[freegeek-e-newsletter] 4th Quarter Free Geek Email Newsletter

Wed Oct 17 18:58:16 PDT 2007

Free Geek's email newsletter has come your way yet again!  Free Geek's Outreach 
Committee brings you the news-around-Geek once every quarter. Special thanks to 
Ali Briggs and Jeff Robinson for much of the content of this edition.

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

Contents:

I. Volunteers of the Quarter
II. Free Geek's Changing Landscape
III. Who's Who?
IV. Laptop Program to Widen Its Jaws
V. Oregon E-Waste Legislation
VI. Happenings Around Town
VII. Wishlist

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I. VOLUNTEERS OF THE QUARTER

In every newsletter we try to recognize a few volunteers for all the great work 
they do at Free Geek.  This quarter we focus on the Thrift Store, and Tom McCann 
and Don Skinner are the recipients of our praise.

Every week, Tom McCann carries home a box or two of unsorted, tangled goodies 
like PDAs and digital cameras.  He takes them home, tests them, wraps them 
neatly, prices them, brings them to Free Geek, and lays them out for sale in the 
nice display case in the Store.  These fancy items catch us their fair share of 
revenue, and Tom makes the Store a cooler, easier, funner place to shop.

Don Skinner has spent about 5 hours of every Wednesday for the past few years in 
our Store helping out.  He cleans up as much as he can: from neatening cables to 
tackling 2-year-old piles of random stuff.  He also gives constructive feedback 
to store coordinators about what would make the place work better for customers. 
  The Store looks sweet 'cause of Don.

Thanks so much, Tom and Don!

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II. FREE GEEK'S CHANGING LANDSCAPE

If you've recently visited Free Geek after a long absence, the first thing you 
probably noticed was the mess.... that is shrinking! The Space Usage Committee 
(which refers to themselves as the Space Cadets) has been busy reformatting the 
layout of the building to make the most out of the space we have.  The most 
obvious change can be seen in the Classroom.  Metal shelving on wheels now holds 
completed Freekboxen Grantboxen and these shelves serve as a barrier separating 
the Classroom into two spaces.  One part remains devoted to regularly held 
classes, such as the Adoption class, while the other part has been home new 
Laptop Build students disassembling obsolete laptops.  In the future, keep an 
eye out for the relocation of the Classic Gaming Library, Advanced Testing, 
Staff Offices, and Prebuild!

The Space Cadets' re-evaluation of Free Geek's layout coincides with the 
possibility of acquiring the office space above the warehouse. After quite a bit 
of discussion in Council, the conversation with our landlord has just begun.  To 
get involved with either the Space Usage Committee or the Council, email Ali at 
<ali at freegeek.org> for more info.

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III. WHO'S WHO?

So much has changed since April in terms of Free Geek staff!  The biggest news 
was that Rick Konold, long-time Store Coordinator and curmudgeon, officially 
retired during Geek Fair.  Rick was involved with Free Geek since its beginning 
stages and his contributions to keeping Free Geek afloat through its tumultuous 
childhood will always be remembered. We converted volunteer Matteo Bell into a 
full-time Collective Member, Production Co-Coordinator, in August as well as 
converting Sergio Garcia from an Exploratory position to a member of the 
Collective as Online Sales Coordinator.

We welcomed our first Recycling Intern, Jenn Dolan, in April and now she is 
passing off the torch to Darryl Kan.  Receiving Intern Elise Dahan moved back to 
NYC and showed the ropes to Nori Wigmore right before she left.   Selam Feseha's 
internship ended in August and now Dana Highfill can be seen working at the 
Front Desk.  Francisco Marquez started in July as our latest Thrift Store Intern.

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IV. LAPTOP PROGRAM TO WIDEN ITS JAWS

Lots of changes, growth, and movement going on here at the Geek, and laptops and 
the Black Hole are not to be left out. Current plans have laptop build moving 
out to the center of the building on the west side of what is now the classroom 
(where the stage used to be). The Black Hole would then fulfill its final 
destiny of imploding forever. The reasoning? Laptop build needs more space and 
the warehouse needs more space; not to mention the fact that so many great 
volunteers want to get involved in laptops and are waiting, waiting, oh the 
terrible waiting. Some will ask, "But what about the occasional event or movie 
night?" Good question.  Stuff will be easy to move around, so that an event 
won't be hard to hold. So fear these changes not, for they contain your destiny! 
Or at least they shouldn't bother you too much....

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V. OREGON E-WASTE LEGISLATION

The State of Oregon will soon be undergoing a lot of changes in the way it 
handles its e-waste.  Namely, within the next few years, all monitors, desktops, 
laptops, and televisions will be banned from dump sites. Manufacturers will be 
required to pay for the cost of recycling these items.

The legislation requiring these changes, House Bill 2626, was approved by the 
house, senate, and governor late in the summer, and rule-making meetings have 
just begun.  The current meetings will determine the specifics of how the new
legislation will be enacted, and many interest groups are included, such as the 
DEQ, manufacturers, dump operators, industrial ewaste recyclers, and non-profit 
reuse and recycling organizations like Free Geek and Next Step.

This legislation will change the way the e-waste industry works in Oregon, and 
we're not quite sure how yet.  We can surmise, for example. that we'll start 
seeing more e-waste collection sites and e-waste recyclers, but we're not sure 
how the new law will affect the details of Free Geek's operations.  While 
there's room for more support of reuse in the legislation, it is in favor of 
reuse, and non-profit reuse organizations have been consulted through much of 
the process.

We'll continue to report on how this legislation affects Free Geek as we find 
out.  In the meantime, some links for the studious:

* Our latest press release has some good info about Ali's trip to Washington 
State to research other e-waste legislation: http://freegeek.org/pressreleases
* Another press release: 
http://www.olcveducationfund.org/pressroom/pressreleases/EWaste
* The text of the bill can be found here: 
http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measpdf/hb2600.dir/hb2626.en.pdf

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VI. HAPPENINGS AROUND TOWN

Scrapula, Scrapenstein, & Scrapman:
Halloween Costume Making Workshops at SCRAP
3901-A North Williams Ave.
Sat. October 20 and 27
Noon-5
$5 suggested donation plus materials cost
http://scrapaction.org/wrkshps.html

Reused materials aren’t just for bed-sheet ghost anymore! SCRAP’s annual 
Halloween workshops are up coming soon, just in time for you to have the 
craftiest costume on the block. Materials and creative/technical assistance are 
available to all ages so don’t be shy and drop on by!

************************************
Sew Crafty
Every 1st and 3rd Monday
6-10pm
Free Geek
1731 SE 10th Ave., south door
Free!

Bring your latest sewing or crafy project, get advice from other creative 
crafters, hang out, have fun!  There's often an extra sewing machine, and a 
sewing expert - Free Geek volunteer Debra Hubbard - on hand for tough questions 
(she helped me sew a relatively complex dress: it looks great!).  You can just 
show up at the next sew crafty, or for updates and reminders, sign up for the 
low-traffic email list: http://lists.freegeek.org/listinfo/crafty.

************************************
Cyclecross Crusade
Multiple places around NW Oregon
Every Sunday through the beginning of December
http://crosscrusade.com
$10 or so to race

Come to race or just to watch this cool event, Oregon style.  Bicycle racers 
ride a track that includes asphalt, mud, grass, and some obstacles.  Race 
classes for juniors, men, women, and masters 35+.  The atmosphere is relaxed and 
racers and spectators are generally smiling and supportive.  A great way to get 
outside this fall.

************************************
Independent Publishing Resource Center Classes
IPRC, 917 SW Oak Street, #218
Cost varies

Learn how to self-publish!  From Zinemaking 101 to Intro to Graphic Design to 
Letterpress and Typesetting Techniques, the IPRC offers some great classes.  It 
also houses a huge zine library.  So go visit, read a zine, and learn some new 
ways to express yourself.

For more info, visit: http://www.iprc.org

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VII. 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, band-aids, band-aids
- TP
- Dishwashing fluid
- Hand soap
- Simple Green general spray cleaner
- Bleach
- Non-latex disposable gloves
- Cream and sugar for coffee
- Ball Point Pens
- Hand towels and rags
- Wire and cable cutters
- 8.5" x 11" single-sheet white printer paper (100% post-consumer recycled, if 
possible)
- Food and drink for volunteers (especially chocolate)
- Big hugs!

As a quick and easy alternative, we welcome your online monetary donations. Just 
go to our website (http://freegeek.org), and click on the PayPal link on the 
right-hand side of the page to donate to Free Geek online.

---------------------------------------------------
Once again, you've made it to the end of a Free Geek email newsletter.  Because 
you're so awesome and attentive, here's a cool link for you.  Geek Speak is a 
show that's been playing on independent radio station KUSP in Santa Cruz for 
quite some time.  It's a call-in tech show, kinda like Car Talk, but with more 
computerismo.  You can download lots of past shows here: 
http://geekspeak.org/shows/archives  Check it out!

Thanks for reading!

Shawn Furst
Outreach and Other Cool Stuff Coordinator
Free Geek
1731 SE 10th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
http://freegeek.org

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