June 9, 2009 at 11:57 pm (ApolloCon, Ham Radio, Jonathan, T-Bob)
Well, I passed the test. But somehow I missed the part on the American Radio Relay League site that says, bring your current license to the test. Now, I have my ARRL membership card in my wallet but I never got around to cutting out my license and filing it there.
The VE’s (volunteer examiners) decide I can take the test anyway but that I would need to fax my license to the ARRL volunteer exam coordinator. So we come home (about 25 minutes away) get the license and then go to Jonathan’s office to fax it. Then we head to the ApolloCon meeting (Mark says, “Get a room!” because the more people who book room nights, the more money the con saves on function space) and then home.
Which all means I passed. Jonathan says he was looking over the shoulder of one of the VE’s and that he believes I only got 3 wrong (you’re allowed to miss 9 and still pass). So when I get my new license it will say “General Class” on it.
Now, the reason I didn’t tell anyone before is that I have felt under the weather and it seems I was getting worse as time went on. I don’t want to sound like a whiner but I haven’t even felt like reading. Yesterday I took T-Bob to his friend Pepito’s house in the old neighborhood and I was almost home when I got a call on my cell that he was sick. It’s an hour each way so there went most of yesterday.
In the not-whining department, salsa that “clears your sinuses” really does and I highly recommend it as a home remedy.
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June 6, 2009 at 9:31 am (Ham Radio)
I’ve been reading and studying and taking practice tests for my amateur radio general class license. I’m a technician class now. The cool thing, from my perspective, is that (Morse) code is optional and I’m opting out. Time was you needed to know the code to get the license. I’ll probably learn the code at some point — I’m sure there are good resources for it.
I want to upgrade because I do. Circular logic FTW! No, I met a guy on Facebook who also does radio and who I’d like to talk to. And I just think it’d be cool to not be a rookie anymore.
My call sign is KD5SBI. I’m looking forward to operating in the general bands, once we get the equipment unpacked and set up. I used to have a handheld but it got lost in the move to Katy (I’m sure it’s in a box in the library somewhere).
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June 3, 2009 at 11:03 pm (Andromeda, ApolloCon, Astros, Family, Filk, Household, Money)
I have five children. And two of them have moved out.
Yesterday I shipped four boxes of Andromeda’s stuff. Five if you count the computer. The total was $175.64. I also refilled a prescription (Andromeda’s) and saw my doc for another $100. I have a budget of $1500 for the household for a month. This is to cover groceries, gas, Iker’s instrument, clothes, shoes, pool tags and other miscellaneous stuff. So, because of the above, I’m already a high percentage into June’s money. We also pay allowances and chore money out of it. What we call “board money” because we track the amount owed to or by a child on the whiteboard in the computer room.
I also have a personal budget for fun stuff for me. This month, I’m going to hang onto it and not get the Hunter Pence t-shirt I want because I may need to purchase groceries with it. It is what it is. I promised T-Bob a futon this month. He currently sleeps on a mattress on the floor–thanks to Ike we’re short on two beds because we had a “captain’s bed” bunkbed split between rooms. The two that were damaged.
We’re not poor and I’m not trying to give that impression. It’s just that it is an ongoing struggle And what I’m hoping is, that with Andromeda being gone it will ease the finances a bit. For one thing, her ADD meds have a $60/month copay. That represents a savings. We’ve used up our flexible spending account money on glasses and medication for me and my hospital stay. So from now through December, medical stuff comes out of my household budget. So that $100 is a direct savings if you include the psychiatrist’s copay. Also, dining out with fewer people is cheaper as is any kind of field drip, whether it be an Astros game, ApolloCon or just a movie.
Jonathan and I are expecting that well will have indirect savings. Andromeda did laundry almost every day. The dryer running for an hour times 20-30 days is a real savings every month. We won’t save on board money because Andromeda did not get an allowance, she was only paid for chores and the chores still need to be done. But she had a large footprint in terms of “personal items”. And clothes and all of that stuff. Plus she’s been known to alter the state of the thermostat to more expensive settings–warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
I miss her. I don’t want anyone to think that I don’t love her. But she’s 20 years old and really needs to leave home. So I have two kids grown up and gone. I’m batting .400.
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