Learning Morse Code with Google's Learn site

 

It can be hard to get into a new hobby especially when there is a lot to learn and the learning slope is steep. I am learning more about amateur radio systems and the licensing process. One facet of the licensing process is a test. In previous years, the test included an evaluation of Morse code. This requirement is no longer necessary however the practice can be helpful in understanding some simple, analog transmissions found on the air (OTA). 

I looked online and found a nice, clean way to learn Morse code.

Check out https://morse.withgoogle.com/learn/

Book Review: For Whom The Bell Tolls

 

I recently picked up another Hemingway novel which I carried with me during the move to Boston. I appreciate his work because he follows a simple yet essential principle in writing good fiction; write from one's own experiences. In this novel, Robert Jordan is an agent in Spain sent to blow up a bridge at the start of a major offensive in the Spanish Civil War. Through a wild variety of experiences, meetings, and events we see how Robert's perception of the people and history of the land has changed.  

Hemingway himself spent a good amount in Spain during the war and began writing about it shortly after returning. As a reporter, he saw the worst of the ways in war. This tales appear to be projected into the characters of this novel and provide a sort-of second hand image of Hemingway's own experiences. 

One particularly interesting facet of the writing style in this novel is the way Spanish and English are used interchangeably at times during dialogue between Robert and his fellow guerilla fighters. Hemingway knows that certain phrases and emotions unique to the Spanish way of speaking are hard to convey exactly as they are in English. 

10/10, would recommend highly

Homemade Grape Juice

 

The grape juice was tart. The concoction lacked any significant sweetness in it. This was partially due to the fact that the drink had no added sugar. Beyond that, the solution was cloudy even though I filtered it through a paper sieve. I ran over to campus from my apartment in Boston. The wind sucked. All the way across the bridge my hat was down. Some other people did not care about the wind. They basked in it. Some people were on boats in the Charles. I suppose it's hard to get sick in a boat. Campus was mostly devoid although a few souls walked about on Amherst alley. I saw a bunch of PODS by McCormick Hall. These PODS likely hold the personal belongings of those who moved out last March, some of those people are returning. The grapes were growing in the garden by Next House that I help water and tend. I think some of the other gardeners don't care that much anymore as their plants are left to go fallow. I gave a homeless man some of the tomatoes I picked. I could not tell if they cared at all. I think they probably did not like tomatoes that much. Perhaps? Another man asked me for a light, I did not give them a tomato since I don't think that would have helped. I think I could make a mean grape juice with these wild grapes.