4th of July

Every one have a good 4 of July.

Barb and I will be spending this evening on Fire Watch. We will join a couple dozen other ham radio operators posted around the area, keeping watch for illegal fireworks and for fires. Fire danger is high in the hills around here at present. Our post will be at the Viewpoint in Foothills Park, giving us a fantastic view of the whole SFBay Area and all the professional (and illegal) fireworks shows. At the same time serious, and lots of fun.

Hay Bill it actually sounds like you are going to have a good time while still giving back as well. Kind of satisfying I would say can I go with you lol.

Happy Independence Day everyone! Let us remember how privileged we are to be living in a free and democratic country. The same to those of you who also live in free democratic countries.

Freedom and liberty are special privileges that can be taken away if we do not remain vigilant. Not all people want peace and harmony, some desire to be our conquerors, they are patient and cunning.

Thanks to the founding fathers who had the courage to declare our independence and secure our rights we have the ability to hike, ski, bike, climb, kayak, etc. pretty much any where we want, any time we want!

Also never forget that Freedom isn't Free and the cost we have payed & pay to keep it free.

Campfire, friends, smores, dogs (the furry kind), guitars and drums, lots of good food - Yeah, I'd say I enjoyed the day. Hope you all did as well.

"Freedom is Not Free" may seem a cliche to some. However the recent events in Iran point to the courage it takes to put one's life on the line and to stand up to a tyrannical government. It is all too easy to take freedom for granted.

Also, to all you readers who are veterans, are in the miltary currently or are family of someone serving, I offer my thanks. Thank you for your personal and family scarifices that go along with serving in the armed forces.

Oh...almost forgot, today while we were cooking out we had a flyover by three C-17 Globemaster III's. They are so freaking cool! Payload capacity of 170,900 lbs. They can cruise 2400 nautical miles without refueling, and anywhere in the world non-stop with in air refueling.

We have 57 of them based here in Charleston SC. If you are not familiar with the C-17 here is a tribute on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcFV4wRxrvY

And here is the USAF fact sheet:

http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=86