Super Deluxe Total Blood Full Turbo Wolf Moon Eclipse, in Technicolor

The show starts around 8:30 PM CST, really get going around 10:40,  and peaks at approximately 11:12 on the night of Saturday (whups) Sunday, January 20th.  Details at The Sun.  (nb: all times given there are EST) I'm going to actually try and stay up for this one, clouds permitting.

Not responsible for sporadic outbreaks of lycanthropy.  Garlic and silver ammunition sold separately. Profanity strictly prohibited: "We're werewolves, not swear-wolves."

New Year's Resolve

Among many other "going to do better this year" resolutions, I'm going to put in three:

(1) The electrical noise around my house just plain ruins everything radio related.  When the weather is nice there is some awful arcing RFI noise blasting everything from the boldest broadcast AM signal to the weakest HF ham signals into the dirt.  Even worse, it's intermittent and random, so it's impossible to tune a noise canceler phase box.  I've hunted for the source for four years now, to no avail.  On the up side, rain somehow makes this problem go away.  So, flip this one around: Why would I want to be inside playing radio when the weather is good?  And when the weather's too nasty to go out and play, I've got something to do indoors.  Problem solved.

(2) Reading this article over at KB6NU's web site, Make ham radio a habit, there is a list of hints on how to make time for hobbies and side activities.  One of them is "make it easy to practice the habit of ham radio."  Well, if I'm going out into the great outdoors to say go camping or mountain biking, it'd be really great to have a grab-and-go kit for radio.  Turns out, a regular .50 cal ammo can perfectly holds a Yaesu FT-817nd and all accouterments (LiFePO4 battery, tuner, wire antenna, etc.), and a fat .50 plus a tote bag does the same for an FT-857d.  There's a bit more for the 857, with the coax and beefier antennas, hence the tote bag, but that's easy to grab too.  Again, problem solved.

Heat-reflective white paint with obnoxiously large call sign stenciled on.  Ready for grab-and-go adventure.

(3) Just apply #2 to everything practical – bikes, camping gear, etc.  Get it ready again after coming home from the latest use.  Oh, sure, it doesn't have to be done immediately, but say before the next weekend.  Keep it packed and ready to go, insofar as possible.  Sometimes bike tires need to be aired just before a weekend, but the rest of the gear can be made ready and sit in that state for months.  Camping gear?  Same deal.  It makes getting out the door that much easier, puts excuses to rest.

I already knew all this.  Why haven't I been practicing it lately?  Time to move on into a new year.

A Nice Ride ...

... over the Bay bridge to Pass Christian.  Not a lot to say about it beyond these two pics.

   

Both pics are from the top of the Bay bridge; left is toward Henderson Point, right is back toward BSL downtown.  Insert one more pic in the middle and it would be panoramic.  The clear weather and mild temperature (~60F) were perfect for an easy ride on the CX bike.

Idle thought: Maybe one of these rides I'll take some pics from Henderson Point looking back at BSL and towards the bridge.  How many of these beautiful top-of-the-bridge pics have I posted here over the years?  Time to mix it up.

Challenge Declined

10 Hidden Destinations That Just Aren't Worth Finding, over at Listverse.

Some of my relatives may see this as a to-do list, while others don't want to go past Bristol (FL).  Personally, if it's north of I-10 a location's charm seems to declines linearly in distance.  However, there is one oddball place that might interest me, Ascension Island.  Bizarre ecology, extreme isolation, interesting history, and British outpost status all give it a unique attraction.  We'll see in a few years.

Coming Events

Sooooo much to do in the coming months.  Already things are stacking up:

• The Camp Shelby Gravel Grinder is back!  Even better, the 50 miler option starts at 9am.  Last year's 7am start knocked it out of consideration altogether.  The date this year is January 25th, more details at this link.
• Starting the same day and stretching into the next is Winter Field Day, the cool weather outdoor ham operating event.  This is a slight conflict, but I'm sure something can be resolved.
• Deer season ends in two weeks (Jan 16), and the following weekend is the MLK 3-day'er (Jan. 19-21).  The trails are waiting, calling to me.  Probably opt for the ride first weekend out, plan on hiking after that.  Biking has priority.
• Carnival season starts... day after tomorrow?  Yeah, looks like.  Then Mardi Gras itself isn't until March 5th, so we have a decently long season this year.  No firm plans yet, but something is bound to happen.
• In related news, here's the latest in king cakes this year, sent in by a devoted reader.

Yeah, that's a full plate for me, and that's just the local stuff.  In the downtime there are trips to FL planned and at least one hike over in AL that may be happening.  Stay tuned for pictures – and maybe breaking news from medical professionals.

ps: The Darling Daughter couldn't stand the though of me slumming it any longer with the default blogspot-B favicon, so she cobbled up something more suitable.  Dresses up the place a little.  She shall be rewarded with coffee.

Mark of Champions

Live, from The Far Side of the Moon

China's having successes too this week, with their Chang'e 4 lunar probe and Yutu 2 rover.  Story at space.com and science objectives list at Wikipedia.



It'll be interesting to see what new geology turns up in a radically different set of impact craters, and perhaps even better to see if the far side of the Moon is as good as we all hope for radio astronomy.  It's a good year for space science so far.

A Good Start

New Year's New Horizon Ultima Thule fly-by went well.  Details at the BBC.

But first, a preliminary pic:



Is it weird that I find this is even more exciting than 2015's Pluto fly-by?  I mean, we already knew a few things about Pluto, but Ultima Thule is truly unknown, primordial.  It'll be interesting to see what the rest of the data stream turns up over the next 20 months.