by Charlene Brown

andy was born thirty-eight years ago in LaSalle, Quebec, and it was there, in Grade 8, that he was first introduced to computers. He was soon into programming, using pencil-coded cards, and mastering the school’s French, more-or-less IBM-compatible system. After high school, he became involved in sorting out a friend’s hardware manufacturing start-up problems--a challenging educational experience that rapidly provided Randy with a broad-based grounding in all aspects of computer hardware.

When Randy joined the Canadian Forces in 1988, he naturally focused on naval electronics technology, and progressed to a position with responsibility for everything related to electronics on board ship. When he returns from his current tour in the Middle East, he will be assigned to the Naval Officers Training Centre Bridge Simulator at Work Point. In his position there, he will be responsible for maintenance of all the computerized hardware--projectors, radar simulator, and communication electronics--associated with this complex training facility.

Paralleling his naval career, Randy was developing his home computer expertise, having acquired his first one in 1985. Since then, he has upgraded and hybridized his equipment regularly, judiciously "staying just behind the bleeding edge" of the rapidly-evolving technology, according to Clive Amos, writing about Randy when he was previously named Volunteer of the Month in September 2000. For example, he picked up a 286 in Hong Kong while on a Navy cruise in 1990 at a fraction of the price of the then recently introduced 386.

Randy's main contribution to our club is the work he puts in on upgrading and maintaining the computers. Since joining BB&C in 1993, he has been our "hardware guy." In presenting his Volunteer of the Month award at the June meeting, Clark Mohr mentioned that it’s not unheard of for Randy, on returning from sea duty, to head over to the club first thing to see what needs fixing!

According to John MacGregor, if we each made a list of people believed to contribute most to the club over the last several years, Randy would be in the top ten of everybody’s list. But, John feels that even this observation understates things, because Randy does his work mostly on his own, unobserved. And, he "has skills in his chosen field--and it’s a field the club needs desperately--that are unsurpassed."

But, that isn’t all Randy does--over the years he has been on the lookout for software that members might find useful. His many contributions to the Newsletter began with a summary of the recommendations he had posted to our Software Newsgroup.

He also wrote a very helpful article ‘On-line Gaming for Everyone’--aimed accurately at those of us who pretend the reason we don’t buy computer games is because they’re time-wasters, when in fact the reason we don’t buy them is because we’re not very good at them. "No games on your computer? Ever wished you had a few games handy to keep a grandson/granddaughter busy for an hour or two?" His article began diplomatically . . .

This great attitude, always ready to lend a hand, is revealed in the irresistible opening lines of Randy’s many Newsletter Reviews . . . "This is my latest run at finding good free software that works." (Free Surfer) . . . "Well I guess I can let you people in on a little program I’ve used to get rid of spam." (MailWasher) . . . "I recently had a chance to install and evaluate Libranet Linux version 2.7, so I thought I would like to share this with all of you." . . . "I went on a hunt for free anti-virus software figuring that AVG would probably be the best available." (Avast! 4.0) . . . "My latest spin around the internet in search of great free Windows XP programs has brought me to a program called Spybot Search and Destroy." . . . "Finding your Windows 2000/XP machine a little sluggish? Wishing that you knew enough about the registry to clean out all of those useless entries?" (RegScrubXP) . . . "I was looking to find a freeware program that would do a proper clean-up of unwanted files on my hard drive. Well I think that search is finally over." (Clean Disk 2002) . . . "Well, lo and behold, my search has led me to find one of the best download programs yet." (Star Downloader) . . . "If you’re interested in learning what’s in your machine, give this a look. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the details this program conjures up." (Fresh Diagnose) . . . "If you are looking for a free office suite, take a look at this one--you'll be impressed!" (Open Office)

When asked if there was any aspect of the club’s operation that he felt could be improved, Randy mentioned internal communication. Having found the Newsgroups so useful himself, he feels that not enough members are accessing them regularly. He believes we should all have our computers set up to monitor the Newsgroups in which we are interested on a regular basis. Adding that there should be frequent postings to the Newsgroups, he mentioned that the Seniors Newsgroup is better than most in this regard, having timely tips, Q&A, and announcements about weekly meeting presentations. He is not in favour of an electronic-only Newsletter, as he feels it’s important to maintain communication outside the club through distribution of the print version. However, he added that if there’s money to be saved by printing fewer issues, members who agree to receive the Newsletter on-line should pay a reduced membership fee.

Some good suggestions from someone who knows what he’s talking about . . ..