Posted by Rosalie McCloud on Oct 10, 2016 On this lovely autumn day, we gathered to celebrate Columbus Day and our general good fortune. Where else would one find such an attractive and brilliant group, I ask?     Pledge and Invocation     We stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and President Stan delivered the invocation, thankful for our many opportunities in life               Visiting Rotarians and Guests Peter Comaroto introduced his guest and colleague Jou Yeh, a Facility Engineer with Burlingame Bay LLC.  Emily Matthews introduced her guest and prospective member Wendy, Upchurch.  Please visit us again, Wendy.   VISITORS/HONORARY MEMBERS/ROTARIANS AT LARGE Our pals Alden Cunningham and  Pete Wanger were among us. Bob Doerr introduced a familiar face in David Behling of the South Reno Rotary Club.  Welcome home, Dave.  (Photo: Emily Matthews, Wendy Upchurch and Paul Watermulder)   Annoucements Mike Horwitz promised a full report next week on the 5th Annual Scholarship and Golf Tournament last Monday.  Word on the street is that the Scholarship fund will be in very excellent shape as a huge check is on the way.  Thanks to all the organizers, especially Mike Horwitz, and the many folks who produced the event and handled the myriad details!!! President Stan recognized Paul Neiberding for his contribution of $200.00 to the Rotary Foundation.  Paul also joined Stan’s President’s Club.  Alden Cunningham graciously joined the President’s Club as well.   Photo: Emily Matthews (she's everywhere today) and Mike Horwitz Newscast Newscaster Marc Friedman, or Mark Frump,  decided our Teddy the K would henceforward be known as Lyin’ Ted.  He then stopped to refresh himself with a Tic Tac to be prepared for any eventuality.  Finally, our hero Mike Horwitz was referred to as Crooked Mike for his pay-to-play real estate schemes.    There was some bullfighting story that had the thought-provoking last line “Sometimes the bull wins.”  True enough, but let’s hope Marc has a happy November 9 and returns to his adorable self. Fritz Brauner was not himself today.  Early signs of something not good, methinks.  It sounded like pig latin gone south. Get well soon!                                                                                      Photo: Marc Friedman Program Paul Watermulder introduced our speaker for the day,  Patrick N. Hunt, Ph.D. of Stanford University.  Patrick Hunt is an archaeologist, writer, historian, and has been teaching the last twenty years at Stanford University. Patrick Hunt was director of the Stanford Alpine Archaeology Project 1994-2012, National Geographic Society Hannibal Expedition 2007-2008, Hannibal Expedition 2013-6.    Photo: President Stan Moore, Paul Watermulder and Dr. Patrick Hunt   Dr. Hunt is part of CSLI Q Research,  and a CMENS Associate.  Having earned doctorates from both institutions, Dr. Hunt polled the Rotarians; it was Stanford Alumni 5 and Berkeley 0.  That’s what you get for taking the day off, Cal guys.   One of Dr. Hunt’s many concentrations is tracking Hannibal’s passage through the Alps in 218 BCE with his army of men and elephants – to the astonishment of the Romans and all generations since..  Over 300 books have been written on the subject of Hannibal’s crossing.  The world continues to be fascinated. France, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria claim Hannibal passed through their countries.  The challenge is to attempt to verify the route of Hannibal through the slippery, dangerous Alps with 90,000 troops and 37 elephants in tow.  Elephants don’t ski.    The passes can be vertiginous.  The successful expedition resulted in the deaths of 70,000 Romans in one day – the worst one-day loss of life in war, in history. Dr. Hunt has led expeditions  attempting to confirm Hannibal’s historic route using accounts of Polybius and Livy as source texts. Topography is studied in an attempt to confirm clues taken from the texts, further taking into consideration erosional changes, past eyewitness accounts and reconstructed narratives. The  explorations are  done on foot hiking over several Alpine passes, some of which reach almost 10,000 ft. in elevation.  To date, Dr. Hunt and his team have hiked over 25+ passes cementing the probability of a few passes for Hannibal’s feat. The project team is always rigorously selected from among Stanford undergraduates and graduates, often athletes, often on bikes. In this endeavor, Dr. Hunt has broken 42 bones in his body and is now composed of a good amount of titanium.  Even his titanium replacement bones have broken.   Professor Kimball asked what they fed the elephants?  The elephants ate their way consuming 200 kilos a day of green food and 200 gallons of water per day.  Dr. Hunt is a featured contributor and speaker for National Geographic Explorer, PBS, NOVA, AIA, and has published many books.   Thanks so much, Dr. Hunt.  Please return soon.   Happy October Birthdays: October 3         Stan Moore         October 9      Paul Watermulder            Next week, October 17 - Another debate: Burlingame Proposition R, Rent stabilization.  Read more...