United 93

Excuse me while I get something off of my chest.

"The 9/11 hijackers are bastard cowards who took the easy way out. No mess, no fuss and no answering questions and no way for retribution. I hope all of their 72 virgins have syphilis."

Harsh? Damn straight. Muhammad Atta and his 18 thugs deserve even more than I can dish out. I have no doubt that even their God, Allah, condemned them all to Muslim Hell for that cowardly act. Of course I will celebrate the day that head Bastard Coward Osama bin Laden departs to the regions of Muslim Hell as well. If dying is such the "in thing to do in the Muslim terrorist world", you would think bin Laden would have been the first. I mean to hear them, they just can't wait for their 72 virgins. If bin Laden was a real man, he would come out of his cave on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border and fight. (Guess he remembers Tora Bora) But no, only a coward hides and gets others to do their dirty work. Bastard Coward.

Now my opinion has nothing to do with the just released United 93 film. I have had that opinion since September 11, 2001. The release of the film just gives me another opportunity to say it.

And on the subject of the film, yes, I have seen it. I saw it Friday night. I had mixed feelings about seeing it. At first I thought it was too early for such a film, and I had no desire to see it. But the more I thought about it and heard others who had seen previews of it, at the last minute, I decided to go. Now I have several DVD's of 9/11. In Memoriam, New York City, 9/11/2001 the HBO film and the French documentary film that aired on CBS, 9/11 and of course I think I have seen every A&E, Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel program on 9/11 for the past 5 years so I think I have gotten my fill and every angle of that terrible day. Now not that I want to forget that day, far from it. We need to remember the feelings we had that day, keep them close and perseverance until the extremists are gone. Too much and you become numb. DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.

I saw Todd Beamer's father on a Friday morning talk show talking about how the families of United 93 want this story told now and how they are pleased with the outcome of the film and they desperately do not want us to become complacent. I later heard a radio talking head say he had seen an advanced showing and even though it was rated R and made you feel like you were on the plane, it handled the subject in such a way that it put many questions he still had into perspective and when you finished seeing the movie, you would be reminded why we have to get bin Laden.

Well it does just that. The whole movie does not take place on the airplane, but you see how things lead up to the point of the hijacking and what the passengers are thought to have done and how the people on the ground handled it. While there is some language and some blood, it is quite tame compared to what you might see on television.

To me the strangest thing is that the movie never names the people on the plane. They interact with each other just like you would see on a real plane flight. It is very conceivable that we the public now know more of the names of the passengers on United 93 than they did. If you know the story, it is very easy to spot who is who. Todd Beamer is one of the first people you recognize on the plane with his rugby shirt that you see him wear in many photos. Greensboro native Flight Attendant Sandy Bradshaw can't be missed either with her name embroidered on her uniform.

These people knew they were going to die and if that was going to happen, they intended to go out fighting and not be the lambs to the slaughter. No one panicked, they all focused on what had to be done. Of course we all know that, but the movie really drives that point home. I have always said if I was in that same position, I too would want to have some say in the time and place.

In the past when I have discussed with military people I know about Flight 93 and all have said that they are proud of what the passengers of United 93 did. It showed how the "citizen solder" was indeed an American concept and far from dead and no matter what they did as solders, would never measure up to the bravery and decisive measures the passengers took. Several have said that in their eyes, the passengers of United 93 are the true hero's in the War on Terrorism, not them and they are proud to serve the American people because of United 93's sacrifice.

Go see this movie and more importantly, don't let their sacrifice go in vain. Never forget 9/11.

Ah, the Mundane.

Analog transmitter operating on the air


Several weeks into the new tower on line and I am finally starting to get into the groove of routine and mundane. I know that sounds like life has gotten boring and all, but not really. I loved doing this project, but it was time for it to come to a close. The mad rushes to make deadlines and such are over and I am NOT missing that. My days are now completing and tying up the loose ends, something that will be going on for months, and that is not bad, that is the way it is.

The details are always the longest items to finish up, but are important. Something else that is important is getting out of work on time for a change. The wife is loving that. After being a construction widow for 10 months, she is glad to see me coming in at decent hours and not thinking about what else needs to be done. (Well I still think about it even if I don't say anything.)

Equipment racks in the analog transmitter room being installed in March

With a new facility you always have little problems that drive you up a wall. They take time away from other things that I should (and want to) be doing, that Ross the Boss expects me to be doing as well. The HVAC has been one of those.

After several weeks of the temperature oscillating up and down in the analog transmitter room and the mechanical and software people out several times, it looks like an economizer module is either not turning on quick enough or not shutting off fast enough or coming on when it isn't suppose to. The engineers at the HVAC company get to figure that one out with the HVAC manufacturer.

Another real puzzler is a video issue on the analog side that isn't a break up, but like someone is turning the brightness level up and down. I am hoping it is just a receiver issue but since it only happens at 7:30 in the morning on certain mornings of heavy fog, it could be a microwave path issue, or it could be a transmitter issue that the early morning moisture is somehow getting into the transmitter building. The backup microwave path doesn't seem to be effected so the microwave path doesn't seem to be the issue since both frequencies use the same transmit and receive antennas. Of course as long as there is no fog, all seems to work well. Strange.

These issues will be resolved, and they usually are small things that really throw the cogs out of whack, but these are the real posers of the biz and I guess why I like this type of work so much. It is always a mystery. Ah, the mundane!! I LOVE IT!

The Calm After the Storm

Done. Finished. Complete. No more.

The new tower project is now done. Of course there are always little things to do, but as far as milestones, they are all done. The analog transmitter is on the air and looks and sounds good. The stress is easing and life is now getting back to normal. Wednesday last week we had a visitor to the site.

Wilbur is a retired engineer that is widely known and respected around the state. I really do not know him, even though I have seen him a lot lately since he sold us the tower, but Ross the Boss has known him for 30 years. Wilbur has built two 2000 foot towers in 20 years, at the same site. He knows his transmitter sites.

It was gratifying to hear him say he was impressed with our new site, but the comment that really struck me was when Wilbur said that I must be really enjoying the new site. I told him that I hadn't really had time to do much but work.

On Thursday afternoon, the transmitter rep was finished and gone. I had the analog transmitter running into the station load as I finished up some of the details to get ready to put the it on the air the following day. I had to run over to the old site and pickup some equipment to take over to the new site. As I pulled up to the fence and got out to unlock the gate, I looked up at the old tower. Something that I used to do every time I went before the project. I realized that for the last year or so, I hadn't been doing that as I came over to the site, usually because either the gate was already open or I was in a hurry to retrieve something and get back to the new site and I had gotten out of the habit. But this time something caught my eye that I was not used to seeing. It was the new tower along side the old tower. For the first time I REALLY looked at the two towers and instantly saw the 44 years difference in them. The different design and construction styles over that time span were evident. Then I had a revelation. For the first time in 10 months, the site was quiet, no type of construction. There was none to be done. No meetings to go to, no decisions on what color something needed to be or where something needed to go or decide on how to modify something so it will work with the rest of the project. None. Nada. Just the birds singing and the cars going by out on the road.

Then Wilbur's words came back to me. So I stood there and just let it all soak in. For the next 30 minutes, I just walked around the old site thinking about what I was doing 6 months ago; a year ago; 18 months ago. I was amazed at how quickly it put me in a different (and better) state of mind. For the first time in over a year, the stress just seemed to evaporate. After my little respite, I picked up the stuff I needed and then went back to the new site, in a new state of mind.

Mentally, that was the end of the project for me. The clicking into a different state was very noticeable and was a milestone of its own. Of course, no one cares when I think the project is over, only when the bills stop coming in!