DEMENTED AND SAD, BUT SOCIAL… Squid belongs to a number of clubs. There’s the “Cephalopods for Peace” group. There’s the “Viva El Pulpo Paul” organization, honoring the late, great, prognosticating German octopus that correctly predicted the outcome of every German match in this year’s World Cup.

And now Squid wants to demand entry to The Terrorism Club.

The Terrorism Club: now that’s a campus organization that looks great on a resume. The group includes some 40 whizzes from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. This week, along with the Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program, the two groups sponsored a talk… as in “The Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program and The Terrorism Club Present… ”

The topic? “Goldilocks’ Quest: Understanding the Rationality of Terrorist Violence.”

Since it was held over the lunch hour, Squid presumes it was a brown-bag affair. Squid promises to bring a shellfish platter to the next club meetup, if someone promises to teach Squid the secret rendition handshake.

KENTUCKY FRIED COUNCILMAN… Squid has no qualms about interspecies gatherings. Octopi mingling with otter, shark snuggling with seal. But at the recent Steve McShane Victory Party, where the Salinas nursery owner was celebrating his impending win in the city’s Third Council District race, there were a lot of Young Professionals celebrating with a lot of chickens.

As in, some aging frat boys, oops, Squid means “kooky pranksters,” packed 20 chickens into the bathroom of McShane’s South Salinas home. And when he opened the door, the chickens were loosed on the unsuspecting gathering.

A friend-of-Squid who attended the party reports the chickens were still being rounded up the next day; there was no immediate word on their fate.

But given that McShane is a law-and-order guy, and that Salinas’ arcane code prevents ownership of chickens within city boundaries, Squid’s guessing McShane didn’t start building coops so he could raise the little cluckers on his own.

UNSMART METER… Squid understands that sometimes one needs to stay anonymous online, like when ordering the “Hot Squid of 2011” full-color calendar. But PG&E, not known for its public relations acumen, stepped in it again when it was revealed William Devereaux, director of PG&E’s controversial SmartMeter program, used a fake name and tried to join an online SmartMeter discussion group.