Hmmm! Nearly three months have gone by without a comment from me! What to say? It is plastering down with snow - again. I've not been anywhere significant, except to another couple of funerals. I suppose it is one of the 'things' about getting old, your friends are, too, and gradually the Old Reaper thins them out. I'm still looking for a decent publisher, for my books. Even though they are now on Amazon UK, and available in paper or e-book format, there is very little movement. I think more and more people are NOT reading words, they rely on the flickering screen for their entertainment of an evening, either watching the rubbish tv, or killing aliens or mercenaries by the thousands in those mindless interactive things on the x-box. I've had the 2 metre repeater on all afternoon, and not heard a thing except the ident. I know the box is working, because it opened whenever I tried it. I've still not sourced the severe interference that is coming in on my electrical main supply, which is wiping out everything below about 14 Megs. I know it's on the main, because I pulled all the fuzes, and ran the radio from a battery, and it was almost silent, instead of S9++ of hash. When I take a portable sw rx to the fusebox, as I get nearer the radio lets out a horrible howling racket, and it's no 50hz hum, either! It isn't a so-called 'smart' meter, just an ordinary old-fashioned dial-display one, so it's not being generated by a dodgy meter, either! I think that's all that is worth commenting on, for now. so - until next time, whenever that happens to be...
I have just deleted one hundred and sixty-six spam messages from my journal. They were nearly all from a Chinese source, selling fake copies of fake imitation copies of big-name handbags and shoes. (multiples intended!) As they appeared, I deleted them, and reported them as spams, but they kept reappearing, so the spam filter on here wasn't working very well! Anyway, I've now deleted all the 'deleted' notices, in 'my messages', as well! Apart from that, I've not looked into here very much, this year, as I have been busy elsewhere, and there are still only 24 hours in a day, no matter what some people think. Now that I have taken (not very) early retirement, it makes me wonder how I manged to find time for working! On the radio ham side of things, I've not done very much radio activity, other than install a 2 metre (144 Meg) set into my car, and study for, take, and pass, the final part of the license. So I now have a new callsign, M0HFF, when I manage to train my mouth into saying it into the microphone! This now allows me to use more RF power, and a few minor gains, such as operating overseas, not that I'm likely to be going. The main reason for taking the course was to keep the two little grey cells working. (I did have three, but one fell out, somewhere.) I have also replaced my computer, because the previous one decided to fry it's little processor chip, and I was unable to obtain a replacement - (discontinued!) - so have been getting to grips with Windows 7, instead of the stable, tough, and reliable XP. I now have a quad core processor, so the 'puter is faster than the broadband. (So are my garden snails, but that's another gripe!)
Having passed the final part of my radio amateur's license, my callsign is now m0hff but I'll leave the old intermediate license call as my i.d., ('cos it's simpler than messing about changing it on here!)
Please note, I'm getting a load of spam adverts on my pages. I DO NOT ENDORSE THESE PRODUCTS!!!!!!!!
Some muppet is still using my journal pages to advertise their rubbish. They are using the 'comment' button, and posting all kinds of junk, from flogging 'Gucci' handbags to 'Chanel' perfume, I think it is a Hong Kong based spammer, and his command of English is pretty dire!
If you see any of these ads, PLEASE PLEASE do not think I am endorsing them, just the opposite! I have deleted five today, and a couple each day this last week. This person is persistent, and keeps using the same message. If it continues, I may well consider deleting the whole lot, and be done with it. I do not need the hassle.
So here I am, beavering away at various jobs around the home, killing the rampant weeds if it stops raining long enough (or watching them grow when it doesn't!), trying to stay in front of all the domestic drudgery, trying my luck on the various radio ham schedules (I got Indiana the other week), and getting on with my various other hobbies. I don't know how I managed to find time to fit working for a living - in, before! I now have all my written books published on paper, and in e-book form. I've got a new one under way in the first draft, and I've got a couple of others that never got beyond the outline stage, before being shelved for lack of time! The paper books aren't moving, but the e-books are, albeit rather slowly. As I've said previously, the difficulty with the paper books is the publisher is over there, in California, and are available on amazon.com - but not amazon.co.uk - resulting in a carriage cost that is greater than the value of the contents. Also, because I am over here, It is a bit difficult (read impossible) to advertise/promote my work over there! As they are the same base company, I think it is time they amalgamated, and had a common goods base, as well as just sharing the name! I will take this opportunity to post the url's again, just in case SOMEBODY reads them, and tries a connect!
I went to the local timber emporium today, (it's a huge place, not a pokey corner shop) to get six sheets of 6' x 4' x 1/4 plywood. Did they have any? Nah! 6 x 2? Nope. 6 x anything? Nada. There was some 2' square five pieces! So I had to settle for MDF. (6' x 2'). From there, I went round the corner to get the framing pine sticks. I wanted 2" x 1" x 6'. No such luck! They had 3' x 1.5 x .75. Individually wrapped in a poly bag! (What the heck for??) Anything 6' - nope, except thin cladding, about 3" x 1/4.
So I will have to go to another place, 30 miles away to get a few pine sticks!
Why can't these places that sell everything for the D.I.Y. person sell EVERYTHING for the D.I.Y. person? It is so damn infuriating!
2e0dtoeric
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