The Secretary's report on our last event: 2 February 2016
Many thanks to our speaker, David Halsted, and everyone who attended Tuesday night, for making it a terrific evening. Dr. Halsted provided a wealth of information on The Early History of Punched-card Technology, in short order, and the audience was remarkably perceptive and interactive, as we have come to expect. (For example, in response to Douglas Johnson's question about the difference between the pioneering practical work in computing that Charles Babbage did with his analytical engine in the 1850s and Alan Turing's theoretical "Turing machine" in the 1930s, Vit Kantor drew a parallel between Michael Faraday's naive experiments in electromagnetics versus the theoretical value of Maxwell's equations.) Here are a couple of shots of the presentation and the audience, thanks to Phillip Chandler:
We started the evening with a special treat, as Tim Cavenagh, young cigar entrepreneur and Cigar Society member, introduced us to his first commercial line of cigars: an absinthe-infused little number with a delightfully subtle flavor and aroma. They're only available in Hong Kong at the moment (where Tim calls home) but everyone in the room got a taste of what's coming up. Thanks, Tim, for giving away all those cigars, and best of luck with your Alpha Cigar Company.
 |
 |
We had something else unusual: Cigar Society member Lee Allison, owner of the Lee Allison Company, whom we last saw when he explained to the Society How to Tie One On, donated a couple of his famous cigar-themed neckties for us to raffle as a benefit to our continued idiosyncratic programming. The lucky winners with a $5 ticket (the ties retail at $98 each) were Mike DiCianni and Doug Johnson. Thanks, Lee, and we hope to see more of you.
 |
 |
 |
Coming up: On Tuesday, February 16, John Frendreis, professor of political science at Loyola University and co-author of the book, The Presidency and Economic Power, will ask (and answer) the question, "Who Sent these People? 'Looking Forward' to the 2016 Election." Watch for the upcoming announcement.
--Curtis Tuckey