Monica Cortes Viharo, Communication Skills

Emanating from the UW School of Drama, Monica Cortes Viharo provided a set of sine qua nons in confronting an audience. She began with a few examples of the wrong things to do. Thus, were enumerated communication skills in everyday life, with or without addressing a large group. As follows:

Eye contact. Without it, one is not engaged nor communicating.
Intonation. This should entail variety. A flat affect makes for loss of listeners’ interest.
Do not show discomfort.
Body Language. Crossing arms shows insecurity, as if the speaker is defensive. In 30 seconds, all can be lost.
Ergo, engagement or disengagement happens in the first 30 seconds.
Narrative. The ability to tell one depends upon a clear, specific beginning and a clear ending.
Preparation. Be in a presentative state of mind. Prepare to take charge. Show with confidence that “I’ve got you.”
It is re-emphasized to start with a smile.
Ahead of time, tighten abdominal muscles and do not slouch. Do deep breathing. Warm up with tongue twisters.
Stretch. Do some power poses.
During the address, keep going, even if a mistake is made.

Comment: Have a look at a speaker, possibly on TV, and see how many of the requirements are met.

John Dobken of Energy Northwest: Nuclear is good

Prior to his talk, we asked John Dobken of Energy Northwest if his talk would be convoluted and hard to summarize. His reply was, “Just keep in mind: Nuclear is good.” Then he proceeded to explain why it is so.

And here is why:

Wind is a variable and at times is quiescent. In fact, most of it is in the Columbia Gorge.
Time is running out in re carbon emissions and the resultant carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Solar energy is also hard to harvest in times of scant sunlight.
De-carbonization is essential as regards automobiles.
Nuclear is our largest source of energy. It is independent of the weather; produces zero greenhouse gases; used fuel is safely stored and can be recycled.
To cut back on coal, nuclear and hydraulic power sources will suffice.
More people are being born and will require the energy that uranium fission can provide. 3000 kilowatts = the good life.
China, with great pollution due to coal dependence, is building nuclear plants.
Nuclear plants run 92% of the time and can run for years.
The wartime sludge burden at Hanford should not be confused with the storable uranium pellets used for fuel.
Nuclear plants, water and air cooled, cannot melt down.
Nuclear plants can pair with wind farms, both bring carbon-free.
It is the safest.

Friends of the Children

Courtney Huck and Edgar Masmela told us of the work of Friends of the Children, an endeavor that has merited monetary support from the club. Our, March 17, 2018, major fund raiser, “Debuts and Discoveries”, will highlight support for The Friends of Children.

They have been in Seattle 17 years, are in 12 school districts and 78 classrooms. The most vulnerable youth are identified as early as the kindergarten level. At this point, a professional mentor remains a presence with a child through the latter’s graduation from high school. To have one person in one’s life, a caring adult, becomes a huge impact. It imparts a sense of purpose and bears results.

There is many a cycle of generational poverty. Friends of the children (henceforth FOC) have repeatedly shown that stepping in, as a trained professional, makes a difference. One result is a child’s avoidance of the Juvenile Justice System. Helping one child in this way saves the taxpayers $900,000.

The mentors also serve as advocates, one example being in transition of a child from one foster home to another. The mentor will in such an instance make it easier for a child to adapt and see to the arrangements. Everything that FOC does is intentional. This includes having parents as partners in this work. If a child is weak in one subject, focus is placed on that subject.

Thus far, 84% of those mentored finish high school. And 94% have avoided the Juvenile Justice System even though their parents might have had experiences with the law. For each dollar saved, $7 is saved for the economy. 32 new children will enter the program in the next 4 years. Federal grants will expand the program. By 2020, more than 250 kids will be enrolled.

Comment: To have a one-on-one relationship with someone who encourages, and cares can translate risk factors into a success story. It is anticipated that, in generations to come, sordid family histories shall be left behind.

Christy Goff: Carb Conumdrum

Christy Goff, of PACMED, returned to us, this time in the capacity of dietician/nutritionist.
Her talk delivered many “pearls”, the major ones being:

Of all food elements, carbohydrates deliver the most energy.
They are broken down to glucose, to be stored in the cells, largely in the liver.
It is insulin that causes such storage, regulating circulating glucose normally at 70-100 mg/ml.
The good carbs are in unprocessed foods which are nutrient-dense and high in fiber.
Bad carbs are in processed foods, which are low in nutrients and high in calories, e.g., fruit juices.
Exemplary diets contain whole grains (oatmeal, breads, salads, brown rice, and protein whole fruits).
Several low carb diets were discussed, each containing fiber and protein).
Reducing diets at tines produce ketones which are detrimental to brain and kidneys.
Most of the reducing diets eventually fail due to a yield to the craving for carbohydrates.
Some simplistic advice: “Eat not too much food, and mostly plants”, “Eat less from the box and more from the earth.”

Comment: One who overeats one’s tasty carbs/Is oft exposed to verbal barbs.

Jeffrey Smith, Seattle University Chair of Professional Ethics

In the Seattle University Business school, a requirement for completing a degree is a course in Business Ethics. Jeffrey Smith, Chair of Professional Ethics, stated the high objectives of this program. These include fairness, dignity of humanity, values-driven business leaders, social justice, social responsibility, and ethical awareness.

The Northwest Ethics Network arose from these standards. Here, individuals concerned with the subject, meet to discuss pertinent questions and ideas.

The question is posed as to what individual and organizational factors cause otherwise good people to do bad things.
One is a tendency not to recognize adversely impact ethical standards.
Another is management systems and their tendency to lose sight of values and principles.

Some barriers to ethical conduct in business:

Excessive hierarchy, in which decisions from the top do not allow for input from the lower strata.
Time Pressure. Deadlines can lead some to cut corners.
Isolation and Separation with poor communication regarding ethical conduct.
Short term success in place of long term considerations.
Excessive reliance on routine.
How are we paying our employees? At time, when compensation depends on performance, principles may be compromised.

W.C. Fields on ethics: “Anything worth having is worth cheating for.”

Di Zhang, SPL, “Fake News Survival Guide”

Deluged as we are with news, it has now gotten to the point at which the genuine from the false needs to be determined. Di (Day) Zhang, of the Seattle Public Library, excerpting from the “Fake News Survival Guide”, arrived to be of help.

Referring to online news, he cautioned that it is easy to create content, with the risk of it being false. The information cycle (major event–TV–social media–web) moves so fast that fact-checking cannot easily be done, except for TV. It does, in fact, take time and $ to check facts.

Information goes out quickly and generates clicks. Each click generates ad revenue. Fake news imitates websites. Sometimes, the purveyors of fake news vanish, only to resurface at unannounced times.

Evaluation of information comes under these headings:

Consistent with sources found
Inconsistent with sources found
Inconclusive, given sources found
Outside the scope of service.

Three tips:

Read article first before sharing
Check the sources
What is the support?

Also, consider a subscription to a reputable service.

The concept of the “filter bubble” concerns familiarity with one’s interests. Then one receives information consistent with one’s likes, with the dislikes filtered out.

Overall advice: Ask a librarian.

Twain: “A lie is halfway around the world before the truth has its shoes on.”

Dr Scott Jameison and your eyes.

USR member Scott Jamieson, in his best of humor, took the assemblage on a rapid-fire visit to eye diseases. Several of his points:

Good vision is the main cause of blindness, in that, by the time something sinister (or dextral) is found, it may be too late.
Other risk factors are smoking, aging, sedentary lifestyle, and nutritional matters.
The optic nerve is actually part of the brain, and as such, is largely unforgiving in injury or illness.
Antioxidants are deemed beneficial in reducing risk of eye disease.
The macula, occupying a small part of the retina, is responsible for 95% of vision. Ergo, Macular Degeneration (MD) is a serious threat.
- The “dry” type of MD, typified by the stippling presence of drusen, cannot be treated.
- Dry MD can lead to the exudative or “wet” form, with its proliferation of abnormal blood vessels and spillage of red cells.
- An injection treatment for wet MD may slow the process, but is no cure. Untreated wet MD leads to blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy is the second leading cause of blindness.
Bleeding into the vitreous can result in clots to impair vision, as can retinal detachment.
Retinitis Pigmentosa is untreatable.
Glaucoma is often an insidious condition in that there is often no pain.
- In glaucoma, blood flow is compromised, starving the anterior part of the eye of oxygen.
- It is important to realize that glaucoma can be managed but never cured. The pressure must be kept down.
- African Americans are quite susceptible to glaucoma. Per Scott: 50% have the condition and do not know it.

Cataract surgery now entails the choice of the lenses to be implanted.

In conclusion: “Those who are wise take care of their eyes.”

American Cancer Society

Last week’s presentation came in three parts:

Paul Kilian spoke of the Cancer Resource Centers, of which 10 exist in WA. His, the Valley Resource Center, sees some 1,000 patients par year. Volunteers visit every patient on infusion. They provide support, wigs, gifts, and information binders to the patients. Advocates are full-time employees and work in behalf of this work, to the extent of lobbying in the legislature. The Committee on Cancer, a branch of the American College of Surgeons, is a consortium of professors concerned with screening and other matters. These organizations are devoted to improving social situations and quality of life for cancer patients. A 24/7 telephone network is there to answer all questions and concerns.

Audrey Fine, RN, dwelt mainly on prevention, but touched on gene therapy. This method stimulates the immune system to attack cancer cells. Positing that cancer touches all our lives, she quoted the head of the Resource Centers, to wit, 50% of cancer could be prevented if we implement what we already know. She also noted that the Research Department boasts 47 Nobel Prize winners. Prevention includes smoking avoidance, early detection, HPV vaccine, and the realization that tanning and obesity are risk factors. Access to health care is a must. The cost of cigarettes has become a factor in discouragement of the habit. Patients are seen at the resource centers regardless of ability to pay. More are needed to be screened. Certain barriers in getting patients to be seen are language, poor education, time off from work, infancy, old age. The centers have interpreters.

Kimberly Arent dealt with the matter of funding for this work, namely Relay for Life: August 12th , from 10AM to 6PM this annual event will take place. Participation is urged for as many as possible. Signups are with Alan. Our contact for this program.

Univerisity Sunrise Rotary Supports Enactus

Univerisity Sunrise Rotary supports Enactus, a student organization that brings together a diverse network of college students, academic professionals and industry leaders from around the world to focus on a shared mission of creating a better, more sustainable world through the positive power of entrepreneurship. Team members contribute their time and talent to projects that improve the lives of people around the globe. Each participant demonstrates that individuals who are armed with information, a passion for people and business know-how can be real agents for change.

Powerful life lessons are attained outside of the classroom because Enactus tackles projects that are tied to real targets with the help of real professionals. The outcome of each project can change the lives of Enactus students and the lives of the project’s beneficiaries in real and substantial ways.

Enactus is an international non-profit organization that brings together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. Enactus comprises of 1600 universities in 36 different countries with over 66,500 students that holds competitions awarding universities prizes for their social entrepreneurial project outcomes.

University Sunrise donated $500 to promote Enactus students developing a green energy stove. Our Green Energy Stove’s differentiating factor is in its clean stove power generators. The power generators in the stove generate electricity during cooking by converting wasted heat energy into electricity. This electricity will be used to charge and power up devices such as cell phones and lamps. Working with established partners, we want to pilot the Green Energy Center Gambia, Nigeria, Gabon, and Ethiopia with 700 units.

Melanie Barstow, Following the Boys in the Boat

*Onward like the swallow going
Flies the speed of oar and shell.
Oh the wild delight in knowing, ‘
Tis our pow’r that does the rowing…..

Captivated by the book ,”The Boys in the Boat”, Melanie Barstow has successfully volunteered to conduct tours of the University of Washington shell house and related historic spots. The response has been large.

In her talk, she reviews the book’s story, noting:

the Depression era
the fortitude of the rowers
the privations of the young men
the hard and dangerous jobs they had to take
the adversities, including the family’s abandonment of the principal character at his age of 15.

Altruism, self-sacrifice, and fortitude were the sine qua non that made possible the successive triumphs of this Husky crew, This culminated in their Olympic triumph in Berlin in 1936 as they represented the U.S. Specifically, the order of finish; USA/Italy/Germany. It is notable that the margin between winning and not winning is at times measured in hundredths of a second. In 1936, the times were 6:25.4, 6:26, and 6:26.4.

*All in unison of action, with the noble satisfaction….
…..Coolly every power invoke…
Onward, make her cut the water,
Onward make her cut the water—
And for fame of alma mater, stroke, stroke, stroke.

*Excerpts from the Cornell Rowing Song.