The Barn Blog

Bob Manley was the MC for the evening and led us in a great story telling session. We heard quite a range of stories from hilarious, to sad, to spiritual, to sentimental, to unbelievable. Among the titles were, “Close Call on the Golf Course”, “The Son I Almost Never Had”, “High Dive”, “How I Gave My Brother the Clap”, “The War”, and “Not Your Mother’s Diarrhea Story”.

On this barn night we took a break from intellectual pursuits and had a good old-fashioned barbecue. We cooked hot dogs and hamburgers and some of the guys brought special BBQ sauces and other items including  home made pickles. It was a beautiful evening and the mood was one of friendship and camaraderie. The highlight was a public apology by Joe for his politically motivated tirade at the last barn night.  Charles graciously accepted. A raccoon joined us for the wrap-up.

Christian Grieco is a green building consultant who designs renewable energy systems for homes.  He discussed how we can live in a more environmentally friendly way and actually make a difference.  He showed examples from his own home, which uses solar power, solar hot water, soapstone wood stove, and other green technologies. We discussed how the natural evolution of our species is clearly away from the use of fossil fuels. And we considered some possibilities for the future .Click here to download Christian’s presentation.

Bob Callanan, of Waste Management, gave an excellent presentation on where our garbage goes. It was fascinating to learn of the various garbage sorting and processing facilities. Bob showed us a couple of videos demonstrating how these plants work. Most amazing was the Wheelabrator, which converts garbage to electricity. Click here to download Bob’s informative PowerPoint presentation.

Duane Stilwell gave a talk on the Theory of Evolution. Duane is a high school science teacher who has had a life-long interest in evolution and genetics.  He started by defining terms to avoid misunderstanding. For example he clarified that the purpose of Science is not to find the truth, but to reduce uncertainty. Duane helped us understand Charles Darwin’s thought process. Having observed an orchid with an extemely deep nectar spur, he reasoned that a moth must exist with a proboscus long enough to reach the nectar. The discussion flowed into a consideration of the human genome, and ultimately to a debate about the existence of God.  Click on this link to download the Evolution Night Presentation.

Mike Kenny, the Director of College Guidance at New Rochelle High School gave a presentation on the college admissions process.  This topic was of interest to many of us whose kids are applying to college or will so do in the future.  It was somewhat discouraging to learn how difficult it is to get into a good college, and how expensive it is.  Mike provided a list of what attributes colleges look for in order of priority, which was very useful.  After the presentation, we acted like we we’re in college.

Raphael Montfort  gave an in-depth presentation on the energy problem. First he showed us how oil is a limited resource that will run out sooner than we might think. Then Raphael explained how scientists came to the conclusion that climate change is taking place and is influenced by human activity. We discussed and debated the implications of this and what can be done about it. The most controversial topic was the considertation of taxation as a means to regulate ones carbon footprint. You can download Raphael’s excellent presentation here:Ben’s Barn – Energy & Climate Change

Local stand up comic, Shaun Eli, performed his routine at the barn. He did a good job of poking fun of most who attended. His routine was very funny, although he seemed to be testing out some new material on us, some of which worked and some of which didn’t. We were a tough audience. After the routine, we had a question/answer session where Shaun told us a little about himself and how he got into comedy. During our late night wrap up discussion we celebrated the end of 3 years at the barn. This was the 36th barn night! We haven’t missed a month yet.

Vinny Tiso, a pharmaceutical industry verteran, discussed Flu vaccines, with a particular emphasis on the Swine Flu. Vinny gave us a historical perspective on epidemics, including the Black Plague in the Middle Ages, the Spanish Flu of 1918, and the Swine Flu outbreak in the 1970’s.  He explained why the Swine Flu is of major concern today and outlined the various immunization options. There was some discussion regarding the safety of the vaccines, particularly the nasal spray variety.

Ignacio Yuseff  lead a fascinating discussion on astronomy. He took us through its history beginning with ancient civilizations, and touching on the discoveries of Copernicus, Gallileo, Newton, and Einstein. We discussed the theory of relativity and its implications. Ignacio shared his opinion that there is likely life on other planets, but we’ll never know because life on earth would end before we could reach another galaxy or travelers from another galaxy could reach us. He showed us some beautiful images from the Hubble telescope of distant galaxies and exploding stars. We ended with a highly controversial disucssion about the existence of God.