November 2001

Mid-Mensan

The Newsletter of Mid-Hudson Mensa

"Heap high the board with plenteous cheer, and gather to the feast,

And toast the sturdy Pilgrim band whose courage never ceased."

Alice W. Brotherton, The First Thanksgiving Day

Mid-Mensan Volume XVII, No. 9

Ron McMurdy, Publisher

MID-MENSAN (ISSN 1052-1046) is published monthly except February and August (10 issues per year) at 9 Miller Rd., Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. Subscription is $3.50 per year for current members of Mid-Hudson Mensa, and is included as part of their annual membership dues ($49.00).

Subscription fee for non-members of Mid-Hudson Mensa is $6.00 per year. Periodical rate paid at Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.

Postmaster: Send address changes to American Mensa Ltd., 1229 Corporate Dr. West, Arlington, TX 76006-6103.

MID-MENSAN is the official publication of Mid-Hudson Mensa, group 124. Mensa is an international society in which the sole requirement for membership is a score at or above the 98^th percentile on any of a number of standard IQ tests. Mensa is a not-for-profit organization whose main purpose is to serve as a means of communication and assembly for its members. Inquiries should be directed to American Mensa, Ltd., 1229 Corporate Dr. West, Arlington, TX 76006-6103. Telephone: (817) 607-0060, or e-mail to AmericanMensa@mensa.org.

The opinions expressed in MID-MENSAN are those of the individual authors and are in no way intended to express the opinions of local or national Mensa, which has no opinion. Other Mensa publications may reprint any portion of this newsletter which is not individually copyrighted as long as credit is given to the author or artist and to MID-MENSAN.

The deadline for contributions for each issue is the 15^th of the previous month. Anything not received by then will be held for consideration in the following issue. Contributions must be signed by the author or artist but may be published using a pen name or anonymously.

In This Issue

From the President's Doghouse 3

From Under the Marmot 4

Amid-Hudson Mensans 5

November MG Speaker 6

Pun of the Month 7

Mensa Mind Games Bid? 7

Snappy Science Snippets 8

Upcoming RGs 9

Dear Miss Mensa 10

AINY14 Treasurer's Report 11

November Calendar 12

Program Notes 14

Still Wanted 14

Paws For Reflection 15

What's Up? 16

Cryptograms 17

PotPourri 18

TV Trivia 19

Music Trivia 19

November Trivia 20

Top 5 List 21

Cryptogram Answers 22

TV Trivia Answers 22

Music Trivia Answers 22

Contact Information 23

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From the President's Doghouse

Jim Jelacic with Dixie

Out of all the big holidays, Thanksgiving stands apart. Christmas is a festival of good feeling and cheer keynoted by outwardly embracing your fellow man and well-wishing to all. Independence Day is celebrated with public exhibitions of grand parades and spectacular fireworks displays. Thanksgiving is more of a private, reserved holiday than the others, spent with family and close friends. It's a personal holiday, a time to reflect, a day to give thanks for the blessings and good fortunes that happen to the quintessence of your life.

What do Mensans have to be thankful for? Other than not having to explain an obscure reference in a clever pun or the absence of guilt when gorging on chocolate, one would think there wasn't anything worth mentioning. Fortunately, this chapter has been blessed with many reasons to give thanks:

Thanks to the Editors, Publishers and Columnists who have make our newsletter, Mid-Mensan, a nationally recognized award-winning newsletter.

Thanks to Jean Hicks and Betsy Burke, who have organized the MERF Scholarship Essay Contest for our area, and the judges who have taken time out of their lives to read the dozens of essays each year.

Thanks to the Chairpersons, Assistants and myriad of workers that make our annual Regional Gathering, Autumn in New York, a successful and sought- after event year after year.

Thanks to Bibi Sandstrom who, for years, wore three hats at once (Publicity Officer, Membership Officer and Monthly Meeting Coordinator) and accomplished her duties with grace, professionalism and enthusiasm.

Thanks to Ronnie Brown for ably serving as our S.I.G.H.T. Coordinator. Ronnie has been providing this service for our chapter for years.

Thanks to Bill Hughes for being our resident Ombudsman and thanks to all for not having any problems so monumental that would require his Solomonly wisdom.

Thanks to the Proctors who test candidates to join Mensa. They have the responsibility of representing Mensa, of being Mensa as the first real live Mensan the candidate meets.

As you can see, we have many things to be thankful for. And all of them are people. The people, named and unnamed, members and non-members, who work in the background and under the radar of notoriety to keep the chapter running smoothly, efficiently and seemingly effortlessly. The people who give a most valuable gift they can offer to us -- the gift of their time. For this we are certainly thankful.

Editor

Bill Zigo

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My column this month has been as difficult to write as it was last month. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to stand on my virtual soapbox and vent. But in general, I don't believe in imposing my opinion on others when it isn't solicited, and I would certainly like to expect that of others. It doesn't always work that way though, does it? I wish more people could agree to disagree.

I did receive a very nice e-mail from Julie (Olson) Boone, the editor of the Mensa Bulletin. You may recall that the October Bulletin had articles by or from Mensans affected by the 9/11 disaster. Julie hopes to contact Sam Sharmat, formerly of our chapter, whose e-mail to me was included as a letter in the October Mid-Mensan.

And now, let me bring you up to date on the handoff of the marmot.

Angela Tremain has been coming on board over the past few months. She's already working with copies of past Mid-Mensans to get a feel for the newsletter. Angela has some things in mind too, some new columns and some changes. I won't go into details here -- that would take away some of her fun -- but I will tell you that I have agreed to resurrect my "Are You Game?" column, and I will resurrect the Ethnic Eatery Expedition event.

Don't Forget the Volunteers

Thanks to this month's proofers: Alan Hauck, Jim Jelacic, Angela Tremain and Merrill Loechner. Thanks also to last month's FSM crew: Alan Hauck, Joanne Schultz and Dave Kochler, and of course our publisher, Ron McMurdy.

Merrill Loechner

and Bill Zigo

Happy November birthday to the following Mensans:

11/4 - Cathy Cooper, June Smith

11/6 - Eugene Primoff, Ollie Simpson

11/8 - Don Byron

11/21 - "Veep" Rod Cowan

11/29 - Edward McLaughlin

If you have a November birthday and you're not on the above list, it's because your birthday is listed as "withheld" on our monthly roster. If you would like to change that, please contact the National Office, either at your convenience or when you next renew.

Members with continuous membership since November of a past year include:

2000 - Don Byron, Robert McAndrew

1998 - Susan Russell, Christopher Wheeler

1993 - Departing member Daniel Cockerham

1989 - Jeffrey Schoonmaker

1987 - Susan Olah

1984 - Dan Burke

1980 - William Oliver

1979 - Susan Gruber

1978 - RVC Betsy Burke (no relation to Dan)

1964 - Ronnie Brown

Welcome to new -- and related -- members George and Keith Jordy of Hopewell Junction. Welcome in to Tim Tate, formerly of Westwood, NJ, now living in Warwick. Farewell to Daniel Cockerham, who left West Point and moved to Lansing, Kansas.

Mid-Hudson Mention

Demetri Kolokotronis, who provides a regular column at emazing.com on tools, reports that he now has an "even more regular" column, going from five columns per week to seven. Demetri's column, which can be found at www.emazing.com/tool.htm, covers "construction tools, mechanics' tools, garden tools, kitchen tools, bicycle tools, all kinds of tools."

Demetri also has emazing.com's quote of the day on 11/11.

Ronnie Brown was one of over two dozen artists with materials on exhibition at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon during October. The Members' Art Exhibition took place between October 6^th and October 28^th.

Michelle Wojtaszek is on the cover of a magazine this month, Tattoo Savage, on the body piercing supplement. Michelle also says, "By the way, on the cover ,my Mensa medallion is VERY VISIBLE (heh heh)."

Casimer Decusatis has been very busy recently. He has written an article for Dr. Dobbs Journal on IBM's role in disaster recovery for companies affected by this disaster, as well as the response from other companies in the industry. You can find this online at www.ddj.com. Casimer also had an article in Analog magazine during September called "When light speed isn't fast enough; creating superluminal supercomputers." This article describes recent experiments which show that an optical pulse can travel faster than the speed of light under certain conditions and what the implications might be if this research is more fully developed.

November Monthly Gathering Speaker Bibi Sandstrom

A COLLECTION OF BAD SCIENCE!

Last November, speaker Linda Zimmermann told us of local ghost stories she had collected over the years. This November, Linda will share with us the tales of "Bad Science" that she has been collecting for quite a while, and which she has shared with groups as diverse as the Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association and Mensans at the 2000 Annual Gathering.

Linda has been a research scientist and writer, and this year has added a science fiction novel to the growing collection of books she's published.

"Collect" yourself down to the Marlboro Library on Friday, November 9^th at 7pm for some entertainingly Bad Science! And thanks to member Tom Rankin,. who will be providing food and drink this month!

From Your

Punster,

Jim Jelacic

This one was found in Sally Hemmings Memorial Newsletter, the newsletter of Thomas Jefferson Mensa, Didi Pancake, Editor.

Three French legionnaires were crossing the desert. One looked up and saw a mirage and said, "By Gar!"

The second looked up and saw the mirage and said, "By Gar!"

The third looked up and said, "Gee, a two gar mirage."

Mensa Mind Games 2003 Bid, Anyone? Bill Zigo

Mid-Hudson Mensa is considering submitting a bid to host the 2003 Mensa Mind Games. Traditionally, the event is held sometime between April and mid-May of a given year, but this is not an absolute. Mensa Mind Games is similar to a Regional Gathering, except the focus of the entire event is a weekend of game playtesting at a local hotel.

Mind Games averages between 135 to 160+ participants. I believe that with a significant number of large chapters near us, we could get a good turnout. Because Mensans from all over the US attend Mind Games, the event would need to be in a hotel near a major airport. For this reason, we are looking into hotels in the Newburgh area, near Stewart International Airport.

In order to be considered for hosting the event, a bid has to be submitted by Thanksgiving. The bid must demonstrate our ability to host a gathering, demonstrate an interest in game-playing, specify committees by breakdown and membership, a projected date, and projected accommodations.

I have already contacted several chapter members by e-mail, and the feedback has been 100% in support of a bid. If you would like to add your name to the list of people who would be interested in helping, please contact me. Include your areas of interest and what committees you would be willing to serve (e.g., registration, hospitality, publicity, judging, helping run the games room, etc.).

Please contact me either by mail (194 Roosevelt Rd., Hyde Park, NY 12538-2300, by phone (845) 229-8746, or by e-mail to mr.marmot@worldnet.att.net.

Andi

Weiss

Bartczak, PhD.

Propinquity: Study of two regions on chromosome 10 that are inverted in many radiation-induced thyroid tumors have shown that in 35% of normal thyroid cells, the two genes are physically close to each other in the interphase period of the cell cycle. In many cancers the same chromosome changes are seen repeatedly (unique to each cancer) and therefore are used to identify the cancer. This suggests that remote sequences on chromosomes sometimes need to be near each other in actively dividing cells. However, gene rearrangements that lead to physically linking segments of genes next to each other that are not normally in the same operating area of a chromosome can lead to abnormal switching on or off of genes or to hybrid genes that make abnormal proteins that can cause cancer. It turns out that while most DNA is confined (the traditional view), some of it is spun out into loops. Some loops are attached to the nuclear membrane near pores, and others are anchored to the matrix within the nucleus where "factories" controlling cellular processes are located. The regions between the chromosome sections form an interconnected network of channels through the nucleus. Science, Vol. 290 (10/6/00), p. 62

War Illness: Gulf War Soldiers were exposed to many possible toxic agents: nerve gas from an Iraqi ammunition depot that was blown up, PB pills, depleted uranium used in antitank ammunition, pesticides used against insects, anthrax and botulism vaccines, local infectious agents, and smoke from burning oil wells. Unfortunately there is little information on the toxicity of most of these agents or of exposures of individual soldiers. The Veterans' mortality rate appears unchanged, and their children don't have an increased rate of birth defects. However, the veterans report more medical problems than peers who stayed home. Gulf War vets report the same symptoms as seen in diseases such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia at a rate higher than expected. Help may be had from frequent light exercise and cognitive-behavioral therapy, where patients learn to minimize the impact of the illness on their lives.

Some researchers believe that postwar illnesses have everything to do with war itself. After almost every major armed conflict in recent history, formerly healthy soldiers have come home sick. After the Civil War: "irritable heart;" World War I: "effort syndrome" or "shell shock;" Vietnam War: "post-traumatic stress disorder" and "Agent Orange syndrome." Symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, sleep disturbances and memory and concentration problems were common to each syndrome.

Very traumatic events such as the 1992 plane crash into a 10-story apartment building in Amsterdam (the plane carried depleted uranium and a chemical precursor to a nerve gas) caused rescue workers, neighborhood residents and others to complain about a similar array of symptoms. Just combine terrible events, unknown exposures and a large enough population: psychological stress plus bodily discomfort can produce chronic ill health. Science, Vol. 291 (2/2/01), p. 812

Upcoming RGs

The New England Pilgrimage - November 30 - December 2, 2001, at the Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, MA. Wendy Birchmire, 70 Oak Hill Road, Needham, MA 02492, (781) 444-8213, wab@birchmire.com

Winter Solstice - December 14-16, at the Eden Resort Inn and Conference Center, in Lancaster, PA, tel. (717) 569-6444, rooms $84, guaranteed through 11/16. Registration $60 to 12/7, $65 thereafter. Contact Val Weiner, 39 Kensington Square, Mechanicsburg, PA, 17050, (717) 691-6654, valerie@ezonline.com.

Snowball XXVIII - March 15-17 - at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Piscataway, NJ (same place as last year). Registration is only $35 through 9/15, $40 through 11/15, $45 through 1/15/02, $50 to 3/5 and $55 thereafter. Contact Andrea Gallini Garnieri, 632 Salem Avenue, Apartment 102, Elizabeth, NJ 07208, or by e-mail at andreabgg@aol.com.

Mensa Mind Games 2002 - April 19-21, at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center on Lakeland Avenue in North Brooklyn Park, MN. Registration is currently $50, hotel rooms (800) 343-1737 $49 for a single. The registration check should be made out to Minnesota Mensa and mailed to Mind Games Registrar, Judy Hogan, 58^th Ave N #260, Brooklyn Center, MN 55429, Tel. (763) 533-6755, or e-mail to mensajudy@aol.com.

About the New England Pilgrimage - I've received some questions regarding their theme, "An RG To Die For." The following is an excerpt from an e-mail I received from Lisa Maxwell, RG Chair:

"This year's theme, 'An RG To Die For,' was selected and planned many months ago. With recent events still very much in our thoughts, the direction of this theme will be geared toward things that we all want very much, as in 'That diamond necklace/Porsche/chocolate mousse (insert your favorite here) is to die for.' Greed, lust and all the other related sins are up for grabs."

Dear Miss Mensa

© 2001, Barbara Neumann

This month, MM promises a low-cholesterol, anthrax-free column!

Update: With the September 11^th events, MM finds that the "need for information" is now greater than it was before. One must check the radio, TV, and Internet several times a day, to find out the "latest." What's printed in today's newspaper is "so five minutes ago" compared to the astonishing rate at which news events are happening. MM expresses sincere condolences to all who lost those in the events. She finds, for herself and co-workers, that it helps to do practical things, like food and sock donations, charitable contributions, and even working on the quilt effort.

What was Miss Mensa doing on 9/11? Well, she was at her auto dealership, getting the steering checked. The mechanics and service advisors cannot understand why her mileage is so low. It's because she can't drive her car farther than 50 miles' towing distance from any dealership. She now has a new "steering rack," not knowing she ever had one in the past, let alone that it could be "cracked and leaking." During repairs over the last several weeks, MM has become a pack mule, carrying in her one tote bag her new hand-held TV set, the size of a Palm Pilot ® (courtesy of eating 80 frozen Healthy Choice ® dinners), as well as her cell phone and portable radio with headphones. One must keep up with the news. In her other tote bag, she carries 10 pounds of grocery coupons, courtesy of Editor Bill, which she intends to share with fellow coupon-clipper Bibi Sandstrom at the next convenient opportunity.

Miss Mensa has signed up for a software test class taught by member Barbara Rankin and interned by Editor Bill. Bill has provided a programming problem as part of the class materials.

Mensa IQ test: You know, MM used to be quite sharp in her day and as a math major easily qualified for Mensa. She recently thought that she would try out the online "Mensa workout" which can be found on the Mensa web page, at www.mensa.org. The test consists of 30 questions, to be selftimed for 30 minutes. As an example, question number 1, for those of you who want to study: 1. Sally likes 225 but not 224; she likes 900 but not 800; she likes 144 but not 145. (Editor Bill asked: Why does Sally have a fixation on numbers?) Which does she like: 1600 or 1700? MM must confess that she is going through the test at the rapid rate of ONE QUESTION PER DAY. She lies on the couch in the evening and stares at a question until somehow the answer comes into her mind.

Another example: 4. Which of the following proverbs is closest in meaning to the saying, "Birds of a feather flock together?" She believes it is "A man is known by the company he keeps," not, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Well, now that you all have some answers ahead of time, try out the Mensa workout. Miss Mensa does not plan to press the Submit button on the web page to find out her exact test score till she has a chance to "work the problems." She was relieved to learn when a new Mensa member that once you qualify for membership, there is no "retest."

Math skills: MM's young relatives recently qualified for an advanced honors program in math. They were stumped by this math problem:

2 (x - 9) = 3 (x - 6)

To solve this, 2x - 18 = 3x - 18

2x = 3x

x = 3/2 x

Is this problem impossible? Is there an error in the math textbook? Does x =

0? The solution is left as an exercise to the reader.

Autumn In New York 14 - Final Treasurer's Report Bill Zigo

Income:

Registration $4,014.00

Hospitality Food/Soda buy-back $5.00

Total Income: $4,019.00

Expenses:

Ashokan Field Campus $3,360.85

Entertainment $200.00

Hospitality, Games, Phone Calls $346.81

Total Expenses: $3,907.66

Net Profit: $111.34

November Calendar <>

If an event looks questionable because of the weather or a marmot carving your turkey, call the calendar editor or event contact for the latest information.

November at a glance