August 23, 2018 (Thursday)
Three days ago, on August 20, this blog celebrated National Radio Day by recounting the invention and use of radio. It brought back memories of my tenure as an amateur radio operator. In order to adopt that hobby I needed equipment, which was given to me by a widow whose husband had been a well-known expert amateur radio operator. When I offered to buy his transceiver (the main device), she said “No, you take all his stuff as a gift or forget the whole thing.” That’s how I got started. With the help of those already involved in the hobby, I studied and practiced until I finally got a “general” license, which enabled me to talk with people around the world via radio.
I had to learn some basic information about how radio works, and discovered it’s all about electrons (tiny bits of energy) and how they work in circuits. This basic idea is the foundation of all modern electronic devices, including telephones and computers. One book I read said it all started with a light bulb.
Somebody noticed that light bulbs were emitting invisible electrons (thermionic emissions) along with visible light. So a device was invented to control the flow of electrons and we called it a “tube,” or, more properly, a “vacuum tube,” which was later replaced by the “transistor.” Immediately work was begun on miniaturization of the transistor and a device known as an “integrated circuit” was developed. It was half the size of a baby’s finger but it contained thousands of tiny transistors along with other stuff.
Researchers and inventors continue to work on new applications of these ideas, and that’s why we now have computers in our cars, cameras, telephones and who knows what else.
I enjoyed learning all that sort of stuff and also the Morse Code, which is best learned as the sounds, “dit” and “dah” or “dot” and “dash.” A musically inclined person can learn the code easier than a tone deaf person can learn it. But after I learned all that, with a lot left for me to know, I gave up the hobby and gave my equipment to an amateur radio operator who had helped me get started. It was given to me, so I just passed it along. “Hams,” as they are known, do a lot of things like this. They share.
I suppose I could pick up the hobby and get restarted in it, but computers have become my main interest. With computers one can communicate, study and learn, and do all sorts of things unrelated to radio. I can study the Bible, prepare sermons, and get help with all sorts of things related to the ministry. So I spend a lot of my time right here at this machine, typing away or wielding the “mouse.” I have written almost 3500 blogs since 2007, when Phyllis Goodin suggested I give it a try and Patty Albin in the church office got me started. I am likely to write about just about anything, as the Banner at the top of my blog says, “Essays of Importance, Triviality and In Between.” This one seems to be one of those “In Between” blogs.
Blogs are not as popular as they once were. They have been overshadowed by social media, by which anyone and everyone can stay in touch with others and speak up about whatever they might like. But I found out I could do both, or at least give it a try. For some folks, including me, the temptation is to spend too much time at it. I do not, however, join the crowd that texts. Seems to me that texting has the power to dominate people’s lives, at times blocking out real live people who would like to have a face-to-face conversation. Dale Pogue and I recently ate at a Corpus Christi restaurant and noticed the table near us seated 6 young people and every one of them was glued to his or her communication device. Texting.
Good advice from wise people tells us to enjoy our electronic gizmos but not to allow them to overwhelm us. Repeating the conclusion of the August 20th blog:
We Christians need to be very aware that we must make time for prayer and Bible Study, and we must continue to educate our children in an environment that includes faith and dedication to God. We must not allow modern influences to take from us our own responsibility to rear our children, as the Bible urges, “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”