======================================================================================================
Feb. 1, 2002; Vol. 3; Issue
#2; 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
======================================================================================
SOON: MOVING TO LARGER INTERIM SCHOOL QUARTERS: With the
coming replacement of the present Phantom
Lake Elementary School by a new, much larger school on the same site,
SeniorNet members got the official word we’ll be moving to the interim school
site April 8. Principal Jill McLeod told the Jan. 15th
meeting plans are being completed for the move to the old Bellwood School during the razing of the present school and
construction of its replacement on the same site. The interim school is located
at 301 151st Place. NE, near Main and
156th Ave. NE, near the Crossroads Mall. Ms. McLeod said our
temporary classroom will be housed in a large portable, similar to our monthly
meeting site. The new building will include quarters for continuing SeniorNet
computer training classes. The principal was introduced to the meeting by SeniorNet Pres. Helen Hesketh, who, in
behalf of SeniorNet, gifted the school with four digital cameras to be used by
students on class projects and field trips. Funds for the gifts were voted by
members at the previous meeting. Ms. McLeod expressed the appreciation to
SeniorNet in behalf the school and students. Pres. Hesketh welcomed back Dave Lewis and George Turk following their
recent illnesses. Full details of the meeting will be sent out shortly.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE: A TREASURE TROVE OF KEY
INFORMATION: More and more members and outsiders seeking detailed
information on SeniorNet computer courses and activities, including copies of
our monthly Online Newsletter, tap
into our excellent website at www.seniornetps.org. This comprehensive and well-designed site is the work of Jay Schlechter and Hal Mozer who
constantly keep it updated. For example, when you click on the URL (Uniform Resource locator) which is a
fancy name for the Internet web site address, you see the directory for easy
access: Home Page, Our
Classes, Directions to Our
Learning Center, Our Teachers, Be A Volunteer and, Related Links. And just
below the photo of Gov. Gary Locke visiting our classroom, are other links,
including, Our Catalog, Forms for
registration etc., Newsletter, and Our History. And for those not yet
automatically receiving this Online Newsletter with their email, there is a
link to click which opens up the email message form, already addressed to
SeniorNet, and all you have to do is type in your name, address, phone, and
most importantly, your email address.
Visit us online to get the facts on our many computer learning and
volunteer opportunities. Glad to see you.
SENIORNET VEEP AND A VOLUNTEER
FOR U.S. STATE DEPT.: He is a retired IBM executive
in finances and marketing for a giant corporation, and he recently returned
from Namibia, after helping train business leaders in that African country. SeniorNet Vice Pres. Bill Bumpas spent
almost three months there as part of the volunteer program sponsored by the
International Executive Services Corps (ISEC), an affiliate of the U.S. Agency
for International Development, which handles the U.S. Foreign Aid program for
the State Department. Bill spent some 2 ½ months working with Namibia officials
and business people help make the transition from a developing country to
democracy and capitalism. Following his work assignment, Bill and his wife Marilyn spent the final 10 days
vacationing in South Africa. The story of his stay in Namibia, told with the
aid of slides he had taken, was described by Bill at the recent SeniorNet
membership meeting. And Bill, naturally, gave the talk attired in a colorful
African jacket.
“Since its independence from South
Africa in 1990,” Bill said, “ Namibia residents have been trying to move from a
third -world environment of small villages, where the land is owned communally,
and the tribal chief controls everything, to a cash basis economy. It is
tough since the native population (90 percent of the country) was suppressed
for 40 years under apartheid, and they have little experience with
capitalism. Specifically, I spent my time developing a training program
for entrepreneurs in how to make a business plan so they could get funding for
their projects. If there is a good business plan, the government will
guarantee 80% of any bank loan to a new business.”
VETERAN AIR FORCE FLYER NEWEST COMPUTER INSTRUCTOR It was last Dec. 13. when SeniorNet was conducting its registration at Factoria Mall. A woman
shopper going by noticed the SeniorNet signs, and the crowds bustling around to
register, and stepped inside. She knew of her husband’s keen interest and long
experience with computers Her question was unusual—and very welcome: She asked Volunteer Coordinator Delores Davis if
SeniorNet ever needed computer instructors? Delores smiled, and answered with a
resounding Yes. Delores gave the
inquiring woman her email address. The woman was Sandra Roberts. She was asking in behalf of her husband, Major Ross Roberts, who was retiring
from Boeing in just a few weeks, and looking for new action where he could use
his considerable skills. But before going to Boeing, Ross, an Air Force Academy
graduate in 1965, had spent the bulk of his 24 years service with the AF as a
navigator on the huge, world-girdling, Lockheed-built four-engine C-130 plane,
including action in Vietnam. In turn Ross contacted Delores to sign on and
immediately begin as a classroom aide for not just one class, but two classes.
Ross now is assisting with a Microsoft Word class Tuesdays, and a Microsoft
Windows class Thursdays. He was
among those attending this past month’s membership meeting. Interestingly, Ross
was nominated to the Air Force Academy by his then Michigan state Congressman,
name of Rep. Gerald Ford.
During his lengthy service career,
Ross has crossed the Atlantic, usually at 20,000 feet, many times, to Korea,
Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Viet Name and Thailand. Also to Central and South
America and most of Western Europe and Turkey, ending his career with more than
5,000 hours in the air. He flew many re-supply missions in Viet Nam including
an air drop at Khe Sanh while it was surrounded by enemy forces, along with
dropping flares to provide illumination for night air strikes, plus medical
evacuation flights. In one such emergency flight, more than 100 Vietnamese were
aboard on a plane normally with a maximum capacity for 65 people. And what is
the hobby of this SeniorNet member who has flown throughout the world on Air
Force missions at an altitude generally of 20,000 feet, when he want to relax
at home? He collects and operates American Flyer S Gauge Model trains. From
‘Keep ‘em Flying,’ to ‘Keep ‘em Rolling.”
A SPECIAL
ALERT FOR AOL USERS: A warning has been issued to AOL users who use the
ICQ Community, to check out the version of ICQ software on their computers, to
avoid an operating system vulnerability threat that allows hackers to gain
control of their computers while they are using ICQ. Facilities
Coordinator Ken Crandall urges AOL users to go to the http://web.icq.com/help/quickhelp/1,,117,00.html
web site to see if they have a vulnerable version of this software. The site shows how to determine if you
need to update your software, and provides the links to accomplish this update,
if it is needed.
THIS ISN’T
ABOUT COMPUTERS, BUT—With news stories focusing on rising prices of
prescriptions, along with other health costs, creating severe problems –particularly--for
seniors on fixed incomes, one of our very active, on-line members feels other
members should know of her recent successful online purchase of medications at
lower costs. (This is not an endorsement, and those using the service should
check it out on their own) The
member who asked her name not be used, wrote “I have successfully purchased a
prescription from the Canadian Drug Store through the Internet. I saved many,
many dollars ordering online. You
don’t have to drive to Canada, but you can order certain prescription drugs
over the Internet. My recent experience with the Canadian Drug Store, in my
case, proved very successful. In addition, I purchased from a U.S. Internet prescription drug service, www.Drugstore.com, and also saved
money. It does take a little
longer for delivery. The paper
work was faxed to a toll-free number on Jan. 4, and delivery by U.S. Postal
Service was not until Jan. 19. But
with a little advance planning this is not a problem. Check out the web site www.thecanadiandrugstore.com or
go to the search engine www.google.com
where you will find much information about Canadian prescription drug
purchases.” She said in one case,
she saved $66 when she bought 60 capsules, with even larger savings on other
meds.
PLAN ‘POWER POINT’ PRESENTATION AT FEB. 19TH
MEETING: A
demonstration and talk on Microsoft’s famed and very useful Power Point program
will highlight the monthly SeniorNet membership meeting Tuesday, Feb. 19th, at 10 a.m. All are invited to the
always-instructive monthly session, held at the Phantom Lake Elementary School’s Portable 2. Vice Pres. Bill Bumpas will preside. Please note this will be our
last meeting at the portable. The special March Annual Meeting and election of
officers will be held at another site, to be announced. At that time, a program
on eBay will be presented by Fran
Middleton of SeniorNet National. And then in April---we move to our interim
site while the school is razed, to be replaced by a new, larger facility. (See
school-move story above).
THEY READ ABOUT SENIORNET—AND SIGNED ON: The Dec. 13th Jon Hahn column in the Seattle P-I describing the
all-volunteer SeniorNet Computer
Learning Center opportunities for seniors to learn hands-on computer
operations, drew the close attention of two Kirkland residents, Retired Prof. Winn Perr, and his wife Adrienne, who regularly work out at the
Eastside YMCA Gym. Earlier, they had become acquainted
with another physical workout enthusiast, who, of course, told them about his
affiliation with SeniorNet, and the opportunities it gave seniors to really
learn how to operate computers in hands-on classes. So when the P-I article
appeared, describing the work of this writer as editor of the Online
Newsletter, they remembered the name. And with the column including information
about that morning’s registration at the Factoria
Mall, they drove down and registered for two classes. A warm welcome to our
two newest students.
AGAIN-IT’S KAFFEE KLATCH TIME: As if
you didn’t know, that our next monthly no-host social get-together at the Crossroads Mall Food Circus will be
held Tuesday, Feb. 5th, starting
at 11 am. This is always an excellent opportunity to sit around the tables,
or even table hop, and meet each other and make new friends. Equally important,
a great opportunity to talk shop with the experts, ask questions over a cuppa
cawfee, or a meal. Your call. And the array of ready-to-eat takeout food shops
is tremendous. Just look for a group of tables pulled together towards the
north end of the mall with a lot of interesting folks talking at each other.
SENIORNET GIFTS STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL BOOKS: Celebrating the close working
relationship between SeniorNet Computer
Learning Center, and its host, the Phantom
Lake Elementary School in Bellevue, a special program Tuesday morning, Jan.
29th saw books presented to each of the school’s 337 students. At
the special “Pledge to America Day” program, each student was presented with
“The Pledge of Allegiance” books. Principal
Jill McLeod presided at the ceremony, with SeniorNet Pres. Helen Hesketh making the presentations to each
class. The books are a special commemorative edition donated by SeniorNet to
cement the school-community partnership between the all-volunteer
computer-learning center and the school.
Opening the presentation ceremony was a color guard, followed by the
kindergarten class with the Pledge of Allegiance. A few books printed in Spanish will be housed in the library
and used by the Tillicum Middle School Spanish
students who are teaching Spanish to Phantom Lake students. In return, Phantom
Lake students are teaching English to Spanish students.
MORE PEOPLE LEARN ABOUT SENIORNET: As with
any enterprise seeking to inform the general public of the special learning
opportunities for seniors to learn new skills to make for happier and more
interesting Golden Years, our SeniorNet
Computer Learning Center is certainly getting the word out. There was the
excellent Dec. 13th column by Seattle
P-I columnist Jon Hahn describing our volunteer organization’s work with
seniors. And last month, the Jan.
7th in-depth article by Seattle Times education writer Colleen Pohlig describing our
SeniorNet computer training courses and the Granpals program working with kids in reading and math at the Phantom Lake Elementary School, home of
our computer classroom. Pres. Helen Hesketh met the reporter at the class site,
spending several hours with her and guiding her around. Publicity Chair Josephine (Jo) Hugh had made earlier initial
contacts with the Eastside bureau of The Times to help arouse initial media interest.
REGISTER
FOR ONE-DAY, THREE-HOUR EMAIL WORKSHOPS: An opportunity to sharpen up
your email skills in two workshops, each running three hours, are being offered
by SeniorNet of Puget Sound.
Registrar Louise Flora reports there are still a few openings for
either one, or both of these workshops: AOL-2 will be held Tuesday
Mar. 12th, at 9 a.m., and Outlook Express takes place
Tuesday Mar. 26th, at 9 a.m. The cost for these
Workshops is $10 for each session. Learn how to better use your Internet
Mail Services using Internet Explorer and your Internet Service
Provider. Call the voice mail 206-232-5892 to register.
An interesting sidelight: Ms.
Pohlig, in responding to a note of thanks from SeniorNet, said she had gotten
several calls from outside the immediate Seattle area, asking if there were
other SeniorNet centers outside of Bellevue, which serves Greater Seattle. And
unfortunately, there aren’t. But the positive side is that seniors, many
seniors, are taking a closer look at learning computers to also keep in closer
touch with family and friends, no matter where they may be.
A MAPQUEST AERIAL VIEW OF YOUR HOME—AND MORE: If you
live in an area which requires detailed directions for visitors, or if you
would like to get an aerial view of your immediate neighborhood, check out what
your neighbors have in their high-fenced-in backyards, whatever, there is an
interesting free service on the Internet. Go to your browser, make sure you are
online, and type in: www.mapquest.com.
This opens up the Mapquest homepage.
If you want to have a map detailing precisely where your home is marked by a
big star, just follow instructions and type in your address, or corner
intersection, city, state and zip number.
You can also re-align the map or enlarge it for greater clarity. If you
want the photographic aerial view, just click on that button, where you can
also zoom in or out. And for those
seeking to find your place, you can send them the URL, a tech name for the
address of www.mapquest.com.
COMPUTER TIP: If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, and many do, you can save yourself
some extra typing when typing a common URL (Uniform Resource Locator), also
known as an Internet address, into the address space. . According to the monthly big computer
help magazine, SmartComputing, as
you type in the URL that has http://www at the
beginning, “such as http://www
and .com at the end (such as http://www.smartcomputing.com), you
can do it more quickly by typing the words that in between, such as smartcomputing. Thus, you would just
type smartcomputing, hold the CTRL key and press ENTER. Internet Explorer will
automatically add the rest of the URL. However, if you try this and don’t get
the site, the site might be using a different domain at the end of the URL,
such as smartcomputing. Net, or .org. But the odds are
with you. Number of strokes saved? How about 14 clicks of the keys?
OF ALL PLACES TO MEET: It’s
become almost a cliché that so many SeniorNet
members meet by accident when they go browsing in their own toy store,
except these “toys” all deal with computers---naturally. What more interesting place to browse
than those huge computer establishments. This happened for the second, or third
time to this writer buying his new scanner, when he was spotted by Hal Mozer at CompUSA off Main St.,
Bellevue. As a first-time scanner buyer, this writer held on tightly to Hal, an
experienced scanner user and instructor, for tips on installation and
operation. You can’t beat the SeniorNet connection.
TIP: HELP BREAK CYCLE OF ONLINE HOAXES: How many
email warnings and so-called virus alerts do you receive from well-meaning
friends quickly passing along something they received without checking? And the
list is growing and becomes more vexing. A cautionary note from Hal Mozer and a suggested
solution: ”Whenever you get an
unsolicited email, usually a type of chain letter, warning of a virus or some
kind of problem that you can help solve, check it out before passing it on.
Let's break the chain of these virus hoaxes and urban legends. How to check it
out? Look at these web sites: http://antivirus.about.com
and http://urbanlegends.about.com/
-- you will be doing the online world a favor.”
CAUTION NOTE: While all
computer-operating tips come from usually reliable sources, readers are
reminded they use them at your own risk. AGAIN,
IN CASE you have friends who are online, and may be interested in taking
classes to expand their skills, or learn computer basics, 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@attbi.com. If you wish to
receive this newsletter monthly, send a brief message with your full name,
phone and email address to the above email address. And if you wish to
unsubscribe, just send a message to same email address.
========================================================================================================================================
Pres.> Helen Hesketh; Vice Pres.>Bill Bumpas; Secy>Dave Lewis;
Treas.>Bob Swenson;
Registrar<Louise Flora; Immediate Past Pres.>Clif Wuesthoff;
Curriculum. Coordinator> John Wise;
Facilities Coordinator> Ken Crandall; Member-at-Large>Delores
Davis; Volunteers Coordinator> Delores Davis;
Public Relations & Online Newsletter Editor> Phil
Scheier; Publicity>Josephine Hugh
===================================================================================================