Hotline housekeeping
by Bob Collins

(Mar. 24, 2007) -- One time many -- way too many -- years ago at a small radio station I worked at in Massachusetts, the transmitter went off the air because of a power failure up on the mountain where the tower was located. I turned to a younger newsman and said to him, "get on the air right away and tell people we're off the air." Earnest as he was, he turned and took at least a half dozen steps before realizing what I was doing to him.

And now I'm doing it to you.

Here's the deal: A lot of Hotlines, I fear, are being lost to spam blockers and other activities of various ISPs. You're not getting them, so you're not reading right now that they're being sent out each week -- almost 1,300 of them.

It was actually more than 1,300 this week when Rob Riggen of Expercraft, who -- by the way -- graciously hosts the Web site and developed the e-mail system that allows these things to go out, dropped several of you because they were bouncing back. He had no choice because if we keep sending them out to mailboxes that are bad, the administrators are those sites get pretty ticked off and then we've got trouble, and that starts with "t" and that rhymes with "RV" and ... umm.. where was I?

Others of you aren't getting this because the Hotline is being plucked off by your Outlook -- or whatever mail program you use -- and you never get it.

I'm hoping that those of you who aren't reading this stumble across this some other way and read that, yes, we really are sending these things out every week, and have been now for over a year. I'm hoping that you'll go here and read some of the ways you can prevent this from happening.

And I'm hoping that the rest of you will pass the word along that if friends of yours have subscribed and aren't getting their copies, the problem really is in their sets.

Later this morning -- Saturday that is -- I'm heading up to Lino Lakes, Minnesota for the quarterly meeting of the Minnesota Wing of Van's Air Force. In addition to getting some snapshots of the RVs that will undoubtedly fly in (it was near 70 on Friday), there's a little demonstration of landing lights, the really bright ones. I hope to have that for next week's issue.

What else? I'm not really sure yet. Starting each week with a blank piece of paper is a little maddening because each week I figure I'll have nothing to put in the Hotline. But somehow, something always pops up. With your help, it will next week to. So, as always, if you see things happening, have some pictures, are aware of an EAA newsletter with an RV article in it, a builder's Web site you think is interesting, or anything you think will be of interests to other builders and pilots, please send it along.

And thanks!