Subaru showed off their Solterra EV, for sale next year. This is the first EV I’d be excited to own.
N.B. My car is only 5 years old so I’m not getting one but would love one. I do find the short range of an EV a bit at odds with ‘great outdoor adventures’ though.
Well lookieee here. Didn’t expect this…
Apple’s self service program will let you repair iPhones and Macs yourself - Engadget
A perfect example of government health insurance malpractice. Insane… Wonder who in government is set to make a huge profit off of this?
Dubious $56,000 Alzheimer’s drug spurs largest Medicare price hike ever
In preparation for the first ever Federal Fusion Center activation to test large-scale disaster communications I buckled down and finally got Winlink running over HF with my Icom IC-7300.I’m feeling quite accomplished.
In simple terms Winlink enables sending and receiving email using HF radio frequencies rather than an internet connection. This is a common emergency communication method when cell service and the internet are down during disasters. There are a number of forms for transmission that are tailored to specific disaster recovery needs and most users have some degree of FEMA training.
Winlink isn’t the most user friendly piece of software, HF communication is always tricky and radio interfaces can be as well. I had the added challenge that Winlink is Windows-only for EMCOMM and I’m a Mac user. After shooting myself in the foot a few times I did manage to get it all working using Parallels.
Our ARES group is one of the first in the country to participate so there is a big push to ensure success this weekend. I’m glad I’ll be able to contribute using a ‘disaster mode’ setup.
Background info: The Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) (Formally known as the Office of Emergency Communications) has recently created a Federal level Fusion center. The mission of the Fusion Center is to staff a coordinating center to process requests for Amateur assistance, at a Federal level, during large-scale disasters. It will bring together various Amateur organizations, including ARES /RACES, Civil Air Patrol, ARC, Salvation Army, REACT, and the VOIP Hurricane Net. CISA will request the Fusion Center’s activation.
We played Bargain Quest for the first time today. It has a little different scheme than other games we’ve played and we enjoyed it. We’ve plan another session for tomorrow.
Blue skies, nothing but blue skies do I see 🎶
For today’s nerdy project I set up a Pi-Star MMDVM to enable access to D-Star reflectors. Previously doing so required tying up a local repeater. I always felt bad doing that even though it is a normal thing to do. Feeling accomplished since Pi-Star can be a bit tricky.
Our 7th grade son starts Mock Trial club today. I am pretty confident there will be some interesting after-school discussions.
When you stop for BBQ out in the country…
I normally don’t do any Christmas shopping this far in advance. But the (talk of) supply chain issues as well as seemingly random empty shelves at stores around us pushed me into it. One problem: none of us really knows what we want yet. 🎄
Moderna booster shot update: 48 hours later I’m feeling back to normal. I had lingering digestive issues this morning which finally cleared up. 100% would do it again.💉
24+ hours after my Moderna booster 💉: Got body aches and digestive woes in the night. Both are a bit better this evening but I still don’t feel like doing anything. Hoping to get back to doing what I do tomorrow morning.
I’ve been boosted! 💉💉💉
Let’s see how I feel at tomorrow this time. 2nd Moderna shot was a doozy on the second day.
I often see people laud their various writing instruments. A good eraser just doesn’t get the love it deserves. ✏️
American Airlines canceled over a thousand flights the past few days so we were worried. But my wife made it home today just in time for halloween. 🎃
The appliance I use most often in our home
❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
If my wife’s hamster was red she’d be a lot easier to see. Like most, she spends most of her time hiding.
☀️ The sun in in solar cycle 25 and has been much more active. Yesterday’s spikes in x-ray and proton flux caused some radio blackouts. This weekend the geomagnetic flux will spike to G3 so there are alerts for power grids and navigation. Nothing to fear. Facts are here.
Underneath it all is a lovely blossom waiting to appear
The sunset last night seen while driving home for dinner was 👍🏼👍🏼
After last night’s rain storm there is no pattern in these fallen leaves, just chaos.
Speaking of chaos, iOS 15 identified these as plant material ✅but thinks they’re magnolia leaves❌.
I achieve a sort of bliss blasting 🎶 in my Pleiades (aka Subaru)
Almost gravity-defying
The HF radio is good for long range communications but I use these VHF/UHF radios for more local connections.
