Quote of the Day

Tam in the comments on Les's post about giving up cable and almost giving up internet access, too:

"Okay, yeah, see, that's just crazy talk right there. :p

Keep your priorities straight, man: I can order bottled water from the internet, but I can't get books out of my faucet."

TYT TH-UVF9: Tri-band

Well, the plot thickens. I got a reply from Radio-Mart about the TH-UVF9. It sounds like they are making a modification to the radio to get 220.

"The model is originally a dual band but we have the correct way to make it work on the 220MHz band also"

I've asked if they get full power out on 220 and if this is a software or hardware modification. I'll let you know more as I learn more.

TYT TH-UVF9: The Story So Far

On 5 May, Kight Radio says the TH-UVF9 will be available soon. This was the first time I've run across anything about this radio.

On 21 May, Kight Radio is testing the TH-UVF9.

On 24 May, Kight Radio has the TH-UVF9 for sale as does the 409Shop.

On 31 May, 409Shop does their usual unboxing video.

On 31 May, Nate comments that Radio-Mart lists the TH-UVF9 as a tri-band radio. The link from Radio-Mart to a brochure shows the radio as a dual band. (I had not posted about this earlier as I could not find the time to review all my notes and surf to the end of the TYT internet to reconcile all this information.) Radio-Mart says they have 494 of the tri-banders available for $111 USD for pre-order and that delivery will be in three weeks. (Three weeks from when?) There is also a note that "the display is LCD and not dot matrix."

On 3 June, Kight radio says the TH-UVF9 is almost ready - just a minor problem with the channel/frequency display.

On 6 June, TYT has the TH-UVF9 listed as a dual band radio on their web page.

Today, I've e-mail both Radio-Mart and TYT to see if they can clarify the situation on the tri-band version.

While we wait, Nate has some other cool finds. Here are some pictures from a Hungarian Facebook page along with a couple of videos.

Thanks to again Nate, Steve, and others for links/info along the way.

Amateur Extra

Well, I had a somewhat arbitrary goal of getting my Extra license before the current exam expired. Since I've not cracked a book in months, I'll miss that target. Too much three year old and too much running to have time for studying... maybe this winter.

Social Security Statements On-line

Last year I posted about the end of paper Social Security statements and lamented that there was no on-line replacement. That's changed. You can check your Social Security history here.

Via Bargaineering (now and for the original post)

You Are Not Special

Or as I've seen in some signatures: You are special. Just like everyone else. Text here. If you've not already seen it a hundred other places, it is worth your time.

Apple Strategy

I swear I'm not an Apple fanboi, but I am impressed with their products and their plan. Their alternatives for Google Maps, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Docs, dictation software, Growl, and navigation systems along with their ruthless elimination of some technologies (optical drives, Ethernet, traditional hard disk drives, etc.) makes them a trendsetter and always gives the competition something to think about.

Battleship: How to Win

andrewchen Battleship: How to win the classic board game every time slate.me/KgGNyoTue, Jun 12 23:35:06 from Timely by Demandforce

I thought Joshua/WOPR figured out the only winning move was not to play.

You Can't Use Facebook To Serve Court Docs

sarahcuda Judge: Chase Bank Can’t Use Facebook To Serve Court Docs pandodaily.com/news/judge-cha… via @pandodaily - WOWWed, Jun 13 19:39:42 from Tweet Button

But "it’s a commonly used serving method in Australia, New Zealand, and more recently in England." That's the "wow" part for me.

Elecraft KX3: Kit Build Video

Elecraft KX3 Ultra Portable HF Transceiver Kit Build