From bhavner at earthlink.net Fri Dec 5 17:14:32 2003 From: bhavner at earthlink.net (Bob Havner) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] General Meeting Message-ID: <006801c3bb96$5282d3e0$28d1f7a5@default> I tried to contact Jeff Moore about required equipment for his talk and have not heard back from him. I will bring the slide projector. Whoever has the screen and overhead please bring them tomorrow night. Mike you might want to have the video projector available as well. I am working tomorrow and will be coming straight to the meeting afterward (about 7:30). See you then Bob From danac at pacbell.net Sat Dec 6 00:29:50 2003 From: danac at pacbell.net (Dana Crom) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] Last-minute business trip Message-ID: <200312060829.AAA01276@pacbell.net> I must apologize - though I was looking forward to tomorrow's meeting, due to an urgent customer request I will be flying to Korea tomorrow instead; depending on how things work out, I could be gone for as much as two weeks. I'll try to monitor the mailing list, but if you need to reach me fast my yahoo account - d_crom@yahoo.com - is probably a better bet. Again, my apologies. Dana Crom From jvn at svpal.org Sun Dec 7 16:45:34 2003 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] Terms of directors Message-ID: <3FD3C9AE.6EC1@svpal.org> Hi, All, The board election comes in February, so we need to publish something in the January issue of the Ephemeris. Paul, Mary, be sure to include that "annual meeting" line in the February 7 item, as seen in . Speaking of Feb.7, what is Dr.Filippenko's topic? Board members with a year to go: Dana Crom Jim Van Nuland Bill O'Shaugnessy Craig & Elena Scull Bob Havner Terms expiring: Gary Mitchell Dave Smith Mike Koop Steve Nelson I'll play nominating committee. Will Gary, Dave, Mike, and Steve let me know if you will stand for re-election? Clear Skies! -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's web site From wb6yru at aenet.net Sun Dec 7 23:42:16 2003 From: wb6yru at aenet.net (Gary Mitchell) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] Terms of directors References: <3FD3C9AE.6EC1@svpal.org> Message-ID: <3FD42B58.610@aenet.net> Jim Van Nuland wrote: > > Hi, All, > > The board election comes in February, so we need to publish something > in the January issue of the Ephemeris. Paul, Mary, be sure to include > that "annual meeting" line in the February 7 item, as seen in > . > > Speaking of Feb.7, what is Dr.Filippenko's topic? He's speaking at our Feb. meeting? Wow. I'm often amazed at who we're able to get to speak at our club meetings. :) > Board members with a year to go: > Dana Crom > Jim Van Nuland > Bill O'Shaugnessy > Craig & Elena Scull > Bob Havner > > Terms expiring: > Gary Mitchell > Dave Smith > Mike Koop > Steve Nelson > > I'll play nominating committee. Will Gary, Dave, Mike, and Steve let > me know if you will stand for re-election? I will. Gary From pkohlmil at best.com Sun Dec 14 00:24:34 2003 From: pkohlmil at best.com (Paul Kohlmiller) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] January Ephemeris Proofread Message-ID: <001a01c3c21b$b5f650b0$0400a8c0@pkhome.local> Dear Ephemerati, The January issue of Ephemeris can be seen at http://ephemeris.sjaa.net/0401/EphJan04.pdf Please give it a pass for us. We would like to send it to Accuprint on Monday morning. I've already noted that a couple of pictures get cropped on this PDF version but they look and print fine from PageMaker. One picture (of the moon) is only cropping some black sky so it's no problem. The other crops part of a person which is bad - but - it only affects the PDF version. I'll try to fix that. Since this is the first issue edited by your new editors, all comments are welcome. Paul & Mary Kohlmiller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaaboard/attachments/20031214/70169f7a/attachment.html From mojo at whiteoaks.com Mon Dec 15 18:57:09 2003 From: mojo at whiteoaks.com (Morris Jones) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] astrocon sjaa logo ... Message-ID: Since SJAA is an official host of AstroCon 2004 now, I got out my best SJAA logo graphics, and made a small version to go on the AstroCon page, http://www.astrocon2004.org/ You might like it -- I'm happy to send anyone my full-res version. :) Mojo -- Morris Jones <*> Pasadena, CA mojo@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com From mojo at whiteoaks.com Mon Dec 15 20:56:57 2003 From: mojo at whiteoaks.com (Morris Jones) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] JVN bouncing Message-ID: If anyone has an opportunity to communicate with Jim Van Nuland offline, you might let him know that his email is currently bouncing, with what appears to be an ISP problem. (I'll forward the bounce from this message.) Mojo -- Morris Jones <*> Pasadena, CA mojo@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com From mojo at whiteoaks.com Mon Dec 15 21:00:01 2003 From: mojo at whiteoaks.com (Morris Jones) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] JVN bounce Message-ID: Actually it looks like it's being caught by a spam trap, and I don't see where it's coming from. Mojo -- Morris Jones <*> Pasadena, CA mojo@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 20:57:21 -0800 (PST) From: Mail Delivery System To: sjaaboard-bounces@sjaa.net Subject: Undelivered Mail Returned to Sender This is the Postfix program at host mail.whiteoaks.com. I'm sorry to have to inform you that the message returned below could not be delivered to one or more destinations. For further assistance, please send mail to If you do so, please include this problem report. You can delete your own text from the message returned below. The Postfix program : host enterprise.svpal.org[209.68.147.69] said: 550 5.7.1 Invalid From Address -------------- next part -------------- Skipped content of type message/delivery-status -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Morris Jones Subject: [SJAABoard] JVN bouncing Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 20:56:57 -0800 (PST) Size: 2057 Url: http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaaboard/attachments/20031215/57195eed/attachment.mht From wb6yru at aenet.net Fri Dec 19 18:06:04 2003 From: wb6yru at aenet.net (Gary Mitchell) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] SJAA insurance Message-ID: <3FE3AE8C.1418@aenet.net> Hi guys, I've got some bad news and possibly some good news regarding SJAA's liability insurance... We just got a letter from RV Nuccio & Associates Inc, our insurance broker. They say: "... [we are] unable to provide you with insurance coverage past the policy expiation [sic] date... The underwriters have adjusted the program and this organizatioin no longer fits into the underwriting guidelines." The underwriter is Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. Our policy expires 1/27/2004. The possible good news is that I think I've found a good alternative. I'm also in an amateur radio club who has insurance through the national amateur radio organization, the ARRL. They provide a coverage plan for affiliate clubs. That carrier is Seabury & Smith . Since they already provide liability insurance to *many* clubs, I think this is probably a good way to go. I understand the ARRL offers some kind of group deal/discount. We probably can't go that route, since we aren't an amateur radio club. So I just e-mailed S&S directly early today, (haven't heard back yet). I'm really not upset about this. In fact, I was thinking about looking into switching carriers anyway because of that policy they came up with last year requiring us to get those insurance documents from everyone we do business with. Remember that? That's how I came to find out about S&S so quickly, I'd already started to ask around. ;) The only fly-in-the-ointment is we (I) have barely one month to do this. I'll keep you posted. By the way, if anyone is interested, Mike Koop has a copy of our current insurance in PDF format. Mike: could you please e-mail that to me at wb6yru@ix.netcom.com. I may need to send it to S&S. Thanks. Gary Mitchell Treasurer From jane at whiteoaks.com Fri Dec 19 22:11:48 2003 From: jane at whiteoaks.com (Jane Houston Jones) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] SJAA insurance In-Reply-To: <3FE3AE8C.1418@aenet.net> References: <3FE3AE8C.1418@aenet.net> Message-ID: <3FE3E824.9040708@whiteoaks.com> Thanks for the info, Gary. Some other clubs have also been cancelled by R. V. Nuncio, and I'm not sure of their insurance situation. Do you think Seabury & Smith would like to hear from other clubs? Jane -- Jane Houston Jones 34.2048N 118.1732W, 424.0 meters jane@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com From wb6yru at aenet.net Sun Dec 21 05:48:23 2003 From: wb6yru at aenet.net (Gary Mitchell) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] SJAA insurance References: <3FE3AE8C.1418@aenet.net> <3FE3E824.9040708@whiteoaks.com> Message-ID: <3FE5A4A7.7793@aenet.net> Jane Houston Jones wrote: > > Thanks for the info, Gary. Some other clubs have also been cancelled by > R. V. Nuncio, and I'm not sure of their insurance situation. That's not surprising. I really didn't think the SJAA wasn't singled out. > Do you > think Seabury & Smith would like to hear from other clubs? Jane I can't imagine why they wouldn't. They haven't replied yet to my e-mail and probably won't until Monday. So, all I can say at this point is that they exist and to my knowledge this is at least part of what they do for a living. The fact that they are used by the ARRL's affiliate club insurance plan I think says a lot. The ARRL is a big organization, it's a pretty safe bet they would not pick a carrier that has a high likelihood of flaking out. Gary From jane at whiteoaks.com Sun Dec 21 11:48:22 2003 From: jane at whiteoaks.com (Jane Houston Jones) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] SJAA insurance In-Reply-To: <3FE5A4A7.7793@aenet.net> References: <3FE3AE8C.1418@aenet.net> <3FE3E824.9040708@whiteoaks.com> <3FE5A4A7.7793@aenet.net> Message-ID: <3FE5F906.1010508@whiteoaks.com> Thanks Gary, keep me posted. Jane Gary Mitchell wrote: >The fact that they are used by the ARRL's affiliate club >insurance plan I think says a lot. The ARRL is a big >organization, it's a pretty safe bet they would not pick a >carrier that has a high likelihood of flaking out. > > -- Jane Houston Jones 34.2048N 118.1732W, 424.0 meters jane@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com From danac at pacbell.net Sun Dec 21 13:06:14 2003 From: danac at pacbell.net (Dana Crom) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] SJAA insurance In-Reply-To: <3FE5A4A7.7793@aenet.net> from "Gary Mitchell" at Dec 21, 2003 05:48:23 AM Message-ID: <200312212106.NAA01159@pacbell.net> > Jane Houston Jones wrote: > > > > Thanks for the info, Gary. Some other clubs have also been cancelled by > > R. V. Nuncio, and I'm not sure of their insurance situation. > > That's not surprising. I really didn't think the SJAA wasn't > singled out. > > > Do you > > think Seabury & Smith would like to hear from other clubs? Jane > > I can't imagine why they wouldn't. > > They haven't replied yet to my e-mail and probably won't until > Monday. So, all I can say at this point is that they exist > and to my knowledge this is at least part of what they do for > a living. > > The fact that they are used by the ARRL's affiliate club > insurance plan I think says a lot. The ARRL is a big > organization, it's a pretty safe bet they would not pick a > carrier that has a high likelihood of flaking out. > > Gary Gary, We owe you real thanks for being ready on this; having to start from scratch with a short deadline would have been a major headache. Assuming they are more-or-less comparable in cost, and less of a pain to deal with on paperwork, this may turn out to be a positive development for the club. Is there anything we can do to help on this? (Finally back from Korea, so I can say "we" instead of "you") Dana Crom -- ------------------------+-------------------------------------------------- Dana Crom / "Malt does more than Milton can danac@pacbell.net / To justify God's ways to man" A. E. Housman San Jose, California / "Doubtless due to a wider audience" DLC From mojo at whiteoaks.com Sun Dec 21 20:50:54 2003 From: mojo at whiteoaks.com (Morris Jones) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] JVN email problem ... Message-ID: Support at SVPAL may have helped me solve the problem I was having with bounced email to Jim Van Nuland. If this email goes through, it should be solved. Jim, I apologize -- you may have missed several days worth of SJAA board email. It should all be available on the archives here: http://www.whiteoaks.com/pipermail/sjaaboard/ The problem was a spam trap I was tripping. Email to the board has a return address of "sjaaboard-bounces@sjaa.net". My email configuration didn't have an alias for that address, so when svpal would test the email for a valid return address, my server reported "no such user." Thanks though svpal who bounced the message instead of just eating it, and to their support guy who helped me solve the problem. Mojo -- Morris Jones <*> Monrovia, CA mojo@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com From wb6yru at aenet.net Sun Dec 21 23:31:53 2003 From: wb6yru at aenet.net (Gary Mitchell) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] SJAA insurance References: <200312212106.NAA01159@pacbell.net> Message-ID: <3FE69DE9.66FA@aenet.net> Dana Crom wrote: > Is there anything we can do to help on this? Not at the moment. There could be some decisions we may have to make, depending on what options they offer. Since our existing policy expires in a month, the board should be prepared to act without delay, (that may mean voting on the remailer). Other than that... The only thing I can think of is the paper work, but that's something that takes pretty much only one person. If anyone has any ideas or concerns regarding the our liability insurance, now would be a good time to bring it up. Someone already mentioned the possible effect of us owning a remote observatory site. Gary From jvn at svpal.org Mon Dec 22 00:23:53 2003 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] JVN email problem ... References: Message-ID: <3FE6AA19.249D@svpal.org> Morris Jones wrote: > > Support at SVPAL may have helped me solve the problem I was having with > bounced email to Jim Van Nuland. If this email goes through, it should > be solved. > Jim, I apologize. No apology necessary; thanks for jumping on it. > -- you may have missed several days worth of SJAA > board email. It should all be available on the archives here: > > http://www.whiteoaks.com/pipermail/sjaaboard/ Yes, I had missed the discussion regarding our liability insurance. I wish I knew why they dumped astronomy clubs -- I don't know of a claim by any club. Glad that Gary has a lead on a replacement. Clear Skies! -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's web site From wb6yru at aenet.net Mon Dec 22 23:45:30 2003 From: wb6yru at aenet.net (Gary Mitchell) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:23 2006 Subject: [SJAABoard] JVN email problem ... References: <3FE6AA19.249D@svpal.org> Message-ID: <3FE7F29A.760B@aenet.net> Jim Van Nuland wrote: > > Yes, I had missed the discussion regarding our liability insurance. I > wish I knew why they dumped astronomy clubs -- I don't know of a claim > by any club. I doubt this is limited to astronomy clubs. All they said was that we no longer fit into the underwriter's (Fireman's Fund Insurance) program. I took that to mean that they're simply getting out of the club liability part of the business. > Glad that Gary has a lead on a replacement. Yeah, that was very fortunate. RV Nuccio's letter didn't mention any alternatives. It seems to me RV Nuccio must have known this was in the works more than a month and a half in advance, but their letter was dated Dec. 10. I got an e-mail off to Seabury & Smith on the morning of the 19th, that's not bad. :) Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks or more before I see mail that arrives in our box... let alone having to hunt for an insurance company. I haven't heard back yet from S&S, but being around the holidays, that's going to slow things down too. Gary