While updating my website, I’ve just come across this:
Time
Call
Band
Mode
13:38z
M0JDK
144MHz
FM
14:33z
G0NAJ
144MHz
FM
14:35z
2E0JPY
144MHz
FM
14:38z
M6OAU/M
144MHz
FM
14:40z
G3CWI
144MHz
FM
14:45z
M0HGY
144MHz
FM
This is for an activation of The Cloud G/SP-015 in October last year. Except that the first contact - M0JDK - was worked while I was on Gun G/SP-013 that same day. John was the only station I worked from there. Somehow, I’ve managed to enter his QSO lumped in with my later Cloud activation.
Do you see what this means? It means I did one more activation in 2018 than I thought I did. ie 366, not 365. Even though it means my personal record is one higher than I thought it was, there is something irritating about it not being 365. Pity 2018 wasn’t a leap year.
Tom, you have worse OCD than I have. Just delete two activations and believe that they never happened. Can’t do? I will get you a copy of the manual that my old boss used to work to.
I’m prepared to accept there’s a bit of obsessiveness going on here, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near medical diagnosis territory! And to suggest I am beyond where you are Gerald, let alone anywhere near is way off the mark. I mean, not reactivating any hill - EVER - with one’s main callsign, merely in order to preserve a meaningless percentage that is not used in any aspect of the ranking system? Nah come on, that takes some beating.
I admit the Uniques thing is a significant issue for me. My view is why spend valuable time and money activating a hill that you have already activated when there are so many new ones offering completely new experiences out there? My aim is certsinly not to preserve a 100% record as you suggest - that is entirely incidental and created by the way the database is presented. If Andy were to remove the data, it would not bother me one iota.
On the subject in hand, you must admit that arranging your activations to achieve 365 in 365 days is somewhat quirky. Such an idea would never have crossed my mind and certainly not activating the same hills time after time to achieve such a goal.
I think the goals you have both set yourselves are desirable and admirable, for their own specific reasons. The main thing is, they make you happy and what is wrong with that? A secondary thing is that they set targets and we always work better with measurable performance.
73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH
Oh the 100% thing is just a sideline, the experience of the Unique is far far more important. Indeed, when B callsign revisits occur, I do try to get a different angle on the activation, for example activating a summit with Paul which I had only previously done on my own and where possible choosing a different route up. That way I can pretend it is a new hill.
Now here’s a challenge for you: Extract from the database all the dates on which you have activated The Cloud. Ignore the year and just take the day and month… then see how complete your year is. Can you resist this?
My initial instinct was that there wouldn’t be any dates missing. Then I thought that on the balance of probability there would likely be a handful. Then I thought about February 29th.
Most impressive! You’ve been out on every date over the years. Must say I am tempted to check my record… I am sure there will be huge gaps. Such is the sporadic nature of my activity created by having no local summit and that thirst for Uniques, plus the fact that Paul and I have tended to focus our activations on specific periods - the post Christmas Bimble, the Birthday Bash, etc.
12th January, 11th & 20th February, 28th March, 11th, 18th & 29th April, 23rd & 31st July, 16th, 20th, 30th & 31st August, 26th October, 10th, 16th & 17th December have all yet to see a Cloud activation by M1EYP.
