Ham Radio - Make my computer talk to your computer

My father-in-law has been a ham for 50+ years. When talking about packet or digital modes, he often remarks that he doesn't want to make "my computer talk to your computer."

Gary Hoffman, KB0H, takes that idea to its logical conclusion:

"What if I died? Would anyone actually notice? My website would still be there. People might still send me e-mail. Various answering machines would still respond with my voice. The APRS station in my shack would keep on pumping out my call sign.

None of those machines was me, of course. They weren’t alive. They didn't have personalities."

Via The Amateur Amateur: Virtually There

HP Touchpad & Nook Color Update

Too bad I couldn't find a $99 HP Touchpad, since the Android port is coming. Obviously, that would have been cheaper than my Nook Color Android.

Paul points out that the Nook Color can be had from the BN ebay store (Item: 120758870326) for $180 with free shipping. Also, he links to the XDA forum for hacking the Nook Color.

Nook Color & Nook 2 Android

I really like our iPad. The three of us seem to share it pretty well, but I was already thinking we could really be a two or three tablet family. My uncle is trying out a Nook Color, the Barnes & Noble ebook reader along with a little hack to run the Android OS via a bootable microSD card from Nook 2 Android.

You can pick up a new Nook Color for $250. I got a refurb on Buy.com for $180. You can then order the a Nook 2 Android 8 GB card for $35. So on the cheap side, you can get an Android tablet for $215 plus shipping.

I'm excited about this as I really wanted a tablet and I think this will be a great device. I want it to be my portable documentation repository and library. Dropbox plus some PDFs. YouVersion for multiple versions of the Bible. Add Google Reader for my RSS feeds and I am all set!

Ditto.

Linoge has done it again. We need to match him up with some of these antis in a debate club showdown. (The first rule of debate club...) I hope if I keep reading his stuff, I will become wiser and more eloquent. For now, I will leave it at... ditto!

A long read, but well worth the time and it will get your neurons firing:

why are they so eager to expose their bigotry?

Win a $20 Gift Card to Nifty Accessories! | AmateurRadio.com

Win a $20 Gift Card to Nifty Accessories! | AmateurRadio.com

I've got a couple of the Nifty cards - one for my Wouxun KG-UVD1P and my IC-7000. They are handy to have around. AmateurRadio.com is giving away five $20 gift cards - all you have to do is leave a comment (assuming you are licenses ham) to have a chance to win. At the time of this posting, you would have about a 1 in 20 chance of winning! Much better than Vegas odds!

The Fulmer Curse?

Clay lays it all out... from David Cutcliffe leaving for Duke to Pat Summitt's dementia.

Wear Orange on Friday

I will wear Orange on Friday. You should, too.

"Hey Pat head Summitt, Lady Vol and Volunteer fans lets show our support for Pat Summitt by wearing orange on Friday 8/26 all day long. Lets not only tell her we got her back . Lets Show her. Join us as we make a tribute to one one of the biggest classiest icons in college female basketball history. Lets show her we are honored to to be a Lady Vol and Pat Head Summit fan. Please pass this along to everyone you know. Lets turn this town orange friday !!!!"

.45 LC

My friend bought some sort of revolver, so that it would be his turn to make the person in the next lane jump because of his "hand cannon." He said he was going to e-mail me a picture to compare with a 9mm round, but all he sent was this photo of a 9mm round next to a metal thermos.

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