Friday, February 11, 2005

Third Blogiversary

late afternoon Originally uploaded by rfin.

So I've been blogging for three years as of today.

I didn't survive as a ham radio operator. Never got past my WN7MYJ novice call, not because I didn't know the code, not because I didn't love the hardware, but it just wasn't a priority for anyone else other than me. Bills had to be paid. A kid's dreams could wait for another year or two. You do what you gotta do. The certificate's somewhere out in the garage.

Got into commercial broadcasting as a 19-year-old. There's one way to get to play with thousands of dollars of electronics, find a job that demands it. Besides, it made a pretty good first career. Also did a little commercial photo work as a college student.

Have been writing journals for about 30 years. Journalism. Marketing. Public relations. You pretty much need words for these hobbies.

But blogging combines parts of all these past loves.

The ham radio part is the world-wide reach. Not a mass audience, but certainly one that's far flung. Here are the latest stats:

.com United States 2949 55.19%
- Unknown 1019 19.07%
.edu US Educational 559 10.46%
.net Network 290 5.42%
.ca Canada 91 1.70%
.uk United Kingdom 72 1.34%
.jp Japan 45 0.84%
.org Non-Profit Organizations 32 0.59%
.au Australia 25 0.46%
.sg Singapore 16 0.29%
.be Belgium 15 0.28%
.it Italy 13 0.24%
.fr France 11 0.20%
.de Germany 11 0.20%
.in India 9 0.16%
.br Brazil 8 0.14%
.nl Netherlands 8 0.14%
.tw Taiwan, Province of China 8 0.14%
.my Malaysia 8 0.14%
.fi Finland 7 0.13%
.no Norway 7 0.13%
.mx Mexico 6 0.11%
.il Israel 6 0.11%
.hk Hong Kong 6 0.11%
.es Spain 5 0.09%
.gov US Government 5 0.09%
.ph Philippines 5 0.09%
.ar Argentina 5 0.09%
.gr Greece 5 0.09%
.se Sweden 4 0.07%
.pl Poland 4 0.07%
.nz New Zealand 4 0.07%
.za South Africa 4 0.07%
.pt Portugal 4 0.07%
.at Austria 4 0.07%
.ie Ireland 3 0.05%
.tr Turkey 3 0.05%
.dk Denmark 3 0.05%
.mk Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of 3 0.05%
.hu Hungary 3 0.05%
.lu Luxembourg 3 0.05%
.eg Egypt 3 0.05%
.ro Romania 2 0.03%
.uy Uruguay 2 0.03%
.ye Yemen 2 0.03%
.vn Vietnam 1 0.01%
.cz Czech Republic 1 0.01%
.ae United Arab Emirates 1 0.01%
.mu Mauritius 1 0.01%
.hr Croatia 1 0.01%
.mil US Military 1 0.01%
.zw Zimbabwe 1 0.01%
.ch Switzerland 1 0.01%
.lk Sri Lanka 1 0.01%
.lv Latvia 1 0.01%
.ee Estonia 1 0.01%
.cl Chile 1 0.01%
.th Thailand 1 0.01%
.yu Yugoslavia 1 0.01%
.id Indonesia 1 0.01%
.bd Bangladesh 1 0.01%
.bg Bulgaria 1 0.01%
.ni Nicaragua 1 0.01%
.lt Lithuania 1 0.01%
.an Netherlands Antilles 1 0.01%
TOTAL 5317

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

roof hardware


roof hardware
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Monday, February 07, 2005

street scene


street scene
Originally uploaded by rfin.

The camera really surprises me sometimes. Yes, I had help from Photoshop, but still, I had little idea that my trip to the grocery store tonight after work would yield this.

fallen


fallen
Originally uploaded by rfin.

lake and city (by request)


lake and city (by request)
Originally uploaded by rfin.

ranting and...


ranting and...
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Dee and Adine's 35th

Dee and Adine's 35th Originally uploaded by rfin.

Congratulations to my mom and stepdad on their 35th anniversary today.

Dee's recent advice explains how they've successfully weathered their storms: "Accentuate the positive, discard the negative. Treat aches and pains and mental distress as monuments to longevity with pride. Make the most of what remains. There isn't much alternative to closing it out with the pizzaz befitting the owner of a courageous and fruitful life."

Amen to that!

labako tries out his new wheels


dbk03
Originally uploaded by Labako.

more about Friday's FROY below...