Author: Me

November 23, 2022

It felt good to get the boots on and get out for a walk during lunch on what turned out to be a fairly frenetic workday. I took advantage of a lull in the recent heavy winds to enjoy a sunny but not too warm fall day. The fear of course is the winds will return tomorrow and trigger a power outage for Thanksgiving as they did last year. It worries me that even the basics are seeming to breakdown in this state.

Strolling though Satwiwa on the edge of the Santa Monica Mountains one has a wondrous view of Boney Mountain. As you wander the grass covered bluffs (Satwiwa is Chumash for “bluffs”), Boney enters your view each time you turn south or reach a crest. It’s amazing to think people have been gazing up at that peak for 10,000 years from the same spot. There is a peace there. You can hear the wind moving through the trees. See the grass wave to its rhythms. Having once lived nearby, I do believe some of that calm makes its way into the adjacent contemporary neighborhoods. It’s a special place.

KM6USO.net Online

Logo for United Service Organizations

Following the rapid learning cycle of the past few weeks, it seemed like the right time to finally document and share some great knowledge related to Amateur Radio. Given the narrow audience that might find this interesting, I decided to create a new site to house the growing collection.

If you are a licensed amateur radio operator or want to learn more, please visit and let me know what you think. I look forward to bumping in to out there on the air one of these days!

Note Regarding the USO Image

I feel fortunate to have been sequentially assigned this callsign from the FCC in 2018 as it is both memorable and has a unique historical reference (the United Service Organizations).

Review: The Orville

The last time I was thoroughly engaged with the Star Trek franchise was The Next Generation television series of the early 90’s. Nothing since has been able to capture my attention for more than a few episodes. Even the movies starring the TNG cast left me wanting.

While I did enjoy the first JJ Abrams reboot of the franchise, I realized the parts I liked were the parts that connected it to the iconic characters of the past and found the alternative timeline device a sort of “easy way out” (albeit commercially understandable) for Hollywood to move in new directions.

As it happens, earlier this year I began re-watching the TNG television series from the start. It’s been enjoyable if not predictable, and comes across somewhat dated in production values. It’s humorous to see them walking around with tablets and talking to the computer in the age of iPads and Alexa. As I reflected on the show and the state of the franchise, I couldn’t help but have a lingering bit of disappointment realizing I’m watching stuff 25 years old.

Then along comes The Orville. Having seen the initial advertisements, I assumed it was a pure comedy and figured I might give it a try sometime but didn’t get too excited about it. Given the amount of plane travel I have to endure these days for work, I’m always on the lookout for good content so one night I thought I’d give it a try.

I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

It’s as if a true Star Trek fan, with a wicked sense of humor and the clout to get something on the air, decided to make their own fan version of show (uh, Seth MacFarlane). It has everything you’d expect, except maybe transporters, and clearly avoids verbatim Star Trek vocabulary (using ‘quantum drive’ for example instead of ‘warp drive’).

The archetypes are there. You can’t have a bridge crew without a logical/unemotional type always questioning or seeking humanity. Update the production values and décor then sprinkle in some lighthearted plot elements and lots of one-liners, and you’ve got the idea.

Now, it’s not perfect. Sometimes the humor is a bit crass. Sometimes the science part of the scifi is a bit dubious even by Star Trek standards, but if you can let go of some minor rough edges, it’s thoroughly enjoyable. Several of the episodes involve the kind of metaphorical science fiction storylines the original series was known for, only updated for modern social concerns.

If you are missing a show that harkens back to the roots of Star Trek and are want a few good laughs along the way, give The Orville a try. Let me know what you think.

(Image Source)

Machine Learning to Accelerate Human Learning

I am always curious about how people rapidly learn complex domains, and this piece in the Wall Street Journal about how “speed learner” Max Deutsch approached his challenge of chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen with only one month to train was fascinating. This was the latest in a series of accelerated learning challenges he’s called Month to Master (M2M).

What particularly stood out was his attempt to use machine learning to develop an algorithm to help him analyze Magnus’ patterns. While–spoiler alert–in the end it was unsuccessful, it is none the less remarkable to consider what is possible today with just a laptop, some code and some relevant data to analyze.

Also worthy of note is Max’s insistence on 8 hour of sleep every day–so with that, I’m off to bed.

(Source: Article | Image)