WICHITA FALLS MAN
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023
01-16-2026 - 6:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Friday! It's 47 degrees, and the wind is really blowing out there this morning. I have no reason to go outside, so I won't. I've just about reached the end of my almost three weeks of Hell dealing with Lowe's over a generator I ordered and received in damaged condition. It was a comedy of errors, miscommunications, or a lack of communication. They finally sent a replacement generator, which I declined and returned to the store for reasons I'll write about later. I got a refund, but I still have the original generator. I didn't take it back because I was told it would be picked up when the new generator was delivered. The delivery guy (UPS) had no such pickup order. Lowe's told me they would pick up the original generator on Wednesday. It didn't happen. Then they told me it would be picked up on Thursday. It didn't happen. Stay tuned for the details. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 6:00 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 56. Windy, with a north wind 20 to 25 mph decreasing to 14 to 19 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 29. North northwest wind 6 to 11 mph.
--- 6:45 AM - Friday's at the Fifty Plus Zone - atop the Wichita Falls Public Library - features Tai Chi, Karate, Table Tennis, Line Dancing, Cash Bingo, and more. Membership is $40 a year, and some folks drink that much in super-discounted coffee in the social room! Shhhh! You didn’t hear that from me.
--- 7:30 AM - Kickin' Country will perform at the Fifty Plus Zone (atop the Wichita Falls Public Library) - at 7:00 PM. The public is welcome - adults of any age. The cost is $12 per person ($7 for Zone Members).
--- 10:00 AM - I returned the generator mentioned above to Lowe's at about 9:00 AM. Now, I can wipe this whole horrible episode off my plate. I'm pretty sure I will never set foot in Lowe's again.
--- 4:55 PM - I contacted a station at Gov. Daniel Dunklin's Grave State Historic Site (US-3351) in Missouri on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
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01-15-2026 - 5:45 AM - Good Morning! It's Thursday, and the Wichita Amateur Radio Society will hold its monthly meeting at 6:30 PM at the Hotter 'N Hell building at 104 Scott Ave. I don't know if this is one of the months that features license exams after the meeting. You can probably find out by checking "Wichita Falls Area Hams (Amateur Radio Operators)" on Facebook. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 6:00 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 67. Light southwest wind becoming south southwest 8 to 13 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 39. South wind 6 to 9 mph becoming north northwest after midnight.
--- 6:15 AM - At the Iron Horse Pub - Open Mic Night hosted by Clint Vines - Thursday January 15 - Doors 7:30 PM, Start 8:30 PM - 615 Ohio - Downtown Wichita Falls.
--- 6:30 AM - When I saw this headline: “Latin American rebels could form super army to take on Trump...” I thought about all the times I’ve seen comments on articles like this containing mentions of “gorilla” warfare. You can tell who reads and who does not.
--- 6:45 AM - The discussion of Meshtastic Networks continues to grow on local Amateur (ham) Radio frequencies, primarily on the 147.140 MHz repeater and the 146.520 MHz simplex frequency. It all sounds very interesting to me. From what I understand, networks can be formed using both Amateur Radio and unlicensed frequencies. This is true off-the-grid communications. There are more than a few YouTube videos on the subject. Listen to the local chatter on your scanner radio.
--- 2:25 PM - It's about time for the Wichita Falls ISD school buses to make the afternoon run. If you haven't driven a school bus and picked up kids after school, especially on Friday, you don't know what you're missing. Tune in to the joy at 152.360 MHz on your scanner radio!
--- 3:15 PM - In the news - Wichita Falls FD battles structure fire on Ave. B, Man pleads to crash that claimed life of Texoma coach, The 70th Annual Pancake Festival will take place on January 31 at the J.S. Bridwell Ad Center.