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Author: |
Emory Schley |
Created: |
10/4/2006 3:15 PM |
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Readers are invited to comment on any of the items or discussion seen below, or any matter of concern here in Beautiful Marion County! |
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Make it difficult for those who would steal from you |
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By Emory Schley on
7/27/2007 4:29 AM
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The subject of computer passwords comes up with some regularity. Today’s world is full of passwords, from PIN numbers to passwords for Web sites and access to personal banking information on the Internet. It’s best to spend a bit of time on coming up with a good, strong password. Even the best password will eventually crumble to a concerted attack, but there are a number of steps you can take to ensure your passwords will be as difficult as possible to decipher.
Don’t use any words that can be found in a dictionary. Don’t use personal names, especially of your children, grandkids, or pets. Choose a phrase that has some meaning to you, enough so that you’re not likely to forget it. It could be “Looking for a few good ...
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An alphabet soup of mysterious language |
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By Emory Schley on
7/25/2007 4:58 AM
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I’ve often wondered if life would be any easier if we suddenly banned the existence or use of acronyms, especially those that are used in the computer field. Acronyms are abbreviations of terms that are sometimes real tongue-twisters, and I can see where jargon in various fields, especially those of a highly technical nature, would rely heavily on acronyms. Only problem is us ordinary folk haven’t a clue, sometimes, about what a person is speaking about, when they start throwing acronyms and various other technical abbreviations around with abandon.
CRC is one I used to come across frequently when I was reading about the inner workings of a computer. This Cyclic Redundancy Check is somewhat like a checksum in that it is used to identif ...
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In search of a perfect balance with forces of Nature |
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By Emory Schley on
7/23/2007 4:57 AM
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On this blog a while back, I talked about balancing an egg on end. It can be done with sufficient time and patience, but it’s a very delicate process. If you get the balance off by a hair, literally, the egg will roll over on its side. A couple of weeks ago, I actually got two eggs to stand up, side-by-side, simultaneously. They weren’t touching because there was a comfortable inch of so of airspace separating them.
I’ve discovered a much easier way of balancing eggs if your patience won’t let you do it the hard way. If you spread a cloth towel on the table’s surface, then balance the egg on top of the towel, it’s much easier than trying to balance it on a smooth, hard surface. If you use a towel ...
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Here's an idea to relieve traffic congestion at accident sites |
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By Emory Schley on
7/20/2007 7:19 AM
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I was reading something the other day about rubber-neckers and gawkers creating traffic slowdowns as they creep by an accident trying to see whatever tragedy has taken place on the roadside. I guess it’s only human nature to want to know what’s going on, and to see if anyone’s been hurt, but when everyone does it in an unending line of traffic, it sure does impede the traffic flow.
I’ve been caught in these situations a few times, as we all have, and it’s never much fun. Slowing down to 15-20 mph, or even less, on busy I-75 and seeing a stalled line of traffic that stretches to the horizon is not the most thrilling experience of our live ...
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A look back at the Miami that used to be |
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By Emory Schley on
7/18/2007 5:02 AM
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Was it Thomas Wolfe, who said, “You can never go home again”? I’ve often thought about that quotation whenever I’ve found myself strolling through some old haunts, places that once were as familiar as the face on my watch, but that now seem somehow foreign and not quite right.
We left Miami 36 years ago, and on my very infrequent trips back to that city, those “somehow foreign and not quite right” feelings burdened my spirit. However, a reader of my print column, also a former resident of south Florida, sent me a URL for a web-site maintained by a fellow whose love for the old Miami is quite apparent. His site is filled with images of a Miami ...
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Fixing stuff is not necessarily a good thing all the time |
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By Emory Schley on
7/16/2007 5:15 AM
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Have you ever noticed how many times things get screwed up when someone attempts to make improvements? Guess I’m just getting too old, but so many times, I have seen perfectly good products or projects get hopelessly fouled up after someone decided to improve on what was already working pretty well for most of society.
There is an old saying about “If it isn’t broken, then don’t try to fix it.” I only wish that message would get some serious attention from governmental officials, but then again, perhaps they figure they have to “fix” stuff in order to justify the expenses they run up and the salaries they are paid.
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Simply the greatest comic strip of all time! |
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By Emory Schley on
7/13/2007 4:52 AM
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Cartoon strips in the newspaper have always been a family favorite. The best comic strip I ever read, in my opinion, was “Li’l Abner,” by Al Capp. The cartoonist was responsible for many facets of our modern culture even though the strip officially ended back in 1977, after a 43-year run.
Among many of Capp’s “inventions” were the Schmoo, Kickapoo Joy Juice, the two words “irregardless” (according to some authorities) and “druthers” as in, “Irregardless, if’n I had my ‘druthers,’ I’d be in Dogpatch.” He’s also the one who was responsible for&nbs ...
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Just who is the REAL environmentalist here? |
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By Emory Schley on
7/11/2007 3:57 PM
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I came across some information the other day that I found somewhat startling. Not exactly earth-shaking stuff, but unexpected enough to cause me a bit of concern. There apparently has been a communication making its rounds on the Internet about the amount of electricity used in the Al Gore household in Tennessee. Yes, that Al Gore.
The information claims that he uses, on average, about 12 times the amount of electricity that the average home uses, or in other words, he uses as much in a month as most people use in a year. Yes, this is the same Al Gore who is forever preaching about environmental issues and the dangers of global warming.
& ...
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Getting some exercise even if you don't feel like it |
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By Emory Schley on
7/11/2007 3:47 PM
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Mowing grass is not one of my fondest activities but it is perhaps the only one that provides me with some physical exercise. For the past dozen years or so, I have deliberately avoided buying a riding lawnmower, because I figured if I had a mower I had to push around my yard every week or two, that would force me to engage in at least a modest level of physical activity most of the year.
A second benefit of a push mower is that it’s considerably cheaper than the kind you sit on.
It’s also a lot easier to live with than the older push mowers. Every time I fire ol’ Betsy up, I find myself uttering a silent &ld ...
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A brush with American history: He wielded a mighty pen! |
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By Emory Schley on
7/6/2007 7:58 PM
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Over the Fourth of July holiday, I pretty much stayed indoors. Getting too old for the heat put out by that old summertime Florida sun. However, while relaxing in air-conditioned comfort and camped out in front of the TV set with a cold one in my hand, I was reminded of a fellow in Kansas, the late Don Matlack. He was a pretty nice fellow, a lawyer and a former one-term State Senator in Kansas. He was married to my cousin Ardena, herself a 10-year member of the Kansas House of Representatives.
Don liked to tell the story of one of his ancestors, the guy who "wrote" the Declaration of Independence. (Yes, THAT Declaration of Independence.) When Don first told me of his ...
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Reality check on nation's birthday |
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By Emory Schley on
7/4/2007 10:43 PM
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So, happy birthday Uncle Sam. For an old guy with 231 candles on his cake, you still look pretty good. A bit rough around the edges, a bit bowed with the problems of the world, and a bit suspicious perhaps of other countries’ intentions, but all in all, you’re not doing too bad for an old guy.
I suppose I could mention lots of little nit-picking problems that probably keep you awake at night, you know, stuff like illegal immigration, supposed global warming, a couple of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a Social Security fund that’s on its way to bankruptcy, and a bunch of politicians eager to pander to the electorate just to extend their own personal power and agendas, an inflation rate th ...
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Time to let others share the "fortune" |
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By Emory Schley on
7/2/2007 8:05 PM
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And so, another page flips over on the calendar and now we find ourselves in the midst of a hot July in a year that’s projected to bring us quite a few of those summer breezes we call hurricanes. After the one-two combination we in central Florida absorbed in 2004, hopefully, Mother Nature will feel we’ve had our share of misery for awhile and concentrate on some other area.
I certainly don’t wish hurricanes to descend on anyone, but fair is fair. We’ve had our share in recent memory, and now it would only seem right and in accordance with the American Way that someone else be allowed to get in on the action. Again, not wishing any disasters ...
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Carefree days of summer come to an end eventually |
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By Emory Schley on
6/29/2007 8:16 PM
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I seldom look forward to summer anymore. I’m more of an autumn type guy now.
As a kid, summer was always a great time for me. No school, no job, no cares. Just three squares a day, a place to sleep, free medical care, and I had to do very little in return for all that. Hot weather didn’t bother me nearly as much back then as it does now.
I once asked my father, about 30 years ago, which was worse as you age: Cold weather or hot? His immediate reply was “Both.” Now that I’m approaching the age he was when he made that statement, I can’t say I entirely agree with him, but somehow I have a feeling that he was essentially correct. It’s only a matter of me ag ...
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Poll workers not exactly overwhelmed |
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By Emory Schley on
6/27/2007 7:50 PM
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I dropped in at my local polling place yesterday morning to register my vote for a couple of local representatives in the state legislature. I was on my way to work at the time. When I drove into the precinct parking lot, it was almost empty. When I walked into the polling place, there were only four people present, and they were all poll workers.
I showed the lady my photo identification, signed my name on the sheet she presented, then was given a ballot, which I checked off and dropped into the balloting machine. The counter on the machine identified me as the third voter for that precinct that day – and this was at 8:15 a.m. The polls had been open for over an hour, and I was only the third voter to show up so far.
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The beauty of West "By God" Virginia is stunning to behold! |
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By Emory Schley on
6/25/2007 9:11 PM
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My wife and I recently completed a vacation during which we traveled through 12 states in 11 days. From Florida, we drove into Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and back home again. It was a pretty nice trip, and we experienced all the usual stuff along the way.
Every now and then, I like to get out on the road and drive for hour after hour.
It gives me a real sense of just how big the United States really is. And it’s a truly beautiful country. But of the States I’ve seen (and there are quit ...
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'Big Sam' was the featured attraction at Florida Adventureland |
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By Emory Schley on
6/22/2007 7:52 PM
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Someone wrote into my print column the other day asking about the “World’s Biggest Bull” which used to be featured prominently at a tourist attraction on U.S. 301-441 in Ocala several decades back. I ran her question in the column, then Jenny Hammer, longtime photo technician for the Star-Banner, brought in an old brochure advertising the place for me to see.
Its name was Florida Adventureland and it was located five miles south of Ocala. The attraction’s “bull” was actually an ox, and its size was listed as eight feet tall and 16 feet long, with a weight of 3,891 pounds. The animal consumed 400 pounds of food and water per day, the brochure stated.
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Savannah offers both history and beauty |
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By Emory Schley on
6/20/2007 7:55 PM
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Recently I had occasion to travel to Savannah, Georgia for a brief period. While there, my wife and I decided to take one of those trolley tours of the Historic District. I had visited Savannah several times back in the 1960s and had not been impressed much by the city. However those visits were to a military airport and the briefest possible I could make. I had no idea back then that Savannah had such a rich history.
The tour guide said George Washington himself had visited Savannah on several occasions, and I wondered, as I heard that, just how many other cities in the United States could make that claim. Not many, I would suppose. There are a number of town squares dotting the Historic District, each one holding a new delight for visitors. Fancy wrought iron highlights ma ...
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Our ever-changing world, and the pace is picking up |
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By Emory Schley on
6/18/2007 9:32 PM
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I’ve been looking into a few of the possibilities offered by the Internet lately. Time was, a few years back, if you wanted a radio station or a TV station, first you had to raise millions of dollars, hire a gaggle of attorneys, apply to the Federal Communications Commission for a license, and jump through dozens of legal hoops just to arrive at the day when you could first flip the switch and go on the air.
Now, any kid with a cheap camera, microphone, laptop and an Internet connection can do essentially the same thing.
It may not be quite as elegant, but even that can come, with a bit of time and experience. And it’s a darn sig ...
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Today is the first day of hurricane season |
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By Emory Schley on
6/1/2007 7:47 PM
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So, today marks the official beginning of the hurricane season, that annual watch period we Floridians enjoy so much as we keep our eyes peeled to the skies, our ears attuned for distant thunder, and our TV remotes ready at the slightest provocation to switch over to the Weather Channel.
Six months of wary apprehension is the price we collectively pay for the advantages of living in the Sunshine State, being only a short drive from Walt Disney World and being on a more-or-less first-name basis with a certain very wealthy mouse.
&nbs ...
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The never-ending challenge that awaits each of us... |
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By Emory Schley on
5/30/2007 7:51 PM
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Ever have one of those days when absolutely nothing goes right? I had one of those recently.
I awakened at 5:30 a.m., same as every other morning. My cat, Morris always seems to think I should get out of bed at that time. I’ve always wondered how he knows what time it is. I have a digital clock in the bedroom, but as far as I know, cats can’t read numbers or tell time. Nevertheless he wakes me up at 5:30 every morning.
As I crawled out of bed, I slipped somehow and wound up sprawled on the floor. Still groggy from sleep, I managed to pull myself upright in the dark before stumbling over toward the light switch. When I flicked the switch, the overhead bulb flashed and died, and I stood there, still in the dark. I should have known better than to continue the day at this point. After all, wha ...
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