Back on the ground in MO after a short-notice trip back to NY.

Some family things needed attention.

I've done what I can, the rest is up to greater powers.

If you can spare a thought for a strong woman who is not going gentle into that good night, it would be appreciated.

Preach it, brother Jay

I've been slowly working through the backlog in Feedly and doing a lot of skimming and "mark read". Just too much to get through. Then I came upon this one from Jay, which hit me hard in the gut.

One of the downsides of being apart from your family is that you feel utterly helpless when something happens. Got a call from Mrs. G. yesterday that BabyGirl G. fell in gym class and hit her head - she's fine, but had a possible concussion so they needed her to be picked up.

I've been in Missouri since June 16. Four months plus a bit.

MrsZ came out on the Independence Day weekend with a truckload of our stuff, and flew home the next day.

My parents gifted us a plane ticket for our anniversary, and she was out for a few days last week.

It has been harder than I ever believed to be here without my partner in life. We text daily, call every few days or so (neither of us is much of a phone person), and email constantly. We've been writing real paper snail-mail letters back and forth.

She has had to deal with a whole lot of stuff that just didn't get done in the four weeks between the job offer and my moving date. My folks have stepped up in ways I can't begin to thank them for, and generally helped out with the few things that MrsZ hasn't been able to handle alone.

I hate that I'm not there to help with or just handle these things. Things like the possum tangled in the fence (thanks, Dad), or the house winterizing. Or mowing the lawn, or fixing the lawn tractor when it ate its belt. Just... life. And I'm not there.

Our house is still on the market (almost four months now) with a depressingly low number of showings, and no offers. Our agent has been ... "apathetic" is the most accurate term I can come up with. The contract with him expires at midnight on 12/31. If the house isn't gone by then, we're going to re-evaluate what we want to do. Option one is to re-sign for another four- or six-month term. Another is to take it off the market for 2-3 months and re-list in March or so, to hit the early market season with a "days on market" of 0.

I'm thrilled for Jay - he's got a great new gig, and his house has already got a buyer. I'm also a bit envious, but our real estate market is different from his. It's been a test for us, and one we're doing alright with.

(And if you didn't click through above, BabyGirl G is fine.)

Power Supply...

I did some ebay digging and have a 30A power supply (Jetstream 31MB) on the way. It's way more than I need for the time being, as the FT-90 I'll be using as a base only draws about 10A when transmitting. Of course, that leaves me room to grow/add.

My co-worker who dumped a box of radios on me found another one in the closet, and I should have a 6m rig shortly. No antenna for that one, and not sure if I'll have one anytime soon - the downside of duplex life.

I'm fully intending to make the core of the "base" radio system 100% grab-and-go - unplug two cords and close the box. Photos of that process will also be posted...

"Rag chew"

I've been doing plenty of listening on the radios the last few days. It's the anti-social version sitting in a barbershop and half-reading a magazine as the conversations flow around you.

Made a few more contacts today; the mobile at 20W is handily hitting the Raytown repeater as soon as I'm on the highway. If I bumped it to 50W I'm sure it'd reach from the driveway, but no reason to from there.

I've got another mobile waiting to be set up on a desk, just need a power supply for it.

Project: Truck

I've started to dig in on the truck. I found my extension bar and deep-well sockets, and got three of the four bolts off the "40" on the 60/40 back seat. The fourth one ... proved a bit reticent. It came part way out, and that was the stopping point.

Solution? Impact gun.

A few moments with the air power, and the last bolt came out. The reason it was so difficult? It goes through the body and is exposed to the elements underneath - and thus thoroughly corroded from six and a half years of New York salt. I sprayed it down with a bit of oil and worked it in and out of the threads a few times, and it's still gritty but moving freely.

Most of the stuff I want in my GHB has arrived and it's starting to come together.

The mobile radio in the truck was tested today, and even with the inexpensive Tram Antenna I'm using I made a contact on the K0GQ repeater (~16 miles straight-line) on 20W output. ("You're pretty snowy, but readable," sayeth the call sign on the other end.)

I'm getting excellent reception with the BaoFeng portable and N9TAX SlimJim, although I haven't made any contacts OUT - the 5W it's pushing just isn't enough to reach the nearby repeaters from inside the house.

Next on the list: mounting the remote head for the mobile in the truck. I've got a few locations in mind; I just need to find a piece of aluminum strap to bend as appropriate.

Also received a Bulldog Vaults BD-1100 ($22 at Buds Gun Shop), which is a VERY nice little vault. It is too small for a full-frame 1911, probably too small for a full-size M&P, but is plenty big enough for a J-frame, PM9, or similar. Only negative is the chintzy felted plastic lining; I'm going to pull that out and get some foam egg crate instead. It's a MUCH sturdier safe than the NanoVault boxes (I also have one of these), and once it's secured in the truck it should be both discreet and nigh-impossible to force open.

Stay tuned for pictures in the coming weeks. :-)