Fun With Amateur Radio!

Spring is here and my radio communcations duties are starting to ramp up. I will be doing radio for the Rex-Lee Run and Scouting for Food in March and the Sage Riders Motorcycle race in April.

A few weeks ago I was asked to be the Radio Operation Manager for the ARRL Field Day June 28-29. I know's it's Jana's birthday, but sh can have a party with a bunch of Nerds at the field day location. I am in charge of all of the promotion for this event and getting press releases and city officials to attend. I am not sure what city will be hosting the event this year, but I plan on getting alot of people to attend. You can even talk on the radio there without having your HAM license. (You'll be operating under my station ID)

This morning I was asked to be the Assistant Communications Coordinator for the 2008 Freedom Festival. I'm not sure what I will be in totally doing, but most likely it will be making sure we have sufficient radio operators for the Pre-Parade, Grand Parade and Fireworks also coordinating with Police and Ambulance so we are covered in the event there is an emergency.

Being a Nerd is alot of hard work, but can be rewarding and fun too!

MMA on CBS - Something NOT nerdy!

It's official MMA is now on network television. Pro elite Inc., the parent company of Elite Xtreme Combat, confirmed to day that they have signed a deal with CBS.

According to the press release, the two companies have signed a multi-year agreement that will show 4 live EliteXC events a year. The two-hour live events will be televised on Saturday nights.

"Mixed Martial Arts is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and a wildly popular entertainment vehicle for upscale, young adult audiences." Senior Executive Vice President Kelly Kahl stated.

Very few other details have been released on the deal.

EliteXC was created as a partnership with Showtime Networks in 2000. Showtime is owned by CBS.

The ONLY Poem I Remember From High School.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
by Randall Jarrell

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from the dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

10 Tips for Survivng a Zombie Attack.

Are you ready for the Zombiepocalypse?

Here are 10 tips to help you survive in a zombie attack:

1. Organize before they rise!
2. They feel no fear, why should you?
3. Use your head: cut off theirs.
4. Blades don’t need reloading.
5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.
6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it.
7. Get out of the car, get onto the bike.
8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!
9. No place is safe, only safer.
10. The zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on.

Failure to follow these tips may result in death and/or zombification.

Too tired!

A few weeks ago I stopped drinking colas and carbonated beverages to help me get in shape for my Rescue Diver certification class that I plan to take in April. Sometimes on Saturdays I will treat myself with a Coke during the day if I have done my exercises and eaten right during the week. Last Saturday I treated myself to 2 Cokes, one in the morning and one in the evening with supper. Coke had never affected me before like it did that day, but I ended up staying up until 2am because I was so wired from the caffeine. Unfortunately I had to get up at 6am to go to my church meetings, so sleeping in was not an option.

All this morning I felt wiped out and too tired. I ended up buying another Coke just to get me going so I could focus and accomplish some things at the office. I guess now the Coke I had earlier is out of my body because I am feeling totally drained again.

NO MORE COKES AFTER 5:00PM FOR ME!

3 Year Old Summarizes Star Wars

Wait a minute! A girl watched Star Wars??

Somewhere a 3-year old geek boy just got a tingly feeling all over.... there is a great disturbance in the force

Are you ready to put this in your “Bikini Bottom”?

Introducing the Spongebob Squarepants Thermometer. This beauty "plays the Sponebob Squarepants Theme" and takes your temperature at the same time. It's intended for "oral, underarm, and rectal use". I'm not sticking this in any place.

A Nerdy Aquisition

Today a new addition was added to the Scott E Cheese's family. I aquired a nice "Treasure Chest" skill crane full of plush animals. I had to pick it up this morning from Trafalga. The previous owner had to get rid of it becuase Trafalga was doing their own cranes games from now on so I was the lucky man who aquired it.

The bottom of the container where the plush toys are was covered in the carcases of insects that must have gotten trapped and died in there, with the assistance of Colton, Jase and Mike we were able to win all of the animals and vacuum the bottom of the container (also the toys, since they had bug skeletons on them), now it's all clean and fully functioning..

I am not sure what I am going to put in it. I thought about installing a black light and putting in glow-in-the-dark items to win. OR install a dollar acceptor and put in expensive items like MMA shirts and such and charge $5 or $10 to play, then put it on location. Mike suggested I put SCUBA items in it (masks, snorkels, gloves) and put it in Scuba Teds for people to play... I told Mtchell and Avery that the toys they leave out in the front room will be added to the game and they will have to win them back to get them out.

I need to find a schematic on it since it currently requires $.50 to play and has a time limit of 15 seconds. I did find the potentiometer that controls the claw. Right now it grabs immediately after the crane begins to pull up (100% strength). If I change the setting to how it was when I got it (60%) the claw is slightly delayed in grabbing, thus making it harder to grab the items. There are other pots and dip switched that I don't know anything about, hance the need for the schematic. I guess i'll have to consult other nerds and see if they can help me find one.

OK... So I'm Blogging

After receiving a email from my Dad wanting to know what I'm doing in my boring life I decided to succumb to the constant peer pressure and start my own web log. I even have joined the dark side and created one on Blogger instead of wordpress where all of the uber-nerds create their blogs. I may get my nerd card revoked! :(

I was struggling on what to call my blog - Scuba Ninja Arcade, Scott E Cheeses, Ninja Land.... Amber wanted me to call it "Old Man Hobbies" since I enjoy Amateur Radio, Metal Detecting and messing with old arcades and such, or thing that old men do.

Anyway... Stay tuned for updates on my Scuba, Ninja, Arcade, and Family life...