Technology User Group (TUG) Discussions for all users at all levels via hybrid meetings (in-person and Zoom) after the plenary meeting, at about 11:45 a.m. (first and fourth Tuesdays of the month).
- Oct 6 – Bob Martin will first review Long Covid and then review an app that he developed for recommending treatments for Long Covid based on the patient’s symptoms.
- Oct 27 – Ladies Day - No TUG Meeting
Timely Topics Discussion in-person and via Zoom, with participation encouraged from all in attendance. Around 11:45 a.m. on the second Tuesday of the month.
- Oct 13 – With the upcoming national midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, voters are faced with strongly opposing viewpoints from Republican and Democratic candidates. We will look to summarize the key issues which candidates are focusing on, as well as issues which might amount to a judgment by the electorate on the policies of the current administration. Allen Hamilton and Jim Blinn will represent the positions presented by the political parties and will ask you to weigh in with your view on the elections and the issues about which you feel most strongly.
Trips Scheduled (For Old Guard members and their guests)
Chair - Pete Bolton.
Walkers Group walks or hikes are once again feasible. Chair - Tom Leane. Meeting time is 10:15 A.M. and walks are about one hour. Directions to follow:
- October 21 -- South Mountain Reservation
October Program Chair – George Celler
- Oct. 6 – The History of Money – Money is the medium of exchange that makes buying, selling, and trade possible. Before money, people relied on barter, exchanging goods and services directly — a system with significant limitations. The development of money transformed both domestic and international commerce, laying the foundation for modern economies. We'll hear about coins, the world’s most enduring form of money for nearly 2,700 years. They are also historical artifacts and works of art that reflect the cultures and civilizations that produced them. Speaker Marty Green, a retired Bell Labs materials scientist, now serves as editor-in-chief of a journal dedicated to the sustainable development of materials. Marty has also been an avid numismatist for more than 65 years. [in-person and on Zoom - for access: [email protected]]
- Oct. 13 – Submarine Fiberoptic Cable: What Really Moves the Internet – Our speaker Jerry Soloway was a consultant on submarine fiberoptic systems and technology for the past dozen years. Prior to this, he spent 29 years at Bell Labs working on the development of several different types of communications systems and devices and subsequently was the executive vice president of engineering for a NASDAQ listed company that also built communications systems. Submarine fiberoptic systems are the unsung heroes of the Internet, carrying as much as 99% of transoceanic data, dwarfing the traffic carried by satellite systems. They share much technology with their terrestrial counterparts, but there are many unique challenges to developing, installing, and maintaining these systems. In addition, there are threats to these systems that the world must recognize and combat. Fiberoptic systems can also be used as acoustic/seismic sensors, offering new applications for the millions of kilometers of existing fiber. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Oct. 20 – Current Immigration Policies Under the Second Trump Administration, Including Major Supreme Court Immigration Decisions from the Court’s 2025-2026 Term – Our invited speaker Mark Scher is a retired attorney with decades of experience in immigration law. Born in Warsaw, Poland, he earned his law degree from the University of Warsaw before arriving in the United States as a refugee in 1969. He later received a J.D., and an LL.M. in international legal studies from New York University. He served as an attorney with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, an administrative law judge, and later practiced immigration law in New York City. He will discuss the current immigration policies, including efforts to reduce unauthorized immigration, expand detention and deportation, restrict asylum and refugee protections, limit humanitarian immigration programs, and strengthen executive authority over immigration enforcement (ICE). He will also review the major immigration decisions of the Supreme Court's 2025–2026 term and explain several rulings which reinforce the administration's policies. [in-person and on Zoom]
November Birthday Emcee: Art Mason
November Program Chair - Dick Hancock
- Nov 3 - AI Can Seem like Magic – Keith Miklas Keith is a Summit resident and the founder of Xulii, an AI platform focused on marketing, advertising, and data. He has spent roughly 30 years building enterprise software, including work at JPMorgan Chase, Merck, Tradeweb, and Point72. He is a New Jersey certified teacher of computer science and mathematics and has taught at Brookdale Community College, Kean University, and Monmouth University. He holds an MS in information systems technology from George Washington University and a BS in computer science and mathematics from Rutgers. AI can seem like magic, but how do large language models (LLMs) actually work? What is a hallucination, and why is a human-in-the-loop (HITL) important? Will AI kill humanity, or will data centers boil the ocean? In this talk, Keith will cover practical ways generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) are useful in daily life, along with their growing role in medicine, law, and other fields. Throughout, the theme is an old one: trust, but verify. Time will be reserved for questions. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Nov 10 - New Ideas About Dinosaurs — the Stories Behind the Stories – Larry Felder Larry's creative output encompasses several dimensions. He is an accomplished artist, writer, illustrator, and paleo artist, the creative field that bridges fine art and paleontology. Larry's illustrations have appeared in numerous books and magazines, such as Scientific American, Earth and New Jersey Monthly. His work on the field of paleo illustration has been featured in books, magazines, museums, on-line services, TV shows, and films, such as the Discovery Channel, the Boston Museum of Science, and the 2011 Terrence Malick film, The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. His 2000 book, In the Presence of Dinosaurs, was the only TIME/LIFE volume ever awarded a starred review in Publishers Weekly, and remains one of the most popular and well-received titles on the subject of dinosaurs. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Nov 17 - History of Battleships – Mike Czuchnicki Mike’s career included executive positions in technology offices at the AMEX and American International Group (AIG), before he began consulting around the world on some interestingly large financial systems. He believes creating content and sharing is not an obligation, but his greatest pleasure. He tries to combine interesting information and give perspective to understand it. Mike will present the history of battleships: See nations race to launch ever bigger, faster, more powerful, and deadlier battleships to control the sea. This history has relevance today, to explain why the world’s last battleship (launched in 1946) was scrapped in 1960. There have been none built since then. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Nov 24 - Colonial Taverns of New Jersey – Speaker Michael Gabriele is a lifelong New Jersey resident and a graduate of Montclair State University. He is an author of many books focused on New Jersey. Colonial Taverns of New Jersey, published by The History Press, is his newest book. Taverns — the hub of colonial villages — were the places where the voices of history took shape. A haven for Patriots and Loyalists alike, colonial taverns were the “seedbeds” of the Revolution, strongholds for political activities, beacons for travelers, and venues for entertainment, merriment, and libations. Taverns became colonial information “portals,” creating opportunities for the exchange of ideas regarding politics, business, and current events, leading up to the Revolution. [in-person and on Zoom]
December Birthday Emcee - Marv Gersten
