Broncos make the playoffs

We found out today that the Hastings Broncos did indeed make the NAIA playoffs.  The first post season game will be against the #6 ranked Ottawa University Braves in Ottawa, KS next Saturday (11/21).  Naturally Lisa and I will be going down there for the game!  So where the hell is Ottawa, KS? Due south of Lawrence, so we might work in a stop there to see cousins Liz & Linda on the way down.

The Braves won the KCAC conference championship with a 10-0 season, their first undefeated season since 1965 and are hosting their first playoff game. Here’s hoping hte Broncos hand them their first defeat of the year!

Hastings 27, Midland Lutheran 14

The Hastings Broncos ended the regular season 9-2 this afternoon, after pretty handily beating Midland Lutheran.  Midland didn’t seem to be able to get their act together today, and no less than four interceptions certainly didn’t help them any.  The Broncos hit their stride pretty early in the game and never gave up the lead.

We’ll find out in a day or two whether they will have a spot in the playoffs, and if so where the first post season game will be.

Good job, Broncos!

Captcha added

I added Captcha to the comment posting page.  That’s the little thing that asks you to type in some obscured characters to prove you’re a human and not a robot script.  Since starting this blog there have been four real comments posted.  I have also had to delete several hundred comments that were nothing more than links to illegal drug sites, porn sites, or web pages that would load you up with the latest Windows virus or worm.  Or a combination.  None of them were ever visible, since I have to approve every post, but it was a pain in the ass.  Maybe this will help to stem the flow of spam.

Hastings 28, Concordia 18

We were really glad to see the Broncos take the field for the second half!  We have not yet figured out who was playing during the first half, but the second was all Broncos.  The defense and the offense were tied today, each squad scored two TDs.

What a game…

I need a vacation… from me.

So here I sit, 10:30 in the morning, still in a bathrobe and slippers.  I would be dressed, but in addition to work I’ve been getting two keyers ready to ship.  I have half a dozen orders that need to get packed and mailed, email to be answered, and still need ot make a complete run through of the new keyer firmware to make sure all the debugging and diagnostic stuff is pulled and all the features work. On top of that I have 50 boards that need to be prepped for assembly…  in less than 2 weeks the magazine ad will hit peoples’ mailboxes, which means I need to do some serious assembly work by then.  I’m still trying to get the basement de-junked so Lisa can use what should be her sewing area.  The new antenna still isn’t up, need to order the support line and insulators.  I’ve got a piece of desk that needs finishing.  Haven’t been to the gym in two weeks, again, and that’s not good.  The list goes on, and on, and on.

This has been a pattern for – well, as long as I can remember.  I must have a damn short attention span or something, seems like everything gets about half done.  On the bright side, I think I have every Friday off from now to the end of the year, courtesy of my new employer’s crappy PTO carryover policy.  Maybe I can get enough stuff finished to get to a more or less normal life again.

A long weekend

As I sit here Monday morning, I have little twinges to remind me of the weekend.  I almost feel like we got some things accomplished.  Kim & Stu called yesterday morning to invite us along on a motorcycle ride, but we decided to stay home and get some much needed work done in the yard instead.  It was perfect weather for either, and we really needed to get ready for winter.  The roads will still be there next time it’s a beautiful day.  We did see them Friday evening, went over for wine and cheese and some great conversation.  We really need to do that more often.

My shoulders and arms are feeling a little used from the leaf raking, as well as from pullig the cord in futile attempts to re-start the leaf blower that I’m afraid I killed.  Rob had filled the 2-stroke gas can, and I forgot that he’d done that and I had not not yet put the oil in it.  As a result, the leaf blower ran at full throttle with no oil until it croaked.  Twice.  Now it has no compression to speak of and won’t start.  Crap.  The rest of the leaves got raked the old fashioned way, and of course the back yard is already covered again.  Got the lawn mowed, Lisa did the front and side flower beds, Rob cut the spirea bushes out back down to the ground.  We have 14 or 15 bags of yard waste now.

With Rob’s help I got the work shop more or less cleaned up, at least the half with the work bench.  I can see the top of the bench now, and have it cleared off so I can assemble keyers again.  There is a lot more work to be done, of course, but it’s looking a lot better.

Pete was home for a few hours, and we got the new tires mounted on the Cougar so he can get around this winter.  Sent him back to Hastings with a load of food, of course.  The new tail light is on the Vespa, and I got to take it out for an extended ride around the neighborhood.  It’s running great now, started on the first kick once and doesn’t take more than a few any time.  All I need to do now is get the plate and I can ride it outside of the neighborhood without worrying about the gendarmerie.  I think, though, that I may be re-wiring the little guy this winter.  I suspect I may not have things quite right yet.

All in all it was a long, but very productive weekend.

Nebraska City ride today

Well, I fear Lisa and I have taken what may be the last ride of the year.  Unless it warms up some, anyway.  We had a pretty nice ride down to Kimmel Orchard.  We split some apple pie, had coffee & hot cider and picked up some of their salsa and a couple other things.  The ride back was getting pretty damn cold, but we made it home safe & sound.

Along the way we met a few new people, had some nice conversation, saw the remaining fall colors.  The rain and all didn’t help much in that regard, but still — it was nice to get out and enjoy the day.

The new phone book – I mean, Handbook’s here!

Navin R. Johnson said it best…

2010 ARRL Handbook
2010 ARRL Handbook

If you’re wondering why I care so much,I wrote a lot of Chapter 4, the new Digital Basics chapter.   Some came from the old Basic Electronics chapter, but I hope to have it completely rewritten for the 2011 edition.   I also have 3 projects in Chapter 24.   So, it’s pretty cool.   Besides,when you contribute to the Handbook you get your copy for free…   and every ham NEEDS at least one ARRL Handbook around.

Hacking at code again.

00001
MK-1, now running V1.20 Alpha.

After a few weeks off, I’ve returned to hacking at the new release of MasterKeyer firmware.  In the past couple of days I’ve managed to add a couple of halfway nice features and improvements, and am now working on adding the last couple of emulation mode commands.  I think I’m going to discover just how many times you can plug and unplug a USB drive before the connector wears out.