a new career in Digital Video with an unmentioned company. The transition is something I’ve been looking forward to since I accepted the job while on Mt. Greylock for the September VHF contest. Let just say that the people are laid back, there is components all over the building, and I will finally be in a position that can’t be classified as “Mindless” …. Sweet!
The wedding is right around the corner with only 18 days to go, and we think we have most of our ducks in a row on this one. RuthAnne has been diligently working on the “Thank You” cards and is proving herself to be even more organized than I thought she ever would be! We will be taking a few dance classes so I don’t look like a complete bumbling idiot, or at least that’s what I hope. (Actually my idea that I suggested to RuthAnne, believe it or not) The bachelor and bachelorette parties we last weekend and we had a blast! BBQ and social time at our place for a few hours then we spilt into respective parties and went from there. Lesson learned: Laser tag rocks, watch out for Thanh driving go-karts, a 20 can bribe the karaoke DJ to get you out of singing a limp-wristed song, and some people have hilarious facial expressions when faced with headlights….. Enough said about that and no, there probably will not be any pictures in the gallery so you can save your time..
Next on CTV … Wedding followed by HOCKEY SEASON! Go Sabres! (And finally on MSGHD in Rochester! We finally get to put the HD plasma to good use, as well as the sound system!)
No commentsCamping Trip ver. 2008
Another camping trip with the guys is in the books and there are plenty of pics this time around thanks to Todd. Certain highlights include:
- Climbing Cascade Mountain
- Boating on Schroon Lake (incl. skiing and tubing on 2 boats)
- Campfire and associated refreshments
- Kayaking (albeit barely before the storm)
- “Threading the needle” on a few storms per Justin
- Getting slammed by the 2nd hail storm (only minutes after the afformentioned quote from Justin)
- The traditional mini-golf excursion
- Lasagna in Glens Falls
Here are a few pictures from the trip taken by Todd. As always, click on the link to be taken to the full gallery!
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YAHP - Yet Another House Project - Shed Electric
Time to play catch up! Here are a few pictures from running electric to the shed behind the house using the DitchWitch. We also helped our neighbors to the North do the same thing. All-in-all a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Thanks to Bob for all the help!
Here are a few of the pictures. Click the link to be taken to the full collection in the gallery!
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New addition to the family
As noted by the date of my last post, things have been slightly hetic lately, but there is an announcement to be made. Let me introduce the newest member of our family: Maggie! She is a six-month-old Black Lab / Border Collie mix that we adopted from lollipop farm on Friday, May 9th and she is a riot! She loves to play, is eager to please, and has even more energy that I do (hard to believe, I know…)
Without further interruptions, here are a few pics!
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More basement work….
With many thanks to Todd, Cyrus and Irena, we got a bunch accomplished on the basement today. The final wall of framing went up, the floor got prepped for painting, the electric is finished and most of the plumbing is done in the bathroom! After the help left, RuthAnne and I put up the first sheet of drywall and then called it a night. Lesson of the day: Trace and re-trace the hot and cold pipes to ensure that you do NOT flush your toilet with hot water (took me forever to sort that one out…) Here are a few pictures from the day!
Be sure to check out the full gallery at http://carlfacer.com/gallery/v/rowley/Work/2007/BathBase/
Stay tuned for more details from the homestead!!!
-Carl & RuthAnne
No commentsSeptember VHF Contest Pictures
Ok, so I’ve been a little bit busy lately and haven’t had much time to update the site, but I wanted to throw a few pictures of the rover up on the main page. The full gallery can be seen by clicking here.
Enjoy!
Photos of the car
Her are a few pictures of the car that I promised a while back. I also added a few modules to Word Press so that show up a little nicer. More to come later! As always, clicky = biggie!
Database problems
There seems to be a problem with a primary user on the MySQL server, which subsequently does not allow the pages here to be opened. I have changes a few user names and everything seems to be operational at this point. From the looks of it, the gallery was flooded by a spambot via the comments section. As such, an image verification system has been installed and now requires users to interpret a picture before commenting, so we should be all set to go!
If you notice anything out of the ordinary (besides me) or happen to get any error messages, please send me an email at cfacer <at> gmail (*) com.
-Carl
EDIT: All the comments (approx 5,000) were deleted out of the gallery, so I apologize to anyone who left comments in there. The “TRUNCATE” table button was too tempting to pass up.
No commentsKC2LLT/R Update
Quick update for everyone:
Last night that platform was finished (with the exception of the rotor mount, eyebolts to hold the dish and outrigger pipes) and the previous night the battery box was installed. Thanks to Todd (KB1EKZ), Cyrus (KC2RLP), and Jared (KB1PFK) for the help over the past week. Here is what we have left to finish for the contest:
- Run the 4 ga. auxiliary battery cable (hood to trunk)
- Find solid ground point for aux battery and run cable
- Mount rotator for log periodic antenna
- Add out rigger pipes to platform (need clamps first)
- Fabricate cross-mast section to hold mast for the 4′ dish
- Get 6 meter antenna
- Pickup 144/220/432 radio in Albany (en route to Greylock next week)
- Confirm all feed lines have been acquired (and build more if necessary)
- Make plexiglass insert for window to pass coax through
I am aiming to get this done on Saturday so I can test the equipment on Sunday with Greg. I might be able to fudge a few things (ie battery cables, plexiglass, etc) so I can at least try the equipment out before the contest. Another thing I’d like to do is put my TinkTraker in the car for running APRS if I want to. After all of the buzz on the VHFcontesting email reflector I don’t know if it’s allowed, but I’ll have to read the rules a little closer.
Pictures will be forth coming as soon as I get a second to transfer them over from the camera. That’s all for now!
-Carl (a tired rover)
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