• Sowing the Seeds - St Marys School Garden Photos
• Australian native plants - photo galleries
• Wanalta Wisdeom - Kids at Elwood
• Youniversity of Rushworth - Lessons from a spiral staircase
• Cycle Collection Museum - Interest Continues in Cycle History
• Rushworth Museum AGM JUly 2009
• Bills Horse troughs Newsletter July 2009
• Mosaic Barn Kookaburras in garden
• Flying Scotsman model construction - tender chassis july 2009
• Kevin's Gum Blossom Images taken with his Canon PowerShot SX1 IS
• webDotWiz's Apollo 11 re-enactment - Splashdown (July 24) – Mission audio & commentary

Remember you'll find links to what the webDotWizards are doing in each fortnight's webDotWiz Online Column (www.webdotwiz.com).

webDotWizards are those people who come along to the Rushworth Community House on Tueday evenings and/or Friday mornings for a couple of hours of help with making the the most of all the resources available on the Internet.

The group was started in 2002 in the days of a dialup connection here at the Community House and most time was spent on finding out the best way to search and make use of email. As well, while waiting for web pages to come up on the computer, a few games were played too.

Times change and better technology came along – a broadband connection, more free online services and most people purchasing a digital camera has brought about a new landscape of what’s possible.

So now there’s no time for playing a quick game or two – the emphasis is on getting the most out of photos that people shoot as well as letting other people know about a favourite hobby or tips and tricks for using the Internet.

So lately, using some free software to edit photos, stitch a group of them into a panorama, create a 3D photo view of a garden, building or model, or create a movie story are all tasks that the webDotWizards spend their time on.

To show off their creations as well as share their photos and ideas, each has a website that’s free to set up and use as they wish.

However to show off their 3D photo views or their panoramas, they need another outlet on the Internet. So each has a page at www.webdotwiz.com.

So to keep up to date, visit

www.webdotwiz.com/webdotwizards.htm

where’ll you find links to each webDotWizard’s website and their page at www.webdotwiz.com that shows off their Photosynths (3D photo views) or panoramas.

Enjoy what the webDotWizards are doing but, even better, you can join in. The webDotWizard sessions on Tuesday evenings and Friday mornings are flexible in that if you miss a week or two then that’s ok. You’ll learn plenty of tips and tricks from others in the group and get plenty of new ideas.

Those webDotWizards with cameras have been busily snapping around the local area and then stitching their photos in Live Photo Gallery (a free download from http://photogallery.live.com) to create interesting panoramas.

To check out the latest creations, visit:

    http://rchdigitalcameras.spaces.live.com

To enable viewers to get the best experience with photos online, that is, to see photos in their original high resolution detail, some webDotWizards have been trying out a software application called Deep Zoom Composer (here's a link to get you started yourself).

Below are links to some samples/tests that have been created thus far.

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More Deep Zoom photo collections from the webDotWizards

Here are some more photo collections put together by some of the webDotWizards using Deep Zoom Composer so you get all the glory of their photos online:

 

• Bernie's Flower Madness (using some of Kevin's excellent photos)
• Genie's Dreamtime photo collection
• Waranga Basin Panorama

Drop into the Rushworth Community House at 67 High Street to view the complete collection of the photos that have been printed and are on display. 

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Talking about Nameless Things (Kevin's photos)

Please visit the Rushworth Community House at 67 High Street Rushworth to view a large collection of printed photos taken by Kevin. 

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Nameless Things

I have been selecting and printing about 130 different flowers for the local Community Centre. I had just completed this one that I'm not sure of its name.Looks like an Agapanthus but I thought they were only blue or white. I don't know anything about flowers except that i like to photograph them.

  

For a change of pace I started thinking about non flower things I didn't know the name of like this mountain at Tom Price in the Pilbara WA.

I later found out it is called Mount Nameless.

I still don"t know the name of the one above in nearby Karijini National Park.

The webDotWizards are continually enhancing their photos and using them to create panoramas and movies.

Here are some recent albums that you can view online. 

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Photo albums by webDotWizards

Here are links to some new photo albums created by the webDotWizards.

Included in these albums will be some panoramas created in Windows Live Photo Gallery.

Echuca, 13 May 2008 from Poppy Ironbark

Leadlighting from Poppy Ironbark

Unfurling the 2007 flag from Poppy (he's a Geelong fan)

Volunteer Awards at Shire of Campaspe (Rushworth Community House won the 2008 award)

webDotWizard webMaster George has updated his Live Space (http://billshorsetroughs.spaces.live.com) with more trough finds in NSW. 

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Bills Horse troughs updated - more troughs found

George has found more troughs!

 

The new finds are in NSW and he's posted photos and maps on his Space (soon to be copied over to his main site at www.webdotwiz.com/billshorsetroughs/).

 

By the way - because George added these new blog entries to his Space using Windows Live Writer, he can quickly come back and grab the HTML code and paste it into Editpad to add to his NSW troughs page at www.webdotwiz.com/billshorsetroughs/.

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Computers are not just for youngsters!

I have just returned home from another productive computer session at the Rushworth Community House. Webmaster Superior, Bernie Halpin of webDotWiz fame, patiently and systematically guided me through all the necessary steps.

It is amazing that a small town like Rushworth has some of the best brains available to guide novice webmasters like me. All I pay is $5 toward the use of the RCH computers. This is inexpensive continuing adult education at its best.

This morning I began to update all the non Internet Explorer browser pages on my website. This needs to be done from time to time to enable those who use search engines other than IE to access my website. There is still some more work to be done.

Achieving progress keeps our minds focussed. I try to attend the RCH on a weekly basis. I always wonder why lots more people would not use this wonderful educational facility. You do not stop learning at age 66!

Andre 

Have a read about George in the Waranga News.

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George featured in Waranga News 14-Sep-2006

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Do you know your neighbour, George Gemmill?

 

George answers everything you've always wanted to know about him.

 

In particular George talks about his special hobby, tracing the history and location of the Bills Family Trust horsetroughs around Australia.

From the Westprint newsletter of Sep 1 2006:

We have had a couple of emails recently asking about Bills Horse Troughs. Bills Horse Troughs are cement troughs that you sometimes see in country towns (or on the extensive list on the website). All are inscribed with the names Annis and George Bills. George Gemmill has been listing the remaining troughs on a website http://www.webdotwiz.com/billshorsetroughs/
Here are some details about George and Annis Bills that I found on the same website.
George and Annis Bills lived in Melbourne and became quite wealthy from a business manufacturing inner-spring mattresses. They sold their business and spent time travelling. Annis died on a trip to England, they had no children. Both George and Annis had a deep love for all animals and after Annis died George started building horse troughs around Melbourne. George continued to travel throughout Australia and after his death in 1927 a trust was set up to provide troughs for the relief of horses or other such animals either in Australia, the British Isles or any part of the world where necessary. Each such Horse Trough wherever erected to be inscribed with the name of Annis and George Bills. The trust was believed to be about 80,000 pounds.

George is one of the Rushworth Community House's webDotWizard Webmasters. He also has a Space at http://billshorsetroughs.spaces.live.com.

There are three computer courses running at the moment at Rushworth Community House - a beginner's course using Microsoft Word, an introductory course to Microsoft Excel and the webDotWizards Basic Web Design course. It's the latter that's mentioned below. All three courses are well attended and participants are enjoying the challenge of learning new ways to use a computer.

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webDotWizards Web Designer Group

The new webDotWizard web master group has now completed four weeks of their course and things are running smoothly. Their sites aren't up yet but that big day is not far away. Colour schemes have been pretty well sorted out, a top banner created and navigation buttons set up. The next big job will be to sort out a template page for those using Internet Explorer.

Each of the new webDotWizard web master already have their own MSN Space so are familiar with adding content on a regular basis to a web site (a very important aspect of maintaining a good site). By the way, the site each web master is creating is best viewed as the official repository of content whereas the MSN Space (perhaps containing the same content) is there for promotion and convenience of adding just a snippet of current news or information. Of course, an MSN Space is a simple means to show photographs too.

• Annis and George Bills Horse Troughs: www.webdotwiz.com/billshorsetroughs/ and http://spaces.msn.com/members/billshorsetroughs/
• Andre's Thoughts: http://spaces.msn.com/members/andresthoughts/ and http://users.bigpond.net.au/thehonourofhisname/