Harry Kalas

 

Harry Kalas

By Saul Rosa

Staff Writer

When baseball fans recall the names of legends, they usually say Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson, but to a Phillies’ fan the name Harry Kalas is sure to pop up.

At the age of 73, with almost 40 years of experience as the Phillies’ play-by-play announcer, Harry Kalas died in a press box at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. before the Phillies’ game against the Nationals April 13.

Kalas began his career calling in the minor league games for Hawaii Islanders while stationed in Hawaii for the United States Army.

In 1963, Kalas first appeared in the Major Leagues replacing Al Helfer, for the Houston Astros, where he worked Gene Elston and Loel Passe.

He first made his appearance with the Phillies in 1971 when he succeeded Bill Campbell, and was the master of ceremonies for the opening of the Veterans Stadium.

Kalas began narrating for the NFL Films in 1975, and became the primary voice in 1984 with the death of John Facenda.

Kalas was awarded the Ford C. Frick Award, an award for broadcasters for major contributions to baseball, from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. 

Nicknamed “Harry the K” by Phillies fans, Kalas also announced the ceremonial closing of Veterans Stadium in 2003 and was the master of ceremonies at the ceremonial opening of Citizens Bank Park in 2004.

Five days before Kalas would be the victim of cardiovascular disease, the Phillies honored Kalas by having him throw the first pitch before the game against the Braves on April 9, 2009. 

Many fans and players would put Kalas amongst the greats of Philadelphia.

“Harry Kalas, if you can look past Ben Franklin and William Penn, may have been the greatest person to grace Philadelphia in the history of the city,” stated Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt to Rob Maaddi, AP Sports Writer.

The Soloist

 

Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. paint an intricate portrait of the developing friendship between L.A. Times journalist, Steve Lopez, and fragile musical genius Nathaniel Ayers.

 

 

By Saul Rosa
Staff Reporter

 

The Soloist is a film, all puns intended, for the heartstrings. It focuses on the development of the two main characters and their relationship rather than an intense plot with twists and turns. The journalistic style of Steve Lopez is present in the film, as it seems to be a series of events tied together with strong transitions, each being only a segment of the whole story. 

 The story opens with an introduction of the life and career as a news columnist for the L.A. Times of Steve Lopez, played by Robert Downey Jr.

 Lopez, searching for a subject for a new column, discovers a homeless man at Beethoven Square playing a violin that is missing all but two strings.

 Struck by the quality of the sound on such a poor instrument, Lopez addresses the homeless man as a potential news column. Mr. Lopez soon discovers that the homeless man is actually Nathaniel Ayres, played by Jamie Foxx, a dropout from the Juilliard School of Music.

 Intent on continuing his news columns, Lopez begins to help Nathaniel and the transition from news subject to friend begins.

 The scene changes tend to be followed by either a monologue by Steve Lopez or a piece of classical music.

 Nathaniel has a second chance at music, the one passion that keeps his mind stable, he was overcome many obstacles with the help of Lopez. Through his friendship with Nathaniel, Lopez rediscovers his passion for writing and reconnects with his family.

 Ultimately, the story of Nathaniel and Lopez is not an intensely driven story but a story of a series of events and how through these events a friendship emerged.

Making the most out of ‘lemons’

  

 

 

Julie Wilson, mechanic Dwayne Wilson’s wife, examines a vehicle to find a replacement piece for a customer.

By SAUL ROSA

Staff Writer

When most students hear about vehicle maintenance the first thing that comes to mind is dollar signs; however, with the words “new vehicle” the thought is debt. In order to avoid the latter of the two an owner of a vehicle should understand the basics of vehicle maintenance.

Every vehicle comes with an owner’s manual that explains when maintenance is needed, but many mechanics admit that generalized estimates are available.

“Maintenance, that’s the most important thing you can do to your vehicle. Every vehicle should have an owners manual that explains when and how to do the maintenance,” said Dwayne Wilson, owner of Vern’s Place 4 Parts, 263 Irving Ave. Millville .

The basics of automobile maintenance includes checking fluid levels, checking belts for wear and tear, examining tires for damage, and replacing filters.

Fluids are essential and maintaining levels is vital. The fluids that should be monitored regularly are engine oil, antifreeze/coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid, and transmission fluid.

For engine oil, be sure to check not only the levels, but the cleanliness as well. For safety, never remove a radiator cap while the engine is hot.

Filters, as you might guess, filter out anything that can damage your vehicle. The major filters are the air filter, oil filter, and fuel filter.

According to DMV.org the air filter should be changed every 15,000 miles and can be visually examined for build-up. The oil filter is often changed with the oil at about every 3000 – 7500 miles; however, the sooner, the better. The fuel filter can be clogged with rust and debris and should be replaced about every 30,000 miles.

There are many belts under the hood and the owner should inspect these belts for damage. If the belts are worn, the initial grooves are gone, and it is important that these belts are replaced as soon as possible. The cost should be minimal but the time and money saved in the long run will compensate the initial cost.

“Inspect them for cracks. I recommend that when you service your vehicle check your hoses and check your belts. Look for anything out of place that looks like it’s going to cause damage: cracks, wear, frayed wires,” said Wilson.

Tires are obviously exposed to more dangers than most other parts of a vehicle, and should be examined regularly for cuts, bulges, or objects stuck in them. If a tire is damaged, it’s best to replace it rather than wait for the inconvenience and danger of blowing one on the road.

If the tires look good and are not too worn (the metal lacing is visible or the tread is too smooth), then it’s also beneficial to rotate your tires every 6000 miles, because tires do not wear out evenly.

He explained that every vehicle is different and one vehicle may need to crisscross the tires while another might need to switch front tires with back ones.

“Keep them inflated to the proper specifications; rotate them about every 600 miles,” said Wilson. “Properly inflated wheels keep the car running smooth and burns less fuel.”

Essentially, maintaining a vehicle is the best way to increase its longevity and save the owner money from repairs or the cost of a new vehicle.

Wilson said,“If they take care of the vehicle it’s going to last them.”

How to protect your P.C.

By SAUL ROSA

Staff Writer

 Recently, there has been a lot of alarm over computer viruses and the damage they can do. But what are viruses, and more importantly, how can you protect yourself from them?

The most recent virus, the Conficker Worm, has infected over three million machines running Microsoft Corp’s Operating System and an example of one of the three most common types of viruses: the T horse, the e-mail virus and the worm. 

The trojan horse is the oldest of the three, originating to when entire operating systems could fit in floppy disks. trojan horse viruses are essentially programs that appear to be something else such as a word processor or game and when activated reveals its true nature. 

Trojan horse viruses affect the fewest number of machines because the viruses are discovered quickly and cannot replicate automatically the infected programs is removed.

In the Internet era a new virus emerged, the e-mail virus. The virus spreads through e-mail and is contained in the e-mail’s attachment, so that when the attachment is opened the virus infects the machine and then sends new e-mails containing the virus. 

A famous case of an e-mail virus was the Melissa Virus. David L. Smith was the creator of the virus and based it on the Microsoft Word macro.  The virus was programmed to send the virus to the top 50 people in the infected computer’s address book. The increase in e-mail traffic was so severe that it caused some companies to halt their e-mail programs.

Knowing how these viruses work is essential to protecting against them however, the best protection lies in maintaining a healthy system, which includes a firewall, anti-virus software, and anti-spyware software. According to Microsoft.com “A firewall is a software program or piece of hardware that helps screen out hackers, viruses, and worms that try to reach your computer over the Internet.” 

According to Microsoft.com, “Antivirus software is a computer program that detects, prevents, and takes action to disarm or remove malicious software programs, such as viruses and worms. You can help protect your computer against viruses by using antivirus software. Antispyware helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software.” 

To get the most out of anti-spyware software, keep them updated regularly. “They offer the latest protection against malicious online activities,” Viruses are the flipside of technology and will continue to grow and evolve as long as technology continues. The best protection a computer owner can have is information.