MIKE'S COMMENTARY THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE NEWS & NOTES BY SUE FOUST
MIKE'S COMMENTARY AND/OR BITS OF WISDOM:
It takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them.
I'm in the mood for a good story with a moral that isn't too preachy. I was fortunate to have a "Mr. Miller" in my youth. I hope you can remember a "Mr. Miller" too.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo, Mr.. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas . sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"
"Fine Gittin' stronger alla' time."
"Good. Anything I can help you with?"
"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."
"Would you like to take some home?"
"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it."
"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?"
"Not zackley . but almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble."
"Sure will. Thanks Mr.. Miller."
Mrs.. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps."
I left the stand smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering.
Several years went by, each more rapid that the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr.. Miller had died. They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts ... all very professional looking. They approached Mrs.. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs.. Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket. "Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about! They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size ... they came to pay their debt."
"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.
Moral: We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.
~ Thanks to Gary n' Patti for reminding me of this story. ~
Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that takes our breath.
Up the dale and down the bourne, O’er the meadow swift we fly; Now we sing, and now we mourn, Now we whistle, now we sigh.
By the grassy-fringed river Through the murmuring reeds we sweep, Mid the lily-leaves we quiver, To their very hearts we creep.
Now the maiden rose is blushing At the frolic things we say, While aside her cheek we ’re rushing, Like some truant bees at play.
Through the blooming groves we rustle, Kissing every bud we pass,— As we did it in the bustle, Scarcely knowing how it was.
Down the glen, across the mountain, O’er the yellow heath we roam, Whirling round about the fountain Till its little breakers foam.
Bending down the weeping willows, While our vesper hymn we sigh; Then unto our rosy pillows On our weary wings we hie.
There of idlenesses dreaming, Scarce from waking we refrain, Moments long as ages deeming Till we ’re at our play again.
~ George Darley (1795-1846) ~
Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none. & Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Group participants will not be required to commit personal dollars as formal Investing Clubs do. We will use fictitious money as we learn investing on line. The idea is to share investing experiences and knowledge. Bring a friend.
This session will be free, then a $5.00 fee after that. Any additional group participation charges will be determined by costs incurred as direct overhead to maintain the sessions and will depend upon group decisions and requirements. See you Wednesday, July 13 @ 6:00 PM.
KCNET CLASSES:
Beginner Windows 9x/XP 4 session course Topics include an introduction to all parts of the computer, learning about the desktop, mouse features and operation, and features and operation of the keyboard. Also creating shortcut icons, using recycle bin, wallpaper and screen savers, toolbars and taskbars, drag and drop, using window features (minimize, maximize, resize, etc), control panel, accessing the different drives, and more. There is always time for questions and general exploration.
Intermediate Windows 9x/XP 4 session course Topics include organization of windows programs, creating and organizing folders, file extensions, saving files from Internet, folder and file views, formatting floppy disks, installing programs, download programs from Internet, HTML email, uninstall vs delete, scandisk and defrag, email attachments, and more. There is always time for questions and general exploration.
Advanced Windows 9x/XP 4 session course Topics include a review of the management of folders and files, an introduction to photo manipulation, introduction to web page creation, using the sound recorder, attaching recordings to emails, introduction to eyeball cams and Internet transmission, and an introduction to burning your own CDs. There is always time for questions and general exploration.
KCnet Users Group: (formerly know as "Senior Net Learners" most recently called "Advanced Class"). I wanted to call this class "The Abusers Group", but Sue would not hear of that. Attendees are persistent in their search for computer knowledge. They ask great questions and present interesting challenges. The cost for this class is $0.00 for members of KCnet and $2.00 per session for non KCnet members. There is no set format for the sessions. Occasionally we will take a specific subject and do a detailed study over a period of successive weeks. Don't be afraid to ask questions. The folks that have been attending for awhile are always happy for a review and in most cases new or better ways to do things will surface. Questions stimulate in-depth exploration with the usual result being an understanding of how and why. We welcome new attendees from the Advanced sessions and our forever growing KCnet membership. This is an advanced group and we cover a lot of territory. We are kind of free flowing. You never know what will transpire. It is not necessary for attendees to have their own computers but it sure helps with the learning curve. KCnet Advanced Class computer knowledge and Advanced Class computer skills are necessary.
OTHER CLASSES: CLICK HERE FOR ORIENTATION - BEGINNERS - INTERMEDIATE - ADVANCED CLICK HERE FOR SCANNING - MAC- GENEALOGY - WEB PAGE - EXCEL - WORD - DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY - PHOTO MANIPULATION - OTHER SPECIALTIES
THIS WEEK'S CLASS SCHEDULE
KCnet Users Group: Every Wednesday The starting time is 9:00 AM on this Wednesday June 15. We meet in Computer Lab 1 (The Big Room). Leadership is Mike Foust and anyone that wants to jump into the fray. Good day last Wednesday - we: Viewed some fun sites and movies.
Reviewed the latest in Virus releases.The series of Mytob were studied in some depth. Keep that antivirus program current. We reviewed an evaluative study on Spyware Programs performed and published by CNet. Their top three pics were all freeware. Read and download the latest editions. (One should use at least two Spyware Programs regularly.) http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3667_7-6247001.html?tag=nl.e404
Talked about Bit Torrent. Purveyors of the applications that produce pop-up ads on PC screens and track browsing habits have discovered BitTorrent as a new distribution channel. According to observers of the trend, videos and music that hide adware and spyware are increasingly being offered for download on various BitTorrent Web sites. See the writeup in the Technology Section of this Newsletter.
Discussed the Adobe flaw. The affected products are the Windows versions of Adobe Photoshop CS, Adobe Creative Suite 1.0 and Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, Adobe said. The San Jose, Calif.-based company said it is not aware of any malicious code that exploits the vulnerability. If you use any of these programs you should access the Adobe site and download their patch.
Downloaded the latest Microsoft release - MSN Search Toolbar (Free) We installed this program and everyone, I mean everyone, liked it. Even if one is not an Internet Explore user it works great for just plain Windows searches. This ranks right up on top with the Microsoft anti spyware program and XP. 1) Three new Search bars: · Search the web with MSN's new search engine · Search your Outlook · Search your hard drive 2) Automatic Form Fill, which will fill out any web form per your specifications. This, eliminates the need from 3rd party form filler programs such as Gator. 3) Tabbed browsing makes doing in-depth searches online so much easier 4) Pop-up stopper 5) Highlighted web search to help you locate your search results quickly More on the Tech page of this Newsletter or download: http://toolbar.msn.com/
Ran out of time for Netscape 8.0.1 We will get to it during the next session.
This class often becomes idea swapping and we learn by sharing our many experiences and I'll tell you all again, that really happened this week. Thanks to all that brought in suggestions, asked questions, and helped with explanations.
OTHER KCNET CLASSES STARTING SOON Call KCnet 893-8111 to register
EXPLORING CONNECTIONS KCnet COMPUTER CAMP For Middle School Students (finished grades 6, 7, or 8) Week 2 August 8-12
Music Creation Starting when four students register--call 893-8111 to register. Participants should be able to play a piano/keyboard by sight or ear. Instructors: Carsten "Jon" Ahrens & Mike Foust
Orientation to KCnet One-Session Class – No Charge for KCnet Members Third Wednesday of Every Month 6:00 – 8:00 pm Instructor: Bob Fenton
MAC User Group Meets 2nd Wednesday of each month Time is 4:30 PM Instructor: Clair Falls
For more class details and to register visit: http://www.kcnet.org/class/ Registration can be done online, simply click on the course you are interested in and enter the information requested. Registration can be done via phone 893-8111.
NEWS AND NOTES WITH SUE FOUST:
Until next week…
KCnet Board Of Directors Officers: President Judy Yoho, Vice President Bill Raco, Secretary Donna Lannan, and Treasurer Don Miller. Other members of the board: Carsten Jon Ahrens, Fred Bierly, R. Keith Kelly, Paul Korn, Amy Lapriola, Tom Livingston, Ray McGill, Bob Rolley, and Rich Wykoff.