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HP/AGILENT ALUMNI CLUB NEWSLETTER HP/AGILENT ALUMNI CLUB MINUTES – 3/2/10 The March 2, 2010 meeting of the HP/Agilent Alumni Club was called to order at 1:35 pm by President Joetta Hoewisch. The minutes for the February 2, 2010 meeting as published in the February 2010 newsletter were approved. Secretary John Meredith gave the Treasurer’s report on behalf of Treasurer Jack Sheets. The report was filed. There were 53 attendees, including Jan Allen, Pat Bestgen, George Blinn, Chris Bonch, Delphene Buzzard, Penny Cherry, Kathy Colyer, Nancy Craig, Harry Feldman, Pat Fik, Molly Gauss, Lois Green, Don Griffith, Joetta Hoewisch, Carol Kibel, Anna Kochis, Barbara Kochis, Patricia Korenke, Dennis Kruse, Mark Lambuth, Peggy Lambuth, Freland Mattison, Laura Mattison, Soon Ae McDaniel, Peggy McClelland, Gerry McGonigle, Wanda McGonigle, John Meredith, Ivagene Mikesell, Bob Miranda, Cheri Moloney, Doug Moloney, Jerry Murphy, Wilma Nicholaison, Ken Nichols, Barbara Parsons, Eileen Pekarek, John Powell, Mary Jane Reul, Wanda Rogers, Pat Romero, Ginger Sausedo, Mark Smith, Polly Tounzen, Joe Trujillo, John Tulloch, Evelyn Wall, Randy Walters, Gerry White, Helen Wilcots, Niles Whalen, Laura Winter, and Hal Wright. March Birthdays: New Business: Joetta Hoewisch discussed a motion passed at the February Board meeting regarding the method of payment for use of the Colorado Springs Senior Center for club meetings. The Senior Center is now charging $1.00 per member for each meeting. Last month the fee was $50.00. The Board proposed a motion to use half of the 50/50 pot to cover expenses we're incurring for use of the meeting room, and it was passed. Some discussion ensued on how to allocate the winner’s portion of the pot. It was decided that the 50% portion allotted for winnings would be paid to a single winner. Gerry McGonigle indicated that Chuck House and John Riggen are planning a book on the history of the Colorado Springs Hewlett-Packard site. Chuck and John are interested in getting inputs from others. Anyone who is interested in this project should contact Gerry for additional information. Joetta thanked everyone for volunteering for the greeter and refreshment list. She indicated there is still one volunteer opportunity for the month of November for refreshments. If you would like to volunteer, please let John Meredith know. Old Business Joetta announced that there will be a follow-up By-Law meeting held on March 23rd at Agilent in the Collegiate Rooms in Lower “A” starting at 1:00. Joetta asked those who plan to attend to let her know by March 5 so she can inform Agilent Security. Program This month's program was presented by the Pikes Peak Jazz and Swing Society. The Pikes Peak Jazz and Swing Society was formed in January 1985 with the goal of preserving, fostering, and supporting of jazz in all its forms. The society has provided a regular venue for jazz performances in the Pikes Peak region. The Society's Second Sunday Jazz Affair is a regularly scheduled event that has been a steady "gig" for local musicians. In addition the popular Jazz in the Parks program has presented free jazz concerts for the people of the region for 25 summers. Even with the down economy the show will go on again this summer. The Society has also sponsored concerts by outstanding jazz performers such as Carl Fontana, Johnny Smith, Ed Polcer and many other national known musicians. The program was presented by four leaders of the Pikes Peak Jazz and Swing Society. Jerry Brown was the MC for the program and he presented each of the speakers. Bob Simon, founder of the society and its first president gave us a brief history of the society and its goals. Bob explained how the monthly concerts are held the second Sunday of the month. In addition, Jazz in the Park has been a community service project of the society for 25 seasons providing free jazz concerts for the people of the Pikes Peak Region. Bob covered the society's scholarship program that started in 1985. The society has provided scholarships to outstanding high school seniors to enhance their ability to study jazz at the university level. In addition the society has honored local musicians for their citizenship and community involvement with the Alice Award. Next up was Laura Davis of the Springs City Jazz Band. She presented the popular Jazz in the Parks program. She informed up of how the changes in the Colorado Springs Park department are affecting the program, but the show will go on again this summer. Jerry Brown, a well known local musician, (http://www.jerrysings.com/) described the Ray DeWitt - Tom Ross mentor program that provides aspiring young middle and high school students the opportunity to work with professional PPJASS musicians. The highlight of the afternoon was a performance by guitarist Wayne Wilkinson (http://www.myspace.com/waynewilkinson) and Laura Davis. Wayne is a truly outstanding musician and being able to get a performer of his level for our club meeting was a special treat for all of us in the room. When Johnny Smith retired I was sad because I thought I would never be able to enjoy a live performance of this level again. Then, Wayne came home and now once again we have a guitarist of this level again here in town. He and Laura performed three numbers for the enjoyment of the club. If you would like to learn more about PPJASS check out the club's web site at www.ppjass.org. Announcements: Joetta announced that UCCS is asking for volunteers for the 14th Annual Southern Colorado Science Olympiad Regional Tournament which will be held on Saturday, March 6 for 1200 Middle and High School Students. They are still asking for Volunteers for two of their events “Shock Value” and “Technical Problem Solving.” Shock value is being run by Jill Pamperin (current Agilent engineer) and the other is being run by Helen Muterspaugh. Jerry Murphy announced that Ken Wyatt, retired HP/Agilent EMC engineer will present a program on Digital photography next month. Ken is an expert in this field and he will give us some tips on how to get the most out of our digital cameras. You might want to bring your digital camera to the meeting just in case Ken has time to give you some personal instruction. Check out his web site at http://www.wyattphoto.com/. Joetta also announced that the next Red Hat Luncheon will be held on March 17th at 11:30 at Mollica’s, located at 985 West Garden of the Gods Road. Teena Davis will be the Hostess for this month’s luncheon. If you would like to attend the lunch, please contact Teena at 599-5292. Mark Smith invited members of the club to attend the Collage Concert, a concert sponsored by New Horizons Band of Colorado Springs. The concert, featuring six different bands, will be held on March 18 at 7:30 pm at Cheyenne Mountain High School located at 1200 Cresta Road. If you are interested in attending the concert, please call for tickets at 634-2463. You may also obtain ticks at the event. Joetta announced that the Club Greeter for April will be Ivagene Mikesell. Refreshments will be provided by Laura Mattison and Lois Green. Joetta thanked Anna Kochis for greeting guests. Refreshments were provided by Nancy Craig and Mark and Peggy Lambuth. Nancy explained the reason for providing two different cakes for refreshments. One cake had green icing and the other had yellow. The green cake honored Ireland and the yellow cake represented Wales. A separate article below covers Nancy's comments in detail. The meeting was adjourned at 3:00. Never Take a Cake's Color for Granted As mentioned in the Minutes, Nancy Craig gave a very educational explanation of the significance of the colors of the cakes provided as part of this meeting's refreshments. The following is Nancy's very interesting lesson on the significance of the colors, with some history woven in. Joetta asked me to explain the significance of a lemon cake and also a chocolate cake with green mint frosting that I prepared for the March meeting of the Club last year and again today. Here's why! We know that many Americans suddenly “become” Irish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17th. The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a 3-leaved green plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells that Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. Across the Irish Sea to the east lies the country of Wales whose patron is Saint David. His birthday was March 1st. The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, a joyous sign of spring with its delicate pale yellow bloom. The Welsh tend to spend St. David's Day at a church service, singing traditional hymns, with few parades or pub outings that honor Patrick two weeks later. Ah, but here's the rest of the story! Who was Patrick? Well, he was actually a Welshman! He was carried off by pirates and spent six years in slavery before escaping and training as a missionary. He is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland (and “maybe” driving the snakes from the country). He died on 17 March AD 461, which is why March 17th is commemorated. In the USA, it's easy to buy a St. Pat's card but not a St. David's card...marketing note to Hallmark! So, for me, the lemon yellow cake represents Welsh daffys (daffodils) and the green frosting on the chocolate cake is for shamrocks. However, in 2011 I may have to expand (as explained below) to also bring a white cake with blue frosting for St. Andrew and a white cake with red frosting for St. George. The Scottish flag is blue with a white X-shaped cross (saltire) across it; St. George's flag is a white background with a red cross. In case you want to celebrate saints of the other British Isles nations: the feast day for St. George (England) is April 23rd, and St. Andrew (Scotland) is November 30th. I mistakenly said St. Andrew's was at the end of January, but that's the poet Robert Burns, whose January 25th birthday is when Scots gather for a Burns' Night Supper. Nancy Craig, a WISE woman (ancestry in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and England) COMING ATTACTIONS Don't miss next month's program. Ken Wyatt, retired HP/Agilent EMC engineer will present a program on Digital Photography. Be sure to attend and take advantage of this chance to get some tips from an expert. GREETER & REFRESHMENT LIST GREETER REFRESHMENTS
APR Ivagene Mikesell
Laura Mattison NEWS FROM ADDISON AVENUE Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union and First Tech Credit Union Announce Plan to Merge Palo Alto, CA and Beaverton, OR, March 10, 2010 The Boards of Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, and First Tech Credit Union, headquartered in Beaverton, OR, have approved a definitive merger agreement between the two organizations. The agreement is the first formal step in the merger process. State and national regulators and First Tech Credit Union members must approve the merger. Both Addison Avenue and First Tech are independently strong, well-capitalized institutions that are recognized leaders in innovative financial services delivery to the high-tech sector and individual. Both institutions share a rich heritage in serving members from 21st century companies such as Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Agilent, Intel, CH2M HILL, and Nike. Tom Sargent, First Tech Credit Union President and CEO, is scheduled to retire in spring 2010. “As Tom’s retirement approached, our Board of Directors sought a replacement who would lead First Tech with the same integrity, passion, and commitment to innovation that Tom has demonstrated at First Tech for 25 years,” indicated Carolyn Strong, First Tech Board Chairman. “During our search, we also explored other strategic alternatives and a partnership with Addison Avenue presented a great opportunity.” “This partnership is a tremendous opportunity to create more value for our combined membership and sponsor companies,” said Benson Porter, President and CEO of Addison Avenue Credit Union. “Both institutions share great similarities, starting with our strong member-centric cultures focused on serving the high-tech sector and individual. We will be even better together.” “This is an exciting opportunity for two independently strong credit unions to combine resources and capabilities to better serve both memberships in the 21st century and beyond,” said Tom Sargent, President and CEO of First Tech Credit Union. “Together, we’ll continue to grow and prosper, offer enhanced member value, gain greater efficiencies, and remain committed to helping our members, employees, and communities live financially strong.” “This is not only a merger of equals in terms of size,” stated John Weidert, Addison Avenue Chairman, “but our organizations also share common heritage, strategy, and operations, making this a compelling partnership to better serve our combined membership.”
JUST FOR LAUGHS
Smart Old Dog An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks. Curious I pinned a note to his collar: "I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap." The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: "He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 – he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?" Hillbilly Birth Deep in the back woods of Letcher County Kentucky, a hillbilly's wife went into labor in the middle of the night, and the doctor was called out to assist in the delivery. Since there was no electricity, the doctor handed the father-to-be a lantern and said, "Here, you hold this high so I can see what I am doing!" Soon, a baby boy was brought into the world. "Whoa there", said the doctor, "Don't be in such a rush to put that lantern down I think there's another one coming." Sure enough, within minutes he had delivered a baby girl. "Hold that lantern up, don't set it down there's another one!" said the doctor. Within a few minutes he had delivered a third baby. "No, don't be in a hurry to put down that lantern, it seems there's yet another one coming!" cried the doctor. The stunned father scratched his head in bewilderment, and asked the doctor, . . . . .. "You reckon it might be the light that's attractin' 'em?" Lessons From Worms A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. He carefully placed four worms into four separate jars. The first worm was put into a container of alcohol. The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke. The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup. The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil. At the conclusion of the sermon, the minister reported the following results: · The first worm in alcohol - Dead. · The second worm in cigarette smoke - Dead · The third worm in chocolate syrup – Dead · The fourth worm in good clean soil - Alive. So the Minister asked the congregation, "What did you learn from this demonstration?" Charlie, sitting in the back, quickly raised his hand and said, "As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!" That pretty much ended the church service. Some Taxing Thoughts After paying all our taxes we're tempted to call Washington and try to get ourselves declared a disaster area. You really can't beat the game. If you earn anything, it's minus taxes. If you buy anything it's plus taxes. One hopeful note on hidden taxes is that there can't be many more places to hide them. We wonder why they call them "tax returns" when so little of it does. The best things in life are still free, but the tax experts are working overtime on the problem. We all get excited these days about paying taxes because we never know which country our money is going to. It will be real nice if taxes get down to where we can afford to make a living. What's all this howling about hidden taxes? We wish they would hide all of them. If you don't hear some people murmuring about taxes these days, it's probably because so many others are screaming. They keep telling us about a tax-freeze plan. How about a tax-free plan? When the average man looks at what he has left after his taxes are paid, he begins to realize that Social Security may have real meaning for him. Save your pennies and the sales tax will take care of them. A certain Senator recently informed us that the average American is not "tax conscious", and this is doubtless true. If he shows signs of coming to, he is immediately struck down with another tax. There's one consolation about life and taxes - when you finish the former, you're through with the latter. We have been anesthetized by hidden taxes, hypnotized by indirect taxes, and pulverized by camouflaged taxes. Next year will be the year they lower taxes . . . it always is. There's a "tax cocktail" on the market - two drinks and you withhold nothing. I know a man who says he's going to invest his money in taxes - it's the only sure thing to go up. Old taxes never die - they just change their names. A window sign in Chicago: "Tax Returns Prepared - Honest Mistakes Are Our Specialty." Nowadays anybody who puts two and two together also has to add in the sales tax. About the only thing good about those withholding taxes is that a fellow doesn't get so mad all at once. Increasing taxes to stop inflation makes about as much sense as fanning a fire to cool its heat. A "slight tax increase" costs you about $300, while a "substantial tax cut" lowers your taxes by about $30. Even if money could bring happiness, think what the luxury tax would be! Everything we have is taxed - even our patience. Thinking is one thing that no one has ever been able to tax - but the IRS is getting jealous about the situation. "What you don't know doesn't hurt you" doesn't apply to the hidden taxes in the things you buy. No enemy nation could risk invading the United States. It couldn't afford the high taxes. A tax cut is like motherhood, apple pie, and the Star Spangled Banner - everybody is for it. It's a mistake to believe that Uncle Sam can open his pocketbook and let you keep yours closed. It's Nice To Be Remembered Billy died and his will provided $30,000 for an elaborate funeral. As the last guests departed the affair, his wife, Joyce, turned to her oldest and dearest friend, Sarah. "Well, I'm sure Billy would be pleased," she said. "I'm sure you're right," replied Sarah, who lowered her voice and leaned in close. "How much did this really cost?" "All of it," said Joyce. "Thirty thousand dollars." "No!" Sarah exclaimed. "I mean, it was very nice, but $30,000?" Joyce answered, "The funeral was $6,500. I donated $500 to the church. The whiskey, wine, food and snacks were another $500. The rest went for the Memorial Stone." Sarah quickly computed the total of $7,500 and said "$22,500 for a Memorial Stone? My God, how big is it?" Joyce answered, "Two and a half carats." No Good Deed Goes Unpunished A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push. "Not a chance," says the husband, "it is 3:00 in the morning!" He slams the door and returns to bed. "Who was that?" asked his wife. "Just some drunken guy asking for a push," he answers. "Did you help him?" she asks. "No, I did not. It is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring rain out there!" "Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you re member about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself!" The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain. He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still there?" "Yes," comes back the answer. "Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband. "Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark. "Where are you?" asks the husband. The drunk replies, "Over here on the swing set. How to Make the Nightly News His request approved, the CNN News photographer quickly used a cell phone to call the local airport to charter a flight. He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport. Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane warming up outside a hanger. He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, "Let's go". The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind and took off. Once in the air, the photographer instructed the pilot, "Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can take pictures of the fires on the hillsides." "Why?" asked the pilot. "Because I'm a photographer for CNN News," he responded, "and I need to get some close up shots." The pilot was strangely silent for a moment, finally he stammered, "So, what you're telling me, is . . . You're NOT my flight instructor?" Why Men Don't Write Advice Columns Dear Robert, I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't driven more than 5 miles down the road when the engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbor's daughter. I'm 42, my husband is 45, and the neighbors' daughter is 22. We have been married for ten years. When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I'd leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him any more. Can you please help? Sincerely, Sheila ~~~~~~ Dear Sheila: A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it's clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the injectors. I hope this helps. Robert COME AND ENJOY OUR NEXT MEETING TUESDAY, APRIL 6TH AT 1:30 PM COLORADO SPRINGS SENIOR CENTER |