Imagine that!

However, as the story points out, that’s a drop in the bucket for a state with a population of 38,000,000. In fact, it’s less than a drop in the bucket at slightly over 3/10ths of one percent - 0.003789473684, to be exact.

But it is significant.

A friend whom owns a couple of businesses in Texas and Alabama recently moved across the state line from California to Nevada in the Lake Tahoe area. Taxes were too high, he said. Nevada doesn’t have a state income tax, and I can only presume their property taxes are lower, though I don’t know.

Recently, a law which had previously been enacted came into effect in California January 1st. Specifically, it forbids drivers from “texting,” or sending text messages on their cell phones. Presumably - though I’m not certain - it also forbids them from reading them.

I remain critical of that law.

Why?

It’s STOOPID! That’s why.

Should people be fiddling with text messages while driving? Hell no! So why is it STOOPID?

It’s STOOPID because it’s unnecessary. Consider Sweet Home Alabama, for example. Alabama’s State Troopers and other AL LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) have broad leeway in writing tickets for behavior or activity which, in their professional opinion, demonstrates unsafe behavior on the roadways. Their discretion allows them to “make the call” about whether a driver is operating a vehicle in an unsafe manner - and thus jeopardizing their lives or the lives of others - or not.

Thus, for example, farding - the application of makeup - while driving is (in my opinion) unsafe, and any woman so observed while driving should be ticketed for unsafe operation.

Also, reading the newspaper while driving is, in my opinion, unsafe and anyone so observed should be ticketed for unsafe operation.

Now, on the Redstone Arsenal, the feds - at the behest of the Provost Marshal, I believe - have been ticketing drivers using handheld cell phones for quite some time, perhaps four years or more.

As a matter of fact, the PM was so rabid about it - and for many in the Amateur Radio community, RSA is their lifeblood - that many in the chain of command had to be coaxed, cajoled and cozied-up-to in order to make an exception for the use of ham radio. It apparently didn’t matter that the RSA police used radios while driving.

But, as some see it, laws exist to protect us from ourselves. And while to a certain extent that’s true, some use such justification to create as many laws as possible. Case in point: California’s “no texting” law… even though they already have a requirement for hands-free cell phone operation.

Such philosophy asserts that everyone should be protected as much as possible through the creation of many laws.

However, the way I see it, if someone does something stupid and thereby causes harm to another, the legal system ought to be the place for proper redress of grievances, for civil and criminal. At least that’s what our Constitution says.

But some California judges just don’t see it that way.

More on that in Part 2.

R ec ent l yI sen t am ess a ge toa f ri end o fm ine w ho mwo r ks ina c ad emi a in com p ut ern e tw ork i ng ser v ic es. I nt hem e ss age I wr ote t oh imI e xp lai n ed tha t Iw asu s in gse q ue nti a ls pac i ng asa m at ter o fs ome t es tin g to see h ow the e -m ail s ni ffe r sr esp o nd edt o my mes s ag e.S i nc eIu s eG mai l ,t her e ar ead v er tis e me nts t ha tap p ea ral o ng sid e th eme s sa gew h ic hke y in onp a rt icu larWordsInTheMes sageAndThenDisplayLin ksForTheGoodsOrSer vices.IDecidedThatIfIStr ungTogetherMySente ncesAndOrUsedUnusu alSpacingThatItWou ldFoolTheComp uter.IWascorrect.InMyMe ssageISawNoAdv ertising!

Then suddenly, there was a Big Bang!

And presto! There was something!

(It does always seem that something emerges after a Big Bang.)

But something wasn’t right.

So something decided to do something. And then, there was more somethings. Soon, there were many somethings running all around everywhere in the nowhere.

Since something was nowhere, no one could find anything. And, there was a problem with everything.

One day, a little something became curious and went to see something bigger.

A little something observed something bigger and saw a little something was like something bigger.

But a little something couldn’t do anything about it because a little something was still little.

A little something needed to be bigger.

So a little something grew, and grew and grew and grew.

Then, an amazing thing happened! A little something was bigger than something bigger! Something bigger was actually smaller than a little something which became something bigger! A little something had now become something greater.

Something greater, however, was not satisfied. So something greater began a search for something even greater.

Not knowing where to go, and since nowhere was everywhere, a greater something went everywhere, but quickly discovered that lead nowhere.

Not being able to find something even greater, a greater something settled for nothing, which in fact, was everything, and everywhere. That was, you see, because something wasn’t right.

Having settled for nothing, a greater something felt despondent. For in settling for nothing, which was everything and everywhere, and which lead nowhere, a greater something began to discover that something even greater was nearby.

Previously, something greater was resigned, and had settled for nothing. But in the process, something greater discovered something even greater.

Something greater was ecstatic! It seemed that suddenly, nothing had become something even greater!

Something greater was amazed that something even greater had come from nothing! Nothing, in fact, had been everywhere, and something greater did not know it. For in that process, something even greater was hidden from something greater, because something even greater had in fact, been nothing, having been everywhere.

Something greater realized that something even greater had surrounded something greater all the time, but could not see something even greater because nothing was hiding it.

Though it was hiding nothing, which was in fact something even greater, something greater felt that something was hiding everything. That is why something greater looked everywhere for something even greater, because something greater found nothing everywhere in everything.

Thus, something even greater had once been nothing, and had even surrounded something greater, though something greater did not know it. And though it seemed that everything had been hidden by something, in fact nothing had hidden it.

And even though it had hidden nothing, which had become something even greater, no one could find anything, because there was still a problem with everything.

Hiding nothing, it became something else which competed with something. But since it became something else after hiding nothing, something else was completely known. Thus everyone who knew something else, never knew something greater or something even greater, especially since something even greater had once been hidden by nothing.

In fact, everyone who once knew nothing, which had become something even greater, now knew something else. And since it was now something else, everyone who found anything had a problem with everything.

I did not.

I was awake until around 0100 watching a DVD series of MI-5 episodes. It’s a BBC production, and a fine television series at that! As I watch their productions, I am coming to think that they are superior in their story telling to many of these made-in-Hollywood Americans.

Anyway, as I listened for the deep gurgling sounds of the coffee maker starting up - I had also set it for 0630 (or so I thought) - I did not hear it, and thought perhaps it might be malfunctioning. I’ve not had that machine for six months yet, but it has gotten some use, for certain! It’s a Mr. Coffee brand 12 cup programmable, model FTX43.

Okay… BR549.

I reset the alarm on my cell phone and lay in bed for about another hour and “got my nap out.” Then, I got up out of bed, went into the kitchen and got some bacon out to fry slowly on low heat, while I took a shower.

When I arrived in the kitchen, I noticed the reason the coffee maker has not started was because it was an hour behind! Well, it should’ve started an hour earlier… but it didn’t. Go figure. I’m not complaining. So, I manually started the coffee, and reset the clock for the correct time.

On the electric oven I use to cook upon, unless I’m boiling water, I keep the temperature turned below “medium” and slightly above “low,” which is the next setting above “warm.” Since I use a heavy iron skillet, which does an excellent job of distributing and retaining heat, cooking with and keeping the temperature around that level works quite well.

Then, I put three slices of bacon in the skillet (I slice them in half lengthwise because it makes them easier to cook and put in the pan), covered the pan with a lid, and proceeded to pour a cup of coffee and head for the shower. Since I was not going to be constantly minding it, I felt justified by turning the heat just a bit lower.

In the interim, I had already had the shower running, and since I have the gas hot water heater temperature set to “SCALD” (well, it’s not THAT hot, but it’ll damn sure burn you if you stay under it long enough), the bathroom was like a steam sauna. Nice… real nice.

By this time, I had already been back into the kitchen to check on the bacon’s progress, and turned it over. It was cooking nice and slowly, just as I had hoped.

Returning to the bathroom, I turned the water temperature down to a more moderate setting and proceeded to bathe.

Now, I’m not one of these kind of guys that stays in the shower so long that upon emerging from it looks like a prune. I do stay in there long enough to “git ‘er done,” and that is also the time I typically begin my routine of morning prayer.

So when I had finished the job, I quickly dried off, shaved and sipped on the coffee.

I like dark black coffee. And I do mean STRONG! For a 12 cup pot such as I have, I place 1/2 cup of French roasted coffee in the strainer, and set the strength to “strong.” My white coffee cup develops this wonderful patina after about three or four uses at which point I have to wash it in earnest.

Then being attired my undergarments, and by the time that entire routine was over, I noticed that perhaps 20 minutes or so had elapsed. As I walked into the kitchen, I retrieved one egg from the styrofoam carton and replaced the near-empty container in the fridge.

Using the maroon-colored hot pad, I removed the glass lid to examine my bacon.

There they were. Lying side by side with their kindred - six, four inch slices, neatly arranged on the bottom of a heavy cast-iron skillet, just as I had left them.

They had shriveled up a wee bit, of course, as all bacon does. But since I buy slab bacon however, it doesn’t shrivel up as much as more inferior cuts do. But there was something else that I found curious.

It was something I had not expected, nor anticipated.

There, upon each piece of bacon were the most distinctive and unmistakable marks.

Extending around the perimeter of each piece were dark circumferential lines. It seemed as if in my absence, some mysterious pixie had taken an eyeliner pencil and drawn a line around each piece.

Eagerly, I lifted the spatula to retrieve the bacon from the pan and place it upon my awaiting plate.

As I tilted the pan to let the excess grease accumulate away from the bacon, I then slid the spatula underneath the bacon and placed it on my plate.

Almost simultaneously as I set the lid down, I was examining my bacon with the curious markings.

Turning it over, I found the source.

It had burned.

All my precious bacon had burned slowly.

There is a three-fold moral to this story, my friends. The lessons are, 1.) Drink strong coffee, 2.) Take hot showers, and 3.) When cooking bacon, be present at all times!

THE END

Performed by Maria Muldaur and written by David Nichtern, the lyric is a classic, and tastefully sensous.

“Midnight at the oasis
Send your camel to bed.
Shadows paintin’ our faces,
Traces of romance in our heads.
Heaven’s holdin’ a half-moon,
Shinin’ just for us.
Let’s slip off to a sand dune, real soon,
And kick up a little dust.”

As I researched for this article, I found that the composer’s impressive musical  resume includes composition of themes for the television daytime dramas “One Life to Live,” and “As the World Turns.”

Mrs. Muldaur began her career singing with the likes of bluegrass/newgrass revivalist mandolinist David Grisman, Bob Dylan and others.

This evening, I viewed a DVD of a 1985 motion picture entitled “Brazil,” in which Mrs. Muldaur and her husband Geoff sang the title track, which was a 1939 copyrighted song, originally with Portuguese lyrics and music by Ary Barroso, with English lyrics by S.K. Russell added in 1942.

The names Desi Arnaz, Chet Atkins, Jimmy Dorsey, Ferrante and Teicher, Les Paul, Buddy Merrill, Reinhardt Django, Ray Conniff and Frank Sinatra hopefully sound familiar. They and others have all performed the hit song “Brazil.”

Licensed through BMI, “Brazil” is a BMI award winning song, and was a 1943 Hit Parade winner, having been introduced by the Eddie Duchin Orchestra, and was on hit records by the Xavier Cugat and Jimmy Dorsey bands.

A bit more about Maria Muldaur, however…

Mrs. Muldar’s musical background includes the musical influences of Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb.

By age five, she was singing Kitty Wells’ “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” while her aunt provided piano accompaniment. During her teen years, the Rhythm and Blues sounds of Fats Domino, Little Richard, Clyde McPhatter and Ruth Brown figured prominently.

Growing up in New York City’s Greenwich Village, she was surrounded by an electic variety of music, including the rural Southern sounds of Doc Watson, Bukka White, Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt. As well, she began forming her own musical direction playing with the likes of Bob Dylan, John Sebastian and David Grisman, a bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist, whom has also collaborated with the late Jerry Garcia, a Grateful Dead lead singer/songwriter/guitarist .

Having migrated south, first to North Carolina, then to Louisiana, she has recorded albums in the musical genres of blues, gospel and swing.

She has also collaborated with Dr. John, Ry Cooder, Paul Butterfield, Lowell George, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Wonder, Jr. Walker, James Booker, Benny Carter, J.J. Cale, Kenny Burrell, Doc Watson, Hoagy Carmichael, Aaron and Charles Neville, Mavis Staples, Bonnie Raitt and Ann Peebles among others.

She also renown for her hit remake of “I’m a Woman,” written by the renown songwriting duo of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

An interesting note, as one begins to see the names of various artists whom have collaborated with each other, one begins to see a “family” emerge. While unique, their voices and musical styles do show influences of one another.

For example, who would have considered that David Grisman and the late Jerry Garcia, of Grateful Dead renown, would have begun their friendship having met at a Bill Monroe bluegrass concert many years ago?

Now about the DVD movie “Brazil.”

Directed by Terry Gilliam, it’s a delightful fictional, comedy, fantasy drama starring two names of thespian renown, Robert De Niro as Archibald ‘Harry’ Tuttle, and Michael Palin as Jack Lint. Although it’s rated “R,” I cannot understand why. There is no cursing, no gratuitous nudity, and no overtly graphic violence. Where there are less than a handful of scenes with potentially “disturbing” content, I have seen much worse on television. Were I to rate the film, I’d give it a PG-13.

Set in a retro-futuristic totalitarian society, the protagonist Jack Lint, satisfied working at a dead-end job, falls in love with Jill Layton, played by  Kim Greist, whom he first envisioned in  his dreams. He then becomes motivated toward a better job once he discovers she’s real, and thus begins the comedic and fantasy-element-laden chase to capture the woman of his dreams.

The story-telling is wonderful, logical and easy to follow, and the design and cinematography are outstanding. It is - if not already - bound to be a cinemagraphic classic!

Midnight at the Oasis
ASCAP Title Code: 430218945
Publishers/Administrators:
SPACE POTATO MUSIC LTD/NOTTING
% NOTTING DALE SONGS INC
% PETER CHALCRAFT
8961 SUNSET BOULEVARD
SUITE 1C
WEST HOLLYWOOD , CA, 90069
Tel. (310) 273-230

BRAZIL (Legal Title)
BMI Work #147230
Songwriter/Composer: ARY EVANGELISTA BARROSO
Current Affiliation: SACEM CAE/IPI #: 2193333
Publishers:
APRS- BMI, 1156248
IRMAOS VITALE S A - BMI, 270010914

“Brazil” music by Ary Barroso
English lyrics by S.K. Russell
Copyright 1939 by Irmaros Vitale, Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Copyright 1939 Southern Music Publishing Company, Inc., New York, NY, USA
Copyright assigned 1942 to Peer International Corporation, New York, NY, USA

I’d have to tell them this:

I’ve been doing a lot of reading, writing, thinking, uploading, research, etc.

As well, I’ve been eating, drinking, going to church, shopping for a few items, and on Sunday, I went into the downtown area to photograph.

Right now, I’m enjoying some sparkling Spanish wine (Freixenet Cordon Negro, Brut - méthode traditionnelle), eating cheese and have been searching, doing some reading among research papers, books, etc., about the “etiology of evil.” I was curious about the phrase, having read it in a lengthy article “The controversy of the occult reich.” I found it from a link, from a link, from a link. It started off from RZIM.org (a Christian apologetics site), from there to a link to another apologist’s site, to a site from the Southern Baptists, from there to Biola University (a private Christian university in Southern California), to a link for now-ceased publication for an award winning magazine about spirituality, to one of their archived articles - which is what I’m now reading. BTW, it’s the one about the occult reich.

I might mention also I’ve been doing a lot of logic and reasoning work - that means some research as well - for apologetics. Specifically, this evening, I spent a couple of hours researching and writing for a post in an online forum - the topic of which was a comment made in response to a question posed to Richard Dawkins, a British researcher of some renown, and avowed atheist. (I’ll share my post at the conclusion.)

Several hours ago, I took a nap for a bit, having started to nod off at my laptop after downloading some mp3 files of lectures. (How boring are you!?) I’d already spent several hours reading, and had earlier gone out to buy some Jack Daniel’s Old Number 7 Whiskey (made in Lynchburg, Tennessee), RC Cola (another Southern invention), 2 pounds of French roasted coffee (yes, that’s 32 ounces), Sutter Home brand Moscato wine, toilet paper, toothpaste, the wine I’m now enjoying and two Edwards brand pecan pies (made in Atlanta, Georgia). Those are delish! And on close-out sale each at $3.97, that’s a bargain! My bill was $75.58.

Hey! Not only am I doing my part to support this fragile economy, I’m supporting Southern institutions! LORD have mercy, I miss the Southland!

Earlier this past Sunday, I attended the 8AM service at St. Mary’s parish where I’ve been attending since in the San Joaquin Valley. For the 10:30 service, the children and adults presented a short skit about the Annunciation, and Birth of Christ. While on my way out of the 9 o’clock service I consented to photograph the event… using the participant’s camera. In retrospect, I should’ve used my Nikon. I kick myself for not going out to the Jeep and getting it. Oh well…

Andy way (yes, andyway), Sunday I bought a little SD card reader at an Office Depot store on Divisidero Street in the downtown area of Fresno. That, and an 8GB SD card for about $30 totalled $48.57.

Now, I’ve been uploading pictures from last OCTOBER! (yes, October) to my Flickr website. I have about oh… 50± GB of pictures (each 8GB card holds 1000± hi-res photos) to browse through. Yeah… THAT’S some work!

Plus, I shot my second Baptism at church about two weeks ago. And I haven’t even gotten the shots from that off to the folks to whom I offered my gratis services.

So, I have a butt-load of stuff to do!

Then, I’m also in the midst of doing all this… and, I REALLY want to “get lost” up in the Sierras. Around here, that’s Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia… and Mammoth Lake is just nearby, as is Death Valley. No kidding! Even though it’s below freezing every night, I want to go camping - raw, rugged, no-holds-barred-all-I-brought-is-toiletpaper-water-sleepingbag-and-tent camping. Now THAT, my friends, is CAMPING!

‘Course, if I meet a bear or mountain lion, I’ll SCARE the shit out of ‘em! YEEEAAHH! H’YAAA! YOW! YOW! HOOAHH!

(Dang… if I was a human, I’d stay away from me like that!)

Reckon that’ll work? Or, should I carry a .44 and a 12 guage pump shotgun with 00 buckshot and a few slugs for good measure?

If I’m stopped by any Forest Rangers, I’ll tell ‘em, “I ain’t huntin’… I brought these for self protection!”

Now… as I promised, here’s the post I made, to which I earlier referred.

“In order to fully understand, the content of the post which is the subject of this thread will be posted below.

“The post reads in its entirety:

“”When asked:

““What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it”

“Richard Dawkins responds:
““I believe that all life, all intelligence, all creativity and all ‘design’ anywhere in the universe, is the direct or indirect product of Darwinian natural selection. It follows that design comes late in the universe, after a period of Darwinian evolution. Design cannot precede evolution and therefore cannot underlie the universe.””

“Let’s break it down.

“When (Richard Dawkins was) asked:

“”What do you (Richard Dawkins) believe is true even though you (Richard Dawkins) cannot prove it (that which you believe)?”

“Richard Dawkins responds:
“”I (Richard Dawkins) believe (even though I, Richard Dawkins cannot prove it) that all life, all intelligence, all creativity and all…” blah, blah, blah…

“The subject in the question is “believe,” which is also that to which the pronoun “it” refers. Worded another way, it would say similarly say, “What do you believe to be true even though you cannot prove that which you believe to be true?”

“Were the sentence to be reworded for greater clarity it might have read, “Is there anything you believe that cannot be proven?” As well, similarly, “Do you believe anything that cannot be proven?” Both those sentences are essentially the same, because, while worded only slightly different, they contain the inherent idea expressed in the original question.

“The imperative is “cannot prove it.”

“Thus making ANY response is inherently contradictory and self-negating sentence.

“Dawkins, an obviously intelligent being, should have noticed the question and rephrased it so that it were more in line - logically speaking, of course - to his taste.

“Further, the definition of the verb “believe” is to accept something as true or existant (such as religious faith, or God), or to hold as an opinion.

“If there is no God, then belief is simply out of the question, making any characteristic associated with belief a moot point. Opinion is subjective, not independently verifiable, or conclusory (defined as “consisting of or relating to a conclusion or assertion for which no supporting evidence is offered,” i.e. “not supported by all the facts”).

“Thus, the words used to construct the sentence were also in error. To ask someone who does not believe (anything) what they do believe (anything) is self contradictory. And for that queried party to respond to such negates the position they have previously asserted.

“Here ends the lesson.

“Amen.

“(Remember now… these folks suppose themselves to be “bright”! This, however, is elementary logic! And the English language… well, it should have been fully grasped by 5th grade.)”

Specifically, I was searching for broadcast outlets in the greater Florence, Alabama area (stations which originate in Lauderdale or Colbert county). In case you’re not aware, there are Radio: 7 - AM; 17 - FM;  7 - TV; for a GRAND TOTAL of 31!

Wow! That’s a whole lot!

The Huntsville MSA, a much more populated, and educated area, has 9 - AM; 19 - FM; 7 - TV; for a GRAND TOTAL of 35!

What is up with that?!

Maybe I’m in the wrong business…

Anywho, It just so happened that there was a link to Amateur Radio licensees. So, I thought, “woo-hoo! That’s me!”

And, yeppers, I’m in it.

Maybe you can find yourself. 

Go hunting. 

Go fishing. 

Just go! 

This has been a year full of choice bits from space exploration as NASA celebrates their 50th anniversary. Most every day I like to check in on the latest discussion on the AMSAT bulletin-board, an international collection  of ham radio operators with special interest in satellite communication. Many of these fine folks have also at some point in their history contributed to the collective advancements our exploring civilization has enjoyed. Here is an interesting article that was recently brought to our attention, describing the journey of some old data. (Restored picture thanks to NASA/LOIRP)

More than a time or two I’ve been involved with restoration of old equipment like this, after all that is how I, like so many others, came to be involved with electronic technology - by recycling old hardware. Just last week I was describing to some colleagues how I had first discovered the art of dumpster diving on my walk home from jr high school in the 60’s. There was an IBM field office, and we would collect old circuit boards from the trash, and take them home and scavenge resistors, capacitors and transistors for use building our own circuits.

This is how we got here . . .  lets make sure that we provide the same opportunities to our future scientists and explorers.

Thanks  /;^)

It’s not a post about Santa Claus, nor defenses for the same.

It’s not a post about “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,” nor any hokey tune heard during this time of year.

In fact, it’s not about anything but you.

Yes, this post is about YOU!

While I’m seated here in this sparsely barren living room, pecking out words on this QWERTY keyboard (I’m learning Dvorak, ’cause I’m damn tired of the b.s. mistakes so common with this feaked-out, messed-up, worse-than-random keyboard layout), I’ve been thinking about me.

Yeah… but you said this post was about me!

No, I said it was about you.

You’re not me, nor am I you. While I am me, and you are neither me nor I, you can say you of yourself that you are “I,” yet not the I which is me, while I can only attest that I am not you, nor you I.

Having said that (and having muddled through reading it) think about someone else other than your spouse, your children, your neighbor or perhaps your friends, family at church, social or civic club or work.

There are folks, like me, whom are thousands of miles away from home, away from family, while having some friends here (whom, thank God, have graciously invited me into their home this Christmas), whom are not surrounded by loved ones, family or close friends.

They’re wearing tee shirts, or prison blues, combat fatigues, surgical scrubs, bullet-proof vests, sandals, clerical collars, and more.

Whether they’re where they are by choice or by law, they’re away from home, family, friends and loved ones.

They miss you. Yes, they miss you.

See?

I told you this post was about you!

Give ‘em a call.

Pick up that cell phone or land line and “reach out and touch someone.”

Would they give their left arm (or any other body part) to be with you?

Oh, hell yes! Yes!!

Who wouldn’t want to be with those with whom they could laugh, joke, eat, drink, hug, kiss, hold, and look into their eyes for affirmation of themselves and the precious relationship they have with you?

Yeah… you.

It’s all about you.

So ‘nearly instant’ is more accurate. This web site had gone undetected by me, but definitely fills a need. There are so many different satellites now in orbit, specifically ham-radio related, that it takes some effort to keep up with not only where they are, when they come around, and what frequencies they use . . . let alone whether or not it is still functioning. Enter David Carr - KD5QGR, and Bob Bruninga - WB4APR and this little web application.

This is a snapshot from their Satellite Status Page, http://oscar.dcarr.org/index.php

Here users complete a quick form indicating which satellite, which mode, and what time they just heard or made contact thru a particular satellite. The information is quickly compiled and presented so that the rest of us can keep aware of mode changes, or service outages easily. No more guessing or wondering if your radio has a problem. There is even an indication to select if you did NOT hear it when you expected to… Of course, the more we use it, the more meaningful the information will be.

Good job guys !! This should prove useful.
Thanks  /;^)