Sunday, June 29, 2008

Versailles Legion Car Show Update


The weather and gas prices kept the crowd down. We only had 63 cars, last year we had 251 but the weather was perfect and gas was about a dollar less in 2007. I won a trophy for my little motorcycle, but did I forget to tell you all entries got one. There was trophies for the top 85 and there were only 63 cars and bikes so that is the only reason I won one. The Lion's chicken BBQ didn't do well either, although it tasted very good. All that did attend, I'm sure, had a very enjoyable time. Can't wait till next year ! See the photos All photos taken by Katherine Taul.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Versailles Legion & Lion's Club Chicken B-B-Q

Saturday June 28th on the Versailles Public Square.
85 trophies and $100 door prizes awarded every 15 minutes to entries. Come see the cars and enjoy good food.
See photos from Last years event:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree/LegionCarShow2007

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Major Glenn Miller


I was listening to some of my music today and one of my favorites came on, It was "In the mood" by Glenn Miller. I thought you may like to read about this man. He was a piece of history, at least in my mind. Read the full story here. .......jack

.........................................................................................

On December 15, 1944, Miller, now a major, was to fly from the United Kingdom to Paris, France, to play for the soldiers who recently had liberated Paris. His plane departed from RAF Twinwood Farm, in Clapham, Bedfordshire, but disappeared over the English Channel. Miller's remains and the wreckage of the plane (a single-engine Noorduyn Norseman UC-64, USAAF Tail Number 44-70285) have never been found.

Since Miller's disappearance more than sixty years ago, there have been many theories about what happened. Buddy DeFranco, one of the leaders of the post-war Glenn Miller orchestra, told biographer George T. Simon of the many theories of Miller's disappearance that were told to him while he was leading the band in the 1970s. DeFranco said "If I were to believe all those stories, there would have been about twelve thousand four hundred and fifty eight people there at the field in England seeing him off on that last flight!"

Miller's plane may have been bombed accidentally by Royal Air Force aircraft over the English Channel after an abortive air raid on Germany. One hundred and thirty-eight Lancaster bombers, short on fuel, were jettisoning approximately 100,000 incendiaries in a designated area before landing, per standing orders. The logbooks of Royal Air Force navigator Fred Shaw record that a small single-engined monoplane was seen spiralling out of control and crashed into the water. If this was indeed Miller's plane, then the RAF crews jettisoning ordnance to facilitate safe landing conditions could not have been to blame for Miller's plane's straying into their designated drop zone.
...........................................................
from: wikipedia.org

Monday, June 23, 2008

What ever happened to Will Rogers ?


Will Rogers

Wiley Post

In 1935 Wiley Post became interested in surveying a mail-and-passenger air route from the West Coast of the United States to Russia. Short on cash, he built a plane using parts salvaged from two different aircraft: The fuselage of an airworthy Lockheed Orion and the wing of a wrecked experimental Lockheed Explorer. The Explorer wing was six feet longer in span than the Orion's original wing, an advantage which extended the hybrid aircraft's range. As the Explorer wing did not have retractable landing gear, it also lent itself to the fitting of floats for landing in the lakes of Alaska and Siberia. Post's friend Will Rogers visited him often at the airport in Burbank, California while he was building the aircraft, and asked Post to fly him through Alaska in search of new material for his newspaper column. When the floats Post had ordered did not arrive at Seattle in time, he used a set that was designed for a larger plane, making the already nose-heavy hybrid aircraft still more nose-heavy. (One source has stated that the floats were the correct type for the aircraft.)

After making a test flight in July, Post and Rogers left Seattle in the plane in early August. While Post piloted the plane, Rogers wrote his columns on his typewriter. On August 15 they left Fairbanks, Alaska for Point Barrow. They were a few miles from Point Barrow when they became uncertain of their position in bad weather and landed in a lagoon to ask directions. The engine failed on take off, at low altitude, and the aircraft, uncontrollably nose-heavy at low speed, plunged into the lagoon, shearing off the right wing and ending inverted in the shallow water of the lagoon. Both men died instantly. Read More about Will Rogers or Wiley Post

Above text from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Phishing ........ Again

Phishing is the process of attempting to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. PayPal, eBay and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging, and often directs users to enter details at a website, although phone contact has also been used. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical measures. A phishing technique was described in detail as early as 1987, while the first recorded use of the term "phishing" was made in 1996. The term is a variant of fishing, probably influenced by phreaking, and alludes to the use of increasingly sophisticated baits used in the hope of a "catch" of financial information and passwords. (read more...

This article copied from:
http://en.wikipedia.org

"Joe, American"

"Joe, American" Challenges the Presidential Candidates
This guy should be a Presidential Candidate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPch2k63uj4

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Ford Tri-Motor airplane 2008


It was a very clear morning and perfect for a flight in a Ford Tri-Motor airplane. This plane was built in 1929 and was the first Eastern Airline's fleet of aircraft. We (John Reid) took to the air at 10:00 am and had a very enjoyable smooth flight. See a few of the photos John and I took at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree/FordTriMotorLunken2008
The video I took is a wee bit shaky because I rested the camera on the window ledge and there it picked up the vibration of the 3 engines, but a shaky video is better than none at all. You can see the video at:
http://wb9otx.com/youtube/
We had a wonderful time and I'm sure it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

old Xbox

Got an old Xbox laying around?
This is one of the coolest things I have seen in a while, an outdated video game system that can be networked with your pc to view your digital photos, videos, Stream music from the internet, play your mp3 collection.. this thing will do it all. With the right software, and a little reading on google, you are in business. If you have a geek son like I do, may be he will convert one for you like he did for me, (Good Boy). See a youTube demo of it here:
http://tinyurl.com/5e7gcm
For big bucks HP has built one for you. See it here:
http://tinyurl.com/6my89u

Saturday, June 14, 2008

We call it the Friendship Shoot


It all starts today - June 14th
The National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) holds two major shooting events each year at the Walter Cline Range in Friendship, Indiana. The annual Spring National Shoot is held in mid-June and the National Championship Shoot is held in mid-September. See their page here

Thursday, June 12, 2008

IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION

SCARED SAFE: LIFE'S LITTLE IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION HANDBOOK

Every day identity theft threatens you, your family, and your peace of mind. Preventing identity theft is a multi-step approach that requires awareness, changes in behavior, and security tools. Your identity is stored electronically much more frequently than you realize. It is critical that you take steps to protect that identity before it is too late.

Credit card numbers, social security numbers, passwords, bank accounts and other personal information are the constant targets of hackers and identity thieves.

This comprehensive, yet easy-to-understand guide explains some of the most common threats – and most importantly - how you can protect yourself from being their victim.

Download it free from:

http://www.identityfinder.com/scaredsafe/

Monday, June 09, 2008

New Videos Added


Two new videos have been added to my latest video page. The first was video taped several years ago at Lunken airport It shoes a B-29 with nose art "FiFi, the other plane is a B-24 "Lil". This was an exciting day for me as I was able to tour the inside of both planes an even set in the pilot's seat. The second video is from ZDTV. This was a cable/satellite program dedicated to computers. Sadly it is now off the air. The show that is featured in this video was called "The Screen Savers", I did a short promo via V-mail. The quality is very poor by todays standards , but on a dial-up and 64 meg video card it was state of the art for the time. This was in the the early 90s . See both at:
http://wb9otx.com/youtube/

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Ford Trimotor


I will be a passenger on a Ford Trimotor June 19th. I will board at 9am from Lunken Field near Cincinnati. This plane is sponsored by the EAA, Inc. Please say a small prayer for me as this plane was built in 1929. I will shoot video and take lots of photos for you to see. I will post them when / if I get home on the 20th. Read this Blog to find the link to them. "Am I Nut" or What ? (inside joke) See some other photos of the plane.

Friday, June 06, 2008

Operation Overlord - Normandy Landings


June 6th 1944 is a very important date in our history. A lot of solders died on this date for your freedom that we enjoy today. My brother made the landing and proceeded from the coast only to loose his life on June 7th. The solders that died along with the survivors of WWII are true heroes. I am 62 years old, so I remember nothing of the war, but the history is well told in print and by solders that survived. Please respect the survivors and show them your honor. Please take a few minutes to read just a little more about the Normandy Landings at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings

Untold Stories from National Geographic:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/06/D-Day/allen-text/1
Thank you John R. for the above link.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

"Casey at the Bat"

June 3rd, 1888 – American writer Ernest Thayer's baseball poem "Casey at the Bat" was first published in the San Francisco Examiner.

"Casey at the Bat"


The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville Nine that day;
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Johnnie safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And it's likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shown;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville— mighty Casey has struck out.