Such a Ham

I have memories from before age 7 of lying in my bedroom in the basement of our house in Havre, MT, and hearing my dad talk on his amateur radio. He had many post cards hung up on the wall with the call signs from fellow ham radio operators he had contacted from all over the world. I think his call sign at the time was W7ZOV.

This was before computers and many other technical marvels, so short wave radio was pretty exotic stuff to a growing boy. At some point along the way I was motivated to learn morse code, and got very serious about it when I was in junior high. I listened to practice code tapes and got to where I could copy code at 15 words per minute, plus or minus.

After I graduated from college with an electrical engineering degree my dad suggested I apply for an amateur radio license. With my schooling in electronics and my morse code background, it shouldn't take much study and practice to pass the exam. I started out with a novice license, and got the call sign WD6CCR. My dad gave me his old Heathkit radio and we were able to communicate with each other--I in Ridgecrest, CA, and he in Riverside. His call sign then (and now) was W6WUG.

I obtained more code tapes and practiced. I needed 13 words per minute to pass the general class or advanced class license exams, and 20 words per minute for extra class.


I studied from the license manual to bone up on radio and electronic theory.


In addition to added privileges and frequencies, each upgrade in license class provided a more exclusive call sign, with a 2X3 for general class or lower (e.g. WD6CCR), a 1X3 or 2X2 for advanced class (W6WUG or KD7JS), and a prestigious 1X2 for extra class (N6ID). I studied the book's theory sections for general and advanced class pretty hard.

In the exam room the first test was morse code at 20 words per minute. The code came flying at me and I doubt I copied more than two thirds of the characters. But for the multiple choice questions I was able to piece enough together to pass the exam at 20 wpm!

Next up was the general class theory. I passed that one without difficulty. I went into the hallway and briefly reviewed the section on advanced class, and then passed that exam as well. I had already exceeded my expectations at this point and was very pleased. But since I had 20 wpm code I was eligible to try for the extra class test. I again went into the hallway and frantically studied the extra class section. I had nothing to lose by taking the exam. After they graded it I learned I missed it by one question. Oh, so close! If only I had studied more beforehand.

I moved to Meridian, ID, and got my new 2X2 call sign of KD7JS. I strung up a simple antenna on my roof and scheduled weekly radio chats with my dad. Most days we got through okay. I would get my kids on with me to say hi to grandpa. It seemed pretty exotic and was cheaper than calling long distance on the phone.

After moving to Beaverton, OR, I put up an antenna in my attic and bought a better used radio.

I continued talks with my dad, though sometimes conditions were so poor we would go weeks without success. Then new communications technology caught up with and passed ham radios. With computers and cell phones it became much more convenient and reliable to communicate with these vs. the ham radio, and now my rig just gathers dust in the corner of my desk. Email, Facebook, blogs, and texting are the norm today.

However, I did get a 2M radio from my dad so I could communicate on the LDS Church emergency radio network. A few months ago we had an emergency drill and it worked out fine. So I guess my ham license still has value and purpose in this computer age.

Hotel Alibaba

In 2002 when we visited Slovakia we reserved hotel rooms in the only hotel in Humenne, Hotel Chemes. It was a bit worn, an old Communist feel to it, but the price was right.


When we visited Europe last month we used the wealth of internet resources to find hotels and B&B's to stay in (especially booking.com). But for Humenne information was very scarce. There is a new Best Western in town, but it was booked, and also expensive (by Slovak standards). We couldn't find the Hotel Chemes, but there was a Hotel Alibaba. Through further research we determined it was at the same location as the Hotel Chemes, so must have been renamed. There were no customer reviews to rely on, so we took another chance and reserved a room

This time we were pleasantly surprised. Though the exterior, lobby, and elevator were pretty tired, the top floor of rooms where we stayed was newly renovated. And we had great views of Humenne out our windows.

Can't quite see it in this photo--maybe just a bit bottom left--but the final step down to the pavement is quite high, so you have to pay attention when stepping down.

A wonderful and spacious room!

Here is a side view showing the debris dropped down from ongoing renovation.

We must have taken this picture the first day, because subsequent photos show an entire floor gutted and the exterior windows gone (4th floor down from the top).

I hope they keep renovating so our next stay will be even nicer. I asked them the history of the hotel, and they said it was previously Hotel Chemes and was originally used as a dormitory for workers building a nearby factory.

The lady at the hotel reception was so helpful and spoke enough English to translate for Suzanne's relatives who showed up soon after our arrival. We wrote up a nice review of the hotel on an internet travel site so future researchers would have some info.

In a previous post I mentioned how we were concerned about car theft in Eastern Europe on our recent trip to Slovakia. This is what I asked Hotel Alibaba via email:

"Is there secure parking nearby? Has there been car theft in Humenne?"

Here is the email reply I received:

"Parking is next-door hotel.Car us not just yet shake."

Huh? We got a good laugh out of that and tried to surmise what Slovak/English dictionary words might have been used to arrive at the result. Thankfully, our car survived two nights just fine outside the hotel.

Comdex

This time of year reminds me of Comdex. Comdex was a huge computer trade show in Las Vegas that I attended almost every year from 1986 to 2002. I experienced its growth from a large show, to bursting at its seams consuming all hotel rooms in the city and spilling outside the main convention center, to shrinking back down in size. I usually spent two or three days walking the convention floor to learn about new products and meeting with suppliers. It was pretty exhausting.

But after hours I found enough energy to spend time with family members who would come up from Riverside. We would tour the sites around Las Vegas and watch the shows, some free and some with admission charges. The last year we watched the Blue Men Group, for instance. Usually my mother treated us all to the shows.

One year in particular we had so much fun driving from one casino to the next to take advantage of free gambling money. We were all such cheapskates but enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. Often we would crowd several of us into my hotel room to sleep, spilling out onto the floor. I can't recall if it was Kevin or I who clogged the toilet one year and inconvenienced everyone. We would eat inexpensive meals at the hotel buffets.

When I got home we would have a family gathering for everyone to choose gifts from all the free stuff I would get at Comdex. T-shirts, hats, pens, candy, travel bags, alarm clocks, balls, pads of paper, key chains, etc. Suzanne and each kid would take turns choosing one item, first through last, then last through first. It was pretty exciting for everyone.

The Doghouse

Just in time for holiday shopping to warn all you guys. Enjoy:

Bicycle Tours

I have enjoyed riding bicycles since I was a kid. I recall commuting to Jr. High School on a bike, and loved my mission area when we were on bikes. I took a cycling class at BYU with Suzanne and learned a lot, and also commuted at college on my bike.

Later in life I really got hooked on road cycling. I started commuting to work regularly and went on lunchtime rides, as well as many Saturday club rides. We would routinely do 50 to 100 mile rides. In the summer of 1990 I graduated to a week long summer tour with a group of about 20 cyclists. We had a van haul our gear and we stayed in motels each night, riding 70 to over 100 miles each day. Our tour in 1990 started in Walla Walla, WA, went over to Lewiston, down to Enterprise, Halfway, Baker, Ukiah, Pendleton, and Walla Walla. This photo is near Enterprise:


1991 was an ambitious tour beginning in Roseburg, OR, over to the coast, down to Eureka, back inland to Weaverville, up to Yreka, Ashland, Klamath Falls, Crater Lake, and Roseburg. I can't locate any pictures from that tour.

I didn't do a 1992 summer tour, as Steven was a newborn. In 1993 I joined the group for half of their scheduled tour, beginning in Wisdom MT (staying at the famous Sandman Motel), over to Yellowstone, and down to Jackson Hole. Here is the Sandman and a traumatized Teresa:






In summer 1994 we started in La Grande, OR, over to Halfway, to McCall, ID, Emmett, Vale, OR, Burns, John Day, Ukiah, and La Grande. The road to Ukiah:






1995 was the most ambitious tour. We rode in the Rockies in Colorado, starting in Gunnison, down to Ouray, Durango, Pagosa Springs, Creede, Gunnison, Buena Vista, Aspen, and Gunnison. Here is a view near the headwaters of the Rio Grande in the San Juan Mountains:

On the way to Aspen:

We climbed several passes over 10,000 feet, and the air was pretty thin. Here was the high point prior to the descent into Aspen:

In summer 1996 I did something a bit different with the Oregon Bike Ride tour from La Grande to Ukiah, Monument, Fossil, Maupin, Mt. Hood, Newberg, and Pacific City. This tour included tent camping, but a truck hauled our gear. Here I am fixing a flat in the Coast Range on the last day:

This was from a one day ride up to Mt. St. Helens.

When I travel in the metro area, or the state, or even throughout the West, I often remember places because I rode my bike there.

Fridays Off

For years I envied dentists and other professionals who seemed to have enough job flexibility to take Friday afternoons off. My entire work life included the expectation that, except for vacation or illness, you worked full days Monday through Friday.

Interestingly, in 2004 my company was struggling financially and I was placed on half salary and only expected to work half time. Of course, I worked more than half time, as there was much to do and I still had pride in my work, so the company got a great bargain out of it. But I was thrilled with the arrangement. I suddenly had so much time and freedom! We had saved and invested well so were not financially hardshipped.

When the company closed shop in December 2004, Intel came in and hired the entire technical team. When I received my job offer I was bold enough to ask for 80% pay and Fridays off. And Intel agreed! This has been the greatest thing and I cherish the arrangement. Once again, Intel is getting a bargain because I work more than 80%, and often work at least part Fridays, if only from home.

I look forward to my Fridays. I usually play tennis for a couple of hours, and use Friday as my general chores day, running errands or doing yard work. Suzanne and I might go for a drive or bike ride or hike. I confess I haven't been as diligent with major home projects as I might have been. It has helped relieve the stress of being bishop and having so many of my evenings and Saturdays consumed. It removes some of the urgency of looking forward to retirement, as I am already easing into it in a small way.

I might look at my peak earning years right now and see how much salary I'm squandering at 20% off. But those dollars would be taxed at my highest marginal rate, so it isn't as dramatic as it might seem. Right now, 20% time is more valuable to me than 20% money.

This is certainly one aspect of my life right now that I'm so pleased with and thankful for.

Baseball Cards

I started collecting baseball cards in 1960 when I was 8. The Dodgers were my favorite team so I cherished getting their cards. I remember going to the store with my allowance and opening a pack with such excitement and anticipation. Getting a Dodger or some other star was the best. Getting a double of someone was a letdown.

I continued collecting in earnest through 1964, including some football cards. I think 1962 may have been my most prolific collecting year. I would sort the cards by teams, and even devised a baseball game using them to signify pitchers and batters, and kept statistics for the games. I would mimic Vin Scully announcing the games.

Fast forward to 1981. I had my huge card collection stored in a box in the garage. I remember cleaning out the garage one day and seriously considering disposing of the cards. With that in mind, when an advertisement appeared in the Boise paper soon after that someone was in town buying old baseball cards I considered it a windfall when I took my cards down and accepted $175 for the lot. I promptly turned around and invested that amount in silver coins, a fad at the time. For sentimental reasons, though, I had gone through the cards and saved a small fraction of them.

Fast forward again to 1987. Baseball card collecting was becoming popular again, and now I had sons who were also interested. I jumped back into my childhood and joined in the collecting frenzy with them. What agony I experienced when I saw the prices being fetched by old cards like the ones I had sold so cheaply. 1963 Pete Rose rookie cards alone were selling for hundreds of dollars, and I suspect I had one or more in my collection. And I took very good care of my cards, so they were in premium condition.

I sorted through the few cards I had kept and decided I would purchase cards to complete my 1960 and 1962 Topps sets, which I did, at a cost of over a thousand dollars. But it was a lot of fun and satisfying to rebuild what I had foolishly sold. Here is a photo of some of my more valuable 1962 cards:


Meanwhile, my silver coin collection? It dropped to less than half its initial value (though it may have rebounded some since).