1. On this showery October morning the HVBS Northern contingent, ably chauffeured by Deliberator, arrived at the Hoffman House Official Meeting Site at 11:20 AM for our seventh 2003 meeting. Geronimo, in his own timely fashion, was quite punctual at 11:25. Members quickly decided not to peruse the outdoor patio and opted for inside accommodations. We were met by our genial hostess Ginny Bradley with friendly greetings and sent to our "usual" table in the corner - now minus the air-conditioner in the window. Official Waitress Vickie promptly took our orders for stimulating adult beverages (PC Wiz and Geronimo opting for Killian Reds, Shadow Cabernet, seconded by Deliberator, who also later ordered coffee).
2. Our agenda toast to the Gods to aid the Giants was amended by Geronimo who, reminding us of the impending birthday celebration of our very own Shadow, proposed the toast. Geronimo then informed us of a problem he is having with "the autocratic" AOL. It seems his mailings (and 70% of total RoadRunner e-mailings) to AOL 9.0 subscribers are being refused by categorizing him as a "spammer". Geronimo evidently has a "dynamic IP address" which is causing the difficulties. He asked Deliberator, an AOL subscriber, to send an e-mail to test reception.
3. While awaiting the varied luncheon choices ordered by the members, Geronimo regaled us with a series of very funny "redneck" jokes. PC Wiz then explained the reference to the "Charlton Chalet" in the agenda when Shadow and Geronimo had held a summit conference at the Shadow’s residence. Geronimo had a map to guide him in a detour since the Town is replacing a culvert (a ve-e-ry slow process) near the Charlton Elementary School. Deliberator asked what had transpired. Shadow replied that they had "sat on their asses for 15 hours" while Geronimo complained that he had to watch a month-old NASCAR race because of a rain delay. In the mean-time the Tavern was getting busy and one lady’s laughter, with a voice comparable to Ethel Merman, actually drowned out the HVBS conversation! Astounding – and humbling.
4. Geronimo gave us a detailed report on his new XP Dell. The defective supplied Belkin surge suppressor was returned to Dell for credit - $49 in the order but they would only allow $39 on the return. Luckily, consultant Danny (visiting the area with Chaco to attend trade shows and business meetings) was present to help with the installation. Danny mentioned that Sony in New Jersey is laying off 1500 people. Geronimo reported the data transfer, using a serial connection, took 33 hours! Danny was unable to uninstall the Norton SystemWorks so he formatted the hard drive and re-installed Windows 98 on old reliable which is going to daughter Sharon. Deliberator had some sharp questions for Geronimo on his order but announced he is still deliberating about purchasing a new machine. PC Wiz reported on the use of Spybot to remove spyware from computers and gave Geronimo and Deliberator CD-ROMs with the program. Associate member Shirley, on her first use of Spybot, found 37 items of spyware on the Shadow machine.
5. Our Sports Soapbox featured the World Series and Giants performance. Members rued the loss to the Marlins but, as Deliberator pointed out, their pitcher Beckett was outstanding against the Yankees although sporting only a 9-8 record for the season. Geronimo felt that Bernie Williams was "on his last legs" and complemented Giambi as a power hitter when Shadow denigrated the Giambi "entourage" which includes both his father and agent. Shadow also stated that the Yankee loss "closed the curtain on Steinbrenner". Members went over the well-known issues of Jeter’s error in throwing and Posada’s not blocking the plate while PC Wiz felt the Yankees had many opportunities to win (Deliberator opined that Pettite pitched a pretty good game) but it just wasn’t their year. In NFL football, HVBS members went over their predictions for the Giant season with some second thoughts. In the coming game against the Jets Shadow thought the chances pretty good since the Jets "sackmaster" was out.
6. Members ordered coffee to round out the session while Geronimo chose from the complete tea assortment Shadow asked Official Waitress Vickie to bring. PC Wiz ordered the only dessert – chocolate chip cheesecake. As Official HVBS Scheduler, Deliberator proposed the dates of December 3 or 10 for our last meeting of this momentous year, weather permitting. After discussion the date of Wednesday December 10 was ratified (with a fall-back to the 11^th or 18^th for inclement weather). Geronimo presented his complementary personalized lunch coupon to be redeemed (in a weak moment he redundantly gave Shadow a $20 bill). It was a birthday present from Shadow and Associate Member Shirley. The meeting adjourned with members wishing Geronimo a pleasant trip to DisneyWorld.

Thanks to Deliberator for the corrections and Geronimo for his review - his comment on the "deep and intelligent actions by the club members" was well received, I am sure.

HVBS Official Scribe Laureate PC Wiz