May 20, 2014 Theme: Signs

We had a great meeting today. Ash was our Toastmaster and she chose “signs” as the theme. She talked about many different signs and their meanings. Rock Paper Scissors is a game that uses nothing but signs. The acronym FAST indicates signs of a stroke. F: facial drooping, A: arm weakness S: speech difficulty, T: time to call 911 if you see the other signs. During Table Topics Ash challenged us to make up our own signs.

Kathy was our first speaker. She completed project three from the Technical Presentations manual.  The title of her speech was The Biology of Migraines.  Kathy shared statistics on how many people are affected, costs, and related problems caused by the migraines. She also discussed triggers, research and treatment. She concluded her presentation with a question and answer session.

Robert was our second speaker.  He completed project eight from the CC manual.  The title of his talk was Chindogu: Unuseless Inventions. Chindogu is a term started by a Japanese inventor in the 1980’s. For an invention to be a Chindogu it must have a purpose, be nearly useless, physically exist, and uselessness be self-evident. Robert used PowerPoint to show us several Chindogu examples. Some of them include: umbrella tie, noodle guard and eye drop funnel glasses.

Though we met in a different room today, everyone found us. We were especially pleased that Geetha joined us.  Please visit us next week.  Guests are always welcome.