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| Welcome to 1999 - Happy New Year!The Granite Newsletter |
Another month, another edition of the Granite Newsletter. John Scott, a local writer, is with us again this month. Wet your whistles for this epicurean delight. Ever been interested in expanding your chess partners? Check out this great Chess article submitted by Steve Ryan this month.
Granite began as a project for two computer nuts with an idea that maybe, just maybe we could do all the stuff we love to do and make enough money to feed the kids at the same time. The business plan was ambitious to say the least. The reality of the situation is that the business plan seemed to be right on target and these two computer nuts are actually pulling it off! We now have two technical support people helping us out on the telephones, while we spend our time building web pages and designing networks for people (and a few little business details here and there). All I can say is that the past two years have been the ride of my life that I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I have all you customers to thank for it.
The Internet has certainly changed form over these past two years as well. Our first customers used the Internet for primarily entertainment purposes. E-mailing a sister, playing an on-line game or searching for information were the normal day to day activities performed. As time went on, businesses began to sign on, as did government agencies and schools. Here at Granite we have always prided ourselves on delivering dependable service, but our customers have now started to rely on their access, sometimes with dire consequences if it weren't available. We have always been very proud of the technical help we offer and the reliability of the access we provide. We understand the needs of our customers and the level to which they have come to rely on it. All that entertainment value is still out there, of course, as most you know.
Here at Granite we are looking forward to the future with great anticipation. We will be keeping up on all the new technology, of course, and kicking butt with our competitors as usual. We'll be here to help you keep up with all those new browsers and modems and operating systems, too.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy New Year and all the best in 1999. We look forward to another great ride this year!
Donna Warenko
President, Granite Internet Services Inc.
Time to discuss the Year 2000 (y2k) bug.
Q: What is the Year 2000 bug?
A: The y2k (Year 2000) bug is a problem that affects older computers and programs. The y2k bug is not a virus, it is the effect of computer chips which have been developed which handle only two digits for the year. ie. 1998 = 98; 1999 = 99; 2000 = 00. Many older programs and even some new ones are created can be affected by the bug or can cause a problem. This bug will come into full effect when clocks turn over from Dec. 31, 1999, 11:59PM to Jan. 1, 2000, 00:00AM, the world over as each time zone changes over.
Q: How does this affect me?
A: This bug can affect anyone who has a computer. Unless your computer hardware and software is 100% compliant to the Year 2000, you could be affected. Unfortunately, this y2k bug can also be found to affect other electronic devices you have, from televisions and VCRs, to microwave ovens and clock radios and telephone. It can even affect your automobile. Anything that relies on a computer chip and software can be affected.
Q: What if I throw out all my computerized equipment or get everything checked out and fixed? I should be safe then, correct?
A: The y2k can affect EVERY computer system in the world. Even if you have become completely y2k compliant, others may not. This bug will affect all businesses including phone systems like MTS, other utilities like hydro and gas utilities, banks and other financial institutions, and any other business or individual which uses computer systems and has not become compliant.
Q: What can I do about y2k?
A: The best you can do is have your electronic equipment checked out and fixed or replaced as needed. Some utilities companies and other businesses have sent awareness pamphlets to their customers. Newspapers, magazines and journals are publishing information regarding the bug. Some web sites and internet usegroups are dedicated to informing the public about the bug. The best thing to do is to become aware of the problem and to do your part to help solve the problem.
Site of the month: http://www.y2k.com
Why would anyone want to talk about wild rice at this time of the year? Well, I really have no idea except I guess that I am dreaming about the warmer temperatures that are coming. I always do about this time of year. My thoughts turn to canoeing down one of the rivers in Nopiming or the Whiteshell and rounding the corner into a still area of low water filled with "fields" of wild rice.
Wild rice grows in the still shallow waters common in not only this part of Manitoba but also in parts of neighbouring Minnesota, Wisconsin and north-west Ontario. Here in Manitoba it may be found growing is such unlikely locations as Sturgeon Creek in Winnipeg and the Whitemud River near Gladstone (Happyrock). It is in southeastern part of this province, primarily in the Whiteshell and Nopiming provincial parks that this wild grass may be found growing in abundance. In fact, Manitoba, by far, is the largest producer of wild rice in Canada. If Alberta can call itself the "wild rose" province maybe we should think of calling ourselves the "wild rice" province.
Of course, wild rice is really not rice at all but a member of the grass family. It was mistaken for rice by European explorers and the name has stuck since (probably the same people who called the bison "buffalo"). Nothing beats a shore lunch (any time of year) with wild rice and Winnipeg River goldeye, walleye, or maybe lake trout from one of the deeper lakes. Wild rice has played a vital role in these parts, not only in early survival of the people of this land but also in the survival of the first explorers who came through here. Researchers have found evidence of its use in this part of North America as far back as 2000 years ago.
Wild rice, called "manomin" by the Ojibwa and is today becoming an important source of revenue to those so inclined to produce it commercially - however manomin represents a different revenue stream to those in Mahnomen, Minnesota, I bet.
Before becoming commercialized and harvested by machinery, wild rice was harvested usually by two people in a canoe. The person in the bow would steer the canoe through the shallow, calm water where these long grasses grow naturally while the person in the rear of the canoe would bend the long stems over the gunwales and tap the rice off the plants. It usually wouldn't take long for the canoe to fill up with the rice.
Later the rice would be boiled slightly to loosen the hulls which were then placed into pits where the hulls were removed - often by someone "dancing" on them. Finally, they were put into large baskets and winnowed or thrown into the air where the breeze would carry away the hulls and let the heavier kernels fall into the baskets.
The rice stored well and was an important food source throughout the long winters that inevitably came year after year. Today it is seen as a delicacy, as common on the menus of restaurants in New York and Paris as on the shores of a lake in the Whiteshell.
I remember years ago seeing bags of wild rice at my friends' place in Bissett at Rice Lake. I didn't think much of it at the time but hate to think what those bags would be worth today given the price of tiny bags of the stuff at places like "The Forks" in Winnipeg. Wild rice may not play a large role in Manitoba's economy but it is this province's only native grain and for the past few thousand years has played an important part as a food source for the people of this land.
Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Almonds
1 cup uncooked wild rice
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 tbsp. snipped chives or chopped green onions
1 can (8 oz.) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
3 cups of chicken broth
Wash and drain rice. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add rice, almonds, chives and mushrooms; cook and stir until almonds are golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour rice mixture into ungreased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Heat chicken broth to boiling; stir into rice mixture. Cover tightly; bake about 1 1/2 hours or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender and fluffy. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
For nearly 25 years now I have enjoyed the pastime of Correspondence Chess (CC). To date, most of my games have taken place by regular post, otherwise known as snail-mail. Many players, myself included, still keep these postal games going though with some it has become a matter of stubborn traditionalism. The ever-increasing cost of postage and unreliable mail service to some overseas countries will, I think, eventually doom the postal game to extinction, though not for many years to come. Time has also become a factor. An individual postal CC game may last up to 2 years with the tournament it belongs in not declaring a winner for 6 - 10 years. People these days simply do not want to make that amount of time commitment considering that an e-mail game usually lasts 3 - 4 months.
So how do you play e-mail chess? First of all you have to know how to play standard or over-the-board (OTB) chess. Both OTB and e-mail use the same rules for movement of the pieces and pawns. More importantly, they both use the same chess "notation" which has now become universally standardized on the Abbreviated Algebraic (AA) system. In AA notation the ranks (the squares across the width of the board) have a letter designation form a to h (left to right) while the files (the squares along the length of the board) have a numerical designation from 1 - 8. From white's side of the board the Queen's square would have a designation (or co-ordinate) of d1and the King's square a designation of e1. On the opposite side of the board the black Queen's square has a designation of d8, the King e8 etc. In its simplest form e-mail chess involves the e-mail transmission of moves using the AA (or any mutually agreed) notation. I won't go into more detail than the above in this article, but if you would like to know more just let me know.
Many different CC clubs exist the world over such as the CCCA (Canadian Correspondence Chess Association), the IECC (International E-mail Chess Club), the IECG (Chess Group) and the ICCF (International Correspondence Chess Federation). The CCCA and ICCF promote games by regular post as well as e-mail while the IECC/CG concentrate on e-mail only.
For your edification and undoubted amusement I present below, in the AA notation, my worst game ever, an 8 - move disaster against Tim Nagely of the UK in an IECC tournament.
| W S. Ryan | B T. Nagely TH-M 138.2 |
| 1. d4 | d5 |
| 2. Nf3 | Nf6 |
| 3. e3 | c5 |
| 4. c3 | Nbd7 |
| 5. b3 | e6 |
| 6. Bd3 | Bd6 |
| 7. O-O | e5 |
| 8. Nbd2 ?? | e4 |
| 0 | 1 |
IECG www.eics.com/iecg
CCCA www.interlog.com/~mchoull/
ICCF www.iccf.com
IECC www.geocities.com/Midfield/12641/iecc.html
Try your hand at the chess problem below - an easy one if you know the rules.
White to move and mate in 1
Network Manager’s Report
by David Hnatiw
December 1998 Problems
INTERNET - The month of December saw a few problems. On December 1, 1998 a brief outage occurred when MBnet rebooted a router. December 10, 1998 saw a DOS (Denial of Service) attack on a MBnet customer. December 22, 1998 saw an attack on a MBnet client. December 27, 1998 saw a DOS attack on an Escape customer. These attacks usually only last an hour or so, but they tend to disrupt services to all of Escape's and MBnet's clients.
LAC DU BONNET - On December 11, 1998 MTS installed a new service for Granite's digital modems. Unfortunately problems prevented the use of the service until December 16, 1998. The software that came with the digital modems did not support V.90 and the update did not arrive before Christmas. The upgrade was installed December 31, 1998.
WHITEMOUTH - There are some minor problems with old USR modems. We are waiting on a firmware upgrade from the manufacture.
January 1999 Upgrades
LAC DU BONNET - The analog modems that will remain in service will be upgraded to a new firmware revision.
WHITEMOUTH - The modems will be upgraded to a new firmware revision. This should solve the V.90 problems and the problems with old USR modems. Granite has received a quote from MTS on installing more lines.
Network Statistics
| Modem pool usage | | | | |
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| Digital Modem Information: | Highest Speed | 46000 kb 1% |
| 44000 kb 1% | ||
| 42000 kb 1% | ||
| 33600 kb 24% | ||
| 31200 kb 49% | ||
| 28800 kb 9% | ||
| 26400 kb 3% | ||
| 24000 kb 2% | ||
| 21600 kb 2% | ||
| Lowest speed | 14400 kb 4% |
Other statistics can be found at http://topaz.granite.mb.ca/stats/mrtg
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