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 March
March 23 – Sunday
2p Robotics Competition – San Francisco. Competition runs Sat. Mar. 22, 11a-7p and Sun. Mar. 23, 9a-4p. Elimination and final Rounds are Sunday 2p. See April 6 for rules. St. Ignatius College Prep, 2001 37th Ave., San Francisco 94116. Free parking and admission. PC, NXM, WBC
7p Channing Club. See April 27. (RSE 4 Su)
26 – Wednesday
5:30p Trivia Night. See April 23. (RSE 4 W)
27 – Thursday
11:45a South Bay Lunch. See April 10. (RSE 2,4 Th)
April 1-7
April 1 – 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, and Other Humans. 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, “Other Humans” with biological anthropologist Julie Hui, Adjunct Professor at the College of Marin. We are members of the genus Homo, distinguished from other primates as bipedal great apes. So far, we have found fossil evidence for several other members of our genus, i.e., several other humans. How does a fossil gain entry into this exclusive club? How many members are there? What do we currently know about these possible relatives – and why aren’t they alive, today, walking upright among us? 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
5 – Saturday
6p Start the Month Right is in flux as the current host (Karl Heuer) is in the process of moving. As of press time, it’s uncertain whether it will be at the prior location, at a new location, on hiatus for one month, or permanently terminated. Check for updates closer to event time, or ask stmr/a/t/sfmensa.org or (650) 648-3594. PC, NMPCW, WBC, NS, WCD, LCR (RSE 1 Sa)
6 – Sunday
1:30p Robotics Competition – Berkeley. High School students design, build, wire, and program 54 kg (120 lb) metal robots to compete 3-on-3 on a volleyball-field sized arena. In this year’s First Robotics Competition game “Reefscape”, robots fetch, carry, and score 0.5 kg pipe (“coral”) and 40 cm balls (“algae”) in a 2.5 minute round. The first 15 seconds of each round are autonomous – operating solely by its internal program; the remaining 2.25 minutes the robots are controlled by students. Robots earn additional points by hoisting themselves off the ground at the end of the round. The public is welcome to tour the pits to see the ’bots up close. See a video of “Reefscape” at youtu.be/BVeFdbtuIpE and an inspirational video of the FIRST Robotics program at youtu.be/hpEWBmdL0Ow. Competition runs Fri. Apr. 4, 12n-6p; Sat. Apr. 5, 9a-5p; and Sun. Apr. 6, 9a-4p. Elimination and final rounds are Sunday 1:30p. Berkeley High School, 1980 Allston Way, Berkeley 94704. Free parking and admission. PC, NXM, WBC
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)
April 8-14
8 – 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)
6:45p 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 on Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View, or downtown 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)
10 — 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 orderscramblzalmaden.com/. Sandra Anderson, (408) 997-3187. Vaccinated only, please. 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 Black Bear Diner, 490 Las Gallinas Ave., San Rafael 94903, (415) 295-7897, blackbeardiner.com. RSVP by Sunday, April 6, to Elizabeth Calaway at (415) 456-9220 or elizterrycalaway/a/t/aol.com. Note that we will not meet in May, but will return in June. PC (RSE Th after 2 Tu)
12 – Saturday
4p Big Ideas Reading Group: A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains by Max Bennett. On Zoom. Containing fascinating corollaries to developments in AI, A Brief History of Intelligence shows where current AI systems have matched or surpassed our brains, as well as where AI systems still fall short. Simply put, until AI systems successfully replicate each part of our brain’s long journey, AI systems will fail to exhibit human-like intelligence. For May 10 on Zoom: Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick. 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)
13 – Sunday
2:30p Speaker Series: Meet the Beatles You Thought You Knew. On Zoom. The Beatles were a cultural tsunami that forever changed fashion, manners, humor, media, values, and style, while influencing musical genres and future musicians long after the group’s demise. Kansas University’s professor of rock and lifelong educator Steve Lopes will lead us in a review of their origin story and Beatlemania, and study how they became so fabulous. Please register at livepresentation.link/APR. You will receive a confirmation email from Zoom that will contain the link needed to join the presentation. Hosted by Judy Unger, junger2040/a/t/gmail.com. PC
14 – 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)
April 15-21
15 – Tuesday
5:50p Dinner, Drinks, Tiny Galaxies, and Eye Movements. 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 two talks by Wonderfest Science Envoys, who are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. First, Stanford astrophysicist Viraj Manwadkar on “Tiny Galaxies and Big Cosmic Mysteries.” The very smallest galaxies shed light on fundamental questions in physics and astronomy: They play an intriguing role in the formation of cosmic ecosystems, and they even inform our attempt to understand dark matter, the utterly mysterious stuff that constitutes 80% of the material universe. Next, UC Berkeley neuroscientist Stephanie Reeves on “The Horizontal Saccade Bias.” Humans make eye movements to explore the visual environment. One type of involuntary eye movement, termed a saccade, occurs 2-3 times per second and is one of the fastest movements that the human body can make. New research challenges previous assumptions about how and why saccades arise. 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
16 – 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, April 15. Roberta Maguire, robertamaguire/a/t/hotmail.com, (510) 292-6370. PC, NS, NMPCW, ACW (RSE 3 W)
17 – Thursday
6:30p The Peninsula Dining Group (still in Palo Alto) goes to a local trattoria for Italian cuisine. We’ll be at Caffe Riace, 200 Sheridan Ave., Palo Alto 94306. In the past they had only outside dining with heat lamps. They have added some indoor rooms (which help if weather is inclement). A tad pricey, but with the good food and good conversation, we’ll barely notice. Join us!! To reserve a seat, call Susan at (650) 714-4972 or email Susan.Heimlich/a/t/gmail.com by April 15. Be sure to get confirmation. At the Caffe, ask for Susan, and please bring cash. PC, NMPCW
19 – 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)
April 22-30
23 – 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 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)
24 – Thursday
11:45a South Bay Lunch. See April 10. (RSE 2,4 Th)
27 – 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)
29 – Tuesday
5:50p Dinner, Drinks, Kilonova Metals, and Frog Secrets. 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 two talks by Wonderfest Science Envoys, who are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. First, UC Berkeley astrophysicist Daniel Brethauer on “Astronomically Rocking Out to Heavy Metals.” The gold in jewelry, the uranium in a nuclear power plant, the cesium in atomic clocks: what do these all have in common? It turns out they were likely forged in the fires of a cosmic explosion known as a kilonova. These extremely energetic events reveal the origins of the periodic table’s heaviest elements. Next, Stanford biologist Jenni Serrano Rojas on “Unraveling Frogs’ Secrets for Conservation.” Biotelemetry tools are revolutionizing our study of animals, from the largest to the tiniest species. They reveal hidden animal interactions, critical living spaces, and essential resources. In poison frogs, in particular, biotelemetry affords insights that inform conservation strategies and help the species to respond to global change. 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
FUTURE FLASHES
May 3 – Saturday
6p Start The Month Right. See April 5. (RSE 1 Sa)