The Iron Warrior: Volume 22, Issue 10

8/14/2019 The Iron Warrior: Volume 22, Issue 10

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Friday, July 24 1998 The Magazine o the University o Waterloo Engineering Society Volume 22 Issue 1

'Tis strange but true; for truth s always strange - Stranger than fic tion. -Byron


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So long,and thanks for all theLetter FromThe Editor

Caroline PageB Enviro Chem

Well, this is it. The last issue ofthe term. For those of you whodon t know how the [ronWan-ior works, this is also my last issue aseditor. My four month stint is through, andmy legacy (hopefully) has been passed on.So did [do a good job? I don't know. It 'shard to get a feeling for whether peopleactually enjoyed the paper because wedon t get a lot of feedback. Judging by thenumber of letters to the editor, and thecomments I ve received from people rknow, it 's clear that people are actuallyreading the paper and some are evenenjoying it. So I guess that] have beensuccessful. But I ve also received a number of questions and comments regardingthe style of the paper, the layout, then typeof submissions, and various other things.That is another reason why it is hard to tellhow much people like the paper; there areso many changes from term to term thatpeople just start to get used to somethingwhen a new editor gets rid of it. Every sin-

le term, a different editorial board is

respons ible for the paper. And each editorial board will have a different vision. TheIron Warrior is a dynamic entity, changinga little bit with every issue. In otherwords, if you liked the paper this term,that's just great. But if you didn t like it,don t worry; next term it will be different.I guarantee it.

This issue is al 0 a very importantissue because (to my knowledge) it is thebiggest prize-winning IW issue ever. TheBeynon Memorial Humanitarian Awardhas been awarded for the STY writing contest, the most Canadian engineer has beendeclared, and our most artistic photograph ers have been discovered. Just look atthe wealth of talent that engineering harbours I was particularly impres.sed withthe number of entrants there were in allthree of the contests. More affirmationthat people actually read the paper Iguess that the biggest lesson that I learnedas editor is how to get engineers to submit:present a controversial topic, and of fer lotsof mone to people who want to debate

issue. J hope that by drawing people inwith these contests, the Iron Warrior willhave more readers and, more importantly,more contributors.

For those of you who are beingpestered by a nagging little thought in theback of your mind saying "write something", start seriously thinking about theidea now. Write about your work term, orwhere you spend it, or interview youremp loyer, or ju t get some ideas out onpaper. Take some picture'S, write somepoetry or a story, or draw or paint or dowhatever it is that you do. Thi paper ismeant to be your voice, so express yourself. You've got four months to think of away to do that. Happy work term

iron warrior highlightsMontreal: House Of Jazzpg 4

The Iron Warrior Friday July 24 1998

Jungle Feverpg 58knt Talentpg@ Wellington s Law Ofeffo Inverse Proportionspg 7

W l H I ~The Magazine o he Univer

Waterloo Engineering SocEditor - in - Chief

Caroline PageAssistant EditorLuke Windi chLayout EditorRichard Kuttner

Adverti sing ManagerAlison Kudelka

StaffWi) AballeAllison AnnanCory AmundrudYasin BismillaNick GaganiarasAmy KimAaron LeibaMark McCansJenny MitchellMat PigozzoMin SongEvan YoungZhan Huan Zhou

ContributorsRyan Chen-Wing

Nikita Eriksen-HamelKelly FawcettChris Foster

Chris GardinerGosia GarusBill GrayDavid Haigh

Chris McCulloughJennifer MitchellParker MitchellShivan Narine

Mike l h ~ yHeather StewartJames Wallace

The Iron Warrior is a forum for thoughtand infonnative articles published by the ESociety. Views expressed in The Iron Wathose of the au thors and do nOI necessarilyopinions of the Engineering Society.Tbe Iron Warrior encourages submissiondents. faculty and members of the universitnity. Submissions shou ld reneet the conintellectual slandards of the university in geauthor's narne and phone number should beAll submissions, unless otherwise stated. bpropeny of The Iron Warrior. which reright to refuse publicalion of material whicunsuitable. The Iron Warrior also reserve10 edit grammar. spelling and text that douniversity standards. Authors will be notifmajor changes that may be required.Mail should be addressed to The IronEngineeri ng Society, CPH 1327, UniWaterloo, Waterloo, Onmrio, N2L 3G I. Onumber is (519) 888-4567 x2693. Our fax5 19) 725-4872. E-mail can be sent 1iwarrior@engmaU llwaterloo.ca


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David Haigh _OJ__ _3B Mechoffstream)

was chancing to read the Iron Warrior recently, and I came across some letters tothe editor; one, from a former classmate, and another, from a former profe sor.You can imagine my distinct pleasure when I found that the professor was John

Medley, my professor for ME 126 (Mech Eng Concepts, which the department abolished in recent years) and ME 321 (Kinematics & Mechanics of Machines). Thestatement up for debate was:

We teach these courses onc e, and no matter what the quality of teaching, you areresponsible for it."

Ahh, classic Professor Medley. I remember that we got quite a few prof quotesfrom him during that course. r also remember an e x m p ~ o f this particular quote inpractice.

During class, someone was asked to work through an example of a 4-bar linkagesystem. They drew the system on the board, completed the first few steps, but thenfailed to recall what the next step was. They stared at the system for about ten minutes, and was only rescued when someone else supplied the information. And who,pray tell , do you think the person doing the example was? I'll give you a hint; hesaid the quote that is up for debate today.

Later in his letter, Professor Medley relates the importance of knowing the material, since we, as engineers, are professionals, and responsible for human lives. Iknow that in my co-ops, I have had many occasions where the decisions I was makin g had serious impact on society, and in some cases were life-or-death decisions.

Professor Medley's point is , I feel, that the students are, in the final analysis,responsible fo r the material being taught. To that I have no argument. However, letus pretend that there is a professor that is not completely successful in teaching thecourse material toa student. Further, let us assume that this student does not have anadequate, or professional, grasp of the material that is taught. Further still, let usassume that the student crams the night before the exam, and manages to regurgitate

hris Gardiner 0I Geo

Lately, si nce I started the term video, I ve come to the realization that the summer term is drawing to a close. To put it simply, it's been amazing. FromScunt to Canada Day to just being around engineering, I ve had a blast.I ve always believed that it is the people here who make the school. Let's face

it, it's true. Over the years, I ve met some incredible people . I ve been lucky, asmost of them have become my friends. I think that engineering has more incrediblepeople than any other pl ace.r ook back on my first year here and it's been one hell of a ride, and it 's been fast.t seems like only yesterday that my roommate, Kevin, and J were walking down

University covered in mud and xyanthium gum, running all over the city to videotape headquarters vis its, putting sunglasses on the brain of a cabbage patch kid,watching human projectiles careen down the waterslide, watching soccer games andother events like the semi-formal, the ice cream (good job Mike) and even events thatdidn t happen.

the material on the final exam. And la t, remembering that this is purely hypothetical , this student actually pas es. This student, who \ asn't qualified. crammed for anexam, and the profe or, who di pense the marks, wa sati fied with tlle student'demon tra60n of knowledge of the material.

We all know the e ituations exi t, and do happen; they will be repeated again ina few hort week . during final exam .

So who i responsible then? Is the professor released from their responsibilitybecau e the student pas ed the exam? Surely not; but by our current academic tandards and practices, they are. I the tuden respon ible? Surely not; by completingthe course, they have demonstrated adequate knowledge of the , ubject malter, andcan continue through the curriculum. But in Ihe big picture, when this studentdesigns Professor Medley' deadly machine and maims some one, they are accountable.

This argument can be extended further; perhaps only people that core 100% onfi nal exams should pass courses, perhaps Waterloo should adopt a verbal examination session along with the written examination to inl.errogate a student's depth ofknowledge. I mean, as a member of ociety, I onl y want some one who' perfecllyqualified to design my bridge, build my cars, or have anything to do with thing thatare safety critical. If the person who designed a car's transaxle only got a 65% insolid mechanics , does that inspire confidence? And yet the University producesgraduates of that caliber (I know because I'm of that caliber).

Building blocks of education aside, Professor Medley open a hotbed of debateover grading practices, accountability of student and profes or, and of eng ineers.Perhaps this is why the PEO is trying to address this currently. And with atI duerespect to Professor Medley, who has far more experience being an engineer than I,be is but a small player in a far larger, far more complex issue. Profe sors not beingaccountable to the tudents in teaching material; maybe. But professors beingaccoun table to society for ensuring that only qualified students graduate and serve intheir fields; definitely.

David Haigh

It's been a great summer, one of thc best While I ve put a ruir bit of time in , Idon' t regret it. It was ti me wetI spent. Wh ether videotaping, hurbccuin . or yellingin to the bull horn how th at was serious fun , it WHS great. I was a Iiu le apprl'hcnsivcabout actually gettin g involved in Engs(Jc, but I shouldn 'l tw vc bel'n . I v learnedmore ins ide class and done morc alit of it. By Andre's t11cusur .. and by minc too, Iwas rich before. When all is said and donc however, aftcr thi s tt J llI I' richL'r by far.

So to everyone who orgnnizcd, helped (lut, or wus just there;Thanks.-geochris (from Aftershock)



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Mat PigozzoB Mec r

Nick aganiaras IlB Mer z

R ecently, in an effort to relieve post-mi.dterm stress,several Waterloo engineering students went on apilgrimage to the J 998 Montreal InternationalJazz Festival. This year's festival ran from the first to thetwelfth of July, and attracted about one and a half millionmusic enthusia ts to experience the sounds of two thousand musicians. The musicians were of diver. e musicalgenres, not just Jazz, and came from across the continentand from twenty five countries allover the world.

As students, and thus poor by definition, our experiences at the Jazz festival were necessarily limited to thefree outdoor performances held at multiple stage in thestreets of downtown Montreal. Sticking to the cheap stuffmeant missing an opportunity to see some of the betterknown artists like Diana Krall, Wynton Marsalis and RayCharles, who were all headliners for the festival. This in

IIouse Of azz

than just music to entertain the high spirited crowds.Between the stages there were many talented entertainersincluding jugglers, comedians, stilt walkers, magiciansputting on street performances of their own to the delight

of the many people whostopped to watch.

One musical group thatpelformed this year stands outfrom the rest. They playedboth nights we were at the festival and put on a fantasticshow that had the entirecrowd moving to their incredible sound. The group's name

is Belizbcha, and they are a truly talented group of people,whom we had the great pleasure to speak to after their performance. The band hails from Burlington, Vermont, andis an intimate troupe of seven musicians, four on in trumental s and three amazing vocalists. The group has produced two CD's. The first, titled Charlie's Dream, wareleased in 1995 and has since sold over 20,000 copiesfrom the back of their van and in local record stores. Allthe copies they had brought to the fe tival were alreadygone before we had thechance to acquire one for afull review. Nothing butpraise for the music we didhear; upbeat aJi light, thenscamless/y becoming softer,richer, and soulful. The second CD VOID WHEREINHIBITED came out lessthan a week after the festi valand is sure to be even more ofa success. The band is going on a month long tour of theStates to promote it. They hope to come to Toronto, wherethey have played before, in the fall. Also, they would liketo return to the Jazz Festival ne xt year.

At home on the stage, the members of Belizbehhow to cater to a crowd. Their performance is momusic. t has such energy and rhythm that it seemson a life of its own, gripping the audience and swthem along on a memorable ride. They are a verdent group, comfOltab le with their music and ware. The only people ever found at a Belizbeha confans of the group or those about to become fanselves. Their thrilling musical repertoire includeences from jazz, Rand B, rock, soul, hip-hop anThere i something in the refreshing music of Befor everyone to enjo

group has universal drawing from suchences as Rush, JamBrand New HeaviBonnie Raitt. Anyonested in finding ouabout the band can vBelizbeha web shttp://www belizbeha

The highlight of the Montreal ummer, the MInternational Jazz Fe tival, is the greatest musicalin Canada. It is an expression in appreciation of arand community. t was a thoroughly pleasurable evwas in no was dissatisfying. You can't help butgood time; it's infectiou . The entire time was filla true spirit of communit , a spirit of man 0different tastes and backgrounds coming togetherbration of music and their love for it. There wasdesire to have a lot of good wholesome fun at thtime. The whole memorable experience wa astand well worth the trip. Next year's festival heven better as it marks not only the twentieth anniof the festival, but also the hundredth anniversarymusic

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Agustin Lebron in 4A Computer Engineering for winning the Beynon MHumanitarian Award for his essay titled Technological Conscience: A historical imperAgustin's essay was published in the Iron Warrior Volume 22, Issue 4. The judges felt

winning essay howed an awareness of the issue. involved while demonstrating that technologicalaffects different groups and their quality of life. The essay also recognized that technological ado not automatically confer benefits on all members of society.

Centre for Society Technology and ValuesThe Beynon Memorial Humanitarian award i a $400 prize, and is sponsored by the Beynon M

Foundation and the Centre for Society, Technology and Values. Thanks go to all the students wticipated in the writing contest. Look for a new contest in upcoming issues of the Iron Warrior.



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un

v rhris Mc ullough

N Enviro hem

W ell. there were many wild things on the prowlon the e\'ening of Jul) the third at the engin ering . emi-formal . But thanks to the man)c o m m n d o ~ who shO\\ ed up. e\er) thing 'ta) d undercontrol. Or did it?

R e g a r d l e ~ s for rhe more than < 0 people that came, itwa a good time. Finally a hance to 'ee male engineerscleanl) shaven and likewise the female engineers, Attime - it wa difficult to recognize peopk , That of coursecould be due to man) factors: the fancy clothe:, the goodhygiene. the 'ash bar... We did aL 0 ha\e one spe ial \ isitor who contributed much e:{ itement to the nighL.JuneLowe Oh no. that wa n't the , pecial \ isitor I wa, thinking of. it wa the Tool. You . ee I get the two confusedquite ea ily a they are both follO\ ed around by manymen and adored from afar. But the Tool came in fine fashion, donning Jungle Fever attire. Even the Tool Bearersgot in the piri . coming dre sed a. chimpanzees andgorillas (although they very well could have been chimpanzee and gorillas, as I am told their intellect is aboutequal). The Tool even stayed around long enough forsome admiring fans to have their picture taken with it. Jwas naturally amongst them. I felt honored.

The Tool's visit wasn't the only eventful thing to takeplace that evening though . There wa . much dancing andin some cases ju t jumping around and vibrating to no

beat at all. definite sign that engineer. need to getmort" or that the) just need dancing Ie. sons, The m\\a: fantasti . man) thanb to oLlr DJ. AI CannislranoA oc president. What a versalile gU) We dJscoed, bdanced. humped and grindcd not me personally. 1:peaking as a colleLlivc) and even slow danced to theely of tunes h played. Did I See a fe\\I ~ p r h ny? J tso, There was definitel) a moment in time when m\\ ide 1,:) S weI" se 'n gUling in the direclion . ,of the fVeggi S. cheese. sandwiche. and des. em, were enjoby man) . ot b me personally; apparently I wasskm to beat all th ravenous beasts \ ho had work\.:dgreat hunQer wiggling and shaking on the dance noor.the end though, ] would have to call it a . ucces"many thanks again to June Lowe, our Facul ty sponsorCannislrano, our DJ; Stuart. Liz. Mike. Melissa, Sabrand Chris for helping in arious wa s with ticket. decoration: etc., and last but not least Wendy and Ewho put the whole me .s together. Thanks again guywa. a great night.

. The Iron Warrior Friday July 24 199


6/16

ORordeaux BGosia Garus tors (in general) don't. Sure, they parI Sys tems take in the occasional pint with theirbuddies, but they are not the sorts toWhen I first decided to become an engineer Ireceived mixed reviews from my friends andfamily. Both my parents liked the idea, yet mymother couldn't help but question whether or not I wouldbe suited for that type of work. After questioning her further, I came to the discovery that she was hoping that Iwould chose a more "distinguished" profession, something along the lines of a doctor or lawyer. Personally, Iwas somewhat puzzled by her opinion, as I had alwaysconsidered engineering a very noble profession. She wasalso puzzled by her prejudices , understanding the importance of the engineer's role in our increasingly technologically advanced society. I came to realise the root of her

unease about engineering in general when one of myfriends jokingly said, "I just hope that you don't tum intoone of those beer-guzzling losers who has no life" . Hiscomment got me thinking, especially after having completed my first term in engineering and having encountered no "beer-guzzling losers". What I had encounteredwere many interesting, intelligent, diverse beer guzzlers.Nevertheless, it made me realise why engineering isn'theld with the same distinction as lawyers and doctors.One word: BEER. Engineers drink beer, lawyers and doc-

talc l1talent

Shivan NarineI Enviro Civ

I t has a lways intrigued me that , ome peop le can domagic tricks with marked talent. Now and then I wishI was blessed with such gifts. I haven't yet figured outwhy. Perhaps to easily obtain the goods that others wouldhave to work much harder for, and to prove myself a cunning and clever individual (with the most emphasis placedon individual).Talent is desired.The attractive characteristic of talent is that there is asignificant reduction in the amount of work done.Sometimes we tend to look at hard workers as fools whena route of less resistance is available. One could concludethat we have lost respect for hard work. This is not so.Many respectful careers involving hard work are lustedafter. Doctors are immensely popular, as are athletes andthose in the perfonning arts, all careers which require

spend a week's salary to buy a keg andpractice boat racing in their spare time - you know whoyou are Engineers are famous for their beer drinking,and many will proudly show you the belly to go with it.Then I came upon this life-altering idea, and I decidedto embark upon a quest to change the reputation of engineering forever. The solution is also one word: WINE. As

my friends will attest, I am an adamant wine drinker, andwill gladly sing the praises of its qualities to whoever willlisten. I strongly believe that if all engineers would switchto drinking wine, our profession would overnight become)par with, if not surpass, the status of the doctors andlawyers. Instead of hearing them chuckle, "There goesone of those crude beer guzzlers they would say, "I wishwe lawyers possessed the same elegance as those winedrinkers". The great thing is, nothing else would change.We'd still have the loudest and craziest parties, we'd stillbe the most close-knit, but we'd be holding a wineglass,not a beer bottle while doing it.Still not convinced? Let's run down the endlessadvantages wine drinking has over beer drinking. Firstand foremost, it has more alcohol content. The averagewine is 12% alcohol, compared to a measly 4.5% found inbeer. That means that you can get drunk much faster, and

talenloutstanding achievers in these and any other classes ofsociety are those with natural talent.Talent can not be achieved.Talent is lusted after. We hear too many people stateenvious remarks about the natural ski lls of others. Wewould catch ourselves saying , "I wish I had the publicspeaking skills that he/she has , but a statement in whichone wishes they had worked as hard as he/she did toachieve such a skill is quite uncommon.ard work is regarded as heroic.The story of the turtle and hare race is a good example

of hard work succeeding over talent, although in this andthe many like examples, talent is coupled with laziness.Many stories in television and motion pictures deal withthe underdog succeeding over the favourite with enoughwork and determination. This fiction does not reflect reality in which talent (the favourite) most always prevails . Inconclusion, hard work is promoted as the way to offset thenatural talents of others.of hard work. A paradox lies within this; the most The equilibrium of the two is not so clear cut. Onecannot work hard at becoming taller, so society h s creat-

The Iron Warrior Friday. July 24. 1998

dmuch cheaper. Cheaper you ay? That's notAlas, it is You can get a 750mL bottle of wine That will surely surpass a pitcher of beer in everWhat's more, getting drunk of f wine gives you thfeeling, not the belching kind. Wine doesn't givbreath, and moreover, it will reduce the numbevisits dramatically, guaranteed. Believe it or doctor will actuaI1y tell you drinking wine is goosomething beer has never come close to. Thinkmore you drink, the happier and healthier your liThink of how happy and stress-free all engineersespecially the Profs writing your midterms. Ancertainly more variety in wine, many bappy colwhite, pink and even green, so just think of the have hunting for that special type you've just bto try. Finally, did I mention the higher alcoholI believe the answer is clear, eng ineers showine instead of beer. Unite, unite my fellow efollow me to the liquor store and purchase yourwine. rn be glad to recommend my favourite k

talented infrastructure to compensate for this (in no wmeant to imply that taller individuals are moreHeight is an explicit example, and many other talent areas exist, but are harder to identify. Thshould be identified to make entry into desiraeasier for the lesser talented who need skill compIt is drilled into us at early stages that hard workachieve anything, but hard work can only gwhereas the gene pool lottery gives significant ato certain people.It may seem that this is just, since the right pplaced in the right areas of society, but inDistopian. This train of thought and practice rfree will of the individual to fit into the sectorsthat he/she desires. Society should progress sucone person is limited from any sector ofInfrastructure is already set up to propel the peoadept in a field into respective career and study a major task of the future is to propel people iand study areas of interest, rather than skill.


7/16

enny MitchellB Enviro Chem

Envidious

ust last weekend, I went to the movies and sawArmageddon. It had great special effects and computer graphics, only to be topped off with some "heart

"touching" relationships entangled with the usualof U.S. propaganda. Now, I don't want to make this

a mo vie review, so the praise will end here. This, for some reason, affected me very differently than

I viewed it. While others were cheeringas meteors came crashing down on New York

, I found my self lost in thought. I was horrified,watched, dumbfounded. Thisthe end of the world.With the sudden and somewhat expected release ofof the world' movies (Armageddon, Deep Impact),

possibly due to the approach of the next millennium, onemust wonder where we are headed. Natural di a termovies, such as Volcano and Twister, are no longerenough to keep us coming back for mure. Have webecome so desensitized that we are no longer affected bythe death of the entire human race, or the planet? I wasextremely di sturbed by the fact that I had gone to the theatre and paid money to be entertained by a scenario highlighting the death and destruction of my planet, my home.What was I thinking?

Unfortunately, as the movie carried on, more and morequestions arose. But what troubled me the most was theway Armageddon was reinforcing the idea that the end ofthe world will be an event of biblical proportions fromsome outside, uncontrollable force. "For once, a specieshas the technology to prevent its own extinction". Thispowerful statement from the movie can be extremely misleading. The writers forgot to consider the idea of ourtechnology being our downfall. The same technology thatwill 'prevent our own extinction has caused oil spi.lls,destruction of the rainforests, extinction of species, cont-

amination of the air, pollution of ollr waters, and extremly de tructi e weapon. These are all very depressing toic , mo t of which 1 would rather not discuss on suchbright and unny day, but all of which will probably hato be addre sed at ome point in our careers as engineeAs we are busy developing new technologies and improing upon older ones, it is important to remember who awhat will be affected. Besides, how can the humspecies survive if the world we are living on, which givus air, water, food, an d life, cannot? A engineers , we whave a lot of responsibility for our actions and ideas atheair effect on others and our environment, so I guess isomething to think about. Food for thought. After all,was on y a movie.

aw markcx _ _effortOf Inverse Proportionsames Wallace

B Civil

s we approach the end of the term, I'm sure thateveryone has learned more than a few things. I,for one, have learned to predict column buckling,

press lire, and solve differential equations., who to study with, and who will get the top marks on

of Wellington's Law ofThis law was first observed by a friend of mine, Steve

of publaw. I still call it Wellington's Law, if on y to

of those here at Waterloo that knowof us).

I can, at least, claim credit for refining Wellington's Law,and I feel that it is now ready to be added to annals of history besides such famous names as that of Murphy.

Wellington's Law, simply put, states that effort isinversely proportional to the mark you will receive. Thismeans that the more effort you put into an assignment, thelower the mark you will be given. This also means that theless effort the person beside you puts into hi s as ignment,the higher his mark will be .

It must be noted that this law only works to your detriment, and to the benefit of everyone el e. That is to say,the girl sitting beside you will not receive a lower mark byputting more effort into her assignment. Similarly, whenyou put less effort into your work, you will not get highermarks. You will get lower marks for putting in moreeffort, but you cannot benefit from applying less effort.

Wellington's Law explains many of the perplexing andfrustrating features of each class. Have you ever wondered why the people at the top of the class aJways seemto have spare time, or at least they never seem to be doingschool work? Wellington's Law. How about the peoplethat make every keg party and are at the Bomber every

night? Always partying and nev{ r working, they nevmake it to class and yet somehow th y manage to paeach and every term. How do yOll explain it? WellingtonLaw. Finally, how come, no matler how much work aneffort you put into each course, you ar a lways lost, yoarc always behind. and you arc always passing by the skof your teeth' Wellingtons Law.

When things arc al their worse, you can CO Ullt oWellington's Law to prove that you arc not imagininthings. Everything really is hurder for you th an it is for threst of the world . This might not seem like consolatiobut at least you know you aren't insane.

. Tho Iron Warrior Friday. July 24. 1998


8/16

- _

Take A

Engineering IsGood Part 2

Zhan Huan Zhou8 omp

Flying ircuits

I n part I of this article, I examined how engineeringha benefited society since the beginnings of humani ty . In part 2, the conclusion to the article, I will examine how studying engineering is a benefit to the student.

We versrms .;j.1The Iron Warrior Friday July 24 1998

You are all studying engineering here at Waterloo forone reason or another. Some of you may be here becauseof the money, others because this really is what you wantto do. While these two reasons may be the case for omeindividuals , a significant portion of students in engineering are here because they don ' t know what they want inthe future. What they do know, however, is that engineering is good. But what makes engineering so attractiveto these students?

This relation hip between theoretical and real wsiderations is another important skill learned ining. Everything the engineer create must beEven though it works on paper, it may not standthe real world. Recall that an engineer creates"are made useful to people."

Quite often graduates of engineering prograup with higher degrees in a non-engineering fiebusines or medicine. Very few other programsuch dramatic changes . This is because theapproach of engineering allows such jumps in pal career

Engineering is a unique program in that it focusesheavily on both theory and practice. All of the skillslearned in engineering at Waterloo are transferable. It isnot a matter of what you know, but how you learn andapply your knowledge. All of the engineering programsput an emphasi on learning and independent thinking.The e two skills, above all others, are perhaps the mostimportant factor in your future career. Employers don' tcare if you can remember thermodynamics equations,anyone can look them up in a book. What they do careabout is if you can apply your knowledge to the problemat hand. The laboratory studies offered in each department are an opportunity for the student to gain practicalknowledge of the theoretical material learned in class. Inthe e labs, you find that the methods you learned onlywork in very special cases, or perhaps, do not work at all.

Practical thinking and learning are the mosskills you learn in engineering. Once you mtwo skills, the world is in your hands. You caever your dreams desire.

And this concludes my column for this teluck to all you on your work term. Rememthough engineering is not everything, engineeriZhou for now

x:tI't1illipSt ::>

Home is wherethe hear Si I I Gray

UW Graduate

Ahe spectacular canyons and mountains of Western America passed

Airbus speeding acros the continent, I started to contemplate the jouwhich I had embarked. Having left the friendly confine of Southenine months previous, my life in the fast-paced environment of Silicon Valley

me technical challenges, along with ample time to contemplate the benefitsCanada versus a life in Northern California.

NoCal ha its pros and cons -- the cons mostly having to do with the increber of people who carry around handguns -- but all in all, my move to the evibeen a good choice . The career choices available to me are beyond my compand the outdoor aspect. , from surfing on the coast to skiing at Lake Tahoe tothe sun-burnt foothills of the Sierra' , have been beyond my wilde t expectatdoesn't even begin to take into account the benefits of earning a salary in Amlars, especially for someone with ample tudent loans in Canadian dollar

Yet, I still feel a certain longing for my home, Ontario. There are 0 mthings that I, as a Canadian, took for granted that are not available in Califoracce s to free ATM' , prolific Interac, courteous drivers, predictable weather acare that doesn't require a PhD to understand are all things that I left behindfor California. And of course the uncountable friends and family that I cancontact via e-mail and telephone.

Now, as Jeff pull another Moosehead out of the fridge (another valuablecommodity), I realize the truth of the ituation. I shall always be a Canadiwhether llive in Toronto, San Jose, or Manche ter. I will always speak like aact like a Canadian, and think like a Canadian, regardless of the insane goingpeople around me. My friends from Univer ity will always be friends, no mathey may go after graduation, and Canada will always be "home".

As the saying goes, You can take the boy from the North, but you canNorth from the boy". And you can bet that there will always be a warm wany UW Engineer who shows up at my apartment in California. Life throws crazy pitches, and where you end up i entirely up to you. No matter the gerealization of that destination, we will always be UW Engineers, and we shato impre s the world.

Go with the flow. Don't be afraid. There is nothing to fear as a UW Eng


9/16

The epths o espairt here in the dim light of a flickering candle. the light

of the stars penetrating the blackness of the night sky.and the light of a small reading lamp bringing a oft

of my room; the wonderful notes ofin A are playing in the back

gently with the ound of air pa ingof a fan, sitting before me, but my mind

anders - here I sit in the depths of despair with respect tohumankind; I have been driven into an exi -

of pessimism that is lined with the harshof a minute minority of the population.

What, you may ask, ha forced my ever-bloomingnto the deepest abyss of my soul? To

this disheartening question, I must break downnto a narrative of events that have buried my regard for

the deepest chasm of my being.I remember almost four years ago, my second evening

a resident of this fine institution, I ventured outside myfrom the rack to which it had been securely locked.

vaguely recollect thinking t myself that "this must be ansolated incident of hooliganism and can surely not be

of the regular goings-on around campus". Anbrought the dis

his bicycle had been tolen as well, from a diflocation on campus - two isolated incidents.have past, and I have come to the real

these "isolated" incidents are prevalently aof "higher education". I have learned from

invasions intobelongings.

One such invasion was that of private space. You maythat enclosure within the friendly confines of a

some defense from the evils ofrespect their fellow humans, but this

nt safety and apparent opportunity to relieve anyhe outside world i a misplaced tenet.

incident of which I speak occurred to a firstear student during her midterm exam period. This peron woke up in the middle of the night to discover atranger itting in the room, gazing with amoral eyes uponer seemingly sleeping figure. Obviously frightened by

the di covery of a foreign individual in her room. heimagined the event wa a dream and made an attempt toleep it off. Thi happening almo t erved to drive the tu

dent away from thi in titution. and th am e ent continue to haunt her almo t two year after the incidentoccurred. You may be thinking to yourself that the eoccurrences are unique to certain members of th rudentpopulation, but again, traditional thought on the generalgoodness of the world are mi laid.

People in general, not excluding the student population, are no longer respectful of their fellow humanbeings, and that is a reality of life. How often do you seea stray piece of garbage itting on the ground directlyadjacent to a wa te bin? How many times have you sat inyour car and witne ed countle drivings refu ing togrant you entrance into traffic that is topped at a redlight? How frequently have you stepped into a restroomstall only to be disgusted by the contents on the porcelainfixture? There is absolutely no excuse for any of this discourteous conduct. In ignificant i the amount of timeand energy required to ensure proper placement of a scrapof garbage into the trash bin, to kindly let another driverdisplace the position of your car in traffic, or to activate amechanism that protects your excrement from exhibitionist tendencies. These examples of insolence towards otherindividuals in our species are eldom found in the remainder of the animal kingdom. We have ucces fullydescended the hierarchy of mammal and our conduct willcontinue to increase the rate of our degradation. Onceagain, the boundarie of conventional ideas have been traversed, and we must modify standard thoughi to complywith these new incongruencies - there must, however, bean exceptional group among the mentor figure on campus that are above the "isolated" incident of insult to thehuman race. .

No greater tru t is placed on anyone populationaround campus than that carried by the faculty of professors. For thousands of years, these icons of society havepropelled the limits of human existence to new reaches ofunderstanding that were never previously imagined.Revelations and unproved theories have been pas ed fromprofessor to student in the most pure of trading pattern

for thousand of years, without any interruptiLam ntably, a Department Chair told me earlier spring ab ut a ertain polic 1 had encountered. This i y originated with the aim of protecting the right ofdent . Thi. polic . temmed from a pa t circum tancwhich a profe. or took advantage of a tudent' servand claimed the r ~ w r d from that student', work withrecognizing the student ' achievement. Some mightthat the ituation from which the departmental poaro. e i a common occurrence, and to those people I. ince when is 3 labour, especially w ithout recogniof input, a proper practice in Canada? Apparent modeltn t and justice have again deceived us. Where canlook for the aforementioned marvelou group, ifamong our teacher. ?

The answer: nowhere. Not on-campu , not inworkplace, not in our homes, not in ociety. Unfor tuis the reality that we are a deplorable race of guileful conniving creatures that ha e not one morsel of resfor each other' exi tence. More accurately, the worsour race can be de cribed in the fonner manner. Tdespicable displays of inhumanity have eemed to itrate every crevice of our presence, and grow uncontlably to envelop any last hope for positive, guilelerespectful characteri tics that had once defined our rWe must control these deviant for it i the weakestthat decides the magnitude of the penultimate forcechain may hold before failing. I have pensive thoughtthi evening for the existence of the human race; plea e, prove me wrong. There i till, deep down bethe outer armour that we wear out into the world on epro aic day, a delicate bulb of thought that wi hed person to become unguarded once again. Nurture thbulb and they will blossom in you and in peoplearound you, for they aim to trans orm our society ntoutopia that we all imagined as ingenious, yet naive, cdren. Be children, people, for the sake of humanity.

(For those who may be interested, this article inspired by the theft of my wallet from the PAC weroom.)

- Name withheld at request of the author.

Ihe Sandford r eming FoundationCPII 4j06 alerloo LW1PIJ 1 \ livilies[ f cngrnoil888 4008

Winners:pp SitionRunners-Up:overnment

Debating results ...Parker Mitchell George ot r-Mechanical EngineeringCam McNaughton Ahren BrittonEnvironmental (Civil) Engineering

Resolution: No person kills Kenny who s immortalFunding for this aword comes from your t nt con ributions and depends on it for con inuotion

An organization devoted lo the oovoncement of engineering eo Jcotion___________________________________________________________________________________________________. The Iron Warrior Fnday. July 24. 199


10/16

If .1 Va sin Bismilla

I eeh

N ext year, the co-op process will be undergoing as i g ~ i f i c a n t overhaul. All job o s t i n ~ s and applicatIOns will beconducted on-hne, t IS long overdue, but we can finally say farewell to Access andcountless bins in Needles Hall. Hopefully there will be ,anumber of drastic changes to the system. If I ru led theworld, the one thing I would do is implement a good coop system, or at least one that appears to be worth the$411.00 per student each term,

The reputation of this university regarding the qualityof its co-operative education system must be attribu ted tothe number of talented students who study here. It isabout time the system provided services to match the talent. Suppo ing I was given the power to run the co-opsystem, the following is the way things would work.The application process would sti ll contain tworounds. However, round one will occur over a maximum

of three postings. The numberof bins into which re urnesare submitted will have to be increased substantially. fthe space i not available, one of the rooms in NeedlesHall will be dedicated to the submission of resume . Thisround will also end in computer rankings as it currentlydoes. The continuous phase will not be changed at all.

All job postings would be on the internet only, with anumber of mirror sites to handle the estimated requirements. Web sites will be searchable and contain links tocompany web sites and detailed job descriptions. Therewill be no po tings on the walls because this method of

. job searching is tremendously inefficient, considering theresources at this university. The number of applicationsper person will depend on the number of jobs po ted.Interview times and locations will be posted on the website as soon a the information become availab le. Duringthe continuous phase, students will have more freedom tosign jobs off after the i n t e r v i ~ w and greater restrictionwill be placed on companies cancelling jobs after conducting interviews.

The major change to the system would be the role ofco-op coordinators. The number of coordinators would be

significantly reduced. They are terrific peopleworkplace visit is not necessary. This visit is waste of time. f students are having problemsthey should call a coordinator and a meeting houp.

The amount of time coordinators take to myear work terms reports is also somewhat a Granted there are a lot of reports to read, but igoing to take three months to grade a report, oexpect a fair amount of constructive criticism aments with the report. Unfortunately, this i notMany work term reports are returned with sievaluation sheet filled out. The role of the codefinitely needs to be re-evaluated.

That would be the basis of the co-op system icharge. Next term's changes are definitely a gooimproving the system, but the most important thhave continuous improvement. The frustrations othis term should be eliminated, hopefully not repthe new system being implemented. Regardemployers will be back, and the students will exif the system continues to frustrate those involveRuled The Worl

e r ecras tor s PlightMin Song 0

Enviro Civ

I t seems that this happens to many people ( know,including myself: It happens only during a specifictime, and only under certain conditions, such as theweek before final exams. For some reason, the workloadseems heavier, the assignments seem longer and more difficult, the deadlines seem piled together, and nights don 'tseem long enough. . The morning sun seems to try andrush the final days along as you fight off the encroachingurge to sleep through it all. t may be the final stretch, butstretching is all you can seem to do in the morning. Forthose who weren't fortunate enough to steal the few precious hour of sleep each night, the rising sun only signifies the depressing fact that you have seen the sun risemore times than you have rested your head on the pillow.The syllabus mocks your feeble attempts to complete allthe prescribed questions, while your course notes blareincomprehensibly in a language more foreign to you thanLatin. The imple comforts of life, such as sufficientsleep, proper nutrition, and the weekly quota of socialactivity, seem bke extravagant luxuries when compared to_ the load that engineering demands. These things used to

_ be an integral part of your life, yet they seem to have been- The lIon WC lI rror FrrdZlY, July 24. 1998

surgically removed after you returned your letter of acceptance to UW Engineering. Instead, caffeine-induced delusions fill the empty void left by the loss, a void which younotice distinctly at 2 o'clock in the morning.

For some people, this scene is very famHiar. It mayeven have been last night. For those who have never procrastinated (liars) this is an eerie experience that is uniqueall within itself. There are no exact words to express thistwilight zone that you enter. There s no feeling to matchthe disappointment of staying up for 5 hours late at night,only to get 2 hours of productive work done. Who canexplain where the extra time went? Would it have beenbetter to bank the lost 3 hours of sleep, wake up early inthe morning, fully rested, and do the work with more productive hour ? It's difficult to recognize this as a form ofprocrastination when it seems so justifiable and reasonable. A severe lack of sleep only adds to justify sleep overcontinuous work. Sleep is such a deciding factor whenyou think about it, but sometimes you don't think aboutit, and then let your elf you fall asleep. There once was atime when you could do that, but the period of final examsleaves every hour of every day a limited and highly valued resource.It seems that there is the eternal ethical debate studentsask them elves right about this time. Should I go to the[keggar, pub, movies, EOT) or should I stay home andstudy? There is no winner in this argument. If youdecide to go to these events, there will be a nagging guilt

that there is much work to do , and instead of doinare wasting time. A social event is not as fun whave a guilty conscience. On the other hand, if to stay home or go to the library to do some there will be a persistent feeling that somethingbecause you are missing out on the fun. It isn'tall of your friends to have a good time while behind and suffer like a good diligent studenMuch time passes while you agonize over thestay behind, and very little progress is made; motime is spent looking out the window, wonderyou're missing . This feeling is only partially relgranting yourself half-hour breaks as often asminutes. As a procrastinator, this dilemma is eagonizing.

This lifestyle is not suited for everyone, andsome people are beyond this stage of procrastinathe rest of us, however, this scene is all too Tho e inclined to be insensitive would contest crastinators should grow up or get it together,to realize that procrastinators are people too. Tneed deadlines to realize it. In the end, when alldone, it doesn't matter. The procrastinator suragain.. The panic ends once more. But onlymonths.


11/16

I ID Canadian

ell, here are the long awaited answers to the'How Canadian are you?' quiz held in theFriday, June 26th Iron Warrior (Vo1.22 Issue 3).

to all those who participated and congratulations(3A Chemical Engineering) for being the

Canadian' (you can pick up your prize in the Iron

Who invented the telephone?Alexander Graham Bell

What did my true love give to me on the 4th day ofChristmas?Four pounds of back bacon

Who was cremated at Lake Lebarge?Sam McGee (From the poem Cremation of SamMcGee by Robert Service)

How many provinces are official ly bilingual?One; Ne w Brunswick

Which Prime Minister won a Nobel Prize?Lester B. Pearson (in 1957)

6. Who doe everything he doe. for you?Bryan Adam

7. Who i the 'Great One'?Wayne Gretzky

8. arne the original ca t of SCTY.Joe Flaherty, John Candy, Eugene Levy, AndreaMartin, Catherine O'Hara, Dave Thoma ,and later, Martin Short

9. Which way do the Westerly Wind blow?To the a t

10. Who played Anne Shirley?Megan Follow

11. Name the 6 cities in the Megaciry.Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, Toronto, York,Ea t York

12. Who disappeared on a fishing trip?Bill Barilko

13. What Canadian actress love to 'scream'?Neve Campbell

14. Name the bridge from P l to New Brunswick. Howlong is it?Confederation Bridge, 12.9 km

15. Who can't eat just one?Mark Messier

16. What was the last province to join Canada? When?Newfoundland; 1949.

17. When was 0 Canada officially made our NationalAnthem?July I, 1980.

18. Who was the first French-Canadian Prime Minister?The Right Honourable Sir Wilfred Laurier, July II,1896 to October 6, 1911

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE S

MIDSUMMER NIGHT S

c111\bis

DREAM7: PM2: PM7: PM

ora ..... - -~ ~ ~The E [ j ~ 0 0 nPlay Arms

280 Phillip Street

P a ~ whaf o u can.rlns a .Janlef.lJI,trit,A

19. Where's Bud the Spud from?The bright red mud

20 Who is the fastest man in the world?Donovan Bailey

21. Who i. the Canadian actor that can beam you up?James Montgomer ' Doohan (Scony)

22. Who was the literary leader of the 'beetnik' movment'?Jack Kerouac

23. What is Canada's ational port?La rosse

24. Who wrote Microserf. ?Douglas Coupland

25. How many Olympic Gold medals in hockey h aCanada won?Five: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1948, 1952

26. Who brought , 'burnt toast', 'Kanata', and 'f cannread a word'?The Canadian Heritage Foundation and Canada Po

27. Who was the Prime Minister with the shortest termoffice? How long?The Right Honourable Sir Charles Tupper, 69 da(May I to July 8, 1896)

28. Who thinks 'Superman's Dead'?Our Lady Peace (honourable mention: Crash TeDummies??)

29. What actres -turned-p ycho wa. Superman's masqueeze?Margot Kidder (real name, Margaret Ruth Kidder)

30. List the ingredients of poutine.French fries, gravy, cheese curds

________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

. The Iron War nor Fnday July 24 1998


12/16

The Folly f YouthBy Mat PigozzoBright shiny expensive newStatus symbols, mating callTo win your attention and affectionWho are you really?I do not know and know notHow to discover, nor start that journeyYour treasure is your bodyYour gift to meAnything more is alienUnfamiliar and dangerous, to be avoidedBarriers prevent true contactf souls and minds, of lives and selves

Barring true intimacyLoud music making conversation unnecessaryProtectin status quoAfter use and abuseNew play is requiredDelegate you to the gutterExcess baggage in the earch forDistraction from the dull emptinessThe echo insideKeep movingGoing fast so that stoppingIs not necessaryBlur the painNo time for the selfThe pitiable, dying selfLook without to save from looking withinSuch a perilous journeyTo find life and selfThe greatest. most fulfilling rewardsAvoided at all costsTo fragile, lacking strength and courageWhere Am I? Who Am I What Am IAnyone s guess


ourney in Photographic Medium

The Iron Warrior would like to congratulate thewinners of this terms photo contest. The grandprize winner is Tim Pearce whose prize winningphoto can be seen on the front cover of thisissue. The runners-up are Nikita Eriksen-HamelHeather Stewart Parker Mitchell and JenniferMitchell. Each winner will receive a Noveltiesgift certificate. any thanks go out to all of theparticipants who shared their photos with us.

Best Exotic Landscape by Nikita Eriksen HaJ1}eZ


13/16

est Sunset y Heather Stewart/

est se o Shadow y Parker Mitchell

est Underwater y Jenny Mitchell



14/16

--

From the desk o the PresidentExaminations Promotions

Wednesday of last week was the big E&P meeting ofthe term to review and decide on all the petitions from theWinter 98 term. The Examinations and Promotions committee works to ensure the fairne ss of academic decisions .Students from the last term who feel that there were extenuating circumstances which prevented them from performing to their true ability petition to request a change intheir academic decision or for a chance to rewrite exams.f you are in such a situation after this term you will get

information on the petition process and you may wish tocontact the off-stream president to get advice and explainyour ituation.Dean Sujeet Chaudhuri

A few weeks ago the new Dean started being theDean; hi name is Sujeet Chaudhuri. I Cann straro ASoc President, and I met with him on Thursday of lastweek. I and I wanted to meet with Sujeet to develop ourrelationship with hjm and to ensure that we maintain thestrong ties between the Engineering Society and theDean's office. We spoke about the government's desire toexpand electrical and computer engineering and aboutfrosh week, among other things.

Overall, Chaudhuri told us that he wants us to be openwith hjm and he wants to know how we eef aboullhings.I think he realizes the importance of having fun but alsowants to ensure that we are responsible and he doesn'twant to give the public any reason to think badly of us. Iand I are glad we got the chance to meet with him andlook forward to working with him. Perhaps in the nearfuture we wil} invite him down to POETS. on a Fridayafternoon to give him a chance to get to know more students.

eportFrom the desk o the VP xternalWhat has really happened this term? Things which

need to be addressed include the conferences, the yearbook computers, and again the conference budget.Conferences

So far I still have very few applications for conferences. To be honest I m not sure what to do about trus.Many people believe that you have to be a part of the"EngSoc clique" to go to a conference. Nothin g can befurther from the truth. A special thanks goes to the officeof the Dean for contributing to our conference budget.Anyone who applies is eligible to go. And further more,assuming I get a few more applications, I would like torun interviews to fmd out who best represents the studentpopulation best. This would be the key point: Who represents the students best. Therefore, if you are interested inapplying, please do. There is ample opportuni ty for anyone to go.Yearbook Computers

First and foremost, I want to thank Mike Hermann forhis help in setting up the yearbook computers. Gradcommis now ready to role with it's new computers; ready tobring the yearbook to a new height.

Other than that, I really don 't have much to report.

From the desk o the VP InterDirectorships

For everyone who did a directorship this terplease submit the summary of your position. term I hope to compile and update the resourand to do this I need reports from everyone Pfive minute out of your day and to e-meng_vpint@engmail or e-mail any of the other eat engsoc@eflgmaif . Thanks.New Directorships

Applications of directorships should have mitted by now BUT, ] understand if you wereand couldn't find time to get one filled out. So want to submit one, you can Watch for positionrequire more people or haven't been filled yestill keep the application form up on the Web the end of the term or you can stop by the Orificup an application. I am really excited about nexI just know it will be the best term ever. Soinvolved

Now for those directors that have been alreaed, I need your work term info. This incladdress, phone number and e-mail. f you dwhere you are going to be yet please give usname or number of someone that will know whe(i.e. your parents )

Well it is now the end of the Summer termwant to thank all the Directors and Clas reps thope everyone enjoyed this summer term aneveryone had a chance to enjoy the nice weathof classes. Good luck on your work terms and hyou all back in the winter.

Ryan Chen WingPresidenteng_prez@engmail

Kelly FawcettVP Internal

eng vpint@engmail

r Chris FosterVP External

eng vpext@engmailMike Olley

VP Financeeng vpfin @engm

The Iron Warrior Friday, July 24 1998


15/16

Upcoming Eventsrom the VP Internal

TONIGHT, July 24th, EOT PUB NIGHT IN POETS Comeand see two live bands plus the EOT VIDEO from the TSNDirectors (they have put in hundreds o hours to make thi s video,so come out and support them )STUDY, STUDY, STUDY

Elliot BiroWEEF irector

he la t spew from WEEF for this term is going to be relativelyshort, as there are only two things that need to be mentioned. Theserious thing first though. I would again like to announce that weo Directors. The board meets at

o each term, and discusses issues that arise in WEEF as well.to apply to the board should have a good idea o

is as well as a vision o where they see WEEF in the future.anyone is interested either see me, or email [email protected] the news that everyone is always interested in - what we

spend your money on This term we allocated $110 130.60 toin UW Engineering. I would just

to prepare and submit propos, as well as the class reps . We were able to allocate thein record time. Also, I would like to add that many

o the limited funds that we are allowed to distribute; it was notas a good idea for

Anyways, that's about all for another term, I'll see you again in the

WEEF Proposed Allocation Spring 1998

Sub Tolal Departmental

Sub Total Student GroupsTOTAL

87.123

. The Iron Warrior Friday July 24 199


16/16

You want to sell yourWHAT ? ?

or Sale:1989 Chevrolet Cor ica, 4dr red, GREAT CONDITION, pb P ,AMJFcas ette player, new tire free winter tires, 2700 o.b.o,cert. 2950, must sell, Te l.746-0305, bjasiono@hotmail col1l

Documents

The Iron Warrior: Volume 22, Issue 10