Jim Dodds points out some shopping advice about an item he wanted to buy

Item: 8' x 36 1/2" 26 gauge Galv. Sheet Metal

Groth-Gates Heating/Sheet Metal (Phone Quote) Newport $2.40
Robben Heating & Air Cond. (Phone Quote) Lincoln City $5.00
Mulder Sheet Metal, Inc. (Actual Pricing) Newport $20.00

Hi Speed Network at the Clubhouse...

Ron Thomas

Under improvements to the clubhouse we would like to see monetary support from the Social Club to pay for hi speed cable internet installed at the clubhouse. Then we would like to install a Wireless Network (called Wi-Fi) in conjunction with that....

The benefits would be the following:

1. Every computer in the clubhouse could be fitted with a device that would allow it to be on the internet simultaneously with up to 250 other computers in the clubhouse with only the one paid for connection.
2. People with laptops and a network card could be on the internet free at the clubhouse. Anywhere in the clubhouse.
3. When we get our donated computers from Georgia Pacific they will all be able to go on to the internet simultaneously.
4. There is a chance that in the future we could add parts that would allow us to offer very low cost (I’m thinking $5 to$10 a month), high speed internet to the entire park by Creating what is known as a WiFi Hotspot.
5. We can also make it so that any computer in the clubhouse will be able to use any printer in the clubhouse. You won’t be stuck with one computer, one printer anymore.
6. All the computers can be made to share and communicate with one another which leads to an excellent classroom environment or gaming environment.
7. Also, music and home pictures can be shared between computers or put on the television in the library area.

These things are all possible using a network. In order to complete this project we would need $$$$ from the Social Club or interested donors. Going on a high side guesstimate the Network would cost about $150 one time cost. The hi-speed internet connection would cost $370 a year from Charter or if we have a good negotiator maybe we could use our non-profit status to drop that cost considerably.

We intend to bring this up at the next Social Club Meeting so we would like for everyone to think about it and come with your opinion and vote.

Bingo on the Wain?

Ron Thomas

Bingo is scheduled every other week at the clubhouse but a good portion of the time enough folks don’t show up to play. When they do the pots are pretty low... around $15 or so... Not much excitement generated there.

Here is an idea I would like the Bingo Players and Social Club to think about and come prepared to speak your piece at the next Social Club Meeting where it will be brought up...

Let’s scale back the frequency of Bingo to say every 3 weeks. Then look at Bingo as having the potential to entertain and make income. We propose that we do this by having the Social Club enter an experiment for 3 sponsored nights of Bingo in the coming months. Social club sponsoring will include a guarantee of at least $100.00 in Jackpot money. If more money is taken in then the Social Club can adjust the Jackpot size upward and take a percentage for the Social Club treasury. If not the Social Club makes up the difference. Run the experiment for 3 Bingo Nights then make a decision on whether Bingo is right for us.

More on Web News...

Ron Thomas


Reading the news on the web gets to be an even better experience as you go along. You begin to see how everything is set up and begin customizing things to fit your tastes. For instance, if you don’t like Sports you just click delete Sports and all those stories are gone... Maybe you’re not interested in the Food section just click and from now on nothing in that ever comes up.

I have been trying different news services out and finding that one that fits me well. So far I like Google News the best. It allows you to customize by adding more or less stories in the news section you are in. It also displays when a story was written... Many only minutes ago... So you are really getting fresh news as it happens. It also displays the newspapers that it gets the news from and provides a link to that paper.

So, this is an evolving experience. I find myself tasting bits and pieces from this smorgasbord while I build what is the ideal news media for me personally.

Computer Club..

ron thomas


Well we will be having another meeting soon. I think it would be helpful for everyone interested to start emailing me ideas about what they would like to talk about at the meeting. That way we can get you a loose agenda written up and find what you want to do better.

Email me with your ideas
teckron@hotmail.com

Meanwhile, think about ways to accomplish the things you would like to see our new club do. If you will be coming for the first time.... The club is informal and we talk about problems we are having and solutions.. technology, reliable technicians... games, new programs and we interact with neighbors who have the same interests. Although the future may hold formal classes that is not what the computer club is doing now. Some might even call it geek yaking. But you can be a neophyte or a guru here so all skill and interest levels are welcome.

Shuffle Board Anyone?

ron thomas

Yesterday the Rose's and Thomas' had a bitter battle to the finish for the champion title of LVH shuffle board champs. This unbiased reporter would like to say that he has never seen such underhanded cheating and that the Thomas' were robbed.

Nevertheless, the cue sticks and 8 pucks were recently found during the spring cleaning of the storage facility. You will find them there should you decide to have a game but my advice is to stay away from them Rose's if you know what's good fer ya.

Larry Henson, our park manager, related a story and wants one rule to be observed about playing the game in the clubhouse. The story was that a few years ago folks wanted to get really serious about the way the game was played and decided to sprinkle that wax like you put on the floor for dancing to make the pucks slide better. Sometime later a resident walked onto the floor with that slickedy do wax on it and fell.Larry doesn't want that to happen again and asks that we not put wax on the floor.

The Rose's had no problem whatsoever waxing the Thomas',,without wax.

PS:
In a below article we asked for a volunteer to put casters on the ping pong table ... Now you know why...

What Happened @ the Computer Club????

ron thomas

There were about 8 or 9 folks interspersed with some late comers at the meeting. Folks brought questions and others had answers for them and some of them stumped us. Like Barbra Burgess who wanted to know how to make her MACintosh work a photo program that she has. We could sure use people that know about MACs. We just all stared at her with our mouth's agape mumbling funny noises.

Another show stopper was Wayne Hill who brought his laptop that displays an error code and will not run. Jim Dodds this may be one for you.

We talked of internet and formal classes which brings Sid Adkins to the forefront. He has been in computers for over 30 years and has taught classes to the folks at the Senior Center. He has Guru stamped all over his forehead. He also may have access to the Ocean Spray center computer lab where he has taught classes before. In such a class everyone has a computer. We hope to develope him as a future resource.

Bill Holt was there and had some suggestions for questions from Milt and he found some new things he asked about too.

Joye Newman had questions about removing Spam from email and really hoped to learn how to use Picasa... Jim Rose told her how easy it was to use and invited her over to his house to teach her how.

Milt Sadusky brought a whole list of questions about problems he was having and people answered some and not others. He had a comment about a service he was using to fix his computer and remarked that the person has been back 6 times and still has not cured the problems. The thing to do with that complaint we beleive is to only mention here on the website those technicians who are getting good reviews. We won't mention bussinesses that are getting gripes against them but will shamelessly plug those that you readers are reporting as giving good service. Over time we hope to establish a list of good service people... You will know if their name appears here that they have been giving good service. Email us with gripes and praise and we will tally them up and put on the website if they measure up. That will go for all service people. Your name and what you write won't be put here.

We talked about having a network at the clubhouse with a hi speed connection. Gaming with our own folks on-line... Bill Furgason snuck in some X-10 questions about home automation. Talk of making your computer photo's show up on your home TV screen .

The meeting melted away of its own accord after about an hour and a half. Personally, I was jazzed and encouraged to do it again. So for now we will have a meeting every other Tuesday at 1:00pm. If more people come maybe we can have it every week. It's up to you. Meanwhile, we'll take a break and see everybody in a couple of weeks. Thank you for coming... I enjoyed meeting you and having the pleasure of your company

In the Spirit of Talking About Good Meals..

ron thomas



Today we ate lunch at Jimi's restaurant on highway 101 and Jacky and I both had the fish and chips.There were 5 jumbo pieces of Icelandic Cod fried tempura style and, a dinner salad, followed by coleslaw, 6 pieces of toasted garlic bread and a generous helping of fries. Tartar sauce and malt vinegar were also offered. There was a garnish of lettuce and a watermellon tooth. We also had two glasses of iced tea which were gaily decorated like a Singapore Sling mixed dring and garnished with fresh lemon. Service was excellent and the food was likewise with a great deal of extra effort showing in the presentation. The bill was about $15 and we left with 5 full pieces of cod and a large helping of frnch fries for lunch at home tommorow... Four stars for a Newport restaurant. Price..reasonable... Service excellent... meal better than most we have tried on the coast.

Picasa looks at a Yahats blow hole..
Using 3 different filters in Picasa you get a feel
for what can be done with this free program.

left click to enlarge picture.

Jim's sent pixs this row .......... Reworked in Picasa

COMPUTER CLUB MEETS TOMMOROW AT 1:00PM

RON THOMAS

THE computer club meets tommorow. This will be just an informal gathering to test the waters and see what ideas can be exchanged in a coffee drinking , popcorn eating environment. I hope we resist the gavel and president thing and just meet as interested friends helping one another enjoy the computing experience.

Formal classes in stuff that interests a group can be talked about but this will not be that. One person told me they won't come because they can't learn anything with out seeing it. Well, I'm hoping that those of you who have laptops will bring them so points can be illustrated.

One thing I'm hoping to see us talk about is a way to acquire high speed internet installed in the clubhouse. If we can do that then we can work on getting a LAN set up. (LOCAL AREA NETWORK) With a LAN we can connect all private computers and all clubhouse computers together so that they can share the one high speed internet connection and be on the internet simultaneously and go wherever they want on the internet independant of each other. In addition each of the LAN connected computers can share the same printer and can have print jobs lined up (this is called a que=pronounced Q). The TV in the book reading area can be hooked to the LAN and it can display any LAN connected computer's pictures and music albumns. The music from the computer then can be played over the high fidelity system of the TV.

We can talk about neat free downloads we know about such as PICASA. The problems we have been having with our computers. Learn computer jargon so we can talk to our grandkids on the same wavelength... be a hip Grandma so to speak. We can talk about computer repairs we know about. You see ... we will just be sharing information and if everything works well we will all be yaking in different conversations about what we know and what we want to know... For me this sounds like fun. If it does to you too don't be intimidated by being a beginner. There is nothing one who knows something enjoys more than showing it to someone else who doesn't.

Consider this... When we were all children folks used to walk by on the sidewalk and chat with their neighbors and kids played well into the evening on front and back lawns. When our generation grew older there was no time for this. We had to make a living and were tired at the end of our 12 to 16 hour days. That took a toll on just neighborily visiting. Now folks say they want to be left alone to do their own thing. Well I don't and some folks are like me we thirst for that time when neighbor visited neighbor and talked about..... about .... stuff. Be involved find an activity that you like and start a club today.

WOOD WORKERS.. NEED VOLUNTEERS
Upholsters and Sewers we need you

RON THOMAS

So you like making fine furniture or making things work right? You've got all that equipment in your garage for cuttin and measurin but your running low on projects? Are you now? How would you like to fix some problems with the clubhouse that would make it nicer for the residents?


Well! Do we have a deal for you...


The couches in the clubhouse present a terrible problem for many of our residents. They sit so low that people with knee and back problems often have to have assistance getting in and out of them. That is a significant number of folks here. The net result is that they don't get used much. We want to change that. The solution is simple enough ...Just raise them up enough to cure the problem. We want to do it in a way that doesn't look homemade so what we need are those guys with a knack for making really nice stuff. At the same time if there are folks with upholstery experience maybe we can give them a face lift too.


Don't know how to do this stuff but want to learn? If we get enough volunteers maybe we can help one another? Don't be skeptical.. We aren't ... Everytime a worthwhile project has called for volunteers in the park a lot of willing hands have shown up and that's just a true fact.


Woodworkers and "make it work" guys that are not interested in this project we have another for you... We are going to need some casters put on the ping pong table legs so that even a 98lb lady can push the table out of the way when we need to.

Jim Dodds makes an Observation...

from an email from Jim...

Sunday 1:41 AM....
Paramedics/Ambulance lost again, not once but twice....see if they find the address on the third time by my house.



Sunday 1:47 AM.....
they are still speeding up and down the streets......
don't that STOP and make you think !!!!



frilling 60 more seconds may mean death.........


Sunday 1:51 AM
went outside tried to flag them down, didn't stop, to busy trying find whatever the address is they are looking for, came back inside wrote this, see them speeding by again.

Blaine Kalar fwd's a funny 4 u

Blaine Kalar by email to Jacky Thomas

o: Master of the House >From: Dog >Subject: Cat > > Master: > The cat is despicable. She doesn't do any tricks and never comes when you call, and I've been there, I know she can hear you. We need to face the facts: It's time to get rid of the cat. > >Before the cat's arrival, meals were festive times. I would sit and stare attentively at your lips, trembling slightly and drooling. You would play the game of pretending to be cross and demand that I leave the area, but whenever you cooked dinner, your children would slip me food under the table. > >Now the cat is allowed to jump on the table - actually physically walk on the table! You don't yell at the cat, you just pick her up and put her back on the floor, and I know you don't see it, but she gives me a haughty look as she walks past me. > >And speaking of meals, I have always been satisfied to eat the gritty pellets of meat byproducts you bring home in the giant bags, right? >Have I ever once, ever, failed to finish a meal? But now I find out that the cat is being served lobster and salmon and crab - and she never consumes all of it. > >This means there are little containers of delectable snacks lying around and how can I be blamed for making sure they get eaten? Why do you get so mad? As long as the pet food is going to the pets isn't that what's important? > > Then there's playtime. I think we can clearly see that I am a big dog, descended from a noble line of hunters, accustomed to chasing prey and attacking it. Haven't I nearly managed to take down a few cars as they've driven past the house? The cat is about the size of a squirrel and in my view should behave like one, but when I attempt to chase her, she hunches up and spits at me! This can't be sanitary. And shouldn't she be declawed? I'm very concerned about the potential for damage to the furniture and my nose. > >Speaking of sanitation, do you realize that the cat goes to the bathroom in the house? And not in the drinking basins like you do, but in a sandbox in the basement? What are we going to say if some woman brings her baby over to play in the sandbox and the cat has been using it as a toilet? I used to police the thing for you, but you put it up out of my reach for some reason. > >I'm not the only one who believes the cat is an evil person. Here is a note from the hamster: > >To: Master of the House >From: Hamster >Subject: Cat > >Please tell cat to stop staring at me while I work. > Signed, Hamster, Department of Rodent Wheels" > >I also tried to get a note from the fish, but apparently it believes that everything happening outside its bowl is some kind of reality-TV show. > >I don't understand why the cat is allowed up on the bed and I am not. I am far more cuddly then any stupid cat. I think her purring sounds unhealthy and may be a sign of tuberculosis. > >And why doesn't she ever get a bath? She smells like saliva from licking her paws - you'd never catch me licking such ridiculous places. I often smell wonderful from rolling in road kill, yet you give me baths all the time! > >And speaking of sleeping, sometimes I'll be taking a nap and she'll come right up and lie down beside me. Usually I'm too tired to do anything about it, but then later the other dogs smell her on me and crack a lot of jokes at my expense. > >So, not to exaggerate, but the cat has brought the family to complete ruin. I am sorry I have to be the one to bring it to your attention, but now that I have, I think we can all agree that we should go back to the way it was, when I was the #1 pet. > >Yours Truly, > The Dog