FYI: Blix Street Records has announced they will be releasing a new Eva Cassidy CD/Album in August 2002. The album will be a mix of studio and live performances. Release will simultaneously in the US and UK. Working title is called: Imagine.
For those of you who don't know-- Eva Cassidy was a wonderful musician who died far too early from cancer. Her rendition of "Fields of Gold" from her Songbird Album was the music Michelle Kwan skates her show program in "Champions on Ice." Eva's albums are carried at Amazon and local record stores.
Is the LA Times really a newspaper? Well in my opinion it's not.
When I moved to LA about 12 years ago. I had been exposed to at least 8-10 daily papers and countless weekly because my ex's family was in the newspaper business. I knew from personal experience what it took to put out a daily-- What was good news and what sold papers. Taking all of this exposure into account, I tried to embrace the LAT as my daily paper. It always fell short-- with the exception of the LAT Book Review and the comics. Hidden between the countless countless column feet of ads where an assortment of articles, which were more AP wire stories than locally written ones. However most of the local news was either downtown news or entertainment. Neither of which I personally gave a damn-- and still don't. I live 30 miles East of LA. They never covered my area. Hell! Palm Springs (120 miles East) got better coverage than my area!
About a year ago when the LAT started to cover the regional areas as special sections, the paper rotted on the porch every day until Doug took the time to read it. It barely made good compost. For him it was a mystery why I found it so paper so lacking. So I tried to explain how shallow and one-sided its reporting was. It rarely, if ever corrects factual errors. Unless someone is suing. The LAT's reporting is generally unbalanced and money is where it shows who's favorite this week. In the end, it barely deserves to be called a newspaper.
Loaded with enough radio equiptment, antennas and creature comforts to make a trip to a 5-Star resort look pale. Over 40 Ham radio operators ascended Friday evening to top of Summitridge Park in Diamond Bar (right) to begin setting up for the Annual ARRL's Ham Radio Field Day. Summitridge Park in Diamond Bar is the highest urban point in a 20 mile area with exception of Mt. Wilson and Mt. Baldy. Even at this time there is enough hardware and antennas set up and running, thanks to a large propane generator-- to support a small third world country.
Doug (left) went over early this morning armed with his new baby... er-- radio to help set up the antennas and begin working the bands-- especially the 20 meter band.
Now for you who don't know about DX-ing here's the short course. This is a contest where individuals and clubs work all of the amateur radio bands making and recieving contacts all over the US and Canada over a set period of 24 hours. Even non-licensed operators are allowed to work the bands under the assistance of the control operators. Points are given for the number of contacts (QSO's) on specific frequencies.
For the serious operators these contests are a race to see which clubs and individuals can get as many confirmed contacts during the contest hours. By dinner time tonight (6PM Pacific) Doug had made over 100 contacts on the 20 meter band.
As evening set in-- friends and family are invited to join the encampment for the annual Steak Dinner at Summit Ridge. Over 40 adults and a dozen kids made the trip up a hill (in 4x4's) to enjoy great chow, good company and some fun. After dinner and the clean up-- the kids either camp out on the hill with the Dad's or go home for the evening.
I was up to take the some club pictures, log some of the reports, bring the potatoe salad and attempt to blog via my cell phone. I can report I was successful on everything but blogging via the cell phone. Trouble was-- the hill is so high it is over the top of all the cell phone antennas, I could barely hold a connection to call home-- let alone connect a modem to a dialup.
However the most redeeming thing happened about 8:30PM when I was getting ready to come home. The nearly full moon came out. Armed with my tripod and no zoom lens, I pushed the Nikon 990 to its limit and took this picture.
