[CQ-Contest] QST Contest Results

[k3bu at optonline.net]

Reminds me "Streamlining Story"

Old man had small business going, selling pretzels and sodas from his cart by the Lincoln Tunnel. He stood there rain or shine providing service to those waiting in long lines to get into the tunnel. He was doing well, business grew, he bought few more carts, hired help.
He decided invest in his kids and send them to university, study business, so they could expand the business, become better businessmen than OM.
They went, study hard, graduated and got involved in dads business. First thing they did - evaluated the profitability of each cart. One that was doing least business was terminated. Efficiency went up. Then the next least profitable cart, then the next up to the OM's cart, which he would not let go. 
Kids had to get a job, they "streamlined" themselves out of business. The OM is still by the tunnel running his, now "streamlined" business.

Looks like ARRL/QST financial gurus can count shack-on-belt (SOB) members, making "huge" shacks on a belt ($300) purchases, while "insignificant" contesters and DXers with tens of thousands of dollars purchase power are "not important". One contester with his station is worth probably about 500 SOBs. Do the math "financial wizards"!

Besides, magazine should be inspirational and showing path to better, bigger things and enticing people to climb the radio ladder. Boring material and listings of directors won't do much.

By harping here about it, we should hope that the light will go up at someone's head at ARRL and give us fine print of complete results. If I was just regular ham, or just DXer, I would be QRT ham long time ago. Contesting is the thing that keeps me coming back, putting up bigger antennas, buying more radio junk, going on expeditions and still reading the magazines, in hope finding something interesting in them, including my callsign in the listings.

Helllloooo Radiooo!?!  

Yuri Blanarovich, K3BU