I started working for Dr Zschau in 1975 and we built Disc Drive Controller Cards for Hospitals to Keep Patient's Charts. A Great Idea. 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.
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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.
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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.htmNewspaper Articles:
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-06-29/news/mn-381_1_system-industrieshttp://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/21/business/business-people-a-son-of-silicon-valley-back-from-capitol-hill.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1993-05-09/ed-zschau-doesnt-fit-big-blues-mold-and-thats-the-pointAlumni Page Princeton:
http://www.princeton.edu/paw/archive_new/PAW04-05/09-0223/features3.htmlProfessor 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.
However... In Recent Years Security and Privacy Problems Have been Solved and Everyone Views Their Own Medical Information Online! Excellent!
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