Sewer line, shortwave, sewn, a strewn

For those keeping track, I am now up to Season 18 of the Amazing Race. This is much more interesting than any of the other shows I've been watching because the stories are simple and I like seeing parts of the world I've not been to yet.

But this is the first season where the filming is in HD and it's a remarkable difference. It's so strange how much the way we experience video programs has changed since I was a kid.

Last night in my somewhat-more-organized but completely-not-organized basement, I plugged in an old shortwave radio receiver that looks to be from the seventies. Maybe the 80's as there is a digital display of the frequencies.

My dad had a much older unit when I was a kid and I remember being fascinated with using it to pick frequencies from all over the world, using a device specifically designed to do that one thing.

The new receiver did not work for a while, as I'm fairly certain the components within need some repair. This has been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long and I don't remember where this one came from. I picked up so much equipment over the years that's piled up with no rhyme of reason.

Now that the sewer lateral works, I see this place differently. I am not planning on leaving for a while because while I feel tension when I am outside in Charlottesville, I feel relaxed in the confines of this place.

I can't see a long term future here as I suspect in a few years there will be tremendous pressure to develop. That's my main concern with the zoning code. Proponents appear to dismiss people's fears of their neighborhood, or seem to delight in punishing them for what they see as the abuses of the past.

Me? I didn't get a say in any of how humanity as a whole got to this point, where I'm able to more precisely target people with information that sticking a lot of electricity into the air and just the right frequency. I strive to try to reach as many people as I can, and I'm grateful that the turbulence of technology shift has me at a point I can produce the work of an entire information outlet without leaving my house.

I'm going to try out that radio later on and see what I can still find on shortwave. The basement seems to have a lot of electrical interference that just produces a massive hum on every channel, overpowering it. I want to learn how these things work, and remember how people used to communicate.

My own newsletter is an attempt to communicate the way newspapers used to communicate. They'd cover so much more than right now, out of a responsibility to educate the public on what's happening. I feel that same responsibility, so I've dedicated my life to that work.

But I want more. I want to see the world, even if I can't always get out there myself. So I'm grateful for all the technology shifts that brings me something made for broadcast television in 2011, while also writing out a report for people who want to know what's going on this week in local government.