Sometimes there is a scrap of lumber laying around that you are sure there MUST be a good use for. Here the Woodworkers took scraps of contrasting wood, joined, glued, planed, sanded and finished them to make attractive cheese boards.
Author: Webmaster (Page 90 of 96)
Several pieces of furniture donated to the Boy Scout Tag Sale were in need of repair. The problems included broken legs and a split top. In the condition they were in, they would bring only a low price – or possibly have to be junked.
The DMA Woodworkers were able to repair a doll’s barn, table, secretary and hope chest to usable condition. They should bring a good price for a good cause.
Join us for a gourmet Sunset Picnic at Weed Beach on Thursday, June 15, 2017,5:00-8:30.
No food to bring just come and enjoy. Family and friends are welcome.
Just $35 per person – A great value which includes Wine, Beer, Soft Drinks, Scrumptious Appetizers, Chicken, Salmon, Beef and many sides plus great desserts.
Our picnic last year was a huge success and we expect this year to be even better!
Catering provided by Valvala’s Deli & Catering
Appetizers : Sliders, Chips with Salsa and Guacamole, Shrimp, Salad, Cheese & Crackers
Dinner: Salmon, Chicken, Beef
Dessert: Sheet cake, Cookies. Fruit
PLUS! Wine, Beer, Soft Drinks and Water
Socialize with your friends and make some new ones while eating gourmet food and enjoying music by a talented one-man band, Rob Smith.
RAIN DATE is June 16, 2017
Any questions contact Alex Garnett
When the Nazi Blitzkrieg subjugated Europe in World War II, London became the safe haven for the leaders of seven occupied countries–France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Norway, Czechoslovakia and Poland–who fled there to avoid imprisonment and set upgovernments in exile to commandeer their resistance efforts. The lone hold-out against Hitler’s offensive, Britain became a beacon of hope to the rest of Europe, as prominent European leaders like French general Charles De Gaulle, Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, and King Haakon of Norway competed for Winston Churchill’s attention while trying to rule their embattled countries from the precarious safety of ‘Last Hope Island'”
Review from the NYT’s: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/books/review/last-hope-island-lynne-olson.html
Companion book: “Avenue of Spies” by Alex Kershaw. There is one paper copy and 2 audio copies in the Library. Recommended by Taylor Strubinger.
How a Nobel Prize–winning theory of the mind altered our perception of reality. Forty years ago, Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky wrote a series of breathtakingly original studies undoing our assumptions about the decision-making process. Their papers showed the ways in which the human mind erred, systematically, when forced to make judgments in uncertain situations. Their work created the field of behavioral economics, revolutionized Big Data studies, advanced evidence-based medicine, led to a new approach to government regulation, and made much of Michael Lewis’s own work possible. Kahneman and Tversky are more responsible than anybody for the powerful trend to mistrust human intuition and defer to algorithms.
The Undoing Project is about a compelling collaboration between two men who have the dimensions of great literary figures. They became heroes in the university and on the battlefield—both had important careers in the Israeli military—and their research was deeply linked to their extraordinary life experiences. Amos Tversky was a brilliant, self-confident warrior and extrovert, the center of rapt attention in any room; Kahneman, a fugitive from the Nazis in his childhood, was an introvert whose questing self-doubt was the seedbed of his ideas. They became one of the greatest partnerships in the history of science, working together so closely that they couldn’t remember whose brain originated which ideas, or who should claim credit. They flipped a coin to decide the lead authorship on the first paper they wrote, and simply alternated thereafter. This story about the workings of the human mind is explored through the personalities of two fascinating individuals so fundamentally different from each other that they seem unlikely friends or colleagues. In the process they may well have changed, for good, mankind’s view of its own mind.
Discussion Leader: Harris Hester
The Library has 4 copies of a shorter book, Think Twice by Michael Mauboussin, that addresses the subject. He lives in the area and has spoken at the Library. He’s Managing Director, Global Strategies, Credit Suisse. Gary Banks
Hiking Pomerance Park,
Greenwich Connecticut
We will be hiking Pomerance Park, located at 101 Orchard Street, Greenwich on Thursday
March 30, 2017 at 10 am
This 100 acre property is now owned by the Town of Greenwich, but was at one time the estate
of a Mr Wertheim, a New York investment banker. The property is of interest because the
mansion that sits atop a small hill was home to Barbara Tuchman, the noted historian, who was
Mr Wertheim’s daughter and who wrote her Pulitzer prize- winning book “The Guns of August”
while secluded in a small cabin on the property. The mansion itself fell into disrepair and was
demolished by the Town , but its skeleton was preserved for its historical interest.
Except for a couple of gentle slopes, the hiking trails on this property are fairly flat and suitable
for almost anyone who is interested in hiking. Its a very pretty property, rustic and wooded and
you will marvel that so much open space has been preserved in the middle of a residential area.
We expect to hike about 2-21/2 hours followed by lunch, which is optional will be at the Little
Pub at 531 East Putnam Ave Greenwich at about 12.30pm
Directions: On Google Maps mark your destination as Pomerance Park, Greenwich or 101
Orchard Street, Greenwich.
Take I-95 South towards Greenwich and get off at Exit 5. Off the Exit ramp make a left turn
onto Route 1 South ( also called East Putnam Ave).. Proceed just over a mile and then make a
sharp right turn onto Orchard Street(there is a Gulf station at the corner). Drive up Orchard
Street about 0.75 miles and you will see Pomerance Park on your right. Pull into the parking lot
where we will meet at 10.00am
Contact :Sunil Saksena ssaksena44@gmail.com
203-561-8601
Discussion leader: Gary Banks
President Trump and Mexican leaders have been disagreeing since the first moments of Trump’s presidential campaign, when Trump accused Mexico of using the United States as a dumping ground for criminals; he went on to campaign on building a wall, imposing a tariff, and revising NAFTA.
But beneath the heated rhetoric is a complex and largely beneficial relationship. Mexico is the United States’ third-largest trading partner, with $531 billion in two-way trade in 2015. More than 35 million Americans have Mexican roots. While U.S. companies’ investments in Mexico get more attention, Mexican companies employ more than 123,000 people in the U.S.
Our discussion will examine this issue from several vantages. What makes this interesting, and challenging, is the fact that every action will have a reaction and, in turn, a counter reaction. As in any complex adaptive system, you can’t do just one thing. There is plenty of news from a US perspective. Here, we’ll also explore how Mexico and its people see the relationship and what actions and reactions they may take.
Summit in Mexico from the Yale School of Management.
http://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-s-the-future-of-us-mexico-relations
Mexico’s Revenge
By antagonizing the U.S.’s neighbor to the south, Donald Trump has made the classic bully’s error: He has underestimated his victim. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/05/mexicos-revenge/521451/
Nafta has made Mexico a better place, writes @MaryAnastasiaOG from Harris
https://www.wsj.com/articles/nafta-has-made-mexico-a-better-place-1489957421
Here is an example of how difficult trade negotiation are. One industry, in this case sugar growers in Florida want to restrict imports from Mexico. (The Florida sugar industry in known for sleazy politics and environmental damage.) But the sugar refining industry wants inexpensive raw sugar. But wait! The Iowa corn farmers want to sell high fructose corn syrup to Mexico and that market might be jeopardized. Now the sugar buyers, such as candy makers threaten to move their manufacturing off shore to get access to raw materials. Not simple – everything is connected. Like ecology, you can’t do just one thing. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/world/americas/mexico-nafta-north-american-free-trade-agreement-sugar-subsidies.html?ref=business&_r=0
Not mentioned is both corn and sugar cane can make ethanol. Sugar cane as biomass makes more sense as the stalks are waste, corn is a crop. Brazil is a leader in cane ethanol but there is an import duty to the US to protect domestic growers. But there is no import duty on oil –
even from unsavory countries. The impoverished Caribbean could grow sugar cane and the have refineries but they are blocked.
George Friedman, Stratfor, has some provocative perspectives. Namely, the US-Mexico relationship goes back to their defeat in the Mexican-American war. That the US Southwest is occupied Mexican territory. And with the rapid growth of the Latino population in those states soon to determine their politics,the area could become some sort of semi-autonomous zone between the two countries. This is outlined in his book “The Next 100 years”.
http://www.mauldineconomics.com/this-week-in-geopolitics/mexico-as-a-major-power#
How Mexico’s President Laid the Foundation for a Wall
Enrique Peña Nieto helped put Trump in the White House. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/01/trumps-accomplice-in-mexico/514430/
Nearly 5 Million U.S. Jobs Depend on Trade With Mexico
Arguments that policies such as NAFTA have killed American manufacturing jobs often ignore the many other American jobs that such deals create and support. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/12/mexico-nafta-trade/510008/
America Is Already Paying for the Wall With Mexico
How Trump made an enemy. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/01/america-is-already-paying-for-the-wall-with-mexico/514658/
Now that you have done your reading, there is a test of how much you know about Mexico courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2012/0701/How-much-do-you-know-about-Mexico-Take-our-quiz/What-does-the-5th-of-May-commemorate-in-Mexico How did you do?
Discussion leader: John Bartlett
Key questions:
1. Is it a problem that due to deficit spending our national debt has doubled in the past ten years and now stands at 77% of gross domestic product – the highest since World War II?
2. Why do politicians not discuss this issue?
3. Should the deficit be reduced by using the principals of the 2013 Budget Sequestration involving across the board spending cuts?
This discussion is to look at the magnitude of the Federal debt and discuss possible solutions looking at prior plans such as Simpson Bowles and the the 2013 Sequester and see if we can find a way that the government could find a way to accomplish the goal of reducing the ballooning federal debt. The first part of the discussion would be to look at the CBO numbers and the second to see if we can think of a process by which a “top down” approach could be agreed to.
This is a basic, sensible introduction to trade deficits from the Peterson Institute.
Is the US Trade Deficit a Problem?
National Commission of Fical Responsibility
Go to GAO.gov and in the search area enter the following: Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Fiscal Years 2016 and 2015 Schedules of Federal Debt.
CBO 2017 Long-Term Budget Outlook
CBO 2017 Long Term Deficits
United_ States_budget_sequestration_in_2013
“The Education of David Stockman” is a classic on how the Federal Budget is actually constructed. It was published in the Atlantic in 1981 and was expanded into his book, “Triumph of Politics.” It isn’t pretty. Recall that Stockman was Reagan’s first term budget director. No one, including Reagan, comes off well. This article was off the record – until it wasn’t. It lead to Stockman’s famous trip to the woodshed. (Full disclosure – I worked for David for 6 years. Gary)
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1981/12/the-education-of-david-stockman/305760/
This is the link to Steve Balmer’s new website. He’s done a 10K for the government.
USA Facts
“Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter.” Dick Cheney
Deficit as a % of GDP St. Louis Fed
Bill Bradley had a good article in the 4/30/17 NYT’s on the process of writing the Tax Reform Act of 1986. It seems positively enlightened and unimaginable in today’s political environment. Click here:
When Congress Made Taxes Fairer
www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/opinion/trumps-tax-cuts-may-be-more-damaging-than-reagans.html?emc=eta1
This is an article about the choices and context of the next budget from the Brookings Institute. It was written Jan 24th, 2017 – unfortunately it’s not the way things turned out.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2017/01/24/trump-mulvaney-and-managing-federal-government/
A Brooking op-ed on Trump’s tax proposal. https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/trumps-tax-plan-amateur-hour-at-the-treasury-department/
There’s a new book “A Fine Mess” by T.R. Reid. It’s in the library. Here is an interview of the author on NPR.
http://www.npr.org/2017/04/03/522424621/fine-mess-you-can-learn-a-lot-about-a-country-by-its-taxes It is a comparative look at our tax code.
At our last meeting of the year on May 31, 2017 the DMA Songsters will send us off into the summer with a medley of familiar songs that will, get your toes tapping.
You can expect to hear them sing “Stout Hearted Men,” “Night and Day,” “Coney Island Baby,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Nothing Like a Dame,” “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby,” “Ride That Chariot” and several others for a total of 15 old-time favorites.
Don’t miss this song-filled sendoff.
Wednesday, 10:00AM at the Darien Community Association
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sQ4GoGBgGY&feature=em-upload_owner
Rear Admiral John Weigold IV, Reserve Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, will talk about Pacific Operations that include the South China Sea and North Korea. Important issues there are freedom of navigation and bilateral and multilateral relations with our allies in the region.
He is a Connecticut native and son of a Navy Underwater Demolition team/Frogman veteran.
John first served on the USS John King (DDG 3) as a gunnery officer and damage control assistant and auxiliaries and electrical officer and then on the USS Caron (DD 970) as navigator and administration/personnel officer.
He has commanded seven Reserve units, as well as the Iceland Defense Force and United States Forces Korea.
As a flag officer, he was assigned to his current role in 2015. Previous flag assignments include service as the deputy commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Yokosuka, Japan, and deputy director, Operations, at U.S. Pacific Command, Honolulu, Hawaii.
John is a recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (three awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medial (two awards), Army Commendation Medal, Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal plus other unit and individual service awards.
He is a partner with Korn Ferry International, a global talent management solutions firm.
Wednesday, 10:00AM at the Darien Community Association
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSd1ICnCJu8&feature=em-upload_owner
Sean Connolly, commissioner of the State of Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs, is responsible for overseeing the Veterans’ Home in Rocky Hill, Conn., and other services for 270,000 veterans residing in the state.
Commissioner Connolly will talk about the Connecticut Wartime Service Ribbon and will pin this award on DMA members who are qualified recipients. He also will touch on the Department of Veterans Affairs and its mission to serve those who have served their country.
A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, Commissioner Connolly is a decorated veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served on active duty for seven years. He also is a lawyer, and prior to being named commissioner in 2015, he was the global ethics and compliance officer for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.
Commissioner Connolly is the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He received his undergraduate degree from Bryant University and his Juris Doctor from Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
He and his wife live in Hebron, Conn., and have two boys and a rescue puppy.
Of local interest, the first home for veterans in the United States was established in Darien following the Civil War by Benjamin Fitch, a wealthy Connecticut businessman. Other states adopted this policy, which evolved into a national network of homes and was the forerunner of today’s Department of Veterans Affairs.
Darien also is home to Connecticut’s first cemetery for veterans, located in a section of Spring Grove Cemetery on Heckler Avenue across from the Darien Library.
Video: https://vimeo.com/217910976
Wednesday, 10:00AM at the Darien Community Association
Here is the link to the Channel 79 video: Channel 79 2017 DMA Service Awards.
Philip Vitiello, well-known Connecticut Civil War historian and re-enactor, will talk about the H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat. The night of February 17, 1864, the H.L. Hunley, a vessel of the Confederate States of America, sank the USS Housatonic off the coast of Charleston, S.C. The Hunley then mysteriously vanished with its crew of eight. Questions arose. Why had the underwater craft suddenly disappeared? More than a century later, it was discovered in 1995 by Clive Cussler and raised on August 8, 2000. Today, the Hunley resides at a conservation center where scientists are piecing together clues to solve the mystery of its disappearance. Philip’s presentation will tell the story of the men who designed the Hunley, how and where the submarine was built and how it worked. He will provide a history of the crew and surmise whether a Connecticut soldier was part of the Hunley’s crew. He also will discuss the recent burial of the remains of some of the crew at Arlington National Cemetery. Philip has spent 40 years studying, reading and visiting Civil War eastern theater battlefields. He is a vice president of the Civil War Round Table of South Central Connecticut and a charter member of The Friends of Hunley. As well, Philip is a charter member of The International Group for Historical Aircraft Recovery and the Titanic Historical Society. He teaches a history course at Norwalk Community College Lifetime Learners Institute. A lifelong resident of New Haven, he is a graduate of the University of New Haven and director of marketing for Northeast Food Marketing in Stamford. Philip last spoke to the DMA about the Civil War hero General Joshua Chamberlain.
Wednesday, 10:00AM at the Darien Community Association
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWbDKbHObg0&feature=em-upload_owner