Category: Activities (Page 20 of 34)

Activities are gatherings that occur on a regular schedule, usually weekly, to enjoy a specific pastime.

Book Club: Thank You for Being Late by Thomas Friedman, January 8, 2020

November 4, 2019 / Webmaster

KIRKUS REVIEW

The celebrated New York Times columnist diagnoses this unprecedented historical moment and suggests strategies for “resilience and propulsion” that will help us adapt.

“Are things just getting too damned fast?” Friedman (Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—and How It Can Renew America, 2008, etc.) cites 2007 as the year we reached a technological inflection point. Combined with increasingly fast-paced globalization (financial goods and services, information, ideas, innovation) and the subsequent speedy shocks to our planet’s natural system (climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, geochemical flows), we’ve entered an “age of accelerations” that promises to transform “almost every aspect of modern life.” The three-time Pulitzer winner puts his familiar methodology—extensive travel, thorough reporting, interviews with the high-placed movers and shakers, conversations with the lowly moved and shaken—to especially good use here, beginning with a wonderfully Friedman-esque encounter with a parking attendant during which he explains the philosophy and technique underlying his columns and books. The author closes with a return to his Minnesota hometown to reconnect with and explore some effective habits of democratic citizenship. In between, he discusses topics as varied as how garbage cans got smart, how the exponential growth in computational power has resulted in a “supernova” of creative energy, how the computer Watson won Jeopardy, and how, without owning a single property, Airbnb rents out more rooms than all the major hotel chains combined. To meet these and other dizzying accelerations, Friedman advises developing a “dynamic stability,” and he prescribes nothing less than a redesign of our workplaces, politics, geopolitics, ethics, and communities. Drawing lessons from Mother Nature about adaptability, sustainability, and interdependence, he never underestimates the challenges ahead. However, he’s optimistic about our chances as he seeks out these strategies in action, ranging from how AT&T trains its workers to how Tunisia survived the Arab Spring to how chickens can alleviate African poverty.

Required reading for a generation that’s “going to be asked to dance in a hurricane.”

Book Club: The Overstory by Richard Powers, February 12, 2020

November 4, 2019 / Webmaster

Powers’ (Orfeo, 2014, etc.) 12th novel is a masterpiece of operatic proportions, involving nine central characters and more than half a century of American life.

In this work, Powers takes on the subject of nature, or our relationship to nature, as filtered through the lens of environmental activism, although at its heart the book is after more existential concerns. As is the case with much of Powers’ fiction, it takes shape slowly—first in a pastiche of narratives establishing the characters (a psychologist, an undergraduate who died briefly but was revived, a paraplegic computer game designer, a homeless vet), and then in the kaleidoscopic ways these individuals come together and break apart. “We all travel the Milky Way together, trees and men,” Powers writes, quoting the naturalist John Muir. “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” The idea is important because what Powers means to explore is a sense of how we become who we are, individually and collectively, and our responsibility to the planet and to ourselves. Nick, for instance, continues a project begun by his grandfather to take repeated photographs of a single chestnut tree, “one a month for seventy-six years.” Pat, a visionary botanist, discovers how trees communicate with one another only to be discredited and then, a generation later, reaffirmed. What links the characters is survival—the survival of both trees and human beings. The bulk of the action unfolds during the timber wars of the late 1990s, as the characters coalesce on the Pacific coast to save old-growth sequoia from logging concerns. For Powers, however, political or environmental activism becomes a filter through which to consider the connectedness of all things—not only the human lives he portrays in often painfully intricate dimensions, but also the biosphere, both virtual and natural. “The world starts here,” Powers insists. “This is the merest beginning. Life can do anything. You have no idea.”

A magnificent achievement: a novel that is, by turns, both optimistic and fatalistic, idealistic without being naïve.

Hike Pomerance Park, Tuesday, November 19, 2019

October 31, 2019 / Webmaster

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2019

HIKING POMERANCE/MONTGOMERY PINETUM PARK

GREENWICH 10:00 AM

This 100 acre property is now owned by the town of Greenwich but was originally the estate of Ernest Seaton and later the home of financier Maurice Wertheim. The estate house was demolished by the town after falling into disrepair but the stone walls remain. Mr. Seaton is credited with starting a boys group called “The League of Woodcraft Indians” which evolved into the Boy Scouts. Wertheim’s daughter, Barbara Tuchman, lived on the property and wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning book “The Guns of August” there.

This hike is really more of a walk in the woods as the trails are wide, relatively flat and well maintained. It is a very scenic property with mature trees, rock outcroppings and moving water in addition to the historical features. As the property is relatively small, our hike will take approximately 2 hours after which we will enjoy an optional lunch at Louie’s Restaurant (136 River Road Ext.) nearby in Cos Cob.

DIRECTIONS: On Google Maps, enter Montgomery Pinetum on Bible Street in Cos Cob. There is another entrance to the park but parking there is limited. Go to the Bible Street entrance. We will gather in front of the Greenhouse building at 10:00 AM.

Take I-95 south to Exit 5 and stay in left lane on the ramp to turn left at the light onto US 1 south. Proceed .8 miles across the Mianus River Bridge and turn right into Nassau Street and then a quick left onto Valley Road. After .2 miles turn right into Orchard Street and then a quick right onto Bible Street. Drive .8 miles to a left turn into Montgomery-Pinetum Park. 15-20 minutes from Darien with average traffic.

Contact: David McCollum

Wander Flushing Queens, Nov 14, 2019

October 30, 2019 / Webmaster

On November 14 (Thurs) we will go to Flushing Queens. We will take the 8:34 train from Darien, 8:37 from Noroton Heights and regroup at the information booth in GCT. We will walk the sites of the 1939 and 1964 Worlds Fairs. We will tour the area of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Finally, we will visit the Queens Museum which has an extraordinary diorama of New York City. After lunch we will return.

Your guides: David Mace and Joe Spain

5G Wireless Networks. December 9, 2019

October 14, 2019 / Webmaster

New date and place: DCA second floor for 8:15- 9:15 on Monday December 9.

Discussion leader: Jim Phillips

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-downside-of-5g-overwhelmed-cities-torn-up-streets-a-decade-until-completion-11561780801

https://www.alvareztg.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-5g/

https://www.celltowerleaseexperts.com/cell-tower-lease-news/pros-cons-how-will-5g-impact-your-city/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48616174

https://www.investors.com/news/technology/5g-stocks-5g-wireless-stocks/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/science/5g-cellphones-wireless-cancer.html

https://www.barrons.com/articles/5g-stock-opportunities-51572025082?mod=hp_DAY_7

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-government-is-tripping-over-itself-in-race-to-dominate-5g-technology-11573527840?mod=hp_lead_pos10

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6894452

Hike Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Thursday, October 24, 2019

October 3, 2019 / Webmaster

HIKING WARD POUND RIDGE RESERVATION

THURSDAY OCTOBER 24, 2019

10:00 AM

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is a 4,000 acre park located in Cross River, NY with more than 35 miles of hiking trails over varied terrain. We will be hiking a combination of two trails totaling about 4 miles with some moderate climbing and descending on the Leatherman’s Loop section. The reward for the climb is a spectacular view of the Cross River Reservoir and surrounding territory. The trails are wide, well maintained and clearly marked. Optional lunch will follow at Blind Charlie’s Café in Scott’s Corners.

SPOUSES, SIGNIFICANT OTHERS, FRIENDS AND GUESTS ARE WELCOME

DOGS ON A LEASH ARE ALLOWED.

We will assemble at the parking lot near the Rt 121 entrance (where the ticket booth is located) at 10:00 AM sharp. From there we will drive our cars to a large parking lot near the trailhead. DON’T BE LATE!

The hike will be led by Dave McCollum.

DIRECTIONS:

Address—6 Reservation Road, Cross River, NY 10518

Using either Ct Route 124 up through central New Canaan, or the Merritt and High Ridge Road (Exit 37) proceed to the junction of 124 and 137 in Pound Ridge.

Continue north on NY 137 past the Inn at Pound Ridge and bear left at the fork, staying on 137. When 137 ends at NY 121, turn right onto 121 and follow 121 about 2.9 miles to the clearly marked right turn into Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. Proceed to the ticket booth. No entrance fee charged this time of year.

Wander Lower Manhattan, October 17, 2019

October 2, 2019 / Webmaster

We will be walking on October 17 from the Battery in lower Manhattan up the promenade on the Hudson River to 34th Street. Along the way we will explore the new Hudson River Park and the many new piers that have been built on the route. Of course we will stop for lunch. On a nice October day this will be a spectacular walk.

Current Affairs: The Microbiome, Nov 21, 2019

September 17, 2019 / Webmaster

Discussion leaders: Jack Fitzgibbons & Gary Banks

The microbiome is the genetic material of all the microbes (bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses) that live on and inside the human body.

It is one of the most promising, yet challenging topics in modern medicine.

The Microbiome is a new field with implications for many different areas including obesity research, causes of arthritis, intestinal ailments and psychiatric illnesses.

Here’s a short introduction to get you started.

https://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/downloads/FF_Microbiome.pdf

Introduction from MSK:

https://www.mskcc.org/blog/what-your-microbiome-and-three-things-could-change-it

Good overview of the microbiome and the many diseases influenced by it.

https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/microbiome/disease/

Amish vs Hutterites – asthma

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/opinion/health-secrets-of-the-amish.html

The Gut Microbiome and Its Role in Obesity

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5082693/

New Study Reveals Gut Microbes May Help Protect People Having a Bone Marrow Transplant

https://www.mskcc.org/press-releases/new-study-reveals-gut-microbes-may-help-protect-people-having-bone-marrow-transplant

From Harvard:

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/magazine/magazine_article/bugs-in-the-system/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Chan-Facebook-General

From the Harvard Medical School

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome

Antibiotics can disrupt the gut ecosystem for months.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/well/live/does-the-gut-microbiome-ever-fully-recover-from-antibiotics.html?searchResultPosition=9

Cancer Immunotherapy and the Microbiome. A 6 minute video from Johns Hopkins

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/results/directory/profile/0002419/cynthia-sears

Prostate Cancer Therapy and the Gut Microbiome

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/brady-urology-institute/patient-information/books-publications/articles/prostate-cancer-therapy-and-the-gut-microbiome

Are ready for a challenge? This is from journal Nature. Not easy for the layman. The first couple of pages give a good idea how complex and active a research area this is.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1238-8

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-019-0074-5

Animals

The microbiome is important in animals. For instance, here is an article where altering the microbiome of a cow reduced methane production by 95%.

https://animalmicrobiome.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42523-019-0004-4

Just to give you an idea how active the research is in animals. Here are 4 journals that are starting up.

Antimicrobial resistance and the microbiome

Microbiome, Environmental Microbiome and Animal Microbiome are coming together to launch a special series inviting authors to submit their research pertaining to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the microbiome.

New Content Item

The emergence and spread of AMR can only be described as a catastrophic problem for human and animal health. It is projected that there would be more deaths due to AMR than cancer by 2050.

During the last decade a large number of studies have reported the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) and defined in detail how these are mobilised between pathogens and also within communities of bacteria. The impact of antibiotics on microbiomes particularly those of humans and animals is a cause for concern and can alter physiology quite dramatically. In addition the spread of ARG to these microbiomes has been reported and occurs on a global scale clearly indicated in studies of sewage and waste water treatment plants. Further spread may occur under selective conditions in the presence of antibiotics in sewage and other biocides such as detergents both of which could cause significant changes in diversity. We need to understand the impacts of ingression of ARG into microbiomes and consider the wider issue of AMR spread into the environment.

The importance of human microbiomes is indisputable now as many new aspects of their roles have emerged in the past few years and continue to build a complex picture of metabolic interactions with their hosts. Similarly, animal and plant microbiomes studies have provided an exciting view into the potential benefits of healthy, diverse and stable microbiomes for sustainable agriculture. Understanding the persistence and spread of ARG in agricultural and other food production systems such as aquaculture will be critical for food safety and production. We are just beginning to reveal the importance of microbial assemblages in the environment for both bioremediation and biodegradation in addition to the vital roles played in nutrient cycles. Antimicrobial agents can have impact on all these activities in addition to spreading new gene combinations due to the rapid mobilisation of ARGs due to the highly selective effects of antibiotic therapy. Whilst some antibiotics are natural products others are xenobiotics and remain and persist in the environment and mobile ARG will spread as a result of selection. Most naturally occurring resistance genes are chromosomal and further work is needed to investigate these impacts.

Microbiomes may work syntrophically to degrade recalcitrant compounds and recent research has demonstrated the emergence of antibiotic biodegraders within the environment and these bacteria may provide the answer to reduce the persistence of antibiotics and their detrimental effects in nature. By understanding the natural role of antibiotics produced in nature we may find the clues to avoiding the arms race of ever increasing resistance in the face of novel drugs, streptomycin production gene clusters are still found in soil streptomycetes and were dated thought to have emerged several million years ago yet they are still apparently useful in nature today. Further research will inform new ways to administer antibiotics, new types of drugs and new ways to combat resistance.

This is a research are for our an upcoming speaker, Dr. Sarah Kahn

The microbiota–gut–brain axis

Microbiota-gut-brain jigsaw Our understanding of the complex and bidirectional signalling relationship between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain is evolving quickly. This relationship, dubbed the microbiota-gut-brain axis, is thought to be involved in many aspects of homeostasis in addition to the pathogenesis of several diseases, ranging from neurological and degenerative conditions to autoimmune diseases.

This cross-journal collection brings together both human and animal studies covering all aspects of the microbiota-gut-brain axis’ role in health and disease, as well as its therapeutic potential. The participating journals, spanning both neuroscience and microbiology, are listed below.

Submissions should be formatted according to individual journal guidelines. Please indicate clearly in the cover letter that the manuscript is to be considered for this collection.

All manuscripts will undergo standard peer review, and must be submitted through the relevant journal’s online submission system by 31st December 2019.

Engineering optimal livestock microbiomes

Cows eating hay © Image by skeeze from Pixabay

The human population is predicted to reach approximately 9.7 billion by 2050. Consequently, ensuring future food availability, safety and nutritional content is crucial. Gastrointestinal tract microbiomes of livestock animals play a crucial role in processing dietary components and providing the host with the necessary nutrients for growth. Recently, the terminology of the holobiont (the host and its microbiota) has been introduced in recognition of the importance of the interactions between the host and its microbiota and their influence on host phenotype, and the need to consider them as one unit.

Whilst livestock holobionts have evolved over millennia, this is often does not result in increased food availability through enhanced production, as the GI tract microbes prioritise their own nutrition before the nutrition of the host. This means that feed conversion is often sub-optimal and therefore understanding what is the ‘best’ microbiome from a production perspective, and biotic and abiotic factors which govern microbiome composition, are key to our ability to feed the human population in the future.

Hike Mianus River Park, Thursday, Sep 24, 2020 at 9:30

September 9, 2019 / Webmaster

HIKING MIANUS RIVER PARK, STAMFORD

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

9:30 AM

Our first hike of 2020 will take place at Mianus River Park, a 400 acre urban forest which straddles the towns of Stamford and Greenwich and is owned jointly by them. While the hiking is not difficult, the trails are uneven and have the usual roots and rocks. Sturdy shoes and a positive attitude will prevail!

We will hike approximately 4 miles starting at 9:30 am from the Stamford entrance to the park which is at 68 Merriebrook Lane.

As usual, spouses, friends and dogs on leash are welcome. We will social distance as far as practical and masks are optional.

There will be no organized lunch after the hike.

DIRECTIONS

We will meet at 9:30 at the Merriebrook entrance to the park on the Stamford side. Merriebrook Lane is accessed off of Westover Road and both Waze and Google Maps will take you there. About 20 minutes from Darien.

There should be ample parking at the park. Do not park on any of the roads in the area, all are marked no parking and are patrolled.

Contacts: Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett

Wander Hudson Yards, September 17, 2019

August 18, 2019 / Webmaster

The Wanderers will kick off their season on Tuesday the 17th of September with a walk through Hudson Yards. That morning, we shall take the 7:55 train from the Darien Station (7:58 from Noroton Heights). Please remember to purchase your train tickets from the train station machines. Also, please have your MetroCard for use on the Subway. MetroCards can be purchased from the same machines on the train platforms.

When our train arrives at Grand Central, we shall gather at the Upper Level Information Booth to start our walk to the Subway and to Hudson Yards, the new development on the West side of Mid-Town Manhattan.

Nestled there among several brand new sky-scrapers are two special structures, the Vessel and the Shed, which we shall thoroughly explore. The day’s walk will proceed downtown along a portion of the High-Line to the Chelsea Markets, with lunch at a lower west side eatery, followed by a stroll to the Subway, and then home.

Your guides: David Mace & Joe Spain

Current Affairs: Election Laws, October 17, 2019, 8:15

August 11, 2019 / Webmaster

Discussion leader: Bob Baker

8:15, DCA Lilian Gade Room

Special guest: John Visi, Darien Registrar of Voters

DMA Current Affairs

October topic-Election Regulations

Regulations: Past-Present-Future

Basic Authority: US constitution through first ten amendments has no mention of rules for elections; hence authority is granted to the several states.

Two broad divisions of regulations: (1) who is eligible to vote. (2) who may contribute, and by how much, to influence election results.

ELIGIBILITY

Three Constitutional amendments expanded voter eligibility. XVth Amendment (1870) said race could not be a limit on eligibility. XIXth Amendment (1929) said sex could not limit eligibility. XXVI Amendment (1971) stated eligibility cannot be denied to anyone age 18 or older.

Broad objectives: Insure all persons who are eligible to vote will have THE OPPORTUNITY to vote. No persons who are not eligible to vote WILL BE ABLE TO VOTE.

CONTRIBUTIONS to influence election results

Basic protection: permission is derived from First Amendment freedom of speech, freedom of press.

Broad objective: to insure all information relevant to an election is available to the voters.

Concerns: Ability to finance publication of views can give some individuals/organizations an unfair advantage.

Readings:

Federal Election Laws

https://legaldictionary.net/voting-rights-act-of-1965/

Of note here is that contributions are not allowed from persons who do not have legal status in US.

Given that to gain participation to the next Dem. Debate, persons need to have a certain number of individual donations. How enforced?

https://www.thoughtco.com/current-political-campaign-contribution-limits-3322056

https://www.politicallawbriefing.com/2012/12/is-my-donation-really-anonymous/

https://www.fairvote.org/universal_voter_registration

The ‘Citizens United’ decision and why it matters – Center for Public Integrity

Voter Fraud is Real – Federalist

https://thefederalist.com/2016/10/13/voter-fraud-real-heres-proof/

Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth

https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/debunking-voter-fraud-myth

Heritage Foundation

https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/heritage-explains/voter-fraud

GOP Voter Fraud in North Carolina Invalidates Election

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/30/746800630/north-carolina-gop-operative-faces-new-felony-charges-that-allege-ballot-fraud

What is Ballot Harvesting?

Kolback Voter Fraud Commission Disbanded

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/report-trump-commission-did-not-find-widespread-voter-fraud

https://www.thoughtco.com/current-political-campaign-contribution-limits-3322056

Dual registration and/or voting in the United States

It is not illegal to be registered to vote in more than one state.

It is illegal to vote more than once in the same election.

Many states do not address the issue of notifying a state from which a voter has moved when registering in a state to which the voter has moved.