June started off with a wonderful astronomical show: Venus transiting across the Sun, viewable from the Earth. The last time this happened was in 1882! Living in midtown New York City precludes star gazing due to all of the ambient light from buildings, billboards, etc. but a short walk to Central Park's Sheep Meadow can give very good viewing conditions. In true New York City fashion, there were at least 200 other "Venus Viewers" out in the early dawn hours of June 8th. There was even a group of women clad in togae singing a Venusian song. At least I think it was Venusian and that they were women....
Moving to more terrestrial matters, I have just returned from the Annual Gathering in Las Vegas. Having never been to Sin City, it was a memorable trip. "Over the top" doesn't begin to describe the sights. I, however, couldn't help but think of the billion of gallons of water consumed each day to give this desert city its sparkle. My daughter, who visited the Hoover Dam while I was in meetings, said the level there is dangerously low.
At the Annual Business Meeting, held 1 July, the motion to amend Mensa's Certificate of Incorporation was approved, following the submission by the Secretary of our proxies. Mensa can now legitimately conduct corporate matters with a minimum of 100 members voting, either in person or by proxy. The ProxyQuest team was enthusiastically thanked for their work, as well as all of those who submitted their proxies.
Region 1 had some plaudits at the Awards Luncheon. Angela Tremain, the editor of Mid-Hudson Mensa's Mid-Mensan, won in the PRP (Publication Recognition Programme) Newsletter's Special Mention Category.
Misha's Vineyard Players captained by Greg Draves of Greater New York Mensa scored in tenth place for this year's CultureQuest competition.
John G. DiLiberto of Greater New York Mensa won the National Chair's Service Award for his work in guiding the AMC through the complexities of risk management. Congratulations to you all!!!
A dues increase effective 1 April 2005, was approved at the American Mensa Committee meeting. Local group support was increased to $8.64 (up from $8.15) per member per year. Mike Siegler, Region 3's Vice Chair, asked why local groups can't get more. After much discussion, it was decided to revisit the whole group allocation issue at the next AMC meeting in Portland Oregon in September. It seems the formula of one-sixth of the national budget for local group support was created over thirty years ago!
The status of AML SIGs was discussed again. The definition of SIG member was debated, with the majority feeling that only a Mensa member can be a SIG member (I did not agree). The method of validating SIG members has yet to be decided and there are numerous issues attached to it. The definition of a SIG guest as well as procedures to deny admission or remove SIG members will be discussed at the next AMC meeting.
No group has submitted a bid for the 2007 AG. I noted that Region 1's groups are reluctant without full support from the National Office for hotel negotiations, hospitality, etc. The burden placed on a local group to produce a full blown convention has become the topic of a study by the National Office. Hopefully a more efficacious method can be found.
Mensa World Connect is looking for more "sister" groups. This programme matches similarly sized groups in the US and abroad. Members correspond with each other, individually and as a group, and often arrange meetings in each other's country.
It's summer time and that means cool drinks. Here's an African version of a classic::
Moroccan Lemonade
- Cut up lemons [and mint] and place in food processor. Add sugar. Process on "chop" for about 2 minutes, or until mixture is thick and no pieces of lemon can be seen. (Do this in batches if your processor is small).
- Scrape mixture into large bowl or jar. Add enough boiling water to cover and stir well. Let mixture steep at room temperature several hours or overnight.
- If you're fussy, strain out the seeds. However, seed spitting contests are a summer tradition for many.
- Add enough cold water to bring to your desired level of sweetness. Moroccans serve this with very little added water, but they have incredible sweet teeth.