Mid-Mensan The Newsletter of Mid-Hudson Mensa

July/August 1998

Once again Mid-Hudson Mensans helped at the Hudson Valley Balloon Festival. The scholarship fund will benefit by over two hundred dollars earned by the sale of pet balloons, raffle tickets on balloon rides and the sale of t-shirts. Special thanks are extended to Bill Zigo, Alan Hauck, Bob Naborney, Les Herring, Merrill Loechner, Joanne Schultz and Ron McMurdy for their help in operating the information booth. Jim Jelacic, Casimer DeCusatis, Michele Schwartz, Bibi Sandstrom, Eric Kollenberg and Stephanie Walker also either helped at the festival or at least stopped in to say hello. Of course, Bill Hughes was also there as the festival balloonmeister. Next year, however, we're going to have to re-evaluate what we do at the festival in light of the amount of time spent versus the amount of money gained.

What are your plans for this summer? If you're attending the AG in Cincinnati you're in for a treat. A Mensa gathering is like no other "convention" you'll ever attend. The dress is casual, the food is calorie laden, conversation is never ceasing and friendships are many. If you can't attend this AG consider attending a regional gathering soon. (Mid-Hudson's gathering in September promises to be a good one.)

I haven't figured out what I'm doing this summer except for teaching for both Dutchess Community College and Vassar Summer Institute for the Gifted. Both of these are quite different from my regular job. It's really great to be around some young potential Mensans. Many of the students at the Vassar program are from other countries and their views on the Hudson Valley are generally favorable. Those of us who live here tend to take our valley for granted. Try to explore it this summer. Of course, if you can explore it with a group of Mensans it can be even more enjoyable.

Many years ago, National Lampoon magazine published an issue with a now-famous cover. The cover was of a cute dog and a hand holding a gun pointed at the dog. The caption went something like, "Buy this magazine, or we'll shoot the dog!" This month's cover, based on one of my crazier thoughts, put to paper by Alan Hauck, is of the same genre.

Occasionally, I get feedback, direct or indirect, about people not knowing about events or general goings-on in Mid-Hudson Mensa because they don't read the newsletter or calendar. Some choose not to. Others intend to get to it, place it somewhere, and then either forget about the newsletter or forget where they put it. I figured an attention-getting cover might help "cajole" people into reading the issue. But the times have changed, and the humor of aiming a weapon at a dog or any animal is much less politically correct. So I thought, "These are Mensans. Threatening to destroy chocolate is more likely to get their attention." Did it work? Let me know.

Reprints: Every 3 months, American Mensa now publishes a quarterly editor's packet containing material gleaned from all chapter newsletters available for reprint by any chapter. This allows editors to review material from newsletters beyond those which they selected as part of the "corporate subscription" policy. I am pleased to report that 4 articles were selected from recent Mid-Mensans: "Mensa Mom" and "Meet a Mensa Mom", both by Karen Ditsch, "You Know You're A Mensan When" by Alison Bentley, and "Lover's Trivia" by Jim Jelacic. That turned out to be 4 out of 23 articles selected - not bad if I do say so.

Special thanks to Betsy Burke this month, who loaned me her old inkjet printer after mine died, only 2 days before we had to go to print. Betsy, as promised in writing, you are now exempt from ever having to throw anything away ever again.

Here is a mini pun from Emily Gordon of Greater New York Mensa:

Patient - "Doctor, you've got to help me, some mornings I wake up and think I'm Donald Duck, other mornings I think I'm Mickey Mouse."

Doctor - "Hmmmmmm, and how long have you been having these Disney spells?"

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

At the recent Mensa Mind Games gathering, 5 new games received the "Mensa Mind Game" award. These games are: Avalam, Cube Checkers, Kram, Spy Alley and Wadjet. 4 of the 5 games, all except Kram, are already available for purchase through the Mensa Boutique. If you're interested, call the Boutique at (603) 286-2092 or (800) MENSA4U.

I'd guess that most of my fellow Mensans don't remember learning how to read, although most of us do it as a semi-professional participation sport now. So I'm going to remind you of why (yet again) you have a mother to thank.

I want to preface this with the statement that I LOVE Dr. Seuss. I cried the day he died and even though I was in college, I had a little collection of his books that I went back and reread.

But if I have to read "Green Eggs and Ham" one more time, I'm going to scream.

Yes, repetition is the heart of the young child learning how to read. This is how it goes. First, when children are very tiny, you can read them anything. When Kyle was in the hospital, and I spent 6 hours there every day holding him, I read him Willa Cather's My Antonia. He was quite happy to be lying happily on my lap listening to my voice. With Kathleen, I had to sneak in a book, because she also was in ICU, and they didn't want any outside material that could contain germs. But she listened happily to Jane Austen.

Then they like the pictures. We have hundreds of stupid little board books with three or four words on a page, and they wouldn't let me read anything else, because their attention span isn't long enough to wait to turn the page. Which would be fine, except for the fact that it takes about two minutes to read a book, and then they want to do it all over again. Let me tell you that reading "Busy Bee" fifteen times in a row is hardly intellectually stimulating.

I have "Good Night Moon" memorized. Which actually came in quite handy, since when I was reprimanded for bringing that hateful germ ridden book into the ICU, I had a repertoire of four or five or twenty books that I already knew word for word.

I have "suffered" this for almost four years, but the reward is coming. When I point to a word in the middle of the page of that "Green Eggs" thing, Kyle knows what it is three times out of four, so maybe soon he can read to me! Or even better, maybe he can read it two thousand times in a row to his baby sister.

So would you read it in a box
Would you read it with a fox
Would you read it here and there?
Mommy, read it everywhere!

Mommy how else am I going to learn
Unless you let me have my turn
At reading it just one more time
Even with that horrible rhyme!

I need to learn the skill
Of literacy that will
Make me grow up big and smart
Oh, Mommy give me this jump start.

Oh, Mommy please I love to read
Repetition is a wonderful mead.
Just three or four times will not do.
I want to grow up smart like you.

Here are this month's submissions:

Volunteers from a local group were invited to work the Performer Sales Booth at the Clearwater Hudson River Revival. For this "privilege" they were given free admission, parking, food and a T-shirt. For this "privilege," they were also asked to donate $18 to Clearwater. General admission was $20. To be asked to volunteer to help at Clearwater and then to be asked to pay for the privilege struck the submitter as absurd.

Quality Paperback Book Club sends out several offers to join a year. Each one contains a detachable post card with positive/negative options. The negative label always includes cute but insulting phrases such as "No Thanks, I don't like to read" or "Nope I'd rather be left in the dark". Typically what I do with their prepaid post card is affix half the "No" label (the half without the insult) on top of the "No" section on the postcard (covering up the corresponding insult on the card), and mail the card back - at their expense of course - with a few insulting phrases of my own.

A study recently published claims that 2 out 3 Americans don't drink as much water per day as they should (8 cups.) Why isn't this in "Living Smarter"? The study was conducted by a bottled water manufacturer.

See if you can find 16 computer terms hidden in the following selection:

An Audi skidded to a halt before the building. Henry jumped out and read the sign on the door, which said "Lewis Co. Bolts & Nuts." He gave a frantic push to the door and entered.

"I don't dig it, Al. How did it happen?"

"We broadcast some stuff for transfer and the intercom put errors in the transmission. Loud rumbles distorted the sound."

"I can't fix this relic on solely that information."

Next to the intercom, piles of exec utensils impeded Henry's attempt to analyze the cause of the problem. He tried to tap each wire running from the instrument.

"I'll have to ad-lib it, Al. Do you have some vermouth?"

"Don't be anal, o guest."

"Must you use that term in all situations? Give me a dab in a rye drink. I'll be done by ten."

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Easy:

ATQ OMXPQI ATQ G-IKH AKNXQ, ATQ YMIQ

MR HMLI NMPH UC IQDLUIQP MZ UA.

Hard - no punctuation, grouped in 5:

RBROJ GURVM DMIVG AGTOM IVWPF RFGOJ

DGFRX CDAQG UAVMB RSWZF

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

For some strange reason, a number of my co-workers were involved in auto accidents in May. Coincidentally, my AAA magazine also ran an article about the growing number of automobile insurance scams. While there's no way to know if any of the aforementioned coworkers were the victims of insurance scams, the possibility always exists of being "ripped off" when dealing with an automobile accident. This month, I'd like to provide three suggestions. The first came from my AAA magazine, the second from me, with influence from the same magazine, and the third is a tip which might help prevent accidents which I learned from an aunt over 20 years ago.

1. Carry a disposable camera in your glove compartment. In the event of an accident, use the camera to photograph and record important pieces of information such as:
   • The damage to each vehicle
   • The license plate(s) of the other vehicle(s)
   • Images of the driver(s) and witness(es). This can also substantiate the identity of any witnesses should you happen to go to court.
   • Images of any important landmarks, traffic signs, etc.
   
   
2. As unchivalrous as it sounds, be cautious about giving up your right of way or accepting the generosity of someone else who gives theirs away. No matter how generous the offer, giving up one's right of way does not hold up well in court. Pay particular attention at the local malls, where the pattern of stop and yield signs may not be known.
   
   
3. Sometimes it's difficult to know if the cars around you are completely stopped or moving slightly. Watch the tires. If a car is moving, but very slowly, very often it is easier to catch an indication of movement if you can see the hubcaps rotate.

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

Many a hero would fall into a trap, miss an important clue or get the tar beaten out of him if it were not for the trusty sidekick. If it weren't for this dedicated friend, the hero would never have to time to do all of the love scenes, gain fame for solving the crime or make flippant remarks about the sidekick's high medical bills. Here is a list of stalwart sidekicks. See if you can remember the hero and the TV show.

1. Artemus Gordon
2. Ethel Mertz
3. Sgt. Charles Enright
4. Cpl. Randolph Agarn
5. Archie Goodwin
6. Maryann Thorpe
7. Agent 99
8. Tonto
9. Huggy Bear
10. Kit the car

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Last month, I reviewed Sleuth, a mystery game using logic and deduction. This month, I'll cover a murder mystery game which requires much less deduction but which plays better with social interaction or role-playing. Suspicion, "The Adult Mystery Game" was published by TSR Games, ©1977 by James Morrow. It's a murder mystery board game for 3-6 (definitely best for 6). One player has committed a murder; that player tries to cover up the evidence while the other players try to figure out who did it.

At the beginning of the game, each player gets a little manila envelope - one of them has the word "YOUDUNIT" under the flap. The evidence for the game is a set of evidence envelopes, each with a corresponding clue card inside. There are 3 categories of envelopes/clues: weapons, motives and alibis. There are 5 different cards for each category, and 3 copies of each card! Just like in real life, many people may have similar backgrounds.

Each player is dealt a set of evidence envelopes. The clue cards are removed and placed in the manilla envelopes. These are collected. The clues from the YOUDUNIT envelope are removed and placed face down on the board. These are the clues which match one player on the board. But it's not that simple. Each player also gets extra evidence envelopes, and the clues from these are put in a "false clues" pile. So now a subset of one player's envelopes correspond to the clues around the body, but later in the game, some of these clues may be "destroyed" and replaced by false clues which match the evidence of some other player(s).

As players move around the board, they land on spaces which require them to do one of several things, such as: confess evidence privately to someone, reveal a clue, secretly look at another player's clue, openly confess evidence, force another player to confess something, or plant a false clue. As the game progresses and clues and evidence are revealed, certain players may wind up looking like the murderer. But are they? After all the clues have been revealed, any player may call for the game to end at the end of their turn, at which point each person secretly writes down who they think did it. However, if the murderer is the one who calls for the game to end, the murderer may also bump off one other player.

The goal is to have the highest point total. If you are the murderer, you get points for each person who guessed someone else, but you lose points for each person who guessed you (so one advantage of the murderer calling for the end of the game is to eliminate an accuser, but calling for the game to end may also make you look more suspicious). If you're innocent, you get points for correctly guessing the murderer, and you get additional points for each person who thought YOU were the murderer.

By the way, TSR went on to later fame because of Dungeons & Dragons®.

Greetings, Fellow Trivians! In answering the puzzling pickled pepper problem, I allowed a ±50 pungent poppers for proper picking. Now, here are the answers to May's questions:

Q15: Formerly known as the New Hebrides, what is today's name for the archipelago of some 80 islands lying between New Caledonia and Fiji?
A15: Vanuatu.

Q16: Although he wrote Beechwood 4-5789 and Dancing in the Streets, who is better remembered for singing How Sweet It Is and What's Going On?
A16: Marvin Gaye.

Q17: He was not allowed to enter the US in August 1987 due to his participation "in activities amounting to persecution" of Jews in World War II. What president of Austria and former secretary general of the United Nations was the first head of state to be excluded from the US?
A17: Kurt Waldheim.

Q18: He was condemned to be shot as a socialist in 1849 but the sentence was commuted to 4 years of hard labor in Siberia. Who went on to write Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov?
A18: Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Q19: Much sought for uses in optical disk storage, high resolution printers and undersea optical communications, scientists, after years of research, have recently constructed a commercially useful laser of what color?
A19: Blue.

Q20: True or false: When they conquered the Incas, the Spaniards destroyed hundreds of manuscripts detailing the activities of the empire.
A20: False - The Incas had no written language.

Q21: Identify the world's oldest wind instrument.
A21: Didgeridoo - Estimated at 40,000 years, it's a branch hollowed by termites and white ants.

Q22: Peter Piper picked a peck of peppers. If they were jalapeños, how many are there?
A22: 225.

Q23: What magazine once published a Monopoly Cheating Kit, which included fake instructions, fake properties, and fake cards such as "You have just won first prize in a beauty contest, collect $5000?"
A23: National Lampoon Magazine.

Q24: What did "Queen Dolly" save from a famous landmark and why?
A24: Dolly Madison saved the painting of George Washington from the White House before the British forces burned it down in the War of 1812.

The winner is Bill Zigo with 9 correct answers. The Langevin family had 7 and Ed Quinn had 6 correct answers. Les Herring, ineligible this year for winning last year, had 7 correct answers. Best Off-the-Wall answer was Les' pickled pepper: "Enough to give everyone in Kingston heartburn".

And now, this month's questions:

Q36: Reknowned in the US Marine hymn after a 1801 battle, where are ‘the shores of Tripoli’?

Q38: Successfully converting from radio to television, which famous comedian poorly played on the violin his theme song, Love in Bloom?

Q39: True or false: Adolph Hitler, dictator of Germany, wasn't born in Germany.

Q40: Although he was Irish, most of his work was written in French. What Nobel Prize for Literature winner wrote Waiting for Godot?

Q41: Scientists have found water in craters on the Moon. By weight, how much is there among the material in the floor of the craters: 1%, 5% or 8%?

Q42: True or false: To completely shuffle a deck of cards, you riffle the deck 3 times.

Q43: How many classes of animals have developed wings? (Submitted by Ed Quinn)

Q44: What is the only US state capitol which does not have a McDonald's? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)

Q45: When was the first rocket powered plane flight? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q46: What is the combination to Mike Hammer's safe? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

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

In June, I mentioned the early morning planets. Did anyone get up and take a look?

July/August Planets: In the evening sky, Saturn and Jupiter will return to visibility by mid-August, but not until later on in the evening. Mercury will also be briefly well placed in the evening around the week of July 13th. There will still be 4 planets visible in the morning sky, with a conjunction of Mars and Venus on August 4-5th.

Other July/August Events:
07-03 The Earth is farthest from the Sun (In the Summer?!)
07-28 The Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower peaks (but it lasts for 2 weeks on either side)
08-04 Saturn is close to Mars
08-10 The Moon is near Jupiter
08-12 The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks (see below)
08-21 The Moon Will be incredibly slim this morning, if you can even see it!
08-27 Mercury is near Venus
08-31 Mars will pass through the star cluster called the Bee Hive.

Astro News (I have longer articles on all these topics and more on request):

• Cells the size of Jupiter have been discovered on the Sun. How did they hide so long?
• The Sun is also experiencing 'solar quakes', as yet poorly understood.
• Northern Lights tend to prefer to show up along the coast lines and no one knows why.
• The Hubble Scope has imaged a planet around a distant binary star, the first such image ever produced.
• Magnetars, neutron stars with a huge magnetic fields, have been discovered.

Upcoming MHAA Events (for Southeastern New York State):
07/17 - 8:30 PM Outdoor Meeting at Wilcox Park
07/21 - 7:30 PM Indoor Meeting at SUNY - p/b Dr. Bruce Elmegreen "The Formation of Star Clusters"
08/01 - 8:00 PM Outdoor Meeting at Bowdoin Park
08/12 - evening   Perseid Viewing - Call 473-7602 for info on scheduling
08/18 - 7:30 PM Indoor Meeting at SUNY - Presentation is TBD
08/21 - 8:00 PM Outdoor Meeting at Wilcox Park
08/29 - 8:00 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: September brings the start of the Fall constellations.

Tom Rankin

MHAA Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5679

Answers to Helen Schimpf's Puzzle

Cryptogram Answers:

Easy:
The colder the X-ray table, the more of your body is required on it.

Hard:
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

Sidekick TV Trivia Answers:

1. James West in The Wild, Wild West
2. Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy
3. Commissioner Stewart McMillan in McMillan and Wife
4. Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke in F Troop
5. Nero Wolfe in Nero Wolfe
6. Cybill Sheridan in Cybill
7. Maxwell Smart in Get Smart
8. The Lone Ranger in The Lone Ranger
9. Det. Dave Starsky and Det. Ken Hutchinson in Starsky and Hutch
10. Michael Knight in Knight Rider