Hello all:
Enjoyed the weekend with you all, but was frustrated by feeling that a
good phone operator could have done better on 15 M. Only felt a little
better when K4PK listened and said that I was hearing the weak signals
better than he was. I still prefer CW! Many thaks to Ernie, Jeff,
Gordon, Bill, etc. for the help on 15. Hope all of you have a great CW
contest next month and look for us at PJ2T M/2 wherever you are
operating from. We will be hoping to challenge for the all time M/2
record held by A61AJ from last year. Our other ops will be N8BJQ, K8ND,
K8MFO, W0CG, W8WTS, and S50R (who was one of the A61AJ crew last year).
I should be QRV outside the contest as PJ2/K4BAI Nov 25 to Dec 2. I'll
try to check in to the GSN on 3593 at 7 and 10 PM EST (00 and 03 UTC)
during non-contest days if I can get use of a rig. I will not be
staying at the contest QTH, but at a hotel down the beach about .4 of a
mile.
As an after-action report, I was involved in one of the worst traffic
jams I have seen in years trying to get to the Burger King and back on
the highway when I left Rick's. Turns out that the Atlanta Internation
Raceway had just closed after most of yesterday's stockcar race was
rained out. I lucked out by detouring into the Wal-Mart parking lot and
that allowed me to get back on US 19 ByPass when the traffic headed
south was held up by the traffic light at McDonalds which seemed to be
cycling very slowly.
South of Warm Springs, I started down the south side of Pine Mountain on
Ga 85 west and hit a deer. It ran across the road in front of me and
almost made it. It demolished the headlight assembly on the left front
and bent the left front quarter panel. Otherwise, I can't see any
damage and was able to drive on home OK. I am ready to take it to a
body shop as soon as the insurance company adjuster has seen it. No
word from them since I reported it just after 8 today. Fortunately, I
have an older car that I can use in the meantime.
Shortly after 7 AM today, my mother-in-law's sitter (Weesie's mother is
95) called that she was afraid Mrs. Pierce had broken her hip again.
Weesie has spent all day at the hospital today and x-rays have confirmed
that the hip she did not break when I was in Slovenia for WRTC in 2000
is now broken. I assume it is good that it was not the hip that already
had a pin in it. Last time, they did surgery and about two weeks of
rehab in a nursing home and had her walking again. Unfortunately, she
does not have as much brain function now as she did three years ago and
I fear she may not cooperate with the rehab as well.
So, it could have been a worse after contest report, so we will try to
look on the silver linings. Unless, my mother-in-law has a bad result
this week, I'll look for you all in Sweepstakes CW next weekend. I'll
be QRV from home unless someone offers use of a super station at the
last minute. As I mentioned to a couple of you, this will be my 49th
SS (not excluding the year when I was in Korea and the ARRL wouldn't let
me participate, hi).
73,
John, K4BAI.
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