August was a whirlwind of great community conversations! Thank you to everyone who stopped by our table and attended my breakout presentation at the Senior Expo at the Linn County Regional Center, as well as the Aging Forum (Part 2 event on 9-15-26.) We had fantastic discussions covering everything from device maintenance routines to identifying modern scam tactics.
Thank you to Hiawatha City Council member, CJ Flynn, for telling me about the event. Today he is wearing his other hat as CEO of Technically Easier, helping older Iowans tackle technology. Link to Arts post with more pics and info about the Expo.
On a personal note, I also reached a major milestone this month: I officially graduated from physical therapy! Huge shoutout to Josh and the incredible team for their patient guidance and encouragement. Rebuilding mobility and balance was hard work, but it was a great reminder of just how vital fall prevention and staying active are as we age—which leads right into what we have planned next.
Upcoming Fall Classes
Mark Your Calendars: Smartwatches, Fall Detection & Kirkwood Pop-Ups
While September is a bit quieter on the big expo circuit, we have practical hands-on classes starting up:
FREE Smartwatches & Fall Detection (September 14): Exploring how modern wearables compare to traditional medical alert buttons (PERS). We’ll break down automatic fall detection, GPS location tracking, emergency dispatch features, and how to pick the right safety setup for your lifestyle.
Time & Location
It will be at 1:30 to 3pm or so on 9-14-26
location is First Presbyterian Church 310 5th St SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
The above program is sponsored by https://www.bridgeseniorcenter.org/
Kirkwood Pop-Up Tech Classes: Kirkwood Community College is offering focused continuing education sessions this fall, covering everything from cord cutting to our practical Android phone series. You can secure a seat online or by calling Kirkwood Continuing Education at (319) 398-1022.
Android Basics: 10/06/26 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Android Part 2: 10/13/26 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Cord Cutting: 10/13/26 | 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Location for all of the above Kirkwood classes is the
Linn County Regional Center 1770 E Boyson Road, Hiawatha, IA 52233
Full details and future class listings are always available
https://www.technicallyeasier.com/classes-offered
Retro Tech Corner: The 50-Inch Monster of 1997
Before 65-inch 4K flat panels were sold at warehouse clubs for $350, the undisputed king of living room luxury was the Rear-Projection CRT.
A buddy recently dug up the original manual and warranty card for his Hitachi 50SBX70B, delivered brand-new on October 28, 1997. Inside these massive cabinets sat three individual red, green, and blue projection tubes aiming up at a giant internal mirror to project a 50-inch picture onto the screen. They weighed close to 200 pounds, had to be carefully converged so colors wouldn’t bleed, and lost half their brightness if you weren’t sitting directly dead-center.
While classic 20-inch to 27-inch direct-view glass CRTs are seeing a massive revival for retro video gaming, these giant projection behemoths are an incredible reminder of just how far home entertainment has come in 30 years.
This was an interesting video about What Happened to the World’s Largest Tube TV?
Looking Ahead: Welcoming the “-ber” Months
As we welcome the start of the “-ber” months and roll toward the end of the year, I’m excited to keep these monthly newsletters going. My goal moving forward is to make this a regular touchpoint covering where I’ve been, where I’ll be speaking in the month ahead, and handy tech tips to make your digital life easier.
I look forward to seeing and working with many of you in our upcoming classes! Next month, we’ll be diving deep into scam protection and digital safety—sharing practical strategies to identify modern phone and email fraud, spot AI-driven scams, and keep your personal accounts secure.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this newsletter! Reach out to let me know what you think, or tell me which tech topics and questions you’d like to see covered next.
Warmly,
CJ Flynn