On 9/11/2001 I was at Work at The WREX Plastics Factory when a co-worker drove up and said: "They Bombed the Pentagon"... and I said... "Good" ---> Read More:

In my opinion the Pentagon has done a great deal of EVIL in my lifetime and so... if someone has bombed it, GREAT!

We went to work and the quality control guy came around my station once an hour with updates about the World Trade Center and Airplanes... My co-workers liked to listen to the radio playing rock music as we worked and none of them was interested enough in the news to change the station...

I really enjoyed working at the factory in Chico. It was simple mindless work that I excelled at. Since I was willing to put a tiny amount of effort into making great parts I was dramatically better at the job than the vast majority of the other workers... The boss was glad to have me... We made a lot of plastic parts for a COKE vending machine. To this day, whenever I see a machine I remember making every part with fondness. We also made brake shoes for a wheelchair and I kept one of those on my keychain as a reminder of why I didn't want to work at the Factory all my life...

I was promoted to part time office manager and had to learn how to use the computer system that tracked production. I guess that's what made me become interested in learning computer science and lead to my attending Humboldt State University in Arcata.

Chico has a very hot climate in the summer and Arcata is cool and rainy... My wife challenged me to find some way to escape the heat and I took Student loans from the Department of Education... and we moved.

Read more of my autobiography at: http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20150716201810/http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=3845

Secretary Rumsfeld Interview with Parade Magazine

Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
October 12, 2001

(Interview with Lyric Wallwork Winik, Parade Magazine)

"Here we're talking about plastic knives and using an American Airlines flight filed with our citizens, and the missile to damage this building and similar (inaudible) that damaged the World Trade Center. The only way to deal with this problem is by taking the battle to the terrorists, wherever they are, and dealing with them." 

The Interview Took Place In Rumsfeld's Office... at the Pentagon... So that's the Building he is referring to... 

Originally Published on DEFENSE.GOV

I spent 6 Years working for the US Government Designing Computers That BLOCKED RADIO WAVES FROM ESCAPING from the Equipment. Project TEMPEST. The Goal was to Prevent The Russians from Eavesdropping on Our Military Computers and reading secret messages. The Basic Idea was to make the BOX that thee Computer Circuit Cards were housed in out of Metal... with small holes for LEDs and Switches on the front panel. This is Specialized Knowledge that I ASSUMED everyone knew because I Knew... OOPS...

TEMPEST (Telecommunications Electronics Materials Protected from Emanating Spurious Transmissions)[1] is a U.S. National Security Agency specification and a NATO certification[2][3] referring to spying on information systems through leaking emanations, including unintentional radio or electrical signals, sounds, and vibrations.[4][5] TEMPEST covers both methods to spy upon others and how to shield equipment against such spying. The protection efforts are also known as emission security (EMSEC), which is a subset of communications security (COMSEC).[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempest_(codename)

"Water, Water All Around But Not a Drop to Drink." NO LONGER TRUE! Dramatic Engineering Improvements of Solar Powered Desalinization Plants have made turning Seawater into Drinking Water in VAST Quantities a Reality.

Useful for Watering Plants, Livestock, Taking Showers, Filling Swimming Pools, Lawns and Making Ice Cubes for your "Scotch on the Rocks" Beverage.  

Desalinization is The WAVE of the Future. For Example: We could build a GIANT freshwater plant in Camp Pendelton, USMC between San Diego and Los Angeles. Then Grow Square Miles of HEMP that absorbs Carbon Dioxide from the Air. Hemp is VERY EFFICIENT for Removing Greenhouse Gasses as it Grows Really Fast in Comparison to Trees. The hemp could then be sold to make FIBERBOARD useful in building Houses... or Medicine... or Rope... or Canvas... or Clothes... or Soap... or Paper... HEMP FOR VICTORY! It is possible to make HEMP PAPER Cartons for packaging FOOD at the Grocery Store. Currently we use plastic cartons to store single meal portions of Cheese, Fruit, Nuts, Yogurt and Crackers... Causing Vast Plastic Disposal Problems. It all just ends up in the Landfill...or on the street... or in the Ocean... ALL OF THAT could be replaced with HEMP. I recommend that "We the People" start behaving smart. Making single use plastic containers ONLY BENEFITS OIL COMPANIES. No one else. Plastic is made from OIL. Dupont invented it and is making a "Killing" on their idea... Of Course, their Idea is Killing the planet... BUT, WhatEVER... As Long as the Rich get Richer there is NO NEED to worry about Behaving MORALLY. The 1% is Making a Profit on OIL and PLASTIC and according to an insider report leaked to the press, They Don't Care About You. Really! Global Warming is NO Problem because all anyone has to Do is TURN UP THE AIR CONDITIONER... and The World Is Cool... and Smells Wonderful if you use an Air Freshener... and if the PEASANTS are Choking on Polluted Air, drinking Polluted Water and Dying from HEAT... Well, to Quote Marie Antoinette: "Madame, the Peasants Have no Bread To Eat... Well, Let them Eat Cake!" - and then they got out the Guillotine... I really loved that Movie "The Scarlet Pimpernel" - Quote: "They Seek Him Here, They Seek Him There, Those Frenches Seek Him Everywhere... Be He in Heaven or Be He in (harumpf) That Damn Elusive Pimpernel!" - It was all about Smuggling Aristocrats Out of France to Safety... The Peasants Were Revolting... AND IT'S ABOUT TIME!

There has been a LOT of Groundbreaking Engineering into building Desalinization Plants that use Solar Power to Pump the Seawater out of the Ocean...

Solar Oven by Humboldt State University's CCAT
https://ccat.humboldt.edu/

We ought to tell our Senators and Representatives that Solar Powered Desalinization is a Good Idea and a Practical Way to Solve The Problem of Not Enough Fresh Water for Drinking, Showering, Watering Crops, Filling Swimming Pools, Lawns and Making Ice Cubes for a Scotch on the Rocks... 

Maybe they just don't know... 

Use this Link to Contact your US Senators...
https://www.senate.gov/senators/How_to_correspond_senators.htm
and use This one for Representatives in the House...
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

HSU CCAT Bart Orlando Solar Ovens

The big breakthru in Solar Desalinization is to use MEMBRANE purification and Pump the Water using Electricity generated by Solar Cells. Everyone is familiar with Membrane water purification because there is a Machine out on the Sidewalk in front of the Grocery Store that sells Gallons of Freshwater. Bring your own 5 Gallon Container and Fill it UP! We have obvious technology to Build Desalinization Plants All over the World to Water Crops. By definition, the Ocean is at a Lower Elevation than the Land... and so there is a big need for pumping saltwater uphill to the Farm. 

NETAFIM Corporation is designing Water systems for Israel so they can grow more food using Less Water. Including Prickly Pear Cactus... Who Knew that there was a market for Prickly Pears... I tried to eat one when I was Camping Out near La Jolla and Gave up because it was just to difficult to pull out the Spikes... However, they have a Machine that does that Job. 

We Must Evolve from Energy Hunter-Gatherers to Become Energy Farmers. - Quote from SchatzLab at Humboldt State University, Arcata, California

THEY INVENTED THE HYDROGEN FUEL CELL -
a Handy Way to Store Electricity Generated
by Solar for Use at Night.

http://www.schatzlab.org/

Hydrogen Fuel Cell - Schatz Lab HSU

Bicycle Power Generator converts human fat into electricity. Simply Use an Exercise Bicycle to Drive an Automobile Alternator with a Belt... Store Electricity in a Car Battery...

Bicycle power generator. Convert human fat into electricity

Electric Power Generator for bicycle electricity 12 VAC standard automobile battery charging system. 

What if we installed electric power generators on every exercise bicycle nationwide... We could replace coal burning power plants and help reverse global warming/climate change. These bicycles let a person spin an automobile alternator using pedal power. Built by CCAT at Humboldt State University

http://www.appropedia.org/CCAT_human_energy_converter

What if EVERY health club had these? What if rowing machines, treadmills, weight lifting and stair steppers had Generators? We Have the technology... Designed by Humboldt State University Campus Center for Appropriate Technology. 

https://www.facebook.com/campuscenterforappropriatetechnology/photos_stream

http://kjcoop.com/~bart/galleries/pedalpower/index.htm

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

On a Different Subject...

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

Find more FREE COLORING BOOK ART!

at Google Image Search

using the Keywords: gvan42 free coloring book 

or click on this link!

https://tinyurl.com/gvan42

BILLY GOES TO WASHINGTON - Absurdist Fiction by purple64ets - [EDITOR'S NOTE: This is Just a Silly Story, not a Call for The Violet Overgrow of the US Government... ]

Chapter Zero: His life sucked. Billy had just gotten laid off at the factory and no one was hiring. He lived in the Mid West in an area totally destroyed by Trump's Trade War... So, with nothing to lose... He Drove to Washington, DC. Being a Lifelong member of the NRA, he was Armed and Dangerous... and Mad as Hell... He had Just finished some research on the internet and believed that his home made rocket launcher could... do the job... 


[To Be Continued... ] 

Actually, I Decided that Writing any More on this Story Would Alert The FBI... and they Would Come Over to my House and Lock Me UP! So... It's Up to You to Imagine Exactly What Billy is Going to Do with His Rocket Launcher... 

Keywords: CIA, NSA, FBI, DOJ, MKULTRA, DARPA, EIEIO, LSD, LBJ, JFK, RMN, Masons, Illuminati, One World Order, Bohemian Grove, Skull and Bones Society, Legalize Medicinal Psychedelics

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

and now for something completely different!

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

The Needs of The Many Outweigh The Needs of The Few or The Stockholders.

Decisions in boardrooms often sacrifice the health of the majority of people, animals and plants in order to create additional wealth for the owners of corporations.

For Example:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-needs-of-many-outweigh-needs-of-few.html

Trump Voters: There is No Shame in Getting Help. Brainwashing is difficult to overcome because often a person has no idea that They are Mind Control Slaves.

Cult Deprogramming Services ARE Available. Wake UP! and NOTICE REALITY.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deprogramming

How to Disrupt the Military Industrial Complex. A Step by Step Guide to the Violet Overgrow of the US Government. - by gvan42

First Realize that: We Waste a Lot of Engineering Talent Designing Better Weapons. Those Draftsmen, Designers and Engineers COULD BE Doing Something Useful With Their Life BUT, Sadly, They Work for LaughHead, Raytheon, Dow and DuPont...

There ARE Meetings where Employees Decide WHICH CONTRACTS TO BID ON. We Simply Started Bidding on Civilian Projects. We made Data Encryption Computers that Allowed USAF Airplanes to Communicate Securely with The Base. That Same Computer was also useful for Banks to Allow Automatic Teller Machines to Communicate Securely with the Bank. Everyone at Work STOPPED Doing Work for the WAR MACHINE and Started Preventing Bank Robbery... GEE, That's a Much Better Way To Earn a Living. At That Time I was Recently Divorced and on Dates, The Woman often asked "What Do You Do For A Living?" and NOW, I Had a Respectable Job! Many "Organic Earth Mothers" Select to NOT Associate with Defense Contractors... Just too creepy a Way to Earn a Living... Killing People for Corporate Profit... 

Not Only Do We Waste Trillions of Taxpayer Dollars Fighting Wars In Countries Far Away Against "Enemies" that Pose No Threat to the USA... But... We Also Cause Vast Ecological Damage. Depleted Uranium Bullets in Iraq and Yugoslavia Have increased Miscarriages. Therefore THOSE GENES will not be part of Future Generations. That's the Basic Definition of Genocide. Who Could Possibly Benefit from Bombing? All those Destroyed Houses and Destroyed Lives... then the people become refugees... WTF? And Lockheed Designed Smart Bombs That Kill People in Yemen That are NOT Attacking the USA instead of Designing Electric Cars, Solar Cells, Windmills or Better Air Conditioners... 

Of Course, We Still Need People to March in Protest Marches... NO NUKES! Demonstrations Have Actually Worked! But in this Crazy World We All Need to Pull Together As A Team... People on the Inside, Voluntarily Selecting to Refuse to Bid On Pentagon Contracts... People on the Outside Beating Drums in Lafayette Park... OR BOTH!

How to Disrupt The Military Industrial Complex by gvan42
free coloring book art

Step Two: Use the Power of the Internet to INFLUENCE PUBLIC OPINION... Just Like We Marched in the Streets Protesting the Vietnam War AND EVENTUALLY CHANGED THE BEHAVIOR OF THE US GOVERNMENT... We Now Have an Opportunity to Digitally Walk Around With a Protest Sign Stating: "Cut the Pentagon Budget in Half and Refund the Money to the Taxpayers!"

A Handy Guide to the Violet Overgrow is Contained in my eBook called: AMERICA'S BOGUS WARS (Cut the Defense Budget in Half and Refund the Money to the Taxpayers) by Gregory Vanderlaan - Chapter Zero: Since 1945, The Pentagon Has Never Defended The Country, Not Even Once. Ever since VJ Day (Victory in Japan), All of Our Wars have been Marketing Tools to Sell Weapons for the Military Industrial Complex. One time there was a Need to Defend the Country and The Military Failed Completely. Civilians took down the Airplane in Pennsylvania on 9/11/2001. Frankly Speaking, Can't We Buy Total Failure at a Lower Price? gregvan@yahoo.com

Link to read the Entire eBook:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/07/great-book-americas-bogus-wars-since.html

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

and then... 

Take a Break From the Madness...

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

Infinite Rainbow in the Forest Mug FOR SALE!

Cosmic Rainbow Spirals 

in the Redwood Forest of Eureka...

Infinite Rainbow in the Forest Mug
by gregvan

Find more FREE COLORING BOOK ART!

 at Google Image Search

using the Keywords: gvan42 free coloring book 

or click on this link!

https://tinyurl.com/gvan42

My Blog:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com

My Music Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/user/gregvanderlaan/videos

My Store Where I Sell Art:

https://www.zazzle.com/store/gregvan

My Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/GregoryVanderlaan

Digital Rainbow Spiral Button FOR SALE!

Classic Math Art - a Spiral made out of 

Rainbow Squares...

Digital Rainbow Spiral Button
by gregvan

Digital Rainbow Spiral Compact Mirror
by gregvan

Digital Rainbow Spiral BUTTON FOR SALE! - 

Classic Math Art... a Spiral made out of a Rainbow Square... copied, pasted, reduced size and rotated slightly... again and again and again... Like a Tie Dye but Digital!

Digital Rainbow Spiral Button
by gregvan

Digital Rainbow Spiral Sunglasses FOR SALE!

Digital Rainbow Spiral Sunglasses
by gregvan

YOU MAY READ MORE BLOG POSTS ON SIMILAR SUBJECTS BY USING THE HANDY LABELS BELOW... 

Click and Enjoy the Bliss!

Music Video: The Lock Him Up and Throw Away The Key Blues (tRUMP's a Danger to Self and Others... Police Code 5150...) http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/06/music-video-lock-him-up-and-throw-away.html

Music Video: Butterfly Freedom - Did You Ever Notice... Reality?  It's Right Outside Your Door... Take a Walk in the Woods... Unplug... and Experience Nature... https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/06/music-video-butterfly-freedom-chords.html

HOW TO Join the Global #DumpTrump Movement. Anyone, Anywhere in the World May Write to US Senators and House Representatives Using Their Online Contact Forms. https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/05/join-global-dumptrump-movement-anyone.html

Let's Cut The Police Force in Half. How to Contact Your Senators and Representatives. Fewer Police = More Safety. Police Need MORE TRAINING About How to STOP MURDERING UNARMED CITIZENS https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/06/lets-cut-police-force-in-half-how-to.html

Absentee Ballots [vote by mail] are one way to make sure YOU CAN VOTE AT ALL. Republicans are putting a LOT of effort in preventing people from voting. Especially Black and Brown people. https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/06/absentee-ballots-vote-by-mail-are-one.html

If tRUMP Wins, He Will CAUSE Global Economic Collapse. Billions of People Will Die of Starvation. Remember That #TrumpHasFailed When You Vote. https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/06/if-trump-wins-he-will-cause-global.html

Millions of Republicans #RUNAWAY from tRUMP... Everyone Has Realized... He's a Pile of _______ ! (Redacted - Community Standards) Did You Ever Notice That Republicriminals are trying to Destroy Democracy by Preventing People from Voting... Then, They Can Crown CZAR Donald Glorious Leader For Life! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/06/millions-of-republicans-runaway-from_10.html

tRUMP IS INSANE! A Call for Invoking the 25th Amendment. When He Causes Global Economic Collapse, Billions Will Die From Starvation. #LockHimUP in a Mental Hospital... https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/06/trump-is-insane-call-for-invoking-25th.html

Jaime Harrison is Running for Senator against Evil Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. Jaime is Young and Smart, Lindsey is Old and Corrupt. Join the Campaign to throw the Insane TrumpNiks OUT! Register and Vote! 2020 is the Year we Win the Senate, The House and The Presidency! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/05/jaime-harrison-is-running-for-senator.html

Proof of tRUMP's Failed Economy... Obama Did Not Need Food Banks... People Bought Food With Paychecks From Jobs. Remember: You Can't Eat tRUMP's Lies! #DumpTrump #BillionDollarLoser #tRUMPisaFAILURE https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/05/proof-of-trumps-failed-economy-obama.html

Music Video "Vote for Joe, He's Not Insane!" CAMPAIGN SONG - Chords and Lyrics Provided So You Can Record This and Make a Hit Record! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/06/music-video-vote-for-joe-hes-not-insane.html

Facebook REFUSES Pro-Trump Ads by Chinese Group Falun Gong. (The Epoch Times) - GTFO! CrazyTalk Not Allowed... QAnon Conspiracy Theories Have No Place on Facebook...

I Guess that this is PROOF of Anti-Trump Bias in Big Tech... NO CRAZY TALK ALLOWED!

HEADLINE: Facebook banned advertisements from The Epoch Times after it bought $1.5 million of Trump ads in 6 months...
https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-bans-the-epoch-times-from-ads-2019-8
QAnon Lies!

MindSprout Idea Factory Business Card FOR SALE.

You May Change the Words to say WhatEVER! you want... There is a Layer of White Letters and a Slightly Larger Layer of Black Letters... and the Back of the Card is Blank... To State Your Own Words of Wisdom... Phone Numbers... etc etc etc 

 The "MindSprout Idea Factory" refers to MY OWN Way of Getting Inspiration for My Own ART, Lyrics and Stories... Before I Go to Sleep I ASK for a Dream where I visit an ART Gallery... Look at the Paintings and then USE what I see to draw Pictures...

MindSprout Idea Factory Business Card
by gregvan

"Diese Wirtschaft Totet" Embroidered Baseball Cap For Sale! German for: "This Economy is Dead" - An Anti Coal Protest Slogan at the Occupation of a Coal Factory... Coal Mine...

With a White Hat you can Color it with Permanent Felt Pens and Make it Psychedelic... 

or Draw a Forest, Lake, Mountains or Birds...

Diese Wirtschaft Totet Embroidered Baseball Cap
by gregvan

Make America Greta Again Embroidered Baseball Cap
by gregvan

FREE COLORING BOOK ART!

Make as Many Copies as You Like...

Color and Then Take them To School

for a Show and Tell Session...

OR

Take them to Work, The Grocery Store, 

The Subway, A Rock Concert,

The Bridge Club, The Tennis Court!

Senator Mike Lee Stating on the Senate Floor That
a Painting of Ronald RAY GUN Riding a Dinosaur
Shooting a Machine Gun is as Valid
as the Green New Deal... His Solution?
Have More Children and Maybe They
Can Think Us Out of This Mess!

and another Strike Every Friday For as Long as it Takes!

MORE ART AT GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH

using the search term: gvan42

BLACK HAT HACKER Embroidered Hat for sale.

Slogan is Embroidered in BLACK THREAD on a BLACK HAT making it Difficult to Read... It's a JOKE! and a Common Web Design Trick... "Secret Communication"

BLACK HAT HACKER Embroidered Hat for sale.
by gregvan

History of Silicon Valley: Almaden - IBM's Successful Utopia. Near San Jose, California IBM built an IDEAL WORLD in 1956, Later, Silicon Valley was Built and The Light Rail Connected Almaden to The Rest... All the Way to NASA/Lockheed.

Far out in the farmlands south of town, IBM built a disk drive factory in the Late 50s. They wanted to attract the world's finest talent so the 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.

Later, the entire city of San Jose became interested in computers. Silicon Valley was born.

I used to Draw These Sketches while I was Attending Meetings at Work... It Used to Annoy The Boss... That I Had The Ability to Draw and Listen and Understand and Comment ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

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/about/past_history.shtml

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.

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.

****** (~);-] ******

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...