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. Note: Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
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
To List Your Event: Length limit: 120 words. Submit items to the Calendar Editor at calendar@sfmensa.org. Items must be received by the deadline listed in the calendar to guarantee inclusion. Items must include host’s name, date and time, location, and applicable codes (above), and should also include phone (including area code) or e-mail address. Notices are published on a space-available basis subject to the discretion of the Calendar Editor. The policy for inclusion in the calendar is based on the SFRM bylaws.
WEEKLY EVENT
Every Thursday
12:30p Mountain View Lunch Bunch. We meet at Sweet Tomatoes, 1040 Grant Rd., 94040 (at the corner of Oak Lane). From El Camino Real and Grant Rd., turn south on Grant, take the first right on Oak Lane and the first left into the parking lot. Look for us at the far end of the restaurant. Claire Taylor, (650) 917-9363. PC, NMPCW (RSE Th)
End of February
February 23 – Sunday
6p Channing Club. See March 22. (RSE 4 Su)
24 – Monday
7p Indian Dining Near Palo Alto. Join Susan Heimlich at Passage to India, 1991 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View 94040, 800 feet southeast of Rengstorff Ave. and on the southwest side of the street. As always our group offers lively conversation, a wealth of expertise, and more opinions than people. Feel free to make yourself a part of it. To reserve, contact Susan at Susan.Heimlich/a/t/gmail.com or at cell (650) 714-4972 by Saturday, February 22. Get a confirmation. Ask for the Mensa table or Susan, and please bring cash. For last minute changes call/text (650) 714-4972. PC, NMPCW
26 – Wednesday
5:30p Brainstormer Trivia Night. See March 25. (RSE last W)
6:30p Trivia Night in Brentwood. See March 25.
27 – Thursday
11:30a Lunch in Concord at GN I (Gangnam I). The address is 1035 Detroit Ave., 94518. Turn south off Monument Blvd. onto Detroit Ave. and go a little past Costco. The restaurant is close to the first corner of a horseshoe-shaped street called Shary Circle. Or for less traffic, come in from the other direction by taking Whitman Rd. off Oak Grove Rd. to Detroit Ave. and turning left on Detroit Ave. GN I has American food and some food with a Korean influence and is not a buffet. Park anywhere in back. RSVP appreciated but not required. Questions? Rosemary Clark, (925) 256-4599 or rclarkx/a/t/earthlink.net. PC, NMPCW
11:45a South Bay Lunch. See March 12. (RSE 2,4 Th)
29 – Saturday
10a Mensa Testing in Berkeley. See www.sfmensa.org/how-to-join-mensa/ for information. PC
7p East Bay Game Night. See March 28. (RSE last Sa)
March 1-7
March 1 – 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)
3 – Tuesday
6p Tuesday Tipplers. We meet at San Rafael Joe’s, 931 4th St., San Rafael 94901. Join us for drinks and conversation in the bar at 6p and stay for dinner at 7p. Park on the street or in the city garage at Lootens Pl. and 3rd St. (the restaurant has a back door to the garage). Carole Taylor, caroleptaylor/a/t/sbcglobal.net or (415) 472-1207. PC (RSE 1 Tu)
4 – Wednesday
11:30a Math Lovers’ Lunch at Chef’s Chinese Food, 233 El Cerrito Plaza, El Cerrito 94530 (close to the El Cerrito Plaza BART station), (510) 525-8737. A table will be reserved. All adults who enjoy discussing mathematics (at any level) are welcome. Our discussions are wide-ranging and are not confined to mathematical subjects. Please try to come at 11:30a sharp, but come anyway if, for some reason, you may be a few minutes late. Kevin Langdon, (510) 524-0345, kevin.langdon/a/t/polymath-systems.com. PC, NS, NMPCW, NXM, WCE (RSE 1 W)
6 – Friday
6p Movies That Matter: Marriage Story (2019). Nominated for six Oscars: Best Picture, three acting nominations (Adam Driver, Laura Dern, and Scarlett Johansson), Best Original Screen Play, and Music. In this incisive portrayal of a dissolving marriage, a New York City theatre director and his discontented actress wife find their rancorous divorce becoming increasingly hostile as custody of their young son ups the ante. Join us for an evening of pizza, picture, and a chance for thoughtful discussion. Pizza 6p, film 6:45p. Movies are shown on a 58″ plasma TV. For pizza, let us know your preference, meat or veggie, at (510) 451-3009 or daniel/a/t/joyfulharmony.org. Hosted by Daniel Neumayer and Gwendolyn Rothman, Harmony Center for the Joyful Spirit. Map and directions: www.joyfulharmony.org/contact. PC, NS, NXM (RSE 1,3 F)
6:30p First Friday in Danville. We’ll be at Luna Loca in Danville, a good Mexican restaurant in “The Livery” shopping center on San Ramon Valley Blvd. with good food, good prices, and good drinks. It’s pretty easy to get to: From I-680, take the Sycamore Valley Rd. exit, turn right on San Ramon Valley Blvd., and then take the first left (there’s a light) and Luna Loca will be on your right. Check their website at www.lunalocadanville.com for more information. I’ll make a reservation based on how many I think are coming, but please let me know if you’re thinking of attending so I can change the reservation. Call Donna Jadis at (925) 978-0690 or e-mail donna/a/t/mooseworks.org for more info. (RSE 1 F)
7 – Saturday
6p Start The Month Right. At Elna and Adrian Tymes’ home in Mountain View. Come celebrate the 40th 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. PC, SO, WBC, WCD, C/D (RSE 1 Sat)
March 8-14
9 – Monday
11:30a Monday Munchers, rising up from the old Ethnic Dinner, is a lunch group in Marin dedicated to trying different restaurants. This month we will re-visit Hilltop 1892, 850 Lamont Ave., Novato 94945, (415) 893-1892, www.hilltop1892.com. RSVP by Thursday, March 5, to Elizabeth Calaway at (415) 456-9220 or elizterrycalaway/a/t/aol.com. PC (RSE 2 M)
5:30p 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 3rd floor, then turn right. Look for the Mensa logo on our table or ask one of the waitresses to find us. Starting at 5:30p, but arrive when you can and leave when you’re ready. We will be there for several hours. They have a Happy Hour until 6p. 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)
10 – Tuesday
6p Mensa Testing in Palo Alto. OK, you’ve passed already. Have a friend who wants to join? A relative? Check our local website at www.sfmensa.org/how-to-join-mensa/ for details of how to sign up. PC
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 of 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; it’s almost always either Sunnyvale or Mountain View, near Central Expressway. 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. (RSE Tu after 1 Sa)
11 – Wednesday
6:17p Berkeley-Oakland Restaurant Group (BORG). Assimilate delicious food and interesting conversation at a good restaurant somewhere in the central East Bay. E-mail or call ahead for the location. Reservation deadline is 5p on Tuesday, March 10, by e-mail or phone so we have a table large enough for everyone. Well-behaved non-Mensans welcome. Please bring cash. Cathy Roha, catroha/a/t/gmail.com, (510) 207-2345. PC, NMPCW (RSE 2 W/Th)
12 – Thursday
11:45a South Bay Lunch. Meet at The Original Hick’ry Pit, 980 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell 95008 (near Bascom Ave.). Their phone is (408) 371-2400. Menu online at hickrypit.com. Sandra Anderson, (408) 621-1273. PC, NMPCW, WCE (RSE 2,4 Th)
13 – Friday
6:30p Mid-Month Mex (MMMex). We meet, eat, and rest our feet at Tito’s, 15508 E. 14th St., San Leandro 94578, 1500’ NE of the exact geographic center of the Bay Area. Twixt 580 and 880, and close to Bay Fair BART, this is where Mensans meet in the middle and go “MMM!” Come for the Mensans and the margaritas (or just for the Mensans), along with a marvelous Mexican meal after 7p. Co-hosted by Hank Stephenson, hank888/a/t/earthlink.net or (415) 793-0300 cell, and Peter Midnight. Come see why Tito’s has been there for more than 60 years, directly across E. 14th St. from Bayfair Center. We’ll see you at Tito’s! No pets. PC, WCE, NMPCW, NC, SO, NXM (RSE 2 F)
7p GenX Food and Movie Night. Join us for dinner at 7p at a South of Market restaurant (to be determined) in San Francisco, followed by a movie at a local theater. As always, all ages are welcome. The only requirement is the manners your mother taught you, and that includes RSVPs. To get the restaurant information, contact Cathy at (415) 730-5711 or mulfordc/a/t/alumni.princeton.edu. PC, NMPCW (RSE 2 F)
March 15-21
17 – Tuesday
*CANCELED* 6:30p Palo Alto Dining at Café Pro Bono, located at 2437 Birch St., 94306, just off California Ave. They offer “Italian dishes at reasonable prices” and are a consistently popular place among locals. Check out cafeprobono.com/dinner/ for their menu. To reserve, contact Susan at (650) 714-4972 or Susan.Heimlich/a/t/gmail.com at by Sunday, March 15. Be sure you hear a confirmation! At the restaurant, ask for Susan and please bring cash. Good food and good conversation. For last minute changes, call/text cell phone (650) 714-4972. PC, NMPCW
20 – Friday
*CANCELED* 6p Movies That Matter: Parasite (2019). Nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Original Screenplay. Named best picture of 2019 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Meet the Park Family, the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. The Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. The film is listed as drama, thriller, and comedy. It is not rated and has a dark and violent ending. Join us for an evening of pizza, picture, and a chance for thoughtful discussion. Pizza 6p, film 6:45p. Movies are shown on a 58″ plasma TV. For pizza, let us know your preference, meat or veggie, at (510) 451-3009 or daniel/a/t/joyfulharmony.org. Hosted by Daniel Neumayer and Gwendolyn Rothman, Harmony Center for the Joyful Spirit. Map and directions: www.joyfulharmony.org/contact. PC, NS, NXM (RSE 1,3 F)
*CANCELED* 7p Movie Night in Orinda. The movie is to be determined. Please phone or e-mail me within a week or two of the 3rd Friday, or I will e-mail you and provide the name and details of the movie that we will be seeing. Come about 7p and we’ll start the movie at 7:30p. Enjoy an evening with Mensa friends, other friends, or family members that you would like to invite. We’ll socialize both before the movie and during intermission. Please bring something to share. It is not a dinner, but salads are welcome, as are hors d’oeuvres, fruit, dessert, and light-colored beverages (no chips). Please reserve your seat with Mary Bradshaw, (925) 376-0762 or MaryBradsh/a/t/aol.com. Your suggestions for NEW, recently released, or soon to be available movies are appreciated for our future choices. PC, NMPCW
21 – Saturday
*CANCELED* 4p Big Ideas Reading Group (NOTE ONE-TIME CHANGE OF WEEK): The Shape of Inner Space: String Theory and the Geometry of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions by Shing-Tung Yau. String theory says we live in a ten-dimensional universe, but that only four are accessible to our everyday senses. According to theorists, the missing six are curled up in bizarre structures known as Calabi-Yau manifolds. In The Shape of Inner Space, Shing-Tung Yau, the man who mathematically proved that these manifolds exist, argues that not only is geometry fundamental to string theory, it is also fundamental to the very nature of our universe. We are meeting this month at Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real (at Ravenswood Ave.), Menlo Park 94025. Free parking below. For April 11, also at Kepler’s: A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford and Siddhartha Mukherjee. We have a list of books read at www.bigideasreadinggroup.com/BIRG2.html. For questions and directions please contact Chris Boyd at snoboyd/a/t/sbcglobal.net. PC, NMPCW, NXM (RSE 2 Sa)
March 22-31
22 – Sunday
*CANCELED* 1:30p Robot Games in San Francisco. High school student- designed, -built, -wired, and -programmed 125 lb (57 kg) robots compete in two alliances of three robots each, including schools from Brazil and Turkey. Robots shoot balls into one of three targets, with greater points for more difficult shots. Robots spin a 3′ (1 m) color wheel either a set number of turns, or stop the wheel on a color communicated to the robot after the match has started. Each match lasts 2:30 with the robots operating autonomously for the first 15 seconds. At the end of the game, robots attempt to hoist themselves off the ground, hanging from a swiveling horizontal bar – with extra points if the robots work together to get the bar horizontal. Short game video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmiYWTmFRVE&list=PLZT9pIgNOV6ZzienUkfYzfV_wzufKq_6s&index=1, and an inspirational video of the overall program at www.youtube.com/watch?v=igR409sJly0. Attendance is free, and the entire competition runs Friday–Sunday, March 20–22, at St. Ignatius College Preparatory, 2001 37th Ave., 94116. Mensan Gary Koerzendorfer mentors team 972 from Los Gatos HS. PC, NXM, ACW
6p Channing Club is a wide-ranging discussion group. We generally don’t have prearranged topics but rather discuss whatever comes up. We meet at Long Life Vegi House, 1725 University Ave. (between Grant St. and McGee Ave.), Berkeley 94703, (510) 845-6072. Hosted by Kevin Langdon, (510) 524-0345, kevin.langdon/a/t/polymath-systems.com. PC, NS, NMPCW, NXM (RSE 4 Su)
*CANCELED* 6p Sunday Evening at Margaret and Jerry’s. Sunday evening supper: ingest and digress. We will have entrée, coffee, and tea. Bring salad/veggies/bread/dessert/beverage to share. Perhaps with a fire. Come after dinner if you like. Margaret Pillow and Jerome Taylor host in Berkeley 94709. Contact them at (510) 883-1898 or jmjb7/a/t/earthlink.net. PC, C, SO, NMPCW, WBC
25 – Wednesday
*CANCELED* 5:30p Brainstormer Trivia Night. Come join us at Patriot House Pub, 2 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco 94111 (Sacramento St. between Davis St. and Front St., on the top level, to the right as you step off the escalator). Please arrive between 5:30p and 5:45p. The trivia contest will begin at 6p and will last for about 2 hours. See www.brainstormer.com/venue/498/patriot-house-pub for details. The Patriot House is close to the Financial District and Embarcadero BART/Muni, and parking is validated for the underground garage. They have a wide selection of beers, mixed drinks, non-alcoholic drinks, food, and a Happy Hour until 6p. Look for the Mensa logo on our table or ask for “Barry and the Mensa Group”. RSVP preferred on Mensa’s Meetup site at www.meetup.com/SFMensa/events, 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, NMPCW, NC, NS, NXM (RSE last W)
*CANCELED* 6:30p Trivia Night. Sand Creek Pub has a lively trivia night every Wednesday. Join us at 6:30p so we can secure a table and get food. Trivia starts at 7p. Located at 50 Sand Creek Rd., Suite 30, Brentwood 94513. Look for our “Welcome Owl”. Call Judy at (714) 356-4873 or Bernie at (714) 356-4868 for more info. PC, NC
26 – Thursday
11:30a Lunch in Walnut Creek at California Pizza Kitchen at 1325 S. Main St., 94596 (west side of street between Botelho Dr. and Newell Ave.). Besides pizza, there are many interesting items available on their lengthy menu. A yellow “M” sign will be on the table. Enter their free parking garage on the right side of the restaurant’s entrance. If you can, please RSVP so that we can have the right size table arranged for us. Questions? Daphne Mohr at (510) 654-8318 or dm999/a/t/att.net. PC, NMPCW
11:45a South Bay Lunch. See March 12. (RSE 2,4 Th)
27 – Friday
*CANCELED* 5p Delta Happy Hour Hunters. (NOTE ONE-TIME CHANGE OF WEEK.) Celebrate the end of the work week and relax with friendly conversation, happy hour food, and drinks. If you can’t make it at 5p, just let us know you’re coming; we’ll be waiting for you. This month we will meet at Wence House California Cuisine, 6670 Lone Tree Way #1, Brentwood 94513. Look for our “Welcome Owl”. Call Judy at (714) 356-4873 or Bernie at (714) 356-4868 for more info. PC, NC (RSE 2 F)
28 – Saturday
*TBD* 1:30p Robot Games in Seaside (Monterey County). See March 22 for game description. Attendance is free, and the entire competition runs Thursday–Saturday, March 26–28 at Seaside High School, 2200 Noche Buena St., 93955. Mensan Gary Koerzendorfer mentors team 2643 from Santa Teresa HS, San Jose, and has agreed to let the team paint one of his fingernails purple – the team color – for each match won! PC, NXM, ACW
*CANCELED* 7p East Bay Game Night. Join us for fun and games in the East Bay! We’re playing word games, card games, board games, all kinds of fast-action social games (not long strategy games). Choose from my shelves of games or bring your own fast-action social games. Please also bring a snack to share, but note that for a while we will be providing red wine. The fun is in Oakland. No RSVP needed; just show up at 7p or later. We have about 20 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! PC, NMPCW, NS, WCP (RSE last Sa)
FUTURE FLASHES
April 1 – Wednesday
11:30a Math Lovers’ Lunch. See March 4. (RSE 1 W)
3 – Friday
*CANCELED* 6p Movies That Matter. See March 6. (RSE 1,3 F)
4 – Saturday
*CANCELED* 1:30p Robot Games in San Jose (SJSU). See March 22.
6p Start The Month Right. See March 7. (RSE 1 Sa)