Far out in the farmlands south of town, IBM built a disk drive factory in the Late 50s. In order to attract the world's finest talent they built nice houses, shopping centers, a golf course, tennis club and swimming pool. This self contained utopia had everything a family could want... It is still there and functioning beautifully. Come visit sometime... it's wonderful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Milestones of Invention:
1956 - FIRST MAGNETIC HARD DISK. IBM introduces the world's first magnetic hard disk for data storage. RAMAC (or Random Access Method of Accounting and Control) offers unprecedented performance by permitting random access to any of the million characters distributed over both sides of 50 two-foot-diameter disks. Produced in San Jose, California, IBM's first hard disk stored about 2,000 bits of data per square inch and had a purchase price of about $10,000 per megabyte. By 1997, the cost of storing a megabyte had dropped to around ten cents.
1970 - RELATIONAL DATABASES. IBM scientist Ted Codd published a paper introducing the concept of relational databases. It calls for information stored within a computer to be arranged in easy-to-interpret tables so that nontechnical users can access and manage large amounts of data. Today as we approach the new millennium, nearly all database structures are based on the IBM concept of relational databases.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almaden Wine is famous worldwide. No longer grown in Almaden, it's grown and bottled in the central valley of California... We cut down all the vineyards to build houses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~~
A discussion on our Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/105559162879359/
I said:
Almaden: IBM's Successful Utopia. I remember competing with the LG Swim and Raquet Club against the Almaden Swim and Raquet Club. I worked in Almaden as a bag boy at P&W Super and in the 1990's lived in one of the original Homes built for Employees of the Disk Drive Factory. Do you remember Almaden?
David Gee: I started out on stage in Old Almaden at a venerable place called "The Opry House". I love that part of Northern Cal.
Greg Vanderlaan: I went to a show at that house but cannot find any mention of it on Google. Is it still there? I went with Mom and Dad to see a stage play or musical.
David Gee: I'm not sure, Greg. I was contacted about a re-union last year -one I couldn't attend -and it was being held in San Jose so, my guess is, it's probably gone.
Greg Vanderlaan: Now that David Gee tells me the Name, The Opry House, it's easy to find on Google: http://www.newalmaden.org/AQSPark/newalmmus.html
Mark C. Rodell: The novel Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner is, in part, set in Almaden. A very fine novel. http://www.amazon.com/Repose-Penguin-Classics-Wallace-Stegner/dp/0141185473 Perhaps no American writer knew the West as well as Stegner, not excepting his student Edward Abbey. An inveterate hiker and explorer, he camped or walked nearly every area in the West. He wrote innumerable books about the West and took time to visit every spot he wrote about.
Barbara Lynn: My mom (Nancy Lynn) was in many a melodrama at the Opry House in Old Almaden. Run for many years by Clyde (or is it Clive? ) & Gilda Dayton. After The Opry House, the Daytons had a melodrama theater on the wharf in Monterey. Might still be there.
Debi Thompson-Boring: Is that the place where they encouraged throwing popcorn?
Barbara Lynn: Yep!
Debi Thompson-Boring: LOVED going there!
Debi Thompson-Boring: (so I probably saw your mom LOL)
Barbara Lynn: Kinda hard to NOT notice my mom! She was meant for melodramas!
David Gee: I think it was Cleeve Dayton, Barbara. A wonderful guy. There also was Lanny Huck and Linda Nantell. Man, them was some good times.
Barbara Lynn: Yes....Cleeve! Son, Keed (I think)...What years were you involved, David?
David Gee: I've been in touch with Keed here on Facebook. He went to LG High. I started underage in '73 and played there until I left for college in '75.
Barbara Lynn: Oh.....way after my mom. She was there in the mid-late 60's. I think I was even in one, one summer. Theater is always a family affair. My dad, being an engineer, did sound. Mom moved on to the Haunted Woods...But she had always been involved in local community...she's still trying to get me to find her "one last play" to be in. (She's 88) Old drama majors don't "go into the night" easily!
David Gee "Driving Miss Nancy "?
Barbara Lynn Well.....it WOULD be all about HER! That's my mom!
Oops....I might be getting myself in trouble!
Holly Russ Smelt: Debi Thompson-Boring- might you be thinking of the gaslight theater in Campbell? They encouraged throwing of popcorn during the melodramas they staged
Barbara Lynn: Yes, they did, but I think it started at the Opry House...or maybe they're just blending together...my mother finally gave a lot of her costumes to the one in Campbell. That's gone, now, too.
Jackie Hinds Barbara Lynn: I'm in your Mom's age group so guess I saw her at the Opry House. fyi my uncle Gene Allen owned the mines during WWll. He had a horse ranch on what is now the Country Club and sub divisions. Almost like a different world back then.
Terry Zimbelman Titus: @ Greg- I remember Almaden- I worked in the Almaden Fashion Plaza at the Joseph Magnin's store! 1971-1972 ish
Robert R Roche: and he's still a bag boy !
Greg Vanderlaan: Dear Jackie Hinds, I am interested in hearing more about what it was like before the IBM Factory was built.
Greg Vanderlaan: I see that there was a tradition of Chinese Pottery dyed red with cinnabar (mercury). Barry Hill and I did a science project in "Senior Lab" studying the effect of mercury poisoning on brine shrimp. It Kills them. It must be poisonous to eat out of a bowl or teacup.
Holly Russ Smelt: My brothers were friends with Barry and Allen Hill.
David Gee Greg, I vaguely remember a field trip we took out of Fisher or LGHS to Almaden where we were introduced to an ancient native tribe of the area that used cinnabar in its rituals.
15 hours ago via mobile · Edited · Like · 1
Greg Vanderlaan: My dad says it is dangerous to swim in the Almaden Reservoir... But both Mom and Dad swam there... for decades... Mom lived in Willow Glen as a Child and Dad lived in Los Gatos... We shouldn't really worry to much about danger when it's a hot day... I swam there too.
Dan LeCount: I remember swimming in Almaden and fishing for crawdads,very muddy
Dennis Fleming: There was an old woman who had built and run a tiny museum out there. I intereviewed her once in college. Very eccentric, but very cool. Wonder what ever happened to all that stuff.
Barbara Lynn: The museum has been expanded, and is a great place for 3rd & 4th grade field trips. A wonderful source of local history.
Ginny Lenoir Smith: old almaden out by the mercury mines was cool... my dad worked for ibm, we always pretended that meant i poop.....
***** (~);-} *****
I remember Going to West Valley Junior College in Saratoga, CA and Learning Electronics Drafting. After Studying for One Year I Was Able to Get a Job at System Industries...
I have always loved to Draw and EARNING A LIVING doing something you love to do is BLISS... I Remember occasions when the Sun was Shining in the Window and I was Designing a Printed Circuit Board and AT THAT MOMENT I Attained True Enlightenment (or Something)... What the Buddhists Call Right Livelihood...
However, "They" invented Computer Assisted Design and The Companies I worked for could hire people for HALF MY RATE OF PAY... and so I switched to SALES... But It Was Fun While It Lasted...
NOW, as a Retired Person I spend a Lot of Time drawing my FREE COLORING BOOK... Black and White drawing that people May Print out and Color using Felt Pens, Pencils or Crayons... You can find more art at Google Image Search Keywords "gvan42 Free Coloring Book"
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Satellite Photo of Almaden.
Many Houses have backyards on the golf course.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some thoughts on Almaden: [Written by my Father]
When the white men came to this area, Spaniards primarily, they discovered that the local indians had colorful paint on their skins. This was traced to the Almaden Valley, up in the hills, where mines of red substance was discovered. When gold was discovered in the Sierras it was determined that the colorful material in the Almaden foothills was mercury. Mercury had the capability of extracting gold from the rocks, so was greatly used in gold mining. This led to miners living in the Almaden valley, and the nearby valley floor.
The Valley floor was mainly developed into ranches, orchards and vineyards, as well as strawberry fields from 1850 to after World War 2. T hen The Santa Clara valley became the home of manufacturing of mechanical and electronic equipment, and then "Sillicon Valley", with the coming of IBM to the south Valley. During my working life here, the valley floor was slowly developed into housing tracts, Shopping centers, schools, etc. Lots of work!
This ultimately extended into the Almaden Valley. I worked as a surveyor and at a Title Company during this period, and it still continues; but not at that frantic pace. Japanese farmers would buy a parcel of land in the outskirts of Willow Glen. Plant strawberries, for 5 years, when the soil was over-used. Sell the 20 acres to a homebuilder, at a big profit, move 5 miles further south, and repeat the process. How fortunes were made in those days. Marguerite and I were also able to buy a small parcel here and there, which enabled us to build this house. Van [J. D. Vanderlaan]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I [Gregory] remember swimming at Almaden when our team, The Los Gatos Swim & Racquet competed with theirs. The Polol was Up on a Hill with a Great View of the Orchards and The City of San Jose in the Distance. I believe my father sold some land to build a shopping center in Almaden. Oakridge? Almaden Fashion Plaza? I worked as a Bagboy at a P&W Super in that area also. Dad sold that land. On some days in the Summer the Air Pollution was so bad that I could not see Mount Umunhum... about 5 miles distant... They Leaded Gas was Outlawed and the Smog got a lot better.
A Bruce Ave, Los Gatos neighbor remembers... Mark Diaz said That His Father worked at IBM. Mark went on the day that Nikita Khrushchev visited. I can understand that the president of the USSR wanted to be taken to the most advanced computer factory in the world... as an example of the success of capitalism... Interesting to Realize that IBM Searched the World for Talented People. Mr Diaz Came from Nicaragua.
Milestones of Invention:
1956 - FIRST MAGNETIC HARD DISK. IBM introduces the world's first magnetic hard disk for data storage. RAMAC (or Random Access Method of Accounting and Control) offers unprecedented performance by permitting random access to any of the million characters distributed over both sides of 50 two-foot-diameter disks. Produced in San Jose, California, IBM's first hard disk stored about 2,000 bits of data per square inch and had a purchase price of about $10,000 per megabyte. By 1997, the cost of storing a megabyte had dropped to around ten cents.
1970 - RELATIONAL DATABASES. IBM scientist Ted Codd published a paper introducing the concept of relational databases. It calls for information stored within a computer to be arranged in easy-to-interpret tables so that nontechnical users can access and manage large amounts of data. Today as we approach the new millennium, nearly all database structures are based on the IBM concept of relational databases.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almaden Wine is famous worldwide. No longer grown in Almaden, it's grown and bottled in the central valley of California... We cut down all the vineyards to build houses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sources:
http://www.research.ibm.com/labs/almaden/
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/history/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Almaden_Research_Center
Official Website of the Almaden Swim and Racquet Club: http://www.asrc.org/index.html
Official Website of the Almaden Golf and Country Club: http://www.almadengcc.org/
Lightrail Service:
Commuter Trains run from Almaden to San Jose, Santa Clara all the way to Mountain View.
http://www.vta.org/services/light_rail_services.html
List of interesting things to do in Silicon Valley: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attractions_in_Silicon_Valley
When I was working at System Industries in Santa Clara, California (1976) the owner of the company (Dr. Edwin Zschau) went to Japan to learn how to run a business.
They were doing very well in comparison to USA companies and there was a lot of interest in learning why. So we adopted many oriental concepts and implemented them in our business. One thing was that we had a company song. We had a birthday meeting every month and we would all sing the company song.
Lyrics:
"System, System Industries, Here we go, Hand in hand.
Solving Data Mysteries for the betterment of man."
Another thing we did was take a two hour lunch so we could exercise. I swam at the Santa Clara International Swim center with my wife. She was working the Graveyard shift at National Semi-conductor so we met twice a day. Lunch and evenings.
We had many people from foreign countries working there. When Dr. Zschau went to Japan he hired many Japanese people. Immigrants made our company better. That was a universal fact of life about Silicon Valley... The brightest engineers worldwide came here for work. I had a neighbor from Nicaragua who came to work at IBM. And another Engineer I knew came from Germany at the end of WW2 to work at Lockheed. Very Common.
~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~
Another time in Santa Clara we participated in a "Car Rally". Everyone would meet at a starting location then we were given a series of clues as to where to go next. One clue was "Go to a street named for a part time orchestra leader." We were supposed to figure out the puzzle and navagate to checkpoints. The answer to that clue was "Semi-conductor Blvd"... semi meaning part time and conductor is the leader of an orchestra. This was all part of the California Car Culture.
http://www.research.ibm.com/labs/almaden/
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/history/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Almaden_Research_Center
Official Website of the Almaden Swim and Racquet Club: http://www.asrc.org/index.html
Official Website of the Almaden Golf and Country Club: http://www.almadengcc.org/
Lightrail Service:
Commuter Trains run from Almaden to San Jose, Santa Clara all the way to Mountain View.
http://www.vta.org/services/light_rail_services.html
List of interesting things to do in Silicon Valley: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attractions_in_Silicon_Valley
When I was working at System Industries in Santa Clara, California (1976) the owner of the company (Dr. Edwin Zschau) went to Japan to learn how to run a business.
They were doing very well in comparison to USA companies and there was a lot of interest in learning why. So we adopted many oriental concepts and implemented them in our business. One thing was that we had a company song. We had a birthday meeting every month and we would all sing the company song.
Lyrics:
"System, System Industries, Here we go, Hand in hand.
Solving Data Mysteries for the betterment of man."
Another thing we did was take a two hour lunch so we could exercise. I swam at the Santa Clara International Swim center with my wife. She was working the Graveyard shift at National Semi-conductor so we met twice a day. Lunch and evenings.
We had many people from foreign countries working there. When Dr. Zschau went to Japan he hired many Japanese people. Immigrants made our company better. That was a universal fact of life about Silicon Valley... The brightest engineers worldwide came here for work. I had a neighbor from Nicaragua who came to work at IBM. And another Engineer I knew came from Germany at the end of WW2 to work at Lockheed. Very Common.
~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~
Another time in Santa Clara we participated in a "Car Rally". Everyone would meet at a starting location then we were given a series of clues as to where to go next. One clue was "Go to a street named for a part time orchestra leader." We were supposed to figure out the puzzle and navagate to checkpoints. The answer to that clue was "Semi-conductor Blvd"... semi meaning part time and conductor is the leader of an orchestra. This was all part of the California Car Culture.
Read more of my Auto-Biography at: http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html
~~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~~
A discussion on our Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/105559162879359/
I said:
Almaden: IBM's Successful Utopia. I remember competing with the LG Swim and Raquet Club against the Almaden Swim and Raquet Club. I worked in Almaden as a bag boy at P&W Super and in the 1990's lived in one of the original Homes built for Employees of the Disk Drive Factory. Do you remember Almaden?
David Gee: I started out on stage in Old Almaden at a venerable place called "The Opry House". I love that part of Northern Cal.
Greg Vanderlaan: I went to a show at that house but cannot find any mention of it on Google. Is it still there? I went with Mom and Dad to see a stage play or musical.
David Gee: I'm not sure, Greg. I was contacted about a re-union last year -one I couldn't attend -and it was being held in San Jose so, my guess is, it's probably gone.
Greg Vanderlaan: Now that David Gee tells me the Name, The Opry House, it's easy to find on Google: http://www.newalmaden.org/AQSPark/newalmmus.html
Mark C. Rodell: The novel Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner is, in part, set in Almaden. A very fine novel. http://www.amazon.com/Repose-Penguin-Classics-Wallace-Stegner/dp/0141185473 Perhaps no American writer knew the West as well as Stegner, not excepting his student Edward Abbey. An inveterate hiker and explorer, he camped or walked nearly every area in the West. He wrote innumerable books about the West and took time to visit every spot he wrote about.
Barbara Lynn: My mom (Nancy Lynn) was in many a melodrama at the Opry House in Old Almaden. Run for many years by Clyde (or is it Clive? ) & Gilda Dayton. After The Opry House, the Daytons had a melodrama theater on the wharf in Monterey. Might still be there.
Debi Thompson-Boring: Is that the place where they encouraged throwing popcorn?
Barbara Lynn: Yep!
Debi Thompson-Boring: LOVED going there!
Debi Thompson-Boring: (so I probably saw your mom LOL)
Barbara Lynn: Kinda hard to NOT notice my mom! She was meant for melodramas!
David Gee: I think it was Cleeve Dayton, Barbara. A wonderful guy. There also was Lanny Huck and Linda Nantell. Man, them was some good times.
Barbara Lynn: Yes....Cleeve! Son, Keed (I think)...What years were you involved, David?
David Gee: I've been in touch with Keed here on Facebook. He went to LG High. I started underage in '73 and played there until I left for college in '75.
Barbara Lynn: Oh.....way after my mom. She was there in the mid-late 60's. I think I was even in one, one summer. Theater is always a family affair. My dad, being an engineer, did sound. Mom moved on to the Haunted Woods...But she had always been involved in local community...she's still trying to get me to find her "one last play" to be in. (She's 88) Old drama majors don't "go into the night" easily!
David Gee "Driving Miss Nancy "?
Barbara Lynn Well.....it WOULD be all about HER! That's my mom!
Oops....I might be getting myself in trouble!
Holly Russ Smelt: Debi Thompson-Boring- might you be thinking of the gaslight theater in Campbell? They encouraged throwing of popcorn during the melodramas they staged
Barbara Lynn: Yes, they did, but I think it started at the Opry House...or maybe they're just blending together...my mother finally gave a lot of her costumes to the one in Campbell. That's gone, now, too.
Jackie Hinds Barbara Lynn: I'm in your Mom's age group so guess I saw her at the Opry House. fyi my uncle Gene Allen owned the mines during WWll. He had a horse ranch on what is now the Country Club and sub divisions. Almost like a different world back then.
Terry Zimbelman Titus: @ Greg- I remember Almaden- I worked in the Almaden Fashion Plaza at the Joseph Magnin's store! 1971-1972 ish
Robert R Roche: and he's still a bag boy !
Greg Vanderlaan: Dear Jackie Hinds, I am interested in hearing more about what it was like before the IBM Factory was built.
Greg Vanderlaan: I see that there was a tradition of Chinese Pottery dyed red with cinnabar (mercury). Barry Hill and I did a science project in "Senior Lab" studying the effect of mercury poisoning on brine shrimp. It Kills them. It must be poisonous to eat out of a bowl or teacup.
Holly Russ Smelt: My brothers were friends with Barry and Allen Hill.
David Gee Greg, I vaguely remember a field trip we took out of Fisher or LGHS to Almaden where we were introduced to an ancient native tribe of the area that used cinnabar in its rituals.
15 hours ago via mobile · Edited · Like · 1
Greg Vanderlaan: My dad says it is dangerous to swim in the Almaden Reservoir... But both Mom and Dad swam there... for decades... Mom lived in Willow Glen as a Child and Dad lived in Los Gatos... We shouldn't really worry to much about danger when it's a hot day... I swam there too.
Dan LeCount: I remember swimming in Almaden and fishing for crawdads,very muddy
Dennis Fleming: There was an old woman who had built and run a tiny museum out there. I intereviewed her once in college. Very eccentric, but very cool. Wonder what ever happened to all that stuff.
Barbara Lynn: The museum has been expanded, and is a great place for 3rd & 4th grade field trips. A wonderful source of local history.
Ginny Lenoir Smith: old almaden out by the mercury mines was cool... my dad worked for ibm, we always pretended that meant i poop.....
***** (~);-} *****
I remember Going to West Valley Junior College in Saratoga, CA and Learning Electronics Drafting. After Studying for One Year I Was Able to Get a Job at System Industries...
I have always loved to Draw and EARNING A LIVING doing something you love to do is BLISS... I Remember occasions when the Sun was Shining in the Window and I was Designing a Printed Circuit Board and AT THAT MOMENT I Attained True Enlightenment (or Something)... What the Buddhists Call Right Livelihood...
However, "They" invented Computer Assisted Design and The Companies I worked for could hire people for HALF MY RATE OF PAY... and so I switched to SALES... But It Was Fun While It Lasted...
NOW, as a Retired Person I spend a Lot of Time drawing my FREE COLORING BOOK... Black and White drawing that people May Print out and Color using Felt Pens, Pencils or Crayons... You can find more art at Google Image Search Keywords "gvan42 Free Coloring Book"
 |
Meetings with Remarkable Men - In Silicon Valley. Dr Edwin Van Wyck Zschau - President of System Industries
I started working for Dr Zschau in 1975 and we built Disc Drive Controller Cards. We had a company Song that we Sang at Staff Meetings... Lyrics: 'System, System Industries... Here we go... Hand in Hand... Solving Data Mysteries... For the Betterment of Man.' He also worked at IBM and represented California's 12th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1987.
On Family Day at the Factory, Mom and Dad took a Personal Guided tour with Dr. Zschau. The three of them had a fine time as my parents had never been in a room with a dozen disc drives spinning. Each one the size of a Washing Machine. It sounded like the Generator Room at Hoover Dam, but quieter.
Control Data Corporation Disc Drive
The reason we had a Company Song is that Dr Zschau had just gone to Japan and he wanted to Incorporate their Business Practices in our Company. First, he hired 20 People from Japan and brought them over to Run the Silonix Division. Then he instituted 'recommended' exercise lunches of two hour duration. I often went swimming at the Santa Clara International Swim Center with my First Ex-Wife who worked the Graveyard Shift at National Semiconductor.
In the Machine Shop there were two Boxing Punching Bags. If anyone felt stress at work, they could go punch the bags.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Immediate Supervisor was Dan Aragaki, a Harley Davidson Riding, Martial Artist. Yes, I Simply Did what Dan told me to do Instantly Because... Not only was his Advice Correct, but I was Scared of the Man. (Or maybe that was Respect)
Ben Yamada made Elegant Clay Sculptures of the Ink Jet Printer Silonix was Inventing.
Aman Kawaja supervised the Assembly Line and Inspired the Ladies to Work Faster with Giant Charts on the Wall Tracking Production. 100% of the Assemblers were Female in 1975. They were better at hand eye coordination and manipulation of tiny objects than men.
David Yamada created Printed Circuit Board Artwork on Mylar using Black Chartpak Tape. He also liked to go Helicopter Skiing in Canada. A Helicopter flew him to the Top of the Mountain in Banff, and David Skied Down.
Steve Wakasuki Refused to be Hurried at Work. He also created PCB Artwork also and no matter how much pressure Middle Management put on him to finish the drawings Quickly, he simply ignored them. Quality First.
Jesus Del Real was the Draftsman who sat next to me and did most of my training. I learned How to Draw the Drawings associated with PCB Manufacture from Jesus. When I moved to Washington DC the next year, my portfolio got me two job offers in one day. Thank You, Jesus!
I accepted the Job Offer from Major Paul Jones USAF and worked at Analytic Communications Systems for six years. Project TEMPEST.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Title of this Blog Post was Pirated from the Book by G. I. Gurdjieff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meetings_with_Remarkable_Men
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Autobiography by a Co-worker Ray:
http://whiteworld.com/cyreenikland/books/surfing/surf-03e.htm
Newspaper Articles:
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-06-29/news/mn-381_1_system-industries
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/21/business/business-people-a-son-of-silicon-valley-back-from-capitol-hill.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1993-05-09/ed-zschau-doesnt-fit-big-blues-mold-and-thats-the-point
Alumni Page Princeton:
http://www.princeton.edu/paw/archive_new/PAW04-05/09-0223/features3.html
Professor Ed Zschau ’61 serves as guru to budding entrepreneurs
By Jordan Paul Amadio ’05
It is the last day of class before winter break, and 65 seniors are mesmerized by a professor in a Bugs Bunny tie. For the past hour, he has been recounting the details of his autobiography — studying physics and philosophy at Princeton, running a $6 billion division of IBM, founding two technology companies, winning a congressional seat in California. Suddenly, the lecturer pauses. Smiling to himself, he continues an end-of-semester tradition inaugurated four decades earlier, when he was Stanford Business School’s 24-year-old faculty wunderkind. Without warning, professor Ed Zschau ’61 begins to sing.
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I started working for Dr Zschau in 1975 and we built Disc Drive Controller Cards. We had a company Song that we Sang at Staff Meetings... Lyrics: 'System, System Industries... Here we go... Hand in Hand... Solving Data Mysteries... For the Betterment of Man.' He also worked at IBM and represented California's 12th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1987.
On Family Day at the Factory, Mom and Dad took a Personal Guided tour with Dr. Zschau. The three of them had a fine time as my parents had never been in a room with a dozen disc drives spinning. Each one the size of a Washing Machine. It sounded like the Generator Room at Hoover Dam, but quieter.
Control Data Corporation Disc Drive
The reason we had a Company Song is that Dr Zschau had just gone to Japan and he wanted to Incorporate their Business Practices in our Company. First, he hired 20 People from Japan and brought them over to Run the Silonix Division. Then he instituted 'recommended' exercise lunches of two hour duration. I often went swimming at the Santa Clara International Swim Center with my First Ex-Wife who worked the Graveyard Shift at National Semiconductor.
In the Machine Shop there were two Boxing Punching Bags. If anyone felt stress at work, they could go punch the bags.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Immediate Supervisor was Dan Aragaki, a Harley Davidson Riding, Martial Artist. Yes, I Simply Did what Dan told me to do Instantly Because... Not only was his Advice Correct, but I was Scared of the Man. (Or maybe that was Respect)
Ben Yamada made Elegant Clay Sculptures of the Ink Jet Printer Silonix was Inventing.
Aman Kawaja supervised the Assembly Line and Inspired the Ladies to Work Faster with Giant Charts on the Wall Tracking Production. 100% of the Assemblers were Female in 1975. They were better at hand eye coordination and manipulation of tiny objects than men.
David Yamada created Printed Circuit Board Artwork on Mylar using Black Chartpak Tape. He also liked to go Helicopter Skiing in Canada. A Helicopter flew him to the Top of the Mountain in Banff, and David Skied Down.
Steve Wakasuki Refused to be Hurried at Work. He also created PCB Artwork also and no matter how much pressure Middle Management put on him to finish the drawings Quickly, he simply ignored them. Quality First.
Jesus Del Real was the Draftsman who sat next to me and did most of my training. I learned How to Draw the Drawings associated with PCB Manufacture from Jesus. When I moved to Washington DC the next year, my portfolio got me two job offers in one day. Thank You, Jesus!
I accepted the Job Offer from Major Paul Jones USAF and worked at Analytic Communications Systems for six years. Project TEMPEST.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Title of this Blog Post was Pirated from the Book by G. I. Gurdjieff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meetings_with_Remarkable_Men
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Autobiography by a Co-worker Ray:
http://whiteworld.com/cyreenikland/books/surfing/surf-03e.htm
Newspaper Articles:
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-06-29/news/mn-381_1_system-industries
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/21/business/business-people-a-son-of-silicon-valley-back-from-capitol-hill.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1993-05-09/ed-zschau-doesnt-fit-big-blues-mold-and-thats-the-point
Alumni Page Princeton:
http://www.princeton.edu/paw/archive_new/PAW04-05/09-0223/features3.html
Professor Ed Zschau ’61 serves as guru to budding entrepreneurs
By Jordan Paul Amadio ’05
It is the last day of class before winter break, and 65 seniors are mesmerized by a professor in a Bugs Bunny tie. For the past hour, he has been recounting the details of his autobiography — studying physics and philosophy at Princeton, running a $6 billion division of IBM, founding two technology companies, winning a congressional seat in California. Suddenly, the lecturer pauses. Smiling to himself, he continues an end-of-semester tradition inaugurated four decades earlier, when he was Stanford Business School’s 24-year-old faculty wunderkind. Without warning, professor Ed Zschau ’61 begins to sing.
A Japanese Webpage Selling Stuff Online Using Copied and Pasted Data from Wikipedia as Clickbait... They Fool the Google Search Engine into thinking that this webpage is worthy, then advertise all kinds of 'wonderful' but useless products:
But they had a Great Photo for me to Pirate.
Picture of a PDP-11. Our Cards served as an Interface between Mini Computers and Disc Drives.
The Ultimate Goal was to Store Medical Information about Patients on Computers so it could be Easily Distributed between Doctor's Offices and Hospitals.
Sadly, HIPPA Regulation Prevents the Easy Distribution of Medical Information.
The Ultimate Goal was to Store Medical Information about Patients on Computers so it could be Easily Distributed between Doctor's Offices and Hospitals.
Sadly, HIPPA Regulation Prevents the Easy Distribution of Medical Information.
****** (~);-] ******
Planned Cities are vastly better than unplanned cities. The Joy of Columbia Maryland, Almaden and Scotia, CA and Reston, VA
I have had the joy of living in Columbia, Maryland and Almaden, California. I worked in Reston, Virginia and have visited Scotia, California.
Columbia is an example of a truly outstanding design. It is based on small "pods" of homes and businesses that are interconnected by bike trails and roads. Every home is within walking distance of stores that sell basic necessities. This becomes crucial during snowstorms when all the roads are undriveable. Designed by James Rouse. It is home to the Merriweather Post Pavilion concert venue in Symphony Woods. Across the street is a Shopping Mall and Lake Kittamaqundi... sail boats and canoes for rent. Columbia is home to Howard Community College and Hobbit's Glen golf course. Yes, he planned for everything... and it's all within biking distance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rouse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Kittamaqundi
http://www.merriweathermusic.com/
Almaden: During the 1960s IBM built a disk drive factory in the rural farmland near San Jose, California. Then they build homes for the employees, a golf course and a swim and racquet club. They believed that they could attract a higher quality employee if the living conditions were ideal. It worked. The concept of a the database was invented there. One of those truly epic ideas...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaden_Valley,_San_Jose,_California
Reston was a city built by Robert E Simon. Note his initials in the name of the city. Located near Dulles Airport it is a popular location for corporations. It is easy to fly into Dulles and take a taxi to a meeting. Having an airport close by was convenient for shipping our finished products to the customers. I worked for a defense subcontractor and Reston is close to the Pentagon and Washington, DC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reston,_Virginia
Scotia was built for the employees of The Pacific Lumber Company. Their plan was to harvest 1% of the trees every year and plant a new tree for every one harvested. That "100 year plan" was designed to ensure that there would be work for the mill employees forever. In a hundred years, the new trees would have grown up and be big enough to harvest again. Sadly, Charles Hurwitz used junk bonds to do a hostile takeover of the company, cut down all the profitable trees, looted the pension fund, hid the money in Texas and then declared bankruptcy. Now the company has been purchased by the Fischer family and they have returned to sustainable logging.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotia,_California
http://www.jailhurwitz.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Fisher
There is a lovely coloring book of The Headwaters Forest.
Link: http://www.jailhurwitz.com/pdfs/hfcb_cover.html
On a personal note: If you and your friends drive over Blossom Hill Road from Los Gatos, California at night and you put Pink Floyd's "Division Bell" CD in the stereo... when you crest the hill and can look down on the sparkling lights of the city of Almaden... the band sings...
The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The nights of wonder
it's all true and a really emotional experience...
You see, it appears that the lyrics describe what is actually happening... Cosmic...
I had the blessing of attending many rock concerts at Merriweather Post Pavillion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriweather_Post_Pavilion
The Grateful Dead played there Six times while I was living on the east coast and I went to all six shows.
One night there was a thunder and lightning storm at dusk. Torrential downpour... all the power went out and we were treated to a drum duet played by Bill K and Mickey Hart. It appeared that they were incorporation the thunder into their music. A traditional tom-tom fill is "da da da, de de de, du du du, boom". They used the flash of lightning to predict when the thunders boom would sound...
As a special blessing, half the audience on the lawn area went home... That solved the overcrowding problem. The rest of us stayed and danced in the mud.
Sadly, the audience forced management to prohibit the Grateful Dead from playing there. One time there was a concert near July Fourth and the members of the audience set off too many fireworks after the concert. Since it is possible to buy rockets that fly up into the sky and explode in South Carolina (not too far away), that year there was a danger of setting Symphony Woods on fire. Oh Well... it all worked out because about that time the Grateful Dead became really popular and needed RFK Stadium to satisfy the demand for tickets.
Planned Cities are vastly better than unplanned cities. The Joy of Columbia Maryland, Almaden and Scotia, CA and Reston, VA
I have had the joy of living in Columbia, Maryland and Almaden, California. I worked in Reston, Virginia and have visited Scotia, California.
Columbia is an example of a truly outstanding design. It is based on small "pods" of homes and businesses that are interconnected by bike trails and roads. Every home is within walking distance of stores that sell basic necessities. This becomes crucial during snowstorms when all the roads are undriveable. Designed by James Rouse. It is home to the Merriweather Post Pavilion concert venue in Symphony Woods. Across the street is a Shopping Mall and Lake Kittamaqundi... sail boats and canoes for rent. Columbia is home to Howard Community College and Hobbit's Glen golf course. Yes, he planned for everything... and it's all within biking distance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rouse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Kittamaqundi
http://www.merriweathermusic.com/
Almaden: During the 1960s IBM built a disk drive factory in the rural farmland near San Jose, California. Then they build homes for the employees, a golf course and a swim and racquet club. They believed that they could attract a higher quality employee if the living conditions were ideal. It worked. The concept of a the database was invented there. One of those truly epic ideas...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaden_Valley,_San_Jose,_California
Reston was a city built by Robert E Simon. Note his initials in the name of the city. Located near Dulles Airport it is a popular location for corporations. It is easy to fly into Dulles and take a taxi to a meeting. Having an airport close by was convenient for shipping our finished products to the customers. I worked for a defense subcontractor and Reston is close to the Pentagon and Washington, DC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reston,_Virginia
Scotia was built for the employees of The Pacific Lumber Company. Their plan was to harvest 1% of the trees every year and plant a new tree for every one harvested. That "100 year plan" was designed to ensure that there would be work for the mill employees forever. In a hundred years, the new trees would have grown up and be big enough to harvest again. Sadly, Charles Hurwitz used junk bonds to do a hostile takeover of the company, cut down all the profitable trees, looted the pension fund, hid the money in Texas and then declared bankruptcy. Now the company has been purchased by the Fischer family and they have returned to sustainable logging.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotia,_California
http://www.jailhurwitz.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Fisher
There is a lovely coloring book of The Headwaters Forest.
Link: http://www.jailhurwitz.com/pdfs/hfcb_cover.html
On a personal note: If you and your friends drive over Blossom Hill Road from Los Gatos, California at night and you put Pink Floyd's "Division Bell" CD in the stereo... when you crest the hill and can look down on the sparkling lights of the city of Almaden... the band sings...
The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The nights of wonder
it's all true and a really emotional experience...
You see, it appears that the lyrics describe what is actually happening... Cosmic...
I had the blessing of attending many rock concerts at Merriweather Post Pavillion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriweather_Post_Pavilion
The Grateful Dead played there Six times while I was living on the east coast and I went to all six shows.
One night there was a thunder and lightning storm at dusk. Torrential downpour... all the power went out and we were treated to a drum duet played by Bill K and Mickey Hart. It appeared that they were incorporation the thunder into their music. A traditional tom-tom fill is "da da da, de de de, du du du, boom". They used the flash of lightning to predict when the thunders boom would sound...
As a special blessing, half the audience on the lawn area went home... That solved the overcrowding problem. The rest of us stayed and danced in the mud.
Sadly, the audience forced management to prohibit the Grateful Dead from playing there. One time there was a concert near July Fourth and the members of the audience set off too many fireworks after the concert. Since it is possible to buy rockets that fly up into the sky and explode in South Carolina (not too far away), that year there was a danger of setting Symphony Woods on fire. Oh Well... it all worked out because about that time the Grateful Dead became really popular and needed RFK Stadium to satisfy the demand for tickets.
CITY OF THE FUTURE!(lyrics)
we are living in the city of the future
all of us have hi-tech jobs...
we don't give a dam about unemployment
that only happens to low tech slobs
be a nurd!
be a nurd!
I'm a high-tech wizard
BE A NURD!
They used to laugh @ me
when I was in high school
the social in set was so very proud
but now when those people
are searching thru the want ads
they say "I want to be one of the
computer crowd
be a nurd
be a nurd
be a high-tech wizard
BE A NURD!
a song I wrote... after seeing the movie "Starstruck" a silly Australian Musical...
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