Calendar of Events
CODES – ACW all children welcome; BYOB bring your own beverage; CO clothing optional; C/D cat/dog at residence; FE fictitious event; FFE fragrance-free event; FFO finger food only; LCR light carpet rules (no red wine or other staining substances; can also mean no shoes); MO members only; NC no children; NPC, PC no public calendar, public calendar; NMPCW new members, prospects, and candidates welcome; NS, S, S/NS, SO no smoking, smoking, provisions for both, smoking outside; NXM not exclusively Mensa event; RSE regularly scheduled event; WBC well behaved children; WCD, WCE, WCI, WCP wheelchairs difficult, easy, impossible, possible; RSEs are reprinted verbatim unless an update is received by the deadline for the issue in which a change is requested.
WEB CALENDAR POLICY – Our policy is not to list events on the Web calendar unless requested to do so by inclusion of the “PC” (“public calendar”) code. If the PC code is not included, your event will default to NPC (no public calendar) and will not be included in the Web calendar. Home addresses (and directions to same) are not listed on the Web, but city and contact information such as telephone and e-mail are unless requested otherwise.
MEETUP – SFRM maintains a MeetUp group for events announced on short notice. See meetup.com/SFMensa
CHILDREN UNDER 18 – Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
GIFTED YOUTH PROGRAM EVENTS: sfmensa.org/gifted-youth-program/gy-events/
WEEKLY EVENT
Every Sunday
4p SPR (Sex, Politics, and Religion) Revival. Sex, Politics, and Religion – everything you are not supposed to discuss at the dinner table. This is for those people who would like to participate in a group that fosters considered, civil discussions, that is open regarding subject matter, i.e., this is not for those who want to “shock somebody” or “troll”. Optionally brown bag for those who would like to pay homage to SPR’s history as a San Francisco dinner/restaurant discussion group. This is a Zoom event: Meeting ID: 996 5500 8587, Passcode: 279931. Hosted by James Monschke. PC (RSE Su)
End of May
May 27 – Wednesday
5:30p Trivia Night. See June 24. (RSE 4 W)
7p Wonderfest. Join us for Rock Clocks & Supernovae, another great dual science-based Wonderfest presentation at the HopMonk Tavern, a restaurant at 224 Vintage Way, Novato 94945. We meet in the Lecture Room at 6:30p when it starts to fill up. You can order food from the menu to be served in the Lecture Room. Details are at wonderfest.org/rockclocks-supernovae/. Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers. Following short talks these two Science Envoys will answer questions. The first Science Envoy will be UC Berkeley geophysicist Caroline Hasler on Measuring Geologic Time with Rock Clocks. In microscopically small crystals within rocks, radioactive elements decay at predictable rates and function as tiny clocks. These “rock clocks” help us to figure out the timing of major events in Earth history – from the moment of Earth’s formation to the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs. Next will be UC Berkeley astronomer Eli Wiston on Seeing Core-collapse Supernovae with Radio Telescopes. At the end of its life, a massive star will contract and explode in spectacular fashion, outshining the light of an entire galaxy. While most astronomers focus on the optical light given off by these stellar explosions, there is a wealth of new information to be gained by observing invisible wavelengths. With radio telescopes, we can study new aspects of supernovae: their stars’ activity in the years before death, their environments, and what they leave behind after the explosion fades. This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar. HopMonk’s menu is at www.hopmonk.com/novato-menu. RSVP on SFRM Meetup (best) or e-mail Hugh Bonney, hfbonney/a/t/sonic.net. There will be a Mensa sign at one of the tables to meet during or after, though tables can’t be reserved. PC, NMPCW, WCE, NS, NC, NXM
28 – Thursday
11:45a South Bay Lunch. See June 11. (RSE 2,4 Th)
30 – Saturday
10a False Discussion. We will be reading False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things that Aren’t True by Joe Pierre, MD, one chapter per week. Come to the discussion with your questions and observations. This is pretty low-key. Expect to learn something and to have fun. Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 4: The Flea Market of Opinion. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)
7p East Bay Game Night. See June 27. (RSE last Sa)
June 1-7
June 2 – Tuesday
5p Tuesday Tipplers will meet at San Rafael Joe’s, 931 4th St., San Rafael 94901, at 5p for drinks in the bar and then move on to dinner in the dining room after an hour. Park on the street or in the city garage behind the restaurant. If you have questions e-mail Ed Sabrack at edsabrack/a/t/comcast.net or call (415) 472-3725. PC (RSE 1 Tu)
6 – Saturday
10a False Discussion. We will be reading False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things that Aren’t True by Joe Pierre, MD, one chapter per week. Come to the discussion with your questions and observations. This is pretty low-key. Expect to learn something and to have fun. Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 5: The Disinformation Industrial Complex. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)
6p Online Board Games. Come explore some board games that can be played on the Web. If you’re new, please create a (free) account at boardgamearena.com and follow the setup instructions. We’ll meet online with Zoom to establish voice contact, and then we’ll decide on a game to try out. RSVP on the Meetup calendar, if possible, otherwise contact Karl Heuer at puzzles/a/t/sfmensa.org or (650) 648-3594. PC, NMPCW, ACW (RSE 1 Sa, 3 M)
7 – Sunday
4p Albany Hill Hike. Join us for a one-hour scenic and historic hike up and around Albany Hill. The trail is steep in spots, but the views are expansive. Special bonus: We have scheduled the Sather Tower Solar Beacon to shine directly upon us as we arrive at the top of the hill. Meet under Pacific East Mall Jumbotron just behind the bus stop on the east side of Pierce St. between Central Ave. in El Cerrito and Washington Ave. in Albany. Free parking is available in the mall lot, which is seven tenths of a mile from the El Cerrito Plaza BART station. Please contact Roberta Maguire to make sure she is in town at robertamaguire/a/t/hotmail.com or (510) 292-6370. PC, ACW, NMPCW, NS, WCI, NXM (RSE 1 Su)
June 8-14
8 – Monday
4p San Francisco Pub Get-Together. Stop by after work or, if you don’t work downtown, just come anyway. All Mensans and their guests are welcome, provided that they are at least 21, at Patriot House in 2 Embarcadero Center (Sacramento St. between Front St. and Davis St.), SF 94111. Take the inside escalator to the 2nd floor, turn right twice, and then follow the sign to the stairs to the 3rd floor. The restaurant’s entrance is near the top of those stairs on the 3rd floor. Look for the Mensa logo on our table or ask one of the waitresses to find us. Starting at 4p, but arrive when you can and leave when you’re ready. We will be there for several hours. They have a Happy Hour from 4p until 6p, with the kitchen closing at 9p and the bar closing at 10p. RSVP preferred on Mensa’s Meetup site at www.meetup.com/SFMensa, less preferred by e-mail to Barry Krasner at bwkbwk/a/t/pacbell.net. If you find that you can’t come after RSVPing “Yes”, please change your RSVP to “No” before the event takes place. PC, NC, NS, NMPCW (RSE 2 M)
9 – Tuesday
5:30p Apt To In Aptos Mensa Bar Group is held at Sevy’s Bar + Kitchen at Seacliff Inn, 7500 Old Dominion Court, Aptos 95003, www.seacliffinn.com/santa-cruz-restaurants on the second Tuesday of the month, running until about 7:30p. Come join Central Coast Mensans: Forget last month’s feces and anticipate this month’s blindsides. T(R)oast past friends, find new ones, and introduce current ones, all while contemplating how it all defaults to QM scaled. Courtesy e-mail to host Stew Gibson at LooseId/a/t/ix.netcom.com with subject “Sevy” for restaurant head count is appreciated, but not required. Tip 20% on the bill, with separate checks. PC, NMPCW (RSE 2 Tu)
6:30p Puzzled Pint. Who likes PUZZLES? The kind where part of the game is to figure out what you need to be doing in the first place? Want to do it as part of a team, so you can bounce ideas off each other, and let someone else do the parts that you find uninteresting? This is a monthly event held in the Bay Area (and simultaneously elsewhere in the world), at a convenient pub where we might order food and drink before or during the game. RSVP to Karl Heuer at puzzles/a/t/sfmensa.org or (650) 648-3594 (voice or text) to reserve your spot and learn the address. If Game Control has arranged a pub, it’s probably on Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View, or downtown San Jose. Otherwise, the event host will select a non-pub location, probably in Campbell. PC, NMPCW, NS, NXM (RSE 2 Tu)
7p Wonderfest. Join us for Synthetic biology, another great science-based Wonderfest presentation at the HopMonk Tavern, a restaurant at 224 Vintage Way, Novato 94945. We meet in the Lecture Room at 6:30p when it starts to fill up. You can order food from the menu to be served in the Lecture Room. Details are at wonderfest.org/synthetic-astrobiology/. Our Wonderfest speaker is Dr. Lynn Rothschild, Adjunct Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry at Brown University. Dr. Rothschild also teaches Astrobiology and Space Exploration at Stanford University. Synthetic biology – creating new capabilities with life – promises to foster an innovative future for planet Earth in fields as diverse as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and nanotechnology. As humans move beyond Earth to long duration stays in the International Space Station, and then onward to the Moon and Mars, the challenges of supporting human life will need radical new solutions that synthetic biology can deliver. In turn, those new solutions will facilitate technical, industrial, and social improvements back here on our home planet. This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar. HopMonk’s menu is at www.hopmonk.com/novato-menu. RSVP on SFRM Meetup (best) or e-mail Hugh Bonney, hfbonney/a/t/sonic.net. There will be a Mensa sign at one of the tables to meet during or after, though tables can’t be reserved. PC, NMPCW, WCE, NS, NC, NXM
Intelligencer Deadline. Deadline for calendar events, advertising, members’ free ads, and all other content. See above for information on submitting events. PC (RSE Tu after 1 Sa)
10 – Wednesday
5:30p Lafayette Trivia. Enjoy some delicious fare as we play against local teams in a fun-filled two-hour competition hosted by Head Games Trivia at Headlands Brewery, 3420 Mount Diablo Blvd., Lafayette 94549. An RSVP is required, as teams are limited to six players each. We meet at 5:30p for the 6p start time. Daniel Phillips, umpolung13/a/t/yahoo.com, (304) 975-0066. PC, NS, NMPCW, ACW, WCP, NXM (RSE 2W)
11 – Thursday
11:45a South Bay Lunch. Meet at Bill’s Cafe, 1401 Kooser Rd., San Jose 95118 (off Hwy. 85 at the Camden Ave. exit at the corner of Kooser Rd. and Stanwood Dr. near Blossom Hill Rd.), (408) 264-1900. Cocktails available, large menu (online), friendly fast service, breakfast and lunch, closes at 2p. Sandra Anderson, (408) 997-3187. PC, NMPCW, WCE (RSE 2,4 Th)
12n Thursday Munchers. A lunch group in Marin dedicated to trying different restaurants. This month we will visit Lighthouse Bar and Grill, 303 Johnson St., Sausalito 94965, (415) 381-4400, lighthouse-restaurants.com/lighthouse-bar-grill-sausalito. RSVP by Sunday, June 7, to Elizabeth Calaway at (415) 456-9220 or elizterrycalaway/a/t/aol.com. PC (RSE Th after 2 Tu)
6:30p Peninsula Dining. Join us this month when we will be revisiting Chef Chu’s at 1067 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos 94022 (at El Camino Real). No grand banquet unless a lot of people sign up early and want one. To reserve, contact Susan at (650) 714-4972 or Susan.Heimlich/a/t/gmail.com by June 9 (but the earlier the better). Our table may be upstairs. Please bring cash, as we will not have separate bills. For last minute changes, call cell phone (650) 714-4972. PC, NMPCW
13 – Saturday
10a False Discussion. We will be reading False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things that Aren’t True by Joe Pierre, MD, one chapter per week. Come to the discussion with your questions and observations. This is pretty low-key. Expect to learn something and to have fun. Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 6: Conspiracy Theories Gone Wild. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)
2:30p M-Wisely’s Café provides thought-provoking presentations to intelligent beings throughout the galaxy. The presentations focus on space science, speculative science, and science fiction. This month’s topic is Science at 17,500 MPH: Performing Payload Operations on the International Space Station with Cameron McCarty. Since 1998, more than 4,000 scientific investigations and experiments have been completed on the International Space Station. These investigations range from K-12 experiments to world-class research by a variety of institutions. Organizing and operating the variety of science in orbit requires coordination of timelines, managing requirements, scheduling, ground commanding, and ensuring the experiments are safely executed. Cameron will cover what type of experiments are run, how transmissions to communicate with the crew are handled, why the ground controllers continuously monitor the scientific instruments, and how experiments can even be run from the ground while the crew sleeps. Cameron McCarty received his Master’s in Planetary Geology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a bachelor’s from Columbus State University. Please register at space-talk.link/JUN. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with the login information. PC (RSE 2 Sa)
4p Big Ideas Reading Group. Why Plato Matters Now by Angie Hobbs. On Zoom. If we want to understand the world we live in – from democracy, autocracy and fake news to celebrity, cancel culture, and what money can and cannot do – there is no better place to start than Plato. Exploring the intersection between the ancient and the modern, Hobbs shows how Plato can help us address key questions concerning the nature of a flourishing life and community, healthcare, love and friendship, heroism, reality, art, and myth-making. She also shows us how Plato’s adaptation of the Socratic method and dialogue form can enable us to deal with contested issues more constructively. For July 11 on Zoom: Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach. We have a list of books read at www.bigideasreadinggroup.com/BIRG2.html. For questions and invitations to our Zoom meetings please contact Chris Boyd at snoboyd/a/t/sbcglobal.net. PC, NMPCW, NXM (RSE 2 Sa)
14 – Sunday
11a SFRM Summer Picnic. Come join us for our annual Summer Picnic in San Mateo. At this family friendly (and dog friendly) event, people can relax over hamburgers, hot dogs, and snacks while enjoying the great weather in a socially distanced setting. This event is sponsored by SFRM, so it is free for members, their guests, and their kids. RSVP at www.meetup.com/sfmensa/events/314652912/ for location. Please note that RSVPs are required so we can get an accurate count of attendees for food planning purposes. Please contact Jen (locsec/a/t/sfmensa.org) if you have any questions about this event. PC
June 15-21
15 – Monday
6p Online Board Games. See June 6. (RSE 1 Sa, 3 M)
17 – Wednesday
5:30p Re-BORG. Berkeley-Oakland Restaurant Group is reborn and revived in honor of the incomparable Cathy Roha, who initiated this event and hosted it for many years. Assimilate delicious food and interesting conversation at a good restaurant somewhere in the central East Bay. Please bring cash. Limited seating. E-mail or call ahead for location up to a week ahead. RSVP by 3p on Tuesday, June 16. Roberta Maguire, robertamaguire/a/t/hotmail.com, (510) 292-6370. PC, NS, NMPCW, ACW (RSE 3 W)
20 – Saturday
10a False Discussion. We will be reading False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things that Aren’t True by Joe Pierre, MD, one chapter per week. Come to the discussion with your questions and observations. This is pretty low-key. Expect to learn something and to have fun. Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 7: Falling for Bullshit. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)
12n Saturday Sizzle. Meet fellow Mensans for lunch at Sizzler restaurant, 1515 Fitzgerald Dr., Pinole 94564, sizzler.com/locations/sizzler-pinole/. Is their menu only for carnivores? No, they also have a large salad bar. RSVP to Lorna at lornagruber/a/t/yahoo.com by noon the day before so that we can put together a large enough table. Look for a Mensa sign on the table, in case you’re new. PC, NMPCW, NS (RSE 3 Sa)
21 – Sunday
2:30p Speaker Series: Paleontology: Far More Than Just New Fossil Discoveries with Roy E. Plotnick, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois Chicago. On Zoom. Paleontology is one of the most popular yet most misunderstood fields of science. Paleontologists are assumed only to be interested in dinosaurs and are imagined as bearded white men in battered cowboy hats, with hammers and whisk brooms. Instead, paleontologists are a markedly diverse group of scientists who use cutting-edge methods. Headlines over exciting new fossils grossly underestimate the true importance of paleontology. Its real significance lies in how such discoveries illuminate the grand history of life on Earth. Plotnick is an invertebrate paleontologist at the University of Illinois Chicago, where he joined the faculty in 1982, and is currently Professor Emeritus. He is a Research Associate at the Field Museum. Plotnick is a Fellow of both the Geological Society of America and the Paleontological Society and was an Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Yale University. His degrees include an A.B. from Columbia University, 1976; an M.S. from the University of Rochester, 1978; and a PhD from the University of Chicago, 1983. Please register at livepresentation.link/JUN. You will receive a confirmation e-mail from Zoom that will contain the link needed to join the presentation. Hosted by Judy Unger, junger2040/a/t/gmail.com. PC
June 22-30
23 – Tuesday
7p Wonderfest. Join us for The Cambrian Explosion, another great science-based Wonderfest presentation at the HopMonk Tavern, a restaurant at 224 Vintage Way, Novato 94945. We meet in the Lecture Room at 6:30p when it starts to fill up. You can order food from the menu to be served in the Lecture Room. Details are at wonderfest.org/cambrian-explosion/. Our Wonderfest speaker is Dr. Charles Marshall, Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley. He is also Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology. Charles Darwin was deeply troubled by the sudden appearance of complex animal life during the Cambrian Explosion about half a billion years ago, animal evolution’s Big Bang. He felt the sudden appearance of such diverse animal body-plans was inexplicable, fearing that it was the Achilles heel of his theory. What do we now know of this spectacular event? Drawing on the fossil record, ecology, developmental biology, genetics, and computer simulation, can we understand how and why the Cambrian Explosion occurred? This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar. HopMonk’s menu is at www.hopmonk.com/novato-menu. RSVP on SFRM Meetup (best) or e-mail Hugh Bonney, hfbonney/a/t/sonic.net. There will be a Mensa sign at one of the tables to meet during or after, though tables can’t be reserved. PC, NMPCW, WCE, NS, NC, NXM
24 – Wednesday
5:30p Trivia Night at the Patriot House gastropub in San Francisco. The contest is free, starts at 6p, and lasts about 2 hours, but please arrive about 5:30p, so that we don’t lose the table that I’ve reserved. If you’re a member of our SFRM Meetup group, RSVP on Meetup if you’re planning on coming, so that I can be sure to reserve a large enough table. If you’re not a member of our SFRM Meetup group, RSVP by e-mailing host Barry Krasner at bwkbwk/a/t/pacbell.net. Guests are allowed, so be sure to include the number of guests that you’re bringing when you RSVP. If you RSVP “Yes”, then find that you can’t attend after all, please change your RSVP to “No” so that we’re not wondering whether you’re still coming or not. The Patriot House is located in Embarcadero Center #2, on the 3rd (top) floor. Enter from Sacramento St. between Front St. and Davis St. Take the inside escalator to the 2nd floor, then turn right twice and follow the sign to the stairs to the 3rd floor. The restaurant is near the top of those stairs. You’ll recognize our group by the Mensa logo that I will have on top of our table. If in doubt, ask the wait staff for “The Mensa Group”. PC, NC, NS, NMPCW (RSE 4 W)
25 – Thursday
11:45a South Bay Lunch. See June 11. (RSE 2,4 Th)
27 – Saturday
10a False Discussion. We will be reading False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things that Aren’t True by Joe Pierre, MD, one chapter per week. Come to the discussion with your questions and observations. This is pretty low-key. Expect to learn something and to have fun. Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 8: Divided States. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)
7p East Bay Game Night. Join us for fun and games in North Oakland! We’re playing word games, card games, board games, all kinds of fast-action social games (not long strategy games). Please bring a snack to share. The fun is in Oakland near Piedmont Ave. and Pleasant Valley Ave. No RSVP needed; just show up at 7p (when I unlock the door) or later. We have about 15 to 25 people every month, most of whom do not RSVP. For more information or directions, contact Alan at alan.winson/a/t/gmail.com or (510) 653-2685 (voice only). Please pull forward to park four cars in my driveway. Free street parking is available in the neighborhood; don’t give up! SUPER-SPREADER EVENT NOTICE: If you haven’t kept up your vaccinations, or don’t feel well or may have COVID, a cold, or anything else contagious, please stay home and join us next month! Children 12 and up are welcome. PC, NMPCW, NS, WCP (RSE last Sa)
FUTURE FLASHES
June 2 – Tuesday
5p Tuesday Tipplers. See May 5. (RSE 1 Tu)
6 – Saturday
10a False Discussion. We will be reading False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things that Aren’t True by Joe Pierre, MD, one chapter per week. Come to the discussion with your questions and observations. This is pretty low-key. Expect to learn something and to have fun. Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 5: The Disinformation Industrial Complex. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)
6p Online Board Games. See May 2. (RSE 1 Sa, 3 M)