Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

ENews August 1 2025

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OLLI E-News August 1, 2025
Print a condensed pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper.

First Session (July 1) of a Five-Session Summer 2025 Course on Climate Change: What Can One Person Do? By Peggy DiVincenzo and Renee Purdy;
Available on OLLI Website

August 1, 2025


Editor of the Week: Paul Van Hemel
Table of Contents

Alerts & Notices

  • Reminder: the OLLI office will be closed for summer break from August 1-15.
  • You should find your fall term catalog in the mail. If you do not receive a catalog by the end of July, please contact the OLLI Mason office.
  • The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, August 15; the regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, August 12, at 6:00.

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From the Desk of the Executive Director
Thank You to OLLI Volunteers


By Lisa Mariam, Executive Director


Part of our external audit involves calculation and confirmation of our volunteer contributions to OLLI.  I was working on that calculation and it’s so impressive how many hours OLLI members contribute to make OLLI run smoothly. Nearly 600 volunteers dedicated over 7,600 hours in 2024! As a member driven organization with a small part-time staff, we literally could not function without member volunteers.

On behalf of OLLI, I want to thank each and every volunteer for all that you do. Whether it’s recruiting instructors and selecting proposals on the program committees, coordinating trips to local sites, sharing your interests in clubs, teaching a class, staffing the front desk in the office, keeping our gardens looking beautiful, helping to spread the word about OLLI and recruit new members, ensuring our classroom technology is up to date and humming along, producing this newsletter, or all of the other work that happens behind the scenes to make OLLI the premier lifelong learning program in Northern VA, I want to thank you.

If you haven’t yet volunteered, I encourage you to reach out to a committee chair, Board Member, or staff to see how you can help. We also have several open positions including the Diversity Advisory Group. Many committee chairs are long serving and would welcome fresh perspectives and, as they say, many hands make light work. Volunteering for OLLI not only helps improve the programs you enjoy, but research proves it’s good for your health and wellbeing too!

Thank you,
Lisa
 

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Wednesday Conversation Topic for August 6
By Brenda Bloch-Young and Doris Bloch,
Co-Moderators
Team Bloch (Brenda Bloch-Young and Doris Bloch) moderate an OLLI social chat room every second Wednesday. Our topic to discuss on August 6: What is a chatbot? Have you engaged with one? On a regular basis? Was he/she useful?
      
Chatbots are virtual assistants, useful for many tasks, e.g., summarizing research, writing or reading resumes, finding phone numbers, and answering simple questions. Some of them are text based, while many of the newer ones are voice based. Think Siri, Alexa, CoPilot, or Gemini. Some chatbots greatly resemble live communicators. They can even provide virtual friendship.
 
What has been your experience with a chatbot, and was it positive or negative?
 
Find the Zoom link for the Wednesday Conversation on the OLLI daily schedule the morning of August 6 and join us.

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Computer Club
3rd Saturday, August 16
AnyList
Check Windows RAM For Errors With MDSCHED

By Paul Howard , OPCUG Program Chair


The Computer Club (OLLI Personal Computer User Group, or OPCUG) will meet with its partner, the Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society (PATACS), on Saturday, August 16, in person and via Zoom. The Zoom session opens at 12:45.
 
AnyList—Presented by Letitia Labell AnyList is a versatile application originally designed to keep track of your grocery list, but which can also be used to manage many kinds of lists. This app, which is available for iOS and Android devices, also has a web interface, so it can be used on any device. The best part of the app is that the lists can be shared among users, so anyone in your household can add items to the lists, and the lists sync automatically. If you like to have your groceries delivered (or ready for pickup) there is also an option to send your list to the grocery store’s app. There are many more features, such as collecting and organizing recipes, planning your meals, and adding pictures to your lists. You can also use AnyList to keep track of chores and other activities. You can make your life easier and more organized with AnyList.

Leti Labell loves computers. Although she started working as a programmer, she spent most of her career managing projects, both for software development as well as for non-computer projects. But throughout it all, she loved using computers to accomplish things in the best way possible. Now happily retired, she is still an avid technology user. Her current passions are the Italian language and all things Italian, as well as cooking and learning about ethnic foods. She uses her iPhone, iPads, and PCs to keep track of everything. Leti is the Coordinator of OLLI’s Ethnic Eats club, Membership Chair of OLLI Personal Computer Group (OPCUG) and a member of the PATACS board of directors.
 
Check Windows RAM For Errors With MDSCHED—Presented by John Krout This session introduces the MDSCHED utility. Its purpose is to test and diagnose Random Access Memory (RAM) on your Windows computer. MDSCHED has been included in Windows since Windows Vista in late 2006. Such a diagnosis can help if your Windows computer crashes frequently, especially if it does so without telling you.

John Krout is a frequent presenter at our meetings on a wide range of computer, technology, and photography topics.
 
See full details on this meeting by clicking here. For information on the Computer Club, see the OPCUG Website. OPCUG dues are $5 and are now due for 2025 (and 2024, if you didn’t get around to paying earlier!)—see http://olligmu.org/opcug/comm.html for details on making payment.

To attend via Zoom’s cloud meeting service, beginning at 12:45, please click the link https://olligmu-org.zoom.us/j/86376591329?pwd=MwC2qGgzIOa6nG7TZItKb9jGycuJWG.1 to join the meeting and use passcode 218440 (Note: enter passcode with NO spaces) or enter meeting ID 863 7659 1329 in the Zoom app and use the above passcode (preferred method), or dial in at 301-715-8592.

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Poet's Corner
Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop

This Morning
 
I’m in a state
between sleep and wakefulness
reminding me of my father’s heavy
green 1952 Buick
with its smooth, slow, steady, and yet
wavery
Dynaflow transmission
sounding as though it couldn’t decide  
which gear to be in.
Yet it never let him down.
My father bought that car in 1954
sold it in 1956.
Why
Does its deep, pleated seats remind me
of the state between sleep, wakefulness,
 
and safety.
                                   –Ed Sadtler

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Arts & Music at George Mason
Performances August 1 through August 11


By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer


For tickets for either Center for the Arts Concert Hall (CFA) or Hylton Center, call 1-888-945-2468. You can also buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below) or visit the venue's box office. For more information, see the CFA ticket page or the Hylton Center ticket purchase page.

Dr. Linda Apple Monson produces a periodic “Notes from the Director.” This email is full of information on interesting online performances by the students and faculty of the School of Music. If you would like to receive these bulletins, just sign up at this link to stay in touch. Also, the Center for the Arts has a website, Mason Arts at Home, which has a calendar of online events and access to many past performances.

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At the Fairfax Campus Venues

Mason String Camp Final Concert
Fri Aug 1, 2:15
Center for the Arts Concert Hall
Admission: Free
Mason Student and Faculty Performances

(see music.gmu.edu for additional student recitals)

No performances

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At the Hylton Center (Manassas Campus)

No performances

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For further details on any of the above events, see the CFA event calendar and the Hylton Center event calendar.

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Meetings & Clubs

Please note: OLLI Meetings and Clubs may currently take place in several formats: some are in person only, some are online only, and some are hybrid, meaning that they take place in person and are accessible online simultaneously. OLLI events and activities meeting online bear the identification "Z" in their course or event number (except clubs; you may need to check the OLLI calendar and daily schedule email for location and other event information).

The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office. The list is accurate as of mid-week. Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, kick-off coffees, etc. The OLLI office has sent (or will send) emails with links and meeting passwords to club members; you may also log in at the member portal and click on ZOOM CLASS LINKS.
 
Sat Aug 2 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online
Mon Aug 4
 
 		  9:30 am
11:00 am
 4:00 pm		 What’s in the Daily News? – online
Poetry Reading Club – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue Aug 5
 
 		  2:00 pm
 4:00 pm
 4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Mah Jongg Club – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed Aug 6


 		 10:30 am
12:00 noon
 2:00 pm
 4:00 pm		 Investment Forum – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Memoir and More Writing Group – online
Spanish Club – online
Thu Aug 7
 
 		 11:50 am
 3:00 pm
 4:30 pm		 All the News – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Fri Aug 8
 
 
 
 
 		  9:30 am
 9:30 am
11:00 am
11:30 am
12:00 noon
 2:30 pm		 Photography Club – online
Crafts and Conversation (Location TBD)
Homer, etc. – online
Cooking Club
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tallwood Book Club – online
Sat Aug 9 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online
Mon Aug 11
 
 		  9:30 am
11:00 am
 4:00 pm		 What’s in the Daily News? – online
Poetry Writing Club – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue Aug 12
 
 		  2:00 pm
 4:00 pm
 4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Mah Jongg Club – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed Aug 13
 		 10:30 am
12:00 noon		 Investment Forum – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Thu Aug 14
 
 		 11:50 am
 3:00 pm
 4:30 pm		 All the News – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Fri Aug 15
 
 		  9:30 am
11:00 am
12:00 noon		 Crafts and Conversation (Location TBD)
Homer, etc. – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Sat Aug 16
 		 10:30 am
 1:00 pm		 Tai Chi Club – online
Personal Computer User Group

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About OLLI E-News

OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.

Editorial Staff
Chief Editor: Paul Van Hemel
Associate Editor: David Gundry

Weekly Editor Team: David Gundry, John Nash, Paul Van Hemel 
Proofreaders: Rebecca Jann, Susan Van Hemel, Thomas Appich, Martha Kossoff, Anne Hartshorn, Bonnie Becker, Carol McManus

Submissions: Members are encouraged to submit letters to the editor, letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit (on etiquette matters), OLLI-related news items, articles, and photos. Submit material to: [email protected].
Deadline: Tuesday, 6:00, for that week's issue (Monday, 6:00, for letters to the editor); early submissions are greatly appreciated. Please limit articles to about 250 words.
Note: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News on the DocStore. To search the content of issues, use Search Our Site or put your search term in Google followed by "site:olli.gmu.edu/" without the quotes.

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OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE
AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

4210 Roberts Rd. Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384
Email: [email protected]

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