I decided to get back to basics with my radio hobby. I was feeling disillusioned with all the digital stuff and myriad features on modern radios. Going back to when I first got into the hobby I only had a dual band 144/440 radio that did FM voice. A Yaesu FT-8500. I browsed eBay and found something similar, an FT-8100R. I also picked up an SWR meter. I didn’t have one anymore because the newer radios I’ve owned all have one built in but this nice old FR-8100R is uncomplicated, only does some basic things and if you want to test SWR it won’t help you. Read more...

Since my last post I jumped back into my radio hobby. I did a few things: setup a packet terminal in Linux and decided to focus less on hf digital and more on voice even if not on hf. For packet radio I set up my Thinkpad with Linux Mint Debian Edition and installed direwolf along with the ax25 tools that nicely come with Linux. After some config I was able to connect to a couple local bbs stations but I may not have a strong enough signal because the connections didn’t seem reliable. Read more...

I’ve been meaning to spend some time on my radio hobby and do some tinkering in that domain. I have an Icom IC-705 that’s great for amateur radio digital modes. There are a few things in that specific space that I want to check out like Winlink, a system for exchanging emails over long distance with radios and VarAC, a digital chat protocol. Aside from these things I also just want to mess with old school VHF/UHF packet and learn a bit more about how to traverse those networks through digipeaters. Read more...

Did some serious streamlining recently on the server to clean things up. They say one of the best security precautions is a small footprint. Less complexity = better security. I owe this blog a writeup of what I self-host but alas that will come another day. Today I need to test some css and image scaling on this site. So here it goes:

Excitement builds as we approach the first performance of Birds and Balls. It seems we’ll have some dignitaries in the audience for opening night. There’s two more shows on Saturday and one final show on Sunday. I’ve really enjoyed watching rhetorical production come together on this. We had to change rehearsal spaces a few times when we started but each space was better than the one. Now that we’re at the venue rehearsing it feels like we’re in the “lap of luxury” as one of my coworkers stated. Read more...

It’s time for a garden update. Last time I posted about this I had a bunch of seeds planted and basking under the electronic glow of some LEDs. Since then most of those seedlings have sprouted and have been transplanted to pots on the balcony. Not every seed or plant performed as I had hoped thus far but sometimes plants stall out after a transplant a bit so I’m still encouraged that some plants will catch up to others, so to speak. Read more...

As I’m reflecting some more on this stage management work that I’m doing I’m really enjoying the blend of using my brain and my body throughout the process. On the brain side there’s keeping track of when cast is entering, what props they should have, and all the logistics of making these things happen smoothly with operations backstage. There’s also the fun of keeping the stage and surrounding area organized and clean. Read more...

A couple weeks ago Erica and I hopped on a plane out of Oakland and flew down to the Burbank Airport (aka Bob Hope Airport) and started our trip with a few days in LA, specifically in Eagle Rock. We have friends in the neighborhood and we also had other friends flying in who were also staying in Eagle Rock. During our first night in town we went down to a restaurant / arcade called Button Mash & Poltergeist. Read more...

I’m sitting at th Muscians Union Local 6 here in San Francisco listening to an opera sitzprobe. That’s a German word for when the singers and orchestra get together to make sure they’re all in sync on the music. A couple months ago I decided to take a job different than any I’ve ever done before and for the last 3 weeks I’ve been the Stage Manager for a small production of an opera called La Cenerentola by Rossini. Read more...

I purchased this potted pothos plant a while back and its mostly just sat in my office atop a shelf of sorts. Part of it really took off and made a long vine with ten or so leaves but after a while I started to suspect a couple of things: 1/ the plant was probably root bound in the pot. 2/ the plant was probably a bunch of plants competin for the same small space. Read more...