HAL-PC Monthly eBulletin - June 2007

Welcome to the June 2007 edition of the HAL-PC/HALNet monthly eBulletin. If you wish to stop receiving these bulletins, send an email to e-bulletin-off@hal-pc.org. This month: Clear Lake Lightning Strike, News for HALNet Users, Events, Clear Lake News, SIG News, Class Listings, BOD Election, Volunteer News, Magazine.

LIGHTNING STRIKE IN CLEAR LAKE

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A lightning strike to the Classroom part of the Clear Lake Senior Learning Center building early morning on Thursday, May 3 temporarily closed the office and classroom facility in the 400 Medical Center building. Thanks to luck and the Webster Fire Department, damage was minimal but smoke, fumes and debris prevented use of the building while repairs were being made. The office reopened on May 21. Classes scheduled in the 400 building are currently being rescheduled and will resume June 4.

More Photos

NEWS FOR HALNET USERS!!

USER QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Q: PLEASE ADVISE WHY 33% OF MY JUNK MAIL HAS A SENDER ADDRESS OF HAL-PC.ORG

A: The 'From:' address you see in your email program is easily 'spoofed'. It is not at all a reliable indication of the source of the email. Spammers will set the 'From:' address in their mail to use the same domain name as the 'To:' address to make it look like a trusted source. The full header of the email will give you a better idea of its source. See this page in the HALNet User Support section for a list of sites that will help you view and decipher your email headers.

PREPARING FOR NEW WEB SERVER

In the coming weeks, HALNet will be moving all its user accounts to a new web server. Some of our users have created their own web pages and uploaded them to the HALNet server. IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN WEB PAGE ON HALNet you will be asked to change your FTP settings. If you did NOT create your own personal web page and upload it to HALNet, YOU DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING!!!

After the user pages are moved to the new web server, your personal page URL will remain the same (http://www.hal-pc.org/~username), but the ftp server address will change. To prepare for this move, we ask you to please change the server setting in your FTP program (WS-FTP, Cute FTP, LeapFTP, etc) from www.hal-pc.org to users.hal-pc.org. Thank you for your cooperation.

GET FREE HALNet INTERNET ACCESS FOR REFERRING YOUR FRIENDS!

You can get a free extension of time on your HALNet account for referring new users to our service! For every signup you refer, your account will be extended by $10.00 worth of time. Dial-up users will get an extra month, DSL accounts will get $10.00 worth of extra days. Here's how the program works:
  1. Go to the User Account Login Page and login with your HALNet user id and password
  2. In the upper left corner of the client administration page you will see a button labeled 'Referrals'. Click it
  3. The Referrals information page tells you how the program works. At the top of the page you will find the following words:

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    Highlight this url, copy it and paste it into an email to your friends and neighbors. Tell them to follow the link to sign up for HALNet service.

    https://office.hal-pc.org/halnet/referrals/join1.php?more_time=XX
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    This is a specially-generated link to the online signup page that is keyed to your HALNet account. Be sure to tell your friend to follow that link to sign up so you will get credit.

UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS

Saturday, June 2 -- 1:00 - 3:30 pm: CD/DVD Music For Everyone

Saturday, June 16 -- 3:00 - 5:00 pm: HAL BOD Election - In-person voting

Saturday, June 30 -- 9:30 am - 12:00 noon: Clear Lake Mini-Course: "PC Security for Everyone"

COMING AT CLEAR LAKE

Friday, June 1 -- 1:00 pm: Computer Investing SIG - Steve Morehouse, SIG member, "When to Sell Stocks and Mutual Funds"

Saturday June 2 -- 9:30 am: Camcorder & Video SIG - HAL-PC members and others, "Open Stage & Forum"

Saturday, June 16 -- 1:30 pm: Master Genealogist (TMG) Software SIG -

Saturday, June 16 -- 9:30 am: Digital Photography SIG - Liz Lunden, HAL-PC Instructor, "Using Windows Power Toys in Digital Photography"

Saturday, June 23 -- 9:30 am General Computer SIG - Jim Johnson, Freeman Library Reference Librarian, "Using Google-All You Need to Know"

SIG NEWS

Please refer to the SIG Calendar for a complete listing of HAL-PC SIG meeting dates and times. If you are interested in starting a Special Interest Group that is not currently on our calendar, contact the Vice President for SIGS

Upcoming Classes - HAL-PC Headquarters

Map To Facility

Starting June 4
Getting Web Surfing For Cowards

Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting June 7
Getting More From Word - Creative Writing

Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting June 12
Working with Windows

Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting June 14
Getting More From Word - Business Writing

Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting June 18
Getting Web Surfing For Cowards

Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting June 21
Getting More From Word - Creative Writing

Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting June 26
Working with Windows

Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting June 28
Getting More From Word - Business Writing

Instructor: Bear Jones

Check the Class Calendar for the latest additions to the schedule. Some classes have minimum enrollments - Call 713-341-8102 for complete enrollment information.

VOLUNTEER NEWS

LONGTIME HAL-PC MEMBER NEEDS YOUR HELP

One of our long time members, Ralph Roddy, will be in need of some help with his medical problems in the coming months. Ralph is one of the original founding members of HAL-PC. He has been undergoing chemotherapy at Memorial City Hospital for the last four and a half years for cancer. A new mass was found earlier this year during a routine MRI scan and he has been referred to MD Anderson for several months of stem cell therapy. Ralph will be hospitalized for two months and someone has to be with him 24 hours a day. His wife, Lois, can stay with him most of the time but she will need breaks. Ralph is asking for volunteers to stay with him while Lois is away. If you can volunteer some time, please contact Ralph at 713-493-6444 or email him at ralphr@hal-pc.org. He will be able to have visitors 24 hours a day so if you can drop by, it would be appreciated. The exact dates of his hospital stay have not been set.

2006 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

HAL-PC Volunteer of the Year for 2006 is Joe Collins. Joe has been a member of HAL-PC since 1997! He is the utility infielder of HAL volunteers - always ready to chip in and do whatever needs to be done. If you've ever gotten a reminder call that your HAL-PC membership or HALNet account is about to expire, that was Jim on the phone! He works the front desk and is always willing to drop everything and come in even when he's not scheduled to fill in for others. Congratulations, Joe!

HAL-PC VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

HAL-PC's Volunteer of the Month for June, 2007 is Robert DuVernay. Bob has been a member of HAL-PC for many years, and has long been a dedicated volunteer. Bob is a brilliant digital photographer, and leads the 'Digital Cameras for Everyone' seminar, along with all the other seminars in the monthly series. He's the go-to guy for information on cameras, scanners and CD and DVD drives, as well as transferring all your music from LP and cassette to CD and DVD. Thanks, Bob, for sharing all your knowledge with our members!!

HAL-PC's Volunteer of the month for May 2007 is Jim Foote. Jim is a long-time HAL-PC member who has been a fixture on the front desk for many years. Jim is always ready to step up when additional help is needed and is dedicated to helping members and serving as an ambassador to prospective members. Thanks, Jim, for all you do!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION

The annual election of HAL-PC's Board of Directors will be held in June. All HAL-PC members whose memberships were current as of MAY 15 will be eligible to vote. Your voting key will be printed on the mailing label of the June issue of the HAL-PC magazine. DO NOT DISCARD. Online voting will be held from June 1 - June 16 (cut-off 5:00 pm). Onsite voting at HAL-PC Headquarters will be on June 16 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm. Full details of the electoral process are available on the HAL website.

THIS MONTH'S MAGAZINE

Look for the HAL-PC Magazine online.

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