On 1/30/2010 1:03 AM, Jeffrey D Angus wrote:
Bill Horne wrote:
During most of the Cold War, hams were a trained corps of
radio operators who could be pressed into service quickly
if needed ...

Ah, one of the few that truly understood the reasons for
Morse Code. (And the decided lack of it now.)

Since I'm an "old law" Extra, I think I'm entitled to say that the view
from the top of Morse Mountain wasn't worth the climb. I like Morse
"now and then", and I have a collection of old telegraph instruments,
but I agree that it's no longer practical.

However, the question now is "how do we keep ourselves on the
Pentagon's and the FCC's good side"?

American home buyers, fully aware that their futures and
their horizons are being altered by international forces
they can neither anticipate nor prepare for, are willing
to shortchange each other and give up their right to modify
their environment, in return for being able to keep anyone
else from doing so. The "paradise" they are purchasing is a
pale imitation of what it could be, but they'll settle for
it never being less.

"Those that would trade liberty for security deserve neither."

We must adapt or perish.

And flaunting CC&Rs is not the answer.

I think the problem, in a nutshell, is that it may eventually become
the only option. There's little vacant land to be had, and that means
builders will be tearing down existing houses to make way for the next
generation's McMansions, so even "old" areas will eventually come under
CC&R restrictions.

The larger question is, as I've said before, "Do we matter anymore"?
We're certainly not going to be drafted to pound brass alongside
another soldier who is talking to the U.S. on a suitcase satellite
while he faxes the daily readiness report, and we're not needed to
maintain the broadcast industry's equipment, which is now so reliable
that stations don't have to have a licensed engineer on the payroll.
The trend, as in all walks of life, is toward the bottom of the
educational barrel, with specialist such as we being relegated to
"maybe we'll call you" limbo at the same time automated test equipment
makes our specialty obsolete.

So, what now? We've had this debate before, and I'll repeat my
position: either we get a lot better at publicizing ourselves, and a
lot better at being available in emergencies so that we have something
to brag about, or we resign ourselves to a long decline.

Bill, W1AC