Thankful for Thanksgiving.

It's nice to have a holiday like Thanksgiving where we are reminded
to be thankful for everything.

Well, here's a strange little story.  Vicki and I went to the Wellness
center for turkey lunch on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving.
Well, later that night i heard a rumor about a big turkey feed at the
Fairgrounds.  Well, not knowing who to call i called the Santa Rosa
Police Department.  Talked to a nice lady there and asked her about
the big turkey feed, she told me it was tomorrow (Thursday) from
11:30 to 6:30.  Well, we drove down to the fairgrounds and circled
the place there wasn't a car or a person to be seen.  We didn't know
what had happened, it was very strange and eerie like right out of
the Twilight Zone.  So we went home and later that night at food
group (that's right on Thanksgiving)...  A kind lady said that she read
in the paper that the big turkey feed was the day before Thanksgiving.
That's it, mystery solved.

Oh another person asked me if i want to sell the car.  That's a big
ego boost.  It gets me to thinking.  I saw a Dodge Minivan at a lot
a week or two ago for $ 695.  That was pretty shocking.  I don't
know what kind of shape the mechanicals would be in with that kind
of low price.  A mini van would be a nice step up from the Buick.

We'll see,

Goodnight Diary

Printing out the manual for the Yaesu FT-101

I have the Manual for the Yaesu FT-101 saved on my USB Drive.
The plan that I have concocted for it is to take it into computer
class at Corinne Camp Wellness and Advocacy Center.  I'll print
it there on their printer, saving toner/ink for my printer and saving
paper as well.  In fact, I'm not even sure that my printer will handle
43 pages of paper, that's apparently how many pages are in the
manual.  It's a Service Manual.  Service Manuals are always bigger
and more detailed.  Which is a good thing.

Wish me luck in my endeavor.

Steve Jobs, has died, he was 56 years old.

I'll be brief, i'm sure there are a lot of people who are grieving tonight.

Steve Jobs was one of the worlds greatest innovators.  Without his
guidance I will feel like a ship without a rudder.  These visionaries
don't just come along every day, there can only be a few for each
generation, and Steve definitely was that an innovator and a visionary.

I know that my family will miss him dearly.  Thanks Steve and RIP.

-marcus

I happened upon a Yaesu FT-101

Dave my buddy gave me a Yaesu FT-101.  And I like it a lot.  It has 
potential


I'm asking you dear reader, would you fix up an old Yaesu FT 101 if 
you had one?  Or, would you just call it too old and be too busy to 
mess with it?

It has an AC? cord that has had the wall plug end cut off.  I under-

stand that some people do this because they don't want someone 

to burn down their shack or let the smoke out.  I don't think they are 

DC wires because it's uniform brown stuck together wire just like 

you would find in an AC extension cord (not industrial).  My intuition 

tells me that if it were a DC harness it would be black and red with 

fuses inline.  

I really don't want to let the smoke out.  I see no way to tell the radio 

that it is getting either AC or DC.  It may have some internal way of 

sensing that.  It's heavy. 30 LBS and built like a tank. 

Tomorrow i'm going to test the tubes.  I hope there's a schematic on 
the underside of the top panel. I should get some steel wool, and start 
dabbing at it with rubbing alcohol and vaseline.  I'll get it shined up 
nicely.  Maybe put some Mink Oil on the leather handle. 

You know, it's the same with computers.  I can hardly bear to throw 

them away, John KD6PAG came by and we took about six computers 

to the Computer Recycling Center.  I just look at an old computer 

and i think there's life in there, it talks to me.  I guess i'm the same 

about old radios.  There's magic in there, and the glowing tubes 

and lighted meters talk to me.

 I still have 5 computers mostly pretty old in my little apartment 
and one in the trunk of the car and a couple in storage.   

I should try to interface one with the TV one of these days.

I think the next sign will be leaves blowing all over the place.

Yep, that's right; it's Fall.  I wonder what kind of winter we will
have.  Might be mild, then again it might be crazy.  Well Pesto
is about 6 or so now.  She's a real trooper.

Damn Damn Damn.  I lost the whole message.  I was fooling
around with something and clicked and then boom it was gone.

Anyway, I made some comment about Pesto getting older and
that since she's not skinny anymore; i could have some
houseplants.  I've had luck with Geraniums, Spider Plants and
Aloe Vera.

Also, might pick up a couple of Parakeets to keep my Cockatiel
happy.  He's great, sings to me and stuff, but i just can't help
but wonder how it would be with a few more birds.  Parakeets
are soooo, beautiful.

Oh yeah, the lady in 508 is going to let me take her little terrier
out for a walk, we'll see how that works out, she seems like a
nice lady.  She wears big thick spectacles and seems a little
befuddled.

anyway that's the 2nd edit, bye for now.

Computer studies at Corrine Camp

I started this tutorial on Friday.  I'm 1/3rd of the way thru.

I'll redo the first segment again on Monday, because I 

didn't understand one segment of the process.  I went 

back and filled in some cells with hand built formulae, 

when the tutorial intended me to use a 'sum' 'function'.

Anyway, the fact that i was able to tweak it manually is 

actually very empowering.  It means that it's not so rigid 

that a little thought will break it.

If you're wondering about the 'What' Excell is the 

Microsoft version of a Spreadsheet and the 'Where" 

is the Corrine Camp Wellness and Advocacy Center.

They have a small network of up to date computers.

Their printer is a little 'blotchy' but oh well, nobody is 

going to look at my work anyway.

I'm also going to start working my way thru a self help

workshop in print.  A lot of writing about me and my 

head, nobody will grade it or correct it.  It's just for me.

We sold Vicki's bike, it's okay we can get a new one.

Danny across the hall is getting a little behind in his 

payments, but Vicki is real easy going.  I'll probably 

have to remind him next month before he buys a 

carton of smokes or whatever he does with his money.

I did quit chewing something like 4 months ago, don't 

expect much, i've fallen off that bandwagon more 

times than i want to think about.  But feel really good.

It's time to look at my diet, include fiber and antioxidants.

I'll probably take 6,000 IU of Fish Oil as soon as I 

finish this note.

Well, i've been drinking Iced Tea for a while and it's a 

better hydrator than some of the other stuff i drink namely 

diet soda pop. I did buy a big jug of Lime Juice to add to 

ice water for a little extra umph.

Added oil and coolant to the Buick the other day, checked 

them again they are good.  Washed the windshield with 

Windex.  Need to stock the windshield washer reservoir 

with Windex one of these days.

Anyway, that's it, planning a campout soon, but not sure 

when.

Gloria's Birthday the 25th of August.

Try to remember Gloria's birthday, Marcus.  It's the 25th of this month.

Well, I helped the GF type out some resumes today.  I should make a
resume.  Surely, I must have some marketable skills.

I want to learn how to operate a forklift. Either that or be a Bank Teller.

Goodnight Internet.