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  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementBase::execute($args = [], $options = []) should either be compatible with PDOStatement::execute(?array $params = null): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2244 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::current() should either be compatible with Iterator::current(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::next() should either be compatible with Iterator::next(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
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  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::rewind() should either be compatible with Iterator::rewind(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).

Thanks Free Geek! [2015-09-13]

We’re in the happy position of being awash in hardware again!  We spent a week bicycling in Oregon, but on the way home we passed through Portland to visit an important shrine of techno-philanthropy, Free Geek (www.freegeek.org).  This was our first visit, and it was truly inspiring!  Free Geek serves the community in so many ways: as a trustworthy handler of computer equipment donations, a meticulous refurbisher, a generous granter, a responsible recycler, a technology educator, and a role model for service to all.  The most exciting thing to me is that even if someone has no money, they can receive a full computer system (including legal software) for a donation of 24 hours of service to Free Geek.  That is truly making a difference in so many lives!

We had a 30 minute window for pick-up service at Free Geek starting at 10:15 on the day after Labor Day.  We rolled up in a U-Haul truck, which got a lot of laughter from the volunteers already there waiting for the doors to open.  We didn’t know how much hardware Free Geek would be able to give us, but our hopes were high.  Reneal is rather unusual in that our minimum specifications for equipment are pretty modest (Pentium 4 for computers, 17” for monitors), so we were thrilled to find that the shelves there were bursting with older 17” LCD monitors that are considered obsolete now in America, but are fabulous compared to the ancient (and ever-deteriorating) CRTs still used in high schools in the Philippines.  We left with 53 monitors!  The situation is similar with keyboards and mice, and we were very grateful to get a couple of boxes full of those as well.  Our only challenge now is to get everything tested and figure out how to allocate it all fairly across the many high schools that need it.   We also received five desktop computers, which will be used to support our 2016 projects.

We managed to weave a big pile of U-Haul blankets around everything to keep it stationary for the long drive back.  Our 30 minute pick-up window stretched to about 75 minutes in the process, but Dani and the other folks at Free Geek were amazingly patient with us as we rolled the cart back and forth from warehouse to truck.  At last we pulled down the door of the truck, locked it, and got underway.  The nearly 700-mile trip was a bit of a grind, but everything is now here safely and I’m in the midst of testing.  We’re hoping to get a lot shipped off to Cebu before we leave for Tanzania on October 1st so it will be there when we arrive in January.  A second wave will go out in late November.  THANKS FREE GEEK!  There will be many students and teachers who will benefit from your dedication and generosity!

Meanwhile, in the background of all of this activity, Neal has finished off the Tanzania servers and they just went back into their boxes today for final packing.  Packing is not my favorite job, but the clock is ticking down to October 1 so some quality time with bubble wrap and packing tape is definitely in my immediate future!