EH? What Did You Say?

Thought for the day:  "Windy," said one man. "No, Thursday," said the other. "Yeah, I am too," said the first. "Let's go get a drink."

[THEME: Amateur radio]

Years ago, when I told my parents a co-worker's 13-year-old daughter had V.D., my father harumphed and said, "I'll bet she smokes, too."

Trust me, he wasn't at all amused by how hard my mother and I laughed at the absurdity of his response.

See, he thought I said T.B.

Too bad we didn't use the PHONETIC ALPHABET.


Because many letters sound so similar, usage of a standard phonetic alphabet alleviates misconceptions and clarifies communications. Radio conditions aren't always ideal, and the accuracy of messages, especially following a disaster, can be of vital importance. The international phonetic alphabet used by amateur radio operators follows:

• ALPHA
• BRAVO
• CHARLIE
• DELTA
• ECHO
• FOXTROT
• GULF
• HOTEL
• INDIA
• JULIET
• KILO
• LIMA
• MIKE
• NOVEMBER
• OSCAR
• PAPA
• QUEBEC
• ROMEO
• SIERRA
• TANGO
• UNIFORM
• VICTOR
• WHISKEY
• XRAY
• YANKEE
• ZULU

                                 (So, that young girl had victor delta, NOT tango bravo.)

No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.