First things first. I have been contacted by a couple of EUG members asking if EUG was in financial trouble. The questions were posed because firstly, I advertised a number of items for sale and said that all proceeds would go to EUG funds. Secondly, because I suggested that members might like to subscribe yearly and thirdly because the stamps on EUG #17 were second class ones.
The items I had for sale had been collected by me over a number of years mainly because I didn't want to throw out anything that might be useful. My wife has now said that I have to leave at least half of the space in our house free for moving around in and so these things had to go. I did manage to sell some things but a lot remains. If you fancy something, the prices can be seen as a guide. Make an offer. I would hate to put this stuff out as much of it is quite good. EUG may as well benefit from any income as anyone else.
The yearly subscription idea was a follow up from an earlier suggestion from a reader. EUG #15, if my memory serves me correctly.
The second class postage, I was going to do anyway and spoke to my wife about it but later thought the Christmas edition was an appropriate time. My wife, as she has pointed out, cannot read my mind and so posted them second class.
Talking of monitors, I recently tidied the EUG desk and positioned my Elk power supply snugly behind my monitor. When I switched on the Elk again, the screen was slightly wavy. It was difficult to see and enough to make me feel uncomfortable. The problem of course was that the power supply was behind the monitor. That is why it has a long lead, and before I thought it was just to make life more difficult.
As you know, I post disks in brown envelopes. In the time I have been running EUG, I have sent out over 1,000 disks and have to date had about fifteen returned because of damage in the post. Now I have had members apologising for having to return a faulty disk and many suggestions that disks would be better packed with scrap cardboard.
Let me say this. If a disk is faulty, or indeed there is any other problem with EUG, and you don't tell me, then I can't do anything about it. So you don't see the result of the efforts members make and I might repeat mistakes which led to your problems with other members. You are not bothering me by telling me about problems with EUG. I don't take these things personally and I get more satisfaction from running EUG if I know everything is working well. So if there are problems, mistakes or anything else, please write or phone and say so. Phone especially because I love talking.
As far as the better packing is concerned, the figures speak for themselves. Scrap cardboard in the quantities needed amounts to a lot of scrap cardboard, increased postage costs (hence an increase in subscription rates) plus the increased cost of administration. It is cheaper to simply replace the occasional disk. This is the economics of the Nineties.
Anyway, keep those submissions coming in. Does anyone understand everything about the new telephone codes?
PS. I have just been told by a 'friend' that the above sounds like a headmaster's speech at a weekly school assembly. It doesn't, does it?
Gus Donnachaidh, EUG #18