Los Altos Rotary Club Home of the Annual Rotary Fine Art Show April 02 2009

CROONING CATS
RICK GLAZE led the assembled multitude in an exceptional rendition of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”  Hound dogs and donkeys could be heard in the hills baying along.  Rotarians, keep those day jobs! 

DAN O’DONNELL passed the signup sheet for Rotocare Food Delivery for April and May.  Call him if you missed the sheet. 

SANDY WHIPPLE reminded us to sign up for the Progressive Dinner the night of April 25 for $40 per body. 

DAVE SMITH wants us to start that day with some honest work, either painting the gazebo or staffing a CSA food collection booth at one of several grocery store locations.  Call DAVE if you missed the signup sheet. 

STEVE POMEROY wore a hat with red bananas (actually, they were “points”) as he announced that the goal for Art Show Sponsorships this year is $12,000, that we have reached $8,250, and that you must sign up and deliver your check to him no later than next week.

RED BADGE TALK
ESTER (LAI HING) NG gave her illustrated Red Badge Talk.  ESTER was born several years ago in Hong Kong, was awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees, married, has a son, and worked as an analyst for a children’s clothing line, Gymboree, for several years in the 1990’s.  ESTER’s spouse and ESTER enjoy eating and travel.  Her son, now a teenager or young adult, was a model for the clothing line while he was in the just-walking stage, and he reminded us how great it would be if we could stop time and bottle our children at that stage before they grow up and become mean and nasty. 
ESTER is a Certified Financial Planner and is currently employed with Ameriprise right here in town. 

MR. MALAPROP STRIKES AGAIN
Suave and sophisticated Finemaster JERRY MOISON took over just as the Rotarians completed their meals and mused on how nicely the meeting had progressed to that point. 

We learned that HERB MARSHALL accompanied his worms as a young boy in the Pet Parade, and that polio’s particulars are best left to the imagination.  Elsewhere, VAL CARPENTER announced her two daughters will soon graduate from their programs at college, and that therefore they will be off the dole. 

You bet, VAL.  SHELLY POTVIN announced the birth of son Wyatt (aka Squishy Face) five weeks ago. 

Red Badger DAVE CASAS stepped up and joined the President’s Club.

Shelly Potvin	David Casas	David Snow
Pat Hyland	Scott Flemming	Joe Corral

HOW ARE THEY DOING? 
BUD OLIVER reported that ANN had just spoken to GRETCHEN BUE, who stated that BOO was back home and doing fine after a stay in the hospital.  JACK HEIDMILLER reported that JANICE was home after a stay in the hospital and was doing fine, as well.

TODAY’S PROGRAM
LOS ALTOS Town Librarian PAUL MILLER spoke about his life and times as a librarian and what libraries are up to.  PAUL has been a librarian in Urbana, Baku, and Woodland, among other places.  1.8 million “items” were checked out of the Los Altos Library last year.   This is an extraordinarily high number per capita for our small little towns of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.
Books (made of paper) are holding their own; Kind of. 

For decades now, librarians like Paul have been contemplating the “paperless” library and the changes it will make to their planning process.   “E-books” comprised 0.5% of all books published (between 150,000 and 160,000) in 2008 in the U.S.  The percentage of e-books doubled from the prior year.  The switch to electronic publishing is growing rapidly.  The University of Michigan Press will no longer publish on paper. 

FRANK VERLOT reminded us that, when the library in Alexandria burned down 2,000 years ago, there went a lot of our knowledge.  He asked what happens if a humongous solar flare zaps all data on hard disk.  PAUL stated that was a good question.

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