Mid-Mensan The Newsletter of Mid-Hudson Mensa	January/February 1999
Cover: Baby Mensa (12Kb)

Marlboro Library: At the December meeting of your executive committee it was decided to donate $120 to the Marlboro Library so they could purchase a financial newsletter that was wanted. The Marlboro Library does not charge us for the use of its facilities, and this seems like a contribution that is more than justified.

Wrapping up a Fund Drive: Mid-Hudson Mensa tried its hand at raising money for the scholarship fund by gift wrapping at Barnes & Noble. Organizer Bibi Sandstrom, with help from others, managed to earn about $45 by doing this. Bibi admits to being an amateur gift wrapper while Eric applied his engineering talents to doing the job. This wasn't bad for a first try, and it also served to make Mensa more visible to people. Charlie Rovner also pointed out that Tuesday is the worst day of the week in retail. Naturally, we picked a Tuesday night to try this endeavor. Oh well, we'll try again next year.

Reflections on Games: Have you noticed that yo-yos are popular again? I'm amazed at how old-fashioned toys come and go out of fashion. In my classroom, the children have not only rediscovered the yo-yo but are also playing with string, doing cat's-cradle and Jacob's ladder. They are also doing some intricate hand clapping rhythms. Of course I'm awaiting an edict from on high saying these activities are not to be allowed. After all, a child might be hurt by another child using a yo-yo. I'm sure you are also aware that string could be considered a weapon. My reason for mentioning all of this is that sometimes things that are simple need to be brought back or just re-introduced without worrying about how much something is in vogue. Yes, I would like a Furby™ but only at the original cost (on sale would be better). Do you have a toy you remember especially well? I have two. One was a Tiny Tears™ doll. I loved its curly hair. Maybe that's why I'm attracted to curly haired males! The other was a Betsy Wetsy™ doll. I didn't know about lawsuits back then but if I had I certainly would have sued that manufacturer for mental anguish. I hope this New Year brings fond memories for you.

That's All Folks! It's been interesting being your locsec (president). BeeGee, Casper and I have enjoyed our times together at the computer typing this column and listening to Ziggy call asking where it is. I now have more respect for anyone who has to write anything on a regular basis. I hope to see many of you at local Mensa events. BeeGee and Casper have to stay home, however, as they remind me of some people who always interrupt. Yes, they do bark a lot at strangers. Hum maybe we should see more of you so you wouldn't be strangers. Now that's a good thought on which to end.

What issue should mark the start of new things? You might say this issue. After all, it is the new year, and this is Issue No. 1 of Volume XV of our newsletter. But this is also the last issue for the current slate of officers in our chapter - so maybe the March issue should mark new things (think Spring). Then again, April marks the start of Mensa's fiscal year (think... never mind, there are better things about which to think). Anyway, for the next few issues, watch for the occasional reference to things new.

That means this is also the last issue in my current term as editor. And who will be editor next issue? Let's just say that unless someone rushes to the executive committee between now and the January board meeting, there isn't a large list of candidates. Will there be any changes to the newsletter? We'll just have to wait and see. Putting my calendar editor hat on (covers the bald spot), we have two new events debuting this issue, VVV and Arts SIG. Read more about them in Program Notes.

The Directory: One thing I neglected to mention last issue was that since I moved the directory issue to May, there is still time to contact me if you would like an e-mail address added to the directory or your phone number removed. You already know where I stand on the use of our directory for personal commercial use. I recently read that the AMC did indeed remove the right to use a Mensa membership directory for personal commercial use. I would like to supplement this by saying a membership directory is a tool to use, not abuse.

Mensa Mom is on hiatus this issue. We went to press right before Christmas, and you can bet Mensa Mom is busy getting the kids ready. Enjoy the vacation, Karen. We hope to hear from you again for the March issue.

Do you feed the birds? If you do, do you include suet? In the "good old days," you used to be able to get beef suet for free from the meat counter at the grocery store. But these days most stores charge for suet (the only exception I know is Adams Fairacre Farms, but the supply is limited.) Even though it's still usually less than $2, it can be cheaper to provide an even healthier suet for the birds made in your own kitchen. One of Mid-Hudson Mensa's most avid bird-watchers, Jean Hicks, supplied me with this recipe:

Melt the lard and peanut butter, and add the dry ingredients. Mix well. Place in tub containers (such as for margarine or non-dairy toppings) and refrigerate. Place in mesh bags and hang outside for the birds.

Notes:

1. Your hands WILL get greasy.
2. Prepare the suet in a well-ventilated area; when the lard melts, it will be "aromatic."
3. Be sure to hang the suet someplace away from easy access by dogs and cats.

Two quick ones this time. Bibi Sandstrom found the first one in the 8/98 issue of Palm-Mensa, the newsletter of Palm Beach County Mensa, Ann Abbott editor, who had reprinted it from the 11/97 issue of La Plume de Nom, the newsletter of New Orleans Mensa, Capt. Clarence Smith editor. [Whew! The list of reprint credits is almost as long as the pun. - Ed.]

A tall, weather-worn cowboy walked into the saloon and ordered a beer. The regulars quietly observed the drifter through half-closed eyelids. No one spoke, but they all noticed that the stranger's hat was made of brown wrapping paper. Less obvious was the fact that his shirt and vest were also made of paper, as were his chaps, pants and even his boots, including the paper spurs. Truth be told, even the saddle, blanket and bridle on his horse were made entirely of paper. Of course, he was soon arrested for rustling.

This one is from Dave Cardall:

It was the middle of the Pacific Ocean and a Red ship collided with a Brown ship. Both crews were marooned.

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

It's a word game... It's a knowledge game... It's BOTH! It's LtAtPtItS™, by Pango, Inc., the fast-paced game of famous people and places. LAPIS was a Mensa Mind Game in 1991. LAPIS may be played by any number, as individuals or teams.

A game of LAPIS consists of ten rounds. Five rounds are for people categories, and five are for place categories. For each of the two categories, there is a spinner which helps randomly select a subgroup of each category. Five cards, each with a letter on it, are then dealt face up. Each player has ninety seconds to come up with the name of a person or place which includes as many of the five letters as possible. When time is up, each player/team receives score for the best entry, i.e. the item using the most of the five letters (spelling doesn't count, except for requiring that any of the five selected letters be correct). After points have been scored, a card from a wildcard deck is then flipped. This may award bonus points to one or more individuals, if their person or place matches the specified criteria.

At the end of ten rounds, whoever has the highest point total wins.

This month's insult is a reprint from HMMmm, the newsletter of High Mountain Mensa, Dennis Lenahan, editor. It was published in their November 1998 issue under the title "We Notice." The article was actually submitted by another chapter's newsletter editor, Karen Elder, editor of Menzia, the newsletter of New Mexico Mensa:

Before a recent Denver Broncos game, a TV commentator (who shall remain anonymous (since I don't know which one it was)) said concerning the Broncos' opponent, "They're going to have to score more points than the Broncos, if they're going to have any chance of winning." (My husband commented, "I want to know why scoring more points only gives them a chance of winning.")

Our panel of skeptics all agree: Karen's husband's comment can't be topped.

This month, we introduce two new events:

VVV, or Vegetarian Vittles Venture, is a dining event at restaurants with a prominent selection of meatless dishes. While we already have several dining events, many of the restaurants haven't always had a lot of choices for the serious vegetarian. You may also have family members who choose to go meatless but also choose not to attend our events for the same reason. And while much of the menu will be vegetarian-friendly fare, many of the restaurants will still have choices for the omnivorous and carnivorous. Some of our choices may also be ethnic restaurants, so this event may overlap with our Ethnic Eatery Expeditions. VVV will be a frequent but not monthly event.

Arts SIG is the brainchild of newsletter artists Jackie Ferrara, Alan Hauck, and Eric Kollenberg. However, it's not just related to drawing and painting. Arts SIG is a continuation of the old Creativity Corner events, but it's also an expansion into other areas - anything that can be considered art, or an art. Besides what's scheduled in this issue, we already have a long list of activities to consider: drawing workships, trips to museums, concerts, writers' workshops, improvisational groups, and more!

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: TV Wives.
We'll supply the wife, you supply the husband.

1. 579-7853
2. 243-6899
3. 749-5547
4. 677-5464
5. 346-4228
6. 256-6343
7. 532-6643
8. 732-2737

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Easy:

EB JKWD DWZ XAAJ PNQHU SEOA, DA

SKQHZ DWRA OSWPPAZ PDKOA PSK BHEAO.

D. YWOPHA

Hard - no punctuation, grouped in 5:

UFILI TUKMV TMGIU OJIRE KIETM VIMVR

EIQAE VVYVQ EUFMK YXEZE UJSJB IOAYY

VI

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

You are the personnel director for a TV production company. Would you hire an actor whose previous jobs included "cattle baron's son", "pioneer father" and "angel"? I would, since these are the positions held by Michael Landon on "Bonanza", "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven". See if you can recognize the actor/actress and his/her famous (and not so famous) shows by their résumés.

1. astronaut, butler, oil baron
2. gas station attendant, US Marine, variety show host
3. private detective in Hawaii, Secret Service agent, US Marine pilot
4. 12 year old son to an immature father, cowboy, police detective in NY
5. TV news anchor, head of an escort service, cartoonist
6. blacksmith, police detective in southern California, high school football coach
7. "Happy Homemaker" hostess, star of "Undercover Woman", retired widow
8. private detective in Las Vegas, private detective in Boston, cruise ship captain
9. super hero, heart surgeon, teacher/high school principal
10. deputy sheriff in Dodge City, deputy marshall from New Mexico in New York, rear admiral

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

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

Q57: Pluto comes the closest to which planet?
A57: Uranus. Neptune and Pluto have orbital periods that are in sync with each other, keeping them far apart at all times.

Q67: 721 miles long from north to south and 3 times the area of Ohio, what country was invaded by Russia in 1939 and joined Nazi Germany to fight the Russians in 1941?
A67: Finland.

Q68: Which Andy Griffith co-star when on to star in the movies "The Love God?" and "The Incredible Mr. Limpet"?
A68: Don Knotts.

Q69: Who was President when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as the 49^th and 50^th states?
A69: President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Q70: Although he made the films "Chelsea Girls" and "Lonesome Cowboys", which artist is better known for his "pop art" paintings of Marilyn Monroe and a can of soup?
A70: Andy Warhol

Q71: Although it holds 340 megabytes of data, what did IBM recently shrink to the size of a thick credit card?
A71: A hard disk drive.

Q72: True or False: Grand Teton National Park means Big Breast National Park.
A72: True. The name was bestowed by lonely and imaginative French explorers.

Q73: YIN and YANG... which is masculine?
A73: YANG.

Q74: In terms of number of fatalities, where does the Hindenberg rate in the list of lighter than air disasters?
A74: 3rd.

Q75: According to the BBC, what is their most FINANCIALLY successful show of all times?
A75: Teletubbies.

The winner is Ed Quinn with 6 correct answers. Bill Zigo had 5 correct answers. Les Herring, ineligible this year for winning last year, had 7 correct answers.

This is the last batch of questions for this year's contest. I am cleaning out most of the submitted questions, and, lucky you, all of them are from Dave Cardall. Have fun and good luck:

Q84: In a study done between 1990 - 1994 by the Centers for Disease Control, what state has the dubious honor of having the most suicides?

Q85: True or False: The lyrics to "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", Groucho Marx's theme song, were written by Harpo Marx.

Q86: It seems like every so-called "blue blood" in America can trace their lineage to the Pilgrims. Just how many English emigrants came over on the Mayflower and settled the Plymouth Colony?

Q87: What artist for National Geographic captured a nation-wide interest in dinosaurs with his book "Dinotopia?"

Q88: If you were using the Snodgrass gnathodynamometer to conduct experiments, what would you be measuring?

Q89: True or False: The world's tallest obelisk is in Egypt.

Q90: How many nipples does a female opossum have (±2)?

Q91: When was Shirley Temple's first motion picture?

Q92: How many American citizens died abroad in 1977 (±3000)?

Q93: How many times was Rutherford B. Hayes wounded during the Civil War?

Q94: On July 26, 1953 what happened in Short Creek, AZ?

Q95: The "Declaration of Sentiments" was written and adopted at the first Women's Rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York, 19-20 of July, 1848. Who chaired the convention? (hint: Anthony, Mott, Pitcher or Stanton).

Q96: "Red touches yellow - kills a fellow. Red touches black - ok jack." refers to what?

Q97: What ship collided with the Andrea Doria?

Q98: Who was the first American to win a Nobel prize in any category?

Q99: In the Spanish-American war, both countries declared war on each other. Who declared first?

Q100: Who was the last American president to be depicted with an equestrian statue?

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

In December, I mentioned the Geminid meteor shower. Did anyone see any?

January: In the evening sky, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn will all be visible in the evening sky, working from West to East. Mars will rise by 1 AM in the East. Mercury may also be visible the beginning of the month in the early morning sky in the East.

Other January/February Events:

01/04 Venus passes by Neptune
01/13 Venus is near Uranus
01/18 Venus is near the crescent moon tonight and tomorrow
01/21 The moon and Jupiter will be close together
01/21 The moon and Saturn will be close together
02/16-22 A number of close passes between the Moon and the planets take place
02/23 Jupiter and Venus will be so close, they may seem to merge!

Astro News:

Swiss astronomers working in Chile have discovered yet another planet orbiting a star, but this time the star is a double star.

A new telescope has revealed that the Andromeda galaxy, once thought to be a 'normal' spiral galaxy, is actually composed of several concentric rings. See http://www.estec.esa.nl/spdwww/iso/html/iso_pr1510.html for details.

Everyone probably knows by now that John Glenn has been back in space. Does anyone have any opinions on his mission? Let me know...

A New York University physicist has proposed a new (as yet undetected) sub- atomic particle that may account for extremely high energy cosmic rays.

This month's meteor shower is the Quadrantids, which occur the night of Jan 3^rd. They come from the part of the sky formerly known as 'Quadrans Muralis'; thus the name. There may be from 10-100 meteors per hour in this shower. The best time to look is after sundown or before dawn.

Upcoming MHAA Events (for Southeastern New York State):

01/15 - 7:30 PM Outdoor meeting at Wilcox Park (Jupiter, Saturn, Clusters)
01/19 - 7:30 PM Indoor meeting at SUNY New Paltz - Bob Berman on the Moon
02/12 - 7:30 PM Outdoor meeting at Wilcox Park (Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Galaxies)
02/16 - 7:30 PM Indoor meeting at SUNY New Paltz - Speaker TBD

Call (914) 485-5669 (NEW!) 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. 579-7853 = Krystle = Blake Carrington (Dynasty)
2. 243-6899 = Agent 99 = Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 (Get Smart)
3. 749-5547 = Phyllis = Lars (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
4. 677-5464 = Mrs. King = Scarecrow (Scarecrow and Mrs. King)
5. 346-4228 = Dingbat (Edith Bunker) = Archie Bunker (All In the Family)
6. 256-6343 = Blondie = Dagwood Bumstead (Blondie)
7. 532-6643 = Jeannie = Major Anthony Nelson (I Dream of Jeannie)
8. 732-2737 = Pebbles = Bamm Bamm (The Flintstones-- yes, they eventually got married, several spin-offs later)

Cryptogram Answers:

Easy:

If Noah had been truly wise,
He would have swatted those two flies.
H. Castle

Hard:

The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.
Dudley Moore

Résumé TV Trivia Answers:

1. Larry Hagman on "I Dream of Jeannie", "The Good Life" and "Dallas"
2. Jim Nabors on "The Andy Griffith Show", "Gomer Pyle, USMC" and "The Jim Nabors Hour"
3. Robert Conrad on "Hawaiian Eye", "Wild, Wild West" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep"
4. Ricky Schroder on "Silver Spoons", "Lonesome Dove" and "NYPD Blue"
5. Ted Knight on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "The Ted Knight Show" and "Too Close for Comfort"
6. Burt Reynolds on "Gunsmoke", "Dan August" and "Evening Shade"
7. Betty White on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "The Betty White Show" and "The Golden Girls"
8. Robert Urich on "Vega$", "Spenser: For Hire" and "Love Boat: the Next Wave"
9. William Daniels on "Captain Nice", "St. Elsewhere" and "Boy Meets World"
10. Dennis Weaver on "Gunsmoke", "McCloud" and "Emerald Point NAS"