Jan/Feb 2001

Between my threats of travel stories, bad parodies of folk songs, and E-mail I've got plenty of material for our class notes. If you don't see your news here now, you'll see it in a future Technology Review.

Roy Komack wrote, "Since I definitely do not want to read only about your travels, I can tell the class that I have joined the ranks of the grandparents among us. Samantha Komack arrived on 7/6/2000 and lives with her parents (my son, Andy and his wife, Julie) only 4 miles from me and my wife, Lauren, in Natick, just outside the shadow of The Great Dome. We just did our first evening of baby-sitting, and it was great fun! You can view Samantha and her proud grandpa at www.komack.com/Samantha." Roy mentioned that his former roommate, Ken Grace is recovering at his home in New Jersey from a recent successful surgery. Ken has been retired for several years from a long career at Bell Labs in its various incarnations and name changes.

Malcolm Beaverstock sent me an E-mail message. He's been in Minneapolis for the last 5 yrs heading General Mills Advanced control and simulation efforts. The food industry is a great challenge, as market pressures require new manufacturing technology. At least you can see, feel, smell, and eat what you make. His four children and two grandchildren are spread around the country. Mal said he certainly doesn't feel like stopping right now, but he's found a place to think about retirement. It's on Mobile Bay just off the Gulf, next to his good friend Harry Surline (MIT '64.) It's a great spot to get crab, shrimp, and fish and to soaking up the sun and watch hurricanes.

John Wasserlein, who I saw on New Year's Day 2000 at a party at Martin Schrage's house and again at the Alumni Leadership Conference last September, wrote that his oldest daughter graduated from MIT with an ME degree in 1997, and in 1998 got a masters in ME. Shortly thereafter she acquired another MIT undergraduate degree in economics. Since graduation she's worked for I2, which is involved in supply chain management software. John's youngest daughter graduated from Lehigh last year, moved to the Boston area and works for MedNav. She has fallen in love with a recent MIT grad, and so the Wasserleins are fast becoming an MIT family. John took early retirement from his former job as president and CEO of Fraser Papers Inc., moved to the New Hampshire Coast, and is in the process of starting a second career. The buzzword for what he's doing is "creating a life portfolio." First, he's on several boards, but would like to add another. Second, he's involved with a group attempting to revitalize MIT rowing. In the early '60s MIT crews were among the best in the country, but recently that situation deteriorated materially. John says the MIT administration needs to be questioned about what is going on in athletics in general and rowing in particular. The MIT Website talks about excellence in everything we do including athletics, and there's a need to improve in that area. His third activity involves investing time and money in emerging companies. He works with several MIT alumni in that endeavor. It's educational and fascinating and John believes he has the chance to make a difference and perhaps make some money. Finally, he has the flexibility to take a day off for golf, sailing etc.

Larry Beckreck sent a long, newsy E-mail that I'll spread out over several issues. Larry and Fiona planned a December 2000 trip to Thailand to see his freshman year Baker House roommate, Padej Limpisvasti. Pad is President of Aerothai Radio, which manages all air traffic control facilities for Thailand, among other things. Larry's stepdaughter, Freya, visited Thailand recently and was cordially entertained by Pad in Bangkok, Phuket and northern Thailand. Freya's trip took her to India, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Malaysia, Melbourne and Sydney, and New Zealand. [I'm jealous!] Larry is looking forward to visiting Pad and his wife Souana in Bangkok, and renewing their friendship after 37 years. Last spring Larry completed a 6-month math teaching contract at a local City Technology College (secondary school). He left his full time teaching job in 1999 to work less time and under less pressure. It was a wonderful decision; giving him more time with Fiona, far less work grading papers, and less work-related stress and exhaustion. He's been going to a gym with a pool regularly. He's getting fitter, though he says he has years of improving to go. [Physical fitness if it kills us.] Larry returned to substitute teaching in autumn, 2000. And he works at his "Family Computer Consultants" business in which he helps families select, purchase, and learn to use PC's, application programs, E-mail and internet surfing. Often people find it hard to take a course, and would rather learn about computers in their home on their own equipment with applications to their own tasks. Larry loves teaching small groups of people who are motivated to work on their own computers. He reports that after years of being scared to get his hands into the insides of a computer, he took the plunge, and enrolled in a course on PC Maintenance. "Little did I ever imagine I would like this side of computers so much. I particularly love all the learning afresh that I'm doing! The course was stimulating, fascinating and fun." He's building his own Athlon computer and enjoys purchasing the parts on the Internet and at auctions. Larry finds the auctions quite consuming, and has to be careful not to get compulsive about it.

Class agent David Claypool got a note from Jim Fidelholtz and forwarded it. Jim was impressed with David's extensive use of E-mail. He said that it's good to see that at least some of us have pulled ourselves by the seat of the pants into the information age. Of course we understand it all "in principle", but Jim is embarrassed by how much more his 11-year-old daughter knows about using computers than he does. He wrote from Mexico that his son, Estanislao, started classes at MIT last fall, majoring, so far, in Computer Science and playing football for MIT. For us he doesn't have to say " American football" as he does in Mexico, and he notes that MIT's team is competitive, though it's still the butt of lots of jokes.

Last September Tanis went to Beijing, to represent Mexico in the International Olympiad of Informatics. Since Dad felt Tanis was too young to go by himself, Jim wangled a place on the Mexican delegation. He enjoyed seeing the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and other delights of China. His son plans to become an Internet entrepreneur, which is fine with Jim, since he expects Tanis to support him in his poverty-stricken retirement. Jim says that being a third-world college professor is decidedly not the way to become rich.

Best regards to you all. You can reach me at: Mike Bertin, 22 Gillman St, Irvine, CA 92612. E-mail: MCB1@aol.com. If you want to schmooze, call me at (949) 786-9450.