So you are telling me there's a chance!?!?

Odds for Tennessee to win the SEC at 18 to 1.

Top 100 SciFi Books

I saw it first at Robb's place, but apparently it is making the rounds as I saw it next at Tam's and she links to several other folks.

So, I've read about a quarter of the list.

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King (Only the first two.)
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

Baofeng UV-3R: Hawaii Radio Sales

Chris, NH7QH, is making the virtual move from www.baofeng-uv3r.us to www.hawaiiradiosales.com.The new site is already a big jump forward. He posted to the UV-3R Yahoo Group with some details about his inventory:

"Also Instock (Not updated on website yet)
35+/- - Black UV-3R
26 - Spare battery
10 - Charger with PSU
10 - Original Antenna Dual Band Antenna type 1
28 - VHF Antenna
28 - UHF Antenna
10 – UV-3R Com Port (DB 9 pin)
40 – UV-3R USB cable
25 – Car Charger

And in two weeks we will have 100 more USB cables, 50 – Camouflage radio, 50 -
Blue radio, 50 - Red radio, 50 - Yellow radio is finally out.

***Ask for the "HAM DEAL" with valid call sign and See our ad in OCT 2011 QST***

www.baofeng-uv3r.us
NH7QH Radio Supplies, LLC.
Veteran Owned Business

73's,
Chris
NH7QH"

And in a comment on an earlier post, Chris had already assured me that he will have the yellow version soon.

Navigating The Nutnfancy Project

One complaint I have about the Nutnfancy Project is the huge number of videos he has. It is almost too much of a good thing - which could probably be said about the length of some of his videos, too. (Up next: 45 Minutes of Part 7 of Tactical Socks for Urban Wear during Warm Seasons in a ROL Scenario!) He makes an attempt to address the massive catalog in this video, but I really think a simple web page with an index would get him even more views. Clearly, he is doing something right since he has over 75M upload views, but there is always room for improvement.

KG-UV920R

Ed of Wouxun.us responds to this thread about the "as of yet missing in action" KG-UV920R mobile rig from Wouxun:

"If it was a hoax, it was a nice looking one that weighed about 3 pounds. Last October, I held it in my grubby little hands, turned its knobs, took its picture, even tried to sneak it into my bag, so it did exist. I have my theory as to why it hasn't made it to market but I'll keep that to myself. If it's at the show this October, I'll let you know.

Pictures added to the Photos section.

Ed
www.Wouxun.US"

Below is one of the pics he posted. (Join the Yahoo Group if you want to see the other one.) I think the mobile rig will appear. I am guessing that they have run into some technical challenges, supply chain issues, cost problems, or all of the above that has delayed its arrival. Even if it never shows up, I would not assume it was because the KG-UV920R was a hoax. I think Hanlon's Razor applies.

Deals

Radio Stuff
HRO will have some specials on-line on Saturday, August 27th.

Gun Stuff
Save 10% on holsters, pouches, and more at Comp-Tac.com by using the code COMP-0811 before the end of the month.

EMP

Posting about the Faraday Bags reminded me of a book I read last summer: One Second After. (It was the summer of the post-apocalyptic stories as I also read On The Beach and Alas, Babylon. Nothing like some sunshine, sand, and stories about the end of the world to make for a pleasant vacation.)

One Second After describes the events after an EMP has completely disrupted modern life. With all electronics (including those in cars, computers, communications equipment, appliances, etc.) rendered useless, the supply chain quickly breaks down. When you have JIT inventories, your supply quickly goes to zero when the next truck or train doesn't arrive. Low inventories is great for cash flow, but not so hot for being prepared to survive without weekly trips to the fully stocked grocery store and pharmacy. Food becomes scarce as do medications including common place antibiotics and maintenance drugs like insulin.

In this disaster scenario, communications are down - most of the "when all else fails" ham radio gear included. Matt @ AmateurRadio.com gets to the heart of the matter:

"Amateur Radio is depended upon “when all else fails.” Ham radio operators pride themselves on their “readiness, resilience, and response.” Well prepared hams have their 72-hour Go Kits, extra batteries for their fancy HTs, etc. But what if the emergency involves some sort of EMP attack? Are you ready to provide emergency communications for your community when your solid-state HF and VHF transceivers have been rendered useless boat anchors?"

I am in no way prepared for an EMP attack or even most natural disasters. My goal is to keep chipping away at being prepared by making baby steps over time - first aid supplies in the cars, extra flashlights and batteries, radios and batteries, water, food, blankets, binoculars, fire making kits, etc.

While being able to communicate with a community or across a nation, doesn't by itself solve the issues of disease and hunger, it could go a long way in providing hope. And hope might just keep society a little more civilized.

Back to the book... it isn't high art by any stretch, but it is a good read and extremely thought provoking if not downright scary.

Signs

WizardPC is on a roll at his new blog - Guns, Cars, and Tech. While covering some familiar territory, he hits on a key point:

"I’ve had business owners tell me that posting reduces their liability. It doesn’t:

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter,reduce or eliminate any civil or criminal liability that a property owner or manager may have for injuries arising on their property."

So let's play a little logic game.

Why do businesses exist? To ensure our safety? No. To make money.

To make money, businesses cannot lose money. So, to protect themselves from lawsuits, they post signs prohibiting guns on the premises.

Except Section D above says they don't get any protection from doing that.

Therefore, if they post a sign, they don't mitigate the risk from lawsuits AND they alienate gun owning customers, therefore reducing their profit.

So it is only logical that business should not post signs prohibiting guns.

And I would like to add that...

Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
And signs don't save people. People save people.

UT Student Housing at Gettysvue

UT will use Bruce Pearl's house as student housing. They should have given it that status before the whole recruiting violation/lying to the NCAA thing. Heck, Little Pearl probably already spent a lot of time there.

Via No Silence

2M J-Pole Antenna Give-away - Update

The winner of the drawing for the 2M J-Pole from Hamuniverse.com/KB9VBR will be announced on August 29, 2001.

Previously mentioned here.