May 2, 2014
The meeting was called to order at 7:37 pm by President Chuck Horner. See Lola Hunter at the ticket table, for raffle tickets, door prize tickets, and 3" x 5" cards to write questions for discussion/answers at the end of the Meeting. Get at least one $5 raffle ticket for this month's raffle prize, a Fry's gift card.
Joy Somerville has renewed his membership. Chuck distributed more PCC business/information cards.
The Southwest Computer Conference will take place in Ontario, CA the last weekend of June.
Presentation: Community Emergency Resources, presented by Chuck Horner. Most communities have online access to resources. Chuck suggested going online to map the Hayward Fault. See how close you are.
Chuck suggests doing something regarding your own emergency preparedness this year. And then doing something more next year. Stockpile water, take a class, secure a garage under a second floor . . .
For example, Chuck keeps a stockpile of rechargeable batteries of various sizes. He rotates them through the charging process so that they stay fresh.
Hayward will have a Personal Emergency Preparedness training on May 29, at the Hayward City Hall. Call 583-4948 for information and to sign up.
Nextdoor is private, limited, secure version of a social networking app. Sort of an online Neighborhood Watch. When you sign up, your zip code will tell which neighborhood your city has designated for your address. Only the police department has access to all the data. Otherwise, only people in a neighborhood have access to each other. If you want to contact more than your neighborhood, you send the information to the police department, which disseminates it. Get started at nextdoor.com.
If you don't know your neighbors and their email addresses, you can use the program to generate street addresses for postcards.
If Nextdoor does not seem like a good idea because of personal security concerns, there are other options, for example: Nixle. GoRequest is the generic version of Nextdoor. MyPD is also universal.
Tip from Don Odle: When you send JPEG photos they include a metafile with your personal information. The PNG format strips out personal data.
Chuck emphasized: Do not hesitate to report suspicious sightings and sounds. The police can use small bits of information to focus on a problem. Give as much specific information as possible: Time, Date, Patterns, License plate, VIN number if available. Provide as much detail as possible but do not guess or make up facts. Do not be afraid to say, "I don't know."
Lola Hunter pointed out that if you suspect a car is stolen you can call the Sheriff's Department to have them check the license immediately for reports of theft.
Warning: If you're selling something on Craig's List, do not give out personal information (such as your address or phone number), do not agree to meet the person any place except somewhere public like a library, police, or fire department.
One scam currently in operation is for someone to ring the doorbell and distract you while someone else breaks in the back. Or someone will pretend to be some kind of service worker and distract you with a pretend estimate while the accomplice comes in and cleans you out.
A tip from Chuck: TSW (This Stuff Works) comes from your local hardware store in various strengths for removing graffiti. Remove graffiti as soon as possible. The longer it sits, the harder it becomes to remove.
Another tip: Rather than dialing 911 from your cell phone, enter the dispatch number for your local police department in your cell phone, and the dispatch number for other cities you go to often. Put the numbers at the top of your contact list. Put a blank "- - - Dispatch" as a blank entry at the top of your list so that you don't accidentally butt-dial. Then enter (for example) "- - - Dispatch Hayward", "- - - Dispatch San Mateo".
Door Prizes
| Digital Photography for Dummies | Bob Sorensen |
| USB keyboard | Bob Dunn |
| Memorex CD box | Joy Somerville |
| GQ CD-R cd pack | Andrew Tews |
| Memorex CD-RW cd pack | Yorkman Lowe |
| Computer Essentials CD-R cd pack | Alex Korzuchin |
| IBM notebook | Bob Kiessling |
| Directmail tee shirt | Sandy Rowland |
| Moshi bag | George Kornbluth |
| Huawei tee shirt | Lola Hunter |
Raffle Prize: Fry's gift card--Bob Kiessling
Q & A
Question: Can I get by using Windows XP if I update Avast? Members agree, especially if you use the paid version.
And a tip: Do the Internet Explorer update, even if you don't (think you) use IE. It creates a vulnerability that you need to protect against.
Thank you to George Kornbluth for taking care of refreshments and to Alex Korzuchin for managing the signs.
Sally Holt is selling tickets for miniature golf to support the American Cancer Society.
Note: The July meeting is being moved to the 11th.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Bayle Emlein, Secretary
