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Bits of Everything

Champlain’s Astrolabe Now on a Keychain

The Times of Ti had an interesting story about a new keychain made in celebration of Samuel de Champlain’s Quadricentennial year. The keychain is made like an astrolabe which Champlain used in discovering the lake which bears his name. It was a astronomical instrument which was used in locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars; determining local time given local latitude and vice-versa; surveying; and triangulation. With no GPS, what’s an explorer to do?

No East Lake George for You

The Post Star reports that there will be no new village of East Lake George this year.

Ticonderoga Ferry Gets New Owners

The Press Republican reports that the Ti Ferry has been sold. This is a great trip over to Vermont from Ticonderoga if you’ve never taken it.

Is the Huletts Current the Best Blog Out There?

There’s a new invention coming soon that will revolutionize the Internet. You know the answer to this question already but if you want to learn how the Internet is about to change, click here.

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Saturday Quote

“He who every morning plans the transaction of the day and follows out that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the maze of the most busy life. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidence, chaos will soon reign.”

Victor Hugo

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Bits of Everything

Off Roaders Travel the Road Less Traveled

This is an interesting piece from Channel 9 about off-road highway users who drive on ancient town roads through state forest just to keep them open. The DEC doesn’t like this.

National News

Maryland School Boy Builds New Type of Computer

This is such a great story because it’s what makes the U.S. a leader in innovation and technology. A 17 year old Maryland boy has built a computer out of spare parts and a fish tank which uses mineral oil to cool itself after being told it would never work. Why on earth would he want to do it? He just wanted to prove he could. This is the type of device which will most likely lead to other advances in computing. Bravos to young, Brandon Glorioso, who demonstrates first hand where innovation comes from. Read the whole article.

PSA’s on the Swine Flu from the 1970’s

I found this and thought it was applicable today. The only problem is there isn’t a vaccine for the current strain yet. Follow Mom’s advice and wash your hands and use a tissue until one becomes available.

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Saturday Quote

“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.”

Bob Dylan

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Saturday Quote

Not in the clamour of the crowded street,
Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng,
But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Happy Easter

We Wish You A Very Happy Easter
The Resurrection of Christ, Meister Francke, ca. 1424

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

Luke 24:1-8

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Saturday Quote

“Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.”

William Shakespeare, “Titus Andronicus”, Act 1 scene 2

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Bits of Everything

Who Got One / Who Returned One

The Times Union had a nice graphic showing who got an absentee ballot by county and party affiliation in the vote for the congressional seat in the 20th district. Hopefully, if you were away, you returned yours.

Gaslight Village Project Gets $2.5 Million

The Post Star reports that the Gaslight Village project in Lake George Village got a big grant from the federal government.

We Love You – John Paul II

AOL has a heartwarming story about a man left for dead a few weeks ago, who attributes his recovery to miraculous intervention by Pope John Paul II. Watch the video attached to this story.

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The Conficker Worm – What You Can Do

If you watched 60 Minutes on CBS this evening, you may have seen this piece on the new conficker worm which is scheduled to do something on April 1st. Even the security companies don’t know what it may do on April 1st.

Conficker is spread by exploiting several weaknesses in Microsoft’s Windows operating system. (The program does not infect Macintosh or Linux-based computers.)

It is a very virulent security breach that can read keystrokes from your computer, even capturing your passwords and bank information. The most recent versions of the program have significantly changed to even remove commercial antivirus software and to turn off Microsoft’s security update service. It can also block communications with Web services provided by security companies to update their products. It will also open holes in firewalls in an effort to improve its communication with other infected computers.
It can be spread on social networking sites such as MySpace through a message from a “friend” or it might infect a computer if you download free music or games.

Here is a link to download a program to detect conficker on your computer.

Here is a link to remove conficker if it is on your computer.

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The Economics of Things

Sitting at a computer running Mircosoft Windows, watching YouTube, and blogging on a platform created by a 20 year old, Milton Freidman gets this one right.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76frHHpoNFs&feature=related