And we think we have it bad.

This was on one of my user groups.

The WA8LMF VHF-HF-ISS Satgate APRS igate, UI-webserver and EchoLink node was
off-line, after an electric power outage caused by the massive ice storm that
hit the US Midwest on the night of Saturday 21 December. Tens of thousands of
trees in the area collapsed under the weight of up to a half-inch of ice on
every branch. For the first 4 or 5 days, one would randomly heard a sound like
a gunshot and then a small explosion, as another large branch would break off a
tall tree and crash to the ground. Even though I had massive battery backup for
the hamshack, the collapsing trees took out the Comcast cable line cutting off
my Internet connection, along with the AC power. The power was out for 9 days
here in the East Lansing, Michigan area with nighttime temperatures going as
low as 0 F (-17 C).
Consumers Energy, the utility that serves most of the lower peninsula of
Michigan, had 200,000 accounts without power in the days immediately after the
storm. They brought in over 1,000 workers from neighboring states and as far
away as Missouri on a mutual-aid response for the recovery effort. My power
was finally restored yesterday (Monday 30 December).
The WA8LMF APRS igate and webserver is now back on line and fully functional at
<http://wa8lmf.net/map> .

Happy New Year

Well here we are at the end of another year. This one has been much better for me and another year I have not seen the inside of a hospital ward! Hopefully this year will carry on the way it will start and things will continue to improve and I can spend more time doing the things I enjoy and less time working.
So, a Happy New Year to you all and I hope you will continue to enjoy my posts

A Bit of a road trip

This weekend has seen us on a 600 mile road trip. We hired a little Chevrolet Spark as we only have a little 'run-around'
We started off going to Beaconsfield to visit my family. this is the town where I was born and spent my childhood in fact until I got married and moved to Slough. It is rather different now mainly due to large amount of gated houses, some costing several million pounds. However, the roads resemble what you would expect in some third world countries. You have to wonder where all the council tax money goes. Anyway it was a very pleasant day spending time with my parents, sister and her family.
Next, it was off to Govilon where my in-laws live. The last few years have been difficult as my Mother in Law suffers from Alzheimers. However, she has moved to an excellent ,friendly care home and they are both looking very well. It was great to see them and spend some time in this beautiful part of the country.
After this it was off to Stratford upon Avon. This is where our two God sons and Fiona's cousin lives. It is also of course the birth place of William Shakespeare it is also the place where my Wife spent much of her childhood and is yet another place that has changed over the years. Again it was great to spend time with family we don't see very often.
Given the weather we have had over the last week we were fairly lucky to avoid any serious weather conditions.
I am now a little tired having spent a lot of time on Motorways which is something I do not do very often.
I did have the APRS tracker running during the weekend and you can see the track here.