Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2010)
November 10 Free Geek helps environment by offering volunteer opportunities, recycling computers A ustin C ummins Imagine the mountains of discarded technology that we throw out: old computer towers, monitors, printers and televisions. Imagine all the waste that, if we found out ways to reuse it, we could recycle and give back to the community Free Geek provides that opportunity. We give Free Geek all of our obsolete equipment when they it is no longer functional. "Last year we donated all of the old white STRUT computers; that's 60 old computers that aren't going into a landfill," Angie Hammond, WLHS webmaster, said. Established publicly in 2000, Free Geek has been helping the community by recycling old computers Photo by Austin Cummins Free Geek volunteers disassemble donated computers for usable parts in the adoption program. West Linn High donates all of its old technology to Free Geek when it is no longer usable. The Art of Thai Cuisine - As trfe beconres m^ — the n ew T d m p tlterS STe complex, our dreams become more focused: A healthier planet. A healthier body. Noodles. Noodles? and other hardware that has been donated by the public. The usable parts are saved and reused by the volunteers to build new computers which are either given to other non profit organizations, earned by the volunteers or sold in their thrift store. Free Geek volunteers can choose from two types of jobs, the build program (learning how to identify and assemble the different parts into working computers) or the adoption program (taking apart and recycling the donated computers that are brought in for usable parts). After 24 hours of service in the adoption program, volunteers can earn their own personal computer and a discount at the Free Geek thrift store, which carries computer parts, accessories and other hardware. "I think it's a great opportunity," Nicholas Gilmore, sophomore, said. "My brother used to go there before me and now I go there to learn about computers." The more advanced job is the build program, where “Whatever’s slow, I guess,” Man said, grabbing his club and sallying forth. Okay, you think you know noodles, but if you knew “Could be squirrel. Could be saber-tooth tiger.” noodles the way Bo knows noodles you’d know that no noodles are truly And many were the days when the creatures were not slow, and man returned to the cave for great noodles till you’ve tried Typhoon! noodles. lorn, and empty-handed. The original comfort food. Then, struck with an idea he brightened and said: “You know, I’m really in the mood for noodles.” Since man first emerged from the cave, he has struggled with the same cosmic question: So use your noodle. You don’t really want saber tooth tiger for lunch. You’ve got bigger things on “What do you feel like for lunch?” your mind: And the response then, as now, was: “Uhh, I don’t A healthier planet. know. What do you feel like?” A healthier body. Back then, of course, if you wanted fast food, you Noodles. Two out of three ain’t bad. had to be faster. ;;V; DON’T WASTE LUNCH PERIOD WAITING FOR FOOD. TEXT YOUR ORDER BY 11:30. TELL US IF YOU WANT TO EAT IN OR TAKE IT TO GO! SHOW YOUR STUDENT OR STAFF ID FOR A 15% LUNCH DISCOUNT THROUGH NOVEMBER Typhoon! West Linn; 21900 Willamette Dr. (Hwy. 43); West Linn 97068; Just North of I-205 503.387-3688 W LH S students, text or em ail: w lhstextlunch@ typhoonrestaurants.com assembled. Volunteers learn about the different parts of a computer, how to build a complete computer system with a recipe and how to load it with Linux software. For every five computers a build volunteer assembles, they can keep the sixth one, and also are awarded the discount at the thrift store. Volunteers can join Free Geek without prior knowledge of computer technology, however they will need to take a tour of the facility before they can start working at either noon or 5 p.m. Volunteers are educated on parts of the computer that they will be working with until they can do it themselves. "I've had two technical assistants who have been to Free Geek," Hammond said. "It's great to have assistants with a prior knowledge in this field." Donating your old technology to Free Geek is easy. Simply call in advance to see if Free Geek can take your donation (Free Geek will accept almost all computers) and drop it off at Free Geek to be picked up. It is also appreciated if you can bring the cables and power cords that came with the computer. The Portland Free Geek is located at 1731 SE 10th Avenue in downtown Portland, open Tuesday through Saturday.
