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Aug. 1, 2001;
Vol. 2; Issue #8; Mail Address: PMB 44, 12819 SE 38th St., Bellevue, WA
98006-1326
Voice Mail:
206-232-5892; Classroom: Phantom Lake Elementary School, Bellevue
For Detailed
Information, Class Schedules: www.seniornetps.org
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COUNT ‘EM!! 50 VOLUNTEERS
HELP AT REGISTRATION: The first eager SeniorNet
volunteers who acted on Roger Dalton’s appeal
for help at the big Thursday, July 12th student registration at Factoria Mall, arrived there before 8
a.m., even though registration itself wouldn’t start until 10 a.m. They came
early to help set up the big community room provided us by the helpful Factoria
Mall management. And Dalton, in charge of all the mechanics of getting the
site, of getting the volunteers, of setting up the site, having the tables set
up for the efficient assembly line registration process, of having the signs
set up around the huge mall plus getting the huge carafe of coffee, the
high-nutrient flavored donuts, the cups etc etc., was mighty pleased. And Registrar Louise Flora was on deck
bright and early to make sure the class registration process where students
selected their various classes, also went smoothly. Pres. Helen Hesketh with the help of husband Joe, worked the main entrance handing out wait numbers before the
doors opened so students would be signed up on a first-come, first-served
basis, without having to actually wait in line. Many of early birds opted for
the local refreshment stands to pass the time.
AND THEY CAME: Long before the registration officially began at 10 a.m., there was a
big crowd outside the high windowed Community Room, visible to the SeniorNet
volunteers who were given a last-minute briefing, as both Dalton and Flora made
a final check, as the clock neared 10. Most students had already filled in
their class choices on the selection sheet mailed out earlier. Others wanted to
check with course advisers, headed by Curriculum
Coordinator John Wise, sitting at the first table, to make sure the
students had selected what they really wanted. Earlier, much earlier that
morning, Immediate Past Pres. Clif
Wuesthoff, who had printed up the directional signs, had placed them at
strategic spots inside the mall, complete with arrows to more easily find the
Community Room. Clif admitted he had a problem with some of the original arrows
pointing the wrong way, and had to do some emergency cutting and pasting to
correct them. And Vice Pres. Bill Bumpus monitored the
student line, helping with last-minute questions and making sure the line
wasn’t blocked since it passed the stand for the coffee and donuts, and
volunteers kept the traffic heavy there at times.
AND THE FIGURES ARE--A total of 236 students were registered, according to Registrar Flora, and there are still
some 446 available class spaces for the new learning season starting in
September. The percentage of filled classes shows a slight decline at this
point, but the registration process is an ongoing operation via mail, with many
more students expected to be signed on by the Fall. Membership is now slightly over the 500 mark, according to Pres. Helen Hesketh in her recent
report. These figures come from the National office for those who have sent in
their membership dues. All students must be paid-up members of the National
organization, with renewal notices coming in year-round. Many students are
taking more than one class.
FIRST IN LINE to be signed up when the doors were opened was Ron Johnson and determined to really get into computers. Ron had
signed up for a SeniorNet course a year or so ago, but because of the press of
business, had to abandon the class. This time, he said, he was really ready and
equally determined. He was signing up for several courses, plus, he had bought
a brand new Dell Computer with the guidance of friend Bill Flick, and was ready to learn. And Flick, who is leaving
shortly with his wife for their new home in Bend, Oregon, was also among the
volunteers. And when he moves there, he said, he hopes the Senior Center there
has computer courses, so he can keep on teaching.
COURSE CATALOGUE WINS PRAISE: The intensive and dedicated work by Clair and Jo Hugh who edited and
produced the detailed print catalogue sent out to all members planning to take
computer courses in the coming Fall season, was recognized and appreciated by
both students and those handling the registration. Curriculum Coordinator John Wise saluted their efforts, along with
the cooperation of Registrar Louise
Flora who held the “mailing party” in her home. And as if that isn’t
enough, Jo also does the publicity for SeniorNet, sending out releases and
notices to the media, no easy task.
GET THOSE BROWN BAGS READY for our annual gala Brown Bag Luncheon Thursday, Aug. 23 from 11 a.m., to 3:30
p.m., in the outdoor area at our Phantom Lake Elementary School. In charge
of this great yearly combined party and learning experience is Volunteer Coordinator Delores Davis.
Bring your own Brown Bag lunch and dessert, with beverages provided. In
addition to the camaraderie, there will be computer demonstrations and a chance
to win a door prize. All are invited, particularly incoming students and those
thinking of becoming students.
WHAT HAS AGE GOT TO DO WITH IT? She
started mastering the computer when she was in her youthful 80s, and a great
grandmother, with the help of SeniorNet classes and many good friends,
including those from SeniorNet. Now, Sarah
Efron who is 92, and keeps her computer at home humming with email and
other programs, including database, has signed up again for classes in
September. Registrar Flora, a good
friend of Efron, and who lives in the same condo complex in Bellevue, is often
at Efron’s place to help out on some computer question. All in the tremendous SeniorNet
tradition of helping. Efron is a
long-time community activist
MEETING FAMILY FOR THE FIRST TIME—VIA INTERNET: One of our newest members,
Chuck Goldstein, and already an active
volunteer in the web page design class later this year, recently returned from
an unusual family reunion in San Diego, CA, with more than 60 relatives
gathered. For Goldstein, it was a very special family gathering since he had
never known earlier he had those relatives. But with the help of his trusty
computer, and his long-time computing skills, he traveled the Internet, hunting
through various genealogical web sites, searching for specific names, until he
finally was able to make contacts, and then verify his discoveries. And it was
an exciting reunion of discovery when they all finally met—for the first time.
WHO AM I? WHO ARE MY KIN? In line with Goldstein’s
successful Internet search for family links, the SeniorNet genealogy class is
also proving to be a big draw, according to Instructor John Wise. Those who haven’t signed on, but are
interested, should send in their registration. The SeniorNet phone, address and
web site information is listed at the top of the page.
NO-HOST SOCIAL TIME AGAIN: Of course you know many members of SeniorNet look
forward to the first Tuesday of the
month for our monthly Kaffee Klatch
get-together, Aug. 7, at the enticing Crossroads Mall Food Circus, starting
at 11 a.m. Despite the fact it is summer holiday time, last month’s KK drew a
large attendance of folks sitting around hastily-added tables as more and more
members arrived Plus, others who by word-of-mouth knew of the gatherings, also
arrived –for total of more than 30--out of curiosity—and were warmly welcomed.
BACK IN ACTION FAST: One of our veteran and very active SeniorNet volunteers, Treasurer Bob Swenson, is back in
action after being stricken ill on one of his favorite backpacking trips into
the wilds, and spending a few days in the hospital. The retired banker and
long-time hiking enthusiast, also teaches a database class, among his many
other SeniorNet activities.
HIGH-FLYING MORROWS AVID PILOTS:
SeniorNet members, in essence, represent that Go-Go group of seniors who
just never sit back, but are enthusiastic about learning and teaching
computers, among many other interesting activities and hobbies. Take Gerry and Helen Morrow who are usually
present at our various activities, including our monthly Kaffee Klatch, and are
both active pilots with lots of flying experience. They own a Cessna plane and
do their share of flying around the region, including flights to Montana,
Wyoming, California and Oregon. At last month’s KK, over cawfee and, Ger, in
response to questions on dead reckoning, described various procedures in
figuring out where the plane is, especially in bad weather. This includes
making full use of instruments and observations. But above all, Ger stressed
the need to fully respect the weather when flying, and not take dangerous risks.
In a message to this writer, he concluded: “I guess why I'm telling you all
this is, you MUST be willing to defer to the weather and noted the old
axiom: ‘There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots; but there are no Old,
Bold pilots!"
A TRICKY TIP, BUT ONLY FOR ADVANCED USERS: While we normally shy away
from presenting computer tips that get too involved, we are passing this along
from our expert Facilities Coordinator
Ken Crandall for adventurous members. He found this useful tip in PC
Magazine: “If you use nested
folders (folders within folders) and you work your way down through several
folders to get the data you want, you might want an easy way to close the open
folders. To close the folders (including the last window that has the searched
for data), hold down the Shift key and click on the Close box (the
"X" box) in the upper right hand corner of the data window. To leave
the data window open but close the other folders, hold down the Shift key and
click on the Close box (the "X" box) in the upper right hand corner
of the last folder opened before you opened the data folder. This will close
all folders except the original folder. In my case, it is opening
sub-folders in the ‘My Documents’ folder that leads to lots of open folders.
This approach closes all folders except the "My Documents" folder.”
BECOMING A FAMILY HABIT: Just about a year ago Online Newsletter Editor Phil Scheier and wife Sophie attended the joint graduation of two of their three
grandsons at the University of Washington. Josh,
the oldest, received his Master’s in Education, and Judah his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. And now, their mom, Mary (Scheier) Stevenson of Tumwater, a
former news writer, editor and executive with the Associated Press, and also a
newspaper editor, has just received her Master’s in Education from St. Martin’s
College in Lacey. Mary, who at one time served as an editor on the Foreign Desk
of the AP in New York, later was in charge of the AP bureau in Cincinnati, In
recent years, as Living Section Editor at The Olympian, Mary decided to realize
a long-time dream of becoming a teacher, and started night classes at St.
Martin’s. She is a graduate of Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., where she
was a reporter on the local daily paper during her undergraduate studies.
AND A NEW TIP FOR TRAVELERS:
How
do you find a place to draw out needed cash when you suddenly find you’re a bit
short, and in a strange place? Ray Hansen offers the following: “To
find the location of nearest ATM machine to get cash, these sites provide
locations, even maps: http://www.visa.com/pd/atm/main.html
and http://www.mastercard.com/atm. Need to find the location of nearest
place to find a public Internet terminal? Cybercafe Search Engine provides
location of 5,000+ "connected" cafes, Internet kiosks, and terminals
in US and 150+ other countries. Find it at: http://cybercaptive.com”
CAUTION NOTE: While all
computer-operating tips come from usually reliable sources, readers are
reminded they use them at their own risk. AGAIN,
IN CASE you have friends who are online, and may be interested in taking
more classes to expand their skills, you can forward this newsletter to them by
clicking Forward when this message is displayed. Then enter their address in
the To box, and click Send. We welcome your news items sent to the editor at b26flyer@home.com. And if you wish to
unsubscribe, just send a message to the above email address.
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Pres.> Helen Hesketh; Past Pres.> Clif Wuesthoff; Vice Pres.>Bill
Bumpas; Secy>Dave Lewis; Treas.>Bob Swenson; Registrar<Louise Flora;
Curriculum. Coordinator> John Wise; Facilities Coordinator> Ken Crandall;
Member-at-Large>Delores Davis; Volunteers
Coordinator> Delores Davis;
Online Newsletter Editor> Phil Scheier;
Publicity>Jo Hugh
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