KCNET NEWSLETTER
11/20/05
COMMENTS AND CLASS SCHEDULES

MIKE'S COMMENTARY
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
NEWS & NOTES BY SUE FOUST
 

MIKE'S COMMENTARY AND SOME BITS OF WISDOM
 

THE FIRST WINTER 1620-1621 Arrival and Exploration The Mayflower sighted land on November 9, 1620. It proved to be Cape Cod, which although the right latitude, was well east of their original destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. However, an encounter the following day with the shoals which lie off the outer Cape, as well as the lateness of the year, persuaded them to remain in the Cape area. The Mayflower came to anchor in what is today Provincetown harbor on November 11, after 66 days at sea. That day the male passengers signed the famous agreement we now know as the "Mayflower Compact." While the Mayflower remained in the harbor at the tip of Cape Cod, the people went ashore to shake off the months of travel, to wash their linen and to explore what they perceived to be a wilderness. A shallop -- a small coastal craft -- had been stowed below decks in sections. The pieces of the shallop were unshipped and brought ashore to be put together. This took 16 or 17 days. While the Pilgrims were waiting for the shallop to be reassembled, sixteen armed men set out on November 15 under the command of Captain Myles Standish to explore the immediate area. The explorers saw some Native Americans from afar, but were unable to catch up with them. They discovered a buried cache of Indian corn and a kettle, which they took (but paid for the following June), and the remains of a fortification. As the wandered William Bradford was caught in the noose of a deer trap. A second expedition, in which 34 men took part, used the shallop to proceed further along the inner Cape. They found many signs of the native population which had fled at their approach, more corn and the burial of a European man. Plymouth Founded It was on a third expedition that the exploring party arrived in Plymouth harbor, where they finally found a suitable place for their permanent habitation. On December 6, ten men braved the frigid winter weather to take the shallop once again along the coast. They found a Native American burial ground and some unoccupied dwellings before camping for the night. At daybreak on December 9 they were attacked by the local inhabitants in a brief exchange of arrows and musket shot, but no one was harmed. The party then proceeded in the shallop only to be caught in a rising storm. First the heavy seas broke the rudder hinges; then their mast split into three pieces. It was all they could do to maneuver the shallop into a nearby harbor and land on an island where they spent a cold and rainy night. The following day being the Sabbath, they did little but explore the island. It was later named "Clark's Island" apparently after Thomas Clarke, the mate of the Mayflower. On Monday, the 11th of December, they went ashore in Plymouth where they found cleared fields and plenty of fresh running water. It was at this time that the famous landing on Plymouth Rock was presumed to have occurred, although there is no record of it in the original accounts. The explorers then returned to the Mayflower to say that they had, at last, found a suitable place to build their new community. The Mayflower arrived in Plymouth harbor on December 16, 1620, and construction on the settlement began on the 23rd. The First Winter at Plymouth The Mayflower remained in New England with the colonists throughout the terrible first winter. Although the ship was cold, damp and unheated, it did provide a defense against the rigorous New England winter until houses could be completed ashore. Nevertheless, exposure, malnutrition and illness led to the death of half the group, both passengers and crewmen. There were four deaths (and one birth - Peregrine White) during the month they spent at the tip of Cape Cod. The remainder of the winter saw the deaths of another 40 or 41 colonists. At the lowest ebb, only seven people were healthy enough to tend the sick. On January 14, a fire destroyed the thatched roof on their first structure or "rendezvous" but fortunately none of the sick people that lay within were hurt. A second fire a month later was put out without incident. Despite all of the tragedies and hardships, the Pilgrims persevered in building their new settlement. The Village street was laid out with two rows of plots for their houses and gardens. A platform was erected on the top of the hill above the village, and six cannon installed for defense. The colonists had observed Native Americans near the settlement in February, but it wasn't until Friday, March 16, that the two peoples actually met. It was then that the famous encounter occurred when Samoset, an Abenaki Sagamore from what is now Maine, and another man entered the little village and said "Welcome, Englishmen." Samoset had learned English from the English fishermen who crossed the North Atlantic each year to fish for cod. He told the Pilgrims of the great plague which had killed all of the Patuxet people who had previously occupied the cleared farmland where the new colony sat, and of the ill-feeling the local Native Americans had towards the English following some kidnapping by Thomas Hunt, an English captain who had visited the area a few years before. During Samoset's visit, the colonists were busy planting their garden seeds. On March 22nd, Samoset returned with another Native American, Squanto, who was one of the men who had been captured by Hunt. His adventures abroad, from slavery in Spain, escape to London and return to America as a guide in the employ of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, had taught him well about the ways of the Europeans. Squanto, or Tisquantum, became the little colony's chief interpreter and agent in their interaction with the Native Peoples. His arrival paved the way for a visitation by Massasoit, the regional leader among the native people, the Wampanoag. After an exchange of greetings and gifts, the two peoples signed a treaty of peace which would last over fifty years. Foods Available to the Pilgrims For their 1621 Thanksgiving The following is a fairly complete list of the foods available to the Pilgrims during the three-day Thanksgiving harvest celebration.  FISH: cod, bass, herring, shad, bluefish, and lots of eel. SEAFOOD: clams, lobsters, mussels, and very small quantities of oysters BIRDS: wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge, and other miscellaneous waterfowl; they were also known to have occasionally eaten eagles (which "tasted like mutton" according to Winslow in 1623.) OTHER MEAT: venison (deer), possibly some salt pork or chicken. GRAIN: wheat flour, Indian corn and corn meal; barley (mainly for beer-making). FRUITS: raspberries, strawberries, grapes, plums, cherries, blueberries, gooseberries (these would have been dried, as none would have been in season). VEGETABLES: small quantity of peas, squashes (including pumpkins), beans NUTS: walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, hickory nuts, ground nuts HERBS and SEASONINGS: onions, leeks, strawberry leaves, currants, sorrel, yarrow, carvel, brooklime, liverwort, watercress, and flax; from England they brought seeds and probably planted radishes, lettuce, carrots, onions, and cabbage. Olive oil in small quantities may have been brought over, though the Pilgrims had to sell most of their oil and butter before sailing, in order to stay on budget. OTHER: maple syrup, honey; small quantities of butter, Holland cheese; and eggs. Brief History There are only two references to the fall or harvest celebration that we know today as the "First Thanksgiving." It is not known exactly when the event occurred, but it was between September 21 or 22 when a group of Plymouth men returned from Massachusetts, and November 9, 1621, when the ship Fortune arrived. "Mourt" refers to the name "G. Mourt" who signed the dedication at the beginning of the book. It is thought that this was George Morton, who arrived on the Anne in 1623. The tradition of the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving is steeped in myth and legend. Few people realize that the Pilgrims did not celebrate Thanksgiving the next year, or any year thereafter, though some of their descendants later made a "Forefather's Day" that usually occurred on December 21 or 22. Several Presidents, including George Washington, made one-time Thanksgiving holidays. In 1827, Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale began lobbying several Presidents for the instatement of Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but her lobbying was unsuccessful until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln finally made it a national holiday with his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation. Today, our Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November. This was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941), who changed it from Abraham Lincoln's designation as the last Thursday in November (which could occasionally end up being the fifth Thursday and hence too close to Christmas for businesses). But the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving began at some unknown date between September 21 and November 9, most likely in very early October. The date of Thanksgiving was probably set by Lincoln to somewhat correlate with the anchoring of the Mayflower at Cape Cod, which occurred on November 21, 1620 (by our modern Gregorian calendar--it was November 11 to the Pilgrims who used the Julian calendar).

 
 
 
 

THERE'S A LAW TO EXPLAIN THAT... Churchill's Commentary on Man:     Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on as though nothing has happened. Ciardi's Poetry Law:     Whenever in time, and wherever in the universe, any man speaks or writes in any detail about the technical management of a poem, the resulting irascibility of the reader's response is a constant. Clarke's First Law:     When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.      Corollary (Asimov): When the lay public rallies round an idea that is denounced by distinguished but elderly scientists, and supports that idea with great fervor and emotion -- the distinguished but elderly scientists are then, after all, right. Clarke's Second Law:     The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible. Clarke's Third Law:     Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Clarke's Law of Revolutionary Ideas:     Every revolutionary idea -in Science, Politics, Art or Whatever- evokes three stages of reaction. They may be summed up by the three phrases:        1. "It is completely impossible, don't waste my time."        2. "It is possible, but it is not worth doing."        3. "I said it was a good idea all along." Clark's First Law of Relativity:     No matter how often you trade dinner or other invitations with in-laws, you will lose a small fortune in the exchange.      Corollary: Don't try it: you cannot drink enough of your in-laws' booze to get even before your liver fails. Clark's Law:     It's always darkest just before the lights go out. Cleveland's Highway Law:     Highways in the worst need of repair naturally have low traffic counts, which results in low priority for repair work. Clopton's Law:     For every credibility gap there is a gullibility fill. Clyde's Law:     If you have something to do, and you put it off long enough, chances are someone else will do it for you. Cohen's Law:     What really matters is the name you succeed in imposing on the facts -- not the facts themselves. Cohen's Laws of Politics: Law of Alienation:     Nothing can so alienate a voter from the political system as backing a winning candidate. Law of Ambition:     At any one time, thousands of borough councilmen, school board members, attorneys, and businessmen -- as well as congressmen, senators, and governors -- are dreaming of the White House, but few, if any of them, will make it. Law of Attraction:     Power attracts people but it cannot hold them. Law of Competition:     The more qualified candidates who are available, the more likely the compromise will be on the candidate whose main qualification is a non threatening incompetence. Law of Inside Dope:     There are many inside dopes in politics and government. Law of Lawmaking:     Those who express random thoughts to legislative committees are often surprised and appalled to find themselves the instigators of law. Law of Permanence:     Political power is as permanent as today's newspaper. Ten years from now, few will know or care who the most powerful man in any state was today. Law of Secrecy:     The best way to publicize a governmental or political action is to attempt to hide it. Law of Wealth:     Victory goes to the candidate with the most accumulated or contributed wealth who has the financial resources to convince the middle class and poor that he will be on their side. Law of Wisdom:     Wisdom is considered a sign of weakness by the powerful because a wise man can lead without power but only a powerful man can lead without wisdom. Cohn's Law:     The more time you spend in reporting on what you are doing, the less time you have to do anything. Stability is achieved when you spend all your time doing nothing but reporting on the nothing you are doing. Cole's Law:     Thinly sliced cabbage. Mr. Cole's Axiom:     The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing. Comins's Law:     People will accept your idea much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first. Committee Rules:    1. Never arrive on time, or you will be stamped a beginner.    2. Don't say anything until the meeting is half over; this stamps you as being wise.    3. Be as vague as possible; this prevents irritating the others.    4. When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.    5. Be the first to move for adjournment; this will make you popular -- it's what everyone is waiting for.  Commoner's Three Laws of Ecology:    1. No action is without side-effects.    2. Nothing ever goes away.    3. There is no free lunch.  Law of Computability     Any system or program, however complicated, if looked at in exactly the right way, will become even more complicated. Law of Computability Applied to Social Science:     If at first you don't succeed, transform your data set. Laws of computer programming:    1. Any given program, when running, is obsolete.    2. Any given program costs more and takes longer.    3. If a program is useful, it will have to be changed.    4. If a program is useless, it will have to be documented.    5. Any program will expand to fill available memory.    6. The value of a program is proportional to the weight of its output.    7. Program complexity grows until it exceeds the capabilities of the programmer who must maintain it.    8. Any non-trivial program contains at least one bug.    9. Undetectable errors are infinite in variety, in contrast to detectable errors, which by definition are limited.   10. Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.   11. Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology: There's always one more bug.  First Maxim of Computers:     To err is human, but to really screw things up requires a computer. Connolly's Law of Cost Control:     The price of any product produced for a government agency will be not less than the square of the initial Firm Fixed-Price Contract. Connolly's Rule for Political Incumbents:     Short-term success with voters on any side of a given issue can be guaranteed by creating a long-term special study commission made up of at least three divergent interest groups. Conrad's Conundrum:     Technologie don't transfer. Considine's Law:     Whenever one word or letter can change the entire meaning of a sentence, the probability of an error being made will be in direct proportion to the embarrassment it will cause.

~HMMM~  Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow old,  You grow old because you stop laughing. & He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.

 
KCNET CLASSES

NEWS AND NOTES WITH SUE FOUST:

Recent happenings at KCnet: After testing some new wireless equipment, we have fully launched “near-line-of-sight” technology for our Internet Service.  Previously, our coverage area was severely restricted by the requirement for line-of-sight from our antenna transmitter to your antenna receiver.  Now, with this new technology, we can provide Internet service to homes and businesses that are in the area and not necessarily possess the ability to physically see our transmitter. Of course, terrain plays a part in our service.  Depending upon elevation, we can now provide broadband service from Mill Hall to Avis.  As the signal projects out, it also projects in a downward direction, so the further you are from the antenna the better it is to be at a lower elevation - lower than the top level of the beam.  If you picture the beam of a flashlight, you may be able to imagine how you could be above or below a signal, even though you are within the physical distance of coverage.  Raise or lower the flashlight and you can see different areas. Our transmitters for this new service are on the SusqueView tower, the tower above Castanea on Bald Eagle Mountain, and on the KCnet rooftop. We have received loans from both the Clinton County Revolving Fund and from USDA Rural Development for Community Facilities.  The loan will be used for wireless equipment, classroom enhancements, network equipment and to extend our fiber network in downtown Lock Haven.  We are presently soliciting businesses who may be interested and who are in the same general area.  Fiber is expensive, so connecting a group as opposed to single businesses makes good financial sense.  Running fiber to one business can cost KCnet $5,000.  Connecting 3 could be $7,000 or even less.  Our monthly fees for fiber start at $50 per month for a 10 megabit connection, so it’s a good deal if you can get it! And, speaking of classroom, our most recent venture into the world of Continuing Education Credits and College Credit Courses is moving right along.  Thanks to a grant from the State Department of Community and Economic Development, we are able to offer 2 additional levels of computer training:  first level is worth 28 continuing ed credits and/or 4 college credits.  Cost for the course is $200, with scholarships available for up to ½ of this cost.  If you want college credits, they are an additional $200 and are transferable to any university.  Cost for the first and second level is $350, again with scholarship available.  Continuing Education Credits equal 42; college credits are 7 at a cost of $350.  Our grant covers individuals over 21 years of age; however, we can purchase additional courses at $117 for age 21 and under students.  Call us for details or to take an assessment test before signing up for the course.  You may be able to test out of parts of the course and save some additional money.  Talk with Steve Stewart or Tammy Harrington.  They are in charge of the program.   If you have questions or if you want me to cover a topic in one of these news spots, please let me know.  Thanks for being there! Until next week, KCnet Board Of Directors Officers:   President Bill Raco, Vice President Bob Rolley, Secretary Jon Ahrens,  Treasurer Don Miller and Past President Judy Yoho.   Other members of the board:  Carolyn Carl, R.  Keith Kelly, Paul Korn, Donna Lannan, Amy Lapriola, Tom Livingston,  Ray McGill, and Rich Wykoff.

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