September 24 – Sunday

7p Channing Club. See October 22. (RSE 4 Su)

26 – Tuesday

Dinner, Drinks, and Wonderfest. The Wonderfest event previously announced for this date has been cancelled by the host venue. PC, NMPCW, WCE, NS, NC, NXM (RSE last Tu)

27 – Wednesday

5:30p Re-BORG. (NOTE ONE-TIME CHANGE OF WEEK.) 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, September 26. Roberta Maguire, robertamaguire/a/t/hotmail.com, (510) 292-6370. PC, NS, NMPCW, ACW (RSE 3 W)

6p An Immense World Book Discussion. Join us for a discussion of An Immense World by Ed Yong, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 9, A Silent World Shouts Back: Echoes. 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 October 12. (RSE 2,4 Th)

30 – Saturday

6p Online Board Games. See October 16.

October 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

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)

4 – 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 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 An Immense World Book Discussion. Join us for a discussion of An Immense World by Ed Yong, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 10, Living Batteries: Electric Fields. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

5 – Thursday

7p Near Palo Alto Dining. Our Palo Alto Dining group will be enjoying Chinese cuisine this month at The Mandarin, located at 1029 El Camino Real, Menlo Park 94025. The food is tasty and the conversation pleasant. To say you’ll be there, contact Susan by Tuesday, October 3, 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 my cell. Vaccinated people only please. PC, NMPCW

6 – Friday

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 first Friday 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

7 – Saturday

11:30a SFRM Fall Picnic. Come join us at Castro Valley Community Park, 3683 Quail Ave., Castro Valley 94546, for our annual Fall Picnic. At this family friendly event, people can relax over hamburgers, hot dogs, and various beverages while enjoying the fall 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/294895854. Please feel free to contact host Kate To at tiggr0272/a/t/hotmail.com if you have any questions. PC

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)

6p In-Person Teton Tea. In addition to the Zoom Teton Tea Party we are having an in-person Teton Tea on the first Saturday of each month, from 6p to 9p. We are meeting at the Berkeley home of Annie Hallatt, phone (510) 548-8252. She writes: “I will have a bonfire in the brick fireplace and chairs to sit around and sing. We can also go inside of Annie’s Hall if the weather gets wet or windy. We will have Teton Tea (wine, tea, raspberries, lemons, and sugar, served hot) and would love you to bring treats to share. I also have a wood stove to keep the space warm if we need it. I will put a sign out to let you know you have arrived at the house. I have a piano if someone wants to play it. I look forward to sharing our songs. Bring songs and music to share.” Please be fully vaxxed and boosted and bring a mask for when we’re not eating or singing. Hosted by Kevin Langdon. PC (RSE 1 Sa)

8 – Sunday

1:30p Robotics Competition at Woodside High School, 199 Churchill Ave., Woodside 94062. Thirty-six high schools bring their robot to compete at the CalGames robotics competition, including three all-female teams. 57-kg (125-lb) student-designed, built, wired, and programmed robots compete in two “Alliances” of three robots each; teams that are alliance partners in one match will be opponents in others. Robots pick up, transport, and score cones or cubes in goals, and extra points by balancing robot(s) on a tilting platform. Game animation at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zpflsYc4PA. Robots operate autonomously at the beginning of each match. Gary Koerzendorfer mentors team 2643 “Dark Matter” from Santa Teresa HS in San Jose. Matches run the evening of Friday, October 6; 9a to 5:45p Saturday, October 7; and 9a to 4p Sunday, Oct. 8; with playoff and final matches on Sunday at 1:30p. Admission and parking is free. PC, NS, NXM

9 – 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)

10 – Tuesday

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; 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. PC (RSE Tu after 1 Sa)

11 – Wednesday

6p An Immense World Book Discussion. Join us for a discussion of An Immense World by Ed Yong, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 11, They Know the Way: Magnetic Fields. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

12 – 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 Locanda Marin, 286 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur 94939, (415) 234-5024, www.italianrestaurantlarkspur.com. RSVP by Monday, October 9, to Elizabeth Calaway at (415) 456-9220 or elizterrycalaway/a/t/aol.com. PC (RSE Th after 2 Tu)

14 – Saturday

4p Big Ideas Reading Group: Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters by Steven E. Koonin. On Zoom. When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that “the science is settled.” Now, one of America’s most distinguished scientists is clearing away the fog to explain what science really says (and doesn’t say) about our changing climate. Koonin, former top science advisor to Obama, gives up-to-date insights and expert perspective free from political agendas. For November 11 on Zoom: The Blank Slate by Stephen 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)

5:30p Movies under the Stars. As the days shorten and weather cools down, come out to Palo Alto for an outdoor movie night experience. We will start the evening with a mix & mingle at 5:30p, followed by a short movie trivia game (with prizes!), and culminating in movies on the big screen/sheet. SFRM will be providing a selection of movies to choose from as well as light “movie theater themed” snacks for your enjoyment. Attendees should bring something to share with others plus a camping chair or blanket to sit on during the movie as seating is limited. Members, their kids and their guests are all welcome to attend but RSVP is required so that we can plan accordingly. RSVP at www.meetup.com/sfmensa/events/294896385. The address will be provided to those who RSVP. Please feel free to contact Kate To at tiggr0272/a/t/hotmail if you have any questions. PC

15 – Sunday

2:30p Speaker Series: Cruising on Rivers and Oceans with Tami Clingan. River cruising and ocean cruising are very different. The benefit of both is that you are not constantly packing and unpacking as you travel between places. You have a cozy cabin that you can call home for your entire trip. Which you would prefer depends on how active or lazy you’d like to be on your vacation and how much time and exploration you’d like to spend at the places you visit. Clingan has spent over 20 years in the travel industry both with the airlines and as a travel consultant. She has made arrangements for vacation, business and group travel worldwide. She partners with cruise lines and group consolidators and has coordinated individual itineraries to many exotic locations. This is a Zoom event, hosted by Judy Unger, junger2040/a/t/gmail.com. RSVP on SFRM Meetup to get the link. PC

16 – 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

18 – 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, October 17. Roberta Maguire, robertamaguire/a/t/hotmail.com, (510) 292-6370. PC, NS, NMPCW, ACW (RSE 3 W)

6p An Immense World Book Discussion. Join us for a discussion of An Immense World by Ed Yong, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 12, Every Window at Once: Uniting the Senses. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

21 – Saturday

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)

22 – 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)

24 – Tuesday

5:45p Dinner, Drinks, and Pills for Aging. (NOTE ONE-TIME CHANGE OF WEEK.) 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 by Dr. Steven Cummings, UCSF Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics. 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)

25 – Wednesday

6p An Immense World Book Discussion. Join us for a discussion of An Immense World by Ed Yong, one chapter at a time. This week we’re reading Chapter 13, Save the Quiet, Preserve the Dark: Threatened Sensescapes. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE W)

26 – Thursday

11:45a South Bay Lunch. See October 12. (RSE 2,4 Th)

27 – 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)

28 – Saturday

6p Online Board Games. See October 16.

November 4 – Saturday
6p Start The Month Right. See October 7. (RSE 1 Sa)
6p In-Person Teton Tea. See October 7. (RSE 1 Sa)