January 2005 - Tampa Bay Mensa

Tampa Bay 

Sounding 

A Publication of Tampa Bay (Florida) Mensa 

Vol. 29, No. 12 January 2005 

A Brand New Year! 

2 Tampa Bay Sounding 

Mensa is an international society whose sole qualification 

for membership is a score at or above the 98th percentile on a 

standard IQ test. Mensa is a not-for-profit organization whose 

main purpose is to serve as a means of communication and 

assembly for its members. All opinions expressed herein are 

those of the individual authors, and not necessarily those of the editors or 

officers of Mensa. Mensa as an organization has no opinions. Visit American 

Mensa at http://www.us.mensa.org. 

Tampa Bay Sounding is the official newsletter of Tampa Bay 

Mensa. See the inside back cover for copyright information. 

Tampa Bay Mensa, which split off from Central Florida Mensa in 

1975, serves Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Sumter 

counties. Visit TBM at http://www.tampa.us.mensa.org, which 

provides full instructions on how to join tbm-gm and tbm-discussion, our two 

Yahoo Groups. 

Contents 

Editor Introduction Thomas George Thomas________________ 3 

Birthdays and New Members ___________________________ 4 

Mensaversaries _______________________________________ 5 

Letters To The Sounding _______________________________ 6 

Potluck/Post-Thanksgiving Games Night Sylvia Zadorozny__ 9 

RVC Report Elissa Rudolph _____________________________ 10 

Kick Irrational Brian Lord______________________________ 11 

Cryptopoem Sylvia Zadorozny __________________________ 12 

LocSec’s Report Maxine Kushner________________________ 13 

Florida RGs/Mind Games registrations _________________ 14 

January 2005 Calendar Ronan Heffernan, Calendar Editor____ 17 

Deciding History Dan Chesnut ___________________________ 23 

Last Month’s Cryptopoem Solution_____________________ 35 

Erudite Lite Ellen Barry ________________________________ 36 

Tampa Bay Mensa Officers _____________________________38

January 2005 3 

Editor’s Introduction – Introduction of the Editor 

Thomas George Thomas 

It may sometimes be misleading to think of January as a time of new 

beginnings. In the case of this column, so much of the “new 

beginning” came in the groundwork that preceded it. 

Over the past couple of months I’ve attended several of the events 

found in the Sounding Calendar to familiarize myself with both the 

activities and the people of Tampa Bay Mensa, and this was a treat 

(if sometimes hectic)! Between the TGIF in South Pasadena (with 

discussions of the nutritional value of Guinness Stout), the Lunch 

Bunch in Carrollwood (and a lively discussion of taxation), the new 

Reading Club in Tampa (with the sharing of suggestions for new 

books – I’m halfway through “The Diamond Age” from the first 

meeting), FSM in Sun City and other places (with a re-enactment of 

an old “I Love Lucy” routine) and the ever-popular Games Night in 

Oldsmar and other places (with trivia and Empire-Building), there’s 

activity all over the area, and one common thread – vibrant and 

fascinating conversation with other Mensans. 

I’ve been in the Tampa Bay area for four years, but I’m still a relative 

newcomer. So I look forward to meeting more of you, either at the 

various activities in the Calendar, or through artistic, literary, 

philosophical or other contributions you are invited to make to this 

Sounding – your magazine. 

My philosophy of editing is fairly laissez-faire. I don’t intend to 

rewrite any submissions without the foreknowledge of the author, 

which led to some thoughtful back-and-forth e-mails preceding this 

month’s Letter To The Sounding, which in itself may raise some 

lively discussion! However, I do intend to adhere to the submission 

guidelines on the inside back page of the Sounding. And after this 

month, may I be so bold as to add one suggestion: keep the letters 

under 400 words! More than that would rate an article, and could 

certainly be submitted as such. 

I look forward to hearing from you! 

Thomas 


January Birthdays 

1 Jerry Merchant 

2 John Hamilton, Mary Muka, Danielle Wingate 

4 Michael Johnston, Betty Taylor 

5 Lawrence Jay 

6 Rick Craig, Susanna Shea 

8 Ronan Heffernan, Patricia Johnston 

9 Stanley Pleban 

11 Vivian Barnard, Russell Brown. Robert Quinn III, Sean 

Smith 

12 Julie Anderson, David Goodrich 

13 Scott Wilson 

14 Ronald Baker 

20 Jessica Cameron, Thomas Johnson 

21 James Perry 

23 Theresa Hohmann, Patrick Rhodes 

24 Anthony Ferrara, Joni Fisher, Brett Husselbaugh 

25 Louise Kelly, Michelle Kurtz 

26 Robert Young 

27 Richard Averitt, Gary Posner, Marsha Raymond 

28 Ben Gronek, Robert Murrin, Patricia Oldfield, K E 

Schneider 

29 Lloyd Cook 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Welcome to Tampa Bay Mensa! 

Ellen Berry* 

Ryan Boyle* 

Lloyd Cook 

Michael Fouse 

Brian Guidry 

John Hamilton 

Michael Harris 

Jamie Heuer* 

Joseph Hickey* 

Kenna Holder* 

Robert Johnson 

Charles Lardent 

Keith Lussen 

Vincent Marshall 

Alvin Nienhuis* 

Ferdinand Pointer 

Bradley Price* 

Terry Wells 

*= new member; others are moves in, preferences in, or 

reinstatements.


January Mensaversaries 

1 Richard Everitt, Christopher Cain, Lloyd Cook, James 

Dowling, Michael Hankinson, Kitt Holland, Samuel 

Milligan, Barbara Nichols, Matthew Petit, Frank 

Ridgway, Robin Schuessler, Arthur Schwartz, Susanna 

Shea, Robert Young 

2 Douglas Fitzgerald, Susan Gardner, Lannis Harris, 

Michael Johnston, Mikael Magnusson, Sheila Mitchell, 

Barbara Rambow, William Schneikart, Brandon Shaw 

3 Alvin Bedgood, Norman Cillo, Brian Dreggors, Paul 

Happel, Thomas Thomas, Thomas Vena, Robert Waltz 

4 Gary Martin 

5 Donna Ippolito, Martin Jenns 

7 Dave Bryant, Michael Perry 

8 Nelson Crowle, Steven Graves, Bill Lewellen, Roger 

Preslar 

11 Ron Austin 

12 Ryan Kennedy 

13 Karen Hamlin 

18 Grant Logan 

21 Bonnie Wilpon 

25 Benito Enriquez, Kenneth Kaplan, Bruce Perry 

27 Lee Miele 

30 Jerry Merchant, Brigitte Walker 

31 Daniel O’Neal 

37 Maryl Curry, Mary Sanchez 

* Mensaversaries come from the membership list provided by 

national Mensa; some may represent rejoin dates after a lapse in 

membership. 


Letter To The Sounding 

In response to Dan Chesnut's diatribe on Global warming let me say 

Man Made Global Warming is a Farce - an International Cock and 

Bull story if I may. The Man Made Global Warming hoax is 

generally perpetrated by the usual bunch of Anti-American, Anti- 

Capitalist, Anti-Growth, UN Socialist sycophants who always 

protest the production and use of energy; The same people, I might 

add, who deplore Nuclear Energy production while they ignore 

Nuclear Bomb production of rogue nations. 

First off let me say I do not dispute the findings of NOAA nor my 

own empirical evidence that yes the world does appear to be 

warming. What I do dispute is that man has any significant effect on 

this phenomenon; Please let me make my case. 

As a Math Professor Dan knows what is required of a proof: claim 

that a statement is true, start with one previously proven fact, and 

then in logical progression of small irrefutable steps make the case 

that you original premise must be the one and only valid conclusion. 

But Dan has done anything but that in his piece. He buries us in data 

that says the earth is warming but his connection of this to mankind 

as the cause is flimsy and ill conceived. The truth he expects us to 

believe is: man is on the earth using fossil fuels, the earth is growing 

warmer at the same time, so ergo man must be responsible. To 

accept such faulty logic as truth or proof is shear folly, at best it is a 

remote possibility and nothing more. 

While scientist do tell us the Earth is warming they've also 

determined Mars is warming. Logically if 2 planets are in the same 

sphere of influence from the Sun, one populated by man the other 

not, if only the planet populated by man were warming one might 

assume it were the effect of man, however since both planets are 

warming one would have to consider the Sun as logical cause. 

Besides the Sun other serious Intra-planetary causes need to be 

evaluated as to the cause of global warming. I am referring here to a 

report in the NY Times that a significant decrease has been observed 

in the Earth's Magnetic Field; reportedly it is off 10% and scientists 

do tell us there have been polar juxtapositions of the earth's 

magnetic field throughout geologic history. How this magnetic field 

decrease affects the planet and what types of radiation and particles 

are drawn to it has yet to be studied but the possibility of it affecting 

climate is conceivable.


The earth itself is covered in a sea of air; at sea level each square inch 

of earth has 14.7 pounds of air above it - that is over a ton of air (2000 

pounds) per Square Foot. There are roughly 28 million Square Feet 

per Square Mile and there are roughly 197 million Square Miles of 

earth. I shall leave the math for others here but the idea that the 

exhaust fumes from my SUV are somehow polluting that 

astronomical quantity of air is preposterous. 

In conjunction with this sea of air I would point out before this 

planet was "civilized" huge annual wildfires would rage 

uncontrolled across the planet spewing much higher levels of 

Carbon Oxides and particulate matter than are common today. 

The infinitesimal amount of time man has spent on this earth relative 

to the age of the planet leaves us impotent to determine just what is 

a normal temperature or how a natural climate change should 

progress. I should point out to my Anti-Capitalist friends here we do 

not have to worry about destroying the planet; we may destroy 

ourselves but I'm quite sure the planet will be just fine. 

The author replies: 

Ronnie Dubs 

justapoorwhiteboy@hotmail.com 

The preceding letter is in response to my article in the November 

issue of the Sounding, 'What You Should Know About Global 

Warming." It is my opinion that my article was carefully researched 

and indeed provided a good deal of "what you should know about 

global warming." (If you have not read it, you should!) It was 

organized into numerous subtopics, one of which near the end of the 

article discussed the possibility of human impact on global climate 

via industrialization. It was balanced in that it allowed for the 

possibility that rising temperatures could either be part of a natural 

cycle or caused by industrial greenhouse emissions. The article 

notes that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and global 

temperatures have risen in concert since the beginning of 

industrialization and asks – literally – whether it is more reasonable 

to believe these variables are connected in some causal manner 

versus being a coincidence. Not only did I deliberately not make 

render any possibilities about the cause of global warming as the 

"truth," and did not make any "connection" between mankind and 

climate, but I specifically pointed out the illogic of confusing 

correlation and causation. 


My article did not contain nor imply any political tone. Indeed, if 

one is viewing a phenomenon scientifically, would not the theories 

that followed be the same regardless of one's politics 

Of course, forest fires as well as volcanic eruptions, etc. have 

occurred throughout history, but the information in my article 

clearly shows that a natural balance existed in carbon dioxide levels 

up to the point in time preceding the beginning of industrialization 

in the 19th century. The article does not mention vehicles, let alone 

SUV's. 

Mr. Dubs Mars example is so flawed I hesitate to explain: He points 

out that both Mars and Earth are warming, so logically it could not 

be humans causing the warming. That would, in fact, be logical if 

humans were the only possible reason for global warming. Even if 

only Earth were warming, we could not, as my article stated, assume 

humans were the cause. 

Overall I see little connection between my article and Mr. Dubs 

letter, so I have no further points to clarify. I certainly hope the 

majority of you found the information I presented in the article 

enlightening and thought provoking, and please feel free to contact 

me directly with your views or questions. 

Dan Chesnut 

Chesnut314@aol.com 

The editor adds: 

I was conflicted about the inclusion of this letter in the Sounding, 

given the injunctions in the submission guidelines on the inside back 

cover of this magazine. However, I found the statements following 

the first paragraph interesting. After corresponding with both Mr. 

Dubs and Mr. Chesnut on the topic, I have decided to run these. 

This may be a one-time occurrence. The correspondent assured me 

that this letter was not intended as a personal attack, and since Mr. 

Dubs initiated the offer for Mr. Chesnut to respond, I promised to 

take him at his word. But my perception remains that this was 

generally hostile and non-constructive, not unlike much of 

contemporary media punditry. I am looking forward to feedback 

from you, the readers, with ideas for providing a properly conducive 

environment for the type of intellectual discussion that Mensans can 

best appreciate. 

Thomas George Thomas 

FardleBear@aol.com


Potluck – Post Thanksgiving Games Night 

Sylvia Zadorozny 

The pouring rain kept away Fred and Ruby Agnir, but a 

dozen of us did make it to November's Potluck/Post- 

Thanksgiving Games Night. James Browning, who brought 

Neiman Marcus cashew almond toffee popcorn, was new to 

the game of Taboo, but caught on to it very quickly. Dana 

Groulx, who brought a huge pumpkin pie, claimed her brain 

was fried from studying to be a pharmacist, but she still 

managed to tie for winner of Nameburst with Thomas 

Thomas, who donated a copy of Risk as well as some Dove 

dark chocolates. Barbara Loewe proved her psychic powers 

were in full force as she aided her team to victory during 20 

Questions. Don Davis provided several arcane answers 

during 90's Trivial Pursuit, as did Delphine Jenness, who 

brought a large bag of hard candies. George Zadorozny was 

surprised when he squeezed one of my stuffed turkey 

decorations and it suddenly burst out singing "Turkey in the 

Straw." He also introduced Erin Smith, who enjoyed playing 

Password. Richard Manno, whose cranberry-lemonbutterscotch-oatmeal 

cookies were surprisingly popular, won 

the game of Acquire, just squeaking past me, but Theresa 

Hohmann deserved the Miss Congeniality award for being 

such a good sport during the game. Between games, Dan 

Chesnut made friends with my black cat Ellie and reported 

that Max Loick had said to say "Hi" to us (Hi, Max). Towards 

the end of the evening some of us played TransAmerica, one 

of last year's Mind Games winners. Which reminds me - Don't 

forget to register for Mind Games, which will be held in 

Tampa in April. (Registration info is in the Mensa Bulletin.) If 

you wait for Mind Games 2006, you'll have to travel to far 

away Portland, Oregon! 


The Tenth Story: RVC Column for Region 10 

Elissa Rudolph 

Ring in the new! Hope your new year is a great one! At 

last month’s AMC meeting at the Coronado Springs Resort in 

Walt Disney World, a Planning and Review Committee was 

established to evaluate the executive director and to poll the 

AMC on perceptions of how American Mensa is functioning. 

National Publications Guidelines were adopted. Central 

Alabama Mensa’s bid to host the 2007 AG in Birmingham was 

accepted. MindGames 2006 will be hosted by Oregon Mensa 

in Portland. The core committee for the 2006 World Gathering 

(http://WG06.us.mensa.org) was approved. For more details 

on this AMC meeting, go to the Mensa website and click on 

“member resources.” 

Scott Rainey, RVC 9, and Marghretta McBean, RVC1, took 

many photos at the Coronado Springs Resort. Go to: 

http://www.or.us.mensa.org/pix/2004q4/ to see what this 

venue looks like. Plan to be there in 2006 at the World 

Gathering! 

Speaking of unusual gatherings, this one sounds 

fascinating. Borderline Mensa hosts the Colloquium, "Earth in 

Mind: Fueling the Future" on March 4–6, 2005, in Tucson, 

Arizona. If you’ve been thinking about the purchase of a 

hybrid vehicle or an energy-saving home, well qualified 

experts in the sustainable energy field will tell you what you 

need to consider when making these purchases. To learn 

details or to register, go to http://colloquium.us.mensa.org. 

Registration is $150 for members and $200 for non-members 

through mid-February. This weekend will give you a glimpse 

into the future! 

Coming attractions for the Florida region: 

ValenTime, Feb. 11-13, Northwest Florida’s RG on the white 

sand beaches of the Panhandle. 

www.nwflorida.us.mensa.org/valentime.html for info.


MindGames, April 15-17, hosted by our very own Tampa Bay 

Mensa, Double Tree Hotel-Tampa Westshore Airport. 

Registration is $65 to 4/1. Send registrations to MindGames 

2005, 1229 Corporate Drive W, Arlington, TX 76006-6103. 

FloRanGe ’05-Suite Mayhem, Broward Mensa’s RG over 

Memorial Day weekend, May 27-30, Tampa Bay Mensa’s 

traditional spot on the calendar. Since that group is doing 

MindGames, Broward Mensa is hosting the 3-day RG in 

Fort Lauderdale. Can’t miss a chance to party! Contact Robin 

Rhea, 954.575.1639, robinrhea@bellsouth.net for information. 


RVC10@us.mensa.org 

5054 Lakefront Blvd., Apt. D 

Delray Beach, FL 33484 

561-496-0124 

http://wg06.us.mensa.org 


Cryptopoem 

by Sylvia Zadorozny 

UNDR RAIN WISHDO END UIEDGW THKD, 

ND NIO NSW EGAKTHDW, WIFD IW LAK. 

BAG BAGEL OILW ND OGAQD NSW IGY 

TDBAGD ND BAKRO I ZHIPD EA ZIGY. 

--I. RARRL FAKWD



Hello Tampa Bay Mensans! 

LocSec’s Report 

Maxine Kushner 

I have it easy this month—between our new editor’s column 

and Elissa’s RVC report, all the pertinent news will have been 

reported. So I’ll keep it simple: best wishes for the new year 

and all your resolutions, simple or grandiose as they might be, 

and come on out and join your fellow Mensans in some local 

activities. 

Until next month, 

Maxine 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

MindGames will be hosted right here in 

Tampa at the Double Tree Hotel-Tampa 

Westshore Airport, April 

15-17. Registration is $65 to 

4/1. Send registrations to MindGames 2005, 

1229 Corporate Drive W, Arlington, TX 

76006-6103.


Broward Mensa Presents FLoRanGe ‘05 

Suite Mayhem! 

Memorial Day Weekend May 27-30, 2005 

A mélange of speakers, demonstrations, contests, 

tournaments, an auction, Charlie Steinhice and his Trash 

Bowl, Rick Friedman, Joke-off, paper games, Pundemonium, 

John Klasen’s Treasure Hunt, Wit Tee Shirt Contest, special 

activities for Teens and ‘Tweens, 24 hour Game and 

Hospitality Suites, pool, hot tub, all meals except Saturday 

Night on the Town, plus all the old and new friends you can 

stuff into a steamer trunk! 

Location: 

Fort Lauderdale, FL 

Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek 

All rooms are suites. 

$79.00 per night for 1-4. 

Must reserve by May 6, 2005 

Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek 

555 West Cypress Creek Road 

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 

Phone: 954-492-5849 

1-800-325-3535 

Mail to: Darcy Schiller, Registrar 

6075 N. Sabal Palm Blvd. #313 

Tamarac, FL 33319-2645 

Name__________________________ 

Address ________________________ 

City/State/Zip ____________________ 

Officer/Position __________________ 

Name on Badge _________________ 

Email address ____________________ 

Registration: 

$75.00 until January 31 

$80.00 after January 31 

$37.50 for children under 12 

Make checks payable to: 

Broward Mensa 


ANA, APS, PC-LM, USPCS-LM, USCS, FUN-LM, FAS-LM, MPOS 

UPSS-LM, AAMS, AFDCS, MPPC-LM, PSS, PNC3, MPHS 

Robert J. Murrin 

Stamps, Coins, Covers, Tokens 

Militaria, Gold & Silver, Quohogs 

Most Things of Value: Real or Imagined 

(727) 323-3657 P.O. Box 10100 

Murrin@gte.net St. Petersburg, FL 33733-0100 

Financial Planning · Mortgages · Investments 

601 Cleveland Street, Ste. 900, Clearwater 

Serge P. Villani, CFM 727-462-2316 

Certified Financial Manager 800-333-4352 

serge_villani@ML.com 

Dolores Puterbaugh, LMHC, PA 

Licensed Mental Health Counselor 

providing holistic, confidential 

services. 

801 West Bay Drive, Suite 416 

Largo, Florida 33770 

The Wachovia Bank Building 

Member: 

ICSPP, Mensa, TNS, ACA, SMHCA 

Member of Mensa 

Since 1985 

Services Include: 

· Individual counseling 

· Family & couples counseling 

· Anxiety, depression, grief 

· Stress, anger 

· Personal growth/development 

· Consulting/Coaching services 

727-559-0863 

puterbaugh@mindspring.com 

balancedlifestylecoaching.com 

Want more information 

Contact RG Chair Robin Rhea (robinrhea@bellsouth.net) 

954-575-1639


CALENDAR 

January 2005 

Ronan Heffernan, Calendar Editor 

Mensa events are open to all Mensans, their spouses, and 

accompanied guests. A party at a private home is a private 

event, and who may or may not attend is at the complete 

discretion of the host. While kitty amounts are mandatory, 

hosts often spend far more than the specified amount. 

Donations excess of the kitty amount will be appreciated. 

Ronan Heffernan (813-907-8147) is the Calendar Editor. Please 

e-mail your calendar event notices to Ronan@tampabay.rr.com, 

or visit http://tampa.us.mensa.org/cal for complete 

instructions. Your deadline for the following month’s calendar 

is the 12 th of the preceding month. 

Hosts: Please remember to mention any special concerns 

about your location, such as limited access for the 

handicapped, smoking restrictions, or presence of pets. 

Guests: If you have special needs or restrictions, it is prudent 

to discuss them with your host before attending an event. 

January – 3rd, 17th - Mondays - 3:30 PM - $2 

Children's Game Day/Play Day 

For ages 0-10. Come join us. Bring your favorite games. For 

directions contact: 

Linne Katz - 727-372-9438 - LINNEKATZ@aol.com 

10037 Wheatland Road - New Port Richey 


January – 5th - Wednesday - 7:00 PM 

Reading Group 

Location: Borders Books & Music - 909 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa 

Join us for the next meeting of the 

new TBM reading discussion 

group, now named “Erudite Lite”! 

We'll spend time catching up on 

what we’ve been reading, and 

recommending readables and 

topics. When you arrive, look for 

us in the coffee shop inside Borders. Bring along books you’d 

like to exchange or give away. 

Check out our new website: www.rovingarts.com/eruditelite 

Ellen Berry – 727-480-7938 – eberry@rovingarts.com 

Borders Books & Music - 909 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa 

January – 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th - Thursdays - 12:30 PM 

Lunch Bunch 

We meet at Piccadilly Cafeteria, on 11810 North Dale Mabry 

Highway (next to Barnes and Noble Bookstore), in Tampa. For 

directions, descriptions, and/or encouragement to attend, call: 

Jim Perry - 813-837-3473 - philart@gte.net 

January - 13th - Thursday - 7:30 AM 

Breakfast Gathering 

Breakfast Gathering, Village Inn at Walsingham Road in 

Largo, 7:30 AM, 2nd Thursday of every month. Gather for 

food and conversation. Please call Lori Puterbaugh at 727-399- 

2419 for directions and so we have a headcount. 

Lori Puterbaugh - 727-399-2419


January - 15th - Saturday - 7:00 PM - potluck 

Games Night 

(to the tune of "Let It Snow!") 

Oh, our Mensans are quite insightful, 

And the games are so delightful. 

Come on, bring your friend or beau. 

Let us go, let us go, let us go! 

Bring a potluck snack to share, please. 

There are cats (be warned, if you'll sneeze), 

And don't smoke in the "chateau". 

Let us go, let us go, let us go! 

Sylvia Zadorozny - 813-855-4939 - sylviachocolate@juno.com 

651 Timber Bay Circle West - Oldsmar 


January – 23rd - Sunday - 2:00 PM – Free 

FSM 

Chris Clement will be our host this month, as we prepare the 

Tampa Bay Sounding for mailing. 

Directions: From Tampa, take Hillsborough Avenue heading 

west. This becomes Tampa Road in north Pinellas. Go west 

until Tampa Road ends at Orange Street in Ozona. Turn right 

and go past a 4-way stop at Pennsylvania Avenue. Then look 

for the 3rd house on the right 

Chris Clement - 727-784-0186 - chris@micrometer.com 

612 Orange St. N. - Ozona/Palm Harbor 

January – 22nd - Saturday - 8:30 PM 

NTN Trivia 

Location: Buffalo Wild Wings, Gulf View Square Mall, 9409 

US Hwy. 19 N., Port Richey, FL 34668 

Come and play! It's NTN Satellite Trivia at a big ol' wonderful 

NON-smoking and not-terribly-noisy and friendly sports bar 

called BUFFALO WILD WINGS! A lonely gigundasize 

computer somewhere in the USA sends mysterious signals to 

a satellite, seeking answers to trivia questions! Multiple 

Choice! With CLUES!! THOUSANDS of people around the 

world play at the same time! Most of them are drunk, so your 

odds of beating 'em are high! C'mon for the challenge--the 

callipygousness of the servers--the camaraderie! And the 

manager just might give PRIZES!!! Look for me--the guy 

wearing the Aussie hat--and if I find Owlbert the Life-Sized 

Plastic Owl, I'll being him TOO! Call or email for more 

information (note that there is no 'g' in the email address: 

RipRoarinFunToday@yahoo.com) 

January - 28th - Friday - 6:00 PM 

TGIF 

You don't have to be an Anglophile to enjoy the Horse & 

Jockey British Pub, but you do have to be prepared to 

celebrate TGIF! The Horse & Jockey is located at 1155 

Pasadena Avenue South, South Pasadena. State law does not 

permit smoking in restaurants. 

Brigitte Walker - 727-346-0656 

George Zadorozny - 727-847-9960


Deciding History 

by Dan Chesnut 

I learned as a boy the first heavier-than-air flight took place on 

December 17, 1903. I have always loved aeronautics and 

when I learned that this great event occurred on my birthday, 

it made me feel special. As an adult, I read historical 

materials of a more intellectual nature and at some point I 

learned to my slight dismay that the Wright brothers already 

had flown their aircraft on December 14th! I wondered: Why 

was this not the day that marked the beginning of modern 

aviation I read further into the matter. 

According to the standards of the time, flight had to involve 

sustained flying without the use of gliding and make a safe 

landing. Ever see those old film clips that include ridiculous 

flying contraptions that whirled and flapped up and down 

Many of them became airborne, but then the machine would 

collapse in a heap of wreckage, so the pilot could not claim to 

have flown. Of course, the pilot's inability to make such a 

claim was further underscored when the pilot himself was 

part of the heap of wreckage. 

The Wrights were keenly aware of the need for a perfect flight, 

particularly in light of Samuel Langley’s aircraft, which only 

weeks earlier had actually flown fairly well – briefly – but then 

crashed into the Potomac and which some people were 

claiming was the first flight of an airplane. In fact, Langley 

had earlier built a powered – but unmanned – model in 1896 

that flew much further and for longer duration than any of the 

Wright’s 1903 flights, and the Smithsonian Institute 

recognized Langley – not the Wrights – as the first in flight 

until 1944. Of course, now the Wright Flyer is on display in 

the Smithsonian. History is sometimes like putty. 

Orville and Wilbur had made previous expeditions to Kitty Hawk 

and had perfected flying very large glider kites as well as a glider big 

enough for one person. As a result of these 


experiences, they understood the need for strong winds and 

sloping land - in this case, sand dunes - to help create lift for 

that method of flight. What they did not know, being the 

pioneers they were, was that heavier-than-air flight worked 

better in calm winds because windy days also are gusty and 

unstable. They flipped a coin, Wilbur won, and made a very 

nice, very short flight on December 14, 1903, which 

unfortunately endured a gust upon landing which canted the 

craft and broke key spars. 

In any reasonable view of the event, Wilbur demonstrated that 

they had successfully made a machine fly, but it could not – 

by their standards – be brought forth as proof of flight, so after 

three more days the damage was repaired, it was Orville’s 

turn and he managed the famous four, incredibly short flights 

that we now mark as the beginning of aviation. 

I have been to Kitty Hawk and stood on that spot and seen the 

distance he flew that day. I could have thrown a rock farther 

than the first flight. All the flights were simply straight lines 

that landed at a point directly in front of the take off point. 

As a modern day pilot myself, I have some notions about 

flight. I noticed that their craft did not have landing gear, but 

required a track for take off. As awkward and incredibly 

brief as these flights were, could even all four be enough to 

prove flight One could suppose they would have to at least 

fly around and return to the take off spot to prove flight. Or 

could it be argued that, since the same machine flew on 

December 17th as the one on the 14th, and made many more 

flights back in the Dayton, Ohio area, should not the 

December 14th was the first flight, being the first time it was 

used 

I am hardly the first person to question just when the first true 

flight occurred, and in my readings this was not the last event 

to which history books have simplistically and tidily assigned 

a specific date. The following examples in this article reflect


similar oversimplification. They serve not to present specific 

proposals for how to decide their history, but to encourage 

your own conclusions. Pretend, if you will, that all history 

books are to be rewritten and you are in charge. Your book 

will affect what everyone else understands about these 

examples. I think you will do a great job. Have fun. (While 

you’re at it, take a look at the last couple of U.S. Presidential 

elections, will you) 

Trivia question: Who made the first non-stop flight across the 

Atlantic Ocean Answer at the end of this article. 

Who discovered the New World I cannot help but notice we 

set aside a day in October to honor Christopher Columbus 

and we all know that, aboard the Nina, the Pinta, and the 

Santa Maria he sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and discovered ... 

something. Therein lies the problem. The first of several, in 

fact. Columbus was a fabulous mariner, but unlike the ocean 

he crossed, his intellectual grasp was not very deep. For 

instance, his determination of the size of the world was 

substantially worse than the Greeks’ centuries earlier, which 

was actually quite accurate. (In fact, Queen Isabella I's 

advisors told her Columbus was underestimating of the size 


of the world (based, in part, on Ptolemy's work), and I suspect 

she nonetheless agreed to fund the expedition so the 

Portuguese would not be the first to profit from finding a 

westward passage to Asia.) As an alleged discoverer, 

Columbus believed he had reached the East Indies (Malaysia), 

or at least its surrounding islands, in spite of crossing the 

Atlantic four times and getting nowhere near Asia. Of course, 

his error is why the Indies and the Indians - Native American 

ones - were so named. 

I have found it worth examining exactly what it means to 

discover, and I like to apply the following hypothetical 

situation to an understanding of how discovery applies to this 

New World question: Suppose we are a group that very much 

needs bricks and a rather dim member of our group – call him 

C.C. – is sent to get some. He stumbles upon a vast supply of 

gold bricks and, bringing some back to the group, excitedly 

claims “Look! Bricks!” A more astute member - call him 

A.V. – visits the horde, examines the bricks and upon return to 

the group announces, “Look! Gold!” So, which member of 

the group discovered gold In the case of discovering the 

New World, an explorer, map maker, and Columbus 

contemporary named Amerigo Vespucci (A.V.) was the first to 

realize the land C.C. traveled to was “new” and contemporary 

maps called the continent Land of Amerigo, i.e., “America.” 

Naturally, we should also consider the now well-established 

fact that the Vikings had reached this new land centuries 

earlier, but, being better at plundering than writing history, 

they never really spread the word about any discoveries. 

What part should they play in answering this question about 

discovery And how about the fact that when Europeans did 

first arrive at the continent, however you choose the date and 

the person(s), the land already contained millions of residents 

Does the “discovery” by those Asian migrants via the Bering 

Strait not count in some way Perhaps it is better to discard 

the concept of discovery here and rephrase the original


question: How did the European imperial expansion to the 

Americas begin 


How could the people of China today possibly think of World 

War II as starting in 1939 Why do we Please shed some 

light on this matter in your account of history. 

When did World War II begin An answer common to 

American history books is September 1, 1939, the day 

Germany invaded Poland. Could there be a Eurocentric bias 

in this answer Does Japan not figure in the understanding 

of this question While their empire building ran into serious 

trouble after attacking Pearl Harbor, it had begun many years 

before 1939. Just ask the Chinese, who lost the second 

greatest number of people to the war. Japan conquered 

Manchuria in 1931, attacked China in 1937, and by 1938 

occupied all of eastern China. (Manchuria was not then part 

of China, as it is today.) Japanese aggression expanded into 

other Asian countries and their attacks on British and 

American posts – which included Pearl Harbor – in the 1940’s 

were a continuation of that effort. 

Who were the first American astronauts If you saw “The 

Right Stuff” you know it was Alan Sheppard, John Glenn, and 

all those Mercury astronauts. Please hold that thought a 

moment. What is an astronaut, anyway That’s easy, isn’t it 

It’s one of those people that go up in a rocket and orbit around 

the Earth. Please hold that thought, too. Back in the 1960's, 

NASA's definition of space flight was that which reached at 

least 50 miles. As you may have heard from Burt Rutans’ 

flights of SpaceShipOne, the international definition today is 

100 kilometers, or 62.14 miles. Accordingly, astronaut status 

is given to those who have made such flights, an honor 

accompanied by citations, a ceremony, inclusion on a list, and 

so on. 

Let's take a broad perspective on high altitude achievements. 

The highest any human object traveled as of 1918 was the


German "Paris Gun," whose shell reached an altitude of 25 

miles. In the next World War, the German V-2 rocket made 

sub-orbital space flights on their way to London, reaching 

altitudes between 50 and 60 miles. Similar test flights to 

somewhat higher altitudes were made in the 1950's by 

Americans and Soviets using recovered V-2 missiles. Sputnik 

upped the ante considerably in 1958 by going into full orbit at 

an altitude of about 150 miles. 

The next step in space exploration was putting people into 

space, but these beginnings are not limited to the Mercury 

Program. Before the Cold War Soviets put the first person in 

space, the United States was developing a reusable spacecraft 

that would return and land, just like the Space Shuttle. (The 

project was scrapped due to Cold War pressures for the 

"spam in the can" method using space capsules, which greatly 

accelerated the timetable for putting our own pilots in space. 

One could argue that the Cold War delayed the evolution of 

space flight by 20 years, but it did lead to our getting to the 

moon.) This reusable craft was part of Project Dynosoar, 

which began in 1959 and continued through the Mercury and 

Gemini years until 1968. As part of the testing for the 

program pilots flew rocket powered X-15 planes above the 50- 

mile limit required for space flight. One flew higher than the 

100-kilometer international boundary of space. Those pilots 

were called astronauts and received astronaut status. Alan 

Sheppard’s and Virgil “Gus” Grissom’s Mercury flight’s were 

much higher, but otherwise similar to those X-15 flights: a 

high, arcing trajectory up into outer space before returning to 

Earth’s surface a few hundred miles down range, and only 15 

minutes after lift off. It actually was a crude method of 

reaching outer space, consisting of a powerful initial blast 

followed by a long period of coasting, not too different from 

being shot out of a cannon. All of these pilots were called 

astronauts – some were a lot more famous. 


orbital flight, NASA also sent up a dog, a monkey, and a 

chimpanzee in the same, crude, suborbital trajectories. 

Perhaps the "right stuff" for these flights had more to do with 

having the "right cute." More recently, the pilot of the 

privately financed SpaceShipOne received the astronauts 

“wings" for his flights above 100 kilometers. He had the right 

money and the right rocket scientist. The space shuttle has 

launched scientists, politicians, and an old man (77 year-old 

John Glenn) and still plans to put a teacher in orbit. The 

Russians even launched a rich guy into space! Private 

corporations are presently developing rockets for placing 

satellites in space with an eye toward eventually placing 

people in space. Maybe their programs are how the first cat 

will get into orbit. 

In light of recent and near future developments and the 

history of space flight, perhaps your definition of astronaut 

will require orbit around Earth. Looking ahead to the 

possibility that civilians may routinely fly into space on 

reusable craft could lead one to regard the current astronaut 

definition cumbersome because every passenger would be 

qualified as one. It would be comparable to calling all airline 

passengers pilots because they left the ground for a period of 

time. At this point in time I feel this matter is up in the air. 

Were all astronauts human Have all astronauts been 

military pilots During the same years as the pre-Glenn


Who invented calculus Perhaps better: Who discovered 

calculus We generally attribute calculus to Sir Isaac Newton 

and “discover” – not invented – is a good choice because most 

of the math was already in place when he had the great “light 

bulb” moment of insight that created this mathematics. 

(Historical note: Some of you know this branch of 

mathematics is often called “the calculus” in recognition of the 

fact that “calculus” literally refers to methods of calculating, of 

which “the calculus” that is taught in universities is an 

especially important one. The word is rooted in the Latin 

calculi, referring to pebbles (also calcium), which were used in 

ancient times for counting. I find it sufficient – and less 

ostentatious – to just call it "calculus.") 

Calculus is the merging of two mathematical processes: 

Differentiation, which had been largely perfected by Sir Isaac 

Barrow, who was Newton’s predecessor as the Lucasian Chair 

at Cambridge, and integration, which actually was first 

conceived by Archimedes but greatly advanced by Johannes 

Kepler. Newton’s insight was to realize that these two 

concepts – quite different in appearance – were actually 

inverses of one another, and inverses in math are the key to 

solving many types of equations that apply to real life 

phenomena. In this case it was of enormous importance, 

because formulating and calculating inconstant quantities is 

vital to modern science. 


mathematical papers written by Blaise Pascal (of Pascals’s 

Triangle fame) at a time when Newton had not yet reported 

his work on the subject. Liepnitz studied Pascal's work and 

had the same light bulb experience Newton had experienced a 

few years earlier and went immediately to work developing 

calculus on his own terms. (Poor Pascal. If only he had been 

just a few points smarter, he might have been the one we 

credit with calculus. Liebnitz himself later expressed his 

amazement that Pascal had all the parts right in front of him 

but did not realize how they connected.) 

The importance of Liepnitz’ independent discovery of calculus 

lies in its place in history. While Newton worked in isolation 

and initially reported his finding to no one, mathematicians on 

the Continent corresponded and collaborated with each other. 

Liebnitz, along with Bernoulli and other mathematicians, 

formally developed calculus into a branch of mathematics. 

The notation and terms they chose are, as a result, the ones we 

use today, while Newton, in spite of a belated drive to receive 

credit for the initial discovery and to make his symbols the 

standard, was left out of this loop of history. His system of 

notation in this branch of mathematics has been forgotten 

except to mathematical historians. It seems such a waste of 

intellectual effort that such important work did nothing to 

change the evolution of mathematics. How much does it 

matter that he was first 

While Newton clearly was the first to recognize this important 

relationship between integration and differentiation, the 

fundamental mathematics were, as stated, widely known. 

(You may recall Newton’s acknowledgment, “If I have seen 

further than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders 

of giants.”) Yet this historical example has an important 

addition: Like someone walking up to a table at which some 

folks are putting together a jigsaw puzzle, and realizing that 

one particular piece sitting out in plain view is the key to 

merging two sections, German mathematician Gottfried 

Liepnitz had occasion to see a connection in some


Who was the first person to circumnavigate the world Most 

of us do not know the answer to this from our grade school 

experience because those history books do such a poor job of 

telling us. Perhaps your book will use a higher wattage beam 

to illuminate this issue, which is important in history in that it 

provided full demonstration of the shape of the world and the 

relative positions of its landmasses. 


was the first to circumnavigate. Since then many sources 

have repeated this conclusion in mantra-like fashion. Online, 

the Catholic Encyclopedia unhesitatingly states that Ferdinand 

Magellan was, "the first circumnavigator of the real world." 

Other Google encyclopedia hits indicate similar 

oversimplification. As a result of this quirk in deciding 

history, the Magellan name has achieved great stature, as 

evidenced by its use as a name for: a company that makes 

navigational equipment, a satellite mission to Venus, a travel 

supply company, a health services company, an aerospace 

company, one of Fidelity's mutual funds, and many more, I 

am sure. Will your textbook say that Magellan’s expedition 

was the first to circumnavigate the world Or, perhaps, that 

the Portuguese were the first to do so, by virtue of whose 

vessels and funding made it possible 

*** 

We do know that Ferdinand Magellan headed the expedition 

that first completed such a trip, but also that he himself died 

about half way around. We also know that commander Juan 

Sebastian del Cano and 17 crewmen of the original 240 

members of the expedition completed the voyage. 

Subsequently, most European contemporaries credited del 

Cano with the circumnavigation; the Portuguese called 

Magellan a traitor; the Spanish condemned him for his 

navigational errors; and someone should fault him for getting 

involved with the Philippine tribal conflicts that lead to his 

premature death when his mission was to find a route to the 

Spice Islands. Magellan was given credit for the feat by the 

expedition's journalist (no doubt an ancestor of Dan Rather), 

and this apparently is how historians began saying Magellan 

Here is one final matter, about which I can only ask questions: 

Why is Independence Day celebrated on July 4 A long time 

ago I might have figured it was because the Declaration of 

Independence was written on July 4, but no, it was written on 

July 2. So, was it signed on July 4 No, the signing was not 

complete until August 2nd. One excellent answer to why we 

recognize July 4 might be that the date “July 4, 1776” is written 

in huge characters at the top of the document! So a deeper 

question would be: What was important, if anything, about 

July 4 that made it the date chosen How was it significant to 

those Founding Fathers that it became their choice Or was it 

arbitrary Many historical events took place when they did 

because some confluence of events made the timing inevitable, 

such as D-Day being on June 6, or Kennedy’s assassination on 

November 23, 1963, but I am not aware of such workings in 

the case of Independence Day. In any event, it’s still a great 

occasion to watch fireworks. 

Good luck with your book!


Answer to trivia question: Who made the first non-stop flight 

across the Atlantic Ocean 

We tend to think of Charles Lindbergh and 1927, but that 

would be the answer to, “Who made the first solo non-stop 

flight across the Atlantic Ocean” Pilots first made a non-stop 

transatlantic flight in 1919 when British pilots John Alcock and 

Arthur Brown first made such a flight. Their feat was well 

publicized and the pilots received prize money from a London 

paper. 

I believe that the image of the lone warrior against the hostile 

elements of nature and the struggle for endurance, plus the 

existence of substantial prize money and the resulting 

publicity, made Lindbergh’s remarkable feat so electrifying 

worldwide. Furthermore, Lindbergh was the first ever to fly 

non-stop from New York City to Paris, a distance considerably 

greater than crossing the Atlantic (3,600 miles versus 2,000 

miles), which crossing could be as little as Newfoundland to 

the west coast of Ireland. In fact, Lindbergh himself crossed 

the west coast of Ireland many hours before he reached Paris. 

The Orteig Prize of $25,000 was specifically established for this 

New York to Paris flight, and the fact that every aviator who 

attempted it before Lindbergh either died in the attempt or 

crash landed heightened the drama of Lindbergh's flight. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Answer to December Cryptopoem 

"My friends all know that I am shy, 

But the chipmunk is twice as shy as I. 

He moves with flickering indecision 

Like stripes across the television. 

He's like the shadow of a cloud, 

Or Emily Dickinson read aloud." 

--Ogden Nash 


Erudite Lite 

Ellen Barry 

Avid readers met on Wednesday, December 1 for an engaging 

exchange of literary levity at the first meeting of TBM’s new 

reading group. 

As host to this new special interest group, and a new member 

of Mensa, I was pleased to find the folks that attended our first 

meeting to be friendly, conversational people with a shared 

passion for reading. 

Showing up with a few of our recent favorites in hand, we 

launched easily into introductions. At the table were 

telecommunications products distributor Randy Chan-A- 

Shing, software programmer and TBM web spinner Ronan 

Heffernan, stock price analyst and new Tampa Bay Sounding 

editor Thomas Thomas, and graphic designer/web developer 

and group host Ellen Berry. (Randy has been both a Mensa 

member and Tampa Bay resident for five years although had 

not attended any meetings until this event; he said that the 

premise of the group really appealed to him.) 

Topics discussed during our lively conversation included: 

• Pros and cons of RFID tags 

• Business as the art of making money and giving back 

• Benefits of content-rich reading such as Umberto Eco’s 

The Name of the Rose or Dan Brown’s The DaVinci 

Code 

• Future-thinking merits of science fiction writing 

• How Harry Potter exercises the imagination in new 

ways 

• Differences between books which have been made into 

movies versus movies which were written for the 

screen; specifically Harry Potter and Jurassic Park 

versus Sixth Sense and The Matrix 

• The Onion (http://www.theonion.com/)


• www.wikipedia.org, which allows live editing of 

website content by any user 

• John Gray’s Mars and Venus books versus Harville 

Hendrix’s Getting the Love You Want 

As we discussed what we were currently reading and what 

reading materials we’d recommend, it was clear that our 

shared interest was not just in reading, but in learning and 

sharing what we’d learned. We enjoyed collectively 

expanding our horizons! 

Not surprisingly, each group member expressed an 

appreciation for the “aha factor” found in good writing – the 

paradigmatic shift or mental back-tracking caused by a 

carefully crafted twist in plot or concept. 

In closing, we discussed what we would like to gain from 

being part of the reading group, established the kinds of 

reading that would be of primary focus, determined logistics, 

and decided to keep the reading load light by not identifying a 

selected reading for the group as a whole. Materials 

recognized by several group members as appealing would be 

considered optional for all group members. 

To find out more about Erudite Lite, visit our website at 

www.rovingarts.com/eruditelite or email Ellen at 

ebezebe@tampabay.rr.com. 


Local Secretary 

Maxine Kushner 

7442 Hollylake La. 

New Port Richey, FL 34653 

727-841-6043 

maxine.kushner@verizon.net 

Calendar Editor/Web 

Spinner 

Ronan Heffernan 

27504 Breakers Dr. 

Wesley Chapel, FL 33543 

813-907-8147 

ronan@tampabay.rr.com 

Member At Large 

Barbara Loewe 

P.O. Box 764 

Land O’Lakes, FL 34639 

813-545-0422 

bloewe@juno.com 

2004-05 Tampa Bay Mensa Officers 

Executive Committee 

Deputy LocSec 

Dan Chesnut 

5023-B Starfish Dr. SE 

St. Petersburg, FL 33705 

dchesnut@tampabay.rr.com 

Circulation Officer, 

Scribe 

Sylvia Zadorozny 

651 Timber Bay Cir. W. 

Oldsmar, FL 34677 

813-855-4939 

sylviachocolate@juno.com 


Richard Manno 

651 Timber Bay Cir. W 


813-855-4939 

Treasurer 

Kathy Crum 

7164 Quail Hollow Blvd. 

Wesley Chapel, FL 33544 

813-907-0526 

katshe@aol.com 


Dana Groulx 

21416 Cypress Tree Ct. 

Land O’Lakes, FL 34639 

813-996-5552 

llama@sports-pac.com 

Member At Large/Editor 

Thomas Thomas 

27647 Sky Lake Circle 

Wesley Chapel, FL 33543-7646 

813-994-3981 

fardlebear@aol.com 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

American Mensa Ltd. 

1229 Corporate Dr. W. 

Arlington, TX 76006-6103 

817-607-0060 

AmericanMensa@ mensa.org 

RVC, Region 10 


5054 Lakefront Blvd., #D 

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561-496-0124 

RVC10@us.mensa.org 

ERudolph@fau.edu 

S.I.G.H.T. Coordinator 

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Tampa, FL 33615 

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Other Contacts 

Gifted Children’s 

Coordinator 

Theresa Hohmann 

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Tarpon Springs, FL 34688 

727-942-7735 

theresahohmann@yahoo.com 

Ombudsman 

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727-546-6061 

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New Member Contact 

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727-864-6796 

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Proctors 

Dan Chesnut 

Tom Timberlake 

Publisher 

Sylvester (Les) Milewski 

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(727) 397-8483 

LesMiles@aol.com


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January 2005 - Tampa Bay Mensa

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