The Barefoot Bandit

The Barefoot Bandit tells the riveting true story of Colton Harris-Moore, America’s 21st century outlaw. Born into a poor family marred by alcohol abuse, Colt had the local sheriff after him before the age of 10. Colt survived by breaking into homes to forage for food, and learned to evade the police by melting into the Pacific Northwest wilds. As a teenager, he escalated to stealing cars, boats and identities. An extensive manhunt finally caught Colt, but he escaped juvenile prison and fled to nearby Orcas Island, where he was assured his place alongside D. B. Cooper by stealing an airplane without ever having a formal flight lesson. And that was just the beginning.
Read More
Buy the book
A movie coming soon

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. As visible here, adults are not bald, but have a head of white feathers. Its name comes from an older meaning of the word, meaning "white headed".
Photograph: W. Lloyd MacKenzie
Read More

B-29 / P-51 Actual WWII Footage

Thirty six minutes.  But worth every minute if you are a WW II buff. This is spectacular live footage of the 3,000 mile round trip air assault upon the Japanese mainland, with 3 bomber wings and a host of P-51's.  This is the way to end a war. No matter what war footage you ever saw before, this is the real deal and will keep your undivided attention.  The P-51 & B29 footage is remarkable.  The strafing runs by the P-51 pilots were incredible. There are several “breaks” as the film canisters are changed, just wait for the count down.

http://www.archive.org/details/TheLastBomb1945 

Drugsdb.com

Drugsdb.com is a drug information database where you'll find answers to frequently asked questions on the most commonly-prescribed drugs and medications in the world. This includes information about the uses of the drug, suggested dosages, common and serious drug side effects, contraindications, adverse interactions and more.
Drugsdb.com

Happy Valentine's Day

Especially to a Gal named Betty Jean

Ruth Lyons - Paul Dixon

Ruth Lyons

Ruth Lyons, (born Ruth Evelyn Reeves October 4, 1905, died November 7, 1988) was a pioneer radio and television broadcaster in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is said Ruth Lyons accidentally invented the daytime TV talk show.  Ruth built a TV empire
Read more


The Paul Dixon Show is an American television variety program originating in Cincinnati on WLWT Television beginning in 1955 and ending in January 1975, one month after Dixon's death in December 1974. The show began as a 30-minute series expanding to 90 minutes in the 1960s, but the other stations along the Avco Network in nearby Dayton, Columbus and Indianapolis only ran 60 minutes of the show. Pre-recorded episodes were sold to other markets throughout the Midwest.

Paul Dixon Show Cast

The show was originally co-hosted by Bonnie Lou and Marian Spelman, who was later replaced with Colleen Sharp. The house band, originally called The Bel-Aires, was led by pianist Bruce Brownfield.
Read More


See YouTube videos
Ruth Lyons
Paul Dixon

International Space Station

See the International Space Station from your house?
http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
If you are an Amateur (Ham) radio operator you could talk to the astronauts on board.
If you are not but have a radio scanner you can hear them. Just listen on 145.800 & or 145.825 FM mode.  You can get further information at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
I have made contact with the ISS and received their QSL card.
See a larger photos at:

QSL Front
QSL Back

Patty Hearst - kidnapped Feb.4, 1974

The 19-year-old Hearst was kidnapped from the Berkeley, California apartment, which she shared with her fiancé Steven Weed, by a left-wing urban guerrilla group called the Symbionese Liberation Army. When the attempt to swap Hearst for jailed SLA members failed, the SLA demanded that the captive's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian – an operation that would cost an estimated $400 million. In response, Hearst's father arranged the immediate donation of $6 million worth of food to the poor of the Bay Area. After the distribution of food, the SLA refused to release Hearst because they deemed the food to have been of poor quality. (In a subsequent tape recording released to the press, Hearst commented that her father could have done better.) On April 3, 1974, Hearst announced on an audiotape that she had joined the SLA and assumed the name "Tania" (inspired by the nom de guerre of Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider, Che Guevara's comrade). For this reason, she is often referred to as a victim of Stockholm Syndrome. On April 15, 1974, she was photographed wielding an M1 carbine while robbing the Sunset District branch of the Hibernia Bank.
I was en-root to Cinci in a UPS package car when ordered to stop at Cleves, then ordered to open the back doors with shotguns pointed at me by cops. After seeing the truck was empty, I asked, what are you looking for? One cop replied, "Patty Hearst ".

The Day the Music Died - Feb 3rd, 1959

Buddy Holly

Ritchie Valens

The Day the Music Died, dubbed so by Don McLean's song "American Pie", was an aviation accident that occurred on February 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and the pilot Roger Peterson. After terminating his partnership with The Crickets, Buddy Holly assembled a new band consisting of Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch, to play on the Winter Dance Party tour.




The tour also featured rising artist Ritchie Valens and Big Bopper Richardson, who were promoting their own recordings as well. The tour was to cover 24 Midwestern cities in three weeks.
Read the full story

The Big Bopper

Groundhog Day - Feb 2

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

Challenger Explodes 1/28th/86

January 28th, 1986 at 11:39am EDT - The Space Shuttle Challenger Explodes on its 10th flight during mission STS-51-L. The explosion occurred 73 seconds after liftoff and was actually the result of rapid deceleration and not combustion of fuel.

CNN was the only national news station to broadcast the mission live, so thus what you are witnessing on this video is the only coverage of the disaster as it happened when it did. Approximately 17% of Americans witnessed the launch live, while 85% of Americans heard of the news within 1 hour of the event. According to a study, only 2 other times in history up to that point had news of an event disseminated so fast - the first being the announcement of JFK's assassination in 1963, the second being news spread among students at Kent State regarding the news of FDR's death in 1945. It has been estimated at the time that nearly 48% of 9-13 year olds witnessed the event in their classrooms, as McAuliffe was in the spotlight.

The 25th Space Shuttle mission altered the history of manned space exploration and represented the first loss of an American crew during a space mission (Apollo 1 was during a training exercise).

Christa McAuliffe was slated to be the first teacher in space for the Teacher in Space Program. As her maximum altitude was ~65,000ft (12.31 miles), she never made it to space. That title was given to Barbara Morgan of STS-118 aboard the shuttle Endeavour in August 2007, 22 and a half years after the Challenger Disaster. Morgan served as McAuliffe's backup during STS-51-L. As Morgan is now part of the Educator in Space Program, she will be credited as the first "educator" in space, to distinguish her from McAuliffe.

Aboard Challenger during STS-51-L:

Francis "Dick" Scobee (Commander)

Michael Smith (Pilot)

Judith Resnik (Mission Specialist)

Ellison Onizuka (Mission Specialist)

Ronald McNair (Mission Specialist)

Gregory Jarvis (Payload Specialist)

Sharon Christa McAuliffe (Payload Specialist - Teacher in Space)

from: youtube.com

Explorer 1 launched 1/31/1958

Explorer 1 was launched on January 31, 1958 at 22:48 Eastern Time (equal to February 1, 03:48 UTC) atop the first Juno booster from LC-26 at the Cape Canaveral Missile Annex, Florida. It was the first spacecraft to detect the Van Allen radiation belt, returning data until its batteries were exhausted after nearly four months. It remained in orbit until 1970, and has been followed by more than 90 scientific spacecraft in the Explorer series.
From: wikipedia.org

Elk Cloner virus

Elk Cloner is one of the first known microcomputer viruses that spread "in the wild," i.e., outside the computer system or lab in which it was written. It attached itself to Apple DOS 3.3 operating system and spread by floppy disk. It was written around 1982 by a 15-year-old high school student named Rich Skrenta. It was originally a joke, created and put on to a game.

from Wikipedia

HOW THE COMPUTER MESS ALL STARTED

        In ancient Israel , it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dorothy. And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

        And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?" And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, dear?"

        And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

        Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

        To prevent neighbouring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The People (HTTP).

        And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

        And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. Indeed he did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.

        And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others." And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel , or eBay as it came to be known.

        He said, "We need a name that reflects what we are."

        And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."

        "YAHOO," said Abraham.

        And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com. Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside.

        It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE). That is how it all began.

Author unknown

Ripley Computer Services

The things I do:

VCR to DVD
Audio Cassette to CD music format
Photos to DVD presentation
Photo restoration and repair
Small business Web pages

$35.00 per hour plus supplies
Jack Demaree
812-689-5960

WLS 890 Chicago & WSAI 1360 Cincinnati

Hop aboard the time machine and go back to the late evening of December 4, 1962. Dick Biondi "The Wild Italian" is just starting his 9pm to Midnight show on WLS 890 Radio in Chicago.



As I bugged the Versailles Square in my 57 Chev with my best girl beside we listened to Dick Biondi on the AM radio 890 out of Chicago. Dick Biondi was my favorite but sometimes we would listen to Dusty Rhodes at 1360 Cincinnati. Lots of static but good times..... Jack

Reckless was a Korean pack horse

See a larger video

WE NOW HAVE 'OBAMA

REMEMBER WHEN RONALD REAGAN WAS PRESIDENT, WE ALSO HAD -- BOB HOPE, JOHNNY CASH and STEVE JOBS!!           WE NOW HAVE 'OBAMA AND NO HOPE,  NO CASH and NO JOBS !!!!!
HAROLD_TOWNSEND

Aloha from Hawaii - January 14,1973

Aloha from Hawaii is a music concert that was headlined by Elvis Presley, and was broadcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973. The concert took place at the Honolulu International Center (HIC) in Honolulu (now known as the Neal S. Blaisdell Center) and aired in over 40 countries across Asia and Europe (who received the telecast the next day, also in primetime). Despite the satellite innovation, the United States did not air the concert until April 4, 1973 (the concert took place the same day as Super Bowl VII). Viewing figures have been estimated at over 1 billion viewers world wide, although it's debatable whether these figures are accurate. The show was the most expensive entertainment special at the time, costing $2.5 million.
Read More

Payola - Lobbying - Isn't it the same ?

Payola, in the American music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast. Under U.S. law, 47 U.S.C. § 317, a radio station can play a specific song in exchange for money, but this must be disclosed on the air as being sponsored airtime, and that play of the song should not be counted as a "regular airplay".
The term has come to refer to any secret payment made to cast a product in a favorable light (such as obtaining positive reviews).
Some radio stations report spins of the newest and most popular songs to industry publications. The number of times the songs are played can influence the perceived popularity of a song.
The term payola is a portmanteau of the words “pay” and “Victrola”, a trade name of early home music reproduction devices from RCA Victor.[citation needed] Payola has come to mean the payment of a bribe in commerce and in law to say or do a certain thing against the rules of law, but more specifically a commercial bribe. The FCC defines "payola" as a violation of the sponsorship identification rule that in 2005-06 resulted in tens of millions of dollars in fines to cable corporations in New York.

Lobbying (also lobby) is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by many different types of people and organized groups, including individuals in the private sector, corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or advocacy groups (interest groups). Lobbyists may be among a legislator's constituencies, meaning a voter or bloc of voters within his or her electoral district, or not; they may engage in lobbying as a business, or not. Professional lobbyists are people whose business is trying to influence legislation on behalf of a group or individual who hires them. Individuals and nonprofit organizations can also lobby as an act of volunteering or as a small part of their normal job (for instance, a CEO meeting with a representative about a project important to his/her company, or an activist meeting with his/her legislator in an unpaid capacity). Governments often define and regulate organized group lobbying that has become influential.

Nuclear bomb on the Moon

Project A119, also known as "A Study of Lunar Research Flights", was a top-secret plan developed in 1958 by the United States Air Force. The aim of the project was to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon to boost public morale in the United States after the Soviet Union took an early lead in the Space Race. The existence of the project was revealed in 2000 by a former executive at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Leonard Reiffel, who led the project in 1958. A young Carl Sagan was part of the team responsible for predicting the effects of a nuclear explosion in low gravity.
Project A119 was never carried out, primarily because a moon landing would be a much more acceptable achievement in the eyes of the American public. The project documents remained secret for nearly 45 years, and despite Reiffel's revelations, the United States government has never officially recognized its involvement in the study.

Aussie Mosquitoes 1944

THE OLD PATHS

I liked the old paths, when
Moms were at home.
Dads were at work.
Brothers went into the navy.
And sisters got married BEFORE having children!

Crime did not pay;
Hard work did;
And people knew the difference.

Moms could cook;
Dads would work;
Children would behave.

Husbands were loving;
Wives were supportive;
And children were polite.

Women wore the jewelry;
And Men wore the pants.

Women looked like ladies;
Men looked like gentlemen;
And children looked decent.

People loved the truth,
And hated a lie.

They came to church to get IN,
Not to get OUT!

Hymns sounded Godly;
Sermons sounded helpful;
Rejoicing sounded normal;
And crying sounded sincere.

Cursing was wicked;
Drugs were for illness.

The flag was honored; America was beautiful;
And God was welcome!

We read the Bible in public;
Prayed in school;
And preached from house to house.

To be called an American was worth dying for;
To be called an American was worth living for;
To be called a traitor was a shame!

I still like the old paths the best!


'The Old Paths' was written by a retired minister who lives In Tennessee.

Mantell UFO incident

Captain Thomas Francis Mantell Jr. (30 June 1922 – 7 January 1948) was a United States Air Force serviceman and a World War II veteran. Mantell was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for courageous action during the Normandy landings, and an Air Medal with three Oak leaf clusters for heroism. In 1948 Mantell became involved in a presumed UFO incident and died on the same day, when his aircraft ultimately crashed near Franklin, Kentucky. The incident was the subject of headlines across the country and has been named for Mantell.  Mantell was the first member of the Kentucky Air National Guard to die in flight. According to John Trowbridge, historian of the Kentucky National Guard, "There is a real X-Files twist to this, too. Mantell lived almost his entire life in Louisville. But he was born in a hospital in Franklin, only a few miles from where he was killed".
Read more

"Government" take care of me

"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him, better take a closer look at the American Indian."

- Henry Ford

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

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/.

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.

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

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

Saint Nicholas

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

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

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

wishing you the best of holiday greetings

http://ripleycounty.net/card/card.htm

and

http://wb9otx.com/card/

Dec 21, 2012 "It looks like we made it"

http://wb9otx.com/audio/A_FREAD1.WAV

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

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

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

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

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

Rainy Mood

  

"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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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/

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

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

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 

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

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!!!

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