It was a long and hot day, with good food, good company, interesting talk, and a lively book auction.
No plan survives battle. We didn’t have volleyball because interest was minimal. We didn’t discuss homeopathy (although we played with it a little). We did show some of the electronic gadgets that Ghost Hunters use, and we came up with an idea to tour an electronics facility that really detects the mysterious electromagnetic world. I’ll be working to see if I can make that happen.
There were UFOs. I’ve been told that there are several quite good UFO photos that will come from our mysterious visitors. One UFO even deigned to follow home the son of our Vice President! (We’ll have to check him carefully the next time we see him, to make sure he wasn’t turned into a Pod-Person!)
We did have a reporter and a photographer from the Fresno Bee spend a couple of hours with us. The interview is now online at the Fresno Bee. I would like to point out that we do try to not “bash” anyone. However, we do require “evidence” – and extraordinary claims always require extraordinary evidence! The article is mostly accurate, so I can’t complain.
We held elections. Our officers, elected “pro-tem” on May 4th have been now officially elected formally. There were no shakeups from our previous roster.
We discussed business.
CVAAS now offers two levels of membership: Regular member for $20 per year, and “Life Long Learning” membership for $10 per year. To qualify for the lower rate requires a student ID, low income, or special recommendation. As always, our members are allowed to sponsor worthy members. We discussed setting up a membership committee to gather funding for sponsorship, and have tabled the discussion for the next meeting.
We have also been asked, and have agreed to be a sponsor of the Central Valley Cafe Scientifiqué. Cafe Scientifiqué will be meeting for the first time this semester Monday Night, 8 September, at 6 PM, at the North Indian Bar and Grill. (map) Get there early to save yourself a seat! The food there is great, and I expect the presentation will be very interesting.
On Tuesday the 16th, at 6:30 PM we will have the CVAAS dinner and book swap. We try to find interesting food every time we do this, so on the 16th, we will be eating at the Vietnamese restaurant, Pho 2006 (map). Bring a book that you think might interest others in CVAAS, and swap it! And have some Pho at what I belive is the best Pho restaurant in the city.
Lastly, CVAAS will be making some changes to this website. Now that we are taking dues for membership, there will be some areas in this website that are for “paid members” only. These areas will be invisible to non-members. Within the next week, there will be a method for people to pay their dues online.
For those of you who were at the Picnic, thank you. We’ll do this again – but not too soon! For those who missed it, We will do this again, on the first Sunday of September next year! I expect you all to be there!
Mark Boyd
President, CVAAS
