Sunset in my Neighborhood

 

I love a good sunset.

It sets the tone as I reflect on my day.

The colors of a sunset often mirror the colors of the day.

Sometimes blue with sadness, sometimes red with fury,

and sometimes orange and brilliant.

The next best thing? Sunrise. Time to get up and try again.

What's A 5-Paragraph Essay?

What is a 5-paragraph essay, and why would you want to read one of mine? Well, first of all a 5-paragraph essay has 5 paragraphs. At its most basic, this type of paragraph begins with an introduction that leads the reader into several related details that support the main theme or thesis of the essay. Finally, a 5-paragraph essay often concludes with a wrap-up paragraph, sometimes called a conclusion. My essays here will follow this basic format, yet I'll use it loosely at times when it serves my purpose. My main areas of focus will be three of my favorite pastimes including radio, computers, and travel. My first and life-long hobby is amateur radio.

Amateur radio requires a license. A ham license authorizes the holder to transmit on several radio frequencies. An amateur, or "ham" radio license, is a license to learn about radio by tinkering with them. It's a hobby that contains many sub-specialties, and I've tinkered with many of them over the past 50 years. I got my first ham radio license when I was 15 years old. I've been tinkering and communicating with radios for most of my life. This blog gives me a place to write about my ham radio experiences.

I had my first computer experience in 1986. I was working in a church as the director of Christian education. Most of the written creations I authored to support my work with children, youth and families were done with an IBM Selectric typewriter. A member of our church's education board who was also a friend of mine worked at a computer store and helped me decide which computer to buy for my work at the church. Remember, this was 1986 when personal computers were just starting to show up in homes and businesses. My friend sat me down in front of an IBM PC Jr driven by DOS, a command line interface. Then, he sat me down in front of an Apple Macintosh Plus. The Mac had a GUI, or a graphical user interface. Everything was controlled with a mouse by pointing and clicking. I chose the Mac and haven't looked back. However, my the world of work forced me to learn Windows and, much later, the Chrome OS. Today, I use a computer every day for many things including work. The marriage of computers and ham radio helped re-ignited my love of computing and tinkering with computers to do creative and exciting things. One of the things I like to do on a computer is research, and one of my favorite things to research are travel destinations.

My love of travel was passed down to me by my father. He and my mom took my siblings and me on several cross-country and regional trips. We camped along the way and slept in campgrounds with a 12x12 canvas tent. It looked like something you might see in an Army camp, but my dad found a way to fold it into a 3x3 foot square and crammed it into the trunk of our family car. We took many memorable family vacations together including trips from Michigan to California, Michigan to Florida, and trips all around the state of Michigan during my childhood. Today, my idea of a fun trip is when I travel in my camper van, operating my radio in different locations along the way. I love to set up portable antennas, connect my computer to my radio to communicate using "digital modes". Think of this as a form of texting, but instead of the Internet connecting people, hams use radio signals to connect people from all over the world.

This blog site is my place on the Internet to create and share my essays, including pictures and videos, to help document the experiences I enjoy when I'm engaging in my three favorite hobbies. If radio, computers, or travel interest you, or you enjoy reading random ramblings of a guy who has enjoyed 6 decades of experience on Planet Earth, then you might enjoy reading along with me. If you do, then feel free to read along, comment, and share, and please keep your comments positive and constructive!