Thursday, March 27,1997 The Magazine of the University of Waterloo Engineering Society

us go round
ee gineers pull
Michael Olley
Bus Push Co-organizer
TI
e Bus Push is an annual event
held to raise money for the Big
Sisters of Kitchener-Waterloo and
Area. The event involves a large group
of Engineers pulling a bus from the Uni-
versity of Waterloo campus to Market
Square in Kitchener. When the event
was first held, the Engineers did push
the bus. However, to increase safety and
participation, ropes are now attached to
the bus so that it can be pulled along the
parade route.
This year's event was special as it is the
25th anniversary of the Big Sisters of Kitch-
ener-Waterloo. The event took place on
Saturday, March 15th. After breakfast in
POETS the parade assembled in the Engi-
neering 1 cul-dtL-Sac at eleven o'clock. The
. turnout was good, as over thirty students
and one little sister arrived ready to pull
the bus, despite the harsh weather condi-
tions. However, by the time the bus was
ready to go and the convoy consisting of
police and the KOOL 105.3 FM van
arrived, the sun was shining brightly and
he wind had begun to die down. The
parade proceeded along University St.
West until King St. North where the route
headed South until its finish in Market
Square.
Money was raised for Big Sisters
through pledges raised by the participants,
as well as through silver collection along
the parade route. Although exact figures
are not yet available, the organizers believe
that over three thousand dollars was
raised in support of Big Sisters. (for more info see page 7)
photo IJy Ryall Olel/-Willg
The "I guess you're wondering why I gathered you all here" Issue
Volume 10 Issue 5

... Warr12r
contentS ...
Editorial . . .............. . .. 2
Message From the Dean . . ..... 3
Canada Day ..... . ....... . .. 3
Tal-Eng . .............. .. . . .4
ESSCO continues . . . .. . ...... 5
Science & Technology . .. ... .. . 6
The Fifth Column ....... .. .. .7
more Bus Push ........ . .. . .. 7
Occidental Tourist ........ . .. 8
The Fourth year Myth ..... . .. 9
Tenure . ................. . .. 9
Home for a Rest . ........ .10-11
IW Arts . ........... . ...... 12
MBA vs. Involvment . . ...... 13
Educational Worth .......... 14
E.G.A.D . .................. 14
Creative Engineers .......... 15
A Nice place to Live ...... 16-17
EngSoc News . ...... . . .. ... 18
/
Editorial ...
Respect: A much needed resource
Chris Foster
Editor-in-Chief
Ryan Chen-Wing
Editor-in-Chief - Fall 196
I
n any organization true value is achieved when
the accomplishments of a group exceed those of
the individuals in the group. Thjs regwrcs inter-
actions and interdependence between people, and
an important aspect of this is respect.
Each individual must have respect for others within
the organization. This is the valuing of the strengths
and skills of one another and the accepting of perceived
flaws. As well there must be a recognition of accom-
plishments. People should be treated equally. Each per-
son should lend a helping hand to those around.
When an exclusive group, a cligue, develops within
the organization, respect for those outside the group
diminishcs. When a clique develops, so too does a lim-
ited understanding of those outside the clique. Mem-
bers wi thin the clique fail to recognize the abilities of
others and trust in their judgement.
Lack of interest in the accomplishments of those out-
side the clique leads to a segregation within the organi-
zation as a whole.1his segregation is further propogat-
ed when those in the clique show favouritism to mem-
bers of the clique. A "we are more equal" mentality is
often the result. 1his hinders achievement of the orga-
nization's goals.
Once a clique has developed within an organization,
respect for all members can only be attained when the
clique has dissolved. For this to happen, each person
within the clique must first recognize the problem, then
correct it Only when those within the clique listen to
and accept the view points of others in the organization
is the clique mentality removed.
Strong leaders are vital to a healthy organization.
These leaders can inspire actions and can influence
those in the organization. The path of the organization
relies greatly on this guidance. To lead properly
n'quires respect for those they serve. TIUs respect means
that true leaders will trust the judgment and invest in
th strengths of those they lead.
Leaders must listen to and seek input from members
while serving the good of the organization. They must
give freedom to achieve and recognize accomplish-
ment.s. Respect such as this will allow an organization
to flourish.
For an organization as a whole to be truly successful,
it must also have the respect of those who are influ-
enced by and who influence the organization. This
respect can only be achieved when the members are
prepared to acknowledge and commend the efforts of
all those who have helped the organization. They must
also understand the consequences of their actions, not
only as they affect the organization, but also as they
affect those around the organization
Respect is the cornerstone on which a successful
organization is buill Unfortunately this is far too rare.
Only when respect has bee orne a norm is the organiza-
tion able to grow and move forward.
Hail to the Heroes
Michael Hermann
IW Assistant Editor
2A Systems - The Far SyDe
E
a term filled with a lot of fun, excitement, and
hard work, I'm starting to look back and reflect
n what has passed. With only two weeks left to
go in the term and a mountain of work to do, this
may seem a litlle premature but I'm feeling nostal-
gic. In my misty water-colored memories of this
past term I've realized there have been a lot of
heroes along the way. I'm talking about those peo-
ple who've made an impact, even if just for a day or
a moment. As far a I'm concerned, these heroes
have enriched our lives and made us better individ-
uals.
"Who are these heroes?" an inquiring mind such as
yours would ask. Well, I answer with joy, these heroes
are people like the Professor who goes that extra mile to
make his lectures interesting, or the student leader who
runs an event that just went perfectly, or the T.A. who is
available when you need them, even if it's at an odd
time as they randomly pass you in the hall, or the mend
who's just there for you, or the stranger who shows you
that there is hope for us all by the common respect they
show you.
I'd rather not use people's names, so I apologize for
the ambiguity. However, I do still have some specific
heroes to thank. I'd like to recognize one of my Instruc-
tors (Actua1Jy 1'd like to recognize all of them, but since
I so rarely see some of them it's difficult) for going the
extra two miles for his class. In his first course ever he's
made the effort to prepare quality assignments and be
available to answer questions at almost any time. I'd
like to thank the heroes who organized some outstand-
ing events such as MudBowl, the Brewery Tour, and
Scunt. And most of all those heroes who've worked
with me on the Iron Warrior. The team has been out-
stanrung.
There's one other group of heroes 1'd like to point
out. Those fine folk who will be leaving us soon to take
their rightful place in society. Those 4Bs, no longer the
leaders of tommorrow, but the new leaders of today.
Ever since I arrived here in the fall of 1995 I've looked
up to my big brothers and sisters. Of course they're as
fallible as much as I am (ok, less, I hope, for their sake),
but they have those years of experience I respect and
want to learn from. I've never met someone here who
wasn't willing to share that experience with me, let me
learn from them, and welcome me as a mend. That's
why they are heroes to me.
I'll now bid a fond farewell to those 4Bs. You've had
a great impact on my life. I am sure that there are many
others like me who will miss all of you. On behalf of all
of us I'd like to say "Good luck, godspeed, and remem-
ber US when the co-op resumes pass by your desk."
Editor-In-Chief
Chris Foster
Assistant Editor
Michael Hermann
Iron Warrior Staff
Michael Ang
AJIison Annan
Ryan Chen-Wing
Jeremy Eves
Audrey Faint
Alison Kudelka
Richard Kuttner
Amy Kim
Aaron Leiba
Dylan Luhowy
Alex Matan
Caroline Page
Advertising Managers
Brenda Bouchette
Bill Gray
Contributors
Rick. Barfoot
John Faber
Herb Noriega
Kim Wbitear
Jason Worry
Michael Wony
'J."he Iron WarriOr is a forum for thought provoking and
informative articl6S publ.isbed by. the Bnginoering Society.
Views expre.'llsed in TIleIftii W..... are those of the
autho(S and do not aecessarily reflect tbe opinions of tbe
En' Society.
Warrior submissions from students.
faculty and membets <)f the univer ity community.
Submissions should reflect the concerns and intellectual
standards of the university in general. The author's name and
phone number should be included. .
All submissions. unless otherwise 8Wted. become the
property of The Ron Warrior. which reserves the right to
refuse publication of material which it deems unsuitable. The
Iron Warrior also reserve& the 10 edit spelling
and lext that do not will be
notmedofany
Mail
A message from the Dean
E
[previous issues of Iron Warrior]
you will find details of the success of
ur undergraduates in the Ontario
Engineering Competition (OEC) and the
Great Northern Concrete Toboggan
Race (GNCIR).
There were six OEC events; Waterloo
students won first place in four events, sec-
ond place in two events and third place in
one event. One of our OEC teams also
won one of four ancillary awards. Most of
our OEC teams then competed in the
national competition in Moncton, NB. A
severe snowstorm delayed their arrival in
Moncton by one day so the organizers
very kindly arranged for them to make
their presentations on the evening of their
arrival. They won five of twenty awards;
two second place, two third place, and the
best exhibit award in entrepreneurial
design.
Our civil engineering students entered
two teams in the GNCIR, placing first and
third overall with numerous category
nominations. This and other undergradu-
ate competitions are very demanding. I
was particularly pleased to hear that our
'first place' team was from an "eight
stream" class, which means that they were
on a work term prior to the winter term
competition
Waterloo will host OEC 1998 and some
of our students have talked to me about
hosting a GNCIR, if Chicopee is able to
accommodate the performance trials. I
would like to thank professors, alumni.
and companies who contribute to the suc-
cess of these and other undergraduate
competitions. By giving your time and/ or
by sponsoring a team, you enhance their
undergraduate experience and the Univer-
sity of Waterloo.
Maintaining the quality of our under-
graduate and graduate programs has
become a difficult task because of provin-
cial cuts in operating funds for universities.
In my previous letter [Ed: to WEAL] I
mentioned that the total cut in operating
funds for this Faculty has been 14 - 15%
over a four year period. Since most of our
expenditures are salaries for faculty and
staff, a big component of our restructuring
in 1996 was an early retirement scheme.
One year after 35 faculty and 23 staff in
engineering opted for this early retirement
package, I can report that we have already
hired 20 new faculty and 11 new staff.
During the last year we have also had
some regular retirements and four resigna-
tions (to take chairs elsewhere) so we plan
to hire another 14 professors and 5 staff
during the next financial year. I anticipate
that this hiring cycle will be completed just
before I complete my second tenn as dean
on July 1st, 1998. When I started my first
term as dean on July 1st, 1990, few of us
would have predicated the turbulence of
the last four years. However, we have
weathered the storm well and the major
influx of young professors bodes well for
the future.
The Sandford Foundation
4306 Carl Pollock Hall, University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G 1
The Sandford Fleming Debates were held on March 14, 1997.
Winners: Jason Worry and Mike Worry
Runners-Up: Jon Pocock and Anuj Kapur
RON
Engineers Tooling up for
Canada Day
Eric Suther/and
Sarah van den Enden
Volunteer co-ordinators for KW
Canada Day '97
E
es the annual tradition continuing.
Kitchener-Waterloo Canada Day i
appening once again on the field
beside Columbia Lak . And once again,
the Engineering Sod ty is giving their
biggest helping hand by organizing the
Childrens Olympics.
This day is one of the largest commw1ity
events in Southwestern Ontario, with over
SO,(XX) people in aijendance. It gi es us, the
students of OW, an opportunity to reach
out and give thanks to the community for
welcoming us into their city and their
homes.
A variety of events are planned for the
big day; activities for children of all ages, a
packed concessions stand, a stage featur-
ing local performers, and the largest fire.-
works display around. To run an event of
this size requires many dedicated individ-
uals. We need more than 300 volunteers
to help with th operations of Canada Day
from June 30th through July 2nd. These
volunteers would be helping with set-up
and take-down, or assisting with the chil-
drens olympics, tage help, cooking and
serving food, ambassadorship, and securi-
ty.
As a thank you to the many olunteers,
a party is held after the final clean-up ses-
si n n July 1st. This party is of epic pro-
portions. In addition, those volunteers that
ign up in advan will :receive a Canada
Day t-shirt to identify themselves on the
day of the event and to k P a a mome,-
to. Volunteers will also be given food and
drink throughout the day, to take a break
for a few minutes.
So, if you know that you're going to be
in KW arow,d Canada Day, then take
some tim out to give a helping hand. It
could be for 3 hours, or for 18. Whatever
time you can afford is time that is needed.
For more information please contact
Claire Lewis or Trevor Blaine in the Engi-
neering Society Office, or Eric Sutherland
at esutherland@jeeves.uwaterloo.ca. You
will be contacted ASAP. Alternatively, go
to the OW Federation of Students or the
Orifice and pick up a volunteer sign-up
form; it has aU the information you need.
Finally, be sure to attend the volunteers
" training" session June 27th at in
OCl350.
Show this campus what engineers are
made of. Volunteer for Canada Day.
Waterloo Campus ActivitiC:i
sff@dean
(519) 888-4008
* * * * * * * * *
Do you have any old presentations that you did on a work term but you think are worthless now? Will you have one next fall? Well, dig then
out and dust them off for the SFF Fall Technical Speaker Competition. One of those reports could win you some cash. The presentatiol
should be based on a work term experience. SFF doesn't require any form of a written report for the Faculty finals. Each department i
responsible for running their own program competition during the first four weeks of lectures. The first place winner from this level advance
to the Faculty Finals. SFF awards the Faculty Winner $200 and the other finalists $100. If you really don't think you want to enler, come OJ
out and watch. It's fun and you may want to try it yourself after seeing others in action. For more details contact your undergraduate officer
the Foundation, or Prof. John Wright, Mechanical Eng.
Funding for this award comes from your student contributions and depends on it for continuation.
An organization devoted to the advancement of engineering education
Herbert Noriega - Tonka (3A Mech)
Arts Director
A
nd some people say engineers
don't have any talent... If you
weren't one of the 400 people
who made their way to Fed Hall on the
evening of March 13 to witn ss living
proof that engineers do have talent, you
mis ed out on a great show.
The evening got off to a great start with
our Me's creative inITO, 'TalEng is on, so
jump around!", followed by Brad Duck's
always entertaining opening "stompin"
set. We then had the pleasure of listening
to Juanita Chiang as she sang in dedication
to her graduation friends.
This term we had an overwhelming
response from participants who wanted to
take part in the show, and after pulling
some strings we managed to squeeze aU 7
bands into the line-up. The first band to
take the stage was The Change. They
started their set with a couple of covers of
RON
TalEng
Crow, Alanis Morissette and Tracy Bon-
ham. Trying to mix things up a little, we
then listened to the duo of Pauline and
Dylan who provided us with some fine
acoustic entertainment. At this point, it
appeared it was time to tum the volume
up, so we made way for" Aya Trist",
who brought to us some of their unique
sounds and mix of alternative rock.
Later on, Smithie took the stage, and
with his 12-string acoustic and his eye
catching wig got the audience's attention
by playing one of the crowd's favourites.
This was followed by
the acoustic d uo of Joe
and Mike who contin-
ued to get the audience
in the mood as Fed Hall
kept getting people in. At
this time, the last fou r
bands were getting ready
to take the stage and get
the audience on their feet
as the evening was really
h appening . First came
"The Ian Barta Project"
who opened their set with a cover by the
"The Hip". It was during this set that Oli,
although he wasn't part of the main 1ine-
up, took it upon himself to provide some
amusement to the audience as he made his
way to the dance floor ... 'nough said. After
the audience was granted. the first encore
of the evening, '1 SheSays" took the stage.
It wasn't long before they had the audience
at the edge of their seats as they rocked. the
house with some of their own material and
a couple of popular covers.
They too, played. an encore
for the now adren a lized
audience. This led the audi-
ence to get off their seats and
fill the dance floor to wel-
come "The Spice Boys" .
They played a set of well
known covers that really got
the floor movin 'n shakln'.
Finally, after "Come out and play" was
played as an encore by "The Boys", the
evening's closing band took the stage.
SOULharnmer got the floor on a festive
state and made sure to keep everyone
grooving until the end of the night as they
payed. an outstanding set of 60's soul. R 'n'
B and reggae covers.
In short, this term's TalEng was a great
success. The organization of the show was
what I call a "wicked. headache", but it was
worth it! Special thanks goes to my co-
director, Cheryl, whose input and contri-
bution towards the organization of this
event was nothing but spectacular. I
would like to thank and congratulate all
the participants for their smashing perfor-
mances, and all those who came out and
supported. the show ... THANK YOU!
Hendrix and Dylan, and then gave us a r----------------------------------------------
good taste of their original work. The
crowd was then captivated by Moe's Cir-
de, the barbershop quartet well known for
their funny renditions of "Spiderman" and
"The King of Spain". Following were
"The Pottymouths" who certainly heated
up the stage with a terrific set of covers
from various female artists such as Sheryl
-
Mudbowl ...
Wait, I mean Snowbowl!
Michael Hermann
2A Systems - The Far SyDe
P
rom the frozen tundra of Water-
loo, welcome to the MudBowl!
The tearns are just about ready to
resume play. From midfield, the offense
takes the ball. RED 99! RED 99! Ready!
Set! Hut-1!
This past Saturday was the MudBowl.
Oops, 1 mean the Snowbowl. Yes folks, we
were spared the rigours of a muddy con-
test and were fortunate enough to play in
ice and snow. Oh Joy. But please don't let
my cynicism allow you to think we
shouldn't have bothered.. In a term that
has been exceptionly fun, this event
brought a much needed break to my high-
ly stressed out life. I got to knock heads
with my fellow engineers and UW stu-
dents, and playa sport I enjoy. What a
tim
,
e.
Originally eight teams were entered, but
two didn't have the bodies to field a full
crew. So the challengers ended. up being
3A Civ, 1B Civ, and 1B Mech in Pool A
and 2A Sys, 3A Chern, and a Science tearn
in Pool B. Here are the results:
Pool A
3ACiv-18Civ2-1
3A Civ - 18 Mech 2-0
IB Mech - 18 Civ 2-2
PoolB
3A Chern - Science 0-0
2A Sys - Science 2-1
3A Chern - 2A Sys 0-2
Playoffs
3A Civ - Science 2-0
1B Civ - 2A Sys 1-2
Consolation
Science - IB Civ 3-0
Finals
2A Sys - 3A Civ 1-0
By looking carefully at the above results,
a discerning engineer could, and should,
determine that 2A Systems won. Wel-
come to the Far SyDe!
The organizers of this event, a few fine
members of the 3A Civil class, should be
congratulated. for putting together an excit-
ing and fun day. Thanks to Mulder, Slo-
vak and Vidler, we aU enjoyed. it.
RON OR
ESSeO .... The continuing legacy
TI
e continuing story of the Engineering Student
Society Council's of Ontario. 1 the term ESSCO
still sounds unfamiliar to you then I will give a
quick summary of another article that has appeared in
this newspaper. ESSCO is figurative title given to the
collective thoughts and ideas produced by a1118,000
engineers in Ontario, amplified and presented through
the elected executive. ESSCO can lobby the govern-
ment on tuition topics, set up business ventures for the
betterment of all Engineering Societies, or organize
province wide activities (e.g. Charity event during
National Engineering Week).
This article will summarize the remaining projects
and action items that the executive need to be finished and
have been finished.
President:
- document summarizing how each functional work-
group in FSSCO can work together to expediate solving a
problem or accomplishing a goal
- working with Appointed Future Executive on estab-
lishing a symbol that will be sent to all the Engineering
Society offices .
- working with a Task Team Member on the Women in
Engineering program indicating what each school is cur-
rently doing, what has done and what was successfuL
VP-Education:
- creating a report back to the Canadian Council of Pr0-
fessional Engineers (CCPE) about an education summary
indicating where each part of Canada needs to work on in
order to ensure complete Engineers regardless of their
background.
- creating a report about all the differente exchange pro-
grams found at the different engineering schools so that
other schools can provide increased opportunities for
global exposure to engineering.
VP-Finance:
- updating the web page to include quarterly reports
from all the ecutive, providing an online budget, links to
all member sch ls and documents about all th initiatives
that the executive are working on and have finished.
- working With Appointed Future Executive on creating
business pan to solve Advertising deficiences currently
recognized and experienced by all Soci iti
- writing two installments of ESSCO new letter for all
engineering schools
- completing finances for end of term
- installing phone line system for . oice connectivity (via
phone) between all engineering schools that w n't incur a
cost to any engineering society.
Appointed Future Executive:
- heading the creation of the business plan to solve
Advertising defidences currently recognized and experi-
enced by all Engineering Socieities.
- heading creating a symbol that will be given to each of
the Engineering Societies so that each school and all stu-
dents that use each Engineering Society office, will have a
visible connection to ESSCo.
These are the tasks which are still at-large and will be
completed before the ESSCO AGM in June. On the note of
the ESSCO AGM, a brieg synopSis of the activities that
occur at this conference would be appropriate. This con-
ference is used as the passing of the torch between the out-
going and incoming executiV$. In addition, accountability
occurs at this conference where all the executive membets
list off all the different activities that were to be completed,
were completed and which ones were not completed. A
final document listing off a hard copy of the accountabili-
ties and future tasks for incoming executive will be given
out. The most important event that occurs is that the new
executiv is elt: :ted. Only delegates that attend the confer-
ence can actuall run for an 'ecutive position. The elec-
tion of the members of th long-term d.i.rcction committee
occurs as well. This committee sets and provides long-
term \'i1;ion and direction for the ESSCO body. Please con-
mct your VP-ExtcmaJ or ESSCO representative for more
d miL.,. The ESSCO xecutiv encourages an one interest-
ed in running for a position on n t year's e ecutive to
attend tlle ESSCO GM, but to contact the executive
member. that currently is in the position f interest so as to
get a feel for the type of work done.
Please 6 I free to get in contact at any time with any
ec men1ber at and we hope to a bunch of you at the
FSSCO AGM on June 6-8, 1997 at Western University.
Sincerely,
Julian Wright
President
University of Toronto
wright@;ecf.utoronto.ca

VP-Education
McMaster University
harveye@muss.cis.mcmaster.ca
Elena Shusterman
Appointed Future Exec.
McMaster University
shustee@muss.d .mcmaster.ca
JasonWony
VP-Finance
Waterloo "B"
jjjworry@novice.uwaterloo.ca
TalEngUnplugged - The Coffee House
Herbert Noriega - TONKA (3A Mech)
Arts Director

Tal Eng wasn't enough to bring YOli engi-

neering talent, on the evening of Thursday
arch 20, we took over Weaver's Arms to pre-
sent to you our own version of "TalEng Unplugged
and Intimate" - The Coffee House. The pltlce was
packed (1 think we had more people than legally
allowed, but oh welL), and surrounded with a won-
derful, relaxed atmosphere. The evening's line-up
included: ACapellEn& Joe and Chris, Dr. Mario 10an-
nidis (Mario), Eun-Ah Park, Dave Elzinga, Fabcs, Mike
West Joe and Mike, and a last minute performance by
Craig. This line-up composed of mostly acoustic acts
kept the evening vibrant and resounding with great
tunes.
Thanks to all the participants and congratu la tions on aJl
their terrific performances. Also, thanks to Cheryl for her
assistance in the organization of the event (we somehow
managed to pull it off again), and thank you to all those
who came out to support and share the evening. The Cof-
fee House was a great success.
Meet the other you
l
ust before you think you know yourself, have a sec-
ond look. But this time, look a little deeper than your
fleshy exterior, check out that mass of matter in your
ead called your brain. Those of you who took Psych
101 may remember the colourful images of CT scans
showing what part of the brain is doing what; and those
crazy rats braving electrical shocks for multiple orgasms,
but who wouldn't. For those of you who haven't had
any exposure to the workings of your brain, it's time to
reconsider who you really are. You are not you, scientif-
ically you are your brain. What you do, see, touch, hear,
smell ... all your actions and inactions are controlled by
and fed through your brain.
Answer this question: How many brains do you have? If
you answered one then already you don't know the half of
iLor you only know the half of it. Your brain has two hemi-
spheres, left and right. They are independent of each others
memories, functions, and existence. They don't even share
the same artery. Each hemisphere directly controls the func-
tions on the opposite side of the body, including vision, but
some cases allow for an override when one side is more
suited to the task at hand, like playing the piano.
The interface between the two is made possible by the cor-
pus collosum, a grouping of nerves that allow the passage of
information and commands between the hemispheres. In
general, the left hemisphere is deemed the verbal side(any-
thing you can describe in words), where the right is the non-
verbal side(pictures, symbols, etc .. . ). Only about 5% of the
population has verbal on the right and non-verbal on the
left.
In most people's lives the left brain is the dominant
On the side ...
Prove the existence of something you can't see
New evidence has astrophysicist Ramesh Narayan,
and collegues, claiming proof of the existence of black
holes. The new evidence stems from the theory of black
holes being the roUapsed remnants of massive stars. Sur-
rounding the black hole is a sph re called the event hori-
zon. The gravitational forces in this area arc just weak
enough to let light and mattcr escape but if matter rontin-
ues into the black hole it is lost forever. Narayan's group
monitored four star systems, called X-ray novas, where
matter was being lost by a star to a stronger rompanion. It
was theorized that the rompanion was either a black hole
or a neutron star. A black hole would hold on to the mat-
ter, as would a neutron star, but the neutron star has a
weaker gravitational field and would radiate the heat
energy away as X-rays. Observations showed four cases
of X-ray novas where this heat en rgy was undetectable,
chalking it up to the unrelenting pull of a black hole.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Since you won't be able to see this article in April I have
to tell you that a meteor shower roming! This will not
endanger any lives so don't panic, but if you haven't seen
one before J recommend taking the time. This shower is
called the Lyrids since it is located in the ronstellation of
Lyra. Peak viewing time is April 21 and 22 at 10:00pm.
Look 5SO NE at about a 16
0
angle and you1l see between
1(}-15 meteors, not meteorites!, per hour streak through
"brain." This is due to the emphasis that is placed on verbal
communication and interaction in our society. The left brain
is logical; excellent for step-by-step thinking. The right brain
is more abstract or symbolic, it has the ability to recognize
patterns and shapes. Guess what the majority of engineers
are: left-brained. This is good, except that since we are used
to using our logical left brain so often, we use it for areas that
it is not suited to, such as creativity. How many of us have
tried to take a step-by-step approach to learning a physical
sport? Elbows bent, shoulders straight ... . instead, let the right
brain, the non-verbal brain, take over and let it rome natu-
rally. This is harder than it seems since our education has
trained us to overuse our left brain. After inhtitively solving
a geometrical problem a teacher says, "Explain where you
got your answer from." This is the hard part because the left
brain doesn't know, it has to look at what the right has done
and then try to explain it in words. Your right brain can
remember every object in a room simultaneously, the left
brain has to describe one by one.
Creativity is a very hot topic in engineering. Developing
new ideas or designs requires the ability to recognize a not-
so-obvious solution to a problem. Creativity requires a
healthy co-operation between both intuition and logical
thought. Most major breakthroughs start with imagery, a
mental picture of the solution brought on by the discovery
of a hidden relationship or pattern. Implementation can
only occur when the solution has been put into words. The
trick is to not think verbally. Draw pictures, fumble with
ideas in your mind, do not be limited by your verbal memo-
ries. Einstein put it best, 'The words or the language, as
they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role ip.
the sky. Make sure you're out of the city so that urban glow
doesn't interfere with your solace, oh yeah, it has to be a
clear night too.
Loo!s )nom, no blood
No more talking about it, the age of laser surgery is here.
The range of applications has only begun to be determined
but recent tests and developments have named a few. One
technique involves a romputer guided X-ray gun that can
be focused on tumors, once thought fatal, in the brain and
spine from hundreds of different directions. This overloads
the diseased tissue without overexposing the other parts of
the body. This eliminates the circular halo that used to be
screwed into the scalp to hold the patients head in place, the
romputer adjusts with the movement of the head. A sec-
ond application is the laser cauterizing tool, a pen-like
device that will cut with the precision of a scapel but can
also stop the bleeding of an artery in less than ten seconds.
A third application is the breast cancer biopsy. The biopsy
is usually performed surgkally by removing a slice of 2.4
cu. in. material to determine if it is malignant or benign.
This leaves interior and exterior scar tissue, which causes
problems for the next exam, and about 80% are found to be
benign anyway. A new 15 minute ultrasound technique
would eliminate the unnecessary sampling. Ultrasound
has also been found to accelerate natural healing of bones
and muscles. In the future devices are being researched to
fix:knee injuries, arthritic damage, and even has applica-
tions in dentistry.
my mechanism of thought"
The creative process can be broken down into four stages:
preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification.
Preparation involves gathering the relevant information
until the problem is understood. Incubation is the sulxon-
scious mind working on the problem, you can OC'caSionally
think about the problem but there should be no pressure for
a solution illumination may be a spontaneous event or it
may come as a result of ronscious effort, but one or several
solutions may be determined. Verification is a logical evalu-
ation of the intuitive solutions which can be then formulated
into a grand solution. The first and last stages are well-
defined left brain tasks that you can learn in schooL The
middle two are not so easy to learn because they are
"unconscious" processes. You have to learn to let the right
brain do its job without interference. Visualization should
be practiced, for example, when you're riding as a passen-
ger in a vehicle pretend that you are a bird looking down on
as you move. Or, when bored in class, imagine that you are
riding a roller roaster. These types of exercises help to stim-
ulate non-verbal thought and, when you need this type of
thinking, it will rome easier.
The basis of creativity is the symbiotic relationship
between the left and right brains. Visual thinking gives the
freedom from logic and structure that is needed to develop
new ideas, it is logical thought that grasps the value of the
idea and decide whether it is suitable for the task at hand.
Engineers are taught the logical skills to rarIible through a
four page long calculus problem but all this can inhibit free
thought Creativity declines as our courses focus on numer-
ically quantifying our lives into a structured mess. The trick
is to keep a broad horizon and keep a multi-dimensional
approach to engineering. It isn't just the education, it is
everything around you.
Yes, this flies!
Okay, I know there isn't much space left, but I had to
show this. This new design called the Boomerang, from
Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites in California, marks a
leap in the safety of twin prop planes. In brief, the right
wing is 57 in. shorter than the left, the right engine(21Ohp)
is 5 ft. in front of the left(200hp), and the tips of the prop
are spaced 12 in. apart. What all this means is that the
centre of gravity is set 5 in. left of the fuselage so that if an
engine kicks out the plane will still continue straight with
most no adjustment. To top it all off, it flies more sym-
metrically and economically than normal twins in its
class. What should you get out of all this? Traditional
styles and designs are not necessarily what's best. In a lot
of cases it is just the remnant of a convenient standard
that industry has set. Stay innovative, look for every p0s-
sible solution It's nice to see a little change every once
and awhile.
li
st Thursday, March 20, tvventy-
four WEEP reps gathered for the
EF Funding Council meeting,
where roughly $50,000 dollars would be
allocated. The result of the four and a
half hour meeting was, just that, the
funding of $50,653 worth of student
projects and department proposals.
Have we and our WEEF reps then ful-
filled the purpose of WEEF and the
addressed the best interests of undergrad-
uate engmeering? Recently a number of
issues have arisen and old ones have
remained all of which might suggest we
have not.
As our endowment fund grows, deci-
sions made at funding coucil will have
greater and farther reaching effects. There
is an increasing need to ensure that the
principles of WEEF are upheld. This
requires that we decide expenditure in a
fair and equitable manner while always
considering the needs of undergraduate
engineering education.
In order to maintain these principles, we
must be watchful and aware of anything
that might oppose or compromise them.
Influence and inclination
On the day of funding Professor Pick,
Chair of the Mechanical Engineering
Department invited the WEEF reps in his
department to lunch to talk about the
mechanical proposals. There should be lit-
tle doubt in anyone's minds the intent of
the meeting was for understanding.
Mechanical WEEF reps gained a greater
knowledge of the proposals that most
affect them and Roy Pick comprehended
more fully the process that follows the
The Bus Push Flow of
Consciousness
Mike Olley
W
ell I've just been informed that
the KOOL 105.3 PM van is actu-
ally supposed to be called the
"105.3 KOOL FM Burger King Star Cruis-
er" by Ryan, and since I have no better
way to start this column which he has gra-
ciously donated to me out of his page this
week, I think this is appropriate in more
ways than one. Just so you know, this is an
opinion column, unlike the lame news col-
umn which graces the cover of this issue.
This is the real Bus Push column, which I
haven't had time to write until now (some-
time after 12:00am Tuesday), long after the
submission deadline. Yes, I realize that I'm
slagging my own article, but the first article
was written to be published as a news arti-
cle in both the Imprint and the Iron War-
rior and thus had to be somewhat informa-
tive and PC. Now I'd like to share some of
my own thoughts on the day. To be perfect-
ly honest, I was a little worried when I awoke
on the morning of Saturday, March 15th that
RON
Guiding principles of WEEF
proposals he makes. However under-
standing is not the only possible result of
such a meeting. There is potential for Pick
to exert his influence as a department cl1air
or for it to be perceived that he is doing so.
How can we address the potential for
this type of lobbying for funds by those
who have the means and how can we pre-
vent the perception that reps impartiality
may be compromised.
The issue is deeper than this type of
occurrence it shows the need for the pre-
venting bias. Because every WEEF rep is a
student here they are all affected by the
funding decisions there can therefore exist
many conflicts-of-interest.
Should we then restrict any intercom-
munication betvveen proposers and reps
outside of presentation meetings. Just as
WEEF bylaws stop any presenter from
also being a WEEF rep could this further
end unfairdedsion-making?
I do not think so; we must trust in our
representatives to fulfil their obligation to
decide objectively while still representing
the views of their respective classes.
It must be ensured that follow the prin-
ciples of WEEF in judging clearly and
making evenhanded. decisions.
there would be no Bus Push that day as the
wind howled past my window. However,
once Ed. and I had made all our preparations
that morning and the hard core Bus Pushers
began to arrive and sample the free breakfast,
my spirits were lifted as I watched approxi-
mately thirty of the mightiest engineers pre-
pare for the ordeal which lay ahead. By the
time we had finished breakfast, we looked
outside to see the sun shining. After a few
poses in front of the bus, we all grabbed a
piece of the rope and began to pull ... and the
bus didn't stop until Market Square. I must
say that the spirit among the Pushers was
great and there was a camraderie unlike any I
have felt in years. Memories of the Push will
always include that first hill and AC/OC's
"Highway to Hell". After our triumphant
parade into Market Square, led by the TOOL
with alarums of 'We are the engineers!," the
exhausted team retired to the bus for free ride
back to UW and a free lunch (even though
there's no such thing). Now, for the true pur-
pose of this column. When it comes to orga-
nizing and running an event such as this one,
many hours are put in by many people and I
Equal representation
At the first WEEF meeting of this term
Micha I Worry voiced his concem about
representation of numbers. His 4B Electri-
cal class has 160 people and he suggested
that there should perhaps be two reps to
represent it.
This shows the necessity to determine
what equal representation means.
If representation should match numbers
then by all means 4B Elec should have
another rep. If it is by numbers in depart-
ments then E&CE barely falls short with
28% of reps to represent 33% of students.
I believe that WEEF reps should repre-
sent their classes in general discussion but
must vote for all students when deciding
funding. The rep structure and voting pro-
cedure lends itself to this concept.
Fund Allocation and Consider.tlion
An additional concern is understanding
the concepts what should and should not
be funded.
Discussion at Thursday's meeting
showed the ambiguity that exists around
the principles of WEEF funding.
would like to take the opportunity nnw to
thank all of them. Firstly, I would like to
thank everyone who cam out to push Ih(.'
bus and raise mon y for Big Sisters. Despit '
the fact that they aU had work to do as well as
other commitm nts, they till manag<,d to
find the time to raise pledges in support of
Big Sisters. On top of that, th Y then came out
to push the bus, despite the cold weath f. A
rare breed indeed, thank-you. Special kudos
to Jason Van Dyk, a leader in the amount of
pledges raised, as well as in the parade (see
the photo). You've probably been reading tlUs
article wondering why my opening sentence
was appropriate, and now I'll tell you In
thanking out sponsors (see the ad in the last
issue of the IW), I would like to mention a few
in particular, but especially Burger King.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circum-
stances, Burger King was not able to confinn
the amount of their donation at the time of the
printing of the shirts and the ad. Their dona-
tion of free fries and Whopper-a-month club
cards was substantial and greatly appreciated
by the Little Sisters who received them. So to
make up for lost advertising 1'd like to thank
One part of discussi n concerned. the
triking from consideration of a proposal
on the basis that it was a maintenance con-
em. The proposal was one to convert
som lab equipment from using what is
no longer a legally accessible refrigerant.
TIUs is not howe er cons.idered a rnainte-
n.mce by the principl of WEEF because
it is not an ongoing expense. 111is equip-
m nt' con ersion is a one time expendi-
ture. At funding council however this pro-
posal was removed from voting.
Another con m was whether propos-
als that will be funded regardless of WEEF
should be funded or not. Some people
mentioned that they wanted the most
areas to g t funded so that WEEF hould
fund only those that won't get money.
It is strange to think that we encourage
departments to give half funding but we
would punish them for ofering full fund-
ing. 111e willingness of departments to
fund these projects show how essential
these things are.
These and many of the discussions that
occurred shows the lack of full under-
standing of the concepts of WEEF. Criteria
for funding should b determined long
before funding meetings.
We must become aware of these and
other issues. Reps must know the respon-
sibility entrusted in them to make fair
decisions and unfair lobbying should be
prevented without hindering commuruca-
tion; all student concerns must be .repre-
sented; and a clear set of criteria foir fund
allocation should be established.
WEEF has grown in monetary value;
shall we not also grow with it and estab-
lish in word the principles of equitable
fund allocation?
Ih(1 P 'opk' ,11 Burgllr King IwrMllhllly, Oil
bdkllf of till' \3ig Sisl 'N. I'd .1bo like to Ih.lIlk
the Sl,lff and l'tiitol'S of t1w Iron Willrillr, who
helve let 111 ' nl\\,k nltlny .1 dl\ldlh1<' and who
hi\\l' hdpt'CI ml' tll get all tht'Sl' thin&'i nut for
YOll 10 S(! I'd ,llso lik(' to th.mk Ayr for lhl>
bus and I .A. Billiords for their g'lwrous
donation. I'd also like to thank cveryonl' who
had a hand in organi/ing this Jarge event.
SPl'liaJ thanks to Nora Whittington of Big Sis-
ters for her co ..ordination at the other cnd,
ensuring that there would be media att:mtion
as well big and a little sister in att mdance on
the day of th parade. Large thanks to Carrie
Junker, who sccur xl the insurance and the
parade pennit as well as advising Ed and
myself, lending her experience to the situa-
tion. Thank-yous go to Mary, of C&D fame
and our new corporate managef, fOf her help
with fcxx:l and drinks for the lunch and break-
fast and also to Betty, for handling things in
the Orifice. Thank-you to everyone who
helped me at anytime, by supporting me and
helping me along. Lastly, I'd like to thank Ed
for not killing me. 'Nuff said. Have a nice
summer everyone!
F
iery sunlight cut through dark clouds of
dusk to herald the dawn. Orange and yel-
low offset the grey and things began to
move. The movement of the train jostled me
awake into what would become a lasting
memory of my return home after my first year
of university in the strange but tolerable
province of Ontario.
I had finished exams a few weeks before and
instead of flying home my sister wanted to take
the train back to the West, so I travelled by train
with her.
I was really tired from school and irritable,
travelling west was like a certain Mr. Men story I
had when I was a child like the story of Mr.
Happy.
very sad.
"Hello there! I am Mr. Happy," one of them said
{Mr. Happy)
"Hmm ... uhHi"
It turns out that this was Mr. Sad. Mr. Happy
want dearly to help out this sad fellow. Mr. hHap-
py invited Mr. Sad to his place in Happyland. They
walked up the stairs, out of the yellow door and
found the path out of the forest and continued the
walk to Happy land.
As they neared happy land. A very weird thing
began to happen. Where before Mr. Sad's mouth
was turned down in a frown the comers of his
mouth were beginning to tum upwards slightly.
Gradually Mr. Sad began to smile a little. Mr.
Happy was still smiling so there was no change
there, but they both began to chuckle and laugh.
Then as they walked in sight of Mr. Happy's
house they burst in to gales of laughter,
Let me tell you about it. Mr. Happy lived in
Happy land where as you might imagine every-
thing was happy. He played and gardened
where birds that sang a cheerful, or happy,
song. life was fine, very fine.
Part of Mr. Happy's happy life was going
for long walks which would vary in length but
all generally be quite long.
So then Mr. Sad was no longer called. Mr. Sad 7 l
he was called "that guy." ff r 7 l&1 rJ:: :: HI1 r::= til r .
So when I was on the train I was tired and irri-
table and a little sad. The muskegs of Northern ";1 .. 1.;:"1 lJ * 'I, I ,r,:- , r H 1 J
One momingMr. Happy set out on what
was to become a particularly long walk. He
walked out past his happy neighbour's hous-
es and from there he kept walking out to the
woods. He kept on walking.
It wasn't a very remarkable day save for
the particularly long walk he was taking and
the strange person he was about to meet.
He walked deeper and deeper into the for-
est past where the path slowly faded in to
the twigs and leaves on the ground.
As he was walking and humming a
lively tune a yellow door in a
tree caught his eye. He
went on over to the door to
sate his curiousity. He
Ontario did little to help that nor did the , 1"1 1-1- J
{7 J 1/' J ::;: (-7 71= .u F]
began to smile a little. I began to chuckle a bit t l - r '/-= I 1
and even laugh. 11- 7 .1 .J
When I got off at Edmonton and saw my r III ::--1/1 7111 =- t J.[.=t- 1
friend Jesse I was so happy.
F
or the past while or 1-= 1 Ht 1) t J zrr 7/-r
two weeks. I have been r n I 7
not well. I was surly and 1 r /llr II::: 7 /;--/-.. J r 7
grumpy and worstly I was sad. r J ....J
It wasn't very good at all. lit? Irlrll -= L -,7
"How are you doing 7 I I I... '7/1 7 ':7
-II' 1817JII 7.J-77 .... I
Grr ... I am being.rude to != ..;.;;.1 lr
people." r
"That's not good. Why are you doing ./ .: J '" _ 7
that?" J
"Shutup!"
reached to check if the door was
locked and ... it wasn't. Stairs led
down from the door into the earth.
Down into the house Mr. Happy descend-
ed. In the kitchen he saw someone there.
The person turned around and he
looked just like Mr. Happy but he was
I'd get up in the early morning and spend the day
doing, running moving around; in class, at work, talking,
meeting, talking in meetings and go home in the darkness.
Weariness abounded and fell down all around me.
My shoulders were tight and tense and I just felt unwell.
Now I am okay though.
RON
The myth of
fourth year
Bill Gray
4B Comp - Son of a Bit!
I
remember well my 3A term here at UW. That was
my first winter term (not counting 1 B of course,
when I was just DumbFrosh) and I got to experi-
ence the joy and excitement of the 1995 lIon Ring Stag.
In addition to the ubiquitous clinking that echoed
through the halls, I noticed that most people in fourth
year seemed to have something that I didn't (besides
the ring) - spare time. They had tons of it! They were
always in POETS, drinking and having a great time.
Their schedules were ridiculous and they seemed to go
out at every opportunity, not having anything else bet-
ter to do. The phrase "Buy three, get one free." was
bantered about with great pride, and people claimed to
not worry about marks because "nobody ever fails
fourth year".
Well, given that exposure, it was with great anticipation
that I entered my 4B Computer Engineering term.
Although I haven't done 4A yet (that whole trip thing) I
expected to be able to slack off for the entire term, drink in
POETS and make everyone else jealous. Was I in for a
surprise!
I should mention that I erred by picking two CSEs that
(unbeknownst to me) had major projects worth 40% and
45% of my final mark. But ignoring those (CSEs aren't
considered real work, are they?), it comes down to three
actual E&CE courses. One has two labs (427), one has a
project (437) and one has neither (429). So my complete
work-load for the term consists of two labs and one pro-
ject. Piece of cake, right? I might as well reserve a booth at
McGinnis!
I received my schedule with much delight - two classes
a day maximum, with my earliest at 10:30, and onl 10
hours of daytime lectures (plus a 3-hour night course). No
scheduled labs. And who goes to tutorials? ute is good,
right? And it was. For the first month of the lenn, I was
out three or four nights a week, partying and having a
blast. Then February happened. Just as I was ringed,
something exploded and my life disappeared. It was
buried under a mountain of work! For three straight
weeks I was up until 4a.m. working on the labs and pro-
ject. It is now March, and although both labs are almost
complete, the project is still in full swing with many more
late nights envisioned to complete it. I've skipped the
Bomber's St. Paddy's Day celebration. I've skipped. my
first Brunnie Trip ever. All to sit in front of a computer
and work
And it's not just me. All of my friends walk around half
asleep, murmuring about databases, guided waves and
robotics controls. Somewhere in there, people are finding
time to search for full time employment, sometimes flying
to California for a weekend for job interviews. We are
looking forward to the exam period so we can finally rest.
Be warned that the myth of fourth year is just that - a
myth! Those of you in 3rd year, beware! It is there, lurk-
ing behind the pretense of a sparse schedule and the taste
of graduation. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security
by the promise of cold iron. Be prepared to work like
you've never worked before!
r d type more, but I don't have time. I have to go work on
my project.
enure
Michael Worry
4B Electrical - Omega Sector
H
d an interesting conversation with a UofT
Engineering prof on a chairlift. He was com-
enting on how he'd recently earned tenure.
"Tenure?" I asked, "What does it mean when you have
tenure?"
"It gives you greater work freedom. You can't be fired."
"Excuse me?", I'm thinking. Just what our educational
system need&- a system to completely remove profs from
being accountable for their actions.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"It means that if the Dean sits down at your table at
lunch, you can tell him exactly what a terrible job he's
doing and not wony about him firing you."
Now a couple interesting comments have arisen from
this conversation:
1) Why would somebocl.y want to be in a job where you
need a policy to say you can't be fired? People should
know they can't be fired because they are a valuable
worker. Because nobocl.y else can work the way they can.
Because they bring experience and skills to the table that
nobody else has. A policy is unwarranted.
2) Why should somebody such as a highly educated
professor care if they're fired? You'd think that because of
their experience, skills and education that they would be
in high demand- that they could simply secure a job at the
next university or company. Job security shouldn't be a
function of the company, but a function of the employee.
3) Why would you want to work for somebody that
would fire you for voicing your opinion? I've lived my life
saying what needed to be said. Certainly if my manager is
more interested in his ego than in the success of the com-
pany, then I'm changingjobs and selling their stock short.
Just a thought.
E NGINE.E.RING
SOCIETY
C&D Exam Hours
For all your Caffeine Sugar, and Chocolate
needs during those stressful exam days
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Monday to Fr'iday
We're not closed for the term
until 4:00 p.m. on
Thursday April 24th
We'll be back for the Spring term
at 8:00 a.m. on
the first day of lectures

'" "*'
, pQQIt /I t.. /!II
1I09IM$'l2'/
RON ARRIOR
"Home For A Rest"
August 28 - September 4 Cook Islands (and a bit more)
Bill Gray
4B Comp - Son of A Bit!
W
e awoke in the moming to a
glorious sight. The sun was
shining, the sky was cloud-
less and the roar of surf was ever-pre-
sent. Having traveled from the airport
to our hostel in complete darkness, we
were surprised to see that we were just
meters from a sandy beach, nestled in a
grove of palm trees. All in all, our first
impression of the Cook Islands was
excellent.
The Cook Islands are about 3200km
northeast of New Zealand, almost directly
west of Fiji. They are scattered over a fairly
large area and have a total population of
under 2{)(xx) people. The islands are small.
Really small. The center of government is
on the largest island, Rarotonga, which can
be circled by car in about 45 minutes doing
the speed limit. The bus service consists of
two buses which circle the island constant-
ly in different directions. Although an
independent nation, they are a national
protectorate of New Zealand, which basi-
cally means citizens of either country may
travel freely between them, and New
Zealand handJes all of the Cooks' foreign
affairs. Interestingly, we crossed the Inter-
national Date Line in our travels from Fiji
to the Cook Islands and thus arrived the
night before we left. As an aside to that,
the Cooks at one point were trying to have
the Date Line officially moved so that they
would be the first nation to bring in the
new millennium, reaping untold tourist
dollars in the process.
The beauty of Rarotonga is truly incredi-
ble. A volcanic island, it is dominated by
the now-extinct cone which towers over
the surrounding lush forest. The majority
of dwellings are on the edge of the island.
The island is almost completely surround-
ed by a coral reef, which tames the fury of
the incoming waves, resulting in calm
lagoons near shore. The constant roar of
surf comes from the waves breaking over
the coral reef -- a truly spectacular sight
especially when the reef is close to shore.
While the beauty of the island is undeni-
able, there isn't a heck of a lot to do here.
Very little is produced on the island, so all
perishable goods must be shipped air-
freight from New Zealand resulting in
exorbitant grocery prices, and even more
outrageous prices at the various restau-
rants. The islands do have a local brewery
however, which produces an ale and lager
both of which are quite enjoyable, reason-
ably priced, and available in the grocery
store.
The majority of our time, however, was
spent sitting on the beach, reading and
wandering about the many stores that line
the streets in the main city of Avarua.
There are some unique aspects of the Cook
Islands tha t appeal to the tourist mind,
such as their currency which includes a $3
bill and a triangular two-dollar coin. The
most notable image is that of the native
god Tangaroa. This little fellow is the sub-
ject of everything from wood carvings to
postcards. This is no ordinary god, how-
ever, since the standard pose has him
proudly displaying his manhood. And he
has reason to be proud. Note that this
caused some embarrassment when the
dollar coin was minted with Tangaroa on
one side and Queen Elizabeth IT on the
other.
Opting out of the cross-island walk due
to the heavy nightly rainfall (must be due
to their links with ew Zealand), we
instead took a trek to the famous waterfall
in the middJe of the island. This waterfall
had been touted in every tourist book and
pamphlet for Rarotonga, and was referred
to as the island's only waterfall. After a 20
minute bus ride and a 40 minute walk we
came to the waterfall. Or rather, where the
waterfall was supposed to be. Instead, we
f.ound a rock face with some water trick-
ling down it, with a murky pool at the
base. And mosquitoes. Lots of mosqui-
toes. I was left with the distinct impression
this waterfall is actually a mean joke
played on tourists by the residents.
We also took part in some incredible
Scuba diving among the wreck of a fishing
boat, during which I was able to descend
to 30m and achieve my deep-diving certifi-
cation. And then there was the mighty
battle between me and a coconut, involv-
ing a 12-fo.ot long iron pole, a stubborn
coconut in a tree, a Swiss Army knife, a
butter knife and a long iron spike stuck in
the ground for the purpose of opening
coconuts. It took me a good 40 minutes to
get the husk .off .of that coconut. Which
makes me wonder how the Polynesians
ever though there could be anything
worthwhile inside one of those things. The
work was worthwhile, however, since
nothing quite compares to the taste of fresh
coconut milk and meat.
Soon, however, it was time to leave. It
was the end of my vacation. Both Melody
and I had very mixed feelings about the
end. On one hand, we were ready to go
back to our friends and familiar surround-
ings in Canada. We hadn't had a decent
shower or slept on a decent bed in months,
and we were both craving a meal at East
Side Mario's with unlimited salad. But the
freedom and relaxation that travel brings is
quite soothing to the body and soul. The
thought of following the lead of some of
people we met on our travels and becom-
ing full-time travelers ran through our
minds. In the end, the homesickness won
out and we began to get excited at the
thought of finally rehuning to Canada.
Of course, as with any travel story,
things were not going to be that easy. First
we had to get through security at the Rare-
tonga airport, which is done by hand - no
x-ray machine. The front pocket of my
carry-on luggage was checked, and I was
asked if I had a knife. I showed him my
Swiss Army knife, which he took and put
into an envelope to be stored in the lug-
gage comparbnent. Then he waved me
through without checking the main com-
partment of my bag!
Once on the plane, we were reassured a
couple of times that although the plane
was painted with Pacific Air colours (Fiji's
airline) the aircraft was indeed owned (and
more importantly, serviced) by Air New
Zealand. Soon we were airborne. The fun
had just begun.
Having been up for only twelve hours at
this point, I could not sleep during the six
hour flight to Honolulu. Arriving in
Hawaii, we set about waiting for the plane
to be refueled for the next leg of our jour-
ney to Los Angeles. And waited. And
waited. Finally an ann.ouncement was
made that the windshield of the plane was
cracked (must have been a stone-chip) and
would need to be replaced. As a result,
our flight would not be leaving until the
next afternoon So off we went to the Ala
Moana Hotel where we feasted on a truly
incredible breakfast buffet before retiring
to our lush 100m to watch the sun rise over
the mOlIDtains and then catch a bit of sleep.
All courtesy of Air ew Zealand of course.
After two or three hours sleep, we
grabbed some free lunch and rushed to the
airport and to board our plane. We were
then informed that two mechanical failures
had been discovered, neither of which was
significant enough to delay our departure
but both together required repairs. Of
course, the first part they brought for the
repair was defective, and our total delay
stretched to 30 minutes. The 55 hour flight
to Los Angeles was uneventful, but the
line to re-book the missed connector flights
in IAX was complete mayhem. TIle idiots
barging to the front of the line, demanding
to speak to managers did not help things
either. We finally booked our flight to
Toronto and went to the Airport Hilton for
some much needed sleep. The 100m had

,
RON
cable TV. I had alma;t forgotten h w bad
cable TV was. But the sheer novelty of it
amused us for quite a while.
Our flight wa not until Wpm 0 \ e
spent the n t day at Disne land, getting
back to the hotel just in time to have $25
salads ( urtesy of Air ew Zealand) and
get to th airport. The flight was packed
and we were soon in th air hcaded for
Toronto. Since th LA-Toronto flight is not
con idered international by ir Canada
there was no free bar and I soon becam
bored as everyone el e around me fell
asleep. So I figured, what th h 11, and
asked if I could go sit up in the cockpit. To
my surprise, I was invited up.
After chatting with the pilot for a whilc,
it came up that I was in Engineering at
uw. It turns out he had originally been in
mechanical engineering before dropping
that and going to pilot school. He had a
wealth of great storics, including one in
which him and a friend put a bunch of
those flashing yellow danger lights on the
lightning rods atop the General Services
smoke-stack. He claimed that the lights
could be seen from Guelph! He also told
of him and a friend hosing down Waterloo
"

police officers from the third story of the
Hanmer Residence. We talked from the
US midwest, over Chicago and Detroit
and into Ontario. I woke up Melody and
brou ht her up as just we flew over KW
and we were allowed to tay in the cockpit
for th landing at Pearson. A fitting end to
th trip, 1 thought.
We, ere finally in Toronto, only 60
h UTS after leaving Rarotonga. We passed
through cu toms with relative ease and
said our good-byes. Melody went off to
Guelph and I into Toronto. 111e trip was
over. After tra eUing more than S<XXXJkm
blair, land and sea, 1 was hom .
And thus ends my tal . As I approach
the summ r, where I shall make up my 4A
term, I know that I am extremely glad I
\ vent on this trip, and I know that the expe-
riences will be with m forever. I'd like to
thank those of you who have followed the
story (especially the ones who've told me
they liked it) and at the same time ask pe0-
ple who don't read this why they feel it
necessary to tell me so. I've enjoyed revis-
iting these places in mind. With any luck,
I'll be able to revisit them in body one day.
Next time you finish
(Check one)
o
o
o
o
o
o
Exams
Midterms
Long Weekend
Long Day
Long Night
Longing for that
special someone
eavers WeselVe /1
Arms SArCH ..
What RO.E. 1:S. would be like If the Dean was cool!
Located in the W.C.R.I. Housing Complex 268 Phillip st. Waterloo 884-6606
Aposlasized
The blue womb envelops me;
I drift through the viscous fluid.
It is cold, but it keeps me warm
All cozy-like. My security.
T reach toward the rubbery walls
U\at change before my eyes.
Turquoise, green, indigo ....
Shifting, turning, distorting ....
It is decp ... anabyss.
1 see the light
And crave its distancc.
1 am rotating, rolling, lilting;
Turbulating, I suppose, because
lam
Thesourcc.
It is catm ... serene.
Iamfeta1
In my swimming pool.
Caroline Page
1 B Envlro Chem - Envldlous
Thin and frail
With ghostly white scales
Immovable and pennanent
Millions of fingers reach out
Extending farther for security
Naked;
Stripped of everything
Withering of age
Surrounded by bareness
Waiting ...
.. . For new replenished LIFE.
Nirmalene Chelvanayagam
18 Enviro Chem - Envidious
Female Figure and Wolf Silhouette
by Bonnie Chan
48 Mechanical
RON
MBA? I learned more in EngSoc
Mike Worry
48 Elec - Omega Sector
During Grad Week I attended a lecture Laurier put on
about their MBA program One of the slides they put up
showed the following numbers:
Average NewGrad Engineering Salary: 38k
Average bonus for MBA 15k
Average bonus for Masters 12k
Their argument was that an MBA was worth more than
a Master's due to the higher starting bonus, and it was
Research project Preparing the bu ine plan for the
Corporate Manager required many month of re ' ear h.
di cu ion, and pre entation . Both execs and council.
a well as Alumni and multiple group within the
University had concerns to be addres ed. When I tart
preparing bu iness plan for my own company, I'll ha e
this valuable learning experience to build from.
Financial Risk Management - The large finances
EngSoc manages combined with continuity is ues
requires a high demand for financial risk management.
S.A.Y.E., Backup Fund and bringing the society from 6k
in debt to 15k equity
integration and change i. daily EngSoc life! Thi term I
fa ilitated th EGAD meetings to look at long-term
probJems and growth opportuniles and attempt to sugge t
how EngSo could continue to evolve.
EngSoc taught me skills that I could never learn in a
classroom. Leadership, Judgement, Motivation, Persua-
sion, Committment, Passion. These are the skills that win
job intervie""s, carve areers and build empires. I think
Laurier's little chart would read better as follows:
Average NewGrad Engineering Salary. 38k
Average bonus for MBA 15k
Average bonus for Masters 12k
Average bonus for heavy extra-curricular activities 22k
Don't sell yourself short. Be more than normaL Get
involved in your life.
worth spending a year to increase your starting salary by Managing Integration & Change - This i probably the
15k. I disagreed with them for three reasons. First off, largest single issue facing EngSoc. Trying to run a
because of my high extra-curricular involvement, I have society with changing members every four months, and
job offers on the order of 6Ok. Second, after a year of work changing exec every sixteen months is difficult in i tsel f.
experience I would expect more than a 15k increase in Combine that with a dynamic, student population that
salary. Third, their numbers entirely assume that gradu- comes from a wide range of backgrounds and managing
ates will be working for somebody else. I asked the pre- .----------"-----"-------"---"----------------------
senter for the value of this program for Entrepreneurs. The E & C E 411
presenter pointed to the valuable course topics. As he list-
ed off each course I fotmd myself comparing the topics to
the skills EngSoc has taught me.
Strategic Management - A member of EngSoc Execu-
tive has to deal with a wide variety of issues from many
different facets of the University. Getting anything done
among all the politics requires a high degree of strategy!
Marketing. Back in my first term as VP-Finance it was
decided to raise the EngSoc fee. I spent a great deal of
time "Marketing" all the services and learning opportuni-
ties that EngSoc offers. Through all the pamphlets,
posters and class presentations I found it is difficult to
convince people to part with even a few dollars. In the
end, the customer was convinced and the "sale" was
made. The organizers of every event including Canada
Day, Bus Push or Explorations has to figure out how to
encourage people to attend.
Accounting When I started as VP-F, I was presented
with "the box". A more-or-Iess random combination of
checks, receipts and bank statements. I quickly had to
leam accounting principles as I computerized aLI the
records. By the end of term, balance statements, cash
flow statements and budget updates could be produced
with a few mouse clicks. A most valuable learning
experience!
Organizational Behaviour This course tries to teach
managers how to motivate and organize employees with
differing human traits. EngSoc is organized by students,
and trying to encourage volunteers to become involved,
while they are facing academic time pressures is not
easy. Further attempting to maintain communication,
continuity and accountability requires a great deal of
Organizational Behaviour.
Financial Management During my two and half years
of VP-F I was respon ibJe for a cash flow of over three-
quarters of a million dollar. Every director is given a
budget to manage. From collecting advertising for the
JW, to getting 80k in Corporate sponsor hip for CCES, to
assisting with the C&D, EngSoc offers many chances to
learn Financial Management.
Just Don't Go There
Michael Worry
48 Electrical - Omega Sector
, , un off your computer. Put away your cal-
culator. Shelve all your reference material.
Remove anything else that you might use
during a working day." Your manager slaps down a
piece of paper on your desk. Across the top is reads:
"Prove the Convergence Theorem of the Cardinal Series
using the Cauchy Schwartz Lerruna."
Your manager continues, "Answer the question. We
need this proof for a new product we're releasing. You
will not be permitted to consult with your colleagues, nor
make use of any references or aids. If you get it wrong you
will not make senior designer and if you get it wrong
again you will be fired. It took the inventor his entire adult
life to prove this formula, you have tvventy minutes."
Does this situation seem just unrealistic? Maybe just a
little?
Of course! In real life a supervisor would never ask you
to solve a problem, and then remove every tool that could
possibly assist. Neither would a superior discourage you
from consulting with colleagues, as the best ideas are born
from groups. Nor would a manager demand you regurgi-
tate inapplicable proofs under strict deadlines with threats
of dismissaL
So why then do we put up with this same situation in
University? Isn't school supposed to prepare us for the
work force? I will graduate from University as a well edu-
cated and well rounded Engineer. Yet I estimate I've
learned over 80% of my applicable technical knowledge
on work terms. And the well-rounded description sterns
entirely from my extra-curricular activities, not some
CSE's.
The test description above is paraphrased from my
E&CE 411 course. It was a pathetic waste of time- entirely
theoretical with tests of sheer regurgitation. I spent tJiple
th.e time studying for this course than any other that term,
and it certainly damaged my grades in other courses. But
when it came down to the wire it didn't matter how much
time I devoted, the knowledge wouldn't stick because my
beliefs on the value of education fundamentally disagreed.
with this course. I should be fair and say that some people
enjoyed the course. Some people enjoy solving non-
applicable theoretical problems. I should also say that
most people blame th.eprof rather than the course. I'll
leave that comment at that.
Needless to say, I failed the course. What truly surprised
me is I didn't care. Understand that I am not somebody
that loses. Understand that the rest of my marks that term
ranged from 80-95%.
My entire life I have made observations, consulted with
colleagues, decided what is the right thing to do, and done
it. Sometimes I surprise myself with what I can accom-
pli..'lh by sheer wiUfX>WI'J" .md pa.'lI ion. ' Ihiil was my prob ..
lem with E&CE 411. L obseJVl'tl tht' prof collJdn't tCild1. I
observed the mat >riul to be inr'ppli ' abl . I d< kk the
course was useless. No amount of studying :,mlld over-
com that.
J am writing this article to those students 'till in th
trenches. I have tvvo points to ptlSS on (rom this adv 'nturc.
First, decide what is useful and follow y ur instincts. You
made a conscious effort to improve your mind wh n you
voluntarly cnti red University. Mak sure your classes arc
indeed providing you with what you think is useful.
ond, recognize the strength of your own beliefs. [( you
believe you wiU succccd in life there is little that can pn.>-
vent you. &]ually though, if you believe you will fajl, you
already have.
It's too bad 1 didn't recognjz thic; sooner and change
courses out of E&CE 4] L Many JX>opl did this, for a long
time the standing joke in Ihc class was that the only
required reading was th course calender. Myself, I was
too bloody stubbom to admit defeat. What I rcaJ.i.ze now is
that it wac;n't a battle worth winning.
Funny how in failing, and evaluaLing that failure, r
leamed more applicable life knowledge than I could have
by passing. If defeat is a self-fulfilling prophecy, is it not
then also success?
RON ARRIOR
Europe: A Nice Place to Live, but I Wouldn't Want to Visit
Rick Barfoot
4BSYS (FYSH)
To travel, is to live ...
- Hans Christian Anderson
.Ai
the end-of-term nears, T know that many of
you are busy making travel plans before
eginning the next workterm, your career, or
your next school term. And so you should. Travelling,
whether it be to a distant African nation, or to a tiny
community just outside of Waterloo city limits, allows
you to leave behind the preconceptions of what shouJd
and shouldn't be in your daily life here in Waterloo. If
you're like me, you can pretty much cruise W100 on
auto-pilot, not stopping to consider why things are the
way they are. When in an environment that .is unfa-
miliar, you tend to notice things that would otherwise
go unnoticed in your home setting. When I travel, my
senses are on high-alert. Often I find myself noticing
"strange" things when I'm away only to realise upon
returning that the "strange" thing was right there
under my nose the whole time, I just hadn't noticed it.
When I return to Canada, I always reaffirm that it's the
greatest country in the world. Sometimes, I tend to
forget...
Europe tends to be a popular destination, but I urge you
to consider other possibilities. Not that there's anything
wrong with Europe. They've got lots of old stuff, general-
ly tolerant people (in most places), hordes of tourists, simi-
lar culture/lifestyle to our own, and weil, you don't quite
have to give away your first-born to do and see some
good things. Let's face it, Europe is for the timid. If you've
always had your heart set on Europe, go for it - you won't
be disappointed (except maybe for Paris, which I think is
totally over-rated). But for those of you that can survive
another year without seeing Europe, I
suggest that you look at a world map
and choose a destination a little more
colourful Nothing is more exciting and
invigorating than strapping on a pack
with a few meagre possessions and trav-
elling into the complete unknown.
So in my 3A term, I decided that I
would take a year off from chool to
make some cash and finance my solo
travels around the world. My initial
plans were grandiose: New Zealand -
Australia - Southeast Asia - Middle East-
North Africa - Continental Europe -
British Isles, but my "final" itinerary:
"they got the same shit over there that they do here, only
there, it's a little different".
Being a six-foot-something tall WASP, I stuck out like a
sore thumb. I've never been a visible minority, and it was
an interesting experience being the only white guy on the
bus, the only white guy in the cinema, the only white guy
in the town, you get the idea. 1his sometimes led to inter-
esting, ego-feeding situations such as having my body
"manually examined" in the public market, being asked to
pose for photos, having my nose touched, being compli-
mented on my white skin (I was trying my damnedest to
get a dark tan, the locals were trying to lose theirs!) and, on
one particular occasion being asked to breed with the
locals to make them taller (I'm NOT joking). In this part of
the world, I urge you to travel on your own, at least initial-
ly. If you find that you "need" to travel with someone
else, you can find someone along the way. I met so many
.fun and friendly people (mostly Europeans) while travel-
ling. It became less important what I was doing or seeing
(there is more to see than you can ever possibly hope to
realistically see) and more important with whom I was
sharing experiences. I recall bumping into a lovely Dutch
couple that I had met the previous week, never expecting
to ever see them again in my life. They mentioned a vol-
cano on another island that they were planning to climb
and asked if I was interested in joining them. "Sure, why
not?!" When travelling, it is most important to keep an
open mind and be ready to drastically alter your plans
when opportunities arise.
Most Commonly Asked Questions About My Travels:
Q. Where did you stay?
A. In Indonesia, I stayed mainly in "losmen" (guest-
houses) which are budget accomodations, but generally
quite clean and comfortable. Prices vary depending upon
where you are in the country. Don't expect any frills, but
trust me, if you're travelling for awhile, you will become
accustomed to cold showers and
"squatter" toilets. It's all part of the
experience! Incidently, have you
ever considered how many trees
we flush down the toilet in this
country, not to mention the chemi-
cals we dump in the water from
treating the toilet paper? Imagine
the environmental impact if a coun-
try such as Indonesia (pop. 300 mil-
lion) was to start using toilet paper
on a regular basis!
Q. Did you ever have any prob-
lems with your gear getting ripped
off?
A. You always have to be care-
ful, more in some places than oth-
ers. Like everywhere, the big cities
tend to attract the bad apples, so be
extra cautious. I usually locked up
my pack with a small lock and then
anchored it to a bed frame or some-
thing with a cable lock. In three
months of travelling in South-east
Asia, on all modes of transportation
and in many different situations, I
never once had a problem.
Singapore - Philippines - West Malaysia-
Indonesia - Europe more than sufficed.
In total, I spent 3 months in Southeast
Asia and a month in Europe. The South-
east Asian leg of the trip was, by far, the
most exciting and interesting, on many
levels. Travelling in Asia is an experience
in the strictest sense of the word. You are
irrunersed in a culture that is completely
different from what you are used to,
with a completely different history and
philosophy on life. Having lived in
Europe for a year, J can say with some
conviction that it's not that different from
life here. As a famous person once said -
While "bt'I1tijilXltiQII" is 110 Imlgt'l'widely pructiad by 1/1('
1AI,lPk; if Knlimil/ltna,/ (indonesiall Borneo), stretdrirrg the
1111'S alld tnttooillg is am.<idemt bt'I1t1tiful by !Pillg and old
alikr. By tIJe troy, tire Drr,ms no 101lgt!TI,Ullt Imds either.
Q. Is it safe to travel alone?
A. I would urge guys to travel
alone. Of the countries in this
Trrroellillg requires that you keep QI/ opell mind and oc sensitive to other cu1hlre5. 11
tWS reqllired to tOOlr II sarong and temple sash to trIter the Hindu temples on tire tilly
island of Bali, Indonesia. n,is is ti,e daily fashion of tire Balilrese, a/ld t/rey laue it if YOIl
tOOlr it out ill pllblic.
region that I visited, I felt most uneasy travelling alone in
the Philippines. Use your cornrnon-sense and, where pos-
sible, try to maintain a low-profile. For me this was almost
impossible as I invariably stuck out in a crowd, but at least
try not to show off too much. Having said all that, it's still
generally a very safe place to travel. As for women travel-
ling alone, frankly if you want to do it, then you probably
can (I wouldn't try to convince a woman if she didn't
want to, but it's generally safe). Fair-skinned women
should expect to be occasionally hassled and regarded by
some locals as "easy", just because of where you're from.
Don't expect this all the time, just don't be surprised if a
local asks you in his broken English if you've had sex with
your Father and Brother (I swear, I'm not making this up!).
Q. Wasn't it expensive to travel there?
A. For a three month trip, it is generally less-expensive
to travel in South-east Asia than Europe for the equivalent
length of time. It may cost you twice as much to fly there,
but you'll spend much less on accomodation, transporta-
tion and food than in Europe. I usually spent less than
C$10 per night, and it's even cheaper if you're travelling
Wlth someone else.
Q. How did you get around?
A. Local transportation all the way. Steer clear oftourist
transportation for two reasons: (1) it's much more expen-
sive than what the locals pay and (2) you won't get a
chance to rub shoulders with the locals. It may not be any-
thing close to what you're used to here in Canada, but if
that's what you want, stay in Waterloo!! Since most of the
locals can't afford personal vehicles, there is plenty of pub-
lic transportation to get you to almost anywhere you need
togo.
Q. What did you do when you travelled?
A. What didn't I do?! Lots of snorkelling, some scuba
diving, mountain/volcano trekking, biking, boat trips,
watching movies (I saw Jackie Clan's ''First Strike" in Gti-
nese with Bahasa Indonesia sub-titles, that was coo!!), visit-
ing temples, crazy jeep and motorbike driving, visiting
trange ceremonial funerals, attending traditional dances,
and even a little sight-seeing, "traditional-style" (muse-
ums, etc.). The important thing to remember is that when
you're in a country that's so different from Canada, almost
everything you do is a new experience.
Q. Didn't you have problems with the food?
A In the beginning I was very careful with what I put
into my cookie-hole, but eventually I relaxed my fears.
RON
tid to bottled-water ",hen you an, but I don't blame
you if you can't resist an campur (an il.. drink made
with ugars, fruit and condensed milk). Don't ask me
where they get the water to mak the ice, but does it taste
gooood.! By the end of my travels I was eating food from
the treet endors (I wouldn't advocate this kind f behav-
iour) with onI one very minor digestiv incident (I'll
spare you the details) in three months. I confess, in til
early stages I was lured by th dark forces of Pizza Hut,
Dunkin' Donuts and the
likes which run rampant
in th Philippines, but
after the first week or two
I at only local food.
Although I wanted t
experience the local culi-
nary delights, I had to
draw the line at "partially-
formed duck embryoes"
in the Philippines and
"fresh" (as in, I-saw-it-
J<jlled-in-front-of-me-thir-
ty-minutes-ago) pig
served up at a Torajan
funeral in Indonesia.
If you're thinking about
travelling, my advice is to
first decide the general
area where you want to
go, even if you can't
explC'jn what draws you
to that destination. Then
SepilokOrtllrglitan (orang =JXrSOtr, ullin =JoresO Relrabilitatioll Celrlre in Sabah (North Bonreo), Malaysia isoneofonly three ill tire loorid. decide approximately
The other tw:1 are IOcrJtro in Irrdorresill.
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with all types of printing - from
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Give us a call:
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SCH 126, ext 5740; Fax (519) 7462698
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Saturday: 12:00 - 4:00 pm
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Saturday: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Sunday closed
ARRIOR
how I ng you'll be trayelling for and commit yourself to
going. The rest f the pieces will fall into place. That'
about alII have to offer. All this 'Nriting is just making me
anxious to travel again (it's that damned tra el bug)! Late-
I, ' when th topi of my travels comes up during inter-
vi w , th intervie\ver usuaU asks something like "so
tra elling must be out of y ur blood now?", to which I
repl with a "\ ry snill "well actually, it's kinda worse
now ... ". Whenever and wh ver you decide to go, bon
'oya !
life' a joum y, not a d tination ...
- erosm.ith
Top Ten Reasons to go to Southeast Asia
Instead of 'Euope
10. an travel for a longer tim with sam amount of
cash.
9. Expeden a totally different culture.
. People are friendlier.
7. Won't bump into many obnoxioll Americans (or
Canadians for that matter).
6. Coconuts.
5. Pineapples.
4. Mangoes.
3. If YOll're a WASP like me, the locals will be touching
your kin and yelling "Hal 10, Meester!" wherever YOll go.
2. You can say 'When r was in Bomeo.,,"
1. Glance to get an exoti disease.
RON ARRIOR
The half life of our education
Michael Worry
48 Elec - Omega Sector
W:
en you drive a new car off
the lot, you immediately lose
about 20% of it's value. How
much information do you forget the
moment you walk out of an exam?
I recall last term sitting in an E&CE aca-
derrtic rep meeting where the students
were trying to persuade the profs to
reschedule classes around midterms. One
of the arguments put forward by a profes-
sor was "If we rescheduled, we would go
a week without classes and the students
would forget the material. When we
returned, I'd h ~ v e to waste one class
reviewing!/I Other profs in the room nod-
ded in agreement.
I leaped to my feet and shouted across
the room liDo you realize how useless an
educational system is where stt,Jdents for-
get subjects in a week? Do you think,
under the same system, students have any
chance of remembering material a year
later? Do you realize what it sounds like to
hear you make that statement without rec-
ognizing it as a problem?/I Or that's what I
wanted to do, but I didn't think VISA
would give me further credit for another
$500 fine.
Our technical skills are dated the
moment we leave University. In fact often
this knowledge is doomed from the start
since the University can only afford to
supply resources that are anywhere from
5 to 30 years behind what Industry is
using. The data that we're forced to mem-
orize and regurgitate can be accessed far
more accurately by computer. The prob-
lems that we solve too often have pre-
deterrrtined solutions. This leaves us ill-
prepared to deal with a workforce where
the answers to the odd-numbered ques-
tions aren't listed in the back of the book
So what can University teach us? Tech-
nologicalliteracy. I compare myself to my
Grandfather, a brilliant man, but one who
couldn't begin to grasp the concept of the
VCR Myself, I can sit down in front of any
given software and pick up the rudiments
on the fly. The most powerful technical
skills that we graduate with have nothing
to do with p-n junctions, benzene rings or
sheer transformations. What we should
carry with us is an ability to adapt to
change, a thirst to learn, an intrinsic curios-
ity, a natural creativity, and a driving need
the W ir e less
Side
We've got career
opportlAnities for:
for achievement
Many of these skills can be developed
outside of the academic framework For
example, I recently had a preliminary
interview with Universal Creative. They
were looking for either Mechanical Engi-
neers or Electrical Engineers with 5-7 years
of controls experience. I was neither. I
explained the controls courses I'd taken,
but the interviewer gave little credit to aca-
demic courses. I recounted all my learning
experiences on my work terms, but it
didn't match what they were looking for.
Noticing the request on the job description
for creativity, I went out on a limb and
started telling Scunt stories. It was only
when she heard stories about hot tubs,
chainsaws and massive launch apparatus-
es that she phoned the head Engineer and
got me an interview in California.
The bottom line is, Scunt earned me the
job interview. The halflife of my acade-
mics was so short that my courses had lit-
tle use, even when applying for jobs as a
NewGrad.
In speaking with a successful business
man about my career plans, he asked me
what career I saw myself in five years
from now. I started my answer with, /lAs
an Electrical Engineer ... /I, but he cut me off
immediately. "What does it matter what
you graduate as?/I he asked. It's true. It
matters not what our background is, but
where our vision will take us. Our back-
ground is not a wall limiting us to certain
cll0ices, but a springboard to allow us to
expand our horizons. Education provides
us with the bricks that form the founda-
tion of our career. However there are
many cliferent ways to build a house. Our
area of study certainly can open many
career doors. Yet the single largest door
we can open for ourselves is the ability to
convince others that we are capable of
greatness. Crucial to this plan is first con-
vincing yourself.
In order to provide yourself with this
self-confidence, ensure you develop long-
lasting skills from your education, rather
than simply memorizing. Confining your-
self to only learning knowledge would be
akin to ignoring the possibility of rust-
proofing your car and instead vowing to
wash it twice c: day. Education should not
be the filling of one's ~ i n with the
thoughts of others, but instead the training
of one's mind in its own powers.
EGAD: EngSoc Growth
Assessment and
Development
Michael Worry
48 Elec - Omega Sector
E
ngSoc will continue to grow and
evolve with each new set of exec-
utive, directors and class reps.
However there are often problem solu-
tions or opportunity plans that can
span multiple years. In the last few
years there have been many long-term
innovative changes such as the C&D
Manager and Corporate Manager. Each
of these changes took over two years to
implement from concept to achieve-
ment. Certainly as EngSoc continues to
expand and offer additional services
and skill development opportunities to
our members other concepts will come
forward that require long-term plan-
ning and vision. Thus EGAD was creat-
ed to look at long-term problems and
growth opportunities. Our steps were
as follows:
1) Identify long-term problems
2) Brainstorm potential solutions
3) Develop realistic plans
4) Explore growth opportunities
5) Set future goals
I must admit I'm impressed with the
EGAD thinktank Certainly I began facili-
tating EGAD with some ideas of my own,
but I can't take credit for the results as it is
the product of all the involved students. I
would like to thank the future Entrepre-
neurs, Innovators and Inventors that took
the time out of their busy schedules to
help plan for EngSoc's future.
The results of our brainstorming ses-
sions is too lengthy to be included in the
Iron Warrior, but I encourage you to pass
by the Orifice and peruse EGAD report
#1. We also presented an overview of the
results at the last Council meeting. We call
this report #1 because the task of solving
long-term problems and recognizing
opportunities is not a product, but a
process.
On cold iron I am graduating this term,
but I hope one of the EGAD members
picks up the torch and continues this
Committee. As EGAD Chair this term, I
found it a valuable learning experience to
facilitate a group of such creative and con-
fident thinkers. I think EGAD represents a
powerful group of highly creative and
involved people, and I'd hate to see it go
the way of the A vro Arrow.
RON ARRIOR
What makes good university memories?
Michael Worry
48 Elec - Omega Sector
E
' eflect on my University years, and I
remember the concrete letters, the
at-tub in the U-Haul, the chainsaw
Spy, the auticals, the Pub Crawls, pool
in the 4th year room- and I started to
realize that everything I enjoy most the
powers that be would prefer we didn't
do. Somehow the late nights in the labs,
the lectures, and the projects don't stand
out as positive memories- it's the special
items that make University fun. The
Dean knows this- every time I've heard
him address a crowd he tells the story of
how the Engineers stole and greased the
Arts Boar. Every time people laugh.
Why doesn' t he tell the story about the
quiet little Engineer that showed up five
minutes early for every Calculus class?
The one that always raced home to
study, never got involved in extra-cur-
ricular activitie and certainly never and happy lumni. You get more bees Or maybe the two cell phones in the back,
made a difference. Why? Because that's with han)' than with vinegar, know what the on with th driver, the fact that the
not what sets the University of Waterloo I mean? doors auld be opened from the inside,
apart. I figure it' our responsibility to Perhaps I sound a little bitter, but I've and the dozen or ' 0 people who know
make sure the Dean has good anecdotes been doused in vinegar quite a few times. exactly where we were and our precise
everytime he addresses a crO\."d. ;) In all my shmts, have 1 e\' ry hurt any- schedule? And I don't know why the hot-
I think it will be humourus when I tart !xxiy? o. Have I every damaged Uniwr- tub was 0 frowned on, I mean, besides
getting phone calls from the Alumni " it's our responsibility to that it was so much fun. In an acci-
Development Office. I can just pic- dent, splashing water can be pretty
ture the phone call: "Hi! PhilDover make sure the Dean has good hazardous eh? Apparently last
calling from the University of Water- week some t nagers found where
100. After we spent the last five years anecdo tes every time he their Dad keeps his super soaker,
trying to remove every last thread of addresses a crowd" and not knowing it wa loaded
fun from Engineering, we're know _____________________ accidently shot their dog. It's true.
going to spend the next five decades bug- sity property? o. Did I take safety pre- R ally. I read it in Policy 71. Apparently
ging you for cash. Do you prefer Visa, cautions? Most definitely. While 1 was the dog is 110W quite wet, and the
Mastercard or American Express?" being bitched at, did anybody ask what teenagers invol ed have been put on pro-
I'm not trying to discourage people from those precautions were? Certainly not. bation. Some reports indicate the dog actu-
donating as Alumni- our degrees are only For example, let's consider the hot tub ally enjoyed the experience, but these
worth the reputation of the school they incident. To transport Scunt Gods we put a reports have been ignored as tl1ey came
came from. I'm just saying in such a politi- hot tub in the back of a rented U-Haul. from people actually involved in the inci-
cal environment, I'm surprised the Univer- They said it was illegal for people to ride dent.
sity doesn't recognize the power of a loyal standing or sitting without seatbelts. So I Al l in all, don't let the system get you
Creative engineers?
suppose buses are illegal now? They said if down. It thinks it has more power than it
we were in an accident that the only way does, and if you don't stress yourself out
they would know there was people inside over it, your University life will be much
was by "the blood running out the back". more fun!
Eric Simon
3A Mechanical - Tonka
A:
hOUght ca, me to mind as the
nights many activites faded into
ne another. Talent. The talent
show tonight. In fact the tal-eng show.
The place to be, or not to depending on
your opinion of engineering talent. I
myself have a high opinion of engineer-
ing talent. In fact, the engineers that I
have come in contact with at Waterloo
have been some of the most inspiring,
talented people I have come to know.
Coincidence you say, indeed not since I
am an engineer myself and tend to
spend a few hours our of my day with
engineers. I am going to make a jump
from talent to creativity here. I must
note that in my eyes talent is undeniably
linked with creativity. Despite what
they say about losing an everage of fif-
teen percent of one's creativity during
an engineering undergrad, there are still
creative engineers out there. How
exactly would one quantify fifteen per-
cent of someone's creativity anyway? I
will leave that for a future time.
It is strange that creativity is such an
underdeveloped thing in engineering. It
seems engineers are pressured in certain
ways regarding creativity and developing
non-engineering ability or talent. In some
regards there seems to be a vacuum creat-
edbytheengineeringenvironmentinthis
highly abstract world of non absolute
thought. To me it seems it is only a matter
of time before some thing fills this vacu-
um. After all nature abhors a vacuum. As
for myself, it is occurring as we speak I
find myself in strange places doing, from
past experience, admittedly bizarre things.
Ending up in the classic section of the uni-
versity bookstore after enduring a nauseat-
ing analytical thermo class. Contemplat-
ing reading things like War and Peace and
Les Miserables. How long are those books
again. Over one thousand pages each you
say. I thought I went into engineering
because I hated English and wanted to do
something "interesting". All of the sudden
engaging in non engineering education
adds a great balance to the highly technical
course content that one becomes accus-
tomed to.
I have a great theory. Actually I can't
take credit for it since it was passed along
to me by a fellow classmate (thanks Brad).
It goes something like this. A university
should take into account any time that you
spend educating yourself, whether in class
or out. In addition the subject matted
would be completely at the students dis-
cretion All those hours spent learning to
play the guitar or reading about Martin
Luther King Jr. should be counted towards
you degree. Sure your classes are still
focused upon engineering, but all the other
things that develop a well rounded engi-
neer should be considered as well. That is
my idea to change the world. Well it
might not change to entire world, but it
would see a whole lot more balanced engi-
neers out there.
In short, I would encourage all those
engineers who have these bizarre urges to
venture beyond the bounds of engineering
to do so. It will be a great adventure into
the realm of the creative and a well round-
ed preparation for life.
If you're always on the go take us with you.
A pager from Bell Mobility is the easy and affordable
way to stay in the loop.
Bell Mobility
APPROVIiO AGENT

oc
(or six or seven ... ) years and you're finally done.
Thanks for everything you've done to help make this
school great. Us kids really appreciate it Good luck in
the future and remember to stop by now and again to
say hi.
Next 1'd like to send out a special thanks to Chris
Foster and all the Iron Warrior staff. You have all
worked really hard all term and have put out five fan-
tastic newspapers. Your hard work has been seen on
campus, throughout Ontario, and across the country.
You've all done a wonderful job and I hope that you
President
pres ",spew
H
Ppy Spring everybody! Now that the
term's finally winding down and we're all
eaded into a potentially rough set of
exams, I really don't have a heckuva lot to say. I
hope that we'll all do fine on our exams and be back
in the fall for another great term.
First of all 1'd like to say thanks and goodbye to all
the 4B students. You've worked hard for the last five
VEInternal
~ p w
Kim Whitear
VP-Internal
H
ere a spew, there a spew, everywhere a
spew,spew!
Well, since my last spew was unbearably LONG, I
will keep this one short-ish and to the point!
First and formost, I must congradulate the Tal-Eng
directors and everyone who performed or helped out!
I don't care what anyone says ..... Engineers have talent,
dammit! Over 400 people packed FED Hall for a most
incredible show! The best part about it is that the play
VPXSPEW
John Faber
VP-External
H
i everyone. Last IW Spew for the term. No
more meeting deadlines and stuff. Wait I'm
going on work term, shit more deadlines.
There is very little going on for the rest of the term, so
I'll make this very short. The list of people going to
continue to contribute to the Iron Warrior in one way
or another in future terms.
On the administrative side of things, the Orifice will
be open extra late this term. The Orifice will be open
for business until Friday, April 18. So if you need to
buy your mom a t-shirt for Mothers Day or need to
grab copies of old exams in a fruitless effort to pass
Jist was so long that Tal-Eng #2 was created (''Tal-Eng
unplugged) for the following Thursday!
Also, Bus Push on Saturday was chilly, but great!
Thanks to the cUredors and all the participants.
As I am writing this, LEGO Day is happening in
POETS ..... .it's scary when you combine a bunch of
Waterloo engineering with trays full of LEGO! By the
time you read this, Brunny Trip and Mud Bowl will
have already happened as well!
Well, that's it for now. As the term is winding down
to an end, I am tying up all of the loose ends regarding
cfuectorships (hint, hint...I need those cfuector reports).
If you are thinking of being a cfuector next term, fill out
a form in the Orifice! Plans are underway for a new
cUredors meeing before the end of this term to set the
Blotter now for Fall term. After one term on exec.
already, I have leared the ins and outs of the job and
am now fully prepared to work on all of the planning
and organization over work term!
FSSCO AGM will be up on Monday. Thanks to every-
one who applied. It's nice to have a choice sometimes.
For those of you who didn't make it, there are a lot of
conferences coming up next term. Be sure to apply for
one of those.
I guess I should say something about this term. Let
me tell you it hasn't been a picnic. In fact its been rather
stressful. Here's to having a lot more fun next term. I
think I'm going to make that my goal for next term. To
go out and make everyone have as much fun as possi-
ble. I think its a good goal.
That's all folks.
Fabes
e ws
your own, we'll be there for you. Also, the C&D will be
open for your regular caffeine fix until Friday, April 24.
So don't forget to run by the C&D on study breaks and
get your caffeine and sugar fixes, all at once. Remem-
ber that both the Orifice and the C&D will be closed on
Good Friday (March 28).
While you're on work term, keep a few things in
mind. There's going to be a Joint Council sometime in
the summer [Ed: June 22], so keep your eyes out for a
mailout letting you know all about it. Also, make sure
you sign the work term address Jist in the Orifice so
that we can get a hold of you during the summer if we
need to.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. It's been a bit of
a rough term, but I think I've got the hang of it now.
Make sure you do well on your exams so you can
come back in the fall. Jason, Kim, Fabes and I are going
to spend the summer coming up with lots of ideas to
make the fall term great, so make sure you come back
in September ready to have some fun. Good luck on
your exams, have a really great work term, get a nice
tan, and we'll see you in September.
Bye for now kids!
Doran
As a last note:
-DIREO'ORS: hand in your reports ASAP. I will
beging bugging you soon .... and don't forget the pot
luck on Tuesday, April 1st in POETS!
know a director that
has been working
hard this term, let
them know that you
appreciated it A lit-
tle positive feed-
back goes a long
way.
Smiles,
Kim:)
-EVERYONE ELSE: If you
VPFinance

Jason Worry
VP-Finance

L
ast spew for the tenn .. .I'll keep this one short
and sweet so that everybody else can enjoy
the remainder of the Iron Warrior. At the end
of a tenn that went by so quickly, it is difficult to sit
back and reflect on everything that happened. I can
hardly guess at what happened last night let alone
last week or the entire term.
I can be sure that this tenn would have been impossi-
ble for myself if it was not for the amazing assistance
that Monica Milanowski, Finance director extrodinaire,
provided on a regular basis. Monica took a load off of
my plate that included many of the rudimentary tasks
which bring the Engineering Society finances together.
These tasks are the basis of the finances for the Engi-
Keith Parker
Weef Director
W
at a week!!! I have definitely spent
more hours in the WEEF office than I
would have liked to. But it's been pro-
ductive and we now have a funding decision
hashed out and awaiting the
approval of the Board of Directors.
Chemical
Civil
Electrical
Mechanical
oc
neering Society and ke , to the day-in-day functionality.
I hope that the knowledge that 10nica ha gained
from being part of the financial team will be routed
back into the EngSoc again ne'd tenn and maybe c\'en
through an executive po ition in the future. Hell, I
know that I started out as finance di.rector and I ended
upasVP-F.
I concentrated on the higher I vel tasks including:
cleaning up end-of-tenn details, filing CST for past
years, charity recognition, capital resource, corporate
manager details, and many others which are listed in
the infamous blue finance book. I would like to thank
the rest of the executive for ensuring that I keep my
eyes open to all possibilities and making sure that we
all have fun.
Last but certainly not least, I hope to see everyone
back in the fall ... especially after exams and aU .. .I'll
write to the Iron Warrior from the sunny beaches of
California over the work term. The exec kids are gonna
work on setting up some fun events and activities for
fall ... just in time for the froshies.
Jason Worry signing off.
pie that have put in a big effort into helping me
with WEEF stuff during the term. Kamil
Pawlowski, Chris Sharpe, Ryan Anderson and a
handful of others have all helped make WEEF
what it was this term. If it weren't for them. this
term would certainly not have been as produc-
tive.
I'm starting to look for people to help out next
year. I haven't set out specific assistant director-
ships yet, but if you are interested in getting more
involved, please let me know. There are a lot of new
ideas happening in WEEP right now, there will certain-
ly be no shortage of things to do. I'll have some sort of
forms hanging in front of the WEEP door once I have
more of an idea what needs to be don .
TIle $100,000 preliminary proposals have ome in
today. There are currently two proposals. Keep your
eyes open, as I will display them somewhere around
the WEEF office. Over the remainder of this t'rol,
myself and a few others will be thoroughly looking
e ws
through these and identifying any issues that may need
to be resolved and cross checking all information. I
hope that others will also show some interest and help
us develop some questions for the presenters
It's been a fun term, I've certainly learned a lot. If
you have nny L'omn1l'nts about th ' t\'nll ,md r can
improve things for U1l' (,,11 pk\1St' let me knm\'!
heers,
Keith
WEEF 1997 Winter Preliminary Funding Decision
Reactor Engineering Experiment for CH. E. 040 and CH. E. 524 $6,80
Purchase of 4 New Computers for the Under2rad Chem Lab $4,06
Watstar Server Upgrade for Civil Engineering Students $3,51
New Monitors for E2-2340 $ 2,35
Flow Proportioning Valve and Control Module $42(
Peristaltic Pump $ 7lC
UltraSparc Computing Server for Unix Svstem $8,86
MASTERCAM Software ME 548 $6,46
After 7 hours of presentations, and
duking it out for 5 hours in the fund-
ing Council, the WEEP reps came up
with the allocation which appear
somewhere on these pages. This
year's council was a feisty bunch to say
the least, and I must really congratulate
them on the interest that they took in
ensuring the most was made out of the
money we had to give. I'd also really
like to thank them for their patience
with all the meetings. As long as the
meetings were, I heard no complain-
ing (but I probably wasn't listening
hard enough!).
Systems Design watstar Terminals in the Systems Desion DASL Lab $6,2S
General Student Machine Shop Equipment $2 73
Student Mini Baja Team $ 8 0 (
Projects Batteries for the Midnight Sun Solar Race Car Project $2,44
The 1998 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Team $1,50
No-Dig Conference - Seattle, Washington $ 4 0 (
UW CASI Free Flight Glider Team $ '] 5 (
Formula SAE '97 $2,59
I would also like to thank a few pea-
, "This funding decision must be passed by Board of Directors lTOTAL $50,6
C
to be considered as a final/approved.
pcomlng vents
March 28 ..... Good Friday (No Classes) .................. Rugby Tournament
............. : ........... .Nautical #1
!Apri14 .................... E.O.T. Pub
.................. Last Day of Lectures
!April 11 ................. Start of Finals
ay 9 .................... B.O.T. Pub
ay 16 ....... , ........ IW Deadline#l
ay 23 ................... IW Issue #1
............................... Scunt July 4 ...... , ......... .IW Deadline #4
..... , .......... , ........ Rafting Trip
ay 30 ............... .IW Deadline #2
July 10 ............... Tal,.Eri.g
ay 31 ....... Engineering Convocation