SENIOR NET NEWSLETTER 07/09/2000
We owe many thanks to this year's weather person that ordered last week's pleasant atmospheric conditions. Sue and I enjoyed some holiday time together. We did not get out to witness any live fireworks displays in the area nor did we get to partake the traditional family get-togethers of many past years. However, we did enjoy the televised Spectacular Fourth of July Productions. Ironic that the President had a great party right in his backyard but chose to board a big ship in the New York harbor to participate in their Fourth of July celebration. Personally, I enjoyed the family/neighbor feel from the DC show. However it is hard to beat the excitement that Tall Ships offer. Actually I would not have turned down an invitation to either. An evening of good patriotic music along with the noise and the sights produced from exploding fireworks sure helps one realize how fortunate we are with our lot in life. Because we are Americans we are guaranteed the right to exercise so many freedoms. We can make so many real life choices. We can, to a great degree, control our destiny and plan our course in life. This is not the case for too many. Praise! America the Beautiful, it is in so many ways.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Tuesday 7/11/00 @9:00 AM Tuesday Newbies (fourth session of six sessions) This is a very basic course in computer techniques for the internet. There is a $12.00 per course charge for this class. Class size is limited so participants should pre register. Skills taught in the beginner classes include mouse techniques like drag and drop, plus very beginner basics for email and browsing the Web. Dave Winkelman provides the leadership for this class. It is not necessary for attendees to have their own computers but it is very difficult to retain information without practice. You really would not try to learn to play the piano with out actual keyboard time.
Tuesday7/11/00 @5:00 PM Tuesday Evening Newbies (sixth session of six sessions) This is a very basic course in computer techniques for the internet. Registration is closed. Skills taught in the beginner classes include mouse techniques like drag and drop, plus very beginner basics for email and browsing the Web. Dave Winkleman provides the leadership for this class. It is not necessary for attendees to have their own computers but it is very difficult to retain information without practice. You really would not try to learn to play the piano with out actual keyboard time.
Wednesday 7/12/00 @9:00 AM Wednesday group of Senior Net Learners: This is an advanced group and we cover a lot of territory. We are kind of free flowing. You never know what will transpire. We will take a more thoroughlook at the new Netscape Communicator 6.0. It is still in the Beta stage but shows promise of being a good upgrade for the 4.0 versions. We will continue addressing Q&A from the group. Also I will have some new areas to explore. New participants are always welcome. It is not necessary for attendees to have their own computers but it sure helps with the learning curve. Mike Foust, and anyone else who wants to jump into the fray, provide the leadership for this session. Intermediate computer knowledge and Intermediate computer skills are necessary.
The Intermediate groups:Well so far we messed with the desktop, rearranged icons, changed backgrounds, created screen savers, learned to make shortcuts on the desktop, learned three ways to access the hard drive and discussed how our computers resemble a file cabinet in its organization. We learned a little bit about extensions like .gif, .wav, .mid, .txt, .doc, .jpeg, and .exe just to name a few. We found out that special programs already on our computers help us see these extensions. A couple of weeks ago we made folders and subfolders on the hard drive. We copied and pasted files into these folders. We learned the difference between cut/paste and copy/paste. We learned how to copy/borrow graphic and midi files from the internet and saved them to the new folders we made. Just last week we copied and pasted files from floppies to the hard drive and then we moved files from the hard drive to a floppy disk. We took floppies home with graphics and midis on them to put on the hard drives and then to use with email. We learned how to do thorough Scandisk and defrag. Yep!, we definitely learned enough to be verrrrry dangerous.
Wednesday 7/5/00 @ 4:00 PM Wednesday Intermediates (fifth session of six sessions) Some topics to be addressed include: Basics of maneuvering about the Windows Operating System, copy/paste, drag/drop, editing, saving to various drives, right mouse button options, creating folders and files, uninstalling, deleting, advanced email and browser techniques involving bookmarks, address books, forwarding messages, attachments, and HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). Dave Winkelman provides the leadership for this class. Beginner computer knowledge and beginner computer skills are necessary. A ton of info is packed into the six sessions.
Thursday 765/00 @ 9:00 AM Thursday Intermediates (fifth session of six sessions) Some topics to be addressed include: Basics of maneuvering about the Windows Operating System, copy/paste, drag/drop, editing, saving to various drives, right mouse button options, creating folders and files, uninstalling, deleting, advanced email and browser techniques involving bookmarks, address books, forwarding messages, attachments, and HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). Yea, we probably learned enough to be very dangerous. Doncha just Love it? Mike Foust provides the leadership for this class. Beginner computer knowledge and beginner computer skills are necessary. A ton of info is packed into the six sessions.
You might want to check with the KCnet desk for other classes scheduled for this summer.
CLICK HERE to go to the where am I pictures!
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: This one is from "TIPWORLD" ADVANCED FIND OPTIONS: DATE LAST ACCESSED AND FILE TYPE Need to locate a file, but can't remember its name? Windows' Find utility offers plenty of ways to track it down. Just fill in what you do know about the file on the Name & Location, Date, and Advanced tabs, and chances are, Windows can find the file you're looking for. Let's suppose the only things you can remember about a file are that you opened it last Friday and that it was a Microsoft Word document. Select Start, Find, Files Or Folders. On the Look In line, click the down arrow and select the drive on which the file is located. (If you aren't sure, select My Computer.) Click the Date tab, select Find All Files, click the down arrow next to this option, and select Last Accessed. Select Between and complete both date fields with last Friday's date. Finally, select the Advanced tab, click the down arrow next to the Of Type box, and select Microsoft Word. Click Find Now, and the resulting list will include all Microsoft Word documents opened last Friday.
Also from "TIPWORLD" The newest Communicator in the 4.0 Series A minor update of Communicator to version 4.73 is available for download. We wish we could say it differed radically from 4.72, but we'd be lying. The changes in this new version are all security-oriented--it doesn't include cosmetic or functionality changes. It's just a little more secure in its encryption scheme. For more information or to download, visit the Download area at (Not on KCnet's download page yet). www.netscape.com
INTERESTING SITES: A few months ago I received a plastic card in the snail mail to be used in a grocery stores. Of course on line registration was required with Priceline.com. I wasn't quite sure how it would work for one to declare one's price for a bottle of ketchup and a dozen Ball Park Dogs and then go to Scots or Wal-Mart to pick them up. Well I never found out because no stores in our area participate with Priceline.. Now I stumbled on this story in the Internet Daily Report. I have subscribe to the Infoseek Newsletter and it arrives every weekday through email. This article is about e-tailing. It infers that I could name my price for auto fuel. I'm offering it to you in case I do not have the time to explore the opportunity before prices come down. Maybe some of the readership will look into Priceline or already subscribe and can enlighten us. The blurb from the Internet Daily follows: Gas pumps up Priceline sales!! Priceline.com’s venture into prepaid gasoline sales has paid off by making the e-tailer the Web’s seventh-largest volume site for consumer spending by credit card, according to a report Friday by online card issuer NextCard (NXCD). Priceline’s (PCLN) listing among the top 30 online merchants was its first. "They came out of nowhere," said NextCard chief marketing officer. "Naming your own price for gasoline these days is a great idea, and NextCard users are the kind of leading-edge shoppers likely to respond to something like this. The top five online merchants, as measured by the number of online transactions by NextCard users, were Amazon.com (AMZN), America Online (AOL), EarthLink (ELNK), EBay.com (EBAY) and Barnes and Noble (BN), which Springer said "is slowly creeping up on the Amazon. They have been very quietly executing extremely well over the past six to eight weeks, and moving up," he added. www.priceline.com
WHILE WE'RE IN THE SHOPPING MOOD: Webshopper gives you PC World Reviews, Buyers Guides, price comparisons and unbiased advice -- all in one convenient location. Find the best products at the right price! To find out more go to: www.webshopper.com
HOME IMPROVEMENT: Here is an all inclusive home improvement site for products, projects, advice, and more. I suppose that our rural location will not have any contractors registered but other information and ideas for home improvements and fix-it solutions are usable. www.ourhouse.com/cgi-bin/index.jsp
IT'S ABOUT TIME The White House launched an updated site on the World Wide Web this past Friday. It should make it easier and safer for computer users to access government information from presidential pets to economic indicators. The nearly 6-year-old site -- http://www.whitehouse.gov -- receives 1.2 million hits a week. It was updated to make it easier for users to navigate with a click of a mouse and offers keyword searches from any page. At the White House Web site, users can send an e-mail to President Clinton, reserve a campsite in a national forest, apply for college financial aid and volunteer for the Peace Corps. There is information about passports, on-time performance of major airlines, presidential biographies and weather forecasts for any U.S. city. In his first address broadcast exclusively on the Web in June, Clinton announced that the government also is working to consolidate all 20,000 of its Web sites into a single Internet location. Going there right now will get you to a cover page announcing that the new page will be available Fall 2000. There are only a few links at this time and they take you to the old site www.whitehouse.gov. This time they did it right. www.firstgov.com, www.firstgov.net and www.firstgov.org all link to www.firstgov.gov. Good move because www.whitehouse.com, .net and .org are owned by the private sector. They still are distasteful and a disgrace to the office. Looks good/sounds good, try it you might like it. www.firstgov.gov
MOVIE BLOOPERS ONLINE: No Dick Clark but this one's fun anyway. No matter how many millions Hollywood spends to produce a feature length film, it seems the film will never be perfect. This site uses still video captures from popular movies to point out cinematic errors and inconsistencies from scene to scene. For example, in one "Ghost" scene, Demi Moore's hands are covered in clay one moment, then magically clean in the next. Or in "American Pie," a plastic keg cup magically changes colors between scenes. Your reaction, from "So what?!?" to "Wow!", is probably a good indication of how much you'll enjoy this site. Movies are sorted into genres, such as action, comedy, horror, and, of course, Star Wars, which gets its own category. It seems than even Mr. Lucas and company couldn't get those light sabers to work perfectly all the time. www.moviebloopers.com
SEARCH ENGINES: The next couple of sites deal with search engine stuff. Search engines that employ sophisticated web-crawling programs and analysis algorithms -- such as Google and Direct Hit -- haven't entirely taken over the search world. Directories of sites that have been viewed and summarized by editors are sometimes the best way to find what you want. The best-known of these directories are Yahoo, The Open Directory, and Ask Jeeves. www.yahoo.com dmoz.org www.ask.com
WebSideStory and its statistics gathering service StatMarket recently reported that the most popular search engines are: Yahoo! AltaVista Lycos Excite MSN WebCrawler GoTo Snap HotBot www.websidestory.com/ www.statmarket.com/
Top 50 Sort Of The Lycos 50 is a daily report of the most common searches people made using the Lycos search engine. Actually, it isn't exactly that. Lycos first filters out "adult" items and product names such as "Nike" and "Reebok." Most of the time, what remains is headed by entertainment names -- Pokemon or the latest singing sensation -- with sports and movies occupying most of the rest. http://50.lycos.com
Personal Jeeves is the customizable part of the Ask Jeeves natural-language-query service. So far, this free new feature offers only a custom newspaper, with weather, sports, stocks, horoscope, and news aimed at your particular interests. Bets are that it will sport custom ads and other finely-focused content in the future. http://pj.ask.com/FormsLogin.asp?
The GO Guides are part of the GO.com site. It's a collection of volunteered reviews by GO visitors, organized into categories much like those of Yahoo or other well-known directories. This makes it a sort of competitor to the Open Directory. GO claims an advantage over other community directories because of its anti-spam and anti-porn policies. www.go.com/WebDir
DIDJA KNOW?: Why is someone who is in the know considered "hip?" This word originated with the beatniks in the 1950s and it meant that you were "cool," with the perspective of an outsider, usually with very non-conforming politics and a lifestyle to match. Over the years it's been modified to mean an especially acute awareness of what's going on. All of which is pretty funny since it originated with a word that first meant conformity, to be in lockstep with everyone else. Hip is a variation of "hep," a word used by jazz musicians in the 1930s that also meant to be in the know. But hep itself came from being in the know in a way that jazz musicians, beatniks, hippies or hip people today would definitely not regard as cool. It originated with the military cadence, "hep, two, three, four." Being hep, in soldier talk, meant that you were in perfect step. Definitely square. Source: DICTIONARY OF WORD AND PHRASE ORIGINS by W & M Morris
FAST FACTS: Lloyds of London, the famous insurance syndicate, has written a lot of odd and interesting policies in its day. They have insured against: The Loch Ness monster being captured Elvis Presley being found alive The possibility that the audience for a group of comedians would laugh itself to death Children's television host Pinky Lee losing his trademark lisp Source: HOW THE CADILLAC GOT ITS FINS
WHAT IS THE APPLE OF ONE'S EYE? It is the pupil, which is likened to an apple because, in the ninth century, it was believed to be a solid round mass.
HOW OLD IS THE HULA-HOOP? The practice of gyrating with hoops made of grapevines originated in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The name hula, however, was not used until the 1700s , when British and American missionaries returned home with tales of island hoop-dancers. The modern plastic Hula-Hoop was developed in the 1950s by Richard P. Knerr and Arthur K. ("Spud") Melvin, owners of the Wham-O Manufacturing Company in California. It retailed for $1.98 when the Hula-Hoop craze hit in 1958.
WHAT GREAT FEAT MADE ISAAC VAN AMBURGH A CIRCUS HEADLINER IN THE LATE 1830S? He was the first animal trainer to put his head in a lion's mouth.
WHAT DID THE SWASTIKA STAND FOR BEFORE HITLER APPROPRIATED IT? Before it became the Nazi symbol of Aryan superiority, the swastika had several meanings, all positive. In Sanskrit, the swastika means "conductive to well-being." The Aryans of India believed swastikas represented the sun's motion across the sky, a symbol of its goodness and regenerative prosperity and happiness. Early Christians disguised the cross as a swastika to avoid persecution. North American Indian tribes used a similar symbol as a sign of peace.
WHY DO ONIONS MAKE PEOPLE CRY? When an onion is sliced, a gas called propanethiol-S is released into the air. This gas mixes with the water in the eye and forms a weak acid. The acid, as you can imagine, irritates the eye and causes the tear ducts to flood the eye in an attempt to wash away the acid. This flooding, as you know, makes it appear that you're crying.
IF THE MOON PASSES BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE SUN EVERY MONTH, WHY DOESN'T IT ECLIPSE THE SUN? The orbit of the moon around the earth is tilted at an angle of about 6 degrees from the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun. As a result, the moon is usually above or below the line between the earth and the sun - except on certain predictable occasions.
WHAT IS THE RANK OF HANDS IN POKER? Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pairs, One Pair, and High Card (no pair).
WHAT WAS ELVIS PRESLEY'S FIRST NUMBER ONE HIT? "Heartbreak Hotel" in February 1956. For 16 months following, he had a record - sometimes two - on the nation's Top 10 list.
ON THE $1 BILL, WHAT DO THE WORDS ANNUIT COEPTIS MEAN? The motto above the eye on the dollar bill means, "He (God) Favored Our Undertakings." The eye represents the all-seeing deity. The pyramid symbolizes strength; it is unfinished to represent the work ahead.
QUOTES: Every religion is good that teaches man to be good. -- The Rights of Man
My country is the world, and my religion is to do good. -- The Rights of Man
"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." --Carl Rogers
"I'll not listen to reason. Reason is always what someone else has got to say." --Elizabeth C. Gaskell
"I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money." -- Arthur Godfrey
THIS WEEK'S CUTIES:
Excerpt from the Motley Fool Newsletter Top Five Things Oracle Unexpectedly Found in Microsoft's Trash Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison acknowledged last week that his company paid private investigators to rifle through the trash of a trade group with ties to Microsoft. Here are the top five things those detectives unexpectedly found..
Cheap bootleg copy of "Revenge of the Nerds"
Company press appearance handbook: "Innovating New Ways to Innovate: Focusing on theCustomers' Focused Desire That We Innovate New Innovations"
Draft business proposal: "What It 'Theoretically' Would Cost to Purchase the Supreme Court"
The largest stash of pocket protectors in North America
And the number one thing that Oracle unexpectedly found in Microsoft's trash...
The most lifelike Larry Ellison voodoo doll money can buy
The next batch are from Bud Casselberry. The Doctor stuff is a hoot.
A Census Taker says, "We are trying to find out how many people are in the United States." "Well," the man answered. "You're wasting your time with me, I have no idea."
Billy's mother was called into the school one day by the principal. "We're very worried about Billy," he said. "He goes around all day 'cluck, cluck, clucking'." "That's right," said Billy's mother. "He thinks he's a chicken." "Haven't you taken him to a psychiatrist?" "Well, we would, but we need the eggs."
Now the Dr. stuff. Bud says, "This was sent to me by Dr. Bill Hamm, so it must be authentic." A few of the quotes are a bit graphic but then "that's medical terminalogy for ya." Actual Medical Records: The baby was delivered, the cord clamped and cut and handed to the pediatrician, who breathed and cried immediately.
Exam of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.
Rectal exam revealed a normal size thyroid.
She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until 1989 when she got a divorce.
Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.
The skin was moist and dry.
The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of gas and crashed.
I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.
The patient lives at home with his mother, father, and pet turtle, who is presently enrolled in day care three times a week.
Bleeding started in the rectal area and continued all the way to Los Angeles.
She is numb from her toes down.
Exam of genitalia was completely negative except for the right foot.
While in the emergency room, she was examined, X-rated and sent home.
The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
The patient was to have a bowel resection. However he took a job as a stockbroker instead.
Occasional, constant, infrequent headaches.
Coming from Detroit, this man has no children.
Examination reveals a well developed male lying in bed with his family in no distress.
Patient was alert and unresponsive.
When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.
AND FINALLY A teacher asked one of her pupils, "What's the nation's capital?" The reply was, "Washington DC" On being asked what the "DC" stood for, the pupil added, "Dot Com!"