Week of 24th May

President-Elect Albert welcomed 18 members on a chilly autumn evening to our weekly meeting. A good night of fellowship and project planning was enjoyed by those in attendance. A roster was passed around for the Red Shield Appeal, which will be conducted at the entrance to the Coolamon Foodworks this coming Saturday and Sunday morning (see roster in the diary below).  Dick and Garth conducted a very entertaining fine session, eliciting fines from nearly all those in attendance.  The raffle was won by Craig L.

Members are reminded that we will have a fellowship-only meeting next Monday, 31 May since it is the 5th Monday of the month (which doesn’t happen too often!).  We had considered meeting at another venue, but concluded that there are no options for a meal on a Monday evening, so we will self-cater the meeting.  As usual, reply to Ian’s message if you will not be in attendance.

Super Blood Moon

Australians had an opportunity to witness a rare celestial event on Wednesday, 26th May: a super blood moon. A supermoon occurs when the full moon appears larger than usual because of its proximity to the Earth (it’s orbit is elliptical, so the distance between the Earth and moon fluctuates periodically).  When the Earth lines up directly between the sun and full moon, it casts a shadow over the moon, temporarily darkening it (referred to as a lunar eclipse).  When a lunar eclipse coincides with a supermoon, we get a super blood moon because the moon takes on a reddish tint in the shadowed area because the refracted sunlight that reaches the moon passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.  Super blood moons do not occur frequently; one occurs every several years, but is visible only from limited areas of the Earth.  The next super blood moon will occur in 2033.  Below are some pics that I took of the super blood moon, one at the start of the eclipse and another at totality.  The pics were taken with a Canon D5200 digital SLR with a 55-300 mm lens. – Paul Weston

DIARY

Saturday 29th – Sunday 30th May – Red Shield Appeal. Coolamon Foodworks, 8 am – noon. Rostered on for Saturday are 8:00-9:00 Mark; 9:00-10:00 Ted & Bern; 10:00-11:00 Alex & Henk; Sharon R. Rostered on for Sunday are 8:00-9:00 Mark; 9:00-10:00 Ted; 10:00-11:00 Paul; 11:00-12:00 Sharon.

Sunday May 30th – DisTec21. Young Shire Council, 189 Boorowa St., Young, 10 am – 4 pm.

Monday May 31st – Self-catered Fellowship Meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Monday June 7th – Regular Meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Saturday June 12th – Wednesday June 16th 2021 – Rotary International Convention (Virtual). Story in this bulletin for more information.  Registration is only $65, so give it some thought!

Monday June 14th – Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday (NO meeting).

Wednesday June 16th – FINAL Board Meeting for 20-21 Sports Club at 7.00pm

Saturday June 19th – Ganmain Winter Markets. Ganmain Showgrounds from 12 pm.

Monday June 21st – Regular Meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Monday June 21st – Wollundry Wagga RC Changeover Dinner. Wagga Wagga RSL Club, 6.30 for 7 pm, $30 per head.  Dress: jacket and tie.

Wednesday June 23rd – PE Albert Suidgeest’s Board Planning Meeting. 6.30 pm at Albert’s house (Coolamon Boarding Kennels, Doubleday Lane).

Saturday June 26th – RI District 9705 Changeover Dinner.  Young Ex-Services Club 6.00 – 8.30 pm.

Monday June 28th – Final CRC Meeting for the 20-21 Rotary Year. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Saturday July 3rd – Temora RC Changeover Dinner. Temora Golf Club, 6.30 for 7 pm, $40 per head. Dress: jacket and tie.

* Monday July 5th – Coolamon Rotary Club Changeover.  Coolamon Sport and Rec Club, 6.30 for 7 pm.

* denotes partner and guest night

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to last week’s puzzler: envelope

This week’s puzzler: What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?

ROTARY NEWS

1.   ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

Registration is open for the 2021 Virtual Convention.

12-16th JUNE 2021 Programme HERE

The 2021 Virtual Convention will be better than ever, opening more innovative opportunities to learn and to engage with the family of Rotary, near and far. You’ll be able to network in virtual lounges, meet new partners in service, and join fun activities with Rotary members from around the world.

COMING SOON: More information about this year’s upgraded virtual experiences including our new fast-paced programs that will have inspiring stories, powerful interviews, and multi-cultural entertainment.

Please continue to check back for more details and updates.

FAQs

2.  PAST ROTARY CONVENTIONS

Here are some pictorial highlights from 7 past Rotary International Conventions.

2005 Chicago USA, 2008 Los Angeles USA, 2010 Montreal Canada, 2012 Bangkok Thailand, 2014 Sydney Australia, 2016 Seoul South Korea, 2017 Atlanta USA.

{PS  Can you guess who was playing at the Hollywood Bowl?}

May is Youth Service Month

Graphics by Debbie Vance McKay from Canada.

Week of 17th May

President Howard welcomed 13 members, 1 visiting Rotarian and 1 guest to our weekly meeting.  The meeting was a chance to catch up on recent club activities, a rundown of the District 9705 club development seminar in Young, and fellowship.  Paul reported that the district conference will be held on 18-20 March, 2022 at Temora and encouraged members to attend given that we’ll have few opportunities to attend a district conference so close to home, especially considering the large size of the new district.  Catering at John Bond’s clearing sale was a success despite the lower than expected turnout owing to the ordinary weather.  The evening concluded with an entertaining fine session led by Albert with a number of amusing cross-fines by members and the weekly raffle, which was won by Ted.

DIARY

Wednesday May 19th – CRC Board Meeting.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 7.00 pm.

Monday May 24th – Regular meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Sunday May 30th – DisTec21. Young Shire Council, 189 Boorowa St., Young, 10 am – 4 pm.

Saturday June 12 – Wednesday June 16th 2021 – Rotary International Convention (Virtual). Click here for more information.  Registration is only $65, so give it some thought!

Saturday June 19th – Ganmain Winter Markets. Ganmain Showgrounds from 12 pm.

Monday June 21st – Wollundry Wagga RC Change Over Dinner. Wagga Wagga RSL Club, 6.30 for 7 pm, $30 per head.  Dress: jacket and tie.

Saturday July 3rd – Temora RC Change Over Dinner. Temora Golf Club, 6.30 for 7 pm, $40 per head. Dress: jacket and tie.

* Monday July 5th – Coolamon Rotary Club Changeover.  Coolamon Sport and Rec Club, 6.30 for 7 pm.

* denotes partner and guest night

JUST FOR LAUGHS

What, no ear muffs??!!!!

THE PUZZLER

Answer to last week’s puzzler: Turn the page (screen) upside down! That will show the equation as 16 = 8 + 8.

This week’s puzzler: What word starts with `e`, ends with `e` and has only one letter in it?

ROTARY NEWS

1. REPORT ON D9705 CLUB DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR

District 9705 conducted the first of two club development seminars this one in Young last Saturday.  The event was well represented by 170 members of various clubs in our district including several from Canberra.  Coolamon was represented by PE Albert Suidgeest, PEN Paul Weston, Foundation Director Neil Munro and Secretary John Glassford.  John was one of the “teachers” and his session was on service projects.  John will also be teaching at the second seminar this time in Broulee on Saturday 22nd May.

The Rotary Club of Young did a great job with the catering and ran out of soup on a very cold day.  However there was plenty of food and hot tea and coffee.  The facilities at the Hennessey catholic College were very good and comfortable.  PDG Steve Hill was the coordinator and the day began with a message from Shekhar Mehta RI President-elect 2020-21 from the Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar.

Click on the photo below for a video from RIPE Shekhar.

2.  District Grant Applications

May is Youth Service Month

Graphics by Debbie Vance McKay from Canada.

MOTHERS DAY 2021

Hope that you all remembered Mothers day in your way!’

Week of 10th May

President Howard was back at the helm and welcomed 19 members and 2 guests to our weekly meeting. The meeting was an opportunity for planning and fellowship, but there were a few notable highlights.  The first was a hearty chorus of “Happy Birthday” for PDG John Glassford, who celebrated a milestone birthday (at his age, every birthday is a milestone!). Susan had arranged for an awesome cake from Nayz Cakes, which tasted as good as it looked and was enjoyed by all.

The second highlight was the announcement that Adrian Lindner has been approved for membership by the board, and will be inducted at a meeting in late May.  Congratulations, Adrian! We’ll provide more info on Adrian following his induction.  Following the business proceedings, fill-in Sergeant-at-Arms Dick Jennings fined nearly all those in attendance, including our incoming newest member!  The meeting concluded with the weekly raffle, which was won by Garth.

DIARY

Friday 14th May – John Bond’s Clearing Sale. Kincora (Millwood Road), 8:30 am – 1:00 pm.

Saturday 15th May – D9705 Assembly. Hennessey Catholic College, Young, 9.00 am  – 5.00 pm.  Click on the map below for a larger version.

Monday May 17th – Regular meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Wednesday May 19th – CRC Board Meeting.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 7.00 pm.

Sunday May 30th – DisTec21. Young Shire Council, 189 Boorowa St., Young, 10 am – 4 pm.

Saturday June 12 – Wednesday June 16th 2021 – Rotary International Convention.

Saturday June 19th – Ganmain Winter Markets. Ganmain Showgrounds from 12 pm.

* Monday July 5th – Coolamon Rotary Club Changeover.  Coolamon Sport and Rec Club, 6.30 for 7 pm.

* denotes partner and guest night

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to last week’s puzzler: The back of the dartboard!

This week’s puzzler:

How can you make the following equation mathematically correct without making any changes to it?

8 + 8 = 91

ROTARY NEWS

1. ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

Registration is open for the 2021 Virtual Convention.

The 2021 Virtual Convention will be better than ever, opening more innovative opportunities to learn and to engage with the family of Rotary, near and far. You’ll be able to network in virtual lounges, meet new partners in service, and join fun activities with Rotary members from around the world.

COMING SOON: More information about this year’s upgraded virtual experiences including our new fast-paced programs that will have inspiring stories, powerful interviews, and multi-cultural entertainment.

Please continue to check back for more details and updates.

2.  Kenyan Rotary clubs sow seeds:

In 2007, Agnes Kiraithe was invited to speak at the Rotary Club of Muthaiga, in Nairobi. At the time, Kiraithe was the chief administrator of what is now the Kenya Children’s Home, and she had come to talk about the organization, which takes in orphaned children from around the city. After her presentation, she looked around the club.

“Initially, I thought Rotary is a place you go and pitch for support,” she says. “But after the first meeting, I started to talk to people, and I said, ‘Hmm, this looks interesting.’ So I started coming to the meetings and made friends, and I stayed on for the fellowship.” She joined in 2008.

It wasn’t long before Kiraithe saw the power of Rotary at work. Around that time, a series of violent clashes had broken out in Kenya’s Rift Valley after a deeply divisive national election. A member of the Muthaiga club had connections to communities in that region, where houses had been burned to the ground and people were living in tents. The club raised funds to buy hoes, seedlings, and containers of beans and potatoes for residents to plant.

FULL STORY HERE

May is Youth Service Month

Graphics by Debbie Vance McKay from Canada.

Week of 3rd May

President-Elect Albert, filling in for President Howard, welcomed 17 members and 1 guest to our weekly meeting.  After a delicious roast dinner, Grahame and Paul gave a talk on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.  Because a number of members were absent on the night, the talk was more of a teaser, with a more fully developed talk to be given at a later date.  Nonetheless, the talk was a good introduction to a fairly complicated topic.  Grahame discussed the investment aspects of cryptocurrencies, noting that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have increased in value substantially over the past year, despite numerous ups and downs.  From an opening price of ca. $175 AUD in 2013, the current price of Bitcoin is > $71,000 AUD!  Although lower in price than Bitcoin, Ethereum has shown some impressive increases in value over the past year: from $319 AUD in May 2020, it has risen to > $4,350 AUD today.  As with all investments, there are no guarantees of unlimited growth, but wise investment decisions can yield handsome gains.

Although cryptocurrencies are starting to be accepted for payment for some goods, they should be viewed as investments at this point.  Paul described some of the arcane aspects of the technology behind Bitcoin, describing blockchain technology and the “mining” process that produces more Bitcoin. Blockchain technology in a transparent ledger system used to validate Bitcoin transactions (to help prevent counterfeiting), and has found uses in many other accounting and engineering systems beyond cryptocurrency exchange.  New Bitcoins are produced by a process called mining, which involves the use of computers to guess a random number that serves to validate each Bitcoin transaction; the first person or group to complete a block of Bitcoin transactions is awarded a number of Bitcoins (or fraction thereof). Because a lot of computing power is needed to correctly complete a substantial number of Bitcoin transactions, a lot of electricity is consumed, which is one of the main criticisms of Bitcoin.  There was a surprising amount of interest in the talks, but those who missed out on Monday will be able to catch up on the more detailed talk promised in a few weeks’ time.

The evening concluded with a fine session let by fill-in Sergeant-at-Arms Dick, who spared no one with his entertaining fines.  The raffle was won by Paul.

DIARY

Friday 14th May – John Bond’s Clearing Sale. Kincora (Millwood Road), 8:30 am – 1:00 pm.

Saturday 15th May – D9705 Assembly. Young Services Club, Young.  9.00 am  – 5.00 pm.  Hennessey College Young.

Sunday May 30th – DisTec21. Young Shire Council, 189 Boorowa St., Young, 10 am – 4 pm.

* Monday July 5th:  CRC Change Over Dinner at the Coolamon Sports Club, 6.30 for 7 pm

* denotes partner and guest night

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to last week’s puzzler: He was making a shopping list!

This week’s puzzler: 

Henk, unbeknownst to most Rotarians, is a master dartsman, and was bragging to his bar mates that he was such a consummate player, he could hit the dartboard in any location at will.

“I’ll wager a hundred dollars that, no matter what position you name on the board, I’ll be able to hit it.”

Albert, tired of Henk’s windbaggery, shouted out an answer.

Henk stammered for a few moments and at first refused to pay. The other bar patrons, however, made sure he held up his end of the wager. Henk slammed a hundred dollar bill on the counter and stormed out.

Where on the dartboard did Albert suggest?

ROTARY NEWS

1. Rotary Coolamon and Wagga Wagga Sunrise Joint Project.

Mount Kenya 2015 April 23-May 3rd

6 Years ago we climbed Mount Kenya to Point Lenana the third highest peak on Mount Kenya.  Some of us who were there are thinking of doing it again to raise funds for Tracy Ochieng’s Big Sisters project.  Just thinking that is!!

2. Rotary involvement in COVID-19 vaccinations

Rotary is taking action in response to the pandemic as our clubs support COVID-19 vaccination and continued prevention efforts around the world.

May is Youth Service Month

Graphics by Debbie Vance McKay from Canada.