So I’ve been doing this ham radio thing for years. Sometimes it’s fun, and sometimes it’s annoying. At one point I tried to do as much volunteering as I could, mainly communications for special events (marathons, parades, etc) and sometimes disasters. Mostly volunteering means you get to stand around and do whatever they want you to do. For example, communications for one road race meant standing at an intersection trying to keep people from driving through the barricade. Another time communications mean stuffing flyers in envelopes. Some people take offense, but I do what I can.

One event where I actually get to do some communications is the Portland Marathon. The ham radio operators call in the sag wagons and the on-site ambulance teams. For the past few years, I’ve either been using an old radio I got in high school (back around 1981), or borrowing a newer radio. I finally bought a new one because I felt bad about borrowing yet another thing from my friend Greg.

I got it mail order because the local ham radio store, part of a chain, didn’t have it in stock. I went back two weeks in a row, but still nothing. Comparison shopping brought me back to the same chain. Their “free” shipping made it the best deal. They’re shipping me the radio from the store that didn’t have it for the past two weeks. I guess they must have gotten them in the past couple of days.

OK, so that was boring and geeky. Also boring and geeky is my gym schedule. I now notice that there is less interesting TV during my old schedule (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) than during my new schedule (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays). I may have to miss the start of Joey. Oh, the agony.