'NetlineNews
                                   December  200 1

 Welcome

Welcome all of our new Internet subscribers.   This newsletter is sent out the first of each month.  Scroll down for some tips and tricks along with links to some useful, informative, and entertaining websites.  We hope you enjoy this newsletter.  Your comments are always welcome.   netnews@meltel.net

 
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 Editors Comments
 
Mother Nature jumped out of her hiding place with all her winter garb and decorated Minnesota for winter.  Personally, I like the beautiful snow (ah, after the storm) much better than the drab look of dormant trees and fields.  Minnesota is truly a Winter Wonderland.

In this month's issue of 'NetlineNews you will find some websites to get the whole family into the Christmas spirit, a guide to the best and most useful educational sites, learn how to improve your skiing skills, read or hear the plight of the Japanese Americans during WWII, and more. 
Be sure to read the Tech Tips to learn what to do about those annoying 'PopUp Windows'.  And a very Merry Christmas to all of you from all of us at diversiCOM.

Are you interested in attending an 'Intermediate Internet' class?  This Intermediate Internet class would cover the following topics: Online chatting, Newsgroups, Downloading files and Cool Downloads.  If we have enough interest in this class we will begin scheduling them in January.  
If you would be interested in attending a class on the above mentioned topics,  Send an e-mail to netnews@meltel.net  
This is not a registration.  We will determine if the class should be scheduled by the number of responses we receive.
In This Month's Issue
<> Your Local Help Desk
<> Tech Tips & Tricks
<> Places to visit
<> This Month's Chronicles
<> Quote for Thought
<> Humor is Good Medicine
<> Quick Facts

NetlineNews Archives
 Your Local Help Desk

Remember that you should never put anything in an e-mail message that you would not like to read in tomorrows newspaper.

Email feels like a private, one-to-one conversation safe from prying eyes. But as many folks can tell you (Bill Gates for one) email is about as confidential as whispering at the White House. Your messages can be intercepted and read anywhere in transit, or reconstructed and read off of backup devices for a potentially infinite period of time.

If you're sending email at work, your boss can legally monitor it, and if your company becomes involved in a lawsuit, your adversary has the legal right to review it. If you send email from home, anonymous hackers can intercept it, and if you are suspected of a crime, law enforcement officials with a warrant can seize your electronic correspondence. Even your Internet service provider may legally be able to scrutinize it.

What all this amounts to is simple: Unless you take affirmative steps to encrypt your messages -- a process that uses sophisticated software to garble your words and then allow the recipient to unscramble and read them -- don't send anything in an email that you wouldn't want to read in tomorrow's newspaper.
Reprinted with permission from the publisher, Nolo. Copyright2001
http://www.nolo.com
Help desk hours are:
Mon - Fri 8am to 9pm & Saturday 10am to 2pm
256-8324     764-8324     597-8324      
Or e-mail to: support@meltel.net  
 Tech Tips & Tricks

Pop Up windows are becoming very popular with on-line advertisers.  These small windows appear when you open or close websites where the advertisers have purchased ad space.  These windows are not only annoying but could potentially cause many problems in your computer system.   Most of them are just advertisements.  However, some have hidden codes that will change your homepage and/or install other programs on your computer when you click on the 'Close' or 'Exit' buttons in the window.  It will do this without your knowledge.  To avoid this happening to you always close these windows with the keyboard shortcut....ALT/F4.  Hold down the ALT key and hit the F4 key at the same time.  This will close the window that is on top of the open windows on your desk top.  Or you can use ALT/Ctrl/Delete and select Microsoft Internet Explorer and click the End Task button. This will force Internet Explorer to close along with all its associated windows.
For more keyboard shortcuts CLICK HERE

Arm yourself with the information needed to defend yourself from computer viruses.
 Places to Visit


This "Ode to America" was written by a Romanian newspaper editor on September 24, 2001.
http://www.expres.ro/evz/editorial_en.html

This site explores the period in American history when racial prejudice and fear upset the delicate balance between the rights of a citizen and the power of the state.  You can listen to or read first person accounts and share the memories of Japanese Americans during WWII.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/experience/index.html

At the Explore Minnesota website you can plan your Minnesota winter vacation or dream of the warmer days of summer vacations in this land of recreational opportunities.
http://www.exploreminnesota.com/

When you need to see a Minnesota County Map, visit this site.  Click on the county of your choice and see the scanned map. 
http://www.2havefun.com/Places/Maps/

Get into the Christmas spirit at the Christmas.com website.  Here you can share the way Christmas is celebrated by people of all religions, cultures and backgrounds. You can get multicultural Christmas stories, music, recipes, customs, and festivals.
http://christmas.com/spirit/

Christmas is not just for kids.  The whole family can enjoy the sights and sounds of this website.  You'll find lots of Christmas fun in Cyberspace.  The online Christmas cards are very festive.
http://www.night.net/christmas/

Here's a site for music lovers....an online Christmas song book. 
http://rememberjosie.org/carols/

Learn or improve your snow sporting skills with the help of the tips on SnoLink.com. 
http://www.snowlink.com/learnimprove/index.shtml

The Rugrats are here.  Your children will have tons of things to do at the Cooltoons website.  They can play the Angelica Pie Toss game, or a really cool online Color Forms game with the Thornberrys. There's coloring pages to print out, Rugrats and Thornberry character bios and episode guides to read, personal Rugrats stories to write, puzzles to solve and much more.
http://www.cooltoons.com/

The glory of the Old and New Testament is recreated entirely in Legos.  This is a fun way for children of all ages to see the stories of the Bible from the Tower of Babel to the Trial of Jesus.  Scene after scene is played out in series of 3-D storyboards.

Immerse yourself in the great outdoors without ever leaving your desk. PBS allows you to tap into the sights and sounds from a wide variety of environments throughout America.  
http://www.pbs.org/americanfieldguide/

Get the low-down on all the NFL teams at the Insiders Huddle website. 
www.realteam.com

Turn your trash to treasures.  Find the instructions for nice homemade gifts for family and friends on this website.
http://www.craftremedy.freeyellow.com

Very Best Baking has all kinds of easy, delicious recipes, with photos. cooking tips, articles and tools. Something special for every holiday. Section for kids. Mmm...yummy stuff here!
http://www.verybestbaking.com/

These mini-clips are short cartoons, movies and interactive games.  Users can put President Bush through an aerobic work-out, build a "cyber-babe," shoot beans or golf, or star in their own personalized mini-clip game. And it's all free.
http://www.miniclip.com/Homepage.htm

The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom is a one-stop web site for minerals and gemstones. Over 100 are cataloged here, arranged into groups by alphabet, chemical, color, crystal group, and more.  The Kingdom is geared to both amateurs and experts, and whether users seek professional or hobbyist info, they'll find it here.   
http://www.minerals.net/mineral/

The Property Room is an online police auction where police get rid of unclaimed items in their property rooms. You can get some terrific "steals" here, as well as helping two worthwhile causes.  The money raised goes to help fund local police departments and provides scholarships to the children of officers killed in the line of Duty.
http://www.propertyroom.com/  

RENEGADE GARDENER is the Web's best site for gardeners living in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and other states and Canadian Provinces banished to the forgotten USDA Hardiness Zones 2 through 4.  At this site you'll find information, products, services, and help geared toward the unique needs of Northern gardeners.
http://www.renegadegardener.com/

An online community by and for women, Her Planet is not just a web site, but a network connecting women to what other women have to offer. The focus is on web-based resources and services, but every facet of today's woman is explored here: from poetry to parenting, business to budgets.
http://www.herplanet.com/

Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have awarded a lifetime of achievement and have been the single most prestigious honor in the world. In 1994, the Internet was first used to announce the Prize winners, a year later the Nobel Web Site was launched, and in 2001 an even more ambitious project, the Nobel e-Museum, was created to celebrate the centennial of the first Nobel Prizes.
http://www.nobel.se/

The Education Index is your guide to the best and most useful educational websites on the Web.
www.educationindex.com

Get clear answers to your health questions. 
www.askphysicians.com/

This website has lots of excellent information on restoration and renovation of older homes.
 www.oldhousejournal.com/

 
 Humor Is Good Medicine

Words that you or I would commonly use for one meaning, have a completely different meaning to parents in a family...

BOTTLE FEEDING: an opportunity for Daddy to get up at 2 AM too.
DEFENSE: what you'd better have around the yard if you're going to let the children play outside.
DROOLING: how teething babies wash their chins.
DUMB WAITER: one who asks if the kids would care to order dessert.
FEEDBACK: the inevitable result when a baby doesn't appreciate the strained carrots.
FULL NAME: what you call your child when you're mad at him.
GRANDPARENTS: the people who think your children are wonderful even though they're sure you're not raising them right.
HEARSAY: what toddlers do when anyone mutters a dirty word.
IMPREGNABLE: a woman whose memory of labor is still vivid.
AMNESIA: condition that enables a woman who has gone through labor to have sex again.
INDEPENDENT: how we want our children to be as long as they do everything we say.
LOOK OUT!: what it's too late for your child to do by the time you scream it.
OWWW: the first word spoken by children with older siblings.
PRENATAL: when your life was still somewhat your own.
PREPARED CHILDBIRTH: a contradiction in terms.
PUDDLE: a small body of water that draws other small bodies wearing dry shoes.
SHOW OFF: a child who is more talented than yours.
TEMPER TANTRUMS: what you should keep to a minimum so as to not upset the children.
TWO-MINUTE WARNING: when the baby's face turns red and she begins to make those familiar grunting noises.
WHODUNIT: none of the kids that live in your house.
WHOOPS: an exclamation that translates roughly into "get a sponge".

Feature of the Month
Free Internet Activation
Sign up between
12/1/01 and 1/11/02
for Internet Service
and receive FREE activation
(A $20.00 Value)
 
CLICK HERE to print coupon
or call our main office for details
256-7471 or 800-554-0185
Community Webpages
for
Melrose

Free Internet Classes

Beginner Internet at 
Melrose High School :
Dec. 18....7 to 9:30pm

Beginner Internet at
Eden Valley High School
No December classes

Beginner Iternet at
Kimball High School
Dec. 6.......7 to 9:30pm

To register or for more info:
Call the main office  
Melrose Telephone Company
256-7471     764-7600
597-3333     548-3200

Beginner Internet
classes scheduled for
Sauk Centre High School

Dec  4....6:30pm to 9:30pm
 
Mainstreet Communications for more information and to register.
351.1460

Quotes for Thought

"If you don't know where you are going, then it doesn't matter which road you take, does it?"
-- Cheshire Cat in Alice in the Wonderland

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?
-- Paul Sweeney

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Horoscope
Scorpio.......10/23 to 11/21
Sagittarius.....11/22 to 12/21

This Day in History
Choose a date and see what's happened on that date through out history.

Flower & Birthstone
Flower of the month:  Narcisus
Birthstone:  Turquois

This Month's Calendar

 

Dec.  7....Pearl Harbor Day
Dec.   9....Hanukkah
Dec. 15....Bill of Rights Day
Dec. 21....Winter Begins
Dec. 25....Christmas
Dec. 25....Partial Solar Eclipse
Dec. 31....Last Day of the Year

Quick Facts
 
According to the 2000 census, Minnesota has 61.8 people per square mile.  The national count was 79.6 per square mile.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd
The name 'Minnesota' is based on the Dakota Sioux Indian word for "sky-tinted water," referring to the Minnesota River or the state's many lakes.

 
No NFL team which plays its home games in a domed stadium
has ever won a Super Bowl.
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/
InMyZone/index6.html
 
All of the Officials referring NFL football games have to take a test every week on game rules and regulations.
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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 Disclaimer
We do not have financial interest in, or endorse, any of the sites, or products offered by the sites, listed in this customer newsletter.  No opinions expressed on these sites should be considered to be the opinion of diversiCOM Melrose Telephone Company or it's employees. This newsletter is a free service of diversiCOM Melrose Telephone Company to enhance your Internet surfing experience. It is our policy to not share your e-mail address with any third party for any reason.