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The passing parade...
Mar. 12th, 2016 08:30 pmOne of the radio amateurs from the group that I used to join for Friday morning breakfasts in Pagosa has become a "silent key," which is the euphemism hams use instead of any more direct description, such as "has died."
I made Pat C's acquaintance soon after we moved to Colorado in 1992 and I had my work space set up in an office above the Liberty Theater (for which the rent was a ridiculously low $100 per month). Among the technology I installed in my office was an old (even for that time) 80386 machine with 16 MB of memory that served as the host for a BBS (bulletin board system) I called The Springsboard.
What distinguished the BBS from most others was a feature where the machine would, periodically throughout the day, initiate calls to an embryonic form of what, today, is the Internet. Upon connection, the machine uploaded and downloaded electronic mail and Usenet messages for a relatively small group of newsgroups I and other BBS users subscribed to.
Since I was using the system for my work anyway, I decided to let people sign up for the BBS in exchange for a voluntary donation of $10 per year.
In any event, Pat C was one of the early adopters and active users of my BBS, and it was through him that I met other radio amateurs in the area. He lived in a house that was within walking distance of ours (if you liked to walk), and he and his wife were devoted volunteers at the Humane Society.
Pat was a good guy, and I'll certainly miss him if I ever make it back to Pagosa for a Friday morning "ham breakfast."
Rest in peace, Pat.
73
I made Pat C's acquaintance soon after we moved to Colorado in 1992 and I had my work space set up in an office above the Liberty Theater (for which the rent was a ridiculously low $100 per month). Among the technology I installed in my office was an old (even for that time) 80386 machine with 16 MB of memory that served as the host for a BBS (bulletin board system) I called The Springsboard.
What distinguished the BBS from most others was a feature where the machine would, periodically throughout the day, initiate calls to an embryonic form of what, today, is the Internet. Upon connection, the machine uploaded and downloaded electronic mail and Usenet messages for a relatively small group of newsgroups I and other BBS users subscribed to.
Since I was using the system for my work anyway, I decided to let people sign up for the BBS in exchange for a voluntary donation of $10 per year.
In any event, Pat C was one of the early adopters and active users of my BBS, and it was through him that I met other radio amateurs in the area. He lived in a house that was within walking distance of ours (if you liked to walk), and he and his wife were devoted volunteers at the Humane Society.
Pat was a good guy, and I'll certainly miss him if I ever make it back to Pagosa for a Friday morning "ham breakfast."
Rest in peace, Pat.
73
