I don't know if anyone who is still here remembers Centella Cajon (real
name Michael), who was a frequent poster to the NG in the early years.
After most people drifted away, he and I kept in touch occasionally
through e-mail. We had gotten to know each other (not in person) a
little bit after we discovered that we were both members of the
California Bar and had similar bar membership numbers, so we had joined
at about the same time. (I never practiced law, however.)

We've been writing just once or twice a year recently, as he was having
ongoing medical problems. I didn't hear back from him in response to my
Christmas e-mail and thought that he was probably just too involved in
life's demands.

Well, tonight I received an e-mail from his wife, who was looking
through his old e-mail. She was kind enough to tell me that he had
passed away last May. She wrote that "He's been in poor health for
awhile and especially these past 3 years. He was exposed to Agent Orange
during his Navy service during the Viet Nam War era, it took a toll on
his body. He spent the last month of his life at home with me under the
care of Hospice, he was alert and a sports fan to the end for which I am
grateful."

He continued to follow the Chargers, although not as strongly as before,
after they left San Diego.

I look back at the list of season record predictions from the early
years (I have kept them since 1998, although I think we started doing it
a few years before that) and I wonder what became of everyone. Ray Feist
is 77 and is still writing books, according to Wiki and his website. I
still e-mail occasionally with David Mishiwiec, who posted as David M.,
although he's given up on the Chargers since they left.

Anyway, it's sad, even though we didn't really know each other.

--Robin

On Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 7:33:04 PM UTC-7, Robin Miller wrote:
> I don't know if anyone who is still here remembers Centella Cajon (real
> name Michael), who was a frequent poster to the NG in the early years.
> After most people drifted away, he and I kept in touch occasionally
> through e-mail. We had gotten to know each other (not in person) a
> little bit after we discovered that we were both members of the
> California Bar and had similar bar membership numbers, so we had joined
> at about the same time. (I never practiced law, however.)
>
> We've been writing just once or twice a year recently, as he was having
> ongoing medical problems. I didn't hear back from him in response to my
> Christmas e-mail and thought that he was probably just too involved in
> life's demands.
>
> Well, tonight I received an e-mail from his wife, who was looking
> through his old e-mail. She was kind enough to tell me that he had
> passed away last May. She wrote that "He's been in poor health for
> awhile and especially these past 3 years. He was exposed to Agent Orange
> during his Navy service during the Viet Nam War era, it took a toll on
> his body. He spent the last month of his life at home with me under the
> care of Hospice, he was alert and a sports fan to the end for which I am
> grateful."
>
> He continued to follow the Chargers, although not as strongly as before,
> after they left San Diego.
>
> I look back at the list of season record predictions from the early
> years (I have kept them since 1998, although I think we started doing it
> a few years before that) and I wonder what became of everyone. Ray Feist
> is 77 and is still writing books, according to Wiki and his website. I
> still e-mail occasionally with David Mishiwiec, who posted as David M.,
> although he's given up on the Chargers since they left.
>
> Anyway, it's sad, even though we didn't really know each other.
>
> --Robin

Damn, sad news. I remember him well, at least from his posts here which is the only way I knew him. Here's the first interaction we had after I joined this group in 2006:
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.sports.football.pro.sd-chargers/c/R_dRsHS9L1s/m/MnIy1Rii72AJ

"Centella Cajon
Sep 13, 2006, 8:30:35 PM
to
On 13 Sep 2006 14:21:31 -0700, "phlash74" <phla...@msn.com> wrote:
>Calm down man. Good win, everything's fine. "Said" to Chuck D

Dear phlash74,

I don't recognize your screen name so I will assume you are somewhat
new in these parts. Not meant as a complaint but rather as a helpful
suggestion to you, to the betterment of your peace of mind. Here's the
thing, telling Chuck D to "calm down man" is roughly the same as
telling the wind not to blow, or the sun not to shine. Just ain't
gonna happen, not now, not ever. Few people I have ever "known" love
to live in a constant state of turmoil as much as Chuck D. Any attempt
to change him is bound for failure. Just let him rant. Hell he is
often amusing. No, really he IS! <grin>"

He was always straightforward and blunt but never mean-spirited. Condolences to his widow, family, and friends. Rest in peace.

Michael

phlash74 wrote:
> On Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 7:33:04 PM UTC-7, Robin Miller wrote:
>> I don't know if anyone who is still here remembers Centella Cajon (real
>> name Michael), who was a frequent poster to the NG in the early years.
>> After most people drifted away, he and I kept in touch occasionally
>> through e-mail. We had gotten to know each other (not in person) a
>> little bit after we discovered that we were both members of the
>> California Bar and had similar bar membership numbers, so we had joined
>> at about the same time. (I never practiced law, however.)
>>
>> We've been writing just once or twice a year recently, as he was having
>> ongoing medical problems. I didn't hear back from him in response to my
>> Christmas e-mail and thought that he was probably just too involved in
>> life's demands.
>>
>> Well, tonight I received an e-mail from his wife, who was looking
>> through his old e-mail. She was kind enough to tell me that he had
>> passed away last May. She wrote that "He's been in poor health for
>> awhile and especially these past 3 years. He was exposed to Agent Orange
>> during his Navy service during the Viet Nam War era, it took a toll on
>> his body. He spent the last month of his life at home with me under the
>> care of Hospice, he was alert and a sports fan to the end for which I am
>> grateful."
>>
>> He continued to follow the Chargers, although not as strongly as before,
>> after they left San Diego.
>>
>> I look back at the list of season record predictions from the early
>> years (I have kept them since 1998, although I think we started doing it
>> a few years before that) and I wonder what became of everyone. Ray Feist
>> is 77 and is still writing books, according to Wiki and his website. I
>> still e-mail occasionally with David Mishiwiec, who posted as David M.,
>> although he's given up on the Chargers since they left.
>>
>> Anyway, it's sad, even though we didn't really know each other.
>>
>> --Robin
>

> Damn, sad news. I remember him well, at least from his posts here which is the only way I knew him. Here's the first interaction we had after I joined this group in 2006:
> https://groups.google.com/g/alt.sports.football.pro.sd-chargers/c/R_dRsHS9L1s/m/MnIy1Rii72AJ
>
>
> "Centella Cajon
> Sep 13, 2006, 8:30:35 PM
> to
> On 13 Sep 2006 14:21:31 -0700, "phlash74" <phla...@msn.com> wrote:
>> Calm down man. Good win, everything's fine. "Said" to Chuck D
>
> Dear phlash74,
>
> I don't recognize your screen name so I will assume you are somewhat
> new in these parts. Not meant as a complaint but rather as a helpful
> suggestion to you, to the betterment of your peace of mind. Here's the
> thing, telling Chuck D to "calm down man" is roughly the same as
> telling the wind not to blow, or the sun not to shine. Just ain't
> gonna happen, not now, not ever. Few people I have ever "known" love
> to live in a constant state of turmoil as much as Chuck D. Any attempt
> to change him is bound for failure. Just let him rant. Hell he is
> often amusing. No, really he IS! <grin>"
>
> He was always straightforward and blunt but never mean-spirited. Condolences to his widow, family, and friends. Rest in peace.
>
> Michael
>

I think I remember that post!

Thanks for posting, Michael. He became a friend of sorts and I do feel a
sense of loss. In recent years his communications became quite brief as
he was dealing with health issues, but we stayed in touch.

I was looking back through his e-mails (I try to keep personal e-mail)
and he was older than me. I didn't realize that, but he was about 77
when he passed. I turned 70 last October.

How does one search older posts to this newsgroup?

--Robin

On Monday, March 13, 2023 at 7:53:42 AM UTC-7, Robin Miller wrote:
> phlash74 wrote:
> > On Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 7:33:04 PM UTC-7, Robin Miller wrote:
> >> I don't know if anyone who is still here remembers Centella Cajon (real
> >> name Michael), who was a frequent poster to the NG in the early years.
> >> After most people drifted away, he and I kept in touch occasionally
> >> through e-mail. We had gotten to know each other (not in person) a
> >> little bit after we discovered that we were both members of the
> >> California Bar and had similar bar membership numbers, so we had joined
> >> at about the same time. (I never practiced law, however.)
> >>
> >> We've been writing just once or twice a year recently, as he was having
> >> ongoing medical problems. I didn't hear back from him in response to my
> >> Christmas e-mail and thought that he was probably just too involved in
> >> life's demands.
> >>
> >> Well, tonight I received an e-mail from his wife, who was looking
> >> through his old e-mail. She was kind enough to tell me that he had
> >> passed away last May. She wrote that "He's been in poor health for
> >> awhile and especially these past 3 years. He was exposed to Agent Orange
> >> during his Navy service during the Viet Nam War era, it took a toll on
> >> his body. He spent the last month of his life at home with me under the
> >> care of Hospice, he was alert and a sports fan to the end for which I am
> >> grateful."
> >>
> >> He continued to follow the Chargers, although not as strongly as before,
> >> after they left San Diego.
> >>
> >> I look back at the list of season record predictions from the early
> >> years (I have kept them since 1998, although I think we started doing it
> >> a few years before that) and I wonder what became of everyone. Ray Feist
> >> is 77 and is still writing books, according to Wiki and his website. I
> >> still e-mail occasionally with David Mishiwiec, who posted as David M.,
> >> although he's given up on the Chargers since they left.
> >>
> >> Anyway, it's sad, even though we didn't really know each other.
> >>
> >> --Robin
> >
>
>
> > Damn, sad news. I remember him well, at least from his posts here which is the only way I knew him. Here's the first interaction we had after I joined this group in 2006:
> > https://groups.google.com/g/alt.sports.football.pro.sd-chargers/c/R_dRsHS9L1s/m/MnIy1Rii72AJ
> >
> >
> > "Centella Cajon
> > Sep 13, 2006, 8:30:35 PM
> > to
> > On 13 Sep 2006 14:21:31 -0700, "phlash74" <phla...@msn.com> wrote:
> >> Calm down man. Good win, everything's fine. "Said" to Chuck D
> >
> > Dear phlash74,
> >
> > I don't recognize your screen name so I will assume you are somewhat
> > new in these parts. Not meant as a complaint but rather as a helpful
> > suggestion to you, to the betterment of your peace of mind. Here's the
> > thing, telling Chuck D to "calm down man" is roughly the same as
> > telling the wind not to blow, or the sun not to shine. Just ain't
> > gonna happen, not now, not ever. Few people I have ever "known" love
> > to live in a constant state of turmoil as much as Chuck D. Any attempt
> > to change him is bound for failure. Just let him rant. Hell he is
> > often amusing. No, really he IS! <grin>"
> >
> > He was always straightforward and blunt but never mean-spirited. Condolences to his widow, family, and friends. Rest in peace.
> >
> > Michael
> >
> I think I remember that post!
>
> Thanks for posting, Michael. He became a friend of sorts and I do feel a
> sense of loss. In recent years his communications became quite brief as
> he was dealing with health issues, but we stayed in touch.
>
> I was looking back through his e-mails (I try to keep personal e-mail)
> and he was older than me. I didn't realize that, but he was about 77
> when he passed. I turned 70 last October.
>
> How does one search older posts to this newsgroup?
>
> --Robin

I usually do it by remembering a name or phrase from the post I'm looking for. I use Google Groups to read and post to Usenet, and they have a Search conversations within the group bar. To find the one above I just typed "phlash74 Centella Cajon" in the search bar and went to the oldest result (search results can be sorted by relevance or date). If I wanted to find old SDUT articles by Kevin Acee that you shared here, I'd type "Robin Miller Acee" and a huge list pops up for example.

Michael

phlash74 wrote:
> On Monday, March 13, 2023 at 7:53:42 AM UTC-7, Robin Miller wrote:
>> phlash74 wrote:
>>> On Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 7:33:04 PM UTC-7, Robin Miller wrote:
>>>> I don't know if anyone who is still here remembers Centella Cajon (real
>>>> name Michael), who was a frequent poster to the NG in the early years.
>>>> After most people drifted away, he and I kept in touch occasionally
>>>> through e-mail. We had gotten to know each other (not in person) a
>>>> little bit after we discovered that we were both members of the
>>>> California Bar and had similar bar membership numbers, so we had joined
>>>> at about the same time. (I never practiced law, however.)
>>>>
>>>> We've been writing just once or twice a year recently, as he was having
>>>> ongoing medical problems. I didn't hear back from him in response to my
>>>> Christmas e-mail and thought that he was probably just too involved in
>>>> life's demands.
>>>>
>>>> Well, tonight I received an e-mail from his wife, who was looking
>>>> through his old e-mail. She was kind enough to tell me that he had
>>>> passed away last May. She wrote that "He's been in poor health for
>>>> awhile and especially these past 3 years. He was exposed to Agent Orange
>>>> during his Navy service during the Viet Nam War era, it took a toll on
>>>> his body. He spent the last month of his life at home with me under the
>>>> care of Hospice, he was alert and a sports fan to the end for which I am
>>>> grateful."
>>>>
>>>> He continued to follow the Chargers, although not as strongly as before,
>>>> after they left San Diego.
>>>>
>>>> I look back at the list of season record predictions from the early
>>>> years (I have kept them since 1998, although I think we started doing it
>>>> a few years before that) and I wonder what became of everyone. Ray Feist
>>>> is 77 and is still writing books, according to Wiki and his website. I
>>>> still e-mail occasionally with David Mishiwiec, who posted as David M.,
>>>> although he's given up on the Chargers since they left.
>>>>
>>>> Anyway, it's sad, even though we didn't really know each other.
>>>>
>>>> --Robin
>>>
>>
>>
>>> Damn, sad news. I remember him well, at least from his posts here which is the only way I knew him. Here's the first interaction we had after I joined this group in 2006:
>>> https://groups.google.com/g/alt.sports.football.pro.sd-chargers/c/R_dRsHS9L1s/m/MnIy1Rii72AJ
>>>
>>>
>>> "Centella Cajon
>>> Sep 13, 2006, 8:30:35 PM
>>> to
>>> On 13 Sep 2006 14:21:31 -0700, "phlash74" <phla...@msn.com> wrote:
>>>> Calm down man. Good win, everything's fine. "Said" to Chuck D
>>>
>>> Dear phlash74,
>>>
>>> I don't recognize your screen name so I will assume you are somewhat
>>> new in these parts. Not meant as a complaint but rather as a helpful
>>> suggestion to you, to the betterment of your peace of mind. Here's the
>>> thing, telling Chuck D to "calm down man" is roughly the same as
>>> telling the wind not to blow, or the sun not to shine. Just ain't
>>> gonna happen, not now, not ever. Few people I have ever "known" love
>>> to live in a constant state of turmoil as much as Chuck D. Any attempt
>>> to change him is bound for failure. Just let him rant. Hell he is
>>> often amusing. No, really he IS! <grin>"
>>>
>>> He was always straightforward and blunt but never mean-spirited. Condolences to his widow, family, and friends. Rest in peace.
>>>
>>> Michael
>>>
>> I think I remember that post!
>>
>> Thanks for posting, Michael. He became a friend of sorts and I do feel a
>> sense of loss. In recent years his communications became quite brief as
>> he was dealing with health issues, but we stayed in touch.
>>
>> I was looking back through his e-mails (I try to keep personal e-mail)
>> and he was older than me. I didn't realize that, but he was about 77
>> when he passed. I turned 70 last October.
>>
>> How does one search older posts to this newsgroup?
>>
>> --Robin
>
> I usually do it by remembering a name or phrase from the post I'm looking for. I use Google Groups to read and post to Usenet, and they have a Search conversations within the group bar. To find the one above I just typed "phlash74 Centella Cajon" in the search bar and went to the oldest result (search results can be sorted by relevance or date). If I wanted to find old SDUT articles by Kevin Acee that you shared here, I'd type "Robin Miller Acee" and a huge list pops up for example.
>
> Michael
>

Thanks, Michael. I had forgotten about Google Groups. I'm surprised they
are still around. I remember that Yahoo Groups shut down a while back.

I found the Chargers NG in Google Groups, and it has my posts back to
August 2, 1995. I think I found the NG in 1994 and have been posting
since then, but I'm not sure.

--Robin

Robin Miller <robin.miller@invalid.invalid> writes:

> I found the Chargers NG in Google Groups, and it has my posts back to
> August 2, 1995. I think I found the NG in 1994 and have been posting
> since then, but I'm not sure.

There used to be something called dejanews, google bought them out, but
did not manage to incorporate everything they had. I know I made older
posts that google cannot find.

The news server I use saves every post forever, but only goes back to
its inception date.

I found some confusing discussion by googling for
oldest usenet server
that said someone found and collected older messages in 2020,
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/20/10/14/0019240/21-million-of-the-oldest-internet-posts-are-now-online-for-anyone-to-read

Eddie

Eddie Grove wrote:
> Robin Miller <robin.miller@invalid.invalid> writes:
>
>> I found the Chargers NG in Google Groups, and it has my posts back to
>> August 2, 1995. I think I found the NG in 1994 and have been posting
>> since then, but I'm not sure.
>
> There used to be something called dejanews, google bought them out, but
> did not manage to incorporate everything they had. I know I made older
> posts that google cannot find.
>
Yes,
> The news server I use saves every post forever, but only goes back to
> its inception date.
>
> I found some confusing discussion by googling for
> oldest usenet server
> that said someone found and collected older messages in 2020,
> https://tech.slashdot.org/story/20/10/14/0019240/21-million-of-the-oldest-internet-posts-are-now-online-for-anyone-to-read
>
>
> Eddie
>

I had forgotten all about that, but I vaguely remember Dejanews and
Google buying it. Here are news stories from 2001 and 2002:

https://www.wired.com/2001/02/google-buys-deja-archive/

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/google-buys-remaining-deja-com-business/

And I think I remember people being upset because Google didn't
incorporate everything from the Deja newsgroup archives.

I went to the website that is trying to archive older Usenet posts:

https://www.usenetarchives.com/

If you search for alt.sports.football.pro.sd-chargers, it has posts by
year going back to 1994, but the 1994 posts don't look familiar to me,
and the format is hard to read.

Is there a way to find out when this NG was created? I searched Google
for the NG charter but didn't come up with anything.

--Robin

Robin Miller <robin.miller@invalid.invalid> writes:

> Is there a way to find out when this NG was created? I searched Google
> for the NG charter but didn't come up with anything.
>
> --Robin

Go to dejanews and search for the RFD ... oh wait ...

Truthfully, I have no clue. I just remember being angry when dejanews
stopped working.

I don't quite go back to the beginning google tells me was
1979. However, I believe that my first CS course in 1980 had
communication to the students using something we used 'rn' to read,
but that was too long ago and it is possible I am confused.

Eddie