[amsat-bb] Re: Volunteered

Fri Sep 11 13:20:44 PDT 2009

I've been following this thread passively until now, so brace yourself
because I have quite a few things to say.  I'm 28 and a reasonably new ham,
KJ4JIO (you can look me up but it may require a few mouse clicks...).  I'm
still very new to Amsat and don't know many of you by name or face yet (and
that's probably for the better).  I've had the opportunity to meet a couple
of you here in Orlando, chatting to a few of you through email and talking
to some of you over the phone.

I first heard about Amsat here in Orlando at a LMARS meeting, where one of
your members put on a satellite communications demo.  This was quite
possible one of the coolest experiences of my life.  Before this, I had no
idea that there were so many amateur satellites up in the sky available for
use.  I had no clue that with minimal equipment I could use them.  How cool
is that, really!?!  I didn't know any of this was possible for me to get
involved in at any level.  Maybe it's just another day at the job for some
of you but it's definitely not for me (i'm a bored  software guy at work).
 At the demo, I noticed that the presenter was putting on the presentation:

- on his own time
- with his own equipment
- for well over an hour long
- probably after a lengthy drive
- had an enthusiastic attitude
- didn't complain that the pass was on the horizon and difficult to work

If it wasn't for this voluntary effort, I wouldn't be here right now :-)

That's my history, now on to my main point.  It seems like most of the
bitter sentiment on the thread has been targeted at the amsat website, it's
production, how things get done, etc...  In my experience in software, being
pissed off at something opens up an excellent opportunity for corrective
action.  I get pissed of at code all the time, maybe my code, other peoples
code, doesn't matter... I complain about it, make fun of it, laugh at it for
a few seconds, and when i'm done doing that I *FIX IT*.

Last night, I spoke to Gould about the history of the website and some
related things to get a feel for why things are the way they are.  I have
also been gathering ideas and suggestions from various interested parties on
the bb.  I put together my own list of complaints* in addition to
descriptions of what I would do to improve each of them*.  I set up a
prototype mediawiki server, although i've retired it and am attempting to
see if Joomla would be a little more user friendly on the composition end of
things.  There are definitely wheels spinning in an effort to improve the
situation.  The reality of the website situation is what always happens in
the software world:
- software gets outdated
- it becomes to hard to maintain
- people move on to other things
- the END USER SUFFERS
Please note, i'm not criticizing anyones work on the website here. I'm
certain they did they best with the resources and time they had available
when the work was being done.  I'm convinced what we're experiencing here is
a standard software development life cycle issue, which should not take much
work to improve.

If you have website suggestions, i'd encourage you please pass them on.  By
suggestion, I mean something more helpful than "the website sucks".  A good
example is this:
"Instead of having a Tools, Status and Passes link off the main page, make
one button called "Satellite Tracking" and put all these types of things
within it.  This would help clean up the main page a bit".

I'm very interested (and I know others are too) in getting this type of
input and feedback.

Thank You,
Joseph Armbrruster, KJ4JIO

On Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 2:33 PM, Rocky Jones <orbitjet at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> Actually no.  What happens (in the case of Hubble) is people who asked
> annoying questions like "is the mirror ground correctly" were told about the
> same thing...ie sit down and shut up.
>
> Same thing with the Mars proble where they got the "units" off and
> reentered the thing.
>
> People who ask questions which the leadership does not want to hear are
> frequently sent out with the same lines Bob uses.  Ask the people at NASA
> who said "what damage did the foam do when it hit the orbiter."  Linda Ham
> had just about Bob's answers.
>
> Robert WB5MZO
>
> > Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:15:34 -0700
> > From: wb5eku at gmail.com
> > To: rwmcgwier at gmail.com
> > CC: RSwart1 at twcny.rr.com; amsat-bb at amsat.org
> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Volunteered
> >
> > Bob,When they stand in front of the mirror, it will break
> >
> > WB5EKU
> >
> > On Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 5:50 AM, <rwmcgwier at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Only if people end this nearly useless thread.  This ground is so
> beaten
> > > down it is not funny.  Member dues and most of their donations do not
> buy a
> > > single component.  But to live to fight another day and to keep "those
> who
> > > can" thinking about things to do for those "those who use" and even
> "those
> > > who mostly whine and do nothing at all except whine" these member
> donations
> > > are vital to the organization's health.
> > >
> > > The amsat organization is undergoing some reorg. Lots of different
> faces on
> > > the board and different faces in engineering even with our inability to
> get
> > > a significant launch speaks well for the potential of the organization.
> > >
> > > I think personally that those who complain should go stand in front of
> the
> > > mirror and ask themselves
> > >
> > > 1) what have I personally done for the organization lately?
> > > 2) follow that with "Am I part of the problem or the solution?"
> > >
> > > Bob
> > > LM N4HY
> > >
> > > ------Original Message------
> > > From: Randy
> > > Sender: amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org
> > > To: amsat bb
> > > ReplyTo: RSwart1 at twcny.rr.com
> > > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Volunteered
> > > Sent: Sep 10, 2009 10:46 PM
> > >
> > > Bruce filled me in on where a lot of the "donations" go..
> > >
> > > Couple others beat me up .. LOL
> > >
> > > So is there a win-win on this topic ?
> > >
> > > Randy
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> author.
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> > >
> > >
> > > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the
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> > >
> > _______________________________________________
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