| Palm-Mensa | Newsletter | February, 2001 |
Palm-Mensa©
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Palm Beach County Mensa
Newsletter for
February, 2001
Last updated Tuesday, January 30th, 2001 |

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Contents
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RVC Update
Karen Lary
Today
I attended a meeting at Walt Disney World. One of the high-level
managers met with us to discuss the stuff high-level managers generally
discuss. One of the topics was about how we need to do a better job of
identifying what is really important to our users, as opposed to what
we see as important.
OK - here's
why this is relevant. I was thinking about what I wanted to say to you,
the members of Mensa's 10th region, and it occurred to me that we have
the same problem in Mensa that most large companies have. The local
group members don't think the AMC is interested enough in their
concerns - that we just don't get what is really important at the local
level. Well, I care, and I want to hear from you. I know some of the
things those of you who are officers in the local groups face every day
-- I've been there. We have an amazingly diverse region, and I'd like
to get a feel for the issues that concern each of the local groups in
Florida.
I will be
contacting the local group officers to arrange a time and place that I
can visit with each group in the next few months. I want to hear
anything and everything that is on your minds concerning Mensa - the
good stuff, as well as those things you feel we could be doing better.
I will do what I can to help. Although I am new to the AMC, I am not
shy about speaking up at meetings, so if you have something you would
like me to pass along, let me know.
I'd like to
thank every one of you who have been serving as an officer or
newsletter editor in your local group. You are the ones who keep Mensa
alive - keep up the good work. If you are coming into a new position
with your group, please let me know if I can do anything to help get
you going.
If you are
not currently involved in your local group, please remember that the
words we most want to hear from members are, "what can I do to help?"
We really need more people to come forward so that no one will suffer
burnout. My dearest friends are the ones I've made in the past 10 years
serving as a local group officer, editing a newsletter, or
participating in an RG. If you give to Mensa, I guarantee it will give
back!
I've heard from quite a few of you about National Testing Day. Congratulations on your success!
By the time
you read this we will have enjoyed another Heart of Florida regional
gathering, this year in Deland. In case you didn't make it -- I'll let
you know how it went. |
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Notes From the Underground
LocSec - Barry Karas
MOVIE NIGHT. Linda Madison
will host our first Movie Night on February 24th at 7:30 P.M. Check the
calendar for details and note that reservations are limited to eight.
TIME AND AGAIN. No, it's
not a TV show although it is grounded in reality. It's time for our
group elections again. (Has it been almost two years since I've been in
office? Well I guess that old adage holds: "Time flies when you're
having fun.") The open offices are: Local Secretary; Editor; Program
Director; and Treasurer. There are no requirements other than
desire...except that the Editor should have a working knowledge of word
processing, web design and management. Of course, the prior officers
will be readily available to give advice and guidance. Send in the
nomination form that will be printed in the February issue of the
newsletter if you wish to run. I can *almost* guarantee that there will
not be any controversy. All you have to do is to mark your ballot -
which will be designed so it won't be confusing <g> - and mail it
to a member of the Election Committee by April 20, 2001. The only
potential "tricky" part: PLEASE SIGN THE OUTSIDE OF THE ENVELOPE.
ELECTION COMMITTEE. These
members volunteered to be on the committee: AMY SHAUGHNESSY (phone -
561-659-3620) and DON SPERO (phone - 561-627-4720; e-mail - dspero@adelphia.net). We are very appreciative that these members chose to help.
CULTURE QUEST XII (CQ XII).
The Super Bowl has its Roman numerals and so do we. This year the Team
Captain is ED GROSS of Boca Raton (e-mail: MISTERED3600@cs.com).
CQ is on Sunday, April 29th. That's a good omen 'cause it's my
birthday. Please contact Ed if you want to be on the team. This is a
fun time as far as I'm concerned - many of the questions are so
ridiculously hard that it's funny.
A CHALLENGE. The good folks
of Broward Mensa have challenged us to a trivia (not trivial) contest.
They said they'd whip us, are we going to let them get away with it?
We've arranged for a match on Tuesday, February 13th. It's in their
territory, but they're hosting, so we'll be the visitors. Contact me (bkaras@bigfoot.com
or 561-964-4360) if you want to join in. We can coordinate our effort
and all go together (and perhaps we'll have two vehicles and perform a
pincer maneuver). No firearms please...but chads of all types are
allowed. |
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Member News and Updates
Glen Moulder
At
the end of December, 2000, Palm Beach County Mensa had 290 members,
increasing the total by 12 members since November. American Mensa, Ltd.
reported membership at 45,687 up by 774 from the previous month. We
welcome new members Lavi Ramstein, Angela Zanin, Stanley Needelman,
Eric Ackerman and Ivan DeQuesada. We also welcome Abby Knott, who
recently moved into our area, and Blossom Meyerson, Ronald Kessler and
Peter Pinter, who are reinstating.
Please
note: If you don't see your birthday shown in this section when it
should appear, you probably indicated to the national office that this
information should be withheld. If so, and you do want it to appear,
simply contact the national office and change your information
withholding preferences. |
Happy February MensAnniversary (year and persons) to:
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38! Ellen Jaffe
30 Dr. Charles Schulman
23 Robert Dolson
21 Ruth Dumas, Shirley Smuckler and Susan Yeutter
18 John Conway
17 George Kierspe
15 Henry Lenga
14 Diane Carper
10 Dr. Morton Chalef and Donald Walker
09 David Hoshaw and James Pike
07 Alan Damsky and Vickie Mathews
04 Keith Penska, Donald Spero and Arthur Vanmoor
03 Arthur Matluck and David Saxon
02 Susan Baker and David Osofsky
01 Ann Kasper and Richard Koppe |
Happy February Birthday (day and persons) to:
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2nd Dr. Charles Schulman
6th Sean Zullo
8th Steven Collins and Frank McNally
14th Shirley Smuckler
15th Benjamin Field and Peter Pinter
21st Deena Nathan-Strauss
22nd George McEvoy
25th Ralph Hutchins
27th Linda Madison and Michael Purcell |

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PBCM Elections
Glen Moulder
According
to our By-Laws (Article IV appears below), it's time for our group
elections. The process is simple -- nominations are submitted to the
Elections Committee and then votes are sent to the committee from the
ballot mailer that will be sent to all members. The committee is
responsible for collecting and tallying the responses and resolving any
questions that arise during the election. The elected offices are Local
Secretary, Editor Program Director and Treasurer. Nominations must be
for and from members who are currently in good standing with American
Mensa, Ltd. and must also be members of PBCM. Nominations must be
received by the committee by March 1st, 2001. Ballots must be signed on
the outside of the envelope and must be received by the committee by
April 20th, 2001. Any questions or comments should be addressed to the
members of the committee. You may contact them at:
Ms. Amy E.
Shaughnessy, Chairperson, 44 Coconut Row, #B, Palm Beach, FL 33480-4069
(phone 659.3620) or Donald Spero, Member, 1618 Twelve Oaks Way, #201,
North Palm Beach, FL 33408-3266
(phone 627-4720)
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Palm Beach County Mensa By-Laws (excerpted).
ARTICLE IV. ELECTIONS:
1. By majority vote the [Executive Board] EB shall choose an Election
Committee (hereafter EC) of two to four members who must be members in
good standing but not members of the EB, who shall serve for the
forthcoming election only, and who may not be candidates for election.
The EC shall be responsible for receiving and tallying the ballots and
certifying the results.
2. The February issue of the newsletter shall announce the forthcoming
election for officers to serve for two years and shall announce the
name and address of the members of the EC. It shall announce that
nominations must be received by the EC by March 1 and must be signed by
the person making the nomination who must be a member of PBCM in good
standing to be valid. Persons may not be nominated unless they have
agreed to serve.
3. The EC shall announce the names of persons nominated in the April
issue of the newsletter. Ballots shall be printed in the newsletter or
in a separate mailing and sent to all local members indicating that
only members in good standing may vote, that the envelope containing
the ballot must be signed to be valid, and that ballots must be in the
hands of the EC by April 20. For offices for which there is only one
valid nomination, the EC shall declare the nominee elected.
4. The EC may decide to permit candidates to provide the newsletter
with a set amount of campaign material. If so, each candidate who
chooses to avail himself of this right shall have an equal word limit.
The newsletter shall remain completely impartial.
5. The EC shall inform the candidates of the time and place of the
ballot count and invite them to be present in person or by proxy for
verification. The ballots shall be counted no later than April 30. A
plurality of valid votes cast for each office shall constitute
election. If a person is elected to more than one office, his vote for
the lower office in terms of succession shall be invalidated and the
next highest candidate shall be deemed elected to that office. Order of
succession for purposes of elections shall be: Local Secretary, Program
Director, Editor, Treasurer.
6. Challenges to the election must be submitted in writing to the
existing EB by June 1 following the election. Any actions taken by the
EB in the meantime will not be affected by the outcome of any such
challenge. |
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2001 PALM BEACH COUNTY ELECTION
ACCEPTANCE OF NOMINATION
In accordance with Palm Beach County Mensa Bylaws Article IV, Section (2),
I, _______________________________________________________
(Type or print your name)
accept the nomination to run for (check all applicable):
Local Secretary
Program Director
Newsletter Editor
Treasurer
and pledge to serve if elected.
Signature: ________________________________________
Membership number: ______________________________
Date: ______________________________
This form must be sent by postal mail to Ms. Amy E. Shaughnessy, Chairperson, 44 Coconut Row, #B, Palm Beach, FL 33480-4069. |
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Treasurer's Report - July 1st through December 31st, 2000
John Swick |
|
Description |
Sub |
Amt |
Subtotal |
Total |
|
Beginning bank balance JUL 1, 2000 |
|
|
$1,028.46 |
|
|
USPS bulk mail balance |
|
|
491.31 |
|
|
ASSETS TOTAL |
|
|
|
$1,519.77 |
|
Income: |
|
|
|
|
|
Dues returned for local use |
JUL |
165.95 |
|
|
|
|
AUG |
198.84 |
|
|
|
|
SEP |
174.83 |
|
|
|
|
OCT |
265.15 |
|
|
|
|
NOV |
186.73 |
|
|
|
|
DEC |
187.48 |
$1,178.98 |
|
|
Revenue from tests |
|
|
$287.50 |
|
|
Newsletter subscriptions and ads |
|
|
$0 |
|
|
INCOME TOTAL |
|
|
|
+$1,466.48 |
|
ASSETS SUBTOTAL (Assets+Income): |
|
|
|
$2,986.25 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
Cost of printing newsletter |
JUL |
36.09 |
|
|
|
|
AUG |
46.22 |
|
|
|
|
SEP |
41.98 |
|
|
|
|
OCT |
46.53 |
|
|
|
|
NOV |
47.44 |
|
|
|
|
DEC |
44.52 |
$262.78 |
|
|
Other postage and supplies |
|
|
$80.41 |
|
|
Other expenses (holiday party) |
|
|
$194.45 |
|
|
USPS bulk mail permit |
|
|
$100.00 |
|
|
USPS bulk mail account |
|
|
400.00 |
|
|
TOTAL EXPENSES: |
|
|
|
-$1,037.64 |
|
Bank balance December 31, 2000 |
|
|
|
$1,457.30 |
|
2003-07-26-SAT drt Version 2.00. Redesign at new address
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2003-07-26-SAT drt Version 2.00. Redesign at new address
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2003-07-26-SAT drt Version 2.00. Redesign at new address
|
|
USPS bulk mail acct balance, JUL |
|
|
491.31 |
|
|
Deposits |
|
|
400.00 |
$891.31 |
|
Postage mailing newsletter |
JUL |
70.69 |
|
|
|
|
AUG |
72.92 |
|
|
|
|
SEP |
63.07 |
|
|
|
|
OCT |
65.88 |
|
|
|
|
NOV |
74.43 |
|
|
|
|
DEC |
74.01 |
|
-$421.00 |
|
USPS bulk mail acct balance, DEC 31 |
|
|
|
$470.31 |
|
|
|
|
|
======== |
|
TOTAL ASSETS |
|
|
|
$1,927.61 |
January Events Review
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NORTH COUNTY - Bill Whitesell
The January
North County Gathering was a massage party held at Donna Bognar's.
Those attending were Donna and David Bognar, Bobbie & Julius
Kadlecz, Lil & Bob Bienenstein, Jody McGee, Laura Bulawski and me. |
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SOUTH COUNTY
This event has been temporarily suspended. |
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Chesterfield's Fields Another First Friday - Elissa Rudolph
Our group
again held forth in the large function room at Chesterfield's in Delray
Beach. This area seems to be an almost ideal arrangement because the
setup allows people to move around, play musical chairs, and, in
general, let the conversation flow. Our servers Angela and (sorry,
forget the other one's name) worked hard for our group and assistant
manager Jenna stopped by a couple times to see that everything was in
order. Sounds like they like us, they really like us!! Helping the
evening roll along were Paul and Pat Couture, Stan and Ros Needelman,
Sharron Ronco, Barry Karas, Merrell and Jerry Fortner, Ann Bachman,
Ryan Leonard, Carol Seuling, Faith Bantay, Jim Parsons, Glen Moulder,
Pamela Berteau, Bob Dolson, and Elissa Rudolph. Hope to see you at the
next First Friday!! |
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Perkophiles - Glen Moulder
In January,
our Perkophiles on the 13th was huge! I made a mistake on the calendar
and had it advertised for the 16th, but that didn't stop people from
finding out the correct date anyway and showing up for the fun! Pam and
I got there early and got the big table again. By five after nine
Elissa Rudolph, Bob Dolson, Richard and Alexandra Linett, their friend
Bob Ashmore, David and Michaele Saxon, Pat and Paul Couture and Paul's
cousin Rita had shoved a couple of more tables together and queued up
for coffee and bagel goodies.
There was
still a lot of outrage over that travesty of a presidential election
and we talked about the poor performance of social workers in
protecting children at risk. There was discussion about education,
careers, hobbies, the cloning of animals and the monkey with the
jellyfish DNA (does it have tentacles?). Come on out and join us next
month and maybe we can take over the whole front corner or the outside
tables. |
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Breakfast at TooJays - Glen Moulder
Richard
Linett hosted a breakfast that he thought might be a small, intimate
affair. Instead, ten people in all showed up and we occupied the whole
front corner by the window. The food flew and the conversation touched
on many different subjects. We all managed to get the correct food
orders and then some of us went to an art show at the shopping mall in
Tequesta. Great fun! Come on out to Rich's next breakfast on the
outdoor deck at the Crab House on February 3rd (it's in the calendar).
Attending were: Richard and Alexandra Linett, Bob and Ann Abbott, Pat
and Paul Couture, Glen Moulder and Pam Berteau and Bob and Peg Peyton. |
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MensAdventure Dinner at Saigon-Tokyo - Barry Karas
The January
MensAdenture was held at Saigon-Tokyo in Greenacres. Attending were
SHARRON RONCO, JOHN SWICK, RYAN LEONARD, LINDA MADISON, FAY HARRINGTON,
CAROLE SEULING, ALLYCIN WINCHESTER, TOM WINCHESTER, PAM BERTEAU, GLEN
MOULDER, ELISSA RUDOLPH, BOB DOLSON, and last, but not least (plus
they're from my part of the country) PAT and PAUL COUTURE. Most people
had Vietnamese food. General consensus: the food was quite good, but
the service was lacking (maybe because the restaurant personnel were
not used to serving a large party?). In any event, the CAMARADERIE WAS
EXCELLENT.
During
the dinner I was reminded of one of the main reasons why I joined Mensa
- to be with people who could understand me (NO, not in that way!). I
was talking with a person and made reference to a non-obscure item that
probably wouldn't be recognized by most people. That person "got it"
naturally, and I only noted this a few minutes later. |
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Not Quite Ready for Mensa! - Elissa Rudolph
The City of
West Palm Beach Library was not quite prepared for a Mensa testing
session last month. The Genealogical Society was holding their meeting
at exactly the same time we wanted to administer timed intelligence
tests. Apparently the person reserving the exact same square footage
thought it would work. While it might have been very informative to sit
in on their session instead of guiding nervous test-takers, we opted
for rearranging furniture in a quiet corner of the library. With the
help of Eileen the library assistant, Pat Couture of Boston and South
Florida Mensa chapters, and Deche Hamill (one of our own) from Port St.
Lucie, the tables and chairs were thoughtfully rearranged and ten
potential Mensans sat still for the tests. The ages of the test-takers
ranged from 14 to over 50, split in half gender-wise. Interesting to
note that of the ten, seven attended due to local advertising. They
either heard it on the radio (NPR or WXEL) or read about the test
session in a local newspaper. Shows that potential Mensans do not spend
all their time in front of a computer. They read! They actually read!
Wait 'til I tell Miss Dustinea Jacquette, our retired librarian lady
who is always exhorting us to visit our local bibliotecas and read! |
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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About Books
Dustinea Jacquette
This month's book selections cover a wide range of subjects from entertainment fiction to the fascinations of the natural world. |
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If someone promised you
that you would win $100 million in the lottery if only you would pick
the numbers they gave you...If you were poor, uneducated with a small
child to take care of....If you really had no hope of pulling yourself
out of an ever deepening rut....would you accept? Even if it meant
letting that person use most of your winnings to further their own
gain? Even if what would be left to you would be more than you could
spend in a lifetime? Even though deep in your soul you know it's wrong
to benefit from a fixed lottery? Such thoughts crowd the head of pretty
LuAnn Tyler, a poor but smart young mother whose boyfriend has abused
her for the last time. A strange, cross-dressing, manipulator with a
genius for selecting just the right kind of "winner," has made LuAnn an
offer from which she cannot walk away. In David Baldacci's latest tale,
"The Winner" (author of "Absolute Power"), readers find out LuAnn's
decision and how it affects her for the next decade of her life. A bit
improbable, but the story is one we've all considered-just what would
we do if we were guaranteed huge winnings, but with a Faustian price
tag? What would you do? |

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Here is a fascinating trip through the 20th
century with a fish long thought to be extinct. A huge fish, five to
six feet in length, with blue scales, extra fins that resemble limbs,
and a puppy-dog tail, the coelacanth (see-la-kanth) may be the linking
species that bridges the gap between ocean-going organisms and land
dwellers. Fossils of a coelacanth-like fish exist that are dated to 400
million years ago, but the animal was thought to have disappeared
during the age of the dinosaurs. And yet, in 1938, the curator of a
small South African museum, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer recognized the
strange-looking fish on a trawler's deck as something she had never
seen before. The story of how she involved J.L.B. Smith, a respected
biologist, in recognizing the ancient fish, preserving, studying, and
eventually providing for its conservation, fills "A Fish Caught in
Time: The Search for the Coelacanth" by Samantha Weinberg. Immensely
readable and informative, this book will fill you with encouragement
for the human and fish species. If this "dino-fish" can survive through
ice ages and land mass upheavals, maybe we can survive too. (Of course,
if this fish disappears while being "conserved" by human caretakers,
then we deserve to disappear too.) For more information on the
coelacanth, go to http://www.dinofish.com/ and order a T-shirt. I did. |

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Don't
bother with "Wild Minds: What Animals Really Think"-too negative &
condescending to other authors like Elizabeth Marshall Thomas who wrote
"the Hidden Life of Dogs."
But you may enjoy "Owls
Aren't Wise and Bats Aren't Blind: A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite
Fallacies About Wildlife" by Warner Shedd. With personal stories and
well-grounded scientific facts, Shedd tells us that porcupines cannot
throw their quills, bats are certainly not blind, and owls sometimes do
dumb things. He compares the lynx with the bobcat, polar bears with
their brown and black cousins, and weasels, ermines, mink, and ferrets.
Think moose are slow moving, kind of stupid animals? Au contraire! They
can out run you, and if you get caught between a cow and a calf you may
end up as a moose pie! Buffalo Bill would have been chagrined to learn
that his name should have been Bison Bill. Our native animal is not a
buffalo-buffaloes live in Asia and Africa. We know them as Cape buffalo
or water buffalo. Our American or Plains animal is a bison, whose Latin
name underscores the correctness of the name-he is a Bison bison bison.
The Canadian version is Bison bison athabaesca. The myth surrounding
beavers is that they gnaw trees the way they want them to fall. Again,
the author tells us that sometimes beavers end up under the trees they
fell-dead. Most of the time, they're just lucky. However, beavers are
tremendous engineers in the ways that they build their dams and lodges.
The author's personal encounters and comments sprinkle this book with
an authenticity that is extremely entertaining. Well worth your time! |

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That's all for now, my pretties! Visit your local library soon! |
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Vikings: the North Atlantic Saga
Carole (Petersen) Seuling
Sometime
in the 80's I went to New York's American Museum of Natural History for
a Viking exhibit. My memories of it are of treasure: rows, heaps, and
masses of gold and silver bowls, cups, rings, necklaces, bracelets,
reliquaries, anything bright and shiny that drew the eye of a rampaging
Norseman as he hacked his way through a monastery or habitation. This
exhibit exemplified what most people think of when they hear or see the
word "Vikings": bloodthirsty, savage men who spent their lives killing,
looting, and raping the less predatory areas of Europe from the end of
the 8th century well into the 14th. Even Joe Colombo, the
publicity-seeking mob boss who organized the Italian-American
Anti-Defamation League and was shortly thereafter assassinated, called
the publication of "The Vinland Map and the Tartar Relation" just
before Columbus Day in the 60's a poke in the eye for
Italian-Americans. What he really meant was that it was scandalous for
civilized Renaissance explorers to have been beaten to the New World by
ax-swinging marauders half a millennium earlier. (Though the Vinland
Map is currently in disrepute, there are still some scholars who
believe it is a true representation of Norse travels in the Atlantic
and Mediterranean.)
"Vikings:
the North Atlantic Saga" is a kinder, gentler exhibit. In choosing
items that would illustrate the spread of Vikings westward to Iceland,
Greenland, Helluland (Baffin Is.), Markland (Labrador), and Vinland
(Newfoundland), those who set up the exhibit had mostly homely, drab,
unremarkable, everyday items to work with. The few textiles are faded
to brownish gray, the wood items are dry and fragile, and stone
implements are worn. Yet these things are somehow more real and more
authentically human productions than all the golden treasure of the
earlier exhibit. They have been worn and used and even mended. A ringed
pin is dinged and a little bent, but it was found in
L'Anse-aux-Meadows, Newfoundland, among Iceland-style foundations. A
coin minted in Norway long before Columbus sailed turned up in Maine in
a Native American midden. The few treasures are of walrus ivory and
whalebone: three of the Lewis Chessmen with their dour faces and
medieval dress and a beautiful carved ironing board. The scaled-down
longboat of recent construction may not be old, but visitors can touch
it and run their hands along the overlapping planks that form a
beautiful curved bow.
This is an
intimate exhibit that reveals glimpses of the daily life of Viking
settlers who pushed farther and farther west on the Atlantic during the
period of warming that made Greenland more habitable than it is today.
Some settlements are still in place (Iceland), some succumbed to the
returning cold weather (Greenland), and some apparently lasted for one
or two seasons (Newfoundland), but they existed and are proof that the
Vikings were more than rapacious killers. This was gratifying to me,
since I am a descendant of Danes from Jutland, where my family
(according to church records) lived for at least 650 years. The odds of
a few of my ancestors being Vikings are pretty high. In the gift shop
adjacent to the exhibit (which is due to move on to its next site very
soon), I found CDs of lur music (those long, long horns that
sound strangely like didgeridoos) and inexpensive but historically
accurate Celtic-influenced silver pendants, and I bought one of each.
But there were no historically inaccurate horned helmets or toy axes or
two-handed broadswords. Vikings are becoming more and more politically
correct. (See www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/start.htm/ for an overview of the exhibit, where it will be, and more information on Viking explorations.) |
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
Valentine's Day in History
submitted by Barry Karas
Historians
claim that the first valentine was a poem sent in 1415 by Charles, Duke
of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at
the time. In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for
sending the first valentine's cards. Commercial valentines were
introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialized. The
town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around
February 14.
In ancient
Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of
the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess
of women and marriage. In ancient Rome, the lives of young boys and
young girls were strictly separate. However, during the Lupercalia
Festival, the boys would each pick a girl's name from a vase. The boys
then became partners, for the duration of the festival, with the girl
that they chose. During the festival, the pairs of children danced and
played together. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire
year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.
How did the custom of kissing start?
Over time,
the custom of kissing developed as a way for adults to express their
love and affection for one another. The roots of this form of affection
can be traced back to primitive times, when mothers fondled their
children, much as mothers do today.
Much later,
in the sixth century, society apparently accepted the custom of kissing
between adults as an expression of their affection. Not surprisingly,
France first accepted kissing in courtship, and in amore. There, figure
dancing was the rage, and each dance was sealed with a kiss.
The custom
of kissing swept from France through Europe to Russia, where Russian
nobility loved to ape the French. Eventually, the kiss was incorporated
into marriage ceremonies, and today lip-locks couples into sweet
matrimony.
The custom
of kissing today, as well as in ancient times, serves to show respect,
and to pay homage to another. For example, early Romans kissed each
other on the mouth or on the eyes to greet one another in a manner they
deemed to be a dignified. One Roman emperor even ranked a person's
importance by the body part he was allowed to kiss. He allowed
important nobles to kiss his lips, less important ones to kiss his
hands, and the least important ones to kiss his feet.
In Russia, the highest sign of recognition from the Crown meant a kiss from the Tsar himself. Today, natives of many African tribes pay homage to their Chief by kissing the ground over which he has walked. |
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AMC Office Candidates for 2001
Cher Burnham
The following is a list of candidates for AMC offices who have chosen
to run in the spring of 2001 through the Nominating Committee
(NomComm). If you, or any other member of Mensa, has information
regarding any of these candidates pertaining to their expected
performance in the office for which they are running, please send it
directly to me. I will then forward the information to the candidate
for response before circulating it to the NomComm and all other
interested parties.
|
|
OFFICER |
CANDIDATE(S) |
|
Chairman |
Bob Beatty
Tony Jackowski |
|
1st Vice Chairman |
Jean Becker
Linda Hathaway |
|
2nd Vice Chairman |
Russ Bakke
Bob Cox |
|
Secretary |
Dan Burg |
|
Treasurer |
Jim Werdell |
|
RVC 1 |
Betsy Burke |
|
RVC 2 |
Sallie Banko |
|
RVC 3 |
Wil Huff
Rick Magnus |
|
RVC 4 |
Stacey Kirsch
Cyndi Kuyper |
|
RVC 5 |
Ike Kullman
Oscar Ziegler |
|
RVC 6 |
Ray O'Connor
Dan Wilterding |
|
RVC 7 |
Steve Burnham
Marcia Lannan |
|
RVC 8 |
Scott Rainey |
|
RVC 9 |
Barbara Lytle |
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Advertisements
Glen Moulder
Wanted! We
are looking for someone who can offer relevant educational commentary
on a wide variety of subjects during normal daily after school
activities for our 2 boys, Mensa members, aged 6 and 8. We are not
looking for a 'tutor' in the classic sense of the word. Except on rare
occasions, we do not wish to have specific didactic sessions. However,
we would like for our children to learn science, literature, languages,
history, math, etc. both in school and during their recreational
activities. If you feel that you can assist us in accomplishing these
goals, please contact Eric at 561.775.1950. |
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Editor's ForuM
Glen Moulder
Do you know Hex? While reading the September, 2000 issue of
Scientific American, I came across an article by Ian Stewart about the
game of Hex. Although I don't care much for most games, his description
intrigued me. This two-person game, like Othello (sometimes called
Reversi) is easy to learn but hard to master. The board is constructed
in an 11 x 11 grid of hexagonal shapes like this.

Two
opposing sides of the board are black, the other two white (red and
blue are common also), the players each choose a color. The White-side
player has a supply of white chips, the other black. The object is to
connect your sides of the board with your chips of the same color. A
coin or die is tossed to determine which player moves first. He places
a chip of his preferred color on an unoccupied position, the next
player places his chip on any other unoccupied hex and the game
continues, alternating moves until one player is able to connect his
sides. The details of strategy are much too involved to go into here,
but this game is much harder than it looks! It has none of the boring
deep-level thinking of chess, does not depend on luck and is much more
involved than checkers. A typical game is shown below. I played white
against the computer and lost.

Hex
was developed in the early 1940's by Danish mathematician Piet Hein and
was first known as Polygon. Others later claimed to have invented it
independently also, including John Nash in 1948, when a graduate
student at Princeton. When I read about it, I began looking for both a
computer version and a board version. I'm still looking for the board
game, it's not available at any local toy or hobby store I've been in.
A very well-done computer version called Hexy by Vadim Anshelevich can
be found at http://home.earthlink.net/~vanshel/.
When you download it, you can play a limited number of games until you
register by e-mail, but Mr. Anshelevich does not charge for
registration. If you visit his site and contact him via e-mail, please
mention that I recommended his site to you. I intend to locate a board
version and bring it to the Games Night on the 16th. If you'd like to
play, let me know and we'll set up at a table. |
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Note: The
opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and DO
NOT reflect opinions of Palm Beach County Mensa, its officers, or of
American Mensa, Ltd., which holds NO opinions. |
© 2000-2007 Palm Beach County Mensa. The Mensa logo is a registered trademark of Mensa International Limited
and American Mensa Limited, all rights reserved. Mensa does not hold any opinion or have, or express, any political
or religious views.
|