THE NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO ENGINEERING SOCIETY volume 25 issue 9 | 9 July 2004

“I’m the one who’ll have to suck on this in class. Don’t quote me on that.” - Neil Thomson, CivE 280

http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/

Co-op in SriLanka

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Minority Parties

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WEEF Proposals

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Midnight Sun Tour

The Midnight Sun Solar Race Team hasbeen building a new solar car every

two years since the first GM Sunrayce in1990. While one year is often devoted toracing, the other year is spent solely ondeveloping the next solar car in anticipa-tion for the next race. However, that trendwill end this year with Midnight SunTeam's North American Tour.

In the summer of 2004, the team willbe traveling across Canada and the UnitedStates to capture the World DistanceRecord for the longest single journey by asolar powered car. The tour, lastingapproximately 40 days will include mediastops, stops at camps, schools, community,and corporate events along the way. Alongour journey we will reach out to thousandsof people regarding the potential uses foralternative fuels and solar energy.

Midnight Sun VII will be used to com-plete the World Distance Record. In July2003, Midnight Sun VII placed 3rd among28 teams in the American Solar Challenge

and 1st among the Canadian teams. Theteam was also awarded the prestigiousTechnical Innovation Award for an innov-ative aerodynamic body. The AmericanSolar Challenge stretched over 3700 kmalong historic Route 66 from Chicago toLos Angeles, and spanned a wide range ofchallenging terrain, from the urbanizationof downtown Chicago, to the barrennessof the Mojave Desert, to the ruggedness ofthe Rocky Mountains.

Despite the added pressure of theNorth American tour, the team is also busydesigning Midnight Sun VIII. The one bigchange from the previous car will be theaddition of hydraulic brakes to the car. Inaddition, the vehicle will have better aero-dynamics, a more efficient solar array anda new motor controller. With the newimprovements to Midnight Sun VIII, theteam is confident in placing first in thenext American Solar Challenge in 2005.

The team is always looking for newmembers to participate. Fourth year engi-neering projects are also available forthose who are interested. If you are inter-ested in joining the Midnight Sun SolarRace Team, you can send an email to

mail@midnight-sun.uwaterloo.caor you can reach usby phone at 519-888-4567 x2978.

For more infor-mation, includingdaily updates andphotographs dur-ing the tour, pleasevisit the MidnightSun Solar Carwebsite atwww.midnigh t -sun.uwaterloo.ca.

Nicholas GilhoolyMidnight Sun Logistics

Presenting the Newly Duly Elected EngSoc Exec!President VP External VP Education VP Internal

VP Finance WEEF Director

Karim Lallani3A Systems Design

Christina Waters2B Chemical

Ken Hanes3B Environmental (civil)

Andrea Rayner2B Chemical

Dave Johnson3A Systems Design

Mike Spendlove1B Systems Design

The unveiling of the Midnight Sun VII Solar Car forthe 2004 season seen here at a team picnic.

The assembled candidates pose before the camera, moments away fromthe big annoucement in the largest EngSoc election in memory.

Congratulations to all 18 candidateswho ran in the Summer 2004 EngSoc elec-tions. This was the largest election inmany years. And to cap off the thrill, over20% of the engineering student populationcast ballots. This is the type of spirit thatwill make the next two B-soc terms excel-lent, way better than any A-soc term couldever dream to be.

The staff of the Iron Warrior will belooking forward to the eloquent executive

reports each of these individuals will beproducing in the next two terms. Will any-one have a picture as dorky as Levitz’sphoto was? Will anyone have a nicknameas cool as Jeff Alfonsi’s? Will anyone beas responsible as Emma Bardon? Willanyone be able to match Matt Stricklandfor poetic genius? Will anyone be as briefas Grant Holohan? Will anyone yell atcomputers as much as Erin Young? Willanyone submit on time? We’ll see...

The big news around the halls of engi-neering these days is the EngSoc elec-

tion, happening even as I write this letter.This is a time when the students of thisesteemed faculty make their preferencesknown as to who should organize and exe-cute events, liaise with staff, and keep U ofT from stealing The TOOL.

Students posted many displays in anattempt to gain exposure and sway voters.Seeing a poster was pretty much a given,since they were everywhere. Well, theywere everywhere for about a day.

Very quickly, posters were beingremoved from their places on the walls ofthe engineering buildings. Sometimes inless than 12 hours, a poster would be gone.

Tearing someone’s posters off the wallis a despicable act of contempt. The peo-ple who produce those posters invest timeand money in their work. The posters aresymbols that represent the people and theirideals and the work they are willing to con-tribute to the Student Body. Tearing theseimportant displays from the walls insultsthe candidates and it insults the StudentBody. It insults everything that theEngineering Society does for every stu-dent. The attitute represented by thisshould not be found in this school.

Engineers are expected to act in a pro-fessional manner and to contribute to thesociety in which they live. That comesright out of the PEO Code of Ethics.Defacing legal public displays shows acomplete disregard for the morals andexpectations of the engineering profession.

When we all graduate, we will be onour way to a career of accountability in thepublic spotlight. Our actions will be heldto the highest standards. What we do willmake a difference in this world.

That’s what we’re told, anyway.If individuals are allowed to deface

public property without penalty, then howwill those people ever learn to be account-able for their actions? How will those peo-ple become role models in society?

The classroom is a very good way topass on technical knowledge and skills.Most people reading this can now integratean equation. But does everybody knowhow to be a productive member of society?How we live is as important as what we do.What does it matter that someone candesign immense skyscrapers if that person

lacks the social skills to gain employment?Who would hire someone who was arrest-ed for crimes against society? We spend somuch of our time learning how to engineerthat people forget we’re also human andneed to succeed in the human world as wellas the school world.

The problems of social apathy andsocial disdain extend beyond the smallexample of poster trashing. Everywhere inthis society a lawbreaker can be found.Many are never caught. Many are repeatoffenders. Violations of the law can be assmall as speeding or as large as embez-zling. The people that have been placed inpositions of power are often the sources ofthese infractions. Everybody speeds; thathas become the accepted thing to do in thisworld. But does everybody embezzlefunds? No; at least, not that we know of.Many children are taught that these kindsof things are wrong, from parents or televi-sion or in school.

The sources that teach of the harm ofbreaking society’s rules also teach the ben-efits. A parent who drives through a yellowor even a red light tells a child throughactions that sometimes breaking or stretch-ing the law ends with positive results.Only if that parent drives into a crash orgets ticketed by police will the learningchild see the dangers of such action.

Television plays a large part in thedevelopment of children’s morals in soci-ety today. The dangerous kinds of showsusually begin to enter a child’s life justafter grade school. Since its been so longsince I’ve been a grade school student, Idon’t know what the current “in” showsare, so I’ll draw from my own experienceand use an example we might all recog-nize: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Wesee on that show that hurting people canlead to good things. No one is ever killed(hence the Shredder returns every episode)but the message gets through that force canlead to success. Granted, force is some-times necessary to overcome a situation,like when the bully is picking on me on theschoolyard, but never do the Ninja Turtlesleave the impression that diplomacy orcooperation will result in success.

Often in television programs, the char-acters are maneuvering themselves intopositions of power or fame or wealth. Wecan see these ideals reflected in peopleCanada-wide. We all love when we landthe high-paying co-op jobs. We all like tohave our ideas appreciated and adopted.These simple goals may not lead to moralcorruption, but as I’ve heard said, “powercorrupts.” Who is happy to see their pay-checks decrease from one work term to thenext? If anyone says yes, I applaud you.

But I don’t think I’ll do much clapping.There’s a problem in society. What can

be done about it?Three things. Family, television, and

school are the three main mediums throughwhich Canadians develop their morality.These three things can also be used to turnaround the direction of Canadian society.

The easiest of the three for governmentto control is the school. Technical learningis important, yes, but there’s more to lifethan work and knowledge. Classes can bedesigned to build the morality of students.I’m not a psychologist, so I don’t knowwhat this would entail. But I am human,and so I know that behaviour and ideascome more from experience than fromtextbooks. The social classes would haveto be practical exercises, forums where stu-dents can be put in situations, like “he stolemy lunch money!” and have the studentswork out what to do. Don’t just tattle to theteacher, but try to find another solution.Young children are impatient with theworld, and like to move around, and a prac-tical exercise like this would be an excel-lent opportunity to get the kids moving.

Television is the next easiest thing tocontrol. As a public forum, the govern-ment can set guidelines as to what can bepresented. Of course, some people will crycensorship and freedom of speech. Butthen, the government needs to look out forthe good of the many, not the desires of theindividual. The internet can assist in this.Parents have a much easier time control-ling internet access through parental con-trols than they do TV. Anyone can sayanything on the web.

Parents are the hardest to control, andmight even be impossible to control. Theonly idea that comes to my mind to teachparents how to teach children morality is toinstitute a mandatory class for new parents.I suspect that this would find many oppo-nents if it ever tried to become reality.Again, this would be limiting people’s rightto freely choose how to act and how toraise children. Also, the cost to the gov-ernment would be a great deterrent. Toobad we can’t count on a major corporationto be a sponsor.

When these ideas become reality, hope-fully we will see a decline in the numbersof posters torn off walls during electoralcampaigns.

The Newspaper of the University ofWaterloo Engineering Society

Editor-in-ChiefJohn Olaveson

Assistant EditorKiran Dhaliwal

Phoebe Su

Photo Editor[vacant]

Layout EditorCindy Bao

James Schofield

Technical EditorDerek Hans

Webmaster[vacant]

Distribution Manager[Vacant]

Offstream Editor-in-ChiefAndre Beltempo

StaffDan Arnott

Alyssa ClarksonMat Cool

Naoreen HasanFrancis Hope

Quoc Huy T. LeRichard LiAlicia Liu

Jon MusserKevin QuanHigh Rider

Michael SimoesEdward TanKeith Wong

Sung Hon Wu

Contributors

Jeff AlfonsiEmma Bardon

Tsu Chaing ChuangNicholas Gilhooly

Scott GriffithsGrant Holohan

Josh LevitsElliot Powidajko

Suresh SriskandarajahMatt Strickland

Erin YoungElisa Zhang

2 Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Letter from the Editor

Questions? Comments?

We welcome letters and feedbackfrom all our readers. Please emailus at:

iwarrior@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

The Iron Warrior is a forum for thought provokingand informative articles published by the EngineeringSociety. Views expressed in The Iron Warrior arethose of the authors and do not necessarily reflect theopinions of the Engineering Society.The Iron Warrior encourages submissions from stu-dents, faculty and members of the university commu-nity. Submissions should reflect the concerns andintellectual standards of the university in general. Theauthor's name and phone number should be included.All submissions, unless otherwise stated, become theproperty of The Iron Warrior, which reserves theright to refuse publication of material which it deemsunsuitable. The Iron Warrior also reserves the rightto edit grammar, spelling and text that do not meetuniversity standards. Authors will be notified of anymajor changes that may be required. Mail should be addressed to The Iron Warrior,Engineering Society, CPH 1327, University ofWaterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1. Our phonenumber is (519) 888-4567 x2693. Our fax number is(519) 725-4872. E-mail can be sent toiwarrior@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

John Olveltine

2B Civil

Editor-in-Chief

Dear "High Rider,"

Need I say more?-LowRider

PS: Howdy to all of the B-SocLowReaders.

PPS: Yes, of course it's really me.

Dear Low Rider,

Of course you do not need to say more.You do not know how to say more. Yourbrain is not large enough to contain alonger sentence.

-High Rider

PS: I’m keeping this message short forease of comprehension.

High Rider,How would you pick up the ladies?

-No, no ho

Dear No, no ho

Are you Native American? Or are youjust making a pun atrocious enough forsomeone of your “intelligence”? Sinceyou are obviously in need of help upstairs,and probably downstairs, I will be com-passionate and spell this out for you. Ifyou want to pick up the ladies, you willneed considerable strength in your arms,lower back and legs. To achieve this “wor-thy” goal you should go to the gym. Donot bother to question me about whichmachines you should use – I do not fre-quent such vulgar places.

If, on the other hand, you phrased yourquestion in the crude slang of baser mindsthan mine, then you must be asking how toimpress girls. In that case, you must alsobe blind as well as dumb, for anyone canclearly see that there are no girls around inthe Engineering faculty at Waterloo. I sug-gest you transfer to York immediately.

-High Rider

Dear HR,If I’m baking a cake for my family and

I run out of confectionary sugar, is it okayto substitute in cocaine?

-Dead-beat Dad

P.S. Where do I cheap cocaine?

Dear Dead-beat Dad

You may put whatever you want inyour cake. Anyone who shares a house,bed, and especially the same genes withyou cannot possibly be impaired furtherthan they are already.

-HR

Dear most esteemed and beloved HighRider,

What’s the deal between you andLowRider? Does he hate you? When areyou going to kick his butt back into thehole from whence he came?

-Admiring Fan

Dear Admiring FanIf I ever kicked Low Rider’s butt, my

foot would atrophy and die from thehumiliation of contact. Thus, I will neveractually kick his butt into the hole fromwhence he came. On the other hand, hisvery depravity ensures his continued resi-dence in his current abode, which is, as isfitting, a deep, dark, and dank hole.

-HR

Dear High Rider, if that is your realname, and I seriously doubt that it is, sincethere are no “High Rider”s in the 3A Elecclass (I asked around one day),

You should run for president of FEDSnext election. I want to be able to not votefor you. LowRider for Prez!

-Curious George

Dear Curious George

You remind me of a book I read someyears ago. It was written by a Russianauthor in the 1800s. The title was “TheIdiot”.

-High Rider

P.S. Please keep writing in – you givemy readers a good laugh.

3Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Advice and Letters

High Rider

3A Electrical

I Saw theSign...or Not

On Monday June 28, Canada went tothe polls except, in the University of

Waterloo, where are the polls? After class,wanting to do my duty as a Canadian citi-zen, I went to the Great Hall in Village 1,because during the provincial election,that was where I went to vote. Guesswhat? The voting booth at Village 1 wasnot for the riding I was living in. Thinkabout that for a second. I live in Village 1,yet, I cannot vote at the polls therebecause it is not my riding. Apparently,that riding is for those living on PhilipStreet. This does not make sense to meeither, but determined to have my voiceheard, I found out I have to go to ConradGrebel college to vote. Well, WHERE ISCONRAD GREBEL COLLEGE? I havehad no need to go to Conrad Grebel everin my two terms at the university. Therewere no signs to guide me to this nice andwonderful building, so I went for a hikethrough St. Jerome’s College, RenisonCollege, saw Resurrection College, andfinally after seeing one lamp post sign, itdirected me to the polling station. Great,something that should only take 10 min-utes, give or take depending on the line,took 45 minutes. That is 30 minutes of mylife that I want back.

The voting problems did not just hap-pen for those living in Village. The prob-lem was also with the buses that weretaking students to off campus voting sta-tions, to promote voting. That is awesometo hear, but I witnessed a bus that left withonly one person in it. Give me a break, atleast wait for two or maybe, just maybe,three people. It is a waste of fuel, it is awaste of the driver’s time, it is a waste oftime for those waiting for the bus to returnso that they can go to vote.

We are required to vote, granted, but isit worth it to waste the time that could eas-ily be saved by a couple of signs, or a busthat will wait for a few more people tosave fuel money? It is not a lot to ask, Iwant to vote, just point me to it, or take meand couple of my friends to it, just do notwaste my time.

Michael Simoes

1B Chemical

As some of you know, John Olveltinewas running a hopeless race for VP

Internal. As part of his campaign, he cre-ated a giant head attached to a carton ofmilk. Why a carton of milk you ask?Because his nick name is Milky. Why ishis nick name Milky, you ask? We are notexactly sure, but our theory is that it some-how refers to his obsession with lactatingwomen/men/goats, though explaining thatobsession would fill a seperate article initself. But who would want that muchhead.... from John? Let us start with theusual suspects. Top suspect: JohnOlvalson himself, in a pathetic attempt togain more votes through publicity andsympathy for his plight. Hey John, if sym-pathy doesn't work with the ladies, it won'twork here. Then again, he could havestolen the head to give himself more head,since this is easier than surgically remov-ing two ribs. Suspect number two: anyperson who went to DUSTED. Edwardclaims that Francis took the giant headsince he needed somewhere to throw up.What better place than someone else’smouth? Francis's theory, on the otherhand, is that Edward stole the head aftergetting plastered and stoned with a friendas a disgrunted attack at John for cuttingtoo much out of his articles and not buyingKFC for staff meetings. Suspect numberfour is the old man who tried so hard butjust couldn't pick up any girls at DUST-ED. So he followed our bus back and gotsome head. The fifth and final suspectswould be the previous executives who areannoyed at John for the impeachment arti-cle and for being impeached in general.This would cause them to sabotage John'scampaign and rig the election so that Johncould not win the election under any cir-cumstances (more so).

So those are our suspects. If you haveany leads or know who stole the head,maybe someone who is giving head, let usknow so that we can stop the culprits.

Francis Hope

3A Electrical

Taking Head Tips for Stinky Students

For everyone who’s been here for awhile, you should know what

Waterloo is famous for. It’s famous forits engineers and the smell of cowmanure. The two, unfortunately, are notunrelated. It was during my 1B termwhen I realized this connection. Notonly did the smell come from theindoors, but it was during the winterterm. This hit me as a bit of a surprise.Actually, the stench hit me quite hard,as most of you who have encounteredthe stench know, it hits very hard. Thisis especially true if you show up forclass late. You go from the cool crispair of the outdoors, into the bacterialbrewing dungeons. I’msure there are bacteriain those rooms thathave still not been iden-tified yet. But that wasthe winter term…

What quickly approaches us is thedamp sweltering heat of the summer.So far, we’ve all been blessed with rea-sonably cool weather, but that can’t lastforever. What really concerns me is thecombination of bad BO with poor ven-tilation. Where exactly is the smelliestbuilding? After doing a bit of research,and at the expense of my nose, I wouldhave to conclude that the smelliestlocation is the bottom floor of RCH.Luckily, only the first years are ban-ished to this location.

Why exactly does it smell so bad inengineering, though? My hypothesis isthat some engineers don’t know squatabout personal hygiene, thus I dedicatethe rest of this article to setting up someground rules.

1. Anti-perspirant and deodorant arenot just for athletes. In case you don’tknow, anti-perspirant reduces sweatingin the underarms, which is generally

where BO is generated. Deodorant onthe other hand is used to mask badsmell. My recommendation is to useboth. Some people may say, “I’vesmelled my own underarms and theydon’t stink, so I don’t have BO.” If youthink that, you are one poorly mistakenfool. In general, you cannot smell yourown BO. If you are still reluctant to puton anti-perspirant and deoderant, thenyou should perform the “sure, unsure”test. Walk into the SLC and in the eat-ing area, find a stool that’s between tworandom people. Sit down and raise bothyour arms, pretend you’re stretching orsomething. If you are unwilling to dothis, then put on your stench remover. Ifyou are willing to do this, but the peo-ple next to you get up and leave, thenput on even more.

2. Anti-persirant and deoderant areto be used in combination with shower-ing. In the summer, showering must beperformed at least once a day. Yes, once

a day, some peopleeven shower twice aday. Although thisamount of showeringcan dry up your skin, soI recommend using a

moisturizer. Some people skip shower-ing for days on end and spray on somecologne. They think to themselves,“now I smell nice”. Think again. Thisis similar to spraying cologne on a pileof shit to make it smell nice.

3. Change your clothes. Any articleof clothing that is pressed up againstyour skin should be changed on a dailybasis. Wearing it for two days is a bit ofa stretch, three days is unacceptable.

4. The breath of evil. This is an easyone. Just keep your mouth shut.

I’m sure there are engineers outthere who will be unwilling to complywith these four basic rules. Therefore, Irecommend that each class set up a“BO control police”. Essentially, theysend out warnings to people in theirclasses. We should also arm them withecono-sized bottles of deoderant andFebreeze to spray down the trouble-makers.

Edward Tan

2B Computer

“Just keep yourmouth shut.”

Do you have any questions orcomplaints about High Rider (andespecially Low Rider)? Let usknow at iwarrior@engmail.

4 Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Features

Working Abroad: Co-op Experience from Sri Lanka

Spending time in another country canoften be a life-changing experience,

but it is especially true when the time isspent working on development projects insecond or third world countries. This iswhy I chose to describe how I spent mylast co-op term in Sri Lanka to working asa volunteer in various technical areas.This opportunity came via VanniInnovation Group (VIG – www.vanni-group.org).

Volunteer Program in Sri LankaVIG is a student-run organization

designed to support existing developmentagencies by providing student volunteers.Domestic volunteers in Canada supportand assist volunteers that travel abroad tohelp in the North-Eastern region of SriLanka (Vanni region). Several technicaland non-technical development projectsare also undertaken by students in Canadato be designed locally. The volunteers inNorth-Eastern Sri Lanka focus on teachinglocal students skills in technology, busi-ness, and English. These skills provide stu-dents with knowledge that will give themgreater employment opportunities. Thetraveling volunteers include University ofWaterloo co-op students spending their co-op terms in Sri Lanka. The Universitycounts this as an official work term andgrants a credit for the time spent there.Funding assistance from the University ofWaterloo paid for my flight ticket,although all my other expenses such asaccommodation and transportation werecovered by NGOs that VIG was collabo-rating with in order to implement theseprojects in Sri Lanka.

Projects in NE Sri LankaWhile I was there, there were a number

of projects I got involved with. You canfind a brief introduction to a couple ofthem, below. More information about theremainder of them can be found on theVIG website.

Solar panel manufacturing trainingA solar panel manufacturing plant was

being setup in Vanni by an NGO calledThe Economic Consultancy House(TECH). I was responsible for providingtraining for about 600 students in solarpanel technology. At the end of the train-

ing, about 20 students were selected to beemployed in the plant and to becomeinstructors themselves for new employees.

Network design, implementation andtraining

TECH opened up a new head office inNorth-Eastern Sri Lanka. TECH Canadafunded a computer network to be estab-lished for them. I worked closely withanother VIG volunteer from Australia todesign the network based on their require-ments and to implement it fully. The staffworking on the network also received net-work administration training.

Children sponsorship databaseThe Tamil Children Endowment Fund

(TCEF) started a child sponsorship pro-gram to sponsor children online via theInternet. VIG designed and implementeda solution for this from Canada. While Iwas in Sri Lanka, I was involved withgathering all the photos and data needed tolaunch this project.

Electronics, computer, business, Englishtrainings

The majority of my time was spent intraining students from various institutesand organizations on various subjects. Thetopics included digital electronics, data-base design, web development, networkadministration, entrepreneurship andEnglish.

My Experience in Sri LankaNow that I have presented the informa-

tion about the projects I was involvedwith, let me describe a little bit about theoverall experience I had in the North-Eastern part of Sri Lanka (Vanni). I wasborn in Sri Lanka but this was the firsttime I was going back after 15 years,which was a source of some anxiety forme. I was going to a region that had beenin war for couple of decades, so I wasn’tsure about what to expect. Based on whatI had heard from people, I thought I wouldbe in a totally underdeveloped jungle. Ialso thought that there wouldn’t be anyreliable electricity or water supply.

Once I arrived in the Vanni region, Iwas totally blown away by everything Isaw. In just a short period of 2 years, theywere able to develop the region to a greatextent. People were extremely motivatedto progress and placed a high priority oneducation. At the same time, there werecertain other things that the region was

lacking. These included a lack of commu-nication, transportation and humanresources. The region only has around 200phone lines and the main mode of trans-portation for the average citizen was bybicycle. Since a large percentage of peo-ple left the country during the war, there isactually a shortage in the labour force toredevelop the nation. It was evident thatforeign assistance was urgently needed toreach this goal. This doesn’t just meansending funds. What is equally needed isfor foreigners to travel there to teach thelocals various skills that are needed for theeconomy to develop. The locals reallyappreciate anyone who does so. This wasthe main reason that Iwas welcomed every-where and treated with alot of respect in Vanni.Contrary to what mostpeople would think,there were even severalforeigners helping outwho did not speak thelocal language, Tamil.There are many ways forpeople who cannotspeak the language toassist heavily in the re-developmentprocess such as in knowledge transfer.

This being said, what I observed to bethe most immediate needs in the regionwere the needs for knowledge transfer inEnglish and technology. A couple of yearsago, there was no concept of computers inthe region. Even now, over 95% of theschools do not possess a single computer.Students and the general public are notexposed to much technology. Only a smallpercentage of the population receivesexposure to high technology areas.Students also have to study in poor envi-ronments such as war-torn buildings.Electricity is usually available only for 4hours at a time since the electricity is pri-marily supplied by diesel generators.

I also spent some time working withseveral orphanages, which are locallycalled children “illams” (homes). It is agreat thing to see that not a single home-less person can be found in the streets ofVanni. They are all being taken care in anillam. The children in these illams receive3 meals a day and get education. Thereare, however, some limitations such aslack of proper nutritious meals and expo-sure to the outside world. Recently, thesechildren were being admitted to schools inthe region that allowed them to interactwith the society more. When I spent some

time with them, though, it became quiteclear that they really needed assistancefrom youth all over the world. Althoughfinancial assistance is essential in meetingthe daily expenses, there is also a need forus to spend more time with them. Theyhighly valued the fact that I was able toshare my experiences and teach them littlethings such as songs. It gives them a senseof realization that there are people in for-eign countries who love them and careabout their well-being. This type of inter-action is the best way to help the orphansovercome their feelings of loneliness andto develop into well-adjusted members ofsociety.

Based on my trip, itis evident that theNorth-Eastern region ofSri Lanka is at least 10years behind where itshould be in terms ofeducation. It is in thehands of youth from allover the world to helpimprove this situation.What would be evenmore effective is if stu-dents would take their

school breaks or co-op terms to traveldown to Sri Lanka. They could spendsome time traveling around and under-standing the current situation and thenteach anything they could to the locals.It’s important to keep in mind that lan-guage is not necessarily a barrier, so any-one should be able to go down. Based onmy experience, I can say that my timethere definitely opened my eyes and I’mable to see the bigger picture in life.Seeing the situation in Sri Lanka made meaware of the wealth that we possess inCanada and gave me more motivation todo well in life here. It’s really hard for meto explain exactly what I went through. Abetter understanding can be gained byspeaking to people who have been thereand by looking at their photos. However, itcan only be fully understood if you takethe time to travel and see it for yourself.

Suresh SriskandarajahSri Lanka Correspondant

The beautiful vegetation of Sri Lanka on a clear, sunny day.

Sri Lankan school children smile for the camera.

“In just a short periodof 2 years they wereable to develop theregion to a great

extent. People wereextremely motivated to

progress....”

Check out the next issue ofthe Iron Warrior for completedetails on signing up for anexchange term. Its filled witha lot of little tricks that somepeople don’t know about.

Who could have come up with thenotion to start groups such as The

Canadian Action Party, the Marxist-Leninist Party, or the Marijuana Party?While there is something to be said forpolitical freedom and a range of optionsfor the voter, there is also somethingridiculous about a twelve-party system.That’s right: there are, indeed, at leasttwelve registered political parties inCanada.

These superfluousparties are minor,unnecessary, and do nothave a chance of beingelected in any region.By wasting time andvotes, they go aboutchanging the system in the most ineffi-cient method possible. Their ideals maybe noble, but their lack of experiencegives them no credibility whatsoever interms of governing a country. Because ofthis, minority parties should not evenbother to run in the election.

The most obvious reason for which aminority party should not run is the factthat there is simply not enough support.There is no way that any of these minori-ty parties will be elected to power. Evenwinning one regional riding is a long shot.Getting Members of Parliament elected isthe goal of any political party; indeed, thisis how we define a political party. OnElection Day, if you chose to vote, youmay have noticed that, although there aretwelve official political parties in Canada,

there were only five choices on the ballothere in Waterloo. This means that lessthan half of all parties have enough candi-dates to cover all areas. The lack of rep-resentation from these minority partiesmeans they are wasting their efforts.

Registration to create an official polit-ical party is not an exclusive process.Interestingly enough, governing experi-ence in its leaders is not a requirement.From this, it can be seen that the peoples’confidence in the newly registered party’sability to run the country is not as strongas those parties who have been around foryears. Also, many minority parties haveprimary mandates that have to do withissues other than the proper governing of acountry. When the reasons for which a

political party comesinto being involve mat-ters that are minor whencompared to issues suchas health care, educa-tion, foreign relations,and taxes, then theparty itself is automati-

cally considered minor. Why would aparty call themselves the “MarijuanaParty”? How important is the issue ofcannabis when compared to immigrationpolicies?

What happens once an official party isformed? The newly formed party withtheir insignificant ideals have been regis-

Much has been written about politicalsystems where two major parties domi-nate, with the other parties standing on thesidelines serving special interests, thoughnever becoming influential in the waygovernment operates. They fight in eachelection not for victory, but for mere sur-vival. 5% of the votes makes the differ-ence between a great election outcome andpolitical extinction.

In the best of scenarios, people wouldwant their votes to count. They would liketheir voices to be heard as clearly as thoseof their next door neighbours and compa-triots on the other coast. People love win-ners, and people love power. They wouldlike everyone to believe what they believein. They would do anything to live in aworld that they want.

The problem is of course that there aremillions of other voters, each with his ownopinion that is arguably just as valid.There are no wrong opinions, per se.Certainly, everyone is entitled to one'sown.

The job of the government, however, isto impose a way of living on its citizens sothat the country it governs can functionfaithfully to its vision. In a totalitarianregime, this vision may be that of a small

group of powerful individuals whose ideasdiffer vastly from those of its citizens andpotential voters. The tool such govern-ments use to prevent a popular coup isforce.

In a democracy, the government iselected by the majority. Therefore, the wayof life that the government will choose toprovide to its citizens is determined by themajority of its constituents. Because themajority is empowered through govern-ment, society tends to be more stable.After all, the ultimate power of democracyis that of the majority overruling theminority. That is how laws are passed andenforced. If the majority of the people inthe country refuse to obey the laws, ademocratic government theoreticallybecomes powerless and is due for replace-ment.

This works well for a society where themajority is benevolent. However, democ-racies have gone wrong before. The mostfamous case was Hitler's capture of theGerman electorate. He was given a man-date by the majority, which eventually ledto the horrific consequences for the coun-try's Jewish minority.

But who is looking out for the minori-ty in a democracy?

In a sense, everyone is a minority.People differentiate themselves by their

beliefs and visions. In a political systemwhere there are two dominant parties, avoter is forced to choose between powerand individual beliefs. Voting for the dom-inant parties requires one to adjust one'sbeliefs in such a way that non-majoritybeliefs are discarded, and remotely similarthoughts are awkwardly merged togetherto a single narrowly defined policy. Life'sdecisions become a choice between blind-ing white and daunting black, with strandsof greyness in between.

It is irrational to conclude that a free-market businessman who would not minda tax cut is doubtlessly anti-abortion, pro-gun, in favour of the death penalty, andpromotes the interests of Israel. On theother side of the coin, an environmentalactivist does not necessarily agree withsame-sex marriages, universal publichealthcare, and raising the minimumwage. However, dual majority politics tagsa set to an element of the set. One eitheraccepts this alphabet soup of idealsbecause one likes the letters A and C, orrejects it completely in favour of colouredCheerios. Alphabet cereal is just not anoption.

One may yet choose the grey, butknowingly voting for a party whose victo-ry is mathematically improbable is as goodas a protest vote against the majority.

Granted, this is better than a non-vote forthe majority, but in the end, the views ofthis minority become not any more impor-tant in the everyday government. It is alsonotable that this third party is most likelyto be a majority of the minority, and henceno more representative of the overallminority population.

To trust the majority to respect thebeliefs of the minority is a paradoxicalproposition. What makes a group a minor-ity is not a simple matter of auxiliarybeliefs. Often the minority is in oppositionto the majority. If elected, theConservative party and the Republicanparty cannot be relied upon to defend gayrights, just as the Liberal party or theDemocratic party cannot promise to finan-cially relieve overtaxed individuals.

Democracy may be the best system wecurrently have, but it is not perfect. Wemust still rely on the good judgement ofthe majority to make sure that our societyremains peaceful and co-operative. Thereis, however, one strong incentive for themajority to act in good faith: as our societyprogresses and the population redistributesitself, any majority can become a minorityin a short amount of time. The desire to betreated fairly as a future minority is astrong argument for the current majority tobehave.

5Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Features

The whole purpose of having a democ-ratic system of government is that it

allows people to elect leaders who theyfeel will best represent their views andadvocate their needs to the country. Andwhile it is true that the best-establishedpolitical parties, in particular the Liberals,the Conservatives, and the NDP, haveenough resources and influence at theirdisposal to meet the needs of a great manycitizens, they may not represent manyviews strongly held by the citizens ofCanada. Herein lies the importance of so-called ‘fringe parties’: they may not getelected, and they may not even stand achance, but they represent a set of views asdiverse as the people who hold them, thecitizens of this great country, Canada.

It is often the case that people see noother option than to vote for the Liberalsor the Conservatives. But the citizens ofQuebec, disillusioned by the lack of atten-tion from either party, started a series of‘fringe parties’ which eventually turnedinto the Bloc Québécois. This party hasgiven a lot of attention to the needs ofQuebec as a distinct society, and its famehas spread not only nationwide, but world-wide.

Theoretically, anyone can run for pub-lic office in Canada, if they provide asmall amount of money and the signaturesof a few supporting citizens. This giveseveryone a chance — not just those whofollow the beliefs of any major party. Andalthough the chances of one of these par-ties winning an appreciable majority is

slim, they are very likely to draw attentionto themselves and the issues they representin the election process. Also, they mayprovide useful ideas for social, political, orfinancial reform that could be adopted bya better-established party.

Just to provide an idea of what kind ofoptions we have as Canadians, we havenot one Communist party, but two: TheCommunist Party of Canada and theMarxist-Leninist party. The Green party isa well-known advocate of environmentalissues, and has received considerablemedia attention. The Marijuana party iswell-known among the student populace,and offers a definitive solution to the semi-committed stance Canada has taken on thelegalization of weed. The Canadian ActionParty, although founded on some radicaleconomic ideas and definitely not a friendof the banks, provides the unemployed andstruggling with hope and unwavering loy-alty (as well as a cool comic online!) Andthe Carb Options party brings dietaryissues to the forefront of politics.

There are many who would claim thatvoting for one of these or another ‘fringeparties’ constitutes throwing your voteaway. However, is not the purpose of ademocracy to vote for the party which youfeel best supports your views? The usualCanadian voting philosophy of choosingthe ‘lesser of two (or three or four) evils’,yet not really believing in or supportingany of the major parties, is a good way toencourage political stagnation. If peoplekeep voting for these parties without ques-tion, they will never grow or change tomeet the needs of the citizens. Voting forsomething you don’t really believe in,that’s throwing your vote away. But goingwith your conviction and voting for who-ever you think will represent you best,regardless of party size; that’s whatdemocracy is all about.

Dan Arnott

1B Environmental

Small Cheerios: The Voice of Minority in the Big World

Editor’s Note: Point vs. Counterpoint isintended as a forum for objective andthought provoking debate on variousissues. The views and opinions expressedhere do not necessarily reflect those ofthe author(s), the Iron Warrior, or theEngineering Society.

POINT VS. COUNTERPOINT

Should Minor Political Parties BotherSponsoring Candidates in Elections?

Anonymous

Continued on page 8. See Fringe Parties.

“ There is somethingridiculous about a

twelve-party system.”

Quoc Huy T. Le

4A Electrical

Canada Day has come and gone. Whileyou enjoyed a long weekend and fire-

works by Columbia Lake, a few EngSocdirectors have been busy making changesto the events they have been planningsince the beginning of the term.

Since last Thursday, July 1st, the insur-ance company for the Federation ofStudents no longer provides coverage forany events held at licensed off-campuslocations. This includes not only pubs, butalso any other establishments where alco-holic beverages are served. However,FEDS may still organize similar activitiesat Fed Hall or Bomber, as the insurance isstill in effect on-campus.

As one of the many student organiza-tions operating under FEDS, EngSoc hasbeen insured for all of its wet events out-side the school in the past, but will beginto experience the impact this change hason a few of its beloved traditions, namelyDUSTED, B**5, Brunny Trip and TalEng.Fortunately for DUSTED, it was sched-uled for June 25th, before the new policytook effect. As for TalEng, its location hasbeen changed from Loose Change Louis’,which for the past couple of terms hashosted the Engineering students to showoff their talents. Now TalEng is being heldin the Bomber.

However, the policy change does notmean these popular events have to be can-celled all together. EngSoc is trying tokeep them running. Under the new policy,FEDS groups may purchase insurance fora particular event they are planning off-campus after having filed paperwork toassess the event’s risk factors. The currentdifficulty is that the money required forthe premium was not included in the soci-ety’s budget, passed at the beginning ofthe term, since the insurance was exclu-sively paid by FEDS before the changes

were applied. The temporary financial solution will

have to come from students who attend theaforementioned events. If past attendanceis kept, (B**5 attracts over a hundred stu-dents, while DUSTED and Brunny Tripeach take up to 48 students) the events willaverage to a few dollars per student.However, EngSoc president Josh Levitzhopes that in future terms, the insurancewill be completely subsidized by theEngineering Society.

The change follows the insuranceindustry’s trend in recent years where thepolicy providers become less and less will-ing to accept any risks. Off-campus wetevents are perceived as more risky by theinsurance company. At this point, it is stillunknown that by no longer covering suchevents, whether the insurer will decreasethe amount of premium charged to theFederation of Students.

In the words of Gord Downy during theHIP concert on July 1st, “I feel so patri-

otic”! Thanks one million one hundredthirty-seven to all those volunteers whocame out and made the EngineeringOlympics at UW’s Canada Day Bash ahuge success. Free tetanus shots for allthose who braved the dunk tank.

I also want to encourage everyone toATTEND THIS WEEK’S ENGSOCMEETING -DO IT! - because we have aspecial guest. Miranda Restorick, fromthe Canadian Federation of EngineeringStudents, is coming to see how ourEngSoc operates and give an overview ofCFES and its potential impact on ourEngineering Society. FREE X-BOXESFOR ALL ATTENDEES, and by X-Boxes

I mean dinner.The Engineering Blood Donor

Challenge is running until July 17. As oflast week the faculty was winning. Wecan’t have that, team. Let’s step it up likebutter and beat those pesky profs.

I would like to congratulate Jeff Henry,Jon Fishbein, Angela MacLean, andJoseph Fung for a fantastic job as the2003-2004 ESSCO executive committee.Congratulations and best wishes to RahulBhardwaj, who was elected the new VPFinance of ESSCO.

Lastly, there will be some new boardsin the hallway connecting E2 and CPHadvertising PEO and OSPE. Anyone whoplans to join the engineering profession(and there is a small probability that thiswill be some of us) should be aware thatPEO is a regulating body while OSPE is alobbying committee. Talk to me, checkthe board, or Google these acronyms formore information.

Keep your ear to the street for WIEevents, with possible surprise guest….theDean.

Those of you who eagerly await the VPFinance spiel were undoubtedly dis-

appointed by the last issue. But I’m back,and the finances of the society have neverbeen better. With the new VP Financenow elected, I’m preparing for a smoothtransition so EngSoc’s money will contin-ue to be managed well.

I urge directors to get their expenseforms in before exams. Otherwise youmight be disappointed when you don’t getyour cheque for a few weeks.

In addition, I’d like to dispel the falserumours that were published in this maga-zine regarding my alleged dealings withother faculties. Don’t fret, your moneyhas never, and will never touch the handsof the artsies.

In my never-ending search for a PulitzerPrize nomination, I’ve decided to write

this report in verse. All complaints can beforwarded to the new VP Internal.

Last week saw DUSTEDTravel to PlattsvilleEveryone got bustedWelcome to Drunksville.

Rafting in water white,Was the same weekendOur crew big waves did fightAnd torrential currents did fend.

TalEng, again, was a success story

With jugglin’, music, and dancing,There even was some poet’ry.Right now I’ll just say “prancing”.

…

Genius Bowl is coming upWhere smart engineers Battle for the cupAmidst their colleagues’ cheers.

A formal of semi is coming up FridayTo dance and dine at the UW Club(The place where profs eat lunch each

day).There’ll even be a buffet full o’ grub.

That was as painful for me as it was foryou. Believe me. As an aside, see how Ishortened some of those words with apos-trophes? That’s what makes a good poem.Write that down. To nominate people forPulitzer Prizes, check outwww.pulitzer.org.

We’re almost there everyone! Onemore month and we get a little vaca-

tion before we work. I hope the term isgoing well, though, and no one is com-pletely stressed out! Everything on theEngSoc front is going excellent so let’skeep it up.

I’ve actually got some more news inregards to the insurance issues the univer-sity has been having. I was told by theFEDS that events such as B**5 will stillbe allowed to go on with no extra cost forevent insurance. As long as the focus ofthe event is not on drinking, there should-n’t be a problem as long as the paperwork

is filled out appropriately. Needless to saythis is fantastic news as the insurance pol-icy change will only affect us in a minorway now!

I would like to say thank you to theCanada Day directors and volunteers. Iwas there for most of the day and every-thing ran smoothly. The community lovedthe mini-olympics, and I have to say Iloved the dunk tank! It is always a greatsight to see EngSoc organized events runso well, and help so many people have agood time!

And finally, congratulations to thenewly elected EngSoc exec. I don’t doubtthat you’ll keep the society in the greatshape it is in right now!

That’s all for me. Only a couple moreof these articles for me and I’m done! Iknow the paper won’t be the same withoutthem but hopefully our new president is abetter writer than I am! Take care every-one and see you around.

6 Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

EngSoc Executive

Grant Holohan

Vice President,Finance

Matt Strickland

Vice President,Internal

Engineering Society Executive Reports

Good News on Insurance

Josh Levitz

President

Did you know you can earn valuableP**5 points for volunteering time atthe C&D? Email Mary Bland atmbland@engmail.uwaterloo.ca toschedule your shift.

Pulitzer Prize Please

Blood, Sweat, and Tears It Wasn’t Me!

Jeff Alfonsi

Vice President,External

As per usual, there are a bunch ofmajor things going on around

campus education-wise right now.There was a JobMine forum on

Tuesday July 6th, but since that’s after thesubmission date for this article, I can’twrite about it now.

There are two sets of surveys goingon; debt load surveys, which show theDean’s office how broke we really are (sofill one out and return it to the Orifice),and course critiques, which are used togive profs feedback on their teachingstyle, as well as being used for salaryadjustments and teaching assignments.

There was also a PDEng forum lastweek, which provided some great feed-back. Thanks to all who attended, and I’llwrite more about it next time when I havea little bit more time to write.

Emma Bardon

Vice President,Education

Debt Loads& Critiques

Insurance Issues Update

Cindy Bao

3A Electrical

This term WEEF will be spending$45,000 within the faculty. The

money will be spent on new lab equip-ment, computer upgrades, teaching tools,and student teams. The total amount offunding requested sums to approximately$90,000.

By the end of next week the fundingcouncil will make its decision on which ofthe deserving applicants receives funding,and the appropriate amount. The fundingcouncil meeting is the most importantmeeting on the WEEF calendar. It is therethat student representatives (one fromeach on-stream class) vote on the fundinggranted to each department or studentteam which has submitted a proposal. Theinitial decision-making process is gov-erned 100% by students. After the fund-ing council meeting, the board of directorsapproves the funding decision.

In the past there has been a significantproblem with the attendance of the WEEFreps, despite the fact that there are only amaximum of 3 meetings for the reps toattend all term. Now I realize the meet-ings aren’t as fun as Eng-Soc meetings,and the dreamy Josh Levitz is not going toshow up, but we are deciding the fate of$45,000 here. Isn’t that important? Did Imention the free cookies and pizza at themeetings?

It is important for one representativefrom each department to attend the meet-ings; otherwise students from otherdepartments could divert the funding toonly their department and leave the absen-tee’s department empty-handed.

Many of the student teams that applyto WEEF are extremely dependant on thefunding. Some teams received their start-up money from WEEF, withou which theycould not have built themselves into oneof the prestigious student teams thatWaterloo holds so closely in its definitionof success. WEEF has supported teamssuch as UWAFT, WARG, WOMBAT,Midnight Sun, Free Flight Glider,Formula SAE, Clean Snowmobile Teamand more.

WEEF is happy to support many stu-dent teams around Engineering, from thesmall and ambitious to the large and pres-tigious. We are providing the funding forexceptional students to achieve exception-al goals through the advancement ofextracurriculars. If you have a group ofpeople with a great idea, but no money,WEEF is the perfect place to start.

It is surprising to me that this termthere are no proposals for 4th-year pro-jects. This would have been a greatopportunity to get funding for some

groups. In the past, WEEF has providedfunding for various projects among all dis-ciplines of engineering.

Now I have no predictions as to wherethe funding is going to end up, but I amsure that the funding council will do agreat job, as they always have. As thedirector I will order them pizza, sit back,and let them do what they do best – spend$45,000 to make your education brighter,

richer, and more fulfilling.On another note, you may be seeing

some spiffy new t-shirts really soon.Watch for the new WEEF t-shirts in thehalls. If you want one, you can buy yourvery own in the novelties shop. Trust me,you’ll want one.

Oh, and just in case you were wonder-ing, the principal amount is now over $5.3million. Now that’s well endowed!

7Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

EngSoc Executive

E.O.T

Check out up-to-the-day eventpostings on theEngSoc websitewww.engsoc.uwaterloo.ca

Arts Week StartsEWB Meeting

WIE Wine andCheese

Genius Bowl Engineering Play Engineering Play

EngSoc Potluck Meeting

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

24232221201918

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAYSUNDAY

Upcoming Events from EngSoc

Erin Young

WEEF Director

WEEF Begins Funding Proposal Reviews

Did you know that the average cost ofowning a car is $40 per day? Or that

Canada has some of the lowest gas pricesin the developed world? Or that we mighthave roaming blackouts by 2005 if wecontinue to use oil at our current pace?You would, had you been at the the secondEngineers Without Borders (WaterlooChapter) dicussion group held on June 16on the Grassy Knoll.

The EWB-Waterloo discussion groupsare a forum for reflection on current issuesthat impact us locally and globally. Wechoose issues that are relevant to studentsfrom all faculties with differing globalperspectives. The past discussion groupquestioned whether high gas prices aregood or not and debated the impacts theymight have on our communities. Here is asummary of what transpired.

Gasoline in Canada is undervaluedbecause oil is one of our most abundantresources and the environmental cost ofextraction is not included in the price atthe pump. This promotes a culture wheregas is cheaper than water and as a result itis consumed at comparable rates. Highgas prices force people to be more effi-cient. In the short term, they will discour-age people from driving and idlinguneccesarily. If high gas prices are sus-tained, they will promote the use of small-er cars and public transportation, whichwill reduce the harmful emissions thatcause a host of environmental problemsfrom smog to climate change. Canadacurrently taxes gasoline heavily (someattendees contested that taxes were above50%) and there was wide spread supportfor these taxes, because they can be direct-ed to creating higher quality public trans-portation. Despite these taxes, evenhigher gas prices in Europe, along withother factors such as high population den-sity, have shaped a society that is lessreliant on cars and has more efficient pub-lic transportation.

Although high gas prices may promoteenvironmental efficiency, what aboutshort-term economic efficiency?Increased prices at the pump will maketransportation for daily goods such as veg-etables more costly and these prices willbe passed onto the consumer. Might thisaffect inflation? Perhaps high gas pricesare in the long term interest of the publicbut short-term spikes like the one in May2004 may cost consumers more.

For more information about EWB dis-cussion groups, email waterloo@ewb.caor visit our website at http://www.uwater-loo.ewb.ca. Our next group will be onWednesday, 7 July at the Grassy Knoll(beside the Grad House) and the topic willbe announced on our website.

Scott Griffiths2003 Systems Alumni

EWB: HigherGas Prices

WEEF Funding Requests

ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS Funds Requested

CHEMICAL AND EVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALEquipment Required to Increase $12,000.00Capacity of ChE032 Lab

CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL CIVIL & GEOLOGICALAcademic Network Version of GPS-X $2, 348.00GPS $3,121.10Newbury Streamlab Demonstration Flume $1,043.25

SYSTEMS DESIGNSystems Teaching and Workshop Lab Upgrade $3,279.00Monitors for Systems DASL Lab $2,988.00

ELECTRICAL & COMPUTERAudio Wireless Microphone System for E2-3344 $953.76Monitor Replacement and Upgrade for Nexus $2,410.00Oscilloscope $4,857.60Oscilloscope GPIB to USB adaptor $6,672.00

MISCELLANEOUSEngineering Student Machine Shop $27,000.00

SUBTOTAL DEPARTMENTS $64,324.71

STUDENT TEAMSWARG $6,900.00UW ASIC Group $1635.00NTT Project $730.00Free Flight Glider Team $735.00Formula SAE $5,800.00Clean snow $500.00Mini-Baja (WOMBAT) $3,870.00Midnight Sun $5560.00SUBTOTAL STUDENT TEAMS $25,730.00

TOTAL $90,054.71

tered and can now start campaigning. Theonly problem is that campaigning costsmoney. Little pamphlets cost money.Those signs you see on people’s lawnscost money. Delivery and distribution ofthose pamphlets and signs costs time.And what is it all for? To build up thehope that a victory might be achieved in afew select ridings since there aren’tenough representatives to cover every rid-ing in Canada? For minor groups with lit-tle representation and little support,campaigning is a lost cause and a wasteof time and money.

Suppose so-called minor parties doreceive a relatively significant number ofvotes. What happens is that the votes arenow split among many groups instead ofconcentrated on the one major party thatis most representative of the Canadianpeople. Who’s to say that the NDP shouldnot have received more seats if a few indi-viduals had voted NDP instead of Green?Could the Liberal party have had themajority of the ridings instead of being aminority elect if key votes were not wast-ed on parties that had no chance of win-ning? Perhaps, and perhaps not, but myargument here is that giving the popula-tion too many options is not a good thing,because it makes it that much harder forthe true winner to become acknowledgedas the party with whom the majority of thepopulations agrees the most. One right-wing party has a higher chance of winningthan one out of four or five left-wing par-ties, as an extreme example.

Clearly, the endeavour to change thesystem by way of creating one’s ownparty is a waste. There are much moreefficient methods of changing the system.What about becoming a part of one of theexisting major political parties and chang-ing it from the inside? This, at the veryleast, could give a breakaway party someexperience and credibility when it comestime for them to run on their own.Bringing new and radical ideas to thetable is too much for a society like ours, inwhich old habits are hard to break.

A lack of representation, support, andtime-tested strategies for dealing with theimportant issues, combine to result inminor political groups getting washedaway on Election Day. Their motivesmay be righteous. But their failure is atestament to the fact that competingagainst the experience of parties that havebeen developing for decades is a nothingbut a hoop dream. Minority partiesshouldn’t even bother running.

8 Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Columns

WWDC 2004

Apple's Worldwide DevelopersConference was held last week. Asusual, Steve Jobs' keynote addresscaused a stir among technology afi-cionados. The presentation confirmedwhat has been rumoured for weeks,which was the introduction of arevamped line of Apple CinemaDisplays. These new aluminium-encased high quality LCD monitorswill replace the current aging line-up,and will be offered in 20, 22, and 30-inch versions at 100 ppi. The 20 and23-inch version will also work onPCs. The real story was the 30-inch,however, with a whopping 4.1 mil-lion pixels. To drive this new monitorrequires a dual output graphics card(because single DVI output can onlydrive half the monitor). nVidia willbe providing an all new graphics cardjust for this monitor. The card itself(which Jobs proudly said will be adual dual-output card, able to supporttwo 30" monitors side by side) willretail for $829, a bargain compared tothe retail price of $4699 for the mon-itor itself. Windows users will bespared from depleting their walletsbecause this piece of work is Mac-only.

Self-parking Volvo

Fourth-year mechatronics students atone Swedish university have, in col-laboration with Volvo, developed anauto-navigating automobile. RunningLinux off a Pentium 4 computer inthe car's trunk, the computer is able tolocate and manoeuvre a full-sizedsedan into a parallel parking spot.The dashboard of the car is equippedwith a LCD screen that showsinstructions to the driver. The LCDwill give instructions in real time tothe driver as to which direction toturn in, and how far to go in eachdirection. In cars equipped with elec-tronically assisted steering, the driveronly needs to change gears and thecar will steer by itself. In the mostoutrageous case, if there is no driver,the car will operate and park entirelyindependently. More information andthree demonstration videos are avail-able at http://www.ikp.liu.se/evolve/.Hopefully this will not increase dri-ver's insurance premiums.

Techbytes

On a clear day, away from city lights,you can see hundreds of stars in the

sky. To the naked eyes the only planets vis-ible are within our own solar system. Eventhe most expensive terrestrial telescopescannot directly detect planets orbiting otherstars. Developments in technology andtheoretical knowledges within the past fewdecades, however, have allowedastronomers to confirm the existence ofplanets orbiting nearby stars.

Since as early as 1996, over one hun-dred exoplanets have been documented.Since planets don’t emit radiant energy oftheir own (to any appreciable degree), howdo astronomers know they exist? The trickis to notice the tell-tale signs that a largebody of matter is lurking about. Sinceplanets, like all heavenly bodies, are mas-sive objects, other nearby masses areaffected by their gravity. Increased tele-scopic resolutions allow astronomers toprecisely measure the periodic lateral shiftsin the star position or “wobble.” Thesepositional shifts can be accounted for by amass pulling on the star in one direction,then in the other direction periodically. Inother words, a star’s wobble is due to aplanet or planets’ gravity pulling it backand forth.

Another innovative method of findingplanets that is quite effective, especiallywith relatively younger stars (say, only sev-eral million years old) is by reading theswirls of dust that appear around the star.But how can we see the dust, you mightask? For the most part, it is the dust thatsurrounds the star (and, to a lesser degree,the dust between the star and us) that deter-mines the colour shift of the light when itreaches Earth. It’s somewhat similar tohow the sky looks blue during mid-after-noon, but appears more reddish in the lateevening because the sunlight has to travelthrough more of the atmosphere before ithits our eyes. When the distribution of dustaround a star starts swirling due to a planetpassing through, that causes a gradient tooccur in the colour spectrum of the star. Bymeasuring this gradient against the knownemission spectrum of the star, astronomerscan calculate approximately how fast aplanet was moving across that region andthe planet’s mass.

Pretty impressive, right? Well, as bril-liant as these methods are, they’re still rel-

atively new and plagued with tight restric-tions. First, a star must be close enough forus to actually discern the wobble. Thesepositional shifts are orders of magnitudesmaller than the star’s motion throughspace. To this end, the orbiting planet’smass must be sufficiently large, or the massof the star must be relatively small (orboth) for the star to wobble to any signifi-cant degree. Second, the wobble in a star isexaggerated with an orbit that is ellipticalin nature. An elliptical orbit puts moregravitational force on the star at somepoints during the planet’s orbit than others.This regular change in force magnitudecreates more of a wobble than circularorbits. Third, elliptical orbits also serve tomagnify the swirls created by planets orbit-ing young stars since their velocities willbe higher when the planet is closer to thestar. Higher exoplanetary velocities createa more distinct spectrum gradient. Becauseof this, planets with high velocities andclose orbits are more likely to be detected.

Planets most likely to be found aremassive ones that elliptically orbit closelyaround a young star near to us at highspeeds. It’s no surprise then that one of theearliest planets discovered belong to thestar known as 55 Cancri. It is a gas giantthat is almost the mass of Jupiter, and itorbits the star in 14.6 days at a distance thatis ten times closer to its star than the Earthis to the Sun (one tenth of an AstronomicalUnit (AU)). 55 Cancri’s second (recentlydiscovered) planet orbits at a distance thatis five times the distance of its sister (1/2AU). Its elliptical orbit takes 13 years tocomplete and its mass is 3.5 to 5 times thatof Jupiter. The smallest planet to ever bediscovered is at least 40 times the mass ofearth. It belongs to the star HD49674 inthe constellation of Auriga. It orbits at adistance of one-twentieth of an AU (one-twentieth the distance between the Earthand the Sun.)

Hopefully, in the near future as technol-ogy continues to advance, the study of exo-planets will continue to grow. Aside fromthe classic questions like, “Is there lifeelsewhere in the galaxy?” the study ofthese planets has a more immediate andmeaningful importance. Little is defini-tively known about how planets are formedand the stages of its geological evolution(aside from our own planet, of course).Even less is known about what happens toa planet when it reaches a venerable agebefore its star goes nova. Much like howthe study of nearby stars has given us a newperspective on the history (and future) ofour Sun, the study of these planets will giveus a glimpse into the history and develop-ment of our solar system.

Exoplanet DiscoveriesFringe PartiesShouldn’t Bother...continued from Page 5.

Spiders, Octopuses, and Models: Spider-man Review

Spider-man, Spider-man, does whatevera spider can! Spins a web, any size,

catches crooks, just like flies. Woo hoo,here comes the Spider-man! That's right;Spider-man broke in to the theatres in ahuge mid-week debut. After such a greatsuccess with the first instalment, Spider-man 2 had some big webs to fill. Thesequel pulled all the stops in the two hoursof action, romance, suspense, and slap-to-the-face defiance of logic and physics.

First with the action. This movie findsour beloved web-slinger pitted against theillustrious Dr. Octopus. The battles in themovie are frequent and fast-paced. Witheight arms and a steady supply of innocentbystanders, Doc Oc takes Spider-man tothe brink of his abilities and beyond. Othersweet scenes include Spider-man show-boating his acrobatic aptitude and foilingseveral random petty thugs.

The romantic storyline is continuedfrom the first movie. Parker continues tobe horribly inept around Mary-Jane, andreally just leaves you needing somethingto hit.

The suspense in the movie is anotherlow point. There is never any doubt as towhat will happen next; the movie feels likethe RPG I wrote in high school. The other

problem in the film here is that Spider-manis constantly being unmasked beforeeveryone, to the point that everybody andtheir brother knows Peter Parker is Spider-man.

Finally, my favourite part of the movie,the mutilation of common sense and sci-ence. First, if I were to build an elevatedrail system, I know the brake systemwould be easily subvertable and the trackwould end in a dramatic lemming jumpinto the river! Second, we've all heard ofthe power of positive thinking, right? Ithink I can, I think I can. Well, one morn-ing, Spider-man woke up and must havebeenin the wrong frame of mind entirely,to the point he reverted to needing glassesand being a dorky dresser! Lastly, and mypersonal favourite, we can all learn from

this. If any of us ever find ourselves facedwith an unstable star lashing out at thevery fabric of the world by acting as amagnetic black hole, all we need to do isdrop it in the lake! Because obviously, alittle water is more than enough to dousethe heat of nuclear fission.

However, the movie was all it wasmade out to be, and showed some realHollywood magic through the faith of achild. Henry Jackson, Peter's Aunt's coura-geous neighbour, quite literally saved notonly Spider-man but the whole movie, thatand Stan Lee's cameo saving a bystanderfrom being crushed by falling debris.Thanks to Henry and Stan, I give thismovie a full 9 out of 10, definitely see it, Imean really, what else were you going todo tonight? Calc?

Elliot Powidajko

2B Mechanical

Quoc Huy T. Le

4A Electrical

9Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Your Campus

It has been said in the PEO Code ofEthics that an engineer’s duty to society

and the public welfare is paramount,above even his/her duty to employers andclients. So when we look at the world andsee people in poverty, in need of technol-ogy or resources, or unable to fully usethat which they have; ashumans and engineerswe desire to help how-ever we can. For mostof us, this would meantaking what we’velearned in our classesand co-op placements,and applying it to theabove problems howev-er we can. EngineersWithout Borders is anexcellent example ofpeople like us doing justthat.

However, it also says in the PEO Codeof Ethics, Regulation 77, Section 7-5, that“A Practitioner shall… uphold the princi-ple of adequate compensation for engi-neering work” (PEO, 1990). This bringsup the question, if we feel the need to vol-unteer our skills and time to benefit soci-ety, are we expected to charge for it? Isn’tpaid volunteering just… work?

While it could be interpreted that thePEO Code of Ethics would be contra-vened by volunteering, Dr. Robert Gorbet,P.Eng., had this to say. “I believe that acharge of unethical behaviour would beunfounded. The spirit of that clause is toavoid bidding wars with one firm offering

50% of the prices of another firm.” Afterall, it is seldom the case where one com-pany will volunteer to do engineeringwork that another company would havecharged for.

Then again, the ProfessionalEngineers Act’s definition of ‘engineeringservices’ applies whether these servicesare being volunteered or paid for. ThePEO therefore offers a Certificate ofAuthorization for those who are “… prac-tising professional engineering and engag-ing in the business of offering orproviding those services to anyone butyourself or your employer, you require a

Certificate ofAuthorization” (PEOwebsite).

A C of A is requiredif you advertise yourselfas a provider of engi-neering services, sellany custom-designed ororiginal product to thepublic, or volunteer orwork for anyone otherthan your currentemployer. They areavailable to any P.Eng

in good standing with at least 5 years ofexperience, for $535.00 and $267.50 torenew. The holder of a C of A also needsto have liability insurance, or needs toinform his/her clients that he/she hasnone, and have their consent. It is also amatter of professional courtesy that youlet your current employer know that youare volunteering/working elsewhere inaddition to your normal job, in order toavoid any conflicts of interest.

In the end, it is good to know that thePEO has such a certificate for those of uswho would volunteer our skills and ourtime to solve problems around the world.After all, that’s one of the main thingsengineering is about - problem solving.

Dan Arnott

1B Environmental

Volunteering and theEngineering Profession

Awet and wild weekend! Okay, beforeyou get the wrong idea, I’m talking

about the trip to Ottawa River last week-end to experience some sensational whitewater rafting, and not a trip to some ques-tionable “alternative” convention (thoughI concede the Pride parade was on thesame weekend and the 7+ hour bus ridedid leave bottoms comparatively numb).

After arriving at River Runners(www.riverrunners.com), the outfit wewere rafting with, shortly after midnight,we were branded with Frosh Week-likebracelets, and shown to the “cabanas” inwhich we were to sleep. Before you startthinking about trellises adorned withhibiscus on a sandy beach, these cabanasare actually little cabins that look like out-houses from the outside, and contain theaforementioned wooden planks in astrange bunk bed arrangement. Beforehunkering down for the night, in typicalcamping fashion, we sat around a camp-fire, sans marshmallows, and listened to

stories. It was agreed that introductionsshould be made, except one was notallowed to introduce oneself, and based onthese “introductions”, a.k.a. embarrass-ing/incriminating stories, each personwould be given a nickname, e.g. “Jugs”,"Barely Legal", “Jail Bait", “Good Times”and others that contain words this paperwon’t publish.

Three hours of sleep and a waiver later,the rafting began. There’s a lot of paddlinginvolved in between the “white water”, butonce we did hit a rapid, those rafting pic-tures of exhilarated people getting tossedabout by undulating rollercoaster-likewaves would be an accurate depiction ofus. Luckily, it only rained torrentiallywhile we shored up to eat lunch, and after-wards, it was gorgeous sunbathing weath-er, even warm enough to go for avoluntary swim. One person, who was onthe raft that nearly capsized and threw nineout of the twelve on board into the water,lost one of his shoes when he fell out. Butother than that, there were no casualties,except for the target of an on-raft phone-booking incident.

All in all, this was a welcome après-midterms trip, with potential to be runevery summer term. Last, but not least, awarm thanks to Greg Roderick for orga-nizing the whole thing so well.

Alicia Liu

2B Computer

White Water Rafting Trip

“...if we feel the needto volunteer our skills

and time to benefitsociety, are we expect-

ed to charge for it?Isn’t paid volunteering

just...work?”

A boatful of happy Engineers takes a quick breather on the shore.

1 0 Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Arts & Entertainment

Ifound that a great way to cut down onthe time for cooking is to make just one

dish for a meal. For these two recipes, youdon’t have to concern yourself with sidedishes and they keep well in the fridge, soyou can make plenty ahead of time.

Aloo GobiCourtesy of the “Bend It Like

Beckham” DVDI learned to make this Indian dish from

the feel-good movie "Bend It LikeBeckham", where the heroine Jessexclaimed, "Who wants to make AlooGobi when you can bend a ball likeBeckham." I was never born a soccer play-er, but the Aloo Gobi demonstration by themovie's director, featured on its DVD,seem to be something I am capable of andI'd like to share it here.

It is a vegetarian dish, great with bas-mati rice. As I just realized, most of therecipes I have given out so far are not forthe carnivores out there, although some,like the Quesadillas and the Thai peanutnoodles can be switched to non-vegetariandishes with the addition of some meat.

1/4 cup vegetable oil1 large onion, peeled and cut into smallpiecesA dozen or so sprigs of fresh coriander,separated into stalks and leaves and rough-ly chopped1tsp cayenne pepper1 large cauliflower, leaves removed andcut evenly into eighths3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into evenpieces2 medium tomatoes, chopped2 tsp ginger, peeled and grated3 cloves of garlic, chopped1 tsp cumin seeds2 tsp turmeric1 tsp salt2 tsp garam masala

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.Add the chopped onion and cumin seedsand cook until onions become translucent. 2. Add tomatoes, chopped corianderstalks, turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper,ginger and garlic and mix well. 3. Add potatoes and cauliflower to thesauce plus a few tablespoons of water (sothe mixture doesn't stick to the saucepan).Stir until the potatoes and cauliflower arecoated with the curry sauce4. Cover and allow simmering for twentyminutes (or until potatoes are cooked). 5. Stir in Garam Masala and sprinklechopped coriander leaves on top. 6. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for atleast 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings

Chicken Broccoli CasseroleThis casserole is a recipe from my

step-grandmother. Although it is not nec-essarily the season for it now (as bubblingcheese and creamy sauce are more of awinter comfort), I am sure you can clipthis article and store it until you come backafter a work term.

If you find the dish too runny with theamount of broth, you can add diced boiledpotatoes or cooked rice in to give it morebody. They should be placed between thebroccoli and the chicken

3 chicken breasts, cooked and drained2 cups broccoli, blenched and drained2 cans cream of chicken soup1⁄2 cup mayo1 tbsp lemon juice1⁄2 cup grated cheddar cheese1⁄4 cup chicken broth1 tsp salt1⁄2 tsp curry powder (optional)1⁄2 cup bread crumbs1⁄2 melted butter or margarine

1. Layer broccoli on the bottom of greasedcasserole dish. Place chicken on top.2. Mix together soup, mayo, lemon juice,chicken broth, salt, curry and cheese andpour over chicken and broccoli.3. Sprinkle crumbs mixed with butter ontop.4. Bake uncovered at 350º F for 35 min-utes or until topping is brown.

Makes 3 servings

Cindy Bao

3A Electrical

Cindy’s Kitchen: 1-Dishers

With the end of season for NorthAmerican sports that people actual-

ly care about, such as hockey and basket-ball, our eyes turned to Portugal, wherethis year’s Euro Cup was hosted. The EuroCup has many of the best professional soc-cer (that's football to the rest of the world)players in the world competing for thecoveted golden Euro Cup.

For most people in North America,soccer is not a big event, and is given verylimited air time, mostly on Saturday andSunday mornings on Sportsnet. In Europe,football is the biggest sport around, and itbecomes incredibly intense and competi-tive. Soccer hooligans are the life of thesoccer scene, giving excitement and anatmosphere that cannot be beat. This yearthe fans cheering for the underdogs cameout surprised and full of excitement,

because they had ousted the best teams.For those who do not know much

about soccer, England, France, Italy andGermany are generally considered the topteams in Europe. Little did they know thatEngland and France would be beaten bythe home team of Portugal and a littleknown team Greece in the quarter finals.Italy and Germany did not even make it tothe quarter finals, the early upsets.

With all the big teams out, the worldwitnessed one of the biggest upsets in soc-cer history during Euro Cup on SundayJuly 4th, when Angelos Charisteas scoredfor Greece to defeat Portugal 1-0. Portugaloutplayed Greece for the whole game, yetthe underdogs came out victorious withcomradarie and never-say-die perfor-mance. Greece’s road to the championshipwas earned by playing an all-round goodgame, hard on the defense but also aggres-sive at the net. To make it to the finals theyfaced France, the top seeded team, beatingthem 1-0. In the semi-finals, they beat theundefeated Czech Republic 1-0.

With such an upset, the soccer worldneeds to prepare for a more intense andmore competitive World Cup.

Michael Simoes

1B Chemical

Football Craze: Euro Cup

After watching Michael Moore’sFahrenheit 9/11, one might feel more

strongly than ever that documentary filmsare not really about precisely the truth,which many would interpret differently.They are, however, hopefully about thefilmmakers’ belief of truth, or at least theiropinions based on the facts presented intheir creative work. Of course, it doesn’tcome as a surprise that this documentarycomes with a clear political agenda.

The film opened with the election nightof 2000, Al Gore was celebrating his vic-tory in Florida with the Gigli star who lateralmost became Mr. J. Lo standing behindhim, only to be told otherwise later by FoxNews. However, the fortune didn’t smile atthe winner either, as Bush’s approval rat-ing dropped and then the hijacked planescrashed into the World Trade Center.

The movie was off to a promising start.I was not in it for the historical accuracy ofthe Bush government’s handlings of post-September 11. Yet given the frustrationswith this militaristic, and at times, seem-ingly logorrheic president, it’s hard toresist the poke-fun-at-Bush ride that stirredup so much controversy.

The first half of the film was centeredon the president and his family’s businessties with the Saudi royalties and the Bin

Laden family. Moore has openly expressedhis dislike of George Jr. (fictitious presi-dent) and his take on the unnecessary IraqiWar. In the film he said it again loud andclear by guessing that Bush might bethinking to blame it all on Saddam Husseinduring the seven minutes he sat in theFlorida classroom after the second planestruck. Yet, while the material certainlyprovoked a debate, somehow it failed totickle a nevre and engage me to resonatewith it.

Later, the film took a turn for the betteras Moore returned to the average-American-folk route. In his hometown ofFlint, Michigan, the unemployment ratewas skyrocketing. According to LilaLipscomb, who worked for a job trainingprogram agency, the military seemed anattractive option for many less privilegedpeople. She was a proud American whowore a cross and put the stars-and-stripesflag in front of her house every day, Lilalater lost her son in Iraq. The second halfof the movie is what makes the film morethan just Bush-bashing, and speaks vol-umes to the audience.

Moore’s film is not a reflection of his-tory, like many in the documentary genre,but is aimed at the future. The film’s dis-tributors even had plans of releasing it onDVD shortly before the election.

However, the film seemed too busy toserve its propaganda purpose (or freespeech, depending on your prospective). Itlacks the artistic merits to justify the Palmed’Or at the Cannes Film Fest, and I wouldforever swear off Oscar if it bringsMichael Moore another statuette.

Propoganda You Want toWatch: Fahrenheit 9/11

Cindy Bao

3A Electrical

Over the past years there have beenmany rumours about MSG. But

what exactly is this wonder drug/cook-ingredient? First of all, MSG standsfor Monosodium Glutamate. It is a saltthat is made from glutamate acid.Glutamate acid is one of the mostcommon amino acids found in nature,in everything from meats to vegeta-bles. This amino acid is made intoMSG crystals by af e r m e n t a t i o nprocess of sugarcane, sugar beets,corn sugar or wheatstarch. Pure MSGhas little taste of itsown, but is used toenhance the tastesof other foods.

Many non-asian people argue thatMSG dehydrates you and makes yousick. This is in fact not true. If you askme, it is the cheap chinese food that'smaking them sick. In fact it's not evenreal chinese food that they are eating.Deep fried chicken balls and egg rollsare not authentic chinese foods. Theyare the most horrible excuse for foodused to rip off people who don't knowany better. How these foods became sopopular, I don't know. But how did this

start off? I would imagine that it wentsomething like this...

"Hey Wang, what can we do withall these left over scraps of food?"

"I don't know Kok, maybe we cansell them at a chinese buffet."

"I don't think any chinese personwould eat this garbage, not even at abuffet."

"Why don't we deep fry and sell itto them gway lows as authentic chi-nese food?"

"Great idea Wang!"And thus started the mass selling

of chicken balls and egg rolls. But get-ting back to the main topic, can MSGreally be that harmful? Due to people’songoing concerns about the safety of

MSG, it hasbecome one of themost intenselystudied food ingre-dients. In 1995, theWorld HealthO r g a n i z a t i o nplaced it in thesafest category forfood additives.

Although some people experienceallergic reactions after consumingMSG, that does not make it unsafe,since many people have food allergies.Some people argue that consuminglarge amounts of MSG can dehydrateyou and even larger amounts can leadto blindness. I agree with this point ofview since equally large amounts ofsalt can do the same to you. I mean ifMSG was really that bad for you, whyare there so many asians around?

Cooking With MSG

Edward Tan

7B Computer

“I mean if MSG wasreally that bad for you,why are there so many

asians around?”

1 1Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Arts & Entertainment

ARTS CORNER

Would it matter to you,If I told you how much I love you ?Would it be the alright, if I sacrificed this life,to convey the message same ?

When the prize is your love,No matter what the time and the place,The flight of wingless doves,I have no legs but I'll still run the race,

And there is only you, only you in this whole worldCannot convey how special you are to me, my one oceanic pearl,

Darkness takes over and I burn on the other side,To measure the quickness of my response,is asking for me to die,

I can never win a race set by your standards , I am not that fast,But I will try my best to run, even though I know,you know I will come through last,

There will be many races I will not finish,my heart loves you, but my legs just are'nt in it !Nothing left, head in hands I cry,the winner may have your love, but I know I still tried,

And it may be my many tears that will make you see,That I will always love you more,more than you love me........

Would it matter though..... anymore to you.........would it matter if I sacrificed ....??

PingRahul Bhardwaj, 3A Electrical

There he stands. so tall and cute.I wish he'd come and talk to me.Or maybe i should go to him.Perhaps if i keep staring.

Hey! that girl is pretty hot!I think i'll go and talk to her.

Oh my gosh! he's coming here!Alright! don't painc! just calm down!Look away and fix your hair.Pretend that you don't notice him!

I think i'd like to ask her out."Hello there, lovely. quite a night."

"Hello you. yes, it's quite a night."Oh please! oh please! tell me your name!I really really want to know!And yet, i do not want to ask.

Now introduce yourself, my man."My name's Jack. what's your name?"

Yes! he asked me! now my turn.Oh no! i can't say my name's 'Jill'!Should i say that i'm 'Jillian'?Nah. "my name is Jill. just Jill."

I gotta get this girl outside."So Jill, you want to take a walk?"

Do i want to take a walk?A walk with you? of course i do!I'd better not look too excited.Just a calm reply, "um, sure."

We're outside now. let's ask some ques-tions.

"So, what are you studying here?

Right now i'm studying you, you hunk.Oh gosh. why don't you hold my hand?Or better yet, carry me home!"I'm, um, majoring in History."

Tell her what you do, you dope!"Right now i study Chemistry."

'Chemistry'? well you're in luck.There's quite a bit between us here.Please tell me you're a vegan too!"So what things do you like to eat?"

"Chips, chocolate, fruits and bread.I can't eat meat. it's just not right."

I want to marry him right now.I want to marry him right now.I want to marry him right now."That's cool. i'm a vegan too."

She really is quite beautiful."You really are quite beautiful."

Is he for real? what should i say?Say something nice, right back to him!"Thank you, you're beautiful as well."Oh my. that sounded really dumb.

Hope she'll go out with me sometime."Want to go out with me sometime?"

Don't get excited! calm yourself!Now we must play hard to get!"Um, i don't know. i'm just not sure."Please ask again! please ask again!

Well, you tried, better luck next time."No prob. i guess i'll see ya 'round."Goodbye!

A Girl And A GuyQuoc Huy T. Le, 4A Electrical

Written with tears of a tree,I am no Angel, I am no dream,And I hope you understand,I can never attain your level, not in this lifespan.

Its that silly think you do,When we speak,I start to act like a fool,Raised of pride, yet I am suddenly weak.

And I crumble in front of you, only you,Cause its that silly thing,Funny little silly thing, you do.

A golf ball in a bowling alley,Love I don’t deserve,Have you picked the wrong person, probably ?!Mind spins, emotions stir.

Unable to avoid an Angel out of place,The spiral of my life,Helpless, my strength gives chase

I surrender all hands down,An immortal aftertaste, my never-ending feud,The sweetest thing, you have my crown,Cause its that silly thing, that silly thing you do.

Animal by nature, washed sins in dirt,An untouchable with no purpose to live,I’ll never understand why in this birth,But now I have love from someone to give.

Fluorescent nectar, delivered on the eve,You stopped the wound before I could bleed,I never did deserve this from you,But its that silly thing you gave, and you give generously too.

And it’s a special feeling, when you look at me and smile,Marooned, all the torture, all the troubles, all missed,Because of you, you, life becomes worthwhile

Orphaned, homeless, poor, nothing to give,How can I ever match, ever match,Match all the love you gave me, to live

Sorry, with a a thousand spears into my heart,These hands will always be pierced,And I will always have tears….

For one regret I have this is true,Its that I will never have,Never have a funny silly little ‘muah!’ to offer you

That Silly Thing You DoRahul Bhardwaj, 3A Electrical

you signed onto thisand got what you wan'edbut it aint what you thought

check yourself, come off it

and the worm says:"it aint worth the winnin'if it aint worth the pain"

pickin' pickin' pickin' this apart

you think, yet you think nottrapped in the movementcontradictions of thought

still the worm says:"it aint worth the winnin'if it aint worth the pain"

a hundred times a piecin'piecin' this apartcan’t stand the lightbeen unworthy from the start

and the worm he says:"it aint worth the winnin'if it aint worth the pain"

Ad-hoc PoetryPhoebe Su, 3A Electrical

Once upon a time i had a mouse named Sly.I found this little critter inside my apple pie.When i woke up one morning, i had quite a laugh.The mousetrap i had set out had snapped that Sly in half.

My MouseQuoc Huy T. Le, 4A Electrical

1 2 Fr iday , Ju ly 9 , 2004

Regulars

"Thanks to my poor economic status,drinking a rough mix of ethanol, Listerineand Kool-Aid."Dave “Sideburns” Girodat, 2B Civil

"Contemplating about running away to theBermudas with the solar car money."Daniel Yum, 4A Computer

"Playing hide-and-seek with GPS unit ofthe solar car."Cliel Gilbert, 1B Computer

"Taking a sunbath."

Midnight Sun Solar Car

"Cruising in the solar car trying to pickupgirls... any takers?"Chris Ho, 1B Mechatronics

"Raiding the solar car innards to get spareparts for my bike."Huy Le Tu Quoc, 4A Electrical

"Instigating an Artsy revolution within thesolar car team."Emilie Smith, 2N Poli-Sci Engineering

Iron Inquisition How Did You Celebrate Canada Day?the

Tsu Chiang Chuang, 4A Computer

"Looking for a drive shaft and swearing atthe solar car."Cameron Bruce, 2B Mechanical

As a twenty-some-year-old, I often findmyself wondering what is the pur-

pose in life? What do I want in life? Whatare my values? What are the most impor-tant things in life? We are at the age ofconfusion. We try to find balance betweenbusy school work and exciting life experi-ences. We try to adjust ourselves in vari-ous relationships with others – parents,teachers, partners, friends and lovers. Wequestion about love, marriage, happiness,careers and purpose of life. Throughoutour life journey, we often seek for that cer-tain person to guide us and to point thedirections in our lives. After readingTuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, Ifelt that I had just met such a teacher in mylife.

Do not let the “non-fiction” label ofthis book stop you, even if you are a novelreader. As a successful sports journalist,Mitch Albom had sometimes lost himselfin his piles of work. Oneday, he discovered thathis favourite universityprofessor, who he had notkept in contact with as hepromised, was going todie. Driven by guilt, hedecided to see his oldteacher, Dr. MorrieSchwartz. Morrie was avery unique individual.He was a person full oflove and emotions thatdraws people towardshim. He was full of life

despite the fact that he was diagnosed withadvanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS), a disease with which the patientslowly loses the control nerves of hisentire body and dies accordingly. This is adisease that destroys bodies and soulsslowly. Morrie, on the other hand, viewedit as a gift for him to realize the value oflife and to spread his knowledge and les-son of life to others. It is under these cir-cumstances and with extreme affectiontowards Morrie, that Mitch decided to visitMorrie every Tuesday to be educatedabout life. Through the meetings, Morriegrew weaker and weaker physically, whileMitch became more and more alive underhis influence.

After many years of separation, Mitcheventually found himself and his life men-tor again. He learned lessons on forgive-ness, happiness, self-confidence, careers,money, love, marriage and purpose in life.As Mitch described in the introduction –the last class he had with Morrie tookplace at Morrie’s house every Tuesday,and the subject was life.

This book is a very fast read. When Ifinished it, (which only took me one day)I was deep in thought. It is one of thosebooks that you want to and can read over

and over again. It haschanged my way of view-ing the world and how Ishould live my life. Itsmessage is powerful andhonest. I loved the bookso much that I would readpassages to my parentsand friends, who alsofound it very thought-pro-voking.

Another of MitchAlbom’s reccommendedpieces is The Five PeopleYou Meet in Heaven.

Elisa Zhang

Co-op student

Last Lecture in Life:Tuesdays With Morrie

Welcome back to Engineering History100! Today, we’ll be looking at

some of the ideas, inventions, and engi-neers that helped to make the practice whatit is today. Make sure you take some notes,because this will be on the final.

Until the early 18th century, most con-struction and manufacturing processestook place on a small scale. The worldpopulation was much smaller at the time,and a few skilled craftsmen could usuallyprovide the populace with all the manufac-tured goods that they needed. A few engi-neers provided all the engineering servicesnecessary. But people had ideas. With theinvention of the steam engine by ThomasNewcomen in 1712, and dramaticimprovements in the textile industry in the1700s, a lot more work could be done eas-ily, and more goods could be produced.The steam engine was improved by JamesWatt, making it more efficient, and soonpeople couldn’t get enough of them. Steamengines could be used to pump water (theiroriginal use), propel boats and vehicles,and provide power for newly-developingindustries. This is where mechanical engi-neers really started to thrive.

While all this was going on in Europe,things were starting to get exciting forengineers in Canada as well. The Wellandand Rideau canals were about to open upnew trade routes and commercial opportu-nities for the growing country. A colourfulengineer and surveyor working on theRideau Canal was John MacTaggart. Henever completed his studies in Math andPhysics at Edinburgh, but was highly rec-ommended by Edinburgh and rose to the

rank of Clerk of Works on the RideauCanal in Ottawa. However, a few yearslater he left, supposedly dismissed. Hewrote a book, “Three Years In Canada” onhis engineering experience in this greatland. Unfortunately, he died at the youngage of 39 from heavy drinking. Soundslike he would have fit right in at Unit 36.

Of course, no discussion of engineer-ing history in Canada would be completewithout mentioning Sir Sandford Fleming.He is well known for the SandfordFleming Foundation, but what did he do?First off, he immigrated to Canada fromScotland at the age of 17, and worked as asurveyor for many years. He soon becameChief Engineer of the old Intercolonialrailway, and was appointed as the ChiefEngineer of the proposed Canadian PacificRailway in 1871. For those who don’tremember Grade 10 history, the railwaywas VERY IMPORTANT; without themass transportation and community it pro-vided, we might be living in igloos likeeverybody seems to think we do. He alsoimplemented the concept of ‘time zones’.I’d say that earned him a foundation.

There are still dozens of importantCanadian engineers to talk about, but dueto time and space, we will only cover onemore today. Elijah McCoy was the son ofan escaped slave from Kentucky. Born inColchester, ON, in 1844, he studiedMechanical Engineering in Scotland, andreturned to work on the railway. Soon, heinvented a device for lubricating steamengines while they were running, whichproved to be so popular and essential thatno new machine was built without it.Many imitations started popping up, sowhoever bought a new steam enginewould always make sure to ask if it con-tained ‘the real McCoy’.

Next time, we’ll talk about engineer-ing in the 20th century, where your ironrings come from, and a few more interest-ing engineers.

GenE 100: The Real McCoy!

Dan Arnott

1B Environmental