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Ten years of posting

Yesterday I got a “gold star” from Google AdSense for having a web site for ten years.  I have been posting to this blog for eight years.  I haven’t got rich from either and I don’t have a large or medium following.  I can’t even get my family to visit my blog regularly:(  But it has been fun posting my thoughts and observations; and once in a while somebody tells me they liked a posting.

For various reasons, I am winding down my website, http://www.cpinternet.com/~mdmagree.  My goodness!  It has been over five years since I updated the home page.  One reason is that I am limited to 200 pages; another is that the tools for posting on Google Blogger are a lot simpler to use.

For the Irregular Blog, you might find some of the statistics interesting:

Total posts - 2158 with this post

Top ten posts by pageviews

235  2012-04-17 Добро пожаловать в мой русский посетителей
197  2012-12-20 Mike Peters' "Twelve Days of Christmas" puns for 2...
90    2012-08-28 Can't corporations live within their means?
84    2012-04-19 The kleptocracy of corporate boards
76    2011-12-22 For word nerds only
73    2013-01-17 A clever but off-the-mark sign
70    2012-05-24 Why facebook's stock price went down after the IPO...
60    2012-11-25 Free market and the Internet
56    2012-02-10 Extremism continues on the Unfair campaign
53    2013-04-10 Why snail research is important

What does the most viewed post mean and how come it is the most viewed?  It is Russian for “Welcome to my Russian visitors” and it because I have a suspiciously large number of page views from Russia.  I suspect that these are reverse spammers who hope that I will track them down and make a click on their sites.  They are wasting their time and mine.

Page views since beginning

34260 Russia
32684 United States
2196   Germany
1752   France
1194   Ukraine
1072   United Kingdom
1013   China
674     Netherlands
417     Latvia
350     Turkey

and many other countries large and small.

Search keywords

125 magree.blogspot.com
69   first minority president
56   mother goose and grimm 12 days of Christmas
55   hyperbolic humor
15   facebog
14   bluestone commons duluth mn
12   corporate entitlements
12   glen post net worth
12   unfair campaign
9     bluestone commons duluth

If you got to the end of this post, thank you!  If you like what you read on this blog, please tell your friends.  Otherwise, thanks for visiting.

So you want a union (Part I)

Originally published in the
Northland Reader
now the
ReaderWeekly
August 3, 2000

Peter Kellman (“Freedom of Association”, Northland Reader, July 6) makes several good points about the antagonism of many businesses towards unions and their often extraordinary efforts to block unions.  However, as with many issues, the decline of unions is the result of more than the antagonism of a single group.

I have been involved with unions at two points in my life: once as a supermarket employee while I was in high school and college, and a second time as a bus driver with private companies.

I joined the grocery chain Kroger’s in Cleveland, Ohio as a stock clerk and bagger in the mid-1950s while I was a junior in high school.  I started at $1.05 per hour working two evenings a week and Saturdays.  I also joined the Retail Clerks Union which was a condition of employment.

In many ways it was a great job.  In general everyone worked together to make the store a success.  The manager did his best to give every one a fair shake and a chance for advancement.  Everyone had regular hours week after week; none of this shifting schedules every week.  A regular schedule was also a bit easier to do because the store hours were limited; nine to six Monday through Friday, eight to six on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays.  Probably a quarter of the employees were full-time.

In about four years time I was making $1.75 an hour through a mix of seniority and a new union contract.  The last regular assignment that I remember is coming in at 6:30 to help stock the bread shelves and then relieving cashiers for the rest of the day, leaving with a broad grin at 3:30.

I don’t remember much about union activities.  I think I only attended one union meeting and didn’t find it very interesting.  I remember our excitement when the union’s contract proposal was released.  Some thought that we would get everything in the proposal, not realizing that it was only a negotiating position.  The union did however negotiate many improvements.

When I flunked out of Case Institute of Technology, I asked for full time work at Kroger’s.  Unfortunately, no full-time positions were available at that time.  I spent a few weeks looking for work, finally finding a job at a new supermarket being built by Pick’N’Pay, a local chain.

It was just about the opposite in employee relations that I had experienced in Kroger’s.  Other than Saturday’s, the work schedule was unpredictable, based more on when the trucks came on than anything else.  Even though I was nominally “third man”, the manager made sure that I stayed “part-time” by assigning me less than 35 hours per week of work.  Also, even though employees were required to be members of the Retail Clerks Union, Pick’N’Pay paid me less than I had been getting at Kroger’s.  Complaining to the manager did no good.

Whether it was deliberate or not, the store was designed to divide and conquer.  Like most supermarkets, the meat department was in its own section.  But, the produce and the grocery departments each occupied sections of the back room with little traffic between them.  With little traffic between them, there was little reason for employees of either section to get to know each other.  And produce was where the union steward worked.

Not knowing the union steward well, I turned to a former produce manager at Kroger’s whom I did know well and who was now a union business agent.  Although Pick’N’Pay was not in his jurisdiction, he saw to it that I received the correct pay rate and accrued back pay.

I left Pick’N’Pay in September to go to Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.  I applied for a job at the local Kroger’s and was accepted.  I worked Saturdays and a couple evenings a week as a stock clerk.  Again, I was paid less than I had been getting.

I spoke about this with the manager and he said he would look into it.  Nothing happened.  This time I knew the union steward and spoke to him about the pay rate.  He said he would look into it.  Nothing happened.  Finally, I called the union office in Columbus.  A business agent said that he couldn’t help me; it had been thirty days and they had nothing in writing.  I didn’t go back to Kroger’s the next school year.

The existence of a union does not guarantee good working environment.  A minimally functional union can negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions.  But without strong leadership that involves itself with the union membership, the union is no more than a negotiating team.

To be really strong and work well for its members, a union must be just that: a union of its members working together.  If the members are not involved in their union, then the union becomes another “outside force” like management.  If the members are not involved in their union, then the employees’ interest are of concern only when they match the interests of company or union management.

In the next issue, I’ll draw on my experiences as a bus driver to examine some of the reasons employees don’t always vote in unions.  It isn’t just management antagonism.

So you want a union (Part II)

©2000, 2006, 2007 Melvyn D. Magree

So you want a union (Part II)

Originally published in
ReaderWeekly
August 17, 2000

So you want a union!  You are going to have to work for it.  Yeah!  I know that’s a bit redundant.  What I mean is that you are going to have to spend time beyond what you spend on the job.

First, you are going to have to convince a small number of your co-workers that a union is in their best interests and convince them to work hard to have a union.

Last, you are going to have to convince a majority of your co-workers that a union is in their best interests.

In between there will be many, many months of hard work passing out information, attending meetings, and talking one-on-one with your co-workers.  The antagonism of your employer towards a union will be only one of your problems.

As a school bus and transit driver I was involved in two organizing efforts with three unions.  Yes, three unions for two efforts, more later.

A year or so before I started with Medicine Lake Lines in Golden Valley, the Amalgamated Transit Union lost a certification vote by a few dozen votes.

Labor laws require a minimum of two years between certification elections.  In 1996 a group of drivers approached the United Steelworkers for help in forming a union.  When I learned of the effort, I was lukewarm partly because I didn’t see how the Steelworkers could represent bus drivers.

I attended one organizing meeting and asked lots of questions.  Meanwhile the company went on the offensive with a series of “mandatory” meetings (with pay) in which they presented their case.  I asked lots of questions.

Some activist employees started an inflammatory newsletter.  I counseled that it would turn more drivers off than it would gain.  At one of the mandatory meetings, two of the editors harassed management instead of presenting reasoned arguments against management points.  Many, many drivers were embarrassed by their tactics.

Unfortunately, the Steelworkers lost the election, and I never heard from them again.  Maybe the more active did, but they didn’t relay that to me.

Moving forward two years, Ryder Student Transportation Services had bought Medicine Lake Lines, and instead of 400 drivers to organize, there were now 1500.  Those activists who still were around and not burned out approached the Teamsters.

At the first meeting at Teamster headquarters that I attended, the organizer in charge said she would make an agenda and stick to it.  She never did.  A great part of the meeting was spent with Harold Yates, the President of the Joint Council, interrupting with tales of his connections and how much he would use them for us.  Some drivers became less enthusiastic about the Teamsters.

The next time I attended a meeting, only three of us went.  We found out that the meeting had been cancelled and that the Teamsters were putting a hold on their activities on our behalf.  I suggested that they at least send out a letter to those on their mailing list.  Several weeks later they did.  I never heard from them again.

One activist driver who now drove for a school district encouraged some of the remaining activists to contact his union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

The first meeting that I attended was at the home of Dutch Fischer, an organizer.  Present were two other organizers and four drivers, including the driver who had left.  Over the weeks, the number dwindled until it was often just Dutch and I.  The SEIU had another organizing effort going and wasn’t too happy about stretching their resources.  However, between my continually meeting with Dutch and Dutch spending many days a week talking one-on-one with Ryder drivers, the SEIU decided to go ahead with a full organizing effort.

The SEIU brought in additional organizers to help.  The organizer in charge had already worked on several successful campaigns; she was sure that this one would be successful too.  Her enthusiasm alone should have made it successful.

Management of course began its counterattack.  The meetings weren’t mandatory and weren’t very well attended.  Our terminal manager sounded so reasonable but his arguments were laughable.

Ryder put up posters that if the union did not win they would have a drawing to send one or two families on a vacation trip.  Although they backed off on the condition, the damage was done.  The SEIU filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.  It is still in abitration.

But I don’t think that is the real reason the union lost.  Many drivers really believe that a union will help improve pay and other working conditions.  But many other drivers think that all a union will do is take their dues money.  I heard that argument from drivers who had been in other unions for decades.  I heard that argument from drivers who had little respect for management.

The last time that I heard from Dutch he was still keeping in touch with some of the drivers.  But many of the really active have moved on to other jobs.  Many new drivers have started who have no memory of the past campaigns.

Will the arbitration get through an understaffed bureaucracy in the union’s favor soon?  Will the SEIU make another organizing effort in 2001?  I don’t really know.  I don’t care except sentimentally.  I have moved from the Twin Cities and moved on to other interests.  Like many other workers in many other occupations that could be unionized.

How will unions succeed?  When a majority of employees really believe that a union will be in their best interests.  For that to happen a significant minority of employees must be willing to show up at meetings, willing to write the newsletters and pass them out, willing to talk and talk to their co-workers.  For that to happen the large unions have to support those whom they would represent year after year, not just when success seems likely.

So you want a union (Part I)

©2000, 2006, 2007 Melvyn D. Magree

Major Food Groups

Originally published in the
Northland Reader
now called the

Reader Weekly
Duluth, Minnesota
February 17, 2000

When a friend drinks Mountain Dew he often exclaims, "Ahh, two of the major food groups, caffeine and sugar!"  I wondered what the other major food groups were.  After two weeks of lengthy research with my wife and several friends, I completed the list with fat, alcohol, and chocolate.

Caffeine is the jump start to the day.  That first cup of coffee gets our eyes open.  It provides enough sleep banishment to get us out the door.  For others, several cups of coffee are needed to negotiate the drive to work, to stay awake through boring meetings, or to keep at a report or other task.  Soft drinks with caffeine are a good substitute.  Coffee or tea are also a good roundoff to dinner.

Sugar is an important fuel for our bodies.  Like caffeine it is an important day starter.  Sugar in coffee, on cereal, or in syrup on pancakes gets us going in the morning.  A donut midmorning provides momentum for the rest of the morning.  Cookies after school provide kids with energy for their games and homework.  Sugar in dessert is another good roundoff to dinner.

Fat is another important fuel for our bodies.  Fat also lubricates our joints and keeps our skin supple.  Fat is even an essential flavor.  Steaks, hamburgers, or sausages are the centerpiece of any meal.  Sour cream and blue cheese make an excellent salad dressing.  Butter on pancakes, bread, or potatoes seems to make the day go smoother.  Whipped cream on strawberries make an excellent roundoff to dinner.

Alcohol is an important relaxant.  The two-martini lunch provides an important slowdown from the hectic pace of the office.  Beer or whisky before dinner help us reflect on the day.  Wine helps us linger over dinner.  A glass of any one of a number of spirits or liqueurs, which the Italians call "un digestivo," provides another excellent roundoff to dinner.

Chocolate is for our souls what the other four food groups are for our bodies.  Fine chocolate makes a fine life.  Hot chocolate for breakfast helps us gather our thoughts for the day.  A chocolate donut midmorning provides a good break from work.  A chocolate brownie after lunch prepares us for the afternoon.  A chocolate candy bar gives us a morale boost to finish our workday.  A piece of fine chocolate melting slowly in our mouths is the perfect roundoff to dinner.

Many of our favorite foods contain two or more of these major food groups.  There is at least one dish that contains all five: Coffee Chocolate Rum Ice Cream!  Enjoy!

You Are Smarter than You Think

Originally published in

Northland Reader
now the
Reader Weekly
Duluth, Minnesota
February 3, 2000

 

Do you think in the same way all the time?  Or, do you look at things in different ways?  This article is a little test of your willingness to think creatively and to try different things.

I recently attended a dinner at which a speaker gave this exercise.

Pick any number from 1 to 9.  Multiply it by 9.  If the result is a two-digit number, add the two digits together.  Subtract 5 from the result.

Think of each letter of the alphabet as a number; that is A is 1, B is 2, and so on.  Match the number you had after subtracting 5 with the corresponding letter of the alphabet.

Think of a country name beginning with that letter.
Think of an animal name beginning with the last letter of the country’s name.
Think of a color name beginning with the last letter of the animal’s name.

Let me take out my magic wand, tap you on the head three times, and say that you thought of Denmark, kangaroo, and orange.

Now, let’s test your creativity.

First, did you ask yourself why the number part of the trick works?  Did you start juggling numbers in your head to prove it should work?  If you didn’t, your first lesson in creativity is to demonstrate why it works.  It may take several minutes of effort, but you can do it if you are willing to apply a little elementary arithmetic, a bit of abstraction to symbols, and a some small changes in viewpoint.

Secondly, did you ask yourself why I thought you would answer Denmark, kangaroo, and orange?  Are these the only country, animal, and color that begin with these letters?  Or are these more readily known than other examples?  If these aren’t the only country, animal, and color beginning with these letters, did you search your memory for any others?

Why not put the Northland Reader down right now, get out a piece of scratch paper and a pen, and work on these two problems?  First, prove that the number part of the exercise will work.  Second, list some other sequences of countries, animals, and colors in which the country name begins with D, the animal name begins with the last letter of the country name, and the color name begins with the last letter of the animal name.

OK, did you get anywhere?

The easy answer for the number question is the “rule of nine”.  Because we multiplied the original number by 9, then the second number is divisible by 9.  We will come back to 9 as our next result by applying the rule of nine.  That is, to see if any number is divisible by 9, add its digits together.  If the result is two or more digits long, add those digits together.  Repeat until you have a single digit.  If that digit is 9, then the number you applied the rule to is divisible by 9.  Since we started adding the digits together in the trick after we multiplied by 9, then the result of our addition has to be 9.

This method also applies to numbers divisible by 3, but the single digit may be 3, 6, or 9.  For now, we’ll stick with 9.

The harder part is now to explain why the rule of nine works.  Our first step is to introduce a bit of symbolism; let good old X stand for our original number.  Our first step is to multiply by 9, giving us 9X.  Now we have to make a little jump in viewpoint; 9 is 10-1, and so we have (10-1)X.  We can rewrite this as 10X - X.

That doesn’t look very promising.  Let’s try another jump in viewpoint; let Y be X - 1 or conversely, let X be Y+1.  We now have 10(Y+1) - X.  Why not replace both X’s with Y+1?  Because we need another jump in viewpoint.  First, rewrite our formula as 10Y + 10 - X.  Now let’s replace 10 - X with Z giving 10Y + Z.  If we add Y and Z using their equivalents expressed with X, we should get 9.  Here we go!  Y + Z is X - 1 + 10 - X which we can reorder as X - X + 10 - 1 which is 9!  Finally, subtracting 5 gets us 4, and D is the fourth letter of the alphabet.

To see it better, let’s put it in the compact but excruciating form we had to do in junior high algebra:

Assume we have a number 9X where X is any number from 1 to 9.

 9X = (10-1)X
 (10-1)X = 10X - X
 Let Y = X - 1
 X = Y + 1
 10X - X = 10(Y + 1) - X
 10(Y + 1) - X = 10Y + 10 - X
 Let Z = 10 - X
 10Y + 10 - X = 10Y + Z
 Y + Z = (X -1) + (10 - X)
 (X - 1) + (10 - X) = X - X - 1 + 10
 X - X - 1 + 10 = 9

Did you have difficulty following this?  Guess what?  I had difficulty coming up with it.  It took me several minutes of trial and error, spread over two days, to get all the steps right.  But Thomas Edison said that creativity is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration, and he went through a lot of glass to be the first to create a useful light bulb!

The second problem is a bit easier if you read a lot.  Did you also come with koala bear and red?  How about Dhubai, ibex, and hmm!  Oops!  Dubayy is a city in the United Arab Emirates.  Creativity can make errors.  How about Deutschland, deer, and red?  These were my thoughts at the dinner.

Curiosity, an important part of creativity, led me to the dictionary and atlas.  For colors other than orange we have olive and ochre.  Starting with countries, we have Dahomey, yak, and hmm?  Or, Dominican Republic, cat, and teal, or cougar and red, or chimpanzee and emerald, or …

Space doesn’t allow me to fill in my “hmm”s.

If you got this far, you know creativity is not that hard.  Unleash yours!  If you have a dull job, creativity may not get you a better job,  but it may make your job a bit more interesting.  If you have some tough fix-it problems at home, a fresh look at them may lead you to a solution or at least a workaround.  Finally, by looking past the figures and ideas in sound bites and headlines, you may gain a better perspective on many of the problems that confront us as a society.

Who’s to blame for high taxes? Try looking in the mirror

Originally published in the

Northland Reader
now the
Reader Weekly
January 20, 2000

"Cut taxes!"  "Reduce spending!" Hardly a week goes by that we don't hear a politician or a fellow citizen utter these two paired slogans. But do we know anyone who is willing to make the hard decisions that will bring about these two much desired goals?  Though both parties use these slogans, little of substance is done because we demand so much of our government -- from sweeping streets to catching criminals to projecting power around the world.

Next time we complain about taxes, let's make a short list of government services we expect.  If we compare our list with somebody else's, it probably won't match.  Let's say we have libraries on our list and the other person doesn't.  That person might have snowplowing on their list but we don't.

Now, should one person be taxed for libraries but not for snowplowing and the other person for snowplowing but not for libraries?  What would that other person say when we drive on the newly plowed streets?  Would they call us a free-loader?  What would we say if that other person decided to borrow a book from the library?  Would we call them a free-loader?  In order to get some of the services on our list we have to compromise and agree to pay for some of the things on the other person's list. 

Now things really become sticky.  How do we pay for all the things on both our lists?  We could pay the library part of the cost of the books that we borrow.  But what about some child who can't pay for the books?  Should we deny that child a marvelous learning opportunity?

For many of the services we would like from government, it would be a very
complex and costly accounting problem to bill citizens individually according to the benefits they receive.  Therefore, a broad-based tax is more efficient.

So, we have decided we will have our government perform a long list of services and that we will all pay for these services through taxes.  How do we apportion these taxes?

If we assume that we all have access to all benefits, then each of us could pay a fixed sum, say $2,500 per year.  A family of four with an income of $20,000 would pay $10,000 in taxes, leaving them with $10,000 per year to spend on other things.  On the other hand, a family of four with an income of $100,000 would also pay $10,000 in taxes, leaving them with $90,000 per year for other things. Just considering the two families, the paying of the tax has caused the ratio of their incomes to go from 5 to 1 before taxes to 9 to 1 after taxes!  Is this fair just for the privilege of having access to government services?

If a lump sum tax is not fair, would a percentage tax be fair?  Let's suppose that we would pay 10 percent of our income in taxes.  So those earning $20,000 would pay $2,000 and those earning $100,000 would pay $10,000!  This would leave each income group with 90 percent of its income. All but the family of four with the $20,000 income would complain that a proportional tax was unfair to them.  Adam Smith, the "father" of "free markets", supported this scheme when he wrote in The Wealth of Nations:  "The subjects of every state ought to contribute toward the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state."

Modern governments have taken "respective abilities" one step farther with progressive taxation, under which people making more money pay a higher proportion of taxes.  For example, a family making $20,000 might be taxed at eight percent while a family making $100,000 might be taxed at twelve percent.  If the less well-off family earned $1,000 more per year, how much would the utility of that $1,000 be? That is, could they eat a bit better or rent a less cramped apartment?  If the family with a $100,000 annual income earned $1,000 more per year, how much would the utility of that $1,000 be to them?  Would they eat out more often or rent a more luxurious apartment?  Or would it be like a blip in their investments?

If we assume the less well-off family used its extra $1,000 to buy more necessities and the more well-off family used its extra $1,000 to buy more luxuries, then a proportional tax would create a heavier burden on the less well-off family. We might say that each family's burden is more equal under a progressive tax.

No matter which tax system we choose, somebody is going to be unhappy. Since we have chosen a mix of proportional and progressive, just about everybody is unhappy.  We have local property taxes which are proportional using property as a proxy for income.  We have state and federal income taxes which are progressive.  And we have a number of other taxes levied by every level of government from the city to the federal; most of them are proportional.

Recently Duke Skorich wrote that the city of Duluth wanted the state of Minnesota to pay part of the cost of a recreational area.  The Duluth News-Tribune recently noted that the federal government was paying part of the cost of the renovation of the Old Downtown.  Congress included in its final budget bill some of the costs for new buses in the Twin Cities.

Why does this "bumping up" of costs happen?  Mostly because of us.  The more local our elected representatives are, the more we complain about any tax they may impose to fund the benefits we ask for.  Because we think somebody else will be paying, we ask the next higher level of elected officials to fund our favorite projects.  As the levels increase, it becomes easier for our representative to get projects for us and in turn blame other people's representatives for the high taxes!

So, "Cut taxes!" and "Reduce spending!"  really means "Cut our taxes!" and "Reduce your spending!"  But it will never happen until we change it to "Let's reduce our spending, and then we can cut our taxes."

Shameless self-promotion

I’ve spent way too much time documenting a problem with Apple software.  I phrased my description in a manner that it was moved from the support people to the programmers.  The latter asked for a bit more information.

To add to my “bona fides” I suggested they do a search for

“melvyn” “magree” computers

The quotes are important.  Without them Google would also search for melvin and magee.  The “melvyn” is also important because there are many Magrees who are better-known than I am, especially in Australia.

Wow! Over 20,000 hits going way back.  Gosh, if I could have gotten $100 for each of those items…

Billionaire Duluth Native Buys Northland Reader

The following was my first April Fool submission to the Weekly Reader, then called the Northland Reader.  It is one that has been read several times on my web site; as of this posting it comes up second in a Google search of "duluth" and "billionaire".

Billionaire Duluth Native Buys Northland Reader
Melvyn D. Magree
Originally published in
Northland Reader
now called
ReaderWeekly
March 30, 2000
Revised
May 22, 2007 and March 31, 2013

Silicon Valley billionaire and Duluth native Nessuno Jarnowski Ingenvik announced today that he is buying the Northland Reader for an undisclosed price.  Mr. Ingenvik said that he is doing it because he would like to return to his roots, he would like to pay back Duluth for his upbringing, and he thinks the Northland Reader deserves a better fate than lining his mother’s parakeet’s cage.

Mr. Ingenvik made his fortune selling taconite pellets on the worldwide web.  He discovered that taconite pellets in the ears were an excellent hangover remedy.  One night after a bout of drinking grappa, vodka, and akvavit, some friends stuck the pellets in his ears as a prank.  Mr. Ingenvik woke up the next morning without his usual headache.  In fact, his head was so clear that in less than an hour he was able to draft a complete business plan for selling the pellets over the web.

One of Mr. Ingenvik’s first actions will be to move the offices of the Northland Reader from its cramped quarters in Canal Park to the penthouse of the Technology Village.  Mr. Ingenvik said that the move to the Technology Village will provide the synergy needed to expand the Northland Reader into an electronic media leader.  Furthermore, all the young interns will provide flashier, more iconoclastic content at far less cost than the current writers.

Mr. Ingenvik plans to create a web version of the Northland Reader by late spring.  He said that a cutting edge publication like the Northland Reader should have been using cutting edge technology long ago.

Publisher Robert Boone remembers Signore Nessuno when they were teammates on the East hockey team.  He said that Nessuno was known as the Ice Italian because he was so cool under pressure.  When he was asked about his future plans, Boone said he would think about them from his chalet in Switzerland.

Editor Richard Thomas remembers Pan Jarnowski when they were team mates on the Denfeld basketball team.  He said that Jarnowski was known as the Pouncing Pole because he would often grab the ball out of an opponent’s hands.  When he was asked about his future plans, Thomas said he would think about them from his condo at Waikiki.

Columnist Duke Skorich remembers Herr Ingenvik when they were team mates on the Central wrestling team.  He said that Ingenvik was known as the Slippery Swede because he was able to get out of some very difficult holds.  However, Skorich said those fond memories will never get him to move to the Technology Village even if they offered free brats and beer for lunch.

Columnist Mel Magree groused, “I guess I’m done here.  Nobody in Silicon Valley wants programmers over forty years old.”