Date:  Thu Dec 6, 2001  12:08 pm
Subject:  Encina Update (freshmen feast/art gallery/pritchett/safari/amazon.com/cancer/virus/space/database/siblings/garver/lewis/bios/humor/angel/internet/urban legends/whats new)

 
 

ENCINA ALUMNI,

There is no sponsor for this week's update.

The transition to the new webserver is taking longer than anticipated.
In the meantime, I'm paying our current host $115/month to host the
website. That's about $900 since we had to start paying for hosting
earlier this year. Like many dot-coms, we have fixed expenses but almost
no income.

Your voluntary contribution would be most welcome...


ENCINA FRESHMEN FEAST

Steve Palmer '74, co-organizer of this year's Alumni Challenge,
is helping to organize the Second Annual Encina Freshman Feast
on December 18th. I hope you will take this opportunity to
support Encina! If you are interested, please contact Steve at
the email or phone shown below.

Encina Freshman Feast
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2001
ENCINA CAFETERIA

* * * * CALLING ALL ALUMNI! * * * *

Looking for a great way to help others during the holidays? Here's an
opportunity to help kids you know and an opportunity to get to know them
better!

The Second Annual Encina Freshman Feast will bring together 225 freshmen,
22 Senior Guides, faculty and alumni for a delicious holiday turkey
dinner on December 18 in the Encina cafeteria.

Last year's Feast was a great success. Several alumni, working with the
Point West Rotary Club, provided the food and served more than 200 great
meals. There was no doubt that the students really appreciated the food
and our support!

Again this year, alumni can help by providing food and by cooking and
serving. To serve more than 250 people we'll need lots of food and help.


Please consider donating a food item (or the money to buy it) for the
Feast and/or helping to cook and serve at the event.

THE NEED FOR DONATIONS
----------------------
The following food items are needed. PLEASE contact Steve Palmer
(spalmer@innotek.com), 530-676-2775 if you are able to buy an item (or
part of one) and deliver it to Encina by Friday, Dec 14. If you'd like
to sponsor an item through donation, please email or call Steve. We need
your support!

Gravy: 50 packets each serving 4 $25 ($.50 each)
Potatoes: 8 boxes each serving 30 $24 ($3.00/box)
Cranberries: 33 cans each serving 6 $50 ($1.50/can)
Yams: 40 cans each serving 5 $64 ($1.60/can)
Brown Sugar: 3 lb bags $ 4 ($1.33/lb)
Marshmallows: 4 bags $ 7 ($1.80 per bag)
Rolls: 21 bag each serving 12 $42 ($2.00/dozen)
Milk: 3 gal. $ 9 (3.00/gallon)
Margarine: 6 boxes/lbs $ 8 ($1.33/lb)
Sodas: 150 cans (25 each 6 packs) $50 ($2/6 pack)

(West Point Rotary is providing the turkeys and pies.)

This year's Feast will be held from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. We need people
to help cook and serve. Cooks should arrive between 11:00 am and 11:30
am on Tuesday, December 18. Servers should arrive by 2:00 pm. If you
plan to help, PLEASE (beg, beg), contact Steve Palmer at
spalmer@innotek.com, 530-676-2775.

We are going to have a fun time and provide a great meal. Please join us!

Thanks in advance, from the Freshman of class 2005!


HERE'S SOME INFO ON THE SENIOR GUIDES PROGRAM AT
ENCINA FROM ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR BECKY HURLEY
--------------------------------------------------
We have 225 freshmen, and 22 Senior Guides. The idea is to provide a
function to ensure all freshmen have an opportunity to have a holiday
meal, or festive feast (I'm an English teacher - I like alliteration) and
to provide an opportunity for the Senior Guides to spend time with their
freshmen, as well as provide an opportunity for freshmen to be special,
instead of being at the bottom of the heap. Senior Guides "lead" their
freshmen through their first year of high school. All freshmen have a
senior guide, who has gone through an interview process after being
selected on their merits reflected in their resume/application. Senior
Guides are links to school activities, the people working on campus,
programs offered/provided, and big brotherly/sisterly advice and aid when
necessary. The Senior Guides are also a part of the Freshmen Success
Team, which is a group of freshmen teachers, an administrator, Senior
Guides, who bring freshmen into an intervention when they are struggling
academically, behaviorally, etc, and make a plan to succeed. The Sr.
Guides are the link. They follow up on their freshmen to ensure they are
following through on their plans to be successful. They also provide
assistance (maybe tutoring, or "guidance") if necessary.

As far as alumni help, last year we had about 9 who came to help at the
function itself. That would be great to repeat again this year. The
kids like our alumni. They talk fondly of them, and I think it is a
great connection for them. I think it is a connection for our kids to
see that they can graduate from here and have a good life. I think they
also see it as someone cares.


ART GALLERY

Note that the opening reception is this evening!

Courtesy of Kathie Kloss 67...

For holiday fun, visit "The Dreidel," an art show and Hanukkah bazaar
featuring dreidels crafted by 25 regional artists at the Encina High School
Art Gallery. The eight-year event, which continues through Dec. 19, has
shown and sold dreidels from two- to three-inches high to one as high as
five feet. Call 488-4252.

What: The Dreidel Show
Where: Encina Art Gallery
When: December 6-19, 2001
Opening reception: Thursday, December 6, from 6-8pm
Guest Curator: Julia Himovitz
Participating artists:
Fred Babb
Heidi Bekebrede
Roger Berry
Donna Billick
Steven Bradford
Eric Dahlin *
Julian Faulkner
Richard Feese *
Brenda Louie
Jay Musler
Tony Natsoulas
Nina Paladino *
Joan Parazette
Greg Ries
Joe Scarpa
Jimmy Siegel
Michael Stevens
D.R. Wagner


MICHAEL PRITCHETT 99

Another alumni on the front lines!

Tywa Phillips Reali 96 wrote:

Hi Harlan! I was just reading the latest update and
wanted to let you know we have another encinan serving
our country! Michael Pritchett, class of 99, is
serving in the Air Force at a base in Saudi Arabia.
His flight departed on September 11th and was shortly
grounded following the tragedies of that day. He was
on a plane again a few days later and has been there
since! He is married to my beutiful younger sister
Tina, also class of 99. HE is due to come home some
time in December where is stationed for now in
Spokane, WA. I am sure he would love to hear from old
friends now since he is so far away! You can reach
them both @ TIAGOOD20@AOL.COM. Take care Harlan, and
keep up the good work!
Tywa


SAFARI

Patrick Dunn '73 caught the BadTrans worm. Patrick wrote:

Here's hoping I am disinfected this a.m.
Gotta tell though, I have been in Australia for the past 3 weeks and
returned to some mail. The Encina update was one of the first mails I opened
and bam! I skipped over my Norton update and went on to mail. I am
disinfected now and so I am safe. I never open anything I do not recognize
and as you said simply seeing it on your pane infects you. Well, took care
of it. I leave for Grand Cayman tonight at 3:330a.m. so will not be opening
any mail for a couple of weeks.

What do you think of the possibility of alumni interested in a Safari to
Africa? I have been guiding them for many years now and can create an
affordable Safari no one will ever forget! I always stay with east Africa
particularly Tanzania and Kenya. They are stable democracies with unchanged
governments in nearly 40 yrs. I have very good friends that live on the
Ngorongoro crater, the largest Volcano on the planet. A world heritage site
it is 10 by 10 miles inside diameter and full of animals! The lodge is at a
very cool 6,000ft. so nearly no humidity and above and Malaria and yellow
fever threat.
I have lots of info if you think it may be something alumni might like to
plan for the year 2002. Drop a line when ya get time.

Sincerely,
Patrick Dunn

What an offer! If you are interested contact Patrick Dunn '73
at Hyacinth@psyber.com


AMAZON.COM

As you surf the net making christmas purchases, remember that you can
support the Encina website at no cost to yourself, by accessing your
favorite internet stores via the Encina store page:
http://www.encinahighschool.com/store.htm

The Encina alumni website is an affiliate of popular etailers like:
amazon.com
barnesandnoble.com
buy.com
cameraworld.com
dell.com
etc

If you access these websites from the Encina store page, the website
will receive a small commission from your purchase!


BREAST CANCER

Elaine Anderson Rasmussen 75/76 wrote:

The Breast Cancer Site is having trouble getting
enough people to click on it daily to meet the quota
of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an
underprivileged woman. It takes less than 2 seconds
to go to the site & click on "donating a mammogram"
pink window in the middle). Corporate sponsors &
advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate
a mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Here's the website! Pass it along to all your friends!

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com

Please take a moment to click!


VIRUS

I've received several more instances of the Badtrans worm from alumni.
Last weekend I updated the virus software and definitions on all my
home systems. Which is fortunate since I also received the worm at home...

This week there is another new virus called "Goner" which has a subject
line of Hi and asks the user to check an attached screen-saver program.
Don't!

Here's a pointer to a free website which will test your email so you can
see whether your system is vulnerable. From Fred Langa's LangaList...

"Nice (Free!) Email Security Testing Tool

More Trojans, viruses, and worms spread by email than by any other
means, so email security deserves special attention:

Fred: http://www.gfi.com/emailsecuritytest/ has a test that
sends you e-mails which test a different attack on the e-mail
system.... If you can open the attachments, you are in big
trouble. Don't worry, they only leave behind a .txt file as a
reminder of the danger!

Since I received the [test] e-mails.... However, I have
Outlook and Outlook Express set to not open anything
automatically, turned off the preview pane, practice safe e-
mail ethics (never open an e-mail attachment on the first
date!), and scan all attachments and disks for viruses. While
I have a virus scanner, I don't run it all the time. I do have
Zone Alarm as a firewall, and I have never (knock on a
digitalized image of wood) been bit by a virus. I find that
Outlook and Outlook Express aren't inherently less secure than
others, only that the default settings are.

Here is another tip that many people don't know about. In
Outlook Express you can right click on an unopened e-mail,
select "properties" then the "details" tab and then select
"message source" to read an e-mail in a safe manner. This has
allowed me to decide that the e-mail was spam, carried a nasty
payload, or was a complete waste of my time. I can then delete
it safely. Best, Bill Grigg

Thanks, Bill. The tests are nice; the GFI system sends you emails with
harmless attachments that simulate attacks using various common email
vulnerabilities.

GFI is mainly in the business of selling security tools to businesses;
they maintain that these kinds of attachments should be filtered out of
the email stream before they ever get to your desk. (GFI will be happy
to sell you such a filter. <g>) Thus, the tests tell you you're at risk
if the attachments show up at all.

That's true in a literal sense, but local desktop defenses also can work
to protect you if you're not behind an email pre-filter. In my case,
like Bill, the attachments made it to my inbox. But ZoneAlarm Pro
disabled all but the "CLSID vulnerability test" attachments, and when I
deliberately ran the CLSID attachment (something I'd never do with an
unknown, untested attachment in real life) Norton AntiVirus detected a
"possible malicious script" and prevented the script from doing
anything. So, even without a corporate pre-filter, my system tested as
quite safe.

Nice tests--- well worth using!"


SPACE NEEDED

Artist (encina Class of '66)
needs studio/work space on or @ Jan 1st 2002
SF Bay Area/North Berkeley off Gilman Street Preferred.
Shared Okay.
Please Call Ann P. Meredith
510.558.0902
annpmer@pacbell.net

Ann P. Meredith '66
SWORDFISH Productions
1611 University Avenue
Berkeley.CA 94703 USA


CLASS DATABASES

I would appreciate it if those classes who had reunions this year would
send me a copy of their class database so I can merge the new information
into the alumni database. Thanks!


SIBLINGS

Janine Clark 82 wrote:
Dana Clark 80
Janine Clark 82

Donna Albrecht 77 wrote:
Noel Albrecht 74
Donna Albrecht 77

Paul Niklewicz 82 wrote:
Paul Niklewicz 82
John Niklewicz 85

Michele Brown 88 wrote:
Gene Brown 86
Michele Brown 88


DUSTY GARVER 83

Recently, several people contacted me about Dusty Garver 83. I forwarded
their messages to his cousin Marci Wagner 84 to give to Dusty. I found
out that Marci's email was no good (but not bouncing) and I have her
new email address. If you would like to reach Dusty, write Marci Wagner 84
at marci3335@yahoo.com


JAMES LEWIS 93

Some sad news.

James Lewis 93 was married to Mari Trujillo 94, who is expecting in a
few weeks...

SMUD fatality bears witness to perils faced by utility linemen
By Carrie Peyton -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 5:30 a.m. PST Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001
The people who work atop utility poles know that death can come in a single
slip of hand or foot.

Tuesday night, that one false step killed James Lewis, a wiry young former
Marine whose first child is due in just a few weeks, his father said
Wednesday.

"We're not blaming. We accept what happened," Robert Lewis said in a steady,
gentle voice. But "we're standing here as the mom and dad thinking why don't
they have some kind of safety line on him?"

James Lewis, whose parents called him Jimmy, was the smallest, fastest
player on his high school football team, a "jungle gym" to his niece and
nephew, and a Sacramento Municipal Utility District apprentice lineman who
never turned down overtime.

The utility released only the barest details Wednesday of his death, the
third for the utility's crews since 1993.

Lewis, 28, of West Sacramento was working in a group of five near Wilton,
rewiring poles to replace those blown down in the wind, when he fell from a
45-foot pole, said John DiStasio, assistant general manager for customer
services.

Robert Lewis said SMUD officials told him his son was doing a "crossover."

The delicate maneuver requires a worker to unclip his safety belt from a
pole, crawl over the crossarm near the pole's tip, and then dig the spikes
on his feet back into the pole on the other side before coming down.

One of the spikes missed, and Lewis tumbled sideways, landing headfirst on
the pavement below, his father said.

"I don't know how much was due to tiredness. Certainly it was cold. You
don't function right if you're out there too long in the cold," the father
said.

James Lewis could well have been doing everything exactly right, said a
former lineman for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. who is familiar with
accident investigations. It is standard practice to unhook the safety belt
on some crossarms, said the ex-lineman, who asked not to be named because he
didn't know the accident's details firsthand.

"As an apprentice lineman ... you tend to live by all the climbing and all
the electrical rules. You just do. That's how you survive," he said.

Extra harnesses or safety rigging generally aren't used because they can
cause as many injuries as they can prevent, he said.

Every year, one or two linemen in Northern California are killed on the job,
said Eric Wolfe, communications director for the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which represents linemen from Bakersfield
to the Oregon border.

"Despite our best efforts, despite intensive focus on safety by both the
employer and the union ... this is inherently extremely dangerous work," he
said.

That danger would be on the mind of every line worker as they braced for the
storm that was blowing in Wednesday, even as word of the death was spreading
among utility crews throughout the region, said Sonny McCraw, a Roseville
Electric superintendent.

"We'll all be more cautious, more supportive of each other," he said.

SMUD's last fatality was in a bucket-truck accident in 1996, said utility
spokeswoman Dace Udris. In 1993, an apprentice tree trimmer was electrocuted
in an accident that triggered three worker-safety citations from Cal-OSHA,
but the citations later were withdrawn, said agency spokeswoman Susan Gard.

The state safety agency has probed about two dozen workplace injuries at
SMUD since 1990 and issued 13 citations, at least three of which were later
dismissed, she said.

The agency has begun investigating Lewis' death, and will be interviewing
colleagues and reviewing his equipment, its maintenance and his training.

Lewis joined SMUD about a year and a half ago and was authorized to work
with non-electrified equipment, but not with energized lines, DiStasio said.

The job was the fulfillment of a dream to serve others, and gave him and his
wife, Mari, the security to plan for their first child, said his mother,
Georgeanne Lewis.

"It made him feel like he was just really doing something for the
community," she said. "That's the way he was."

She said her son had always been the helper -- the pet lover, the boy
everyone brought their sick birds to, the teenager who skated to work with a
cockatoo perched on his shoulder.

He married his sweetheart from Encina High School seven years ago, and spent
four years in the Marines, where utility training made him set aside
thoughts of becoming a police officer or firefighter.

"It was hand-in-hand with the kind of person he was," said his father. "He
just had a big heart."

As an apprentice, his father recalled, Lewis stepped up for
every overtime shift offered, in a line of work that often can call for
16-hour shifts.

His parents thought he had worked several shifts since Thanksgiving, but
SMUD officials said they had no information about his recent schedule except
that he had been off Monday and started work at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. He died
about 8 p.m., more than 13 hours later.

The thought of such long hours haunted Wilton residents who had been without
power from Saturday until 10 a.m. Wednesday following a wet and windy storm.

"Not all heroes wear the uniform of a policeman or a firefighter," said
David Hillsman, who had been getting ready to take soup and hot cocoa to the
crews when Lewis fell. Hillsman said he didn't sleep the rest of the night.

"Would you rather have your microwave working six hours earlier or send a
tired crew home safe to their families?" he said.

Lewis also served in the California National Guard, helping operate heavy
equipment on his once-a-month stints at a Redding training ground.

"We're ... the ones who make the bridges and the roads and the airfields,"
said his friend, Staff Sgt. Perry Foster.

He remembered Lewis as a steady co-worker, a quietly humorous man who was
studying martial arts to learn more about himself, and an eager father-to-be
who knew that his wife was expecting a son.

"He was just elated," said Robert Lewis.

"We were imagining," he said, pausing and then beginning again. "Can you
imagine what kind of dad he's going to be?

"Now we'll never know that."


BIOS


KEITH TAYLOR 63

Bio: After graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering from Sac State I
knocked around the engineering, architectural, and real estate development
worlds from 1971 to the present. I married Marti in 1967. We have lived in
Colorado, Illinois, Wisconsin, and now in Plano, Texas.

Trivia: I have never been arrested for, or even charged with the commission
of a felonious act.

Kids: I have five sons and one beautiful daughter. All are married now
except my youngest son. In addition to six children, as of this writing I
have six grandchildren.

Grade_school: Yes, for many years!


MICHELE BROWN 88

Occupation: Administrative Assistant

Bio: I got married to a Highlands High graduate. We were married for almost
12 years. We had 2 beautiful children together Corey (11) and Jaime (4). We
have recently seperated and filed for divorce. I am now going out with an
Encina High graduate, Brad Baker. He is wonderful and so are his 3 children.
I had to move out of state in 1994 to Arkansas. We were there for 7 years.
That was the longest 7 years of my life. "Don't go to Arkansas!!!"

Friends: Sheryl Witt, Cindy Leach, Missy Tyler and Lynn Rowe
I have lost contact with Cindy Leach and Lynn Rowe. I still talk to Sheryl
every year on her birthday.

Hobbies: I still enjoy Weightlifting, softball and football

Kids: I have a son, Corey he is 11.
I also have a daughter, Jaime she is 4 almost 5 in Jan.

Grade_school: Crestmont in Roseville

Junior_high: Howe Ave.

Junior_high_friends: Sheryl Witt, Cindy Leach, Missy Tyler and Lisa Faso

Memorable_teachers: Eric Dahlin, he was the coolest teacher.

Favorite_memory: My friendships, my weight training records (which have
probably been beat by now), track and field and most of all "cutting 1st
period at Mcdonalds with my brother, Gene Brown.

Sibling_info: Gene Brown 1986

Alumni_in_contact: Sheryl Witt and Aaron Ford.


MICHAEL DUARTE 89

Occupation: Proffessional Fitness Trainer/ Massage Therapist/ Amateur
bodybuilder

Bio: I left sac town when I was 23 and came to the bay area where I found
myself in alot of trouble, was'nt easy when you come from a school like
Encina, you know what I mean.I was always looking for the next high. Went
through re-hab and have been sober sinc, 7 years.
After I had been in the bay area a few years I found myself back in the gym,
it was about the only thing I did when I went to school.
After a few years I started to compete in a few natural bodybuilding shows.
I did really well I competed in 12 shows and placed no lower than third. I
qaulified for the natural olympia and won my class at the usa naturals 2
years in a row. Not bad for a former dope head.
During that time I got certified as a personal trainer and massage
therapist.I now work independently for myself. Some weakends I also work at
one of the premier nite clubs in the city The Velvet Lounge.
I now live in marin,one the richest counties in the nation, it's tough
living here, but it is very nice.

Trivia: I wish that I could go back and do it all over again,
I did not go to the proms or graduation, or reunions,play football,play with
the girls, to busy getting high.
The only thing I remember is about which park we were going to party at each
weakend.

Friends: I had alot of friends who I ran with , glen fanning,damon
cutty,jimmy parks,chris de stephano all those other guys, never any real
best friends I did not find them until I grew up.
There were alot of people that I wish I had known better but when you are
that young you do'nt know jack.
I wish I had kept contact with some of the people but you know how life is.
If anybody reads this please e-mail. Miss you guys!

Hobbies: My life is surrounded by health and fitness. I train I compete and
I help people get in shape. I also love to dance at the clubs in the city,
some of the best dance clubs are in the city.There is so much to do in the
bay area mountain bike, hike mt tam, surf, ocean kayak,
you name we have it. I still have to drive to get to the snow.

Kids: No kids just nephews, the kids are awsome.
I love being an uncle.

Junior_high: I went to Jonas Salk

Memorable_teachers: Mr Adan was the cooliest teacher.
Why I do'nt know he just stands out in my memory.

Favorite_memory: Making it across the senior lawn 2 years in a row.

Story: No real interesting stories except that I wish my high school years
would have been more memorable.


HUMOR

From Sandi Elrod 62...

If you read this without laughing out loud, there is something wrong
with you. This is dedicated to every woman who ever attempted to get
into regular workout routine. A must read!

Dear Diary...

For my fiftieth birthday this year, my husband (the dear) purchased a week
of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still
in great shape since playing on my high school softball team, I decided it
would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and
made my reservations with a personal trainer I'll call Bruce, who
identified himself as a 26 year old aerobics instructor and model for
athletic clothing and swim wear. My husband seemed pleased with my
enthusiasm to get started. The club encouraged me to keep a diary to
chart my progress.

Monday: Started my day at 6:00am. Tough to get out of bed, but found it
was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Bruce waiting
for me. He is something of a Greek God - with blond hair, dancing eyes and
a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Bruce gave me a tour and showed me the
machines. He took my pulse after five minutes on the treadmill. He was
alarmed that my pulse was so fast, but I attribute it to standing next to
him in his Lycra aerobic outfit. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in
which he conducted his aerobics class. Did my sit-ups, although my gut
was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around.....
This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

Tuesday: I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the
door. Bruce made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air-
then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill,
but I made the full mile. Bruce's rewarding smile made it all worthwhile.
I feel GREAT!! It's a whole new life for me.

Wednesday: The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying on the
toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I
believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I
didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking
lot. Bruce was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other
club members. His voice is a little too perky for early in the morning and
when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest
hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Bruce put me on the stair monster.
Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered
obsolete by elevators? Bruce told me it would help me get in shape and
enjoy life. He said some other shit too.

Thursday: Bruce was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed his
thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a
half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes. Bruce took me to
work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the men's
room. He sent Lars to find me, then, as punishment, put me on the rowing
machine - which I sank.

Friday: I hate that bastard Bruce more than any human being has ever hated
any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic
little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I could move without
unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Bruce wanted me to work on my
triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor,
don't hand me the &*@*#$ barbells or anything that weighs more than a
sandwich. (Which I am sure you learned in the sadist school you attended and
graduated magna cum laude ). The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a
health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer,
like the drama coach or the choir director?

Saturday: Bruce left a message on my answering machine in his grating,
shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing him made
me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the strength
to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the
*$@#&& Weather Channel.

Sunday: I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can
go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my
husband (the BASTARD) will choose a gift for me that is fun - like a root
canal or a hysterectomy!!


DIGITAL ANGEL

Not that any of us needs a digital angel, but we can all probably think
of an elderly relative or friend who might benefit from such technology...

Digital Angel: Why this wireless monitor really is a godsend
By David Coursey, AnchorDesk
December 5, 2001 9:00 PM PT
URL: http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2830258,00.html
Angels come in many forms. There are those heard on high, as the carol goes.
More down to earth are those wingless few with hearts of unalloyed gold. But
whether they're figures of faith or flesh, angels have one thing in common:
They all look out for us.

Today I'd like to introduce you to a new angel. It's neither faith nor
flesh, but it still fits the criteria of personal guardian. It combines two
of my favorite technologies--wireless data communications and global
positioning satellites--in a way that could create lifesaving miracles for
those who use it.

It's a wearable device called the Digital Angel. It not only monitors your
whereabouts, but your vital signs as well. In either case, the information
is transmitted wirelessly to a central command post that is capable of
making emergency notifications when necessary.

DIGITAL ANGEL combines a wristwatch with a pager-sized module worn on the
belt, and it's now available for sale. But since its release earlier this
week, there have been concerns expressed about the ability of this
technology--especially as it shrinks to implant size--to violate someone's
privacy. Some see this as another "sign"--in the theological sense--that the
end is near.

I disagree. For those for whom this device was designed--the elderly, the
infirm, people with serious medical conditions, the disabled, and
children--it can be a godsend.

Go out with me on an emergency call with my county's search-and-rescue
agency, where I am a volunteer. Here's a common scenario: An elderly person,
typically suffering from dementia, wanders off from a nursing facility. Or a
child with Down's Syndrome becomes separated from a school group at the
beach. Or maybe a toddler disappears at the county fair.

All of these people--and this happens many times each year--are in immediate
danger. If they're not found quickly, they risk serious injury or even
death.

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT if a caregiver or an emergency dispatcher could go to a
Web site and simply find the person with GPS accuracy--and know he or she
was still warm and his or her heart was beating normally?

People who have ever become responsible for an aging parent--someone well
enough to live alone but potentially sick enough to need monitoring--will
immediately see the value of this technology. It solves some of the problems
that occur when a parent and child find themselves having to switch roles.

Best of all, it's affordable: The hardware costs $299 and the monthly
service charge is $29.95. OK, that might not be within reach of everyone who
needs it, but as wireless technology becomes less expensive and bandwidth
more available, who knows?

Yes, there are limitations: GPS signals don't penetrate into buildings,
meaning that someone wandering around a shopping mall would be hard to find.
But the unit would still continue to transmit medical information, so
searchers could gauge the condition of the person they were seeking. And
e911--a technology that helps emergency dispatchers locate cellular callers
without depending on a GPS--could solve this problem entirely.

WITH ADDITIONAL SENSORS, the unit might detect things like gait or whether a
person had fallen. A brainwave sensor could warn of seizures. Heart
monitoring might report that a pacemaker had failed or an automatic
defibrillator had fired. All of these could help a person in trouble, or
keep them safe in the first place, without requiring someone to physically
"check up" on them. That seems like a tremendous improvement in the
patient's privacy and sense of self-reliance.

Yes, I understand that in a science fiction world, this technology could
turn into Big Brother. But that's theoretical, even fanatical. What I know
for sure is that Digital Angel, used appropriately, will save lives. That
makes it one product that could truly live up to its name.


INTERNET

"CONTENT BIZ CONTINUES TO GROW DESPITE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

By Brian Livingston http://SecretsPro.com

I wrote in E-Business Secrets two weeks ago that
Salon.com, a well-known news and commentary site, was
proceeding rapidly toward its goal of becoming
profitable by selling paid subscriptions to tens of
thousands of readers. (See
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/01/11/22/011122opsecrets.xml)

Other paid subscription sites, it turns out, are doing
equally well or better. Anne Holland, the driving
force behind ContentBiz.com, says several sites
already have enrolled hundreds of thousands of
subscribers and are in the black or will be by the end
of this year, despite the overall economic slump that
worsened after the Sept. 11 attack on the World
Trade Center.

Holland, who analyzes the often privately held figures
of subscription-based sites, says the top five sites
(as of her latest estimates, mostly from September)
and their typical fees are:

1. Classmates.com, 1.5 million subscribers ($29)
2. ConsumerReports.org, 625,000 ($24)
3. WSJ.com, 609,000 ($29 to $59)
4. Ancestry.com, 400,000 ($49 to $59)
5. Ediets.com, more than 250,000 ($65 to $75)

Despite the large subscription bases of these Internet
leaders, Holland says many smaller, one-person sites
(often coupled with an e-mail newsletter) are
profitable with only a few thousand subscribers.

ContentBiz.com has put together a very useful resource
book on the secrets of making Web sites pay. Entitled
"Selling Subscriptions to Internet Content," this $99
guide is based on a conference held in Washington last
spring and provides 250 pages of lessons from eight
pioneers in the subscription marketing business. The
product is available only in hard copy but ships
within 24 hours, Holland says, and is one of her
online store's best sellers."


I thought this was interesting since I subscribe to classmates.com
(for the website), consumerreports.org and WSJ.com.


URBAN LEGENDS

From the Wall Street Journal...

November 29, 2001

Watching the Web
A Myth Is as Good as a Milestone
On Urban-Legends Internet Sites
By STEPHANIE MILES
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE

Rumors of all sorts have swirled around the events of the past few months.

Was there a photograph from Sept. 11 that appeared to depict the face of
Satan in the smoke arising from the World Trade Center? Should people be on
the lookout for a fleet of stolen Ryder trucks carrying a cargo of
biological weapons? Were terrorists plotting a second wave of attacks at
shopping malls on Halloween? Does Osama bin Laden own Citibank?

The answers (according to a sampling of Web sites dedicated to urban
legends) are: It Seems So, No, Probably Not, and No.

It isn't surprising that interest in Web sites dedicated to debunking or
explaining urban legends has surged as people try to make sense of the World
Trade Center attacks, the war in Afghanistan and the recent anthrax scare.

Web sites focusing on related rumors and apocryphal stories -- according to
UrbanLegends.com, an urban legend is a rumor that "appears mysteriously and
spreads spontaneously in varying forms contains elements of humor or
horror" -- have become a valuable resource for people trying to sort fact
from fiction.

One site, Snopes.com, says traffic rose "tenfold" since Sept. 11, while
Web-measurement firm Nielsen//NetRatings reports traffic to the Urban Legend
guide on About.com more than tripled in September from year earlier, to
562,000 unique visitors.

The sites we looked at were Snopes.com (www.snopes.com), UrbanLegends.com
(www.urbanlegends.com), About.com's Guide to Urban Myths
(urbanlegends.about.com) and The Straight Dope (www.straightdope.com). We
judged each site on breadth of rumors included, depth of information
provided about each rumor, and entertainment value.

All the sites we looked at group popular myths by category, give some brief
background and a history of the rumor, and attempt to render a ruling on
whether the tale is true or false.

Although all the sites cover basically the same ground in terms of themes
and general content, some sites, like UrbanLegends.com and About.com's
guide, primarily link to other sites and message boards for their
information, while others, like Snopes.com and The Straight Dope, tend to
seek out and research their stories independently. While all four sites were
fun to sift through, those with original content were generally more
entertaining to read and more informative than the sites that relied heavily
on newsgroups and other Web sites.

Both The Straight Dope and UrbanLegends.com devote space to untangling the
pop-culture references in the popular song "American Pie." UrbanLegends.com
offers only guesses about the true meaning behind the lyrics, but The
Straight Dope includes a letter from "American Pie" songwriter Don McLean,
who refutes a number of popular theories about the song.

"You will find many 'interpretations' of my lyrics but none of them by me,"
Mr. McLean says in the letter, advising listeners to take the song at face
value. The letter closed the book on the "American Pie" theories, while
UrbanLegend.com's take on the song perpetuated the rumors.

The bottom line is that if you are looking up a specific answer to almost
any rumor, e-mail hoax, rumor, or myth, you will most likely find at least
some information at all of the sites we checked. But for fast and in-depth
answers, we recommend Snopes.com and The Straight Dope as the best resources
for urban-legend fact-checking.

Snopes.com
www.snopes.com

Four stars

Breadth: Snopes.com offers the most extensive collection of urban legends of
the sites we checked.

Depth of Information: Site founders Barbara and David Mickkelson research
the answers to hundreds of legends, rather than relying on other Internet
sites or news groups, so Snopes.com offers more background information and
definitive answers on the veracity of popular rumors than any other site we
looked at.

Entertainment Value: Although not as funny as some of the other urban-legend
sites, Snopes.com is entertaining because of its sheer size -- almost any
urban legend you have ever heard is mentioned here.

Overall Usefulness: Snopes.com is the easiest to use of the pages we
reviewed: The categories are sensible and easy to navigate, the site is
regularly updated and offers up-to-the-minute information on a variety of
recent hoaxes.

The Straight Dope
www.straightdope.com

Three stars

Breadth: Although a wide variety of topics are covered, the site primarily
offers humorous answers to readers' questions regarding everyday science and
pop culture issues.

Depth of Information: Cecil Adams (and his staff) research each query
thoroughly, and the site links to several Internet newsgroups and message
boards for more information.

Entertainment Value: The Web companion to a syndicated newspaper column by
Mr. Adams, The Straight Dope offers up more personality and wit than any of
the other sites we looked at.

Overall Usefulness: This is by far the most entertaining of the sites we
looked at, but with the eclectic mix of subject matter and lack of
post-Sept. 11 news, it's not necessarily a good source for up-to-the-minute
information.

UrbanLegends.com
www.urbanlegends.com

Two and a half stars

Breadth: One of the largest of the urban-legends sites, in terms of the
number of topics and rumors addressed. UrbanLegends.com also features a
Zeitgeist page that focuses on the most popular and recent rumors.

Depth of Information: UrbanLegends.com's advantage is breadth, not depth:
The site has short synopses for hundreds of rumors. However, the blurbs are
all fairly short and don't offer much independently researched information.

Entertainment Value: The site is straightforward and not as humorous as the
other sites we checked.

Overall Usefulness: Because of its lack of independent information and dry
approach, this site just isn't as useful as Snopes.com, or as witty as The
Straight Dope.

About.com's Urban Legends Guide
urbanlegends.about.com

One star

Breadth: About.com's guide to urban legends is updated frequently and
includes current information about the Sept. 11 attacks and antiterrorism
military actions. The site also features an in-depth list of "classic"
legends.

Depth of Information: The site consists mostly of links to other Web sites,
such as Snopes.com, along with some independent reporting.

Entertainment Value: The site is the least fun of all we checked out. To
find out more information about one rumor we had to scroll through a lengthy
lecture about the dangers of listening to rumors and the importance of
checking out all questionable stories.

Overall Usefulness: About.com is easy to navigate and use, but just doesn't
provide as much information as the other sites we checked.


WHAT'S NEW

12/4/01: Paul Hood 67, Vivien Chui 95, Vince Thompson 82, Brad Smith 00,
Cindy Ratliffe 72, Teri Bevan 79 update, Janine Clark 82, Dana Clark 80,
Marci Wagner 84 update, Donna Albrecht 77, Vanessa Williams 89 update, Bill
Francis 73

classmates.com: Beth Conolley 64, Gay Buccola 66, Fred Head 69, Debra West
73, Joyce Nieto 73, Micheal Taylor 74, Stephen Hulin 74, David Adee 76, Mark
Adams 76, Donna Albrecht 77, Shamale Meredith 92, Stacie Lawrence 92,
Jennifer Pillers 93, Camari Campbell 95, Michael Machado 99, la'Shanika
Harris 00, Bianca Harding 01, Cynthia Poling 01, Mikhail, Moskalyuk 02

12/2/01: Tony Valle 81, Keith Taylor 63 bio

11/29/01: Diane Wagnon 75, Carolyn Carlson 76 update, Rodney Wilson 01, Leon
Biren, Laurie Campbell 82, Susan Holbrook 82 update, Linda Hargis 82 update,
Dallas Berg 81, Steven Randolph 01/bio, Greg Welch, Glen Stidger 68, Steve
Fenner 82, Danny Rich 68, Marsha Harris 70, Diana Terry 78/79, Deanna
Bradish 78, Kevin Anderson 82 update, Theresa Bishop 68 update, Terry
Blackburn 82 update


Don't forget to submit your contact information or bio:
contact: www.encinahighschool.com/directory/submit_contact.htm
bio: www.encinahighschool.com/submit_bio.htm

REMEMBER
As you do your holiday shopping on the net, don't forget to link to the
Encina store:
http://www.encinahighschool.com/store.htm

Harlan Lau '73
Encina HS alumni webmaster
www.encinahighschool.com
harlan@rambus.com