Mid-Mensan The Newsletter of Mid-Hudson Mensa	December 1998
Cover: Aunt Mensa (22Kb)

Election Results: The Mid-Hudson Mensa election results were tallied at the official campaign headquarters (that's my kitchen table for those of you who aren't aware of this). After many seconds carefully checking the official results, Joanne Schultz and I, as your duly appointed election committee, certified that all votes cast were accepted. It will come as no surprise to anyone that those who chose to run were elected. However, we did have one write in vote. Can you guess who/what it was? Yup, a marmot.

Is this the end? I'm not sure if this is my last column or not. My term of office actually ends in January so I probably should write the January column. However, I am hopeful that I can convince the incoming president to write the January column. Ziggy will probably be glad of this as he will no longer have to "gently remind" me to e-mail this column to him. Somehow, writing this column keeps me in touch with assignments I give my class. You remember how it went, you know it has to be done, but...

I'd also like to thank the staff of our National Office. You were always cordial and kind when I needed to be reminded to send something in. I'm glad I got to meet some of you at our last AG.

Thanks to all of you who helped Mid-Hudson Mensa during my term as the first elected president of this group. Yes, prior to me we had a LocSec. I'd especially like to thank all the members of the present board for their help. I'd also like to thank all of the active members who make up our Mensa family. For those of you who aren't active, you don't know what you're missing.

Life is made up of choices. You made a choice when you joined Mensa. It would be nice if you'd make another choice and give yourself a holiday gift this year: meet your Mensa family. It would be nice to thank the non-board members who helped in some way this year or in other years. Members such as Mark Adams, Helen Bassett, Susan Berbec, Dave Cardall, Janet Droll, Alan Hauck, Les Herring, Jean Hicks, Bill Hughes, Jim Jelacic, Eric Kollenberg, Merrill Loechner, Bob Naborney, Susan Olah, Tom Rankin, Charlie Rovner, Joanne Schultz, Diane Semanske (who is leaving our group), Vehig Tavitian and Stephanie Walker. I'd like to thank all of you, and my apologies for anyone whose name I've left off. For those who aren't active, these are just some of the interesting people you didn't meet this year. Better luck next year!

Why did I delay the Membership Directory? Well, I had 2 reasons:

Reason #1 is what I'll call the "protective mother hen" reason. In October, a Mensan from a chapter in the western half of the country started sending mailings to Mensans all over the country for a business of which he is a member. The company is one commonly called a "pyramid company" - similar in nature to Amway® and Shaklee® (but not either of those companies). Several people in our chapter had received one of these mailings as of 11/8, and every individual with whom I spoke who had received such a mailing was disgusted. This person could get away with the mailings because they fell under the case of "personal commercial use" of Mensa membership rosters. Legal? Technically, yes. Tacky? Also yes, in my opinion.

As a result of this person's actions, I gave this individual the "honor" of being this month's "Insult To Our Intelligence."

Will delaying the Directory help? Possibly. Based on information I have received from a member of the AMC, there is a proposal for discussion at one of the upcoming meetings which will require anyone to receive permission to use a Mensa Membership Directory for any commercial use. I hope that this motion will be passed at one of the next two meetings.

Reason #2 is more practical. Since Mensa's membership period is from April 1 to March 31, our membership is at its largest at the end of March. So the roster I receive the first week in April is our most complete roster of the year. I would have this roster in time for the May newsletter, so the Membership Directory is now officially moved to the May 1999 issue.

I apologize for this last-minute change, and I hope this does not inconvenience anyone except the individual previously mentioned, to whom I send my worst regards (and possibly a newsletter with this article highlighted and all the mailing addresses blacked out). Hopefully, the crispness of the text should have once again improved this month, thanks to a new printer I bought for my computer.

Holiday Wishes: I would like to acknowledge and thank those of you who have sent me Christmas cards over the years. Unfortunately, I would go broke if I were to send Christmas or Holiday cards to everyone in our chapter to whom I would like to send cards. Please accept this frugal yet heartfelt wish for Season's Greetings and a Happy New Year!

Jim Jelacic's October Cryptogram was reprinted in the November issue of MOST, the newsletter of Mensa of the Southern Tier. Charlie Rovner's pun of last November was reprinted in HMMmm, the newsletter of High Mountain Mensa, (in Colorado) in October.

We also had some Marmot Mentions: The September issue of Proteus, of Delaware Valley Mensa, has a haiku mentioning marmots. The November issue of Denver Mensa's Matrix has a short story of someone spotting a marmot. These little guys get everywhere! [Including the color photo the editor of HMMmm sent me last week from the "Summit Daily News." - Ed.]

Even though she decided to let her membership lapse, Alison Bentley is still making waves. Her "You Know You're a Mensan When" was reprinted yet again, this time in The Oracle, the newsletter of Orange County Mensa (that's California, not New York), William G. Raley editor.

Dear Mensa Mom,

Beware the creative costume frenzy. Year after year they'll suffer through your brilliant ideas, but eventually they'll rebel! When my two guys were little I dressed them as everything from Marley's Ghost to Gentleman Dick Turpin, The Mummy to Robby the Robot. One year I dressed my older boy as The Big Bad Wolf, but his brother absolutely refused to be Little Red Riding Hood. And he wouldn't be a Little Pig either.

When they got to be seven and nine years old they DEMANDED a plastic costume bought at Woolworth's. I never gave in. Twenty years later my younger son went to his friend's party as The Red Baron's Airplane. (And it wasn't even my idea!)

Some possibilities for pairs: Long John Silver and his Parrot, an executioner and a headless prisoner, a nutcracker and a ballet dancer (I forgot his name), a farmer and a vegetable (carrot?), or Farmer MacGregor and Peter Rabbit. If I think of more, I'll send them.

Yours truly,

Jackie Ferrara
Much older but not much wiser Mensa Mom.

This may (probably yet again) be politically incorrect, but Mensa Mom will state that she simply is a Christian. I go to church and pray and do all of those other things that non-Christians may think are an illogical waste of time.

This is an issue for another time, but this faith has in fact created some problems with regard to my Mensan need to analyze, in opposition to the Christian's belief in simple faith. In a nutshell, I've decided that it clearly does not matter if an archeologist can prove that there never was a worldwide flood or if in fact the person of Jesus Christ never bodily arose from the grave in any more REAL fashion than Dionysus' rising from the nether world. It is the symbolic meaning for me that is important and which my spirit cannot deny.

This, of course, arises in an issue for me with my children, who are now old enough to recognize Santa Claus. I've made it a point not to lie to my children. I don't tell them that they can go home instead of going to the babysitter's to make them stop crying and then spring it on them as I yank them in the door of the sitter's house. (This lie has been quite tempting, though, I must admit.)

One of my most intelligent friends always told me that she'd never lie to her children and pretend that a jolly fat man brought them the gifts that she had struggled so hard to earn the money to buy. I respect her opinion. But I LOVE Santa Claus!

Santa Claus to me is real in a fashion that I cannot yet explain to a four-year-old and a one-year-old. He is the spirit of selfless giving that makes Christmas a holiday I truly love. So I have come to the conclusion that this year, anyway, a jolly selfless giver will (symbolically) leave gifts for a little boy and a little girl and the gift will be for me. It will be in the sheer joy in their eyes when they look at the pretty lights of the Christmas tree (that may be a remnant of pagan religions that was too powerful for Christianity to lose, but which I will resist explaining to the children this year) and open the gifts that were given to them out of love by their family and friends.

As I ponder this, I realize that maybe those things that I can't explain to the children this year will find their meaning and essence in my eyes through the simple and illogical actions of my children as they are awed by the lights of the tree. The pagan symbol of power and life-giving fire will evoke the awe, the essential meaning of the symbol in the first place, in their innocent eyes. The essential selfless, giving symbol of Santa will get the emotional response from my children this year that I will so desperately try to analyze, as I try myself to capture that essential meaning that all of my analysis tells me should be there. But that I doubt I will experience truly without that innocent illogical emotion there to give it to me. And that will be my gift.

This month, we are insulted by a Mensan from a chapter in the western half of the country who has used Mensa distribution lists to send individuals unsolicited materials regarding a "pyramid style" company similar to Amway® and Shaklee® (but not either of them.)

Several people from our chapter have already received an unwanted mailing-- and even a phone call-- from this individual. The phone call usually states that the individual will shortly receive a package in the mail regarding a business or employment opportunity. This could have been misleading to some people who received the phone call; I believe some of the people who received the package might have actually been looking for a new job.

While I don't know exactly how many people received the phone call and/or package in the mail (propaganda and an audio cassette), those people with whom I did speak had very strong opinions on the matter:

One chapter member, on finding out that the materials were distributed using a Mensa membership list, said of the sender, "That skunk!"

Another chapter member said, "I resented being 'accosted' and yes, I think you should discuss this in your 'Insult to Intelligence' column. I'm in favor of a motion to bar commercial use of the mailing list."

"There are a couple of aspects I find offensive, legal or not.

1. Pyramid Scheme -- Virtually indistinguishable on the despicability scale from chain letters.
2. Phone Solicitation -- Some stranger can use MY phone to waste MY time whenever HE wants, thereby ruining the usefulness of a device that I pay for.

"Any claim that it's not a pyramid scheme is given the lie by the telltale phrase, 'This business will allow you to develop a very significant, permanent and recurring income that will be separate from your day to day activities.'  Sure-- proportional to the number of victims you sign up to be under you in the distribution hierarchy."

This month, Bibi Sandstrom continues where she left off in the October issue with some more tips when making hotel reservations:

Whenever you're quoted a price, ask for the person's name. Twice now I had been told a certain price by a night-time employee, which ended up being cheaper than what the day worker says. But despite my having certain other details, the hotel won't budge unless you know the employee's name.

Another piece of hotel information is that the hotel industry is like the airline industry: a certain number of hotel rooms is put aside at different rates. The Entertainment books talk of being able to use the 50% coupon only if the hotel is at less than 80% capacity, but in reality, it's whether or not the few rooms put aside at the "Entertainment rate" are still available, just as whether the "K class," or whatever 21-day SuperSpecial, airplane seats are still open or not.

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

This one is from Emily Gordon of Greater New York Mensa:

An intrepid photographer went to a haunted castle determined to get a picture of a ghost which was said to appear only once every 100 years. Not wanting to frighten off the ghost, the photographer sat in the dark until midnight when the apparition became visible. The ghost turned out to be friendly and consented to pose for one snapshot. The happy photographer popped a bulb into his camera and took the picture. After dashing into his studio, the photographer developed the negative and groaned. It was underexposed and completely blank.

The spirit was willing, but the flash was weak.

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

In 1998, I'd say the game that caught on quickest among Mensans is Fluxx, ©1996 by Looney Laboratories, billed as "The Card Game With Ever-Changing Rules." I first played Fluxx at this year's Snowball RG. I, and many friends, were instantly addicted to the game.

Fluxx is a card game for 2-6 players, ages 8 and up. The object of the game is to - well, I'd better describe the game a bit more first. Fluxx consists of a deck of 80 cards, of which there are four types: Keepers, Actions, Rules and Goals. Keepers represent an object, such as a toaster, a space ship, love, chocolate or taxes. When you play a Keeper, you place it on the table in front of you. Action cards denote one specific activity which must go on as soon as you play the card. Each Goal card states the current object of the game; this usually - but not always - deals with some combination of Keepers. Each Rule card lists a specific rule of play which goes into effect when the card is played.

Each player is dealt 3 cards. There is no goal at the start of the game, and there are 2 basic rules: Each turn, you draw one card and play one card. As the game progresses, players will accumulate Keepers, change the goal (there can only be one goal at a time - when you play a new Goal card, the old one goes into the discard pile) or perform whatever action is listed on a played card. However, the rules will change as Rule cards accumulate. Rule cards fall into families, such as: number of cards to draw, number of cards to play, maximum number of cards you may have in your hand at the end of your turn, number of Keepers you may have, special bonuses for certain keepers, and so on. When a Rule card is played, it supersedes any earlier version of that rule. Specific Action cards will let you trash an existing rule, and one Action card resets the game back to the basic rules.

To win, you must attain the current goal, at which point you win immediately. If the goal changes and you have the winning goal, you win immediately. Some Action cards can produce a surprise winner. For example, the card "Scramble the Keepers", when played, means everybody turns in their Keepers, they're shuffled, and each person gets the same number of Keepers back at random - sometimes you're randomly dealt the winning combination of Keepers.

The average playing time for a game of Fluxx is about 15 minutes, but it can last longer if there are a lot of rules in play - especially if rules like "Draw 5" and "Play 5" are in effect. At one of my recent games nights, we tried bending the rules and played Fluxx with 9 or 10 players. It was still playable, but the game went on for over half an hour, with several redeals of the deck. Bob Naborney finally won the game on a "Scramble the Keepers" action, and he practically received a standing ovation.

Christian Baurenfeind reports that Version 2 of Fluxx is now out, and in this deck, the cards are in color. As you'd expect, there are also new cards.

Decode the phone numbers to determine the clues.

1	ABC  2	DEF  3
GHI  4	JKL  5	MNO  6
PRS  7	TUV  8	WXY  9

This month's theme: U.S. States
(Some clues are state nicknames, others are superlatives or descriptions.)

1. 429-5393
2. 735-4226
3. (255) 475-2637
4. (667) 873-6753
5. 472-6483
6. (267) 648-7537
7. 244-4378
8. 282-5393
9. 772-4743
10. 233-4483
11. 466-7437
12. (178) 638-4313

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Easy:

KJBQJ ZJKQZW GMOZQ MFWJ: NMKMQ RWPRIW

PBEW J XWJG.

NMEQPG YPGOW

Hard - no punctuation, grouped in 5:

WIGPN DVXRY BVPTV FRNML RNQJW NQRFR

LJYWV DXXRI LXROZ LDB

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

No, I don't mean Oscar Madison from "The Odd Couple" or Oscar the Grouch from "Sesame Street" (although they both have the same philosophy toward neatness). I'm talking about those performers who have won an Academy Award™ and also worked on TV. Here is a list of movies and TV shows. Find the actor by matching his/her Oscar™ winning movie to his/her show.

Philadelphia Fargo Wall Street Children of a Lesser God Places in the Heart Marty Terms of Endearment On Golden Pond Network Harry and Tonto

It Had to be You The Deputy McHale's Navy Reasonable Doubts Leg Work The Honeymooners Bosom Buddies The Streets of San Francisco Gidget Shirley's World

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

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

Q58: Its name is from an Indian word meaning "beside the long, tidal river". Which Atlantic coast state was fifth to enter the Union and is home to the US Coast Guard Academy in New London?
A58: Connecticut.

Q59: Which Jim Henson Muppet sang the 1970 hit "Rubber Duckie?"
A59: Ernie.

Q60: The first public showing of a color motion picture with sound was held in Cleveland during whose presidential term of office?
A60: Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt in 1907. The movie consisted of footage of grand opera, a bullfight with naturalistic sound effects and a political speech accompanied by derisive sounds.

Q61: What anti-Vietnam War and anti-nuclear activist is better known for his 1946 book "Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care?"
A61: Dr. Benjamin Spock.

Q62: Which alphabet letters don't have an element starting with it?
A62: J, Q and W.

Q63: True or False: The golf term "Fore!" means "Four coming through!" and derives from the usual number of golfers in a group: a foursome.
A63: False. "Fore!" comes from the time when soldiers fired one rank at a time. When the second and subsequent ranks were ready to fire, an officer would shout "Beware beFORE!" to warn the ranks in front to get down.

Q64: In the 1890 census, one of the largest cities in the US had a population approaching 1 million people. In the 1990 census, that city was no longer listed. What is the city, and why isn't it there now? (Submitted by Bill Zigo)
A64: Brooklyn. It is now one of the 5 boroughs of New York City.

Q65: What story did Alfred Hitchcock film twice? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)
A65: "The Man Who Knew Too Much" in 1934 and 1956.

Q66: What is the longest "undammed" river in the US? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)
A66: The Yellowstone River, almost 700 miles long.

The winners are Ed Quinn and Bill Zigo both with 8 correct answers. Les Herring, ineligible this year for winning last year, had 5 correct answers.

And now, this month's questions:

Q76: With "Old Faithful" the most famous and "Steamboat" the largest active in the world, how many named geysers are there in Yellowstone National Park (±5)?

Q77: Starring reporter Clark Gable and runaway heiress Claudette Colbert in a cross country bus trip, what was the first movie to "sweep" the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Actor?

Q78: President William McKinley was assassinated on September 6, 1901 while visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY by a young anarchist, Leon Czolgosz. Who, as his vice-president, succeeded him to the presidency?

Q79: What Spanish epic poem told the story of Rodrigo Dias de Vivar fighting for the Moorish king of Saragossa and capturing Valencia in 1094 after he was banished by Spanish king Alfonso VI of Leon?

Q80: A barrel of wine is 31.5 gallons, a barrel of beer is 36 gallons. How many gallons is a barrel of oil (±2)?

Q81: True or False: Mandarin oranges are smaller and sweeter than tangerines.

Q82: In the 1930 movie "The Big Trail", what was John Wayne's salary per week in this, his first major motion picture (±$100)? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q83: Who was the first Oscar winner to win an Emmy? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

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

In November, I mentioned the Leonid meteor shower. Did anyone see any?

December: In the evening sky, Saturn and Jupiter will be visible in the SE as it gets dark and remain up most of the night. Venus may be visible by the end of the month, early in the evening, in the West. Mars will be up in the morning sky in the East. Mercury may also be visible around the 20th in the early morning sky in the East.

Other December Events:

12/03 Moon near star Aldebaran
12/09 Moon near star Regulus
12/12 Hydrid meteor shower
12/12 Venus "passes through" the gas cloud M8
12/13 Geminids meteor shower - one of the most reliable! Visible all night long!
12/18 Venus very near gas cloud M22
12/19 Extremely thin moon tonight in west after sunset
12/29 Moon very near (or occults?) star Aldebaran

Astro News:

This month, instead of news, I will publicly answer a letter from a reader who asked, "What is the source of Northern Lights?"

The Northern Lights, a.k.a. the Aurora Borealis, are a phenomenon of the Earth's upper atmosphere, and are caused by the Sun. Every so often, there is a large burst of energy from the Sun called a solar flare, where charged particles are released from the Sun. These particles have very high energies and travel so fast, they typically reach the Earth in about 2 days. That's about 2 million miles per hour! When they reach the Earth, the charged particles slam into the Earth's upper atmosphere, causing the gas to glow. The center of the Aurora is the Earth's magnetic poles, located in northern Canada and Antarctica. This is because the Earth's magnetic field interacts with the charged particles, directing them towards the Earth's magnetic poles. So, we are fortunate when it comes to seeing Aurorae, because we live on the side of the Earth that is closer to the magnetic poles, than for instance, England. The Aurora Borealis has been sighted all the way down to the equator, according to the Guiness Book of Records, so it is certainly possible to see a display at this latitude. According to Bob Berman, who lives in a dark sky area in Woodstock, NY, there are several displays per year. Many people just don't spend much time looking for them. Describing the Aurora is difficult. You have to experience one to really appreciate what all the fuss is about. I have a video about Aurorae that I could lend you if you'd like.

Upcoming MHAA Events (for Southeastern New York State):

12/15 - 7:30 PM Indoor meeting at SUNY New Paltz - Program TBD.
12/18 - 7:30 PM Outdoor meeting at Wilcox Park (Jupiter, Saturn)

Call (914) 473-7602 for the MHAA Hotline: Information, Astronomy News, etc. 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: January brings another meteor shower, the Quadrantids.

Tom Rankin

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

Tele-Teaser Answers

1. 429-5393 = Hawkeye = Iowa
2. 735-4226 = Pelican = Louisiana
3. (255) 475-2637 = All Islands = Hawaii
4. (667) 873-6753 = Most People = California
5. 472-6483 = Granite = New Hampshire
6. (267) 648-7537 = Cornhusker = Nebraska
7. 244-4378 = Biggest = Alaska
8. 282-5393 = Buckeye = Ohio
9. 772-4743 = Prairie = Illinois
10. 233-4483 = Beehive = Utah
11. 466-7437 = Hoosier = Indiana
12. (178) 638-4313 = 1st of the 13 = Delaware

Cryptogram Answers:

Easy:
Santa had the right idea: visit people once a year. Victor Borge

Hard:
How can I get sick? I've already had everything. George Burns

Oscar™ on TV Trivia Answers: