Fireworks this weekend-Happy July 4th everyone!!

Just a quick note to wish you and your families a happy, safe & enjoyable 4th of July holiday weekend. We want to remind you that Fireworks, and in some cases many other events, will be held in the following communities over the upcoming weekend... The dates noted & places are for fireworks and note if there is a 2nd dated noted that is the rain date... Have a wonderful holiday...

Thursday evening- June 30th:

• Somerville 6/30/2011 9:00 PM Trum Field 7/7/2011

Friday evening, July 1st:

• Brockton 7/1/2011 5:00 PM Brockton Fairgrounds 7/8/2011



• Holyoke 7/1/2011 9:30 PM Holyoke Community College 7/2/2011



• Mashpee 7/1/2011 9:00 PM Mashpee High School 7/2/2011



• Northbridge 7/1/2011 9:00 PM Lasalle Field 7/5/2011



• Orleans 7/1/2011 9:00 PM Rock Harbor Beach 7/2/2011



• S. Yarmouth 7/1/2011 8:00 PM Dennis-Yarmouth High School 7/2/2011



• Worcester 7/1/2011 9:30 PM Belmont Hill 7/2/2011

Saturday evening, July 2nd:

• Auburn 7/2/2011 9:30 PM Lymanski Park 7/3/2011



• Ayer 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Pirone Memorial Field 7/9/2011



• Brockton 7/2/2011 5:00 PM Brockton Fairgrounds



• Dracut 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Dracut High School 7/5/2011



• Franklin 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Franklin Junior High Athletic Fields 7/5/2011



• Great Barrington 7/2/2011 9:30 PM Wyantenuck Country Club 7/3/2011



• Greenfield 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Poets Seat Tower 7/3/2011



• Marion 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Barge off Silver Shell Beach 7/5/2011



• Methuen 7/2/2011 9:30 PM Nicholson Field 7/5/2011



• New Marlborough 7/2/2011 9:30 PM 100 Steve Manor Drive



• Pepperell 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Nissitissit Middle School 7/9/2011



• Salisbury 7/2/2011 10:00 PM Barge off Salisbury Beach



• Spencer 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Zukas Hilltop 7/16/2011



• Wareham 7/2/2011 9:20 PM Shell Point 7/9/2011



• Westfield 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Stanley Park 7/3/2011



• Wilmington 7/2/2011 9:00 PM Wilmington High School

Sunday evening, July 3rd:

• Andover 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Andover High School 7/5/2011



• Brockton 7/3/2011 5:00 PM Brockton Fairgrounds



• Danvers 7/3/2011 9:30 PM Plains Park on Damon Street 7/5/2011



• East Longmeadow 7/3/2011 9:00 PM High School Athletic Field



• Fitchburg 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Rollstone Hill 7/5/2011



• Freetown 7/3/2011 8:00 PM Off South Main Street 7/9/2011



• Gloucester 7/3/2011 8:30 PM Stage Fort Park



• Harwichport 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Barge in Wychmere Harbor 7/5/2011



• Lynn 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Barge near Red Rock 7/5/2011



• Mashpee 7/3/2011 9:00 PM New Seabury Golf Course 7/5/2011



• Milford 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Plains Park 7/5/2011



• Millbury 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Windle Field 7/4/2011



• North Andover 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Hayes Stadium



• Rutland 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Behind DPW Garage 7/8/2011



• Salisbury 7/3/2011 10:00 PM Barge off Salisbury Beach



• Sandwich 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Ridge Country Club 7/5/2011



• Seekonk 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Seekonk Speedway 7/4/2011



• Stoughton 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Stoughton School Complex



• Walpole 7/3/2011 9:30 PM Joe Morgan Memorial Field 7/9/2011



• Webster 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Memorial Beach 7/4/2011



• Weymouth 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Barge off Wessqgusset Beach 7/9/2011



• Wilmington 7/3/2011 9:00 PM Wilmington High School

Monday evening, July 4th:

• Amesbury 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Woodsoms Farm 7/5/2011



• Attleboro 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Hayward Field 7/5/2011



• Bellingham 7/4/2011 9:00 PM High School Field 7/5/2011



• Beverly 7/4/2011 9:15 PM Barge off West Beach 7/5/2011



• Boston 7/4/2011 10:30 PM Charles River barge 7/5/2011



• Brockton 7/4/2011 5:00 PM Brockton Fairgrounds



• Edgartown 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Barge off Chappaquiddick Beach 7/5/2011



• Fall River 7/4/2011 9:30 PM One Government Center 7/5/2011



• Harwich 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Barge in Pleasant Bay 7/5/2011



• Lowell 7/4/2011 8:00 PM LeLacheur Park



• Lowell 7/4/2011 9:00 PM River Bank 7/5/2011



• Marblehead 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Barge off mouth of Harbor 7/5/2011



• Mashpee 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Willowbend Country Club 7/5/2011



• Mattapoisett 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Bay Club at Mattapoisett 7/6/2011



• Millbury 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Windle Field 7/5/2011



• Nantucket 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Barge off Jetties Beach 7/5/2011



• Pittsfield 7/4/2011 7:00 PM Wahconah Park



• Plymouth 7/4/2011 9:30 PM Barge in Plymouth Cove 7/5/2011



• Provincetown 7/4/2011 9:00 PM MacMillan Wharf 7/5/2011



• Tewksbury 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Livingston Street Park 7/9/2011



• Wakefield 7/4/2011 9:00 PM End of Beacon Street 7/5/2011



• Waltham 7/4/2011 8:00 PM Leary Field 7/5/2011



• Winthrop 7/4/2011 9:00 PM Coughlin Park 7/5/2011

What’s happening with “social networking websites” online..

There are several types of websites where everyday people communicate socially - we hope these definitions will help you understand them a little better...

A wiki is a Web site that allows anyone visiting to contribute (add, edit, or remove) content. Wikipedia, for example, is a virtual encyclopedia built by user’s providing information in their areas of expertise. Because of the ease of collaboration, wikis are often used when developing group projects, or sharing information collaboratively.

A Blog is an online journal (short for weB LOG) that may be entirely private, may be open to select friends or family, or available to the general public. You can usually make settings so that visitors to your blog may or may not be allowed to comment on your entries – our class blog that you are visiting now is set for public viewing and commenting so that you or anyone else who visits the blog is welcome to comment…. Many families today are creating their own family blogs, so that information, photos, videos etc. can be shared and accessed more easily by family members anywhere in the world...

A social networking site allows people to build and maintain an online Web page and create networks of people they are somehow connected to –their friends, work associates, other members with similar interests, and so on. Most social networking sites, such as Facebook and My Space also host blogs and have social networking functions that people allow people to view information about others and contact friends. And of course we’ve all seen the results of hitting the wrong button when you send a tweet via Twitter and it goes to everyone/anyone who follows you and not just to an individual… now being referred to as the Rep. Anthony Weiner tweat fiasco…

Note:
Posts are the actual articles or updates put on blogs, facebook and myspace websites by the owner/author of that site...
Comments are the comments made by others who read a blog or facebook posting about a specific post
Tweet is the short (no more than 140 characters) message sent via a twitter account to someone or everyone who follows you or someone else on twitter.

Sharing Photos Safely on the Internet

Today more and more of us are sharing our photo’s with others online. This can be done today using our digital cameras and cell phones as soon as the events happen.. No doubt, these options are another wonderful way of using technology but it’s important to be sure you are sharing your photos safely..

Almost all cell phones today have cameras, and because most of us carry our cell phones with us all the time - and the quality of the cell phones cameras have and continue to improve almost daily - they are becoming a popular way to post photos as soon as we take the picture...We may post them to our online photo-sharing accounts (such as Picasa Web Albums, Walgreens, Snapfish, PhotoBucket etc accounts, our blogs, mobile blogs (called moblogs); personal Web sites; or share them via our e-mails and IM - no doubt sharing our photos and videos has never been easier.

But it’s important to carefully manage who sees your digital images, from photos to videos, is critical to avoiding the potential exposure of private or personal information to people outside your trusted friends and family. The same pictures and videos you want to share with friends and family may contain information that also has value to criminals.

Only use reputable sites (such as Picasa Web Albums, Walgreens, Shutterfly, Snapfish and others we’ve discussed in class) and only share photos that contain identifiable information with people you trust.

To make photos with identifiable information safer to share publicly:

• Use a photo editing tool such as Picasa that we work with in our classes, or Windows Photo Gallery to cover up or crop out information that could put you or the people in your photos in harms way, such as house or apt. numbers, street names, name of your school or business, etc – Photo Editing sites allow you to blur small sections of your photos, so you can then put them online safely.


• Remove metadata from the photo. Some sites allow viewers to see the settings used to take the photo, the time and date when the photo was taken, and even show the geographical coordinates of the place where the photo was taken if the camera or camera phone documents this information. The last thing you want "just anyone" being able to see is the actual address of your home, school or day care center when you took pictures of your kids or grandkids...


• Change/reduce the resolution of the photo – because lower resolution makes it less likely that others will copy the photo.

Internet myths & safety Part 2 of 2

Many of us shop and bank online daily – but we all have to be careful and pay attention to how and when we share information online… a few basics to remember to keep yourself and your information safe when using this wonderful technology…

Never trust a link sent to you by someone you don’t know. By clicking the link you may be taken to a site that may look like your bank or credit card company, but isn’t. One thing a criminal can’t fake is the actual Web site address of a company or bank. Never click a link sent to you in an e-mail, search for the Web address using a search engine to find the real one. Use that to ask the company about the message you received, or call using the number listed on your statements. Mark the real site as a favorite in your browser so that one click brings you there safely every time.

Never (never never never) trust an e-mail that asks for your personal or account information (called a phishing scam). These usually seem convincing (the shabby ones have spelling errors, but the high quality scams look impeccable). No bank or reputable company is going to send you an e-mail asking you to correct your information, validate your identity, re-enter your password, and so on.

Beware of emails that send you "warnings against fraud" - The smarter scams often contain text warning you against fraud. They do this because many people believe that an e-mail that warns them to be careful must be legitimate. That is not always true. This also extends to sites that claim they have protections in place for your privacy and security. Anybody can make these claims, but only certain sites protect you.

Never respond – or even open an e-mail with a deal that is too good to be true unless it is from a company that you know well and expect to get these kinds of offers from them. Scammers want you to react without taking time to think things through, so their e-mails frequently sound urgent, such as:

• "if we don’t hear by tomorrow your account will be closed” (and you’ll notice that the date of “tomorrow” never is listed).


• "this offer won’t last, order now to ensure”

Never believe that someone you don’t know is going to give you money. Do not believe a person from another country who just needs you to “help transfer funds” and they need your bank account number to do so. Such scammers promise to give you a huge amount of money for helping them out. The result is an empty bank account.

If you never entered a lottery, you did not win the lottery. Such scams ask you to provide your information and bank account number so they can transfer your prize money. Don’t. The result is an empty bank account.

Don’t believe a really rich, famous person just wants to help you out… and that the celebrity also mysteriously needs your address, phone number, bank account information to do so. The result is an empty bank account.

Guard your information well. It is better to be rude than to be ripped off, so demand validation, verification, and authentication before giving your information to anyone. If you still feel uneasy, say no or check further.

Be careful when you are online and remember to trust your instincts…

Fireworks this weekend

Several communities are going to be celebrating the 4th of July a little early by having their fireworks this weekend.... here is the list and note that the 2nd date noted in each community is the rain date... and we will continue to be posting the towns celebrations over the next week or so.. So enjoy and be safe...

Brockton 6/24/2011 5:00 PM Brockton Fairgrounds 7/1/2011
Kingston 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Indian Pond Country Club
Ipswich 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Ipswich Country Club
Salisbury 6/25/2011 10:00 PM Barge off Salisbury Beach
Fitchburg 6/25/2011 10:00 PM St. Bernard's Elementary School
Chicopee 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Szot Park 6/26/2011
Upton 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Nipmuc Regional High School 6/26/2011
Braintree 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Braintree High School 6/26/2011
Easthampton 6/25/2011 9:00 PM White Brook Middle School 6/26/2011
Monson 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Quarry Hill Community School 6/26/2011
Halifax 6/25/2011 8:00 PM - Halifax Elementary School Field 6/26/2011

Internet myths & safety Part 1 of 2

Many of us generally buy into a few myths about information exposure online, but for older adults this is especially true….

Myth 1: if you don’t use a computer you aren’t exposed online. In reality, just because YOU didn’t put information online doesn’t mean it isn’t there – virtually everyone has information online that has been placed there by several sources. Some examples:

• 
  
  Publicly available government records will show if you own a home, vote, have a criminal record (or speeding ticket), and much more.


• 
  
  Your home is listed online and its image is available through any Internet mapping service.


• 
  
  Unless you have been very careful to make sure your phone number isn’t in a phone book, it’s online. Even if you have been careful, type it into any browser window and see if it brings back your information – chances are that it will.


• 
  
  If you donate to a charity without doing so anonymously the charity’s Web site probably lists you among all their donors as a thank you.


• 
  
  If you volunteer with an organization, belong to a church group, sports group, action committee, and so on, chances are they list you on their Web site.


• 
  
  If a relative enjoys genealogy, your name and your relative’s names may be online.

Myth 2: if you haven’t fallen for an Internet scam you won’t be the victim of an Internet crime. The truth is that you may never know what the Internet connection is (or even if there was one) in most crimes. For example, information found online may give a criminal the incentive and means to rob your home or steal your identity.

Myth 3: is that the information you post online will only be looked at by people who you know. Actually everything on the Internet is being copied and referenced – constantly. Even if you take your information off the Internet, a copy of it may still be there.

Always reduce exposure by removing personally identifiable information from anything you or family members post online

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all our dads, grandfathers, uncles and those who are dads but don't have the titles... Know how much you are loved and appreciated even though it may not be said often enough...

Life Lessons

You may have thought I didn't see,

Or that I hadn't heard,

Life lessons that you taught to me,

But I got every word.

Perhaps you thought I missed it all,

And that we'd grow apart,

But Dad, I picked up everything,

It's written on my heart.

Without you, Dad, I wouldn't be

Whom I am today;

You built a strong foundation

No one can take away.

I've grown up with your values,

And I'm very glad I did;

So here's to you, dear father,

From your forever grateful kid.

By Joanna Fuchs

History of Flag Day - June 14th

The History Of Flag Day : The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

Inspired by three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

To learn more about the history of FLAG DAY, check out the website that was quoted above:

http://usflag.org/history/flagday.html

as well as these other interesting “Flag History” websites:

www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagpics.html

www.usa-flag-site.org/history.shtml

www.united-states-flag.com/flag-history.html

Quincy Flag Day Celebration Postponed until Saturday, June 18th

Due to the heavy rains, QUINCY’S FLAG DAY CELEBRATION has been postponed from Saturday, June 11 to Saturday, June 18th, 2011. Announcements have been put up all around the city hoping to notify everyone...

Each year on the Saturday closest to Flag Day (June 14th) the City of Quincy pays tribute to Old Glory with the Quincy Flag Day Parade & Celebration - Started 59 years ago by Koch Club founder, the late Richard J. Koch, the Quincy Flag Day parade is the longest-running parade of its kind in the nation.

The 1.2 mile parade steps-off at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Coddington and Hancock Streets and proceeds north on Hancock Street to Merrymount Parkway, disbanding at Pageant Field.

The celebration portion of the evening held at Pageant Field following the parade consists of a flag raising of an impressive 30' x 60' version of Old Glory, a fly-over, a patriotic medley, presentation of awards to the parade grand marshal and the recipient of the Richard J. Koch Youth Service award capped off by a dazzling 30 minute fireworks display over Black's Creek.

For more info check out the Quincy City website..
http://www.quincyma.gov/Government/PARK/FlagDay.cfm

What is tabbed internet browsing?

What is tabbed Internet browsing that I keep hearing about?

Most Internet Browsers use TABS so you can open one connection to he Internet and then open multiple tabs vs. having to open your browser several times…

First of all if you aren’t sure what is an Internet Browser is – a Browser is the free software that allows us to search the Internet – the major ones are: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox – Safari for Apple Computers an Opera for hand held devices… Most of us have 3 or 4 browsers on our computers so different users have their choice of which to use..

Take full advantage of tabbed browsing on your Internet Browsers. While reading any web page if you come across a link you may be interested in open that link in a new tab so it can be viewed later. A new tab can be opened any of these (3) different ways:

• Going to the new tab and left clicking on it to open a new tab & type in the web address



• Hold down the Ctrl key and left click on the web address hyperlink (my favorite way t do it)



• If you have a mouse with a wheel click the link with the middle mouse button

What is Adobe Flash Player and do I need it on my computer?

Yes – absolutely. In essence, this is a computer language which is used when writing/creating many games, animations, and other media content on the Internet – so in order for us to be able to view them, as they are meant to be seen, we have to have Adobe Flash Player on our computers or we aren’t able to view them. It’s also advisable to allow the latest update when it prompts you to do so…

Notes:

• An early competitive version of Flash was Macromedia Flash,but that company was acquired By Adobe in a merger finalized in December 2005-so we now only use Adobe Flash Player.
  


• Some games also use a program called “shockwave” so it’s possible that you might also be prompted to have this plug-in on your computer also in order to play certain games…
  

New England Travel, Food & Weather Websites

Summer is just around the corner and it’s time to begin thinking about what to do on those wonderful summer days ahead. Here are some websites to check out to find what’s happening locally here in New England for day trips, overnight getaways or a longer respite... so much going on to choose from...

For all of you "clam & lobster lovers" check out this article on the Best of the Best in New England, according to www.boston.com (Boston Glove & Channel 5 etc…):

http://www.boston.com/travel/explorene/galleries/new_england_clam_shacks?pg=32

www.cityofboston.gov/visitors

http://www.discovernewengland.org/

http://www.heartofnewengland.com/

http://www.seenewengland.com/

http://www.visitnewengland.com/

As always - if you have a favorite website that you use when you are checking out getaways and fun things to do in New England or around town, let us know what they are so that we can share them with everyone...

After the weather earlier this week - who could have imagined such horrific tornado's in Massachusetts - and now with the 2011 Hurricane season underway, thought we should probably share some weather websites with you also...

http://www.weather.com/

http://www.acccuweather.com/

http://www.intellicast.com/

www.noaa.gov/wx.html

http://www.wunderground.com/

How to Burn a CD or DVD

BURNING TO A CD OR DVD is as easy as copy and pasting.. You can burn documents, photos, music or video’s to share or for back-up.. Remember CD’s can hold up to 700MB; DVD’s hold about 4.5 GB.

Open Windows Explorer: use the keyboard shortcut: Windows Flag Key + E

Windows Explorer allows you to see your entire computers filing system at once – whatever is highlighted on the left column is hat you are looking at on the right side of the screen…

• Put a blank CD OR DVD in your drive
  


• Now you can drag and drop the files you want on the CD or DVD into that area OR.
  Simply right click on the files or folder you wish to burn to a to CD/DVD and Choose send to and then choose your CD/DVD drive...
  


• Once you’ve done this, you will see a balloon message appear in the bottom right corner of your monitor, reminding you that files are ready to be written to CD. If you click on this balloon it will show the writable CD/DVD folder and all of the files and or folders that you have ready to be “burned”.
  


• If the balloon disappears and you want to see what files you are adding to a CD, simply open my computer and press on your CD/DVD drive there.
  


• Simply choose to write these files to CD/DVD D in the left menu which is under the heading of CD writing tasks or Right Click on the CD/DVD drive and choose “Write files to CD”.
  


• You can name your to CD/DVD (not necessary though) and press next until it starts to burn…

Notes:

• When you insert a blank to CD/DVD into your to CD/DVD burner a Windows dialog box will appear. Here you can choose the Open to CD/DVD folder using Windows Explorer. It will open a to CD/DVD writing dialog box where you can drag and drop files into it to burn to CD/DVD
  


• There are so many different types of to CD/DVD burning Software, but it’s just as easy to use what came with your Windows Operating System and it’s free