Dave Smythe

Dave Smythe

I am interested in biblical theology, cigars and pipes, music, and (to a limited extent) economics and public policy. I am a political conservative. I'm also a pessimist about society, so political discussions with me might not be very satisfying... I'm also a "bitter clinger."

Other topics I find interesting: amateur radio, reloading, Greek, Latin, retro-computing, lisp programming, embedded tinkering and various other miscellanea. After attending DEF CON 19, I began dabbling in lock-sport.

Lately, my "spare" time has been gobbled up in LOTRO. With luck, I'll lose interest in it soon...

I live in MN, and typically do systems software for a living.

For fun I play the trumpet (and poorly, the banjo.)

Favorite quotes:

"Maturity is not a matter of age. You have matured when you are no longer concerned with showing how clever you are, and give your full attention to getting the job done right. Many never reach that stage, no matter how old they get." -- Thomas Sowell

"There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit." -- Ronald Reagan

"Sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required." -- Sir Winston Churchill

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -- John Adams

"To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his father's has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association--'the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.'" -- Thomas Jefferson

"... to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical" -- Thomas Jefferson

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Benjamin Franklin

"I will not willingly cede more power to anyone, not to the state, not to General Motors, not to the CIO. I will hoard my power like a miser, resisting every effort to drain it away from me. I will then use my power, as I see fit. I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth." -- William F. Buckley

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled." -- Richard P. Feynman

"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most exports agree, is by accident.
That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents."
-- Nathaniel Borenstein

Here's some places I visit:

Things I've been thinking about...

I am experimenting with antennae at the moment. I am best set up for 40m up to 10m, but I'm only running 100w and the antenna setup is suboptimal...


(PGP key)