Saturday, March 10, 2007

Stupid Human Tricks or CAN You Do This?

I was visiting my friends, Barbara and Jim down there in, of all places, Eureka when "I found" this new talent. While they were at work, I sat in their home cozied up with the never-before-seen-by-me entire trilogy of Lord Of The Rings. I had just finished a siete sobre (7 Up) and was sort of playing with the feel of the aluminum ring on the bottom of the can, pressing it into the left side of my forehead. All of a sudden, I let go of the can while it was still against my head and...presto: It stuck. The rest is stupid human trick history. I have delighted sheer dozens at parties, mostly of the birthday variety where, now that my fame has spread, my hosts are quick to liven up the lull with, "Hey Gawpo---show these people your trick." But before I can get my pants unzipped, they correct me. "No! Not THAT trick!" (I AM half Sicilian, after all) "No. The CAN trick." "Oh," I dejectedly respond. And before you can say "wouldn't cha like ta be a pepper too," I whip out the trick THEY had in mind. Oh well. Maybe I'll...uh...."post" my other trick some day.





































































The shirt is an original design by noneother than the utterly creative and Second-In-Command in the House Of Cindra, Tom.

Background color provided by the wide assortment of mostly steelhead and salmon lures: Hot Shots, Blue Foxes, Panther Martins, Rooster Tails, Bang Tails, Steelies and Teaspoons. If you squint, you will also see a few lead headed jigs with rubber worms. These are ling cod jigs. I wish these photos would enlarge as they have in the past with this camera. Perhaps I need some pointers on how to maximize that feature. Diesel? Joe? Quilly? Kat? Anybody???

Two HF radios are depicted on the table to the right. The "big rigs" are a Yaesu FT-101-Z (and yes, Blue, this is pronounced even among American Hams, "ZED") D. The FT-101-ZD utilizes tube finals and produces a sweet, buttery audio for which I have been complemented as far away as The Republic of Nauru, Pitcairn and Norfolk Islands (where reside many of the descendants of The Bounty), Andorra (look THAT one up!), all parts of Asia, Australia, Tazmania, and most of Europe from Spain to the Kamchatka Penninsula. No India. No Africa. I have yet to conquer the world!!! Pinky to corner of mouth: Rrrriiiiggghhhhtttt........

The other rig (smaller) is an Icom-735. Atop the Icom is an MFJ-941D antenna tuner. Both radios put out approximately 80 watts which I run barefoot through a homebrew G5RV fed with 26 feet of 300 ohm flatlead to a center hoisted about 60 feet into the air by line suspended from the two large douglas fir that flank my home. I know what you're going to ask: "Gawpo, do you use an inline balun?" Nice try! Everyone knows a G5RV doesn't USE a balun. Sheesh! You think I'd fall for that old trick?! Creesus Jeist!

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