Golden News Volume 16, Number 01 - Monday 1 July 2002 The official bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile is published every Monday and is distributed to all club members, District officials and many other "friends of KGM". Winner "Best English Club Bulletin" in District 3450, 2001/2002 Visit our award winning website Changing of the Guard:   Yes folks, it's that time of year when we once again bid goodbye to the old and we welcome the even older, er, sorry, I mean the new. Our new President Nanu Lachman (pictured left), is officially our new Fearless Leader, and he will receive his presidential regalia (i.e. sash, gavel, silly hat, supply of industrial strength Prozac etc.) at our regular club meeting this Wednesday. But what does the change really mean to us? My bet is that our meetings will probably run overtime worse than ever before, as our beloved Nanu observes Indian time.   The question is can he beat the record achieved by our old mate PP "Rambo" Ramadasan, who's idea of finishing a meeting "on time" was "before Friday"? Time will tell. In the meantime, please try not to nod off while you're waiting.     This Week's Meeting: Our speakers this week are IPP Ebe Tung "Chee Wah" and President Nanu "Nanu" Lachman, and the topic of their presentation is "Passing The Buck".   Milestones:   1) We sadly bid farewell to KGM Charter Member Alex Lau, who recently tendered his resignation. Our old mate Alex has been a full time student since the 19th century, and he is currently working on his next qualification, which is a PhD in Mixing Margaritas (or something like that). Anyway, we shall miss Alex and we wish him every success and happiness for the future, and we hope he will come back to the KGM fold, as soon as his circumstances allow. If nothing else, we'd love to try his Margaritas.   2) Congratulations to Honorary KGM Member Sir David Akers-Jones JP, who was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal in the HKSAR Honours List announced yesterday.   3) Birthday greetings for 1 July to PP M.V. "Rambo" Ramadasan who shares his birthday with Olympic track star Carl Lewis and also with Pamela Anderson, the former star of TV series Boob Watch, er, Bay Watch. Can you imagine what would happen if Pamela Anderson could run as fast as Carl Lewis? She'd definitely have a broken jaw, two black eyes and a serious concussion, but the slow motion replay would be awesome! 4) Birthday greetings for 6 July to Kenneth "Ahhh" So who shares his birthday with incumbent US President George "Gee Dubya" Bush and the Dalai Lama. This is definitely a "War & Peace" combination.     Member Updates:    Our favorite Townsville Terror, PP Joseph "Wombat" Kwan, informs us he has a new website. Check it out!   Community Service News - Last Call:   Community Service Director Diana "The Red Baron" Chou advises members that our first "hands-on" community service project for the new year will be the "Free Medical Check Service For the Elderly", an event which has been highly successful for the past few years.   This year's event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday 7 July 2002 at the Wai Ji Christian Sheltered Workshop, 1/F Un Hong House, Un Chou Street Estate, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon (the same venue as last year). This event is manned by medical volunteers from St. Paul's Hospital and KGM members only need to assist as ushers and in other non-medical ways. Members (and their families) who are willing and able to lend a hand at this worthwhile event are asked to contact Diana by email.   Fellowship News:  New KGM Fellowship Director Miranda "King" Kong has yet to advise us details of the next KGM fellowship function, but we anxiously await the good news.   Semi-Annual Dues:   New Club Secretary David "Show Me The Money" Harilela reminds members that the next tranche of semi-annual dues for the period 1 July to 31 December 2002 are now payable.   Cheques in the amount of $1,500 payable to Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile should be handed to David or sent to his attention care of P.O. Box 98129, Tsimshatsui. And remember to write your name on the rear of your cheque if you're paying by company cheque.   District 3450 News:     2002/2003 DISTRICT INSTALLATION (Last Call): This will be held from 6:00 p.m., Thursday 4 July 2002 at the HKCEC, Wanchai North. Members interested in attending this event should contact PE Nanu Lachman by telephone on 9025 6699 or by email.     Rotary International News: 1) "Rotary Radio":   A new service called "Rotary Radio" can now be heard on the internet. The webcast is available every Tuesday from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time (Wednesday 2:00 - 3:00 a.m. Hong Kong time). Click here for more information. 2) The RI Presidential Conference of Peace & Development will be held from Friday to Sunday, 9-11 August 2002 at the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, Malaysia.   Web Side Story: Did you ever see a flag and wonder which country it represents? If so, visit the Flag Detective Website. This website offers you a really simple way to determine which flag represents which country. You simply click on the basic design from the left-hand frame, then the various choices will immediately appear in the right-hand column. Cool.   Dear Geek:   The Geek is still on leave.   Who Am I?    What is the more common name of American actor/comedian Jay Scott Greenspan? The answer appears at the bottom of this issue. Cunning Linguist: Are you curious about the origins of the term "Red Herring" ?   This term for deliberate misdirection comes from hunting. Poachers would interpose themselves between the prey and the hunting party and drag a red herring across the trail to mislead the dogs. This would give them the opportunity to bag the prey themselves. A red herring was chosen because dog trainers often used the pungent fish to create a trail when training their hounds. The dogs, upon encountering the herring scent, would follow that trail as it was the one with which they had been trained.   Did you ever wonder why... The word "phonetic" is not spelled "fonetic"? Golden Smile: A woman awakes during the night, and discovers her husband isn’t in bed with her.   She goes downstairs and finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall, but she notices he wipes a tear from his eye before taking a sip of his coffee.   "What's the matter, dear?" she asks. "Why are you down here at this time of night? Is anything wrong?"   The husband looks up from his coffee and says, "Do you remember 20 years ago when we were dating, and you were only 16?" he asks solemnly. "Yes, I do," she replies. "Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car making love?". "Yes, I remember," says the wife, lowering herself into a chair beside him. The husband continues, "Do you remember when your father shoved his shotgun in my face and said, 'Either you marry my daughter, or I'll have you sent to prison for 20 years'?".   "I remember that, too," she replies softly. The husband wipes another tear from his cheek and says, "I would've been a free man today.".   Quotable Quotes: "Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died".   -- Stephen Wright --   The Phantom

"Who Am I?" answer: Jason Alexander.

If you no longer wish to receive this bulletin each week, click here. For previous issues of the bulletin (or to view them in their full HTML glory), visit our archives. © 2002 Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author (who is under heavy medication), and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of any other member of the club.