The Iron Warrior: Volume 19, Issue 5

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    The Forum of the University o f Waterloo Engineering Society

    ~ t The Old;

    In With e ~

    rvourLogOi

    ere J. etaphores /

    Although Douglas Wright h s called t a ~ e w s p a p e rwhich produces se rious articles about technology on c mpus

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    November 20. 1992

    VP ExternalSpewsClare Stewart

    Due to the nature of the co-op program here at Waterloo, we are forcedto have two Engineering Societies.Each term, the two Societies, A B,

    meet for a joint council meeting. Atthis meeting issues which affect bothsocieties are discussed.

    The Joint for this term was held onSaturday October 31st. At this meeting, numerous issues we re discus sed.I would like to take this opportunityto inform the engineerwg students asa whole of these.

    Due to the addition of adverting inthe Frosh Handbook this year, theEngineering Society had revenue onthe order of $8000 that could be spent.At the Joint Council meeting in July, itwas passed that proposals would bepresented at the Fall Joint, and themoney allocated. The following is alist of what Capital expenditures wereapproved at the meeting:

    Repair to the chairs in POETS Cleaning the white couch in

    POETS New lens for Enlarger in

    Engineering Darkroom New Enlarger for Engineering

    Darkroom Hard drive for the Directors MAC

    in Orifice Fridge for Orifice Paper cutter for Orifice

    Fax Machine for Orifice

    In addition to the Capital expenditures, two other important decisionswere made at the meeting. The first isthat a committee is being establishedto examine the direction that Eng Socshould take in regards to computerpurchases. Currently we use MACsfor our office duties; the Iron Warrioris published on a MAC, the accounting software is on the MAC, and wehave a MAC for general office use. Ithas been decided that we shouldexamine the direction we will continue to take in regards to further computer purchases, if we continue usingMAC's or switch to PC's for officeduties.

    The final major undertaking of theJoint Council was the establishment ofan Engineering Society EndowmentFund. This fund will be structured asan internal Endowment, and will beentirely separate from the WEEF. Thepurpose of this endowment will be tobuild up for the Engineering Society ameans of ensuring ourselves an annual income, and using the interest for

    Iron Warnor V

    the purpose of Capital expenditures.

    n Endo\-vment, such as the one proposed , is necessary because theSociety is expanding more rapidlythan we are able to keep up withfinancially. We are obligated to spendthe revenues from student fees eachterm, as each student pays to be amember and in return receive services. In order to finance some of the

    capi ta l expendi tures we need , anal ternat ive method of collectingmoney is needed. I t is proposed thateach year, a percentage of theHandbook advertising revenues bese t aside, and placed in theEndowment Fund. This Fall we haveidentified 50% of the handbook revenues, or a sum of - 4000, to beplaced in the Endowment once it isestablished.

    This is a new under taking for theSociety, and anyone who has questions or concerns , please speak toFidel or myself .

    p r o s p e r o u

    plast ic toy life,working withskilled newspaprofessionals atIron Warrior. I

    rubber horse at.You shouldbeing IW Edinext year. Why,gave it two DeanHeads

    VP-FinanceSpews, well,Spits a Little itDavid Jones

    Only two weeks of classes left, andless than 15 weeks until the Iron RingStag . Anybody want to hear aboutthe Engineering Society finances?Probably not. Suffice it to say that wehave solved a lot of structural problems this term, and are leaving theEngineering Society in great financialshape for the future exec. We'vecome a long way over the past 35years, and we're about to go a lot fur-ther. Special thanks to Doreen, Amy,SKJ, and Fud for all the hard work.

    ~ s r s U i l s h m e l h i r ~ Pat, this weeks voluptuously stacked Thing loves to .han?

    ~ around the Iron Warrior office. Whenever an W Ed,tor ISI round, Pat grows to bigger and more exciting r o p o r t o n s. .~ Pat was a great source of T and ... well, T tlus term. I~ = t _ ~ '#M3S

    Our beloved Cheryl, in all her splendor.

    n Th E JJ .J+.((o'\ Qesvltsm l ~ jO@& O O ~ r G i l .5_ _P_I _O O... . _

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    Page 4 Iron Warrior V November 20. 1992

    Parting is SuchSweet Sorrow

    by Marc Sherman

    Big adventure today; I almost gotevicted from my home. t was worthit though, to see my land lady lastweek in my living room, ranting andraving about how I should tell mymommy that I'm cuckoo and need tohave my head examined. You shouldtry it some time, this Non-Paymentof Rent" thing-it 's better than TV.

    On that happy note, the term is drawing to a close, and with it, my term asLayout Deity on High, King of All thePages I Survey, Ruler of the Warriorof Iron, He Who Forms The Type AndSubstance of the Forum of EngSoc,The Great and Mighty ....slap . . thanks,I needed that. Um, my term asLayout Editor draws to a close as

    well.

    I had a great time working on the IronWarrior this term. n fact, it's hard forme to tell if I'm studying journalismor enginee r ing any more. Combinedwith a month long respiratory infection in October, the Warrior has certainly taken its toll on my grades thisterm; but like the rental scuffle, it wasworth it.

    . I just want to take this opportunity tothank everyone who helped out onthe paper this term, especially my terrific editors, Brent and Autumn, and

    our great (and very tolerant) advertising managers Lucinda and Fiona. Ialso wa n t to thank Chandra , theevents co-ordinator (I tried it, and theonly thing worse than rug burn isrope burn ), and James, our distribution manager (need a lift out toMississauga after the paper comes outon Friday?).

    Special thanks as well go out to all thestaff writers, cartoonists, and ofcourse, Shawn, Gene and James, thespecial guest star darkroom technicians. I had a tough time wearing twohats as th e layout and photo editorthis term, and yo u 've certainly helpedto take some of th e load off of myback.

    I'd also like to pay tribute now toRussell Hope Robbins, fellow .of theRoyal Society of Literature, who compiled the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft andDemonology my sourcebook to end allsourcebooks. Any of you who werewondering where the art came from,now you know. And knowing is halfthe battle.

    Now, a lot of people around theOrifice have been on my back forweeks to sign on as Editor of next term's Iron Warrior. It's not fair. Theyknow how much I enjoy the job, andhow I'd jump at the chance to do itagain. t simply took too much of myt ime th is year, because we weredreadfull y understaffed. I was wearing two editorial hats, none of thethree editors had ever worked onthis paper before, and we didn't haveanyone to be news editor. For thefirst issue we did-n't even have anyone to do advertising; we had toforce Vicki, l as tyears ad manager ,to fill in, eventhough she was

    also Class RepAdvisor. Onceagain, thanks forhelping out, Vicki.

    Sadly, one of thebiggest problemsin getting peopleto come out is the computer. In thegood 01 days, layout night was a boisterous affair, with beer and pizza andpaper flying everywhere. This term,i t was me in front of a computer,Brent and Autumn poring over proofsand occasionally discussing a page,and Marc Ouelette insulting me con

    stantly. While enjoyed it, it's not th ekind of evening that lends itself toteam work. There' s got to be a way tokeep the higher quality of productthat the desktop publishing gives us,while bringing back the party atmosphere that pasteup publishing created. If anyone out there has any ideas,I'd love to hear them.

    Apathy is the other factor. f we can'teven get more than one person to signup for President, how can we expectto field a proper newspaper, urn,forum staff? Everyone who wants tohelp is welcome, and that includesFrosh and Fourth year stu dents alike.Don't just use the C&D and watch TVin POETS; t ake an ACTIVE role inyour Eng Soc.

    Well, I've got one inch left, so let meget off my high horse and wish youall good luck on your finals, and better luck on your co-op/UIC terms.Hope to see you all back in the summer. Thanks to Opiate for putting upwith the long hours. Sing, sing whileyou m a y - i t may not be for very long.

    GRAAHHGBy Autumn T.S. Umanetz

    I'm sorry, perhaps I haven't expressedmyself quite as clearly as I might. nfact, I might more accurately be saidto be saying "Arrrrgghh," although Iwould really rather not be said tohave said anything at all. n any case,what I am trying to express is a sort ofgeneral dissatisfaction with the stateof things in general. Nearly everyarticle I've read on the topic of studentlife over the last term (and believe me ,as Editor, I 've read a lot) has hadsomething to say about the "problem"

    of Apathy amongthe Engineeringstudent body a tWaterloo, and I 'mjust getting a littlesick of hearingeveryone whine

    about it, while 110-one actually doesanything about it.

    What's more, I 'ms tarting to becomea little irritated atthe way thateverybody seems

    to be putting it down. Apathy can bea wonderful thing, and happens to beone of my own personal favorite pastimes. n fact, it has always been oneof my own personal private goals tobring apathy to the masses. To date ,

    my efforts to get people to activelynot care about anything in particularhave been almost-totally unsuccessful,which should, I suppose, be a littledepressing.

    Fortunately, I don't really care oneway or the other. This is perhaps themost wonderful aspect of this mostexciting of all pastimes: the fact thatone can take or leave it depending onthe mood that one is in.

    I know that my-many critics will scoff ,and suggest that apathy is the absenceof activity, rather than an c t ~ v i t yinits own right, I would like to take thisopportunity to encourage everybodyto do whatever it is that they want todo, whether that be something, ornothing at all.

    Furthermore, the next time some selfrighteous scion of the system tells youthat you should get out and do something, tell them the same thing that Ido: I am doing something. I'm beingapathetic, which is quite a lot betterthan being merely pathetic. What'smore, I'm far better at doing nothingthan you will ever be. And I dare youto prove me wrong."

    I'd write more, but I don't feel like it.

    So there.

    ith Brent s Subtitleby Brent Mooder

    Start typing here So, just because myeditorial is late, I get the smallestspace, the one at the bottom of thepage. Well, tllat's okay. I didn't evenchoose my own headline.

    My term as editor has been somewhatsurreal. .. maybe it was just the acid.Nestea is full of the shit. Right TheIW room is currently full of randompeople comparing Stephen KinsleyJon es trading cards [well probably notany more -Ed.] like the one with thealbatross lovingly wrapped aroundhis neck. Need em?

    So you want to get involved in EngSoc, but don't know how? Why notstart by editing one of the forums ofthe engineering society? t is anamazing way to win friends and influence people. You also have the powerto shape a widely distributed printed

    .media. For example, everyone knowsthat the provincial PC party is a new

    dynamic force on campus. It's thateasy. And, since I am editor, no onewill ensure that I give equal time tothe NDPs a powerful force for positivesocial change -another Ed.] or theLiberals. [even though they do representOntario S opportunity for growth -theother Ed.]

    Please note that the preceding paragraph was not a shameless plea foreditors. Neither is this one.

    Neither of the two preceding paragraphs represented my true politicalposition. am hold ing out for aprovincial reform party. Bring tractors to the people

    In parting, I just want to thank everyone for everything (except for thoseoverpass shootings) and I would alsolike to state that the black and whiteepisodes of Gilligan s Island willalways be better than anything produced by Tori Spelling's daddy.

    t .... . . . . . . . . . . . . Y . . a. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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    November 20. 1992 Iron Warrior V Page 5

    letter is a response to the original article An Open Warning to Rapistsissues ago [IW#3, October 161992], and the rebuttal in the last issueber 301992]. The opinion presented is a simple one. Someone whorape deserves to di e .

    not sure if agree with this or not, but I can definitely see it as aargument. I've been doing quite a bit of thinking on this lately and

    are some opinions I came up with. Remember .. these are my opinionsI don't have to justify them; this is how I feel.

    t of all, rape is probably the one single most psychologically, emotl()nalld permanently damaging and demented thing one human being can do

    . f there is only one offense which we punish by death, this is thecold-blooded murder seems clean by comparison; it doesn't havelife-long psychological implications to the victim.

    >e'colnOllY the moment someone commits rape, he (and I usethe term non gender-specifically) forfeits his rights as a

    I U ~ being. Any act that is so utterly dehumanizing towill cost him, if not his soul, at least his privilege to

    e treated and thought of as an equal among us. Hea cancerous cell in the orga nism of humanity.

    a cancer, in any form, has the following characteristics:1) The effect of it's actions is to limit and ultimately destroythe lives of surrounding cells.

    t is a threat to the entire organism.t acts more than once; sometimes repeatedly and com-

    The only completely effective way to keep it from actingonce it has been discovered is to surgically extract it fromthe organism and destro y it.

    leads me to my fourth and final point. As the responder stated in hisrebuttal in the last issue ofIW, ''What is the point of violently seeking revenge?

    t will not help the victim if you do it. That may be true .. but if you succeed,the rapist will never rape again. Ultimately, no rapis t wil l ever rape again.

    will be extinct.

    Withheld

    Dear Iron Warnor:

    t has come to my conclusion that the Iron Warrior this term has reached newheights of repulsive and nauseating idiocy. Forget about the comparativelyminor sins of wanton violence depicted in Chainsaw Ralph and Scenesfrom the E P comittee for now, and consider instead the disgusting abuses

    ~ t h efemale voice to become lower and huskie7iLof grammar that seem so common. Certainly spelling errors are few in num-ber: perhaps the editors have found themselves using a computerized SpellChecker ; the mixed metaphors involving the fish, t he wax, and the kettle thathave been perpetrated in every single issue this term are by contrast obviousand deliberate abuse of the English language.

    I should hope that in the future the editors of the IW will t u rn their attentionmore towards literature and poetry so that they may be able to acquire a betterunderstanding of such devices as alliteration and the laser gun. I also praythat one day small black beatles will desc-end from above and eat the hats offthe heads of the more obviously balding members of the Engsoc executive.During sexual excitement and and love-making the larynx undergoes physicalchanges that cause ,the voice, particularly the female voice, to become lowerand huskier.

    Namen Wirtholden

    Thi

    I share the repugnance and hatred which many of your correspondentowards those who commit rape, I must state categorically that Capi

    ~ ' J .. : .t is wTong. While one can confide ntly argue that rehabilitationpists is not desirable, we can never argue with the same confidence that

    victed criminal is in fact guilty. Countless numbers of people haveconvicted of heinous crimes and executed throughout history, only to havetheir innocence proven after the fact. n a small but significant porti on of thesecases, the innocent have even confessed to the crime for which they

    and of which they were later found to be innocent.

    retract your editorial position that rapists should be murdered; I findto be a most inappropri ate position for a student run school newspaper to take.

    is an issue which is wholly inappropriate to be discussed alongside afeaturing a chainsaw wielding stick figure which kills the innocent

    While I am not connected with their organization inway, I would like to point out that further informationthe topic of Capital Punishment can be obtained fromUniversity of Waterloo chapter of Amnesty Internationnl.

    Name Withheld

    At no point did the Iron Warrior state that it was adoptingarticle An Open W a r n i n ~to Rapists as an editorial position.

    a student forum we print all articles and submissions whichour basic criteria of qualihj attd non-prejudice; we do notour submissions on the basis of editorial bias.

    As for Chainsaw Ralph it s funny, dammit. If you don t like ityou don t have to read it. If you want n paper that doesn fany semblance of humour in it at all you re we/come to read

    Would you rather that the IW simply not publish articles whic1t maketo tackle serious issues? In that case you might as well have thehere in Waterloo; I have no interest in working on that kind of paper. - Ed.

    :

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    Page 6 Iron Warrior V November 20, 1992

    ngineering Pride So You re Sick andTired o f ngineeringy Paul Thorn

    Until recently I was also proud to bein Engineering. But my eyes were cruelly opened to the dangers of thispride taken too far.

    Recently, my girlfriend and 1 attendeda party. An engineering party. Shewas worried. Would she be acceptedthere? Would she feel uncomfortablenot being an Engineer? 1 assured herthat we Engineers are a friendlybunch. Still a bit skeptical, sh e att ended the pa rty attached to my ar m .

    f Are you in Systems? , asked anunknown girl of Tina. Nope, I'mnot. "Then whose jacket are youwearing?"

    1 smiled. See, she's already makingfriends 1 thought to myself and onlycaught t he answer as 1 turned to a different discussion. Smiling, Tinareplied: "I'm afraid the jacket belongsto my boyfriend over the re ... "

    It wasn't until later that I found outwhy she had become so quiet afterthat initial conversation. Why myjacket had been returned silently soonafter. I wish I'd paid more attention.You see, after finding out that theleather jacket was not attached to areal Engineer, Tina was unceremoniously ignored. But if that wasn't insultenough, the girl began to speak in a

    loud voice to her friends about howannoying it was that a non-Engineerwould wear an Engineering jacket.You see, she was apparently fiercelyproud to be in Chemical Engineering.

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    She was entitled to wear anEngineering jacket. She would neverallow her partner to wear her jacket,nor would she ever wear her partner'sjacket. More patheti c still was that thisUniversity of Waterloo student waswearing a University of Paris T-shirtin obvious disregard of the potentialannoyance of any legitimate currentstudents of that institution.

    Stung, hurt and feeling more than alittle out of her element, Tina foughtthe understandable urge to leave;instead, merely returned the jacket toan unsuspecting boyfriend.

    Unfortunately, thistype of outburst 'seems typical ofEngineering pridegone awry. As afellow Engineer, 1certainly don ' tlook upon suchattitudes with anysort of pride.Rather 1 amashamed at theignorance, the lackof sensitivity, thepathetic nature ofthe confrontation.

    Are we p ro u d of these actionssparked by our pride? Are we proudof making guests at a party uncomfortable? Are we proud of a completelack of sensitivity? Of the lack of fore

    thought before opening our mouths?Of the ignorance and stupidity of ouractions? Of turning a petty item intoan outlet of hostility? Are we trulythis xenophobic?

    As Engineers, we should be moreintelligent than this. Are we not supposed to rise above this sort of falsesuperiority? It's high time that we dismount from our high horses, our selferected pedestals and start realizingthere is a fascinating world out therewith a wonderful variety of people.Not everyone is in Engineering northinks like an Engineer (God forbid).

    Ignoring someone because of the jacket they wear is undoubtedly a loss -a lost opportunity of learning, of making new friends, of the simple pleasure of exchanging new ideas andthoughts. Let us not let our pride getin the way of interacting with theworld around us.

    I need not justify why she was wearing my jacket. But to satisfy thoseinterested enough to ask: it was coldoutside, and it certainly looks betteron her than 1 I was proud to be inEngineering. One party changed that.

    by Terry Woo

    Maybe it's just that time of year again(you know, after cramming for

    midterms, after excessive bouts of tension-release drinking), but I 'm beginning to sense a little discontent amongthe stolid ranks of engineers .Comments like "I hate this place," or

    What am 1 doing here? or I'm afrog Shoot me " are fairly common ,not to mention the odd expletive andseveral references to suicide and sexual impotence.[Not us at the ronWarrior - Ed.]

    t goes to followthat there are people in engineeringwho are miserable.No new newshere. The problemis, many of thesepeople aren't willing to do something about it.

    Students in general are usually aconservative lot;many seize up at

    the though t of radical ch ange, even ifthat change will remove them fromtheir curr ent hellish, Satanic existence.Sad and forlorn, many will gothrough their four and two-thirdsyears here completely unfulfi l led,only to get a job at Ontario Hydro andatrophy for ten to fifteen years. Oneday, they' ll wake up to 2.2 kids, aChrysler Mini-van in the garage androtting pate in the fridge, ponderingtheir sombe r existences.

    Well, never fear. Untie that noose andput down that bottle of rat poison,because it's not as bad as it seems.You don ' t have to be a mindless,spineless lemming with no will ofyour own; you can do something toease the agony which is engineering.

    1) Take a minor. Yes folks, with just

    10 extra credits in an field of Arts, youcan have a minor to call your own.And it doesn't have to be "practical",whatever that means; you can take itin something that you actually like.Philosophy is a fun one, and so areMusic and Fine Arts, if you have aknack for that sort of thing.Psychology can be useful and enjoyable; learn how to play with mindsand have a good time doing it.

    The 10 needed credits can be easilyaccommodated with your 5 complementary electives, maybe some corre-

    spondence courses, and maybe even asingle extra term registered in theArts. Wouldn't that be something?You might even want to talk to your

    undergraduate advisor person andtalk him or her into allowing you toreplace some core engineering courseswith Arts courses, and making up thecore courses later. This "sprea ds out"your workload and mixes up thefun and hard stuff.

    2} Do Engineering Arts. EngineeringArts is a l i t t le known opt ion thatinvolves getting a general Bachelor ofArts in addition to your BASc withtwo extra terms of study. Overall,you need about 18 extra credits.

    You can choose you BA to be nonmajor, meaning you're not going totry for a field of concentra tion likeEnglish or Anthropology; you can usethe 18 credits taking anything youdamn well please. (There are a fewrestrictions: talk to the ArtsUndergraduate officer for details.)Or, you can have a major by deSignating 10 of your 18 credits in a field.(This is usual ly a little harder in termsof scheduling and time, but not thatmuch).

    Engineering Arts was traditionallydone this way: start off in eitherEngineering or Arts, finish onedegree, and then switch over. Butwith a little talking to your undergraduate officer, you can arrange a

    conc urrent schedule, mixing upEngineering and Arts courses. Thiswill probably involve dropping to alater graduating class which will forceyou meet new and exciting people.

    3) Do an exchange program. Thereare a lot of wildly exciting exchangesyou can put yourself on in this university; take advantage of one ofthem. Learn about business in Japan,electronics in France, fluid mechanicsin Germany (I hear there are somegreat labs in Munich around

    Oktober). Study Beach BlanketEngineering in Australia.

    Exchanges expose you to new peopleand cultures, and can favourablyadjust your perspective on life. Youcould emerge from one a new person.

    4) Become less achievement orientedand enjoy yourself more. Maybe yourcurrent misery comes from the stressyou put on yourself to get A's andstuff. 1

    Continued on page 7

    Th ; [pI OJ ~ 1/ ~ o wfo S f v d ~For heXCA.M5P " ' 6 f ~ M . S p r J p .. Cf> Yo v r s e l S fep4 :Gel J ~ I , : /o r r l e ~

    kl C)r-e I I ~ ~ ) i ~ , .

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    November 20. 1992 Iron Warrior V

    For the Love ofYour Pets

    by Gordon Barnett understand this in terms of what theythemselves have known.

    Page 7

    I t was a scene that every pet ownerdreads. I had just returned home fora weekend of rest when my mothergave me the news. Our pet dog hadgone missing with tags from his tetherin our own front yard . This had happened Tuesday as I prepared to leaveafter a da y' s work, and it was nowFr iday evening with the t rai l longgone cold . Phoning the pound andthe vet had turned up nothing. It wasobvious that when m y mother hadgone into our London home, someonewith a complete disregard of namesand medical histories had effectivelytaken our favourite dog. Our dog,who even rued each visit to the kennel could be cooling his paws insunny Mexico for all we knew, and I

    who do not have any girlfr iend totickle behind the ears or talk silly towas feeling the loss. Pet owners allrue the day, that like a bereaved parent all they have is a lousy photograph, and the comforts that theyenjoy can no longer be shared with allof those that they care for. As a resultI take therapy in writing, hoping toarouse some echo thought in thosethat read this, though everyone must

    I have since contemplated where my

    pet dog could be now .I f

    he wastaken, it could be for Christmas for afamily that may not realize that he hasl ived 12 years of his life already. Iwonder that we have made such aGod of human reason that smallercreatures who lack it may be used aspawns for the benefit of other s.Perhaps this is the sign of a still de eper problem, beyond caring fo r pets . I fwe all must go through li fe vi ew ingthings through our own ps ych e, ourview of life is forever clouded by ourown wants and needs over those ofothers. Like any person who is forgotten or abandoned by their "neigh

    bors , the victim by acc iden t o rdeSign, I feel I have been betrayed bythose who should have cared.

    INotes: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -I-

    To end on a different note it appearstoo late to find our dog, so I hope toappeal to those owners who still leavetheir pets unattended for any lengthof time in their car or front yard tothink twice. You may not be the onlyone who "cares" for your pet.

    You re Sick and Tired of ngineeringContinued from page 6

    Well, s top it. For God's sake, ifachieving is driving you nuts, don'tdo it a nymor e. You don't n ee d grea tmarks to keep going in Engineering;I'm living proof of that. Concentrateless on books and concentrate a littlemore on social enhancement. Takepart in extracurricular activities. Docharity work. Take up skeet shooting.[Tn sex in a Hammock. -Ed.1 Just dosomething you enjoy to relax yourselfand forget about ultra-high achievement, even for just a single term.Life's too short to worry about 90'sand 80's.

    Then again, you have to draw the linesomewhere. Failure is a good place todo this.

    5) Take some time off. It's commonfor a lot of s tudents to travel toEurope or something after they graduate high school. Well, why the hellnot in the middle of university? Flasharound your coop affluence by sailingto Greece. Get a job as a Shopper'sDrug Mart clerk somewhere in northern Saskatchewan. Take up zen andthe art of motorcycle maintenance.Wrestle alligators in Zaire.

    While doing so mull over your life alittle. Think about what you what to

    do, where you want to go. Chancesare, you life ' s perspective will be a lotclearer when your head's not balledup with calculus and physics andjunk like that.

    Time taken off ca .n vary from oneterm (if in a program that operates onboth streams) or a year (for programsonly on one stream). Breaks of morethan one year are probably not a goodidea; chances are you w on ' t comeback.

    Now listen: if you're not disenchanted with engineering, and you actuallylike what you're doing, where you'regoing and who you are, well, congratulations for achieving Nirvana onearth. More power to you; don't fixsomething that ain't broke".

    But if you're not happy where youare, well for God's sake, do somethingabout it There's a lot to be said abouttaking a leap and doing somethingdifferent as opposed to just sittingo v r a few pitchers and bi tchingabout it. Carpe Diem, and get cracking.

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    Page 8 Iron Warrior V November 20. 1992

    The Pervasiveness of Racismby Alex Lee

    On Tuesday, October 27, 1992, I hadthe pleasure of attending a specialpresentation by a few members of 2BSystems Design Engineering (orASYD) . t was meant to discuss theissues of sexism, racism and homophobia in Engineering. The speakersrelated personal experiences of sexism, racism and homophobia and

    described how these incidents affected their lives.

    The presentation was nothing lessthan impressive. The speakersexpressed themselves very eloquentlyand they examined the issues with

    mature thought and consideration.s well, because these were students

    (and our friends), I felt the experiences they shared hit very close to

    I ve got a present for you, little insert boy/girl here as appropriate).

    home .

    However, one must always be carefulwhen discussing issues like thesebecause the lines of right and wrongare not always as clear as they mayseem. There are many perspectives in

    considering sexism, racism and homophobia and we should be open-minded enough to consider all the possibilities.

    To elaborate, let's examine some perspectives regarding racism. s a visible minority, I fed quite aware of theracism in my life and the effects it hason me. t makes me conscious of thedifferences among people and to bethoughtful of how these differencescan affect our relationships. In addit ion to this, my experiences haveshown me that racism is more thanjust what we see on the news.

    s an example, there is a company inCanada which constantly exposes itsminority workers to excessive racialdiscrimination. The minority workersare usually placed in separate offices(away from the majority), they arenever given the opportunity to socialize with the other workers and theyare constantly (and openly) ridiculedby their employers. t is actuallyincredible t hat such racism is allowedto openly exist in Canada.

    However, the twist to the story (andthe story is true) is that the company

    is Korean and the minority workersr ~ actually Westerners (or White

    people). Most people never considerthe racism that goes on within minority groups and I think this demonstrates how racism is not a Whitething but rather a People thing.Even more so, the story shows howracism takes on many forms, not justthe violence and name-calling that weusually hear about. t can be seen inbusiness practices, social organiza-

    More nvirotipsby Dave Knight

    This issue's special is on saving paper.

    Canada supplies most of the world'snewsprin t and cuts down 100,000hectares per year more trees than itplants.

    t takes 17 trees to make one ton ofpaper and approximately 40-50 percent of what we throwaway is paper.

    Here are a few tips.

    Use the backs of flyers for telephonenote pads, grocery lists, to do lists, etc.Last work erm even though we hadrecycle boxes for paper in ev ery office,I would use the backs of the paper forrough plots, rough drafts of correspondence and various rough work. Ieven used the other side of some ofthe paper for plots that were postedon the walls and kept in a binder. Icut the papers into quarters and wrotetelephone messages on them as wellas to do lists and by the time I left theidea had caught on all over the plantand many people were following my

    -

    lead . So next work term try it.

    Keep a scrap paper box by the photocopier. I was curious about the factthat there are recycle boxes andgarbage cans by the photocopiers inthe D.C library. I have never seenanything other than paper in the largegarbage cans and I don't really see theneed for them. I also wonder whysome people can't take the extra step( if that) to get to the recycle boxinstead of tossing the paper into thegarbage cans.

    Write none business correspondenceon the back of scrap paper. What'sthe worst that can happen? I send letters to friends on the back of flyersand often, they copy my idea.

    Don' t th row out perfectly goodunused envelopes just because theyhave an unwanted address on them.Usually the bills come with envelopesin them which as often as not getused. Just paste a sticker over themwith the new address on it and send itaway. I once asked for and receivedsome informat ion from the K-WRecycling Committee and was sent an

    envelope that had already been used 3times. The old address was justcrossed out and the new one added.

    Reuse greeting cards. For Christmasjust cut the front of the card off anduse that as a tag on a present. Myfolks once sent a birthday card backand forth with another family forabout 6 years each time adding a newmessage.

    Reuse boxes for presents. Save thoseshirt boxes for presents nes t year.

    Use a rag instead of paper towels.

    Use a permanent or reusable coffee fil-ter.

    Use or encourage the use of cloth diapers instead of plastic or paper onesand if possible encourage daycares todo so as well. For every dollar spenton disposable, the taxpayer spends 8cents to dispose of them, not to mention the environmental costs whichare as of yet unknown.

    Please recycle the Iron Warrior whendone reading it.

    tions and in other subtle ways. Mostof all, racism is socially acceptableamong many racial groups.

    To fully appreciate this particular situation, you must consider some of thehistorical roots of Korea. Racism in

    Korean culture has existed for thousands of years and it originCl ted as aresult of fear. Duri ng its early history,Korea existed as a very independentsociety with little contact with surrounding countries. But as contactincreased, Korea became a casualty ofwar. t suffered several invasionsfrom neighbor ing countries. Koreansbega n to feel tha t all foreigners wouldcome only to conquer their country.In essence, Korea became paranoidabout foreign relations. This parano iahas evolved into the racism which is apart of modern Korean society.

    The anxiety of Koreans is still ,veryevident. Many older generations stillfeel hatred towards the Japanesebecause of past invasions and othersblame the entire Korean War on foreign influences in Korea. There iseven a small radical group in Koreawhich is against Koreans who areraised in North America. Their motivation is that Korea should not recognize or accept Koreans who are polluted with Western ideas. As youmay realize, such attitudes causeracism to be even more difficult forpeople in my situation (i.e., people ofKorean origin but raised in Canada)because we are not readily acceptedby our adopted culture or our cultureof origin. In fact, it may surprise youto know that while I have experiencedmy shar e of racism from White people, I have also had my share fromKoreans. Sometimes the latter hurtsmore.

    I hope I have not given you a negativeimpression of Koreans because I amKorean and I am very proud of it, inspite of what I have said above.Koreans have many characteristicswhich are considered admirable: theyhave a deep sense of honour, they areextremely loyal and they possess astrong sense of duty with respect tofamily. As well, many Koreans do notagree with some of the attitudes dictated by our culture. NumerousKoreans have emigrated from Koreato escape the racism and corruptionthat exists there. I do not hold any illregard toward Koreans because Iunderstand their perspective; it is theKorean perspective and a part of me.

    I have presented to ygu a very particular perspect ive of racism. But Iwould propose that in essence, theKorean situation is not unlike anyother culture. n fact, racism, sexism,homophobia and any of the otherisms or phobias are all really the

    same fundamental problem and thatis people are blind to the truth .Ignorance and fear are what causethese issues and we should treat theseissues as one single problem insteadof many different problems. t isalways impor tant to consider theoverall problem rather than just theparticulars.

    How do we combat the problem?That is a difficult question to answer

    Continued on page 9

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    November 20. 1992 Iron Warrior V Page 9

    The Pervas iveness o f Racism

    Continued from page 8

    considering the magnitude of whatwe are d iscussing . Some peoplewbuld suggest solutions that wouldimpose a set of rules on our socialbehaviour (i.e., don't say gay whenyou mean r id iculous , don ' t tell

    racist jokes, don ' t make generaliza-t ions about women as engineers,etc .. ). However, should not suchmodifications in behaviour be a signof change in our SOciety and not thebasis of it. I do not think we shoulddictate to people how they shouldbehave. I think we need to show people the problem and help them bringabout a change within themselves.

    Political Correctness does not dothis. t only replaces an understand-ing of the problem with a convenientset of regulations. We need to gobeyond outward improvements inbehaviour i real change is to beachieved.

    So what will bring about real change?

    1 Education. We need to learn aboutthe different ideas and philosophies inour world. We also need to know the

    truth , not the myths and the generalizations which we see too often. Todo this, w e must rea l ize that in

    t ruth , there is both good and badand we must be prepared to acceptboth.

    2. Interaction. Education providesthe theory, but Interaction allows usto apply the theory to our lives. Too

    many times, I see ourselves innocently segregated into groups normallybased on cultural similarities. Butthrough diversity, we can learn andexperience so much more. In my ownsituation, my close friends come froma variety cultures, including (but notl imited to) Greek, 'French, English,Chinese and Indian. I feel so luckybecause I have had the opportunity toexperience such an assortment of cus-

    toms, ideas and philosophies (andfood ).

    3. Patience. You may think this oddbut sometimes I feel that we expecttoo much from ourselves. This prob-lem we face has evolved for over 3000years and is essentially a part ofhuman nature. We cannot (ands hou ld not) expect to resolve it

    overnight. It may very well be anoth-er 3000 years before it is ever com-pletely solved.

    4. Perseverance. When discussingsuch issues, we hear too often thewords Why should I have to .. " or

    I t 's not fair that... . Just becausesomething is not fair, does not meanwe should expect it to be rectified.There are a lot of things in life whichare not fair or just. We, as a society,need to work to make things better.That means we will have to endureand suffer but hopefully, our childrenwill not.

    To demonstrate, let me share withyou an incident where the abovepoints worked to ease racial tension.

    close friend of mine, who is Greek,had invited me over to his apartmentfor breakfast. His attempt to makewaffles resulted in blowing a fuse andthis forced us to proceed down intothe basement of his landlady's houseto repair the damage. His landlady(who spoke only Greek) looked some-what surprised when she saw me andwas a little apprehensive about mypresence . However, after I said"Good Morning" to her, in Greek, asmile came over her face and sheresponded likewise. She, then, turnedto my friend and said he speaksGreek better than the Greeks do .

    Perhaps I didn ' t change the world,but i t gave me hope that the worldcould be changed.

    AVAILABLE IN TUBE BOTTLE OR STONE J R

    If you were Iron WarriorEditor, you could put yourname in the paper whereever you wanted this big:

    arc

    ShermanYou could even use a funky

    font, like this:

    rent

    You could even ut If upsfdedown shadowed in Greek:

    Z ~ N m J I T[\1

    N IT M@ WAnd you know that s the

    truth, because we did it too.

    That s Us

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    Page 10 Iro n Warrior V November 20. 1992

    ES onferenceby Clare St ew art

    Attending a confer ence such as CCESis an experienc e that d oes not co m ealong that o f te n . D elegates fromevery co rn e r of ou r co u ntry gathertogether, for the sole purpose of meeting as Engineering students . Throughsuch activities as works hops , keynotespe akers , ban que t s, and soc ial e ve nts,the delegates are able to gather information about the activities at otherschools. To pics of concern rang e frommascots, Iron ring ceremonies, athletictournaments , Endowment fund s ,career possibili ties , and much m ore.

    Be s i des a cti n g a s an in form a t i onex ch a nge forum, th e CCESConference also ha s the mandate ofrepresenting each and every CanadianEngineering school on a nationallevel. As such, another important partof the conference is always the selection of the national exec, and the plenary session where the mandate forthe following year is established .

    As a delegate at CCES 92, hostedjointly be McGill, Concordia and

    Ecole Poly echniq u e, I w as able tomeet a gre a t nu mber of Engineerings tud ents from ac ross the country, andget to know them du r ing the week.As VP External this has meant thatwhen I have been in contact withanother Engineering schoo l, I o ft enknow the face t hat goes wi th the v oiceon t he ph one. This has enabled moreeffective communic a tion of ideas andinformation.

    On a personal lev el, at tendanc e at th econference allowed m e to me t andsp eak wi th students wh o at tend oth erE n i n r i n gschool s, and I wasabl e to gain a bit ofun d e r s tand ing ofhow other schoolsrun, both academically and within

    their Eng Soc's.For example Ilearned that mostother schools combine their IronRing Ceremonywith a formal dinner at which many

    professors are in attendance and it is avery formal occasion, in comparisonto our ri tual. Knowledge of Froshweek activities

    and every d elegate was a ble t o comeaway from t he w eek having gai nedmuch aca dem ic k nowledge and a lso

    having had a greatwe r e a l so Fexchan ged , and it rse em s that mostschool s have simi-

    time in theWax

    0+ aWhole I pr ocess . Trust me

    J I now know that it

    lar activities in thisdepartm e nt. Ishould stress that

    Different Kettle is possible to doboth at the same

    Turns Into the Ball of time .w e c er t a inly d id In ot sp e nd all our lib..

    Fish I The job of hostinga conference such

    tim e at the conference in deep discussions, and we did do a great deal of

    socializing. Evenhere we gainednew knowledge.For example theguys from Lavalhave some veryinnovative nauti

    cal rules. We werealso introduced tosome tradit ionalFrench Canadianculture, due to thefact we were inQ u e b e c

    Somehow, each

    as CCES is a huge one at the veryleast, however the dedication andhard work that go into organizing theconference will be gained back duringthe week. By working with corporatesponsors and a Board of Directors, wethe students here at Waterloo can allgain a little from the conference; in amuch greater magnitude than we do

    by sending delegates each year. Eachand every student will be able to participate in some capacity, to helpmake t he conference a success.

    So support your University and getinvolved in the biggest and bestEngineering conference of them all.

    WEEF: Where Does The Money Go?by Angeline Huang

    For som e unknown mystical reason,quite a few people in my class havebeen asking this question andw r ~ t 1 i n gwith how we should vote inthe future in spending WEEF money.To make this short and sweet, here areour questions:

    Is it fair that all departmen ts have onevote each regardless of our class size?My class, for instance is much largerthan the 2B chem class (almost twicetheir size) but our vote has the samequantitative value as their vote . Is thisdemocratic? After all, the ideal systemwould be based on proportionality. fthe system were altered and our opinion was weighed double the value of

    the chem vote, the spending patterns MENT fund? Why don ' t we justof WEEF would dramatically alter. spend all the money accrued annualMost of us have computers, so we ly? I agree that there is a my s ticalwould probably cut spending on quality about the huge endowm entWATSTAR (just a postulate ~ funds that Ivy League un -here). Taking a macroscopic versities have but how rele-view, the vant is that in

    E&CE d e p a r t ~ C 3 0 u r context?ment is the By the way,la rgest among Mount Allisonall the disci - has a ratherplines but we do large endowment fundnot get the lion's share of of about $30 million.

    voltmeters with funny to as te r w iredisplays now??? By blowing themoney now, w e also a void the problem of uni versity a d mi nistrati on an dthe provincial government findingsome p ret ex t to swipe the mone y laterwhen the fund h as g r own la r g er.We'll also get the satisfactio n of seeingthe changes in our fourth year lab sinstead of drooling over a frequencycontroller in our pow er lab now

    WEEP money. How fair is Without doing interest calcu-that? If we put the most money into lations here from MSCI 261, I sugge st Final comment: Maybe the dissatisfacthe fund (and here I 'm assuming that I ' l l be in a nursing home long tion with the way student donationsWEEF participation among E&CE stu- before the interest from the WEEF has are spent is the reason why E&CEdents is the same as everyone else) grown to significant proportions alumni pled ges are lowest by percentthen we should reap the benefits assuming that engineering enrollment age in the entire faculty. We have theaccordingly. stays the same. By spending all the largest number of graduates but con

    Maybe this is amoney now, significant problems tribute the least. If something can bewith our lab equipment can be solved done with the WEEF fund, perhapsnow Do we really want to lose our graduates will have more confidenceaccreditation when we have the about how their money is spent andopportunity to replace those ancient will give more.

    Bookstore &

    Gift ShopIn ce lebration of our 25th Anniversary. we are givin g awa y 25

    one hundred dollar Gi ft Cl'rtifi cates on Novem ber 25 . J 9 9 2.Draw at 1 : p.m ., in the Bookstore.

    YOU COULD WIN A 100.00GIFT CERTIFICATE

    No purchase n e e s s a r ~ Fill oul a ballot at theUW BOOKSTORE OR GIFT SHOP bet\4een now and

    Non'mbcr 24, 1992.

    Sped31 Sa\ ing. Come for cakeD e t a i l to follow.

    trifle silly, bu twhy d we havean ENDOW-

    v Guy Passed Out in A Soc. People are spending far too much timeIn the Green Chair socializing, and not nearly enough on academics .

    Autumn Umanetz (Acclaimed)

    Previous Experience: At some time or other, I'vepassed out in or on nearly any imaginable type offurniture.

    Most Pressing Issue: Spirit is a very serious issue

    I mean, GET REAL You people came here to getan education , not to have fun.

    Writing Spews: I'm very sorr y, but I'm not available for comment on that issue at this time .However, if you would like to leave a message,I'll be more than happy to get back to you when Iregain consciousness.

    Special Skills: I'm remarkably adept at beingtossed out of the Bombshelter, and have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to lose consciousnessunde r nearly any circumstances.

    Favourite 90210 Character: As a past member ofthe IW executive staff, I don't feel that it would beappropriate for me to select just one member ofthat outstanding cast for special acclaim.

    Improve Engineering: Poets requires many moregreen chairs. I think that everyone should havethe opportunity to pass out in a green chair whenever they want, without having to be elected.

    I will bring Green Chairs to the People

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    November 20. 1992 Iron \Varrior V Page 11

    Election S ecial:

    e e t h e a n d i d a t e scompiled by Marc Sherman

    The Eng Soc A Executive Election is

    comming up, and the Iron Warriorencourages everyone to get off theirsorry behinds and vote on Tuesday,November 24. Thanks in advance tothe candidates and organizers, and aspecial IW tip 0' the hat to the outgoing exec.

    Morgan Day was acclaimed as theWEEF director for the upcomingterms. Morgan was not available forcomment or a photograph after thecandidates meeting.

    Three of the other four positions onthe exec were also acclaimed. Whilethis certainly raises questions aboutapathy in Eng Soc A, it should notraise any about their mandate, whichis the same as a fully elected exec .

    resident

    Dathan Liblik (Acclaimed)

    Previous Experience: Special Events

    VP Finance

    Stephen Kingsley-Jones

    Previous Experience: Class Rep, lA;Special Events Director, 2B; VPInternal, 1 B-2A; Acting Treasurer,August - September '92; VP-InternalESSCO (Engineering Student SocietyCouncil of Ontario); Federation ofStudents Representative, Summer '92to present.

    Most Pressing Issue: Solidifying ourposition and functions as anEngineering Society. In my pastterms here, I've come to realise howfragile our station can be if we are notvigilant. The Faculty and

    We asked the candidates a bunch ofannoying questions, so that you could

    get to know them before the campaign starts in earnest. Th e questionswere:What previous Eng Soc experiencehave you had?What do yo u think is the most pressing issue before Eng Soc A in theupcoming terms?Do you like to write Spews?What special skills could you bringto your position?Who is your favourite character onBeve rly Hill s 90210 and why?How do you plan to improveEngineer ing at Waterloo?

    Here's the candidates responses , sothat you can decide for yourself.Remember, be sure to come out tovote.

    Director, 2B

    Most Pressing Issue: Completingestablishment of the EngineeringSociety Endowment, and generallyencouraging the soCiety to continuegrowing successfully.

    Writing Spews: Hmmm . .. Barf

    Special Skills: Spirit, motivation,organization, experience, attendance,and truck loads of enthusiasm.

    Favourite 9 21 Character: Theowner of the Peach Pit-he could bereal .

    Improve Engineering: In the ideal,engineering should be a rewarding,fun, fulfilling, proud experience forall. I want to come as close to thatideal as possible.

    Administration are not our enemies,but working with them co-operativelywe can maintain our current statusand even expand.

    Writing Spews: Isn't that a bit of asilly question?

    Special Skills: I have a thoroughknowledge of Engineering Societyoperations and procedures . Havingbeen involved for the p ast few terms,I've dealt with every aspect of EngSoc. I also have a complete understanding of Eng Soc Accounting matters having actually done the job fortwo months. It could also be said thatI will bring my enthusiasm and organizational skill, tempered by the

    _ experience of bein g an exec. An organized (but finally) relaxed perspec

    tive. Anothe r element of note, I amcurrently working towards a Minor inEconomics on top of the BASc inEngineering.

    Favourite 90210 Character: Brenda.Hmmm .. You need to ask?

    Improve Engineering:Fundamentally, work towards anEngineering Society with the correctchecks and balances such that thingsgo smoothly . This allows the securityof financial stability an d lets us g et onto the job of having a good time whilegetting an Engineering degree.

    VP Internal

    Piyush Bhatnagar (Acclaimed)

    Ron Butler (Acclaimed)

    Previous Experience: Director, HighSchool Shadow Program, Fall '92

    Most Pressing Issue: Eng Soc s hould

    VP Finance

    Nancy Faessen

    Previous Experience: WEEF rep lA,C D Manager for two terms,Sandford Flemming Foundation,Orientation '92 Co-Chair, Chern-EngSoc, lA/ lB .

    Most Pressing Issue: The beginningof the new Engineering SocietyEndowment Fund, as it is the foundation for major capital expenses in oursociety.

    Previous Experience: WEEF OA/l B),Eng Soc Rep (2A), Specia l EventsDirector (2B).

    Most Pressing Issue: Spirit. Comesummer '93, I want to see things hoppin' again. Next term is going to beone hell of a time

    Writing Spews: You mean peopleread them?

    Special Skills: I boat race. Whatmore is there?

    Favourite 90210 Character: Kelly.

    Improve Engineering: You come herefor an education. School is not theonly thing that makes up a good edu.cation. Having fun and being wellrounded is just as, and can be more,important.

    be working to change the community's negative views of engineering, aswell as to make engineering anaccepting and fair environm ent for aUpeople.

    Writing Spews: Wait 'til I write oneOh, does this count?

    Special Skills: I'm hard working andoutgoing. Although I realiseEngineering has its problems, I'maware of its positive aspects and planto make . te general public aware ofthis.

    Favourite 90210 Character: DONNA.Some may call her nai've but I thillks w hil l ; lin llIKOll1plic,\tl'd vi w of lifl .

    lmprov Engin('cring: 1 hope toimpmv lnd tnring, and wea r a funky hat .

    Writing Spews: Can't Everyoll ?

    Special Skills: I have managed theaccounts for a sma ll privat e busines ,the Engineering Society Coffee andDonut Shop, and Orientation of 1992.I also sit on the Sandford FlemmingFoundation which provides funds forthe improvement of EngineeringEducation . In my previou s positionson Eng Soc I have learned to workwell with several different types ofpeople: student, other societies andthe University Administration. Ibelieve I have the best possible skilJ.$to fill the position of VP Finance.

    Favourite 90210 Character: Why in

    the hell would I watch everly Hills9021O

    Improve Engineering: Engineering atWaterloo is already the best The onething I feel needs to be prepared is thedocumentation on the EngineeringSociety Endowment Fund. This document will control the spending ofthe Endowment money. I plan to findthe best possible investments for yourmoney to be spent in the future. Ibelieve I can also increase communication with the other societies oncampus, the Feds, UWAdministration and the community.

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    Page 12 SKJ Bi-Weekly V November 20, 1992

    CCES: An istorical Perspectiveby Stephen Kingsley-Jones

    The beginnings of the CCES are found .in the Province of Quebec. In its formative years the congress was anassociation of engineering and science

    schools of that province. s it grew, itbecame apparent that the two groupswere too diverse in nature to continuefunctioning as a single unit.

    In 1969, under chairman Mr. HankRoy, the Congress of Canadian Engineering Students, received its name.Held at McGill Univer sity of Montreal, the organizers brought togetherrepresentatives f rom Quebec andOntario. There were also a number ofobservers representing approximately3 engineering schools. The congresswas designed to discuss many aspectsof Engineering. The four original con

    cepts were:

    1. The Engineer and his Moral Conscience.2. Equal opportunities for French andEnglish Speaking Canadian Engi-

    . neers.3. The Engineer in the corporate system.4. Engineering Education.

    Since that time many different themes

    and topics have arisen at the CCES.

    In 1976 it was determined that sinceorganizing this conference was such abig event, that schools should be nomina ted or bid a t least 2 years inadvance to host the conference. Tothis end, Waterloo A and B : society have put together a bid to be submitted at the '93 conference to hostCCES in 1995.

    The following list was compiled fromCCES post publications, unfortunat elysome of these were lost in the greatEngSoc fire.

    CCES for the past 25 years:

    25 1993 McMaster24 1992 L'Ecole Poly echnique,

    McGill, Concordia

    23

    2221

    201918171615

    14

    13

    12

    11

    10

    9

    1991 Univers i ty of Saskatchewan: Engineering theEnvironment

    1990 Queen's University1989 Technical University of

    Nova Scotia

    1988 Universite Laval19871986198519841983 Univers i ty of British

    Columbia1982 University of Waterloo:

    The professional engineerin today's society.

    1981 Queen's University:Engineering and Government

    1980 University of Alberta:The Engineer in The Corporate System

    1979 Nova Scotia TechnicalCollege: Professionalism

    1978 Universite De Sherbrooke: The Engineerand His Formation

    1977 University of Manitoba:

    8

    7

    6

    5

    4

    3

    2

    1

    THE CAMPUS SHOP 'CAMPUS CENTRE)

    LE T J CKET D YTues Nov. 24 10am to 4pmLE THER 315.00 r.t:LTON LE THER 199.00

    100 DEPOSIT REQUIRED (PLUS TAXJACKETS BY EXPORT LEATHER GARMENTS LTD.

    Energy Our Life Blood,Technology Economics

    1976 Memorial University ofNewfoundland: PolicyPlanning - A system'sapproach

    1975 University of Calgary:Social Impact of Engineering Projects

    1974 University of Waterloo:The Engineer and HisFuture in Canada Society

    1973 Univers i ty of BritishColumbia: The Engineer,His Social Responsibility,His Education, HisFuture

    1972 Univers i ty of NewBrunswick: Our Environment, Our Challenge

    1971 Carleton UniversityUnivers i ty of Ottawa:Canadian Mobility

    1970 Laval University: TheLast Frontier

    1969 McGill University: TheDevelopment of Canada'sNorth

    CCES post publications are a vitalpart of the CCES, they allow a follow up of what was discussed atthe last CCES, as well as giving usa bit of a history.

    APE 0 Takes

    gertoAPEO's to ,1rotect thehealth &ibfeh3 d : L I g (era DuQ-

    1\11 an a ge en e lIJ- a 0than technicalthat aspecttaking aof Engineeunclear.stand uponin this laboumay impedeing the public

    An example ofact prohibiting

    5

    tf

    1

    ,tr

    tr

    ers during labour disputes orStrikes. In some industries, ie.petrochemical, refining, smelting,

    Continued on page 13

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    November 20. 1992 SKJ Bi-WeeklyV Page 13

    ES in Waterlooby Stephen Kingsley-Jones

    Waterloo is making a bid to host themost spectacular and impressive student conference held in Canada. hisJanuary in Hamilton, McMasterUniversity is hosting CCES '93. Atthis conference the Waterloo An and"B" societies will be bidding to hostCCES '95. This gives us two years toplan the biggest event at Waterloosince 1982.

    Waterloo has the largest Engineeringschool in Canada, as such we are ideally suited to holding a conference ofthis size. Appro ximate ly 200 studentEngineers will descend on Waterlooin January 1995 t will be our job tohouse, educate and entertain them forthe best week of their lives.

    To this end we have already begun

    our preparations. A local hotel hasbeen solicited (The Waterloo Inn, theonly 5 Star hotel in Waterloo), as wellas a rough schedule of events established. A theme for the conferencewill be determined at the '93 conference, providing the mandate and general topic of CCES '95. We havealready been poring over our vast

    resources of speakers and industrycontacts to provide the most interesting and innovative forms of enlightenment.

    Industrial tours are another integralpart of the CCES conference . Wehave already contacted local industryand it looks like we ll have morepotential tours than time slots.Guelph University .has offered theirhelp in this regard as well as anyother way they can contribute. Theirexpertise has been shown in theirhosting of the '92 APEO conference, athorough success.

    As far as ent ertainment is concerned,Waterloo has some great things tooffer. Aside from the nice Club(Ruby's) located in the Waterloo Inn,entertainment has been slotted forFED Hall (largest student pub in

    North America), Lulu's (longest bar inthe world) along with impressivehotel festivities and a banquet that'llshatter chandeliers.

    It s going to be great, and WaterlooEngineering welcomes the challengeof showing the CCES '95 delegate thebest time of their lives

    APEO Take Stand on Bill 4

    Continued from page 12

    etc., interrupting processes in midstream can be extremely dangerous.Oil refineries are a perfect example, a

    forced shutdown caused by a suddenlabour departure can risk severedamage to the local area, throughexcess ventilation of environmentalcontaminants or even destruction ofthe entire plant.

    presented a position paper to theProvincial government on those elements of Bill 40 which it feels couldrisk public safety. To date, those rec

    ommendations have not been incorporated into the legislation.

    As future Engineers we must supportthe APEO's stand on Bill 40 In only afew years we will have to deal withthe implications of Bill 40, good orbad

    Well, you [Iron Warrior] guys don t nctwllly sllck bill I don t relldthe soIwouldn ta k r l o w 4A I < : T u n l

    DAVIS CENTRE arty ibrarylIf you re looking for a wild joint to meet pals, or a great new place to pick up,

    o t DC, the o s t {

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    Page 14

    SchedulingScrew UpsDear Co-op:

    t is a really great idea that CareerServices offers many job search selfimprovement COUIses but scheduling

    seems to be a problem. How can theyoffer a course but not have anyoneshow up until 1/2 hoUI into the class?This is not very professional We arecounting on you and are taking timeto attend these COUIses. We show u pon time at least you can have the common courtesy to do the same

    4th year student intending to graduate

    P.S.: Hope you can help. Thanks.

    Dear 4th year student:

    Thank you for your letter concerningcourses offered by Career Resources. Weneed, however, specifics on the coursetime and date to be able to respond to yourquestion on why the instructor was late.We can advise you to address your concerns directly to the Career ResourcesCentre and let them know the time, dateand subject of the course.

    Let us know if you are unable to obtainan answer.

    Fiona ZuzarteSAC Dear Co-op Board Officer

    Posting haosDear Co-op:What can I say, this is crazy. What doI mean? Well, the late postings, -

    ,-gr . . )0 " " , KA SU \ v

    R ~ L L / (

    . 1~ ~ joi~ t

    Iron Warrior V

    Okay.Last year the Group 1/2 made thingsless hectic at the wall, today it wasnuts, crazy and all out a waste of time.It was just an idea.Thanks.

    Applied Studies student

    Dear Applied Studies student:

    Your letter is not very clear on the subjectwith which you are concerned. t seemsthat you are addressing the merging ofGroups 1 and 2 this term, during the coop process. This is what is assumed inthis response.The merging af the two groups this termwas to:

    1 Provide the students with abroader range of jobs to which they couldapply

    2 To providethe employers with awider selection of

    students qualified fora job.

    In previous terms,with the distin tGroups 1 and 2, students from onegroupcould not apply tojobs thet) were qualified for in the other.For e.g. math students could not apply to Engineering jobsand vice versa. Similarly, employerscould not offer a job to both groups andselect the most suitable candidate. Boththe students and employers were not toohappy with the system. With just one setof Want-Ads, the co-op department hopedto alleviate this problem. Granted thatthis may cause some hassle to studentsgoing through the Want-Ads, but that is

    ...-,, YES."cALL'

    AOM[ItE .

    . \ 1HiNt

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    November 20, 1992

    tlris concem to our a tell tiotl.

    Fiona ZuzarieDear Co-op Board Officer

    Beat theClockDear Co-op Education:

    We all know that we are lucky to haveso many employers coming to interview us students. And that the students as well as the University arevery grateful to the employers for giving us a chance.

    However, in certain cases, the interview might have to be pushed backdue to the in terv iewer runningbehind schedule. Though studentsare normally required to attend ALLinterviews, if an interviewer is running very late, i.e. 1 hour +, I feel thatthe student should have the option of

    not attending the interview. In thistime of mid-terms, assignments andnormal classes, being forced to sit inthe pit for one hour and then tohave to attend a 1/2 hour interview isunacceptable .

    Since the s tudent is penalized forbeing 1 hour late for an interview,shouldn't the employer also be? (Le.in the student opting out ). I realize

    Iron Warrior V

    Tile SAC (Students Advising Co-op) bUIlt?recently indicated a concern Oi >er the {nctthat employers 011 occasion become drastically behind (for a mriety of reasons) alltheir interviewing schedules. The students feel compelled to accept these delaysalthough they after impact on class schedules, other interviews, etc. In an effort tocope with these situations we are establishing the fol/owing policy:

    liThe Department of Co-operativeEducation & Career Services recognizesthat from time to time an employer causesstudents to wait beyond normally scheduled interview times. In such cases, whenthere is a significant delay, the studentshould contact the 'on duty' co-ordinatorwho is in charge of on campus activity forthat particular day. The 'on duty' coordinator, whose whereabouts can bedetermined at the paging desk, will discuss options with the student and decideon appropriate action. Every effortwill be

    made to ensure that the student is not disadvantaged."

    We once again thank you for bringingthis issue to SAC and hope that this newpolicy will help alleviate similar problemsfrom occurring.

    Fiona ZuzarteDear Co-op Jloard Officer - .hat sometimes s tudents are not . . .

    penalized for being late, but in this GINO S PIZZrespect, the co-op department bendsthe rules". I f this can be done, whycan a s tudent not opt out of a lateinterview? I f for no other reason,than to put the interviewer back onschedule. (If I miss mine, the nextperson won't have to wait as long ).

    Thank you for listening

    Pat Richard, 2A CS

    Dear Pat Richard:

    Thank you for your letter of October 27th,regarding interviews running late. Yourconcern was brought to the attention ofthe co-op department and a memo wasissued (reproduced below).

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    Page 16 Iron Warrior V November 20 . 1992

    Law Tip 0 The Weekby Mark Really, there was a dog "Vidler

    OK, so I lied. No big deal. It's notlike I haven't done it before. I reallydid plan to interview Jeff and Akbar,but they were, uh, still in France at thetime and Bell won't let me call thereanymore (see how much it costs youfor a 32 minute person-to-person call).Actually I kind of procrastinated a bittoo much to actually get around totalking to the Poof Pair. Oh yeah,sorry Marc, it 's Tuesday and our 201project is finally done, so here it is.

    Well, that sets the mood for today'stopic, procrastination. A little background for you. My dad called melast week to tell me that a registered

    letter had arrived for me from theGovernment of Ontario (ProvincialCourts Division). Knowing as he doesthat I have a spotless history as far asthe law is concerned, I was surprisedto learn that my dad was eager toopen the letter strictly to let me knowwhat it contained. Needless to say,I 'm not suicidal I still want to drivehis car). Apparently the letter hadarrived on October the 29th, and Ireceived i t on the 7th of November.Yep, the long arm 0 the law had finally reached me, it seemed. This is theletter, reprinted in part without permission from those almighty Gods ofJustice whom our province, in all itswisdom, employs .

    YOUR DRIVER S LICENSE WILL BE

    SUSPENDED UNDER SECTION 46OF THE HIGHW Y TRAFFIC CTFOR NOT PAYING A FINE OR FINESEFFECTIVE 13 NOV. 992

    YOUR LICENSE WILL REMAIN SUS-

    PENDED UNTIL LL FTNES REPAID.

    P YMENT MUST BE M DE

    THROUGH NY PROViNCI L

    COURT.

    THE COURT WILL ADVISE YOU OFTHE TOTAL MOUNT OWING NDMETHODS OF PAYMENT.

    g U l so i i Vr Y f ' / I A N ~bo t t ~ L A 7 S -7

    \

    The letter was purportedly signed JFaas (or something) , who is theDeputy Registrar of Motor Vehicles.As you can well imagine, I wasshocked to note that there was noactual Signature, only that reallyimpersonal form signature that isprinted with the letter head . So whatcan we glean from this? Well, apparently the real Registrar of motor vehicles is a doddering old fool who is justkept around by the Deputy so that sheor he (ambiguous) can run the ministry the way she or he wants withouttaking responsibility. Come to thinkof it, tha t ' s notreally a bad racketif you can swing it.I mean, if you canget a job where

    you can make allsorts of frivolousdecisions and notget strung up forthem, all the morepower to yo u . Sothe D.R. (DeputyRegistrar) scorespoints for that one.Anyway, the letteris not actuallytyped up by the D.R., but by somelowly underling whose only taste ofpower is the ability to take away thelicenses of poor students who don'teven own cars anyway. I doubt thatFaas (or something) even knows whoI am, let alone cares about the statusof my driving permit (remember, '1t'sa privilege, not a right ). Wait aminute; tha t ' s not too bad either.Think about it. This guy/girl is set .Really, all sorts of policies she or hecan set and not give a shi t aboutbecause of the big, senile Kahoona(always wanted to use that word), andshe or he can always blame everything else on the clerks or secretariesbecause that's not a real signature onthe letters.

    Imagine the typical day of the DeputyRegistrar of Motor Vehicles. Gets up

    around 10, gets ready for work, hopsin the car and drives at 180 kph all theway because she or he can tell thecops to fuck off and then get to the

    office, call up his/her name and clearh i s /he r record. That would beenough work for the morning so therewould be an extended lunch plannedwhereby she or he could finally get achaser for those four t equila shots (see'gets ready for work'), a tour aroundToronto on top of the car, steeringthrough the window while Susan Engworks the gas, and finally back towork. By this time it would be threeo'clock so the D.R. could knock offearly and go horne. Not a bad job, I'dsay. I wonder where I could get anapplication? I'll let you know if I get

    anywhere with it.

    So where was I?Oh yeah, I guessthe De p . scores big

    there too.Anyway, the jobwould be great tohave, but besidesthat, the averagestudent who is toobusy (read lazy) tosend in the f inemoney gets it upthe wazoo (beenwanting to use

    that for a while too).

    That is not to say that it is always badto put things off for a while (readindefinitely). I know of one casewhere a notoriously bad driver evaded get t ing his license suspendedtwice. The first tim e the notice of suspension just didn't arrive, so he waslucky. The second time he just didn'tturn his license in and he didn't hearabout it again. The D.R. must havebeen taking care of that one personally and used the forms as a coaster orsomething. The suspension didn ' teven appear on his abstract. Granted,it is a rare occurrence to evade suspension. Ernie is the only person thatI know has done this, with the exception of myself. In my case I was aboutto lose my "privilege" for the secondtime due to an extremely high pOints

    build up, when I had the (mis)fortuneto determine the actual highest speedat which a 1987 Honda Accord can benavigated through a certain S-bend in

    my hometown. I was charged withcareless but used the (lame) excuse ofthe dog in the middle of the roadthat mysteriously disappeared justbefore you got here, officer" (in mydefense, I was only 17, and that's theexcuse the Driver's Handbook says touse). Regardless , I entered the plea of'not guilty' (which was to shape mylife), and had the lawyer send in theform. The next week I received a letter of suspension and told the lawyerabout it, hinting that the offence pleamust have been entered incorrectly.Two days later the suspension wasrevoked. The lawyer is now themayor of said town and the dog hasyet to be seen.

    Getting back to some sort of topic, Inow have to pay $53.75, for a grandincrease of somewhere in the order often dollars. So for the chance that theDMV would forget about me I havepaid the staggering price that roughlyequals a pitcher of Rickard's Red. Notbad. f I didn't have to pay insuranceon a vehicle for the rest of my stay atWaterloo (say, about five more yearsat this pace) I would be very temptedto let the fine ride and see just whenthe Government of Ontario, CourtsDivision - Criminal would finallywrite off my fifty odd bucks as a baddebt. Standard business practice, you

    see. After apre-determined

    length oftime all bus inesses wri te off allmonies that they just aren't going toever see. I doubt, however, that thegovernment would adhere to standard business practices because, afterall, if they did, there wouldn't be a tenbillion dollar operating deficit for thisyear . So if you're in this situation, orhave ever wrangled your way out of asuspension, write me a letter, I'd liketo read it, or, at the very least, use it asa coaster.

    The author of this article would like tothank the Ministry of Transportation,

    without whose help this article couldnot have been written. This week'swinning Suspens ion Number is2183533.

    n l. HA ~

    \J...~ \ {\ \\t--\\\r w .\

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    November 20, 1992 Iron Warrior V Page 17

    This rticle is bout othingProfile of a UW ngineering

    Basket of golden brownfries, prepared through ahigh tech process tha tinvolve intense trainingand technical knowledge.

    , ... ~

    .

    Excellent hat, makes

    the ensemble complete

    Big smile because he 's

    "

    .- ~

    .\

    \

    ~(Standard issue technicaTdevice for professionalburger flippers

    StyliSh polyester floods

    by Steve Nash and Dave Knight

    This article is about nothing specific. Ifyou desire to read continuous ramblingwith the occasional h umorous statementthen read on. Ponder this and enjoy.

    I would l ike to begin with a simplerequest . All of youassholes that go tothe library and talkaloud with norespect towardsyour fellow schoolmates please staythe hell out If youhave something todiscuss do it somewhere else. Thereare people in thelibrary studyingand they d o n twant to hear yourlips Happin.Especially duringmidterms. So shutyour stinkin traps.Have you everstudied in the DanaPorter library? It's ahelluva lot quieterthan the DavisCentre. Thinkabout it.

    as though he has a new woman everyshow . What does he know that we don't?

    Does anyone still use a computer cassettedrive? If you do get with the program (nopun intended).

    What ever happened to 8-tracks?

    Why isn t MichaelJackson popularanymore? He usedto be cool. I guessthe glove thingdoesn t work anymore .

    Can you sti l l buygames for the Atari2600? And if sowhere can you getthem because I stillhave myoId system.

    If we don t get backour final examswhat do the Profsdo with them?Kindling perhaps?

    When you tie yourrobe on a coolSaturday morningdo the pockets end

    Do you ever won- - up hanging in frontder how Kramer can afford to live with- o f your crotch? And are yo u reluctant toout ever working. Has anyone ever seen a use the pockets for fear that it may appearshow that indicates he is employed? your having a good time?

    Maybe he's supported by an engineer ?

    or en? t seems

    e

    -

    e

    Wh y is it that a pe r so n could hav e tenintervi ws and someone s coul aveone interview and the person with oneinterview ends up with a job?

    If the ,lVcmgl' per son h i H s xu.,] rel,l 'lion hips in their lifl', how ' Ollll 1m 0far b hind ?

    Why do hygi n produ ts (i ) . , hampoo)have instructions on th m? Arc w soincomp tent that W ) don t know how Loclean ourselves? When thl ' hampooinstructions say repeat does that meanthat w continuously wash until the bot

    tleis

    gone?

    Why do feminine) hygien product commercials usc blue liquid ?How did Roseanne, The Golden Girls,and Designing Women l'ver last after thlfirst season?

    If keep failing all my midterms why amJ still in engineering (are the finals thatmuch better or should I worship the bellcurve)?

    What ever happened to the GreatestAmerican Hero?

    Why does a career in food engineering(ie. flippin burgers at Harvey s) lookmore attractive as the term progresses?

    Why do they always change the coursetextbooks each term so I can't sell myoIdones? And why do 1 always need the onesI did sell?

    What ever happened to all the people thatmysteriously disappear after first yeareach term?

    Why hasn't Steve's Harvey cartoon beenpublished yet (Steve didn t write thisquestion)?

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    Page 18 Iron Warrior V November 20, 1992

    Recipe of the Weekby Peter Murphy

    Take a fish,and a potato.

    Hold the fish and the potato

    Campus Question:What's your favourite place to study?

    Overtly Sexual Sunshine Things: Dave, a Queen's Engineer, is a swinging single.

    Right here on the steps of POETS pub

    where I can get a friend to hold my book.- Myron D'Souza and Kevin O Keefeames Earl Jones , running for EngSoc President in 93 , likes to play around.

    \; If

    E V ~ V71{o A~ I - SK/ILsAiv 54HAS G ~ A - TSKILL S # ~ /s Bet7ONE I AGAI ~ T r i 1 ~ LI7 l i

    I

    M lGHry G U A ~ DI A N ~OF1ft 7001... j sUE HAS APRECiS/ON SkILLSAlA08ti711G Y HA l / ~ A/O()- PO{jAlO P PF W R . ~ # C J . f

    --

    A Messagefrom a DeanConcerning

    Park ingby Dea n Flockton

    As the enrollment figures increaseand the percentage of students owning cars increases, parking hasbecome a large problem. As a DEAN,I was approached to come up with asolution to the problem. My main

    objective was to findcheap, reliable parking.

    I first attempted parking in the pay as youenter parking lotsscattered across cam

    ~ p u sthese are fine but Iwanted to find some

    thing cheaper. After parking innumerous non-sanctioned spotsand receiving just as numerous parking tickets it became obvious to me

    that parking tickets are more expensive than paying for lot parking. tbecame clear to me that if I couldcome up with a sur e fire way to parkanywhere without receiving parkingtickets then I could solve the parkingproblem. After much experimentation I finally concluded:

    THE BEST WAY TO A VOID RECEIV-1NG PARKING TICKETS IS TOREMOVE THE WINDSHIELDWIPERS FROM YOUR CAR

    Try it, but d on t blame me if they towyour car.

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    November 20.1992 Iron Warrior V Page 19

    o ; . ~-

    ~

    The Temptat ion of Ed. Autumn:

    All ThisCouldBe

    YoursJo in the Fu n and Frol ic onthe I ron Warrior Staff for

    the Summer of 93 ..Many Important Positions

    Are Yet To Be Filled *

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    Page 20 Iron WarIior V November 20, 1992

    Interview

    Douglas dams is Mostly Harmlessby Steven SandorReprinted with permission from theRyerson yeopener

    People kept asking, when are yougoing to do another Hitch Hikerbook? I said I was never going to doone ever again, says Douglas Adams,reclining in a loun ge seat in the lobbyof the Harbou r Castle Westin. ThenI decided, Right, O K if you're goingto be like that I'll do another one.

    Adams is referring to the fifth installment in the Hitch Hiker's Guide tothe Galaxy series, The just-releasedMostly Harmless.

    Originally meant to be a trilogy (TheHitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy,The Restaurant at the End of the

    Universe and Life, the Universe andEverything) adapted from his culturalicon BBC radio series of the samename, the series grew with a fourthbook, So Long and Thanks for All theFish and the short story/epilogueYoung Zaphod Plays it Safe.

    Adams then swore off the series andproceeded to write two books aboutsurrealist detective Dirk Gently andwhat he considers to be his greatesttriumph, Last Chance to See .. co-produced with zoologist MarkCarwardine.

    Adams says that therewere loose ends in theHitch Hiker series tha tpreyed on my mind. Hecame up with a plot anddiscovered it fit the characters perfectly.

    The writing of the bookswas covered by BritishT.V. and the show was tocoincide with the releaseof the novel. But the camera brought problems toAdams' writing process.

    and a bunch of dutiful bad-poet alienscalled the Vogons all return in thenew novel along with a daughter thatArthur never new he had.

    But it seems that the characters ofZaphod Bebblebrox, two-headed president of the galaxy, and Marvin theParanoid A ndroid are gone forever.

    Actually, I 'd thought of a sixth bookinvolving Marvin and Zaphod, butthen I just thought, shit. I always feltMarvin was a one-joke character.

    He is also nothappy with YoungZaphod Plays itSafe, a short storyto finish up the

    a p h o

    Beeblebrox lore. Itwas a rushed project that he did fora charity and wasadded to theomnibus version ofthe Guide whenAmerican publishers realized therewas more Guidematerial to cram into the chronicle.

    Nobody got the story, he laments.

    his novels . He never actually goes outand describes to the reader what happens, but tells of all the events lead ingup to the finish. leaving the readerwith a jigsaw puzzle to put together.

    Do readers enjoy doing this?

    They often come up to me andpunch me in the nose, Adams muses,posing as the straight man. Actually,a few people came up to me andasked me about the first Dirk Gentlynovel 'Hey, great book, but I don'tget the ending.'

    So I told them tore-read the novel,it's quite obviousactually. Theycame back to me

    and told me theystill didn' t get theending. So then Ibloody well read itand I couldn ' tunderstand theending. t madeperfect sense atthe time. So don'task me about the

    ending because I don't know .

    Adams is notorious for the amount ofbaths he takes to help him COHcentrate

    on his writing . But he_ has cut back a little

    thanks to his addiction tohis computer. Adams isan avid user and programmer .

    1 used to take an absurdlI number of baths, he

    says, it's displacementactivity. Sharp ening pencils. Cleanin g the fridge .Taking baths.

    And the computer, too.

    Effectively, it took sever

    al months off the writingof the novel. The showcame out ten monthsearly. Douglas dams at the International Festival of uthors

    There are two terms;computers and computing. Computing makes

    you think about thinking.Computer science has agreat deal to do with thedevelopment in Earth sci

    The Guide series is a chronicle 0 f thedestruction of the Earth to make wayfor a hyperspace bypass, the searchfor the meaning of life, stealing spaceships, surreal commentaries on modem day life and the quest for the perfect cup of tea.

    Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Trillian

    =:ooC

    en

    c:::

    E D0 ;- I l~

    d a m ~feels no obligation to use anycharacters in the novels to please hisrabid fans (hey, there were a couple ofguys waving towels at his readingFriday night for the International festival of Authors). It's a story, not asituation comedy.

    Adams is infamous for the endings of

    ences and evolutionary sciences.

    Elaborate, Douglas .

    Since Newton we have proceeded byscientific by scientific method, that wetake things apart to see how theywork. Computers allow us t o putthings together to see how t h eywork.

    Ecology, eh. Adams' work withCarwardine, Last Chance to see ..deals with expeditions to the cornersof the world to investigate rare andendangered species. Of course it'swritten in Adams' smooth yet cuttingstyle.

    If I was to die today, I 'd say that'sthe book, says Adams.

    There are traces of the ecologicallyconscious Ada ms .in Mostly Harmless.Arthur Dent's adopted planet is provided with meat by Perfectly NormalBeast, an animal that only comes byfor a few days in the year in and interdimensional migration.

    ''The idea comes from a particular u ~

    tie which migrates a huge distanceacross the Atlantic Ocean to lay itseggs and back again to raise itsyoung. The turtle probably only hadto travel a very short distance millionsof years ago but remained faithful toit 's rearing areas even afterContinental Drift.

    The Perfectly Normal term camefrom zoology. There's always thegreater this of the lesser tha t . It'scalled Perfectly Normal Beast becauseit does something so extraordinary.People have this thing w here it's perfectly normal if it happens everyday.

    I mean, why do lemmings jump offcliffs? That' s not normal.

    Adams says he is sometimes botheredthat he is considered a science fictionwriter. ''There's an audience out therethat doesn't read my books becausethey don't read science fiction books.It's ridiculous that Stephen King is infiction A-Z when he works in agenre. Adams is buoyed by the hopethat he will smash barriers much likeKurt Vonnegut has.

    Adams says that inspiration is nice,but overrated, hard work is whatmakes the novel.

    Inspiration. Is it some sort of magical place, a mail order company inIndianapolis or what? I think of anidea. I wish there was a heightenedstate of consciousness.

    Adams will begin working on a newDirk Gently novel, when he has theti