First-Generation Stars Probably Spotted

 Yeah, it's the Webb Telescope, at it again.  Details at Quanta Magazine.

Big stuff.  Really, really big.

A Tower in the Mists

 The view out my office window this morning.  Here's the same view on a clearer day.

More, lessons learned, and more quantitative info on how Winter Field Day went coming soon.  In the meantime, now that the tent and other gear have dried out overnight, gear re-packing awaits.

Back from Winter Field Day

And it was a raging success this year: 62 contacts, across 11(!) band/mode combos.  Even passing up the QRP (< 5 watts) 2x point multiplier this year – operated at 100 watts, just because I wanted more contacts – it looks like this year's results will be way over and above previous years'.  Not to mention really great weather and ionospheric conditions on Saturday.

Highlights of the trip: One pre-WFD 10m contact to Scotland.  One WFD 2m contact to Eastpoint.  Honestly, the second one was more unexpected than the first.  Pretty much all HF bands were open, at least some of the time, so I was able to work everything from 80m up to 10m (skipping the WARC bands, of course).  Also, my first time camping at Wright's Lake, so that was a plus.  Nice enough place: improved (but not too much) campsites with water faucets and picnic tables, no electric hook-up which was fine by me.  Tried the new 6m window line antenna, but no band openings there.  Oh well, one of these days.

OK, tired.  Got to get back to cleaning gear.

At the Corner of Four Grid Squares

There's an old saw to the effect that a battle always occurs at the corner of four maps.  Same thing seems to go for ham radio events.  Take a look at where I'm planning on setting up for Winter Field Day this year:

EM70la, EM70ma, EL79lx, EL79mx: The campground is unevenly cut into four pie slices.  Just glad the formal exchange doesn't include the grid square, but it is nice to have if somebody from another contest wants it.

Red Sky at Morning...

 ... sailor take warning.  Woke up to a dirty, rosy pink glow in the sky.  It looked a lot like pictures sent back by various Mars landers.  I've never seen quite such a vivid example of this old weather rhyme.

With the price paid up front, the weather should be really nice for the rest of the week.

January VHF Contest Bust

Eh, it happens.  Not any local traffic, and with a big sloppy cold front blowing through, no tropoducting either.  Didn't get to go to the woods with my shiny new 6m slim jim, had to stay home and operate on 2m & 70cm.  After-action commiseration here at QRZ's VHF forum. 

Not all is lost however.  Next weekend is Winter Field Day, and the weather looks like a GO.  The plan is to car camp at Wright's Lake near Sumatra FL; zoomable map here, scroll down a bit.  Yes, the 6m slim jim will gets its debut there.  Haven't quite decided on the other hardware to take, haven't even decided on QRO or QRP.

Cold.  Just... not that cold.  Definitely getting up near I-10 though.

Cloverfield Turned 15 This Past Week

Like the over-achieving love child of Godzilla and The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield took over the theaters 15 years ago this past week.  Has it really been that long?  Two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, that flick felt like old home week to my still-jangling nerves.  Great fun for a Saturday afternoon popcorn muncher.  Article at syfi.com.

Plus 15 years?  Already?  Is that what I look like at 43?  Its... its... horrible!