Category: Cool
“Hello CQ” – Have A Field Day
What if something happened and suddenly cell phones didn’t work, land lines went dead, all internet servers crashed, what’s left? HAM RADIO!
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is an organization for amateur radio enthusiasts (hams) that also rehearses for catastrophic events. Broadcast over shortwave bands, the ARRL’s been around since 1914 a as a way to communicate over long distances, relaying a message from station to station via morse code, and later with vocal transmissions, a bonafide precursor to the internest.
On 22 – 23 June they’re having a “Field Day” to practice for a real emergency:
Objective:
To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2.
These citizen volunteers are the last bastion, at least for electronic wireless communication, assuming they have a backup power supply to transmit and receive.
[Tip o’ the tarboosh to W.J.J. Hoge. Somewhat dated yet still related, James Burke explored a worst-case scenario in his “Connections” series.]
Beer of Champions
[Found here.]
RabbitDuckRabbitDuck
One little tiny adjustment can make all the difference.
Reminds me of this classic.
[Original undoctored image found here.]
Happens Every Day Around Here
If you want to earn an A in this class, put this on, and dance like you’ve never danced before.
[Found in here.]
A Great Gibber of Hot Links
Image above from Walt Kelly‘s “Kluck Klams,” an evisceration of the KKK. The Pogo Poop Book was a collection of things that Kelly wanted to say in his daily comic strips but couldn’t, due to left-wing censorship.
Dancer and Prancer and a few Vixens here.
“If we aren’t allowed to test shampoo on monkeys, how will we ever know if our monkeys are clean?” – Diesel Kroese. Diesel helped me start this blog a long time ago, so now he spams me with his book adverts. Payback’s a bitch.
HELLLOOO CLEVELAND! (and this guy‘s got some awesome drafting skills).
Best versions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star you’ll ever hear.
This Tornado Tracks graphic blows me away [via].
The precurser to “Hot Rod Lincoln” was Arkie Shibley’s 1951 recording of “Hot Rod Race.“
Speaking of “Hot Rod Lincoln, THIS is the perhaps the best version I’ve heard.
There are some surprises, so stay with it.
“The Wizard of Mental Telepathy” Harry Ingalls suckered thousands.
Giant fluorescent pink slugs found living atop a mountain in Australia.
This spam comment showed up in our inbox yesterday and it made me smile:
Octopus action is cool despite crappy video.
Oh, and one more thing. Do This.
Saturday Matinee – Arkie Shibley, Commander Cody, Roy Acuff, Rocky Roberts & The Bo-Keys
Arkie Shibley & His Mountain Dew Boys set up the original template for the answer song “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Charlie Ryan. For decades I thought Phil Harris was the original author/artist.
HRL was later covered by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen.
Smoke on the Water by Roy Acuff.
Rocky Roberts was pure awesome soul in France, but not in the US. [tip o’ the tarboosh to Bunkarina for the find.]
The Bo-Keys‘ moniker is a apparently a riff on The Bar-Kays and The Mar-Keys, both great session groups from Stax Records of Memphis Tennessee. There’s enough soul in the last vid to last you for at least a month.
Have a great weekend, and for all men who accept their duties as fathers and do it right, Happy Fathers Day.
The .Gif Friday Post No.284 – A Young Gentleman, Fritz Lang’s Balloon & Light Bulb Trap
Slo-Mower
Abby Roadtrip
Clever, but VW missed the obvious. The Bugs in the crosswalk should be blue, gray, black and white, and the gray one should be rolling on rims. [Found here.]
Tacky Raccoons 