How We Met. Once upon a time in a pizza palace where the very edges of fantasy and reality were known to intersect on rare occasions, I met Andy. He was enjoying a slice of pizza with an old friend of mine from college, Ken P. As I remember, often times not too accurately, I joined them at a small table. Since I hadn't seen Ken since college, we talked about what we were doing. Ken was working at Intel and I at SMC designing Integrated Circuits. Out of the blue, Andy said something like, "That's what I want to do. Can I have a job?" Well I should explain that at SMC, in Hauppauge LI, we were searching high and low for IC designers and hadn't been able to find a decent candidate that was willing to move to our great state. I didn't want to embarrass either of us ( I secretly doubted that this would work out ), so I asked Andy to send me a resume.
Andy not only got me the resume quickly ( he may have had it in his pocket ), but he followed up on the progress with great dedication. To my surprise Andy, an RPI graduate, wasn't a bad candidate for the position. Sure enough, as was common in those days, all of the other prospects that we interviewed fell through. Now it may be common in silicon valley to hire someone that you meet in a pizza place, but in Hauppauge, it only happens on the eve of a blue moon. My boss, Jay, kept saying "Let me see if I got this right, you want to hire a guy that you met in the pizza place ?" Andy soon arrived at his new job at SMC. And so began THE ANDY DAYS.
First Time Every Time. You should know that Andy never designed a chip that didn't work the first time, a credit that most design engineers can't claim. He never rushed a chip out the door, he savored every moment of every design. If possible, he would never use conventional techniques. I remember that he liked to use switch cap filters and the Lerner "Wall Filter". Well enough about his personal accomplishments.
Andy the communicator. Prior to The Andy Days it is rumored that Andy would hypnotize people and well I'm not really sure what they did. One day the BIG GUY suggested to Andy that he stop doing that. Needless to say Andy thought that it was a good idea and ever since then, Andy has been a do gooder, a real do gooder.
Andy the Clown. Yea, Andy is a clown. If you are wrapped up in your work and nothing is funny, that's when he arrives. First he talks like a duck to get your attention. Then his mouth and his words loose sync, like a badly dubbed movie. Some magic tricks, Steve Martin gags, cheeks that inflate like a beach ball, pretending to swallow things like money and pencils. He keeps slipping into duck talk as he discloses the problems that plague engineering. As he leaves your office he catches his shoulder on the door jam and ricochets down the hall bouncing off the walls. It's been rumored that Andy taught Chevy Chase everything he knows about taking a fall. I remember that he rolled a Volvo to see if it was really as safe as advertised.
When Does Andy Sleep. One thing is for sure he doesn't go to sleep early and he's not an early riser. He's a sleep disorder therapist's dream.
Dead Mans Clothes. Andy always dresses well, but don't ask him where he gets those fine threads.
Pure Research. One day Andy left us in search of the great wave ( PURE RESEARCH). I think it's safe to say that the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill. That's because you are too far away to see the defects. And so The Andy Days came to an end. We still see Andy from time to time when he is sliding between dimensions.
Andy is out there. If you want to contact Andy try this Andy E Mail