The Archives

Happy New Year from everyone here at Saugus.net.

Just a final reminder about checking your computer for Y2K problems. As mentioned before, to do proper testing you should set the date sometime well into 2001, and check for little things going wrong (incorrect day of week, inconsistency of dates between the OS and applications, etc.) because usually problems will not reveal themselves in an obvious way.

The Search the Internet page was updated today.

The Saugus Commission on Disability site was updated today.

If you haven't done so yet, you ought to get your computer ready for Y2K. Remember, even computers purchased off the shelf this past year that are labeled "Y2K Compliant" often aren't unless you patch them with special software. Also, keep in mind that just setting the date to Jan. 1, 2000 and seeing if the machine seizes up or not is not a good enough test. You ought to set the date to some time in the middle of 2001, and then test as many things on your computer as you can, watching for files that erase themselves and strange crashes. Many Y2K failures do not happen all the time; they are erratic, and you should be looking for any sort of weird behavior (a little thing going wrong on the surface could indictate something bigger going wrong underneath -- fixing it right away will avoid major trouble). Expect to spend a few hours testing your machine if you want to do it properly.

Happy holidays from everyone at Saugus.net.

Remember, if your computer isn't going to be busy during the holidays, why not set it up to be a part of the Saugus Area SETI Team and let it do some useful work while you're away?

The Saugus Inspectional Services Department asked us to post the following:

For the new year beginning January 1, 1999 the cost for disposal of a white good or appliance (refrigerators, freezers, stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters, and dish washers) will increase to $10.00. The White Goods sticker will be red and separate from the regular $1.00 green sticker. The $1.00 green sticker will still be used for large / bulk items such as:

Wood (5 ft. in length) put in barrel or bundled and tied, rugs (bundled or tied), mattress / box spring, furniture, air conditioners (drained), TVs, microwaves, etc.

Tires will not be taken. Residents may dispose of one sticker item each week by 7:00 AM on their regular pick-up day. For pick-up of white goods, please call the number printed on the red sticker (1-800-323-4285) one day before the regular pick-up day. Green stickers may be purchased at Stop & Shop, Eastern Banks, Saugus Credit Union, the Senior Center, and Town Hall. Red stickers will be sold at the Town Hall and Stop & Shop only. If a holiday falls during the week, rubbish and recycling will be delayed for the remainder of the week.

If you have any questions regarding missed pick-ups or for the pick-up of a white good, please call JRM Hauling & Recycling at 1-800-323-4285.

The Miscellaneous Information page was updated today.

The Saugus High School Alumni Association site has just finished going through a round of major updates that started last week. It now has some pictures from recent Alumni events and a list of "missing alumni".

The local company SPS Advertising (publishers of The Saugonian), is now online. Their direct URL is:

http://www.spsadvertising.com/

http://www.spsadvertising.com/Saugonian/

The Entertainment, Recreation, & Sports Resources page was updated today.

The Guide to Free Software was updated today.

The Community Events Calendar has had more than the usual number of updates recently.

Two local area businesses have recently had noteworthy updates to their web pages: Scribner Associates, Inc. and A. M. International.

The local home pages page has been updated.

We've added more author information that just recently became available to the 1999 Halloween Ghost Story Contest entries.

There were updates to both the Computer Terms Glossary and Filename Extensions List today.

Saugus Special Town Meeting highlights include the passing of articles to fund a contract settlement with municipal employees, for the Library to purchase books, for the Tree Committee to obtain trees, for the purchase of new playground equipment for Waybright and Lynnhurst elementary schools, and for the purchase of a vehicle for the Inspectional Services Department.

We've posted pictures taken during the Saugus Hammersmith Stroll and Tree Lighting Ceremony.

Also, just a reminder that the Saugus Hammersmith Stroll events start tonight. Be sure to download your copy of the guide today.

The Town of Saugus Inspectional Services Department asked us to post the following notice:

There are no more curbside leaf collections scheduled for this year. Leaves may be brought to the Town Composting Facility, 515R Main Street until the first major snowstorm.

The schedule the Facility will be open is as follows:

Information about the Saugus Hammersmith Stroll is now available in formats convenient for printing or for downloading to a hand-held computer.

As usual, the Most Popular Pages Countdown has been updated with the most popular pages of last month.