The 4th of July is a happy day in my household, especially since 1973, when our second child was born in the wee hours of the holiday. Three years ago, July 4th was the celebratory peak of my first week of retirement (an event I'm still enjoying).

I installed Google analytics on this website in January. Today, nearly six months later, the latest report shows over two million page hits during nearly 600,000 visits by more than 250,000 people. So I make these observations about July 4th with the grateful awareness that 40% of the visits to this website are from outside the United States.

The only 4th of July that I spent abroad was in 1965 as a college student at the University of Sussex. I was enrolled in a summer program for American students to broaden our knowledge of English history and literature (I was an English major). A group of us smugly challenged some cricket-loving Brits to a game of baseball. Two hours later we, the humiliated losers, we're treating them to pints at the local pub.

Yesterday, with mixed feelings, I installed Google ads on my website. I hope this experiment in capitalism won't be annoying to visitors. I launched dshort.com in early 2005, and it has exceeded expectations in providing me with an absorbing hobby. However, my wife's attitude toward my daily updates is — how shall I say — less than enthusiastic. So I'm hoping some ad clicks will help subsidize the occasional dinner and a movie to ensure her continued tolerance for my retirement pursuits.