Posts

Brewers Logo

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The Brewers don't play until Friday: Game 1 of the World Serious versus the American League's best, the Tampa Bay Rays.  But until then, I thought this was an interesting story: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/601403/2018/10/19/when-i-see-somebody-wearing-it-i-go-ive-got-a-story-for-you-the-inspired-melancholy-life-behind-the-brewers-beloved-logo/?unlocked_article_code=1.I1E.LJLK.jnoqmAnbbzXL&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta&source=athletic_thewindup_newsletter&campaign=20461308&userId=21227649 I certainly  never "saw" the m and b in the ball and glove before reading this :)  The story is also presented in the wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Brewers_ball-in-glove_logo Mandatory inflated prize amount: It really is a clever design, simple but meaningful.  The ending of Tom Meindel's life is sad. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

AM Radio In Rural Argentina

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Jose Simon Molina, 82, listening to AM radio I often check The New Yorker site on Monday morning for the cartoons from the latest issue.  Yesterday the cartoons from the new issue weren't up yet though.  So I scrolled back and noticed this article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/10/19/the-first-social-network It was a really interesting article.  For one thing they had an audio version READ BY A REAL PERSON !!  AI voiced audio narration is good but it pales compared to a reading by a good actor / announcer.  Anyway, I thought the article itself was really interesting.  Folks in rural Argentina "off the grid" will listen to AM stations they can catch - at certain times the stations will have the announcers read messages from these folks, for lost animals, sickness in the family, birthday greetings - those kinds of things.  People like to listen even though they aren't expecting a message for themselves.  Something like this isn't strictly...

Simple Meter Protection Using Diodes

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I saw this one page article in the March 1966 issue of Electronics Illustrated: source:  https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics-Illustrated/Electronics-Illustrated-1966-03.pdf Here's a more scholarly exploration of the diode as meter protector in the November 1966 issue of Electronics World: https://w4npn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Diode-Meter-Protectors.pdf Now with mechanical meters becoming either expensive or unobtanium, this simple mod is something I will have to try on my various meters. If only there was as simple way to prevent this: source:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/267722861557 I know: just be careful, Chuck !! Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

Fun Infomercial from 1961 with Don Knotts

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source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HBIUJiqWao This is one reason why I prefer black and white, you never have to worry about your colors changing to living red and white !  Black and white is basically silver particles coated on the film stock.  Here's Don with the flower gal both ways: Color film is complicated, three layers of dyes that can obviously fade :( But I never knew that grown men raced go-karts !  I remember the neighbors in Fox Point, the B family, had a cart.  It even had a seat belt but as I recall I was too fat for it to fit :(  Mr. B. was a mechanical genius though.  In addition to their go-kart he had built his sons a fort above the breezeway between the house and the garage.  He also had a very cool '57 Chevy.  He also had rigged up an electric motor to wind up kit string when the boys were flying kites really high.  Far before I had ever seen a mechanical shaker for harvesting fruit I can remember seeing Mr. B....

Clint Eastwood, Buddy Ebsen, Danny Kaye and Fess Parker

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I saw this photo: and a simple search found this: source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8EoO55-kOY Not only those four but Charo, too !   Sometimes the internet still functions and amazes !  I love it. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

"The Brewers Win The Pennant, Oh My God, The Brewers Win The Pennant !"

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It was amazing !  The Brewers swept the Dodgers in 4 - the exact opposite of last year.  The Dodgers played pretty well, Shohei finally hit a homer.  Their pitcher, Tyler Glasnow, was unhittable for the first time through the order but then cracks started to appear.  The Brewers never gave up and nibbled away while shutting down the Dodgers after the 2nd inning. I listened to the game on the radio, Jeff Levering made an amazing call at the end:   https://x.com/620wtmj/status/2110935208094535974     source:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVjnWhgxzjM Not coincidentally (thanks Youtube algorithm) I watched the documentary:  Ueck earlier in the day: source:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoSwFGeVn7E The Brewers have been so close the last few years, now they finally made it to the World Serious  :)  Ueck woulda loved it.  I think this is the year. Update afternoon: Pat Murphy after the win:   So he got a ...

Katahdin Camps

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Katahdin Camps is a book by C. A. Stephens about a trip to the environs around Katahdin, the tallest mountain in Maine.  Not sure if it's considered fiction or non-fiction, probably both.  Stephens was born in 1844 so I assume this trip was set before the advent of the Boy Scouts in the USA (1910).  One of the guides, Louis, has a Winchester carbine so it must at least have been after the Civil War.  One camper went on to be a gold miner in the Klondike, so this Katahdin trip must have been taken before 1896.  The trip was taken by Stephens along with a cook and guides and 17 boys.  So basically a bunch of city kids, although with a dozen guns, taking on the Maine wilderness.  The author had this dedication:   https://dn721602.ca.archive.org/0/items/katahdincamps00step/katahdincamps00step.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._A._Stephens As usual the internet proved useful for finding references that I didn't know, for example: Hannah Duston (aka ...