A couple of years ago, I wrote about the lifespan of a refrigerator. In 44 years of marriage, we have had four refrigerators in our house, each one lasting about half the time of the previous one.  The refrigerator we have now is about two-and-a-half years old, so I’m thinking I’d better start looking around for another one soon. I’m not fond of the refrigerator we have now. When the last one quit working, after six years, I almost cried. We could not find one like it. It had

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune United Way Fresno and Madera give laptops to 30 Madera Unified School District Students during the district’s Student Achievement Celebration on Thursday evening. To bridge the digital divide and support education, 30 students from the Madera Unified School District received laptops during the district’s Student Achievement Celebration, thanks to the generous donations from United Way Fresno and Madera (UWFM). This initiative is part of a $2

Katrina Soliz/The Madera Tribune Mark IV Metal Products President Andrew Segal, left, cuts the ceremonial ribbon with Chowchilla facility General Manager Pedro Orozco as confetti flies to mark the official grand opening of the facility on Friday. Mark IV Metal Products officially opened its doors Friday at 4 Kings Avenue in Chowchilla. The facility is a distribution facility that stocks dozens of sizes of galvanized steel grates and frames and municipal castings, such as manh

Most people who have a computer, or a cell phone, use the internet in some way. Most of us search for information on the “web” by using a search engine such as Google. It has become almost a knee-jerk reaction to go to Google to find out information, such as how to fix something, or to find out how old a celebrity is. Sometimes we want to know some history about a company or an individual. Often the search will take us to a page called Wikipedia, which can give up-to-date inf

If it is not a crime, it should be. It is not only deceptive, it is dangerous to millions of people, and it is quite believable. I found this scam on one of the news services that I receive every morning. It was mixed in with items that were probably “real” news: New information about the Epstein files; a major eatery that is closing 736 of its restaurants; Caribbean military commander who will retire; Kim Kardashian’s new lingerie look, the polar vortex, and so forth. The he

For The Madera Tribune Matilda Torres High School hosts 30 teams from California and Mexico on November 8-9, showcasing over 48 robots in two days of high-intensity matches at the 16th annual MadTown Throwdown. The 16th annual MadTown Throwdown robotics competition energized Matilda Torres High School on November 8 and 9, with 30 teams from across California and Mexico showcasing more than 48 robots in two days of high-intensity matches. World Champion MadTown Robotics Team 1

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune File Photo Members of MadTown Robotics enter Fresno Yosemite International Airport while receiving a hero’s welcome after winning the program’s third World Championship in April. Three-time World Champions, MadTown Robotics and Madera Unified School District will host the 16th annual FIRST® Robotics Competition, “Madtown Throwdown” on Saturday and Sunday at Matilda Torres High School.  The free community event will welcome 30 robotics teams fro

Let me say at the outset that I hate smartphones. But, I’m not a complete technophobe. I’ve had computers for 45 or more years. My hybrid car probably has more embedded computers than I have functioning neurons in my brain. And when I get ready to forward this column to the newspaper, I’ll do so via email.  Moreover, I have a lifetime credential to teach “Computers and Related Technologies” at the college level, and did so from 1980 until 1984 when the DEC PDP-1170, which was