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