Not a lot to say except, after some delay, the restoration company has started work on rebuilding our damaged house!!!

It took us a while to move everything out, and rip all of the carpet up, but we've done it, and the guys are hard at work!! We're starting to carpet, replacing some windows (including replacing a large picture window) and discussing paint.

It feels good that we can move on to the next step.We're hoping in a few weeks we'll be back in our own home. I know our dogs can't wait. Each night they act like "Come on, it's time to go home!!" I sure my mother-in-law has loved having us, but its time start getting back into our house. I'm sure we all will enjoy the extra room!!

So, we're hard at work, and who knows, maybe we'll be moved back in by Halloween!

Have you ever been driving around in your car late at night, fiddling around with the radio on the AM band? You may hear such stations as KRVN 880  in Lexington, 1520 KOKC (formerlly KOMA) in Oklahoma City, or 870 WWL in New Orleans. 

The reason you hear this is because AM radio waves travel differently than FM radio. AM radio waves follow the curvature of the Earth, while FM radio waves travel in "line of sight", or basically a straight line from the transmitter to your location. If a building or high terrain is between you and the FM station, you could have a lesser-quality signal or none at all.

However, AM doesn't do this. An AM signal will travel along the earth until it encounter interference from another station on the same frequency, or encounters electrical interference from another source. They can travel even farthur at night due to the lessening of radiation in the Earth's upper atmosphere from the Sun.

When the Sun goes down, AM signals will not only travel along the Earth, but will also start traveling up into the heavens and bounce back down to Earth. That's why you can hear a distant station from the either coast here locally at night.

But you don't have to have a 50.000 watt AM station (the highest power for AM allowed in the US by the FCC) to get a good distance.

Take for example KNEB. We received a report and sound clip of KNEB from a gentleman in Finland. He has a special radio setup 200 miles North of the Arctic Circle on a reindeer farm!!! He recorded us on Februray 16 this year at 11:05 pm. We could pick out of his recording Dayweather Meteorologist  Judy Fossum doing a forecast taking about snow and low temps in the teens!!!!

Now, he does this as a hobby, called DX'ing. This used to be a very popular hobby for amateur radio operators to see what distant stations they could pick up, and get confirmation. By the way, DX is telegraphic shorthand for "distant".

So, you may ask "Why can I get certain stations in my car, but not in my house?" That goes back to the whole electrical interference deal. In your car, your radio & antenna are pretty free from interference, outside of your car's electrical system. But, a house has lights, electrical appliances, wiring around the house, even some types of siding can cause problems.

So, when you get a chance, sit in your car (I would advise you not do this while driving), and see what stations you can pick up.

One little side note, this doesn't have to be just for AM. It can work for FM, even analog television. It just works better for AM.

And if the conditions are right, you too could pick up KNEB far from home, you just need to know what to listen for.

Till later,

Paul 

Well, did you miss me??

Actually, I missed you! I spent the last week in the northeast part of the state to see my family, including those members I haven't seen in a couple years. I had a chance to see my cousins, grandmother (who turned 80 last month) and my niece & nephew. Boy, have they grown!!! I remember when I came to Scottsbluff in July of '99 my nephew, Jason, was just barely a month old. Now, he's 9 years old, just starting the 4th grade, active in Scouting and soccer. Being around the kids can definately remind you on how much of kid you can be yourself. I spent just about every night in the pool with my cousins (ages 5 & 8) and niece & nephew (ages 5 & 9). I swear, if I didn't go, I don't know what they would have done for entertainment! :-)

But, one other thing I got to do was visit our sister stations in West Point, KTIC AM & FM. If you ever find yourself in northeast Nebraska, take a listen to 840 AM & 107.9 FM. You'll find the same great ag information that you find here on KNEB in West Point right there on the dial. Thanks to KTIC Manager Dwight Lane and Sales Manager Judy Mauch for your hospitality!

I was even glad to see my '97 Chevy Cavalier get such great gas milage. I averaged around 28 mpg, and boy, does that help in today's gas markets!! I even saw what seemed to be a miracle. $3.49 gasoline!!!

See you on the airwaves,

Paul

Well, I sure am looking forward to the events in my life at the end of this week.

I am going to get a chance to see most of my family, while we gather to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. Some of my family that we'll be seeing includes my Aunt Donna, Uncle Dave & their kids Danielle & Douglas.

I haven't seen them & my grandmother for two years, since they live in Galveston, Texas, while I'm here in Scottsbluff. This is truly a milestone for my Grandma Darlene. Her mother & father lived to be in their late 90's to 100, respectively. She's made of that good Dutch blood that's guranteed to keep her around for a while.

I'm lucky to have such a wonderful lady as my grandmother. Ever since I've been on this Earth, she's the only one I've had. My Mom lost her mother at a young age, so my Dad's mom has been my only grandparent for most of my life.

I can remember from an early age when we'd visit her house near Dallas.She always had chocolate chip cookies for us kids, and she'd drag out her HUGE box of Legos for us to play with.

She also has kept a strong sense of faith in me, even when it didn't seem to be there for me. This was recently evident in my life with our little project at our house.

So, to my grandmother, I say Happy Birthday! I'll see you this weekend!!

This past Sunday was quite a time at the Scotts Bluff County Fair. It was pleasure to see all the hard work our 4-H Dog club kids have put in these last few months pay off. 

Even my nieces were involved, one for the first time as a full-fledged 4-H member, the other just getting her feet wet as a Clover Kid.

 Here's the results from the show, including ribbons & medals (for showmanship):

• Obedience-Beginning Novice "A"

1. Tiersa Darley, Purple & Grand Champion
2. Sydney Rummel, Blue & Reserve Champion
3. Hannah Patterson, Blue
   

•   Obedience-Beginning Novice "B"

1. Lauren Thomas, Purple & Grand Champion
2. Gracie Parminter, Purple & Reserve Champion
3. Brittany Zwiebel, Blue
4. Andie Parminter, Blue
5. Macrissa McCoy, Red
6. Tazin Simpson, Red

• Obedience- Novice

1. Kira Bowhay, Purple & Grand Champion
2. Whitney Riesen, Purple & Reserve Champion
3. Kyle Patterson, Blue
4. Brenton Riesen, Blue
5. Ethan Morehead, Blue
6. Ashlynne Hanan, Blue

• Obedience- Graduate Novice

1. Dana Anderson, Purple & Grand Champion
2. Victoria Seibert,  Purple & Reserve Champion
3. Brittany Lund, Purple
4. Tate Harvey, Blue

• Showmanship-Beginning

1. Hannah Patterson, Purple, Gold Medal & Grand Champion
2. Tiersa Darley, Blue, Silver Medal & Reserve Champion
3. Sydney Rummel, Blue, Bronze Medal

• Showmanship-Intermediate

1. Macrissa McCoy, Purple, Gold Medal & Grand Champion
2. Ashlynne Hanan, Purple, Silver Medal & Reserve Champion
3. Ethan Morehead, Blue, Bronze Medal
4. Lauren Thomas, Blue
5. Tazin Simpson, Blue

• Showmanship-Advanced

1. Kira Bowhay, Purple, Gold Medal & Grand Champion
2. Brttany Lund, Purple, Silver Medal & Reserve Champion
3. Kyle Patterson, Blue, Bronze Medal
4. Brttany Zweibel, Blue
5. Tate Harvey, Blue

• Showmanship-Trophy

1. Ari Bowhay, Purple, Gold Medal & Grand Champion
2. Keah Brost, Purple, Silver Medal & Reserve Champion
3. Dana Anderson, Purple, Bronze Medal
4. Victoria Seibert, Blue
5. Gracie Parminter, Blue
6. Andie Parminter, Blue

• Overall Showmanship (Taken From Grand & Reserve Champions in all Showmanship Divisions)

1. Ari Bowhay, Grand Champion
2. Kira Bowhay, Reserve Champion

Congratulations to all the kids that participated! It takes a lot of hard work to participate in these shows.