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05-06-2026 - 6:15 AM - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, and I have a lunch date at Willie’s Place with a former co-worker. We meet for lunch at various places about once a month. This month, it was my pick, so I picked Willie’s for a burger and fries. We’re old, so sometimes we have to work around each other’s doctor appointments. Okay, it’s not that bad, but conflicts have been known to happen. Let’s see what else the day brings. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 6:20 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. North northeast wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Northeast wind 9 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
--- 6:25 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 14,196 Megawatts.
--- 6:30 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:35 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:40 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 84.7% Kemp: 95.3% Kickapoo: 86.6%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 89.6% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (85.65%) to determine drought stage.
--- 7:30 AM - About a decade ago, I saw a young mother ordering from the deli at a local Walmart. Her son, about 2 years old, was behind her. To amuse himself, he was down on all fours, licking the floor. When Mom saw this, she lost her composure. I hope the kid is still alive, but he might be a Walmartian by now.
--- 3:00 PM - I made it to Willie’s Place for lunch today. It was a burger and fries, and unsweetened tea for me. I also dropped off my Texas Radio Operator vehicle license plate to add to the many others on the ceiling and walls.
--- 3:50 PM - I contacted a station in Twelve Mile State Wildlife Area (US-11346) in Utah on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
--- 4:18 PM - I contacted a station in Wayne National Forest (US-4521) in Ohio on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
--- 7:00 PM - Last year, I saw a car on the road with no headlights. The headlights were missing. The openings where the headlights are usually installed were empty. Texas had just eliminated the vehicle inspection requirement for most non-commercial vehicles. I’m betting those headlights are still missing.
--- 7:15 PM - My first computer was a Commodore 64, purchased in 1984. I used it for RTTY on Amateur (ham) Radio. My second computer, purchased in 1991, was an IBM clone with a 40 MB hard drive, 1 MB of memory, and a 16 MHz processor speed. It had 5 1/4" and 3 1/2" disk drives. It was a DOS system. In addition to regular computing stuff, I used it for "packet radio" in Amateur (ham) Radio. I don't remember the brand name. I remember having a choice between the DOS version and an early Windows version. I'm glad I chose DOS. Working from the DOS command prompt was a good experience.
8:00 PM - Don't forget about the semi-new Luxury RV Park in Wichita Falls at U.S. 287 and Loop 11 (the loop that doesn't loop). According to their website, the park features pickleball, swimming, a dog run, fishing, a laundry room, an exercise room, bathrooms, and a clubhouse. I haven't seen many CB Radio antennas. How can you travel without a CB Radio? Unthinkable!