September
2009
_____________________________________________________________________________
Melting Pot:
Tuesday 6th
October at 2pm
Salvation Army Hall
Have you ever thought
about why you get goose bumps? Well, they are part of the biological baggage that we humans carry from our dim
distant ancestors who, when cold or frightened, raised their hair (like dogs)
to make themselves warmer or look bigger than otherwise.
We humans have a
number of these evolutionary relics and Professor Jim Warren will give a
fascinating talk about them at our next Melting Pot. Come along and sit on your
now obsolete tail bone to discover some of the curious legacies of your past
ancestors that you have but don’t use these days.
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Victorian Seniors
Festival 2009
Be inspired! 4th-11th
October
Yes, it’s that time
of the year again and Mitchell Shire Council will be hosting a Concert
featuring Jamie Redfern at the Broadford Shire Hall on Friday 9th
Oct. commencing at 1pm. Cost $4.90 per ticket which are available at Broadford
Library and Customer Service Centre, 113 High St. Broadford. Great
entertainment and light refreshments provided.
Council on the Ageing
Victoria’s (COTA) annual Seniors Conference will take place
on Thursday 1st October at Multicultural Hub, 506 Elizabeth St, Melbourne
(opposite Victoria Market) from 9.30am to 3.30pm.
This year’s
conference focuses on older people as leaders and social activists, and the
strategies they use to achieve change.
This is a free
event for older Victorians and includes lunch. Register now by calling Trevor
at COTA Vic on 9655 2125 or email projects@cotavic.org.au
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The
President’s Letter:
Dear
All,
The start of Spring has brought back most of
our missing members, hopefully well rested and ready to be worked to death…Another
thought provoking Melting Pot on the 8th…for those who weren’t there, Mr. Tim
McCartin, Principal of Seymour Technical High School outlined plans for the
Regeneration Project…a proposal that will have far reaching implications for
Education in our area. The October
Melting Pot will be the last for the year so we hope to see many members there.
The
October edition of the Notice Board will also be the last for the year. Our
Editor, Wendy Madex, would love some news from the various groups and classes
with snippets of your activities throughout the year. (Email her at jrmadex@bigpond.net.au or telephone
5792 2643 by 10th October)
As
mentioned briefly last month we now have firm plans for Computer Access and
training which Bob Brown will detail elsewhere in this Notice Board.
As
in previous years we will be represented at the Tastes of the Goulburn later in
the month. We have found flying the flag (or Banner) at these events generates
interest and usually adds members. If any members could help out for a couple
of hours please contact Pat Coffey by email at seymu3a@vicnet.net.au or phone 5799
1119. I’ll be off on an O’seas junket for 4 weeks…even volunteers have perks.
So, enjoy the early weeks of Spring and keep up those Rain Dances…we certainly
need some help in that area…
A
special thanks to our editor Wendy Madex, who magically puts together all our
doings and helps us to keep in touch.
Jill Fidler
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Vine, Wine &
Dine:
Our next visit will
be to Rocky Passes Estate, 1590
Highlands Road, Whiteheads Creek on Wednesday 7th
October. We will learn about the development of their red wines and why James
Halliday rates them so highly. Lunch will be Spanish tapas and dessert for $15.
Drinks extra.
Call Carol Smith 5799
1970 to reserve your place by Friday 2nd October. A minimum of 10 is
required. The car pool will leave the Old Courthouse at 11.30am. This may be
the last winery visit for this year, but Carol recommends you attend the Tastes
of the Goulburn, in Station Street
this year, on Saturday 17th October to taste more of the region’s
wines.
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Seymour
Interconnect:
Seymour &
District U3A in collaboration with the Seymour Neighbourhood Renewal Project
have received a grant from the Victorian Government Dept. of Planning and
Community Development to enhance access to the Internet and the World Wide Web.
This is part of a Victoria
wide program known as the Public Internet Access Program (PIAP). One new
computer will be located at the Contact
Place, Anglesey
St. Two new high-speed computers networked with
our existing two Pentium4 computers will be connected to the Internet via
broadband in the U3A Office. The total Victorian scheme is being managed by
Vicnet, a part of Library Victoria, and they are providing tutors who will
instruct some of our members in some of the finer points of Internet computing
so they will be able to show others how to get the greatest benefit out of the
wonderful world of cyberspace.
We are currently
selecting and purchasing new equipment and hope to be able to get the system
operating shortly. We are now actively recruiting voluntary trainers to become
part of the scheme. The volunteers teach others. It will be an interesting and
useful experience for everyone. Please contact Bob Brown if you would like to be an Interconnect trainer;
modest intermediate computer skills are the starting point for trainers; from
there they will learn and have an enjoyable time.
For more information
contact Eddie Moylan (5792 1534) or Bob Brown (5796 2163) or rhbrown@bordernet.com.au
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Energy Futures:
We’re getting down to the “pointy end” of our
discussion about energy for the future of the world. We have looked briefly at
the nature of the universe, the way it formed and the massive energies that
have shaped and organized the stars and planets. We looked at the way different
nations use energy and we have examined the scientific case indicating that
human activities, generating carbon dioxide, have influenced global
temperature. We’ve also looked at some of the arguments that have been put up
against this science. In the last two lectures we have looked at many
alternative energy sources and noted how these are rapidly being adopted in
many countries of the world.
On the 24th
September and the 22nd of October we will talk about atomic energy
what’s good with it what’s bad about it and how it can be adopted safely. We
will look in a little more detail at carbon capture and storage and make some
comparisons of the costs of implementing alternatives in Australia.
We’ll talk about carbon trading carbon tax and legislation of renewables.
Finally, on a more cheerful note, we will look at some of the excellent
examples in cities around the world – some in UK,
Scandinavia and other places. This may trigger
some thoughts about energy in Seymour.
Don’t worry if you’ve missed previous sessions, it’ll be great if you can join
in now and contribute to discussions in future.
On the 26th
of November it is hoped that a visit can be arranged to a property with very
low carbon emissions.
Bob Brown
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You
are invited to join in our Spanish Fiesta, celebrating the
genius of “Liquid Desires” on Thursday 8th October from 10.30am to
1.00pm at the RSL Hall.
Film,
Food and Music!
Get in the spirit
with a Salvador Dali moustache or a comb and ruffle.
RSVP to Loris on 5792
1093 by Tuesday 6th please for catering.
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9.10 Train Excursion: A Reminder!
Thursday 1st
October – A Day in the Life of Pompeii @ Melbourne Museum
Our
U3A thanks Ben Hardman MP
for
his assistance with the printing of our
Newsletters
and Green Guide