Official Minutes – HVBS Meeting on Wednesday, November 28, 2007

  1. Completing an uneventful trip with very fine weather (snow had been predicted), PC Wiz transported the HVBS Northern delegation, with Shadow suffering from a miserable cold, to the Hoffman House, arriving at a respectable 11:20 AM. Geronimo followed shortly at 11:24 AM. As we greeted each other, Deliberator announced, to unanimous approbation, that he would pay for the drinks to celebrate the Holiday Season (and just felt like it!!) at our last meeting of 2007. Geronimo suggested that a glass of blackberry brandy was just what the doctor ordered, but Shadow demurred. We entered the premises and greeted our Official Waitress, Erin Murphy-Ruzzo. She invited us to select our table since the table arrangement had changed. We selected the further table next to the window. HVBS members Geronimo and Shadow found their locations a bit dark and asked Erin to light the candle in the glass holder on the table (no-one had a match). Saying "that's easy", she turned a switch on the bottom and the battery lamp (that actually flickered) cast its minimal illumination, to general laughter. Erin took our libation orders: Cabernet's for Deliberator and PC Wiz, Diet Coke with lemon for Geronimo and a Pepsi for Shadow.
  2. We had a toast to Geronimo, designated photographer at Shadow and Shirley's 50th Anniversary party and to Deliberator for picking up the tab for the drinks (although two members abstained from alcohol). Shadow asked Geronimo how the trip to visit Dan in Boston the day after Thanksgiving had gone. Geronimo and Kay had a good trip and grand time with the family; Dan cooking the Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. Deliberator picked up his dinner at the Glen Sanders Mansion, an 18 lb. turkey with all the trimmings for six. Some re-heating and a grand feast. Shadow (and PC Wiz) had Thanksgiving dinner at the Desmond Hotel in a group of nine, including Russ, Kris and Alex up from Virginia. PC Wiz then asked Geronimo for an update on how his foot is mending. Geronimo replied that it is pretty much the same: not too bad for a short time but very painful in longer walks.
  3. On the subject of leaf clean-up Geronimo, wearied of blowing leaves, said his leaves are not all down yet; especially the oak trees which he wishes he could have all cut down and have all evergreens. Unfortunately, he cannot afford the cost of the desired "clean-sweep". Since our last meeting Deliberator has had a large maple in his back yard cut down; the trees' roots had found their way into his septic system. The cost of the removal, including grinding the stump and using a crane that reached over the house (no tire tracks on the lawn) was $1350. Also Deliberator had his annual combination final mowing and leaf removal done by a lawn service for $300. Shadow reported that his annual leaf-raking Olympic Event resulted in 55 tightly packed yard-waste bags and 4 garbage can-fulls.
  4. In our Tech Topics segment, the topic of the conversion of TV to digital in 2009 was raised. Sets will have to have a "converter box" which cable providers will provide (at a monthly charge?) but new sets already have to provide digital capability by law. Geronimo, with a 16 year-old TV is considering a new 42" plasma set (with darker blacks and better angle of view than LCD's). Son Dan has proposed a deal he can arrange with a source in New Jersey for a Pioneer 42" plasma for a special price of $2300. Shadow mentioned the new 52" Sharp "on-the-wall" HD-TV that son Randy has recently bought. He watched a football game that was unbelievably sharp and clear. Deliberator has a HD adaptable set he recently bought and does not anticipate any problems with the digital change. Also in the news is Geronimo's new 22" Dell wide-screen computer monitor.
  5. Official Waitress Erin brought our three "soup and sandwiches": a cup of excellent navy bean soup and, later, a hot pastrami sandwich with a pickle and ripple chips. Shadow opted for his favorite French-dip steak sandwich. Deliberator asked Erin, after we were served their white horseradish sauce, if they had any straight horseradish. She promptly brought us a portion of the "real-thing". Dan's son Travis, now 15 years old, played pool with his grandfather for the first time. Geronimo commented that the boys' mother, regardless of other problems, has raised a very nice boy. Members denigrated the general commercial atmosphere of the Christmas season, with lines at stores as early as 4 AM. Geronimo thinks Christmas is totally exaggerated: he is getting lists of "wants" by e-mail from the family.
  6. In sports the Giants performance was on everyone's mind. Geronimo observed that Manning is afraid to "take a hit", drastically lowering his performance. Shadow flatly stated his opinion that "Eli is not going to make it": he does not show the leadership needed in his position. All HVBS members eliminated in the season prediction except Deliberator with his 7-9, discussion turned to "can the Giants lose every game for the rest of the season?" Shadow stated that they are "all smoke and mirrors" and that Chicago will kill them on the coming Sunday. Will Deliberator win the prediction contest? Stay tuned. Geronimo regaled us with a joke about the female proctologist doing a prostate exam. A funny story about an unpleasant exam - it brought down the house! Shadow then complained about the coverage of hockey games on our cable connection. Someone at Time Warner has made the decision that Buffalo Sabres games will be covered but not all the NY Ranger games. One of Shadow's fellow employees is so incensed that he has written letters complaining about the coverage. Barry Bond's indictment came up and Shadow commented that he did not accept that any record was broken because of the denied drug usage. Geronimo thought they should "throw the book at him".
  7. Deliberator suggested that the Yankees had hired Roger Clemens (354 career wins) for the possibility of his being inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee. Members then batted around the possibilities of different acquisitions in the off season. Deliberator mentioned that Mariano Rivera, after consulting Warren Buffet, signed up for three more years (he wanted four) and got high points for taking over final negotiations himself! Geronimo said Joe Torre had signed up with the Dodgers for 3 years; Shadow opined that they will "do better" with Torre as manager. Geronimo then asked if Arod or Jeter would be most valuable player on the team. Deliberator judged it would not be Arod; Jeter, the team captain, is the person that "holds the team together".
  8. Deliberator is HVBS movie buff, enjoying "senior" admissions to the shows in local theaters, especially the new downtown Schenectady "Bowtie" which has stadium seating (steeper angle). With his Netflix, Geronimo enjoys the Carol Burnett movies and "Running Scared", but commented on the frequent use of the "F" word in the new movies. Deliberator said, "That's the way it is today". He recommended "American Gangster" (on Geronimo's list), "3:10 to Yuma" (good), and "Bourne Ultimatum". In our "News" segment it was reported that Ted Sorensen, President Kennedy's adviser, is supporting Barack Obama. Deliberator emphatically said that if he is nominated Obama is the candidate that he would not vote for based on his lack of principles and patriotism in not saluting the American flag. Concerning the travesty of the shifting primaries, everyone trying to be first, Geronimo proposed that we should have one national primary day as we have one election day.
  9. Deliberator and PC Wiz ordered coffees with only PC Wiz ordering dessert, a marvelous Bacardi flavored slice of cake. HVBS Official Scheduler Deliberator offered Wednesday January 9, 2008 for our next meeting, subject to the weather. It was ratified and our historic concluding conclave of 2007 adjourned.

Thanks to Deliberator for his clarifications and Geronimo for his review.

HVBS Official Scribe Laureate PC Wiz

December 6, 2007