MAY 2020 - SENIORNET EDEN-ROSKILL
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May 2020
Chairman’s Report
Well, we are about to emerge from COVID-19 Level 3 to Level 2 once the powers
that be are satisfied that it is safe for all of us to do so.
Yes, there is a lot of “noise” from those who believe things should be moving down
the Levels quicker. Maybe they are right, and maybe they are being too hasty.
But at the end of the day, we have to accept that the people who are managing this
crisis will make judgements in the best interests of all New Zealanders.
Compared to what we hear of other countries horrific COVID-19 experiences, I am
glad and appreciate that I live here in New Zealand.
So, as far as resuming our in-house SeniorNet classes and meeting activities, it looks
like this will still be some way off.
Obviously, we still have on-going costs to manage even though we are not using our
Learning Centre facilities e.g. rent, website costs, Internet services etc.
We have indeed been fortunate in having the Mt Eden Senior Citizen Club as our
“Landlord”. Just prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, we had agreed to a request by the Senior
Citizen for a small rent increase on the $500.00/month rental we were paying.
Once we were aware that the COVID-19 lockdown would mean that we were not
going to operate as normal, we approached the Senior Citizen to seek consideration of
some rent relief given that we would not be deriving any income for the duration of the
lockdown.
Remember, they too are in the same position with curtailed activities along with loss
of income and ongoing costs to bear.
The Senior Citizens came back to us with the offer to reduce the rent to
$125.00/month. This we appreciated and accepted with a sigh of relief.
Sharing stories of how you are managing to cope with the current situation or even
stories about your interests could be beneficial to others. So, in this and future newsletters
we will include a “Members Corner”.
Contributions are very welcome. Just email them to me via the membership email
address sner.membership@gmail.com
In the meantime, keep safe, keep well, and as has been the saying in SeniorNet for a
long time – “Learn one new thing every day”.
Ray McDonald
Chairman
Keeping Connected
Connecting with family and friends has never has it been so more important than
now. Regular contact has been proven to be beneficial to one’s social and mental wellbeing.
In last month’s newsletter we outlined the ZOOM audio/video service. Did you give it
a try? We would like to hear about your experiences.
Copies of ZOOM User Guides can be requested via an email to our membership email
address: sner.membership@gmail.com
Food for Thought
HelpDesk via ZOOM
In order to provide support for members, we are looking at providing “HelpDesk”
sessions via ZOOM.
The idea is that we will schedule HelpDesk Zoom sessions on a specific days/times
for which members register with Dawn, our Class Coordinator. Dawn will take details of the
support you require so we know in advance what to expect, and which tutors are
appropriate to help.
You will receive, in advance, an email invitation to participate in the ZOOM HelpDesk
session. Please note that you will need ZOOM installed on your system/device but do not
need to create a ZOOM account.
Given that the free ZOOM session is limited to 40 minutes, we would initially look at 2
x 20-minute time slots.
I will oversee these sessions and provide input if needed.
If you are interested in taking part in this new venture, please contact Dawn in the
first instance, and we will see what can be arrange.
Chat Room via ZOOM
I have become aware that some Learning Centres have been organising ZOOM Chat
sessions for their members and thought that it is something that we could also try.
Admittedly, these LCs have quite small memberships and circulate invitations to all
their members. Having a large membership, we may have to consider inviting only those
who want to participate.
The idea is that members can pop in and out of the Chat session as they please. The
feedback that I have read from LCs undertaking this activity there has been a very positive
response from their members.
This concept provides an opportunity for members to have a bit of an in-person
virtual catchup with each other.
As mention in the HelpDesk item above, these sessions would be limited to 40
minutes.
Again, if you are interested in taking part in this new venture, please contact Dawn in
the first instance, and we will see what can be arrange.
Ray McDonald
Chairman/Technical Officer
2Family Research
Good news for those who like researching their Family History.
The Auckland Libraries have given access to Ancestry and Find My Past FREE, while they are
closed.
Go to the Library website: https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/
Use your Library Card and Password to login and gain access.
Members Corner
Lockdown - Colleen
I’ve enjoyed ….
• Competitions of creative endeavour on TV like mum dancing competition, best of lip
sinking, dads dancing etc
• Watching innovative ideas how sports people and families have adopted their sport
activities to keep fit
• Using social media to keep in touch e.g. Facetime with the grandchildren, Skype
Friday Happy Hour with my son and his wife
• The Student army – how Uni students throughout NZ have formed support groups to
shop and do messages for the ‘single bubble’ or elderly
• I discovered www.spendmysuper.or.nz where I can choose a charity of my choice
from a list of 10 to donate a one off from my Super or give on a regular basis to
others who may have needs greater than mine
• Walking and exploring around the neighbourhood without having to worry about cars
on the road if I widen my bubble or cross over to avoid other walkers
• Seeing families doing things together like riding their bikes, playing sport or doing
innovative activities
• Seeing people on TV or other social media sharing the innovative things they are
doing
• Daily broadcasts by the A team – Ardern and Ashley – keeping us up to date with
clear information
• How we have come to appreciate the ‘not so great’ or previously ‘important’ people in
our lives like supermarket workers, store stackers, delivery drivers, health workers
and so on
• Trying new ‘simple to make’ recipes from the Herald or Nadia or Jamie
• Keeping some of my connections alive through Zoom e g Book Club, committee
meeting
• Seeing ‘Made in NZ’ products on Facebook so we can support ‘local’ and discovering
there are some wonderfully creative people out there
• Time to work on my computer in peace
• The kindness of people everywhere
• Exploring my neighbourhood on foot as I walk past places I only ever race past in my
car!
• Working to my own pace and timetable without having to get dressed up and race off
to meetings, sessions, etc
• Catching up on jobs I long promised I would do
3I’ve missed
• Hugging my whanau
• A decent coffee
• Fresh crispy bread
• A big fat meaty Burger King/ Berger Fuel hamburger
• Going out to dinner
Volunteering - Sheila
In addition to serving on your committee, I am also a volunteer at Auckland Zoo.
I have had a year’s training in getting to know all the animals in the zoo and some
lovely stories about some of them, as well as facts and figures and am now a fully qualified
guide within the zoo.
The zoo is an amazing place to visit and although it’s a little bit hilly in places, you
just take your time and cover as much as you can in the time you have.
We have proper mobility scooters for hire, wheelchairs and pushers for little ones.
Just remember that to have a mobility scooter you would need to ring and book one
before coming into the zoo, preferably at least the day beforehand, or even
earlier.
According to the staff who are still working at the zoo the animals seem to be missing
the visitors as much as we are missing seeing them, which is quite interesting as most of us
would have thought that they would enjoy the peace and quiet.
Zoom - Cherie
I am pleased to say that I was introduced to Zoom at the beginning of Lockdown.
This is a great application and have used it almost every day for meetings, a four day
workshop, plus the odd virtual coffee/lunch.
One thing that has been beneficial is arranging for friends who live by themselves to
download Zoom so as we can have a chat and make sure everyone is okay.
I hope all is well with you and you are staying safe.
Some Apple news from Mark Webster
Apple Watch will now detect irregular heart rhythms (ECG) in New Zealand
Thanks to an OS update, watchOS 6.2 can be downloaded free
through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General
> Software Update. (To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to
have at least 50% battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to
be in range of the iPhone.) The watchOS 6.2 update brings ECG support
and irregular heart rhythm notifications plus it fixes an issue that could
interrupt music playback when switching from WiFi to Bluetooth connectivity.
(Read https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208955 on how to install it
on your iWatch)
4iOS and iPadOS 13.4 are significant updates, bringing several important new features to
the iPhone and the iPad. Most notably, iPadOS 13.4 introduces mouse
and trackpad support for the iPad to allow for greater precision and
improved navigation. https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/24/apple-
releases-ios-13-4/
Here’s everything new in the latest updates:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/03/24/everything-new-in-ipados-ios-
134
For Macs — macOS Catalina 10.15.4 also added Screen Time Communication Limits
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210387 and Real-Time Apple Music Lyrics.
Safari — Safari in macOS 10.15.4 and iOS and iPadOS 13.4 included enhancements to
Apple's Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature that allow for full third-party
cookie blocking (meaning safer browsing).
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/24/safari-full-third-party-cookie-
blocking/
Some tips
On Macs, remember the Option key!
Holding it down and clicking on anything with a mouse or trackpad
delivers extra, sometimes very unexpected features and capabilities.
Try holding it down and clicking on folders, files, even text you have
selected in emails or word processing documents. Also, hold down
the Option key and click a menu – often new items magically appear.
On iPhones and iPads — Remember the long press! This acts like the option key but for
iOS. Long-press (press-and-hold) on an icon on the screen, for example – but try it in other
places too, like in Messages
Some things to do
MyHeritage wants to help the genealogy community keep busy and
even have some fun during these challenging times. “That’s why we’re
giving all users free and unlimited access to MyHeritage In Color™, our new feature that
automatically colorises black and white photos, for an entire month. Ordinarily only 10
photos can be colorised by users who do not have a Complete plan, but now, you can
colorise as many photos as you’d like for free. https://www.myheritage.com/incolor
Apple Insider has published a list of apps and things to do at home
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/03/19/free-apps-and-things-to-do-from-home-during-the-
coronavirus-pandemic
Video conferencing
Remember that, while Zoom is owned by Facebook and has triggered serious safety
and security concerns all over the world, Apple’s Facetime is already on every device and
adheres to Apple’s privacy and security rules, including end-to-end encryption. (That means
that if someone intercepts a transmission, they just get noise – Apple encrypts the signal
5and it only decodes at the device chosen as the recipient). The only caveat is that Facetime
only works between Apple devices, so if someone has a Windows PC or an Android device,
they can’t be contacted. But recently, Facetime added groups so you can chat with several
people at once, and here is how to use it:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/03/23/how-to-use-group-facetime
If you do, however, want or need to chat with several people at once and some don’t
have Apple devices, consider the Houseparty app instead of Zoom. Houseparty is free,
works on Macs, Apple devices and Androids, and is more secure and safer than Zoom.
Look for it in the App Store.
Videos to Entertain – Just click on the links below. Once you have
viewer the video clip, close your browser and return to the newsletter for
the next video.
• Creative Social Distancing During COVID-19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4yjxpayPn8
• Delivery Robots Help Washington Stay Open During COVID-19:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEmjGo72a7g
• 3D Symphony Orchestra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXaJpCxNuF0
• Tom Jones – Don’t Help Yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BryllYufO2A
6SeniorNet Eden-Roskill Inc. - Committee 2020
Phone Email
Chairman Ray McDonald 828-8191 raymcdseniornet@gmail.com
Deputy
Hetty Goodwin 626-5809 hetty.goodwin@xtra.co.nz
Chairperson
Secretary Wendy Havelock 624-6767 suscens@gmail.com
Treasurer Paul Modrich 625-5135 pgmod@outlook.com
Membership
David Barnard 625-7102 dandwbarnard@gmail.com
Secretary
Technical Officer Ray McDonald 828-8191 raymcdseniornet@gmail.com
Class
Dawn Whiteman 624-1201 whitemandawn50@gmail.com
Coordinator
Committee: Alan Wild 838-1911 now2old2bwild@xtra.co.nz
Janet Lee 828-3098 janandjohn.lee@gmail.com
Colleen
0272315418 colleenmcmurchy@gmail.com
McMurchy
Sheila D'Costa 626-6712 sheilad365@hotmail.com
Learning Centre, 487 Dominion Rd, Balmoral. Phone 631-7591
Class Bookings: Alan Reid 524-6614 Dawn Whiteman 624-1201
Email: sner.bookings@gmail.com
Membership Enquiries: David Barnard 625-7102 Email: dandwbarnard@gmail.com
Disclaimer
Some of our Learning Centre members who have specialized computer
knowledge voluntarily give help to those with computer problems and also
give advice about purchasing computers etc. It is essential that SeniorNet
members are aware that such help and advice imposes no responsibility or
liability on those members who provide such help and assistance or on
SeniorNet Eden-Roskill Inc.
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