Monday, December 31, 2012

Time till 2013

Time has ran out for the year 2012

Have a great 2013


Thanks for reading my blog ............ Jack

Kevin Mitnick - The Art of Deception



Sunday, December 30, 2012

What's going on with the Sun?



I as a Radio Amateur (Ham) look at the sun's activities most every day. The sun effects radio waves here on earth and this effects my communication activities. The solar cycle runs on a 11 year cycle. In the 1990s it was not uncommon to see the reading (flux) of over 200. The same was true in the 2000s but now in the peak year of a 11 year cycle of 2012 - 2013 it hovers most days just over 100. When the flux reading is 175 to 200 I can expect to communicate to all parts of the world with very little power (watts from the transmitter) on the 14 Mhz. band (20 meters)  With the flux count of 100 14 Mhz. drops dead at slightly after sunset. If I want to talk to Europe or the Pacific I must lower the transmitter frequency down to the 7 Mhz. band and use very high power (1000 watts). So what is going on with the sun ? See if you can find the answer on Google.

Above chart from:
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2011/jun/30/whats-going-on-with-the-sun

The Earth's Axis has shifted ??

I ran across these web pages just by accident and was amazed at what they state. Take a look and make up your own mind. There is pro & con. if you dig for the facts, make up your own mind. It is entertaining,  also a time killer to dig out the unknow ...... Jack

Pro site:
This has created severe changes in our global weather, seismic & volcanic activity... And it will get much worse. You need to know the facts & scientific details about these increasing global problems from authentic, verifiable sources.
http://www.divulgence.net/


Con site:
http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/49Degrees.HTM
No, Every so often something so outrageous comes along I just shake my head in disbelief. Latest one (several e-mails from people wondering about it) is the claim that sometime around 2006 the earth's axis tilt suddenly changed by 26 degrees. The principal page making this claim is http://www.divulgence.net/.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

looking through the window



My wife hasn't stopped looking through the window since it started snowing. If the weather gets any worse, I might have to let her back in.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Wernher von Braun (1912 – 1977)




 Wernher von Braun was a German-American rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and, subsequently, in the United States.
Read more about him

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Curse of the Bambino



The Curse of the Bambino was a superstition evolving from the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 to 2004. While some fans took the curse seriously, most used the expression in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The curse was said to have begun after the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth, sometimes called The Bambino, to the New York Yankees in the off-season of 1919-1920. Before that point, the Red Sox had been one of the most successful professional baseball franchises,
Read the full story



Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Saint Nicholas






Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas,
considered by many to be the
original Santa Claus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Monday, December 24, 2012

Trans Siberian Orchestra


Q.
You seem to be able to find things on the Web that others can't, so where can I find the song or video of Trans Siberian Orchestra Christmas lights. I was told it was on the Web but I have not had luck locating it. Where is it  ye ol' Google man ?

A.
You Tube has the video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0IwpRzWL_4

Thursday, December 20, 2012

December 21, 2012 "The End ??"


Scientists insist there is no dire threat on the horizon, while Mayan experts stress that the ancient civilisation’s legacy has simply been misinterpreted.
‘Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012,’ says NASA on its website in the reassuring tones of a parent dealing with a frightened toddler.
‘Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.
Read more

International Space Station
















The following is really interesting. A lady crewman (Sunita Williams) on the International Space Station who has been there for 6 months gives you a tour of the facility.  It’s the first time I’ve see an ISS bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms, etc.  The tour guide is about ready for a return trip to earth.  Hope you enjoy it.
Click here to view the video

Note:
I have contacted the ISS via Amateur Radio, what a thrill !....... Jack WB9OTX

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

To my Ham Radio Friends


N0D: SPECIAL EVENT STATION CELEBRATING THE END OF THE WORLD!
That's right! The end is finally near. According to one of the three Mayan Calendars, the End of the world will occur on December 21, 2012. To celebrate this—literally—oncee in a lifetime event, Special Event Station N0D (Now Zero Days) will be activated for three days during and possibly after the end of the world. December 20; is a celebration of the end of the world. December 21, the day of destruction, we will be on the air as long as possible. December 22...that is a little iffy right now
See the Web page

N0D on QRZ
http://qrz.com/db/N0D

Sunday, December 16, 2012

not what I meant

I know that you believe you understand what you think I said.  But, I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.  
Robert McCloskey

Friday, December 14, 2012

Sea salt




The harvesting of sea salt—salt obtained by the evaporation of seawater—in Phetchaburi Province, Thailand. Like mineral salt, production of sea salt dates to prehistoric times. Generally more expensive than table salt, it is commonly used in gourmet cooking because it is believed to taste better.

Photo by: JJ Harrison
Wikipedia dot org

Sky King


Out of the clear blue of the western sky comes Sky King

When 9 or 10 I could not wait to see the next adventure of Sky King. ........ Jack
See Sky King official site






See Sky King Videos on YouTube

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

How to Copy and Paste



Apollo 17 December 1972





Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final mission of the United States' Apollo program, the sixth mission to land humans on the Moon.  In 1972, with a three-member crew consisting of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt.
Read More

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Monday, December 10, 2012

"Spirit of Tuskegee" Stearman













The “Spirit of Tuskegee” takes a flight above Moton Field, the plane’s original home during World War II, in Tuskegee, Alabama. The “Spirit of Tuskegee” was used to train Tuskegee Airmen from 1944 to 1946.
See this Video on YouTube


Top image from Smithsonian Museum

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor Dec. 7th 1941

 Photo & text from history channel dot com ---- Just before 8 on the morning of December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan; Congress approved his declaration with just one dissenting vote. Three days later, Japanese allies Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States, and again Congress reciprocated. More than two years into the conflict, America had finally joined World War II.---- Video from YouTube dot com

Dec. 8th 1941 Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech



Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Malwarebytes Its the best


I was editing a customers web page tonight and a thing happened that I had never seen before. I had copied and pasted from an email the customer sent into a web editer, I looked it over after the pasting process and it all looked good. I saved it and FTPed it to the web sever. I opened the web browser and typed in the address of the hosting server. Up the page came but there was two places that were underlinded. This told me these were links to other pages on the net. I did not click these links fearing a virus or spy ware. I looked at the page on another computer and there was no links, this tells me there is Malware on the other machine. I did a scan with Microsoft Security Essentials but it found nothing. Next I downloaded Malwarebytes.from C/net
I installed the program, this took about five minutes, it updated at the end of the install OK. I then ran the quick scan and it found to my surprise twenty-three pieces of problem files. I clicked remove, then restart. After the restart I navigated to the customers web page. The links were gone. Problems fixed. This program MalwareBites is one of the best. I have it on a few of my other computers and have fixed many problems in the past with it. You can set it to run a scan automatically and I would advise you to do this at the very least once a week. ...... Jack

Monday, December 03, 2012

Do you know how to drag & drop


The basic sequence involved in drag and drop is:

Move the pointer to the object
Press, and hold down, the button on the mouse to "grab" the object,
"Drag" the object to the desired location,
"Drop" the object by releasing the button.

See a demo

1st Text Message sent Dec. 3, 1992


Twenty years ago today, a British software engineer had the honor of sending the very first text message. You may be delighted to know that it was grammatically correct and each of the two words sent was spelled correctly. The text words were "Merry Christmas".
Clearly, that one message was the start of something big. The CTIA wireless trade group estimated in June that, in the U.S. alone, cell phone users sent more than 184.3 billion text messages. It has become such a dominant way of communicating that voice calls on mobile phones  are in decline.
Read More

Sunday, December 02, 2012

The Revolution- American Crisis


This is a 45 minute video I suppose most will find boring, but if you want to learn about how our USA got started take the time to watch.
http://youtu.be/m7nXIyoxXlA

Saturday, December 01, 2012

South Pole - from the archive 1/8/2004


I have been interested in Antarctica for a long time and read about anything I can find on the subject. My interest came about quiet by accident in 1980. You see I am a Ham Radio Opperator and while dialing my receiver across the twenty meter band I heard the word Lawrenceburg. This is a town about twenty-five miles from where I live. To my surprise the call sign this fellow was using was KC4AAA, this told me he was located at the South Pole. When he signed off with the station he was in conversation with I called him, he answered and told me his name was Pat and his home town was Lawrenceburg, Indiana. This was the start of a friendship with his family and Pat. I would connect my radio to the telephone lines so Pat at the Pole could talk to his parents and other friends here in the states. Other people at the pole would want me to do a phone patch as it was called to their friends also. Pat and I had a schedule two times a week starting at midnight, if I remember correctly that was three in the afternoon at the pole, they were on the same time as Christchurch, New Zealand. Sometimes other stations on the Antarctic continent would call and want me to run phone patches for them after Pat and I were finished. I was leaving the house for work at four A.M. at that time so it was pretty hard on me not getting much sleep, but I loved doing it. I did this phone patching for the fellows at the Pole for two years. I could tell you some very interesting stories about things that took place in that two year period, two stick out in my mind very vivid. I received a call about three in the afternoon, I had just walked in my home from work. The voice on the phone was very low and I could tell from the tone something was wrong. The young lady in a very quivering voice ask if I was the one that talked to the South Pole, I told her yes. She said she had to get a message to her brother there and could I do it. I told her I thought I could but it depended on the radio propagation and the time of day. Sometimes it is not possible but I would try that night. I ask what is your brothers name and what do you want to tell him. She began to cry. I knew it was going to be bad news. After a time she finally said tell him Mom has died. She gave me the details to pass on. I told her I would do my best to get the message through to her brother and I would call her back when I delivered the message. That night at 11PM I started calling on our sched frequency as I thought they may just be listing early. At about 11:45 my time I heard, "WB9OTX this is KC4AAA go ahead". It was my friend Pat, I told him the name of the man and that I had very bad news for him from his sister. I wanted Pat to tell him but he said he would call him on the all-call (intercom) and have him speak over the radio to me. This was one of the worst moments in my life when Pat told me he was at the radio listening and for me to go ahead with the message. I told him about his Mother in the same words as his Sister had told it to me. I felt very bad about telling him this as I knew nothing could be done to get him out from the continent and back home. Nothing comes or goes from the Pole in the Winter-Over period except radio waves. I told him I could call his Sister and run a phone patch to her, but he said no. He told me to call her in the morning and tell her he had received the message and to be strong. I called his Sister the next morning and told her what he had said. She thanked me over and over again. I ask her how she got my telephone number, she said the National Science Foundation gave it to her. To this day I have no Idea how or why they had my name and phone number. Remember, "big brother is always listening".

One more story I remember that I want to tell, but I am out of time so it will have to wait till tonight or tomorrow.

To be continued …………. Read more about Antarctica from my Blog's past posts at:
http://wb9otx.blogspot.com/search?q=Antarctica

Read an article that was published in World Radio magazine by my wife Betty Demaree named
"Echoes From Antarctica" at:
http://www.worldradiomagazine.com/wro_issues/2010/WRO_0210_01-11.pdf

Thursday, November 29, 2012

"was it 1863 ? no it was 2003"


It was a normal lazy Saturday afternoon in Versailles, the town clock atop the courthouse in Versailles struck 4 times, a few moments later gun fire was heard coming from the Northwest side of the square. The smell of black powder filled the air and the gallop of horses was heard, a small group of foot soldiers dressed in blue appeared from behind the courthouse firing rifles and pistols at a large horse mounted group of  men in tattered gray uniforms.

The sidewalks were filed with ladies adorned with beautiful dresses, hats, and parasols. The few men present were overcome and captured. They were tied and bound with rope and made to lie face down in the street. The Ripley County official in charge of the coffers was harassed and made to turn over the County's wealth to Colonel John Morgan.

Morgan's men pilfered the shops around the town square of anything an army could use. A few townspeople tried to hold the Courthouse Inn, but soon were overcome, The Raiders emptied the shelves of all bitters and spirits. After about one hour of drinking and shooting Colonel John Morgan ordered the men out of Versailles to the North.

Was it 1863 ?, No it was 2003. A great re-enactment that I hope will become an annual event here in Versailles Indiana, County of Ripley.
Jack Demaree

See the photos at:
http://ripleycounty.net/morgan/morgan.html

Doesn't the USA make anything anymore ?




I ordered a US Air Force Bomber Jacket and it arrived via UPS today. I opened the box and tried it on, a perfect fit. It had a US flag and the words Air Force stamped in the lining with beautiful colors of red white and blue. Under this beautiful logo was the words "Made in China". I just can't understand what this country has come to.

It's coming


12 at 12: 12 am   and 12-12-12-12 pm

Thanks FAW

Computer Space - November 1971


Computer Space is a video arcade game released in November 1971 by Nutting Associates. Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, who would both later found Atari, Inc., it is generally accepted that it was the world's first commercially sold coin-operated video game — and indeed, the first commercially sold video game of any kind, predating the Magnavox Odyssey's release by six months, and Atari's Pong by one year. Though not commercially sold, the coin operated minicomputer-driven Galaxy Game preceded it by two months, located solely at Stanford University.
Read More

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Crystals

The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's Sure the Boy I Love", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)" and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead singers, and were all produced by Phil Spector. The latter three songs are ranked #267, #114, and #493, respectively, on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Read about the Crystals
from: wikipedia.org & Youtube.com

Aldrin's footprint




Buzz Aldrin's footprint, taken by himself on Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon, on July 20, 1969. The print was part of an experiment to test the properties of the lunar regolith, but today it is known for being one of the most iconic things left on the moon by humans.
Read more

from: wikipedia.org

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Small Business Saturday


Small Business Saturday is a national movement that was launched by American Express in the year 2010. This movement was initiated to encourage the holiday shoppers to shop from local stores in their community. The slogan of this movement is ‘Shop Small’. Small Business Saturday is the first Saturday after the Thanksgiving Thursday. This year, the Thanksgiving Day is falling on 22nd of November; hence the small Business Saturday will be on the 24th of November, sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
See the Web Site

Friday, November 23, 2012

SHOPPING LINKS


From my friend Bruce
Purchases made via these links support The Daily Home Pages at no additional cost to you.
Please bookmark this page and use it when you shop online! (Ctrl D)
Click the link below
http://www.thedailyhomepages.com/shop.html

Thursday, November 22, 2012

40 years ago - I can see clearly now





"I Can See Clearly Now" is a Billboard Hot 100 Chart #1 hit song, written and recorded by Johnny Nash. It was a single from the album of the same name and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972. This is a favorite song of mine.
Jack

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

What a waste


I bout my wife a very low end E-Machine computer and took over her Compaq laptop. In my work as a web master I can't make any money or please the customer if my internet is not working. So I decided to load the programs I use on her laptop so I could take it to a wireless wi fi hot spot or to a friend's home where the net is working. I was out of service for 2 1/2 days last week so I don't want to hear the customers &%#$ again. So as to save time I thought I would do a clean install of the OS to clean all of the mess she had on the computer. Boy was that a mistake, that took about 4 hours as I had never created the restore DVDs. That all went well it just took a long time. I then started to clean off the garbage software that comes with a new computer, another two hours pass. Now I am waiting for 87 updates to be downloaded and installed. At dinner tonight I was complaining to my wife how long it was taking, She said I didn't have anything else to do anyway and I guess she is right. There is a myth that computers save time, Not true. Now when the updates are installed I have to load the software that I need to work with. I think I should have bout a new laptop it would have been much easier and faster.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Windows 7 & Windows 8



We all know Bill Gates is rich and one of the reasons is he keeps coming out with new operating systems (OSs) that we the end user thinks will be better. Each time we up grade Bill makes money. I have had all of his OSs but find XP the best for my way of computing but may not be for you. A lot of my software that I use is old and is not compatible with later OSs, So I keep and old computer with the XP OS running on it. My wife has a low end laptop using Vista. Vista is a nightmare OS and if you have a machine with Vista I would get a new computer at once. I would compare Vista to the worst OS ever, Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows ME. Windows 7 is is a good platform and most of the software from XP will run on it. I have 2 computers with 7 installed and I like the OS pretty well. The file layout is basically the same as XP and files are easy to fine unlike Vista. With Vista you never know where stuff will be found.  Now comes Bill's latest creation Windows 8.  I don't have 8 installed on any computer as yet, but I will soon as I just want to try it out. From the looks of it I think it will be a challenge tho. It looks to be very different from other OSs. You can see a tutorial at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ijE3RSeTrU
One good thing is that Microsoft will sell you a downloadable upgrade copy for about $40.00. If you are slightly geeky you may want to download and give it a try.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Stop forgetting. Start Remembering


Memstash
If you are like me you have lots of things to remember and at times we forget. Here is a little thing that I have been using that really helps. It will send you a reminder via email. You can delete it or let the email come as they should. As of now there is no advertisements accompanying the email, but I do not see how they make any money. In the future this may change but for now it is a welcome tool. Its free.
Try it at:
http://memstash.co/

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Comcast ups & downs


If you are a frequent reader of this Blog you would know that I have had my ups & downs with the Comcast cable TV / internet provider. The latest downer is my internet went out Thursday. After three phone calls and one hang up they are to come Monday to fix it. Tonight (Saturday) I removed the signal splitter and replaced it with a barrel connector. Low and behold the modem light turned green and I am on line.  I then switched the cable to the TV and it worked fine. I then replaced the splitter and neither worked. I then replaced the splitter with a new one, again nothing worked. This tells me the signal coming into the house is weak. So Monday I will see what the cable man tells me.
More to follow.


Up Date

Monday morning the Comcast tech pulled into the drive and checked the service coming into the modem and found it weak. He replaced the F connections outside and inside, gave me a new splitter then went to the pole. He found a poor connection from the drop to the hard line. Latter today another crew will replace the drop connection from the hard line. It was very hard to get the man here but after he came things are looking up. My TV and internet are working again and will work even better when the rest of the work is done at the pole. The tech was very friendly and new his job........ End of nightmare I hope.
Jack

Advisors to South Vietnam


11/17/1961
John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.
South_Vietnam

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Madison


I am a member of the Versailles American Legion Post # 173, Our Post performs grave side memorial services for Veterans. For the first time I had the honor of visiting the Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery located at Madison Indiana. What a beautiful place. With Veterans day on Sunday Nov. 11 you should make the short drive to see it. If you can't make it on Veterans Day, Next time in Madison, go out of your way to see it. The address is 1415 North Gate Road, this is on the growns of the state hospital. If you are a Veteran you may be buried there for free. I will be there, but I hope not too soon........ Jack
See a short YouTube Video of the grounds and a 21 gun salute.

Veterans Day 2012



South Ripley High School will salute all veterans with breakfast and program on Monday Nov. 12.  The program will have several speakers, Color Guard provided by the Versailles American Legion, A short movie produced by the students, and song by the Young Confederates. Veterans should be at the High School at 8am for breakfast.

Read some history about Veterans Day

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

The Salvation Army


Sorry Red Cross but I am a little predigest.
Please donate to The Salvation Army in any amount you choose.
https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/disaster
or
Send a check to:

The Salvation Army Disaster Relief
Hurricane Sandy Relief
PO BOX 1959
Atlanta, GA 30301

Nuf Said


History lesson on world war II



After learning who won the election it is easy to see that one half the people do not care about the future, So I thought I'd post something from the past. Here is a 13 minute history lesson on world war II. There are also many other history lessons on many subjects at:
World History Lessons 



Tuesday, November 06, 2012

My back yard


I captured a very nice image of a hawk today setting just off my property in a tree. It was eating his lunch but I couldn't see what it was. It looked like a large mouse but I couldn't see it to be sure. I got about 100 yards from him before he flew off with his lunch.

I have other photos of hawks and other birds and animals taken from my yard

Monday, November 05, 2012

Daddy's Poem


Below is a touching poem that my friend Don F. sent me, Don is a friend that sends me only very neat things like this poem ......... Jack  





    Her favorite dress tied with a bow.
    Today was Daddy's Day at school,
    And she couldn't wait to go.

    But her mommy tried to tell her,
    That she probably should stay home;
    Why the kids might not understand,
    If she went to school alone.

    But she was  not afraid;
    She knew just what to say.
    What to tell her classmates
    Of why he wasn't there today.

    But still her mother worried,
    For her to face this day alone.
    And that was why, once again,
    She tried to keep her daughter home.

    But the little girl went to school ,
    Eager to tell them all.
    About a dad she never sees,  a dad
    Who never calls.

    There were daddies along the wall in
    Back, for everyone to meet.
    Children squirming impatiently,
    Anxious in their seat.

    One by one the teacher called
    On a student from the class.
    To introduce their daddy,
    As seconds slowly passed.

    At last the teacher called her name,
    Every child turned to stare.
    Each of them was searching,
    A man who wasn't there.

    "Where's her daddy at?"
    She heard a boy call out.
    "She probably doesn't have one,"
    Another student dared to shout.

    And from somewhere near the back,
    She heard a daddy say,
    "Looks like another deadbeat dad,
    Too busy to waste his day."

    The words did not offend her,
    As she smiled up at her Mom.
    And looked back at her teacher, who
    Told her to go on..

    And with hands behind her back,
    Slowly she began to speak.
    And out from the mouth of a child,
    Came words incredibly unique.

    "My Daddy couldn't be here,
    Because he lives so far away.
    But I know he wishes he could be,
    Since this is such a special  day.

    And though you cannot meet him,
    I wanted you to know
    All about my daddy,
    And how much he loves me so.

    He loved to tell me stories,
    He taught me to ride my bike;
    He surprised me with pink roses,
    And taught me to fly a kite.

    We used to share fudge sundaes,
    And ice cream in a  cone.
    And though you cannot see him.
    I'm not standing here alone.

    'Cause my daddy's always with me,
    Even though we are apart;
    I know because he told me,
    He'll forever be in my heart"

    With that, her little hand reached up,
    And lay across her chest.
    Feeling her own heartbeat,
    Beneath her favorite dress.

    And from somewhere there in the crowd of dads,
    Her mother stood in tears.
    Proudly watching her daughter,
    Who was wise beyond her years.

    For she stood up for the love
    Of a man not in her life.
    Doing what was best for her,
    Doing what was a right.

    And when she dropped  her hand back
    Down, staring straight into the crowd.
    She finished with a voice so soft,
    But its message clear and loud.

    "I love my daddy very much,
    he's my shining star.
    And if he could, he'd be here,
    But heaven's just too far.

    You see he is an American Soldier
    And he died just this past year, ,
    When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
    And taught Americans to fear.

    But sometimes when I close my eyes,
    it's like he never went away."
    And then she closed her eyes,
    And saw him there that day.

    And to her mother's amazement,
    She witnessed with surprise,
    A room full of daddies and children,
    All starting to close their eyes.
    Who knows what they saw before them;
    Who knows what they felt inside.
    Perhaps for merely a second,
    They saw him at her side.

    "I know you're with me Daddy,"
    to the silence she called out.
    And what happened next made believers,
    of those once filled with doubt.

    Not one in that room could explain it,
    for each of their eyes had been closed.
    But there on the desk beside her,
    was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.

    And a child was blessed, if only for
    a moment, by the love of her shining star.
    And given the gift of believing,
    that heaven is never too far.
By: Unknown

 
There must be many children in the same boat as this little girl, thanks to our servicemen and their families for the sacrifice they are making to keep our country free. The ULTIMATE sacrifice is being left behind. Don't forget  them.   PRAY FOR OUR TROOPS!!!

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Georgetown Ohio Ham Radio Fest


Jerry KC9HYL and I (WB9OTX) attended the Georgetown, Oh. Hamfest Saturday Nov. 3rd 2012. It was slightly foggy and a little frost was on the grass. It was one of the best we have attended this year. Most of the fests are declining in attendance but not this one. I don't know their secret but they have it figured out. The video is of last year (2011). I did buy a few things that I did not need, this is just the fun of looking at all the toys. I seen a fellow that I had a problem with a few years ago. He spoke to me saying hello Jack, I gave him a good look but until I seen his call sign on his hat did I knew who he was. He seemed very friendly. I thought back a few years at the problems he caused me, but decided to let sleeping dogs lie. I chatted with him and his wife for quite sometime and even bought a few things from his table. When I moved on I said "it was glad to see you again". I guess he has may be changed his mind about me. I will give him another chance, we will see what the future holds

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween



















Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"), also known as All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows (or All Saints). According to many scholars, it was originally influenced by western European harvest festivals and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots, particularly the Celtic Samhain.Others maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has Christian roots.
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Harry Houdini Died Halloween




Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz, later Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice as "Harry Handcuff Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he sensationally challenged different police forces to try to keep him locked up. This revealed a talent for gimmickry and for audience involvement that characterised all his work. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to hold his breath inside a sealed milk can.
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You don't have to look it up, I did it for you.

German submarine U-559 - Oct 30,1942


The German crew hurriedly scrambled overboard without destroying their codebooks or Enigma machine and, crucially, having failed to open sea-water vents to properly scuttle the U-boat. Three British sailors, Lieutenant Anthony Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier and NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown, then boarded the abandoned submarine. There are differing reports as to how the three British men boarded the U-boat. Some accounts say that they "swam naked" (such as that of Kahn),  to U-559 but Sebag-Montefiore states that they either leapt from Petard or, in Brown's case, from a whaler, which was sinking, but slowly. They retrieved the U-boat's Enigma machine and the codebooks with all current settings for the U-boat Enigma key. Two German crew members, rescued from the sea, watched this material being loaded into Petard's whaler, but were dissuaded from interfering by an armed guard. Grazier and Fasson were inside the boat, attempting to escape, when the U-boat foundered; both were drowned.
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Sub pictured is U-36


Friday, October 26, 2012

P-51 Mustang - 1st flight 10/26/1940



The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and several other conflicts. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft shot down.
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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Amazon


My wife ordered a piece of software from Amazon, when it arrived I tried to load it on her lap top computer. It gave me a warning message that the program was not compatible with the operating system. The computer was running Vista with a single core processor, the software needed a dual core, therefor was incompatible. This was totally my falt for not reading what the software needed to run. My wife went to the Amazon page and filled out a very short form to return the software. She printed out the return lable and dropped the post paid package at UPS. This was 3pm. The next morning she received an email telling her credit card had been credited the total amount plus shipping, As I said before this was totally my falt that it would not load. Amazon has a no questions asked return policy and they stand behind this promise. I highly recomend this company, I will keep buying from Amazon.com



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Boeing 707 first commercial flight 10/25/1958



Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris, France
http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/707.html

Former Qantas 707-138B owned by John Travolta
http://blog.flightstory.net/45/john-travoltas-boeing-707

Monday, October 22, 2012

The Cuban missile crisis


I talked with my son about this and from the conversation I found he knew little about this. It was a very nerve racking week for our family. We derived a plan for our safety in case the missiles were launched. All that were not born (like my son) or know little about this should take a few minutes to read this article. .......Jack

Cold War: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced that Soviet nuclear weapons had been discovered in Cuba and that he had ordered a naval "quarantine" of the island nation.

Hear John F. Kennedy's address to the nation on October 22, 1962, explaining of the buildup of arms in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Read the main article  from wikipedia.org

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Troy Hooton Video in the early 50s of Versailles and near.


This is a video from the early 1950s from the camera of the late Troy Hooton. I have been granted permission to share it with you. The original was about one hour. I have edited the parts out that pertain to the Versailles, Indiana area. Thank you to the family for sharing this walk into times past.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

(Big Foot) Patterson film October 20, 1967


Bigfoot:
Both Patterson and Gimlin have consistently dismissed allegations that they had hoaxed the footage by filming a man wearing a costume. Patterson died of cancer in 1972. Patterson's friend and business associate, Gimlin, has always denied being involved in any part of a possible hoax with Patterson and claims that he and his partner had encountered a real Bigfoot. Gimlin avoided publicly discussing the subject from at least the early 1970s until about the year 2000 when he began giving interviews and making appearances at Bigfoot conferences.
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

first practical transistor radio 1954


I had one of these little jewels when I was 14 years old. It was AM only and it had very low output to the speaker, an earphone worked much better. I put it in my pocket and ran the earphone up my sleeve so to conceal it from the study hall teacher. I listened to WLW radio to heard the world series. ....... Jack

The Regency TR-1 was announced on October 18, 1954 by the Regency Division of I.D.E.A., was put on sale in November 1954, and was the first practical transistor radio made in any significant numbers.
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Sunday, October 14, 2012

Thank you to the six

Do you know that most days no one reads this blog. On a big day, 6 people read it. It is a good thing that I just like to write in it........ Jack

1st flight Curtiss P-40 Warhawk 10/14/1938



The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service.
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from: Wikipedia

Thursday, October 11, 2012

10 11 12

Today is
ten eleven twelve
10/11/12

Ripley County's part in WWI 1917 - 1918



I know everyone is not interested in history like I am but if you would like to read an online book about Ripley County's part in the first world war (WWI) you can find it here.
Click this link
Thanks to Mike Stratton for alerting me to this book, and now you.
If you type F11 it will display full page for easier reading.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

What a day !


Today was a total disaster beginning with my wife's church sending her 5 music files in I-Tunes format. They played fine on her computer but she wanted them to play in her car. I loaded a recording program and played the 5 songs, then saved them to .WAV format. I them burned them to CD in music format. All of the rig-a-marow took about two hours. I gave her the CD, but about one hour later she handed it back. It was way over driven and sounded awful. I have not a clue why, I have did this many times before with success. I told her to call or email the church to send them in MP3 format next time.

Then I was emailed a photo and was told to put a Logo and some printing under it. I found the logo with Google images with no problem. I had to down size it to have the correct size. I loaded the photo with a graphics editor and pasted the logo in the bottom left, entered the text in pretty white, It looked grate. I burnt the picture to CD in JPG format and took it to the drugstore to have it printed. The machine at the drugstore could not read the CD. Back home I popped the CD in the drive and up it came, not a problem with the CD. I then went to CVS's photo web page and up-loaded the photo. I paid the fee with my credit card and in about an hour I received an email stating my photos were ready for pick up. Off to CVS I went, but I failed to look at the prints. You guessed it they cropped off half of the logo and printing. I will try to get a refund in the morning. I had to get them printed by tomorrow to deliver to the customer so I fired up the color laser printer and printed 4 5x7 and 4 8x10s. They came out grate on matt paper. I cut them on the cutting board and they are laying on the table ready for delivery in the morning. I hate to use my color printer and high dollar ink and paper but I could see no other way to make the deadline.

I was watching TV and just got into a good movie and the power went off.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

As the Colors Pass

I was at the local pub just after the parade and was talking to several others that had just marched in the Pumpkin Show Parade. One said he could not believe that people would not stand and remove there hats when the Colors passed, some did, most didn't. I made the statement that we veterans gave them the right to not stand and remove thier hats. You could have heard a pin drop for several minutes. Think about it. ........ Jack

Versailles Legion Color Guard in Pumpkin Show Parade 2012

It still fits - but tight - 2012 Pumpkin Show


Did you see me in the parade ? I had to buy another 
shirt as I couldn't get it buttoned. The rest is vintage 1966. Thanks to all the people that honored the Legion Color Guard as we passed in the parade.

James Dean - February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955



Read about his life
















This is a Public Service Announcement on the stupidty of driving fast on the highway. Filmed during the making of Giant.



Thanks to wikipedia & Youtube

Friday, September 28, 2012

Chris Economaki 1920 - 2012


I would bet most reading this blog have never heard of Chris, but if you are an old timer like me you can remember Speed Sport News in witch Chris was the editor/owner. This was way before NASCAR was on TV and I read it each and every week cover to cover. The first time I seen him was on Wide World of Sports. CBS was broadcasting the Fire Cracker 400. I will miss him along with thousands of other race fans ........Jack

Chris Economaki Dead: NASCAR, Motorsports Journalist Dies At 91
He was an American motorsports commentator, pit road reporter, and journalist. Economaki was given the title "The Dean of American Motorsports".

Claudine Longet





With the death of Andy Williams it brought to mind his wife Claudine. I always thought she was one of the prettiest ladies I've seen. I guess I am just attracted to little dark haired French girls. At any rate I did a Google search for information and a few photos of her ...... jack.

Claudine Longet

Longet and Williams met in Las Vegas in 1960 when she was 18 and he was 32. Longet was experiencing problems with her car and had pulled over to the side of the road. Driving by, Williams stopped to offer assistance. She was the lead dancer of the Folies Bergère revue at the Tropicana Resort & Casino. They married on 15 December 1961 in Los Angeles, and had three children: Noëlle (born on 24 September 1963), Christian (born on 15 April 1965), and Robert ("Bobby") (born on 1 August 1969). They legally separated in 1970 and divorced in January 1975. According to Williams, they remained "very good friends"
Read more about her

Thursday, September 27, 2012

in my 57 Chev


As I lapped the Square and circled the Dog 'n Suds in the early 60s with my best girl beside I listened to WLS and WSAI on the AM radio in my 57 Chev. This was but one of the great songs we heard.....Jack

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Andy Williams


It won an Oscar for best song, and three Grammy Awards. “Moon River,” flighty Holly Golightly’s fire-escape ditty in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” became the banner song for crooner Andy Williams, who died at the age of 84 on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

Versailles Acapulco closed


Indiana State Excise Police, Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit detectives, and Lawrenceburg Police began to carry out 108 warrants – some for searches, most for arrests – on Monday at Acapulco restaurants and homes in Lawrenceburg, Aurora, Rising Sun, Versailles, and Batesville. It’s part of an 18-month investigation into corrupt business influence, Social Security fraud, and money laundering.
Read the full story

From: eagle country online

Don't shoot, G-Man


"Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster during the Prohibition era.His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun. His most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon and businessman Charles F. Urschel in July 1933 for which he, and his gang, collected a $200,000 ransom. Their victim had collected and left considerable evidence that assisted the subsequent FBI investigation that eventually led to Kelly's arrest in Memphis, Tennessee on September 26, 1933. His crimes also included bootlegging and armed robbery.
"Don't shoot, G-Men !, which became a nickname for FBI agents.
Read the full story


From
http://en.wikipedia.org