 |
| Artist unknown |
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Shelves bare at the Associated Churches Neighborhood Food Network warehouse
Urgent Request for Food Donations!
Shelves are Bare at the Associated Churches Neighborhood Food Network Warehouse
FORT WAYNE, IN (January 29, 2014) -Associated Churches Neighborhood Food Network is asking for donations as the food supply is running drastically low and the demand is higher than ever.
“We are in dire straits. Simply put, we are without food to share with those in need. We need your help,” said Pastor Fred Meuter, Director of Church Relations for Associated Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County. “I will be contacting area churches in the days ahead to ask them to give us the food we need. If you can bring a bag of canned and dry goods to our main office that would be a true blessing. Our need is dire at this time. We really need the help of the community.”
The need to provide emergency food relief is greater than ever. An average of about 3,000 Allen County families access the Neighborhood Food Network per month.
“We are a community together for the greater good, and the need in our community is greater than ever,” said Roger Reece, Executive Pastor at Associated Churches of Fort Wayne & Allen County. “Feeding the hungry is a command made repeatedly in scripture, and we take that command very seriously. Fulfilling this command is made possible through the collaboration of our churches, volunteers, business partners, and the grace of God. Please consider how you can help with this great need of feeding the hungry in our community right now.”
Throughout the year, the Neighborhood Food Network depends on the donations of food and money to keep fulfilling its mission to feed the hungry. Last year, there was a decrease in overall donations.
“While we realize you are also feeling the effects of this economy, your contribution, no matter how small, makes an enormous difference to those people who need the help of the Neighborhood Food Network. Please consider helping us continue to provide for those.”
Non-perishable canned and dry goods may be dropped off at the Associated Churches warehouse at 602 East Wayne Street. Monetary donations are also accepted and can be made online at www.AssociatedChurches.Org.
“We encourage the media to come to our warehouse and see the empty shelves,” Meuter said. “We need to get the word out to the community that we need their help.”
For further information, contact Pastor Fred Meuter at 260-422-3528 ext. 101 or Roger Reece at 260-422-3528 ext. 102.
About Associated Churches Neighborhood Food Network:
This ministry is made up of 28 food pantries located throughout Fort Wayne and Allen County and focuses on feeding all who are hungry ion our community. The pantries are located in neighborhoods or small towns and offer visitors a 5-day supply of balanced meals once a month.
Change your password. Now.
 |
| In this Jan. 10, 2002, file photo, a computer screen shows a password attack in progress at the Norwich University computer security training program in Northfield, Vt. (Photo: By Toby Talbot, AP) |
USA Today reported yesterday that almost 2 million accounts on Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo and other social media and Internet sites have been breached. The hacking began Oct. 21 and might still be taking place, according to CNN.
In compiling data on the mass hacking, cyber-security company Trustwave discovered that many users are doing just what computer specialists advise against – using simplistic passwords that can easily be guessed.
For instance, the top five passwords Trustwave found in researching the breaches were: 123456, 123456789, 1234, password and 12345!
I bet some of those ridiculously insecure passwords were used by some otherwise very intelligent people, including ham radio operators and SKYWARN spotters.
I hope you are not one of them. But I know a lot of ham radio operators whose Yahoo accounts have been hacked over the past couple of years. How do I know? Because after the hacker took over, I got email from the hacked accounts.
So, even if you’ve chosen passwords for your Yahoo, Google, Facebook or other accounts that you think are more secure than “12345,” now would be a very good time to change to even more secure passwords.
Microsoft has a good Web page on how to create secure passwords. The page includes a link to a tool with which you can test your existing or potential passwords for strength.
You can also use an online password generator (like this one from computer security vendor Norton) to help you create a truly strong and random password.
Remember, the mass account hacking is probably still going on right now, so don’t wait. Improve your passwords today, before your Yahoo or Gmail account starts sending me spam!
Ham radios still relevant today
| Jim Boyer, KB9IH, poses with his emergency radio “go kit” in a feature story in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. (Journal Gazette photo by Sam Hoffman) |
The century-old science of radio transmissions and antennas seem archaic compared with the cellphones and tablets of today. However, James Boyer, known by his call sign KB9IH, says that most of the time, amateur radio operators are waiting for the world to catch up.
“Amateur radio is still relevant. We’re still involved with the latest and greatest technology; in fact, we probably invented it,” said James Boyer, known by his call sign KB9IH.
Big midwestern tropo opening this morning
Sitting here doing client work at my desk, with my VHF/UHF base station scanning memory channels, I’m hearing a lot of distant repeater stations this morning. On 146.76 MHz, the KE8HR repeater in Detroit came in almost full scale on the S-meter! A couple minutes later on the same frequency, I copied the W8RXX repeater in Columbus, Ohio. It wasn’t as strong as the Detroit machine but still copyable. On 147.255, I heard the KC8RCI repeater in Republic, Ohio (north-central part of the state) quite clearly. Then, I heard the 443.100 MHz WR8DAR RACES ARES Disaster Assistance Repeater in Northville, Mich. (near Detroit).
It’s somewhat unusual to hear stations this far away on these frequencies, because signals on these frequencies normally travel only in straight lines. Due to the curvature of the earth they’d normally be much higher above the earth hear in Fort Wayne than is my antenna, so I wouldn’t be able to hear them.
But this morning, we’re experiencing a phenomena called, “tropospheric ducting,” It happens most often on summer mornings and evenings when high atmospheric pressure leads to a temperature inversion