Donation Needed

[Nick Arrera]

Was trying to help a valued member last night figure out why his confuser won't boot .
We came to the conclusion that it would cost more to replace parts then to get a new one .
This member has no income and would never ask for any donations so i will.
For certain reasons i will not disclose his name at this time . if you feel you need to know before you donate you can e mail me at

Kingofkarpets@verizon.net or call me at 609 760 5028

I know times are hard for everyone now but if we can get enough members to donate a few bucks it will go a long way in resolving this problem .

One of our members can get a employee discount from Dell and has graciously agreed to do so.

Those wishing to donate can Pay Pal or whatever to T .
Don't send any money to me .

Thanks
Nick

[strip buster]

dj is a strong advocate for donations. mine go to my daughter.

[TFP Admin]

I moved this topic to "Website and Forum Support" because that's what it's about. Thank you to Nick for trying to help me and protect me at the same time. It was my computer that died and making that fact public knowledge, unfortunately, also makes this site in jeopardy of being hacked or vandalized. The last time I was without a computer for a short time, TFP was vandalized by someone - that was back in early February 2007.

My computer just would not turn back on a couple days ago. I did everything I knew how to troubleshoot it, but couldn't get even an error message. I called Nick, our resident computer guru, and he couldn't help either. He did some research and we talked several times on the phone, but still nothing.

The security and management of this site was just too important to be without a working computer for too long. I was able to borrow a computer for a few hours the first day and a couple hours the next, but I didn't have access to our server or any of my email and other important programs I use to manage and monitor this site.

I had no choice but to take an offer of a very short term loan from a guy I do occasional website work for. Since my health got bad several years ago, my income took a big nosedive. This is an expense I really can't afford and I appreciate that Nick is trying to help me recover from this.

The computer I got yesterday cost $888.70. I got donations from staff for 215.00 and I had 150.00 of my own money to contribute. But that still leaves me 523.00 in the hole. I need your help, if you can. I know this is a bad time of year and the economy for most of you has been very difficult. But in this case, as always, every single dollar helps.

If you can help in any amount, please click here: The Floor Pro Community PayPal Donations

Thank you very much,

Jim

[Nick Arrera]

Jon e mailed me that he is sending a donation to you T .

[TFP Admin]

I got it. I sent a thank you via PM to Jon.

Jim

[Jon Scanlan]

Nick Arrera said Was trying to help a valued member last night figure out why his confuser won't boot . We came to the conclusion that it would cost more to replace parts then to get a new one . This member has no income and would never ask for any donations so i will. For certain reasons i will not disclose his name at this time . if you feel you need to know before you donate you can e mail me at Thanks Nick

When I read this from Nick I thought of how many times Nick has helped me out with my puters. I immediately thought now is my time to say a big thankyou to Nick by helping out this "valued member" by sending a small donation so I emailed Nick to ask what would be a reasonible donation as prices etc are a lot different here in NZ. When Nick replied this morning I found out then it was our leaders puter that had died, which really didn't make any difference to me of who the member was. It was just a case of helping someone to help someone that has helped lots of others with his computer skills for free in the past. Nick even comes into my lounge from America for free. The puter experts here in NZ make you take your puter to them and then they charge you ripoff fees. Nick is good value.

[Kman]

Jon Scanlan said Nick even comes into my lounge from America for free. The puter experts here in NZ make you take your puter to them and then they charge you ripoff fees. Nick is good value.

Yeah, we just might keep him.

[TFP Admin]

Thank you, members, for the donations I received today. This morning I started the day at $523.00 in the red. Since then, Jon and 5 other members have donated to help me out of this mess.

At this time, I am now 238.00 in the hole. That's still a pretty big hole for me, so I hope some of you will be able to help me out.

I still have lots to be thankful for today, even with this trouble. My landlord and his wife fed me very well today and gave me plenty of left-overs for lunch tomorrow. The new computer is getting set up with all the programs I use to do my job here and I haven't had too many difficulties - although it is taking a LOT of hours to do. Thanks to some great members who have stepped forward to help me, things look like they will be back to normal soon.

Best R'gards,

Jim

[TFP Admin]

Final Update:

MADE IT! You guys have come through for me and I really appreciate it. I woke up this morning to another donation and pledges for more - enough to make it over the hump. It was a scary few days there.

The new computer is all set up now and working very well. It's got the new Windows 7 (Home Premium) on it and I was able to recover all my data files from the broken computer's hard drives (I got a Antec Veris Hard Drive Enclosure with the computer) and have things configured pretty much the way I like them.

The guy who lent me the money for the new machine will be very happy to get his money back. I am very happy to be able to count on so many of you - and I know that there are many who would have given if they could, but the times are very hard for a lot of people right now. I appreciate all the members who have given of their time and expertise to help each other and make this one of the best flooring forums in the ether.

Best R'gards,

Jim

[DJ]

i just gave.... guess i was too late ...had to work oh well.... sounds like it's all good... sorry

[TFP Admin]

Don't apologize, DJ, you did a very generous thing. As you said in your email, it will help with server and software expenses - those things are on-going. I appreciate all donations, big and small. Some people think a forum is free, but it's only free if you aren't paying the bills. Those bills, like any business with overhead, are substantial.

Thank you again. You have been very supportive of this site and I'm glad you like spending time here.

R'gards,

Jim

[TFP Admin]

I hope this isn't embarrassing to anyone, but I wanted to extend a public thank you to those who were instrumental in helping me through this hardship. Not everyone helped by giving money, but all gave their support in a way that turned this scary situation into just one more of life's exciting moments.

In no particular order:

• Nick Arrera
• Kevin Trevathan (Kman)
• Len Backus (LenBackus)
• Barry Carlton (barrycarlton)
• Jon Scanlan
• Tandy Reeves
• Roger Gerber (rgfloor)
• Darren Ramey
• Cate & Will McClard
• Brian Mravic (BrianM)
• Peter Lee (pblslee)
• Mike Currin (mcurrin)
• Mark Stevenson (cproader)
• Chris Mha
• Daniel Craigen (DJ)
• Randy (Lo Down)
• Deron Lopez (Hollywood)
• and the unnamed guy at Best Buy who steered me right and made me laugh

And thank you to all the rest of you who said prayers or sent positive thoughts my way.





Oh yeah, and thanks to the guy who sent a donation yesterday and said it was specifically for a large pizza... thanks for the heartburn, asshole.

Seriously though, thanks to all of you. Those guys and you (yeah, you, the one readin' this) are why I like this job you let me do.

Best R'gards,

Jim McClain aka "T"

[Kman]

Oh yeah, and thanks to the guy who sent a donation yesterday and said it was specifically for a large pizza... thanks for the heartburn, asshole.

Why did you eat the whole thing in one sitting? You should've ordered Tums as one of the toppings.