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MIKE'S COMMENTARY AND SOME BITS OF WISDOM
 

Subject: 21 Reminders from Children  This list has a bit of a male perspective,  but most young male and female children pretty much view the world through a kaleidoscope that doesn't present gender.  It is really a good list - made me think.  Mike 1. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Even when there's not a prize in the bottom of the box. 2. Sometimes it's best to be completely blunt with people, as you used to be with relatives who wanted you to do something embarrassing or tedious for a shiny quarter. 3. Asking questions is how you figure things out. Lots and lots of questions. 4. An older, wiser Gordie Lachance says in Stand By Me, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12." Lachance is right. The trick is to try to be the friend you were when you were 12: fun-loving and loyal, with no strings attached. 5. Playing is work. Approach your downtime with all the seriousness of a 5-year-old with a secret treasure map. 6. Real guys don't dip their toes in the water. They jump right in. 7. Girls have cooties. Well, the ones you meet in certain bars do, anyway. 8. You hated it when a grown-up told you, "We'll see." It's still unacceptable. Don't say it yourself. 9. The only way to know how something works is to completely disassemble it. (This is still good advice when tackling a complex problem. Your plasma TV? Not so much). 10. There's a reason they don't give credit cards to 8-year-olds. You're supposed to save up money before you buy a new toy. 11. Your body was designed for throwing baseballs, shooting hoops, and jumping off diving boards and stuff. In the secret language of children, the word "fitness" doesn't exist. It's called "having fun." 12. Your world can be half-real and half-imaginary. 13. Homework blows. Bring work home with you and it'll ruin your night. And your marriage. And your family. And your life. 14. Too much of anything will give you a tummy ache. Like, say, bourbon. 15. If there's even the slightest doubt, hit the potty before you leave. 16. The coolest adults were the ones who took the time to listen to you. You still want to grow up to be a cool adult, right? 17. Treasure Island, Dracula : The best books are consumed after dark with a flashlight. 18. Use adrenaline as your drug of choice. You don't need beer, pot, or cigarettes to have a good time. 19. Kissing a girl on the cheek is a big deal. Kissing her lips is an even bigger deal. Seeing her naked for the first time is a major, life-altering event. 20. Going after a target in the urinal makes the time whiz by. 21. Seeing a thunderstorm roll in is better than watching HDTV. And rain isn't something to curse, but to enjoy. Hurry up, before it clears. ~ Thanks to Bud Casselberry for sending these reminders. ~

 
 

Columbus Day Information A sailor on board the Pinta sighted land early in the morning of October 12, 1492, and a new era of European exploration and expansion began. The next day, the 90 crew members of Christopher Columbus's three-ship fleet ventured onto the Bahamian island of Guanahaní, ending a voyage begun nearly ten weeks earlier in Palos, Spain. As a reward for his valuable discovery, the Spanish crown granted Columbus the right to bear arms. His new Coat of Arms added the royal charges of Castile and Leon and an image of islands to his traditional family arms. Columbus further modified the design to include a continent beside the pictured islands.  Before his final voyage, the Spanish monarchs prepared a Book of Privileges, a collection of agreements showing how Columbus was remunerated for his explorations. In 1502, four copies of the book were known to exist. The Library of Congress's precious copy of this work is considered one of the "Top Treasures" included in the online exhibition American Treasures of the Library of Congress. The first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in the United States took place on October 12, 1792. Organized by The Society of St. Tammany, also known as the Columbian Order, it commemorated the 300th anniversary of Columbus's landing. The 400th anniversary of the event, however, inspired the first official Columbus Day holiday in the United States. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation urging Americans to mark the day. The public responded enthusiastically, organizing school programs, plays, and community festivities across the country. Columbus and the Discovery of America, Imre Kiralfy's "grand dramatic, operatic, and ballet spectacle," is among the more elaborate tributes created for this commemoration. The World's Columbian Exposition, by far the most ambitious event planned for the celebration, opened in Chicago the summer of 1893. Over the following decades, the Knights of Columbus, an international Roman Catholic fraternal benefit society, lobbied state legislatures to declare October 12 a legal holiday. Colorado was the first state to do so on April 1, 1907. New York declared Columbus Day a holiday in 1909 and on October 12, 1909, New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes led a parade that included the crews of two Italian ships, several Italian-American societies, and legions of the Knights of Columbus. Since 1971 Columbus Day, designated as the second Monday in October, has been celebrated as a federal holiday. In many locations across the country Americans parade in commemoration of the day.  Columbus and Dead Reckoning (DR) navigation At the end of the fifteenth century, celestial navigation was just being developed in Europe, primarily by the Portuguese. Prior to the development of celestial navigation, sailors navigated by "deduced" (or "dead") reckoning, hereafter called DR. This was the method used by Columbus and most other sailors of his era. In DR, the navigator finds his position by measuring the course and distance he has sailed from some known point. Starting from a known point, such as a port, the navigator measures out his course and distance from that point on a chart, pricking the chart with a pin to mark the new position. Each day's ending position would be the starting point for the next day's course-and-distance measurement. In order for this method to work, the navigator needs a way to measure his course, and a way to measure the distance sailed. Course was measured by a magnetic compass, which had been known in Europe since at least 1183. Distance was determined by a time and speed calculation: the navigator multiplied the speed of the vessel (in miles per hour) by the time traveled to get the distance. In Columbus's day, the ship's speed was measured by throwing a piece of flotsam over the side of the ship. There were two marks on the ship's rail a measured distance apart. When the flotsam passed the forward mark, the pilot would start a quick chant, and when it passed the aft mark, the pilot would stop chanting. (The exact words to such a chant are part of a lost oral tradition of medieval navigation). The pilot would note the last syllable reached in the chant, and he had a mnemonic that would convert that syllable into a speed in miles per hour. This method would not work when the ship was moving very slowly, since the chant would run to the end before the flotsam had reached the aft mark. A traverse-board  Speed (and distance) was measured every hour. The officer of the watch would keep track of the speed and course sailed every hour by using a toleta, or traverse board. This was a peg-board with holes radiating from the center along every point of the compass. The peg was moved from the center along the course traveled, for the distance made during that hour. After four hours, another peg was used to represent the distance made good in leagues during the whole watch. At the end of the day, the total distance and course for the day was transferred to the chart. Columbus was the first sailor (that we know of) who kept a detailed log of his voyages, but only the log of the first voyage survives in any detail. It is by these records that we know how Columbus navigated, and how we know that he was primarily a DR navigator. Since DR is dependent upon continuous measurements of course and distance sailed, we should expect that any log kept by a DR navigator would have these records; and this is exactly what Columbus's log looks like. If Columbus had been a celestial navigator, we would expect to see continuous records of celestial observations; but Columbus's log does not show such records during either of the transatlantic portions of the first voyage.

A close look at Indian summer Note: The following is unedited text from the Web site of the National Weather Service office in  Detroit-Pontiac, Mi.      By: Bill Deedler, Weather Historian An early American writer described Indian Summer well when he wrote, "The air is perfectly quiescent and all is stillness, as if Nature, after her exertions during the Summer, were now at rest."     Indian Summer Definition  The American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Weather and Climate defines Indian summer as: "A time interval, in mid- or late autumn, of unseasonably warm weather, generally with clear skies, sunny but hazy days, and cool nights. In New England, at least one killing frost and preferably a substantial period of normally cool weather must precede this warm spell in order for it to be considered a true "Indian summer." It does not occur very year; and in some years tow or three Indian summers may occur." This passage belongs to the writer John Bradbury and was written nearly an "eternity" ago, back in 1817. But this passage is as relevant today as it was way back then. The term "Indian Summer" dates back to the 18th century in the United States. It can be defined as "any spell of warm, quiet, hazy weather that may occur in October or even early November." Basically, autumn is a transition season as the thunderstorms and severe weather of the summer give way to a tamer, calmer weather period before the turbulence of the winter commences. The term "Indian Summer" is generally associated with a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions ushered in on a south or southwesterly breeze. Several references make note of the fact that a true Indian Summer can not occur until there has been a killing frost or freeze. Since frost and freezing temperatures generally work their way south through the fall, this would give credence to the possibility of several Indian Summers occurring in a fall, especially across the northern areas where frost or freezes usually come early. While almost exclusively thought of as an autumnal event, I was surprised to read that Indian Summers have been given credit for warm spells as late as December and January (but then, just where does that leave the "January Thaw" phenomenon?).        A Granddaddy Explains Indian Summer Yes, sonny, this is sure enough Indian summer. Don't know what that is, I reckon, do you? Well, that's when all the homesick Indians come back to play. You know, a long time ago, long afore your granddaddy was born even, there used to be heaps of Indians around here - thousands - millions, I reckon, far as that's concerned. Regular sure 'nuf Indians - none of them cigar store Indians.  They was all around here - right here where you are standin'. Don't be scared - ain't none around here now, leastways no bad ones. They been gone for many years. They all went away, so there ain't no more left.   But every year, 'long about now, they all come back, leastways their spirits do. They are here now. You can see um across the fields.  Look real hard. See that kind o' hazy, misty look out yonder? Well, that's them Indians - Indian spirits marchin' along an' dancin' in the sunlight. That's what makes that kind of haze that's everywhere - it's just the spirits of the Indians all come back. They're all around us now. See off yonder; see them teepees? They kind o' look like corn stocks from here, but them's Indian tents, sure as you're a foot high. See um now? Sure, I knew you could. Smell that smoky sort o' smell in the air? That's the campfires a-burnin' and their pipes a-smokin'. Lots o' people say it's just leaves burnin', but it ain't so. It's the campfires, and them Indians are hoppin' round um to the beat.  You just come out here tonight when the moon is hangin' over the hill off yonder and the harvest fields is all swimmin' in the moonlight, and you can see the Indians and the teepees just as plain as can be. Did you ever notice the leaves turn red 'bout this time of year? That's just another sign of those redskins. That's when an old Indian spirit gets tired of dancin' and goes up and squats on a leaf to rest. Why, I can hear 'um rustlin' and whisperin' and creepin' round among the leaves all the time; and every once in a while a leaf gives way under some fat old Indian ghost and comes floatin' down to the ground. See - here's one now. See how red it is? That's the war paint rubbed off an Indian ghost, sure as you're born. Soon, all the Indians will go marchin' away again, back to the happy huntin' ground, but next year, you'll see um traipsing on back - the sky just hazy with um, and their campfires smoldering away just like they are now. ~ ©  Joe McCutcheon - Found at http://deerlake.com/#WhatsNew ~

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Just a quick report on the Lock Haven WI-FI project: THE  AREA  AND  THE  SERVICE There are transmitters for wireless Internet that enable mobile connection, from an area along the river near Henderson Street, to near Robb School, to Representative Hanna’s office and Triangle Park, to West Church Street along the railroad tracks, to Water Street at the tracks and up on the dike.   The area is growing quickly during this first phase.  Lock Haven University and Lock Haven Hospital are working with us to enable rooftop transmitters which will expand the reception area tremendously. If you have a laptop with a wireless card in it, experiment with the locations in which you can connect.  Go to network connections, view available connections, and click on InTune or KCnet InTune.  If the laptop has integrated wireless, I’m told the reception is not as wide-spread as if you have an actual PMCIA card that sticks out of the side or back of your computer and has a little antenna on it.  I took our laptop out and found spots that I couldn’t get a connection, but I could if I moved about 2 car lengths ahead or back.  Of course, the closer you are to a transmitter, the faster the reception.  We’re excited about this project.  Not only for the WI-FI capabilities it gives to City visitors and travelers who may stop here on their way to somewhere else, but for the various local people who carry pocket devices for Internet connection.  Palm-held gadgets that keep a schedule and download e-mail can be used anywhere within the reception area downtown to receive e-mail or Internet information. This is the way it works, currently: • Sundays, 9 AM to 9 PM are free for everyone.  Connect to the Internet, register as a Sundays Free user, and get full Internet access. • All other days, around the clock, you can connect to KCnet (and get your KCnet e-mail), connect to the sites of Lock Haven Hospital and Discovery Hospital, Lock Haven University, City and County Government, and other sites which may rotate – right now this featured site is the Express. • Or, for a pay as you go fee, you can have full Internet access.  As an example, a 30-day access fee is $19.65.  A 60-minute anytime card is $15.  With the 60-minute anytime card, you hop on, log in, get your mail or other Internet-source information and hop off.  The clock ticks while you’re on and stops when you sign off.  For low users, this card can be very economical.  And, we have a special Lock Haven University card that is $120 for the whole school year – 2 semesters. All of the above is about WI-FI, which is a mobile-type Internet access.  It is an outside service, not meant for going through buildings and walls.  If you are fortunate enough to live within the footprint of the outdoor service, you MAY be able to sit at a window inside your house and get a signal.  For a strong, dedicated Internet connection however, you must allow installation of a “transceiver.”  This requires a one-time fee of $180. A transceiver can pick up the service from a distance of 2 miles or more.   It looks like a small pizza box and mounts on your house.  It’s not as big as a satellite dish, but its job is similar.  It creates a dedicated Internet connection, amplifies it to make it stronger, and connects to a computer or router in your house.  A wireless router in your house will allow you to connect to a laptop and/or desktop computer, as long as those have wireless cards.  And the $19.65 per month doesn’t change.  Pay it and you’ll have your home connected.  Take your laptop downtown and you’ll be able to connect there, too -  and with the same membership username and password.   If you do the math, the first year you will average under $35 per month.  After that, it’s just $19.65 per month.  Period. Try it.  Come in town with your laptop.  Connect.  Or call us for a site survey for the transceiver for your home.  It’s real and it’s happening now. 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,  R. Keith Kelly,  Tom Livingston, Ray McGill, Tom Piergallini, Ray Rathmell, and John Way .

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