August 1, 2014
Dear Everyone:
I’ve been fax-hunting.
My Homeowners Association uses a property management company that is
located in Southern California.
And our property management representative, “Sally”, actually
lives in Las Vegas.
Apparently, this was all inherited when a development company bought the
apartment buildings and converted them into
condominiums.
In any case, most communications take place via phone, email and fax.
Someone gives/sends paperwork to “Sally”.
She emails it out to all three Board members and faxes a copy to
the office. (Yes, our
Association actually has its own office.
A holdover from when it was part of the Sales Office.)
Typically, there is a brief “discussion” via email, then I walk across
the street to the office, sign the paperwork and fax it back to “Sally”.
We only actually see “Sally” when she comes to the bi-monthly
Homeowners meetings.
We, meaning I, saw her last week and that’s when she reported a problem
with the fax machine.
Actually, it’s a “4-in-one”, a fax AND a printer AND a copier AND a
scanner. And it takes up a
large amount of real estate on the ancient wooden desk, also a leftover
from the sales office days.
Meanwhile, only the fax and copier work, since it has never been
connected to a computer.
“Sally” and I tried sending a fax and got a message from the machine
that the document feeder wasn’t working.
So we tried placing a page directly on the glass and sending it
that way; and got a different message that the machine was “…unable to
scan, copy or fax…” Bummer.
I’m not sure how old this machine is, but they all have moving parts and
moving parts wear out, get tired or just plain break.
Then earlier this week another Board member and I were looking at
information about some possible new gym equipment and she wanted to fax
it and, once again, machine not working.
Time to get a new fax.
So I emailed the other two Board members and started on a fax
fact-finding expedition.
Here’s an interesting fact:
The earliest machines were called “telecopiers” because they transmitted
a copy across a distance, using telephone lines.
I used to work with one in the office in San Francisco, while the
original was on a XXX platform in some faraway place.
I would place a page of specially treated paper wrapped around a
drum inside a special machine and wait for the phone to ring.
Place the receiver in a special holder and wait while the paper
spun around on the drum, printing as it received the “copy” over the
phone lines. Talk about
moving parts!
Over time, the machines improved.
Eventually, a “telecopy” was accepted in the courts as a
“reasonable facsimile”, which quickly shortened to “facsimile” to just
plain “fax”.
One thing I discovered as I researched finding a new machine for the
office was that fax machines, which used to be found in just about every
office, are in danger of extinction.
I tried several places in and around
San Ramon, but didn’t take
any Association money with me.
Just fact-finding this time around.
Big Membership Only Warehouse Store (BMOWS).
No fax machines. Nice
discount on a soon-to-be-outdated HP 4-in-one, only $89.99.
Apparently you could also get a discount on something to do with
FastTrac for crossing bridges.
(By the way, the “bill” for using the
toll roads with the
rental
car in Denver last May showed up.
$19.25. So far.)
The Office Supply Warehouse Store (OSWS) had a fax-and-quick-copy about
the size of a large shoebox.
$60. I checked to make sure
that they carried the replacement printer cartridges.
About $30 each. That
looked like a bargain; plus the thing would take up far less room on the
desktop.
But then I realized that the reason “Maggie” (the former Association
President) got the 4-in-one was so they could make many, many copies, on
brightly-colored paper, for the Porter to put on everyone’s door in an
emergency. This has happened
a number of times in the past and, thus, can be expected to happen
again. (“Emergency water
shut-off from 10:00 – 4:00 today!”)
Also, the bi-monthly Association meeting agendas at all the
mailbox locations, etc.
By this time, I was back at home again.
I looked up the original 4-in-one online and discovered that the
local OSWS had exactly one in stock.
(The reason for getting another of the same make-and-model was
the already-purchased replacement ink cartridges sitting on the desk in
the office. At $32 each,
that was a bit of an investment to just blow away.)
I debated whether to get back in the car and go get it right
away. But, seriously, what
were the chances that someone would buy the only one they had in stock
that night?
I also checked the Other Office Supply Warehouse Store (OOSWS), but they
wanted an additional $10 for the same thing.
And there wasn’t that much difference at the Big Blue Electronics
Warehouse Store (BBEWS) either.
So I popped in to the OSWS this morning and got the last 4-in-one (at
the sale price!) they had and will see about getting it installed
tomorrow. Right now the
office is filled with the Security Company that sold us all those
Key
Cards for the two swimming pools, “Mannie”, the Maintenance Guy, and the
Porter who is trying to empty the waste basket and dust the desk all in
the middle of everything.
Any incoming faxes can wait one day.
Love, as always,
Pete
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