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Senator Barack Obama held a rally yesterday at the Lancaster Train Station. With The Pennsylvania Primaries coming on Tuesday, Lots of supporters came out.

This is not a political website. But this is where I was Yesterday, with several thousand other Lancasterians.

Sen. Hillary Clinton was campaigning in York, Pa. Mean while Sen. Obama was here in Lancaster, with friend and respected Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey.
The weather was beautiful and the air was thick was excitement. and I kinda chuckled when a few young girls nearly swooned beside me. The Political issues are always the most important thing, however you cant underestimate the charisma of Obama, admits the very festive atmosphere.

The Rally included a local, proud veteran, some fine Lancaster Rock bands. Senator Bob Casey (middle right  second pane) talked briefly and stood in support of Obama.
Hootenanny singer Earl Pickens received a couple humorous Jeers for mispronouncing Lancaster (its pronounced LANG-kist-er). his performance was fun and engaging he is definitely worth checking out at is site: myspace/earlpickens.

the Senator from Illinois did pronounce “Lancaster” correctly and that is the most important thing (hehe).

Some overtime for these two fellows.
The Primary is on Tuesday Aprill 22nd. Vote early and vote often!

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while cleaning up my computers folders i found a couple pictures I took last year.

This was a damp night in December on Queen st.

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Lancaster has two squares: Penn Square and Lancaster Square.

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late fall picture. I had taken this with my first camera… I bought the camera right in time for the fall leaves change.

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peace!

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Hillary Clinton will be at Millersville State University tomorrow evening.She is the first of the major candidate to do so.

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…The Download for the unofficial list of candidates in the Pennsylvania 2008 Primary….
i thought i’d pass on the link.

This link is for the PDF download (as with Adobe acrobat reader)

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bcel/lib/bcel/elections/petition_filers.pdf
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click below for the HTML (viewed in your browser):

(VIEW HERE)

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This short list is updated and unofficial.

(this post has been re edited. It was a bit jumbled after i moved things around. The unofficial list is a neutral non-partisan list…sorry if it was confusing, before)

Today, i worked a half work day. It was a voluntary Saturday shift… too cold to really do anything outdoors … and i could always use the money. The opportunity of taking some pictures of my ride home was evident as well.

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After work, The feed mill is always the first image to greet me. Often the swirling clouds appear to be interacting with mill. I work out in the rural country, near Mt. Joy . This image of the mill represents a great deal of central Pennsylvania. Both the Blue Collar and Rural values are imminent.
I left behind my forklift and machine workday … took in the view (and odor) of the mill and country side…
And head for home in my beat-up pick up truck.

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heading for home i traveled across the railroad tracks. The Amtrak carrying passengers and the Conrail carrying freight both use these tracks. The farms of both the old-order Mennonites and Amish dot the country side…
(its a myth that these two groups don’t use tractors or any power at all .
Each Amish or “older order” Mennonite community has different views on what mechanical vehicles or appliances they will use.)

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Across the quiet trout streams like the Conewago Creek. When i snapped this picture, four bicycle riders swooshed by me. Bicycling is a popular hobby in Lancaster County…An obsession for some. We have many great bicycling paths here. They were moving to fast for me to take a picture.

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I detoured away from my usual drive home today. it was Saturday after all.

I love walking or even driving by creek in the country..
With Lancaster County’s Population passing the half million mark…and shopping centers popping up more and more frequently,
These quiet and unpolluted scenes are becoming more scarce. But when i am walking along these creeks I am not thinking of that.
I just taken the scene for what is.
If it wasnt so damn cold, i would have spent all day there.

But i did have a couple chores to do so I snap this shot of some old random mill… and continued on my path back to Lancaster City.

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As I headed into into the City of Lancaster, I was greeted by it”s heritage and history immediately. Traveling down Marietta ave. I pass by Wheatland.

Wheatland was the final home of ex President James Buchanan. He was the 15th president, one before Abe Lincoln.
He is best known today for his lack of action during his tenure. Southern states seceded from the U.S. … soon to create the Confederacy. He believed that he could not Constitutionally prevent this. The American Civil War would soon follow.

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Back in “civilization”, I stopped at Manor Shopping Center. The conveniences of Multiplex Movie theaters, grocery stores, and barber shops .. all in one place.

I sometimes wonder, with all of the nature i see on my drive home…
Why the hell Seagulls congregate at shopping center parking lots. perhaps they like the modern conveniences .
Me? I came to the shopping center to pick up kitty litter for this guy..

waiting for me at home…

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Home, finally home.

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my view of Lancaster Pa from my neighborhood.

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I have on three occasions now received Fraudulent E-mails.

They used the name of well known banks of Pennsylvania, and they all claiming that their is a problem with my account. I need to urgently click on the link they give me that leads to the “banks” homepage.

I shall paste from the latest one:”

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From: [bank name removed by me]
Date: 2008/2/14
Subject: Your  account features have been restricted !
To:
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Dear [bank name removed by me] account holder,
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Because of several failed sign on attempts to you online account, your Regions Bank account features have been restricted as of the time of this notification. For more account information, to restore your account features, to verify your Available Credit, to request a Credit Line Increase or make an online payment, you must contact us at
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[link removed be me]
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This message is for information purposes only.
Please understand that we cannot respond to individual messages through this email address. It is not secure and should not be used for credit card account related questions.

To restore your [bank name removed] Banking features, please follow these steps:

1. Contact us at [link remove from me,it used the rel banks name in it]
2. Sign On to your online account and verify your Available Credit

After you submitted your message, check for a response within 48 hours. Just return to the Write to Customer Care section and select View/Update Message link.

© Copyright 2007 [ bank name here]. All Rights Reserved.
Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender .

”

— I did not even have an account with the bank listed….

This an identity theft scam. The web site it directed me to is fraudulent site. The idea is to fool me into giving a name password or even a social security number up.
This is what is called Phishing.
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BANKS DO NOT DO BUSINESS THIS WAY. BANK ACCOUNT PROBLEMS ARE NEVER HANDLED VIA E-MAIL. IF YOU GET AN E-MAIL LIKE THIS IT IS PROBABLY A SCAM.

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What to do if you recieve an e-mail like this:

*DONT: click on any link or reply to the E-mail. You give up your computers IP

* DONT: panic. if you are concerned with your account, contact your bank by proper channels.

*DO: report it, if you can. Most Banks have an e-mail address for this kind of thing. Contact the bank via telephone or go to their legitimate WEB site and search “abuse” of “Fraud”.
Normally they will ask that you forward the scam E-mail to an address. They can shut down fraudulent links quickly, so no one can get taken in by an identity theft scam.
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Remember the WEB is a community. It is up to all of us to keep the WEB safe for everyone else.

Thanks.

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There are three types of people in an Art museum:

The Artist–thats the one so free that they can expressions on a wall to interact with.

The Art collector– thats the who wishes to possess and show of their tastes in their den.

And lastly the Art appreciator — the one who is too talentless to create art and too poor (or to cheap) to buy Art.– and that would be me.

Last weekend I scurried of to the Lancaster Museum of Art. I sometimes go with friends…
Usually i go by my self though. I like to just wander around in the small building. Take in the Art and envy the Artist.

The museum is free, but i always donate a few dollars when i visit, so i don,t feel like such a cheap bastard.

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This weekend I went with my mother. This is good thing because she gave the donation tip .

Its also nice because my mother and I have different tastes and different views. In the Art museum you don’t have to intellectualize everything. You don’t have to decide whats a profound. You just go by yourself or with others and say I like this… I don’t know why.

My mother and I both loved this one, even though she is spiritual and I am not.
by Thomas Scullin.

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An Art museum is always a great place to get lost in. I don’t “understand art”, but i don’t think i ever need too. Its good to get lost.

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think of “Fat Tuesday”. What comes to mind?

…Mardis Graz in New Orleans
….Del Carnivals in Rio De Janiero

and of course…
Fausnaught day in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania.

Of course you were! So what is A fausenaught

A fausnaught is a fluffy pastry similar in texture to donut… and once a year pa dutch treat.

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The exact history of the fausnaught seems to be debated. However
Fat Tuesday is one day before the beginning of the forty days of lent that lead up to easter, in Christian tradition.

Many cooking ingredients, including fat and butter, were given up for the Lent period. This can be a problem if you have a lot of left over food ingredients that will spoil before Easter.

What does one do with there extra fat, butter and eggs, you ask?

Make pastries and gorge your family with them.

ahh the fausenaught.

Now some old school dutchies will tell you that they are to be eaten plain,
but i buy my Faussies pimped up.

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powdered fausenauts from willow Valley bakery.

Goes well with Lancaster county brewed Turkey Hill Iced Tea.
(Actually they go well with Lancaster Ale but i will save that for another post).

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Peace and Pastry!

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Some guys just Ham it up for the Cam.

and then others…like this Red tail Hawk:

are too busy hunting squirrels to wait for me to catch a close up.

(dont worry The Hawk here went empty handed…Lancaster squirrels are very quick…This birds prey made it to the safety of his tree.)

with the unseasonable warm weather in Pennsylvania…and the forcasted Nor’easter tomorrow,

it seem like a good day to get some pictures with my, very new digital camera.

So after jumping in my truck and getting some stuff at the dollar store:

I headed out…

I was way to lazy to do any real walking with my cam.
Today i went over to Millersville State University. Millersville is only a couple miles west of the City of Lancaster. It is an easy drive to to the Pond there.

M.S.U started as an academy for teaching. It is still highly ranked for preparing students to become elementary and high school educators. M S U has been ranked in the top 100 schools per dollar tuition every year for at least 15 years now.

I have family and friends who are Alumni of Millersville State University. It has stood as a  solid community resource for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for along time.

Strange how Animals will adapt to live around us.

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Juan Lopez was a leader in Lancaster ’s Community as well as a respected owner of his business. He was beacon and a voice for the Spanish speaking population and well liked by all. I have never met Mr Lopez or his wife. However, friends and family, who now live in other parts of the country have sent their condolences.
R I P his legacy lives on.

Friday night, in downtown lancaster the christmas tree, just like every year…

This can only mean one thing. “Tuba Christmas”!

As part of the tree lighting celebration, an ensemble of roughly 30 to 40 tubas and sousaphones play festive and seasonal carols.
I do not know the history of this tuba ensemble, but they have been giving a christmas season concert at Penn Square since I was a kid.

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After taking in the celebration at the square i did some window shopping.

(above is the display window at Hagars, and a display in the Heritage found.)

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Friday was also the first friday of the Month. This means Art galleries and museums open to the public at night. The “First Fridays” gallery openings started in downtown only a couple years ago. The dowtown tree lighting ceremony has been intergrated nicely..

I will be posting more on “First Fridays” at a later time.

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To End the night, me an my cohorts did grab a bite at the “Starving Artists Cafe “, a small sandwich shop that has joined into the Downtown Lancaster’s art culture… Along with the Art Academy and “First Fridays”".

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I had a hot chocolate and the “Cuban”

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Happy Holidays!
from Chris.

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We shape out our communities through out its history.
In return, our communities history shapes us as well,
When i am walking or driving through lancaster its ghosts are all around me.
Often, when out with friends or family, I am completely unconscious of it yet it still affects me.
monuments, architecture, reminders of past and present…fade in to the landscape in which i live.

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and then , while driving through rush hour traffic, or out doing our chores we see something that grabs our attention,

the monuments,

the tribute to the people in our communties:

This is a lovingly home made monument, a vigil to a young man tragically killed.
what you cannot see in this picture is the two schools across the street. The young man was an innocent victim of crossfire shooting right near an elementary and middle school.

This modern day monument is as powerful and moving as any town full of historic markers… It is fades in with the federalist architectures of lancaster. Affects are consciousness, and reminds of the people and ghosts that have been part of our communities.

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we change and move with are history. Some monuments remain the same, some make way for growth.

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St James epist. Church was built in 1744, thirty two years before the Declaration of Independence was drafted. It stands today, in downtown Lancaster. Many of these tomb markers are older than the United States.

What is no longer visible are the huge ancient Elm trees, that stood outside the church Dutch elm disease killed them, they had to be removed in the 1980s.

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the lancaster skyline is changing.. the old steeples greet the cranes building the new convention center.

heritage and history greets growth and progress

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This guy has had a lot to read about over the years .

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I had just open the package of my first digital camera. I looked out the window today and saw it was rainy and windy. This means the colored leaves were going to fall of the trees…So after finishing up my social service responsibilities for the day, and as i headed to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. I took some pics

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this pic was through my trucks windshield, Orange st is so attractive this time of year.

Downtown Lancaster is so quiet and peaceful on the thanksgiving holiday

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This morning i headed to the lancaster county park with Cam in Hand. The deer always come out after a windy or rainy day. They find the fruit or seeds that have been knocked off the trees from the weather.

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One of my favorite place to sit and take in nature at the lancaster county park, by the contestoga river.

I hope everyone is having a nice holiday…like am

Peace.

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