Makassar, Sulawesi to Macassar, Cape

It's autumn and the sea-swells are building as the north-westers start to come in. Yesterday had the biggest waves at Muizenberg I've seen this year. The wind brought the rain too and the sea was a glassy silver-grey. I got right out to the back and waited for the big sets. Being early it wasn't too crowded. When I arrived at the beach I signalled my wife in our house in Simonstown across the bay (6 miles). She checked though our new telescope to see if I was visible and there I was! So cool. The previous evening I heard Radio Republik Indonesia, Makassar, on the island of Sulawesi on 4750 kHz. The signal was coming in beautifully just before my local sunset, playing gentle pop songs. The station signed off at 1600z, or midnight in Makassar. Meanwhile from our house I could see the beach of Macassar across False Bay, not far from where I surf. It is so named because of the nearby Kramat or holy grave of Sheik Yusuf, an exiled nobleman of Makassar in the former Dutch East Indies who died at the Cape in 1699. The QSL is from another station on Sulawesi, RRI Manado, heard on a DXpedition to Morgan Bay, South Africa in 1990. You'll need to get your Bahasa Indonesia dictionary out to understand it. This is one of a number of RRI stations I've been so pleased to QSL over the years. Also, here is a link to an article I wrote recently about Indonesia's economy: http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=136432

Poland still smouldering about Smolensk

Last week Poland marked the anniversary of the Smolensk air disaster when 96 people including President Lech Kaczynski perished. The disaster produced a brief period of political unity in Poland but this has disintegrated into acrimony, with Kaczynski's brother accusing the opposition-led government of Donald Tusk of capitulation to the Russians concerning the cause of the crash. The Russians say the the Polish aircrew must take all the blame, accepting no responsibility on its side for air traffic control problems at the airport. Poland's model economy has also had a bit of a shock when it was revealed the imports of mainly second-hand cars from Germany have been hugely under-recorded meaning that its current account deficit is far larger than reported. The QSL is from Warsaw 1 on long-wave, heard in London in 2004. ;- ptgt@ ' '

Governor Moonbeam can't do The Terminator

Like a number of American states California has a big budget deficit, a record $26bn at last count. Riding to the rescue from over the hill or so voters thought came Governor Moonbeam, Jerry Brown, who last governed the Sunshine State 28 years ago. It turns out it could be a mission too far and he may in fact be over the hill but not able to ride to the rescue. In the meantime, predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger is on a jolly European tour. Jerry Brown was a product of the 1970s. He dated rocker Linda Rondstadt and once suggested that California launch its own satellite. It was a time when Mike Royko called the state the world's largest outdoor mental asylum. The credit crunch has dealt harshly with California and Brown's attempts to move the state forward on a new budget plan have failed in the face of Republican opposition, unlike New York and Illinois. Brown seems more intent on saving the state's bloated bureaucracy than its education system. Worst case if no agreement is forthcoming will be a reversion to the 2009 situation where California humiliatingly had to issue IOUs in the place of cash in order to pay its bills. The picture is from a QSL from KNX Newsradio Los Angeles, CA on 1070 kHz, heard in 1987.