THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY

From virtual currency to the chemical composition of the fragrance of spring blooms, from County-wide to Orinda-Rotary-centric issues, May was an interesting and informative month for our members!

Dennis Furimai of Lamorinda Sunrise presented a fascinating look at bitcoins, which are becoming a common – if controversial – currency in cyberspace.  Silk Road, the underground and anonymous marketplace where drugs and other illegal products are traded, accepts bitcoins as a matter of course.  More and more legitimate online retailers are accepting bitcoins, as well, and bitcoins themselves are being traded much like other standard world currencies.  The value of bitcoins, however, is extremely volatile.  Because of this, the U. S. Treasury Department, along with many other foreign governments, is concerned about their potential effect on the value of legitimate currencies, as well as money laundering and speculation. For more information about bitcoins, here is a copy of Dennis’ presentation.

Our own resident chemist, Sylvia Hua, was pleased to introduce us to Dr. Margareta Sequin, a PhD Biochemist who explained how plants evolved to exude fragrances both entrancing and offensive in order to attract pollinators and repel predators.  The chemical complexity of fragrance is based entirely on the combination of carbon atoms with other elements, which can now be reproduced in artificial form for the manufacture of perfumes, soaps, cleaning products, cosmetics and more.  The use of fragrances goes back millennia, however, and studies have shown that aromas have a potent effect on human behavior (i.e. attracting the opposite sex) and on memory (i.e. Grandma’s kitchen).