SRA E-MAIL NEWSLETTER*
Issue # 54
May 2007
Ron Violette, Editor
Here we are summer is almost upon us. The NFL Draft is over, and fortunately USC did not have but a few players taken in the first two rounds. This means that most of the players are still here to go for the national championship this year. USC's graduation will be in a few days, and the campus will be much quieter. Len Wines and I will be doing the Newsletter over summer as usual. I will be doing the May, July, September, and November issues, and Len will be doing June, August, October, and December issues. Hopefully I will pick up some new Norwegian jokes while I am up in the Midwest this Summer.
NEWS FOR ALL MEMBERS
From SRA President, Carole Gustin:
We encourage you to attend the SRA Annual Business Meeting on June 4. Check-in will be at 11:30 a.m.; lunch at noon; Election of officers; review of bylaws; and an exciting program will follow. Slate of candidates and bylaws can be reviewed on the SRA website <usc.edu/sra>. Nominations may be made at the meeting.
Dues for those who pay dues yearly, it is time to renew. The SRA depends on the dues and gifts of our members to operate. Our mailings, copies, programs, special events, our portion of the Emeriti Center Retiree Community Newsletter — all require financial support. Thanks, in advance, for continuing your support.
On June 14, the SRA and RFA will cosponsor a program, “Identity Theft II,” a follow-up to the identity theft program offered in February. It begins at 10:00 a.m. in GERO auditorium. Coffee at 9:30 a.m.
On behalf of our SRA, a public THANK YOU to Bob Stallings for making our website so attractive and helpful and for being willing to keep us up to date. Bob, a retired faculty member from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development, is providing this service for all members of the Emeriti Center. He also founded the Help Squad — a free service to our retirees who have questions/problems with computers. Bob heads up the PC team, and Len Wines, an SRA retiree, takes the lead for us Mac users.
FROM DICK MARTIN- The SRA Griffith Observatory day trip to the Griffith Observatory will be on Wednesday, May 23, 2007, NOT on Thursday, May 24. We have had to make a change in the location and time for boarding the Shuttle to the Observatory (no parking is allowed at the Observatory), due to the scheduling of a high security event at the Hollywood Highland complex on May 23, causing that shuttle not to operate on that date. For those members who have sent in their reservations, Dick Martin will be mailing a new flyer, describing the following:
We will depart the Observatory Satellite FREE Parking Lot, at the South end of the L.A. Zoo Parking Lot in Griffith Park, at 1:20 p.m. on May 23, 2007. That lot is served by the MTA #96 bus from downtown Los Angeles, every half hour. The Observatory has kindly moved our reservations for the Oschin Planetarium Theatre Show, Center of the Universe, to 2:45 p.m. We still will start with a no-host lunch in the Horizon Café at about 1:45 p.m., for those who can wait that long for lunch. Questions: Dick Martin (323) 343-1146 or <dickmar@msn.com>.
Bob Knight, Ph.D.- would like to have a few Emeriti folks to volunteer for a research study he is undertaking. He would like to have a small group for 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 24, 2007, in the Gerontology Center building. It would take about 90 minutes, probably a bit less, but it's better to allow the full time.
Below is a sample letter with information sheet.
Bob G. Knight, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of Clinical Training
Department of Psychology
The Merle H. Bensinger Professor of Gerontology
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061
We are writing to ask if you would be willing to participate in a research study conducted by Bob G. Knight, Ph.D., from the Department of Psychology and the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California because you are an alumnus of USC who lives in southern California and are believed to be 60 years old or above. A total of 120 participants will be selected to participate, including some younger adults who are current students at USC. Your participation is voluntary. The study is called “Mood Congruence Effects in Older and Younger Adults.”
We are asking you to take part in this research study because we are trying to learn more about relationships between emotion and thinking in both younger and older adults. If you contact us and indicate that you are willing to participate, we will be in touch to schedule a convenient time for you to come to the campus and be interviewed for our study.
If you would like to volunteer, please contact Dr. Knight by phone: (213) 740-1373 or by e-mail <bknight@usc.edu>. If you respond by telephone, please leave your phone number in the message as we do NOT have telephone contact information for you.
HOPEFULLY HELPFUL TIPS
FINDING YOUR ANCESTORS: Here are a couple of free sites that may help you find your long lost ancestors: <http://www.familysearch.org>, (sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and <http://www.rootsweb.com>. This site is operated by <MyFamily.com>. It offers lessons for beginners and message boards for reaching out to other genealogists.
IN-STORE MEDICAL CLINICS: These medical clinics are becoming quite popular for minor medical problems. To find out more about them, check out the April 2007 AARP Bulletin, page 12. To find out if there is an in-store clinic near you or for more information, go to the website of the Convenient Care Association at <http://www.convenientcareassociation.org>.
STAMPS GO UP: On May 14, a first-class stamp will rise by two cents, to 41 cents. The Postal Service will also unveil the “forever” stamp. You'll buy these stamps at the prevailing rate and be able to use them anytime, even if the rate rises. (Editorial Comment: The Postal Service likely hopes you will lose them before you use them.)
TO SAVE OR NOT TO SAVE?: Now that your taxes are done, questions may arise about what paperwork you should save and what you can safely toss away. To get some good ideas on this go to the following AARP website: <http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourmoney/keep_or_shred.html>.
LOOKING FOR MUSICAL OLDIES FROM 1950 TO 1984?: This is a great site for playing tunes from these years. Go to <http://www.tropicalglen.com/>.
HELP IN BEING PREPARED: The Insurance Information Institute, which has been recognized by the media, government, regulatory organizations, universities, and the public as a primary source of insurance information for more than 40 years, offers a free downloadable house inventory program. Go to <http://www.knowyourstuff.org>. You have to download the program which only takes less than a minute. The computer requirements are listed so you will know if you have the capabilities needed. I did not yet do my inventory but according to the Military Officer Magazine, January 2007, page 25, “The program is easy to navigate, accepts digital photographs, lists dates and prices of items purchased and can be updated easily.” After completion, the idea is to copy it to a CD and store it outside the house. Sounds like a good idea. When one of you industrious readers complete your inventory, let me know how it worked and I will pass it on.
(It's been a rough week for me. For example, I called my wife today and asked her how she would like to
spend a romantic weekend at a fancy resort.
She said, “WHO IS THIS?”)
IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER
Ron's Law:
To err is human. To blame it on someone else is even more human.
Page of Len's Law:
How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you are on.
What's good about being a test tube baby? You have a womb with a view.
PLEASE NOTE: If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, have him or her send an e-mail to Len Wines at <len@winesland.net> asking to be added to the list. After you are on the list, you will remain on it until you unsubscribe. To do that, simply send an e-mail to Len at <len@winesland.net> with the word UNSUBSCRIBE SRA in the Subject.
*The content of this Email Newsletter is for the information of the members of the USC SRA. It is not a University of Southern California official publication. There is no intent to promote any particular product or point of view. Personal decisions regarding health, finance, exercise, or other matters should be made after consulting with the reader’s own professional advisors.