The first order of business is to welcome back those of you who have been away this summer. I know you guys think that when you leave, we just go inside and wait for you to return, but the fact is, that this summer has been memorable here at the club.
Gene served two terms as president, and made his mark. He took a slow moving club, put it in gear and made it run. The effects of his many contributions will forever be appreciated.
This year, he handed the ball to Ron, and away he ran. Ron instituted summer meetings. Who wudda thunk it? They were a great success! The meetings were short and full of laughs. It’s a good thing you guys weren’t there. We wouldn’t have had anything to talk about.
The stars of the summer were the entire Gugler family. Little sister Annalisa passed her Technician’s test, at six years old! Big sister Abigail upgraded her license to General class, as did Mom Shawna. The entire club meeting room lights up when the Gugler gang arrives. Brother Dylan plans to get his license, as soon as he’s old enough, and little brother Zachary will get his, as soon as he can talk. .. Now there’s a new baby sister, Lillian. No doubt she’ll have her license pretty soon.
We had lots of fun with the Cub Scouts, up on Mt. Lemon. Lloyd (who else?) led a delegation of club members, who volunteered to help with four days of transmitter hunting with the scouts.
Field day was a ton of fun. Actually, two tons, after Dee finished feeding us. We did have to share the roof with a hive of bees, but the Fire Dept. came through, and they were never a threat. We got everything up and down without breaking anything or hurting anyone. Bill Hooper and Jim Powell helped out with a transmitter hunt. Everyone had a good time.
Actually, we’re getting pretty good at transmitter hunts. When Lloyd asked for volunteers for the (earlier described) Cub Scout hunt, many of us had never participated in one. With instruction from Lloyd and Jack, we managed to build our equipment, then, one fine spring Sunday afternoon; we had our own transmitter hunt. Some of us actually found the transmitter. All of us enjoyed the afternoon.
All in all, it was a great summer for which we have Ron to thank.
Bob
Is the Web changing the way we think and do things? Yes, probably. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well, it all depends. Like all technology, it depends on how we use it. Darlin goes on to note that when the HP-35 scientific calculator came out in 1972, “it was banned from some engineering classrooms. Professors feared that engineers would use it as a crutch, that they would no longer understand the relationships that either penciled calculations or a slide rule somehow provided for proficient scientific thought.”
Has the calculator hindered engineering progress? Hardly?
As if that weren’t enough to think about, read this blog post, “Google…Integrating Lives.” This is from a blog called Notes From the Digital Frontier, and it’s written by a dozen college students and young professionals. These kids have always had computers in their lives. That’s amazing to those of us who only dreamt about personal computers when were kids.
Since they’ve grown up with them, they know how to use them. Or, at least the successful ones will know how to use them. I don’t think that we have to worry about technology making us dumber.
How does amateur radio fit into all this?
Well, I’m not sure, exactly, but I know it does.
Perhaps it’s this.
Kids (and adults, too, for that matter) who get involved in amateur radio will have a better appreciation for the technology (mainly electronics) that now run our world.
I think that’s a good thing.