Monday, November 15, 2010

Where does this go?


Have you ever watched the lions at Sea View Lion Park on a Sunday afternoon at feeding time??? Now replace the food in that equation with computer parts, and the lions with computer club members - and then you'll have a pretty accurate description of what happened at tonight's club meeting. :-)

But first, the agenda.
  • Taking register
  • Photo competition
  • Next meeting's guest speaker
  • End of year function ideas
  • Lesson: Hardware one 0 one

Photographic Competition

It seems that all my begging paid off. I finally received all the entries for the Sunridge Computer Club Photographic Competition. There were some "ok" ones, some good ones, and then there were some truly fantastic photographs. I think I already have my favourite but, it is not my decision. I'll leave that for the expert. I will rename all the photographs with just a code to ensure a completely unbiased decision, and send it off to Beverly Darlow Photography for the judging by Wednesday, the 17th of November. Well done everyone!

Next Guest Speaker

Our next guest speaker is from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The date for that is Monday, 29 November 2010. But more about that later.

PARENTS, Please Help

I thought it would be nice for the computer club to round off the year with a bit of a year-end function - something purely social. As you probably know, the computer club has no funding of it's own. What I'm asking from you, the parents, are any of the following: 1) ideas, 2) sponsorship, 3) venue; 4) transportation. Just something small. Maybe a picnic, or pizzas somewhere, perhaps braai hamburger patties and have hamburgers, etc. Some of the members suggested going to the beach. I'm concerned about safety and transport but if those two obstacles can be overcome then it is also an option. I will give you some time to think about this before I bug you with an email message on Friday asking you for help.

Lesson: Computer Hardware

I set up two long tables in my lab filled with computer parts and started the lesson with a "this does that, and that works like this" lecture. We discussed some of the main computer components like: hard drives; CD/DVD drives; memory chips; IDE cables; power supplies; CMOS batteries; circuit boards; ports; central procession units; etc. We looked at how they work together, the do's and the dont's, the "is" and the "was", and so on.

Then I allowed the members to disassemble and explore all the parts WITH ONE CONDITION - "you must be able to put back together what you take apart". Hehee Easier said than done.

It was obvious that everyone had great fun, and there was no lack of engagement. It became clear that my members were not content with just taking one or two covers off. They insisted on getting right down to the core of the object. I was amazed at how far the girls got with the CD ROM drive of an old laptop. Even an old keyboard was stripped down to the point that I hardly recognized it. Some of the boys basically took the whole computer box apart. One or two did a good job with taking their fingers apart too. Sorry about that Mom. But hey, what's a little blood and sweat in the name of science...

Putting it all back together again went better than I thought. Although, judging from all the spare screws I was suddenly left with, I think there was some cheating involved here. :-)

This lesson really should have come with a "Don't try this at home" warning.

Announcements

  • Next club meeting = Monday, 29 November at 17:15
  • Winner of Photographic competition to be announced before next meeting

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