At present, I’m trying to formulate… THE PLAN. I think I have most of it lined out in my head, but I should probably get it down.
- Finish Ham Radio stuff.
- My boys and I have been working toward getting our ham radio licenses. Why? I don’t know! It probably just comes down to “it’s cool in a nerdy, technical sort of way.” But regardless, on May 29th we went to our first Ham Radio meeting and on June 3rd I officially decided to “go for it,” and we’ve been working hard on it since. I’ve finished The Fast Track to your Technician Ham Radio License.” My sons are working through it and will be ready for the test on Field Day (June 28th). I’m prepping to take Technician and General (but NOT Extra). I’m hoping to take Extra next month. Why? Well, why not?
- I really like those Fast Track books. 5 stars. Highly recommended.
- It does feel a bit strange to be pursuing this without an explicit reason for doing so. I don’t particularly want to talk to people on the radio. I don’t particularly want to do model aircraft that’d need a ham license. But it’s been pretty fun to prep for the courses (mostly). Some of the stuff is boring legal things. This particular band is allowed and this one isn’t. Or this one is allowed for CW and nothing else. Etc. But it’s been a great learning spot for a lot of electrical principles that will be helpful to me and my boys.
- My boys and I have been working toward getting our ham radio licenses. Why? I don’t know! It probably just comes down to “it’s cool in a nerdy, technical sort of way.” But regardless, on May 29th we went to our first Ham Radio meeting and on June 3rd I officially decided to “go for it,” and we’ve been working hard on it since. I’ve finished The Fast Track to your Technician Ham Radio License.” My sons are working through it and will be ready for the test on Field Day (June 28th). I’m prepping to take Technician and General (but NOT Extra). I’m hoping to take Extra next month. Why? Well, why not?
- After getting licenses under our belt, I’m planning to work on Calculus again. Saxon’s Calculus (2e), to be specific. I want to work through the book, soup to nuts, every problem, every exam, and see where that leaves me. Maybe retake AP Calculus BC in 2026. We’ll see.
- Then I want to hit The Mechanical Universe. All of it. Videos. Books. All the problems. PHYSICS, BABY. I had been intending to do Saxon’s Physics, and I might still after TMU, but we’ll see. (I love Saxon.) Maybe take AP Physics C in 2026 or 2027.
- Then the chemistry book from the Robinson Curriculum. Chemical Principles, 2e. I’ve figured out how to extract the books from the CD copies (which I legally own [I think–purchased on Ebay, they look real]) on Linux using a Python script with the help of AI (which is probably making me stupid). Maybe take AP Chemistry or CLEP Chemistry in 2027 or 2028.
After that, well, I would love to work toward passing the FE and PE. I’m (I think) legally able to given my engineering experience. It’d be super-cool to have a legit piece of paper saying “I know something” after being a “fake engineer” for many years now.
I think that’s it. Enough.