Travel, Milk and Shopping Carts - no subterfuges in EarlyBirds this morning!

Dear Members, Guests, and Friends,

TM Christina led us with fun, travel-related Table Topics...

* TM The Tom's most memorable meal was a Chicago hot dog eaten at Wrigley Field during a game of the Chicago Cubs.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Jorge rode a bus from Bogota to Medellin, wondering for 7 hours if he was going to be taken hostage by the FARC guerrilla.  Thankfully he wasn't!

* TM BeckyJo nearly got ripped off by a cabdriver in flooded Prague who used subterfuge to overcharge her.

* I, Ana, would go back to French Polynesia,  island of Taha'a,  to the bungalow on stilts with a natural fish tank on the floor-  if I got a free airline ticket.  Maybe.

* TM Aleta is drawn to a country, Cuba, where natural beauty is abundant and people are nice but they live in abject poverty.

* TM Marie stated that wonders of the world are those right in front of our very eyes in that precise moment.

* TM Randolph's first impression of Tokyo, Japan, is that the Asian community puts up a great production!

As far as prepared speeches go...

* I, Ana, told the evolution of humans drinking Elsie The Cow's milk while trying to comb down our pesky cowlicks.  In a very contested vote, I Won Most Improved Speaker Award.

* TM Aleta alerted us that Shopping Carts of the World Will Unite! (Especially on the eve of May 1, Labor Day for the rest of the world).

And then came evaluations...

* TM The Tom enjoyed the history of milk and is perplexed by the multiple choices between almond, coconut, soy, oat, rice, hemp, cow, goat, buffalo, lactose-free, organic, whole, 2%, 1%, skim, raw...  All in a day's work....

* TM Marie praised TM Aleta for her excellent hand gestures, vocal variety and for making us realize that shopping carts have bodies and souls.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

SUBTERFUGE, noun

To use tricks to hide, avoid, or get something.

Example:  Subterfuge is the equivalent of manipulation.

Here's the link to the recording...

https://youtu.be/TMy6ySqtQCI

See you next week!

Ana

Recap Writer

Family Feud, Mobile Notifications and Y2K remembrance - an agentic meeting at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Marie started us off with an inspirational invocation.

TM Aleta introduced us to thought-provoking topics based on the old tv show, Family Feud.  We discovered that...

* TM Christina thinks fear is funny and different for all of us.  For starters, fear of public speaking is why we are all here....

* TM Jose thinks bakers call their wives honey, sugar and the like - all except the owner of Pan e Dolci bakery who was more like a Soup Nazi so God knows what he called his wife....

* TM David dislikes doing dishes and taking the garbage out, closely followed by French brooming and vacuuming.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Randolph got lightheaded just thinking of all the types of insurance exist,  and how little return one gets for the investment.   Ahhhhrrrggg!!!

* TM Pam would go to Australia (rather than Oz) to find a Koala and suggested we start calling vacumming 'sucking the floor'.

* TM The Tom talked about junk mail and wistfully contemplated the local city landfills brimming with it.

* TM Veronica stated that other mice are perplexed by Mickey's gloves, costume, voice to ask the owners to leave out some cheese for the night.

TM Jorge presided the meeting as Toastmaster of the Day and did an outstanding job!  Go Jorge!

Regarding the prepared speeches...

* TM David confirmed that mobile notifications have become digital spam, but prepared and sent with precision could create value messages, not noise.  He Won Most Improved Speaker Award.

* TM BeckyJo recalled Dec 31, 1999, purported Doomsday and the party she catered for 150 people with an overabundance of beets and no Y2K end.

As far as evaluations...

* TM Christina praised TM David for making a tedious subject lively, his vocal variety and suggested he make it more of a storytelling tale of useless pings.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Randolph thoroughly enjoyed TM BeckyJo's humorous tale of celebratory End of the World with lots of humor... Viva los Beets!! 

The Word of the Day was

AGENTIC, adj

Able to accomplish results with autonomy, especially in Artificial Intelligence.

Example:  Agentics are not a chatbot.  They are powerful cloud agents with a full computing environment.  Huhhh?   Say what???

Madam La Presidenta encouraged us to bring a friend to the next meetings.  She will start by following up with (2) interested friends.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDaKDYYb96w

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Earth Day, Job Interview and Conflict? What Conflict? A ubiquitous morning at EarlyBird

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

We true EarlyBirds were pleasantly surprised by a brief visit from seafarers Chris and Jim, presently in Indonesia, who stated they will soon join us for a full meeting.

TM Aleta improvised her invocation in her version of the Christian tradition.

TM Marie presented excellent slides to commemorate Earth Day and stimulate our ideas:

* TM BeckyJo thinks Earth Day is a great concept and should be called Everyday is Earth Day...

* TM Jorge sees the planted seedling as a symbol of our own incipient potential as human beings.

* I, Ana, embrace the concept of Beach Cleanup Day to get rid of all the trash that washes ashore and the trash that we humans dump on the pristine sands.

* TM Aleta sadly recognizes that trash is everywhere, not only on the beaches and we are responsible to keep our environment clean.

* TM The Tom expounded about photosynthesis, degraded/disturbed forests and deforested areas and the havoc we humans create.

* TM Jose revealed that in Spain they have hit people's pockets by charging for plastic bags so now everyone uses very quaint reusable bags.  Good strategy!

* TM Veronica sadly confirmed that we're in the middle of the largest extinction phase and we may never see some of these species again if they disappear.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM David expressed awe for our beloved Planet Earth as recently photographed by Artemis II.

Along came prepared speeches...

* TM David gave a great example of an effective job interview by cleaerly responding to questions and... he got hired!  He Won Most Improved Speaker Award.

* TM Jose's presentation stated conflict is inevitable but disagreements do not have to be disagreeable.  If you think you're right - zip your mouth!

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Jorge praised TM David for his clear diction and for pointing out that he combines two critical areas - business sense and technology expertise.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM The Tom very much appreciated TM Jose's speech on conflict resolution and the many helpful tips he gave for achieving this without losing friends.

Note:  It seems that both Evaluators today are working toward a  DTM (Don't Time Me) Level ....  Just sayin'....

The Word of the Day was

UBIQUITOUS, adj.

existing or being everywhere.

Example:  Wordiness was ubiquitous in today's EarlyBirds meeting.

Here's the link to the recording...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvKiT6YG6I0

See you next week!

Ana 

Recap Writer

Your life as a product, Don't Fear Change, Birding - an intrepid morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Christina started us off with a lovely invocation reciting Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell.

TM David introduced us to Table Topics based on his last speech, Life as a Product.  We found out that...

* TM Marie would be a version 7.9 flashlight and would shine her light in  the somewhat unlit areas of her life.

* TM Veronica wants to improve and upgrade all parts of her life, mostly her attitude and become more intrepid.

* I, Ana, am grateful for every day of my life and my present surroundings, and my 5-year-goal is staying alive.... I Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Aleta is getting rid of stuff and intentionally building patience and an intrepid attitude.

* TM BeckyJo wants to make space which makes room for God's Grace.

* TM Jorge wants to focus on communication, one step at a time.

* TM Christina has been well served in life by being a doer, inherited from her grandmother, a hard worker who lived to 104 years old.

* TM Randolph stated that his OCD habits have helped him to go the extra mile and wash and rewash dishes till they're squeaky clean.

We had (2) excellent prepared speeches...

* TM The Tom revealed that his latest move has involved procrastination, extrication and intrepidness, letting go of things and being grateful for the pain of change.  Stay positive!!  He Won Most Improved Speaker Award.

* TM Pam taught us how to become a Birder in all its choices - equipment, money, people - or not.  You can just look up in the sky and enjoy the birds.  

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Jorge praised TM The Tom for giving a Buddhist-style presentation as an impromptu talk around a campfire, S'mores and all.  

* TM Christina liked TM Pam's brief, concise slides and suggested in future she incorporate more bird slides for added emphasis.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

INTREPID, adj.

Fearless, adventurous, resolutely courageous

Example:  We at EarlyBirds have many intrepid members that take on daring adventures.

The link to the recording is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1vzeogLenY

See you next week!

Ana

Recap Writer

Choices, Life Statesperson and Fear Not - EarlyBirds extricates itself

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

In what became known as Technology Thursday, TM Marie saved the day by figuring out the intricacies of logging in.  Thank you, TM Marie!

TM Randolph launched us like Artemis II with an inspiring invocation.

TM Jose responded 'on his feet and good to go' to the role of Table Topics.

We discovered that...

*I, Ana, would like to be both funny and smart but not the funniest or smarties in the room, all in moderation!

* TM Marie likes to count everything - welcome to the world of Obsessive-Compulsive-Order and her favorite character is Sesame Street's The Count.

* TM Becky imagined her Death Row Last Meal - a copious breakfast without sausage patties as she is watchful of her cholesterol....

* TM Randolph would like to have dinner with Oprah due to her wise remarks and with Barack Obama, due to his simplicity of  explaining his worldview.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Jorge prefers mountains to oceans due to their wider variety in color, smells and the majestic wildlife of great preponderance.

We had 2 motivational speeches today...

* TM David advised us to become the statespersons of our lives, to redefine success and to challenge ourselves to 1 hour this week without external stimuli and watch what happens.  He Won Most Improved Speaker Award.

* TM The Tom inspired us with a heartfelt, spiritual speech about spirituality, which touched the heartstrings of many of us.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Randolph exalted TM David for his masterful delivery, good pauses and encouraged him to change the slide color and use more vocal variety.

* TM Jose enjoyed TM The Tom's speech greatly and suggested Tom define spirituality more clearly and incorporate the fear part more into his speech.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

EXTRICATE, verb

To free or remove a person or oneself from a trap or a difficult situation.

Example:  Due to sheer incompetence, I had no other recourse but to extricate myself from the role of Tech Host/SAA at today's meeting.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/

See you next week!

Ana

Recap Writer