[SOC] Welcome to Louisiana

[Randall Jouett]

Good Morning, Claude!

> Merci Randall for the good intro to Louisiana curiosities ;o))
> Vy interesting, indeed !

Curiosities is an understatement! :^)

> Do you mean the F Quarter is one of the most unpleasant and dangerous ?! :o((


Well, for the most part, it can be the absolute greatest place to have
a good time eatting, drinking, and gambling. New Orleans is like the
Las Vegas of the south :^). Think of it like be a bit of Paris with a lot
of Amsteradam thrown in for good measure, Claude. :^). OTOH, if
you don't know the areas of town to avoid, you find yourself in some
serious trouble. Locals know which areas to stay away from, so they
usually don't have any problems. If at all possible, it's better to tour
New Oreleans with someone that knows the area, and better still with
a local. A nice area of New Orleans to go and mingle with the locals
is what's called "The Lake Front." Basically, it's the area of north
New Orleans that borders lake Ponchetrain. In this area, you'll find
Yacht Clubs and the upper echilon of New Orleans. Most tourists
just hear and know about the French Quarter, and they hardly ever
get to meet and see the real people of New Orleans.


OTOH, the French Quarter has some very interesting sites that you'll
definately want to see, such as the Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral, Cafe Dumon,
and -- believe it or not! -- the various cementaries located on the outskirts
of the French Quarter. People in New Orleans are burried above ground,
because the city is below sea level; therefore, there are some really old,
massive, well-designed monuments and mosoliums in these cemetaries,
and they even have guided tours that explain the historical references and
point out the tombs of dignitaries and what not :^). Also,  the overall architecture
of the Quarter is very European in design, and most of it is quite beautiful!


Anywho, New Orleans is like a double-edged sword, Claude. The good side
is is nice a sharp, and the bad side is a bit dull, but still dangerous. If you mess
around with the dull side and don't give it the respect it deserves, it can still cut
quite deeply!


> Just wondering what Louis XIV would have thought of that ...

Not too well, I'd imagine! :^/

> Do you have by you any blank membership application so that I can apply for a
> Cajun status ?! I am holding a F passport, can it help in some way ? :op


Nope. None is required. All you have to do is be appointed the title
of "Honorary Cajun" by a Cajun, and you become a member of our
family! :^). I now pronounce Claude, F5PBL, to be a full blooded,
honorary Cajun! :^). If another Cajun denounces your proclaimed title,
just tell him or her to look me up at qrz.com, find my address, call the
operator, get my number, and give me a call! :^). BTW, being French
most definately helped with your application, Claude! LOL! :^).


> <<
> most Cajuns drink alcohol like fish and will stop at nothing to get totally
> drunk and have a good time!
> >>
>
> Arggh ... is this really mandatory for a Cajun membership ?

No. It's just the way things are here in Louisiana, Claude. Around
a year ago, I was talking to a couple of tourists at the local bar/pub,
and I found out that they were down here from Alaska. One person
I was talking to was saying that he was down here checking things
out for a few weeks, enjoying the all the summer festivals we have
(usually some kind of festival is going on every weekend during the
spring and summer, I might add), and he was saying that he thought that
the folks in Alaska drinking problems. He then went on to say that
Alaska has nothing on south Louisiana, and I believe him! :^)

> <<
> Hmmm. Anybody come up with a circuit that can read CW from a morse key
> connected to an RS-232 port or something?
> >>
>
> Tip of the day : you do not need a RS232 port to connect you CW key to your TX
> and to put your headphone on your Cajun head. But maybe this is not teached in
> your High Tech Universities overthere (kidding) and you are just applying a F
> saying : "Pourquoi faire simple quand on peut faire compliqu� ?" (What should we
> do it in a simple way when it can be done in an harder/more complicated way ?")

LOL! I know, Claude, but it just sounded like an SOC thing
to say in closing my e-mail. :^) :^)

> See you in the SOC Sprint 2nite (LT), with or w/o RS232 port !


Hopefully, without! :^). What's the time and bands of operation? I'll be
on 40 for the entire contest (only antenna). My CW is kinda rusty, so
I'll probably only be cruising along around 15 WPM or so. Too much
time spent on the Internet!!!

73!

Randall
AB5NI