December 27 – Wednesday

6p The Future Is Faster Than You Think Discussion. Join us for a discussion of The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 9: The Future of Healthcare. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

28 – Thursday

11:45a South Bay Lunch. See January 11. (RSE 2,4 Th)

30 – Saturday

6p Online Board Games. See January 15.

January 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)

3 – Wednesday

6p The Future Is Faster Than You Think Discussion. Join us for a discussion of The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 10: The Future of Longevity. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

6 – Saturday

6p Start the Month Right. At Elna and Adrian Tymes’ home in Mountain View. Come celebrate the 43rd year and longest running monthly social event in all of American Mensa (at Elna’s home every month since 1981)! Potluck dinner, unstructured socializing, games, and talk. We provide the main dish; you bring salad, bread, or dessert to share and YOB. $1 donation requested. No reservations needed. Info (650) 969-6650. Guests of Mensans must be accompanied by the member. Masks optional. PC, SO, WBC, WCD, C/D (RSE 1 Sat)

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)

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/sevys-bar-and-kitchen-aptos.htm 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)

5:45p Dinner, Drinks, and Human Hibernation. Join us for drinks, dinner, and another great science-based Wonderfest presentation at the HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato 94945. We meet for drinks and dinner at 5:45p. At 6:45p we’ll move to the session room for the talk, “Anesthesia and Hibernation: Enduring Deep-Space Travel” by Dr. Art Wallace, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice-Chair of Anesthesiology, UCSF. Sci-Fi movies often depict hibernation as the secret to long-duration human spaceflight. (Note: Even with ideal starship acceleration and deceleration, the nearest exoplanet is 3.6 years away!) Of course, the boundary between science fiction and science fantasy is hazy. Advances in anesthesia may facilitate hibernation. Physiologically, however, general anesthesia is detrimental in the short term, and worse in the long term. Will long-spaceflight medical advances ever be able to deal with this sobering hibernation fact: roughly half of naturally-hibernating animals never revive! Complete details of this free event are at wonderfest.org/category/event/coming-events/. More information on HopMonk’s menu, etc. is here: www.hopmonk.com/novato. RSVP on the SFRM Meetup (preferred) or e-mail Valerie Taylor (northbay/a/t/sfmensa.org). PC, NMPCW, WCE, NS, NC, NXM (RSE last Tu)

6:45p 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 in Sunnyvale or Mountain View, near Central Expressway. Otherwise, the event host will select a non-pub location in Milpitas or the Berryessa area of San Jose. PC, NMPCW, NS, NXM (RSE 2 Tu)

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

6p The Future Is Faster Than You Think Discussion. Join us for a discussion of The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 11: The Future of Insurance, Finance, and Real Estate. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

11 – Thursday

11:45a South Bay Lunch. Meet at Scrambl’z, 5055 Almaden Expressway, San Jose 95118 (near Hwys. 85 & 87), (408) 269-2900. Voted one of the best breakfast restaurants around. Extensive menu online at www.scramblzalmaden.com. Sandra Anderson, (408) 997-3187. Vaccinated only, please. PC, NMPCW, WCE (RSE 2,4 Th)

12n Thursday Munchers. Rising up from the old Ethnic Dinner, a lunch group in Marin dedicated to trying different restaurants. This month we will visit Via Piccola Trattoria, 1 Blackfield Dr. #11, Tiburon 94920, (415) 388-9100, www.viapiccola.com. RSVP by Sunday, January 7, to Elizabeth Calaway at (415) 456-9220 or elizterrycalaway/a/t/aol.com. PC (RSE Th after 2 Tu)

12 – Friday

6:30p Near Palo Alto Dining goes French: Join us at the Left Bank for tasty food and good company. It is located at 635 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park 94025 (near El Camino Real), with parking behind. See their menu online at www.leftbank.com/menlo-park-menu to whet your appetite. To say you’ll be there, contact Susan no later than January 10 and be sure to hear confirmation. At the restaurant, ask for Susan and please bring cash. Contact info: Susan.Heimlich/a/t/gmail.com or call/text cell phone (650) 714-4972. For last minute changes, call/text cell. PC, NMPCW

13 – Saturday

4p Big Ideas Reading Group: What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill. On Zoom. Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions of years more – or it could end tomorrow. Astonishing numbers of people could lead lives of great happiness or unimaginable suffering, or never live at all, depending on what we choose to do today. Philosopher MacAskill argues for “longtermism”, that idea that positively influencing the distant future is a key moral priority of our time. From this perspective, it’s not enough to reverse climate change or avert the next pandemic. We must ensure that civilization would rebound if it collapsed, counter the end of moral progress, and prepare for a planet where the smartest beings are digital, not human. For February 10 on Zoom: Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters by Steven Pinker. 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

2:30p Speaker Series: From Earth to Mars – Steps Toward the First Human Journey to the Red Planet with Pascal Lee, PhD. On Zoom. The first human mission to Mars will be humanity’s greatest adventure in space exploration this century. As with all expeditions, its success depends on planning. The first steps are already under way, as we build more efficient rockets, achieve longer space flights, plan our return to the Moon, and work in extreme environments on Earth viewed as Mars “analogs”. Dr. Lee is a planetary scientist with the SETI Institute, the Mars Institute, and NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. He is the director of the NASA Haughton-Mars Project, the leading planetary analog field research project on Devon Island in the High Arctic. He is also professor of planetary science at Kepler Space University. Register in advance for this meeting at livepresentation.link/SignUp. After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from Zoom containing the link that you will need to join. Hosted by Judy Unger. PC

15 – Monday

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

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. Bring cash, your vaccination card, and a mask. Limited seating. E-mail or call ahead for location up to a week ahead. RSVP by 3p on Tuesday, January 16. Roberta Maguire, robertamaguire/a/t/hotmail.com, (510) 292-6370. PC, NS, NMPCW, ACW (RSE 3 W)

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 3bwkbwk3/a/t/gmail.com. Guests are allowed, so be sure to include the number of guests that you’re bringing when you RSVP. If you RSVP “Yes” and then find that you can’t attend after all, it’s very important that you change your RSVP to “No” as far in advance as possible. 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

6p The Future Is Faster Than You Think Discussion. Join us for a discussion of The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 12: The Future of Food. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

20 – Saturday

11a Learning Korean with Art and Entertainment content. Join us to learn Korean from the lyrics of BTS and dialogues in Squid Game seasons. If you have anything you want to use to learn the Korean language in content from Billboards, Netflix, or any website, bring up the ideas directly to us and we will bring up the context. What makes this learning program unique and sustainable? Not just for modern Korean 24 characters of combinations but also the original pronunciation of 28 characters. A chart will be provided to match Hangul characters to the 26 English characters. Join Zoom Meeting (Meeting ID: 832 7676 0007, Passcode: 198392) at us02web.zoom.us/j/83276760007?pwd=S1Bhblcvbm4rekVORzFuZTBoSUcwUT09. If you have any other proposals, please contact host Gyehyon Andrea Jo at andreajo12jo/a/t/gmail.com or (408) 220-4041. PC, ACW, NMPCW, NXM (RSE 3 Sa)

7p Teton Tea. Teton Tea Parties are folk-singing parties going back to the 1950s. We welcome both traditional folk singing and singer/songwriters. Our 3rd Saturday meetings are currently on Zoom. Join the Zoom meeting: us02web.zoom.us/j/6912937135?pwd=WvlpMEs1SCs0c1FoZk5seUhoREVaZz09. Meeting ID: 691 293 7135. Password: berkeley. Hosted by Kevin Langdon, kevinlangdon86/a/t/yahoo.com. PC (RSE 3 Sa)

24 – Wednesday

6p The Future Is Faster Than You Think Discussion. Join us for a discussion of The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 13: Threats and Solutions. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

25 – Thursday

11:45a South Bay Lunch. See January 11. (RSE 2,4 Th)

26 – Friday

6:30p Virtual Happy Hour. Mix up your favorite beverage. Bring out some happy-hour munchies and join us for a virtual relaxing time. RSVP on Meetup for the Zoom Link. Hosted by Judy Unger, junger2040/a/t/gmail.com. PC (RSE 4 F)

27 – Saturday

6p Online Board Games. See January 15.

28 – Sunday

7p Channing Club is a wide-ranging discussion group which has been meeting, in one form or another, for over half a century. There are no assigned topics; we discuss whatever is on participants’ minds. Our meetings are currently on Zoom. Join the Zoom meeting: us02web.zoom.us/j/6912937135?pwd=WvlpMEs1SCs0c1FoZk5seUhoREVaZz09. Meeting ID: 691 293 7135. Password: berkeley. Hosted by Kevin Langdon, kevinlangdon86/a/t/yahoo.com. PC (RSE 4 Su)

30 – Tuesday

5:45p Dinner, Drinks, and the Psychology of Confidence. Join us for drinks, dinner, and another great science-based Wonderfest presentation at the HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato 94945. We meet for drinks and dinner at 5:45p. At 6:45p we’ll move to the session room for the talk, “The Psychology of Confidence” by Dr. Don A. Moore, Professor and Chair in Leadership & Communication at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. How confident should we be? Overconfidence leads people to pursue impossible goals, engage in wishful thinking, take unnecessary risks, and waste time on doomed ventures. Underconfidence dissuades people from taking risks that would pay off, and keeps them from trying things they would enjoy. Psychological studies offer evidence pointing to a middle way between these twin risks. Complete details of this free event are at wonderfest.org/category/event/coming-events/. More information on HopMonk’s menu, etc. is here: www.hopmonk.com/novato. RSVP on the SFRM Meetup (preferred) or e-mail Valerie Taylor (northbay/a/t/sfmensa.org). PC, NMPCW, WCE, NS, NC, NXM (RSE last Tu)

31 – Wednesday

6p The Future Is Faster Than You Think Discussion. Join us for a discussion of The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 14: The Five Great Migrations and Afterword. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

February 3 – Saturday

6p Start The Month Right. See January 6. (RSE 1 Sa)