Hello all,

Just posting a note that the Queen City BBS may see some sporadic outages in the next "few weeks," utility company's words. We're being upgraded to smart metering here and while it'll be a momentary power interruption they can't say when with any more specificity.

So, this is you FYI note and best to all,

N2QFD

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

On 05 Aug 2024 at 12:20p, n2qfd pondered and said...

Hello all,

Just posting a note that the Queen City BBS may see some sporadic outages in the next "few weeks," utility company's words. We're being upgraded to smart metering here and while it'll be a momentary power interruption they can't say when with any more specificity.

So, this is you FYI note and best to all,

N2QFD

thanks and good luck, I can relate to power outages, have had a few of my own as of late :)

Kerr Avon [Blake's 7] 'I'm not expendable, I'm not stupid and I'm not going' avon[at]bbs.nz | bbs.nz | fsxnet.nz

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
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Mal, Your BBS Name "Queen City" has made me curious enuf to look for Queen City in my Road Atlas on the New York State and New Jersey State pages.
I know I could look your call up on QRZ but thought I'd ask You here.
Please enlighten Me.
TKS
Ed
. .
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Hey Ed,

My Queen City is Elmira, NY.

This comes from an old Rail Road designation as it was described in a travel journal as Queen of the cities on this line.

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Hey Ed,

My Queen City is Elmira, NY.

This comes from an old Rail Road designation as it was described in a travel journal as Queen of the cities on this line.

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Thank You, Mal.

I only have been to New York State once (Cheektowoga near Buffalo) and not being from up there where You live I never heard of Your City being called The Queen City.
Thanks again, Ed.
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Hey Ed,

My Queen City is Elmira, NY.

Y

This comes from an old Rail Road designation as it was described in a travel journal as Queen of the cities on this line.

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Mal, I looked at Your QRZ page yesterday .
Nice assortment of Keys there.
The Bug I have is like the one in the first image with the Grey Base.
That addition to slow down the sending of dit(s) looks nice.
My Key has a square weight on a flat bar.
I put 4 small Washers on top of the weight to slow mine down.

I can't remember if I seen a Cooti Key B4.
In one image I noticed the wires lead off to the right side, I'm wondering if you are a Southpaw like I am?
The Cootie Key lets you space the dots at a rate that comfortable to Your Style of sending.
73, Ed
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I can't remember if I seen a Cooti Key B4.
In one image I noticed the wires lead off to the right side, I'm
wondering if you are a Southpaw like I am?
The Cootie Key lets you space the dots at a rate that comfortable to

Well Ed. I think the Wire placement is coincidental. Had to look up south paw! I do lead with the right on the desk.

Cootie Keys.. I got into that some time back when I was doing a lot of CW and getting some wrist pain from the J-38. I still have it and cherish it as the key my father gave when I first moved out and set up my own station. However I found as I worked with my hands my arm was not in it as much as my heart wanted! Back in the early 2000's I was working on water wells in the southern Adirondacks which could do a number on you. Winters meant a lot of shoveling for us and my father-in-law was still working his little softwood mill and as a contractor so I was often shanghaied into tailing lumber, helping finish piece work or some contracting job from plumbing and electrical to joint work and taping sheet rock or roofing and siding... You never say no to a job in the mountains. Eventually I found work surveying but that wasn't much easier on the body, just different. So the cooties gave me back the ability to enjoy a longer CW session again. They as you said let you have total control over how you shape the characters. I think folks that send fast on them have a sort of unique sound it it. At this point I'm pretty well sold on the Vibroplex. I thought I made a mistake but I love it, I love the real feedback it gives you. The keyer in the radio works fine but it's like sending CW as a mime with no weight but the air.

Hooray for old machines! May we all be so well regarded long into the future!

Mal

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Well Ed. I think the Wire placement is coincidental. Had to look up south paw! I do lead with the right on the desk.

Cootie Keys.. I got into that some time back when I was doing a lot of CW and getting some wrist pain from the J-38. I still have it and cherish it as the key my father gave when I first moved out and set up my own station. However I found as I worked with my hands my arm was not in it as much as my heart wanted! Back in the early 2000's I was working on water wells in the southern Adirondacks which could do a number on you. Winters meant a lot of shoveling for us and my father-in-law was still working his little softwood mill and as a contractor so I was often shanghaied into tailing lumber, helping finish piece work or some contracting job from plumbing and electrical to joint work and taping sheet rock or roofing and siding... You never say no to a job in the mountains. Eventually I found work surveying but that wasn't much easier on the body, just different. So the cooties gave me back the ability to enjoy a longer CW session again. They as you said let you have total control over how you shape the characters. I think folks that send fast on them have a sort of unique sound it it. At this point I'm pretty well sold on the Vibroplex. I thought I made a mistake but I love it, I love the real feedback it gives you. The keyer in the radio works fine but it's like sending CW as a mime with no weight but the air.

Hooray for old machines! May we all be so well regarded long into the future!

Mal

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Mal, Southpaw means "left handed".
At work, my boss told me I was Wrong Handed .

Hmmm, the Cootie Key lets a Ham customize his fist.
Myself, when I worked CW years ago B4 the XYL had me remove the coax that left one room and went up the attic staircase, when I sent code I tried hard to make it sound like it was sent from a Farnsworth(sp?) tape machine.
. . . . . .

When not using the J-38 key sometimes I would send code with my Left Thumb on the Bug lever. I do try to be a good LID.

When I got my Novice ticket I bought two crystals: 3720 kc/s and 7173 kc/s. Used them until I got the General ticket.
Later bought a Knightkit VFO so I could talk on 3960 kc/s to the locals.

When I was a teen a friend who worked at a Movie Theater as a Projectionist showed me how to thread the Film and how to switch from one projector to the other during the show.
When he found another job, the theater owner asked if I could work there and I did for a couple years B4 I joined the Navy.

While I worked for the movie theater owner, he had plans to open another theater but the Seats at that location needed replacing.
He learned about a theater in a near by town that hadn't been used for years and bought the seats that were in the building, and guess who helped him with getting the Seats moved to the other building? Me.

I still remember that hot summer task.

Just wondering, do You do any woodworking now?
In Junior High School and High School I took Wood Class(s).
Built a Cedar Jewelry Box in Junior High and built a small Table in High School.

After the Navy I worked at a Furniture Company.
First hired to learn how to use a Vertical Drilling Machine, but three weeks later the man who brought Jigs (Wood pieces used to hold the piece in place while they are Drilled or Shapen or Routed, etc.) to the Machine Operators was about to Retire and I was asked to learn his job.
Did that for a while until asked to run a Router Machine.

At home, I will "butcher" some pieces of wood occasionally when I think it is with-in My capabilities. Tho not very often.

I used the word butcher because that is what a local Ham called himself, He said He was a "Wood Butcher".
After hearing him say that I called him on the Landline and told him about a End Table Project that was in a Book that Kroger Grocery Stores had sold snall sections of each week to their customers.

My Wife and I both liked the looks of the cabinet but I didn't have the machines and tools to make the thing .
Ray (the Ham) , made two of them for us.
(I just now remembered what they are called) Cracker Barrells.
Duh.

I'm long winded (again), so 73
de Ed. . .
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Just wondering, do You do any woodworking now?
In Junior High School and High School I took Wood Class(s).
Built a Cedar Jewelry Box in Junior High and built a small Table in High

All FB on the journey Ed! My dad knew a guy in the Air Force who was a Ground Power maintainer like him at Kadina AB and when a general had them at inspection and was complaining about some issue this guy stepped up and said, "I can fix it." It was way outside his particular job assignment, but that bit of courage and the aptitude built from other things he had done earned him a field promotion and a stripe that day. Mr. Bartlett survived his Vietnam experience as did my father and came home to work in technical and engineering rolls.
Now, as for me, no not so much in the wood shop anymore. I was always more of a mechanic than a carpenter and an electrical and plumbing more than framing. I love my skill saw, and my bench vice but the lions share of tools here are wrenches of various sorts used to keep our cars running, and stopping! I'm just getting to a point where I'm comfortable enough to say, I'm paying someone else this time, but there was a solid 20 years of oil changes and brake jobs and head gaskets and wheel bearings and all the odd stuff that popped up in-be-tween... I had a VW Vanagon for a while and it left me with the impressions that perhaps the Germans were not defeated after the war after all..but it was a god little truck for me and did a lot of work for the fee of pushing it out of the woods and pop starting it. I had to do a starter job and there was a lot of clean up but that was a good deal. My wifes uncle who was a DoD worker abandoned it as too much work on the property. Well it smelled of mouse pretty badly but after I made it road worthy I drove to the dump and unbolted the bench seats (it was a transporter not the camper) and shoved them out the back. Much lighter and less smelly I went back over the scales, paid my fee and collected the title from Walter. Years later the situation reversed and I was in the other part of the state and had no way to take care of the VW and someone solicited him for it and he went and sold it out from under me, mailing be a silver dollar and asking that I send the title on to address X. It was a good lesson in letting things come into my life and letting them go from it.
Fun theater story! I worked as a stage hand part time here for a few seasons. Electrician was my title but we got asked to do other stuff as you did once it's known you're good for it. Worked some shows as a dresser, and everyone is a lumper when the show come in and after last curtain. Elmira is a little town but we get off Broadway touring shows and have a yellow card from the union that lets us employ non union labor as needed for productions. It's good in theory but it means someone walks over to the buss stop and waves around some cash and you get what you'd expect from that!

I figured South Paw was probably left handed. My mom set the table backwards according to my dad, but she was quick to say she was in her right mind at least.

Have a great weekend,

Mal

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

All FB on the journey Ed! My dad knew a guy in the Air Force who was a Ground Power maintainer like him at Kadina AB and when a general had them at inspection and was complaining about some issue this guy stepped up and said, "I can fix it." It was way outside his particular job assignment, but that bit of courage and the aptitude built from other things he had done earned him a field promotion and a stripe that day. Mr. Bartlett survived his Vietnam experience as did my father and came home to work in technical and engineering rolls.
Now, as for me, no not so much in the wood shop anymore. I was always more of a mechanic than a carpenter and an electrical and plumbing more than framing. I love my skill saw, and my bench vice but the lions share of tools here are wrenches of various sorts used to keep our cars running, and stopping! I'm just getting to a point where I'm comfortable enough to say, I'm paying someone else this time, but there was a solid 20 years of oil changes and brake jobs and head gaskets and wheel bearings and all the odd stuff that popped up in-be-tween... I had a VW Vanagon for a while and it left me with the impressions that perhaps the Germans were not defeated after the war after all..but it was a god little truck for me and did a lot of work for the fee of pushing it out of the woods and pop starting it. I had to do a starter job and there was a lot of clean up but that was a good deal. My wifes uncle who was a DoD worker abandoned it as too much work on the property. Well it smelled of mouse pretty badly but after I made it road worthy I drove to the dump and unbolted the bench seats (it was a transporter not the camper) and shoved them out the back. Much lighter and less smelly I went back over the scales, paid my fee and collected the title from Walter. Years later the situation reversed and I was in the other part of the state and had no way to take care of the VW and someone solicited him for it and he went and sold it out from under me, mailing be a silver dollar and asking that I send the title on to address X. It was a good lesson in letting things come into my life and letting them go from it.
Fun theater story! I worked as a stage hand part time here for a few seasons. Electrician was my title but we got asked to do other stuff as you did once it's known you're good for it. Worked some shows as a dresser, and everyone is a lumper when the show come in and after last curtain. Elmira is a little town but we get off Broadway touring shows and have a yellow card from the union that lets us employ non union labor as needed for productions. It's good in theory but it means someone walks over to the buss stop and waves around some cash and you get what you'd expect from that!

I figured South Paw was probably left handed. My mom set the table backwards according to my dad, but she was quick to say she was in her right mind at least.

Have a great weekend,

Mal

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Howdy Mal,
Like You, I do a little stuff at home; electrical, plumbing etc.
I haven't done my own Oil Change on the car fer long time.
Latest car is too low ( at least that is my excuse).

In Junior High School a friend was a Stagehand and showed me how to operate the Sound System and how to move the Curtain.
When I got in High School I didn't like setting in the seat in the Auditorium during pep assemblies, so I stood by the Stage Door after assembly waiting for the Principal so I could ask if he needed anyone to be there during assemblies and He showed me the Sound System and how to operate the Lights etc., I liked it better than sitting in the Auditorium.

When people say to Me "Have a nice weekend." I say " It's on my shoulders, and I carry it with Me all of the time.".
I call it "Ed's Head" (C) TM.

It's no wonder I see those folks shaking their head(s) as I walk away.
You too (probably now).
Ed
. .
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Hi Ed,
In a message to N2Qfd you wrote:

It's no wonder I see those folks shaking their head(s) as I walk
away. You too (probably now).

Ed if people didn't shake their head as you walk away there is
something wrong with you. LOL

Hijacking the post a bit as I"m interested in an aspect of wood working,
While I'm not handy enough nor have tools to do anything like furnature
I carve small little whittles to pass the time. I've been working on chess figures for the last year and a bit and the goal is to gift them to a friend of mine who will still play a "teaching" game with me when in reality he
knows every move I'll make after the third move. LOL

I took a short break from that when Doug Linker (a carving guy on you-
tube) did a tutorial on carving little blueberry's with faces, and that's
been a lot of fun for a couple weeks. :)

Shawn


* SeM. 2.26 * All wiyht. Rho sritched mg kegtops awound?
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* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (21:1/700)

Hi Ed,
In a message to N2Qfd you wrote:

Ed if people didn't shake their head as you walk away there is
something wrong with you. LOL

Hijacking the post a bit as I"m interested in an aspect of wood working, While I'm not handy enough nor have tools to do anything like furnature
I carve small little whittles to pass the time. I've been working on chess figures for the last year and a bit and the goal is to gift them to a friend of mine who will still play a "teaching" game with me when in reality he knows every move I'll make after the third move. LOL

I took a short break from that when Doug Linker (a carving guy on you-
tube) did a tutorial on carving little blueberry's with faces, and that's been a lot of fun for a couple weeks. :)

Shawn

* SeM. 2.26 * All wiyht. Rho sritched mg kegtops awound?
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Howdy Shawn,
The only Electrical Woodworking Tools here is a Jigsaw and Hand Drill that I can attach to a Stand Craftsman made if I wanted to use it as a Drillstand.

Got a Handsaw too.
Actually .My Wife can saw a straighter line than I can, but She can't measure worth a hoot.
The largest project we made is a Doghouse out of 3/4" plywood.
Oh, I forgot, the Wife can hammer a nail without bending it.
The Top of the Doghouse I measured a 6 inch overhang for it.
When we put it on top of the frame I measured where to drive the nails so they would go in (about) the center of the frame (using a Square Ruler) and we got the job done.

You are hand carving Chess pieces , that sounds like much more than I would try doing. Good Luck!

In the Navy another guy and I were assigned to the Compartment Cleaning Detail for a month and He showed the basic Chess moves to me.
That was years ago and my Chess skill is still at the basic level.

Good luck learning Chess.

As a kid when I played Checkers with my brother we would get Colored and White Buttons out of the Button Box for our Checker Pieces.
Ed
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Hi Ed,
On <Mon, 18 Aug 24>, you wrote me:

nails so they would go in (about) the center of the frame (using a
Square Ruler) and we got the job done.

Good stuff, I don't even think I could pull the dog house off anymore, I know at one point I knew how to do that basic stuff.

You are hand carving Chess pieces , that sounds like much more than I would try doing. Good Luck!

It's not that hard, Just remember this is a gift, so it doesn't need to be perfect,
heck so far not even my pawns are identical. They are close and you know
what they are, but that's about it. :)

Good luck learning Chess.

I'll never be good at it, I just play enough to keep my kid happy and she's teaching my grandson so I need to be able to stay sharp enough to give
the 8 year old a game. ;)

As a kid when I played Checkers with my brother we would get Colored
and White Buttons out of the Button Box for our Checker Pieces.

I remember doing that at my Grandmother's house.

Shawn


* SeM. 2.26 * He is all fault who has no fault at all.
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Hi Ed,
On <Mon, 18 Aug 24>, you wrote me:

Good stuff, I don't even think I could pull the dog house off anymore, I know at one point I knew how to do that basic stuff.

It's not that hard, Just remember this is a gift, so it doesn't need to be perfect,
heck so far not even my pawns are identical. They are close and you know what they are, but that's about it. :)

I'll never be good at it, I just play enough to keep my kid happy and she's teaching my grandson so I need to be able to stay sharp enough to give
the 8 year old a game. ;)

I remember doing that at my Grandmother's house.

Shawn

* SeM. 2.26 * He is all fault who has no fault at all.
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Shawn,
I would think making the Knight(s) would be the most difficult and time consuming task
At work I played chess with a guy who used the Knight to beat me in (I'd say) a dozen moves or less.
If I could take his Knights then I would have a chance to beat him.

The Doghouse was 3 feet square with a bottom, the Top was 4 feet square.
We made the entrance off-center.

Doing it together, My Wife made up for what I lack, and I did what was difficult for her to do.
We chose 3/4 inch CDX Plywood 'cuz we thought using 1/2" plywood & itrying to put Nails in the Top piece into 1/2 inch Frame would have lots of nails sticking out of the frame sides.

This phone only lets Me see four lines of text, and trying to scroll up to read earlier text sometimes has caused what I was typing to vanish.

Here on Earth Computers Alway Win because THEY have Inside Information.
And I have been humbled by them since I got the Commodore 64 w/ Floppy Drive and couldn't figure out how to Format a Disk.

All stories about Me are true, telling it as it happened is so bad no one has to make up anything to add when talking about Me.
Ed
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When I got in High School I didn't like setting in the seat in the Auditorium during pep assemblies, so I stood by the Stage Door after assembly waiting for the Principal so I could ask if he needed anyone to be there during assemblies and He showed me the Sound System and how to operate the Lights etc., I liked it better than sitting in the

Funny Ed,

Similar here. I was a stage hand in school and after that there was no more pleasure in the audience for me. Even later when I worked as an assistant to the Rabbi locally through COVID and keeping weekly services going for people it's awfully hard to go back to simply a spectator.

As for folks thinking your an odd duck, well I often remind people that the only place you're apt to find "normal" in the wild is on a washing machine...

Mal

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Hi Ed,
On <Tue, 19 Aug 24>, you wrote me:

Shawn, I would think making the Knight(s) would be the most difficult consuming task At work I played chess with a guy who used the Knight

They are the most fun to carve too though. ;)

Doing it together, My Wife made up for what I lack, and I did what
was difficult for her to do.

That's team work!

This phone only lets Me see four lines of text, and trying to scroll
up to read earlier text sometimes has caused what I was typing to
vanish.

I could not imagine trying to read/write echomail on a phone. Even on
a larger tablet that would make me crazy. :)

All stories about Me are true, telling it as it happened is so bad no
one has to make up anything to add when talking about Me.

Laugh, that's exactly how I feel. ;)

Shawn


* SeM. 2.26 * After two days in hospital, I took a turn for the nurse.
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Funny Ed,

Similar here. I was a stage hand in school and after that there was no more pleasure in the audience for me. Even later when I worked as an assistant to the Rabbi locally through COVID and keeping weekly services going for people it's awfully hard to go back to simply a spectator.

As for folks thinking your an odd duck, well I often remind people that the only place you're apt to find "normal" in the wild is on a washing machine...

Mal

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
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Mal, A cousin called it a speckledtator.
Ed
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Another thing Mal,

qcen.org in Cincinnati Ohio called the area. the queen city.
Ed
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Hi Ed,
On <Tue, 19 Aug 24>, you wrote me:

They are the most fun to carve too though. ;)

That's team work!

I could not imagine trying to read/write echomail on a phone. Even on
a larger tablet that would make me crazy. :)

Shawn , All that I can say is: "No one can drive Me crazy because I already been driven.".
Ed

Laugh, that's exactly how I feel. ;)

Shawn

* SeM. 2.26 * After two days in hospital, I took a turn for the nurse.
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