I've looked forward to the arrival of each Sacra Blue magazine in my mailbox for a good many years now. Next month (unless we see a drastic change in current circumstances) there will no longer be a Sacra Blue magazine. The magazine will be missed. To think we'll be seeing a postcard instead of Sacra Blue is almost depressing.
As you probably know (have you been paying attention?) we lose our esteemed editor, Chris Graillat, on this next issue. Chris uses the flimsy excuse of wanting to lead a normal family life and be able to spend some time with her teenage son. Can one be an Editor and raise a family? The club's history shows not.
For nearly 20 years we have been so very fortunate with finding talented Sacra Blue editors and being able to produce an award-winning magazine. Why we cannot find an editor now is a bit perplexing to me. We don't offer a large salary, but we do offer the prestige of editorship and the camaraderie of computer geeks citywide- not to mention how it looks on one's resume. One would expect that we could find at least one person in the greater Sacramento area that would be interested in editing our club magazine. Not all hope is lost, I suppose. We still might find an editor at some point to resurrect our club newsletter to replace that depressing postcard.
If you have been following the situation with Sacra Blue editors, you know that we were in a similar position last year when Eric Butow was exiting and we did not have anyone to replace him. The crisis was abated when Chris came aboard as our new editor- just in the nick of time. Chris has done a wonderful job. It is hard to know how we would have made it this far without her. We owe Chris a lot.
EGames, Inc.
Last month I paid for and downloaded a Mahjongg game from the online company eGames. My wonderful wife (and your dedicated Membership Director) Marsha loves to play the game. Finding her at the keyboard at 1 a.m. playing Mahjongg is not unusual in our household- but that is another story.
My decision to purchase this particular Majhongg product was based almost entirely on the way the product was advertised and presented while I was logged on to the eGames Web site. After installing the game, it quickly became apparent to me the product was not what was presented to me.
Not being one to let $15 go without at least whining a little bit, I sent email to eGames support staff. After a week's worth of email between myself and the support staff, it was clear that my concerns about the company's sales ethics were meeting deaf ears. I called eGames, Inc. in Pennsylvania and found the CEO to be Jerry Kline. After sending hard mail to CEO Kline, I was pleased (and surprised) when he wrote me explaining that they were changing how they presented their products. Mr. Kline and his VP Nancy Simpson sent the club three products, which we raffled off at the last General Meeting. Kudos and much thanks to Mr. Kline, eGames, Inc. and the staff.
New Officers
Congratulations to our new officers. We wish them well as they take on the club's problems this next year. Not only do we have the luxury of some new blood in the officer's ranks, but we also have the advantage of knowledgeable "old hands," who are intimately aware of our user group's most pressing problems.
