Ham Radio Funny Phonetics

Amateur radio operators are supposed to use the standard phonetic alphabet to make their call signs understandable. My old ND8O would be November Delta Eight Oscar. But it's more fun to make up your own. My G-rated one was Never Drop Eight Oranges. For the more bawdy buddies I talked with on the ham bands, there was Nancy Developed Eight Orgasms.

Snot, Poop. code of friendship

Golly gee whiz, how long ago was it that I met my old friend Etaoin Shrdlu, who hangs out at http://pot-of-message.blogspot.com/, first on ham radio, lost track of each other, got back together on the internet and now in the blogosphere. We have talked about everything, up to and including snot and poop. Cole Porter said it well. Friendship, friendship. What a perfect blendship. When other friendships have been forgot, ours will still be hot. If you're ever down a well, ring my bell. If you're ever in a mess, S. O. S. But you don't have to send it in Morse Code. We old hams who busted our butts learning the code to get a ham license are kind of sad that you don't have to do that anymore.

Repeat your name please

One of the most frustrating things about hearing impairment is that you can't distinguish the consonants that are so important in speech intelligibility. It's not a big deal that I can't always tell whether the Wheel of Fortune contestant is asking Vanna to show them a T or P, N or M, S or F. But it gets irritating and stupid when I call somebody by the wrong name because I didn't hear the first letter clearly. For a long time I thought the name of the cute blonde on Star Trek was Tess, as in Dick Tracy's girlfriend. Remember Tess Trueheart? Nope, it's Kes. If you live or work with a hearing impaired person who seems slow to respond to you, it may be that they are trying to figure out what you said so they don't give a goofy response.

Kes and Neelix

My current favorite TV couple. Last night, Kes had long hair and was poured into a uniform that was downright alarming. Hotter than a two dollar pistol on a Saturday Night. And she's only two years old! I don't think I want to see the episode where she transitions into her next form. I suppose she leaves Neelix behind. I might not be able to handle that.

HOT IN BED!

As I write this, Nurse Ratched's blog about getting older, "The Old Hen" has racked up 15 comments. Who knows what the number will be when you read it at http://www.nurse-ratcheds.blogspot.com/ Mr. Spock and I think that's fascinating. We believed the wise guys who claim the blogosphere is owned by teens and very young adults.
I shouldn't reveal this personal stuff, but my wife and I got really hot in bed last night. So we tossed out our hot water bottles and went back to sleep.

Hearing Loss

There will be great advances in hearing aid technology, cost and insurance coverage, only when large numbers of younger persons, well under retirement age, experience significant hearing impairment and hearing loss is no longer perceived as an old folks disease that must be hidden with tiny devices that can't be seen.

Shopping males?

There is something wrong with men who like to shop. That's not normal.

Online Groups

Those groups are a puzzlement to me. They do some good. They start some nice friendships. On the other side, they pump out a lot of misinformation. Disinformation, too, which is worse. And whether they are about a terrible medical condition or just some special interest or hobby thing, they always seem to degenerate into vicious personal attacks.

Star Power

I like to complain about show business stars having too much political clout. But I just remembered that my radio/TV idol, the forgotten giant, one of the great entertainers of the past century, is said to have had a major role in putting Eisenhower in the Whitehouse. I wonder if the young generation that pretty much owns the blogosphere has ever heard of him. His name: Arthur Godfrey.

Magnetic Personality

I must thank God or whoever it is that sends me ideas in the middle of the night. If It's God, He has a sense of humor. Most of the thoughts are not profound, just silly and fun to play with. Maybe it is God and He sends us what we need. Anyway ... I got this idea for some word play that's too good to pass up. The promotional material for THE SECRET, the book and movie that has everybody excited, names Carnegie as one of the great practioners of the law of attraction that they say sends out magnetic waves and brings whatever you think about into your life. Andrew Carnegie, at one time the richest man in the world, great philanthropist, founder of U. S. Steel. You could say he was a magnate and a magnet. There. I said it and I'm glad.

Wedding Anniversary

Sunday February 7, 1954, 4:00 PM. Radio listeners in Flint, Michigan heard a wedding on WMRP. It was broadcast from the Oak Park Methodist Church. WMRP deejay Clif Martin married Freda Shumate. So how do you stay married for over 50 years? Sorry, I have no wisdom, no advice, no secret, no formula. You just stay married. That’s neither profound nor romantic. You just stay married.

Ferengi Fun

My favorite Star Trek episodes are the ones about the Ferengi. Those greedy little conivers with their rules of acquistion are great fun. Wonderful writing.

Feline Foolish

If you run into me someplace and I am babbling baby talk, it doesn't necessarily indicate that I have gone senile. Although that's a distinct possibility. More likely, it's a habit from talking that way to my three and a half cats. My three plus a grand-cat who spends a lot of time here. His brain is not all there. He has cerebeller hypoplasia. He pukes a lot, too.

Bugged by Dr. Phil

You're too hard on us men, Doc. You want us to be more like women because that's what your female audience wants. We are what we are.

Molly Ivins, Wittenburg Door

Interesting conicidence. A couple posts ago I mentioned the religious satire magazine, "The Wittenburg Door." They have now issued a reprint of their interview with Molly Ivins, who has died. http://wittenburgdoor.com/MollyIvins.html