The Conservatory of Dance & Theatre in downtown Galax is accepting new registrations for classes this week.  Classes offered are Mommy & Me, Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Classical Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Yoga for ages 2 1/2 - adult. Cost varies depending on class. Discounts available.

Running a web server with SQL support on your own machine is a tricky matter but really essential if you are a Windows user and want some level of control over an Apache, MySQL, PHP (AMP) web site. In the opening session of our Winter 2009 Workshop, we will assist every attendee through this process.

Steven Edwards of the Bordeaux Technology Group released Bordeaux 1.6 for FreeBSD and PC-BSD today. Bordeaux 1.6 comes with added support for Google's Chrome Web Browser, Google Earth, Google Picasa. Additionally, Cellar support has improved; you can now delete and install into an existing Cellar.

As the recession deepens in the U.S. and more and more jobs are lost, every consumer dollar spent counts more than ever.  It's time to reassess the  "American way" of spending to excess—on credit—for unnecessary stuff.

This is the holiday season to spend—to splurge, even, if you have the means, but in the way that will do the most good for the greatest number of your neighbors and fellow citizens.

GIVE TO CHARITY.  To the greatest extent that you possibly can, give to the needy.  Give clean coats and blankets to Willing Partners for a neighbor who is cold.  Sacrifice some canned goods from your pantry for a neighbor who is hungry.  Get a card from an Angel Tree and shop for someone whose provider is out of a job.  If you can pay a little extra to Appalachian Electric Power for their Neighbor-to-Neighbor fund, please do so.

https://www.appalachianpower.com/communities/NeighborFund/default.asp

Three day workshop for Drupal website owners. Base camp is at 61 Caprine Ln, Independence, VA 24348. Advanced camp is at 115 1/2 W Grayson St, Galax VA.

Steven Edwards of the Bordeaux Technology Group released Bordeaux 1.6 today.  Bordeaux 1.6 comes with added support for Google's Chrome Web Browser, Google Earth, Google Picasa, Trillian and Apple's Safari Web Browser.  Additionally, Cellar support has improved; you can now delete and install into an existing Cellar.  IE6 now installs java, shockwave and latest flash.  T

A few times each year, Woody, Jeff and I are called upon to come up a cost-effective upgrade or "new" PC. Not nearly often enough to be an economic venture in itself, but sufficiently often to keep our nose in the market for "best of class" products. A few people have asked recently what we would build "today" (one week before Christmas).

I''ve been fascinated by the "print to order" book publishing business.  The urge to publish used to support the whole vanity publishing industry. it was an expensive route for authors. A few of the short run publishers have found a middle ground requiring the author to purchase a substantial number of copies while offering to distribute the remainer.

PYROMYSTIQUE FIRE DANCERS  are available for fire performance to enhance your Holiday event. (Except New Year's Eve, since they have an engagement in Roanoke, VA)

All dance and exercise classes at Moving Arts Center in Woodlawn, VA will be half price in January and February if enrolled by Dec 29.  Please, email samra40@netzero.net or visit

Relieve stress, feel refreshed, get energized! Spaces are still available for the Yoga classes offered by the Conservatory of Dance & Theatre in downtown Galax. The classes will be held every Wednesday for six weeks from January 7-February 11. Certified instructor is Christa Krüger of Switzerland.
Beginning Yoga (10:30am-11:30am)

The Conservatory of Dance & Theatre presents its 4th annual production of The Nutcracker ballet this weekend, Saturday, December 6 at 6:00pm and Sunday, December 7 at 3:00pm at the Galax High School Auditorium.  The ballet is in two acts of 45 minutes each.

Like most American girls, I got my feminine ideal from pop culture.  I was 14 when I went to see Purple Rain at the cineplex, and Apollonia Kotero, love interest of the artist intermittently known as Prince, became my ideal.  She was olive-skinned, mysterious, temperamental, about 5'2", and, despite being about a size zero, had breasts like prize canteloupes.  Prince would look at her and go sort of green and gooey around the gills.

I gathered that Apollonia was a Real Woman, and that no man, much less Prince, would ever turn to mush at the sight of me unless I looked like her.  As the summer sun set over Johnson City, Tennesee (I was visiting, and my cousin got me into the "R" movie), I prayed fervently for a bouncing set of Apollonias that would make the men go ape.

Over the next few years, I overshot Prince's height by a good foot.  And then I got my growth spurt.  I matured into a pasty-white, unmysterious girl, size 8-running-to-10, about as tempestuous as oatmeal, and one of the Breastless Wonders of the Modern World.  I'm middle-aged and still praying for those Apollonias.  I don't think the Almighty is going to oblige.

I have been called upon for counsel in the matter of teen agers and breasts. I find no better than the wisdom of Solomon.

Just a reminder about school closings - LSNet's Home Page lists School Closings under "Site Navigation" on the left-hand side of the Home Page.  The School Closings page is updated by WDBJ7 News.

Are we having school in Grayson County?

Depends. Mostly, until spring, it's unlikely.

And finding out just exactly when/whether Grayson schools will open can be confusing.  This morning, for instance.  At 7:00 a.m. the Galax radio station, WBRF, announced a two-hour delay for Grayson Schools.  By 7:30, WBRF was saying Grayson Schools would open "regular time, repeat, regular time."  The Grayson Schools' new computerized alert system was calling me saying that school was either two hours late (7:00 a.m.) or closed (7:45 a.m.).   The bus never came, so I guess the computer was correct the second time.

Whether a site is dynamic or static, there are some things with which the site owner needs to be familiar. The science of managing web sites is simplified by Drupal and many other popular CMS. CMS is nice, but site owners are often unfamiliar.

Training Announcement *updated*

Woody tentatively scheduled four hours, between 3PM and 7PM on December 19 December 17^th for "Managing a Web Site" at 115 1/2 W Grayson St in Galax. The cost for the seminar can be shared by up to eight people at the Galax location. Sign-up now to reserve your seat.

Robert died yesterday in Kuala Lumpur. He had just finished a three week training session in project evaluation in Malaysia and was planning to stop by in England to visit his parents before returning to America.