Re: I finally got my license
By: Daryl Stout to DaiTengu on Mon Oct 26 2020 08:09 am

Last year was pretty mild here (Wisconsin). It got cold early, but
then was warm all through the end of November and December. I'm an
avid ice fisherman, and ice fishing was completely rubbish. Lake
Winnebago never froze enough to drive on, and many winter events
were cancelled in February due to the warm temperatures and sketchy
ice conditions.

I never tried fishing for ice cubes <G>. Seriously, most folks forget
that ice freezes from the top down, and tragically, many folks lose their lives from hypothermia by falling through the ice into the frigid waters.

Yeah, that's part of what made it awful last year. It froze, then melted on top, then started to freeze again. You'd wind up having 4 inches of slush with about 3-4 inches of ice below it. While 3-4 inches of ice is something you can walk on, it's no fun sitting in 4 inches of slush while trying to fish.

more then a few ATVs and Snowmobiles were sunk last year by people not checking ice conditions.

I'd like the cold to kill the insects off...but it has to come in hard
and fast, so the critters don't have time to burrow into the warm ground.

I watched a video the other day about how insects survive over winter. Some are capable of dehydrating themselves, and increasing the sugar in their .. blood? whatever they have, which effectively turns their innards into a kind of anti-freeze.

Up here, we'll get at least one or two days every winter where it's -20F with a wind-chill that puts it below -40. But the dang bugs come back every summer.

12m was open today, briefly, but I'm still having antenna issues, so
I haven't been able to get a decent SWR on anything above 20m
(nothing tunable).

In talking to folks yesterday, 20m would be great, then conditions would drop like the proverbial rock. I'm hoping with the time change this coming weekend, that might help things.

80m was nice last night, but I need to shorten my antenna a bit, as my SWR is too high on the General phone portion. The CW/Digital portion is great, though.

DaiTengu

... Life is a hereditary disease.

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lives from hypothermia by falling through the ice into the frigid waters.

Yeah, that's part of what made it awful last year. It froze, then
melted on top, then started to freeze again. You'd wind up having 4 inches of slush with about 3-4 inches of ice below it. While 3-4 inches
of ice is something you can walk on, it's no fun sitting in 4 inches of slush while trying to fish.

I'd rather sit in a nice warm Jacuzzi...preferably with a good looking
female (remember, dirty old Sysops need love, too). <G>

more then a few ATVs and Snowmobiles were sunk last year by people not checking ice conditions.

And, I guess they were worthless afterwards....plus, I know those things aren't cheap.

I watched a video the other day about how insects survive over winter. Some are capable of dehydrating themselves, and increasing the sugar in their .. blood? whatever they have, which effectively turns their
innards into a kind of anti-freeze.

Several years ago on Easter weekend, there were intense thunderstorms
across the state. I had traveled to a church in Lonoke, about 30 miles
east of Little Rock, for a sunrise service. With all the nearby rice
fields, I thought the mosquitoes would carry us off!!

In that regard, it's the female mosquitoes that come after humans, as
there's something in our blood that they need for their eggs to mature.
The male mosquitoes, on the other hand, suck fruit juice. I first read
this in a science class 50 years ago...so, in looking back, I surmised
"So, the male has to get himself stone drunk, before he finds a woman
to make love to!!" <G>.

Up here, we'll get at least one or two days every winter where it's
-20F with a wind-chill that puts it below -40. But the dang bugs come
back every summer.

Not to mention the rodents as well. I think of the QWK Mail Tagline
"Don't you wish Noah had swatted those 2 mosquitoes??". <G>

80m was nice last night, but I need to shorten my antenna a bit, as my SWR is too high on the General phone portion. The CW/Digital portion is great, though.

I have that Solar Data deal on the BBS, showing the band conditions. I was hoping with the time change this weekend that might improve things a bit.

Daryl

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