We Need You!!

Well, we are back in action having held two meetings so far. We have about 8 weeks before the end of the year and the festive season is upon us. Because of the chaos the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, we haven’t seen much of each other over the last 18 months.

It would be great to see a lot more members in the coming weeks. Bear in mind that under current NSW Health rules you MUST be fully vaccinated, if I have interpreted the rules correctly.

Hoping to see you on a coming Monday!

Adding your COVID-19 Vaccination certificate to Service NSW App

There are 3 main steps in this process:

• Setup MyGov account. Done from Web browser, there is no app. This YouTube video will step you through the process.
• Download and setup Express PLus Medicare app (Instuctions)
• Add your vaccination certificate to Service NSW app (Instructions)

There does not appear to be a set of instructions to do this all in one place. Remember Google and YouTube is your friend!

Good Luck!

The Club is restarting on Monday 11th October

We’re Baaack!! Almost

At our Committee meeting on Monday morning we have planned our restarting date as Monday 11th October, that’s the Monday after the October long weekend. Assuming of course we don’t end up in lockdown again!

We are still sorting out some minor details related to social distancing. So there may be some changes to the way our normal classes are organised and scheduled. Under the current rules masks are mandatory indoors and we need to obey the one person per four square metres rule.

Feedback Please

Are we providing the right courses? Do you feel you are being left behind in our modern online world? Is this a scam E-Mail?

At every committee meeting when the discussion about what courses to comes up, we end up second guessing what we think our members want. Can you please fill in the form below. The tentative list of courses or workshops is by no means definitive, more an indicator of how we might structure our courses. As technology marches on phones and tablets are gradually becoming the dominate technology. That’s not to say laptops are going away anytime soon!

Just a brief update on where we are at.

The current situation with the virus spread is very fluid. Virus traces have been found in Coffs Harbour sewage, I suspect (hope!) from a truck driver passing through town. All we need is a couple of positive cases showing up and we’re back in lockdown!

All the messages coming from the NSW Government indicate that full vaccination will be a prerequisite for every thing opening up. So, if you haven’t already done so, please get vaccinated.

The committee is meeting on Monday 20th to decide on a reopening plan. Here are some of the issues we will be looking at:

• Obeying the one person per four square metre rule is our main stumbling block.
• Restricting groups to 4-5 people.
• Having on-line classes.
• Meeting in small groups in cafes like Chill Out.
• The first few meetings have short presentations to the whole club in main hall (similar to last year).
• The first get together be a social event like a picnic.

Once we have developed our plan I will send out another newsletter asking for feedback.

Not sure about other committee members but I am finding it a bit hard kick starting the old brain back into life so any suggestions or feedback from our members will be gratefully received.

On a lighter note

From the sign on the escalator I think this is in Russia somewhere 😂😂

Who wants to be my partner to do a Vic version?? pic.twitter.com/lkBtpmKf6i

— jill crisfield (@CrisfieldJill) September 11, 2021

Cheers,

Ian Scott

Snap 7 Day Lockdown for all regional NSW starting 5:00pm 14th August

I was hoping to bring a bit of good news! Unless Sydney can get infections under control, I suspect this lockdown will be longer than 7 days.

The only bit of good news, if you could call it good news, is the people of NSW are getting vaccinated at record rates. Hopefully there is enough vaccine to get over 80% of the population fully vaccinated. That’s the target the medical experts have set for life to return to something like normal.

At our committee meeting on Monday 9th we discussed how and when the club could commence again. Items discussed included meeting in small groups in cafes etc. plus the possibility of having a picnic at Diggers Beach.

So those plans are out the window!

Members Health Issues

A few of our members are having health issues of varying severity. The committee wishes each member a speedy and successful recovery and hope to see them again when we next meet. Because of privacy issues we won’t name members but if you know of a member having a few health problems and doesn’t mind if we inform other members please let us know. Sometimes a bunch of good wishes and messages of support can help give someone a positive attitude and help with their recovery.

Help Desk

Just because we are in lockdown does not mean we cannot help you with technology problems. I have created a Help Desk page where you can fill in a form briefly describing your problem and one of the tutors will get in touch with you and help you out as best we can in the lockdown.

Service NSW Personal QR Code

For those few members that do not have a smart phone (exceedingly frustrating phone!!), Service NSW have now added a feature where you can create a personal QR code that contains your name and phone number. Instead of having to manually type in your information every time you check in somewhere, you scan your QR code to make the process much simpler and quicker.

Go to this page on Service NSW website for instructions on how to create your personal QR code:

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/create-covid-19-check-card

20th Birthday Celebrations

On 27^th August 2001 a group of people gathered at Park Beach Bowling Club to discuss the possibility of setting up a computer club specifically for seniors. The consensus was this was a good idea and Coffs Seniors Computer Club was duly formed and incorporated on 25^th March 2002. At the first meeting there were 33 members. Of the founding members only Nola Woods is still active in the club.

So, we had pencilled in the 30th August for our birthday party. The prospect of a physical meeting on this date are looking very remote but we can still have a virtual party. On the 30th pour yourself a drink and toast the club for it’s 20th birthday.

We will have the physical party as soon as we can.

Stay Safe Everyone!!

There is only one way out of the mess we are in!!

Get Vaccinated!!

Cheers,

Ian Scott 14/8/2021

Latest on COVID-19 Restrictions

I feel for the people of Sydney. The situation does not appear to be improving with the prospect of Sydney being locked down till the end of September. When the lockdown was first announced, most of us assumed it would be over in a couple of weeks and life could return to something like normal. Now it looks like the lockdown in Sydney could go on for months with no indication that the rules for regional NSW will be relaxed!

We are very lucky here in Coffs Harbour to have escaped so far. The events of Monday 19th July was a bit of a wake up call but thankfully we escaped without any positive cases. But all it needs is for one infected person to come to town and we could end up in lockdown.

Only one way out of this:

Get Vaccinated!!

Club Meetings restarting in the near future?

The committee is meeting on Monday 9th August to plan for the resumption of regular meetings sometime in the near future. We really need some feedback from you, the members, to guide us in making the best decision for the club. Whatever the committee decides we will keep you informed and give you plenty of notice via these newsletters.

Here is a summary of the feedback we would like from you.

1. Mask Wearing. Under the current rules for regional NSW, masks must be worn in all indoor non-residential buildings. Some people have breathing issues and cannot wear a mask for long periods. Others, myself included, find them annoying but are willing to wear them to help curb the spread of viruses. Are you prepared to wear a mask for 2 1/2 hours?
2. Attendance at Meetings. Whenever the club meets again in the near future, we need at least 20 members to attend to cover hire of Cavanbah Hall. Assuming all the current rules and restrictions remain in place, how likely are you to attend meetings?
3. Any Comments or Suggestions. Whatever decision the club makes can have potential serious health implications for members. Any suggestions or comments you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Help Desk

Do you have any pressing technical issues that are driving you mad? Would you like some assistance, initially by phone or Email?

I have added a Help Desk page to the website, You will find it in the Menu bar at the top of the screen. Fill in the form with your name and contact details, a brief description of your problem (eg Email has stopped working) and a more detailed description, if possible, that will assist us in diagnosing your issue. One of our tutors will be in contact with you.

Suggestions for improving this Website

So far all content on this website has been created by me guessing what might be interesting to members. I really need feedback from you guys on what YOU would find interesting. This can be from a whole bunch of short tutorials on how to use phones, tablets, computers etc. With our 20th Birthday rapidly approaching (check out Club Calendar in the menu bar) there is a lot of historical information that we could scan and display so all members can read it.

Get Vaccinated!!

Cheers,

Ian Scott

COVID-19 Lockdown has been extended

So No Meetings Until Further Notice

Fingers crossed! The potential virus exposure identified at the Hoey Moey sent the whole town into panic mode on Monday. Hopefully NSW Health have the situation under control and we can be confident our town remains virus free. It was a timely wake up call for us all to be vigilant.

If life gets back to normal we will notify you via these newsletters when the club meets again. Stay tuned.

Only one way out of this..

Get Vaccinated!!!

Club Birthday Party

On 27^th August 2001 a group of people gathered at Park Beach Bowling Club to discuss the possibility of setting up a computer club specifically for seniors. The consensus was this was a good idea and Coffs Seniors Computer Club was duly formed and incorporated on 25^th March 2002. At the first meeting there were 33 members. Of the founding members only Nola Woods is still active in the club.

If the COVID-19 lockdown has been lifted we will be having a birthday party on the 30th August, our closest meeting day to our actual birthday. We will be inviting Gurmesh Singh along as he has been a great supporter of the club. 5 year and 10 year badges will be presented to eligible members.

Technology and Old People

At our recent committee meeting I was talking about online forms and getting members to fill them in. One committee member who shall remain nameless said “It won’t work. These are old people!”. Surely the main goal of the seniors computer club is encouraging members to use technology and not get left behind. One of my objectives is to get most club members sufficiently skilled in technology that they can show off to the grandkids!

There are enough scientific studies indicating that keeping your mind active and looking for new intellectual challenges helps alleviate or postpone the onset of dementia. So, I don’t accept the premise “It won’t work. These are old people!”.

About half our members have now subscribed to our newsletter so you certainly know how to fill in online forms. The other half that have not subscribed have probably not read the numerous emails I have sent out!

Members Input

I want to make sure these newsletters are relevant and interesting to read. So PLEASE give me feedback and suggestions for content rather than just my ramblings and thought bubbles! Phyllis Taylor has made a great suggestion about a brief biographical piece about some of our members. Great suggestion, so here’s the challenge.

Are there any budding writers among our members that would be willing to take on this task.

I have turned on the torch and lit up the path. It’s now over to you guys.

The Craziness of Social Media

Here is a little story of how crazy social media can be!

I grew up in Bendigo, Victoria. I have a Facebook friend who lives in Port Macquarie but originally came from Bendigo. She commented on a post from Elmore Bakery so it popped up in my Facebook feed. I was about to scroll by when I noticed there were (at that time) over 100 thousand comments.

Elmore is a small town, population 770, about 50Kms north of Bendigo. I have driven through it numerous times, didn’t know it had a bakery. Elmore Bakery posted a competition where they had a picture of a rack of pies that had just been removed from the oven. If you guessed the number of pies on the rack you won a baker’s dozen pies but you had to pick them up from the bakery in Elmore. Fair enough!

That post from this small bakery in Elmore Victoria, population 770, ended up with over twenty million views (20,000,000) and one and a half million comments (1,500,000). People from all over the world were commenting on it. The bakery owners are dumbfounded and still have no idea why this one post took off!!

That’s all Folks!

Cheers,
Ian Scott

PS: To provide feedback, add a comment to this post. Your comment needs to be moderated (by me!) before it appears for the world to see.

COVID-19 Lockdown has been extended!!

So No Meeting on Monday 12th July 2021

If you are anything like me you are probably going a bit stir crazy because of this lockdown! The current rules (as of 10:30am 9th July) for regional NSW are:

• Masks to be worn in all non residential buildings
• No more than 1 person per 4 square metres (That means less than 40 people in Cavanbah Hall)
• Everyone must check in using the Service NSW app

It is almost impossible to operate with our current classes and groups with these restrictions

Data Cleaning:

We are still cleaning up our data. You can greatly assist by filling in this form and providing your contact details. So far out of 110 members only 10 members have done so.

A bit of an explanation on why this is important. In the 20 odd years the club has been in existence we have never had a need to contact members urgently until the COVID-19 pandemic early last year. The process of collecting members data is:

• At the start of each year each member filled in a membership form and paid their $10
• The information on this form was then manually transcribed into an Excel spreadsheet.
• I cant speak for everyone but I know my handwriting is degenerating into an illegible scrawl so this transcription process is fraught with errors.
• Misspelling someone’s name doesn’t really matter but typos in E-Mail address means an invalid E-Mail address.
• I am about to discover how many errors there are in mobile phone numbers!

Ideas from Members:

The idea of these regular newsletters is to provide, as the name implies, news to members. To make them relevant and interesting we need feedback and suggestion from you, the members. One suggestion our (unofficial) Social Secretary Phillis Taylor made is a brief biographical piece each newsletter on a member. I am sure lots of our members have led interesting personal and work lives that other members would be fascinated to learn about. Quite a few of our members were born overseas. Their early life growing up in another country would be interesting.

There is a lot of information about members that others may like to know, major birthdays, wedding anniversaries etc.

I am hoping to also include short technical tips from each of our tutors (Hint, hint!!) in each newsletter including ideas to help members get up to speed with technology.

It’s over to you!!!

Technical Tips:

Copying photos from phone to a Windows computer:

Need to get all the photos from your phone to your computer? There are several ways of doing this but the simplest is to use your phone USB cable. Here is what to do:

1. Open up File Explorer on your computer (Windows + E)
2. Expand ThisPC in the LH pane (Click the tiny arrow beside ThisPC)
3. Plug your phone into a USB port on the computer. You should here a beep after a few seconds.
4. Under ThisPC you should see a small phone icon and the name of your phone.
5. RIGHT click on your phone and select “Import Pictures and Videos”
6. Depending on how many photos you have after several minutes click Import when the box appears
7. All photos will be copied to a folder under Pictures in File Explorer. The name of the folder is yyyy-mm-dd (the date you imported your photos)

These are obviously simplified instructions but should be enough to point you in the right direction. If you have problems ask one of our tutors.

Notes:

1. These instructions work for Android phones and iPhones and Windows PC. If you have an Apple Mac ask Garry Curtis.
2. Some early USB cables supplied with phone chargers only supply power and not data. Listen for the beep after you plug in, no beep means a faulty cable

Online Resources:

Check out our Tutorials and Online Resources Page. It’s pretty threadbare at the moment but we will be adding more content in the future.

Cheers,
Ian Scott

PS: Gmail users, check your Spam folder for E-Mails from ian.f.scott@bigpond.com

With lots of luck the current COVID-19 lockdown will be lifted next weekend (10th and 11th) and life will be back to normal. No club meeting tomorrow 5th July. We are being guided by the NSW Government health advice so if the lockdown continues take that as a guide that the club will not be meeting. If restrictions are partially lifted we may reconvene but with limited numbers much like we did late last year. If our numbers are restricted to 10 to 20 we will implement an online booking system. Keep checking back on this website!

Blueberry Factory Visit Cancelled

Our planned visit to the Blueberry factory and Sikh Temple has been postponed to some future date because of COVIC-19.
Everyone get vaccinated ASAP and maybe life might return to normal (fingers crossed!)

Club Calendar on Website

We now have a calendar on the website so you can see what future events are coming up (Not much at the moment!). You will find the calendar on the main menu bar

Data Cleaning

Our database has been in a bit of a mess. The main culprit being typos in E-Mail addresses and phone numbers. It’s been a bit of a challenge getting in contact with all our members in these troubled times.
There are two things you can do to assist us in keeping our information up to date:

1. Subscribe to this newsletter using the form on the home page of the website
2. Filling in this Member Contact Details form

E-Mails and SMS Messages

A bit of a technical explanation about E-Mails. I am currently typing this message directly into the website. When I hit the Publish button the whole world can see it under Club News. At 11:00pm an E-Mail is sent to the subscriber list (the form you fill in on the home page). This is done using an E-Mail service called MailPoet.

I will copy everything from this page and paste it into a normal E-Mail to send to all members (If you have subscribed you will receive this message twice!). This poses a technical challenge that I was unaware of till a few days ago. I use my Bigpond account to send to 100 members. Because of the volume of messages sent at once, I think I am being put on some sort of Spam blacklist, some members are receiving the E-Mails, some aren’t. This time I will be sending this message in batches of about 10 which will take some time.

So, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE on the home page of the website.

SMS Text Messages. We are building up a list of mobile phone numbers and working on a method of being able to send out a bulk SMS message if there is urgent information we need to pass on to members. I know not all members are as diligent as me in reading their E-Mails. People are more likely to respond to an SMS text message than an E-Mail. (Bold assumption on my part!)

Did I mention Please subscribe to our newsletter?

The rapidly introduced lockdown for Sydney and tightened rules for regional NSW enforces these rules:

• Masks will be compulsory in all indoor non-residential settings, including workplaces, and at organised outdoor events;
• The one person per four square metre rule will be re-introduced for all indoor and outdoor settings, including weddings and funerals

Until we can get some clarification on the new rules we have taken a cautious approach and decided to cancel Monday’s session

Mary Voutos, President

0439 581 770

Coffs Seniors Computer Club Social Outing

Wednesday 7^th July

We tour the Blueberry factory at the old Bunnings site on the corner of Englands Road and Isles Drive at 10:00am. Covered in shoes (no thongs or sandals) must be worn and no loose jewellery to be worn. These are safety requirements of the Blueberry factory

Then off to visit the Woolgoolga Heritage Museum 10-12 River Street at 12:00pm.

Afterwards we go across the road to the Sikh Temple for a free vegetarian lunch at 12:30pm (Head to be covered Men and Ladies). Please notify us if anyone has any food allergies.

Please notify Phyllis Taylor by no later than Monday 28^th of June if you are coming. Provide your own transport. Anyone who needs a ride to make their own arrangements with other members.

Phyllis’s contact details:

Phone: 6652 9545

E-Mail: Phyllis.taylor1@bigpond.com

Biggest Morning Tea

Our recent Biggest Morning Tea raised a fantastic amount of $550 for the Mid North Coast Cancer Institute. Tomorrow morning (24th) Mary and Phyllis will be presenting a cheque for $550 to the Cancer Institute at Coffs Harbour Hospital.