1. On a strikingly clear sunny morning, Deliberator brought the Gurus of the North to the Hoffman House promptly at 11:20 AM. HVBS Southern mainstay Geronimo arrived just three minutes later. Entering the shadowy premises, we found HVBS Official Waitress Erin sitting at the bar. She and Host Pat greeted us warmly and we took our accustomed table. Geronimo, after some chair maneuvering, finally found a firm foundation and we ordered our libations. Three members ordered Cabernets and Geronimo requested his customary Killian's. After our toast, Shadow passed around photos of his most recent project: the restoration of the Crown Point Pier on Lake Champlain.
2. Our first order of business concerned the recent Thanksgiving celebrations. Geronimo and his brother Jim drove to Marblehead and spent the Holiday with Chaco and Dan. Dan spent three days preparing the outstanding festive dinner featuring an "open range" turkey. During the discussion it was revealed that Chaco has a machine that prepares all the baby food for Grandson Max Keita from "scratch"- no bottled baby food! Of course, he is also breast feeding. Deliberator celebrated the Holiday at his grand-daughter's new home in Delmar. They had 14 people at the table after the arrival of grandsons Ryan and Mark who had to work until 2 PM. They are both doing well at work and Ryan is signed up for the next semester at SCCC with a heavier schedule. Shadow detailed his and PC Wiz's Thanksgiving at Randy's mother-in-law Pat Jenkins house in Glens Falls for a traditional turkey dinner. He reported that Associate Member Shirley baked an apple pie with three varieties of apples and PC Wiz mentioned her well-received sweet potato casserole made with real maple syrup.
3. Deliberator informed us of a problem he is having: pain in his arms and upper legs, most distressing in the morning. During the day he feels fine and can raise his arms above his head. His doctor is doing some blood tests to try to determine the cause. Geronimo asked Deliberator how old his mattress is. About 30 years, he replied and Geronimo suggested that could be the cause of the problem. For lunch Geronimo decided to order a burger and gave Official Waitress Erin specifics: with cheddar cheese and bacon. "That's my burger", she said. Even though Erin couldn't give Deliberator a "freshly made" guarantee he ordered the daily special: Manhattan clam chowder and a tuna fish sandwich. Shadow opted for his favorite French dip sandwich and PC Wiz said he would go for his usual. Erin laughingly, and correctly, said "fish and chips"? Shadow then mentioned he had been perplexed recently by the behavior of his TV remote. He noticed that Channel 10 was missing - the TV went from 9 to 11! Associate Member Shirley admitted she had removed Channel 10 from the rotation because of ABC network's edict that people appearing on the tube could not wear flag pins, considering the pins a political statement! She was so incensed that she wrote the network a protest letter.
4. In the sports news, of course, was the case of Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg in a crowded night club. He had the illegal pistol stuck in his waistband with a bullet in the chamber! Shadow informed us that the Giant organization knew of the incident one hour after it happened. He had an expired Florida permit and registered in the hospital under the name "Harris Smith". Shadow was very incensed over the Plaxico incident because he felt it was a diversion from their unified team status that has been so successful this year. PC Wiz could not understand how he came to have a bullet in the chamber or, as others suggested, obviously left the safety off. In an ironical note: Jim Cramer of CNBC has a trophy that he awards to CEO bone-head management that he calls the "Plaxico Award for Good Judgment ". It was noted that Shadow is the only HVBS member whose season prediction of 12-4 is still in the running. Geronimo thought it likely that the Giants would be in the playoffs and Deliberator felt they should have won the Cleveland game, which they lost 35-14, and had a perfect 12-0 so far this season.
5. Geronimo stated that he was "pissed off" at the Yankees new 800 million dollar stadium. Regarding the bank bail-out being used to get their name on stadiums, Shadow felt that Yankee Stadium should now be named " Citi Group - Taxpayer Stadium". It has two rows of very comfortable individual seats at the field level and, he noted, the players are going to have their own parking lot under the stadium instead of across the street. Geronimo also informed us that the old Yankee Stadium will not be torn down until after the 2009 season.
6. In tech news Geronimo told us that Dan is considering purchasing an Apple iPhone which will mean switching from Comcast to ATT for telephone service. Shadow related his experience with the new Apple iMac computer. The old Dell it replaced, seven years old of age, has been moved upstairs for service off the Internet. Paradoxically, it has been performing routine tasks quite well since it was retired. Also in the news is the pending move, with Dan's help, of Geronimo's computer command center from the basement to his new operations hub on the main level. Advantages include less stair use and easy access for Mandy.
7. Concerning Governor Paterson's choice to succeed Hillary Clinton, Deliberator thought Kirsten Gillibrand was the most likely; PC Wiz mentioning Andrew Cuomo and Caroline Kennedy. Members thought it unlikely that Cuomo wanted the position: he really wants, like his father, to be governor of New York. PC Wiz (concerning another possible candidate) mentioned that he had seen a broadcast of Mayor Bloomberg's record and was astonished to learn that he has increased the NYC payroll by 40,000 in his administration. Shadow suggested, on Geronimo's next visit North, they could go to a new tea house that has opened in Ballston Spa. It is called the Whistling Kettle Tea Lounge and serves food and exotic teas http://www.thewhistlingkettle.com/our_store . Geronimo thought it a fine idea and told us of his brother Jim's enjoyment of exotic Costa Rican coffee, brewed by son Dan, which he considers the best coffee ever. PC Wiz had heard that said by nephew Randy of the Kona coffee from Hawaii and will keep the Costa Rican blend in mind.
8. HVBS members in the mean time had all ordered desserts for this special "last meeting of the year". Deliberator and Shadow with apple cobblers, PC Wiz and Geronimo with the Hoffman House cheesecake. The bill arrived and "broke the bank" as well as the $100 mark, a fitting ending to our demanding 2008 schedule. Geronimo noted that there was nothing wrong with Deliberator's arm when he was handling the money! HVBS Official Scheduler Deliberator proposed Wednesday January 14, 2009 for the date of our first meeting of the New Year, weather permitting, of course. It was ratified and the meeting adjourned.

Thanks to Geronimo for his correction of the Costa Rican coffee anecdote and to Deliberator for his kind review.

HVBS Official Scribe Laureate PC Wiz