Monthly Minutes – 2007 Archive
Meeting: 12th of April 2007
Present
- Ron Harrington; President
- Judy Stem; Vice-president
- Alissa Harrington; Secretary
- Jeannine Morber; Director
- Denise Beaver
- Mark Ripper
- Richard Waganer
- Derrick Kelly
- Kurt Rauschenberg
- Barb Schmidt
- Linda Bradley
- Bobby Keller
- Karen Delahanty
Marlene Titus
Lorsi Pizza
Wally Brown
- Brian Holsonbake
- James Bell
- Andy Dalton
- Marion Ware
- Tom Canon
- Cher Hunter
- Lynn Karr
- Linda Bradley
- Douglas Heck
Chris Plater
Kevin Brown
Mike Shelah
Dave Franc
Ken Harris
Steve Williams
General Announcements
- Jeannine Morber
- Jeannine, the new Tech Council Director, introduced herself to the Council.
- Ron Harrington
- A Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Lynn Karr by Ron for her years of dedication to the Tech Council.
- Dave Franc
- Dave from the SPARKS 4-H club presented a framed certificate of appreciation to Richard Waganer in recognition of his donation of the Robotics Ring.
- Speaker
- Richard Glenn-Effective Problem Solving and Troubleshooting
-
- Step 1: Damage Control
- Data or Configuration Backup
- Turn off/cool down system
- Fall back planning
- Step 2: Problem Description
- You can easily find yourself chasing the description not the problem, solution time can be negatively impacted
- Classic example: "The Internet is Down"
- Ask questions that would support attempts to reproduce the problem
- Has it happened before? Any recent changes made?
- Have user demonstrate issue
- Step 3: Reproduce it (safety issue)
- Can it be reproduced on demand?
- If not, it is an intermittent problem
- If the system is well designed, and you can reproduce the problem, it can be repaired
- Step 4: Do Preventative maintenance
- Car-fill fluids
- Computer-Run spyware, scan, defrag drive
- Clean the machine
- It's easy
- Can help fight intermittent problems
- You might get lucky! And it needs to be done anyway
- Step 5: Narrow it Down
- Don't shot for the hole in one
- Half-splitting, repeat the step over and over if possible/li>
- Compare with working and non-working systems
- Actually look at the logs and diagnostics results
- Like TV show: House
- 1 test is better than 1000 expert opinions
- Test, test, test-always with known good
- Finding a single element in an ordered set
- 8 tests narrow to 1 component in 256
- 16 to 1 in 65,536
- 24 to 1 in 16,777,216
- Step 6: Repair/Replace
- Remember how it came apart-pictures, organization teardown
- Use the right tools
- Did the problem go away?
- Did a new problem manifest?
- Have user test if appropriate
- Document!!!
- Troubleshooting extras
- Troubleshooting Myth-You need to be an expert on a system to effectively troubleshoot it
- Take a walk
- Ask for help
- Be patient
- Give yourself appropriate credit
- Step 1: Damage Control
- Flea Market
- Jeannine announced that the Non-Profit Center will be hosting a Flea Market on Saturday, April 28th, 9-3pm in the NPC parking lot. Members are encouraged to drop off donations (does not have to be computer related) for the yard sale Thurs or Friday before the event. Or come shop for a great deal and support the area non-profits!
Event / Committee Reports
- Ambassador
- Mark Pallack welcomed Mike Shelah welcomed Derrick Kelly, Waganer Video; Kurt Rauschenberg, McDaniel College Army ROTC; James Bell, Bio-Medical Research Resources; Cher Hunter, Pain Relief Therapies; Linda Bradley, EMA and Marion Ware, CMC. Other new members include: Andy Dalton; Technology Support Services and Jeff Selby, Data Processing Solutions, Inc.
- Compukids
- Bobby Keller reported the last give away night was held on Monday, April 9th. A total of 13 machines were given to families. PC speakers are still needed. Next scheduled workday is 21st at 9am. RSVP to Jeannine at jeannine@carrolltechcouncil.org, if you can volunteer.
- Golf
- May 17th at Wakefield Valley Country Club. Judy urged members to continue their efforts locating sponsorships and foursomes.
- Education Committee
- The Tech Council is in the process of developing courses exclusively for Tech Council Members. Alissa Harrington will issue an electronic survey this month, asking members to identify education classes. Alissa is also investigating the formation of a Technology Leadership Program. Please email Alissa at aharrington@carrollcc.edu if you are interested in helping out.
SAVE THE DATE: The Microsoft Bus will be rolling into Carroll County on Sept 21st at Carroll Community College. More details to come. Vendors and speakers are needed for this event. Contact Alissa if you can help with this event or are interested in setting up a vendor table: aharrington@carrollcc.edu - Technically Correct
- Richard Waganer is seeking ideas for the Tech Council's quarterly TV show. Rich is specifically seeking 5 minute news stories. Must be information based, not promotional. Email Rich at rich@waganer.com. Ron Harrington announced that channel 19 is currently airing coverage of the Dinner event.
- Technology Advisory Committee
- Currently working on Council of Governments survey results and formulating a plan for chosen key topics: Communications, Data Management & Disaster Recovery. Barb Schmidt announced that Jeff Selby recently joined the committee. Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 17th at 6pm in the Tech Council Office.
- Website
- Steve Williams reported that the committee is currently working to document and create a style and maintenance guide for the Tech Council site. This documentation will prove to be a valuable reference for future volunteers.
- Westminster City Advisory Board
- Tom reported that Dr. Wack and Marge Wolf are working on new direction for channel 23. The transition of the city's finance software package still underway; facing some challenges.
- CC Times Articles/TechNote
- Jeannine urged members to contribute CC Times articles; the articles do not need to be solely computer focused; any type of technology information is needed. FREE ADVERTISING! The Council is seeking members to be featured in the upcoming TechNote "Member Corner" issues. Members need to send a digital photograph; company logo and information to Jeannine to be have their company included in this new TechNote feature.
Member Announcements
- Mike Shelah: Teltek Open House: Live music and drinks! Wed, April 25th, 4-6PM
- Judy Stem: April is Earth Day month. To Celebrate, Judy is offering Tech Council members 10% off a Get Clean Starter Kit. Contact Judy Stem to order: 410-756-4744 or visit www.shaklee.net/jhstem
- Tom Canon: Westminster Fallfest 5th Annual Gala, April 14th at Martins.
- Christine Plater: Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) is meeting w/Larry Twele. MEDA will continue to meet local economic development officials; hoping to create a new synergy.
- Alissa Harrrington: 2nd Annual Seniors Keep in Touch Purse Auction will be held April 12-14th at the Carroll Arts Center.
- Ron Harrington acknowledged the success of the March BNI event and the council will continue to plan similar events in the future.
Next Month’s Speaker:
Joanne Hovis of Columbia Telecommunications
Broadband in Carroll County
