Max Coleman; JPL Chief Scientest

The Meeting

· Becky has been approved for membership.

· Suzanne Fuentes, a current city council member and running for office, came for a visit.

· Kevin told another excellent joke. Very Very Good. Hillbilly accent could be improved. Need to have a visit with Tom. He can help with that.

· It was Debbie's birthday sometime this month (12th). She read her card and had on a very nice Birthday suit.

· District Breakfast April 8th with a speaker named Prophet Walker who started a prison program whereby prisoners can earn a 2 year degree. A few of us in Rotary may be eligible for that degree.

· Services for Julia on Friday at Chevron Park from 2 to 4. I miss her so. We all do.

· We are looking for Raffle Prizes for Community Wellness Day.

· Good Friday Breakfast is April 18 (Mayor's Breakfast).

Another Eagle Scout came to make a presentation. Jim McLees our grown up (sort of) boy scout introduced him. We have had a flock of Eagles lately and it is good to see our youth staying busy helping others ... with Rotary Money. His name is Blaise (sp) Bartowsik (sp). He was funny and made it clear...he was there for the money. Dave asked him a few questions and he said.."I am here for the money". He could be a future Foundation Chairman like Julia and Jack. Show me the money job it is.

· Melissa's Church (St. Michaels) needed new shelving for storage. Blaise had drawings, measurements, and a detailed plan. He knew how much wood he needed and how many screws would be required to make the project work. He did Jack Proud. Jack too likes to plan. He diagrams his day and checks things off as he completes them such as brushing teeth, taking shower every few days etc.. Blaise needed $1,700 for the project. He got challenged by Rotarian's and he had to be quick on his feet, and he was. That's the way life is.

The Program

Tom Introduced Max Coleman from JPL (NASA) who is an Astro Biologist and he was so much fun and took some very esoteric subjects and made them interesting … and to a degree…understandable. He simply said that you needed to follow the water, and then you may find life. Mars apparently "had some" water and he has some "simi proof" in the way of photographs showing rivers and perhaps lakes. The other place is on a moon of Jupiter called "Europa". Go figure. There apparently is lots of water there. He highly recommended a movie called "Europa" and it is available on Netflix. I looked at the trailer and it looked excellent. I like Space Stuff. I wish I had the Right Stuff to be an Astronaut, but I am afraid of heights. So, I sell Real Estate ... in the Mountains. Hmmm, no wonder I am conflicted.

Life. Here is how I think about it. My feeling is if you have water, you can have wine, beer, bourbon,, etc. and then life will follow. Low life perhaps, but life. So, "Europa" here I come. Look for the nearest bar and you will find some potential Rotary members, start a club, and then not just save the world, save the Universe. We can expand.

Max brought along some examples of things and did some experiments which included lighting a candle (energy) (scared the hell out of Kevin...he didn't know what to do about a fire) and eating a cracker (again energy). He was funny, likable, and is the only Astro Physicist that I know. He is now my friend. We are going to get together and talk about Isotopes.

He kind of lost me about here, not because he wasn't interesting...he was. He lost me because I am not all that smart. If you want to know more about Max, click here.

Thanks to Max and Tom for educating and entertaining us for about 1/2 hour.

PS Max also donated $20 to our Eagle Scout Project and that shows some real class.

Max Coleman, Co-I (JPL) max.coleman@jpl.nasa.gov
Integration of different relevant scientific disciplines to understand how natural systems work, especially as applied to astrobiology and sedimentary systems; specialties include stable isotope geochemistry (C, O, S, Cl). Joint appointment at JPL in Planetary Habitability Science and the Center for Life Detection.