Index of all Wisdom issues.
On Wednesday October 28th at 9:00pm in the Grad House, the Looney Movie night (a regular C.S.S. event) was held. The theme for the evening was HORROR FILMS; appropriate as Halloween was approaching. The movie of choice was "Arachnaphobia" and was well received. Soft drinks and pizza were in abundance and attendance was good. Special thanks are extended to Sandra Wyman for extending the use of her television and VCR for the evening (a minor scheduling error on the part of the Grad House left us without equipment for the evening).
I hope to see you all out to our next movie night! Look for it in your next issue of the Wisdom, or posted signs around the University.
There is a new mini-computer on campus, it is replacing neumann.cs.uwindsor for the most part, and is being used as an FTP site (not totally organized yet) and the home site for 2 MUSHes. Only one of these is open to the public at the moment- this being SillyMUSH. In order to access this, telnet to ftp or access.cs.uwindsor.ca port 1919. The other MUSH is not open to the public at this point.
The machine is called zaphod, and can be reached by one of three addresses - zaphod.cs.uwindsor.ca, access.cs.uwindsor.ca, or ftp.cs.uwindsor.ca. The MUShes are also available by a client program called TinyFugue, which allows multiple connects. This is only available from zaphod itself, and from the CS Sun machine (cs.uwindsor.ca). As this particular program cannot be compiled on the SGI machine in the Computer Center (server.uwindsor.ca), it is not available there at all.
Feel free to use all of these newly available functions, and I will keep you updated on any additional ones that come up as the machine settles into what will be its complete existence.
by Sandy Tolentino
Hello, I am Sandy Tolentino the first year representative for the computer science society. This is my first year here at the University of Windsor, and it has been a great experience so far. Coming from high school the independence and freedom here at University is great.
I live here in Windsor and have been here my entire life, which is one reason why I chose to go here. As first year rep. I hope I can help other first year students get involved with our society. Being a first year c.s. student I hope I can give other first year students what they want to make their and my university experience better.
Hi There!!!
How's everybody's semester going?? Hopefully everything is going fantastic. My name is Christine Cabreros. I am the 2nd Year Representative for the Computer Science Society. My job is to make sure that information is passed from the meetings to you the students of CS.
So if you want to chat or just to give some ideas of what you'd like to see the Computer Science Society do in the up-coming months, come on up and see us. We're located on the fifth floor of Lambton Tower room # 5108.
Well CS students are you interested. Come on out and meet your executive. Hope to hear from you soon.
Last year's pool tournament was very well received. This year's should be equally as fun.
After general meetings there is always free food and `pop'.
Last semester we had a 6ft sub from the Subway.
This Thursday the 12th of November starting at noon. We will be playing at `TILT' on wyandotte (a few blocks east of the U). See us at the office for registration and more info. Only $5.00 per person (to cover for prizes). See you there!
Hello! Well Finally this issue of the Wisdom came out! The first issue (volume 9 issue 0) came out over the summer for the new first year students attending Head Start. I would like to point out right away that any member of the C.S.S. that would like to contribute an article for the Wisdom would get, as always, $5.00. Anything having to do with computers (in one way or another) or anything going on that would interest someone in CS would be put in.
This year we're trying out some new stuff with the Wisdom. We are going to have Wisdom Headline News available through `Gopher'. The idea behind this is that we would be able to post weekly news on the computer about activities such as volley-ball, Looney Movie Nights, meetings etc. This electronic retrieval system is available on the SGI machine in the University Computer Center and the CS Sun system. To access `Gopher', call it up from the menu under `Connections & Comm.' It has several interesting things under it (including the latest information from NASA). We hope to be up in a week or two.
Also we will be putting copies of the Wisdom in the archive site (ftp.cs.uwindsor.ca). The copies from previous years have been lost (although we think they are still on tape backup) but all new issues will be there (probably in PostScript format).
Well thats the end of my article, I only have to finish editing this newsletter and go study for a mid-term. Good luck on all your mid-terms.
I'm so fed up with ASCII codes and ITERATION episodes If I just had a human brain I think that I would go insane With FILES of DATA to COMPILE It hardly seems a BIT worthwhile I BYTE off more than I can chew and overwork my CPU I'll slip a DISK or blow a fuse that information would confuse the most logical of us around and make it INPUT/OUTPUT bound Then to the CORE send such a chill to make one TERMINALLY ill. Anita Westrum July 1979 Creative Computuing
by Paul Halyung
Welcome fellow CS students! Let me extend wishes for a successful Fall and Winter semester to all of you. Now that midterms have passed, and the thoughts of Christmas and holidays are upon us, it is time to reflect and collect ourselves for the rigours of final examinations. In the midst of all the studying, reviewing and hurried programming, I know that most of you would enjoy a healthy break to refresh the mind and soul.
What better place than with your friends in the CS Society? It is sad that the C.S.S. (Computer Science Society) is one of Lambton Tower's better kept secrets. Nestled away on the fifth floor (ext. 3002) in Room 5108 are eight individuals that are here to serve YOU, the C.S. student. We plan activities, act as Academic liaisons, some serve as T.A.'s and in general try to make the University of Windsor C.S. program rewarding to a student as a Social opportunity as well as an Academic and Intellectual endeavour.
On your C.S. council this year (92-93) are Christine Caberos (Second Year Representative), Sandy Tolentino (First Year Representative, Bryan Brown (V.P. Academic Functions), Sandra Wyman (V.P. Social Functions), Alan Siodlowski (V.P. Communications), Ron McKenzie (V.P. Administration), Amie Flexner (Presidential Aide), and myself; Paul Halyung (President). All of these people are eager to help you to get more out of your School career, and are responsive to your suggestions and inquiries. Please feel free to contact any of your council members if you have concerns, ideas or want to help by participating in upcoming events.
In closing, let me thank you for this opportunity to make this a banner year for the C.S.S. - we will all work hard and together we can enjoy the unique camaraderie that a small school such as Computer Science can benefit from. Look for upcoming events and participate! Remember, we are not a society without YOU! Best wishes,
Paul Halyung
Long, Long ago in a university not so far away. A social committee was brought in to being. Created by men of vision and forethought its purpose was to represent the students of this faculty throughout their years at the U of Windsor. This society was / is the Computer Science Society.
And I am the Vice President of Academic Affairs of that auspicious organization. My name is Bryan Brown. Do not let all the formality of this introduction scare you, I am here to represent you, specifically your academic needs and concerns. My door is always open. If you have a concern problem or just want to chew the fat, whatever, come see me.
My office hours are 1:00 pm to 2:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5108 Lt, or 3108 Lt ext 3002 and 3003
Apathy, apathy, apathy.
Thats all we ever hear. Why didn't this event work, or why didn't anyone show up for that event? Was it because we didn't advertise? Was it because we didn't make it a good enough deal? No, usually that's not the case. We've had events where weeks in advance we've plastered the school with posters. Last year's PUB CRAWL was a good example of this. Everyone knew about it, yet only 6 non-executives came out, three of them were not even in computer science.
As for not providing a good enough deal, we've done events with no admission, and we pay for the food, and even sometimes (GENERAL MEETINGS) pay for the drink. And you don't run up a $200 bill for 25 people if you're buying pop.
APATHY, APATHY, APATHY.
It all comes back to apathy. I think most members of our society eat what society as a whole feeds us about computer geeks, dweebs, nerds, whatever the buzz-word of the day is. Yes, we've all seen them. They do exist, the odd person here and there who are just totally out of touch. I think most people in first and most of second year think that they are among the few normal people. As a result everyone disassociates themselves from any involvement in the society. Maybe no one has every spelled it out for you. About 9 years back the school of computer science held a referendum. The issue was whether or the members wanted to have an executive council. I think you know how the vote went. So, now every semester each and every member of the school of CS pays $10 dollars to keep the society going. So why is it a good 70% of the members have never shown up at even one event.
How can you say the exec are a bunch of geeks when you don't have a clue who we are. We've got some feedback from some of the first year students. We asked them if they would be interested in participating in society events. The response, not surprising, "well, if there were girls there." or "I might consider going if there was free food, and beer". I was tempted to title my article FREE FOOD, FREE BEER, FREE GIRLS, and heck, why not FREE SEX. Lets face it, unless we give people something to go to our events turn-out is dismal.
As for food and drink we usually provide a very good deal on these. GIRLS - Why are there so few girls in CS? This is very open to debate. As for girls at our events, the best way to get them is to do joint ventures with other societies. We have a good relationship with both Math and Anthropology. What usually holds us back is our image. The one perpetuated in the media, not the one we've developed over the years.
It all comes down to the old truism "You get out of something exactly what you put into it. ". Now you've all put your ten bucks in. If you want to come and collect stop by the fifth floor, we'll keep you posted on events. Or just keep your eyes and ears open, we do advertise our events.
sent to us by our Toronto Wisdom correspondent: Chris Kale
by Stephen Harrison and Noel Magee
This is the story of a different kind. No melting CPU's, no screaming disc drives, just the kind of psychological torture that scars a man for life. This came to us via our IBM rep. This could only apply to IBM! I had a 9:00 meeting with my sales rep. I needed to buy an entire new series 970, the works. He said it'd take about an hour. Three hours later, we'd barely got the datacomm hardware down on paper, so he invited me downstairs for lunch. This was my first experience in an IBM cafeteria. Above the service counter was a menu which began... MMU's (Main Menu Units) 00010A Burger. Includes sesame-seed bun. Must order condiments 00110A separately 001 Deletes seeds. 002 Expands burger to two patties. 00020A Double cheeseburger, preconfigured. Includes cheese, bun and condiments. 001 Add-on bacon. 002 Delete second patty. 003 Replaces second patty with extra cheese. 00021A Burger Upgrade to Double Cheeseburger 001 From Single Burger. 002 From Double Burger. 003 Return credit for bun. 00220A Burger Bundle. Includes 00010A, 00210A and 00310A 001 Substitute root beer 00311A for cola 00310A. My eyes glazed over. I asked for a burger and a root beer. The waitress looked at me like I was an alien. "How would you like to order that, sir?" "Quickly, if possible. Can't I just order a sandwich and a drink?" "No sir. All our service is menu driven. Now what would you like?" I scanned the menu. "How big is the 00010 burger?" "The patty is rated at eight bites." "Well, how about the rest of it?" "I don't have the specs on that, sir, but I think it's a bit more." "Eight bites is too small. Give me the Double Burger Upgrade." My sales rep interrupted. "No, you want the Single Burger option 002 `expands burger to two patties'. The double burger upgrade would give you two burgers." "But you could get return credit on the extra bun," the waitress chimed in, trying to be helpful, "although it isn't documented." I looked around to see if anybody was staring at me. There was a couple in line behind us. I recognized one of them, a guy who nearly mowed me down in the parking lot with his cherry-red `62 Vette. He was talking to some woman who was waving her arms around and looking very excited. "What if... we marketed the bacon cheeseburger with the vegetable option and without the burger and cheese? It'd be a BLT!" The woman charged off in the direction of the telephone, running steeplechases over tables and chairs. My waitress tried to get my attention again. "Have you decided, sir?" "Yeah, give me the double burger- excuse me, I mean the 00020A with the option 001. I want everything on it." She put me down for the Condiment Expansion Kit, which included mayonnaise, mustard and pickles with an option to substitute relish. "Ketchup." I hated to ask. "I want ketchup on that, too." "Thats not a condiment, sir, it's a Tomato Product." My sales rep butted in again. "Thats not a supported configuration." "Why not?" I kept my voice steady. "Too juicy. The bun can't handle it." "Look. Forget the ketchup, just put some lettuce and tomatoes on it." The waitress backed away from the counter. "I'm sorry, sir, but thats not supported either, the bun can take it but the burger won't fit in the box." The sales rep defended himself. "Just not at first release." "It is being beta-tested, sir." I checked the overhead screen. Fries, number 000210A, option 110. French followed by option 120, English. "What the hell are English Fries?" I turned to the sales rep. "Chips they call them. We sell a lot of them." I gave up. "OK, OK just give me a plain vanilla Burger Bundle." This confused the waitress profoundly. "Sir, Vanilla as an option is configured only for series 00450 Milkshakes." My sales rep chuckles. "No ma'am, he just wants a standard 00220A off the shelf." I wondered how long it had been on the shelf. I didn't ask. "Very good, sir." The waitress breathed a sigh of belief. "Your meal is now on order. Now how would you like it supported?" "Support?" She directed me to the green shaded area at the bottom of the menu, and I began a litany with my Sales Rep that I'll never forget. "Implementation assistance?" "You get a waiter." "Implementation analysis?" "You tell him how hungry you are and he tells you what to eat." "Response Center Support?" "He brings it to your table." "Extended materials?" "You get refills." I stuffed some money at the waitress and told her to take it. She gave me my check on three sheets of green-bar paper. I studied it on my way to the table, and decided it'd pass as an emergency napkin. Table? My Sales Rep had been bright enough to order us a table. He hadn't been bright enough to check on a delivery date. The table waiter slouching in his corner surveyed the crowded room, looked at me and said: "Two weeks. But I can get you a standalone chair by the window right away." I handed him the tray. A woman rushed up to me with two small cups of chile and sauerkraut for the hot dog somebody else had ordered. The room began to grow dim, my eyesight faded... I woke up clutching the water-glass at my bedside table. It was five AM, four hours till my meeting with IBM I had had a vision, I did what it told me to do. I dialled my office, and I called in sick.
I'm baack! Yep! I'm V.P. Social Functions again this year. For those of you who are new to the school, or who just don't know who I am, my name is Sandra Wyman, (my friends call me Sandy).
This year should definitely be an interresting one in a social sense. We have budgetted for one Looney Movie Night each month this school year. For those of you who haven't experienced one of our Looney Movie Nights, a LMN is an event where, for the bargain price of $1, CS students can get together, (usually at the Grad House), watch a couple of movies, eat pizza and drink pop. For those of you that imbibe alcool, you are perfectly welcome to get a drink downstairs and bring it with you.
I reserve a volleyball court at the H.K. just about every weekend, on any combination of friday, saturday or sunday afternoons. I usually find out when we're playing on wednesday or thursday afternoons. If you'd like to come and play feel free. Newcommers are welcome as are faculty and friends. You don't have to be good, just be there.
The Computer Science Society will be having a pool tournament at Tilt on Wyandotte on Nov. 12, 1992. Yep folks that's less than a week away so please don't delay in signing up for this event. This tournament will cost you $5. Last year the pool tournament was a great success and we're looking forward to a good turnout again this semester.
I'd also like to get a recreational volleyball team in the rec. league at the H.K. next semester. If you'd like to play leave your name and number up at the office and I'll contact you after Chrismas break. We had a great team last year and had a great time.
If you'd like to play basketball, baseball or whatever then let me know. If there is enough interest, I'll see what I can do.
Attention all Hockey players, ball Hockey players and people with sticks, last year the CSS arranged to play street hockey with the Math Club. If you're interrested in playing again this year give me a shout up at the office and I'll set it up for you.
You may have heard of the pizza luncheon in room 1303 in Sept. this term. Keep your eyes and ears open for another one sometime around finals, free pizza is too good to miss.
The CSS exec is here to serve you, that is our function, our reason for being, so if you'd like to do something be it academic, social or whatever, let us know. In the past CSS events have had a very small turnout, I'd like to think that that has has been changing and will continue to do so. However, as long as the people who attend our various events continue to have a good time, it will be my pleasure to plan and execute society events.
It is really a shame that so many people loose out on the chance to meet both the people that they see in class each day and those who share their interest in computer science, in a more social setting.
wisdom@cs.uwindsor.ca