Comment from Bill Lewis 2004 Jan 03

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Bill Lewis sent in this comment.

From: Bill Lewis
Date: 2004 Jan 03
Subj: 2002 trip log

I have enjoyed your forthright comments and scratched off a few places but kept others. I understand some suffering is necessary in order to have something to compare the better places with.

I grew up 4 blocks from a Radio and Television station and was always detouring by after school the station engineers took to me and I became the give to kid for all the old chassis and hardware. As a geek myself built my first radio at 9 a telescope at 12 vacuum tube stereo preamp and power amplifier at 14 and a 16 element yag backyard steerable radio telescope at 16. Home brewed from scratch a computer in 1975 internet access since 1991. Consulted for a few years then worked on improving consumer communications devices until a few years ago. Owned and ran a bookstore for a while and am now selling nonfiction and technical books on line. Will return to consulting after the trip or possibly move into teaching.

We will be in London the last two weeks in April then again later in the trip. The trip logs found on line have really helped in getting first hand information on what to see during the trip and many of the local people I have emailed have sent me their phone number to call when in the area so they can personally point out their favorite places. We will leave London in late April by bike using the extensive cycle routes that are being built we will travel east and then along the coast using National Cycle Routes 1 and 2 then use backroads to get inland and eventually to Cornwall and Land's End. Since I will have my books on vacation we will return when we get ready. Always wanted to see Wales and then Hadrian's Wall and Scotland and what ever else seems interesting.

Saw your note concerning your sister and the Stanford Linear I was in charge of the Global Timing Lab at the Superconducting Supercollider Lab here in Texas. I had designed and built a working prototype of a laser timing system for the Linear at the SSC when the axe came from congress. Lots of benefits could have been had but the MTV masses need instant gratification.

If you have not read it the book Green Beach is a good wartime story about the early days of radar do not remember the author [James Leasor]. It is in part the story of a radar engineer sent with a group of Canadian Rangers on a raid to find out information on the German aircraft detection system. Since the Germans did not have the magnetron and it was so simple a concept the rangers were there to make sure he was not captured alive.

bill