1. We were transported by the Deliberator’s roomy, sophisticated (PC Wiz had to take a quick course on how to adjust the seat) Chrysler van with its’ quirky EZPass repeatedly requesting a personal phone call at each Thruway toll booth. On the way a cell phone rang which the Deliberator thought was for him. It turned out Shadow also had a phone and the call was for our busy working member. The HVBS indomitable upstate group arrived at the Hoffman House Official Parking Lot at 11:20 AM. Per tradition, Geronimo tempted Fate by pulling in at 11:27 AM.
2. Bypassing the outdoor patio because of heat and humidity, the membership opted for the cool comfort of the dining room farther corner. Unfortunately, the coolness was somewhat drafty so, at the suggestion of the Shadow – ratified by all, we moved to the opposite corner where Deliberator ended up with a wobbly chair which turned out to be a wobbly floor. Ah, the charm of historic buildings. Approached by a new waitress, [[Shadow]] inquired about our member and Official Waitress, Jennifer (Jen). It appears that she left their employ and was last working at an establishment called "Quarantine" (honest). Members ordered their opening libations – three Burgundy wines and a Killian’s Red for Geronimo – and toasted absent member Jen and "better days" to begin this historic meeting.
3. Chandra Levy still being missing, a wide ranging discussion covered Congressman Gary Condit with overtones of Bill Clinton. Geronimo brought us up-to-date on preparations for his and Kay’s Greek trip. We learned that they are packing formal clothing for special occasions on the cruise ship. It is assumed that Geronimo will succeed in dining at the Captain’s table (just like "Love Boat"). The trip will obviously be a great opportunity for photo memories. A short discussion of digital cameras followed, with Shadow the only member with experience using a Company camera. He informed us of the number of photos that can be saved in memory depending on the quality desired: 20 high quality or up to 75 lower quality. Geronimo confided that he had already purchased fifteen rolls of 400 speed film. Bon Voyage and good pictures!
4. On the subject of his grandsons, Deliberator informed us that Mark has left his job at McDonald’s. He is properly concentrating on his summer school studies. The members gave their opinions on ordering over the Internet when Deliberator mentioned ordering brand name clothes for the boys at much lower prices than locally. PC Wiz explained the use of "secure sites" for ordering using credit cards – that members should look for shttp: or https: (the "s") in the title bar or, of course, the closed padlock in the bar at the bottom of the browser. It is then highly encrypted and quite safe.
5. On the subject of politics members gave Senator "Hillary" a wave of dismissal. PC Wiz mentioned that her amendment banning the raising of roosters for cock fights was unsuccessful when the bill it was in was defeated. Geronimo opined that he thought Senator Schumer was doing a pretty good job to which the members agreed. The 18^th consecutive year of late budgets for the State brought forth pithy comments on the Legislature and Governor. Phil McConkey’s candidacy for Governor wasn’t given a chance by Geronimo with general agreement around the table.
6. At the urging of the Shadow, PC Wiz brought the August 2001 issue of Consumer Reports examining "best beers" with 54 ratings. There was general agreement with the ranking of George Killian’s Irish Red in second place among the craft lagers. Geronimo revealed [[ that while still a Consumer Reports subscriber he will not renew Time magazine. PC Wiz confirmed that he has just renewed his CR subscription.]]
7. The Shadow and PC Wiz reported on GE’s Jack Welch’s appearance at Fairfield University carried by C-Span. They found it a fascinating "question and answer" presentation with Welch himself bringing up the PCB problem when asked about Corporate "social responsibility" by a young student. He insisted that GE wanted to solve the problem and had already spent over 200 million dollars on remediation. They do not agree on dredging since the deposits are not a solid which could be removed, instead they are "molecules" which will be released.
8. In "Topical Technology" Deliberator admitted no progress on scanner installation. Geronimo raised the possibility of hackers penetrating home web sites. PC Wiz thought it a remote possibility since the web sites are on the ISP’s servers and generally have robust firewalls and virus protection. PC Wiz circulated a printout to inform the group that he had succeeded in adding a web page using "frames" to divide the page to show miniature "thumbnails" which enlarge in the adjoining frame. Geronimo said he had not succeeded so far in establishing his own home page. Also that he had "lost" his Outlook Express with no help forthcoming from Roadrunner. It required an expensive call to a Microsoft technician who solved the problem. A heated exchange ensued with PC Wiz supporting breakup or Federal regulation of Microsoft because of their corporate arrogance and virtual dominance of operating systems. Geronimo stated he could not believe PC Wiz was supporting government interference, certainly not a conservative position.
9. Deliberator and Geronimo brought up the recent acquisition [[from the Philadelphia Flyers ]] of [[ Eric Lindros ]] by the NY Rangers. Shadow, our resident hockey expert, thought there might be a problem, not with his age of 28, but with his numerous concussions. He suggested that they should rather have gone for [[ Jaromir Jagr who is now playing for the Washington Capitals. ]] Why that trade had not happened was a puzzlement. Members opined, in baseball, that the NY Yankees would lose in the playoffs facing very strong Western teams with impressive records. Favorite possible winners revolved around the [[ Oakland]] Athletics or the Seattle Mariners. Discussion ensued on the agenda item added by Geronimo concerning the death of Dale Earnhart, the belt failure most likely caused by a personal re-routing of the seat belt of his car. All agreed it is a "big money" sport and the paraphernalia and souvenirs offered on TV and at the tracks are really unrelated to the sport: just to make money.
10. With dessert and coffee on the table (Geronimo not participating in the "goodies"), Deliberator donned his thinking cap as HVBS Supreme Scheduler. In a (as we shall see) premature announcement, Deliberator settled on November 21^st for our next meeting which was ratified by the membership. Later reflection discovered the date was the day before Thanksgiving (this year the earliest it can be), probably not an auspicious time for our meeting. With the afore mentioned cap rewired and running on all cylinders, our Deliberator now suggests either November 14^th or the 28^th. [[ Response from the membership is unanimous. Our last meeting of the year is scheduled for Wednesday, November 14^th, 2001.]] Special thanks to Geronimo for the greatly appreciated use of his discount card to save money on the meal for the members. The meeting of HVBS was adjourned at 1:50 PM.

Corrected (inside the double red brackets [[ ) per corrections from Shadow, Geronimo and Deliberator.

HVBS Official Scribe PC Wiz