Saturday, October 15, 2005

About the Calendar

About the Calendar...

Ron Thomas

We were thinking our LVH Calendar would be more comprehensive if we put on meeting schedules of volunteer activities outside of LVH as well as LVH activities. If you would like to add your group’s activities to our calendar we might be willing to give it a trial to see how it works. That might end up making the calendar more of an asset to the community.

If you would like to learn how to develop a web calendar such as we use here at LVH for your group let me know... I can guide you on how to do it.

My thoughts on our c

My thoughts on our community’s future projects...

Ron Thomas

Our community is growing projects in many ways and with that growth comes an opportunity for more volunteers. Here are some of the projects some of our folks are involved in outside of LVH:

Our local hospital has quite a few volunteers from LVH with some putting in thousands of hours a year.

Same thing with the Aquarium in South Beach.

Our local fire department has a volunteer fireman from the community as well as 13 for the CERT program.

Some of our folks give their time to the Hatfield Museum in South Beach.

We have volunteer State Police who help that agency by freeing up officers from some of their duties.

Other folks volunteer for the annual Seafood and Wine festival.

Here we have lots of unfilled opportunities to help within the community. Most notable are the positions with the Social Club which will have a large turnover rate next year.

Here are some things we would like to see happen at LVH:

  • We would like to see the Neighborhood Block Captains and their assistants meet every once in awhile to discuss issues that might help each other and review what does and does not work.

  • A group that keeps up the calendar for the community. We would be willing to teach the group how to do it.


  • A group to keep up the Bulletin Board and learn how to make posters on their computers.. We would volunteer to teach them how.


  • A group that would organize physical activities for the community. Maybe Tai Chi or low impact aerobics.


  • A group that would perform maintenance on our Emergency Red Light System. We would teach how to do it.


  • A different person put the Neighborhood Watch Patrol signs on their car every month.


  • Computers from some donating source for computing classes and the folks to teach the classes. With Windows XP operating system installed.


  • 1 highspeed internet connection for the clubhouse... and a network installed so any computer can operate on the internet in the clubhouse at any time. This would allow for classes on how to use the internet


  • A Wi-Fi station supplying all residents high speed internet for pennies instead of dollars.

  • Our own low powered radio station.

  • A security camera and recorder on the front gate.

  • A hand held gate opener just like a garage door opener to open the front gate.

  • An LVH community association to form with monthly or annual fees to direct non-social activities of the park.



It takes $$, It takes volunteers, it takes training, it takes trainers..

Just because you have retired, can’t walk, can’t see, can’t here, can’t , can’t, can’t..... does not mean that you are not valuable. There are many things to do ... Their are many levels of participation from active to at home kinds of things.

Friday, October 14, 2005

THE SENIOR FUNNIES

THE SENIOR FUNNIES

RON THOMAS

Well, we have ditched the Sunday Funnies and have changed it to the Senior Funnies. All stories will now archive and most pictures will be saved. Entries will be made from time to time instead of once a week. This stuff is what gets emailed to us during the week. Rather than clutter your email it is all here for you to look at when you want a chuckle or need a verbal hug. We suspect beside laughs there will be a lot of warm fuzzies.

We hope you enjoy this feature and so we have enabled the comments so that you can share with one another your test scores on the tests that come up and any other thing you want to say.. Just keep the Golden Rule in mind when you are commenting.

You will find a new link on the left side of this web page to the Senior Funnies and a return link on that page to this one.
More News on the upcoming catered event on October 29th

The lady catering the breakfast on the 29th is the new chef at JIMI’s Café here in Newport. Jimi’s had been undergoing some changes due to loss of  a previous chef.

Now they are on line with this new chef. Our luncheon ladies visited the café today with a group of 13 ladies. They had a great time and Jacky reports her meal was pretty darn good.

Maybe some of you ladies would like to give some input in the comments about how your entrée was?

Don’t forget to buy your tickets from:
Jean Hart
Betty Hanus
Gloria Mazzeo

Tickets are $5 and must be purchased before Wednesday, October 26th so that we can give the caterer an accurate count. There are only so many that will be sold due to the clubhouse seating capacity.
C.E.R.T. Training Schedule


We now have the Civilian Emergency Response Team training schedule posted on the LVH calendar for the convenience of those volunteers from LVH. Check it out.. Let me know if there are errors.

USATODAY.com - Social Security checks to get largest boost since 1991

USATODAY.com - Social Security checks to get largest boost since 1991: "Social Security checks to get largest boost since 1991
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 48 million Americans will get a 4.1% increase in their monthly Social Security checks next year, the largest increase in more than a decade. For the average retiree, it will mean an increase of $39 a month.

The cost of living adjustment, or COLA, was announced Friday by the Social Security Administration. It will be the biggest increase since a 5.4% gain in 1991. The increase last January was 2.7%."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Team widens search for 'Hobbits'

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Team widens search for 'Hobbits': "eam widens search for 'Hobbits'
By Paul Rincon
BBC News science reporter


Lian Bua cave on Flores, Mike Morwood
We've got the prospect of having other new species of human on various parts of island South-East Asia
Mike Morwood, University of New England
The team behind the 'Hobbit' finds have been widening their search for remains of the strange little humans on Flores island - with tantalising results.

Since last year, the remains of at least nine individuals have been found in a cave on the Indonesian island.

The discovery team has now excavated more than 500 stone tools from another, much older, site about 40km away.

They believe a population ancestral to the Hobbits may have lived at this site, which is 850,000 years old.

'At Mata Menge there are hundreds and hundreds of in situ stone artefacts with Stegodon fossils,' Mike Morwood, director of the excavations, told the BBC News website."

Thursday, October 13, 2005

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Bird-like dinosaur forces rethink: "Bird-like dinosaur forces rethink

The 90 million-year-old dinosaur was excavated from a site in central Argentina

Enlarge Image
A rooster-sized dinosaur with a long, slender snout and wing-like limbs is forcing a rethink on bird evolution.

The 90 million-year-old reptile belongs to the same sickle-clawed group of dinosaurs as Velociraptor and feathered dinosaurs from China.

Buitreraptor gonzalezorum, from the Nequén Basin in central Argentina may provide tantalising evidence that powered flight evolved twice.

Details of the discovery appear in the academic journal Nature."
Photo Gallery: Earthquake Devastation in Kashmir: "Photo Gallery: Earthquake Devastation in Kashmir
Photo: Earthquake-ravaged town in Pakistan

Photograph by Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

Flattened by the massive earthquake that struck South Asia on Saturday, October 8, 2005, portions of the village of Balakot slide down a hillside and block the main road below. Located near the quake's epicenter in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, Balakot is said to be the town hardest hit by the temblor.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake is reported to have killed at least 20,000 people and left up to four million homeless, with the Pakistan-controlled area of the Kashmir region suffering the highest death tolls. In many areas relief efforts have been hobbled by landslide- blocked roads."
After the Deluge, Some Questions - New York Times: "Op-Ed Contributor
After the Deluge, Some Questions


By JOHN M. BARRY
Published: October 13, 2005

Washington

THE most important questions about rebuilding New Orleans are simple ones. Can the city be made safe, and if so, how? Who should chiefly bear the burden? Only by answering these questions can the city restore the confidence of would-be residents, investors, insurers and visitors that a rebuilt New Orleans won't be devastated by another hurricane.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
David Suter

Without that public confidence, the city will never be able to thrive. But earning it will require two important measures, both of which were recommended by the flood control working group I recently headed at the request of the Louisiana congressional delegation. Clearly, New Orleans needs a new comprehensive flood control plan for the future - yet no legislation yet introduced has called for developing one. Just as important, we need to understand the failure of the city's old levee system, both in order to build a better one and in order to apportion responsibility for the losses that New Orleans suffered. As it turns out, much of the destruction resulted not from an act of god but from human error."
Web Edition - NewsGator Online: "Samuel McChord Crothers
'The trouble with facts is that there are so many of them.'"
USATODAY.com - Progress at light speed: Ray Kurzweil: "Progress at light speed: Ray Kurzweil
By Gregory M. Lamb, The Christian Science Monitor
The future isn't just evolving, says Ray Kurzweil — it's exploding. We just can't quite see the pyrotechnics yet. That's because change is happening at an exponential rate.

'Exponential growth looks like nothing is happening, and then suddenly you get this explosion at the end,' says Mr. Kurzweil, a prominent inventor, mathematician, and entrepreneur. Evolution has taken millions of years to bring humanity to this point, he says. With the help of technology, the pace of change is about to accelerate at an astonishing rate.
Spooky legend of the jack-o'-lantern: "Spooky legend of the jack-o'-lantern
Thursday, October 13, 2005

Nope, the good old jack-o'-lantern is not the invention of pumpkin growers. Instead, like so many traditions, it stems from a legend of good and evil, this one from Ireland. And while there are many versions of this old tale, the following is our favorite:

Alas, the original jack-o'-lantern was not a pumpkin at all. It was a man, one called Stingy Jack because he wasn't a very nice guy and didn't hesitate to tell a lie or play a trick. No one was off-limits, not even the devil. So one day, Stingy Jack tricked the devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the devil climbed up, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree, making it impossible for the devil to come down. The devil was forced to make a deal and promised Stingy Jack not to take his soul when he died."
Take the slow road: "Take the slow road
A series of trip guides links Oregon's high points, history and habitat
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Bill Monroe

A s kids, we didn't look forward to Sundays nearly as much as our parents.

They were inveterate Sunday drivers. And while in those days there wasn't much television to watch or many electronic games to play, I saw it as less than worthwhile to sit in a car and drive from here to there and back just because we'd never been there before.

But the concept rubbed off, and to this day our own kids -- my wife was also raised by Sunday drivers -- simply shake their heads because Dad never goes the same way twice in the same day. Not even to the store."

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Cater

Don't Forget the Catered Breakfast on the 29th !!!

Jean Hart, Betty Hanus and Gloria Mazzeo have tickets for sale. Tickets will not be sold at the door. The caterer has to know how many are coming before she buys supplies. You need to get your tickets now before the quanity runs out. There can only be enough tickets sold to fill the clubhouse.


Don't lose out buy yours now.


The menu:

Snitzel (potatoes and bacon)

Potatoe pancakes

German Sausage

Biscuits and Gravy

An egg and cheese dish


Apple Strudel...


$5.00 a person.

Thinking Of Expandin

Thinking Of Expanding The “SUNDAY FUNNIES”...

RT

We are thinking of expanding the Sunday Funnies coverage. Here is how it might work...

We load up a new set of Funnies by Saturday of each week. We change the settings of the site to let them stay on all the time just like this webpage. We let the site archive into the future to store all this stuff. We re-enable the comments and let people put what they will in them subject to, “good taste” editing by me. We place an icon on the left as a link to the page.

There are technical problems... Some of the stuff that moves and talks (animated), much like the birthday greetings we show here on the site. cannot be kept for a long period of time because it costs money so that stuff has to be deleted from time to time. That then will show up on your computer as a blank space with a little box icon in the top left corner. Other types of pictures can be kept forever (like photos).

I’m thinking of keeping the stuff that folks submit for this page on its own separate email address to keep from clogging my personal one up. That would be displayed on the Funnies page at the top.

A better way to start this new feature would be if some of you folks were interested and would like to be a contributor by learning how to turn the page out. We could have classes and if you like what you are doing then you become a member of the Funnies publishing team and help construct the funnies...

We would appreciate your comments.

Wilsonville puts its heart in proposal

Wilsonville puts its heart in proposal: "Wilsonville puts its heart in proposal
Wednesday, October 12, 2005

K eep your eyes on Wilsonville if you want to see a city grapple with a cutting-edge ordinance. Depending on how the City Council handles it, the ordinance could break ground for cities across Oregon or plunge Wilsonville into a protracted legal battle.

Maybe both at once.

This summer, the 400-some residents of the Thunderbird Mobile Club got the word that the aging mobile home park was for sale, with an eye toward upscale redevelopment. The residents, many of whom are elderly and on fixed incomes, found themselves holding the short end of the stick. Because few parks will accept mobile homes more than 10 years old, the announcement immediately made many of the approximately 250 mobile homes on the 60-acre park practically worthless.

Besides, where would the residents go?

The dilemma was apparent to city officials, who didn't want to sit on their hands and watch a potentially ugly drama unfold.

'If there was a lesson in Hurricane Katrina for us all, it was that communities have to exercise some responsibility for their fragile populations,' said Mayor Charlotte Lehan. 'The residents of Thunderbird Mobile Club are fragile both socially and physically. Even if it were physically possible and financially possible for them to move, the stress on them could be potentially life-threatening.'

City officials hit the books and went to work. A few weeks ago, City Attorney Mike Kohlhoff unveiled a proposed ordinance with a unique approach.

'The ordinance is written to address the situation as a social issue -- not land use,' Kohlhoff said. 'In fact, the title says it is 'relating to mitigating public health and welfare impacts of forced evictions associated with closure of mobile home parks.' '

Eugene has a similar ordinance, though it came at the issue from a different angle. As"

TIME.com: Hot on the 'Hobbit' Trail -- Page 1

TIME.com: Hot on the 'Hobbit' Trail -- Page 1: "Hot on the 'Hobbit' Trail
Australian scientists spark controversy with a discovery of small bones suggesting the existence of a prehistoric 'hobbit'-like species
By MICHAEL LEMONICK
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR


Posted Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005
The world of paleontology was thrown into an uproar last year when Australian scientists Michael Morwood and Peter Brown, claimed they’d found fossils from an entirely new (though presumably extinct) human species, which they dubbed Homo floresiensis , on the Indonesian island of Flores. For one thing, the diminutive creatures, nicknamed “hobbits” by the scientists, were alive as recently as 13,000 years ago—meaning they survived tens of thousands of years longer than the Neanderthals, which we thought were our last surviving cousins. They might even have lived into modern times, if local legends of a race of forest-dwelling little people are to be believed."

ConsumerReports.org - Tips for saving fuel 9/05

ConsumerReports.org - Tips for saving fuel 9/05: "Tips for saving fuel
A few simple suggestions to keep costs in check

With gas prices surging past $3.00, drivers can benefit from many different strategies to save fuel. The obvious first step is buying a fuel-efficient car.

To get the best fuel economy, choosing a four-cylinder engine rather than a V6, or a V6 rather than a V8, is usually the way to go. Small, light cars tend to be more miserly with fuel than larger vehicles. Consumer Reports' monthly road tests include our fuel-economy measurements for city and highway driving and for overall driving and we list the most fuel efficient cars that we have tested on our Web site. You can also visit the EPA's Web site, www.fueleconomy.gov to find data on fuel-efficient cars. "

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

USATODAY.com - Investigator of CIA leak seen as relentless

USATODAY.com - Investigator of CIA leak seen as relentless: "Investigator of CIA leak seen as relentless
By Judy Keen, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — When defense attorney Ron Safer heard that Patrick Fitzgerald would lead an inquiry into the leak of a CIA operative's name, his first thought was that, from the Bush administration's perspective, 'they could not have picked a worse person.'
'He ... goes where the facts lead him': CIA leak investigator Patrick Fitzgerald.
By Charles Rex Arbogast, AP

Safer, a Chicago lawyer who has watched Fitzgerald since he was named U.S. attorney there in 2001, says the prosecutor 'will bring to this the same energy and aggression that he does to every other project he undertakes.'"

USATODAY.com - Call her Madame President

USATODAY.com - Call her Madame President: "Call her Madame President
By Susan Page, USA TODAY
It's settled: A woman can be president.
The accidental president: Geena Davis portrays Vice President Mackenzie Allen, a mother of three who is thrust into a new role on Commander in Chief.
ABC

In Hollywood.

President Mackenzie Allen in the first two episodes of ABC's Commander in Chief already has taken the oath of office, addressed a joint session of Congress, launched a military rescue operation and foiled the machinations of the scheming House speaker, all the while conveying the cool glamour of, well, Geena Davis.

Her Gallup Poll ratings — make that the Nielsens — are doing well, too. The series is the most-watched new show this season.

Female politicians on the other coast are having a tougher time, though. Two decades after Geraldine Ferraro seemed to break the glass ceiling in American politics, no woman has been nominated or even seriously competed for national office.

'I was one of the big mouths who said, '(Political) tickets will never look the same again,' ' says Pat Schroeder, a former Colorado congresswoman who ran for president two years after Ferraro was nominated for vice president in 1984. 'And guess what? They went right back to looking the same.'"

USATODAY.com - New Orleans man denies police officers' allegations

USATODAY.com - New Orleans man denies police officers' allegations: "New Orleans man denies police officers' allegations
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A retired elementary teacher who was repeatedly punched in the head by police in an incident caught on videotape said Monday he was not drunk, put up no resistance and was baffled by what happened."

Web Edition - NewsGator Online

Web Edition - NewsGator Online: "Paula Poundstone
'I don't have a bank account, because I don't know my mother's maiden name.'"

Web Edition - NewsGator Online

Web Edition - NewsGator Online: "Don Marquis
'When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?''"

Yahoo! Search blog: You the Media

Yahoo! Search blog: You the Media: "October 10, 2005
You the Media

During Hurricane Katrina millions of people came to Yahoo! News for authoritative information. At the same time thousands of bloggers were posting first-hand accounts, photos, personal stories, and opinions. But without mainstream exposure, many important voices went unheard.

Today we've begun the integration of blogs in Yahoo! News Search. Now when you search on Yahoo! News you will see blog results as well as content from thousands of trusted news sites. The experiences and opinions published on blogs make a great addition to the mainstream news people read everyday. And major world events are further fueling the growth of blogs as platforms for anyone who wants to have a public voice. At times, even everyday bloggers beat the mainstream media to a story."

Photo in the News: Robot Fish Debut in London

Photo in the News: Robot Fish Debut in London: "Photo in the News: Robot Fish Debut in London
Photo: A robotic fish swimming in a tank

Photograph by Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images More Photos in the News



October 7, 2005—This week the London Aquarium unveiled the newest 'species' to join its collection: robo-carp.

Computer scientists at the University of Essex in the U.K. developed the self-guided robot fish, seen here swimming in the aquarium. The designers say it is the smartest such robot yet created—the fish uses artificial intelligence and built-in sensors to avoid obstacles and respond to environmental changes."

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | Your pictures: In the Kaghan Valley

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | Your pictures: In the Kaghan Valley: "Your pictures: In the Kaghan Valley

Follow the link below to the pictures

This is Naran, part of the Kaghan Valley in Pakistan, just before the massive earthquake struck the region. BBC News website reader James Herron took these photos before being airlifted to safety in Islamabad."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | More Flores 'Hobbits' described

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | More Flores 'Hobbits' described: "More Flores 'Hobbits' described
LB6 remains - scalebar = 1cm (Morwood/Brown/Nature)
Unlike modern humans, H. floresiensis has little in the way of a chin
Scientists have discovered more remains of the strange, small people that once lived on Flores island, Indonesia.

The announcement last year detailing a single, partial skeleton caused a sensation when it was claimed to be a human species new to science.

Homo floresiensis, as it was called, was little more than a metre tall and lived 18,000 years ago.

Now, the same team tells Nature journal it has skeletal remains from at least nine of the 'Hobbit-like' individuals."

Monday, October 10, 2005


CERT Training Class will be held.....


The Cert Training Class will be held this Thursday at the Newport Fire Department fire house at 5:00pm. Don't forget we are looking out for our community... So let's get trained. See you all there (if I'm not gone to California by then)

Web Edition - NewsGator Online

Web Edition - NewsGator Online: "Lily Tomlin
'Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then--we elected them.'"

As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound - New York Times

As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound - New York Times: "As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound


By CLIFFORD KRAUSS, STEVEN LEE MYERS, ANDREW C. REVKIN and SIMON ROMERO
Published: October 10, 2005

CHURCHILL, Manitoba - It seems harsh to say that bad news for polar bears is good for Pat Broe. Mr. Broe, a Denver entrepreneur, is no more to blame than anyone else for a meltdown at the top of the world that threatens Arctic mammals and ancient traditions and lends credibility to dark visions of global warming."

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Reporters' log: S Asia earthquake

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Reporters' log: S Asia earthquake: "Reporters' log: S Asia earthquake
Earthquake survivors in Muzaffarabad seek shelter in the city's sports stadium
Survivors have spent another night out in the open
More than 20,000 people are thought to have died in a powerful earthquake in Pakistan, northern India and the disputed territory of Kashmir. Pakistan's president has appealed for international help, saying his country cannot deal with the devastating aftermath on its own.

BBC correspondents in the region report on the impact of the earthquake."

Sunday, October 09, 2005

I wrote 2,200 stories on the state budget and your tax money. Ten years of hammering away on my computer, but a lot of you are still confused. Well, l

EDITOR:
Pretty darn good... Read the whole thing


I wrote 2,200 stories on the state budget and your tax money. Ten years of hammering away on my computer, but a lot of you are still confused. Well, let me give it one last shot.: "I wrote 2,200 stories on the state budget and your tax money. Ten years of hammering away on my computer, but a lot of you are still confused. Well, let me give it one last shot.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
JIM MAYER"

BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Are you affected by the Asia quake?

EDITOR:
This article is a thread of posts from the people in the earthquake and is not news like you normally see.. Just folks like you and me talking about what's happening to them. You could say this is unfiltered news from the scene of the disaster


BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Are you affected by the Asia quake?: "Rescuers are trying to reach residents in collapsed buildings in Islamabad and Pakistan's interior ministry have said several villages may have been destroyed.

Are you in the areas affected? Or do you know anybody who is? Send us your comments and experiences.

Do you have any images? If so, you can send photos and mobile phone footage to yourpics@bbc.co.uk
Click here for terms and conditions on sending photos and video

Click here to read a second page of your comments

We will be discussing the aftermath of the earthquake on our global phone-in programme, 'Talking Point' on Sunday 9 October at 1406GMT / 1506BST. If you would like to contribute, please leave a telephone number where we may contact you. This will not appear on the site.

If you are able to make calls using voice over internet protocol software, such as Skype, please let us know.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:"