Fireworks this weekend - Happy 4th of July 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 and in some cases other events, this upcoming 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...

• Braintree 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Braintree High School 6/26/2011




• Brockton 6/24/2011 5:00 PM Brockton Fairgrounds 7/1/2011




• Chicopee 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Szot Park 6/26/2011




• Easthampton 6/25/2011 9:00 PM White Brook Middle School 6/26/2011




• Fitchburg 6/25/2011 10:00 PM St. Bernard's Elementary School




• Halifax 6/25/2011 8:00 PM - Halifax Elementary School Field 6/26/2011




• Ipswich 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Ipswich Country Club




• Kingston 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Indian Pond Country Club




• Monson 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Quarry Hill Community School 6/26/2011




• Salisbury 6/25/2011 10:00 PM Barge off Salisbury Beach




• Upton 6/25/2011 9:00 PM Nipmuc Regional High School 6/26/2011

and

• Holliston 6/26/2011 10:00 PM Holliston High baseball field


• Mashpee 6/26/2011 9:00 PM Willowbend Country Club


• Worcester 6/26/2011 9:00 PM Worcester Country Club 9/4/2011

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