So much to do, so little time!

It is not possible to extend a day beyond 24 hours. You cannot cram more than 7 days in a week. Believe, I have tried. So much to do, so little time! It drives me crazy.

We’ve been spoiled by very nice weather lately. Even as we speak and when the summer holidays are over. Yes, back to work, even yours truly. Looking back I haven’t done much radio operating over the last four months. Yes I did the major contests – but not more than that. Only contests during contest weekends. No casual operating. Nada on the WARC bands. It shows here. ‘Operational saturation’: I focused on the contests and didn’t feel much for spending even more time in the shack. There is work to do outside and I did my share of that. A walk with the family and the dog is more fun right now than working yet another dozen JA on 17 or W6 on 30. Get work done in summer, play radio in winter. Enjoy the weather while it lasts. We had to wait for a long time to get it!

I had planned a full time more or less serious effort in WAE SSB this year. But true to the spirit of the above I let that plan go. It’s only SSB so I prefer getting some more work done outside and light the BBQ for the (possibly) last time this season. I have done some ‘behind the scenes’ work too but it’s too early to report here. I also sold a few items that were lingering unused thus brand new. That means: fresh money to spend on a new gadget! All in due time.

Yearly tradition: visit the two neighbouring clubs in their joint effort SSB field day. The WX was good too for a change. Last year they got blown away and almost toasted by a T-storm. They managed to get some media exposure, and even our regional minister for the Health Dept. paid them a visit. Read her speech here (translated).

And of course with all the hullabaloo and razzamatazz (yes I learned these words in school and finally put them to use!) on CQ-Contest lately, it’s only natural that K3EST throws the towel. Cheating, more on cheating, RBN and cluster issues, the split saga recently… I might have helped him to fill the bucket with a few mails last month too.

I think the vibe on CQ-Contest does more harm to contesting does than it does good. Does it do any good actually? Has there been one constructive educational thread there recently? Yes I quit receiving the emails long time ago but I find the postings on the online archive so intriguing. It almost always boils down to yes-no, black-white, I’m right and you’re wrong. If this were the starting point for contesters, they’d get a pretty skewed image of the hobby! And if you would have to get a general idea of contesting based on what you read there, you’d think that contesting sucks. Well it doesn’t. Contesting is about the most fun you can get in amateur radio as a hobby. Both on the air as well as off the air. During the contest and even more before and after the contest.

The problem is it sucks all the energy out of you if you don’t pay attention. I sometimes suffer what I call ‘a very mild form of the W4PA syndrome’. If you read this and this, you’ll know what I mean. And if you’re heavily into contesting, you might recognize it too. Because there is so much to do and so little time…