[freegeek-e-newsletter] November FreeGeek E-newsletter

Tue Nov 22 13:29:37 PST 2005

It's the Free Geek e-newsletter, focusing your mind on the happenings of our
fine organization!  This is our November issue.

If you'd like to stop receiving this newsletter, please scroll down to the
very bottom of this email and follow the directions.

Contents:

I. Volunteer of the Month
II. Sunfest: Experimentation Abounds!
III. Geeks are Hott!  Movie Night at Free Geek
IV. Help Out Free Geek this Holiday Season
V. Happenings Around Town
VI. Wishlist

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I. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

Every month, we recognize one volunteer for all he or she has done for Free
Geek.  This month's recipient is:

Charles Ramsay!

Charles is a mainstay in the recycling area.  He bikes over 10 miles each way
at least 4 days a week to come to Free Geek.  While he's here, he takes care
of often-overlooked jobs like disassembling heatsinks and fans and monitor 
testing, all with good humor.  Without him, the recycling area would fall 
even further into chaos.

Thanks, Charles!

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II. SUNFEST: EXPERIMENTATION ABOUNDS!

Sun Microsystems computers offer a different sort of architecture than PCs or 
Macs.  Suns' processor architecture offers faster computing while using less 
power.  In fact, Sun systems have historically acted as the computers 
powering the Internet.  But since their architectures are relatively unique, 
it takes some work to get more widely-used operating systems to work on the 
machines.  For these reasons, computer hobbyists have long yearned to tinker 
with Sun computers.

Sun computers ran an operating system called SunOS, and later the name of the 
OS changed to Solaris.  Solaris is a UNIX-based operating system derived from 
4.1BSD and SYSTEM V UNIX. The Open Source community has worked on porting 
Open Source operating systems such as Linux and BSD to work with Sun 
computers.  For more information on Sun system history and significance, see 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Microsystems

At Free Geek, we have a bunch of 32bit Sun systems and half-dozen 64bit Sun 
systems that need operating systems.  Volunteer Clout Tolstoy along with a 
few other interested people, set about installing Linux onto these machines a 
few weeks ago.  Hours later, the group had installed Linux on all 7 of the 
SPARC stations they had gone to work on.  Sure, there were snags here and 
there, but it all worked out.  

Clout says this of the Sun computers: "Even though that computer under your 
desk might be fast, it could never power the web like that old [Sun] station 
20 did."

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III. GEEKS ARE HOTT!  MOVIE NIGHT AT FREE GEEK

We have some of the most socially active geeks in the world! That is not
a bunch of fluff, but an actual supportable theory. A "geek" is often
defined as: "A person with an encyclopedic knowledge of random trivia
especially those bordering on the highly obscure"

Free Geek-ers share arcane information all the time. In fact we often
have to shoo our geeks out the door so we can close up at night. And our
social email list is totally being used! In fact there are social events at
Free Geek almost every week!

ThirstyThirdThursTheater: we screen movies and we heckle the bad parts.
Come on down and have some fun, every third Thursday of the month.
http://static.flickr.com/30/59692696_80432ba88d_o.jpg

(The above was graciously donated to the newsletter by Reverend Phil Sano.)

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IV. HELP OUT FREE GEEK THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

This year, we've already given away about 570 computers to our Adoption
volunteers, and over 150 computers to non-profits around the world.  As a 
result, these individuals and organizations will be better equipped to 
communicate with the world at large quickly and cheaply.  In addition, pounds 
and pounds of toxins have been prevented from entering our groundwater as a 
result of Free Geek's efforts.

What's amazing is that Free Geek is about 95% self-sustaining.  That means
that we cover 95% of our expenses through our thrift store income, recycling
income, and front desk monetary donations.  Most non-profits make most of
their money through grants from foundations and other charitable
organizations.  Since our model is so unique, we don't have to apply for as
many grants -- pretty cool!

We'd like to thank all of our donors and volunteers for making Free Geek run
so well this past year.  And although we'd like to be fully self-sustaining,
right now we're not, so I'd like to take this opportunity to ask all of you
to get into the spirit of giving this holiday season by donating to Free Geek
to help us with that final 5%.

If you'd like to donate, you're welcome to come in while we're open, or go to
https://www.applyweb.com/public/contribute?freegeek to contribute online.

Thanks so much for your support.

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V. HAPPENINGS AROUND TOWN

Wednesday, December 7th
4-10:00PM
Urban Grind Coffee 
2214 NE Oregon

The First Annual Portland BikeCraft Faire will feature local, handmade,
bike-themed art and crafts from a variety of artists. This event will
also coincide with the Shift Winter Social! Kid friendly activities
include temporary chainring tattoos and a decorate your helmet area. 

      * Enclosed bike parking!
      * Kid friendly venue and activities!
      * Local bike film screenings
      * Free drinks, snacks

************************************
Saturday, December 10th
8pm - 1am
Free Geek
1731 SE 10th Ave.

Our annual holiday party is coming up fast!  We hold this event every year to 
say "thanks!" to our friends, volunteers, and supporters.  It will be an all 
ages event with live music and pizza.  Come on down and celebrate with your 
fellow geeks!

************************************
Every Monday and Wednesday
5-6pm for beginners, 6-7pm for intermediate
Nocturnal 
E. Burnside and 18th
$10 per lesson

Breakdancing lessons!  Go on over to Nocturnal to learn your groove, then get 
it on.  You know you've wanted to know how to do the robot forever - now's 
your chance!

Also, check http://nocturnalpdx.com in the near future for info on the best 
handcrafted holiday fair in Portland!

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VI. WISHLIST

You might not know it, but many of our basic supplies (like printer paper and
TP) are donated to us by individuals with big hearts and a few extra dollars
in their wallets (or good scavenging skills!).  We'd very much appreciate
donations of any of the below:

- Band-aids
- Herbal tea for the coming cold season
- Simple Green general spray cleaner
- Cream and sugar for coffee
- Dry Erase Markers
- Hand towels
- 8.5" x 11" single-sheet white printer paper (100% post-consumer
  recycled, if possible)
- Food and drink for volunteers (especially chocolate)
- Washer and dryer
- Big hugs!

As a quick and easy alternative, we welcome your online monetary donations.
Just visit https://www.applyweb.com/public/contribute?freegeek to contribute
to Free Geek online.

** A big thanks to longtime volunteer Berkeley Fisher for sponsoring our TP
and dish soap purchases.  Thanks to him, we'll be able to buy the
environmentally friendliest products for our staff and volunteers! **

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Ha!  You've made it to the end of another Free Geek newsletter.  As a reward
(or punishment, depending on your point of view), here's a parting joke:

Q: What does a duck with an advanced degree in physics say?

A: Quark! Quark! 

We'll see you next time,

Shawn Furst
Volunteer Program Coordinator
Free Geek
1731 SE 10th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
(503)232-9350
info [at] freegeek [dot] org
http://www.freegeek.org

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