Calendar of Events
TO LIST YOUR EVENT – Length limit: 120 words. Submit items to the Calendar Editor at . 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.
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
12n 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 November
November 24 – Sunday
7p Channing Club. See December 22. (RSE 4 Su)
26 – Tuesday
5:50p Dinner, Drinks, and Hacking Gerrymandering. 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, “Hacking Gerrymandering” with Dr. Ellen Veomett, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of San Francisco. In principle, we all love to hate political gerrymandering. But how can we learn to deal with it, to manage it, … to hack it? In the past decade, mathematicians and computer scientists have developed inventive and revealing tools to find all kinds of gerrymanders: from the pretty-but-partisan, to the hidden firewall. Join us to explore some ugly maps and some beautiful ideas about how to hack gerrymandering. Veomett helped design the nationally-acclaimed GEO metric to analyze redistricting maps created since the 2020 census. 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
27 – Wednesday
11:45a South Bay Lunch. (NOTE ONE-TIME CHANGE OF DAY.) See December 12. (RSE 2,4 Th)
Trivia Night is canceled for November and December. We’ll be back in January 2025. PC, NC, NS, NMPCW (RSE 4 W)
5:30p Dawn of Everything Discussion. We will be reading The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow one chapter at a time. Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 11, Full Circle On the historical foundations of the indigenous critique. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Stanley Ng. PC (RSE W)
29 – Friday
5:30p Virtual Happy Hour. Happy Hour is on the LAST Friday this month – hope to see you at the RG on the 22nd. 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)
30 – Saturday
10a People Love Dead Jews Discussion. We will be reading People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn 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 Chapter 9, Dead Jews of the Desert. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)
December 1-7
December 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)
2 – 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
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 Dawn of Everything Discussion. We will be reading The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow one chapter at a time. Join us for one, a few, or all chapters. This week we’re reading Chapter 12, Conclusion – The dawn of everything. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Stanley Ng. PC (RSE W)
6 – Friday
7p Palo Alto Dining enjoys Turkish cuisine at Anatolian Kitchen, now at 340 California Ave., Palo Alto 94306. Don’t know what Turkish food is? Kurdish food? Come to find out! As always, good food and good conversation. To reserve, contact Susan Heimlich at susan.heimlich/a/t/gmail.com or text/call (650) 714-4972 by Wednesday, December 4. Be sure to get a confirmation. At the restaurant, ask for Susan and please bring cash. For last minute changes, call. PC, NMPCW
7 – Saturday
10a People Love Dead Jews Discussion. We will be reading People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn 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 10, Blockbuster Dead Jews and Chapter 11, Commuting with Shylock. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE 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 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 at meetu.ps/e/NwXnl/9Vhvz/i. Hosted by Katie To. PC
6p Start the Month Right is continuing at its new location at Karl Heuer’s home in San Jose. Come celebrate the 44th year and longest running monthly social event in all of American Mensa (formerly at Elna Tymes’ home from 1981 to 2024!). We’ll have a potluck dinner, unstructured socialization, games, and talk. Host will provide the main dish; you bring salad, bread, or dessert to share and YOB. $1 donation requested. RSVP encouraged; use Meetup (preferred) or e-mail stmr/a/t/sfmensa.org or phone (650) 648-3594. Masks optional. PC, NMPCW, WBC, NS, WCD, LCR (RSE 1 Sa)
December 8-14
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
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)
5:50p Dinner, Drinks, and Overcoming Vision’s Limits. 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, “Overcoming Vision’s Limits” with Dr. Austin Roorda, Professor of Vision Science and Optometry at UC Berkeley. It’s a classic question of color perception: Is my red the same as your red? Using special optical systems that bypass normal visual processes in the eye (optical blur, eye movements), researchers are able to send sensory information to the human brain that it has never experienced before. The BIG question is: If you give novel sensory experiences to the adult brain, will it invent new subjective perceptions to attribute to them? Dr. Roorda’s lab at Cal explores how human brains convert two-dimensional images on the retina into such a rich perceptual experience. 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
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, or maybe San Jose. 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)
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 scramblz-sj.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 Grazie, 823 Grant Ave., Novato 94945, (415) 897-5181, www.grazie-restaurant.com. RSVP by Sunday, December 8, to Elizabeth Calaway at (415) 456-9220 or elizterrycalaway/a/t/aol.com. PC (RSE Th after 2 Tu)
14 – Saturday
10a People Love Dead Jews Discussion. We will be reading People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn 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 12, Dead American Jews, Part Three: Turning the Page. This is a Zoom event. The login details are listed on Meetup. Hosted by Pia Smith. PC (RSE Sa)
4p Big Ideas Reading Group: Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe by Sean Carroll. On Zoom. Starting with the basics of quantum mechanics itself, Sean Carroll explains measurement and entanglement before explaining how the world is really made of fields. Fundamental ideas like spin, symmetry, Feynman diagrams, and the Higgs mechanism are explained for real, not just through amusing stories. Beyond Newton, beyond Einstein, and all the intuitive notions that have guided homo sapiens for millennia, this book is a journey to a once unimaginable truth about what our universe is. For January 11 on Zoom: Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky. 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)
6p Lighted Boat Parade Open House. Discovery Bay has an imaginative parade of lighted boats which sails by our backyard dock every other year. It should reach us at about 7p. Come join us on our deck or by the fire for some appetizers and parade watching. RSVP on Meetup at www.meetup.com/sfmensa/events/303469896/?utm_medium= for the address. If you want to watch from outside, bring a warm jacket. Call or e-mail Judy Unger for questions at (714) 356-4873, junger2040/a/t/gmail.com. PC, D, NS
December 15-21
15 – Sunday
10a Monarchs and Tide Pools. We will meet at Ivéta Westside Café, 2125 Delaware Ave., Santa Cruz 95060 (there’ll be an Intelligencer on the table), then either walk to the Monarch Grove (a ten minute walk on the same street as the café) or drive there ($10 for parking). Monarch migration is variable and population numbers and dates are different each year. The monarchs typically begin arriving in mid-October and leave by mid-February. The grove has been declared a Natural Preserve, thus protecting these butterflies and their winter habitat from human encroachment or harm. It is the only State Monarch Preserve in California. Visitors can view the over-wintering Monarchs by walking down the park’s wheelchair and stroller-accessible boardwalk to an observation deck in the eucalyptus grove. See www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=541 for basic park information. Once we’ve seen the butterfly grove, we’ll walk to the beach to check out the tide pools. Low tide (best time to visit) is 11:32a so we’ll try to hit that. See Meetup for more information about this event, which is hosted by Pia Smith. PC
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, December 17. Roberta Maguire, robertamaguire/a/t/hotmail.com, (510) 292-6370. PC, NS, NMPCW, ACW (RSE 3 W)
21 – Saturday
6p Online Board Games. See December 2.
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)
December 22-30
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)
25 — Wednesday
Trivia Night is canceled for December. We’ll be back in January 2025. PC, NC, NS, NMPCW (RSE 4 W)
26 – Thursday
11:45a South Bay Lunch. See December 12. (RSE 2,4 Th)
27 – Friday
5:30p 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)
FUTURE FLASHES
2025 January 4 – Saturday
6p Start the Month Right. See December 7. (RSE 1 Sa)