GADGET MAN GIVES ADVICE

Dave Waterman is the "Gadget Man." Some might say he is addicted, or at least obsessed by the electronic devices that are purported to make every aspect of our lives easier. But the 69-year-old Bakersfield man claims he is just "extremely interested" in gadgets and that he actually is restrained in his buying.

The Roomba robot that vacuums his bedroom, the cameras and electronic picture frames that capture his memories, the computers, cell phones, PDAs, GPSes, notebooks, "smart shopper" -- you name it -- that he owns are all necessary and thoughtful purchases.

Waterman knows so much about gadgets and owns so many that he gives lectures about them. Last summer, he gave a series of lectures -- how to buy gadgets and how to use them -- for the Kern County Library's baby boomer program. More recently, he spoke to the Bakersfield branch of the American Association of University Women about gadgets.

"You only should buy something that you honestly need, rather than something you just want," Waterman said, noting that too often purchases are made on the basis of peer pressure, glitzy advertising and impulse. And after the novelty wears off, many of our gadgets are left to collect dust on our shelves. We also may be too embarrassed or intimidated to admit we don't know how to use them.

Industry analysts estimate that the average American household spends $1,200 a year on new electronics. Our televisions, mobile phones, computers, etc., eat up 15 percent of our home's electricity use. The International Energy Association predicts by 2022, that figure will double. And by 2030, it will triple.

Our insatiable appetite for gadgets and their rapid obsolescence are creating mounds of e-waste. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports Americans dumped 205 million computer products, more than 100 million cell phones and PDAs, and 27 million TVs in 2007, the most recent year for e-waste disposal statistics. Only about 16 percent was recycled, with much of the remainder finding its way to the nation's landfills. A decade ago, e-waste wasn't considered a problem. Now Congress is crafting laws to "control it."

As technology advances, consumers can do little to curb the energy their gadgets use. Besides, today's gadget actually may be replacing yesterday's energy-hogging machine. Consumers also can do little to control obsolescence.

Just this month, manufacturers gathered in Las Vegas for the world's largest consumer electronics show. The fastest, sexiest, most eye-popping gadgets -- making this Christmas' hot sellers obsolete -- were unveiled. Tomorrow's mouth-droolingly must-have gadgets are on the drawing boards, getting ready to be unveiled at next year's show.

So what's a consumer to do?

Waterman offers his audiences three tips:

Do not buy impulsively

"Make sure you understand why you are buying a gadget and are certain you need it. I don't buy everything I see and want," he said.

Don't be the first to buy the latest gadget

You won't catch Waterman sleeping outside Best Buys to make sure he is the first through the door to snatch up the latest iPhone.

"I like to read the reviews. I want to know what people who bought it first think about it," he said. "Often manufacturers will discover the screen is too small or something. They will upgrade the next version and drop the price.

"I refuse to pay the beginning price. People who have to be the first to own something are paying for the R&D (cost of research and development). They are paying too much."

Do your research.

"Research what you need and what else is available to do the job," he said, noting that we often buy more technology than we plan to use. For example, rather than buying a "fully loaded" cell phone, we might be better off buying a less sophisticated and cheaper version, and complement it with a less expensive PDA.

Waterman says he takes his advice, spending a lot of time on research before deciding if he should spend his money and what he should buy.

Waterman has an electronics background that helps with that research.

After earning an associate of arts degree in electronics from San Diego Community College, Waterman worked for more than two decades for the Navy as an electronics technician at the North Island Naval Air Station. He later worked in communications for Union Pacific Railroad and for Lightspeed in Bakersfield.

Now retired, he volunteers to teach beginning computer classes at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in east Bakersfield.

The message he spreads in his gadget classes: You are never too old or too uninformed to learn how to use and enjoy the latest gadget. Just make sure you need it before you buy it.

And when one of Waterman's gadgets breaks or becomes obsolete, what does he do? He takes it apart to see what made it tick.

Like he said, he's not really a gadget addict. He's just "extremely interested."

This story written by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Jan. 22, 2010. See South Valley Solutions at http://www.svs2help.com/

VOLUNTEERS PROTECT ELEPHANT SEALS

It's 7 a.m. George Larson slides behind the wheel of his white Toyota Camry. His wife, Sandra, makes herself comfortable in the passenger seat. She knows she soon will be dozing off, leaving her husband to drive them safely to their destination, more than two hours away.

It’s a ritual the Shafter, Calif., couple has followed nearly every week for the past five years. It’s their trek to the Central California coast, where they volunteer as docents, or guides, at Piedras Blancas, a rookery for elephant seals, north of San Simeon on Highway 1.

“We probably travel the farthest of all the docents,” said Larson, whose fascination with elephant seals dates back to the early 1990s, when the huge, oddly shaped, magnificent animals took over a once popular fishing and hiking beach.

At first, George and Sandra Larson simply joined others who pulled off the highway to gawk at the elephant seals’ invasion. “We were able to get so close to so many wild animals.”

But that closeness became a problem. As the number of seals increased, contact with humans, particularly with people who also wanted to use the beach, created conflicts. While elephant seals may appear docile and harmless, they are wild and powerful animals.

To protect both humans and elephant seals, Friends of the Elephant Seal, a non-profit organization, was established. The organization trains docents, who help separate humans and elephant seals, while promoting better understanding of the animals and their habitat.

George Larson, a retired Shafter High School teacher, and his wife, Sandra, who retired as an administrator with the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, trained in 2004 to become docents, beginning their regular trips to Piedras Blancas. Often they are accompanied by friends Jim Siler and his wife, Margo, retired Richland School District teachers. Jim Siler became a docent a year ago.

George Larson is now on the board of the Friends of the Elephant Seal. He recruits volunteers to become docents through service club presentations and word-of-mouth. Three weekend docent training sessions will be held in October. To sign up or learn more about volunteering, go to www.elephantseal.org or e-mail Larson at glarson@bak.rr.com.

“I have always liked animals of all kinds. But these wild animals are fascinating,” said Larson, who is no stranger to animals. His father, who worked in the race horse business, moved his family to Shafter when Larson was 15. Harness racing was popular in those days, with ranches and training tracks scattered throughout California. Larson’s father was the superintendent of a Shafter ranch, handling breeding and training operations.

But the athletic son wanted to play football and baseball, instead of going into horse racing. He enrolled as a history major at the University of Redlands, in Southern California, where he met Sandra. Later he went into the Marine Corps for eight years, enrolling at California State University at Humboldt when he left the military. Initially he hoped to pursue a career in the parks service. But agencies were not hiring and he returned home to Kern County to begin a teaching career.

Being a docent has combined his two career interests – teaching and parks service. Docents answer the questions of thousands of visitors from throughout the world who pull off Highway 1 at Piedras Blancas to watch the elephant seals.

The Piedras Blancas parking lot falls under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Transportation. In recent years, the Hearst Corp. donated the five miles of coastline to the California Parks Department to protect the elephant seals’ habitat.

As are most volunteers and paid staff associated with California parks, Larson and fellow docents are worried about budget cutbacks that threaten to close 100 state parks. But the state’s concerns about liability, lost revenue and obligations to private contractors have stalled the announcement of park closures.

“Docents save state parks a lot of money,” Larson noted, explaining that without the docents’ presence at Piedras Blancas, security and other staffing would have to be increased. Friends of the Elephant Seal also raises money for improvements to give visitors a better view of the animals.

Sheryl Watson, a state parks spokeswoman, agrees that the willingness of people to volunteer is critical in these financially stressed times. Watson’s department is seeking corporate sponsorships and collaborative arrangements with local government agencies to keep the gates open to some state parks.

And while volunteers alone cannot replace specially-trained laid-off employees or make up the difference in the shortfall of tax revenues to operate state parks, they can help with maintenance, visitor services and fund raising.

The Parks Department so values its Central Coast volunteers that they rewarded some with the most donated hours with a special dip in the outdoor pool at Hearst Castle last month. George and Sandra Larson were among those invited.

Watson noted that many opportunities exist for people to volunteer in state parks. Go to the website www.parks.ca.gov and click onto: “Become a Parks Volunteer.”

“Every day I spend over there [Piedras Blancas] as a docent is like the best day I had teaching,” said Larson, whose rich, three-decades-long Kern High School District career included teaching history and coaching a variety of sports.

HOW TO VOLUNTEER

To become a docent at the elephant seals’ Piedras Blancas viewing area, go to www.elephantseal.org. Three weekend training sessions will be held in October.

To become a volunteer in a California state park, go to www.parks.ca.gov, click onto “Become a Park Volunteer.”

In photo above, George Larson explains the elephant seals' habitat to visitors.

A version of this story written by Dianne Hardisty appeared in The Bakersfield Californian on Sept. 22, 2009.