If you're going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big. ~ Donald Trump
Fairs Year-round Information	F.Y.I. Volume 7, Issue 8 April 11, 1997

LET'S GO SURFING

There are probably very few of you who haven’t tested the waters on the Internet. In fact, these days it’s hard to read a magazine, watch TV or talk with friends without someone mentioning the Net or going “online.”
You know you can find a wealth of information and entertainment on the Internet, but have you ever wondered where the Internet came from?

The “Internet” was initially created by the U.S. Department of Defense in the ’60s, as a way to connect a number of smaller government networks supporting military research. This connection was via “dumb” terminals — a keyboard and video screen — connected to a gigantic mainframe computer by telephone lines. With the Cold War threatening on so many fronts, this super network, called ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency network), was designed without central locations to withstand possible damage during a nuclear war, and most important, continue communications.

By the early ’80s, ARPAnet was split in half to serve the needs of the military, and those of research and business. Around this same time, several other smaller networks came into existence, including BITnet (“Because It’s Time” network), with the majority of its sites located at universities, colleges and research centers; and Usenet (the “User’s” network).

In 1986, the National Science Foundation Network (NSFN) was created to connect five supercomputer research centers in the United States. It quickly became apparent, however, that many researchers had no way to connect to the NSFN. To solve this, the network was expanded to include a number of existing regional networks, connecting many universities, colleges and schools in the process.

It was not until the late ’80s, after the threat of a Cold War was truly over, was the public-at-large allowed access to the Internet. Since then, a multitude of organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals have developed their own networks — networks that are then linked to other networks. You can see why the Internet is frequently called “a network of networks.”

The concept of the World Wide Web really began to take shape in 1993 and 1994, when the National Center for Supercompu- ting Applications created a “graphical” user interface called “Mosaic.” Mosaic makes it possible for you to not only “click” your way through the Web with your mouse, but allows you to view documents with images and to transfer video and sound data over the Internet. The team that developed Mosaic broke away to establish Netscape Communications and the popular Web browser, Netscape Navigator.

Today, the Internet is a vast, continually expanding global network connecting more than five million host computers (large computers providing access to the Internet for smaller, personal computers) used by approximately 30 million people both in and outside of government and educational institutions.

Want more stats on the Internet? Check out http://www.nw.com.

Do you have any Internet tips or favorite sites you’d like to share? Send, call, fax or e-mail them to:
Computers.FYI - c/o Melissa Thurber, 1776 Tribute Road, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95815; phone: 916/263-6178; fax: 916/646-1238; or e-mail: mthurber@msn.com.

MAKE CONTACT WITH F&E VIA E-MAIL

Matt Etzler, assistant director of the Division of Fairs and Expositions, reports that if you have Internet access, you can get in touch with anyone and everyone at F&E by e-mail.
E-mail addresses are easy: simply type, as one word, the person’s first initial followed by their last name, lowercase, @cdfa.ca.gov. For example: Matt Etzler would be: metzler@cdfa.ca.gov

THE SURPLUS WAREHOUSE HAS WHAT YOU NEED ~ SHADE CLOTH TO ROPE

Summer is right around the corner. How about some shade cloth to keep fair guests cool?

Here's a sampling of items currently in stock. Remember, quantities are limited, so shop early and shop often:

• Shade cloth - approximately 85 percent shade; 28' x 32' hexagon
• Plastic sheeting - ideal for table tops or counters; extremely durable, resists cuts. Pieces measure: 3' x 4' and 4' x 8.'
• 80-drawer steel cabinets - ideal for storing prize ribbons, or small parts used in Maintenance shops.
• Four-wheel trailers - 4' x 10' x 30" high
• New, decorative white nylon rope - use to rope off exhibits or displays, or to mark walkway paths

For more information on these and other great buys, or if you’d like to arrange a tour of the South Sacramento surplus warehouse or accompany the buyer on a visit to a surplus yard, please call Graeme Stewart at 916/765-3673.

Please Note: CFSA’s Surplus Purchasing Program is only authorized to obtain surplus property for California’s fairs.

Here’s another firsthand recount from a fair that stepped in to help during the all-too-recent floods

Contra Costa County Fair’s CEO, Chris Baldwin, reports that due to flooding, the fair housed 25 refugee horses from Bethel Island in early January. More animals were expected, he noted, but fortunately, the levees in the area held up well so the animals didn’t have to be moved.

On January 29, the fairgrounds itself flooded, taking on about 22 inches of muddy water in the fair office. (For reference, 22 inches is about to the top of a toilet seat or just coming up on the second drawer of a filing cabinet.) Fortunately, the fair crew had already moved the majority of their office items onto desk tops. Chris, armed with a fire hose, assigned himself the task of hosing down the office ~ a technique, he reports, that was quite effective!