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John M. Fray, Webmaster:
"In my retirement years,
I am posting here about
local news and events."













Wednesday, February 12, 2025, 9:05 PM.
Enjoying a delicious Made-To-Order burger and a tasty cup of Columbian Blend coffee at the Ellwood City Sheetz.






John Fray on Tuesday, February 11, 2025:

THE YOUNGEST DOGE MEMBER BRAGGED ABOUT A WEB PLATFORM HE CREATED WHICH ENABLED "SH**POSTING."

Three years ago, the nineteen-year-old DOGE member (who is now advisor to the Department of Defense IT bureau) did some unsavory things online, which included launching a web image-sharing service known as "Tesla(dot)sexy. The service allowed users to add links to their images. The links were operative only on the Discord chat site. The appeal of the image-sharing site was that visitors could create their images with workable links and not be subject to law enforcement, or any other entity, having the ability to trace their identity. Some users responded to this anonymity feature by posting links with wording which was highly inappropriate, to put it mildly. Of course, the links were fake. Clicking them would just lead to the image-sharing site.

As an aside, I note that the nineteen-year-old DOGE member has gone by the web identity "Bill Ba**S" and that, just today, Musk has changed his X account name to "Harry Bolz" for crying out loud.
More at this link.






John Fray on Monday, February 10, 2025:

PRESIDENT TRUMP WARNS HAMAS TO COMPLY BY
NOON ON SATURDAY OR THERE WILL BE BLOOD.

Today, the President disclosed that he has warned Hamas to comply with the terms of the agreed-to cease fire and hostage return or else the Palestinians are going to pay a heavy price.




John Fray on Sunday, February 9, 2025:

PRESIDENT TRUMP LIED IN AN INTERVIEW
WHICH WAS TELEVISED THIS AFTERNOON.

The President stated in the interview that the Defendants which he pardoned regarding the January 6, 2021, attack on the nation's Capitol were not violent, but, rather, he said, were victims at the hands of the police. THAT IS A LIE. The rioters sprayed police with bear repellant, threw a metal cylinder which struck an officer, squeezed an officer with a swinging door, hit officers with a flag staff, shoved officers, knocked them over, caused one officer to suffer a fatal stroke two days later, and caused one of more officers to commit suicide in the following week.











John Fray on Saturday, February 8, 2025:

COME ON, REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS!
STOP MUSK!

Musk is on the verge of seizing control of the United States government with his newly-built AI facility in Memphis, Tennessee. If you Republican Senators and House members care about saving the U.S. from tyranny, join with the Democrats to pass legislation to keep Musk out of our Government!





John Fray on Friday, February 7, 2025:

Today, Elon Musk has brought back to DOGE the 25-year-old member who resigned yesterday because his past web racist postings were revealed.

Also today, the improper actions of another DOGE member regarding his tenure as an employee with a web company were revealed. He had disclosed confidential information to a competitor of his employer. In his defense, he stated that, after his dismissal, he could have wiped out his employer's database if he had wanted to because he retained access to the system. He said he would never have done that because doing so would be contrary to his nature.

I have no reason to believe these young men are spies or are otherwise up to no good in their accessing of the Treasury data. I have greater fear of Musk's intentions. In my opinion, security protocols have been breached. No individuals lacking proper vetting and background checks should be allowed to be in a position to rob the Treasury via cyber theft and to provide sensitive information to our enemies. The DOGE model allows Musk and his agents, these five or six young men, unfettered access to personal and financial data of American citizens. The Republican Senators and House Members could stop this national security breach, but they cow to the President and to Musk.





John Fray on Thursday, February 6, 2025:

Last week, Elon Musk and his young team of DOGE computer engineers bullied their way into the U.S. Treasury and connected their electronic devices to the Department's computer servers. All of the sensitive personal and financial information which the Treasury has on all of us U.S. citizens is at risk to be transferred to cyber criminals and enemies of our country.

Today, one of the team members resigned because it was made known that he had advanced racist views on the web last year. Click the image below to read the news story.






February 2, 2025, 7:25 AM
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania:

Punxsutawney Phil Sees His Shadow.
Six More Weeks Of Winter To Follow.








John M. Fray
Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
Telephone: 724 494-6569
Click Here For John's Email Address
Retired from Practicing Law








John Fray on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, 2:00 AM

THE WRECKAGE OF AMELIA EARHART'S PLANE HAS BEEN PINPOINTED ON NIKUMARORO ISLAND.

In 2020, a web sleuth was examining satellite images of Nikumaroro Island. He discovered something there which should not have been. In the lagoon, multiple long metal objects were plainly visible on its east side, directly across from the channel leading to the ocean. Word got around, resulting in an intense effort to examine images dating as far back as 1937. Sure enough, the objects appeared, to varying degrees of clarity, in the archived images. As it turns out, a typhoon in 2015 caused the objects to be revealed from their mucky resting places long enough for the image which the web sleuth discovered in 2020 to be snapped. An expedition is planned for this year to make positive identification of the aircraft. As far as I am concerned, the mystery is solved. On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan landed on Nikumaroro where they survived as castaways for at least five days before perishing.

The above image shows the Taraia Peninsula on the lagoon. Two long, blurry images can be seen in the water. They are the fuselage and rear wings of the plane. For reference, there is an overlay of scale sketches of those two components of the plane.








Flu Cases Are On The Rise






MEMBERS OF THE LEGENDARY
WYNN / KEENAN ACTING FAMILY

Family Tree Prepared By
John Fray, Jan. 28, 2025





Frank Keenan
(1858-1929)


Ed Wynn, Husband
(1900-1966)


Hilda Keenan, Wife
(1891-1940)


Keenan Wynn (1916-1986)
Son of Ed & Hilda


Edwyna Wynn
Daughter of Keenan Wynn

Tracy Keenan Wynn,
Son of Keenan Wynn
Ned Wynn,
Son of Keenan Wynn


Jessica Keenan Wynn
Daughter of Edwyna Wynn




Movie Alert by John Fray on January 29, 2025

Title: "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" (2025)

Starring: Rose Byrne, with Conan O'Brien

Director: Mary Bronstein.

Debuted: Jan. 2025, Sundance Film Festival

Plot: A mother (Rose Byrne) is distraught over the life-threatening medical condition of her young daughter. Her husband is disengaged from the family unit. She seeks the help of her therapist (Conan O'Brien). What follows is a psychological drama in which correlation between mental perceptions and reality become paradoxical.








ON THIS DATE, JANUARY 25.

1945: The Allies Were Victorious in the Battle of the Bulge.

1938: The Aurora Borealis put on what may have been its widest, most intense display known in recorded history.












One hundred years ago, a solar eclipse line of totality cut through NYC.

January 24, 1925, scientists set up cameras and other equipment in northern New York City in order to observe the precise line on earth which separated observing the total eclipse from the partial eclipse. The newspapers alerted the public to the rare phenomenon. On some streets, observers on one side could see a full eclipse, whereas observers on the other side saw a partial eclipse.







$TRUMP


John Fray on Why Some Meme Coins Are Not Crypto Coins

January 26, 2025

Crypto coins are of a digital nature. They exist in a virtual sense. There is no tangible aspect to their nature. Meme coins are of a digital nature as well. Confusion arises over the fact that some meme coins are indeed crypto coins, whereas others are not. The most famous crypto coin is the bitcoin, which is currently trading at around $104,000. A given crypto coin is recognized to exist, virtually, after somebody mines it. The mining process entails discovering a digital block which fits into a blockchain. After the block is discovered and proved to be a fit, the miner is awarded a pre-determined fraction of a bit coin. The remaining number of bitcoins to be mined is finite.

The most famous meme coin which is a crypto coin is the Doge coin. The word "Doge" refers to a barking dog. Doge coins are mined. There is a limit as to how many of them can be mined. Currently, a Doge coin is trading at about $0.35. It fits the classification of a meme coin because its name and dog-themed trademark are whimsical. Also, a meme coin can be classified as such due to its connection with a particular subject, cause or celebrity.

The most famous meme coin which is not a crypto coin is that which was released a week ago by our country's current president. It is not a mined coin. The coins are already allotted. The number of coins is fixed at one billion. Businesses controlled by the president own 800,000,000 coins. The remainder of the 200,000,000 coins are in virtual circulation. The coin is currently trading at about $32. The president's businesses earn a commission on every trade of one of the coins.








THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT TUMBLEWEED

Contrary to a remark which was reported in the news, tumbleweed can not remain in a verdant condition. The DNA of the shrub dictates that its twigs and greenery die within a matter of a few years. The dead, above-ground portion of the shrub breaks away from its root when subjected to strong winds.



The rolling dead shrub sheds its seeds and spores for the purpose of propagating new shrubs. This is the marvel of creation with regard to this shrub, it must die in order to propagate. There is no way by which it can be made to remain in a verdant state.

John Fray, Jan. 25, 2025







Monday, February 10, 2025, 8:30 PM.
Enjoying a delicious Made-To-Order burger and a tasty cup of Columbian Blend coffee at the Ellwood City Sheetz.








The year 1972 saw the release of many great classic rock recordings. The song "Easy Living" by the British Band Uriah Heep was released in September 1972. The recording reached No. 30 on the U.S. Billboard chart.







Who Is The Black Dahlia?
1975 ABC TV Movie

Lucie Arnaz as Elizabeth Short


Ephrem Zimbalast, Jr., as Det. Hansen


This movie chilled me thoroughly when I caught it in a re-broadcast on ABC TV in the summer of 1976. January 14, 2025, marks the 78th anniversary of the crime.










The movie, "The Right Stuff" (1983) is a 193-minute masterpiece weaving the histories of the U.S. Mercury space flights and the heroics of experimental aircraft pilots, notably Chuck Yeager. The above scene is my favorite of the movie. The canteen owner, Pancho Barnes (a real-life test pilot in the 1940s and 1950s) is having none of the bragging of Mercury Space Program astronaut Gordon Cooper.










Cases of Influenza ("The Flu') are spiking across the area. I came down with symptoms on Monday morning. The first few days were miserable with a nagging dry cough and fatigue. I am thankful that I am coming out of my bout with it. Click the above image for information on how to fight Influenza Type A.      John Fray, Jan. 9











The outside temperature may be in the mid-twenties, but the basement workshop is now warm thanks to the newly-installed natural gas heater.











The King of Denmark has approved a re-designed Coat of Arms for his country. The purpose of the revision is to place the icons of the polar bear and goat in separate quadrants, thus making them more prominent than in the previous design which had them sharing the lower left quadrant. The polar bear is the symbol of Greenland, and the goat is the symbol of The Faroe Islands. Both locations are territories of Denmark.







ENJOYING A TASTY CUP OF COFFEE
AT THE ELLWOOD CITY SHEETZ
ON NEWS YEAR'S DAY MORNING.



Had an active time celebrating
yesterday evening - NOT!

I am too old for all the revelry.
Coca-Cola and a 11:00 PM bedtime
were the order for the evening.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
May you receive blessings of
good health & happiness.







LIGHTNING STRIKES THE U.S. CAPITOL
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2024, 8:30 PM
CLICK IMAGE FOR VIDEO OF STRIKE








NOSTALGIA FOR THE 1950s-1960s
HUMAN CENTRIFUGES


Back in the 1950s-1960s, amusement parks featured centrifuge rides. The riders would enter a cylindrical-shaped room and stand against the curved wall. After everyone assumed their desired places, the door closed and the room began to spin. As the rotation reached its top speed, the riders felt themselves forced to the wall. It was possible for a rider to wriggle around a bit and change positions, but doing so required a good bit of effort to counter the significant force of the ride. To add to the extraordinary effect, the floor would drop down. I rode one of these attractions at an amusement park in the 1960s. There are newer rides which offer a somewhat similar experience, but the riders are positioned in individual slots, each having a backward leaning slope. I think the 1950s-1950s centrifuge rides were more interesting.






DELICIOUS MONDAY SPECIAL AT CHRISTY'S:

TENDER BRAISED STEAK WITH
MASHED POTATOES & GRAVY


The generous serving of braised steak was sumptious. Mashed potatoes with gravy is my favorite side. Green beans balanced the delicious meal.






CELEBRATING ARRIVAL OF THE NEW YEAR:


Accessing a YouTube stream of classical music is a reflective approach to spending a few hours on New New's Eve. Last year, I bought a bottle of ten-year-aged Laphroaig Scotch whisky for the occasion, but it remains in my cabinet still in its unopened paperboard tube.







PROGRAMMING THE MASSES: HOW KDKA RADIO SHAPED THE WAY PITTSBURGHERS VIEWED THE CHRISTMAS SEASON.

For decades, KDKA radio, 1020 on the AM dial, was the titan of the Pittsburgh Radio market. The era I wish to focus on in this post is from 1968 through 1975. The time of year I wish to address is the Christmas Season, and the broadcast hours which I feel merit discussing are weekdays from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM. In the four or five weeks before Christmas, the morning disc jockey, Jack Bogut, (who started with the station in 1968), would anchor the station's broadcasts from the front window of the Joseph Horne Department Store. The one Christmas song which I associate best with the era is "Ring Christmas Bells" (1962) by the Ray Coniff singers. That recording (as well as the song itself) is unusual, and to some people's tastes, downright bizarre. However, it set the tone (in an unauthentic sense) for traditional Christmases, seemingly rooted in British observances. Mr. Bogut led the station's appeal for donations to Children's Hospital. That initiative was co-sponsored by a Pittsburgh newspaper and was branded "The Old Newsboys' Drive." Mr. Bogut provided humorous stories. Some of those were of a far-fetched nature, such as the search for the mythical perfect farkleberry tree. It was the era of the Vietnam war with horrendously high weekly number of U.S. soldiers killed in action. Somehow, KDKA led its listeners to believe that adhering to traditional Christmas tenets was worthwhile.







Christy's: The Meals Are Superb. On Dec. 24, Christmas Spirit Prevailed.








MY THOUGHTS ON THE 1896-1897 AIRSHIP SIGHTINGS:

I believe that the many published reports of airship sightings from about September 1896 through April 1897 are rooted in hoaxes, perpetrated in part by newspapers seeking to increase their readership. I hope that I am wrong and that at least some of the reported sightings were real. I think is is neat to believe that there existed a real mystery at play and that it will remain unsolved for a long time, perhaps forever.

As I previously posted on this website, a New Castle newspaper reported on April 23, 1897 that a cigar-shaped airship was observed speeding south at a relatively low altitude over the village of Energy, halfway between New Castle and Ellwood City. The description of the airship matched those from reports from the Midwest which abounded in the weeks beforehand. The newspaper article references reports which had come in the preceding days from observers in Mercer County and in counties in Eastern Ohio.

If we want to have fun and engage in silly speculation, we could posit that the airship was real and that it was headed to Rock Point where work was in progress to reopen the amusement park which had fallen in disrepair. In 1897, the owners of the site were about to open "The New Rock Point" amusement park which would remain in existence until about the year 1910.

As for land travel between New Castle and Ellwood City in the year 1897, there was very little. If there existed a highway which roughly followed what is now Route 65, it was not highly traversable. It would have been earthen and subject to becoming very muddy in the spring. A few years later,the streetcar track would be constructed along that route.

One purpose of this post is to give pause to think of the fine people who inhabited our area over 125 years ago. They did not have comfortable transportation, let alone utilities. They developed the land through hard manual work. It is nice to read of first-hand reports from them, even if they have the ring of fantasy to them.






View Coming out of Christy's Restaurant
Monday, December 23, 2024, 9:35 AM







These two fellows wind up
at the brink of exhaustion.







December Night Sky Check-In.

Nothing much to report from me. The sky was clear on Tuesday evening, December 17, at 9:06 PM. In the above photo, the moon is seen two days after fullness.

Out of view in the photo is the planet Mars. It was about five degrees to the lower left of the moon. In the span from December 2024 through early March 2025, Mars is in retrograde. During that span, Mars will be moving from the constellation Leo into the constellation Cancer.

Happy sky watching!

John Fray, December 18, 2024






What Became of Flight 19?

On December 5, 1945, a unit (i.e., a small squadron) of five torpedo bombers flew east from Fort Lauderdale, FL, on a routine training exercise. As planned, they dropped their mock ordinance at a location of small islands in the Atlantic Ocean about 70 miles east of their departure site. Thereafter, the unit flew another 70 miles east to a point at which it was to turn left and proceed NNW a distance of 100 miles (over Big Bahama) and then turn sharp left and proceed SW 130 miles back to Fort Lauderdale. Something went wrong. The squadron disappeared. It is thought that the squadon commander mistook a small group of Bahama islands for the Florida Keys and took a path northeast hoping to find mainland Florida. Contributing to the confusion was a sudden storm which diminished visibility. Apparently, the planes ran out of fuel north of the Bahamas and about 200 miles east of Daytona Beach, and they ditched in the Atlantic Ocean. Interestingly, at sometime in 1963, old wreckage of a Navy plane containing the remains of two crew members was found in a swampy area near Sebastian, Florida. The rumour is that the plane was from Flight 19. The Navy and Marines have never issued a definitive statement as to the identity of the wreckage and its crew.






    Leona Lewis Sings
    "One More Sleep"
    From Her 2013 Album








  China House Restaurant
  Serves Great Entrees For
  Dining Or For Carryout








    Melissa Manchester Sings
    "Just Too Many People"
    From Her 1975 Album







Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941





John Fray on September 8, 2024, at 8:00 AM:
My favorite musical recording is "You Were on My Mind" (1965) by We Five. (Actually, there were six in the group.) The group gave us a remarkable live performance on the ABC television show "The Hollywood Palace" shortly are the recording was released. No lip-syncing was involved. The staging of the number is exceptional, the drummer is behind the camera. If you are in the mood for a musical treat, check YouTube for a video of that magnificent performance.


Click the above image for the video.