Two weekends ago I took a test to upgrade my ametuer radio license. After a 35 question multiple choice test, I passed. I now hold a general class license which means I can transmit on certain radio frequencies.
This is half way to finishing one of my goals for the summer. Next month I will take a longer test to expand my license to the highest level for this type of radio license.
Before I could send transmissions into the radio airwaves, I had to pass a license test. I had to prove I knew how radios worked, what the rules for radio use were, and what the accepted operating procedures were. I bring this up because I have a problem; people mass forward emails to me that sometimes have incorrect, bad, or even deadly advice. I wrote about a supposed health email a while ago. It would be nice if people demonstrated a level of competence and intelligence before sending emails to dozens of people.
The latest email I got was from my uncle. It was about the triangle of life. The main idea is when earthquakes happen roofs collapse and crush people. To avoid being crushed by falling roofs, people should immediately seek shelter next to a tall and sturdy object when an earthquake starts. This way, the big object will prevent the roof from completely falling to the floor and a triangle of life will be created where a person is safe.
There is one major problem with this; it was based on studies done in other countries where building codes and materials differ from what is used in the United States. While the triangle of life might be useful in some situations in developing countries, it is not applicable and definitely does not supersede drop, cover, and hold in places like California. The American Red Cross response to the triangle of life has some good comments and interesting facts.
I also got an email about cough CPR. The short version is coughing when you have a heart attack is similar to doing CPR on yourself. The real version is medical experts say don't try it.
I would say more about these emails of misinformation, but I do not want to deprive you of the practice of checking the facts online. Researching these claims is not only informative, but also fun. The conspiracy angle the triangle of life guy has would be amusing if lives were not at stake. Great claims require great proof, or at least a few minutes perusing Google search results.
If you ever receive an email that gives incorrect life-saving advice, you should immediately email the sender with correct information. If you ever send an email that you later discover had some misinformation in it, it is your responsibility to email everyone again and correct the earlier mistakes.
If a car will not start
One other thing came up a couple of weeks ago. It is what to do if you cannot start a parked car. Sometimes, it is possible to put the key in the ignition and turn it a little but not far enough to start the car. Sometimes this occurs because the steering wheel was turned to one side and then the car was turned off. The pressure of the turned steering wheel does not allow the ignition to turn to start the car.
If this happens to you, all you have to do is turn and hold the wheel to the other side while you start the ignition. The torque you exert on the steering wheel is enough to allow the key to make its full turn.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Party for Bachelor Terrance
On Wednesday I saw Terrance. Since he will be getting married in the fall, we decided to throw him a party.
We started by going to an obstacle course. It was at UCI and geared toward team building. However, our group had already done a lot of team building. Some people in our group have known each other for 15 years, some of us have gone backpacking together, some of us have worked together playing games, and some of us have gotten lost in the woods in the dark before.
The most exciting part of the course was the ropes course. It was 50 feet in the air and 360 feet long. This is us climbing up to the start of the course.
There were four different aerial sections. The first two involved walking across four wires as a group. Since we are not tight rope walkers, we had to walk across and rely on each other for balance. The third section had a platform we had to ferry ourselves across on. It is pictured below.
I went across with Terrance and Eric in the first run. This is them at the other side.
The fourth section was the hardest. We had to walk across on one line with only two pieces of rope hanging vertically to support us. I fell off the wire two or three times in attempts to get across. Eventually we all made it across. The course ended when we zip lined back to the ground. It was a lot of fun. This is our group together at one of the towers.
After some lunch, we went go kart racing at K-1 Speed in Irvine. They have electric karts that can reach 40 MPH. Our race package started with 14 qualifying laps. I finished second to Andy by only 0.3 seconds for best lap time. The second part was a 16 lap race. Our starting positions were determined by our best lap times in the qualifying laps. I was not able to keep up my performance and finished 5th out of our group of 7. The good news is I did not spin out (like Brandon). However, as a group we did well.
I liked the racing. However, paying $50 for less than half an hour of racing is not something I will be doing regularly.
After that we had a BBQ in a park. We ate bacon, hamburgers, and sausages.
We started by going to an obstacle course. It was at UCI and geared toward team building. However, our group had already done a lot of team building. Some people in our group have known each other for 15 years, some of us have gone backpacking together, some of us have worked together playing games, and some of us have gotten lost in the woods in the dark before.
The most exciting part of the course was the ropes course. It was 50 feet in the air and 360 feet long. This is us climbing up to the start of the course.
There were four different aerial sections. The first two involved walking across four wires as a group. Since we are not tight rope walkers, we had to walk across and rely on each other for balance. The third section had a platform we had to ferry ourselves across on. It is pictured below.
I went across with Terrance and Eric in the first run. This is them at the other side.
The fourth section was the hardest. We had to walk across on one line with only two pieces of rope hanging vertically to support us. I fell off the wire two or three times in attempts to get across. Eventually we all made it across. The course ended when we zip lined back to the ground. It was a lot of fun. This is our group together at one of the towers.
After some lunch, we went go kart racing at K-1 Speed in Irvine. They have electric karts that can reach 40 MPH. Our race package started with 14 qualifying laps. I finished second to Andy by only 0.3 seconds for best lap time. The second part was a 16 lap race. Our starting positions were determined by our best lap times in the qualifying laps. I was not able to keep up my performance and finished 5th out of our group of 7. The good news is I did not spin out (like Brandon). However, as a group we did well.
I liked the racing. However, paying $50 for less than half an hour of racing is not something I will be doing regularly.
After that we had a BBQ in a park. We ate bacon, hamburgers, and sausages.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Summer is supposed to be easier
When I finished classes for the semester last month, I thought things would calm down. However, they have only gotten busier. This story starts last week.
On Friday I woke up at 4:45 to go into LA for my volunteer job. I ended up helping someone cut medallions out of plastic on the laser engraver. I started working on the project in the late morning. There were a lot of issues with the file format, programs not reading the files correctly, and experimenting so the plastic would be engraved and cut correctly. By the time I did all of the testing, modified all of the files, and finally cut the pieces out of quarter inch plastic, it was 6 the next morning.
While I spent a long time getting everything correct, I gained useful experience. The other day my supervisor told me one of the other volunteers was interviewing for a job. After he explained his work with the laser printer and the process used, they offered him a job on the spot. The company needed someone to run their machine and produce parts for a military contract.
On Saturday I helped set up tables at church for a ministry fair. On Sunday I worked almost four hours at the fair and tried to recruit a few people for our upcoming retreat. We got several people interested and are very pleased.
On Tuesday I lined a case for a sound board with foam for Peter. This way he can safely transport it to different concert venues. On Wednesday morning I went to a meeting where I helped Peter run the sound system for a band.
Then on Wednesday night I was at a speaking event put on by the OC Cal Alumni. It was a great talk by the executive vice chancellor and provost.
I would have gone into LA today, but at 2:30 this morning I woke up feeling very sick. However, I am all better now.
Every week I have retreat meetings at church. I am the Spiritual Director for the retreat, which is a big job. According to the other people, I am doing a great job. The deacon is telling everyone how great I am at it. In addition, I am doing most of someone else's job. This is effectively my retreat.
Tomorrow I will be celebrating the Belmont Stakes with appropriate cocktails. However, I am greatly disappointed I'll Have Another was scratched today.
I am working on projects for two Cal alumni groups. I made some big updates to one's website and planned some important next steps for the other one.
Every two weeks I am still donating platelets. A week from tomorrow I will be taking a radio license test.
On Friday I woke up at 4:45 to go into LA for my volunteer job. I ended up helping someone cut medallions out of plastic on the laser engraver. I started working on the project in the late morning. There were a lot of issues with the file format, programs not reading the files correctly, and experimenting so the plastic would be engraved and cut correctly. By the time I did all of the testing, modified all of the files, and finally cut the pieces out of quarter inch plastic, it was 6 the next morning.
While I spent a long time getting everything correct, I gained useful experience. The other day my supervisor told me one of the other volunteers was interviewing for a job. After he explained his work with the laser printer and the process used, they offered him a job on the spot. The company needed someone to run their machine and produce parts for a military contract.
On Saturday I helped set up tables at church for a ministry fair. On Sunday I worked almost four hours at the fair and tried to recruit a few people for our upcoming retreat. We got several people interested and are very pleased.
On Tuesday I lined a case for a sound board with foam for Peter. This way he can safely transport it to different concert venues. On Wednesday morning I went to a meeting where I helped Peter run the sound system for a band.
Then on Wednesday night I was at a speaking event put on by the OC Cal Alumni. It was a great talk by the executive vice chancellor and provost.
I would have gone into LA today, but at 2:30 this morning I woke up feeling very sick. However, I am all better now.
Every week I have retreat meetings at church. I am the Spiritual Director for the retreat, which is a big job. According to the other people, I am doing a great job. The deacon is telling everyone how great I am at it. In addition, I am doing most of someone else's job. This is effectively my retreat.
Tomorrow I will be celebrating the Belmont Stakes with appropriate cocktails. However, I am greatly disappointed I'll Have Another was scratched today.
I am working on projects for two Cal alumni groups. I made some big updates to one's website and planned some important next steps for the other one.
Every two weeks I am still donating platelets. A week from tomorrow I will be taking a radio license test.
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