I think it is going to be a good weekend! The picture above is a shot outside my office window and it looks great outside and it is slated to be this way all weekend. Click HERE to see the video. As my birthday is on Monday, Ashley has planed an entire weekend of stuff (most of which is a surprise).

Friday
Night:Dinner with Taylor and Erin (but I don't know where) so that should be fun.

Saturday:
I am working the East Canyon Road Race until about 15:00.
If there is time my friends and I might hit the Gun Show
Ash and I are going out dinner (but I don't know where) at about 19:00. All she told me is that I need to dress up.

Sunday:
Ash and I (and maybe some others) are going to the Gun Show
Dinner with my parents at Benihana. This is my traditional birthday place.

Monday:
Work :( Don't get me wrong I like work but after a weekend of fun...
Dinner with Ashley's parents (but I don't know where).

The FCC processed my paperwork and not officially recognizes the fact that I am a General. This means that I am no longer required to use the "/AG" after my callsign to indicate my upgrade. I never even go to use it, except for a little bit of flaunting with my friends... Oh well, I am a General and life is good :)

Yesterday while Ash was at School I took a quick trip up Big Cottonwood canyon to the Mill B South Trailhead. From there I headed up to the Lake Blanche Trail. I wanted to play with my camera and try out different setting for shooting water.All of the artwork in my companies building is shot by the employees. They are having a contest next month to refresh the art pool and I think I might enter this shot.

Yesterday we officially kicked off the Public Service Event season with the 2007 MS Walk here in Salt Lake City. There were about 2500 people that walked in three mile course and thankfully nobody got hurt. It was really good to work with the old crew again and I am really looking forward to the other events we will be doing over the summer. I have setup a site www.arpse.org which lists the various Amateur Radio Public Service Events that are going on in and around the Salt Lake City area.

On the home front, things are still moving. They have started building another house in the neighborhood that is our same floor plan. This was great as we had only seen things on paper and now we are able to really visualize how things will be. It is hard not to get excited and we have to keep reminding ourselves, that this in not our house, it is just one like it... As for ours, we are still holding for permits and it is estimated that we will break ground some time in May and be totally done in September / October.

Thats right /AG...

To all of you non hams out there, that means that I have now successfully passed the FCC Element 3 Amateur Radio exam, thus making me a General Class license holder. The /AG is the way I have to identify when using my new privileges until the FCC receives and processes all of my paperwork.

Recently the FCC changed the licensing requirements for Amateur Radio eliminating all morse code requirements. I had already passed my Element 1 exam many years ago which covered a 5wpm morse code exam. However with the new change the code test (element 1) is no longer required. This has caused a renewed interest in Amateur Radio and has removed a barrier that was preventing many people from upgrading in the past. For me, it just kind of worked out as I already had the Element 1 exam behind me... But at any rate here is to being a General now.....

'73

KC7IIB /AG