WAR

THE ENGINEERING SOCIETY'S STUDENT FORUM October 30, 1987

Go Ahead

2 Iron Warrior
O/Tycoons and Tools
Those of you that read the other
bastion of campus journalism, ~
UW Gazette, might recall the letter
by ERS' s Greg Michalenko which
appeared in last week's issue
(October 21). Entitled "Among the
geese, other wildlife", the letter
presented a point of view which I
think deserves more press.
The letter begins:
"It is now that appalling season
when the patriotic mantra of the
geese on Laurel Creek is shattered
by the drumming of migratory
herds of heathen pilgrims [read
engineers] bearing aloft their horrid
relic [read THE TOOL], intent on
desecrating yet again the shrines,
groves, and other hallowed spots of
academe." (my comments in 0 )
He goes on to say that, although
he objects to having his lectures
"outclassed by the third-rate kink of
chained and black-cloaked
blasphemer-engineers hauling their
bloated spanner" through the
classroom, he feels that the parades
proY-ide "a pageantry otherwise
lacking at the campus where people
go to work too hungry to have time
for pomp and splendour".
Then comes the gO<Xl part:
"I was deeply moved between
gulps of porridge at breakfast last
week to read in the column of that
chirping peewit of Bay Street, Zena
Cherry, that Uniwat had staged a
wonderous gala event, crowded
with the moguls, barons,
presidents, and scions of industry
- yea, the very loins of empire -
to mark the founding of the Eyton
Positive Pressure
Crack! Did you hear that? It's family knows the meaning of "laid
probably a very familiar sound, back".
especially at this time of the term. Armed with a positive attitude
Interviews, midterms, lab reports, and a dose of humour, your
landlords, gil'lfriendsfboyfriend, pressure situations will build your
laundry piles. And of course you inner strength ( old fogies may call
can't miss that squash game at this gumption ) and hone your
seven. competitive edge. Every time you
The pressures around you may survive the pressure swells during
seem like a cable-knit sweater that those mid-term "hell weeks" and
you're trying to unravel and end-of-term "total hell weeks" your
someone keeps on knitting and ability to ride out future stressful
knitting and knitting. But wait a situations will be improved.
moment. That's the wrong attitude. If the pressures weighing you
Pressure and the accompanying down are reflected in a physical
stress can actually be beneficial. exhaustion then it is time to sit back
How many times have you told and examine your situation.Your
your employer that you work better body and mind may perform better
under pressure? Now maybe that under stress, but it requires an
was just something to say to get . enormous amount of energy to
your can out of the line of fire, but sustain this performance. A state of
it is true. physical exhaustion indicates that
Okay, so what? A little pressure the body's resources have been
never hurt anyone. That's what its depleted. Naturally, no gas no go.
all about. A university education Examination complete. The
and in particular the co-op condition of your body has to be
e9.ucation is a training ground for the numbet one priority.
the rigours of the real world. Most It may seem like an overused
of us have studied the behaviour cliche, but you can learn something
patterns of our parents to know that from everything that happens to
stress is natural. Stress is good. you. Facing your stress with a
Not everybody has it but everybody body fit for the seige and a mind
should. No one with a real job or a protected by ve thinkin will
IRON WARRIOR
Chair of Enterprise. Never before
had so many entrepreneurial
illuminati conjoined with the chaste
cogniscenti of Academe."
The letter continues with a
sarcastic attack on the founding of
the new chair, accusing it of
stealing funds from the mouths of
UW's "hungry".
Well, excuse ' my naivete, but
wasn't the Chair in Enterprise
created to encourage the
industriousness and creative
research which eventually leads to
fruitful application? Isn't it this
dedication to technology transfer
that attracts the support (read
funding) of so many corporate
partners? And doesn't this funding
share the burden of the university's
overhead costs so that more, not
less, money is left over to finance
other research and - gasp -
teaching?
Apparently not.
So Professor Michalenko wO'lld
scorn both the Eyton Chair .in
Enterprise and THE RIIXHD
TOOL?
Perhaps we should carry his
thesaurus at the front of our
parades.
prepare you for a successful
assault. When the battle is over you
will know more about yourself and
how you react to pressure. This is
knowledge which will be of help
t ~ o u h o u t your life. I'll even go as
far as saying it may be the most
imponant knowledge you'll acquire
while attending UW. After all, this
is an editorial; it's iust
The Iron Warrior is a forum for
ideas presented by the students of the
University of Waterloo. Views ex-
pressed in the Iron Warrior, other
than editorials, are thoee of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the opin-
ions of the editors.
Warrior also reserves the right to edit
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that do not meet University I!tandards.
Authors will be contacted for any major-
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The Iron Warrior welcomes aU sub-
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Engineering Society
CPH 1327 - ext. 2323
October 16, 1987
Iron Warrior Staff
Editors
Thomas White
Neil P. Boyd
Writers
Jorge Serrador
Carlo Kunkel
Mary-Kay Lippert
Stephen Downes
John Kominek
Whitney Erickson
Harold Bransch
Cliff, Knox
Rick Blaiklock
Al McGowan
Andrew Wilson
Cathy Burns
Todd Sproule
Michael Schatz
Paul Meyer
Todd Ruthman
SheonaBeU
Tom Lee
Vince Leung
Photoerapby
(D
Delia Chesworth
Peter Stubley
Artwork
Paul Arthurs
. Adyertjsine
Loran Ball
Piotr Labon
Arun Lal
TmeseUjne
Andrew Kennings
(Director)
. James Cherry
LayQut
October 30, 1987 Iron Warrior 3
NEW S
Maple Lab Receives Grant
(UW News) - The University
of Waterloo has been awarded a
grant of nearly $100,000 by the
United States based Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation. The purpose of the
grant is to support the integration of
"Maple" into the teaching of
mathematics.
Maple is a computer program
developed on the Waterloo campus
approximately seven years ago by a
group of computer scientists; one of
the principal members of the group
is Dr. Keith Geddes.
Some of the things that can be
done with Maple, Geddes notes,
include: exact arithmetic (with
fractions), factorization of integers
and polynomials, reduction of
polynomial fractions to lowest
terms .. , and some advanced
mathematical operations in algebra
and calculus. These features make
Maple a valuable tool in teaching
both university and high school
mathematics.
Initially, 400 first year UW
calculus and algebra students used
the lab; by this fall the number of
first year students involved had
grown to 1,200, including 750 who
are taking calculus in a way that
makes the subject far more
interesting and easy to learn.
The Sloan grant is to help
develop the materials and skill
required to extend Maple's use and
capability; in particular, to develop
software so that neither student nor
instructor will have to be expert in
the Maple language; it will simply
be a matter of selecting, from a list,
some mathematical task that Maple
can perform.
Further developmen t seems
desireable before the system can be
expected to be optimally integrated
into UW's undergraduate
mathematics teaching programs.
One problem is that some
mathematics professors, relatively
unfamiliar with computer science
and computer programming, are apt
to be somewhat reluctant to use it;
another involves a lack of suitable
textbooks through which students
can learn the various ways in which
Maple may be used.
UW is proceeding in close
cooperation with faculty members
at Colby College, Maine, and at
Harvey Mudd College, Calif. ,
developing new materials that
should prove highly useful in the
United States as well as Canada.
UW faculty members are also
working closely with colleagues at
the University of Saskatchewan
(All four of the above institutions
are already "Maple" users).
A second aim of the
Sloan-funded project is to permit
mathematics instructors who do not
have previous computer
programing experience to develop
"tutorials" on a variety of
mathematical themes or topics
which can be made available to
students via the computer. The
instructors will be able to plot
curves, ask questions, and display
textual material in their
tutorials. Students
who are having difficulty with
some topic can work through the
material while sitting at their
terminals.
Dr. Peter Ponzo, a professor in
UW's applied mathematics
department, is coordinator of the
Sloan-funded project, assisted by
Drs. Ian McGee and Bev
Marshman. Dr. Geddes and Bruce
Char are providing research liaison
for the project. .
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
awards about $17 million a year to
projects in the field of higher
education with special emphasis on
science, technology, economics,
management and education for the
public service. A current focus of
the Foundation is the teaching of
technology, and the principles of
engineering, to liberal arts students.
. The potential advantages of
Maple are expected to include the
fact that students will be able to
handle extremely complex, "real
life" problems far more effec . v y.
Professor to Visit India
Since Maple was announced, in
the fall of 1981, development has
continued, and in January, 1985, a
"Maple lab" was established in
UW's mathematics and computer
building ... a room filled with 40
computer terminals (from Digital
Equipment Corporation) and other
hardware necessary to permit
students to have access to Maple.
.w.. ",Io,uaJIIU4.
a University of Waterloo civil
engineering professor who has
been much involved with the
uni versi ty' s construction
management program, will visit
India late this fall to work with that
country's construction industry.
Handa will be lecturing on North
American, European and Japanese
construction technology and
Engineering 'Portables
to be used . for
Day
(UW NEWS) - The University
of Waterloo will soon have its own
infant and toddler day care centre,
predicts Dr. Doreen Brisbin,
chemistry professor and adviser to
the provost on academic human
resources.
Three "portable" buildings, now
in use as offices (or engineering
students and faculty members, will
be moved to the university's north
campus - near an existing day care
centre for older children, Brisbin
says. The "portables" will be
available for this purpose following
the opening of the new William G.
Davis ' Centre for Computing
Reasearch, now nearing
completion.
The proposed nonh campus site
can offer green grass, clean air,
care
safe playing areas, parking for
parents and bus access, Brisbin
says.
The university's architect, Cliff
Wilson, has designed ,a centre
utilizing the three portables.
Brisbin says the provincial
government's Ministry of
Community and Social Services has
agreed to pay 80% of $142,000
costs; UW will pay the
balance.
Wilson says the $142,000 figure
includes moving the portables to the
new site and equipping them
appropriately. He says this works
out to about $24 per sqpare foot -
far less than the cost of a new
building. He says his design will
accomodate 15-20 infants 'lind 15
toddlers.

robots by Japanese contractors. He
will also discuss some recent
research at Waterloo - into
productivity on construction sites.
(Dr. Handa is co-author of a
recently published manual, Si.llt
Elements. prepared in
cooperation with the Construction
Safety Association of Ontario.)
His ,visit to India is being
sponsored by the United Nations
Development Programme, as part
of UNDPs TOKTEN (Transfer of
Knowledge through Expatriate
Nationals) project.
"It's largely a matter of
volunteerism," Handa says. "The
United Nations pays travel costs
and some expenses, but there is no
salary or honorarium to anyone
involved."
A native of India, he qualifies for
the program which is set up to
encourage scientists, engineers, and
others working in Western
countries to return to their
homelands, helping improve their
technologies.
"The idea is that someone such as
I could return to India and fit in
better and more quickly than
someone born in Canada," says
Handa. "I am now a Canadian but
I know India; I know the society,
customs, the culture, how to get
from place to place, and so on.
"Similarily, someone from an
African or South American country
could probably operate much more
..
in Cana a, or United States -
particularily during a short-term
. visit."
o tailed arran gem Ilts f r th
Handa trip arc being made through
India's Council of Scientific and
Industrial Res arch. He will be
based at the Central Building
Re earch In titute. He will also
visit labs in other parts of the
country, including alcutta and
Delhi.
He will give several seminars and
chat with Indian researchers in the
building field.
"There is even a possibility we
may be able to generate some joint
Canada-India research in the
construction area," he speculates.
"We are going to explore it."
Other organizations with which
he will be involved include
India's National Building
Organization, the Central Public
Works Department, the Housing
and Development Corporation and
the Delhi Development Authority.
Handa says he feels sure there are
many others in Western countries
who would be willing to undertake
such trips ... though to his
knowledge he is the first frOID: UW
to do so.
He will be leaving late in
November, immediately after his
fall lectures are completed, and
return shortly before Christmas.
4
Iron Warrior October 30, 1987
-
I
Stop and Smell the Coordinators
by ' Tom Lee
4A Systems
The Department of Co-operative
Education and Career Services
(CECS) is God's gift to mankind!
What kind of an idiot would
make an absurd statement like that?
Certainly not me. My purpose for
this Point is not to glorify or drool
over this organization but to place
the all-too-frequent complaints
about CECS in a slightly different
perspective.
There must"be something that is
essentially good about CECS (after
all, they did keep me off the streets,
didn't they?) and in order to fully
appreciate some of these good
aspects, we must have a closer look
at co-operative education in general.
The purpose of co-operative
education is to inject additional
dimensions into a curriculum. It
gives higher education a certain
breadth that is impossible to achieve
through traditional a.pproaches. In
a nutshell, that's what CECS does.
Contrary to popular belief, CECS is
not merely a job placement
organization. Although placement is
crucial for maintaining high
standards in the programs, it is only
part of CECS' mandate. The
essence of co-operative education is
education and not jobs.
"Co-operative", to me, implies not
just co-operation with industry but
also with the rest of the university.
The unique educational features
overseen by CECS that differentiate
the organization from ordinary
placement agencies are, ironically,
the features that seem to draw the
The fact remains that
for most people, the
system works!
most critisism from students -
mandatory work reports,
co-ordinators, and of course, the
interview and ranking process. All
of these featUres contribute to a
more comprehensive work
experience.
Work reports allow students to
enhance writing skills. More
importantly, in my view, they give
to an opportunity to conform to
certain methodologies in your
writings. It is much more difficult
to write for someone else than for
yourself. If you can master the
fortller. then the latter is a natural
consequence.
Co-ordinators are the most
maligned people on campus
(second only to Food Services).
The co-ordinators for Engineering
are all either Professional Engineers
or have a background in some
technical area, and they do ensure
that most jobs are technically sound
and sufficiently agree with the
educational goals of the university.
This does not imply, however, that
all jobs will be of the highest
quality. No organization, no matter
how efficient they are, carr ever
guarantee this. The chances are,
however, that every student who
goes through the Co-op system
(and this is especially true in
Engineering) will get at least one
good job.
The purpose of
co-operative education
is to inject additional
dimensions into a
curriculum
These arguments also apply to the
interview and ranking system.
From day one the department
makes it clear that jobs are not
guaranteed. Students (especially in
the earlier years), however, seem to
conclude from this that they must
apply for every single job that
remotely agrees with his or her
interests or qualifications. For
"highly-desirable students", this
increases the chance of getting an
unsatisfactory job. A larger number
of interviews results in more
manipulation of the ranking scores
by the algorithms used in the
system, and in many instances,
students are placed in jobs that he
or she applied for "just in case".
For those students deemed "less
desirable" the problem is saturation
of the system by students that are
seemingly more desirable. It is clear
that part of the solution is a bit of
patience and some care in the
students' choices of potential jobs.
Considering the shear volume of
placement at Waterloo, the
algorithms (and the bureaucracy)
will be around for a long time. We
would all benefit if we took some
time to find out more about how the
system works and work with the
system rather than against it. The
fact remains, that for most people,
the system works! .
Many claim that $300 per term is
an outrageous sum. They state that
you could go to an excellent private
placement firm for the money and
get better treatment. Another
common complaint is that you
shouldn't have to pay your fee
every term since you don't
constantly use the service. If this
anicle has an sort of theme or
by Vince Leung
2A Computer
Well, it's that time of the year
again. The weather forecast calls
for perpetual rain, everyone is in
the middle of writing mid-terms,
and the entire student body is
suffering from a communal cold.
As if we did not have enough
demands on our time, it's also time
to look for a job for the next
work-term. But CECS is there to
help us along our quest for
employment - or is it? Sometimes
dealing with CECS is " lot more
trouble than it is worth.
It's very expensive to find
employment through CECS these
days. Currently, the Coop fee is
two hundred and fifty dollars per
term. By May 1, H(88, it will be
raised to $325 and it will-cost $425
to be in Coop at the same time in
1989. Pity the poor frosh
engineering student of 1989 who
will be paying $425 in each of his
or her lA. lB and 2A tenns (a total
of $1275). This sum will only
cover the cost of getting one job, at
which the student will have to stay
for two workterms.
dealing with CECS is a
lot more trouble than it
is worth
This leads us to CECS' policy
of having students remain with an
employer for at least two
consectutive workterms. This
means if the student ends up with a
job that he/she doesn't like but a
boss who doesn't want to bother
training a new Coop student still
has to go back for the second term.
While this tactic may help to attract
more employers, it makes students
stay at jobs where they are , not
happy. CECS should be looking
after the students' needs, not just
those of the employers. After all,
we're the ones paying Coop fees.
Part of CECS' job is to find
enough work for all the students in
Coop programs, but this should not
be done at the expense of the
quality of experience a student
should-be getting at his or her Coop
job. Having a job which is not
productive for the student is as bad
as not having one at all (remember
that speech you made during every
job interview: "what I want is a
challenging job with some
responsibility. The money isn't
& "?)
lmportant lor me... . .
The students have very little
power if caught in a bad situation.
If the employer wants a student
back for a second work term then
they must return. If they refuse,
CECS has the power to kick them
out of the Coop program, and for
engineering students, that means
out of the Engineering program as
well (one of the requirements of
receiving a B.A.Sc. at Waterloo is
having at least four successful
work-terms!) .
I am sure CECS has all the best
intentions for the Coop students
under its care. They try very hard
to make sure we all get jobs. They
hav(f a lot of people to deal with
each term and they're working
within a tight budget. But
somehow it doesn't seem that
they're always on our side.
Point (cont'd)
bottom line, it's the fact that CECS
is NOT just a placement firm - it's
. a vital part of Waterloo's unique
educational perspective. We cannot
categorize every aspect of the
univeL'iit, in terms of what we dQ
and do not use directly and not pay
for anything we don't use. I can't
see myself demanding money back
for the washrooms in Burt
Mathews Hall that I've never used.
If all you want is a high-paying
job during your non-academic
terms then why not go to U of T, or
Queens, or MacMaster and have a
private flrm flnd a summer job for
you. As far as Engineering.
programmes are concerned, theirs
rank as high (or higher in some
instances) than Waterloo's. You'll
be saving a year as well as some
money (and you won't have the
unholy offspring of the Eaton's
Centre and a sardine can on your
campus).
The fact remains that CECS is an
integral part of a learning
institution. It should never be
considered an service for
students to use in order to get a few
extra bucks on the off term. To treat
it as such would throwing out
everything that co-operative
education stands for.
October 30, 1987
Iron Warrior 5
Objectivism:
Plato vs. uw
by John Kominek
4A Physics
In the October 16 issue, the Iron
Warrior reprinted an article in
which Dr. David Suzuki wrote:
"The industrialization of the
university is a mistake for many
reasons."
Why? Because "the deliberate
and urgent push to economic payoff
subverts the university's thrust to
the will of those who have the
money."
. Is UW then subverted? He didn't
say. But a 1985 Toronto Star
feature article entitled "Whiz Kids at
Computers Have No Time For Fun:
Waterloo University," provided an
answer.
Waterloo is an industrialized
university, the article stressed.
Waterloo was founded by
industrialists and is circled by
businesses started by its graduates.
And it sells its knowledge -
Watcom makes 2 million dollars a
year in revenues. The Waterloo
Computer Research Centre is on the
cutting edge of technology; and
companies such as IBM pay to be a
part of it. Waterloo is High-Tech.
And then the article's analysis:
"There's not much spirit on
campus where the first loyalty is to
'me' and hopefully a prosperous
future, rather than to a faculty, a
fraternity, a class, a college, or the
university itself."
Waterloo is for "conservative
kids who are going to be a
commercial success if it kills them.
Waterloo is a university for
Yuppies."
This sparked a flurry of
letters-to-the-editor on campus, all
saying in effect "We're not that
bad!" But what's wrong witp
wanting to be a success? No one
stopped to ask of the article the
most crucial question: On what
standard conclusion is it based?
Waterloo is for
"conservative kids who
are going to be a success
if it kills them"
This question is the topic of
"Plato vs The University of
Waterloo: The Intellectual
Establishment Against ' The
Engineers," a live lecture by Dr.
Harry Binswanger.
As a professional philosopher
Dr. Binswanger is one of the
world's leading exponents of Ayn
Rand's philosophy of Objectivism.
Having taught at several colleges,
he nowJectures across the continent
on Ayn Rand's ideas. He is also
one half of a cross-country
"Capitalism vs. Socialism" debating
team (defending the capitalist side),
For the past decade he has been
editor of The Objectivist Forum, a
journal that applies Objectivist
principles to scholastic and current
issues. He is the author of The
Ayn Rand Lexicon, a
mini-encyclopedia on the thought of
Ayn Rand.
"UW is attacked, not for its
flaws, but for its actual virtues," is
t.he talk's theme.
,
Since Dr. Binswanger is not
associated with UW, (he lives in
New York), he's not someone
sticking up for his home turf. So
why is he speaking in defense of
UW, particularly engineers? By
fortuitous accident, actually.
The Students of Objectivism, as a
student club, exists to study the
ideas of novelist-philosopher Ayn
Rand, and to promote them in our
univeristy. To do so they
periodically bring Objectivist
professors on campus to lecture on
various topics.
Dr. Binswanger was originally to
speak on the fear of computer
technology - a popular topic,
especially at Waterloo. To learn
about OW he read the "Whiz Kids"
article. "Plato vs UW" is his
response.
Ayn Rand's theory of
reason and of ethics
provides the alternative
to the mind-body
dichotomy
What makes UW special,
maintains Dr. Binswanger, is its
manifesto that knowledge is not
some ivory tower pursuit, but
should properly be aimed towards
earthly applications. It is
engineering that applies to
knowledge - bridging theory and
practice.
And Plato is most responsible for
severing the bridge. A "higher"
non-material realm of ideas should
be the only object of study_ Pure
geometry is the ideal. Engineering
is low, materialistic, grubby.
Plato's theories create a
dichotomy between reason and
reality, between mind and body,
between university and industry.
The exact opposite of Plato, says
Dr. Binswanger, is Objectivism.
Ayn Rand's theory of reason and of
ethics provides the alternative to the
mind-body dichotomy. Rand
stressed that reason is the most
practical of faculties. Accordingly,
the full use of reason devoted to
practical productive achievment is
man's noblest activity.
In testimony, the heroes of Ayn
Rand's novel, Atlas
are scientists, industrialists, and
engineers.
Who is right- Ayn Rand or
Plato? Engineering depends on the '
answer,
Dr. Binswanger will deliver
"Plato vs UW" Tuesday November
3,7:30 pm, in MC 2066.
The lecture is sponsored by the
Students of Objectivism, the Ayn
Rand Institute, and the Education
Commission of the Federation of
Students.
UW ., .. Where Friendshi s

are Lost in the Scuffle
by Mary-Kay Lippert
2B Chemical
"Friendships are stunted and love
affairs atrophy or never begin"
These comments about co-op at
the University of Waterloo were
made by author Linda From in her
recently-released Guide to Canadian
Universities. In the book, Frum
gives humorous advice about the
social life and stereotypes at 42
universities and three colleges
across Canada.
There is no doubt that changing
living envrionments every four
months not only leaves you feeling
abandoned and lonely but also
dissolves many good friendships.
There are some advantages to this
perpetual motion. There is always
the opportunity to make new and
exciting friends and to lose the old,
boring ones. For some people, it is
a quick and easy way to get rid of a
girlfriend/boyfriend (just trade them
in at the end of each term). Of
course, the other option is to take
advantage of the convenience of
that girlfriendlboyfriend living in
another city, and simply fool
around.
The sad part is that this is what
really does happen. But then all
worthwhile relationships really
must be tested (can that other
person tolerate your ambitiolls
goals, let alone your
newly-acquired obnoxious,
carousing engineering behaviour?)
just as you have settled
into a social cycle you
have to say goodbye
Apart from those scary, serious
relationships, there are other
friendships that are lost in the
scuffle of packing and unpacking.
Work terms seem to be the most
dramatic, since there is that extra
time available to get to know
co-workers and other students. But
just as you have settled into a social
cycle, you have to say goodbye,
usually forever.
It also seems that the 'coolest'
p pI in you class do doubl work
t rm , r scho I tcmlS, and it lake
months to gel in touch with them
again (Vine Rae, we miss y u.
PI ase write or call!)
Then there arc the people that
you've met in residence, or anyone
that is not in co-op . forge I ahout
them! You may see a familiar face
around red Hall or in the
Bombshelter, but it will take you
until the next day to remember their
name and that you partied with
them in lA.
There is something very special
about the friends that you do keep
from term to term. Because you've
had to make that extra effort to keep
the relationship growing and not let
them slide away, you'11 never lose
them. You'II meet your best
friends right here at Waterloo!
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6
by Jorge Serrador
lA Systems
"Charge!" screamed the general
as he spurred his horse and lowered
his lance. Hundreds of men behind
him also lowered their lances and
charged straight towards the enemy
cavalry. Dust rose in clouds as the
two annies engaged with the fierce
clash of metal on metal.
Wondering if you have just been
transported through time to some
ancient battle? Well, not quite. The
general is only 25 mm high, and the
men are made out of lead. The
hobby is called 'miniatures' and the
battle is only a game: a game where
you are the general, leading
thousands of men into a battle with,
another general and his army. This
is the hobby of the members of the
Central Ontario Tactical Simulations
Group (COTS), one of the oldest
gaming groups in the
Kitchener-Waterloo area.
the battle is only a game
where you are the
general
Started in 1971 by two friends,
Peter Hundt and Bill Schwarz, in
the basement of one of their
houses, COTS now boasts a
membership of over 20 and meets
Iron Warrior
Men of Lead
in the UW Campus Centre at 7:00
on Saturday nights. There is high
diversity among the members, who
range in age from eighteen to
thirty-five and have jobs as
different as teacher and factory
worker. Two of the more famous
people who have played miniatures
are Winston Churchill and John
Forbes.
I joined COTS three years ago
after a friend of mine took me to
one of their meetings to see what it
was all about. I was so taken aback
by the visual effect of the painted
miniatures and the fascinating rules
that I immediately started to
purchase enough miniatures to form
my own army. Not only were the
members of the club friendly, but
they also helped me decide on my
army and gave me advice about
where to buy miniatures and what
to avoid. -
The members of COTS not only
reconstruct ancient battles (which
they term 'ancients') but also World
War II armoured battles,
Youth Building the Future
by Whitney Erickson
3B Chemical
On August 7, 1987, five
Canadians, Wilma van der Veen,
Glen Hearns, Mark Warling, Abid
Karmali and myself, all from the ,
infamous UW, boarded Canadain
Air Lines in search of the land
down under. Twenty hours later,
exhausted, we arrived in Sydney
and quickly headed for Melbourne
for the opening of the "Youth
building the Future Conference".
It was thought that the conference
would be a few seminars about the
environmental situations in the
world, the current military policies
of the superpowers and a few
discussions about the plight of the
third world countries. Being a
we shouldn't wait to
tackle the problems
acin our times
Nort men can w 0 IS up on
current events - watching the
news and reading the paper - I felt
I was fairly well-informed on world
events.
It was surprising how
ill-informed North Americans are
on the issues of today. ' Somehow I
thought that the North/ American
writers in their relentless "pursuit of
the truth" would uncover all the
angles of the world issues.
Surprisingly, we still have been
exposed to a certain slant or side of
issues we only thought existed in
foreign journals. As you can
probably guess, the conference
offered much more than that, and
has probably been one of the
biggest influences in my life (In all
of my OH-SO many years).
The m a in purpose of the
conference was to get together and
discuss world issues and learn
different view points on the issues.
It was felt that since we are the
leaders of the future, perhaps we
shouldn't wait till that eventual date
to tackle the problems facing our
times. We should deal with them
now, since we may not have the
chance to do so in the future.
The idea of personally changing
world situations seems a little far
fetched in a North American
environment, specifically our
university environment, where
apathy seems to be "in vogue".
After. the conference, however, the
idea doesn't seem so ludicrious. I
don't mean that our enviromental
problems and the nuclear and
hunger questions will be solved
overnight, but you and I can make a
difference by our attention to the
matter.
This was the first time a
conference of this kind had been
held, yet people from over 20
countries were in attendance. All
countinents were represented with
the exception of South America.
North Americans, Europeans (East
and West), Asians, Africans and
South Pacific Delegates provided a
broad diversity of people.
From the conference, a network
of students throughout the world
was established in order to keep
abreast of foreign affairs and to
promote world peace. 'We, the
Canadian delegates, plan to initially
disperse information by discussion
group& on campus, newspaper
articles such as this one, and
increasing the foreign affairs
section of university newspapers.
Through our network, we will have
incoming information (uncensored,
hopefully) from all over the world.
What about Australia you 'ask?
Well it was fabulous in fact. Wilma
van der Veen is.still working there
for a year. Employment
opportunities seem to be pretty
good (The Royal Melbourne
Institute of Technology has
completed an exchange program
with the UW environmental studies
department). Perhaps other
faculties might get involved?
Australians are very friendly
people. If you are considering an
extended holiday (ie: after
graduation), I seriously
recommend it!
October 30, 1987
Napoleonic battles, WWII air fights
and even fantasy games (where the
club members make up their own
rules).
When asked why they play
miniatures, the club members
respond in many ways. First is
always the visual effect of the
miniatures. One always enjoys
.admiring the painted units moving
around on the board of an ancients
game.
Another reason is the freedom
that the game allows. While there
is a set of rules that all players must
follow, reasearch is also allowed.
This means that ' players can
research the actual history of a
certain country's army and present
it to the others. Some players even
like to do research into their own
heritage and use an army such as
might have belonged to one of their
ancestors.
The final, and most important,
reason that the cll:lb members give
is that playing miniatures is fun. I
find great pleasure in taking the
place of- Alexander the Great and
matching my men against Richard
the Lion-Hearted and his crusaders.
Along with the fun that COTS
members have in town, every few
months they take off to conventions
in other cities, where they can
compete with other people for
awards. There are often hundreds
of garners at these conventions.
The few that I have attended were
extremely enjoyable. They provide
a weekend 'away from it all' and a
chance to meet people from all over
North America with' the same
interests. COTS has one of the top
records for members consistently
placing in the top five.
Dan Hutter, a teacher a St.
Jerome's High School, uses WWI
games in his history class to sho the
futility of trench warfare. When
asked how he thought of miniatures
as a teaching aid, he replied that it
helps his students to visualize. the
situations and to get hands-on
experience. He noted that some
schools in England have been using
this technique for years.
I do not regret my first trip to
COTS nor the friendships that I
have made through the club. I have
always taken' great pleasure in
playing games, and do so even
more as a member. If you have
ever freamed of leading an ancient
army into battle, or flying a Spitfire
against a top German pilot, I highly
recommend that you attend a
meeting. You never know what
will happen.
October 30, 1987
by Todd Ruthman
lA Systems
Iron Warrior 7
da Vinci: Engineer
..
If you wander into the UW Arts October 8 and will continue until to VISItors. The booklet contains
Centre Gallery in the Modern November 8. The gallery hours are interesting descriptions of da Vinci
Languages Building, and I highly from 11 :00 am to 4:00 pm and his work. For instance,
recommend that you do, you will weekdays and from 2:00 pm to although he designed many
Most people will easily associate find on exhibit 21 working models 5:00 pm on Sundays. It is closed destructive weapons, he wrote in
the name Leonardo da Vinci with constructed from the detailed Saturdays. An attendant is always his notes that "war is a bestial
the masterpieces "The Last Supper" sketches of Leonardo da Vinci. on duty to answer any questions madness". His notes also contain a
and "Mona Lisa", but the creations The exhibit, entitled "Leonardo da that you may have. There is no fonnulation very close to what is
hed made as an engineer/inventor Engineer", began on entrance fee. now known as Newton's Law of

the genius that these models represent must be seen to be fully Markham. They are on special load 25 of the models, most of which
appreciated. to the University of Waterloo arid are on display at the exhibit.
/
The range of models includes an
early parachute, a paddlewheel
ship, a machine gun, a clock
mechanism, a rotating bridge and a
military tank. The models are
artfully displayed and visitors are
welcome to operate those with
moving parts. Each model is also
accompanied by a poster with an
enlargement of the original da Vinci
sketch from which it was built and
an example of where the basic
concepts of the model are used in
modern-day applications. An
information card, briefly describing
the model, is present as well.
after November 8 they will again
return to Markham. In all, it is a very professional
The models themselves were
constructed with care and precision.
Forty years old, they were taken
out of circulation to be refurbished
two years ago. They were
subsequently placed on permanent
display at the IBM headquarters in'
..
Some may remember the da Vinci
exhibit which was held in Montreal.
The models now iQ the Modern
Languages are considered by the
gallery administrator, Earl Stieler,
to be generally superior to those
seen in
Accompanying the models is an
infonnative booklet, distributed free
ARTHUR
ANDERSEN

and intriguing exhibit. The fact that
the exhibit is setting attendance
records for the gallery is a good
indication of the popularity and
quality of the display.
Many people have been said to be
'ahead of their time'. Leonardo da
Vinci is truly one of these people.
Wander into the Modem Languages
uilding.and ind 08 why.
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8 .[ron Warrior
October 30, 1987
I n Conversation
,with,David Suzuki
"We are the fIrSt generation in the
history of mankind to know that we
are leaving our children a planet that
is more impoverished than when
we were born."
These poi nant words
Suzuki on his recent visit to
promote his new
METAMORPRQSIS.
by Michael Schatz
4A Civil
Throughout most of human
history we have been in equilibrium
with nature. Modern man has
become oblivious to the undeniable
fact that we are a part of nature and
not its adversary. We are currently
exploiting our natural environment
at an alarming rate, mortgaging our
children's financial and natural
inheritance.
It is estimated by extrapolation of
existing data that there will be no
rain forests in ten years, absolutely
no wilderness left on the planet in
thirty years, and that 50% of all
species become extinct within
thirty years. Currently, there are
more rhinocerous in the Cincinnati
Zoo then on the Serengeti plain.
This is a direct result of man.
Society's obsession with growth
is rapidly destroying the planet, yet
many people still insist that the
economy must grow every year in
order to stay healthy'. It is a
pernicious idea that a year without
growth will lead to recession and
doom. Constant growth sustained
from year to year results in
exponential growth over the long
run, and nothing grows
exponentially forever.
There are two possible ways that
the exPonential growth curve will
The Iron Warrior was able to
interview him in the informal
atmosphere of the Grad Club. Dr.
Suzuki, a reknowned scientist and
broadcaster. has too many
fascinating ideas and views for a
question-and-answer format
then, is a summary of what Dr.
Suzuki presented during his lecture
and in the ensuing interview.
stop. It can crash through war and
famine or it can gradually decline
through the efforts of an
enlightened and caring populace.
People need to learn how to
conserve and that small is beautiful.
Successful engineers of the future
will know how to conserve and
how to promote de-growth. In
fact, the only growth industry of
the future should be the one that
specializes in how to de-grow.
The problem is not with
less-developed nations, but with
western society's attitudes towards
the planet and their obsessive
consumpti.on of energy and material
goods. North Americans, for
example, use twice as much energy
making a product than the
Japanese. India and China, on the
other hand, have had to learn to live
in equilibrium with the land. Their
ideas of ownership and exploitation
are radically different from our
own. When the giant economic
crash comes, these two countries
will fare much better than those in
the west.
Our attempts to "develop" the
homelands of Canadian native
peoples are misguided; they have
been living in eqUilibrium with
nature for thousands of years. The
construction of the James Ray
project was considered to be
developing the region, but this
region has been developed by the
plants and animals for thousands of
years. Clearly, Canada could
learn a valuable lesson from its
native peoples.
In the free trade debate, Dr.
Suzuki believes that both sides have
missed the main point. They both
insist on the perpetuation of growth
and are only debating the way that
this growth will be achieved. Free
trade should be opposed because it
is promoting growth and
exploitation of the environment.
People must be taught that
science is no.t dirty but that it is
beautiful. Most children picture a
scientist as a man woo has wild
wavy hair, thick black-rimmed
glasses and works underground
manufacturing bombs, poisons or
monsters.
It is during the early years -
grades one to three - that a child's
view of science is developed, yet
most primary school teachers have
been away from university for more
than a decade and were exposed to
very little science while there.
Primary school is the worst place
for these people to be. Teachers
don't have to be experts in the field
of science, but they must not be
afraid to promote it. Allowing
children to study a butterfly wing
under a magnifying glass or to
spend the afternoon walking in the
park is all that is required to
promote understanding. The
wide-eyed kids will have learned
that nature is not something to be
dominated but something beautful
to be lived with in harmony.
Dr. Suzuki believes that quality
education is an undeniable right that
all must protect. The purpose of
university is to provide the best
learning environment possible. He
feels that students in Canada are
being short-changed. Professors
Students in Canada are
being short-changed
have lost sight of their priority -
student education - and seem only
concerned about the size of their
grants. Furthermore, reductions in
the funding of universities have
resulted in larger class sizes an.d
further distancing in the
student-faculty relationship which
is so critical to education.
Although restricted to the rich and
to those with exceptional talent
(scholarships), he believes that the
small, private American colleges
provide a much better educational
environment for the free exchange
of ideas. He says that Trent
University'S small enrollment has
created a healthy academic
environment more successfully than
at other Ontario schools.
The problem lies with poor
funding from government and
narrow-sighted funding from
industry. If professors are
accepting money from industry for
research in the arts or sciences they
should not be able to gain tenure.
They should instead leave the
university and create their own
research firm, then be hired for
teaching by the university.
University research must be
conducted objectively, and
researchers must have the flexibility
to decide on the applications of their
research. Those operating under
industrial grahts have a vested
interest and hence have difficulty
People must be taught
that science is beautiful
making objective or moral decisions
about their work (this is of primary
concern in chemical and
pharmaceuticals research).
Engineering is an exception to this,
since it is. usually concerned with
the application of principles
developed in previous research.
The main reason that
governments don't increase
university spending in science is the
lack of public awareness.
Politicians tend to be short-sighted.
If the public were scientifically
literate then they would recognize
the problems and force the
government to respond. The
recent creation of centres of
excellence is an wonderful idea, but
it carne too late - taking money
from two starving scientists to give
to another starving scientist will not
produce a winner. The scientific
community must be healthy before
funds can be focused on the
exceptional.
Dr. Suzuki's main theme is that
we should open our eyes and see
the beauty of our planet and
recognize what we are doing to it. (
We should be more aware of our
actions and their repercussions.
We should take care of our
planet and show our children that
we love them.
Dr. Suzuki is clearly a man with
foresight. His education at a liberal
arts college, his PhD in Science and
his experience in broadcasting have '
given him a very extensive base of
knowledge. It is from this base that
he has been able to identify where
mankind has been going wrong,
where we have been going right,
and where we are going.
He is now teaching mankind on a
global scale, and we can all learn
from him. Read his book.
October 30, 1987
Iron Warrior 9
META
OR BOSIS
by Paul Meyer
4A Civil
The title of Dr. David Suzuki's
latest book refers not to the process
by which a caterpillar transforms
into a butterfly but rather to the
process by which a Canadian boy
of Japanese ancestry transforms
into Canada's leading spokesman
for scientific responsibility.
Beginning with a short history of
Japan, the birthplace of his
grandparents, Dr. Suzuki traces his
roots and tells of the factors that
have influenced his development.
One of the strongest themes
throughout the book is his outrage
at the treatment he and other people
of Japanese ancestry received
during the period following the
attack on Pearl Harbour. Even
though both his parents were born
in Canada, his family was split up
(temporarily) and housed in stables.
They had their property confiscated
and were eventually "deported"
from British Columbia to Ontario.
He believes that the increased
multiculturalism that has developed
in Canada since that time would
prevent such a thing happening to
the Japanese today, but contends
that the treatment of native peoples
indicates that Canada still has a
"deeply rooted racism".
Dr. Suzuki finds himself caught
between the history of his people
and the fact that he is very much a
He regards Amherst as
his "de/in itive academic
experie nce"
Canadian. As he states in the book:
"My language was English, my
literature Shakespeare, my music
Beethoven". One of the telling
incidents in the book is one in
which he travels to Japan and fmds
himself a complete alien in a society
where he recognizes people who
are probably his cousins. He is
even kicked out of a Tokyo hotel
when the manager discovers that
"Suzuki-san" can speak only
English and has a white wife.
Growing up in Leamington, and
later London, Ontario, Dr. Suzuki
was impressed at how much less
racism existed here than in BC
(even today, the WASP part of
society in BC has refused to accept
that "British" Columbia isn't). In
high school, he was able to gain
acceptance by his peers and the
respect of his teachers, and was
even elected president of the student
body in September, 1953.
However, interracial dating was
still 'frowned upon, and there were
only thirteen Japanese-Canadian
,girls in all of London, two of
whom were his sisters. His frrst
wife was one of the eleven
remaining choices.
Despite what he calls a
"mediocre" education at Central
_ Collegiate, he was able to get a
scholarship to attend Amherst
college (near Boston,
Massachusetts). He regards his
four years at Amherst as his
"definitive academic experience".
Amherst, then as now, was a
small college with a strong
commitment to producing "well
rounded" graduates. Even though
he was specializing in Biology, he
received a Bachelor of Arts degree.
During his first two years, only
. 40% of his courses could be in
Science. In his last two years, this
STAGES
proportion increased to 60%.
During second year, every student
was required to take a two-semester
course in public speaking. It is
clear from the book that he believes
that the quality of education he
received at Amherst is simply not
available at a Canadian University.
Students at Waterloo might be
interested to note that:
"Today, it appalls me to see
students, often from small towns,
arrive at Canadian universities
homesick, lonely and frightened,
without support facilities to help
them adjust. As freshmen, they are
thrown into huge lecture rooms and
have to take labs and tutorials
presided over by graduate students.
It's an assembly line where
individuals become ciphers
funnelled through the system to
justify university budgets."
I suspect that few first-year
Waterloo engineers would disagree
with this statement.
In defense' of the system at
Waterloo, things do get better as
one remains in the system longer
and the profs start to think of
students as real people. However,
the faculty should take note of the
following excerpt:
"A sense of camaraderie between
students and faculty was stres"Sed.
The courses were at once intimate
and terribly demanding and brought
fNALJFE
out the best in us. Each course had
an allotment in its budget for
'entertainment' of the students. In
the upper classes, most professors
would use it to buy beer for
evening sessions. For our last
class in a botany course, our
professor took us on a field trip to
'watch the buds open'. He led us
on a long hike through the woods,
occasionally exclaiming, 'See,
there's a bud there! Oh, there's
another one over here!' We were
mystified until we reached a cabin
where he had stashed a huge cache
of ice-cold Budweiser beer." (Civil
profs may be interested in doing
some "Brick testing" with their
fourth-year classes.)
Perhaps because of his liberal arts
background, Dr. Suzuki is acutely
aware of the poor public image of
scientists and engineers. For
example, he referred to engineering
students as "Fascists, but with great
school spirit" (although this is
probably a reflection of the fact that
most of the engineering students he
encounters are from UBC). To
some extent he feels that we
deserve the reputations we have
been given because we have done
so little to educate the public as to
what it is that we really do. He was
suprised to learn that the only paper
on campus which had sought to
interview him was the !r.2.n
Warrior.
Much of Dr. Suzuki's current
activities help to correct some of the
misconceptions that society has
about science and scientists. As the
. host of "The Nature of Things", he
tries to explain nature and to get
people to realize that they cannot
exist without an appreciation for the
world around them. As anyone
who has watched the show realizes,
the show has a very strong bias in
favour of conservation, a view in
which he not only strongly
believes, but which he feels
balances the image presented in the
rest of the media.
He explains:
"Most programming on television
simply takes for granted our right to
exploit nature as we see fit, to
dominate the planet, to increase our
consumption to create more
economic growth, to dump our
wastes into the environment. Few
object to these assumptions because
they are so deeply set fn our culture
that they are accepted as obvious
truths."
Since 1985 he has been writing a
weekly column in which he
addresses a brond range of
subjects. Although it originally
appeared in the Toronto Star, he
grew distressed at the paper's lack
of a wide audience and the severe
editing and changing that articles
would undergo when picked up by
other papers. This past January, he
switched the column to the
and Mail's "Focus" section, where
it appears nationally every
Saturday.
As a father of two young
daughters, Dr. Suzuki is adamant in
his conviction that.we need to take
immediate action to stop the current
rapid degradation of the world
ecosystem. He points out that we
are the ftrst generation in the history
of the human race that knows it is
going to leave our children with a
planet in worse shape than when
we got it.
The book closes with "A Grim
Fairy Tale", a story which he told
his daughters during a visit to the
Royal Ontario Museum, and which
is worth the price of the book itself.
In it, he summarizes some of his
views about nature, Canada and
Star Wars, in a way that even a
six-year-old can understand.
Hopefully, the adults who read it
will understand it too.
10 Iron Warrior
October 30, 1987
JAPAN
Part Two: Social Structure
by Al McGowan
Mechanical '87
In May 1987, nine engineering
students from the University oj
Waterloo undertook a two-week
tour of Japan, to get a first-hand
view of the level of technology in
that country. These students visited
Several Japanese research institutes
_ and factories in an effort to
determine the reasons for Japan's
success in internationaL trade and
how, if possible, these factors
translate to Canadian industrial
practices.
The trip was originated by the
UW Student Chapter of the
Canadian Society for MechanicaL
Engineering (CSME), and was
funded in part by sponsorship from
some twenty corporations in
Ontario. This article is the second
of four which describe some of the
group's observations on "Japan,
Inc." :
In the last issue of the lron
Warrior, 11 briefly reviewed the
social structure in Japan: in this
article, I will examine it in
somewhat greater detail, especially
as it pertains to daily life in that
country. To review: although there
, , . n ev ry
rule, Japanese people tend to be
more frugal, ethnocentric, and
group-minded than their North
American counterparts, and are
extremely polite - almost to a
fault, in fact.
the Japanese feel a
responsibility to their
society that is alien to
most North Americans
Some other general traits should
be noted as well. There is a very
well-defined code of behaviour
among the Japanese, and it stakes
out social protocol in every
situation. The Japanese model their
behaviour according to this code,
not because of a fear of divine
retribution or of social ostracism
(look it up), but because it is wrong
to do otherwise; you should respect
your parents because it is "correct"
to do so, and not because God will
"get" you for breaking a
Commandment. Thus, people are
expected to be responsible for their
own social and cultural
transgressions, without appeal to a
Higher Authority.
Japanese also feel a responsibility
to their society that is alien to most
North Americans: they save their
money (18% of their take-home
pay, as compared to 4% in North
America) and provide continuity
within the family because it
contributes to the stability of the
nation. Therefore, parents ensure a
good future for their children, from
pushing them to get into the best
schools, arranging the best
marriages for them (although the
popularity of arranged marriages is
rapidly declining in Japan), and
using business contacts to arrange
suitable employment for their
children, where necessary.
In return, children are expected to
respect their parents, to do their
best at school and work, and to take
care of their parents after
retirement, including living with
them in the same house. The
extended-family concept is thus
alive and well in Japan, with up to
four generations living in the same
house at the same time.
children are expected to
respect their parents
As mentioned, education plays an
important part in the life of
Japanese children, and the right
education can mean the difference
between a good future and a great
one (remember, parents are trying
to ensure the best future for their
children and children owe it to their
parents to be successful). Thus,
there is an inordinate amount of
pressue on preschoolers to perform
well academically in order to get
into the correct schools. After
if you don't get into the best
me 001, you won't get
inw the -best highschool, which
means that you won't get into the
best university (which is, by the
by, the University of Tokyo,
whence come most government and
business leaders).
In order to ensure academic
success, most Japanese children
enter the juku, or "cram schools",
at the age of five or six. These
schools are run throughout , the
summer to prepare the children for
entrance into the next school year,
which usually depends on the result
of entrance examinations (or
interviews in the case of really good
schools). Assuming that the
candidate is accepted, slbe will get
to wear the school uniform, sin g
the school songs, and benefit by
association with the school.
Children are taught from the first
grade to co-operate with their
classmates and not to show off for
personal gain.
university life in Japan
is much more
socially-orientated than
it is in North America
If all things work according to
plan, the student will do well
enough to qualify for entrance into
a university. This means even
more intensive juku sessions, and a
rather nerve-wracking period in
May when students wait to see if
they have been accepted. The
pressure on these students should
not be underestimated: ulcers are
relatively common, and suicide is
not unknown.
An unusual thing happens once
the student gains entrance into
university: the pressure to do well
that is so prevalent in grade school
is absent in postsecondary
education. Of course, one is still
expected to pass, but the marks are
not quite as important; it is assumed
that, if the student is good enough
to gain admission into university,
slhe has made the grade. A
prospective employer will pay more
attention to the school's pres tige
(and to a professorial
recommendation) than to a
transcript of marks. This means
that university life in Japan is much
more socially-oriented than it is in
North America. I should point out,
however, that Japanese students
should not be considered party
critters: two or three beers is an
upper limit in most cases.
The university graduate typically
moves into the workforce quite
quickly, without taking the summer
off or whatever else one does to
postpone The Big Workterm.
Employment arrangements are
psually made prior to graduation,
typically through family contacts.
Men will begin what for most will
be their only job. Women are not
to stay with their employer
for much longer than two years
afte graduation, at which time they
will get married and have children.
This raises a very important point
about. Japanese it is
extremely male-9.ominated. The
family structure is somewhat
similar to that of the United States
in the 1950s, where Dad worked
hard at the office all day to bring
home the bacon (or yakitori in this
case, I suppose), and Mom was the
homemaker who looked after the
kids and the house, and did the
shopping, the laundry, etc. In fact,
many Japanese girls are still
expected to study home economics
and pottery in school, while the
boys are free to study subjects of
their choice. .
This role-definition is considered
by some to be one of the secrets of
Japan's success. As the male is not
expected to participate in the raising
of the family, he is free to work
long hours and devote himself to
his job. Indeed most men spend
two to three hours each day
commuting to and from work,
another nine or ten hours on the
job, and three to four hours in the
evening "out with the boys", which
doesn't leave much time to spend at
home. This is why most Japanese
men consider their jobs to be so
important: their job is quite literally
_ their life.
most women did not
consider the status ql/.O
to be a particularily bad
arrangement
Most of the women with w-hom
we spoke did not consider the
status quo to be a particularily bad
arrangement. They did not want a
job that was so demanding of their
time, and could not accept- being
away from their families for so
long, although they accepted that it
was the responsibility of the men to
do so in order to provide Jor the
financial needs of the home. This
was not always true, 'however, as
some of the younger men and
women we met were not satisfied
with the "old Japanese ways".
Whether this can be attributed to the
North American influence or to
natural social evolution, the fact is
that the traditional arrangement in
Japan is likely to change in the
not-too-distant future.
In the next installment, I will
outline some of the more technical
aspects of our topic.
Baroque and Beyond
(UW Arts Centre News) - The
second in the Series Musical Notes:
BAROQUE AND BEYOND will be
in the Theatre of the Arts at the
University of Waterloo on
Tuesday, 10 November and
Wednesday, 11 November. These
two concerts will be under the
direction of K-W Symphony
member Moshe Hammer.
The music featured will be
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.
5 and Brandenburg Concerto ,No.
2, and also Bruckner's String
,/
Quintet. Hammer says, "The
Romantic Bruckner, an organist,
was constantly in touch with
Bach's music. I'm sure you'll be
able to. hear the deep religious belief
which was the common source of
inspiration. "
The featured musicians for these
concerts will be Colin Tinley
playing the harpsichord, Thomas
Kay on flute, James Mason playing
oboe and Dan Warren on trumpet.
Tickets are still avaliable for the
two concerts.

" /
"
) Mon. to Sat. 402C King St. N. <
/ 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Waterloo, Ontario ,
/ Sun. . N2J 223 ,
/ 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. 746-1930 ,

, -
October 30, 1987
ISDN:
by Rick Blaiklock
4A Systems
Last issue the current.trend to all
digital communication networks
was examined, and it was
mentioned in conclusion that these
networks are the first step towards
Integrated Services Digital
Networks, or ISDN.
Well, what exactly is ISDN?
Being engineers, we can relate to
formal defmitions, so this is a good
place to start.
The CCITT definition of ISDN
is:
"A network evolved from IDN
(Integrated Digital Networks) that
provides end to end digital
connections to support a wide range
of services, including voice and
non-voice services to which users
have access by a limited set of
struc t ured multi -purpose
interfaces. "
Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Lets
examine it piece-by-piece.
Integrated Digital Networks
In the previous issue a brief
introduction to digital networks was
presented. There are a couple of
additional points related to ISDN.
i) Fibre optic networks will be
the backbone. The high bandwidth
is required to transmit the high
volumes of data involved in ISDN.
ii) All signalling is done 'out of
band'. This means that the
information about where a call's
Iron Warrior
11
What is it and
me more space
how will it give
on my desk?
destination is not contained in the
actual data. cess (Common
Channel Signalling System) #7 is a
separate network established to
route packets of information across
the network. Currently, when a
long-distance call is made (for
example Waterloo to Vancouver) it
must go through several switches to
reach its destination (K-W, Toronto
Central Office, Vancouver Central
ISDN is basically a huge
information pipe that
sends data betw.een
points
Office, Vancouver Local Office).
Any of these switches could be
busy, resulting in a blocked call
(heard as a busy signal).
Sometimes tlle busy signal occurs
very quickly (the call is blocked
locally) or there is a long pause and
then a busy signal (the party being
called may be using the phone). In
the latter case, even though the call
is not completed it still occupies
space on the network, and may
block another call. cess #7
prevents this by polling each of the
switches to determine if a complete
connection is available, and then
seizing the trunks. Since this is all
done on a separate network it
doesn't occupy any bandwidth on
the transmission network.
Wide Range of Services
ISDN is basically a huge
information pipe that sends data
between points. This data can be in
the form of voice calls, facsimiles,
computer data, images or video.
There are two kinds of access
services to ISDN, basic and
primary.
Ba ic service, referred to a
2B+D, provide two 64 kbps
Bearer or information channels and
one 16 kbps Delta or ignalling
channel.
Primary access is 23B+D. The
quick thinkers out there will
recognize that 24 channels of 64
kbps each is equivalent to a Tl (see
last issue) providing 1.544 Mbps of
capacity.
With a 64 kbps Bearer channel a
session could be established
between two terminals transmitting
32 kbps of voice traffic and 32
kbps of data simultaneously. The
problem is getting your phone and
computer onto the same line
simu I taneousl y.
A Standard Set of
Multipurpose Interfaces
A modem office may have any or
all of the following communication
devices: telephones, personal
computers on a Ian or hooked up to
a modem, terminals connected to a
host, facsimile machines, and in
limited cases vi eo con erencing
equipment. The machines tend to
make desks somewhat cluttered by
the many cables which need to be
plugged in.
With ISDN there will be
multi-function terminals with an 8
pin telephone jack. Some examples
are a PC with a digital
telephone/videophone, or a
fascimile/laser printer. The
possibilities are endless.
Sounds great. When can I get
one on my desk?
Well, you can't just yet.
Standardization is crucial for the
success of a project with such
global implications as this. The
CCrTT has several IS ON
committees that are constantly
developing and refining standards.
There is some politics involved.
The committee is composed of
terminal vendors (IBM, NEC,
Hayes, etc.) and telephone
companies (AT&T, Telecom
Canada, etc) who each want certain
functions of the network to reside
in their equipment, and hence gain
the profit from it.
Even when standardization is
complete, quite a bit of the
technology will be still under
development. Issues such as the
reduction of transmission error
rates, the compression of digital
data and data security just begin to
scratch the surface of the areas to be
addressed. Parts of ISDN are
currently being tested in various
locations across the globe. Testing
of some of the ISDN features of the
DMS-l()(), a switch currently used
in many locations across Canada, is
being done in Ottawa.
,
ISDN isn't going to suddenly
pop up and announce its r e s e n e ~
it will appear gradually over the
next decade and beyond.
there are going to be
numerous potential
applications for ISDN
So where does that leave us?
Homecoming:
Catc'h the Spirit
Informed about the future. Large
corporations are very interested in
how ISDN will affect them in both
short and long-range planning. A
simple example is the in tallation of
4 pair wire in new installations
instead of standard telephone cable.
A slightly larger cost now could
reduce the need to rewire a building
several years from now.
by Harold Bransch
4A Mechanical
To an ever growing list of
up-and-coming UW traditions you
can add one more: Homecoming.
First off, the Waterloo
Homecoming experience is centered
around the Naismith Classic
Basketball tournament. This year's
tournament will take place
November 12-15. In addition to
the Naismith Classic, this year's
Homecoming will celebrate the
university's 30th birthday.
The Big Kickoff to the Naismith
Classic will be the Pep Rally to
boost the Warriors to victory. Be at
the PAC Friday Novembmer 13
from 6:00 to 7:00. The Warriors'
first game starts at 8:00. The rally
will be as good as you make it, so
paint yc5ur face and come on out
This is the student program's
third year running (remember the
'developing traditions' comment).
It is the first year that the
Engineering Havenger Scunt will
be incorporated into the program.
With luck, there will be several
alumni teams to challenge scunters.
The big 'Campus Roamaround'
will be drawing crowds once again.
The general idea is to visit all of the
drinking establishments on campus,
with each location having its own
theme and event. POETS, the
Bombshelter and Fed Hall are
bound to be popular, but there are
seven stops in all, including VI,
VII, South Campus Hall and the
Grad Club.
There is not enough space to list
all of the events. Just look for the
Homecoming infonnation banners
for a full list, or come out to the
Homecoming booth at the ec (it
will have all the information and
registration fonns).
Make it great. Participate!
Needless to say, there are going
to be numerous potential
applications for ISDN in a variety
of environments. However. in the
future for some people ISDN may
stand for I See Dollars Now.
Games Needed
As part of Homecoming, the
Homecoming Committee is holding
a carnival in the Campus Centre
during the weekend of November
13.
Clubs and societies are needed to
provide carnival games and food,
crafts, skits. demonstrations, and
displays.
Please contact Bill Anderson at
747-2584 for additional
information.
12 Iron Warrior Octo ber 30, 1987
Drinking

In
by Andrew Wilson
4A Civil
Now that I've used the oldest
trick in the book to get you to read
this article, I'll tell you that it has
nothing to do with future trends in
beer, though it will tell you how
Labatt's, Brick and the rest of us in
KW and Cambridge will be
obtaining our water.
On October 6, John Pawley,
Director of Engineering operations
for the Region of Waterloo, visited
the university to talk about the
future water supply for the tri-city
area.
Currently, our water is obtained
from 96 groundwater wells spread
throughout the region. Most of
these are situated in the overburden,
which is mostly soil laid down
during the last ice age. A smaller
number of wells retrieve water from .
bedrock formations, while a third
type are induced infiltration wells,
demand on the system
has grown considerably
in the past years due to
major ne hou ing and
commercial
developments
SItuated near the Grand River.
The existing system supplies
water to more that 300,000 people,
as well as the industries and
commercial complexes in the area. -
Demand on the system has grown
considerably in the past years due
to major new housing and
commercial developments. This
has pushed the current system to its
capacity_ In fact, a dry period early
this summer forced the region to
place a ban on lawn watering. If
not for a timely rainstonn it would
have als? been to cunail
the supply to some major industrial
water users. This stretching of
capacity has forced the region to
search for new sources of water.
Studies conducted recently by a
consulting engineering firm in
conjunction with the Region
developed three main alternatives.
The flrst of these alternatives is to
explore new natural groundwater
supplies. Five new well fields
were identified in this study, all in
outlying rural areas, including one
outside of Waterloo Region.
However, Pawley indicated that
there is a great deal of rural
opposition to this "water theft" by
the cities, especially at three of the
potential sites. There are already
ON RESERVE
AT KINKO'S
ELE 231 ME 212 ME 322 ME 360
ELE 251 .ME 203 ME 269 SO 252
ELE 262 ME 215 ME 340 SO 364
ELE 269 ME 220 ME 353 SO 422
ELE 360 ME 250 ME 462 SO 433
ME 201 ME 262 SO 212 MS 261
open 24 hours
the Future
existing well fields in these three
areas and the local people feel that
further exploitation of the supply
would be detrimental to their own
supplies. The other two sites were
deemed to be in
environmentally-sensitive areas and
had to be eliminated as potential
sources.
The lack of additional sources of
groundwater forced the region to
look to supplies of surface water.
This led to the development of the
Mannheim Artificial Recharge
Scheme. According to Pawley, this
plan could meet the demand for
water until 2036. He estimates that
by that time the demand will be 83
mgpd (million gallons per day),
compared to 45 mgpd in 1986.
The proposal is to build a dam
across the Grand River south of
Kitchener. Water would be
pumped from there west to a
treatment plant to be built at the
Warren gravel pit near Mannheim.
The plan is to force the treated
water into the aquifer below the
gravel pit using up to 100 injection
wells. Water from the Grand
would be treated and piped directly
to the Tri-city distribution system
prior to completion of the final
phase, retrieval of the injected water
via extraction wells.
the groundwater supply
in the aqUifer would be
able to ensure an
adequate supply
throughout a low flow
period
When questioned about the
quality of water taken from the
Grand River, Pawley stressed that
testing would be extremely
thorough and treatment of the water
would be adequate to provide high
quality. As well,
cleaning would be expected vIa
flow through the aquifer.
Ozonation would be used rather
than chlorination, avoiding the
production of dangerous
chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Supply is also critical, since
during the drier summer months
river flow is greatly reduced.
Pawley noted that the groundwater
supply in the aquifer would be able
to ensure an adequate supply
throughout a low flow period.
The third alternative, importation,
had been abandoned by the Region
as too expensive until last year,
when Interprovincial PipeUnes Ltd.
(IPL) put forth a proposal to pump
water from an existing intake
facility on Lake Erie to the Waterloo
Region. It is proposed that the City
of Brantford might share use of this
piepline. In the future the water
would be treated at the point of
intake before being pumped by
6000 horsepower pumps through a
1200mm diameter steel pipe. Water
would be carried at an initial rate of
35 mgpd.
IPL has stated that the pipeline
can be completed by 1991, in time
to avoid major local shortages of
water .. Pawley questioned whether
this completion date could be met.
He suggests that even if the
ambitious construction schedule
could be met, a public
environmental assessment would
keep them from meeting the 1991
date.
IPL proposes to pump the water
at a pressure of 800 psi to move the
water through the required distance.
This is a high pressure to apply to a
pipe, especially over 85 km.
Water quality is possibly a
contentious issue with the public,
since Lake Erie is downstream of
many industrialized cities such as
Detroit, Cleveland and Toledo, as
well as Ontario's 'chemical valley'
near Sarnia.
Pawley is now in the process of
making the public more aware of
the alternatives for future water
supply. He stressed that the
technical aspects must be
considered closely, and reliability in
the system must be paramount.
Long tern) costs must be considered
in the evaluation.
Whatever the decision, the tri-city
councils will be required to act soon
in order to facilitate the construction
of the chosen alternative. Too great
a delay may mean even more severe
measures than lawn watering bans '
in the summer.
October 30, 1987 Iron Warrior 13
Computers

In Dance
by Cathy Burns
lA Systems
When it comes to note-taking in
the world of dance, all eyes are
focused on the University of
Waterloo. Here, the worlds of
dance' and computer science are
interconnected through the creation
of a unique software program, the
MacBenesh Editor.
The Mac Benesh software is
designed to make .the work of
translating dance movements onto
paper easier and more efficient. In
the past, choreologists (those who
translate dance movements into
written dance notation) have had to
It
fop ., Jt4s11
r 1
-
To ... , stlO"I_r.
_la,
,

......
-

spend long hours transcribing the
motions by hand. Any changes to
the choreography would result in
the arduous task of changing the
transcription. Now, however,
dance sequences can be saved for
future reference on diskettes. The
use of a word-processor-like
program speeds up the translation,
and allows changes to be made
much more easily than before.
MacBenesh uses the Benesh
Movement Notation, which
"Turner and
Turner" at UW
Art Gallery
(UW Arts Centre News) -
Opening Thursday, 12 November
in the Gallery in the Modern
Languages Building at the
University of Waterloo is the show
TURNER AND TURNER,
displaying the works of Susan and
Myron Turner.
At 5:00 p.m. Thursday, 12
November, there will be an opening
reception and illustrated lecture.
Myron Turner uses oils to interpret
photographs and Susan uses mainly
intaglio print-making techniques.
The show TURNER AND
TURNER runs from Thursday, 12
November until Sunday, 20
December in the Gallery at the
Univentity of Waterloo.
consists of stick-figure-like
drawings of the actual dance
positions. Rhythm is added by
grouping the figures into bars,
similar to the notation used for
music.
C File Edit Frames Symbols
tJ I- ,-' 2 / H
o MecBenesh EHemple
The computerized system was
developed by a team of researchers
at the University of Waterloo with
support from Apple Computers and
a grant from the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council
of Canada (SSHRC). It uses an
Apple Macintosh computer with a
laser printer and a mouse. In style
it is similar to other Macintosh
software, such as MacPaint or
MacDraw, using the mouse to
select various body and limb
positions. The positions are then
combined to create a sequence for
one dancer.
"Excellent graphics capabilities
and use of the mouse make the
Macintosh ideally suited to the task
of computerized Benesh notation.
The mouse simplifies the use of the
program and makes user-interaction
with the computer more direct.
"Dancers communicate through
their bodies and therefore find it
difficult to relate to machines,"
explains Professor Rhonda Ryman
of the department of dance.
\;5'
the MacBenesh system in the
future. According to Ryman,
MacBenesh is very useful in the
classroom for such tasks as writing
course notes or exams .
Despite the usefulness of the
MacBenesh program, software
is continuing to be developed. The
arrival of the Apple Macintosh II,
with greater memory space,
encourages the possib.ility of
animating the dance movements.
ance stu etns are no
to take an introductory computer like to see implemented are floor
course as part of their program, and plans showing the location of
may have the opportunity of using dancers on the floor and the ability
H
+

II
-
T
to notate more than one dancer (In
its current vesion, MacBenesh
software can only accomodate one
dancer, thereby making sequences
wi th two or more dancers
impossible).
Although further development is
still continuing, the present
MacBenesh program is a vast
improvement over translating
dances by hand. MacBenesh seems
likely to revolutionize the art of
'<UJortlOgPap by iftcreui .it.
efficiency without sacrificing the
creativity of expression that has
made dance the art it is today.
A Chameleon of Dance
by Sheona Bell
4A Honours Dance
Theatre Ballet, an Ottawa-based
dance company, performed its
uniquely versatile repertoire at the
Humanities Theatre on Friday,
October 23. Surprisingly, the
theatre was only two-thirds full
despite the attractive offer of
half-price student tickets, available
on the afternoon of all Humanities
Theatre peiformances.
The Company's genuine
enthusiasm was displayed in the
opening number, CoUaee Anime,
choreographed by David Allen,
fonnerly of the National Ballet
Company. Allen joined the
company in this demanding,
angular, modern ballet for six
dancers. Their black, loose-fitting
jump suits revealed rippling torsos,
mimicking the strings and piano of
Concerto Grosso No. 1 by Ernest
Boch.
The confident and secure Theatre
Ballet showed their physical
strength in Aneular Momentum,
which encompassed a variety of
techniques; modem, ballet and jazz.
Julie West choreographed the
mannequin-like dancing to
electronic music by Marc
Letourneau. The movement
contradicted the repetitive musical
motifs by shocking the audience
with unexpected, asymmetrical,
isolated movement. The dance was
as unpredictable as the black,
yellow and red costumes, also by
West. Each female dancer wore an
individualized tutu, and the men
wore knee-length pants or shorts.
A blue backdrop accented the
physically-demanding, robotic
movements of the seven dancers.
Inchine, a short duet, was
choreographed by Danny Grosman.
Wearing light grey unitards, a male
and female dancer portrayed
inchwonns by arching and curving
their backs along the ground.
Skittering movements to Mbrira
music (of Zimbabwe) by Dimisani
Abraham Maraire created a comical
atmosphere as the two worm-like
figures played a slithering mating
game.
The truly theatrical aspect of
Theatre Ballet was seen in
Liberated, choreographed by Lynne
Taylor-Corbett. Through
characterization, this dance
highlighted portraits of young men
and women searching for their ideal
loves, in hopes of marriage. The
tribulations were accompanied by
an eclectic assortment of music by
Tom Wait, Helen Gurley-Brown,
Peter Sarstedt, The Nylons,
Penguin Society and Vengelis,
which allowed for a wide range of
expression from a cowboy theme to
a vocalized scenario.
The show concluded with Theatre
Ballet dancing a modern ballet,
Tribute, to music by J. S. Back.
The choreography by Lawrence
Gradus continuously flowed
through weaving patterns. The
busy movement on stage reflected
the upbeat tempo of the music. The
vivacious energy of the company
restated their love for dance, and
left a lasting impression of the
versatility that they had displayed
from beginning to end.
r
14
by Carlo Kunkel
4A Electrical
Convocation may be seven
months away for the 1988 Grads
but the Graduation Committee has
been in existence since last March.
We are really just getting under way
this term but I'm sure there are
some people out there who have
never heard of us or, if they have,
wonder what we do and what Grad
Comm is all about.
Unlike public school or high
school, we, the grads, must plan
our own graduation activities. The
only events planned for us are the
Iron Ring Ceremony in February
and Convocaton in late May, but
we still have a small role to play in
both these events.
Grad Photos
By now every grad should have
their grad photo taken by
Jostens in the Orifice. If you
haven't, see the Orifice for details.
Included in your sitting fee you will
receive a class composite and your
individual shots, one of these will
be used in the yearbook.
Yearbook
The yearbooks will be handed out
at Convocation so they have to be at
the printers in March. This means
that work has to be done this term
and next term. Each class is
responsible for its section in the
yearbook (there should be a
yearbook rep for your class - ask
your class rep). There is a lot of
work involved but with enough
helping hands it will turn out just
beautiful. Yearbook reps will be
collecting $15.00 per person for
those interested. Remember, this
will probably be your only physical
r
WESTMOUNT
10
0
/0
discount for
students
on corsages and
all your floral needs!
(except holidays)
Bette and Frank Quinn Ow".,.
50 Westmount Place
Waterloo. Ontario N2L 2R5
(519) 886-6410
Iron Warrior
Grad Comm '88
lasting memory of this place!
Accessi biJity
To make the organization more
approachable, the Branch Office
(E2-2339) will be open Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays from
12:30 to 1 :30 pm.
The Student Branch is
endeavouring to serve its
membership by providing activities
of interest to everyone, and hence
helping student members to make
the most of their affiliation with the
world's largest technical society,
the IEEE.
Grad Gift
You might not be aware of it but
the graduating class gives a gift of
between $2000 - 5000 to a
charitable organization, our way of
helping a charity and to make a
name for our graduating class. But
where does this money come from?
Fundraising is the answer. We
have two major events planned for
this term, a mountain bike raffle
and a pub to be held in November.
As usual, volunteers are needed. If
you have an idea for a fundraising
activity or would like to suggest an
organization which would greatly
benefit from our donation leave a
note in the Grad Comm mailbox in
the Orifice.
Iron Ring Stag
You've wasted 5 years for your
ring and then what do you do? Go
to the stag of course. Immediately
following the Iron Ring Ceremony
will be the Iron Ring Stag. There
will be something for men and
women, a night to go crazy and
then a long weekend to recover.
This year's promises to be a blast
for everyone involved.
Grad Social
We are urgently in need of
someone to organize the Grad Day
Social. This is event follows
Convocation and provides a place
for grads, friends and families to
socialize after the ceremony. It
usually consists of dinner and
drinks.
General Grad Comm meetings
are held about every two weeks
with individual meetings for Grad
Gift, Eng Soc Ball and Yearbook
held intermittently. Outside the
Orifice, on the bulletin board, the
minutes of the last Grad Comm
meeting are posted, along with
details of the next meetings for all
activities. If you are even slightly
interested in helping out on any
aspect of Grad Comm '88 leave a
note in the Grad Comm mailbox in
the Orifice or see your class rep
(they receive the Grad Corom
Council
by Mary-Kay Lippert
2B Chemical
The Third meeting of the Eng Soc
Council (one of the shortest in
history - 50 minutes) was held
Tuesday evening, October 20.
a motion to honour John
Bergsma, current Chairman of the
UW Board of Governors and a past
Eng Soc Prez, with a Paul Plummer
Award was carried. It will be
presented at the November 12
Awards Night, at which he is to be
guest speaker.
a motion to assist the Arts
October 30, 1987
minutes also). See you at the next
meeting!
Valedictorian Selection
If you are interested in
representing our graduating class as
Valedictorian, elimination rounds
will be held next term to determine
the lucky person. This person
represents both A and B streams .
Eng Soc Ball
In conjunction with A Soc we are
running the 'Eng Soc Ball', the
gala event of the winter term which
is not to be missed by any grad.
Plans are already underway and lots
of help ill needed. Regular
meetings are being held (see the end
of this article for details). The Ball
will be held on Sat., March 12th at
the Waterloo Motor Inn. The theme
for this year is Broadway.
Report
Student Union in moving the
infamous boar was defeated.
Hallowe'en will be celebrated in
POETS on Friday, October 30
(today - ed.) with pumpkin
carving, a costume contest, and
bobbing for apples.
Duane and the Jet Sets appear
in POETS on November 13.
the Concrete Tobaggan Team is
selling raffle tickets. Prizes are a
microwave, a coffee maker, and a
$25 gift certificate from Sam the
Record Man.
Minutes of all Eng Soc Council
meetings are on me and available in
the Orifice.
IEEE: .The Right Stuff
by Cliff Knox
2B Electrical
With a newly-elected executive,
the IEEE Student Branch 'B' has
been given a mandate to establish
for itself a "triple-A" rating:
Acti vi ties, Awards and
Accessibility:
The results of the Sept. 29
Student Branch elections are as
follows:
Chairman: Cliff Knox
Vice-Chainnan: Naraig Manjikian
Secretary: Helen McNamee
Treasurer: Jerry Slusarek
A number of junior officers have
since been appointed from among
volunteers and IEEE Class Reps.
Early meetings have seen a number
of steps taken toward the "triple-A"
concept.
Activities
In addition to .the
lunchtime semmar . senes,
arrangements are being made for an
electronic music concert, to be
scheduled as an evening event. The
Branch is also considering entering
one or more teams in the annual
Micro-Mouse Competition, usually
held at MIT in late spring.
Awards
In a continuing effort to serve
engineering students in general, and
IEEE members in particular, the
Branch is promoting a number of
scholarship and award programs
this term. Notable among these are
the Fortescue Fellowship, a
$12,000 endowment for the first
year of graduate studies in Electrical
Engineering, and the McNaughton
Scholarship, which pays third-year
tuition for a student workipg on the
development of the Branch's
McNaughton Center. Details on
these awards can be obtained from
your IEEE Rep.
Accessibility
To make the organization more _
approachable, the Branch Office
(E2-2339) will be open Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays from
12:30 to 1:30 pm.
The Student Branch is
endeavouring to serve its
membership by providing activities
of interest to everyone, and hence
helping student members to make
the most of their affiliation with the
world's largest technical society,
the IEEE.
October 30, 1987
by Todd Sproule
4A Electrical
"P.I.T.S. is a very appropriate
acronym for my Public Interface
Terminal System," Bob thought as
he tiredly punched the keys to gain
access to the console, "I'm going to
feel like the pits after sifting
through all of this stuff." He was
surprised that he could make that
small joke after realizing he would
have to spend at least the next four
hours deciding what infomatjon he
would need from the Public
Information Network. "Too Much!
Too Much! My publisher wants the
manuscript soon, so I don't have
time to be sitting at my PITS like
this. DOlay Uchmay!". Bob liked
to be alone and not distracted when
he was writing-that's why he was
upset again when he himself
wading through the hundreds of
messages deposited in his PITS.
Bob's problem was by no means
unique; many other people of his
day found that much of their time
was spent in front of their PITS.
Newly-advanced computer
technology allowed everyone to
plug a PITS into their home. The
commercial sector was able to give
people access to information !hey
never dreamed of before. Did they
want to know how much a cup 0
tea cost in Melbourne? They asked
theic PITS. Did they want a copy
of the environmental report released
in Brazil? They asked their PITS.
H OW do you select a TV
program from 545
channels?
If they wanted to know the TV
listings for the 545 world-wide
channels, find out the current
political situation in Botswana,
perform a bank transaction, make
airliQe reservations, buy stocks and
bonds, send an instant electronic
message to an yone, grocery shop
or many other things, they simply
had to punch out the request on the
personal PITS. Everyone was
delighted-at first.
Along with the information
explosion of the 20th Century came
the headache of trying to deal with
that information. How do you
select a TV program from 545
channels? Or decide which current
events you want to be kept
informed about? People wasted
hours- determining what information
was relevant to them.
However, this was just the
beginning of their problems.
Businesses realized that the popular
PITS could be used as a mass
.marketing device. And so
high-tech marketing and electronic
junk mail were born. Soon
everyone was flyers and
coupons for every imaginable
product and service over their
PITS.
Iron Warrior
Ootay Uchmay
This was not the fIrst time society
had to deal with a new marketing
onslaught; a similar phenomenon
occurred in the 1980's over a
different medium-the telephone:
ring ... ring, "Hello, I'm authorized
to offer you 12 free dance lessons
at our new uptown studio if you'll
buy ... " click. This was a common
nuisance.
Governments soon learned that
they could keep their finger on the
pulse of the nation by using the
PITS. By contInuously polling the
people for their views and attitudes
the Governments realized that they
could keep their policies popular
with the electorate- thereby
increasing their chances of being
returned to power in the next
election. In the name of fairness to
all, and accuracy of polling, the
Governments soon ma'de it
mandatory that all questionnaires
received on the PITS must be filled
out and returned or individuals
would face a heavy fine.
So, the final result was that
hundreds of messages were sent
deily to all the PITS users in the
world, which, of course, was
practically everyone.
The snaky green letters on Bob's
PITS-screen showed:
434 MESSAGES WAITING
TO BE READ.
"Itshay!" he exclaimed jn the Pig
Latin he often used, "if life is a
bowl of cherries, why am I
working on the PITS? Well, I
better get started so I'll have some
time to work on my noveL" And
so, he commenced his daily toil of
clearing the backlog of messages in
his PITS.
"Display message 1" was
the first command he issued. The
PITS quickly respoRded with:
FROM: THE STARLITE
DATING SERVICE
TO: ROBERT IRVING
RE: YOUR SATURDAY
NIGHTS
DEAREST BOBBY:
ARE YOU LONELY THESE
DAYS? DO YOU WANT TO
MEET UP WITH THE GIRL OF
YOUR DREAMS? WELL, THEN
JUST READ ON!
"I don't have time for that! Just
unkjay ," Bob thought. and ignored
the rest of the message.
Display message 2
FROM: YOUR FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
TO: ROBERT IRVING
RE: PUBLIC OPINION
POLL #112A3A
DEAR CITIZEN:
DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
SHOULD HAVE A MANDATE
FROM THE PEOPLE TO
DISCUSS ARMS CONTROL
WITH OUR ENEMIES?
PLEASE FORWARD
RESPONSE TO YOUR
GOVERNMENT PITS NO
THAN TOMORROW.
YOUR
LOCAL
LATER
"Well, I suppose I'll have to
respond to that one." And so he
typed the appropriate commands
and sent off a reply ..
Reply to message 2
From: Robert Irving
To: My Federal
Government
Re: Public Opinion
Poll #112A3A
Dear Government:
Esyay.
Satisfied with his terse response,
Bob toiled onwards.
Display message 3
FROM: YOUR FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
TO: ROBERT IRVING

FEDERAL ELECTION
DEAR CITIZEN:
YOU ARE HEREBY
NOT I FIE D THAT YOU R
PITS-ELECT] ON 13ALLO'l'
WILL BE ARRIVING THE DAY
BEFORE ELECTION DAY.
PLEASE EXERCISE YOUR
DEMOCRATIC RIGHT AND
RETURN THE BALLOT ON THE
FOLLOWING DAY.
"An election? Well, I think I'll
VOle for the NOP this lime. I'll
have to keep my eye open for the
ballot."
an increasing amount of
his time seemed to be
wasted on his PITS
And so for the next several hours
Bob responded to his messages
with his usual, although reluctant,
efficiency. He had become pretty
handy on the PITS over the last few
years since almost all of his
interaction with the world was
through the screen and keyboard.
All of his food and necessitied were
ordered over the PITS and
delivered to his apartmem so that he
would have more time to spend on
his work. But an increasing
amount of his time seemed to be
wasted on his PITS; something had
to be done about it. These were his
thoughts as he finished reading
message number 234.
15
Display message 235
FROM: THE ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE CORPORATION
(AI-CORP)
TO: ROBERT IRVING
RE: YOUR WASTED TIME
DEAR ROBERT:
IS A LOT OF YOUR TIME
WASTED HUNCHED OVER YOUR
PITS? DO YOU HAVE OTHER
MORE PRESS ING MATTERS
YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND
TO? WELL WE HAVE THE
ANSWER FOR YOUl
WE ARE OFFERING
SPECIALLY TO YOU,
ROBERT, A NEW TIME
SAVING AI-CORP PROGRAM
CALLED PITS-SAVER.
USING THE LATEST
ADVANCES IN ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE FOR
COMPUTERS WE HAVE
DEVELOPED A PROGRAM THAT
WILL REDUCE THE TIME YOU
NEED TO SPEND WORKING
WITH YOUR PITS.
PITS-SAVER IS VERY
DIFFERENT FROM
TRADITIONAL COMPUTER
PROGRAMS BECAUSE IT HAS
THE ABILITY. TO LBJUm.
THAT'S RIGHT, IT
ACTUALLY PERFORMS BETTER
FOR YOU AS IT LEARNS
MORE AND MORF. ABOUT YOUR
PEHSONAL BA.B 1'l'S AND
PHI;;Flml:NCnl. YOU 3 r MP LY
S'I'AHT UP PI 'rS-SAVlm ON
YOUH P EH;'ONA L PITS AND
SOON YOU'LL llAV"E MOI<E
T T ME '1'0 YOUHSE IfF!
P r TS - Wl1..1. STAH.T
GET'l'lNG RJD OF
FLYERS AND
COUPONS THAT YOU
NORMALLY DON'T INSPECT.
IT WILL ALSO START
PERFORMING OTHER PITS
FUNCTIONS THAT YOU
PERFORM REGULARLY.
WE KNOW THAT THIS
PROGRAM IS FOR YOU,
ROBERT, JUST SEND US A
CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO
The rest of the message infomlcd
Bob how to order the product.
"Well, that may be something that I
could use- if it works," Bob
thought, "I'm so sick of my PITS
that I'll try anything!" So Bob
PITSed off an order to AI-CORP
requesting that a PITS-SAVER be
installed.
To Be Continued
Next Issue
16 Iron Warrior
October 30, 1987
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