Calendar of Events

November 25 – Tuesday

7p The Loop Discussion. We will be reading The Loop: How AI Is Creating A World Without Choices And How To Fight Back by Jacob Ward, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 3: Two Systems. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Tu)

26 – Wednesday

11:45a South Bay Lunch. (NOTE ONE-TIME CHANGE OF DAY.) See December 11. (RSE 2,4 Th)

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” 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 (RSE 4 W)

29 – Saturday

7p East Bay Game Night. See December 27. (RSE last Sa)

December 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)

5:50p Dinner, Drinks, Math, and Magic. (NOTE: After January 1, our regular person will no longer be hosting these events. If you’d like to host these bimonthly events, please email the North Bay Coordinator (northbay/a/t/sfmensa.org) AND the Calendar Editor (calendar/a/t/sfmensa.org). If no one sets up, they will no longer be listed in this calendar, but please continue to enjoy the talks on your own. See the links below for more information.) 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 5:50p. At 6:50p we’ll move to the session room for the talk, “Math and Magic” with Dr. Tori Noquez, Asst. Professor of Mathematics and of Computer Science at Saint Mary’s College of California. Tori is a regular performer at Hollywood’s famous Magic Castle, and she has been featured on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Startling magic sometimes relies on deep mathematical principles. However, if the magician is doing her job, those principles should not be apparent to the spectator – unless the magician is a math professor giving a Wonderfest presentation! Combining the mathematics of playing cards with sleight of hand allows even more powerful magic to arise, can raise some intriguing mathematical questions, and can explore the creative process that leads to original card magic. 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

7p The Loop Discussion. We will be reading The Loop: How AI Is Creating A World Without Choices And How To Fight Back by Jacob Ward, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 4: Clusters. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Tu)

6 – Saturday

10a God, Human, Animal, Machine Discussion. We will be reading God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning by Meghan O’Gieblyn, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Paradox. 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)

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 The Loop Discussion. We will be reading The Loop: How AI Is Creating A World Without Choices And How To Fight Back by Jacob Ward, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 5: Guidance Systems. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE 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

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 of 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 The Spinnaker, 100 Spinnaker Dr., Sausalito 94965, (415) 332-1500, www.spinnakersasausalito.us. RSVP by Monday, December 8, to Elizabeth Calaway at (415) 456-9220 or elizterrycalaway/a/t/aol.com. PC (RSE Th after 2 Tu)

13 – Saturday

10a God, Human, Animal, Machine Discussion. We will be reading God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning by Meghan O’Gieblyn, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Metonymy. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)

2p Big Ideas Reading Group. (NOTE ONE-TIME CHANGE OF TIME.) Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke (daughter of Mensan linguist, author, and speaker, Richard Lederer). On Zoom. How sure am I? What are the possible ways things could turn out? What decision has the highest odds of success? Or is my success attributable to dumb luck rather than great decision making? Annie Duke, a former World Series of Poker champion turned business consultant, draws on examples from business, sports, politics, and (of course) poker to share tools anyone can use to embrace uncertainty and make better decisions. For January 10 on Zoom: Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters by Charan Ranganath. 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)

M-Wisely’s Café will not meet in December. PC (RSE 2 Sa)

5p SFRM Holiday Party. Come join us at SFRM’s holiday bash. This event will be held in the fabulous Diamond Heights neighborhood of San Francisco which overlooks downtown. The exact address will be provided to attendees the week prior to the event. Please bring your favorite hors d’oeuvres for about 10 people for our finger-food potluck and help us celebrate the season with drinks and plenty of good company. Mensans and an adult family member or friend are welcome. As the capacity is limited to 50, RSVPs are REQUIRED and each member is requested to limit their number of guests to +1. RSVP on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC

15 – Monday

6p Online Board Games. See December 6. (RSE 1 Sa, 3 M)

16 – Tuesday

5:50p Dinner, Drinks, and Precious Science. (NOTE: After January 1, our regular person will no longer be hosting these events. If you’d like to host these bimonthly events, please email the North Bay Coordinator (northbay/a/t/sfmensa.org) AND the Calendar Editor (calendar/a/t/sfmensa.org). If no one sets up, they will no longer be listed in this calendar, but please continue to enjoy the talks on your own. See the links below for more information.) 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 5:50p. At 6:50p we’ll move to the session room for the talk, “Precious Science” with Tucker Hiatt, founding director of Wonderfest. Twenty-five years ago, Hiatt created the LoSU poster with the help of six renowned scientists and the graphic artist behind key elements of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos television series. Albert Einstein: “One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike – and yet it is the most precious thing we have.” This quotation graces the very top of Wonderfest’s large-format Layers of Scientific Understanding (LoSU) poster. In the spirit of holiday appreciation, this special year-end Wonderfest event will review — with much audience participation — each of the fifteen layers within this wonderful graphic depiction of Einstein’s “most precious thing.” Published in the year 2001, and distributed to every high school science department in the Bay Area, the LoSU poster celebrates science as “a worldview for the 3rd millennium” … perhaps with principles that last for eternity. 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

7p The Loop Discussion. We will be reading The Loop: How AI Is Creating A World Without Choices And How To Fight Back by Jacob Ward, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 6: Life on the Rails. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Tu)

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, December 16. Roberta Maguire, robertamaguire/a/t/hotmail.com, (510) 292-6370. PC, NS, NMPCW, ACW (RSE 3 W)

18 – Thursday

6:30p Peninsula Dining Group goes to the INDO Restaurant and Lounge, a Southeast Asian restaurant at 3295 El Camino Real, Palo Alto 94306 (south of Page Mill Rd., on the east side). The entrance is actually on Lambert Ave., with a parking lot. Their website is www.indorestaurant.com. Check out their tasty menu. As always, good food and good conversation. Entrees are mostly $10 to $40. To reserve a seat, call/text Susan at (650) 714-4972 or email Susan.Heimlich/a/t/gmail.com by December 16. Be sure to get a confirmation. For last minute changes, call/text cell (650) 714-4972. Please bring cash. PC, NMPCW

20 – Saturday

10a God, Human, Animal, Machine Discussion. We will be reading God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning by Meghan O’Gieblyn, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Algorithm. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)

23 – Tuesday

7p The Loop Discussion. We will be reading The Loop: How AI Is Creating A World Without Choices And How To Fight Back by Jacob Ward, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 7: What AI Isn’t. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Tu)

24 – Wednesday

11:45a South Bay Lunch. (NOTE ONE-TIME CHANGE OF DAY.) See December 11. (RSE 2,4 Th)

Trivia Night will not meet in December. PC, NC, NS, NMPCW (RSE 4 W)

27 – Saturday

10a God, Human, Animal, Machine Discussion. We will be reading God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning by Meghan O’Gieblyn, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Virality. 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 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. 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 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! 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! PC, NMPCW, NS, WCP (RSE last Sa)

30 – Tuesday

7p The Loop Discussion. We will be reading The Loop: How AI Is Creating A World Without Choices And How To Fight Back by Jacob Ward, 20 to 40 pages per week (or however the chapters fall). Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 8: Collapsing Spiral. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Tu)

January 3 – Saturday

6p Online Board Games. See December 6. (RSE 1 Sa, 3 M)