EIGHT- Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 14,2005
Internet Security
Rules of the Road
By Pat Struthers
Comparing the Internet to the highway system
certainly isn’t original, but 1 find it interesting how helpful
it can be to adapt the tactics of surviving on our roads to
a v o id in g secu rity p ro b lem s on the “ In fo rm atio n
Superhighway.”
I recently began teaching one of my nephews how
to drive and it became apparent to me immediately that it
w asn't enough to say: “Do this. Don’t do that.” A good
driver needs to develop an “attitude” toward driving; a
fallback position that will give a driver time to make
decisions in those emergency situations that no single “rule"
fits.
This leads to two polar driving philosophies:
offensive and defensive. Offensive drivers “own the road";
it is the job of other drivers to abide by the rules and not
create a hazard by getting in their way. An offensive driver
takes solace in the fact that, if an accident does occur, he
was obeying the letter of the rules, if not the spirit. And he
certainly wasn’t obstructing traffic.
Defensive drivers realize that most accidents occur
regardless of righteous adherence to the orderly progress
of traffic flow. Accidents are inevitable whether they follow
the rules or not and since they hate the messy state of affairs
that results from even a minor fender-bender, their attitude
is entirely different. A defensive driver expects every curve,
vehicle and intersection to present a hell of body-mangling
trauma. Whereas a driver of the first sort barrels blithely
through congested intersections and residential areas,
blameless and free, the second kind of driver creeps along
in near-paranoiac anxiety.
Regardless of blame, the difference in effect is
obvious. Offensive drivers are involved in more accidents
because they don’t think it is their duty to avoid them. The
frantic alertness of a defensive driver, on the other hand,
helps him to anticipate traffic situations that may turn ugly.
Due diligence alone makes him a safer driver, even if he is
not a “better” one,
Neither approach to driving, at its extreme, is
healthy; but it should be clear that it is better to err on the
side of caution than to depend on one’s insurance company
to be sympathetic.
What does this have to do with Internet use? A
“defensive” user probably would get little done, but by the
same token would be unlikely to harm anyone but himself.
An “offensive” web-surfer, on the other hand, might
wonder: "How can my negligence endanger other users?”
The answer is simple: “Viruses need hosts.”
In order to spread themselves, computer viruses
and similar threats need a stable base from which to attack.
They exploit vulnerable operating systems, unsecured
networks, insufficiently diligent e-mail and web users. Evil
or not, these threats exist. They become more numerous
and their attacks become more sophisticated every year,
and they have more potential targets.
The lesson is simple: with all the benefits and
privileges the Internet provides, there is a price. One also
has a duty to secure his personal system so as to deny
malicious software a foothold.
T eenagers, p re sen te d w ith the aw esom e
responsibility of driving for the first time, are often
overwhelmed. Patience, experience and a few simple “rules
of the road” eventually give them the confidence to become
confident, careful drivers without being meek ones. And a
few “rules of the road” will help you avoid the hazards of
the Internet while still getting the benefits you deserve:
-Shut down your Internet connection when you are
not using it.
-Install virus, spyw are-, and adw are-killing
software, scan often, and update signatures and programs
regularly.
-Install a firewall, and use it.
-Exercise due diligence in surfing and e-mail use.
-Obtain and install security fixes for your operating
system (Windows 95/98/XP etc., Mac OS, Linux) if they
are available.
-Last and hardest: insist on responsible Internet
behavior in others.
In later articles I will explain each of these basic
rules in more detail. None of them are expensive or
strenuous to follow, nor will their use ruin the usefulness
and enjoyment you get from the Internet.
Some thoughts on
therapeutic medical
knowledge
By J. Timothy Hanlon,
M.D., Department of Cardiology, Bend Memorial Clinic,
Bend, Oregon.
Therapeutic medical knowledge has increased
dramatically in the past decade. It is estimated that more
medical knowledge has been accumulated in the past ten
years than in all of history prior to the last decade. How is
knowledge of medical therapy acquired and what is itswith
what degree of accuracy and reliability?
For most of history therapeutic medical knowledge
was observational and anecdotal. Physicians and “healers"
learned that certain things worked and others didn't— by
"trial and error” ..” These individual observations of
therapies that SEEM ED to work were com piled and
analyzed and therapeutic advances came mostly through
this method. In the latter part of the nineteenth century the
ability to observe large populations and scientifically and
statistically analyze data evolved into the science of
epidemiology (observational population studies), providing
greater insight into disease occurrence and potential
therapies. However, epidemiological evidence could be
confounded or contaminated. For example, multiple large
epidemiological studies led us to believe that hormone
replacement (HRT) in postmenopausal women prevented
cardiovascular disease, but we now understand that this
observation was “confounded" by the fact that women who
i
coronary arteries in heart attack victims have resulted in a
dramatic improvement in the care of patients with heart
disease. That in turn has translated in a marked reduction
in cardiovascular risk and prolongation of life.Dramatic
improvement in the care of patients with heart disease has
resulted from such huge trials involving: cholesterol
lowering therapy, blood pressure control and reestablishing
flow in occluded coronary arteries in heart attack victims.
. Improving care has meant significant reduction in
cardiovascular risk andrisk and prolonging lives.
Recognizing that not only the quantity, but also the
quality and trustworthiness of our medical knowledge have
grown logarithmically in the last decades, should give our
p a tie n ts g re a ter assu ran ce in fo llo w in g m edical
recom m endations. What wWe now knowknow now
because we have tested theoriesis based on theories tested
in thousands and thousands of patients who participated in
large randomized double blind clinical therapeutic trials.
Such trials have revolutionized medical care.
used HRT also took better care of themselves, smoked less,
exercised more, etc.
In the past 40 years or so, the advent of the
randomized, double blind trial has eliminated any bias or
confounding of the data. In these generally large trials, the
physician investigators and the patients are unaware
whether an activethe subject drug (or therapy) or either a
placebo (e.g. sugar pill) or an older established therapy is
used, and subsequent Ooutcomes are determined analyzed
without any potential bias. Whereas our confidence in single
or multiple observations, even when analyzed by statistical
and epidemiological methods, was somewhat lacking
because of potential bias on the part of doctors and patients,.
tThe advent of the randomized, double blind trials has
produced an ever-expanding pool of knowledge with a high
degree of reproducibility and certainty. We are now in the
era of powerful therapies that we have near absolute surety
really work.
Such huge trials in cholesterol lowering therapy,
blood pressure control, and reestablishing flow in occluded
Brownfields receive final 2005 Yard of the Month
By Kay Proctor
Heppner’s last Yard
of the Month in 2005 has
been awarded to Steve and
Luanne Brownfield at 315
Gilmore for September.
L u a n n e ’s fam ily
lived in Wisconsin until she
was age five and then moved
to O regon w here she
graduated high school in
Beaverton. Her family made
their way to Eastern Oregon
w here she becam e a
registered nurse through
Blue Mountain Community
College. While working at
Good Shepherd Hospital in
H erm isto n , the h o sp ital
became involved with the
TLC H ospice and Home
Health program and Luanne
was hired as the first
employee. She and Steve
began their married life in
Heppner in 1993 and Luanne
began
com m uting to
H erm iston then. She has
been with Hospice/Home
Health now for 16 years.
Steve grew up in
Eugene and graduated from
University of Oregon. He
then moved to Heppner to
begin his teaching career in
1971 and spent the next 32
years teaching junior high
and high school science.
Since his retirement in 2003,
he works seasonally for the
US Forest Service.
The large, o ld er
bungalow style home, which
has been occupied by the
B row nfield fam ily since
1974, sits on a corner lot
with not a lot of room left
over for yard, so Steve and
L uanne to g eth er have
w orked hard to take
advantage of every possible
outdoor space for gardening.
Helping to make the
most of their space is their
use of a large num ber of
d ifferen t sized pots and
p la n te rs. Luanne buys
colorful plants keeping them
in containers that can be
moved, changed out or filled
w ith p lan ts that have
staggering bloom time for
multi-seasonal effect.
A n o th er aid to
maximize plantings is going
vertical. Besides hanging
baskets full of bright annual
flowers on their front porch,
planters hang from a side
yard fence and dog kennel.
Sadly, the kennel is empty
after the recent loss of their
beloved golden retriever,
Reba.
A short tim e ago,
Steve put down bark mulch
the full length of their narrow
back yard. That leads into
the not very wide side yard
where part of their vegetable
garden grows consisting of
b u tte rn u t and zu cch in i
squash, bell and banana
peppers. Somehow there is
room for California poppies,
roses and granite boulders
b ro u g h t back from the
mountains.
The side yard that
borders the street really
showcases the Brownfield’s
c o n c e n tra te d gard en in g
style. Just outside the chain
link fence Steve built is a row
X
m
GREEN FEED 8 SEED
HEPPNER GARDEN CLUB
ÎITY OF HEPPNER
Steve and Luanne Brownfield.
of bountiful fruit trees he has
planted and replanted over
the years. Pruning them
himself, he is able to keep
them below the level o f
o v erh ead w ires yet full
en o u g h to p ro v id e a
v e g eta tio n screen for
privacy. Tree types include
G ra v en ste in and Red
Delicious apples, Bartlett
pear and Italian plum. Fruit
produced is eaten fresh,
given away or dried for use
on their many camping trips.
A heavy cast iron,
claw footed bathtub original
to the house was m oved
below the fruit trees during
a remodeling project. Being
the science teacher he is,
Steve ex p erim en ted by
planting a rhubarb start in it
that has thrived ever since.
A peony, a slip from Debbie
Young’s grandmother, has
found its way into the tub,
also . A long th is sam e
parking strip, Luanne found
room for a flo w erin g
dogwood tree. Close by, the
birds that eat out of a feeder
Steve keeps in the front yard
have thoughtfully thanked
him by starting a scattering
of sunflowers. Completing
th is side o f the lot is a
compost pile below the stop
sign on the comer.
Inside this same side
yard, Steve and his father
built a wood deck connected
to the house. It overlooks a
b ark ed area w ith a
lengthwise cut wine barrel
full of colorful annuals.
Luanne enjoys the cheeriness
of lots of color. When winter
sets in, she leaves up their
outdoor C hristm as lights
from around Thanksgiving
to well after New Year’s Day
for brightness.
Beginning on this
side o f the house and
w rap p in g aro u n d to the
welcoming front steps is a
flowerbed created by Steve
and Luanne made of stacked
gray landscaping blocks.
Towering in back of low
g ro w in g , w hite sw eet
alyssums are dinner plate
sized dahlias. This is both
S te v e ’s and L u a n n e ’s
favorite area of the yard.
Several years ago, a
blue spruce tree was sawed
down as it had outgrown the
right front yard comer it was
I
Photo by Kay Proctor
in. It was donated to the City
of Heppner to be used as the
city Christmas tree at the
mini-park by the post office.
Its departure made room for
more roses of which there
are about 25 varieties. That
in clu d es a y ellow rose
Luanne planted on her side
of the shared fence of their
n eig h b o rs, the Jay Coil
family. Unbeknownst to her,
Darcy Coil had planted a
yellow rose in the same spot
on her side of the fence.
A diseased Elm tree
in the midfront yard also got
the axe years ago and was
replaced by a Gravenstein
apple tree. Anchoring the left
front yard comer is a Redbud
tree Luanne brought home
and which has become her
favorite planting. It is loaded
each sp rin g w ith sm all
purplish flowers and then
produces deep green, heart
shaped leaves, which turn
bright yellow after the first
fall frost.
Between these trees
are m ixed beds o f vivid
p e re n n ials, an n u als and
shrubs including a deep
p in k ish
flo w erin g
rhododendron. Amid these is
another example of compact
gardening- a two-tiered bed
that is full each spring with
tulips and daffodils which die
back just in time for tomato
plants. The B row nfield's
harvest all the tom atoes
before freezing temperatures
and
place
them
on
newspapers spread on the
basement floor to be eaten
as they gradually ripen. The
summer-ripened tomatoes
are Steve’s favorite plant.
L ast sum m er, the
Brownfield’s tore up their
aging lawn, rototilled and
lev eled the ground and
replaced the grass. They
have edged the lawn with
gray concrete pavers and
Steve can mow the lawn in
about five minutes. They
fertilize plants during the
grow ing season w ith a
water-soluble fertilizer and
with bone meal or other
fertilizers when they plant
so m eth in g new. Steve
believes that in general they
have good soil as a result of
years o f W illow C reek
flooding, but has found lots
of large river rock when he
digs. He has also uncovered
hand forged nails, antique
bottles and marbles, a small
cast iron toy truck and an
etched copper photograph.
Steve's daughters,
Carri Grieb, Amy Wolters
and Alissa Brownfield grew
up in the home, which is now
visited by the Brownfield’s
five grandchildren, three
boys and two girls who have
all helped with gardening.
The cherry tom atoes are
grown just for the grandkids.
The B ro w n fie ld ’s
begin and complete a new
project each year, but don’t
have a particular one in mind
for next summer. Luanne has
som e ideas about w ater
fountains from her favorite
TV channel, HGTV. Their
city w ater m eter was
relocated outside their yard
this summer leaving an open
piece of ground that Steve
is eyeing and thinking about.
Whatever the project will be,
they will work on it together
and make sure that there's
always room for more.
The Heppner Yard of
the Month recognition is co
sponsored by the Heppner
Garden Club, Green Feed
and Seed, Heppner TV and
the City of Heppner.
â p iz e ia lty
fld V iz rtis in g
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SIMPSON
ESTATI
M ugs
M ouse pads
M ag n ets
C a le n d a rs
K ey P in g s
S p o rts A c c e s s o r ie s
M uch M ore
C a ll f o r p r ic in g
Heppner
Gazette-Times
676-9228
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