Long Live Pitman's Shorthand! Reading 

Blog Downloads   General Downloads   Speed Up Pad Downloads
 

August 2020

Pond Interviews

Jack And Josh

Travelling Again

Full And Fully

Pond Interviews (8 August 2020)

Time to find out about life behind closed leaves/doors

Time to put on your reporting hat again. Your assignment* today is to get some lifestyle stories from the inhabitants of the Pond Estate. This is a good page filler when nothing much else is happening, and even when there are big events, it gives the readers a break from all the alarming news. A good travelling reporter always gets the address right, so as not to end up in the wrong place, such as Pond* Square in Highgate, Pond Road in West Ham*, Pond Street in Hampstead*, Pond Farm in Sidcup, Pond Close in Blackheath*, Pond Cottages in Sydenham, or Pond Farm Estate in Hackney. No, this is the real thing, a real pond full of real fishes, all with their personal stories to tell, and happy to share them with their eager readers, who may not be fortunate enough to have a pond of their own and who would like to become* acquainted with the occupants’ somewhat limited but interesting lives in the only world they know about. The other advantage is that fish do not talk using any technical vocabulary, which makes their interviews easy to record in shorthand. There is a lot of material here, so your shorthand has to be good and accurate with no gaps. The fish are happy to cooperate and help you with this fairly easy assignment* that will improve your note-taking.

* "assignment" Contraction that omits the middle N

* "Pond etc" When there is a list of placenames, it might be easier writing to omit the Caps Signs, maybe putting in only the first and last ones

* "Ham" "Hampstead" Note the dot vowel goes to the left of the Tick Hay

* "Hampstead" Placenames always use the Imp, unlike ordinary words that often omit the Imp and use M instead

* "Blackheath" Note the thin Hay Dot is written outside of the main dot

* "to become" Based on the short form phrase "to be"

Willing interviewees

Hello friends, my name is Mr Grey. At least, that is what everyone calls me, as I have not yet let on what my real fish name is. I don’t think it would be pronounceable in words, let alone writable in either longhand or shorthand. I have been here about five years, when my previous owners, who lived across the road, moved to a retirement village. I came here with my smaller friend and we really like our new home. Our old fishpond was raided by some big birds, and unfortunately the smaller goldfish are no longer with us. Only the two of us were left, I think our large size saved the day for us. I am very glad that our new home is covered over to keep us safe. I have lots* of friends here, all of them much smaller than me, so it seems* I am the big boss around here. I like to lounge about with my head under the big raft of pond plants that has grown out from the far end, and there are a lot of snacks in there as well. I am very placid and glide around looking for interesting things. I don’t get spooked easily but if something does happen, I can make a very big splash indeed as I make a quick get-away from the unexpected noise or movement.

* "lots" "masses" Insert the vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

* "it seems" Insert the vowel in "seems" so it does not look like "it is impossible"

After raiding the snacks in the corner clump

Hello friends, my name is Little Whitey. When I came here with Mr Grey all those years ago, we met a new resident friend called Big Whitey. As you might guess, he was bigger than me and that is how I got my new name. He was quite old, as fishes go, and sadly he passed away two years ago. I think I am now as big as he was. I am not really white but more very pale pinkish with just a few orange dots. It is very important to have a reliable long-term friend when changes happen, and as it turned out, our new home did not contain anything to worry about and we soon had it all sussed* out. I was quite nervous at first* and I got into the habit of darting up for the food and dashing away quickly under cover. Now I don’t mind being the first to come and get the food when it appears. My favourite* thing to do is to lounge about with my face in the filter outflow with lots* of lovely fresh water. It tastes quite different and is really refreshing. In fact* we all like to do that. It is our version of a long cool drink or the wind in our hair, although really I would not actually know from personal experience* what those things are, but you get the picture. I can’t imagine not living here, we have everything we could* wish for.

* "sussed" A semi-slang term, not for use in professional writing

* Omission phrases "at (fir)st" "in (f)act" "personal (ek)sperience"

* "favourite" Note that "favoured" uses the left version of Vr, to differentiate

* "lots" "masses" Insert the vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

* "we could" Not phrased, so it does not look like "we can"

Heads in the fresh flow

Hello friends, My name is Freddie. I and my friend Frankie came to this pond when our very young owners realised that we were getting too big for the little aquarium. We just could not* believe our eyes when we first swam into the pond. It was so huge and there were no glass walls. It has hot, warm, cool and cold areas, so we have endless choice of where to hang out. I just could hardly believe how many new friends I found here as well. Some are the same pale pink colour as us but most of them are a brilliant orange. I am the one with the very long wavy fins and tail, but I think the people cannot now identify which one is Frankie, although if they just asked me, I could* tell them straight away. We did not realise how wonderful a fish world could be. The food arrives several times daily, and there are always interesting corners to find other snacks in, or we can glide around and enjoy the company of friends. What a life!

* Omission phrase "there (w)ere"

* "I could" Not phrased, so it does not look like "I can"

Freddie

Hello friends, my name is Fynn. I came here several years ago. My previous owner bought me from a shop because I only had one eye, and she took pity on me, as no-one would be likely to buy me. Who knows what my future there might have been, something pretty drastic might have happened. But no, this lovely kind lady* saw me. When I and my friend Bubbles got to her home, we had a very nice life in an aquarium for a few years. When we grew a bit larger, they had the very kind thought that we should have a bigger place to live, even though it was with someone else. That is how I came here. It was tough at first*, because I can’t see the food at all. My one eye is not really much use to me. I have to swim in fast circles when I hear the food pellets plop, like I did in the aquarium, to scoop it all up, and I am amazed* that here I do actually manage to get some every time. As soon as I have a decent mouthful, I drop down into the weed to chew on it. I now know my way around, although not by sight. All my friends are my early warning system, as well as the unmistakable* sensation of feet treading on the ground near the pond, which I always react to, because I know someone is nearby and probably has lunch ready. Life is good here.

* "lady" Helpful to insert the final vowel, so it is not misread as "lad"

* Omission phrase "at (fir)st"

* "amazed" "amused" Always insert the vowel

* "unmistakable" Omits the T. "mistook" includes the T stroke.

Fynn always circles clockwise, towards the no-eye side

Hello friends, my name is Bubbles. I came to this pond with Fynn. I am a blue, black and white speckled shubunkin. I was very small indeed but I have grown some, as has Fynn. It’s all down to the good diet of pellets and green algae round the pond edges. I don’t think Fynn knows it but I have seen the person making special efforts to get his dinner to him. They wait until he is at the surface and then sprinkle the pellets over him, resulting in very rapid circling. Unfortunately the circling swishes them away, but more pellets keep coming. The remaining pellets are eaten by the others in the crowd. I did once see a small tea strainer on the end of a bamboo cane delivering his rations to his face, but now the above routine is the norm, so everyone gets their meal. It is so good that we were able to move on from the shop and stay together, as well as meeting new friends. Having lots* of friends around means we can all look out for anything that requires us to retreat under the lily leaves quite sharpish.

* "lots" "masses" Insert the vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

Bubbles

Hello friends, I am one of the black goldfish in the pond. I do have a name but it is a secret. We are not as well-known as the orange crowd, but we are there all the time, it’s just that no-one sees us much, as the view down into the water is fairly black as well. When there is a sunny patch we can be seen quite clearly. I and some of my friends came here very many years ago. The family next door* had to close down their small pond because some building work was going on. All we fish were passed over the fence in buckets and put into the pond. This went on well into the evening, until it got dark. The next morning they made a check of the empty pond to make sure they had got us all. I was out in the first load, so I counted all my friends in. What a novelty it was, the pond has more open space, so now we can swim really fast if we want to. Sometimes one of us will dart away in fright, and then so does everyone else and most of us have no idea what started it. But better safe than sorry, as they say.

* Omission phrase "ne(k)s(t) door"

Hello friends, we are the four fish who came from the tiniest pond in the world*. We lived in the garden of a very old lady who had to move into a care home. After that, the gardener rescued us from the tiny pond, because there was no-one to look after us while the house was empty. The pond was full of weeds and mud and it’s a miracle we survived in there at all, especially in the hot weather. What a day that was when we relocated. We swam out of the bucket and made for the shadows*. The water was clear, cool and easy to breathe, with lots* of room to swim, and there were* loads of hiding places. We soon got used to our luxurious new accommodations and mingled in with the others. Now no-one knows which ones we are, everyone looks alike to them. We sometimes wonder about the old pond, it must have completely dried out. Maybe it is now under a smart patio, but we don’t mind that at all!

* Omission phrases "in (the) world" "there (w)ere"

* "shadows" Insert the last vowel, so it is not misread as "shades"

* "lots" "masses" Insert the vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

Delicious slimy salad at the edges

Hello friends, I am the one who has been here the longest*. A family friend brought me to live here, ever so long ago, because he found that changing the aquarium water was making his hands sore, I think it’s called an allergy. His little girl was sad to see me go, but before he left to go back home, the people gave him a little knitted teddy bear with a full wardrobe of clothes. It was received with great surprise and excitement by the girl and kept her thoughts occupied for many years. She is probably a mummy herself by now.

* "longest" Optional contraction that omits the G stroke, likewise "strongest"

Hello friends, my name is Tench. I and a few friends were brought into this pond to eat anything that falls to the bottom, as that is where we like to poke about. We are not seen very often at all, and the owners get quite surprised to see us, when that happens. They forget we are here. I am a dark green with tiny red eyes. I don’t look like a goldfish, more like a slender submarine. I like my life here, despite not being a very public fish, on view to all and sundry. If you want to know anything about Pond Estate, I am the one who knows, as I spend all my time lurking around unseen and watching everything. I am what you might call an under-cover reporter. Just ask for Tench by name and I will get everyone to contribute something for your next article. (1978 words)

A game of sardines

Top of page

Jack And Josh (15 August 2020)

Each paragraph is 100 words

Dear Auntie Sheila*, Thank you so much for sending the shorthand books. What a great idea, it will certainly help us take better class notes, once we have got through the books, and we will be well set up by the time we go off to uni. We were quite taken aback when we saw the squiggles and shapes for the first time*. But then we thought, hey, Auntie learned this at a young age and in only three months, so we can manage it as well. We will give it our very best effort. Love from Jack and Josh*

* "Sheila, Jack, Josh" Insert the vowels in names on the first occurrence, and then omit, as long as there are no other similar names later on

* Omission phrase "for (the) first time"

Dear Auntie Sheila, It is a whole month since we started on the book. It doesn’t feel so strange now, and we have got through several chapters already. Like you said, we are writing out the drills and sentences regularly. We take turns reading the shorthand in the book while the other writes it down, and at the same time* with our phones recording, which means we can do it all again later on. I have been listening and practising on the train, much more* useful than staring at some Youtube or Google. Josh and I are about level. Jack

* "at the same time" Halving for the T of "time"

* Omission phrase "much m(ore)"

Dear Auntie Sheila, Good news, the pens have arrived and it is a big novelty for us to write with real ink. I hope that won’t slow us down till we get used to them, but I am sure it will be an advantage for the future. The writing is very smooth and the notes are much easier to read*. I don’t think I want to go back to pencil, but Jack and I agree that pencil is better on the bus and train. We might need to upgrade the pads as well to a smoother paper. Best wishes*, Josh.

* "read" Insert the vowel when phrased, likewise "to write" "I wrote"

* "Best wishes" Upward Ish in order to join the phrase

Dear Auntie Sheila, Did you get the photos in my text message? What do you think of our shorthand? I think mine is neater than Josh’s but then his attempt was going a bit faster than mine. I decided to speed up my talking in the middle of the passage, a bit of a sneaky trick, but he did the same to me the other day and went ten words a minute* faster than I had expected. We are even now and it adds interest! It just goes to show, you have to be ready for anything. Love from Jack

* Omission phrase "words (a) minute"

Dear Auntie Sheila, Halfway through the book and we are getting on really well, which is amazing* as we also have lots of college work. We are using the shorthand as relaxation, although it is a good workout for the brain and fingers, like playing football after classes. Or maybe the college work is relaxation from the shorthand work, not sure which it is! Looking back at chapter one is absolutely amazing*, as it now looks like child’s play to us. Won’t it be great when the last chapter looks like that too!  We are practising writing every day. Josh

* "amazing" "amusing" Always insert the vowel in these and derivatives

Dear Auntie Sheila, Sorry for the long delay, we have had extra college assignments to do. We kept on at the exercises, and are now only two chapters from the end, which is mainly special outlines and phrases, so all the theory is done. We can now take reasonable college notes without stumbling too much*, which wasn’t* possible at the beginning. Once home, we speak the class notes into our new voice recognition program, which saves a lot of time. That leaves more time* for practising, and we now have a brilliant incentive to improve. Love from Jack and Josh

* "too much" Includes the M in order to form the phrase, likewise "so much, very much"

* "wasn't" Always insert the vowels in apostrophied phrases

* "more time" Halving for the T of "time"

Dear Auntie Sheila, Get this, Auntie, we both took down at sixty words a minute* today! We struggled a bit reading back, but it was all there. Admittedly it was a passage from early in the book, but we are absolutely delighted. We have to repeat that, though, with something from the end of the book as well, and we are spending our day off preparing some of the later passages. We have the dictations recorded and it’s just a matter of getting up the courage to take it down without touching the stop button. I will email tomorrow. Jack

* Omission phrase "words (a) minute"

Dear Jack and Josh, As you can see, I have attached to this email a photo and a sound file. I am speaking at sixty words a minute for you and expect you both to be able to write it perfectly. You have both worked very hard, despite the subject being an unusual one, and I am very confident you can get it all down. Remember,* use my shorthand to prepare before you take it down. Then correct your outlines against mine, and take it again. Well done on your work so far and keep going. Lots* of love, Sheila

* "Remember" Indicate a pause either by writing a shorthand dash, as above, or leaving a space. Commas are never written in shorthand, they are too much like an outline.

* "lots" "masses" Insert the vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

Dear Auntie Sheila, We managed it again! Our shorthand was wild and woolly, with some wrong outlines, but we both read back OK and, most importantly*, no gaps. I remember you saying that sixty was “quite slow, really” and it is true, the recording does sound weird and unreal, but hey we got it all down, and we are on a roll now. Do send more if you can, so we can listen to you on the bus and train. We will be saving the sound files and speeding them up later on.  We look forward to the next missive!

* Omission phrase "mos(t) importantly"

Dear Jack and Josh, I don’t think you can manage this one, it is well beyond your present speed. I am not saying what the speed is, it is just more like normal talking. But do give it a try and see if you can get something. It’s a bit of fun really, and if you get half of it, that would be a great achievement. Like you said, save the sound file and before long it will not only be within reach, but it will become quite easy and you will wonder what all the fuss was about. Sheila

Dear Auntie Sheila, We saved that attempt* for our day off, so we could work up our courage to do it. We had a while of drilling to get ourselves into fast mode, but before I could suggest another hour’s practice, Josh said, “Let’s do it now, before we think too much* about it, we can always retake it later on as well.” It was the longest* two minutes of my life and I could feel my palms getting sweaty. What a relief when you said, “That’s it, boys”. Our sixties now seem ridiculously slow. Thanks, Auntie, Jack and Josh

* "attempt" Omits the lightly-sounded P

* "too much" Includes the M in order to form the phrase

* "longest" Alternative outline that omits the G stroke

Dear Josh, Hope you are having a great time at the seaside. I have a plan to repay Auntie Sheila for all those sneaky fast messages she has been sending to us. Let’s write a really nice message and record it at a hundred and fifty, which she said she used to do. We won’t say what the speed is. I think she will be pleased to give it a go, especially as we can ask her to show us how that can be done when we visit. Let me have your half minute as soon as possible. Thanks, Jack

Dear Jack and Josh, Thank you so much* for sending me your surprise high speed message sound file. I did manage to get it down, although not as neatly as in the past. Now, boys, please edit it on your computer down to a hundred, and take it yourselves. As you are both at around seventy, I think your notes and mine will look about the same. When you have done that, please come over and we can compare our notes over coffee and cakes* in the summerhouse. I think that will be an irresistible* challenge to you both! Sheila (1300 words)

* "so much" Includes the M in order to form the phrase

* "irresistible" Ray is changed to Ar for the "irr-" prefix. If that is not convenient, then add an Ar before the existing Ray or Ar e.g. irradiate, irrational, irrevocable, irremedial. This avoids relying on the insertion of a vowel.

Top of page

Travelling Again (22 August 2020)

We have spent the past five months staying local and not travelling outside our area, like millions of others around the globe. We have avoided public transport, as requested by our government and leaders, and we have only used the car for short shopping trips. But now, at last*, we are able to start using the buses and trains again. A few days ago we made a short train journey to another local shopping area, and today we had an outing to Crystal Palace Park in South London.

* "at last" "at least" Always insert the vowel

As we near the end of August, it is now essential to make the most of the remaining time of warm dry weather. Such pleasant* conditions can sometimes go on all through September and occasionally into October, but September is always the month of surprises. It could turn cold and stay that way, or we could* have a mixture. The month is always marked for me as the return to school, and if the weather had become colder, I would not be feeling so deprived by being confined to the classroom. The excitement of the new term, with new form room, new form teacher and new timetable, was generally enough to consume my thoughts. Nowadays I just think of the parks and want to catch the displays of flowerbeds before they go over and get cut down, tidied and planted with spring bulbs, winter *pansies and primulas.

* "pleasant" "pleasing" Helpful to insert the first vowel

* "we could" Not phrased, so it does not look like "we can"

* "winter" Insert the vowel, so it does not look like "wonderful"

Today has been gloriously sunny* and warm, with a few gusty winds, and we really could not waste it all by staying* at home. We took the bus and train to Penge East station, both of which were very sparsely occupied. A ten minute walk led us to the lower entrance to the park. We went up to the lake and spent a while watching the crowd of pigeons on the lake edge who were watching us. There seems to be* two sorts of pigeon, the independent ones who will look out for certain arm movements (bread flinging) and fly towards them immediately, and the rest of the mob who just follow what everyone else is doing, no questions* asked, whether the flight is towards food or away from trouble. Beady dinosaur eyes kept glancing at us but our arms did not make any of those meaningful movements. There is a café nearby where people may drop crumbs, so we need not kid ourselves that the pigeons are starving, hungry or even peckish at times. Indeed park pigeons often just sit and snooze, with a temporary lack of interest in the offerings. It is however an unbreakable rule that food must be* eaten when available, if there is the slightest room in their tums, as who knows what tomorrow may bring, maybe rain and no offerings at all.

* "sunny" "snowy" Generally helpful to insert the vowels, although here the meaning is clear

* "staying" The Dot Ing includes the vowel, so no need for a diphone

* Omission phrases "there seems (to) be" "mus(t) be"

* "questions" Optional contraction

We took one of the paths up the hill and went past the large sports centre and stadium. Further on* we stopped to greet the giant sculpture of the head of Joseph Paxton, who designed the glasshouse. We then walked further up the grassy slope to the hilltop where the Palace once stood. It is a wide open space of several terraces, with two grand marble stairways in the centre. We sat on a large chunk of marble at the very top and had our sandwiches, watching the scudding clouds and looking out over the distant view of the countryside of North Kent. It was somewhat misty in the distance, as we have had some rain in the past few days*. Most people were strolling, some were jogging and a few were dog walking. The only relatively crowded places in the park are the children’s playground and the lakeside café nearby.

* "further on" Adding N Hook can also mean "further than"

* Omission phrase "pas(t) few days"

The Victorians loved old ruins and if there were no ruins to hand they would make fake ones to feed their imaginations. Now here was one of their great and glorious achievements, the Crystal Palace, reduced, after burning down in 1936, to a few decaying steps, walls and empty statue plinths with grass and wide gravel walkways instead of neat paths and flowerbeds. The sound of the fountains, chatter and bands playing* has been replaced by that of the wind in the trees, crows cawing and, on event days, intermittent faint voices floating over from the direction of the sports arena. I don’t think they would have been so enthusiastic over these particular ruins.

* "playing" The Dot Ing includes the vowel, so no need for a diphone

It now serves another purpose, a public open space with magnificent uncluttered views of the countryside, facing south east and therefore away from the cityscape. Instead of being impressed by inventions and goods within a giant glasshouse, we can now sit on the hilltop and enjoy the openness, big sky, fresh breezes and the quietness, as a relief from our other invention, the noise and commotion of the city and suburbs. It is large enough for there to be no noise of traffic. If the Crystal Palace had not been moved here from Hyde Park, the area might have been built over or put to other less appealing* uses, so the existence of this large public park is the legacy of the Palace, even though the building has long since gone. There are refurbishment plans and these appear to include the repair of the terraces, for event use, so this valuable amenity will remain for everyone’s enjoyment in the future, along with preservation of the remains. (894 words)

* "appealing" "appalling" always insert the second vowel

Top of page

Full And Fully (29August 2020)

This article practises the suffixes -ful and -fully, which as single words are written with the normal strokes. The suffix generally uses the hooked stroke, and adds the dot vowel for the adverb. Where the hooked stroke is not convenient, full strokes are used, with downward L, but upward for fully, to indicate the vowel. Let’s follow the pernickety Mr Speller as he writes his diary for the week. He can finish his writing day knowing the shorthand in his diary is correct, and can then relax in the armchair and peruse the delights within one of his many rivetingly interesting, large, thick and voluminous dictionaries.

On Monday, I rose at dawn, when everything is peaceful and quiet. It was a beautiful sunny* day but I was mindful that the weather forecast had shown some frightful rain and possibly harmful high winds coming our way. This was very helpful information and so caution was definitely needful*. I decided to make a short trip to the park to see the colourful displays, hopeful that I could avoid the rain. I was grateful to the skilful gardeners for the delightful and cheerful sight that greeted me as I entered the park. I was thankful for the thoughtful way in which the park was supplied with plentiful seats everywhere.

* "sunny" "snowy" Generally helpful to insert the vowels, to differentiate

* "needful" Special outline, to enable the first vowel to be clearer, compare the distinguishing pair "needless" "endless"

On Tuesday, I went into the library which had just been redecorated in a tasteful* blue. I returned a biography about a characterful person who, despite a shameful and spiteful past, with many doubtful* motives, remained dutiful* and respectful to his family and faithful to his ideals. Leaving behind his fearful days of wishful thinking, he led a purposeful life and ended up with a powerful career. It was a truthful account of a trustful* and positive person who overcame a hurtful past.

* "tasteful" "trustful" Omit the lightly-sounded second T

* "dutiful" Special outline, to distinguish from "doubtful", so that vowels can be safely omitted

On Wednesday I decided to clear the garage. It was full of awful rubbish and I had to be careful that I did not trip over it. It was not going to be a restful* day. It was a fanciful notion that I might need any of it. There was a handful of boxes of paperwork that I should keep, which I had been neglectful to file properly*, and which consisted mainly of items that proved I was the lawful owner of the house. I drummed up a forceful attitude to deal with it all, so ditching the rubbish was not so painful after all. I became quite resourceful and was successful in converting some spare wood into shelves, a useful addition to the storage. It was a truly* wonderful feeling when it was all finished.

* "restful" Omits the lightly-sounded second T

* "properly" Insert the first vowel, and the diphone in "appropriately", and their derivatives, as these are similar in outline and meaning

* "truly" "utterly" Insert the vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

On Thursday I went to look at a new house. Thankfully the weather was fine and my banker had thoughtfully sent me the information I had requested. The house was beautifully and colourfully decorated, and delightfully situated next to the woods. The owner very helpfully showed me around and cheerfully explained its history. I respectfully asked to see the garden and I walked purposefully round it to check the size. It was skilfully planted with flowers, shrubs and trees. The far end was frightfully overgrown* but helpfully the owner suggested it could be converted to a sunny patio. I was powerfully persuaded of its charms and hopefully I can make an offer on this tastefully* furnished property.

* "overgrown" "evergreen" Insert the last vowel, to prevent misreading

* "tastefully" Omits the lightly-sounded second T

On Friday I fully intended to finish up my week’s work. I was awfully tempted to delay it, but I had carefully made a list and had resourcefully made up a timetable of what to do when. The work went painfully slowly at first*, but by mid-morning I had successfully completed a large portion of the list. I had fancifully thought I could complete it by four but I had neglectfully left out three very important projects from my checklist. However I found that I had wrongfully labelled them as unfinished, and I had very usefully already completed those last week*. By five I successfully marked off the work as finished and was feeling wonderfully relieved that everything had been done. (672 words)

* Omission phrases "at (fir)st" "las(t w)eek"

Top of page

All original material, images and downloads on this website, on the theory website and on the Blogger sites is copyright © Beryl L Pratt and is provided for personal non-commercial study use only, and may not be republished in any form, or reposted online, either in full or part. If you wish to share the content, please do so by a link to the appropriate page of the website.

Make better use of your 404 page by displaying info on Missing People from http://notfound.org The code calls up info on a different missing person each time the 404 page is displayed.

Free Web Counter from www.statcounter.com    Free Site Search by www.freefind.com