Rotary Club of Oak Bay – Meeting of
July 22, 2014
Reported by
Tom Lidkea. Photos by Jack PetrieMaster of Ceremonies: That
Weyburn paragon, Jim Laing.
Greeters: Eugen Bannerman and Mary Canty.
The club sang
both a karaoke version of O Canada, sadly without any live piano
accompaniment. Gordon Greenius (I
think. Non-Standard Lettering) handed
out bottles of wine to the hardest working car raffle members, to wit Neil
Rawnsley (not present), Brian Lamb, Steve Sharlow, and Joan Firkins. Eugen said grace.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Introduced by
Mary Canty.
Visiting
Rotarians:
Bruce
Willis, Laguna Beach, California.
Gordon Greenius, (left) Victoria, Education.
Margaret Tuhumwile, Entebbe, Uganda (at right).
Guests: Jujin Bezilh (NSL), guest of Margaret
Tu…etc., and ...
John Cassidy, our speaker, about whom more later.James Ramsbottom (below) from Brampton, Ontario, Patent Agent.
Announcements:
Mary on the health of the club: Will Carter was in a serious car accident and
is in a full body cast. Somebody whose
name I missed has a swollen leg, and Jacqueline is greatly improved after her
accident and hopes to attend next week’s meeting.
Perry announced the production of 1,000
brochures describing the good works of our club. These brochures can be used by members for advertising
or promotion of events. Any members
wishing to obtain some should contact B-B-Bob.
President Jim reminded us that our next meeting
will be at Abkhazi gardens.
 |
| Tav |
Tav levied a
series of $1.00 fines for: No tag AND no
pin; anyone showing their knees; Jim Laing, for a terrible limbo joke; and Neil
Madsen for a deplorable job of parking his Subaru (License Plate No. BPJ
750). Tav went on (and on) about how
Brian Lamb rats people out and whines and complains about late payment of dues,
then fined those in arrears $2.00 each.
After mentioning our new potential member, Jeanette Nation, from
Australia, Tav fined anyone who had not visited Oz or attended an international
conference. Happy birthdays to Joan
Peggs on the 23rd, Giles Bixler and Ron Cooley, both on the 27th. Happy Dollars: Joan and Ron both contributed cheques to
Rotary Foundation for their happy birthdays.
Draw: Our speaker drew the
ticket, misread by Tav as No. 919147,
then corrected to 919154. Something
fishy. Won by Ann Sims who failed to
draw the white marble but got $13.00 for her trouble.
Speaker
Our speaker,
John Cassidy (right), was introduced by Dallas Chapple.
John is a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada, Head
of the Earthquake Seismology Section, and an adjunct Professor at UVic School
of Ocean Sciences. He specializes in
earthquake hazard studies.
John’s talk
focused on earthquakes in southwestern BC:
history, hazards, and preparation for the big one. We live in an active earthquake zone, with
small quakes happening daily. Major
quakes happen roughly once per decade, and very large, damaging quakes once per
century. These very large quakes
occurred locally in 1700, 1859, and 1948.
The 1700 quake was unknown until recently, but had been documented in
Japan because it caused a tsunami there.
Local native oral histories also mention a big wave at that time. Physical evidence of large quakes include
areas that have suddenly dropped in elevation, as indicated by dead trees
inundated by salt water, and layers of sea sand alternating with marsh growth
in soil profiles.
Some
preparedness steps include improved codes for buildings, bridges, tunnels and
other structures. Early warning systems,
though perhaps providing only seconds or minutes of warning, can allow the
immediate closure of bridges, tunnels, stoppage of trains, and closure of other
systems.
Mary Canty thanked the speaker, followed by a
karaoke version of God Save the Queen (sigh).
a comeback of the piano would be very welcome
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