Page 23 May June 2014 TCA

RANDOM THOUGHTS...

GRAND IDEAS...

During my lifetime I have had a few moments of brilliant
thought and survived them.
Like the time I made a scuba tank out of a one-quart
juice can. It worked, for one gulp of air, but I could have
blown my lungs if I had been at any depth over waist
deep in the ocean.
Dirk Moraal, VY1NM
Box 75 I was seven years old. I had never heard of radio, or I
Tagish, YT Y0B 1T0
probably would have tried to use one underwater.
A guy doesn’t have to try to get himself into trouble. It comes naturally. It has to do – HELP WANTED –
with that old and satisfying tradition of experimentation – and the empirical approach
to the problem at hand. Curiously, at the moment I can’t think of any YLs who are LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA AND AREA:
prone to this behaviour. ARES VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
So once again I resort to the “Big Book of Words”, and look up “empiric”. ARES is currently recruiting volunteers in
the Lethbridge and surrounding area.
I fnd that it means:
Please contact Rob, VE6XMB, the ARES
a) one who relies on practical experience Lethbridge Region Emergency Coordinator,
b) Charlatan at 403-752-3772.
Curtis Bidulock, VE6AEW
The latter defnition hurt my feelings but after a spell of sulking I was OK, and I turned RAC Section Emergency Coordinator
to “empirical”, which is a much more satisfying word, as amongst the various meanings I
found “originating in or based on observation, or experimentation”. Hah! Just what I ONTARIO EAST: TWO ARES DISTRICT
wanted. COORDINATORS NEEDED
The early great inventors used the empirical method a lot, though one might take that Wanted: Radio Amateurs with experience in
fact with a few grains of salt. Edison may not have invented the light bulb after all, since ARES leadership are needed. The Ontario
he is said to have bought the patent. Marconi of course did not invent radio – and may East Section is looking for two ARES District
or may not have heard three little dits that day on Signal Hill – but my guess is he would Coordinators.
have heard them anyway because he was predisposed to. Not to mention the fact he An ARES District Coordinator is needed for
was also focused on commercial ventures. Personally, I would be more inclined to the Loyalist District. There is a very strong
believe if there had been a word or two to go with that single faint letter “S”. group in Frontenac County and there exists
(But I am glad he did. Or didn’t) two other groups that can beneft from
District support and leadership.
Peary did not have an HT or APRS in his parka pocket when he claimed the North Pole,
and though he said he had been there, we can’t really prove it. I and most other An ARES District Coordinator is also needed
sentient beings do not quite believe he could have made the whole trip, based on his for the Severn District, which is an area that
sparse navigation log and the astoundingly short time it took him to make the long, also includes the city of Peterborough where
there is a strong ARES group. This District
long return trip unaided.
has not had a District Coordinator for several
With radio we would have known for sure. And there was no radio aboard the frst years and would greatly beneft by having an
recorded fight test in the Middle Ages when a monk launched himself off a cathedral active DEC. More groups are needed there
spire (the tallest structure then available) with some homemade wings. It was a good for a stronger District where groups can help
show. Any landing you walk away from is a good landing. But our monk did not make a each other out in times of EmComm
good landing. Still, from his sick bed he had ample time to deduce that he would need emergencies.
to build a tail on his glider for directional control. His bishop forbade any further such Both of these Districts are in need of someone
experiments and thus aviation (and its need for radio) was put on the back burner for to step up and invest some time and effort to
another 600 or 700 years. provide the necessary leadership that will
enable the groups within to work together.
But they tried. They carried the known a bit further into the unknown. And they did Establishing a functional Mutual Aid for
experiment. Regardless, these successful inventions and frsts were the culmination of ARES would provide for a stronger District.
years if not centuries of hard work, empirical research and hope; until one day
someone had an epiphany and the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle fell into place. As a District Coordinator you will receive my
full support and guidance. Interested
Radio history proves it.
individuals with ARES leadership
Experimentation in itself is a long and winding road, and one is better off having a goal experience are asked to contact
to achieve rather than just starting out by shorting a 12 volt battery with two wrenches Ontario East SM Michael Hickey, VE3IPC,
and hoping radio will come of it. (Actually it did, sort of. Remember those spark gap at VE3IPC@rac.ca or call 613-679-4472.
transmitters?) But that is no reason not to try. Michael Hickey, VE3IPC
RAC Ontario East Section Manager
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