Mid-Mensan The Newsletter of Mid-Hudson Mensa

May 1997

This month lots has been going on in Mensa and in life. I'll tell you more about LOTS in Mensa in another column but now on to life.

There's been a plethora of happenings this month. First off, did you ever realize how little you see the word plethora in print? In fact, how often do you manage to use the word plethora in your everyday conversation? Not a plethora of times, I imagine. Well, in reading a plethora of mysteries and trashy books this month I came across plethora 3 times. WOW...

I've also had a plethora of e-mail. I'd like to thank Jack Spyker-Oles for his advice on on-line services. I still haven't made up my mind, but I'll continue using JUNO for e-mail. Karen Ditsch e-mailed me with a simple request on staying current in Mensa, and she joined us at an event; she's even willing to host an event this summer.

Karen has a problem that some of you can help with. It seems she is blessed with two lovely and active children (especially her 2½ year old son; the 2 month old daughter isn't too active yet). Anyway, she's finding it hard to go anywhere, eat anything, talk on the phone; you get the picture. She'd really like to get some intelligent e-mail from Mensans to keep her in touch with the world. Her e-mail address is kadesq1@aol.com.

I don't know how you got through "Snowbud" [Editor's note: our big April Fool's Eve snowstorm] but I found it an interesting experience. Your Vice President lives in Poughkeepsie. He had 3" of snow and had power restored on Tuesday. Your editor lives in Hyde Park, and I live in Staatsburg. We had the dubious honor of being without power from Monday night until Thursday. Ziggy at least has a wood stove whereas I have a fireplace that hasn't been used since 1993, and I'm not sure I want to use it. However, it was great to see how friendly this Mensa group can be. Ziggy was offered shelter (and hot water) in Highland and I found shelter in Poughkeepsie for both myself and the dogs. I'm sure we'll all be recounting stories to each other about the storm of '97 for many years to come.

Please keep sending me e-mail. When I have power in the house, I enjoy reading it and meeting some of our less active members.

Isn't that a neat cover? It got a plethora of compliments at LOTS. I hope our reproduction service did it justice. This month's cover was designed by Alan Hauck and is in honor of our visit, with Mensa of Northeast New York, to the world's largest kaleidoscope, in Mt. Tremper. That same graphic will be on the May issue of MONNY's newsletter, also called MONNY. The items in the graphic include the "old" Mid-Mensan logo, i.e. the suspension-bridge-shaped "MH", and the MONNY logo, the owl in the shape of New York State. That plus other images were scanned, copied, reversed, cropped and had other technobabble applied to them to produce the final product.

But then, irony struck. After receiving his deserved "oohs and ahhs" for the cover, Alan observed that "This was essentially a technical trick-- nowhere near as difficult as doing drawings from scratch," and pointed out the humorous irony in receiving disproportionately lavish praise for a lesser effort.

Well, it's still a fine piece of craftsmanship. And clip art and canned paintbrush programs still can't match the human potential for expression. How many clip art pictures of marmots do you think there are in the world? I think two.

I also know there are more artists in our chapter than just Alan Hauck and Eric Kollenberg. Perhaps we have a young M who'd like to submit a newsletter cover, or some more writers who, like Vehig Tavitian, submit material for the newsletter. Or maybe you just have a humorous experience or anecdote you'd like to share, just as Dave Cardall and Nancy Keyes-Crosby have done.

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS:

Tom Rankin, our Astronomy "star", has been appearing in the Poughkeepsie Journal in connection with Comet Hale-Bopp; and now he's doing an astronomy column for Integra, the national monthly newsletter of Intertel, while continuing to do a lot of work for the Mid-Hudson Astronomy club. Shine on, Tom!

Bill Zigo was later quoted by the Journal as taking advantage of the blackout to watch the comet without the interference of street and house lights, but he would still have preferred to have his power back on instead. Bill's "Living Smarter" column on cottonseed oil was also reprinted by HMMmm..., the newsletter of High Mountain Mensa, in January.

MEET THE MEMBERS:

Before I start this new column, let me reply to Ye Editor's comment about Bibi "Indiana" Sandstrom's having been born in Indiana. I am proud to say that despite living thirty-mumble years in Indiana, I wasn't actually born there. I was born in Alexandria, Virginia in Walter Reed Hospital on August 11, 1957, 8 lbs, 6 --<muffle crash BANG>-- ... Excuse me, I seem to have been reminded that Mid-Mensans would like to read about new members, not esoteric details about Membership Officers. And so you shall!

Owen McGettrick has started his membership in Mid-Hudson Mensa by not only getting an event on the calendar right away (something to make a program chair swoon), but to convince Bard College to start a lecture series! One of McGettrick's interests is aging, particularly what science can do to stop it, and is friends with Dr. Michael Fossel, lecturer and author of a recent book "Reversing Human Aging." Owen tried to get him into Bard College's Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series, but since Fossel is a medical doctor and not a bench scientist, Bard created a "Distinguished Speaker Series" instead! See this month's calendar for the event Owen started!

Other things Owen McGettrick has started include his own business: he is the President of Relational Integration Inc., a computer consulting firm. He is also the VP of Business Development of MRx Biosciences, a Biotech, Genomics Company, although his ideal employment would be "none." He's 36 and has a B.A. from Cornell University (double major in Physics and Economics) and a MBA from New York University. His hobbies include running, rock climbing, woodworking, and painting; he joined Mensa because it's a forum for exchange of ideas, and his philosophy of life is "to live". Obviously he's living fully!

This one came from Dave Cardall:

It was the late 1600's in Philadelphia when several Quakers were arrested for civil disobedience. William Penn's aunts owned a bakery and were known for their pies and their fair prices. The two women decided to increase the price of their pies to help raise the bail required to free their Quaker friends. Many in the town objected to the increase and argued about the pie rates of Penn's aunts.

Send in your favorite groaner to PUNS c/o Jim Jelacic.

This time of year, it seems almost every species of insect imaginable is trying to either get into or out of my house. I haven't found ways to deal with all of the major visitors, but I've found some tricks which help with some of the more common ones.

My house has a lot of wood trim in it, so carpenter ants are one of my biggest concerns, plus their smaller relatives, the "sugar" ants, which are merely nuisances. There are a few tricks you can do to keep them out of small areas, such as chalk lines or cucumber peels, and ant traps may also reduce the onslaught somewhat. But none of these completely gets rid of them. Recently, Betsy Burke told me about a plug-in sonic repellant. There are several varieties available in larger hardware stores. They emit a high-frequency sound which is unpleasant to ants and other insects, which encourages them to look for quieter surroundings, i.e. not in your house. The sound can also supposedly cause nonstop vibration to spider webs, frustrating the spiders, eventually influencing them to look elsewhere as well. Some emitters have adjustable frequencies which can specifically target mice and bats. Do they work? Well, I'm not about to say my house is insect-free, but in the month or so in which I've had the device plugged in, I haven't seen a single ant in the house yet. The possible bad news: I haven't seen the electric bill yet either.

If you're uncomfortable dealing with flying insects with stingers, i.e. bees, wasps, hornets or yellowjackets, make them a slave to fashion, and you can get them out of the house more easily. When they land, spray them with hair spray. The spray stiffens their wings long enough for them to be flightless, which makes it easier for you to scoop them up and toss them out of your house.

Is your home swarming with ladybugs? I'm certainly not interested in killing these beneficial insects, but they can be distracting in large numbers. What would you say if I told you that you could get most of them out of your house in a single day for less than $1? All it takes is a bit of patience. Place small slices of apple (preferably a sweeter variety) and/or banana on a window sill or near plants, and check the fruit approximately every 15 minutes. You'll typically have about 4 to 6 of them gathered there. Take the fruit outside and either shake the ladybugs off, or throw the fruit itself outside, in which case the ladybugs not only get their freedom but a nice meal.

Have you got a solution to some problem that's been bugging you? Why not have it published here? Send your tip to: Living Smarter c/o Bill Zigo

Easy:

RTN PUSOR ENSOLZ RL ONN RTN

TIZMDSURUZQ LZ RTN DIXX UO RTN

XIZMXLSM.

Hard - no punctuation and groups of 5:

OYHCS PWLXI MWHVY UXEVH WBBNH NMVCW

DJCPW NCOVX JHBNC WBHWD PUUPX WFHUU O

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Those who have never been to a LOTS [Local Officer Training Session] don't realize what a service this is to members. The training that is provided saves us time in that we don't have to keep reinventing the wheel to solve problems others have already solved. It's a long working weekend with sessions from 9 to 5 on Saturday, but the information received, plus the experience of working with other chapters in region 1, makes it worth while.

Highpoints... Brad Siedel, Boston Mensa, on running RG and AG hospitality... don't cut corners. Sallie Banko (First Vice-Chairman) on By-Laws... take the time to read yours... map out a time line of when things happen... knowing your own by-laws can prevent problems. Brad and Dave Remine (Chairman) on problem members... This has been a problem in Mensa for years in that it's been very cumbersome to try and deal with these members. In our current election there is a by-laws change that would allow this problem to be dealt with in a more timely fashion. It involves using mediation and arbitration. Members should take the time to really consider this when voting this election. Ziggy... role of a loc-sec (you could have given this in your sleep - good presentation and a reminder of what presidents jobs are).

Bibi Sandstrom: Just as reading other groups' newsletters is a wonderful fringe benefit of belonging to American Mensa, so is attending a LOTS and discovering what helpful similarities and differences there are in other chapters. Unfortunately, the "normal" member doesn't often receive this benefit, but you can call up a board member and ask for the newsletters, and for LOTS info!

Alan Hauck: One of the best aspects of a LOTS is being able to put a face and a personality with a job title and name. For example, it turns out that the editor of InterLoc, Marie Mayer, has a delightfully zany sense of humor, and is a long-time friend of Bibi's. (Hmm. Could there be a correlation there?) So now, if I run into an editorial-type question while working on our website, I can feel perfectly comfortable asking an experienced professional editor for advice. Wow!

Greetings, Fellow Trivians!

Here are the answers to March's questions:

Q1: What river does the Grand Coulee Dam control?
A1: Columbia River in Washington State.

Q2: What was unusual about Mary Tyler Moore's role of answering service operator "Sam" in a late 50's detective TV series?
A2: She was photographed only from the waist down on "Richard Diamond, Private Detective".

Q3: What is the distinction John C. Calhoun and Spiro Agnew have?
A3: They both resigned as vice-president.

Q4: Which cartoonist drew "Calvin and Hobbes?"
A4: Bill Watterson.

Q5: In which field of study would you find a midrib, petiole and a stipple?
A5: Botany -- these are parts of a leaf.

Q6: Which US mint uses the mint mark of "W?"
A6: West Point.

Q7: Within a couple of million (+/- 5), how much was spent for network TV advertising for Super Bowl XXXI?
A7: Would you believe $69.6 million! That means 29 minutes of commercials at $40,000/second.

Q8: According to Olympic Badminton rules, how many feathers must the bird have?
A8: 16.

Q9: Why are Blue Laws called "Blue Laws?"
A9: These statutes regulating personal and public conduct, particularly on the Sabbath, were so called because such laws (which originated in Virginia in 1624) reputedly were printed on blue paper in the American colony of New Haven (1638-65).

Q10: It is 1958, who is Laika?
A10: The Russian dog which spent 10 days in space.

The winner is Peter Berbec of Poughkeepsie with 9 correct answers. David Nuss of Washingtonville and Ed Quinn of New Paltz had 8, Les Herring of Kingston had 6 answers. The Kosowski family of Chelsea, ineligible this year for winning last year, had a perfect score of 10 correct answers.

And now, this month's questions:

Q21: Which US city has the most Mobil 5 Star restaurants?

Q22: Name the members of the Saturday morning kids' TV show "The Banana Splits".

Q23: Who assassinated Robert Kennedy?

Q24: What English folk hero is found in Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe?"

Q25: What do coriander, cilantro and Chinese parsley have in common?

Q26: How much does it cost to mint a coin? Print a dollar?

Q27: Is a bird's beak bone or skin? (Submitted by Helen Schimpf)

Q28: Who is keeper of the NBS-4 atomic clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology? (Submitted by David Nuss)

Q29: Who was the protagonist in the first Warner Brothers cartoon to win an Academy Award for best animated short (hint: it wasn't Bugs Bunny)? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q30: How many elevators are in the Empire State Building? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Send your answers and questions (with authenticated answers) to TRIVIA CONTEST c/o Jim Jelacic by May 31.

Have any Mensans ever invented a game? Well, at least one. Carnelli© was invented by Mensan Jan Carnell. The copyright is owned by Jan Carnell and Jim Lange.

Carnelli is a game of title associations. The first player in the circle states the title of a work - something which is either copyrighted or could have been copyrighted. Typically this is a book, movie, album, TV show or song. The next person in the circle must come up with another title which has a common link with the previously mentioned one. This could be a common individual, such as a star, singer, producer, etc., or a common non-trivial word in the title. You may also do a very tight genre jump, such as a new version of an old movie or song. Sometimes a really good pun is also accepted, but only if the participants agree.

In the tournament version of Carnelli, you have a specific time limit in which to come up with a response. If you fail to come up with one, you are out. The time limit is reduced over time, typically starting at 30 seconds and dropping eventually to 5 seconds in the finals. You also have the right to challenge any linked title. Whoever loses the challenge is out. The tournament version of Carnelli is played at several gatherings in the northeast, such as Greater New York Mensa's gatherings, and Washington DC's Mid-Winter Madness, as well as any gathering that advertises it in the Bulletin.

At many other RG's, when people gather in the halls (and actually sit on the rug in the hall, aka "Hall SIG"), Carnelli is played for fun, in what is often called the "Gumby version". There are no rules here, awful puns are usually accepted too; this is the spot in which to learn Carnelli.

Carnelli is similar in genre to the now-popular game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" (and the new board game based on that, Starcrossed) in that you must provide linked associations. They differ in that Degrees and Starcrossed require you to provide associations between people where the common title is the link, and Carnelli requires you to link titles, where an individual is one of the types of links.

Do we play Carnelli at Mid-Hudson games nights? Occasionally, but never in tournament mode. Should you learn it? You just did!

[My references to Carnelli were from "Welcome to Metropolitan Washington Mensa", Katherine M. DeWitt, Jr., which was originally contained in Capital-M, the newsletter of MWM.]

In April, I had you go out and look at Comet Hale-Bopp, Mars, and the Lyrid Meteor Shower. Did any one get a chance to see any of these things?

I hope you saw the Comet! It was pretty hard to miss, especially during the blackout! Between no power, and/or no cable, you had no excuse for not seeing it. And all is not lost, you can still see the Comet in May. Call the Hotline for details.

So, what have we learned about Comets from watching our celestial visitor? Here's a few things:

• There appears to be a complex chemical soup in Comets, that could, in theory at least, be partly responsible for 'seeding' life on this planet.
• This Comet rotates on its axis every 12 hours, causing spirals of material to stream away from the center like a pinwheel.
• The March 28th issue of Science describes studies made with the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Ultraviolet Explorer. They report that water ice is escaping at a rate different from those of other frozen compounds, so these ices appear to be segregated from one another within the comet's nucleus.
• Spectra obtained with Europe's Infrared Space Observatory show that Hale-Bopp's coma contains particles of olivine, a metal-rich silicate mineral common in Earth's mantle and in the dust cocoons that surround other stars.

The Comet has been the big news lately, but there have been other things in astronomy news, such as:

• The repair mission to Hubble may not have gone as smoothly as hoped. There may be a focusing problem with the Near Infrared Camera and the Multi-Object Spectrometer. Details at 11....
• At press time, The Galileo space probe was approaching closest passage to Ganymede. Next Month, I'll tell you what they discovered. To see what has been discovered so far, surf to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov on the Web.

This month, you can still get a fine view of Mars. It's up after sundown in the south east, and spends most of the night traveling through the southern sky, just below Leo the Lion. Venus may be visible low on the western horizon after sunset, by the end of the Month. Jupiter, the so-called 'King of the Planets' (all the other planets in our solar system combined have less mass than Jupiter), peeks out at us low in the southeast before dawn. By the end of the month, Saturn will also be putting on a brief morning show. But, on the 4th, it will be covered up by the moon during the day for over an hour. This rare event can be witnessed through a telescope.

May's Meteor shower is called the Eta Aquarids. They're from Halley's Comet. The best morning to see them is the 5th. Speaking of Comets, other minor comets are always floating around up there. Interested in knowing more? See http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov on the Web.

Upcoming MHAA Events:

5/02/97 - 8:00 PM	Outdoor meeting at Wilcox Park (make up next night)
5/06/97 - 8:00 PM	Outdoor meeting at SUNY New Paltz
5/10/97 - 8:00 PM	Outdoor meeting at Bowdoin Park
5/20/97 - 7:30 PM	Indoor meeting at SUNY New Paltz.  Speaker: Dr. Peter Skiff, from Bard College, on Cosmology and Missing Mass.

Call 473-7602 for the MHAA Hotline: Information, Astronomy News, and 'Astronomy Trivia'! Would you like to borrow a telescope from the Club for a month? Let me know! We've got several 'loaner' scopes that are very easy to use. We have lots of other Astro stuff to lend as well!

Next Month: June is the Honey Moon! Clear skies!  Tom Rankin

Cryptogram Answers:

Easy:

The first person to see the handwriting on the wall is the landlord.

Difficult:

Speaking of unemployment - the human brain has more than ten billion cells.