Hi,

Carmen wrote:
I'm an amateur radio operator, and
we're often the main means of communication left standing in cases of
disasters affecting the electrical grid and/or substantial
infrastructure damage.

Crescent Mu_n wrote:
You remind me of my brother-in-law's now deceased father. I worked
with Manfred in an old, unairconditioned warehouse every summer a
block or so off the Mississippi. He was Signal
Corp/Anniston/McClellan/Colonel and had a basement full of ham gear.
I loved that man. He was the first to bring MI to my attention, we
talked for hours about his war experiences (Korea), geography and, of
course, emergency management situations.
He got exposed at Annistion, fought throat cancer.

Carmen:
Manfred sounds like he got around. :-) My "Elmer" (ham version of
"mentor") has a similar background in Signal Corp, retired military too.
His era was Vietnam though.
Have you ever thought about getting a license? I know when you looked
at Manfred's equipment you might have just seen a pile of metal with
lots of knobs but there's a wide array of niches available.
* Slow scan TV: passing pictures over the air via radio waves after
they've been digitized.
* Amateur TV: passing video over the air.
* Microwave frequency work. (A ham was responsible for developing
spread spectrum, frequency hopping technology.)
* Satellite work - you can use amateur satellites to work long distances
with low power by using the satellite as a rebroadcasting device.
* APRS: Using a GPSr and amateur radio to create a "tracking system".
* PSK31: Uses radio waves to pass text information realtime over the air
from one computer to another.
* Talk to the International Space Station.
* Fox Hunts: A transponder is hidden that emits a signal and using
triangulation techniques is hunted down.
* Morse Code or CW: This is still a viable option that's capable of
punching messages through on low power over long distances.
I know I probably sound like a recruiter, but it really is a good hobby,
although depending on what one does with it it can become a great deal
more. :-)

Carmen wrote:
I'm an Army MARS operator, so the 16 line format
used for messages is familiar to me, but for the vast majority of
hams who
were never military or aren't involved with MARS it teaches things
like that as well. Useful training, and it will stand communities in
good
stead for the usual disasters, not just terrorist attacks.

Crescent Mu_n wrote:
Your service is appreciated. I'm sure Sarge is proud of you.
Where in Tennessee? You don't have to answer.

Carmen:
Sarge and I have similar outlooks on this sort of thing - the pride is
mutual.
We live in Clarksville, which is one of the communities that surrounds
Fort Campbell. It's about 45 minutes north of Nashville.

In reference to PDF417 codes on drivers' licenses
Crescent Mu_n wrote:
Guess who has figured out how to stuff your fingerprint, encrypted,
into that format?
Guess who has figured out how to stuff your DNA encoding, encrypted,
into that format?

Carmen:
Um, let me guess. The military branch of the gov't?
I know that the DNA samples they took from military folks can be used to
positively identify remains in the case of deaths that cause massive
tissue destruction like plane crashes, but it's the other possible uses
that give me pause.
Sometimes it would be nice not to think so much....

Take care,
Carmen