A Crummy Commercial

OOPS ! source:      https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/2060164928472854821 the Ars Technica article: https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/05/blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-just-exploded-during-a-static-fire-test/ The New Glenn rocket uses methane and oxygen - methane is dangerous stuff.  I remember watching a NOVA program in one of the early seasons about hydrogen.  The show mentioned this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_East_Ohio_Gas_explosion Natural gas (mostly methane) is clear/odorless/heavy so it can creep along the ground and mix with oxygen to form an explosive mixture that just needs an ignition source.  This is at least partially why those open flames are seen in oil fields.  If the methane can't be captured it must be burned or eventually everything goes blooey.  Every heating season there are news stories about houses blowing up or burning - usually the family is away and natural gas is the cause.  Methane is dangerous !...

Mentioned the 1931 Nautilus arctic expedition a couple days ago: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/05/nautilus-radiogram.html Then I came across this term which also referenced 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea ?  Point Nemo https://allthatsinteresting.com/point-nemo Apparently there is a lot of space debris at the bottom of the Pacific at Point Nemo.  It's a relatively safe place to direct space junk because it is so remote.  But the Pacific is really deep at Point Nemo: This reminded me of an old time radio show called: Latitude Zero    Here is a brief article in Time Magazine , June 22, 1941: https://time.com/archive/6788665/radio-latitude-zero/ Unfortunately there is only one episode available in mp3: https://s3.amazonaws.com/RE-Warehouse/l/latitude_zero_1941-02-11_first_show.mp3 It was an unsponsored "summer replacement" - that was the summer before the attack on Pearl Harbor - this probably meant that a lot of the people working on the show, including Howard Du...

A customer mentioned the MMX Zero: https://www.wimo.com/media/akeneo_connector/media_files/M/M/MMX_ZERO_Reference_Manual_V1.1_images_formatted_final_copy_2d27.pdf He had a question about interfacing the MMX Zero to the Keyall HV kit.  So I looked at the manual but the thing that stood out to me was: no schematics.  What was going on inside that box ? Also, the MMX Zero is essentially a Morse code terminal.  In effect, Morse code is now like Radio Teletype: JADM - Just Another Digital Mode ?  Maybe I'm just getting old but even if I had the technical prowess to create such a product (I don't) I doubt I would.  Morse code was the genesis of the hobby - having a magic box do all the work for the operator ?  I think that's a step too far. Recently the Elecraft KH-1 also came to mind.  Again, looking at the manual: https://ftp.elecraft.com/KH1/Manuals%20Downloads/KH1%20Owner's%20Manual,%20rev%20B7.pdf No schematics.  Not even in the kit manual: https:/...

I saw this on Pinterest: What the heck is this about ?  Fortunately an internet search found these pages: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2005/november/oceans-1931-first-nautilus-north-pole-expedition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Wilkins#Nautilus_expedition Very weird.  The Navy took a World War I sub out of mothballs and let a guy from Australia (Hubert Wilkins) to refit the boat and rename it Nautilus.  In 1931 the Navy allowed Wilkins to use it for $1 a year to go to the Arctic and conduct a scientific expedition.  Finally, rather than returning the sub the Navy let Wilkins scuttle the Nautilus off of Norway near Bergen in 200 fathoms or 1200 feet of water when the diving planes on the boat didn't work.    Radiogram notes: Bergen => the city in Norway Sverdrup => one of the Norwegian members of the Nautilus Expedition LCD Wilkins => ??  not sure who this is (I assume a different Wilkins with a Lieutenant Commander USN ran...

When I first saw this photo: I immediately thought of this episode of Gilligan's Island (season 2, episode 7): Here's the video clip: source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yiCgPAZ64o Infrared light is wacky.  Getting a little exercise with the new trail cam while having a little fun. But get away from me with the crazy glowing eyes ! Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm 

I got this email on Friday, May 22, 2026 from WIEC (Washington Island Electric Co-op): I have seen those poles lying there by the side of Airport road just north of the Airport itself.  They are both wooden poles but each has two steel crossed arms.  If I had known what was up and had had my new cell phone I could have grabbed a picture :) It's good to get a heads up on a power outage but what'll I do without my internet.  My laptop could work briefly but not for 8 hours.  The Starlink internet uses a fair amount of power, at least 25 watts, so I don't have any kind of inverter / battery combo that could power that either. I'll have to actually take a walk, read a book or take a ride or ?  Wednesday is a bad day to go shopping at Mann's store as they are often out of the sale / fresh items.  It'll be like experiencing the dark ages !  :) Here's an idea: an 8 hour warmup for Field Day ?  I could get out the tent, put up some wire to trees, put the ...

I was toying with the idea of planting a garden this year.  The old garden has become overgrown with trees blocking the sun and bittersweet everywhere (NEVER plant bittersweet !).  But it did have a fence around the outside to keep the deer out. This year I was thinking of moving to new ground with good sun.  Usually I wait until after Memorial day before planting just in case there is a killing frost.  But then I saw this picture from the trail cam (I moved it to a new spot, pointed it north): Zooming in and counting them (I gotta increase the resolution to high): I count 6 deer - with 6 deer around I would have to either put up new fencing or move the old fences or the whole garden would just become a salad course for the deer.  I've seen nice patches of wild asparagus just be decimated by the deer.  This year they are even cropping some of the ramp greens in the woods.  Unfortunately my Dad gave away the electric fencer that we had for the sheep....