Massive Calif. Wildfire

LOS ANGELES — Two Los Angeles County firefighters were killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountain side amid the intense flames of a wildfire that threatened 12,000 homes. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged those in the fire's path to get out as the blazes rained ash on cars as far away as downtown Los Angeles, spreading in all directions in dry conditions.

Things are not looking good in California.
The wildfires have now claimed the lives of 2 firemen.
I am hoping to hear from my friend W2WRX, and others who are involved with EMS.
For info I think is the best.
California Disasters

Field Exercise

This is the field exercise I participated in tonight. It was my first exercise since early 2006.
I miss Ham Radio. I hope to be involved as much as I can.
I am glad that I do not have to leave my room to participate.

E-Mails sent to me prior to the exercise.

All,
The Aug 23 exercise is coming together. Mark Strait, KD8BIG, is going to coordinate the exercise on the 82 repeater beginning at 7PM. He will make all participant assignments and direct traffic.

I have commitments for Field Stations for the following bands.

Amateur 2 meter - two stations (KD8FBY, W8LGP)
Amateur 70CM - one station (KC8PCJ)
FRS (Family Radio Service) - one station (N8YJT)
CB - one station. (KC8AZR)

There are two categories of stations. Participating Stations and Field Stations. The Field Stations are assigned (as indicated above). Participating Stations may check in to the net with KD8BIG beginning at 7PM on the 82 repeater. This will be an informal net for coordination of the exercise. At 7:30 PM the NCS will assign each Participating Station the job of contacting one of the Field Stations from the Hackley Park starting location. Participating Stations will be given the frequency. All Field Stations will be located within expected simplex range of Hackley Park. When the Field Station is contacted the Participating Station will be given the location of the Field Station. The Participating Station must travel to the Field Station Location and obtain their next assignment and frequency from the Field Station operator(s).

Note: all stations should be prepared to convert CB and FRS frequencies to channel numbers. Resources will be available for those who are not able to come prepared.

More later -

Tom, N8YJT

All,
This is a special invitation to participate in a fun exercise to be held tomorrow night, Aug 23, at Hackely Park in Muskegon. Net will start at 7PM on the 82 repeater (see below). Hope to see many of you there.
Tom, N8YJT

Here's a description

Operation on 2 meters, 70cm, CB and FRS.
5 simplex field stations set up prior to the exercise, about 7PM.
All participants meet at central location (Hackley Park)
All participants or teams receive a slip of paper with a frequency and callsign.
At 7:30PM participants or teams call the assigned field station
Assigned field station provides participant with location
Participants go to assigned field station and get another assignment
Repeat the process
Participants return to central location when they have completed assignments.
Awards ceremony about 8:45 followed by Coffee at Arbys
NCS on the 82 repeater

All,
Things to keep in mind.
1. It is planned that a participant at Hackley Park will be able to make contact with any of the Field Stations from that location. For example, if a participant is not able to make contact with FS5 from FS1, they should go to Hackley Park as the starting point. However, if Participant is able to make contact with FS5 from FS1 they can go directly to FS5.
2. Participants operate from mobiles or with HT.
3. Frequencies of Field Stations should be kept confidential until NCS assigns participants to FS. That will be difficult to do if the frequency is given over the 82 repeater. I need to come up with a work around.

More to come -

Hackley Park (Downtown)
Richards Park (Ottawa St) (KC8AZR)
Heritage Landing (Seventh St) (N8YJT)
Mullally Park (Horton Rd) (KD8FBY)
Quarter Oak Park (Corner of Quarterline and Oak) (KC8PCJ)
J C Beukema Play Field (Corner of Wesley and Roberts) (W8LGP)

Family Reunion today

Today is my Family Reunion. My wife and I have organize it every year now for the last 13 years. This year we have 30 pounds of Hamburger, 20 pounds of Chicken and 10 pounds of Hot Dogs to cook. Those attending will be bringing a dish to pass.
My brother who lives in Kansas will be home this weekend with his family also.
I hope the weather works with me. Looks like rain along the lakeshore, the local weathermen say we have a 30% chance of rain. It looks like a 85% chance of rain showers throughout the early to mid afternoon to me.
Then again, I'm no weather man. Just a weather nut......

My Mom

Today I found out my Mom has to have a major surgery and that her outcome doses not look good.
I have this hurt inside me that I have not had in years.
My Mom is my best friend next to my wife.
I wasn’t the typical son; I was always into trouble and stirring up trouble whenever I could.
The hardest thing for me while listening to my Mom explains all this was watching the reactions on my sons face.
While Mom talks about this I can see the hurt in my son, my daughter sat next to Mom playing with her and not understanding what is going on. That is going to be the really tough thing to deal with, trying to explain to my daughter what is going on when the end dose come.
Please pray for me and my family.
I’m gonna be a complete major disaster, yet so many are going to expect me to be the strong one.

Muggy Night

I just went outside to sit on the patio. Was out there for not even 2 minutes and started sweating in my summer time places. Way to hot and muggy. Yes, I very seldom leave the house for outdoors. Thank God for Central Air.

I should had looked at my home weather station.
It is showing;
Observation Time: Saturday, August 8 10:15 PM
Indoors;
Humidity 35%
Temp. 67º
Outdoors;
Humidity 83%
Temp.77º
Dew Point 72°F (22°C)
Visibility 7SM
Wind Speed Calm
Wind Direction VRB
Pressure 1013 mb (29.91 in)
Feels Like: 78°F (26°C)

Remembering My Sixth Grade Teacher; RAYMOND J. MCGUIRE

Mr. Raymond J. McGuire, age 82, died Saturday, July 18, 2009. He was born in Grand Rapids, MI on April 19, 1927 to Thomas & Mary McGuire and married the former Alice Mae. Mr. McGuire had been employed as a Teacher at Muskegon Public Schools for over 20 years until retiring. He was a member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church and the Muskegon Yacht Club, White Lake Yacht Club & Muskegon Country Club.

Deaths

Obituary

My son and I have talked numerous times about my favorite school teacher, Mr. McGuire.

When I was 12, I was the new kid in Muskegon Michigan. My family had just moved to Muskegon Michigan from South Carolina.

Mr. McGuire was great. He gave me the guidance I needed and when I strayed, he talked to me with great respect and then called my parents. My 6th grade year was also tough; we had a classmate killed in a car accident. Mr. McGuire did a great job helping us 6th graders understanding death.

Mr. McGuire, Thanks for helping me become the responsible, respected adult that I am.

Godspeed to you.

I look forward to seeing you in heaven.

I Joined Face Book Today.

Today I joined Face Book.
I have no desire to join a social networking group, however, I have been informed by many of my friends that it is a great way to stay in touch with friends of ones past, I really do not know who would want to remember my past back in the 80s through the mid 90s.
So, here I go.........
Wish me luck

Volcano Updates

Stromboli Volcano, Italy
During the period 6-12 July 2009, eruptions continued from 4 vents at Stromboli volcano in Italy. Two vents were active in the north crater, and two in the south crater. The north crater showed short eruptions which ejected bombs, lapilli and fine ash. The intensity of eruptions was average, with emissions to a height of 150 m above the vent. During the reporting period, there were an average of about 15 explosions per hour.


Chaitén Volcano, Chile
Eruptive activity continues at Chaiten volcano in Chile. Growth of the summit lava dome creates an explosion and pyroclastic flow hazard. Adjacent valleys contain pyroclastic material which may be mobilised after heavy rain and create lahars. Chaiten volcano remains on alert level RED.

Good bye to Sampa

All things come to an end eventually, the unfortunate thing is my web site, GDN @ sampa is no longer. Sampa has decided to shut down there servers. So, know I am faced with transferring much of my material to this site. I might open a real domain. That is probably the best thing to do.

Sampa was a nice site. They did not see the need for JAVA and html so I think that is one reason they failed. I inquired to them about adding those features and there response was to go somewhere that offers it. So, I went to blogger.

7/4/09

-PI Foods, Inc of Dallas, TX is recalling approximately 15,000 (net wt. 20g) packets of non fat dry milk because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
-NOW Foods has issued a voluntary recall for NOW Foods products containing whey protein concentrate due to potential Salmonella contamination.
-North Coast Seafood has voluntarily removed from sale Fresh Tuna Steaks that were sold at Shaw’s, Star Market and Big Y Stores in New England.

RECALLS & ALERTS

The United States' number of pandemic flu cases climbed to 33,902, with 170 deaths. The new totals reflect 6,185 more cases and 43 more deaths than last week. In its new surveillance report today for the week ending Jun 27, the CDC said flu activity decreased but is still higher than normal for this time of year. The New York/New Jersey area is still reporting elevated activity, as is the Pacific Northwest.

The spread of the swine flu virus worldwide is now unstoppable. - Most H1N1 cases are mild, with many people recovering unaided. The exceptions were pregnant women and people with underlying health problems. The UK alone was projecting more than 100,000 new cases of H1N1 a day by the end of the summer. As the peak of the flu season approaches in South America, some areas have declared a public health emergency. El Salvador reported its first death from swine flu, a day after Paraguay reported its first fatality. "For a pandemic of moderate severity, this is one of our greatest challenges: helping people to understand when they do not need to worry, and when they do need to seek urgent care.

ETHIOPIA - Volcano eruption in the Afar region reported. Thermal anomalies and dense sulphur dioxide plumes in Ethiopia appear to indicate that a significant effusive eruption has taken place in the Manda Hararo area of the western Afar region. There is as yet no visual confirmation of the eruption from the ground. There was a VEI=2 eruption at the Manda Hararo volcanic complex in August 2007, and a larger eruption in the Alu-Dalaffilla region in November 2008. In terms of size, the current Manda Hararo event seems to lie somewhere between the two. The MODIS thermal alerts service at the University of Hawaii has shown hotspots of varying intensity over a considerable area of the Manda Hararo region since 27 June, while the OMI Sulfur Dioxide Group has mapped considerable SO2 emissions on 29 and 30 June.

Today at a Glance

April 25, 2009

Severe Weather:
Slight risk of severe weather for central to northeast Kansas, southeast Nebraska, far northwest Missouri southwest to northeast Iowa, southwest to northeast Wisconsin and far southeast Minnesota to the 25th. Slight risk of severe weather for south southwest to north central Texas, the northwest 2/3 of Oklahoma, Kansas, the southeast 1/3 of Nebraska, Iowa, northwest Missouri, and far southwest Minnesota, the 25th to the 26th. Slight risk of severe weather for northcentral Texas, Oklahoma, the southeast 1/2 of Kansas, the southeast 1/2 of Iowa, the northwest 2/3 of Missouri, the northwest 2/3 of Illinois, northwest Indiana, far northwest Ohio, the southeast 1/3 of Wisconsin, and Michigan the 26th to the 27th.

Flooding:
Flooding likely, possible, or occurring in central to eastern South Dakota, central to eastern North Dakota, far northwest Minnesota, central west Illinois, north central Florida, and central south Louisiana. (6 inches of rainfall forecast for northeast Oklahoma and southeast Missouri)

Fire:
Critical fire danger for far south Nevada, far northwest and western Arizona, New Mexico, southeast Colorado, far southwest Kansa, and far west Oklahoma, far northwest Texas, and southwest Florida the 24th to the 25th. Critical fire danger for southeast Arizona, the southeast 2/3 of New Mexico and western Texas the 25th to the 26th.

Upcoming Meteor Shower

VENUS TO DISAPPEAR DURING METEOR SHOWER: On Wednesday morning, April 22nd, the planet Venus will disappear behind the Moon during the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower. It's a show you won't want to miss. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

Articles of Interest

April 17, 2009

Severe Weather:
Slight risk of severe weather for far eastern Arizona, western to central Texas, western Oklahoma, southeast Colorado, and southwest Kansas the to the 17th. Slight risk of severe weather for central to east southeast and far north Texas, western Oklahoma, and southwest Kansas the 17th to the18th.

Flooding:
Flooding likely, possible, or occurring in South Dakota, North Dakota, far northwest Minnesota, far northeast Wyoming, far southeast Montana, central west Illinois, south Mississippi, south Georgia, north Florida, Louisiana, and central east Texas to the 21th. (5.7 inches of rainfall for central east Texas, and southwest Louisiana).

Fire:
Critical fire danger for the northeast 1/3 of New York into New England, and far southeast New Mexico into central west Texas the 17th to the 18th. Moderate fire danger for Minnesota into Wisconsin, and central and southern Florida from the 17th to the 18th. Critical fire danger for southeast California, northwest Arizona, southern Nevada and southwest Utah the 22nd to the 24th.

AFGHANISTAN - Two moderate earthquakes have hit eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 19 people and destroying dozens of homes. The US Geological Survey says a 5.5-magnitude quake struck at 0157 local time (2127 GMT), followed by a 5.1-magnitude aftershock two hours later. The quakes struck in Nangarhar province, about 50 miles (80km) east of Kabul near the Pakistan border. At least two villages were reported to have suffered serious damage. Villagers told reporters that the death toll was higher.

Tropical Cyclone Bijli, with sustained winds of 50 mph, is located off the coast of Orissa, India and will slightly strengthen while tracking to the northeast along the coastline of Orissa, West Bengal, Bangladesh before making landfall in the vicinity of the Bangladesh and Myanmar boarder region on Saturday.

MADAGASCAR - Five more people were found dead in Madagascar after tropical cyclone Jade, pushing the death toll to 15. A further 22,900 people were also registered as homeless, bringing the number without shelter to over 60,800. The new deaths and homeless figures were reported in the northeastern district of Antalaha, where Jade made landfall on April 6. Officials had been unable to collect the data from the district because of rising waters in the area. The emergency management office also reported that 63 percent of Antalaha's coffee and vanilla crops, the region's key exports, were damaged. Three-quarters of subsistence crops and 65 percent of fruit trees were destroyed. Madagascar's cyclone season runs from November to April. In January, at least nine people were killed and more than 20,000 lost their homes after two cyclones hit the Indian Ocean island.

West Africa faces 'megadroughts' - DROUGHTS LASTING CENTURIES occur regularly in West Africa, scientists find - and another one is coming, climate change or not. Analysis of sediments in a Ghanaian lake shows the last of these "megadroughts" ended 250 years ago. Man-made climate change may make the situation worse. But the droughts are going to happen again anyway, and societies should begin planning for them. "It's disconcerting - it suggests we're vulnerable to A LONGER-LASTING DROUGHT THAN WE'VE SEEN IN OUR LIFETIME.." Droughts lasting a few decades appear to be linked to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), a natural climatic cycle in which sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean vary over time. However, the cause of the longer, multi-century droughts is not clear. "That's one of the scary aspects - we have no idea what causes them." There appears to be a similarity between the outlook for West Africa and the southwestern portion of the US. There, research has also shown a history of shorter and longer droughts.

Pagan Volcano, Mariana Islands
Pagan volcano in the Mariana Islands erupted black ash and steam on 16th April. The Aviation Color Code for Pagan volcano was raised to Yellow. There are no monitoring instruments installed on Pagan. Monitoring is by satellite and ground observers. Pagan volcano is located 173 nautical miles north of Saipan. The island contains two stratovolcanoes connected by a narrow isthmus.

Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit the south flank of Kilauea volcano on 14th April at 12:44 pm local time. The epicentre was 14 km south of the town of volcano, near Hilina Pali. Kilauea summit recorded weak deflation after the earthquake. In the past 25 years there have been 3 earthquakes over magnitude 5 in the same area of the volcano. There has been no change in eruptive activity at Kilauea volcano. Magma continues to degass through Pu`u `O`o Crater, and flow from TEB vent and the rootless shield complex through tubes to the ocean at Waikupanaha and Kupapa`u.

Today at a Glance

April 13, 2009

Severe Weather:
Slight risk of severe weather for central north to northeast Texas, central south Oklahoma, southeast Louisiana, central to south Mississippi and southwest Alabama to the 13th. Slight risk of severe weather for southeast Louisiana, Mississippi, northeast Arkansas, southeast Missouri, central to southern Illinois, central to southern Indiana, central to western Kentucky, central to western Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, central to southern South Carolina, and central to northern Florida the 13th to the 14th.

Flooding;
Flooding likely, possible, or occurring in South Dakota, North Dakota, west northwest Minnesota, central west and southeast Illinois, northeast and northwest Indiana, central west and northeast Illinois, central north Missouri, northeast Texas, central to south Georgia, and central north Florida to the 17th.

Fire;
Moderate fire danger for far south Texas the 12th to the 13th. Critical fire danger for southwest California, western Arizona, and southern Nevada the 14th to the 15th. Critical fire danger for far southeast California, central to southern Arizona, central to southern and northeast New Mexico and western Texas the 15th to the 16th. Critical fire danger for southeast Arizona, the southeast 1/2 of New Mexico and western Texas the 16th to the 17th.

Fernandina Volcano, Galapagos Islands
A new eruption began at Fernandina volcano on 10th April 2009 at 2200 hr. The seismic station at Puerto Ayora did not record any earthquakes associated with the eruption. The eruption was observed by rangers from Galapagos National Park, and a tourist boat in the early hours of Saturday morning (local time). An eruption column with low ash content was visible on satellite images extending 300 km west of the volcano. Satellite images show several hotspots at Fernandina volcano, which may indicate lava flows. Personnel from the Galapagos National Park on Isabela Island are making a flight over the volcano, to ascertain more precisely the location of the eruption centre, and assess the extent of the lava flows and their likely impact
fauna and flora of the area. The last eruption of Fernandina volcano occurred in 2005, when lava flows originated from a fissure on the south-eastern flank of the volcano and descend without reaching the sea.

Mayo Update

I have heard from many of you that Mayo Clinic will do wonders for me. After the phone conversations I have had with the finance department last week I now have my own point of view.
I was told to expect to pay anywhere from 15-30 grand next week.
I was in disbelief .
After talking with the finance department and my own doctor I will not be heading to Mayo Clinic. There is no way that I can afford to pay that kind of money.
I will instead continue to do my best to improve my health and follow directions given to me from my own personal doctor.
My wife and I met with our PCP Friday and talked about the conversations we had with Mayo. Our PCP informed us to take care of our home and children before spending that kind of money at Mayo. Mayo would be a great help for me but they offered no guarantees for the service given unless I had enough money.
This all saddens me; I have been out of work since May of 2006 and have become a thought. My wife had worked for about 2 years and has lost her job so now it is all about surviving as best as we can.
Both of our cars are now paid for and we have over 500 pounds of meat in the freezer. I think we will be fine for a while. Time will tell.