On a different note, Len reported on using a lathe for the first time in his current pastime of restoring ‘kangaroo’ chairs. David Hall then became an impromptu guest speaker as we drew him out about the superbly crafted wooden box he had with him. David spoke about the woods he uses in his work, including the wood from pellets; woods available in the North East; integrating computer related design skills from his engineering background when he works and the work he will be exhibiting in October at the Manningham Gallery.
After the break, we watched first of a three part series about cells, the basis of all life on earth. The video was a visually stunning high definition blue ray video produced by the BBC and presented by Dr. Adam Rutherford. The first part showed the fascinating story of the progress of the study of cells from when a Dutch producer and seller of napkins and also an amateur scientist, first found life in a sample of water. He invented a simple tiny microscope of far greater power than the renowned scientists in the Royal Society in England had seen before. This enabled him to see and describe the “little animals” in the water which the English scientists were unable to reproduce at first. The story continued of the many people and groundbreaking discoveries that lead to the realization that all life on earth, plant and animal came from similar cells with a nucleus. The story will continue and eventually bring us up to modern times so that we can explore “what happened after Dolly the sheep”.
This represents a change from our almost exclusive focus on electronic technologies to a wider field just as interesting and challenging.
Our next discussion group at Rustik café is on Thursday August 24th at 3pm.
Les Rodgers and Bev Lee