Maine citizens who are registered to vote may use the State’s free and secure service to request an absentee ballot for the presidential primary election on March 5, 2024. Ballots must be received no later than 8:00 pm on Election Day. For more information, visit the Secretary of State’s Upcoming Elections page.
207 Plus!
by John Lowry, Master/President of Porter Grange
MEGO Alert! [My Eyes Glazed Over] Our recent post regarding Maine’s 207 area code inspired John to share some additional information. Sure, there’s some technology involved–but isn’t technology involved in just about everything these days?
It seems to be a point of pride for many communities and locations. I remember when, in Massachusetts, 617 was split to include 508, and all the businesses that objected to having a 508 number and be assumed to be “in the sticks.”
Addressing is a thorny and sometimes fun issue that exists everywhere there is modern telecommunications. Location is sometimes assumed and often desired but is not achievable. It used to be possible with the telephone companies and pretty much had to be in order to mechanically route between switching centers. You knew if it had a prefix of abc that it had to go down the wire toward abc or toward some device that knew where abc was. That’s not possible today, and you might be surprised to know that number portability has made the phone system very much like the Internet.
In general, there is a mapping function from the phone number to an IPv6 address, just as there is for a phone number and an E911 address, which is maintained by the user. You can usually find the IPv6 address in your phone if you poke around in settings.
For cell phones, once the phone is connected to a tower, its POTS number (truly called that by engineers for “Plain Old Telephone System” is recorded in a database, but the phone is assigned an IPv6 address. So when you make a call, the system looks up the POTS number you are trying to reach and then finds the associated IPv6 address and establishes a route to the remote system. Some of this complexity, especially with the international calling schema, is what allows scammers to appear to call from someplace or someone you know. (BTW: the phone companies know how to fix this, but it will cost some money, so we consumers lose. The solution is called ingress filtering.
In any event, with number portability, you can keep your 207 number no matter where in the US/Canada you move to. And if enough people do it, then a new area code will have to be assigned for Maine just to handle all the people who move to… Florida?
In Internet terms, blocks of IPv4 addresses are assigned and even bought and sold. They have nothing to do with the location of whoever is visiting your website except statistically in the same way that 207 usually means Maine.
This is irritatingly pleasant to those of us who want to limit our information exposure and who use a VPN or … Starlink. (VPNs do work but are expensive and require some technical know-how). Starlink, in this part of the world, enters the big Internet in an “Internet hotel” in NYC. (An Internet hotel is basically a large building full of routers and connections to all the other big ISPs). So when I go shopping at a large online retailer like Lowes, Costco, etc., they always want me to choose my “home store,” which is invariably in Queens.
My 978 number is routinely used by the Mass state government and politicos who want me to know about COVID-19 vaccine availability or political candidates.
In any event, I’m guessing that you’re bored now. If not, you might look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System.
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View from the Hill – January 2024
Grange Strong T-shirt Available
February Events
There’s no reason to get Cabin Fever–here are some Grange Events around the state for you.
- February 1, 2024, Piscataquis Pomona Meeting at 7 pm at Valley Grange Hall. Contact Bill Bemis FMI.
- February 2, 2024, Community Potluck Supper at Trenton Grange, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., 1134 Bar Harbor Road in Trenton. For more information, see this post or visit the Trenton Grange Website.
- February 3-4, 2024, Community Bazaar (crafts, farmers’ market, yard sale…) at Trenton Grange from 9 am until 2 pm both days. For more information, see this post or visit the Trenton Grange Website.
- February 7, 2024, Join the National Grange and Rural Minds for an introduction to the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program. Register at http://grange.biz/RMHR
- February 14, 2024, Deadline for the MSG Bulletin
- February 17, 2024, Junior Grange Meeting at Danville Grange. Contact Director Betty Young for more information.
What’s your Grange doing? Don’t forget to submit your events!
“207” to Stay for Now
Note: This might count as trivia, but it could be the basis of a Lecturer’s Program!
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The announcement by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in mid-October that Maine would be able to retain its only area code may be welcome news to many who think of “207” as more than just Maine’s area code. The PUC said the North American Numbering Plan Administrator extended the time before a new area code would be needed in Maine from 2029 to 2032.
The reason some may feel 207 is more than just an area code may reside in the fact that the entire State of Maine was one of the original 86 Numbering Plan Areas when AT&T implemented the continent-wide area code system in 1947. Through the former Bell System, a network of regional telecommunications operators, 77 area codes were assigned across the U.S. that year for automated toll calling while the Canadian provinces were given nine.
Maine was one of 40 states and provinces to have a single area code when the original plan was established. Today, Maine is one of only 11 that have been able to hold onto that distinction, joining Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. Idaho, which comes right after Maine with its 208 area code, was the last to lose that status when they added, or “overlaid,” area code 986 in 2017.
With its single area code, Maine residents have been able to keep using the standard seven-digit format. In states where additional area codes have been added, callers are required to use all 10 digits.
The fact that 207 has remained Maine’s only area code for 76 years is perhaps why it has become ubiquitous with the state. From appearing on t-shirts and hats to “207 Recipes,” the “Best of the 207” and even its own newscast brand, it has become synonymous with Maine’s identity and heritage.
That is, except for the small village of Estcourt Station in Big Twenty Township in Aroostook County, which is also the northernmost community in the U.S. east of the Great Lakes. They get their telephone service from Canada and are included in Quebec’s 418 area code.
It is estimated that North America will run out of area codes by 2051.
The Patrons Chain 1-19-2024
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Articles in this edition include:
- Find the fun as a leader
- What makes you… you?
- Grant money still available for raising awareness about ACP
- Grange Foundation’s Ernestine Keiser Memorial Scholarship
- Left Hand Grange Rings in the New Year
- Register for National Grange/Rural Minds introduction to “Rural Mental Health Resilience” program
- Register for the Virtual Legislative Fly-In
- Successful kick-off to Fellowship First Friday includes soup-er recipe swap
- Nearly 21 Million Children Expected to Receive New Grocery Benefit This Summer
- Grange Supply Store: People, Pride & Progress book package
- Grange Member Benefit: Nationwide Pet Insurance
Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to the Patrons Chain!
Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. Occasionally, a weekly issue isn’t sent, so the fact that one hasn’t been posted on the MSG website doesn’t necessarily mean we skipped it! You can double-check using the link (Read the Current Issue) above. Effective 2024, we will only maintain one year of issues on the MSG website.
New Ventures Maine Free Courses
The University of Maine at Augusta announced free online courses provided through the New Ventures Maine Program.
According to the University, Mainers looking to advance their economic mobility — from building a savings account to a new business — can access free classes and coaching through the University of Maine at Augusta’s New Ventures Program.
Upcoming free online classes include:
- Improving Your Credit Score (Offered January 30 and March 13);
- Making Career Choices (Offered January 10 and March 21);
- Effective Résumé Writing (Offered February 6 and March 28);
- Building Your Savings (Offered February 6 and March 20); and
- Budgeting Basics (Offered January 23 and March 6).
For a complete list of New Ventures courses and to register, click here.
Technology Tip
Here’s a discouraging word! As technology advances (including AI or artificial intelligence), everyone benefits–including the bad guys!
Stay vigilant with messages you receive.
As the bad guys discover new technology spam emails and text messages are on the increase. Think twice before hitting “unsubscribe.” Unless the email is from a legitimate organization (think commonly known names and national companies), do NOT “unsubscribe” by clicking the link in the email. If you “unsubscribe,” not only will most spammers not honor it, but they will also have confirmation that yours is a working email address. That makes it very saleable to other spammers. Using the “unsubscribe” link may actually increase the amount of spam emails you receive.
This morning (like most mornings), I received several bogus invoices, a few order confirmations for things I didn’t order, and one email allegedly from MSG Sherry asking for assistance with a matter of the utmost importance. Some junk gets automatically filtered, but typically the delete button gets quite a workout!
The best way to handle spam email is to use that handy-dandy delete button and not let it bother you. Don’t waste your time and energy!
Notes from National – January 2024
- February 7 – Join the National Grange and Rural Minds for an introduction to the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program. Register at http://grange.biz/RMHR
- March 18 – Join the National Grange Virtual Legislative Fly-In. Hear from Grange leaders, representatives from Congress, and issues partners about what the Grange is working on for all of rural America. Register at http://grange.biz/flyin2024
- Please subscribe to the National Grange’s Good Day! magazine. Just $16 a year gets you access to our print or digital subscription. Learn more about the magazine at http://www.nationalgrange.org/goodday or the digital issue at http://www.issuu.com/grangegoodday. The January issue is in mailboxes across the country, and additional copies are available through the Grange Store.
- Subscribe to the Patrons Chain and View from the Hill at http://www.nationalgrange.org/subscribe. These newsletters are released every Friday, containing information about National Grange programs, events, and more.
- Submit an article about your Grange’s events to Philip Vonada at pvonada@nationalgrange.org. Patrons Chain articles can be sent at any point, and Good Day! deadline is on February 29th.
- Are there topics you would like to see covered in a future Zoom from a National Grange staff member, department, or officer? Please let us know! We’re always working to ensure our topics are in line with what our members want or need to hear from us.
- The National Grange Social Media Calendar is available. This is intended to be a guide for State and Community Granges of topics/events that may be used to enhance social media. By no means is it a suggestion to post ALL of these things, but if you’re looking to get out of a rut or expand your social media reach. This could also be a great resource for Grange Lecturers/Program Directors who are looking for new programming ideas.
- Many National Grange events have been recorded and archived – if there’s something you missed and would like to see, please visit the National Grange YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/nationalgrange.
- Follow National Grange on Social Media! We’re on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and more!
Notes from National are gleaned from an email provided by Phil Vonada, National Grange Communications Director.