For many years, this website served as my personal blog, where I wrote about pretty much anything I cared about — a weird mix of everything from film photography to technology to cooking to whatever else came to mind. In 2019, I split-out my film photography interests into a separate website, originally intending to kill this site entirely. In the end, I left a handful of my most popular posts online, but otherwise abandoned the site.
Now, in 2024, I’ve decided to resurrect this site, reactivate a few bits of old content, and start creating new posts as well. This site will remain a rather esoteric mix of topics that interest me. Those include ham (amateur) radio, technology (especially computing and networking), and food and cooking in particular, but it might also venture into home improvement, media, music, or anything else that pops to mind.
Regardless of what you came here for, I hope you find some items of interest.
Latest posts
Here are my latest posts. For a full list, visit the Posts section.
- Realizing a Childhood Dream: The 1A2 Arrives
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to understand that “growing-up” is sort of a nebulous (and perhaps just stupid) term. When we’re kids, we can’t wait to become adults. Then we become adults, and before… Read more: Realizing a Childhood Dream: The 1A2 Arrives - Icom IC-7300: Initial Thoughts
I was stoked to receive an early Christmas present from my dad: The gift of a new Icom IC-7300 amateur radio HF transceiver. After all the positive comments about the radio that I’ve gotten from… Read more: Icom IC-7300: Initial Thoughts - What I’ve Learned About FT8
Since getting back on the HF bands of amateur radio almost exactly two months ago, the majority of my logged contacts have been with FT8, and to a lesser degree, FT4 — digital modes introduced… Read more: What I’ve Learned About FT8 - Yes, Actually, You Can Leave Social Media
Recently, I read through a number of social posts on Mastodon that were discussing the ins and outs of leaving other social media platforms, notably Facebook, but the thread contained mentions of Instagram, Twitter (which… Read more: Yes, Actually, You Can Leave Social Media - Antenna Experiment; Surprising Results
My “re-entry” into ham radio has been a real journey, and a whirlwind, as I described recently. Part of that has been going from thinking I couldn’t possibly participate in HF (shortwave) bands at all,… Read more: Antenna Experiment; Surprising Results - When a Plan Comes Together: Ham Radio and POTA
Rejoining the ranks of amateur radio operators this year has been a whirlwind. It’s been exactly 12 weeks, as I write this, since I took my Technician exam test (on July 21) that, with previous… Read more: When a Plan Comes Together: Ham Radio and POTA - Review: KM4CFT Iambic Paddle Kit V2
Since returning to ham radio, I’ve now attended two different “hamfests” — basically ham-radio-centric flea market style events, for those unfamiliar. Both have been a bit of a bust for me, but the most recent… Read more: Review: KM4CFT Iambic Paddle Kit V2 - For the Love of Radio: SDRplay RSP1B
After deciding to get back into ham radio (read more here), I needed to build a stealthy antenna for the HF (high frequency, a/k/a shortwave) bands in order to get back to the ham activities… Read more: For the Love of Radio: SDRplay RSP1B