Nostalgic Tech School Happenings

     

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177 pounds

I graduated from Valparaiso Technical Institute in May  of 1982 with a degree in Engineering Electronics. Good ol' Valpo Tech closed down a few years ago, but the Alumni Association now hosts a Facebook page accessible to all graduates, and they sponsor an annual reunion held in Valparaiso, Indiana.

This Year's VTI Reunion

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days.

Of course I was not young while at Valpo Tech; I was 42 years old when I graduated. And I will not be attending this reunion, but I do enjoy hearing about the gradual renovation of the old school, and about the doings and the rascally goings-on of all the members. It surprised me to learn that a great percentage of the graduates are licensed Amateur Radio operators. As am I, although I am not active at this time.

My Ham Radio call sign is KA9CWJ.

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Did You Know . . .?

Rather than wasting water doing laundry, astronauts on the International Space Station eject their dirty worn-out clothes into space to burn in the Earth's atmosphere.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1873 congress enacted the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" book through the mails. Also unlawful under the law was sending anything "designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion." The law was named after Anthony Comstock, the one-man moral majority of his time. Comstock, a salesman from Connecticut.. He devoted his entire life to fighting what he perceived as vice, particularly obscenity and gambling

Many of today's armchair moralists who have attacked Hollywood for an alleged role in the 1999 Littleton, Colorado killings would have appreciated Comstock's views. He described children as a glass of pure and clean water that is easily tainted with a drop of ink. Mixing metaphors, he then said that "vile books and papers are branding-irons heated in the fires of hell."

The Comstock Law prompted many states to add laws of their own. James Joyce's Ulysses was even barred from the United States until court challenges finally determined that it was not obscene. The current Supreme Court standard exempts from obscenity prosecution any material that has literary value.

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WORD FOR TODAY

defenestration
noun
The act of throwing someone or something out of a window.

While the act of defenestration connotes the forcible or peremptory removal of an adversary, and the term is sometimes used in just that sense, it also suggests breaking the windows in the process. Although defenestrations can be fatal due to the height of the window through which a person is thrown or throws oneself or due to lacerations from broken glass, the act of defenestration need not carry the intent or result of death.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

James Montgomery Doohan

(March 3, 1920 - July 20, 2005)

James Doohan was a Canadian character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish Chief Engineer of the Starship Enterprise was one of the most recognizable elements in the Star Trek franchise, for which he also made several contributions behind the scenes. Many of the characterizations, mannerisms, and expressions that he established for Scotty and other Star Trek characters have become entrenched in popular culture.

Jessica Biel

(born March 3, 1982)

Jessica Biel is an American actress, model, and singer. Biel began her in 7th Heaven, The series is the longest-running series that has ever aired on The WB channel and is the longest-running family drama in television history. In 1997, she won the Young Artist Award for her role in Ulee's Gold. Biel has since starred in many films, including The Rules of Attraction (2002), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Blade: Trinity (2004), Stealth (2005), I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007), The A-Team (2010), New Year's Eve (2011), and Total Recall (2012). She appeared in the thriller indie film Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes in 2013.

Nathalie Kelley

(born 3 October 1985)

Nathalie Kelley is a Peruvian-born Australian actress. She is best known for her roles in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Body of Proof.

Alison King

(born 3 March 1973)

Alison King is an English actress. She has had major television roles as Lynda Block in the Sky One television series Dream Team, and since 2006 as Carla Connor in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

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There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
--Nelson Mandela

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My home phone rings; I answer it, saying "Hello."

A prerecorded voice says: "This call is for " (pause and then a different voice continues) "Henry Armstrong." (Long pause here) -- then, "If you are" (pause and that other voice returns), saying "Henry Armstrong" and original voice says, "please press '1'" -- continuing, "If you are not Henry Armstrong and would like your number removed, please dial 1-800-555-5555 now."

What are the chances that I am  going to dial that number?

Ass-hats!

The problem is, after several days of repetition, when they finally stop calling me with that same routine, a new name is inserted and they begin again. I don't know which is the more persistent, the robot or the people behind the robot.

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I was informed of a get-together of alumni from Valparaiso Technical institute in Valparaiso, Indiana from which I graduated in 1982, and an interview with one of my instructors was posted on Youtube. This particular instructor was a WWII veteran, a radioman in the navy, and I remember him well. His name is Gene Wiggins and he was the sponsor of the Ham Club, of which I was a member (then during my last year, I was the Ham Club's president.)

Wiggins, in the 12 minute Youtube interview tells of the whereabouts (and sometimes deaths) of many of the faculty and staff of VTI.

Interview with Gene Wiggins

The video would be boring and tiresome for those with no knowledge of VTI, but viewing it certainly heightened my ever-present level of nostalgia.

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TRIVIA

In 2000, Publishers Weekly listed The Poky Little Puppy, by Janette Sebring Lowrey, the best-selling hardcover children’s book of all time. Charlotte's Web, by E. B. White was No. 1 on the paperback list.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, September 6 in 1901, President William McKinley was shaking hands at the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, New York, when a 28-year-old anarchist named Leon Czolgosz approached him and fired two shots into his chest. The president rose slightly on his toes before collapsing forward, saying "be careful how you tell my wife."

Czolgosz moved over the president with the intent of firing a third shot, but was wrestled to the ground by McKinley's bodyguards. McKinley, still conscious, told the guards not to hurt his assailant. Other presidential attendants rushed McKinley to the hospital where they found two bullet wounds: one bullet had superficially punctured his sternum and the other had dangerously entered his abdomen. He was rushed into surgery and seemed to be on the mend by September 12. Later that day, however, the president's condition worsened rapidly and, on September 14, McKinley died from gangrene that had gone undetected in the internal wound. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was immediately sworn in as president.

Czolgosz was found guilty at trial and was electrocuted by three jolts, each of 1800 volts, in Auburn Prison on October 29, 1901, just 45 days after his victim's death.

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WORD FOR TODAY

abuse [uh-byuz']
verb
1. To use wrongly or improperly; misuse: abuse a privilege.
2. To hurt or injure by maltreatment; ill-use.
3. To force sexual activity on; rape or molest.
4. To assail with contemptuous, coarse, or insulting words; revile.
abuse [uh-byuce']
noun
1. Improper use or handling; misuse: abuse of authority.
2. Physical maltreatment: spousal abuse.
3. An unjust or wrongful practice: a government that commits abuses against its citizens.
4. Insulting or coarse language: verbal abuse.

Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of an entity, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise verbal aggression

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Jeffrey Marshall "Jeff" Foxworthy

(born September 6, 1958)

Jeff Foxworthy is an American comedian, television and radio personality and author. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also comprises Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a redneck" one-liners, Foxworthy has released six major-label comedy albums. His first two albums were each certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Foxworthy has written several books based on his redneck jokes, as well as an autobiography entitled No Shirt, No Shoes... No Problem!.

Foxworthy has also made several ventures into television, starting in the mid-1990s with his own sitcom, The Jeff Foxworthy Show. He has also appeared alongside Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy in several Blue Collar television specials, most notably Blue Collar TV. Since 2007, he has been the host of the quiz show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? on Fox (2007–09) and in syndication (2009–11). Foxworthy hosted a nationally syndicated radio show called The Foxworthy Countdown from April 1999 to December 2009. For two seasons, he has hosted GSN's The American Bible Challenge.

Jane Therese Curtin

(born September 6, 1947)

Jane Curtin is an American actress and comedienne. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series Saturday Night Live in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series on the 1980s sitcom Kate & Allie portraying the role of Allison "Allie" Lowell. Curtin later starred in the hit series 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), playing the role of Dr. Mary Albright.

Curtin has also appeared in many movie roles, including Charlene in the The Librarian series of movies (2004–2008). She also reprised one of her Saturday Night Live characters, Prymaat (Clorhone) Conehead, in the 1993 film The Coneheads.

Christopher James "Chris" Christie

(born September 6, 1962)

Chris Christie is the 55th Governor of New Jersey, and a leading member of the Republican Party in the United States.

Jo Anne Worley

(born September 6, 1937)

Jo Anne Worley is an American actress. Her work covers television, films, theater, game shows, talk shows, commercials, and cartoons. She is best known for her work on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

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What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse.
--Isabel Allende


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