~ Ghostbusters ~

 

KCNET NEWSLETTER
10/21/07  &  10/28/07
COMMENTS AND CLASS SCHEDULES

MIKE'S COMMENTARY
COMPUTER CLASSES AND COURSES
ADVANCED USERS CLASS NOTES
NEWS & NOTES BY SUE FOUST

MIKE'S COMMENTARY AND SOME BITS OF WISDOM:
 

Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, Halloween festivals, costume parties, bonfires, visiting "haunted houses", viewing horror films, and participating in traditional autumn activities such as hayrides (which may have "haunted" themes). Halloween originated under the name of Samhain as a Pagan festival among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is now celebrated in parts of the western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and sometimes in Australia and New Zealand. In recent years, the holiday has also been celebrated in various other parts of Western Europe. The term Halloween (and its older rendering Hallowe'en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening of/before "All Hallows' Day"[1], also known as "All Saints' Day". It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions[citation needed], until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints' (or Hallows') Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well. Like other vigils, it was celebrated on the previous day if it fell on a Sunday, although secular celebrations of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but was later restored in the post-Vatican II calendar. In Ireland, the name of the holiday was All Hallows' Eve (often shortened to Hallow Eve), and though seldom used today, the name is still well-accepted, albeit somewhat esoteric. In Irish, the festival is known as Oíche Shamhna (Night of Samhain), or simply Samhain; in Scottish Gaelic it is Samhainn or Samhain; in Welsh, Calan Gaeaf to the Welsh; "Allantide" to the Cornish and "Hop-tu-Naa" to the Manx. Halloween is also called Pooky Night in parts of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit. Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent. ~ Thanks to Wikipedia ~ Much more to read:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

 
 
 

If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be..... until the looting starts!

 
 
 

I received an email note the other day about a story I posted in a past KCnet Newsletter.  I enjoyed the writing and I could not find the author.  Somehow the author read the posting and sent the following message which prompted me to share the article again.   Hello Mike, I had a reader alert me to the fact one of my stories appeared on your site, and although you searched for the author of the story you could not find them. The story in question is the one where I vividly recall my experience as a child watching a Mustang P-51 do a fly by at the Norman Rogers Airport in Kingston, Ontario Canada. The original title for the story was: P-51, An American Ambassador Remembered. It had been posted at rense.com (where I am a columnist) after I wrote a rough draft and posted it at ATS - above top secret. The original Email address that appeared with the story was leamacdonald@wapda.com, but I have changed to this Email provider because they have a much faster server. I invite you to rense.com to view some of the thousands of comments that streamed in from around the world when the story was posted. Just open rense.com and look for columnists on the left side of the page, click on Lea MacDonald and then the title. The story has been posted many places on this system of global union, the net, but few have taken the time to find where it originated. I am happy to see you tried.  I am glad you found my youthful recollection inspiring enough to share with others, thank you. Kindest regards, Mr. Lea MacDonald.  Well, I reread the story and it charged me again.  I could feel and see that P-51 performing once more.  I'd like you to reread or experience the writing for the first time. P-51 -- An American Ambassador Remembered By Lea MacDonald leamacdonald@wapda.com 12-4-5 It was noon on a Sunday as I recall, the day a Mustang P-51 was to take to the air. They said it had flown in during the night from some US airport, the pilot had been tired. I marveled at the size of the plane dwarfing the Pipers and Canucks tied down by her, it was much larger than in the movies. She glistened in the sun like a bulwark of security from days gone by. The pilot arrived by cab paid the driver then stepped into the flight lounge. He was an older man, his wavy hair was grey and tossed . . . looked like it might have been combed...say, around the turn of the century. His bomber jacket was checked, creased, and worn, it smelled old and genuine. Old Glory was prominently sewn to its shoulders. He projected a quiet air of proficiency and pride devoid of arrogance. He filed a quick flight plan to Montreal (Expo-67, Air Show) then walked across the tarmac. After taking several minutes to perform his walk-around check the pilot returned to the flight lounge to ask if anyone would be available to stand by with fire extinguishers while he "flashed the old bird up . . . just to be safe." Though only 12 at the time I was allowed to stand by with an extinguisher after brief instruction on its use -- "If you see a fire point then pull this lever!" I later became a firefighter, but that's another story. The air around the exhaust manifolds shimmered like a mirror from fuel fumes as the huge prop started to rotate. One manifold, then another, and yet another barked -- I stepped back with the others. In moments the Packard-built Merlin engine came to life with a thunderous roar, blue flames knifed from her manifolds. I looked at the others' faces, there was no concern. I lowered the bell of my extinguisher. One of the guys signaled to walk back to the lounge, we did. Several minutes later we could hear the pilot doing his pre flight run-up. He'd taxied to the end of runway 19, out of sight. All went quiet for several seconds, we raced from the lounge to the second story deck to see if we could catch a glimpse of the P-51 as she started down the runway, we could not. There we stood, eyes fixed to a spot half way down 19. Then a roar ripped across the field, much louder than before, like a furious hell spawn set loose---something mighty this way was coming. "Listen to that thing!" Said the controller. In seconds the Mustang burst into our line of sight. Its tail was already off and it was moving faster than anything I'd ever seen by that point on 19. Two thirds the way down 19 the Mustang was airborne with her gear going up. The prop tips were supersonic; we clasped our ears as the Mustang climbed hellish fast into the circuit to be eaten up by the dog-day haze. We stood for a few moments in stunned silence trying to digest what we'd just seen. The radio controller rushed by me to the radio. "Kingston radio calling Mustang?" He looked back to us as he waited for an acknowledgment. The radio crackled, "Kingston radio, go ahead." "Roger Mustang. Kingston radio would like to advise the circuit is clear for a low level pass." I stood in shock because the controller had, more or less, just asked the pilot to return for an impromptu air show! The controller looked at us. "What?" He asked. "I can't let that guy go without asking . . . I couldn't forgive myself!" The radio crackled once again, "Kingston radio, do I have permission for a low level pass, east to west, across the field?" "Roger Mustang, the circuit is clear for an east to west pass." "Roger, Kingston radio, we're coming out of 3000 feet, stand by." We rushed back onto the second-story deck, eyes fixed toward the eastern haze. The sound was subtle at first, a high-pitched whine, a muffled screech, a distant scream. Moments later the P-51 burst through the haze . . . her airframe straining against positive Gs and gravity, wing tips spilling contrails of condensed air, prop-tips again supersonic as the burnished bird blasted across the eastern margin of the field shredding and tearing the air. At about 400 Mph and 150 yards from where we stood she passed with an old American pilot saluting . . . imagine . . . a salute. I felt like laughing, I felt like crying. She glistened, she screamed, the building shook, my heart pounded . . . then the old pilot pulled her up . . . and rolled, and rolled, and rolled out of sight into the broken clouds and indelibly into my memory. I've never wanted to be an American more than on that day. It was a time when many nations in the world looked to America as their big brother, a steady and even-handed beacon of security who navigated difficult political water with grace and style; not unlike the pilot who'd just flown into my memory. He was proud, not arrogant, humble, not a braggart, old and honest projecting an aura of America at its best. That America will return one day, I know it will. Until that time, I'll just send off a story; call it a reciprocal salute, to the old American pilot who wove a memory for a young Canadian that's stayed a lifetime.  This particular writing appears on Rense.com. There are many comments from P 51 admirers.  You can read their comments by accessing: http://rense.com/general69/p51.htm     Scroll down to the bottom of the story.  You  can communicate with Lea McDonald:    leamacdonald@wapda.com

 
 
 

Roast Beef Recipe  I'm  only posting this for people who know who Gracie Allen  was ...    (and some who can simply appreciate a good recipe.)    Gracie  Allen's Classic Recipe for Roast Beef  1  large Roast of Beef 1  small Roast of Beef Take the two roasts and put them in  the oven.      When  the little one's burnt,  the big one is done.

 
 
 

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But there are no cables, no wires, no cords! A new partnership has developed between Keystone Community Network (KCnet) and In Tune Wireless.  It provides both WI-FI and Residential Wireless service. The new Lock Haven Community WI-FI service is simply an Internet connection using a wireless device such as a laptop computer.  It is available throughout a corridor from below the County Courthouse building on Main Street to the railroad tracks near Lock Haven University Campus.  The next part of this first phase is a connection that will take the service onto the LHU Campus. Open the laptop, set it to automatically search for network connections, choose Lock Haven Wireless and In Tune Wireless Service, and you are on!  WI-FI is considered a mobile way to access Internet service while outdoors.  It is mainly for laptops, iPods, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), pocket and palm computers.  All day Sundays are free to browse the Internet, 9 AM to 9 PM, without any payment at all!  Other times, you may pay as you go.  You may buy an hour, a day, or a month at a time.  Pay by credit card or stop into the KCnet office at 18 East Main Street and purchase the service.  As an example of fee for service, one month of complete Internet service is $19.65. There is a unique part to this service.  It was developed for Lock Haven at the request of Lock Haven University. As an incentive to students, especially freshmen who were all required to arrive at school with laptops this year, the Lock Haven Community WI-FI service will allow students and faculty to connect to their familiar Campus Internet service, free of charge, everyday.  In fact, anyone can connect to the Lock Haven Community WI-FI, and link to Lock Haven University, free at all times. Further, in keeping with KCnet’s mission, “Education for Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday,” free access is available to Keystone Central School District, too.  Some other sites that are accessible free of charge on the Lock Haven WI-FI, at all times, include the City of Lock Haven, the Lock Haven Hospital, Discovery Hospital, Clinton County Government, through the City’s website.  Various businesses, such as the Express, will also be available free to everyone at alternating times throughout the year.   State Representative Mike Hanna, center, discusses easy access to the Internet, available in downtown Lock Haven, including outside his local office on Bellefonte Avenue.  Todd Snyder, right, of T. Snyder Consulting, Sunbury and Sue Foust, left, of KCnet in Lock Haven explain the partnership that has developed between In Tune Wireless of Sunbury and KCnet.   To find out more about the WI-FI service or find out about residential wireless service for your desktop computer, please us at 893-8111. 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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