Passed the General Class license test

Yay - I passed the test to upgrade my amateur radio license from Technician to the General level!

Now I have priviledges to operate on the worldwide high frequency bands. If I only had $1000 for all the gear! (But how much would I use it to actually get on the air?)
Met some interesting people in the class whom I may network with later.

The photo shows myself and Gordon West, the class teacher. 'Gordo' is a great teacher - funny, informative, lively; I recommend taking his classes to get a license. You can't help but get interested by his enthusiasm.
TT

My first Red Cross DAT Call

I wondered who would be calling when my phone rang at 3:42 AM, and it was for the Red Cross Disaster Action Team.

I was dispatched to go help some families at a residential fire near Westminister. It was still dark when I pulled up, seeing the fire truck's floodlights illuminating the street and hearing the hum of the engines.
I met my field supervisor and then the fire captain escorted us on the damage assessment tour. I was suprised how gentle and polite all the firemen were. What heros. We walked around the house; holes were cut in the ceilings of all the rooms to search for fire. The room where the fire started had major damage - its walls were blackened and everything was charred and messy. I made a mental note: Check for fire hazards at home! We walked thru sooty puddles of water.

The husband said that he woke from the smoke and it was hard to breathe. He saw the fire and tried to put it out but it was too much and he jumped out the window with his wife and woke others and called for help.

It was daylight by the time we had finished the paperwork.
Both us responders and the families we helped were grateful for each other. Things like background, language, ethnicity, social status - none of this mattered - meeting the humanitarian needs bonded us together.

Though I'll be tired later, it was a great way to start the morning.

Wildfire in Joshua Tree

So I even see some excitement while on vacation!

Sunday around 4:00 PM we saw smoke to the Southeast from behind a low mountain. (See picture). We figured it may have started around 3:00 PM. Then at 5:00 PM I saw a Fire Huey fly over.

I pulled out my scanner and started scanning the Air frequencies. I heard air traffic controllers, then some chatter on 122.5750. That was the air tactical frequency for the fire.

I heard the air boss coordinate two tankers doing drops. High winds near the ground. They were refueling in Hemet.

TT

Joshua Tree trip

I went with some friends to Joshua Tree, and we had a good time. We stayed at the employee campground reserved by my friends mom.

The weather was especially nice. It wasn't too hot during the day, and the breeze was nice. It got very windy in the late afternoon lasting into the night.

And the stars were beautiful at night. We saw satellites pass overhead and some shooting stars.

5.0 Los Angeles quake felt as far as San Diego

== PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT ==

***This event has been revised.


Region: GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIF.
Geographic coordinates: 33.940N, 118.337W
Magnitude: 5.0 Ml
Depth: 13 km
Universal Time (UTC): 18 May 2009 03:39:36
Time near the Epicenter: 17 May 2009 20:39:36
Local standard time in your area: 18 May 2009 03:39:36

Location with respect to nearby cities:
2 km (1 miles) E (91 degrees) of Lennox, CA
2 km (1 miles) SSE (157 degrees) of Inglewood, CA
3 km (2 miles) NNE (23 degrees) of Hawthorne, CA
15 km (10 miles) SSW (213 degrees) of Los Angeles Civic Center, CA


ADDITIONAL EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
________________________________
event ID : CI 10410337

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist
For subsequent updates, maps, and technical information, see:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/ci10410337.php
or
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/

CISN Southern California Management Center
Caltech Seismological Laboratory
U.S. Geological Survey

http://www.cisn.org/scmc.html