Uuki, OH2GVB, Kosminen Vompatti (Vombatus astronomicus)

About me:

This is me. I like Australia, Lapland, HP calculators, shrimp, Linux, very hot chili, astronomy, photography, amateur radio, Pink Floyd, icewater swimming and hearing from people who are interested in the same. I do not especially like spiders, mushrooms, Windows the operating system, touch screens, SO-239/PL-259 (UHF) connectors or dill. Here's some more information on me:

Electronics and radio stuff:

I like electronics, which also connects to some of my other hobbies such as amateur radio, astronomy and rocketry. I enjoy prototyping electronic stuff and building things for whatever purpose, or modifying and improving existing commercial electronic devices. I also fix stuff, ranging from consumer electronics to lab equipment. Much of my electronic test equipment has been acquired broken or malfunctioning, and fixed by myself. No way I could afford to buy a HP8562B spectrum analyzer, for example!

Astronomical stuff:

I have always been interested in astronomy, and have built myself a couple of Dobsonian telescopes. I didn't grind the optics myself, I don't believe I have the patience for that. Living in the city, I must transport the scopes to a dark site to see anything, so light weight and compact size are important. How small and light can you make a 16-inch (400 mm) scope? (Try 21 kg.) How quickly can a collapsible scope be set up for use? (Try 5 minutes.)

Hiking:

I especially love hiking in the wilderness. I've done that since I was six years old. At one time, I took to hiking longer distances (some 400 km or so) over a longer time (say 6 weeks) alone in the wilderness of Lapland. Why alone? Partly the freedom, partly the adventure, partly because no-one else is as crazy as me...? I don't mind company, in fact. It's nice to chat with other hikers when I occasionally meet them. But there is something special about being all alone in the great Wilderness, roughing it out and surviving on your own, experiencing—no, living—the grandeur of Nature and the smallness of man in comparison...

I mean look at the enormous fells, the tall trees, the wide blue sky, the endless forests, the thousands of lakes... And if you look real carefully, there in the middle is little old me, sitting comfortably at a small campfire, cooking fresh fish, with a dreamy look on my face.

Lately, my girlfriend (now wife) Katja has joined me on several shorter (two weeks, give or take) hikes. She's crazy enough to survive in the wilderness with me.

Anyway, here's some stuff:

And here's some photos (some day I may get around to scanning the paper photos): After I return from a 6-week hike, I spend the next 2 weeks daydreaming about the great memories. Then I spend the next 44 weeks daydreaming about the next one.

Other stuff:

Some other boring yet irrelevant stuff: Tällä hetkellä minusta kyllä tuntuu, että hämähäkkejä ei saada.


Antti J. Niskanen <uuki@iki.fi>