MIKE'S COMMENTARY
COMPUTER CLASSES AND COURSES
ADVANCED USERS CLASS NOTES
NEWS & NOTES BY SUE FOUST
MIKE'S COMMENTARY
COMPUTER CLASSES AND COURSES
ADVANCED USERS CLASS NOTES
NEWS & NOTES BY SUE FOUST
MIKE'S COMMENTARY AND SOME BITS OF WISDOM
The Date of Christmas
The idea to celebrate Christmas on December 25 originated in the 4th century. The Catholic Church wanted to eclipse the festivities of a rival pagan religion that threatened Christianity's existence. The Romans celebrated the birthday of their sun god, Mithras during this time of year. Although it was not popular, or even proper, to celebrate people's birthdays in those times, church leaders decided that in order to compete with the pagan celebration they would themselves order a festival in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Although the actual season of Jesus' birth is thought to be in the spring, the date of December 25 was chosen as the official birthday celebration as Christ's Mass so that it would compete head on with the rival pagan celebration. Christmas was slow to catch on in America. The early colonists considered it a pagan ritual. The celebration of Christmas was even banned by law in Massachusetts in colonial days.Mistletoe and Holly
Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Druids used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They would gather this evergreen plant that is parasitic upon other trees and used it to decorate their homes. They believed the plant had special healing powers for everything from female infertility to poison ingestion. Scandinavians also thought of mistletoe as a plant of peace and harmony. They associated mistletoe with their goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably derived from this belief. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.Poinsettias
Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They were named after America's first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He brought the plants to America in 1828. The Mexicans in the eighteenth century thought the plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. Thus the Poinsettia became associated with the Christmas season. The actual flower of the poinsettia is small and yellow. But surrounding the flower are large, bright red leaves, often mistaken for petals.The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Tree originated in Germany in the 16th century. It was common for the Germanic people to decorate fir trees, both inside and out, with roses, apples, and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to light a Christmas tree with candles. While coming home one dark winter's night near Christmas, he was struck with the beauty of the starlight shining through the branches of a small fir tree outside his home. He duplicated the starlight by using candles attached to the branches of his indoor Christmas tree. The Christmas tree was not widely used in Britain until the 19th century. It was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820's.Xmas
This abbreviation for Christmas is of Greek origin. The word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. During the 16th century, Europeans began using the first initial of Christ's name, "X" in place of the word Christ in Christmas as a shorthand form of the word. Although the early Christians understood that X stood for Christ's name, later Christians who did not understand the Greek language mistook "Xmas" as a sign of disrespect.The Candy Cane
Candy canes have been around for centuries, but it wasn't until around 1900 that they were decorated with red stripes and bent into the shape of a cane. They were sometimes handed out during church services to keep the children quiet. One story (almost certainly false) that is often told about the origin of the candy cane is as follows:
In the late 1800's a candy maker in Indiana wanted to express the meaning of Christmas through a symbol made of candy. He came up with the idea of bending one of his white candy sticks into the shape of a Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols of Christ's love and sacrifice through the Candy Cane. First, he used a plain white peppermint stick. The color white symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. Next, he added three small stripes to symbolize the pain inflicted upon Jesus before His death on the cross. There are three of them to represent the Holy Trinity. He added a bold stripe to represent the blood Jesus shed for mankind. When looked at with the crook on top, it looks like a shepherd's staff because Jesus is the shepherd of man. If you turn it upside down, it becomes the letter J symbolizing the first letter in Jesus' name. The candy maker made these candy canes for Christmas, so everyone would remember what Christmas is all about.Santa Claus
The original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century. He was very pious from an early age, devoting his life to Christianity. He became widely known for his generosity for the poor. But the Romans held him in contempt. He was imprisoned and tortured. But when Constantine became emperor of Rome, he allowed Nicholas to go free. Constantine became a Christian and convened the Council of Nicaea in 325. Nicholas was a delegate to the council. He is especially noted for his love of children and for his generosity. He is the patron saint of sailors, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. He is also, of course, the patron saint of children. The Dutch kept the legend of St. Nicholas alive. In 16th century Holland, Dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat. The Dutch spelled St. Nicholas as Sint Nikolaas, which became corrupted to Sinterklaas, and finally, in Anglican, to Santa Claus. In 1822, Clement C. Moore composed his famous poem, "A Visit from St. Nick," which was later published as "The Night Before Christmas." Moore is credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a red suit.Special Christmas Sites andGreetings
Jacquie Lawson Christmas Cards
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0212320003
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1017129949136
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=ER13610552More Interaction Christmas Greetings
http://www.care2.com/ecards/p/8343-5020-13904-8403
http://holidays.blastcomm.com/holidays03.html
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/Xmas/msantakey.htmlThe Ultimate In Home Decorating
http://media.putfile.com/Wizards-of-Winter-Christmas-Lights/eElf Yourself, A Friend Or Family Member (I Elfed Granddaughter Lydia.)
Watch Lydia -http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=62b496085b9503b67198f90G06121404
Then elf some one you know or start from scratch - http://www.elfyourself.com/Sing along with this one
http://badaboo.free.fr/merryxmas.swfClick on the different deer for each one's greeting - -
you can "turn each one on or off as you like.
http://joecarr.ca/xmas/graphics/icqxmas.swf
HANUKKAH The History of Hanukkah
December 15, 2006* - December 22, 2006
25 Kislev - 2 Tevet
*begins at sunsetHanukkah is celebrated for eight days and nights, starting on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar (which is November-December on the Gregorian calendar). In Hebrew, the word "Hanukkah" means "dedication."
The holiday commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews' 165 B.C.E. victory over the Hellenist Syrians. Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods.
In 168 B.C.E. the Jews' holy Temple was seized and dedicated to the worship of Zeus.
Some Jews were afraid of the Greek soldiers and obeyed them, but most were angry and decided to fight back.
The fighting began in Modiin, a village not far from Jerusalem. A Greek officer and soldiers assembled the villagers, asking them to bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a pig, activities forbidden to Jews. The officer asked Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, to take part in the ceremony. He refused, and another villager stepped forward and offered to do it instead. Mattathias became outraged, took out his sword and killed the man, then killed the officer. His five sons and the other villagers then attacked and killed the soldiers. Mattathias' family went into hiding in the nearby mountains, where many other Jews who wanted to fight the Greeks joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers whenever possible.
Judah Maccabee and his soldiers went to the holy Temple, and were saddened that many things were missing or broken, including the golden menorah. They cleaned and repaired the Temple, and when they were finished, they decided to have a big dedication ceremony. For the celebration, the Maccabees wanted to light the menorah. They looked everywhere for oil, and found a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. This gave them enough time to obtain new oil to keep the menorah lit. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle.
Amazing Hanukkah Feats
Ever since the days of the Maccabees, Jews around the world have been attempting incredible feats in honor of Hanukkah. None of the record attempts listed below have yet to make it into The Guinness Book of World Records, but students at the Chabad House at Rutgers University think that this might be the year that their 16-foot dreidel gets officially recognized by Guinness as the largest in the world.The Tallest Menorah
According to the Code of Jewish Law, menorahs can be a maximum of 20 cubits high (each cubit equals 18 inches), yet several organizations claim to have lit "The World's Largest Menorah." Who is the true winner? While no one has created an official, rabinically approved standard for measuring menorah height, the ultimate goal of these record attempts may not be competition, but rather encouraging people to light their own menorahs. "The real point is to create a highly visible symbol of the message of Hanukkah," says Rabbi Shemtov of the American Friends of Lubavitch.In 1997 a menorah was built in Latrun, near the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway. It was more than 60-feet tall, weighed 17 metric tons, and took up an area of 600-square meters. A rabbi was lifted in a crane each night of the holiday to light the candles. The menorah, which was made of metal pipes, was erected by the Chabad movement.
The 19th annual lighting of the National Hanukkah Menorah took place on December 13, 1998. The American Friends of Lubavitch claim that their 30-foot aluminum menorah is the largest in the world. Prominent dignitaries, including the president, members of Congress, ambassadors, and Jewish communal leaders have attended and participated in the lighting of the National Menorah.
The Lubavitch Youth Organization claimed to have lit the world's largest Hanukkah menorah in New York City's Central Park in 1998. The 32-foot high gold-colored steel structure, designed by artist Yaakov Agam, was inspired by a drawing of the original menorah in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem. Specially designed glass chimneys protect the lights from the Central Park winds. Due to the height of the menorah, it was lit nightly with the help of a Con Edison "cherry picker" crane.
The Biggest Pile of Jelly Doughnuts
On the first night of Hannukah in 1997, a 12-foot high pyramid made of 6,400 sufganiyot (fried jelly doughnuts) was erected near the Israeli town of Afula. The blob was dismantled later, and the sufganiyot were distributed to Israeli soldiers serving along the border with Lebanon. The attempt to get into The Guinness Book of World Records was sponsored by a food store chain. The Greatest Number of Simultaneously Spinning Dreidels On December 15, 1998, the Mayer Kaplan Jewish Community Center in Skokie, Illinois attempted to set the inaugural world's record for largest number of dreidels to be spun at one time. At least 200 people were needed to set the record.
Traditions - Dreidel
The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter inscribed on each side. In America the letters stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There". In Israel the letters mean "A Miracle Happened Here". Each player receives a given number of coins or candy pieces. Before spinning the dreidel, each player puts a fixed proportion of the amount received into the "kupah" or kitty. Each player in turn spins the dreidel. When the dreidel falls, it will fall on one of the 4 letters. According to the letter, the following will happen: Nun - no win / no lose Gimmel - take all (from the kitty) Heh - take half (from the kitty) Peh or Shin - lose (what you deposited) The game continues until players have run out of 'funds' or it is agreed to stop (anyone losing all funds is out of the game). The dreidel game was popular during the rule of Antiochus before the Maccabees' revolt, a time when soldiers executed any Jews who were caught practicing their religion. When pious Jews gathered to study the Torah, they had the top ready in case they heard soliders approaching. If the soldiers appeared, they would hide the holy scriptures and pretend to play with the dreidl. In Israel the dreidel is called a sivivon. The yiddish word "dreidel" is derived from the German word "drehen", or "turn".
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=1061
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Here's a recipe from a chemist at DuPont Labs in Wilmington, DE This will completely fireproof your live evergreen Christmas tree! Also included are a few tips on purchasing your tree. First, are listed the ingredients you’ll need...and where to find them!
Before we go into making the solution, here are a few hints for choosing the freshest tree. Keep in mind that most trees are cut six to ten weeks before you see them on the lots. But, that's only one problem. Most Christmas trees are sprayed with a green dye about 2 weeks before they are cut and shipped to the market. This dye is sprayed on ALL trees, the good, the bad and the ugly, making it hard for you to tell which is a healthy tree and which is not. However, all is not lost! When you're shopping for your tree, find and narrow your choices to a few trees that meet your needs for height and fullness. Then find the bad side of each tree and try to snap a very small branch with your fingers. This should be done at the bottom of the tree since this is the first place water would be in short supply. If the branch snaps easily, know right away that the tissue is dead and will be the same for the rest of the tree. DO NOT BUY THIS TREE!! If however, the branch doesn't snap easily, it's a good indication that the tissue is very much alive. But, don't stop there. Snap the branch anyway and look at the woody tissue under the bark. If the color is white or pale green, then the tissue is alive and the tree is healthy. If the wood looks to be brown or close to it, that means the tissue is in the process of dying, in which case you DO NOT want to buy that tree. No matter what, ALWAYS BUY A TREE THAT HAS LIVE TISSUE, either white or pale green. This means that the homemade preservative we're about to make will fireproof it! Now that you've found a healthy tree, it's time to fireproof it for use in your home! 1. Once you get home with your new tree,
get a saw and IMMEDIATELY make a fresh cut at the base of the tree trunk.
This is MANDATORY for any tree you've bought. Make your cut about
an inch above the bottom of the trunk.
That's all there is to it. If you follow
these steps faithfully, you will have a completely FIRE-PROOFED Christmas
Tree to enjoy throughout the holidays! And, for those inquisitive
minds, here's an explanation of why and how it works: The Karo syrup provides
the SUGAR, and it is only in the presence of sugar that tremendous amounts
of water will be taken up by the exposed tissue at the base of the trunk.
Without the sugar, only the smallest amount of water will be absorbed.
However, in the presence of sugar, you can expect more than one and one
half gallons of the solution to be absorbed by the tree during a 10 to
14 day period. But there's more. Thanks to the boron you have
supplied (in the Boraxo), the water and sugar will be moved to every needle
and branch of your tree. Remember, boron is what makes sugar move,
not only in trees, but vegetables, fruits and even house plants.
Then, there's the Epsom salt and the chelated iron. Epsom salt is
magnesium sulfate, and magnesium (together with iron) are the center molecules
in the process we know as chlorophyll production. By making the magnesium
and iron available to the tree, you are assuring yourself of green needles,
even if the tree was not sprayed at the tree farm before being shipped
to the market. But what about the chlorine bleach? Chlorine
stops a mold from forming when water and sugar stand for any period of
time. Here, the chlorine stops the mold from forming in the bucket
and the well of the tree stand where your preservative sits. Finally,
a little about the benefits from preserving your tree this way.
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COMPUTER CLASSES AND COURSES
Click here for Current Schedule and Registration
ADVANCED USER CLASS NOTES:
| KCnet Advanced Users Group:
Every
Wednesday
The starting time is 9:00 AM and we meet in Computer Lab 1 (The Big Room). Leadership is Mike Foust and anyone that wants to jump into the fray. Quite a day these past two Wednesdays. We got rollin' with some pics sent by Advanced User viewers and others gleaned by Mike. We then settled into our seats and took another wild tech ride. Among the many 'puter topics covered we... 11/29/07
... started exploring a new photo storage and photo sharing site -- Flickr We agreed to return to it later. 12/06/07
... reviewed articles about Russia agreeing
to take sites down that allow folks to download music without payment.
Kids not So Savy: http://education.zdnet.com/?p=678&tag=nl.e539 ... explored a Worldstart Tip about the Red
X.
So, if you've already tried everything you can think of and you still can't see any pictures, what are you supposed to do? Well, I have one more suggestion for you. By now, you should know that if you're having the "red x" problem in Outlook Express, you need to change some of the settings, but what if you use a Web based e-mail program like Yahoo!, Hotmail, Gmail or AOL? Well, in that case, the problem may lie in your Web browser. If you use Internet Explorer to check your e-mail, go to Tools, Internet Options and click on the Advanced tab. Look for the Multimedia section and make sure the box that says "Show Pictures" is checked. For Firefox, go to Tools, Options and click on the Web Features icon. Make sure the "Load Images" box is checked as well. This should correct all of the image settings for the next time you check your e-mail. Now, just in case, read here for even more clarification on this problem. 12/13/07
... reviewed the new Belarc feature CIS (Center for Internet Security). The CIS works on XP Pro and is a good program. You can still scan your computer regardless of your Operating System version for information and specifications of your hardware and software. http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html ... downloaded and installed a program that
allows you to schedule automatic shutdowns and startups.
We did some other interesting stuff too, but
you had to be there...
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.
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NEWS AND NOTES WITH SUE FOUST:
 What
a wonderful time of year!
KCnet’s family party was Friday evening with nearly 30 people in attendance. Music and food and great conversation were enjoyed by all. We’re planning next year’s education program and would like to hear from you with suggestions for classes. Also, keep in mind, we have a great facility for you to use for any kind of class you would like – invite a group in for a lesson in salad making, history, or salesmanship, for example. Our community room seats 50. KCnet responds to suggestions from you. As a non-profit community facility, we count on our members for support. Thank you for your continued relationships.
Until next time… 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, Lori Hoy,
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Karo
Syrup - local supermarket
Big
Al Dormuth brought Chocolate Covered Donuts along with another of my favorite
girls, a.k.a. Lil' Debbies. Jim Linn found two boxes of Super Duper
Cookies for us. Don Miller brought some "Out O' Sight" Home Made
Venison Bologna along with Cheese and Crackers. (Dagnabbit that was good.)
Wayne Wert treated us to very Delicious Christmas Cookies. Joe Marasco
stopped at Drunkin Donuts and nabbed an assortment of their scrumptious
Donut Holes. Kitty Laubscher brought the Light, Lively and Luscious
Pizzelles. Richard Novosell brought almost "too gorgeous" to eat
Assorted Wraps.
