Talking to others
Interpersonal communications; we’ve come along way from “hollerin’ across the holler”. Much of it is taken for granted. After all, the telephone might ring a dozen times during the suppertime period (not for me; I have children). Call display helps in confirming the anonymity of the cell user and the telemarketer. Hey, maybe they’re one and the same – food for thought while my plate grows colder. And yes, I’ve signed the Do Not Call list.
I sometimes use Skype, in large part due to the occasional two-way video. This afternoon, my interlocutor managed to kill off the avatar process that projected a very catlike dog face (blame MicroSoft), but on the Linux side of life, my video kills the process. Can’t blame Redmond for that glitch. The subscription cost for this service is still worth the $3/month.
Tonight, I “checked in” to the local amateur radio net, for the first time in years. There was little chance to be mike-shy since nobody heard me for the first twenty minutes. Something about subaudible tones not active; I feel like there’s been a certain evolution since my first efforts as bicycle mobile back in the late ’70s. The self-updating list of net operators on the club website is completely practical, as the callsign and name and QTH are shown immediately. No more pencil and paper and trying to keep the identities straight after all. Technology in support of basic radio. If I can convince a couple of family members to try and pass the government exam I could have my own network. Just a thought.
