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Palm-Mensa©
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Palm Beach County Mensa May, 2001
Most recently updated Sunday, April 29th, 2001 |
Farewell! (from your Editor) |
Contents
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News and Notices
It's elections time for Mensa again. The ballots for international and national officers are included in the latest issue of the Bulletin if you renewed your membership in time. There are no chads to deal with and no fervor associated with outrageous, irrelevant campaign statements as happened last November. This is an opportunity for you to personally participate in the leadership of your organization. Please take the time to read the issue and send in your ballot (I'm reading mine at lunch at work this week). In these elections, your vote directly affects the outcome. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Member Tom Winchester says "Finally the agony is over (at least until the Windows 2000 core upgrade test.) I passed the last exam for MCSE!" Congratulations, Tom, I look forward to talking with you about some of the strange ways of the eggheads from Redmond. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * One very enthusiastic young man took the Mensa Admission tests in early April. When asked how he came to decide to take the plunge, he said his mom and dad set it up and he was told to be ready. We hope he joins our group and brings his mom and dad. They sound like people who like to take charge! Next testing sessions will probably be in the fall. If you know of anyone interested in taking the Mensa Admission tests, please have them call or email any of the proctors listed in this newsletter. [from E. Rudolph] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Member
Laura Michaels is interested in getting a science fiction group going
in Palm Beach County. If any local members are interested in SF, they
can check * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I was speaking with one of our members recently about my plans to generate a Directory of local members. She mentioned that it might be even more useful if we could publish members' vocations and if each member was willing to serve as an information resource for other members, at either reduced cost if providing a professional service or for free if just giving limited advice. What do you think? Interested? If so, e-mail me, Glen at doojinsi@att.net and I'll bring it up at the next ExComm meeting. |
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Karen Lary Before I
get to the national stuff, I'd like to remind you one more time about
Busch Bash in Tampa May 25-28, 2001. There are very few rooms left, so
if you are thinking about going - reserve now! For information, you can
go to web site: http://www.sports-pac.com/home/mensa/bash.html or contact Dana Groulx, 5410 Bold Venture Place, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544; (813) 991-7868. |
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Notes From the Underground LocSec - Barry Karas GROWTH. Nationally, we now have almost 39,000 members (as of March 31st, 2001). TESTING. Due to legal ramifications (as opposed to illegal ones?), the Mensa test results will now be given as "pass-no pass." This may disappoint some test takers, who may expect actual scores, IQ equivalents, percentiles, etc. but it is a necessary step. NATIONAL TESTING DAY ("NTD"). This year, it's on Saturday, October 20th. I think it is always going to be during the third weekend in October from now on. PUBLICATIONS RECOGNITION PROGRAM ("PRP"). We were nominated for an award for Local Group Information. Since we won an award last year, could it be possible we'll win two years in a row? ELECTION. I hope ours will go smoothly. I just received the "Bulletin" today with the ballot. As an incentive for us to vote, our own Elissa Rudolph is running for Regional Vice Chairperson for Region 10 ("RVC-10"). Region 10 is a new region composed of chapters primarily in Florida. It was broken off from Region 5, the Southeast region, because it was so large and the RVC had trouble servicing such a large area. Elissa is extremely competent and energetic, just the person who we need as our primary interface with the national office and the American Mensa Committee. Please vote for her. |
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Glen Moulder At the end of March, PBCM membership rose to 316, increasing our total 4 over the previous month. American Mensa, Ltd. reported membership at 48,393, increasing the total membership by 966 from February. We welcome new members Leslie Kavchak, Cassandra Hodgdon and Karl Asch. Welcome back to reinstating members Sheldon Euler, Dr. Steven Solomon, Elizabeth Fletcher and Robert Clark. 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 May MensAnniversary (year and persons) to:
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37! Frank McNally 32 Arline Friedman and Elliot Linsky 24 Frank Palmer 23 Laura Bulawski 22 Mary Starita, Richard Starita and Craig Wallace 17 John Breazeale and Munson Dorais 15 James Parsons 12 Brian Jones 09 Sarah Fauer 08 Elizabeth Collins, Steven Collins and Leif Norrholm 06 Katherine Hughes 05 Bailey Godfrey 03 Brad Perron and Bruce White 01 David Baumgardner and Shawn Nigam |
Happy May Birthday (day and persons) to:
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1st Ronald Kessler 2nd Aaron Lieberman 4th Sheldon Glassberg 5th Edward Mackey 6th Kendrick Cooper 10th Milo Eischens and Michael Soutter 13th Dale Ruth 14th David Pelligrinelli 18th Richard Koppe 20th Elizabeth Kehres 21st Dr. Samuel Askinas and Mary Starita 23rd Donna Bognar 25th Juliann Cooper 26th Louis Priore and Ellen Rosenberg 27th Joseph Berlinger and Simon Mozley 28th James Mann |
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Upcoming Events Spotlight |
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There will be an Executive Committee meeting at Elissa's in Delray on May 5th. Our Regional Vice Chair, Karen Lary will be in attendance. If you're interested in how the group works and what we're planning for the future, come out and observe or join in. |
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First Friday at Chesterfield's - Elissa Rudolph A Facelift? Our First Friday dining location, Chesterfield's, has been renovated. By the time you read this, the name may have also changed to the Britannia. The British ambience is still there, although the Queen Mother's portrait has disappeared from the ladies loo. Our group for April's dining experience included Clint Gargir, Wendy Reicheach, Philip Kapp, Jim Powell, Barry Karas, Lya Korda, Merrell Fortner, Pat and Paul Couture, Elissa Rudolph, and Bob Dolson. We were seated at a square table, which helped the conversation to flow. We hope we can get the same kind of seating next time!! |
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Breakfast at the Crab House - Glen Moulder The April Crab House breakfast was the last one that will be hosted by Rich and Alex Linett for a while. They're heading back up north for the summer and we won't see them again 'til probably October or so. It was attended by Rich and Alex Linett, Glen Moulder, Pam Berteau, Bob Abbott, and Bob and Peg Peyton. This little get-together is one of the most pleasant events held by our group. Everyone is friendly and congenial, ideas are exchanged freely, and the conversation flows easily. We always end up spending about 2 1/2 hours, having breakfast and chatting. I'm going to continue Richard's event into May, but I'll be moving it from the first Saturday of the month to the second so that I don't have to get up so early after First Friday. Come on out and have breakfast and enjoy the beautiful view of the inlet with us. Check the calendar for details. Would someone else like to host for June? |
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[NO] MensAdventure! - Glen Moulder I made a mistake here, folks, and would like to apologize. Elissa had scheduled a dinner to follow the Culture Quest session on Sunday the 29th, but I overlooked it when I was assembling the newsletter. Humblest apologies to Elissa and to you all. |
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Perkophiles - Glen Moulder The April Perkophiles was small, but lively. Margaret McKenzie and daughter Gwen, David and Michaele Saxon, and Pam Berteau were later joined by Philip Kapp, who didn't identify us quickly because I was wearing an outer shirt over my Mensa shirt with the logo on it. I'll try not to do that again. Margaret wanted to talk about my March editorial that challenged other members to get involved with group activities. David talked about his work on Upbeat Senior magazine and Philip and I discovered that we are fellow computer programmers. Einstein's is sometimes noisy and crowded, but on this particular day, it was just fine. I'll be looking around for another location to move Perkophiles to sometime soon, but for now, the May event will still be held there. |
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NORTH COUNTY GATHERING - Bill Whitesell The April North County
Gathering was held at the home of Bobbie Kadlecz. Attending were Bobbie
and Julius Kadlecz, Rosemarie Elliot, Donna & David Bogner, Laura
Bulawski, Mike Purcell, Janet Johnson, Alan Posner And Jennifer &
Bill Whitesell. We all had a GREAT time. Thank you Bobbie! As usual up
here our house parties have |
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Games Night Report David Saxon So a couple of months ago I volunteered to run the non-board game part of a games night for the local chapter. No address was given in the listing in the newsletter for the people at whose home the evening was to be held. But I'm a Mensan and I've got a computer. Using a reverse phone number program I got an address. I'm a Mensan and I plugged that address into Mapquest.com. On the appropriate evening, with a whole package of word games and brain games, my wife, Michaele, and I followed the directions correctly, because I'm a Mensan. The four-story apartment building we got to only had half of the names listed on the mailboxes downstairs, and half of those were illegible, but I'm a Mensan. I went to the top floor and knocked on every door asking if they were our hosts or knew them. Then the third floor, Then the second (there weren't any on the ground floor). We got a combination of no answers or were questioned as to why we wanted to find them or rude receptions. Well, I'm a Mensan and not easily defeated. We drove a few miles and found a pay phone. Calling the number listed got a 'the number you have dialed is not a working number' recording. But I'm a Mensan. I called information. They had no listing. I'm a Mensan. I know when to quit. Michaele and I went out for some ice cream and went home. [Ed. - Can't imagine what happened here. The hosts, Pat and Paul Couture, asked me to handle the RSVPs (didn't get many). I constructed a Word document that had complete directions and a map to their home and it included phone numbers. I sent it to each person that RSVPed, either via e- or snail mail. Hmm......] |
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About Books Dustinea Jacquette After a bit of a hiatus, your most intriguing retired spinster librarian, Miss Dustinea Jacquette, has a few words to say about these books. |
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Nevermore. What does that word remind you of?? All connections will come together in this book by William Hjortsberg (currently out of print at Amazon.com, but available at your local library) that places Harry Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poe together in 1920s New York City. Houdini's passion for true illusion-all of his magical escapes were illusions, says he-is explored and his phenomenal creative talents are called into play to help solve a puzzling series of murders. Sir Arthur is visiting the city on a lecture tour and is fascinated by Houdini's "magic." Although Houdini patiently explains how some of his deceptions work, Sir Arthur refuses to believe that the tricks are really very clever illusions. No magic whatsoever. Houdini himself spends his spare time debunking phony mediums and spiritualists. Poe's ghost visits Sir Arthur on the mornings he is in New York City and these scenes in the book give an eerie quality to the entire story. Poe does not believe he is dead; he believes Sir Arthur is a ghost and pleads with Sherlock's creator to quit tormenting poor, damned Poe. Meanwhile Houdini and Sir Arthur form an alliance to solve the murders, which happens toward the end of the book. A clever imagination is at work throughout "Nevermore," and it is even worth a second read. Visit your local library to find it. |
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Stuart Woods, Florida resident and author of many mysteries, travels 3,000 to California, where most of L.A. Dead takes place. In the very beginning though , Stone Barrington is in Venice getting married to the beautiful (but off-the-deep-end crazy-why do men pick these unstable women??) Dolce, daughter of a high-ranking Mafioso figure. The civil ceremony is over and the religious wedding is to take place in 2 days' time. But Stone is called back to California before that happens to protect and defend a former lover who married a movie star, now unfortunately dead. The former lover, Arrington, is accused of the cold-blooded murder. Arrington? And Stone Barrington? Would she be Arrington Barrington if she married Stone? Is that why she married movie star, Vance Calder, instead? Why would an author do this? If I were Woods' editor I would suggest a name change, wouldn't you? Stone does what he does best-beds Betty, Charlene, Arrington, the new widow, and one or two others before the last page. Woods does a great job of justifying the bed hopping and all the scenes are described erotically, but tastefully. I can picture Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct here... Anyway, it is another good read-not much for the brain cells, but certainly entertaining. You'll love the ending! |
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Now we come to my favorite mystery author's latest short story collection. Ruth Rendell, a Brit, rarely misses in her stories of ordinary citizens twisted by fate or biology to commit unholy crimes. In Piranha to Scurfy, she serves up the title story in a truly harrowing manner. Take a lonely man, Ambrose Ribbon, whose daily job it is to point out grammatical/syntax/punctuation and other editorial errors in published authors' work. He fires off letter after letter to these authors, usually in a spiteful manner (do we see a frustrated author here?). Volume 8 of an encyclopedia, Piranha to Scurfy, serves not only as the title to this collected work, but also as a reference for Ribbon in his meticulous fact checking exercises. The heavy volume also plays a crucial role in one other way, which I am not going to reveal. Rendell's other stories each draw the reader in with seemingly innocuous facts and settings; then she springs the trap, a trap you should have seen coming. Look out!! |
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Next month, Java Man, and two volumes about Johannes Vermeer, elusive 17th century Dutch painter. One book is a biography and one a work of fiction. Til then, ta ta, my pretties! And visit your local librarian-she's lonely!! |
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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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Glen Moulder Time to say good-bye. I've served as Editor for two years, it's time to take a rest. I'll still maintain the web site and do other computer-related tasks, but I won't be involved in newsletter production. We don't have a confirmed replacement yet, but I think this will be resolved soon. Creating the newsletter has been a great learning experience for me. While I've unknowingly let a few grammatical and factual errors slip through, I've endeavored to make the newsletter as useful as possible, while reducing the size, reducing costs, and creating our web pages, giving us a presence in cyberspace. Many of you have given me compliments, and for those I'm grateful. A few of you have not been so complimentary, but for those comments, I'm grateful too. I took over the newsletter from Ann Abbott in June 1999. I had been a member for less than a year and no other members knew much about my abilities. Barry, our LocSec, was looking for an Editor, and I was the only person who expressed an interest. He directed me to create our main newsletter and calendar content on the web, and reduce the printed newsletter to just the "essentials." Ann's newsletter was very well done, in the traditional booklet style. I knew that my effort to reduce the size, cramming 8 pages onto a single sheet, would be a shock to some members. One member in particular responded indignantly, but many others were very supportive. My effort to shorten the printed format won me (and the group) an award from the Publications Review Program in 2000. My previous experience producing a newsletter had been in the early 80's when I owned a Morrow Designs CP/M-based computer running Word Perfect. This time I had a more powerful PC and the excellent Microsoft Word. I created the entire format of the newsletter and HTML web pages in Word. Most contributors have been able to e-mail me their textual and image submissions, and this has really helped reduce the time spent retyping or scanning photos. There is still considerable effort put into newsletter production, but the manual aspects of creating it are not too labor intensive. As my last act writing as Editor, I'd like to thank those members who have been of the most help and support to me. Elissa Rudolph, a long-time member, has been very helpful and tried to guide me. Barry Karas gave me the opportunity to exhibit some of my talents. Ike Kullman, our former RVC, when we were in Region 5, gave sage words of advice and encouragement. Bob Dolson, another long-time Mensan, told me tales of Mensa activities from "up North." Lynn O'Dwyer submitted some very nice covers. Ann Abbott provided me with a wealth of materials from her former Editor days, some of which I'm still trying to get onto the web. Merrell and Jerry Fortner, and Lya Korda and Dan and Robin Rhea of Broward have been firm supporters. Thank you also to all the members that regularly come out to events and support the group. There are other members that have sent me e-mail, submitted articles and hosted events that I need to acknowledge, but I can't print all of the names - you know who you are, and I thank you too. I know I'm forgetting to mention someone, and for that I'll regret. Finally, thank you to all the members I've met and interacted with, it's been a pleasure. Hope I'll see you again at events and that I'll meet more of you in the future. Sayonara - and the best to our new Editor. |
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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.