Happy Joyful Day: ham radio

Call it what you will, karma, fate, coincidence, but I've long considered myself a pretty lucky person. I've always had a comfortable place to live, enough money to get by on, and a chance to get an education and prepare for the future. As I'm finishing up my degree, I have been fortunate enough to get a good job in a good area and find a good house to live in. Some say that the way to recognize success in finding a good job is getting paid to do something that you wouldn't have to get paid to do. Recently, I have recognized that my job is what I would do as a hobby if I had the time and money. Since I don't have an extra $40,000 lying around that I can spend on an electronics work bench, I will let my company buy one and pay me to play around on it and get things working. Someday, when I have the time and money, I still hold out on the hope of setting up an electronic work bench and building my own radio. We'll see.

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My greatest luck, however, was in finding my wife. For anyone reading this that isn't familiar with how we met, some people would call it a coincidence. I call it a blessing. It's a story that may be worth telling, but not today. As we approach our second anniversary, she is the light of my life and the wind beneath my wings. Every day that goes by, I give thanks to have her with me, and to know that we will be together forever. Many of our readers have commented how much Lisa inspires them, and I just want to say how much she inspires me. I'm just lucky that she chose to be with me.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

June 26-27 are ARRL's annual field day. On this weekend, Ham Radio operators from around the country engage in a competition to see how many other operators they can contact, preferably from different areas, within a 24-hour period. Every year, SPARC (the ham radio club at L-3 Communications CS-West) holds an activity to participate in this national event. This year was my first time participating in the annual field day. After hearing people talk on HF (high frequency) bands, I made my first contacts at the field day (meaning I actually talked to three different people). While it may not sound like much, talking to someone on those frequencies is harder than it sounds, so it was an exciting moment when I made my first contact. I will just say that it is much easier to hear than to be heard.