Dan, Thanks for the run-down. It's a slam-dunk that Tom Polakis can give a great comparison of "film vs. digital astrophotography." I've also been proven wrong (which is good), about the lack of interest in mirror making. I've just received email-mail on the subject. Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Heim" <dan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:26 PM Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: looking for a speaker > Paul, > > Yes, we've met a few times years ago, at star parties and the Arizona > Science Center (on Astronomy Day), I believe. I share your complaints > about > finding good speakers. With our club still so new, most of the > organizational duties have fallen to me and Roger Serrato (friend, > co-founder, and Treasurer). I'm doing the speaker scheduling and the > newsletter. I was hoping someone would step up and run for VP, but DFAC > is > just too new and doesn't have a large enough membership to draw talent > from > yet. > > I did get a response to my speaker request from Tom Polakis, who has made > the transition from film to digital, so I'm sure we'll all learn from him. > We try to get a mix of professionals and amateurs for our speakers, and > our > first season's lecture series went well. One of the things we do to > attract > speakers is provide honoraria, even for in-town speakers, just to help out > with gas. We meet up in Anthem, so it's a bit of a drive for some. We > provide $20 for in-town speakers, and $50 for out-of-towners. We want to > build a reputation for treating our speakers well ... and that includes > keeping the meeting on schedule and giving our speakers all the time they > expect. > > Several of our members are interested in the "film to digital transition" > topic, which was what prompted my search. Nobody has yet asked about > mirror > making or any of your other specialties. But we are having our business > meeting tonite, so I'll bring it up and see if there's any interest. > Thanks > for the offer. I'll let you know. We still have three lecture meetings > to > fill for next season. We don't meet during the summer. Thanks again, and > clear skies. > > Dan Heim > > -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.