The last dose of steroids is in, and I’m happy to report that so far, they seem to have helped. No idea for how long, though. The weather forecast is not with me at the moment. MRI is in scheduling. It’s a pity I can’t swap out my traitorous brain.
I’m trying to gear up to work the North Carolina QSO Party tomorrow. I haven’t tried it before, and I want to work digital modes, probably FT8 and FT4. I’ve got to figure out how to have WSJT-X generate the necessary messages for the required exchange, but that’s the last thing on my list. I don’t think it’s going to be too difficult.
Monday’s trip to the Eagles’ concert has fixated me on guitar playing. I was interested as a kid, but I’ve never played one, and I’d probably be way late to the game at my age. Still, I’m watching videos and doing some mild exploration of guitars and prices. Squire (a Fender brand) has some interesting and relatively inexpensive packages (instrument, practice amp and a few accessories) in the $300-$400 price range featuring their version of the Fender Stratocaster. Depending on how much I spend at the Charlotte Hamfest next week, I may have enough left over to consider it harder. While the packages come with a 3 month subscription to Fender’s online tutorials, I’d have to budget for some in-person teaching as well. Just what I need, another hobby.
As you may expect, I’m paying attention to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While it’s a damnably complicated situation (are there any other kinds when war is involved), and I’m aware of most of the allegations from most of the “interested parties”, I’m of the mind that everyone involved in this is going to have several bites of the s**t sandwich that they should take. Yes, Russia made the decision to invade, and they get most of it. However, the NATO states, pushed by our neo-cons, have been slowly backing Russia into a corner from which we should have expected them to try and fight their way out of. Ukraine isn’t clean either, having acted as a money-laundering conduit for various Western groups for years, although that may have tapered off around 2016-7 for “some reason”. And I’m just waiting to see what China tries while everyone else is distracted. In the meantime, and in what seems to be a facet of the American Way, my heart is with the underdog Ukrainians, who are giving the Russians a heck of a fight. Every day they don’t lose increases Russia’s likelihood of failure.
As I have before, I’m going to suggest topping off the pantry and anything else you feel short on if you can. Keep your eyes and ears open, but don’t trust any single source of information. Gather the data, listen to those you trust (if there is anyone) and draw your own conclusions. But I think caution is the name of the game for now. Don’t over-react, but don’t let normalcy bias blind you.
RE migraines: better living through chemistry. Go steroids! Hang in there.
Prepping: just spent a paycheck at Pleasant Hill Grains. They advise their suppliers are raising prices and of course my main want is out of stock.
Any ham activity from Putin’s Playground? I’m QRT until I eventually move out of my current residence. I understand Cyrillic CW has a few “extra” characters. Not that I can copy ‘Merican CW very well either.
Odd you should ask. Ukraine is quiet, as ordered by their government. But I’ve seen more EU and AS Russian stations along with Belorussian ones than I’ve ever seen before. Almost like someone told them to get out there and show their faces. I’m not calling them, but if they call me I’ll answer. Politics has to stop somewhere, and this is as good a place as any, I suppose.