Happy New year

Feeding Birds & Bird Foods

Here in South East Indiana the snow has covered the ground for weeks now. The birds are struggling to find enough food. Help them out by putting out feed. Most retail stores and farm feed stores sell wild bird seeds. I put out feed all Winter, but it is very important when the ground is covered with snow. Save your table scraps and put it out on the ground near the base of a tree or bush. Crows love table scraps but so do stray cats and dogs, They must eat to.
Read more Do a search for feeding birds

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Wizards of Winter

66000+ lights synchronized to Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Wizards of Winter using 144 channels of Light-O-Rama.

Visit www.NeverEnoughLights.com for more info.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all

Christmas card again

A few years ago I put together this Christmas card and it turned into a hit with people that remember the Busching bridge. I guess it is a slight bit hard to find on the web because I get several emails each year asking if it is still on and where can it be found. OK, here it is again:
http://wb9otx.com/card/
You may want to bookmark it for next year. Happy Holidays to all.

Solar panel plus wind turbine report

If for some crazy reason you have been reading this blog you would know I have been experimenting with wind and solar power. Here is a report that may help you decide if you want to go off grid. I have found that here in southeast Indiana the wind just does not blow at a speed fast enough to produce the power to do little more than trickle charge the batteries. The 750 watt inverter draws more than the turbine will keep up with and with a 15 watt lightbulb attached it will run down the battery very quickly. The solar panels I used put out 4 amps in bright sunlight. Solar is a better choice for this part of the state. Even with overcast skies they will produce 1 amp. My panels are ground mounted, and this may be a better location than on your roof, why, It snows and completely blocks out the sun. You can sweep the snow off and not risk falling off the roof. The combination of solar and wind that I have will run a few lights or some small appliances with 5 very heavy duty 12 volt batteries. I can run my Ham radio station for an extended time tho. I bought all it took to get this monster up and running at used prices. I cut the cost at every point I could and scrounged everything I could, still it was very expensive to construct. I find it to be a great conversation piece and a fun thing to experiment with, but practical its not. By the time the system saved you enough to pay for itself all would be worn out. Buy your watts from Duke or REMC or move to where the wind speeds are grater and the sun shines most of the time. One good note is I have 5 batteries fully charged if the grid falls off....... its been fun.

Cloudy lunar eclipse

It was cloudy and overcast over most of the U.S., but you can see the photos of it in this article from Wikimedia.

The December 2010 lunar eclipse occurred from 5:27 to 11:06 UTC (1:27 to 6:06 EST) on December 21, coinciding with the date of the December solstice. It was visible in its entirety as a total lunar eclipse in North and South America.
Read everything you ever wanted to know about it.

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Connect to a broadband modem or a wired broadband router with wired Ethernet, or wirelessly connect to a Wi-Fi signal or hotspot with the 802.11b/g/n wireless connection built into your PC

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Winter is here 12/21/10 at 11:38 pm

A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes. The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south comes to a stop before reversing direction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice

Are you tired of AVG Restarts

Install Microsoft Security Essentials: Most commercial security suites are overblown and tend to bog down the systems on which they're installed. MSE (download site) is small, fast, and free — definitely worth trying in place of competing suites.

Don't forget to un-install the virus program you have now before installing this one.

LUNAR ECLIPSE

For the first time in many years, northern winter is beginning with a total lunar eclipse. On Dec. 21, 2010, the date of the northern winter solstice, the full Moon will pass through Earth's shadow, turning the lunar orb a delightful shade of coppery-red. Sky watchers in North America are favored with an overhead view as the eclipse unfolds on Tuesday morning between 02:41 am and 03:53 am EST. Visit http://spaceweather.com for full coverage of the event including live webcasts, observing tips, and a look at the surprising connection between lunar eclipses and Earth's climate.

You just need to watch this

I was stationed at Ft. Ord, Ca. in the late 60s and when I was discharged I travailed to Oakland, Ca. to board a flight home. At the airport a hippy looking fellow walked up and said," How many babies have you killed", then spit in my face. I felt lower than a worm under ground. I am so glad most people are standing up for our servicemen now. If you see a soldier, shake his/her hand, buy his lunch, or just say thank you. Watch this video it will make you feel good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=KTb6qdPu8JE

Battle of the Bulge - 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945

Everyone has heard the words "Battle of the Bulge", but how much do we really know about what took place? I know you are pressed for time, we all are, but please take just a few minutes to read a few paragraphs of this article. You may want to bookmark it and read more later. Its a piece of history that changed the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge

Can't find your phone

Loose your cell or cordless phone ? Use this site to find it.

http://icantfindmyphone.com/

Walter Winchell Newscast

Walter Winchell WWII News Feb. 25th 1945I guess you have to be an old geezer like me to remember radio in the late 40s. This was before our family had our first TV. Walter Winchell had a very fast pace news broadcast that aired every evening. I was always intrigued by the opening of the show. Walter would start with,"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea". There was CW (morse code) sounding just before headline of the story. I realize most reading this blog will not remember or care who Walter Winchell is or was, but he was a piece of history and that is for sure.
Here an audio file of his newscast

Read more from Louis Lapides blog

Higgins boat 20,000 built

The Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in World War II, one example of which is the Normandy invasion. The craft was designed by Andrew Higgins of Louisiana, United States based on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes. More than 20,000 were built, by Higgins Industries and licensees.

In researching my brothers Normandy landing, one of the interesting things found was this boat manufactured by Higgins. Without this specialized landing craft the placement of troops would have been much worse. My brother, Jim, made it off a boat like this and beyond the beach. He was killed the next day by a grenade fired by a German rifle. Delford Cox from Holton was on the same boat and survived the war. Both hero in my eyes. ........ Jack

first transatlantic radio message on December 12, 1901

Marconi's Poldhu Wireless Station The site is famous as the location of Poldhu Wireless Station, Guglielmo Marconi's transmitter for the first transatlantic radio message on December 12, 1901 to Marconi's temporary receiving station on Signal Hill, St. John's, Newfoundland.

Read More

Photo curtisy of:
http://capecodhistory.us/Wellfleet-records/Wellfleet_pictures.html

Indiana Amateur of the year

WY9L Delbert Felix named Indiana Amateur of the year with N8SOJ Rob Schlotterbeck, KB9KJO Jack Wilker, and WB9OTX Jack Demaree placing with-in the top ten. All are members of the Ripley County Amateur Radio Club. I was the first looser.

Read the full story at:
Part #1

Part #2

My video won't play

Several people have complained that the videos on YouTube stop playing then star-up again. This is not the fault of your computer, but a faster newer computer may help somewhat. The problems lye on the server where the video is stored and your internet provider. It may be the fault of your WiFi (wireless) system also. If you have a computer that connects to your modem or router with a CAT-5 wire you will get a faster download rate compared to your laptop over WiFi. The best solution to this problem is when the video stops playing click the pause button at the bottom of the video. Then wait. When the usually red line passes the triangle somewhat click the play button. This process will buffer or load the video ahead of what is playing. This is the only solution unless you want to pay for a faster connection. With the increased demand on servers and provides we are just stuck. Get use to it as I don't see it improving in the near future, at least till they run fiber optics to your home. Just remember when you were on dial-up compared to broadband.

John Lennon (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980)

Sunday December 7, 1941

Aircraft and midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy began an attack on the U.S. The Americans had deciphered Japan's code earlier and knew about a planned attack before it actually occurred. However, due to difficulty in deciphering intercepted messages, the Americans failed to discover Japan's target location before the attack occurred.^[6] Under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the attack was devastating in loss of life and damage to the U.S. fleet. At 06:05 on December 7, the six Japanese carriers launched a first wave of 183 aircraft composed mainly of dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters.^[7] The Japanese hit American ships and military installations at 07:51. The first wave attacked military airfields of Ford Island. At 08:30, a second wave of 170 Japanese aircraft, mostly torpedo bombers, attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The battleship Arizona was hit with an armor piercing bomb which penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart and sinking it within seconds. Overall, nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and 21 ships were severely damaged. Three of the 21 would be irreparable. The overall death toll reached 2,350, including 68 civilians, and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona. The first shots fired were from the destroyer Ward on a midget submarine that surfaced outside of Pearl Harbor; Ward sank the midget sub at approximately 06:55, about an hour before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan would lose 29 out of the 350 aircraft they attacked with.
Read More or Click here to See a Rare Color Film of Pearl Harbor attack
Below is a video of Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Pearl Harbor Address

14 airmen on the flight were lost - Dec 5, 1945

Flight 19 was the designation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared on 5 December 1945 during a United States Navy-authorized overwater navigation training flight from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida.^[1] The assignment was called "Navigation problem No. 1", a combination of bombing and navigation, which other flights had or were scheduled to undertake that day.^[2]

All 14 airmen on the flight were lost, as were all 13 crew members of a PBM Mariner flying boat assumed to have exploded in mid-air while searching for the flight. Navy investigators could not determine the cause for the loss of Flight 19 but said the aircraft may have become disoriented and ditched in rough seas after running out of fuel.

Argosy magazine published an account of the incident using elements first described in American Legion Magazine^{[citation needed]}. Subsequently, writers on the paranormal such as Charles Berlitz and Richard Winer used these sources and their own research to associate the incident with the Bermuda Triangle. The flight also features in the 1977 science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Read More

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia