Mid-Mensan The Newsletter of Mid-Hudson Mensa

January/February 1998

Happy New Year everyone. Actually, it's not the New Year yet, which makes writing this difficult. In fact, it's not even Christmas yet, and I haven't finished buying, wrapping and sending this year's presents. Normally, I'm several years ahead but lately life is getting in the way of my shopping.

This Christmas I have the extra pleasure of going away to a family wedding. What a great excuse to go on a trip. Of course, most people go south in the winter, and I'm going to Madison, Wisconsin. I've never been to Wisconsin. Due to the generosity of some friends I have managed to get some neat New York Cheese posters. I'll be meeting the bride's family (I'm a sort of relative to the groom's side) and plan to give these posters as gifts. I think this is a great idea, but we'll have to see what kind of sense of humor Wisconsonians have.

I'd like to thank Linda Spellmon and welcome her to our board. Linda is replacing Rick Kosowski as our secretary. Rick's job has made it difficult to attend our board meetings, and Linda has graciously agreed to be his replacement. Linda is somewhat new to our chapter, but she's served as editor and Loc Sec of Rhode Island Mensa in the past.

Have you made any New Year's resolutions yet? How about including getting more active in Mensa in 1998? We'd welcome your participation in local events. If you're unsure of what you'd like to attend, try FSM. There are usually about 8 of us there assembling the newsletter, and you can never be sure what the topic of conversation will be, but it's sure to be disjointed and interesting.

We also need another person to judge the scholarship contest. I'm delighted that one new judge has volunteered, but another would also be welcome. It's only a one or two week commitment of time on your part, but it's another way to get involved.

Have you ever been to an RG (Regional Gathering) or an AG (Annual Gathering)? If not, why not try one this year? Snowball in New Jersey is coming up and many of the Mid-Hudson Mensans will be attending. If you're available in September there's always your own local RG at Ashokan. The only problem with gatherings is getting enough sleep and realizing that you can become an RG junkie. I was unable to attend the Boston RG, and I really missed seeing friends. After a while you become part of the larger Mensa family and miss the reunions and the chance to keep up with what's going on in everyone's life.

I hope the New Year treats you well. This past year has been hectic and stressful for me, and I look forward to a better year in 1998.

Wow, a 32-page issue. We don't have those too often. But the Ex Comm gave me permission to have one once in a while, finances permitting. So enjoy.

The March issue of Mid-Mensan is going to be special. To celebrate our chapter's 15th anniversary, that issue will be a "Best of the Mid-Mensan", with some of the favorite articles over the years of many of the previous editors. I'll be reprinting my favorite newsletter cover that month. I wonder if any of you will be able to guess it. (Hint: there are no marmots in the picture.) So depending on how many old-favorite articles I can reprint, several of our regular, non-topical columns will have a break that month. The topical columns, like Betsy's, Jim Jelacic's Trivia, Membership and Tom Rankin's Astronomy column will still be there.

I've also been asked by the ex comm to consider publishing a Mid-Hudson Mensa directory sometime in 1998. This would be our first directory in several years. I will probably do this sometime during the second half of the year, and I will give sufficient advance notice, so that anyone who does not want their address and/or phone number listed will have time to contact me with that request.

Ah... Spring is in the air; or so the poet exclaims. Valentine's Day is the day for starry-eyed lovers to officially and openly show their affection for each other. Television is not immune to the trials of amour. Here are the descriptions of TV shows that featured couples in love. Name the show and the characters/actors.

1. She was a young actress from Brewster, NY trying to make a go in the Big Apple; he was a junior executive for a new magazine. They never did tie the knot but he did have his stag party.
    
2. He was the Marshal of Dodge City; she was the owner of the local saloon. For 19 years, they flirted with each other but he, being an honorable man, never did anything more.
    
3. She was an ex-fashion model who owned the Blue Moon Detective Agency; he was the wisecracking (and, apparently, the only) detective who worked there. Together they provided steamy tension while solving off-beat mysteries.
    
4. He was a top secret spy; she was a suburban housewife with 2 kids and a live-in mother. When they fought spies, she would get captured and he would rescue her. They were eventually married but had to keep it secret to protect her family.
    
5. She was a hard-boiled detective; he was a mystery man who assumed the role of her boss. While solving mysteries, they would bicker with each other in the style of Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man.
    
6. He was a loopy alien; she was a clerk in her father's music store. After several years of romancing, they were married and he gave birth to a full-grown son.
    

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

          When we hear the message
          From the pulpit, let us seek
          To keep those words within our hearts --
          For at least a week!

Members In the News:

Tom Rankin had his question accepted as question #130 in the Bulletin's "The 2% Solution" column. His question: "Will humans colonize other planets or star systems? Is there intelligent life out there?" Feedback will be in the April 1998 issue.

Bill Hughes and Stephanie Walker recently returned from Japan, where Bill was one of 8 New York balloonists at the World Hot Air Balloon Championships, attended by over 1 million people. Bill's balloon wore a banner with the slogan, "I  NY". At the December NNN, Bill showed pictures from the festival, including his gracious Japanese hosts, photos of many of the balloons from the US, Canada, Australia and Japan and also the program (in Japanese and English), which had photos of all the pilots and their balloons. Some of the Japanese balloons were very interesting; many of them are of unusual animated characters from the Japanese media.

Donna Sommer, our "Yonkers area coordinator" (and she'll send me a post card asking why I put that in quotes) is again participating in the American Mensa Publications Recognition Program. This year, she is the Assistant Chair. Donna Jadis, of Connecticut & Western Massachusetts Mensa, is this year's chair again.

Meet the Members:

We hope to have more info from her forthcoming for the March issue, but in the meantime, we learned newly-transferred member Elfriede Stontisch, whose family lived in Slovenia for 600 years before she came to the US at age 6, has been receiving the Mid-Mensan for 2 years while she lived in Long Island. She and her family are now living permanently in the weekend home they had in Walden. She works fulltime, is raising two college-age offspring, has been delighted with the Mid-Mensan, and hopes to get to an event soon. We hope so too!

Mark Ross recently celebrated his December birthday at Mirthday, where he showed Barbara Neumann how to save $200 (see how beneficial it is to show up at Mirthday?!). Mark is semi-retired from the real estate business in New Paltz and is busy "like Frankenstein" piecing hardware body parts together from old computers. He figures his new hobby with these "clumps of metal" gives him "practice in getting upset and dealing with frustration!"

Easy:

CWR IJQ CWXSV JKTAC APNRDI XI CWJC

GTA NJS WJLR CWRO JSQ ICXPP STC KR

J IANNRII.

Hard - no punctuation, grouped in 5:

ZCHSH WXQPN CQXHZ WQKOM HXYWH YMMOH

CFPTC FLFXS WQOYO MEYXU CQQMO KXTWF

IHW

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

For our "Addams Family Feud" game at last year's RG, we asked 101 people to give a response to 100 questions. These were the responses to Question #95: Name a TV or movie character you'd enjoy seeing die repeatedly.

• Barney (15)
• Wesley Crusher (6)
• Captain Kirk (4)
• Al Bundy (2)
• The cigarette man on X-Files (2)
• Lassie (2)
• Rush Limbaugh (2)
• The Road Runner (2)
• Roseanne (2)
• Vanna White (2)

Other answers which received 1 vote: Q, Freddie Kruger, Bart Simpson, Ellen, The Snuggle Teddy Bear, Sylvester Stallone, Suddenly Susan, Charlaine Hunter-Gault, JR Ewing, Goldfinger, Phil Donahue, "Hannibal the Cannibal", Anyone in a horror movie who does something stupid, The Emperor in Star Wars, Ernest Borgnine, Rocky, Hawkeye Pierce, Caroline in the City, Tori Spelling, The woman in "Species", Richard Dawson, Ace Ventura, Pee Wee Herman, Dracula, Jack Palance, Rambo, Larry King, Commander Riker, Wicked Witch of the West, Woody from Cheers, Diane from Cheers, Jason (Friday 13th), ALF, Alex Trebek, The girl in Jurassic Park, Rikki Lake, Jenny Jones, Geraldo, Homer Simpson, David Letterman, Jerry Lewis, Conan O'Brien, Seinfeld, Archie Bunker, Urkel and Madonna.

And these were the answers to Question #17: Name an instrument of torture.

• The Rack - 19
• Thumb Screws - 10
• Iron Maiden - 6
• Television - 6
• Accordion - 4
• Bagpipes - 3
• Cat O'Nine Tails - 3
• Whip - 3
• Barry Manilow - 2
• any bad singer - 2
• Computer - 2
• Country Western Music - 2
• Fingernails on a blackboard - 2
• High Heels - 2
• a knife - 2
• a nagging woman - 2
• Oboe - 2
• 1040 form - 2

Other answers which received 1 vote: Rubik's Cube, a bassoon, Barney, The Soft Cushion/Comfy Chair (a Monty Python skit), any talk show host, a piano, Mace, jalape¤os, a trombone, a violin, an electric guitar, Iron mask, a pizza cutter, Mensans singing, stupidity, a garden hook, Rap Music, a feather, bamboo sticks, Muzak, Ex Comm meetings, an alarm clock, a photocopier, Opera, bad cooking and childproof aspirin bottles.

1. You beg your child for her Pinky & the Brain kid's meal toy so you'll have it for the Mensa holiday grab-bag party.
    
2. You find yourself wondering how drippy puzzle glue is for repairing the wooden slats on your closet door, and how well it works.
    
3. Your child's friend begins standing her Kraft macaroni & cheese straight up on her plate, you explain about Stonehenge, and begin a replica of it.
    
4. You first walk in to the new Barnes & Noble, with others saying "Wow, this is incredible," and you have only a slight smile and think "I'm finally normal."
    
5. Commercial breaks between cartoons aren't for running to the fridge, but for running outside with binoculars to see how many moons of Jupiter are visible.
    
6. You'd put the French versions of Monopoly and Scrabble on your Christmas list, but you know you'd have no one to play them with.
    
7. After finding that puzzle glue does NOT plug up holes you shouldn't have made in your wall, you stick to an office supply theme and use white removable tack.
    
8. Your Einstein color-changing mugs are the most popular on snow days for hot chocolate, and E=mc² is the topic of conversation with the 9-year-olds.
    
9. You have to translate your French contact paper design every time someone new walks into your kitchen.
    
10. You watch Cinderella while reading a book on particle physics.
     
11. You find yourself wondering if you'll have enough puzzle glue left over after household repairs to keep your 1,000 piece planisphere puzzle stuck together should you ever finish it.
     

 
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

How many of you made New Year's resolutions which were directly or indirectly related to reduced fat or calorie intake? Now how many of you also still like to hit the fast food places once in a while? I know I fit in both of these categories. Sometimes it's still questionable whether you can get a healthy, low-fat meal at various fast-food establishments, but various books and magazines occasionally provide strategies or nutritional tables which can help. Here's some additional suggestions:

When comparing nutritional values of similar items, be sure you are comparing apples to apples, so to speak. For example, a recent comparison of McDonalds grilled chicken sandwich to Burger King's grilled chicken sandwich showed that the Burger King sandwich had a much higher fat content. What might not be as obvious is that the McDonalds sandwich comes without mayonnaise and the Burger King sandwich does. If you ask BK to hold the mayo, the fat content is very similar (the BK sandwich is still slightly higher, but that's because they use a larger piece of chicken).

If you are trying to reduce the amount of sodium in your fast food meal, your first thought might be to eliminate or get a smaller size of the french fries. But these are not necessarily the highest source of sodium. Actually, the highest source of sodium comes from the shakes, and many of the special burgers, due to the "secret" sauces, also have higher sodium content than the fries. If you want the nutrition of a potato without the fat of frying it, consider Wendy's baked potato without the sour cream.

Soda can also be a source of empty calories. I personally do not recommend drinking diet sodas, so don't expect me to suggest them as a substitute here. Instead, consider a glass of unsweetened iced tea, perhaps with lemon. This has no calories, and tea actually contains antioxidants which can help your body in the fight against free radicals, which are thought to be a major contributor to cell damage, which causes aging. But if the caffeine in iced tea bothers you, consider milk, orange juice or apple juice as a substitute.

Take advantage of any establishment's willingness to hold the mayo, special sauces or ketchup, as these provide unnecessary fat and sugar. You might be surprised to find out that a lot of the taste of that burger actually comes from the mayo, sauce or ketchup. If you really can't live without these condiments, you can still ask them to be held and then add them on your own from the condiment stand. That way, you have control over how much you add, not them.

Send your smart tips to: Living Smarter, c/o Bill Zigo. As always, if you don't send me your tips, you'll have to put up with mine.

At the risk of being terribly politically incorrect, I'm going to put myself on the line and make a really outrageous statement: boys and girls aren't the same.

Now before my fellow women get upset with me, I want to mention I have paid my NOW dues, and I charge as much per hour as any male attorney with my level of skill and experience. And I do my best to make my husband do his share of the housework. Notwithstanding all of this, I honestly believe there is a strong genetic difference between boys and girls.

Before I had children, I could buy the theory that boys did active things because that's what they were praised for and girls tried to look pretty because that's what they were praised for. And I still think that this theory accounts for some of the extremities in those types of behaviors.

But...

Having one little boy and one little girl has really raised some questions in my mind. For example: Kyle is a maniac. Kathleen is not.

From the time he was about two months old, Kyle's favorite game was "Up, Down." This particular activity involves Daddy raising Kyle into the air and saying "up", and then lowering him and saying "down." This began with a simple "raise the baby in the air" and has progressed to an outside game of necessity. At three years old, this game entails Daddy throwing Kyle up into the air and catching him, while the little boy laughs so hard it looks like he's going to burst.

Kathleen hates this game. She's fine jumping up and down if you hold her hands, but she won't let you let go. She doesn't even like the slide, which Kyle goes down by himself, up, down and sideways.

Kyle never cared at all what clothing you put on him. It could mismatch, look stupid or whatever. As long as it fits comfortably (and you've cut the itchy tags out of the back of the shirt), he's fine. He'd prefer to run around with maybe a diaper to stick his hand in (alas perhaps that, too is more than a learned behavior), but he doesn't care.

Kathleen already wants to pick out her clothes at ten months. I don't know if I'll be able to afford her at thirteen. She has one little dress in particular that has pretty little pink roses on it and a nice satin trim, and when she wears that dress, she will hold the hem of that dress up so she, and everyone else, can admire it. I guess that's why little girl dresses come with bloomers. She hasn't yet learned modesty, but Daddy is keeping his fingers crossed that this particular behavior will stop before she starts dating.

Maybe it's just the personalities of my kids; we all know that particular situations are not documentary evidence. But I kind of like being a tough guy; I get great pleasure from making my hundred pound killer (yeah, right!) Rottweiler sit in a down stay in front of his steak until I tell him he can get it, and I've recently taken up (trying) to shoot clay pigeons with a shotgun, so I don't know that I passed a tendency to prettiness and primness to my little girl. I guess the big lesson for me is that I'm going to have to let her become whoever she decides she's going to be and the same goes for my little guy. But I think that recognizing that they aren't the same is going to help them do that. Who knows, maybe Kyle can learn to cook, and Kathleen can learn to actually not cringe too much when the shotgun goes off. If that's the case, they'll both be a step ahead of me!

Bill Zigo found this in HMMmm... - the newsletter for High Mountain Mensa. No submitter was listed.

Little Johnny gets home from his first school bus ride. His mom asks him how it was.

"Oh, great, Mom. The bus was all painted inside with pictures of Sesame Street characters. It was cool! And at the next stop, two really fat girls got on and - pretty funny - they're both named Patty."

"Johnny, we shouldn't say 'fat.' Say 'obese' instead."

"OK. And then at the next stop, a kid named Ross got on. He's a retard."

"Johnny, we don't say people are retarded, we call them 'special'."

"OK. And then, this was cool mom. This was gross. Lester Cheese took off his shoes and was picking things on his feet - he said they were 'bunions' - and it was soooo gross."

"Well, it sounds like you had a fun time on your first day riding the school bus."

"Yeah, who wouldn't have fun with those two obese Patties, special Ross, Lester Cheese picking bunions on a Sesame Street bus."

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

Greetings, Fellow Trivians!

Here are the answers to November's questions:

Q71: What nation is slightly smaller than Indiana but controls the Azores and Madeira Islands?
A71: Portugal.

Q72: What music group is known for "Bad Moon Rising" and "Down on the Corner?"
A72: Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Q73: Who ran against Ronald Reagan for president in 1988?
A73: No one. Reagan didn't run in 1988. George Bush and Michael Dukakis did. (Trick question)

Q74: Although he has directed movies like "Apollo 13" and "Cocoon", he is better known as a child star playing "Opie". Who is he?
A74: Ron Howard.

Q75: Which field of study would you find a movable jaw, a handle and a thumbscrew?
A75: Tools - these are parts of an adjustable wrench.

Q76: True or false: Because cows are sacred in India, Wimpy's hamburger chain sells 100% "lamb-burgers".
A76: True.

Q77: Which composer dreaded the number 7 so much that he refused to live in a house bearing that number nor would he compose music or start a trip on the 7th of the month?
A77: Chopin.

Q78: World famous Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich was very fond of a particular sport that he dedicated a ballet to it. What is this sport?
A78: Soccer.

Q79: In the comic strip Garfield, who originally owned Odie?
A79: Lyman, who has since disappeared from the strip.

Q80: What percent (±5%) of the world's fresh water flows to the ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway?
A80: 23%

The winner is Les Herring with 8 correct answers. Ed Quinn had 6 correct answers. The Kosowski family, ineligible this year for winning last year, had 6 correct answers.

This is the last batch of questions for this year's contest. I am cleaning out most of the submitted questions, so have fun and good luck:

Q90: It was first explored by Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan, and Estevan, a black slave, and was ceded to Mexico in 1821. What state was taken over by the US in 1848 and became a state in 1912?

Q91: What classic Frank Capra movie was the expanded short story The Greatest Gift, by Philip Van Doren Stern?

Q92: If history began with writing, the first chapter was written on clay tablets where?

Q93: Which Irish author perfected the "stream of consciousness" technique in the novel Finnegan's Wake?

Q94: In what field of study would you find a dial, a gnomon and a shadow?

Q95: He was born Henry McCarty in Manhattan, NY in 1859 and didn't change his name until 1875. Who was killed by Pat Garrett in 1881 at 21 years of age?

Q96: In a famous mystery novel by Agatha Christie, a girl by the name of Socks is characterized by her almost obsessive-compulsive use of what word beginning with "S?" (Submitted by David Nuss)

Q97: What was the first radio station in New York state? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q98: Who was born Karola Ruth Siegel in Frankfurt, Germany in 1928? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q99: What is Zsa Zsa Gabor's original first name? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q100: What day is recognized as Leif Eriksson day? (Hint: check your 1994 Mid-Mensan issues) (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q101: The computer language BASIC is an acronym. What does it stand for? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q102: What is the only country in the world to have a one-color flag, and what color is it? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q103: Who was the last pope raised to sainthood? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q104: Is the banana tree a tree? If not, what is it? (Submitted by the Kosowski crew)

Q105: Miss Otis regrets she is unable to lunch today. Why? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q106: How many were arrested during Woodstock '94? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q107: Where is the Mary Powell? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q108: What country received most of Europe's seismic activity? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q109: What is the largest dam in Germany? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q110: How many beads on a Catholic rosary; how many stitches in a baseball? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

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

In December I mentioned the planets as great observing targets, and the Geminid Meteor shower. Did anyone try any of these?

The Planets: In January there are still several easy planetary targets. In the evening sky at the beginning of the month, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are still prominent. The moon wanders through the scene the first few days as well. Early January is also a good time to see Mercury in the morning sky. By the end of the Month, Venus has shot around to the other side of the sky, rising in the morning ahead of the sun.

In February, Saturn is the only planet that is well placed for evening viewing. Venus is easy to see in the morning sky in the East.

Other January and February Events: Hmmm, I looked in my handy database of upcoming events, and it ended in December! So, there's not much to tell you about January.

2/23 - Venus is the best in the morning sky - next to the crescent moon
2/26 - Eclipse of the Sun - visible in the SE USA (partial only). I'll tell you all about it when I get back from Aruba!

Astro News: Remember that 'Solar Carpet' I mentioned last month? Now, Scientists think it may be responsible for the tremendous temperatures of the Solar Corona.

Back in November a huge fireball was seen in the Hudson Valley. If you saw it, please contact me. We're trying to gather as much information on it as we can.

Pathfinder, the Mars Probe/Rover is officially done now. But the Global Surveyor continues to do well.

This is just too cool: Astronomers using NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer spacecraft reported that they have observed a black hole that is literally dragging space-time around itself as it rotates. This bizarre effect, called "frame dragging," is the first evidence to support a prediction made by Einstein's theory of relativity 80 years ago!

Upcoming MHAA Events (for Southeastern New York State):

1/20 - 7:30 PM Indoor/Outdoor meeting at SUNY - See lots of Planets!
1/30 - 7:30 PM Outdoor meeting at Bowdoin Park - Early Winter sights
2/17 - 7:30 PM Indoor meeting at SUNY - 'Speaker' is TBD.
2/27 - 7:30 PM Outdoor meeting at Bowdoin Park - Winter Splendors

For you web surfers, here are a few URLs that I've been enjoying lately:

http://www.sel.noaa.gov/today.html - Aurora alerts and more
http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ - NASA Science news of the day
http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/latest.html - Hubble Space Telescope info
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html - Astro Picture of the day
http://www.skypub.com/news/news.html - Sky & Telescope Magazine weekly news
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTime/JTrack/spacecraft.html - Shows the locations of several major satellites and when they pass overhead.
http://bolero.gsfc.nasa.gov/~odenwald/ask/askmag.html - Ask the Space Scientist

For you non-surfers, you can get a lot of good astronomy information from the Farmer's Almanac. A lot of the Astronomy information is written by the Hudson Valley's own Bob Berman, who runs an observatory in Woodstock and writes and speaks about astronomy. The last e-mail I got from Bob indicated he was interested in joining Mensa, so HE may be doing this column some day!

Call (914) 473-7602 for the MHAA Hotline: Information, Astronomy News, and more! 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 Time: March is the beginning of warmer weather. See you then!

Tom Rankin

MHAA Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5679
Don't miss the weekly trivia quiz!

Well, the vote is in... that's right, one vote. And it was by one of the individuals who submitted one of the entries - and guess which one that person voted for? Well, we'll give it one more try. If anyone is interested in voting, send me a vote. Otherwise, I'll declare the 4 entries equally insulting.

By the way, I've already received the first submission for 1998. So keep those insults coming!

Yes, this is what I used to call "The Game Page." I felt it was time for a catchier title.

"Ghost" is a good word game for a large group of people. While it works for as few as 3, it can be played by any number, time and space permitting. For a large group of players, a referee is recommended.

The players should sit in a circle. One individual begins by calling out a letter. Each player, in turn, must add a letter to those already called out. The combination of letters called out must build towards a real word. However, once the string of letters is 4 or more, the object is to add a letter which does not actually complete a word. For example, if the letters called out already were T-H-E, you could add an "R", but adding an "M" would complete a word. If you complete a word, you get the letter "G". Play continues with the next player starting a new word.

Players may make challenges. You may either challenge that the letter called out completed a word, or that the last player added a letter which does not build toward a real word. Whoever loses the challenge receives the same penalty as having completed a word, and play continues.

The second time a player forms a word, the letter "H" is added, followed by "O", "S" and "T". Once a player has acquired the "T", that player becomes a ghost and cannot win, but he or she is not out of the game. At this point, the mischievous part of the game begins. Ghosts are allowed - even encouraged - to talk as much as possible to non-ghost players. Any time a player still in the game talks to a ghost, he or she immediately becomes a ghost and is also out of the game but can join in the mischief.

The last non-ghost player wins.

A referee is a good idea for a tournament or a large number of people, but it can also distract from the fun of the game, as players may opt for a strategy of talking only to the referee. One variation on this is to have one of the non-ghost players double as a referee, at least until he or she becomes a ghost.

A good strategy for a ghost is not to talk incessantly, but to be subtle, directing comments or questions to players at opportune moments. Plus, too much chatter is actually too disruptive to the rest of the game.

There is also a "super-ghost" version of the word game, in which players may add a letter to either the back or front of the letters already played.

Cryptogram Answers:

Easy:
The sad thing about ulcers is that you can have them and still not be a success.

Hard:
The person whose troubles are all behind him is probably a school bus driver.

TV Valentine Trivia Answers:

1. That Girl with Marlo Thomas as Ann Marie and Ted Bessell as Don Hollinger.
2. Gunsmoke with James Arness as Matt Dillon and Amanda Blake as Kitty Russell.
3. Moonlighting with Cybill Shepherd as Maddie Hayes and Bruce Willis as David Addison.
4. Scarecrow and Mrs. King with Bruce Boxleitner as Lee Stetson and Kate Jackson as Amanda King.
5. Remington Steele with Stephanie Zimbalist as Laura Holt and Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele.
6. Mork and Mindy with Robin Williams as Mork and Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell.