Off-topic: We get it, Miley!

Sorry to waste my ham radio aficionados' time, but I've been wanting to say this for a while now:

Dear Miley Cyrus:

WE GET IT! Okay? We realize you're not 15 years old anymore. We get it that you don't have that cheerful Disney attitude to your demeanor anymore, that you're not all fresh and pure as the wind-driven snow, and that you're not the same girl MY kids grew up with.

We get that you don't want to be stereotyped into that innocent, sweet girl persona, that you want the world to realize you are not Hannah Montana anymore. We even get that you're not even the mild-mannered Miley Stewart, the "real world" alter-ego of Montana.

We get it that you are not that teen who sold millions of dollars worth of Hannah Montana merchandise, like t-shirts, pajamas, backpacks, notebooks, jewelry, hair care products, toy microphones, shoes...the list goes on.  I should know, since I purchased much of this with my hard-earned money to satiate my kids' appetite for all things Miley.

So now we parents of 'tweens who were the fanbase for who you WERE must now work to try and discuss with our kids about who you now ARE and what you have apparently come to be. It's not like it's a big deal, really. I mean, you "retired" from Hannah what, 2 years ago? You've pretty much dropped off the radar in the life of a short-attention-spanned childhood and kids simply move on to the "next big thing" just as quick. I think this One Direction thing is the new fad, right? Well, they all but forgot until the VMA's this past Sunday.

Seriously? Is this what you want to be? Is this Miley all grown up? Fine, be whatever you want to be, sing what you want to sing, dress however you want to dress, even if it is like a prostitute. Like the saying goes, dress for the job you want...

If that's what you think will earn you metric tons of more money then by all means twerk away. And thanks for introducing the world to twerking, by the way. I had no idea what it was until this stunt. I shall add it to my lexicon and use it daily in talking to my friends, family, and co-workers. Maybe I'll ask random strangers if they've "twerked" lately. That ought to win friends and influence people.

You do realize that had it not been for the media coverage of this ridiculousness that is the VMAs (I think the last time I watched, Eddie Murphy hosted it) I, nor anyone else would have paid any attention to it. Every year we get treated to some outrageous horseshit that gets people to talk about it for all of a couple of days until the next big attention whore grabs the TMZ spotlight. Usually an over-hyped blowhard with a bad hairdo posing as an entertainer has to interrupt an acceptance speech or two female singers box tonsils on stage, but other than that the VMAs are just another award show no one gives two shits about until publicity stunts like this take center stage.

But I digress, you've moved on from all that teenage silliness. It's time to forget about all that money you raped earned from the kids who followed your every move and you've got to go for a new target audience. You're the millennial version of Opie Cunningham and you want the world to talk about you and only you, not Hannah! You've got to keep it "fresh and real" with your peers so you don't sink into...*gasp* irrelevancy!

Not that I'm surprised, really. For several weeks we've been hearing all about how you have a penchant for marijuana, shortened your hair and even changed the color to get away from that infernally red-headed "Hannah" persona. But this past Sunday should have eliminated any doubt that you want to be tied to that child-star personality from here on out. Yes, Miley, WE GET IT ALREADY!

If anything, it took away from hearing about Lady Gaga, or that N-Sync reunion, or whatever the hell Justin Bieber's doing. Or events going on in Syria for that matter.

Just put your tongue back in your mouth already for God's sake.

Endeavour's final re-entry shown over the Yucatan

When Space Shuttle Endeavour returned home for the final time last week, it flew over the Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico before crossing the Florida Peninsula and landing at Kennedy Space Center on June 1.

It was captured and posted to Youtube. Video below or catch the full version here.

How's this for a prime viewing spot of a shuttle launch?

With only two opportunities left to catch a space shuttle launch, getting the perfect spot to view the launch is probably not easy to do. It really isn't easy for ANY launch, but as the shuttle program sunsets, people want to catch one last glimpse of a shuttle launch while they can.

How about this shot:

Taken from an altitude of 64,000 (about twice the height of a passenger jet), this student-launched high-altitude balloon flight caught Endeavour streaking towards space on its final trek to the International Space Station.

As if that wasn't cool enough, speaking of passenger jets, one was en route to Florida and passed by the Cape at the same time Endeavour took off, and a passenger captured this amazing shot:

And there's a video as well...

Atlantis wraps up the space shuttle era in early July, so make plans now if you can!

Fireball crosses the Tennessee skies Wednesday

Last Wednesday, while talking to my Stepmom on the phone, I saw a meteor streak across the sky off to the West, going from South to North. It was slow moving, not like your typical skimmers and streakers that go across the sky. I actually thought it was space junk re-entering.

According to Spaceweather.com, it looks like that meteor may have actually landed!

I guessed that it might have either burned up or landed around the Jamestown/Crossville area, or north of there. Due to partial cloud cover it disappeared behind the clouds before I could determine if it was disintegrated or if it continued on to the north.

Judging by some reports coming in, it may have continued on towards Louisville, KY (I was in Cave City last summer) or somewhere around the TN/KY border in that area.

If you saw it, submit your report to the American Meteor Society web site's online form.

I wonder if this means that the Meteorite Men are on their way to the area?

Legit cold fusion breakthrough?

Last month I posted about a suspicious claim from Italian "scientists" that they had a machine that was producing 12,400 Watts of heat power out on 400 Watts on input.

The italian claim is off-base and without much merit, but now the US Navy has researchers in a lab claiming a breakthrough in nuclear energy-based cold fusion:

The scientists on Monday described what they called the first clear visual evidence that low-energy nuclear reaction (LENR), or cold fusion devices can produce neutrons, subatomic particles that scientists say are indicative of nuclear reactions.

Cold fusion is still skeptical to me, however, the US Navy is more of a respectable source than some questionable scientists who self-publish their hogwash.

I wonder if it would count towards bonus points on Field Day for "Alternate Power"?

Cold fusion near reality?

From PhysOrg:

(PhysOrg.com) -- Few areas of science are more controversial than cold fusion, the hypothetical near-room-temperature reaction in which two smaller nuclei join together to form a single larger nucleus while releasing large amounts of energy. In the 1980s, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleishmann claimed to have demonstrated cold fusion - which could potentially provide the world with a cheap, clean energy source - but their experiment could not be reproduced. Since then, all other claims of cold fusion have been illegitimate, and studies have shown that cold fusion is theoretically implausible, causing mainstream science to become highly speculative of the field in general.

Despite the intense skepticism, a small community of scientists is still investigating near-room-temperature fusion reactions. The latest news occurred last week, when Italian scientists Andrea Rossi and Sergio Focardi of the University of Bologna announced that they developed a cold fusion device capable of producing 12,400 W of heat power with an input of just 400 W. Last Friday, the scientists held a private invitation press conference in Bologna, attended by about 50 people, where they demonstrated what they claim is a nickel-hydrogen fusion reactor. Further, the scientists say that the reactor is well beyond the research phase; they plan to start shipping commercial devices within the next three months and start mass production by the end of 2011.

Like most the rest of the world, I call bullshit, and I know jack about physics. The paper they submitted on this reactor has been rejected by their peers, citing lack of proper theory on how the reaction works, but it was published in the Journal of Nuclear Physics. Never heard of it? That's because the scientists themselves fund and operate it!

They have applied for a patent, but it has been partially rejected, citing lack of evidence since it apparently is designed to defy the general laws of physics. I don't see why. After all, the Fushigi defies the laws of physics and they got a patent...

The YouTube video (I'll understand if you don't watch the whole 41 minutes, especially if you don't understand Italian) is vague at best on how it works. How appropriate it was in Bologna...

So there you have it, a reactor you can't see, no details on how it specifically works, a partially rejected patent for how the reactor is supposed to work, and the only "journal" to publish their findings is the one they own! So yeah, perhaps I'm a tad skeptical.

Maybe Wayne Green was right after all...hell, he's probably got his hand in this snake oil pitch...

TRON: Legacy - A Real Review From A Real Fan

I'm an absolute geek when it comes to many things in Science Fiction. Although I can't tell you the parts list of a flux capacitor (other than it requires 1.21 jiggawatts, whatever the hell that is) or tell you the inner workings of a hyper-warp drive, I enjoy a good sci-fi flick if it stretches the imagination and makes you wonder if something is possible and plausible.

Then there's TRON.

Yeah, that's kinda how I looked when I saw the special effects for the first time.

I'm not the kind of geek that owns all the action figures of TRON, probably because I don't think there are any from the first movie (EDIT: There are!) or have posters of the movie or its stars on my walls (again, they didn't have any). But I have been a big fan of the movie from its groundbreaking special effects to its "shallow but campy" dialogue. Say what you will, I still use "it's got more bugs than a bait store" when the need arises.

TRON wasn't the kind of movie that got a lot of attention although it deserved way more credit than it got. Especially with the Oscars. In fact, it was disqualified from the "best visual effects" category because the Academy felt that the use of computers constituted "cheating". Really?

Not only that, but when it was released in 1982, a couple of other Sci-Fi flicks took a lot of TRON's thunder; Blade Runner and E.T. Both movies were groundbreaking in their own rights respectively. But special effects, to me at least, belonged solely to TRON for the use of computers and the imagination it created for an up-and-coming generation of geeks like me.

My geekdom comes mainly from the fact that:

1. I've seen the movie 80+ times, and
2. I played the arcade game so much, I'm pretty sure I shoved more quarters into the game than the GDP of seventeen 3rd world countries.

Considering some of the crap that has come out passing for movie reviews in recent years, I think I'm more than qualified than the others to properly review the sequel, TRON Legacy.

I've been waiting for this movie since the original trailer showed up online via YouTube when someone taped the then-called "TR2N" trailer at San Diego ComicCon a couple of years or so ago. So much so, I did a few firsts just for this movie, like buying tickets online about 6 weeks in advance, and watching it in IMAX 3D. I also purchased the soundtrack by Daft Punk, my first digital download of a music album. The only thing I didn't do was dress up like TRON Guy.

I will start off with 2 things, one, you won't find any real spoilers here (at least nothing too killer), and two, if you are a computer fan by any stretch, or a sci-fi fan in even the most trivial of degrees, you MUST GO SEE THIS MOVIE! Even if you've never seen the first TRON, there's enough of a back-story to fill you in on what's going on without having ever seen it.

The movie starts out in 1989, where we see Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) telling his son Sam (Owen Best) a "bedtime story" about the Grid. The Grid is the digital world we eventually see later in the movie. He talks about how he makes for the "perfect world" scenario in the penultimate of virtual reality and talks about a "Miracle". As Sam asks about the "Miracle", Kevin tells him it will have to wait until next time. That next time never came, as Kevin Flynn went missing. Fast forward to the present day, and we see that Sam (now played by Garrett Hedlund) grows up to be a rebellious college dropout who has nifty computer skills, but doesn't care to be a part of the Encom empire like his father before him. He does, however, pay Encom a "visit" every so often to remind them of his father's legacy. And by "visit" I mean "break in and wreak some sort of havoc".

Bruce Boxleitner, who reprises his role of Dr. Alan Bradley, is now on the Board of Directors for Encom, and he pays Sam a visit after Sam stops by Encom Tower to pay them another one of his "visits" and tells Sam he received a message on his pager (yes, a pager). The page came from Flynn's Arcade, long since boarded up and all but abandoned, frozen in time 20 years. Sam goes to the arcade to explore the origins of the message sent to Alan's pager.

While in the arcade, we're treated to a heavy dose of retro, from the original TRON arcade game (which aided the original movie in a limited re-release towards recouping it's production costs that year doe to the games popularity) to Journey blasting over the sound system cranked to 11. The sounds of the games in that arcade will bring you back to the 80's all over again (those old enough to have been there) when a visit to the arcade was the alternative to doing homework or nothing being on TV, and the only video game systems were the original Nintendo and SEGA Genesis.

As Sam explores the arcade, he finds a hidden chamber behind the TRON video game, and it takes him to a room below the arcade that contains a tabletop touchscreen computer and laser, covered in dust, but powered on. Sam works to find out what his dad was doing the last time he used the computer and is prompted to activate the laser. He does, and the adventure begins, as Sam is taken into the Grid, a virtual world created by his father. Sam is forced into the games, where he meets up with CLU (played by a virtual Jeff Bridges) who momentarily tricks Sam into believing he's really Sam's father. Once he gets the information out of Sam, he confesses to Sam who he really is, and forces Sam to the light cycle game.

Sam is rescued by Quorra (played by Olivia Wilde) and she helps reunite Sam with his father. They then embark on a journey to get to the portal that will take Sam and Kevin back to the real world, dodging the nefarious CLU and his henchmen. In the beginning, CLU was partnered with Flynn and the original security program TRON, however, after a glitch in the Grid produced the so-called "Miracle", CLU, strict to his programming, turned on both Flynn and TRON and sought to return the system to it's "perfect state" by purging all of the imperfections. Flynn was not able to return to the real world and was trapped in the Grid, autonomous of the outside world and never connected to the internet, since the internet (as we know it) didn't come along until after Flynn's disappearance.

The special effects are just as groundbreaking as the original was nearly 30 years ago. One of the first things we are treated to in the Grid is the familiar "Recognizer", now upgraded and purely bad-ass. The light cycles, too, have been modified from their 2-D locomotion in the original to souped-up hot rods that streamline the rider atop it rather than enclose the rider inside of it (actually a limitation of the computer graphics in 1982 that prevented showing a rider on the light cycles, resulting in a geometric design that encased the rider). Although we are treated to a vintage light cycle, version 2.0 actually.

Several objects of affection in the original make their upgraded appearances in the movie, such as the Solar Sailer and the Transport Carrier, but no tanks are seen, which kinda sucked. What's also improved is the time it takes to get sucked into the Grid. Instead of 80 seconds for Flynn in the original, Sam was there in less than a second. We also don't see any grid bugs, which were prominent in the video game, but only warranted a cameo in the original movie. For the ones like me who were looking, you'll find many references to the first film in the movie. Some subtle, others not so much, but one thing I noticed absent was reference to the MCP.

Now for some of the bad things. First, as mentioned before, no tanks. Come ON...how could you not have them? Oh well, we'll give a pass, since the storyline more or less did not have much use for them. Still it would have been nice to see what one looked like in upgraded form. The story seems to slow down after Sam reunited with his father. The pace was fast and in a near-constant accelerated state up until then. Afterward, we see a significant slowdown but not necessarily anything stagnant.

If I have one real gripe, it was the mouth movements of the younger Kevin Flynn/CLU. It looks so artificial, almost like going to Disney World and seeing one of their animatronic robots, like in the Hall of Presidents. Yes, it's all CGI, but if you watched Forrest Gump, the mouth effects of the Presidents in Forrest Gump was more realistic. They should have incorporated some hand-drawn animation to perfect CLU's mouth to be more natural. But then again, he is a computer program, so maybe that was the whole point?

The plot overall was very good, although at times painfully predictable. Yet, it really made sense of why we haven't seen any action from the franchise for 28 years. In reality, the computer graphics needed to get to this point in the technology in order to produce an epic of this scale.

Garrett Hedlund did a nice job in the role of Kevin's son. Although I kind of felt young Sam (Owen) was a bit better in his brief appearance. I think there wasn't a lot of emotion from Hedlund when it needed to be there, but definitely much better than if Shia Labeouf were in the role. He'd talk Flynn's head off and after 30 seconds he'd shove him out the door...

Costuming for TRON Legacy was revolutionary, incorporating flexible lights and fabric together using techniques never-before tried. You can thank the folks at Quantum Creation FX for the design.

It was good to have TRON's director Steven Lisberger retained as Producer. TRON's Producer Donald Kushner also was retained for this film. In my opinion, if you're going to have a great sequel, you need to keep as many people as possible from the original film in order to keep the ideas and the stories consistent.

The history of TRON has been kind of a love-hate with the Disney gang. I'm not sure why but Disney never gave TRON the kind of push it gave to other movies it oversaw. It seems Herbie and the Apple Dumpling Gang got more love from Disney than TRON. Despite the groundbreaking effects, which Disney seems to enjoy pulling on folks (see Toy Story), there wasn't much hype to the original TRON that I recall back then. Then Disney shelved all of the already-scant publicity and advertising for the first movie soon after its disappointing release. In fact, my first exposure to TRON was an article in TIME magazine reviewing the movie (positively, I might add). Disney considers the movie to be the red-headed step-child of it's movie fleet in many respects. Contrast that to the marketing blitz we've been consumed with for TRON Legacy these last 12 months plus, and it's hard to believe that the first TRON is not really being marketed to those who might want to see what started it all.

My wife liked the first TRON better, but then again, I do too. How many sequels can recapture those initial feelings of euphoria you get when you see mind-blowing effects and incredible action for the very first time all over again?

The first thing I did when I got home was plug in TRON and watch it. Even on my HDTV there's a lot of letterbox space at the top and bottom. And even today there's a lot of things that still show up for the first time despite the fact I've seen it multiple times. There's a lot of people who still like the originals over their sequels, no matter how spectacular the remake or the sequel is. I offer Star Wars and the Matrix as examples.

For anyone who remembers the original movie, it will captivate you and put a lot of the original movie into a greater perspective. For those who have never seen the original, or who weren't as captivated by the movie as I was (like my mom and wife, who went to the movie with me and my brother) but did like the original, TRON Legacy will be worth the money and might make some sense of the TRON concept.

I was completely blown away by this movie. Then again, I am a fanboy. It's the perfect sequel for those who enjoyed the first movie.

So, if you've stayed with me to the bitter end, what's the bottom line? Quite simply, if you are a fan of any kind of computer, science fiction, fantasy flick, or of special FX in general, then this movie is a must-see. And it's best to see in 3D IMAX to take maximum advantage of the movie. I've already made plans to save my pennies and catch it again. The last movie I saw more than once? The Hunt for Red October (suck it, Trebek!!!).

And to the folks that get paid to tell you this stuff: TRON Legacy is not entirely about dialog, plot, or whatever other excuse you can pull to not like the movie. We're talking about a movie involving the computer world and the computer-generated special effects are what runs the movie. That is what people with even a passing interest in technology really want to see.

Go see this great movie. End of line.

Shortwave causes amnesia? On TV it does

Got this in my inbox and figured some of you might be interested:

I'm a fan of a strange show called Fringe.
And tonight's show caught my eye,

FRINGE: 6995 KHZ

NEW

Fifteen people along the Eastern seaboard suffer retrograde amnesia after listening to their shortwave radios on the same frequency; the anticipation of Olivia's return escalates.

So tune in tonight on the Fox network if you can. You won't forget it...or will you?????

EDIT: I didn't check my email closely, it was sent LAST night (Thursday). Maybe it'll be on Hulu?

Chad Brock

Okay, I'm a little slow sometimes, but apparently some site trying to play themselves off as being "funny" posted something that got picked up on my Google news alerts about a country singer/ex-pro wrestler named "Chad Brock".

I don't listen to country music but read this trying to figure out 1) was it real, and 2) where is the humor?

I found out the question to #1 when it was posted under "fake news" but still have yet to answer #2...

Chad Brock Announces Ham Radio Station Tour

"New" web site address

You can now get to my blog by using the domain http://www.khaos.net.

This was a domain I registered a few years ago when it became available. The original intent didn't pan out but I kept the domain name anyway.

I wanted to start up a high-altitude ballooning group using an acronym and came up with "Knoxville High-Altitude Operation System" or "Observation" instead of "Operating". Somethinglikethat...

This was actually a couple of years before UTARC's guys started up their ARHAB efforts and I joined up with them instead.

Hmm, maybe now it can stand for "K4HSM's Ham (Amateur) Operator Service"?

k4hsm.blogspot.com still works as well.

The new "Morse code"?

I get all sorts of interesting emails from the sons of Nigerian royalty (at least one a day), but this one really made me laugh:

The Desk Of,
Mr. Samuel Morse
Fund Manager,
Fidelity International, UK .
+44 7045703892

I feel quite safe dealing with you in this important business. Though,

this medium (Internet) has been greatly abused, I choose to reach you

through it because it still remains the fastest medium of communication.

Do accept my sincere apologies if my mail does not meet your personal
ethics. I knew that this mail will come to you as a surprise, but please do not
be discouraged with my proposal, it was due to how things are moving
with me, and then I decided to write to you when I saw your contact information in a
directory.

However, this correspondence is unofficial and private, and it should
be treated as such. At first I will like to assure you that this transaction is
100% risk and trouble free to both parties.

My name is Mr. Samuel Morse, a Fund Manager with Fidelity Investment,
UK. I handle all our Investors Capital Project Funds which enabled me to
divert 1.2% of Investors Excess Return Capital Funds to our Magellan Trust Funds
Account where anyone can be presented to claim the funds.

Total sum of Fifteen Million, Seven Hundred and Forty Five Thousand
British Pounds (15.745.000) GBP has been diverted, representing 1.2% of Excess
Return Capital Funds from the Investor Capital Project Funds for 2006/2007
fiscal year.

I need a reliable and trustworthy person with whom I can work this
deal out so that we can claim the funds as mentioned above.

There is no risk attached and the funds in question can never be
dictated or traced.

Sincerely,
Mr. Samuel Morse

I would've thought I'd have received it as follows:

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Or:

Dah Di-di-di-dit Dit, Dah-di-dit Dit Di-di-dit Dah-di-dah, Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah-dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah Dah-dah Di-dah-dit Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah , Di-di-dit Di-dah Dah-dah Di-di-dah Dit Di-dah-di-dit, Dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dit Di-di-dit Dit Di-di-dah-dit Di-di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit, Dah-dah Di-dah Dah-dit Di-dah Dah-dah-dit Dit Di-dah-dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah Di-di-dah-dit Di-dit Dah-di-dit Dit Di-dah-di-dit Di-dit Dah Dah-di-dah-dah, Di-dit Dah-dit Dah Dit Di-dah-dit Dah-dit Di-dah Dah Di-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah-dit Di-dah Di-dah-di-dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah, Di-di-dah Dah-di-dah, Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah Di-dah-di-dah-dit Di-di-di-di-dah Di-di-di-di-dah, Dah-dah-di-di-dit Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah Di-di-di-di-dah Di-di-di-di-dit Dah-dah-di-di-dit Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah Di-di-di-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah-di-dit Dah-dah-dah-dah-dit Di-di-dah-dah-dah Di-dit, Di-di-dah-dit Dit Dit Di-dah-di-dit, Dah-dah-di-dah Di-di-dah Di-dit Dah Dit, Di-di-dit Di-dah Di-di-dah-dit Dit, Dah-di-dit Dit Di-dah Di-dah-di-dit Di-dit Dah-dit Dah-dah-dit, Di-dah-dah Di-dit Dah Di-di-di-dit, Dah-di-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah, Di-dit Dah-dit, Dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dit Di-di-dit, Di-dit Dah-dah Di-dah-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dit Dah Di-dah Dah-dit Dah, Dah-di-di-dit Di-di-dah Di-di-dit Di-dit Dah-dit Dit Di-di-dit Di-di-dit Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah , Dah Di-di-di-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah Dah-dah-dit Di-di-di-dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah, Dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dit Di-di-dit, Dah-dah Dit Dah-di-dit Di-dit Di-di-dah Dah-dah, Dah-di-dah-dah-dit Di-dit Dah-dit Dah Dit Di-dah-dit Dah-dit Dit Dah Dah-di-dah-dah-di-dah, Di-di-di-dit Di-dah Di-di-dit, Dah-di-di-dit Dit Dit Dah-dit, Dah-dah-dit Di-dah-dit Dit Di-dah Dah Di-dah-di-dit Dah-di-dah-dah, Di-dah Dah-di-di-dit Di-di-dah Di-di-dit Dit Dah-di-dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah, Di-dit, Dah-di-dah-dit Di-di-di-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dit Dit, Dah Dah-dah-dah, Di-dah-dit Dit Di-dah Dah-di-dah-dit Di-di-di-dit, Dah-di-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah, Dah 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Dah-di-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah Di-dah-dit, Di-dah-dah-dit Dit Di-dah-dit Di-di-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah-dit Di-dah Di-dah-di-dit, Dit Dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dit Dah-di-dah-dit Di-di-dit Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah , Di-dit, Dah-di-dah Dah-dit Dit Di-dah-dah, Dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dah Dah, Dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dit Di-di-dit, Dah-dah Di-dah Di-dit Di-dah-di-dit, Di-dah-dah Di-dit Di-dah-di-dit Di-dah-di-dit, Dah-di-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah-dah Dit, Dah Dah-dah-dah, Dah-di-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah, Di-dah Di-di-dit, Di-dah, Di-di-dit Di-di-dah Di-dah-dit Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dah-dit Di-dit Di-di-dit Dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah, Dah-di-di-dit Di-di-dah Dah, Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dah-di-dit Dit Di-dah Di-di-dit Dit, Dah-di-dit Dah-dah-dah, Dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah, Dah-di-di-dit Dit, Dah-di-dit Di-dit Di-di-dit Dah-di-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah Di-dah-dit Di-dah Dah-dah-dit Dit Dah-di-dit, Di-dah-dah Di-dit Dah Di-di-di-dit, Dah-dah Dah-di-dah-dah, Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dah-dit 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Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dit Dah-di-dah-dah Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah Di-di-di-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dah Dit Di-di-di-dah Dit Di-dah-dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah, Dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dit Di-di-dit, Dah-di-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dit Di-dah-dit Dit Di-di-dit Di-dah-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit Dit Dah-dit Dah-di-dah-dit Dit, Di-dit Di-di-dit, Di-di-dah Dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah-dit Di-di-dah-dit Di-dit Dah-di-dah-dit Di-dit Di-dah Di-dah-di-dit, Di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit, Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dah-dit Di-dit Di-di-di-dah Di-dah Dah Dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah, Di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit, Di-dit Dah, Di-di-dit Di-di-di-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah Di-dah-di-dit Dah-di-dit, Dah-di-di-dit Dit, Dah Di-dah-dit Dit Di-dah Dah Dit Dah-di-dit, Di-dah Di-di-dit, Di-di-dit Di-di-dah Dah-di-dah-dit Di-di-di-dit Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah , Di-dah Dah, Di-di-dah-dit Di-dit Di-dah-dit Di-di-dit Dah, Di-dit, Di-dah-dah Di-dit Di-dah-di-dit Di-dah-di-dit, Di-dah-di-dit Di-dit Dah-di-dah Dit, Dah Dah-dah-dah, Di-dah Di-di-dit Di-di-dit Di-di-dah Di-dah-dit Dit, Dah-di-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah, Dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dah Dah, Dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dit Di-di-dit, Dah Di-dah-dit Di-dah Dah-dit Di-di-dit Di-dah Dah-di-dah-dit Dah Di-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah-dit, Di-dit Di-di-dit, Di-dah-dah-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dah-dit Dit Di-dah-dit Dah-di-dah-dit Dit Dah-dit Dah, Di-dah-dit Di-dit Di-di-dit Dah-di-dah, Di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit, Dah Di-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah Dah-di-di-dit Di-dah-di-dit Dit, Di-di-dah-dit Di-dah-dit Dit Dit, Dah Dah-dah-dah, Dah-di-di-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah Di-di-di-dit, Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dah Di-dah-dit Dah Di-dit Dit Di-di-dit Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah Dah-dah Dah-di-dah-dah, Dah-dit Di-dah Dah-dah Dit, Di-dit Di-di-dit, Dah-dah Di-dah-dit Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah , Di-di-dit Di-dah Dah-dah Di-di-dah Dit Di-dah-di-dit, Dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dit Di-di-dit Dit Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah, Di-dah, Di-di-dah-dit Di-di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit, Dah-dah Di-dah Dah-dit Di-dah Dah-dah-dit Dit Di-dah-dit, Di-dah-dah Di-dit Dah Di-di-di-dit, Di-di-dah-dit Di-dit Dah-di-dit Dit Di-dah-di-dit Di-dit Dah Dah-di-dah-dah, Di-dit Dah-dit Di-di-di-dah Dit Di-di-dit Dah Dah-dah Dit Dah-dit Dah Dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah, Di-di-dah Dah-di-dah Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah , Di-dit, Di-di-di-dit Di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit Di-dah-di-dit Dit, Di-dah Di-dah-di-dit Di-dah-di-dit, Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah Di-dah-dit, Di-dit Dah-dit Di-di-di-dah Dit Di-di-dit Dah Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dit Di-di-dit, Dah-di-dah-dit Di-dah Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dit Dah Di-dah Di-dah-di-dit, Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dah-dah Dit Dah-di-dah-dit Dah, Di-di-dah-dit Di-di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit Di-di-dit, Di-dah-dah Di-di-di-dit Di-dit Dah-di-dah-dit Di-di-di-dit, Dit Dah-dit Di-dah Dah-di-di-dit Di-dah-di-dit Dit Dah-di-dit, Dah-dah Dit, Dah Dah-dah-dah, Dah-di-dit Di-dit Di-di-di-dah Dit Di-dah-dit Dah, Di-dah-dah-dah-dah Di-dah-di-dah-di-dah Di-di-dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dah-dit Dit Di-dah-dit Dah-di-dah-dit Dit Dah-dit Dah, Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah-dit, Di-dit Dah-dit Di-di-di-dah Dit Di-di-dit Dah Dah-dah-dah Di-dah-dit Di-di-dit, Dit Dah-di-di-dah Dah-di-dah-dit Dit Di-di-dit Di-di-dit, Di-dah-dit Dit Dah Di-di-dah Di-dah-dit Dah-dit, Dah-di-dah-dit Di-dah Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dit Dah Di-dah Di-dah-di-dit, Di-di-dah-dit Di-di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit Di-di-dit, Dah Dah-dah-dah, Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah Di-dah-dit, Dah-dah Di-dah Dah-dah-dit Dit Di-dah-di-dit Di-dah-di-dit Di-dah Dah-dit, Dah Di-dah-dit Di-di-dah Di-di-dit Dah, Di-di-dah-dit Di-di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dit Di-di-dit, Di-dah Dah-di-dah-dit Dah-di-dah-dit Dah-dah-dah Di-di-dah Dah-dit Dah, Di-dah-dah Di-di-di-dit Dit Di-dah-dit Dit, Di-dah Dah-dit Dah-di-dah-dah Dah-dah-dah Dah-dit Dit, Dah-di-dah-dit Di-dah Dah-dit, Dah-di-di-dit Dit, Di-dah-dah-dit Di-dah-dit Dit Di-di-dit Dit Dah-dit Dah Dit Dah-di-dit, Dah Dah-dah-dah, Dah-di-dah-dit Di-dah-di-dit Di-dah Di-dit Dah-dah, Dah Di-di-di-dit Dit, Di-di-dah-dit 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Up until now I thought the funniest one was of the Nigerian astronaut stuck up in space for 14 years (who knew?) but this ranks a close 2nd.

And to think, all this time I thought Morse was a painter and an inventor, not an accountant...I even thought he was dead, but I see it's on the internet so it must be true...

And just to be sure, the letter I received is often referred to as a "419 scam", named because of the Nigerian penal code dealing with such fraud.

Unfortunately the Nigerian government doesn't look at these types of issues with utmost priority, and Nigeria's reputation as a corrupt country is only exacerbated by these rampant emails by organized crime bosses or even corrupt politicians.

What's even more ridiculous is that there are people who actually buy into these scams, thinking they've been chosen by fate out of millions of others out there to help facilitate the laundering of money in exchange for a fee.

There's some who get conned into thinking they've won the Canadian lottery and can get their winnings expedited through customs for "modest fees" of thousands of dollars. How could you have won when you didn't even enter?

It just goes to show that if it's too good to be true...

The latest news is that there is no news...sorta

Things have been so hectic that I haven't had time to get on the air. I've not pressured my daughter to studying for her ham ticket further, but with school, it's hard to take time out for that. We talked about it the other day, so I think we'll be back to the books soon.

On the media front, it looks like the New Jersey Hall of Fame is going to honor Guglielmo Marconi, which I didn't realize that 1) he hadn't been honored considering his contribution to radio and the radio art, and 2) that there was a New Jersey Hall of Fame.

It looks like Marconi will finally get this accolade he deserves. It's like Babe Ruth not being honored in the Baseball HOF, for those baseball fans out there.

For those who are not familiar with Marconi, first off you should be ashamed of yourself. Are there hockey fans who don't know Wayne Gretzky?

Radio was not "radio" until Marconi came along. He studied the so-called "hertzian waves" around the time of Heinrich Hertz's death. He built upon Hertz's studies of electromagnetic radiation. Through these studies, he transmitted the first wireless signal in 1895, and radio was born.

Although previous work by others had been performed, they could only get a signal to go a few feet. Roughly the same as if your electric mixer interfered with the TV is what it amounted to. When Marconi first transmitted his device, it went about 1.5 miles. He eventually sent signals across open sea and then, in 1901 the first trans-Atlantic signals were sent.

He proved that radio was not just "line-of-sight" and thus the era of "amateur radio" was underway.

Well time to get back to the other things that take precedence. I may let loose on a nagging issue I have, but will hold off. We'll see how things go with that. In the meantime, I hope to get back on the air soon.

You too can be a "bird watcher"

My brother and I are both into bird watching. The only difference is, his bird watching occurs in the daytime.

I've been spotting satellites in the sky for well over 25 years. Problem was, I didn't realize it until about the time I graduated high school.

I don't remember when I saw my first artificial satellite, but I do remember it was during a meteor shower while at my grandparents' home in "the sticks" of upper east Tennessee. The sky was clear, there were no city lights to obscure, and the Milky Way was as spectacular as you could imagine.

I spent many a night getting up late/early to catch a meteor shower, usually in the late fall or winter (around the time of the Leonids), and we'd trudge from the house to the nearby field some 100 yards away, where we'd hop on a flatbed hauler and and stare skyward, wrapped in sleeping bags, comforters, blankets, and thick jackets.

Every so often, amongst the skimmers, fireballs and bolides I would see what appeared to be an airplane. But I wouldn't hear any sounds, see any blinking lights, and it would occasionally disappear into thin air. None of us really knew what they were (my mom would assume an airplane too high to hear) and I'd call them "crazy stars". Hey, I was, what, 12, 13 years old at the time?

At that age I couldn't spot the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Orion, Draco, Aries, Vega, etc. I knew the moon was up there and that was it. Heck, to me, the body of Orion looked like the Big Dipper, and the Pleiades were the little dipper. I thought this for years until I got into high school.

Only in the last few years have I been able to tell a few constellations here and there. It helps to know your constellations when looking for satellites.

I've seen several types of satellites, from the Space Shuttle to the Mir, from the ISS to spy satellites. There are a lot of them up there. There are thousands of objects in orbit, most are space debris, such as spent rocket motors, dead satellites, or in some cases items that shed from satellites. Of the thousands of objects in orbit, many are too small to be tracked.

So, how is it possible we can see a satellite in the middle of the night? Quite simply, it's dark on the ground, but up in space where the satellite is, the sun is still shining. It will reflect the sunlight off the body or the solar panels, or both, and those who are looking up can possibly see it cruising by. Usually when you see them, they are going into the orbital sunrise or sunset, where the satellite is going into or coming out of the dark side of the earth. Many satellites are polar orbiting, such as NOAA's weather satellites or reconnaissance satellites for the military.

Most of the satellites you can see are called Low-Earth-Orbiting satellites, or LEOs. They are usually between 100 and 500 miles above earth and circle the earth between 90 to 100 minutes. Normally they range in size from disco balls to that of a school bus. The largest (and brightest) man-made satellite is the International Space Station. We'll start with that one.

The ISS is about as bright as Venus when it moves across the sky. Even in the largest of cities, the ISS can still be seen. It takes little effort to view the spacecraft, just a clear sky and a viewing opportunity will be all you need. Sometimes the occupants may be on the station's ham radio, but it depends on the crew's time, and desire to talk.

So the big question is when and where? The best source for starters is the NASA website for novices. Input your country, then state, then city, and you'll get a listing of possible sightings over your city.

In the image shown, the passes for the ISS over my hometown are listed. The MAX ELEV is how high above the horizon (in degrees) the ISS is travelling over my location. 0 degrees is the horizon, and 90 degrees is overhead. The APPROACH and DEPARTURE listings tell you where to look in relation to North.

What you will see is an object that looks like a star or planet (again, as bright as Venus or Jupiter) but is slowly moving across the sky. No blinking lights (that's an airplane) and no sound. If it disappears, it's gone behind the dark side of the earth and out of the sunlight. This will happen after sunset. In the mornings the ISS may suddenly appear out of nowhere as it enters an orbital sunrise.



In the video above, you get an idea what you would be seeing, but a lot brighter than the picture gives justice.

Another web site I recommend for satellite watching is Heavens-Above.com. Heavens-Above has a large satellite database that you can reference. You can register, enter your location (by city, or even by your coordinates) and you can get pass information on various kinds of satellites.

Yet another website with a more in-depth scope of the satellites and various kinds of passes is CalSky. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's very good at detailing more satellites and more passes of various kinds of "birds".

Real quick, how exactly do these web sites know when a satellite will pass over? A set of mathematical elements known as Keplarian elements are used. By using these elements, these web sites (or with some satellite tracking software) can predict with remarkable accuracy the location, distance, height, speed, and trajectory than an object is traveling around the earth. These elements are updated almost daily by NORAD, which tracks these orbiting objects constantly.

Okay, so I've started you out with the ISS, and given you some sites. Now I want to discuss what kinds of satellites you might see.

We've covered the ISS, but the Space Shuttle and the Soyuz and now the Chinese Shenzhou vehicles are also flying up there are manned space vehicles. I've see the Shuttle before, during, and after docking with the ISS and Mir. One morning a few years ago, just out of the blue, I woke up around 5:30 in the morning. I turned on the TV to NASA Television and found that the shuttle (launched the day before) was flying over Tennessee and about to enter an orbital sunrise, so I quickly rushed outside. No sooner than I look up do I see the Shuttle coming out of the dark straight overhead and zipping off to the Northeast on its way to rendezvous with the ISS some 24 hours later.

I have seen the Soyuz once or twice, the Shuttle countless times, and the ISS is a regular guest. I have yet to see the Shenzhou vehicles. Usually by the time the elements are published by NORAD and trickled down to the public sites, the Soyuz and Shenzhous have docked or landed.

Another type of satellite is the unmanned active space vehicles such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) or the NOAA weather satellites, or military reconnaissance satellites. Hubble is another popular object to look for in the skies, but it's primarily viewable in the lower lattitudes. The HST will never fly directly overhead of my location in Knoxville, (but I can still see it as it flies south of my location) but if you are in places like Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and Hawaii, you will see it fly directly overhead more often. Vehicles like the ISS are in higher inclination orbits so that they can cover more of the earth's land mass. Hubble doesn't need that kind of orbit (it's looking out towards space, not in towards the earth) and so its orbit is closer to the equator. Below is Hubble's orbit:

And this is the ISS:

Notice the steeper "sine wave" of the ISS orbit. As you can see, more of the earth's land is covered by the ISS. This allows more sighting opportunities in the higher lattitudes like Alaska and Canada and even Antarctica. Canada never sees HST.

However, those in the higher lattitudes aren't out of luck. The polar orbiting satellites are plentiful and are visible even from the poles.

The image above is of a polar orbiting satellite. While not completely vertical, you can see that the orbit is almost in synch with the solar terminator and is nearly in constant sunlight. This is advantageous to those looking for birds during the winter, when the increasing darkness decreases the opportunities to view the lower lattitude satellites such as HST.

Inactive space vehicles are satellites that have died or malfunctioned, or rocket parts and motors that were used to carry the working satellite into orbit and were separated from the working satellite and placed in a decaying orbit that will eventually cause it to burn up in the earth's atmosphere. Inactive satellites are basically space junk that are uncontrolled and their orbital track seldom changes.

Many of the inactive/junk satellites will actually be tumbling or spinning, and will flash as it passes overhead. Other satellites that are active may get brighter or dimmer as the sunlight reflection off the solar panels change. Zi Yuan 2 is an example of a tumbling satellite. Launched by the Chinese as a reconnaissance satellite, it is in a polar orbit that keeps it nearly in constant sunlight, and it will often pass overhead and vary in brightness from nearly invisible to extremely bright.

Another tumbler that caught my attention is the SL-16 Rocket Booster (R/B). I was looking for the ISS one night and saw this bird coming from the southwest, but thought it was an airplane. My attention was diverted to another satellite but this one kept in the corner of my eye until I finally focused on it and realized it was in fact a tumbling satellite, and spinning very rapidly. Definitely worth looking for.

The most prominent flares are from the Iridium satellites. These flares will get extremely bright, several times brighter than even the ISS. They will initially be almost invisible to the naked eye, then steadily increase in brightness until it peaks, then quickly fades. Below is an example of an Iridium flare:

Below is an example of a tumbling satellite:

It's hard to see the tumbler until halfway through the video. Sometimes Heaven's-Above and Calsky will not list tumbling satellites when doing a search on satellites that pass over your location, due to their varying brightness. But they are a great resource for locating Iridium flares, even in the daytime.

So, can you view satellites from anywhere? Pretty much. The ISS being the biggest object and the brightest, it can be seen from downtown Manhattan. Other satellites, however, require a bit of work. But even with my being on the fringes of the city, I can see even the dimmest of satellites using a clear sky and a pair of binoculars. More often than not (and comparatively speaking I'm still a novice) I see satellites that don't show up on the lists I create from these web sites. I will post to a mailing list I'm subscribed to and the users on that list will often pinpoint the satellite I was viewing.

A clear and dark sky is your best setting for spotting satellites. I've gone back to my grandparents' home on occasion, my mother-in-law has some land with no nearby lighting, and I've even gone up to Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to spot many of the dimmer ones. If you can see the Milky Way, you are in an ideal location for "bird watching".

I hope this is a good starting point for you. There are plenty of resources online to help get you started in the hunt for satellites. Get started with the ISS, and go from there. There are many who have turned satellite watching into an art form. They even go after the geosynchronous satellites, especially during the periods when the sun is at the equatorial region, and the chances of catching a geosat flare are most likely to occur.

You don't have to be an expert, you don't even have to run pass predictions to step outside and look up for a few minutes after dark or before dawn. But it helps to know what you're looking for, and when and where. So step outside tonight and do a little "bird watching" of your own.

Bad English in Newspaper headlines

We at TWIAR pride ourselves on reliable information and smart news stories and headlines.

Unfortunately we don't receive any money for it.

If pride were a commodity, TWIAR would be the New York Times of journalism.

However, those newspapers that DO get paid to report the news occasionally overlook the obvious.

I received this email earlier today. It reminds us that the media occasionally gets it wrong.

Way off-topic...Coke hired some lousy photoshoppers

So I was browsing the Coke Rewards site while on lunch today, and was somewhat taken aback by what appeared to be a really weak photoshop job by the Coca-Cola folks of pasting gymnast Shawn Johnson's head over someone else's in a shot showing "Olympians" with Coke gear.

The first image, which I screen captured (full size when you click on it) is edited to show the "original" and the blown up portion to the right. Skin texture, facial structure, hairstyle, and the fact America's newest sweetheart of the gymnastics world (Mary Lou who?) wouldn't be caught dead wearing that type of outfit all point to weak shop-fu for the Coke conglomerate. Plus, I don't think Shawn's neck is all that giraffe-like...

Other than that, it's pretty good.

FIreworks on the 4th

Happy Independence Day. Hope no one blew their hands off or lost hearing in a bottle rocket fight...

I participated in the first Independence Day parade in downtown Gatlinburg, which starts 1 minute after midnight. It was my 2nd year doing it, and had a lot of fun. But something happened before, during, or after the parade, where I apparently jumped from the float and landed wrong and now my right foot is bruised. So I've spent all of the 4th nursing a sore ankle. I didn't feel it at first. I walked the course of the parade with no issues. After the 90 minute drive home from Gatlinburg, I had trouble climbing out. I thought it was just stiffness, because both legs were hurting. Then when I woke up, it was all I could do to walk into the living room.

The fun really got going when I went to WalMart to look for shoes for my little one. I ended up doing a lot of (unnecessary) walking and was royally hurting when I got out. The family went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and on the way home I saw a really intense thunderstorm to the north. I got home and turned on the radio in time to have a severe thunderstorm warning blare across the weather radio.

Fortunately it was isolated, but intense. Nickel-sized hail and 70 mph winds were in the storm cell. But no one was really doing anything on the frequency so there was no net.

My new neighbors entertained the neighborhood with more fireworks than New York City, I think. We watched the sky light up with lightning to the north and fireworks to the south, west, north, and east.

So the fireworks came from my neighbors and mother nature.

Back from camping

What a weekend. Camping in North Carolina is certainly an experience.

To quote a famous book, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

For the first of June, it was way hotter than expected, and hotter than normal for this time of year. Usually the heat waits until Field Day weekend.

Just getting out of the driveway was a problem. The damned minivan wouldn't start! We jumped off with my Trailblazer, and then head off. To sum up that experience, the battery ran down if we kept the doors open longer than 5 minutes. I got that taken care of when we got back home (after a jump from the campground manager). Still under warranty, free replacement battery...thank you Advance!

There was a family from South Carolina next to us, but they were away from the campsite when we arrived just after noon on Friday.

The first thing I noticed when we arrived was this eerie sound of the Cicadas coming around for their 17-year cycle of life. The sound was a constant high-pitched whine, almost like a transceiver on a dead frequency or just above a frequency where someone is tuning their radio. To have that sound all around you was somewhat haunting.

We surprised the girls when we showed them their cabin. Designed for the kids to have something to do and even use as a shelter as we'd find out later.
Kids' Cabin
We spend the day setting up and settling in. Of course I run to Wal-Mart to get supplies. One surprise for me was that we had AC at the kids' cabin! First thing to get is fans, then extension cords.

The kids enjoy the creek next to the cabin, barely knee-deep for the girls at it's lowest point so I don't have to worry too much.

We meet our tent neighbors and they have a 3-yr-old, and she and my girls hit it off from minute 1. It was a good thing too, because our next set of campers weren't so good.

They show up around 6, and set up across the creek from where we were, things are good at first, but as the night wore on, they wore out their welcome real fast. I learned that they apparently have "family issues" with one guy who may or may not have smacked another's sister. Fortunately all this went on after our girls finally crashed. My tent neighbor (Sean) and I were hesitant to call the campsite manager, thinking he'd just give a warning, and there were only two campsites that would have complained, and pissing off the neighbors and waking up with slashed tires, slashed tent, or slashed me was not what I wanted.

Then things got weird.

One of them apparently was tripping out in a big way. They would walk by our campsites on the way to their cars, and were all the time arming and disarming the system, so we'd just hear "*beep beep*" every so often.

Then one of them would "whoop" every once in a while only to get told to STFU by his friends. Twas quite entertaining, to a point.

While this was going on, my wife and I dealt with a deflating air mattress that we decided was best deflated all the way and throwing a sleeping bag on top of them and crashing for the rest of the night.

I know my wife got little sleep, same as I. Riding on 3 hours sleep the night before, and suffering through heat and stressed out from the battery on the minivan, I finally passed out and I slept through Sean's apparent confrontation with one of them after hearing "*beep beep*" for the upteenth time.

The campsite manager was called out later on and did kick them out, around 6 in the morning.
He told us there were "no warnings" and that he'd have "backup" if they were out of control. Lesson learned for next time. Sean told us later he heard one of them remarking about how much Kool-Aid one of them drank, so it was apparent to him they were high on 'shrooms during the night. I thought it was the DTs from moonshine or something similar myself. Shows how much I know about drugs...

My wife, the kids, and I made our way to Catawba Falls the next day. It was a nice trek. I learned Lauren loves talking on the radio. It was an FRS radio but still I think I have a future ham in the making.

Catawba Falls
2 hours after we came back the most intense thunderstorm I've encountered in years built up right over our campground. I was using the Wi-Fi to update TWIAR's podcast, and at first I thought it was jet aircraft. Only when it got closer, and louder, did I take notice.

The wife and kids took shelter in the cabin, and I grabbed our dog and huddled in the tent to test out the water resistant spray we put on. Lightning struck real close several times, and I wondered if I should abandon the tent and go to the car. But just as quickly as it came, it ended. The tent survived with only minor leaking, and the dog, well, she's pretty scared of thunderstorms and she was a handful during the storm. I'm just glad she didn't leave us a present during the storm. The area must have been really dry, as the creek next to our campsite never rose after the storm, and after all that rain, I thought for sure there would be flooding.

The great thing was that the storm brought the oppressive heat down and shut the cicada's up until the next morning.

With all that excitement, I was wiped out and went to bed early and solidly slept despite being on little cushion. I was worried my back wouldn't like the hard, flat surface, but didn't have any issues.

The van died again as we packed up to leave, and that canceled our plans to go up to Mt. Mitchell to catch a view of the world from the highest peak east of the Mississippi. It was actually a godsend, as I was still exhausted from very little sleep and having to get up early in order to pack up. Traveling to Mt. Mitchell would have delayed our getting home and my getting some much-needed sleep.

Funny thing, as I type this, a hitchhiking bug just crawled across my shirt. He looks like an ant with huge antennae. I don't think I've seen them around here, so I assume he tagged along from the campground.

Overall, the trip was fun. Shroomed neighbors and oppressive heat aside, We're making plans to go back with my brother along for the ride. If only I can find a way to run QRP...