I first started looking at emacs as my writing software a number of months ago and wrote about my initial thoughts back in August of 2025. At that time I noted that I was starting with vanilla Emacs. That is the base version that has no (or at least very few) additional packages added. This minimized the complexity. Emacs is complex enough without adding more to the challenge. And, since then every post I’ve made on this blog and essentially all of the writing I’ve done since then has been on vanilla Emacs. ...

When I last posted, I was discussing preparing to pursue the “Extra” class license as a ham operator. That eventuality is now reality. I tested and passed my exam last night with flying colors! So, what does that mean? In truth, not a lot. In terms of privileges, the extra class designation gives me access to little bit of extra bandwidth on the 15, 20, 40, and 80 meter bands. That’s a bit of a mixed bag, though, since that extra bandwidth, being available to only a subset of ham operators, also limits the number of potential contacts in those frequencies. That can be both a blessing and a curse, I suspect. That is, while there are fewer users in those frequencies, that also means that there’s less congestion. So, it’s really a mixed bag. Truth be told, though, access to those extra frequencies is not why I pursued the upgrade. ...

In an earlier post I noted that have renewed my interest in amateur radio. Several years back I had given great thought to pursuing my Extra Class certificate. If you’re not familiar with amateur radio, Extra Class is the highest level of certification in amateur radio. This give you the greatest privileges and signifies, sort of, that you have a fairly decent understanding of radio theory, electronics, and so on. It doesn’t mean that you know everything there is to know or that you’re and “expert”. But it does mean that you’ve dug a little deeper, learned a little more, and that you’re likely to keep on learning. ...

Back in the early aughts, when this phenomenon called “social media” first appeared, with MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and the like first coming into the public consciousness, I was a bit flummoxed. I couldn’t quite understand why these sites drew the kind of attention they did. Still, wanting to stay abreast of the latest trends, I tried them. Well, at least some of them. Most of my efforts revolved around the classes I was teaching at the time. ...

I joined Bluesky a month or so ago and one of the things that has caught my attention is that it seems a lot of folks who post there are posting the books they’ve read, are reading, or plan to read. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I have been known to do that myself. What caught my eye, though, was the number of people who boast about the number of books they’ve read or, as the new year begins, have set goals for how many books they will read this year. Can I just say I think that’s the stupidest thing you can possibly do? ...

Many months ago I started hearing a good bit about a technology referred to as “MeshTastic”. MeshTastic is a decentralized mesh communications network that uses LoRa radios to provide communications, particularly in situations where other technologies such as cell service are not available. The first question, of course, is “what the heck is a LoRa radio?” I’m going to avoid getting into the weeds here, but LoRa is a portmanteau of ‘LOng RAnge’ and refers to a technique to communicate over long distances. That technique involves “Chirp Spread Spectrum” to encode information in “chirps” or short pulses of data. Because much of the data transmitted by IoT devices is just a few bytes, LoRa is an ideal technology for IoT and, in fact, is often used for exactly that purpose. A LoRa device, for example, could be used to communicate with an remotely controlled gate, issuing commands to open or close the gate, or to check its status. ...

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Not only because of the holidays, but because my brain has been on a massive overload of information. I love learning and tend to be very curious about, well, damn near everything. While mucking around in my office/shop I pulled out my MeshTastic devices and started playing around with them again. That required that I do a bit of research to get up to speed and add to my understanding of that technology. And down the rabbit hole I went. In looking for information on MeshTastic I ran across MeshCore, so I started researching that and went through the process of installing that on my devices and experimenting with that technology. ...

After years of having only a single option for internet service in our area, two – count them: TWO – new providers have moved into our neighborhood in the past few months. Both of those providers boast that they provide fiber internet and in their marketing push the idea that fiber automatically means faster internet. I call BS. In all honesty, I truly considered switching to one of the fiber providers early on, but then really began to think about what I would be getting for my money. I realized that it was just hype and that the whole “speed” thing is essentially marketing: all aroma and no substance. ...

In my previous post I noted that I was getting back into Ham Radio. For those not familiar, Ham offers a ton of opportunities for experimentation, learning, and exploring new ideas and concepts. Part of what brought me back to radio was messing around with Meshtastic, a technology that allows for unlicensed communication between devices. It is commonly used for IoT type scenarios, but can also be used for messages ala SMS. Unlike SMS, though, Meshtastic and similar “LoRa” technologies don’t rely on an intact infrastructure. That means that it can be used for areas that don’t have cellular access and for those times when the cellular network may be down. ...

Way back in 2017 I obtained my Ham Radio License. I spent a bunch of money on all the ’toys’ that go along with that hobby and actually spent a good bit of time working some of the digital modes over the HF frequencies. I routinely hit South Africa as well as a bunch of places in Europe. Then we moved. After we moved I had so many irons in the fire that I didn’t set up my ham gear again. In fact, I actually sold my HF rig because, to be honest, I didn’t feel like I was getting enough out of the hobby to continue it. Not to mention that it is expensive. ...