December 18, 2001 
                 
                 
                
                
       From The Editor: 
                   Welcome to a special Christmas edition of The Arrow. I would like to thank

                   AngelSong for all her help in putting this issue together. We have gathered

                   some Christmas and holiday freebies for your enjoyment. All of the sites below

                   were active when found. Some may experience heavy traffic, so try again if you 
                   can’t access them the first time. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays from AIH!

 

                                                    *The Politically Correct Version*

             

Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous               traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious       persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose          not to practice a religion at all. Additionally, a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2002, but not  without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have   helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes. 

(Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no promise              by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not          caught up in the holiday spirit.) 

 

                   **Please note that The Arrow will not be published on Christmas week. Your next

                   issue will be in your mailbox on January 1, 2002.**

 

 

"Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and genorosity

and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give your life its highest

beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus!

It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike

faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existance. We would have no

enjoyment except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the

world would be extinguished."

 

Dilbert's Corner:

I haven't really discussed the organization flow chart of AIH before. It's a fairly simple one.

Take two equal sized boxes and label one Amy and the other one Dilbert.  Draw a line to the left

and make another box. Label it Membership Committee. Now draw a line down from the two boxes

that you drew first and make another box. Label it AIH. You now have the organizational structure

of Ask It Here. Amy and I are totally equal partners in AIH. No one else, just Amy and me. Adria is

Amy's friend and god is....well, god is god. All four have administrative capabilities, but there are only

two people at the top of the chart.

The Membership Committee's role on AIH is to adjudicate infractions of the Abuse Policy and site

rules. They offer recommendations to Amy and me. We will be taking some proposed changes to the

site for them to make a recommendation on which way to go when we have several options to consider.

The Membership Committee is NOT there to look at personal matters. Their role isn't to settle personal disputes. 

 

 

Amy's Corner: 

Tech News:
I'm sure a lot of you have noticed the changes to the site this was a last minute roll out based on

the fact that our hosting provider is moving our site to the most powerful machine they have

available. I've been working hard to make sure the switchover will be as seemless as possible,

and most of you won't even notice any other changes besides the rather drastic ones
that took place on Monday.

Since I wasn't planning to roll this out today, there are a few little things here and there that

aren't quite done yet, but they will be implemented in the future. The password reminder

feature will not work unless you have entered a valid birthday and email address, because the
system will have no other way to recognize you other than these two pieces of information.

You'll be happy to know that there's some new security in place that will deter the cheaters

who seem to think it's funny to register 10 or more aliases at once, give them all a birthday of

today, and transfer the abucks to some other account. This won't happen as much, since the new

filter will catch a lot of them. The filter won't have an effect on existing accounts,
only new registrations.

And that being said I'm quite tired, and I'm off to catch some ZZzz's

Some Seasonal Freebies

 

                   Christmas fonts - Links to many different holiday fonts and typefaces.

                       

            Christmas graphics -  WebSets, animations and clipart.

 

            Christmas webpage templates - Everything you need for a holiday web page.

 

            Christmas software - Christmas games, trees, screensavers and lots more.

 

            Christmas music - Great selection of holiday MP3s.

 

            Screensavers - Really nice selection of holiday screensavers. 

 

            Christmas Trivia screen saver - I have this one. A must-have!

 

            Christmas themes - If you're into complete Window's themes this is the site for you.

 

            More Christmas fonts - Can we ever have enough fonts?

 

            Various holiday themes - A continuation of the above themes site.

 

            Desktop lights, etc - To decorate your desktop. Lots more here!

 

            Holiday guide - Recipes, turkey-talk, lyrics and more.

 

            Foods - Kraft Canada's Interactive Kitchen.

 

            Hannukah recipes - Jam-packed with great food ideas for Hannukah.

 

            Cool sites - Covering Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa.

                  

                  Kwanzaa - Everything about Kwanzaa.

 

                  Kwanzaa Recipes - Sweet Potato Pie, Black Eyed Peas With Ham and more...yum!

 

 

 

           AIH Opinion by AussieMike:

           
Say "G'day."

 

Part of the Australian stereotype is the infamous "G'day." It's something we can't deny.

We do say "G'day." The first words between two lovers in the morning, to a chance

encounter on the street. "G'day." As much as I hate the Australian stereotype portrayed

overseas, I cannot deny using this greeting. "So, how do you say it?" I hear you ask.

First of all, you must remember that it is a contraction of the more formal "good day."

Where some cultures sometimes run words together, Australians run whole sentences

together. Speak to an Australian on a friday, and they may encourage you to,

"'Aveagoodweekend." So let's break "G'day" into it's component parts.

G: Looking at how "G'day" is in it's writen form, people tend to pronounce it with a

hard "gee" sound. Thinking of it as a contraction of good, may have you believing

that a softer "goo" is correct. Both are wrong. It is a guttural "grrr", produced in

the back of the throat. A soft growl, with almost no hint at the origional word "good."
Day: There are many local variations on the pronounciation of "day". The under-educated

city "diy". The country "da-ay" drawl. The most natural results are with a short, soft

"d", followed be a long, soft "a", and almost no "y". Giving something like: daaay.

"Grrrdaaay." Finaly the lip and jaw movement. Quite simply, there is none. The upper

and lower jaw are parted just enough to seperate the teeth, but not enough to be able

to pass your tongue through. The lips only just part, and there is a slight curl while

uttering the growl. The sound is produced nasally. It should be uttered quickly, as if i

t were only one syllable. Imagine a thousand and one house-flies trying to crawl into

your mouth. Australians tend to speak with their mouths closed. Grrdaay. "G'day."

With practice, remembering what I've writen above, you will be able to give an almost

convincing Aussie "G'day." For those wanting private tutoring, contact me and we'll

discuss a suitable fee...

 

          Ask Uncle Millard:

      Because everyone is an alias on the internet.

Diddybug asks "Dear Uncle Millard - my tortoise has an insatiable sexual appetite. He lives alone,

but his frustration drives him towards people's shoes, and this makes him very embarrassing in

polite company. What should I do?"

Diddybug, I feel your pain. I suggest getting him a friend of his own to play with. I found that

my tourtise Phersephone likes to uh, "enjoy" the company of my pet fish Samantha. She's also

recently developed a crush on Amy's iguana, Caicos that is a bit unsettling. She's been walking

around for days, looking mornful and chewing on my shoes. No one should be alone, Diddy.

JC asks, "A good friend of mine has proctophobia, fear of the rectum as I'm sure you already

know. She developed this phobia after an relationship with an abusive proctologist went sour.

How would you suggest she get over her rectal phobia?"

JC, I am so sorry to hear about this problem. I think many of us have had horrible proctologist relationships. Why I remember one summer night it was just me and Dr. Kay Cappenheimer walking

on the Jersey Shore. The warm breeze, the ocean tossing up medical waste, the light of the

Cardboard Recycling Plant showing us the way. But I digress. I suggest your friend learn to love

their rectum, it's only through improving feelings of worthiness and rectum self-love can she feel

whole again.

Snowdemon asks, "How on earth did you manage to convince sruane that you had a wife?

And what have you called your Irish Wolfhound?"

Snowey Deamon, Leave me alone you cruel temptress. Just reading your words sets me back

months in therapy.

Unsolicited Advice from Uncle Millard: Ev**ai, have you considered showering daily? Your

neighbors have been complaining. Also, it's the holidays which is a time for Christmas spirit

and rejoicing. Not an excuse to walk around in a santa outfit without your pants. Come on now,

you're making me look sane and stable here. Pull it together.

                                         >From AngelSong...

 

                                  Some of us celebrate Christmas....
                                  Others celebrate Hannukah or Kwanzaa
                                  Still others choose to celebrate no occasion at all.

 

                                                 
                                   Whatever YOU choose....
                                   Please be kind to each other.
                                   Remember that "Peace on Earth"
                                   Begins with a single individual...and spreads to others.
                                                 
                                   Take time to reflect
                                   And cherish those things
                                   That uplift you and strengthen you.
                                                 
                                   We are all part
                                   Of a very special online community
                                   Called "Ask-it-Here.com"
                                   And please share with me....
                                                
                                    A very special, community-wide
                                             Holiday Huggle.
                                                
                                          ~~AngelSong~~

                                                 

                                Holiday Greetings From Our Members 

 

*I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very happy new year. Have a good one and make

sure you have enough painkillers in to cope with all those hangovers....Shortcircuit.....Maz.

Marilyn Angell

 

*I, my cat, and my computer all wish the AIH community the happiest of
holiday seasons, the joy of a new year, and the warmth of friendship.
From Conrad, Morgan (meow), and Pento(1001010111010101000100101010001010).

 

*First I would like to say to John and Brian (Dilbert and god) thank you for including me from

the very beginning in the creation of AIH. I had so much fun with the graphics and watching you,

Brian come on each day and utilize something you had just learned. John, just look at what your

dream has turned into! Because of your vision, so many have found a new home on the web. I have

made so many new friends here. Thank you for giving me free rein with The Arrow....you gave me

something that I've always wanted to do. You guys are the best and I love you both...

To Amy, you've gone above the call of duty in programming this site. We are all very lucky to have

you and I want to personally thank you for all your hard work!

To everyone who makes AIH the community that it is, thank you for being you. I look forward to

many more happy times with each and every one of you. I sincerely wish everyone a happy and

joyous holiday!     GreyEyes

 

*To the wonderful friends I've made here at AIH, I wish each of you a peace and joy that

carries well beyond the holiday season into your every moment. Peace, Sue

 

*I wish everyone at AIH a very merry christmas and that I hope everyones dreams will come true

and don't forget to spare a thought for those more unfortunate than themselves and to keep in

mind the people who need our thoughts and love in the world. Jacqui A.K.A. jack spratt.

 

*When I first came to AIH from reading GreyEyes submission to the Lockergnome Newsletter,

I came to check out what I felt might turn out to be a good site to submit some missives and to

communicate with others, and help others with what I thought would be mainly computer questions,

etc. Was I ever wrong!
AIH turned out to be a GREAT site, with questions covering a wide range of topics, both serious and

humerous, and I quickly found that I became a part of a growing community, with a new found extended

family and a new set of valued friends.
In the couple or so months I've been here I've seen a few people come, then quietly disappear, and

a few other contortions of a burdgeoning new community, but these have been few. The community

bounced back with amazing resiliency, and in my estimation, the Admins handled each problem aptly,

with due consideration given to each circumstance as it arose.
I want once again to thank Amy, the Administrators, and all the people who make this site what it is.

I believe that, without them, this site would have fallen through the cracks into the WWW netherworld

and exist no more.
My most sincere Season's Greetings and wishes for a Happy Holiday Season to all my friends. May

the New Year hold much promise for us all! ...kg

 

*Hope your Holidays are filled with family, love and happiness -Kileana

 

* I would like to wish everyone at AIH a wonderful holiday season filled with much love, joy,

  and family- branwyn.

 

*I would like to wish everyone at AIH a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming New Year -

  happylady.

 

*Hi everyone. When I look back at all the Christmas holidays I can remember, the one thing that

sticks out is family. For me, Christmas = family together. I crave that more each year--the shoving

aside of troubles and the enjoyment of just being together. My job doesn't give me much time away

to be home with them, so there is something I am very grateful for. My online friends. Many of you

have become just as close to me as family, so it will make it easier to come back to work during the holidays and know some of you will be here to spend time with! Thank you all so much for being there

and accepting me, just like my real family. Happy Holidays! - Kilnamar.

 

*"Let us dream of peace, peace, and more peace, during this holiday season!" - Alixx

 

*The Best Gift of All...
Did you know that God has offered you the best of all gifts? Do you know what it is? God has

offered to every man, woman, and child, the free gift of living forever. That's right, everlasting

life. How do you get it? It comes in a package, like any other gift.
Yes, it's free. But like any gift, you have to accept it. If I give you a gift, and you leave it under

your tree, never opening it, well...then you really didn't accept it. And you receive no benefit from it.
This free gift of eternal life is wrapped up in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Want the gift? Accept

the Son, and you'll have the gift. You know this: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would have life, and that (life) everlasting." Do

you like God's free gift? It's free to you, but it was very expensive for God. He purchased it with

his own blood.
For information or comments, read the Gospel of John, or A-mail anyman.

 

*Holiday Wishes from the Rocky Mountains - The Tuttons.

 

*Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone at AIH, especially my friends Abby, Steve,

Daisy, Ben, Rachel, Vicky, Laura, Karen, Jacqueline, Amy and Lauren. Steve (fullydressed).

 

*Happy Holidays to everyone. May the New Year bring you good health and happiness – Flogo.

 

*I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank to my mum and dad, (they will probably never be on AIH)

and even more so to the woman I love. She's on here every now and then too, but she's always in my heart,

and by the time you'll read this, you'll find me next to you, the house is empty, and will be let to another

one, I will be with you for as long as we breath I hope, Piivi is the one I am talking about, and I LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!!!! Let me end with saying that she changed my life, and I hope we'll change each other’s. And as for the rest of you here, I wish you ALL a very happy Christmas! I thank you all!  Theo (Award).

 

*Best wishes for a lovely holiday season to all my pals at AIH. May the season bring you and yours much joy.  Juliebelle1.

 

*Goobah greetings wishes season's AIH those all at, holiday a happy and all to. Website special at Christmas has he at: http://home.att.net/~goobah/goobah.html

 

*Merry Christmas to all my AIH friends. Thank you to everyone who plays along with my insanity and to Amy and Dilbert for humoring me. Warm holiday wishes to all of those who listen to me moan and complain and tell pointless jokes all day - Snowdemon, Evilai, Sruane, AussieMike, CurlybensWife, Abacab, Melapa, Cat in Raincoat, JC, the CompletelyNakeds, GarnetMyst, Fullydressed, MSaligned, Spike and im4sf - in no particular order. I hope the best of holidays to you all. And remember, Christmas Fairies are as real as you want them to be!...aDaisy475.

 

*Merry Christmas to everyone who humors me and laughs at my jokes. I am glad my troubles and sorrows have brought entertainment to so many. AussieMike, how I love thee. Amy and Dilbert, thank you for humoring me on a daily basis. GreyEyes, thank you for mailing me those pictures of you, you've touched a lonely old veteran's heart in many ways and on many levels....Millard Fillmore. 

 

                                                                           

            
                                              

               The Target:

              This week's Target is Kanthume and Bob The Moose! Kanthume lives in

               Buckland Hills, has asked 477 questions and answered 3794. Bob The Moose lives

               whereever he pleases but when asked, will say Grey's North Country is his home.

 

 

Kanthume

 

Kanthume is the mixture of Kant and Hume--two philosphers. I invented the name to get

a handle on AOL that didn't have a number on the end. All my other choices were taken.               

It is pronounced Kan-tu-me. Since I am an amateur magician, Kanthume took on the role of              a wizard.

I found KnowPost back in 1999 but never really used it. In 2000 I discovered WHquestion

but never really used it. But WHquestion would e-mail questions to me to answer and one

day when I was bored I went and looked at the site more closely. I noticed that I had

earned some kind of points and that there were prizes when you reached a certain number

of points. So I started going down the list answering questions not realizing it was addicting.

When WH closed, I moved with the flock to Point Ask. I also found this site with a target

and arrow on it and signed. It was the early Ask-It-Here. Then about a week later I went to KnowPost, where I remained until it suddenly vanished. During the withdrawals, I visited the

KP Yahoo board and would come to the early AIH where I learned of the new development. Suddenly the All New AIH was born and I have been here ever since.

I created Bob the Moose, which has become an inhouse notorious figure at AIH. I have yet

to work on Rebellious my new horse character.

My real name is Jeff. I live in Northern California in the Napa Valley, known for it wine.

I live in the mountains, in a forest that is slowly being removed for more vineyards. I live

only 70 miles from San Francisco and 106 miles from the Silicon Valley. I majored in

Communication in college and have worked as a free lance writer, in publicity and once

for the US Census Bureau during the 1990 Census. My hobbies are collecting books,

writing, songwriting, computers, and the cinema. My only addiction is obvious. I also put

together a website on Wine Caves for a wine cave construction company and run the website

of a Northern California Real Estate office.

 

 

Bob The Moose

             
I discovered Bob the Moose one day while I was walking through the Grey's North

Country woods. There he was, standing in a lake, his antlers some ten feet wide. He

stood taller at the shoulder than god himself. He had no name at that time and seemed

to be a normal moose. He eyed me as I stood there. He bellowed and stamped his hooves.

Then he charged. I ran up the nearest tree. I was stuck there for hours but finally the moose

went to sleep. So I silently climbed down the tree, took a noose and slipped it around the

moose's neck and dragged him back to my kitchen in the North Country. Once I fed him, and

he realized I would be feeding him, we became friends. GreyEyes looked suspiciously at the

moose for a while and warned me sternly about him. I said he would be all right. I asked the

good folk at AIH to name the Moose and Bob was the choice.

Then one day, GreyEyes planned a kitchen party. It would be the largest party ever in the       North Country. GreyEyes had gone to much trouble to store beer and other fine drinks in her kitchen. Well, Bob the Moose found the beer and drank it. He drank all of it! And so he        acquired his new taste for beer. (And I had to journey for miles in the wilderness to replace       the beer.) Since then Bob the Moose has developed a fine nose for the scent of beer. He can     find it anywhere in any village. And he has gone to some outer space galaxy made of alcohol          to bring it back to us. Unfortuately, none of the alcohol made it back. He drank it all.

It should also be mentioned that about this time I discovered that a certain GarnetMyst was

in the habit of snapping deer spines. She would leap on the deer's back, snap it spine, skin it,

and then try to sell the hide. This GarnetMyst lived in Sherwood Forest. But one day, she saw

Bob the Moose and a strange look crossed her eyes. She immediately leaped on the moose's

back and bounce and bounce, trying to snap Bob's spine. Bob the Moose only chuckled and

said it felt good. So ever since that day, GarnetMyst has been trying to snap the moose's spine.

And every time she has failed.

Some other GNC residences have thought Bob only good for steak or jellied moose nose and

they have been trying to shoot the Moose. So many clones of Bob the Moose were created and released.

When I moved out of GNC to Buckland Hills, I gave Bob the Moose to Damsel, who desired it.

But when certain uprisings began in GNC, with constant threats against the moose, Damsel and

the Moose fled to Buckland Hills. Bob now lives in Buckland hills in a secret location.

                                                 Bob The Moose Quiz

Bob's favorite drink is:

A. Lake water
B. Whiskey

C. Coke
D. Beer

True/False: At one time Bob the Moose had a flying squirrel as a friend.

Bob the Moose can:
A. Fly
B. Steer a space ship
C. Drink beer
D. Make trouble
E. B and C
F. None of the above
G. A only
H. A and D
I. B, C and D
J. B minus C plus A
K. All of the above
L. All of the above except K.

 

 

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world

in a conspiracy of love."

        --Hamilton Wright Mabie

 

                                              

AIH Tips and Tricks:

          This is a reminder to our newer members about their birthdays. AIH will

               celebrate your birthday with a little cake icon at the top of the page,

          greetings from our members and 200 A-Bucks credited to your account. In

               order for you to receive all this you must enter your birth date on your

               Profile Page. This info then automatically goes into the database.

               Don't forget to check the FAQ for new Residences, pricing and salaries.

         

                                                 
                                                                                           
                                                                          
                                                

 

                  Thanks for tuning into The Arrow! Wishing you a safe and magical

                                                            holiday!

 

                               Sincerely, The Editorial Staff of AIH's The Arrow.

 

                                                

Ask-It-Here.com respects your time and privacy (http://www.ask-it-here.com/yourPrivacy.asp). 
You have received this newsletter because you have requestedit.  If you would prefer to be

removed from our mailing list please contact the Editor at thearrow@ask-it-here.com

 

How To Contact Us. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter or wish to submit an
                      article, poem or commentary please contact GreyEyes through the AIH site at
                           http://www.ask-it-here.com or email thearrow@ask-it-here.com

 

                Deep peace of the running waves to you,

                Deep peace of the flowing air to you,

                Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,

                Deep peace of the shining stars to you,

                Deep peace of the shades of night to you,

                Moon and stars always giving light to you.

                                      --Old Gaelic blessing

                                

 

                                                   Copyright ©The Arrow 2001