Chamblee54

With the world one month into covid19 lockdown, I decided it was time to broadcast. Everyone was having virtual meetings online. It was time for this neo-luddite to join to show. But how?
I don’t have a smart phone, or a laptop. My phone is an ATT flip phone, which I am told is really a smart phone. Finding the app online is too much work for this device. If I am going to zoom with the zoomers, I need to get a microphone. I had a 2000 era webcam, which can serve until something better comes along. Or so I thought.
Hank Green suggested a microphone. Amazon said “Get it as soon as April 22 – 27 …,” which was not helpful. An hour or so later, I find a mic at a local retailer. I place the order, and get the confirmation. I drive to Marietta, and ushered into the retail facility. Everyone is wearing a mask, and acting nervous. They do not accept cash. The package is handed over, the credit card swiped, and I am on my way home. The rude, aggressive drivers are not staying home.
Now, to get a camera. The web cams I see online look a lot like regular cameras. This does not mean that a Finepic T-400 will work online. That golfball shaped webcam, from 1999, quit working around the time of Windows Vista. It looks like a camera is going to be needed.
A few minutes later, a few webcam options turn up. Unfortunately, none of them are in stock, anywhere. Apparently, I am not the only person trying to play zoom catch up. Finally, I see a computer shop downtown. The lady seems to say that she has a webcam, but is closing the shop in a half hour. I run down there. The lady says that she can have the camera for me the next day. Twenty six hours later, I get a phone call. I go back downtown, and get a cheesy box, with a device inside.
A community I am in is having a virtual heart circle. I plug the camera in, and figure out how to make it stay on top of the monitor. I plug the microphone in, and click the link. I am now a part of the zoom generation. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.