Back to the World

A pic of my little pal Squeakers from 2018? I'm not sure. She was telling me that my guitar amp was now her chair. I still miss that cat.

Just a note to say hello again. I am not sure how long this new, cell system-based internet connection will hold up. Understandably, I do not trust tech companies. But so far it seems to work. It's a wireless internet company, and the modem is a fancy one.

Right now I'm also having to clear a lot of files off my computer, to make space for the endless, resource hogging updates, which seem to increase if you have faster internet.

Isn't tech fun?

I just noticed that my last blog post had no title. Which is weird, because the first thing I did while writing it was typing in a title up at the top of the page. The title obviously did not save. That is how undependable my internet connection was. I have since corrected it. It has a title now.

Nothing else is going on here. My Fuji Camera -- the one that fixed itself -- broke again. I put new batteries in it -- brand new, fresh AA's -- and it turned on and then froze. Once again, I have a Fuji camera that won't take pictures and is frozen with the lens extended, immobile. It's too bad, because it took great pictures. My trusty Nikon L32 still works. I just put a new SD card in it, so I hope to take some pics again soon.

The weather is slowly getting warmer. The trees still have not greened out fully on the hills. Usually they're green by April 5th, but the last few years -- as I've said on this blog several times now -- the trees have been late. Of course, being an SWL and MW radio DXer,  I'm intrigued by the possibility of a possible effect of the Solar Cycles on plant growth. I found an article a few years ago that suggested that Solar Cycles influence plant growth -- it was a university study from the 1970's, that showed a correlation between Solar Maximums and higher crop yields. A recent search on UV and plant growth brings up a few, hard to read articles that are somewhat inconclusive. Here is one of them.:

Editorial: Ultraviolet Radiation: Friend or Foe for Plants? - PMC

If UV affects plant growth, then perhaps the Sun's gradually and slightly diminishing UV output (UVA and UVB -- UVC, which is eUV, is absorbed by the ionosphere) may be part of the reason the trees have been late since 2017. Or it could also be something else that is completely unrelated to Solar activity. Correlation (late trees / Solar eUV diminishing) does not always equal causation.

Either way, I just hope that before the ionosphere dives to the bottom on us, there are a few more months of good conditions for SWL's and Long Distance MW listeners and DXers.

I have plans to put up a longer, outdoor antenna this Spring or Summer. It's just a matter of deciding where to put the wire, as I have plenty of wire. It will be temporary, but hopefully it will help as the Solar Minimum increases. I have good radios. Just need a bigger antenna to make up for what the Ionosphere isn't giving me. :-)

I'm closing this with a video, by the Australian, 70's glam rock band Hush. Hush were very popular in the mid-1970's Oz glam rock scene. I first heard them on Radio Australia, on 5995 kHz, around 2 a.m. in the morning my time. Radio Australia's Countdown program, hosted by Glynnis Dixon, played all the Oz bands from that scene -- AC/DC, Hush, Supernaut, Skyhooks, Sherbet, Dragon, Ted Mulry's Gang, the Angels, Redhouse, Pussyfoot, Air Supply, and a few others I've forgotten.

It was a great period for rock music. The ABC TV show Countdown sort of caused the entire Oz scene to explode, and Radio Australia's own Countdown show was an offshoot of that. Radio Australia's Countdown show had a lot of listeners in India and South Asia, as they'd write letters to Glynnis Dixon, asking her questions and making requests.

It was really fun listening, all on my transistor multiband AM-FM-SW radio and 60 feet (20 meters) of wire going from my bedroom window to the back fence.

Until next time, 

Peace.

C.C. -- April 12th, 2026.