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.