Morse Code

Marcus Brady made a habit last season of zipping spirals to Drew Amerson, his former teammate at San Diego Morse High. So, it was no surprise when Brady and Amerson reestablished the San Diego connection during an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday at North Campus Stadium. Brady, a junior entering his third season as Cal State Northridge's starting quarterback, threw seven completions to Amerson, including one for a touchdown, to highlight an encouraging performance by the offense.

John "Jack" Babcock was a 15 1/2 -year-old Canadian farm boy when he joined the 146th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1916 during World War I. "They were hard up for men then," he recalled in 2003 in the Ottawa Citizen. "They didn't have the draft yet" and relied on enlistees. Babcock, Canada's last known World War I veteran, died Thursday at 109 at his home in Spokane, Wash. "As a nation, we honour his service and mourn his passing," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday in a statement.

Your article Aug. 24, "Ham Operators Plug into a Different Kind of Window on the World," was great. But it was inaccurate in saying that one must learn Morse code for any ham radio license. Actually, there is a "no code technician class" license that can be obtained by anyone not knowledgeable about Morse code. In order to qualify for this license, one must pass sections of the FCC test with a total of 55 questions. Ham radio is where it is at. Ham radio operators make up the bulk of the volunteer communications associated with the Red Cross and other disaster and relief agencies in times of crisis.

You don't usually see Morse code in a theater program, but then former military intelligence analysts don't often fess up to an early attraction to Raggedy Andy dolls. Both are on view in "The Need to Know," written and performed by ex-Air Force officer April Fitzsimmons, now playing once a month at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. The apple-cheeked Fitzsimmons, who looks like Ashley Judd's chipper cousin, recalls the heroines of her favorite books as she marshals her inner Harriet the Spy, Pippi Longstocking and Lolita to bust out of her blue-collar Mexican-Irish Catholic family and fall into a passionate love affair with her Nietzsche-reading camp counselor -- and the armed forces.

It was a big letdown. Fifteen Explorer Scouts, members of a post sponsored by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena, were waiting to make ham radio contact with astronauts on board the space shuttle Challenger when it passed overhead Thursday afternoon. Sixteen-year-old Michelle Deets, in particular, wanted to ask whether NASA was ever going to send a teen-age girl into space. Other Scouts had different messages. But all they heard was one brief Morse code message--and then static.

When 18-year-old Dennis Dugger emerged from a coma last January, he could neither walk nor talk. The only motion his paralyzed body permitted was blinking his eyes--once for yes, twice for no. Watching the teen-ager struggle to communicate after injuries incurred in a motorcycle accident and 3 1/2 months spent in a coma inspired hospital administrator Steve Shipley to invention.

It was only a technical violation, and most golfers wouldn't have reported it--especially against themselves. And especially when it would cost them a berth in the playoff for a PGA title. But after American John Morse accidentally knocked down some twigs and leaves on the backswing of his second shot on the 18th hole at the Australian PGA Championship in Sydney, he penalized himself two strokes.

Tap out an SOS for Morse code. At least as far as many ships at sea are concerned, it is going down for the last time. As of Feb. 1, 1999, all passenger ships and all cargo ships of 300 gross tons or more will no longer use Morse code for distress calls, relying instead on the global satellite communications system that has all but taken its place under an international agreement.

In orbit high above Earth, a multibillion-dollar formation of communications satellites stands ready to instantly connect military leaders in Washington with every American warship and military base in the world. But what if this technological masterpiece should go haywire or be knocked out by an enemy attack? The Pentagon's sophisticated communications net could go silent and leave troops groping for leadership. Not to worry.

It was a big letdown. Fifteen Explorer Scouts, members of a post sponsored by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena, were waiting to make ham radio contact with astronauts on board the space shuttle Challenger when it passed overhead Thursday afternoon. Sixteen-year-old Michelle Deets, in particular, wanted to ask whether NASA was ever going to send a teen-age girl into space. Other Scouts had different messages. But all they heard was one brief Morse code message--and then static.

IT WAS A SHORT, even telegraphic, message: "Effective January 27, 2006, Western Union will discontinue all Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you for your loyal patronage." With these words, Western Union announced the death of the telegram, the original form of electronic communication that dates back 150 years. Like many people, I was saddened to hear of its demise.

Faceless flirting may not seem so strange in an age of Internet dating, but 57 years ago, strangers weren't sending amorous words out over the Web. They sent them by Morse code over the ocean. That's what American sailor Jack Campbell and British signaler Stephanie Batstone did anyway, while serving in World War II. But as with today's e-mail affairs, Morse code romance was based on the allure of mystery and a degree of miscommunication. Crossed signals, you might say.

Marcus Brady made a habit last season of zipping spirals to Drew Amerson, his former teammate at San Diego Morse High. So, it was no surprise when Brady and Amerson reestablished the San Diego connection during an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday at North Campus Stadium. Brady, a junior entering his third season as Cal State Northridge's starting quarterback, threw seven completions to Amerson, including one for a touchdown, to highlight an encouraging performance by the offense.

Tap out an SOS for Morse code. At least as far as many ships at sea are concerned, it is going down for the last time. As of Feb. 1, 1999, all passenger ships and all cargo ships of 300 gross tons or more will no longer use Morse code for distress calls, relying instead on the global satellite communications system that has all but taken its place under an international agreement.

It is the 1950s, and in Tokyo and New York two guys in white shirts, ties undone, are communicating electronically with the latest technology. "SOS ETWIFE HEADS TOKYOWARD SMORNING SANSTOP," New York tells Tokyo. "MUCHLY APC EYEBALL ARRIVAL. URGENTEST NEED THUMBSUCKER CUM ART." These were marching orders for the fellow in Tokyo. Put into English, the message said, "The secretary of state and his wife will fly nonstop to Tokyo this morning.

John "Jack" Babcock was a 15 1/2 -year-old Canadian farm boy when he joined the 146th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1916 during World War I. "They were hard up for men then," he recalled in 2003 in the Ottawa Citizen. "They didn't have the draft yet" and relied on enlistees. Babcock, Canada's last known World War I veteran, died Thursday at 109 at his home in Spokane, Wash. "As a nation, we honour his service and mourn his passing," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday in a statement.

You don't usually see Morse code in a theater program, but then former military intelligence analysts don't often fess up to an early attraction to Raggedy Andy dolls. Both are on view in "The Need to Know," written and performed by ex-Air Force officer April Fitzsimmons, now playing once a month at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. The apple-cheeked Fitzsimmons, who looks like Ashley Judd's chipper cousin, recalls the heroines of her favorite books as she marshals her inner Harriet the Spy, Pippi Longstocking and Lolita to bust out of her blue-collar Mexican-Irish Catholic family and fall into a passionate love affair with her Nietzsche-reading camp counselor -- and the armed forces.

Your article Aug. 24, "Ham Operators Plug into a Different Kind of Window on the World," was great. But it was inaccurate in saying that one must learn Morse code for any ham radio license. Actually, there is a "no code technician class" license that can be obtained by anyone not knowledgeable about Morse code. In order to qualify for this license, one must pass sections of the FCC test with a total of 55 questions. Ham radio is where it is at. Ham radio operators make up the bulk of the volunteer communications associated with the Red Cross and other disaster and relief agencies in times of crisis.

Fighting for social change can be such lonely work. Just ask Bob Glaser, a San Diego political consultant. He had an epiphany about social inequity while standing at a urinal at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium during a break in a sold-out concert by Billy Joel and Elton John. A young woman barged her way into the restroom and assumed a position directly beside Glaser. She explained that the line to use the women's room was too long. Within days, Glaser filed a $5.