Mid-Mensan The Newsletter of Mid-Hudson Mensa

June 1998

To all those unto whom these presents shall become known; Greetings. Have you ever actually read the verbiage on a college diploma? I think of June as graduation month, probably because of my experience as an elementary school teacher. A friend recently showed me his diploma, and this greeting really tickled me. Who thinks these things up anyway?

There are a myriad of topics going through my mind right now. Ziggy will mention one of them, our newsletter awards. Mid-Mensan was nominated for awards for puzzles and games and editor's column. We were also nominated for an award on our web-page. I'd like to thank Jim Jelacic, Bill Zigo and Alan Hauck for their work on producing these. We have many other newsletter contributors who didn't receive nominations, but in my mind all those who contribute are award winners. Thanks to all of you.

Thanks also to Johnny Miller who was our guest speaker this month. Mr. Miller gave a wonderful talk on his career in aviation. In his 93 years of life Mr. Miller has lived aviation history. Meeting someone who had been there when Lindbergh took off was an experience. Hearing him describe his first solo was a delight. Here was a man who basically taught himself how to fly by reading a book. Anyone who can keep a bunch of Mensans interested and entertained for two hours certainly has my respect.
[For some (all too brief) further reading on Captain Miller, see the biographical sketch at "TheHistoryNet" (be sure to click on the "Full Text" link.) - WebM.]

You might have noticed on the credits that I'm now assisted by 2 dogs. Bijou, an 18 month old female Bichon Frise, joined my family recently. She was given to me by someone who didn't have time to devote to a timid dog. Boy, did she ever have her previous owner fooled! Last weekend Ron McMurdy and I took all four of our dogs for a walk at the Vanderbilt Mansion. What a sight! Picture your president doing a dance that was a cross between the maypole dance and a Philippine island dance done with two sticks trying to keep all the dogs separate as they all decided to cross their leashes over one another. Needless to say it was amusing.

Have you changed your answering machine message lately? Do you know of any interesting messages? I need to change mine to reflect that I have two dogs. Right now mine informs people to leave a message because Casper likes to hear voices. It never dawned on me that people might not realize Casper is a dog. I called Helen Bassett the other day; her message is in Chinese. I have no idea what it says, but messages get through. Bill Zigo's message asks you to start talking before the beep if the message isn't important and after the beep if it is. What's your favorite message, or are you one of those people who can't stand answering machines?

We had NO entries in our figure out a slogan for a brick for the Mensa Walk of Minds. I guess you trust your executive board to come up with something appropriate. We'll try to live up to your trust.

I'm pleased to announce that Mid-Mensan received 2 nominations for this year's newsletter portion of the Publications Recognition Program. The issues we submitted for this year's contest were the September, October and November 1997 issues. The first nomination is for Entertainment - Puzzles/Games, and a significant part of this nomination is due to the work Jim Jelacic does for our trivia contest (can you believe it's now in its 6^th year?). The other nomination is for Individual Achievement - Editor's Column. As a first-year editor, I am quite honored by this nomination.

It may be tempting to ask why the number of nominations we received is down a bit from last year, since the quality of our newsletter has not changed much in that time (in my opinion). I do not believe that this is a fair question to ask, for several reasons:

• Last year, for some reason, the number of newsletters participating in the contest was significantly lower than normal. As a result, those newsletters which were submitted were likely to get a proportionately larger than normal share of nominations.
• This is my first year as an editor - experience does matter.
• The issues submitted must contain material for any category in at least 2 of the 3 issues. The issues we submitted did not have sufficient artwork or photography in them to qualify for those types of awards.
• It is quite possible that we received points in many of the categories, but not necessarily enough to be in the top 5 or 6 to garner a nomination in that particular category.
• Each year, there is a different set of judges, and what is interesting to them is going to change from year to year.

Given that the quality of our newsletter has not changed, and many other newsletters received nominations where we had than last year, that speaks well of the material in a lot of other Mensa newsletters. One of my privileges as an editor is to get what is known as a "corporate subscription" to 20 other newsletters, which I share with interested people when possible. If you'd like to see some of these, ask me when you see me at an event.

HMMmm... revisited: Remember I mentioned I had been named editor of HMMmm... last issue? Well, it seems editor Dennis Lenehan's April prank was even more sophisticated than we imagined. After an exchange of e-mail, he confided that every person who receives an issue of HMMmm... got an April issue with their name as the new editor - every member of High Mountain Mensa, every editor who subscribes to their newsletter and every member of the AMC. Dennis said he hadn't heard back yet from Chairman Dave Remine as to whether Dave would accept his "new" responsibilities.

Our columnists seem to be playing musical chairs right now. While "Mensa Mom" has returned this month, Karen Ditsch also reports she is spending as much time as possible campaigning for county attorney in her new home town, so we can't be guaranteed we'll get a column every issue. I must also report that "Rambling With Robert" may be on hiatus again. If you recall in his comeback article, Bob explained the situation with his back. Unfortunately, his back is having problems again, and it's too soon to know how long he'll be incapacitated. You can rest easy in one aspect Bob, we'll keep space available in the newsletter for when you can resume.

TV has gone to the dogs ... and horses, and pigs, and ??? [Obviously he means marmots - Ed.] Apparently TV executives never believed the actor's old adage about never working with animals or children. Maybe the execs placed them both on an equal level. And besides, animals never held out for more money when contract renewal time came around. Here is a list of famous(?) TV animals. Can you name the shows?

1. Buck the dog
2. Ed the palomino
3. Arnold the pig
4. Santa's Little Helper the greyhound
5. Ben the bear
6. Bear the chimpanzee
7. Tramp the shaggy dog
8. Flipper the dolphin
9. Tiger the dog
10. Fred the cockatoo

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

One of our members submitted this as a recent insult:

Here's a new gimmick. I got a rebate check for some software I bought and on the envelope, in Dayglo orange and yellow, was a box saying "Urgent. Delivery restricted to named addressee. Call toll free 1-800-xxx-xxxx to confirm authorized receipt." There was a confirmation number, too. So, if John Doe got Joe Blow's rebate, how would they know who's confirming it?

Just for grins, I called the number, punched in the confirmation number, then found that they wanted the answers to some survey questions. I would be rewarded with a "free" night at some hotel, somewhere. I hung up before I heard the questions or the catch. Too bad it was all recorded, and I didn't get a chance to string along some telemarketing flunky.

Like many of my fellow Mid-Hudson Mensans, I am a confirmed dog person. Dogs and I have always been able to communicate. When my husband and I graduated from law school and moved to Texas, our first order of business (and I do mean FIRST) was to get ourselves a dog. Now, let me lay a bit of background. We had traveled from Lincoln, Nebraska to Fort Worth, Texas immediately after the graduation ceremony, and most of our furniture was still on a moving truck, but we insisted on renting a house with a fenced in backyard so we could get a dog. We had researched for a year ahead of time and decided we wanted a Rottweiler. So the very first day after we arrived, we started talking to breeders. And before our furniture had arrived, we had Ara (pre-Canaanite goddess of vengeance and destruction, but very protective). She was about 7 pounds and oh, so cute! When I started working, Ara was lonely, so we rescued Asa, an adult male, who should have been about 110 pounds, but was 76 at the time. They were our babies. Then when I had Kyle, the questions started coming. "When are you getting rid of the dogs?" Now, I am of the mentality that a dog is not just for Christmas, so my not so polite answer was "Never."

Kyle, as my loyal readers have heard, was three months premature, and he spent two months in the hospital before we brought him home. So we brought him a new blanket every day and made sure the blanket was placed on the couch so that the dogs could smell the new addition. Whoever said dogs don't know what's going on obviously didn't have one. When Kyle came home, he was already a member of the family. Asa sat protectively between me holding him and whoever came to visit. And he would do that lovely Rottweiler stare that intimidates the stare-ee (as it is meant to do) to make sure they knew they couldn't mess with this kid. He would bark if someone tried to take him from me; I had to hand him down to the holder as they sat in the chair. One time when we let Kyle sleep in our bedroom instead of the bassinet, Asa paced around the house, constantly checking the bassinet. It was obvious that he couldn't find the new puppy. So we took him in to see where the baby slept, and he laid down by the foot of the bed for his own nap.

Since that time, we have had two new additions, the human Kathleen and the Great Dane Augusta. They all still know that the babies are their puppies, too. Augie, in particular, insists upon herding Kyle back into the yard should he start to walk down our driveway. The kids sit on the dogs, and they love to fall asleep while watching television with the dog. Who needs ADT when you have AAA (Ara Asa and Augusta)?

This one was found by Bill Zigo in the MONNY (Mensa Of Northeast New York) newsletter:

There were three Medieval kingdoms on the shores of a lake. There was an island in the middle of the lake, which the kingdoms had been fighting over for years. Finally, the three kings decided that they would send their knights out to do battle, and the winner would take the island.

The night before the battle, the knights and their squires pitched camp and readied themselves for the fight. The first kingdom had 12 knights, and each knight had 5 squires, all of whom were busily polishing armor, brushing horses and cooking food. The second kingdom had 20 knights, and each knight had 10 squires. Everyone at that camp was also busy preparing for battle. At the camp of the third kingdom, there was only one knight, with his squire. This squire took a large pot and hung it from a looped rope in a tall tree. He busied himself preparing the meal, while the knight polished his own armor.

When the hour of the battle came, the three kingdoms sent their squires out to fight (this was too trivial a matter for the knights to join in). The battle raged, and when the dust cleared, the only person left was the lone squire from the third kingdom, having defeated the squires from the other two kingdoms.

I guess this just proves that the squire of the high pot and noose is equal to the sum of the squires of the other two sides.

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

If you've ever been to an Olive Garden® restaurant, you've probably seen the hard-cheese graters they use (that specific brand is Zyliss®.) These graters are superb for grating hard cheese, but if you're willing to spend a bit of money on another one or two, several Mensans have come up with other suggestions for these types of graters.

Bill Hughes, of our chapter, writes: "Butter does make a tasty topping for many things and enhances the flavor of a number of things when cooked in it. Margarine is a poor compromise for a number of health reasons."  [Anything with hydrogenated anything is bad, bad, bad - Ed.]  "Use butter, but less of it. Here's how! Get a Zyliss® cheese grater. It will hold one third of a stick of butter, and you can grind out small amounts that look much larger than they really are. You will considerably reduce your intake and find it very convenient to dispense this way. Oh, yes, the important key to it working is, store the whole thing in the freezer, and don't leave it out long. Use it and return it to the freezer."

Two follow-on suggestions: 1) the butter may stick to the grater, so loosen it before using the grater for best results. 2) I suggest you store it in a zipper-type plastic bag; otherwise the butter may absorb odors from your freezer.

The second suggestion is excerpted from "Cooking 101" in the May issue of Momentum, the newsletter of New Hampshire Mensa, Treelady editor. The author is simply known as "The Polish Prince."

"A short talk about Ground Meat: In my opinion, commercially processed meat in this country is very poorly handled, and the surfaces of the meat are generally covered with bovine and human e.coli bacteria as well as some streptomycii and mold spores. These are only on the surface because they are unable to penetrate the muscle fibers. If the cut of meat is rinsed and patted dry before handling and cooking and the hands are well washed afterward, properly cooked meat is sterilized by the cooking. No problem.

"When the meat is ground, as for hamburger, the muscle fibers are broken, and the things on the surface of the cut are pretty thoroughly mixed throughout this nutrient-rich medium. A rare hamburger is a dangerous treat. A well-done hamburger is grey and boring. What's a gourmet to do? The Polish Prince rinses a cheap piece of chuck or bottom round in laundry chlorine bleach, diluted 1:10 with municipal tap water, covers it with a CLEAN wet cloth for a while, until the chlorine odor has dissipated, cuts it into small chunks with a CLEAN knife, then grinds it in the Swiss (Zyliss® brand) hand meat grinder... The ground beef is formed into patties, wrapped in wax paper or plastic wrap, put into freezer bags and frozen, as quickly as possible."

Send your smart tips to: Living Smarter, c/o Bill Zigo.

Easy:

BKYBVK GFK ZEZGVVC NQVVQXM RY

WKKR KGIP YRPKF PGVLNGC, HZR

RPKQF SZJMWKXRE YL JQERGXIKE

OGFC IYXEQJKFGHVC.

Hard - no punctuation, grouped in 5:

CSSYE WLFAC SNGSC OCLDX SACCS SFCIA

LPOPN KHLFN REDRL BFQXW LLRHS HLFNR

EDPSN YSGSY DOEKH OK

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Greetings, Fellow Trivians! Here are the answers to April's questions:

Q7: Originally stationed at Lowery Air Force Base, Denver, the Air Force Academy moved to its permanent site in 1958 north of what Colorado city?
A7: Colorado Springs.

Q8: Which actor who became famous playing James Bond in the movies once played brother Beau on TV's Maverick?
A8: Roger Moore.

Q9: The star of the 1932 Summer Olympics games in Berlin caused much embarrassment to Adolf Hitler and his "Aryan" race. What American athlete won 4 gold medals?
A9: Jesse Owens.

Q10: Holy wedlock!! In the comics, did Superman ever pop the question to Lois Lane?
A10: Yes. They were wed in 1994 and have since separated (Lois claiming neglect.)

Q11: Scientists reported (and was confirmed) the finding of 2 more moons orbiting Uranus. As of the 31 October report, this brings the total number of moons to what?
A11: 17.

Q12: True or false: The vast Incan empire (2500 miles from north to south) had an extensive network of roads but never used wheeled vehicles.
A12: True.

Q13: Astronomically speaking, what is the heart of the Lion? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)
A13: The first magnitude star Regulus.

Q14: Identify the only city in the US where kazoos are made. (Submitted by Dave Cardall)
A14: Eden, NY, a suburb of Buffalo.

The winner is Bill Zigo who scored 8 out of 8 correct answers. Dave Cardall and the Langevin family each had 7, Vehig Tavitian had 4 and Christian Bauernfeind had 3 correct answers. Les Herring, ineligible this year for winning last year, had 5 correct answers. Best Off-the-Wall answer was Les' kazoo answer: "Kalamazoo, of course".

And now, this month's questions:

Q25: It was visited by Spain in 1775, America in 1792, Britain in 1792-94 and Lewis and Clark explored its Columbia River region and coastal areas in 1805-06. What state entered the Union in 1889?

Q26: What late 1960's TV show had President Nixon deadpanning "Sock it to me!?"

Q27: What was established by Congress on March 16, 1802, and opened officially on July 4, 1802, in West Point?

Q28: Who was the first hero in literature who had a secret identity as a foppish British nobleman while he rescued innocent victims from the French revolution guillotine?

Q29: IBM recently announced a major breakthrough in microcircuit design by developing a process that manufactures circuit chips out of what metal?

Q30: True or False: The "Black Box" flight recorder on airplanes is called that because it is painted black.

Q31: What was the world's most populous city in 1000 AD? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q32: What did Walt Kelly's Pogo say about the enemy? (Submitted by Vehig Tavitian)

Q33: What village in Sweden has four chemical elements named after it? (Submitted by Ed Quinn)

Q34: Amelia Earhart learned to fly in 1920. What did she do during WWI? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q35: How many aircraft carriers did Germany have during WWII? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Send your answers and questions (with answers and references) to TRIVIA CONTEST c/o Jim Jelacic by June 30.

How proudly, in his stubborn way,
    In heavily accented voice,
I heard my father often say,
    "I am American by choice."
He was a lad of 16 years
    When he came from that foreign shore.
His welcomers were threats and jeers;
    His land and ours had gone to war!
Through the city streets he'd roam;
    Then, ill and weak, in deep despair,
A hospital became his home.
    When he was cured, he'd lost his hair.
Our speech he could not read or write;
    His language, that of enemies--
This hairless boy who looked a fright
    As the result of his disease.
He stood in long employment queues
    But was passed over, constantly.
He heard another man refuse
    A job and said, "Give it to me."
The ugly task he did with joy--
    Its privilege had filled his lack--
Till one day someone said, "Hey, boy,
    Stay home tomorrow--don't come back."
Arrests were made of those whose speech
    Was similar to my father's own.
"May I come back?" He did beseech;
    But if he did, he would be thrown
In jail, and so his boss advised
    That other work he should obtain.
But everywhere he was chastised
    About his speech--he sought in vain.
And so it went the next few years
    Till finally, the war was done.
Then--as a rainstorm disappears
    And suddenly you see the sun--
He happily obtained some work
    And saved his money for a year.
When he became a grocery clerk
    He brought his sisters over here.
He saved some more and found a wife;
    He built a house and bought a store.
His parents joined his new-found life.
    Then, once again we went to war.
My father wanted to enlist
    But was turned down because of age.
Ironically, by Fate's odd twist
    His life went through another stage.
He was happy on the day
    A war plant offered him a job;
My mother's work, her bosses say
    Released one who became a gob.
My father bought himself a bike
    So he would save on gasoline.
Each day he drove it up the pike;
    Each night, rubbed down with Vaseline.
When they asked for volunteers
    He became an air raid warden.
Attacking our food shortage fears,
    He made himself a victory garden.
Ever busy as an ant,
    My mother knitted scarves and socks
For servicemen, whose clothing scant
    Did not protect them from the shocks
Of Europe's winter. Now, when folks
    Spoke of my father's speech with mirth
He'd proudly say, "You save your jokes.
    I'm not American by birth;
I chose to come to this great land,
    And hope to help to keep it free."
Those people did not understand
    How much, to him, meant liberty.

All Mensans either are or were gifted children (some still that way more so than others). Upon the deaths of our fathers last fall, the editor and I wondered exactly how were we gifted AS children? What gifts of nurturing had we received from our male parents?

For me, in a word: words. Words as in books, words as in wordplay, words as in communicating, words as in words of encouragement.

He did much more, of course, than to give just "lip service": he was a man of action, of teaching, of volunteering (winning local and national awards for PBS), of writing, and the encouraging took many forms. I'm in Mensa because of my dad, as he paid for my first year membership (as well as the part of my college education not covered by my half scholarship). Because of those "dues", and because of his help and critique during the years I was a Mensa editor, I recently became a Life Member in his honor. The irony is that he always doubted he'd qualify for Mensa, which only showed his humility. As I told him, "If I'm as one tenth as smart and witty as you are, I'll be happy, and if I qualify for Mensa/Intertel, YOU do."

My childhood was full of written words. He was the one who drilled me and drove me (age 10) to the spelling bee contest, introduced me to logic problems and who brought back book after book from the Fort Harrison Library, especially all the Oz books. He and my mother gave me Agatha Christie and Rex Stouts to read in grade school. There was never any censorship; he even chided me at age 14 for returning to a Nancy Drew after I finished "The Godfather" ("But Daddy, I like both"). He fostered not only my love of reading overall, but also my eclectic tastes.

As an adult, he also gave me year after year of subscriptions to Asimov's, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Ms. He sent me books and clippings and NY Times Word Competitions (his entries often placed). The moment Eric and I had a new favorite author, book after book would arrive in the mail, as did letter after letter.

I learned communication and its details (grammar, punctuation spelling) were matters of extreme importance. Words were to be enjoyed and respected. Proper English was vital. He enjoyed learning period (and comma and colon), but especially enjoyed word origins and word play. I can never make a pun without thinking of my dad, who was known as "the Edwin Newman of the mystery world" as well as an amazing penpal.

He taught me neither to scorn intelligence nor to be scornful with intelligence; that is, intelligence was important, but so was courtesy, and gratitude, and humor, and consideration. "Thoughtfulness" in either sense was vitally important; generosity was his second nature - or rather, his first.

My gift-giving father did nothing but foster my intelligence, nothing but support me, nothing but give me love and respect. Due to my dad, I was truly gifted, in all senses of the word.

In May, I mentioned the early morning planets. Did anyone get up and take a look? How about the Meteor shower?

June Planets: In the evening, only Mercury will be visible at the end of the month. In the morning sky, Mars, Saturn, Venus and Jupiter will be visible.

Other June Events:
06-17 The Moon is near Jupiter
06-21 Summer starts as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky.
06-22 The Moon is near Aldebaran

Astro News: It's feared that the upcoming Leonid Meteor shower/storm may damage many orbiting satellites. Solutions proposed so far are: turning them in a certain direction to minimize the damage, or shutting them down.

Solar tornadoes have been discovered. They are much larger and have greater 'winds' than earthly tornadoes. Speaking of the Sun, there are a lot of sun spots visible right now. If you have a telescope, you can project the image of the sun onto a white piece of paper and see the spots.

Astrophysicists announced that the discovery of very rapid oscillations in the brightness of some X-ray-emitting neutron stars has yielded important new constraints on the properties of the superdense matter at the centers of these stars. The data also may represent the first evidence for a unique effect of strongly curved space-time predicted by Einstein's theory of gravity but never before observed. The new measurements were made using NASA's Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer satellite.

It is now believed that some white dwarf stars contain a tremendous amount of compressed carbon, aka they are huge DIAMONDS!

IBM Watson Research Fellow Dr. Bruce Elmegreen has discovered that the relative proportion of high-mass to low-mass stars is the same for all clusters.

Upcoming MHAA Events (for Southeastern New York State):
06/16 - 7:30 PM Indoor meeting at SUNY - Speaker Bob Berman - Rhythms of the Moon: The Prospects for the next 20 eclipses
06/19 - 8:30 PM Outdoor meeting at Wilcox Park
06/27 - 8:30 PM Outdoor meeting at Bowdoin Park

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: July brings the start of the summer meteor shower season.

Tom Rankin

MHAA Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5679 - Try the weekly trivia quiz!

Are you looking for a game which tests your powers of deductive reasoning and is more challenging than "Clue" ? How about "Sleuth", Avalon Hill's missing gem mystery game? Sleuth can be played by between 3 and 7 deductive reasoners.

The mystery to solve is to identify the missing gem(s). One deck of cards in the game is of 36 gems, each with a unique color (red, yellow, green, blue), number (solitaire, pair, cluster) and type (diamond, pearl, opal.) One or more gem cards are removed from the pack, their identity kept secret, and the rest of the cards are dealt to the players. Each player should have the same number of cards, so in some cases you would either hide several cards or reveal leftover cards for all to see. You must determine the missing gem(s) based on the cards in your hand and the cards you get to see in your opponents' hands.

You get to see your opponents' cards by playing "element cards", the other deck of cards in the game. Each element card has either a two-element combination (e.g. red pearls, diamond clusters, etc.), a one-element card (e.g. red, opal), or a free choice card (with or without an element as well.) You will always have 4 element cards from which to play. Each turn, you play one card by asking any player to reveal some gems based on the card. If, for example, you ask a player to reveal his or her green pearls, that player will show you (and only you) the green pearl cards he or she possesses. That same player must also state out loud how many of these cards are revealed, but no other players actually get to see the cards - but keep track of this information, because as knowledge accumulates, you can identify gems other players have without actually seeing the cards.

When a one-element card is played, the player who is asked does not show any cards but simply states how many cards he or she has which fit. A free choice card can be used as you see fit.

It is possible that the element cards in front of you will become useless to you. During any turn, you may opt to exchange them instead of using one.

Any player who thinks he or she can identify the missing gem(s) may do so at any time. Also, if a player believes that asking 1 more question will give him or her the answer, he or she may make that guess at the end of their regular turn. If correct, that player wins (an optional rule is to play for second). If incorrect, that player is out of the game but must continue to play and reveal gems when questioned.

One challenging variant to the game is "supersleuth", in which players never reveal their gems but only state the number of matching cards when asked.

Cryptogram Answers:

Easy:
People are usually willing to meet each other halfway, but their judgments of distances vary considerably.

Hard:
Seeing ourselves as others see us probably wouldn't do much good. We wouldn't believe it anyway.

Gone To The Dogs TV Trivia Answers:

1. Married... With Children
2. Mr. Ed
3. Green Acres
4. The Simpsons
5. Gentle Ben
6. B.J. and the Bear
7. My Three Sons
8. Flipper
9. The Brady Bunch
10. Baretta