Social Event of the Season: Fish Fry

Mark Friday, February 8, on your calendar right now so you won't miss the annual fish fry here at the park! Because of the popularity of this event and the size of the hall, seating is limited so get your tickets as soon as the sign-up sheet is available in the office.

Park fisherpersons have been contributing their catches already. There'll be plenty of great eats, to say the least.

But wait, there's more!

Following the meal, there'll be entertainment provided by talent from your park friends and neighbors. Some of these have kept their talents hidden in the closet. But at the fish fry, you'll be able to see them in action and cheer them on.

With your encouragement, American Idol may be their next stop!

Here's how you can help: If you are aware of one who sings, dances, performs magic, or has any other expertise in the performing arts, please do them a favor and you contact me! They'll go on the list for consideration. All contacts will remain confidential! Just let me know: Keith Williams, #80.

Note: Sunday Music Jams A Big Hit!

Each Sunday afternoon at 2, musicians from the area converge on Rockport 35 RV Park for an afternoon of "jammin'." Joanne is the resident sponsor and does a fine job, supported by husband Bob. She nearly fills the house!



Ken joins us from another park and brings his enthusiasm for music making. I'll have to ask him about the difference between a pair of spoons in the key of C and one in the key of G.


Below are three regular participants from 35 RV: Delbert, Chuck, and Ervin.





Ervin comes from Montana. He said the life in Minneapolis became too hectic, so he retreated to Montana. If you love the old polkas and waltzes, keep your eye out for Ervin at the corner of 4th Street. If you're lucky, you'll catch him out by his truck camper playing away in his own unique style and enjoying every note.

What Did You Learn At The Computer Help Session?

Each Tuesday at 2:00, a Computer Help Session is held at the clubhouse. Come to share, help, learn, and possibly even have problems solved. Bring your laptop if you wish.

Here are some of the results of this week's class:

• Buddy unpacked his brand new jump drive and learned how to use it.
  

• Betty learned how to send photos via email.
  
  
• Dianne got her Skype program fixed, thanks to a suggestion by JW.
  
  
• Roger got his new (to him) computer connected to the internet as an "after school" activity.
  
  
• As a result of Dianne bringing up the subject of Skype, Keith got interested in the program and installed it. His second Skype conversation was with a gentleman in China!
  
  
• Another gentlman may or may not have gotten enough info so that he could disable the built-in mousepad on his laptop.

As you can see, there were a variety of problems solved. In addition, a fair amount of information was shared so, hopefully, everyone learned something new.

In case you're interested, Skype is a program which allows you to "make telephone calls without a telephone." (My words, not theirs.) All it takes is a microphone and the free downloaded program. Then you can contact and talk to any other person similarly equipped anywhere in the world at no cost! For a modest fee (a few bucks/month) you can talk to anyone in the US/Canada form your computer to their telephone.

You can also make video calls if you are camera equipped.

If you have kids, grandkids, or friends scattered around the country or the world, this would seem to be a great way to communicate. If you have an internet connection, you have "phone service!"

Check it out here: http://skype.com

See you next Tuesday at 2:00!

Neat Pictures

Creatures provide great subjects for photographs. Here are a couple of good ones provided by DeVere.

The close-up of the pelican was taken on or near Goose Island, just across the bridge north of 35RV and a couple of miles east.











Click on either picture to see great close-ups of these neat creatures!

Thanks for sharing your hobby with us, DeVere.

Links

During the Computer Help Session today, links to several different sites were mentioned. They, plus some more, are listed below. You might find the products offered of interest.

1. Anti-Spyware
   AVG Anti-Spyware will help you discover and get rid of spyware and adware. It's available in two versions: trial, and licensed. When you download and install it, you are provided the full (licensed) version. After 30 days, it reverts to the trial version. While the licensed version has several features which you might find very useful, the trial (free) version does continue to function as a spyware detector. Many find this version sufficient. http://www4.grisoft.com/doc/downloads-products/us/crp/2?prd=triasw
   
   
2. Replacement for Office
   The most common word processor, by far, is Word, which is usually provided as part of the Office suite of applications. There is an Open Source alternative which some feel is superior in many ways, plus it is available at no cost! You can find it here: OpenOffice.org
   
   
3. 3-D Drawing Program
   Here's a fun program, especially if you or the grandkids like to sketch, draw, make CAD-type drawings, etc. It takes a little getting used to, but it makes some great 3-D drawings! It's another one of the great programs offered at no charge by Google. It's called SketchUp and can be found here: http://sketchup.google.com/
   
   

You can comment on any of these programs or ask questions about them (or anything else computer-related) by clicking on the word Comment below.

Or you can email me by clicking here: mailto: kaw@syntheticsaves.com

Computer Help Session

Computer Help Sessions will begin Tuesday, Jan 8, at 2:00 PM at the Clubhouse. Plans are that they will be held weekly until further notice.

The goal of these sessions is to help computer users or wannabe users to do what they want to do on a computer more efficiently or with fewer problems. For some, that may include expanding their knowledge into new areas, such as creating a blog or website. For others, it may be sending an email to their grandkids.

Last year, we went around the group with each person mentioning what they'd like to learn or like help with. Some of those were answered more-or-less immediately, either by the moderator or another attendee.

Usually, one or more of the subjects provided the basis for a longer discussion of general interest to most present. We'll try the same format this year and modify it if appropriate.

While I will moderate the sessions, that does not mean that I have all the answers or even that I will try to answer all questions. There may be some real experts who attend; hopefully they'll be willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us.

If you have questions, please let me know ahead of time.

Keith Williams, #80 kaw@syntheticsaves.com

Happy New Year!

We arrived back at 35RV on December 20, just in time to spend Christmas with old and new friends.

Now that Christmas and New Year's celebrations are over, it's time to settle into the Winter routine and get some things accomplished.

Three have inquired about continuing the computer help sessions we held last year. Are you interested? If so, please let me know, either by leaving a comment to this article, in person, or via email at kaw@syntheticsaves.com. Also, let me know what you'd like help with. That can help determine the agenda for one of more sessions.