Anybody Tweet, You Twits?

Twitter is one of the Internet forms of communication I haven't quite gotten my arms and brainwaves around yet, but a number of colleagues tell me it's just a matter of time, and we've even had presentations about it at work.

Anyhow, our classmate Susanna Lorber Lee would like to Tweet with fellow classmates during Reunion Weekend. She says to "follow me @twitwrit" ... I'll assume that all you Twitterites will understand that language from Susanna.

To me, it sounds like a good pickup line: "Hey, hot stuff, wanna go back to my place and Tweet?"

Why Do Live Where You Do?

From Mike's posting we know the class of '74 have spread themselves far and wide. I've posted the picture above as one of the reasons I live in Florida. This is the view from my porch. The sun is nearly as far north as it will ride on the river. About 2 more weeks and it begins its slow procession to the the south. Even when I'm inside typing this, the outside view is all around. It easy to connect with Mother Nature here. Of course that also means that some years that river comes right on up the street and knocks at the door.
I guess I love being where nature still has wild places, the sun shines most of the time, and there is always water nearby. What about you? What makes you call your state and town home?

Facebook Group

It probably makes sense to make a full post out of a comment I made to Wayne's original post (here). We now have a Facebook group (if a group of one can be considered a "group"). I'm pretty certain you can reach it from this link. I also used the "Invitation" function to send out emails to the list of folks that Mike sent me.
The group is "invitation-only" so you either have to respond to the invitiation or request approval for membership.
I think that's all. It should be interesting to see what folks are up to (and are willing to admit to on Facebook).

High School Bands

Paul Gausman wanted to know in a recent e-mail...
Does anybody remember the lineage for the rock bands in high school? When I first went to high school, there was a group of seniors including Pat Wright's older brothers, Tim and Kevin, called the "Fallen Angels". I think Barbara Moon's older brother might have been in a band, too. Dave Andrews and Randy King, (in my class,) had a band (can't remember the name) and Pat Wright, Nick Devita, Stu Miller and others had a band. I think at one point Dave's and Pat's bands may have combined into another band. I can't remember which band was "Stoned Blue". I thought it was Pat's band but I'm not positive. If it is the band with Pat Wright, was it the band with or without Dave? Or do I have this completely wrong? Any other bands that I've forgotten? I also remember a band called "Angry Castle" with the Bodeman brothers and Charlie Francino. Maybe there were more...

Blogging 101

Since I've been answering some e-mail queries regarding posting to the blog, I'll try my hand at walking everybody through the process. After all, the more the merrier.

First level - viewing the blog. It's public. (You're looking at it now, aren't you? And, you didn't have to log in or anything...) But we don't want a bunch of lurkers out there, either - so join the fun!!!

Second level - commenting on what someone else has posted. This does require "Signing in" to the blog. Scroll up and look in the upper right corner and click on the Sign-In link. You will need a Google account (but not necessarily gmail). If you've ever been on Flickr or Picassa (photo sharing sites), you've had to create a Google account. On a Google account your user ID is usually your e-mail address, and then you just choose a password. You can probably use the same ID and password as your FaceBook account, if you have one.
Once you're signed in, you can click on the Comment link in the lower right hand side of each post (it says how many comments are there already). The comments appear in chronological order, and if you scroll down, you'll see a comment box. Click your cursor in the box and type away - but don't forget to click on the "Post Comment" button at the bottom or it won't officially publish to the comment page.
And, given our memories (or lack thereof), it's o.k. to challenge something someone else has posted - or add embellishments to exisiting "stories."

Third level - posting to the blog, which may include text alone - or with a photo or video. To accomplish this, you'll need to sign in (see second level, above), and accept an e-mail invitation to be an author on the blog. I've been keeping track of everyone who has either "followed" or "commented" and invited them (via e-mail) to be an author. (Check your spam - if you have a filter!) Currently, we have 10 authors - and I have 6 outstanding invitations to others, who have not yet accepted. (We can have up to 100, so don't be shy...)
To post, just click the "New Post" link in the upper right hand corner of the blog. You will see a title box, a text box, and a label box. The title is the topic of your post. Your news, memory, or story is typed in the text box. You'll notice all the word processing tools across the top. With those tools are two icons near the right: one for a photo, one for video. If you're intrepid enough to try those, you're a button-pusher, and probably don't need my help. But please, we could use some broader perspectives - so share, if you dare.
P.S. The label box is optional. It just keeps track of similar labels on the blog.

Fourth level - administering the blog. Right now, that's myself and Mike - both officially senior class officers, and to my knowledge neither one of us has abused our relative "power" (yet). We can invite others to be authors, edit posts (if they're more than PG-13 rated), and remove users. Don't mess with us, man!

Whew! I hope this was helpful. Blog away!

Sa-lute! Those Who Served From Class of '74?

I've heard that a few classmates have been discussing Newton '74 folks who went on to serve in the military after high school. Some served briefly, while others made careers out of it. Besides these people, does anyone know of others?

Army -- Keith Armstrong, Mike Scabet, Mike Wittrien
Marines -- Will Kris Arthur, Mike Ettore, Kevin Herrmann
Navy -- Mike Many, Tom McDonald, Tom Paladini, Don Space, Doug Space

Andrea also wanted me to inlcude a link for an outreach website she's involved with. The url is:
http://www.forgottensoldiers.org

Got Facebook?

Would someone be willing to take the time to set up and publicize a group on Facebook?