Welcome to the February Issue of Glen Cove Computing News. This issue's feature article Cyberspace Valentine will give you some tips on how to impress your significant other this Valentine's Day. In this issue of Glen Cove Computing News you'll also find:
Cyberspace Valentine
Well it's that time again when men and women pledge their love to each other and the price of roses jumps 500%. Yep Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Now if you're lucky enough to have someone to share this holiday with, you're probably trying to come up with a way to show your significant other how you feel about them. Don't let Hallmark and the other greeting card companies tell you how this should be done. The personal touch means a lot more than a store bought card and a $20 box of chocolates. I've listed some links to Valentine's Day related sites below this article, but first here's a short history of Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day is a combination of Christian, pagan, and secular traditions and festivals. Even it's name cannot be ascribed to any one specific origin. Christians believe that Valentine's Day was established as the festival of St. Valentine, who was beheaded on February 14th by order of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. One version of the story relates that the priest Valentine would secretly marry people forbidden to wed by law. Apparently Claudius II believed that he could form a larger army if men remained single, as they would be more likely to go to war if they had no family. For his crime Valentine was arrested and beheaded. Because he was a champion of love, he became known as the patron saint of lovers. Another version of the story tells of a priest named Valentine who was arrested by the Emperor because he refused to pray to the Roman gods. While in prison, he received flowers and notes from the children who loved him. The story continues with the befriending of Valentine by the jailer's blind daughter. Before his execution, Valentine prayed for the return of her sight. His prayers were granted and the jailer's daughter was able to read his farewell note to her, which was signed, "from your Valentine".
Many believe Valentine's Day serves to honor the priest who was later canonized a Saint. They do so by exchanging love notes, or Valentines, in his memory. Others believe that the priest's name Valentine, was confused with the a word galantin from the Norman French language of the Middle Ages. It is suggested that the similar sounding words, Valentine and galantin, a word meaning "lover of women," were somehow confused with the end result of the Saint Valentine being remembered as the patron saint of lovers.
Regardless of which version you prefer, Valentine's Day has yet older roots. As many Christian festivals have a pagan tradition lurking under the surface, so has Valentine's Day. Before the birth of St. Valentine, the Romans celebrated the festival of Lupercalia on February 15th as a spring holiday. The festival was held in honor of the god Lupercus, keeper of herds and crops. Dancing and singing surrounded this holiday as the people entreated Lupercus to protect their flocks and keep both animals and people healthy and fertile. One of the other activities of Lupercus was a drawing held on the eve (February 14th) of the festival. The young women would put their names into a bowl and each young man would draw a name. They would be partners in the festivities and at dances and parties for the rest of the year. Often times they would fall in love so that their was no need to redraw when the time rolled around the following year.
The celebration of Lupercalia continued on into the fifth century despite the Church's efforts to abolish pagan holidays. It is suggested that the Church eventually revised their tactics by moving the date up by one day and changing the name of Lupercalia to Valentine's day, in honor of St. Valentine and his messages of love. The leap was thus shortened and all were left to celebrate spring time and love. Most likely there are more legends and stories surrounding the evolution of Valentine's day. The mystery can only add to the excitement and anticipation that leads up to the holiday. In fact, the knowledge of the legends and a continued relating of them can only deepen the meaning behind the day, which in our age, can so easily turn into just another commercial adventure.
This year I would encourage you to do something personal for your Valentine. Don't just rely on the old standby of a store bought card and a box of chocolates. This year really put some thought into it. My wife and I were married on February 19, 1994 and every year I plan an anniversary trip for us to take. Lucky for me this trip usually coincides with Valentine's Day, so my Valentine's Day plans are already made. For the rest of you here's a sampling of some sites that can help you find the perfect Valentine's Day gift. Good luck.
This will give you a cascading menu of the Control Panel applets on your Start Menu. You can also do the same with the following virtual folders:
The Internet Site of the month for February 1997 is Publishing & Multimedia Network Online. Find the latest products, news, tips and reviews shaping the information publishing industry in this online version of the award-winning Desktop Publishers Journal. You can also join the discussion and share ideas with other DTP pros in the National Association of Desktop Publishers online community. Professional development columns and discussions abound.
At PMNOnline you can also locate and purchase the media resources you need in the National Association of Desktop Publishers (NADTP) online catalog of media resources. Desktop publishers and graphic designers will benefit from this premium selection of font packages, insightful publications and problem-solving manuals. Lastly you can promote your service, product or business through an exclusive listing and text page in the PMNonline Directory.
Thanks to Gabe Martin for placing his comic strip in the public domain. See more of Gabe's work at
The Internet Technology of the month for February 1997 is SiteSweeper from Site/technologies/inc. SiteSweeper performs time consuming quality assurance tasks for the Webmaster and provides the additional information needed to ensure the smooth operation of any web site. Simply enter your home page into the intuitive SiteSweeper interface, and it sweeps your site following each of your links. Along the way, it visits all the pages in your site that are linked together, and tests the validity of all links to external web sites. SiteSweeper gathers important data about each page it visits, including size, last modified date and expiration date. When SiteSweeper has finished sweeping a site and gathering data, it generates a series of reports in HTML. The list of available reports includes:
You can download a 30 day evaluation copy of SiteSweeper from the Site/technologies/inc. web site. I thought my web site was pretty much error free until I ran SiteSweeper on it. I hate to admit it, but I found close to 40 or 50 outdated or broken links. This is a must utility for any Webmaster. SiteSweeper for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95 is available for $249.99 from Site/technologies/inc.
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