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The Dispatch

No. 26-003 — 26 June 2026

Occasional updates on my writing, research, new blog posts, and happenings from the shack of ADØK.

Current Issue

The Dispatch

No. 26-003 — 26 June 2026

Don Inbody

inbody.net

A Writing Update and a New Paper on Mail Voting

A few notes from the desk.

The Next Book

I am at work on a follow-on to The Soldier Vote, a history of military and absentee voting in America. It carries the argument of the first book forward and brings it up to the present fight over voting by mail. More as the manuscript takes shape.

Wake of the Falcon

My first novel is in the query phase, and I am looking for representation. It is a historical naval thriller set in the Dutch East Indies in August 1914, built around a wireless direction-finding network of expatriate amateur operators. I will post news here as the campaign develops.

A New Paper

I have a new paper with the US Vote Foundation, Marked and Missed, on the problems mail voting creates for overseas civilians and military personnel. The federal statute transmits a blank ballot forty-five days before a federal election. The marked ballot then has to travel back, from a ship at sea or a forward base, to a county courthouse in the United States, inside the window state law allows. The mail does not move as fast as the law assumes, and late arrival is the most common reason a military or overseas ballot is rejected. The paper sets out the transit gaps, the state grace periods that close them, and what the current litigation before the Supreme Court would do to both. It is posted in the Papers section of this site.

Thanks for reading.
— Don

1 read

Archive

The Dispatch

No. 26-002 — 07 May 2026

Don Inbody

inbody.net

From the Captain's Desk

A bit of a rework on the website. Check out the changes — Books, Radio, and here on Dispatch. I also have some new blog posts up.

What I'm Working On

No changes here. Wake of the Falcon is in its final stages. I have a couple of beta readers helping me out. Good feedback so far.

On the Air

Nothing new on the air per-se, but the Radio page is re-worked. You can see if I am on the air and what frequency and mode I am operating on. I also have my last 10 QSOs (Club Log) showing as well as a neat new solar conditions and propagation indicator.

My Recommendation

Still enjoying Rhiannon Giddens. You can catch her My Music series on PBS.

Thanks for reading. Sign up for the newsletter notifications and get on my mailing list.
— Don

11 reads

The Dispatch

No. 26-001 — 05 May 2026

Don Inbody

inbody.net

From the Captain's Desk

May arrived with a full to-do list and grass that doesn't care. Four acres doesn't mow itself, and when the zero-turn shed its hydro belt, I lost two days to figuring out why — and another half-day getting it back together. That's done now. First full mow of the season is behind me. Weed-whacking is not.

In between, we got to Bass Auditorium last Saturday for Rhiannon Giddens. If you don't know her work, fix that. She moves between traditions — old-time, folk, classical — like they were never separate to begin with. Remarkable show. Tuesday is our anniversary, and we have tickets to see Sting. Not a bad week.

What I'm Working On

Wake of the Falcon is in final cleanup. I just reworked the climax and I'm satisfied with where it landed. The target for agent submissions is June or July. I have two pieces out with editors — one at Joint Forces Quarterly, one a series of three articles submitted to QST — and I'm waiting on both. Waiting is most of this business.

On the Air

New hardline is run to the tower and the Mosley beam. The station is tighter than it's been. The 80 and 160 meter wire antennas are still not up — that project keeps sliding — but the HF capability I do have is working cleanly. Progress is progress.

My Recommendation

Rhiannon Giddens. Start with You're the One or her work with Francesco Turrisi. Then go back to the Carolina Chocolate Drops years. You'll lose an afternoon.

If the agents respond, you'll hear about it. If the grass wins, you'll also hear about it. Either way — thanks for reading. — Don

7 reads

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