Posts Tagged: ‘Computer Club’

Reflecting on Club Participation (2024-08)

July 28, 2024 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

The article about Zoom that Richard submitted for the newsletter this month got me to thinking?  With Zoom and the many other available options, why don’t more members of the club take advantage of the services offered?  Is it apathy or maybe a lack of knowledge on what is available?

As I write this, we have about 190 members.  I don’t know how we compare in size to the 106 other groups of the APCUG, but I suspect we might be one of the larger organizations.  Either way, 190 is a respectable number in these modern times.  Long gone are the days when computer clubs had thousands of members.

Our monthly meetings are usually attended by less than twenty percent of the members.  Is this because we don’t have them at a convenient time?  Is it because the content isn’t interesting?  Is it because the membership doesn’t know about them?

It is the same way with the APCUG Wednesday Workshops.  I’ve attended many of them.  There are usually abound 200 people (many of whom don’t remember they are on camera).  This averages to less than two members from each club.

Have you noticed that the club seems to have fewer workshops every month.  I’m not sure that lack of volunteer instructors is the reason.  It can be frustrating to schedule a seminar and not get many attendees.  Doesn’t that encourage volunteers to volunteer less?

Should I mention the Cajun Clickers two Google Groups?  The last question posed in “Ask the Experts” was June 22.  The previous question was asked in October 2022.  No one has posted in the “General Discussion” group since January 2023.  I’m beginning to see a trend.

I don’t have any data on how many members read the monthly club newsletter.  I do know that since we started posting membership numbers to receive a gift card, there hasn’t been any claimants.  I’ll let the readers of this article draw their own conclusions.

Down deep inside, I know that nothing is going to change.  The active members and volunteers will continue what they are doing and the others will do the same.  That is enough ranting for this month.  I won’t be so glum in September.

Thanks for reading.

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Club Website Revisions (2024-07)

July 7, 2024 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

So far, I haven’t broken anything yet.  As you may or may not have heard, Paul Catrou has ended his duties as the Club Webmaster.  If you see him, please be sure to give him a big thank you for his service to the club.  Our club president twisted my arm and all of a sudden, I’m the guy.

My coding skills are a little rusty, but I hope to make some changes.  If you’ve been to the web site lately, you can see the new interface.  Hopefully, both members and the public will find it easier to navigate and find needed information.  I’ve tried to design it to look good on all devices.  I’ve been cursing phone screens a lot.  The idea is that all content will resize to fit all screens without the user having to zoom in or out.  The hamburger menu should make it easier to navigate.  I am also planning to add site map links to the bottom of each page.

If you haven’t checked it out, I would appreciate it if everyone did and let me know what they think.  I’ve already made some changes based on member input.  There are also some others on the way when I get the time.

So far, all of the changes are on the “front” end.  Registering for workshops, downloading newsletters, etc. haven’t changed.  In the future, I hope to make it easier with a “one click” process.  There are other potential uses for our club website.

Please check the site and let me or any of the club board members know what you think.  Opinions and ideas are welcome.  We want to make things useful for members.

Thanks for reading.

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A Cajun Clickers Poem (2024-06)

June 2, 2024 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

At last month’s presentation of “Having Fun With AI”, I was asked to print this poem in the club newsletter.  Note: all bold, italics and links are duplicated as written by the AI.

Microsoft Copilot was asked to “write a poem about cajun clickers computer club using zoom”.  Copilot responded: Certainly!  Here’s a poetic tribute to the Cajun Clickers Computer Club, a community of tech enthusiasts who gather virtually via Zoom:

Cajun Clickers: A Virtual Ode

In the heart of Baton Rouge, where bayous flow,
A club of tech-savvy souls, their passion aglow.
They gather not in person, but through the digital haze,
On Zoom’s pixelated canvas, where knowledge plays.

Cajun Clickers, they proudly call themselves,
An all-volunteer crew, like digital elves.
From novices to experts, they form a diverse band,
Their common thread? A love for circuits and command.

Workshops unfold, like blooming magnolias,
Windows 11 secrets whispered, Android’s euphorias.
Genealogy SIGs trace roots through binary veins,
And Q&A sessions dance like code in the rain.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays they convene,
From morning’s first light till the screen turns serene.
Zoom squares fill with faces, each pixel a friend,
As they troubleshoot, explore, and their tech skills extend.

Cajun Clickers, a bridge across bytes,
Their mission: to demystify, to ignite.
From hardware to software, they weave a fine thread,
Connecting generations, where curiosity is fed.

Their virtual home, a cozy digital den,
Where ones and zeros blend, and friendships begin.
They laugh, they learn, they share bytes and memes,
And when the sun sets, they dream in binary streams.

So here’s to the Cajun Clickers, their screens all aglow,
In the bayou’s embrace, where knowledge rivers flow.
May their Zoom calls be merry, their circuits aligned,
As they navigate the bytescape, their passion enshrined.

Note: The Cajun Clickers Computer Club is a real organization in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, dedicated to promoting computer literacy. You can find more about them on their website.

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Help Yourself (2024-03)

March 10, 2024 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

The only real help is self-help. Anything else is just designed to get you to the point where you can help yourself. —– Seth

It happened again!  At the last Computer Club Board Meeting, Richard mentioned that all videos are uploaded to the club YouTube channel.  Someone asked him to send the link and for me to post it in the monthly club newsletter.  Here is the e-mail that he sent.

At out last BOD meeting, Pat asked me to send out information about our YouTube Channel.  So here it is: Just go to your monthly newsletter and on page 2: “Support Staff and Sponsors”, rightmost column is a link to our YouTube Channel.  Click on it and you are there.

This is not anything new.  The link has been in every newsletter starting in April 2023, it was reiterated in Tiny’s October monthly column, and was written in each of our BOD meeting minutes starting in February 2023 and last mention in May 2023.  I also had one member email me asking where are the replays for the monthly meeting?  In all of these instances, I said: “just read the newsletter.”  It’s clear to me why Pat asked BOD members to read the newsletter and the meeting minutes.

This actually happens quite often and not just with the newsletter.  I’ve heard club members ask about doing workshops on topics that have been scheduled and no one attended.  A few months ago, someone asked an off topic question of the speaker at the monthly meeting.  It was on something that had been explained in detail in a newsletter article.  All they had to do was help themselves.

I recommend wish that on the first of every month, club members would go to the club’s website and check if there are any interesting workshops they would like to attend.  You don’t even have to log in to do so.  On the home page, click the Workshop Calendar link.  It takes less than a minute.  If you see one you’d like to attend, Login and register.  If you’ve forgotten how, a call to the office staff will get you help.  All you have to do is help yourself.

Sorry for the ranting and raving this month, but I couldn’t resist.  I thought it was a good time to tell everyone to help yourself.  By the way, here is a link for everyone:

Cajun Clickers YouTube Channel

Thanks for reading.

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Your Computer Club (2023-10)

October 1, 2023 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Are you getting the most out of the Cajun Clickers (or any computer club)?  Over the years I’ve been a member of several computer clubs.  The biggest change is that these days, it isn’t just about computers.  We also learn about cell phones, cameras, smart homes and much more.  Just a few months ago I learned about how we use electronics to predict and track our weather.  There are many reasons that I keep joining them.

The most important thing about computer user groups (clubs) is that they are full of people who meet to share information and to learn from each other.  All of them are informal groups with a common purpose of learning more about how electronics operate and can be used to better our lives.

A computer club offers a lot of knowledge and experience.  It’s almost like having tech support with a native English speaking support staff.  No matter what problem you may have, someone usually knows how to solve it.  If they don’t know the answer, they almost always know where to go to find out.

I’ve noticed that a lot of benefits of our club are not used by many of the members.  There hasn’t been a question asked on our Ask The Experts Google Group since October of 2022.  The General Discussion Group hasn’t fared much better.  There has been one posting in the last year.  The club also has a YouTube Channel and a Facebook Group.

Most of the monthly meetings have an attendance of around thirty members.  This is less than one quarter of the total membership.  There are usually empty seats at the club workshops.

Our computer group has a monthly newsletter.  I’ll admit that I like to run my mouth and the newsletter gives me a chance to write articles like this.  It also gives me a chance to learn about many other things by reading the the monthly columns.

Another under utilized club benefit are the many workshops offered on Zoom by the APCUG.  These cover a wide array of topics on most Operating Systems.  Some sample topics are Your Health and Technology, Cross-Platform Software, Backing Up with pCloud, Smart TVs, the Frugal Genealogist, and many more.

Computer user groups are a fun place to meet new people.  Since I’ve joined the Clickers, I’ve learned from a professional photographer, a tax accountant, a Better Business Bureau professional, a local television meteorologist, several writers, programmers, web authors, and more.

Where else can you get all of this and more for only $4.58 or less a month?  The annual membership fee is less than you would pay for one computer class almost anywhere else.

Thanks for reading.

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Deciding on a Topic (2023-07)

July 2, 2023 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

I’ve spent the past two hours trying to decide what I should write about this month.  At first, I thought I’d remind everyone that schools have been dismissed for the summer and remind them to drive safely.  Then I remembered that when school started last year, everyone was reminded to drive safely.  I decided that wouldn’t be a good subject because some idiot would surely think that meant we didn’t have to drive safely the rest of the time.

Then I thought that maybe I could give some hints on how to use your computer more efficiently or how to use one of my favorite programs.  I immediately realized that I already try to do that in the various workshops I do both at the club and on Zoom.

I almost started to write things about computing that make me mad or don’t seem to be quite as they should be.  Then I wrote a paragraph about companies that make changes that make their product worse.  A second paragraph addressed the question of why we need so many file formats.  After starting to write about lousy tech name choices, I realized I was probably going to end up with an article about six pages long.

I finally decided on what to write about this month.  I’m going to take a few minutes and ask everyone to help make our computer club a little better.  How can you assist?

Why not contribute an article to this newsletter?  Do you have a favorite program that you think would be useful to other computer users?  Take a few minutes and tell everyone about it.  Did you get some new hardware?  An article reviewing the equipment would be beneficial to everyone.

Have you found a great website that everyone should know about?  Heard a funny story that you can’t wait to tell everyone?  Why not share it with the entire club.  All you have to do is click the link on page two and send it to the editor.  I know him and that he will gladly use your submission.

Why not bring a friend to one of our monthly meetings?  You can impress them with how smart you are by being a member of our club.  They just might decide to join the club.  Then we could all benefit.

When he wasn’t busy helping me invent the internet, Vice President Al Gore said, “Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.”  I think that means this would be a good time for me to shut up.

Thanks for reading.

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