Weblog Ryan Chen-Wing

UW has a project that lists scholarly societies

I was intrigued to find this Scholarly-Societies.org listing itself as a project of the UW library. I thought it a bit unusual because almost every website I can think of that is a UW unit is under the uwaterloo domain.

The site says "Because scholarly societies are, and have been, so critical to the scholarly enterprise, it is essential that information about them be readily available to scholars."

"Thriving tech sector" The Rec

"There have been huge leaps in research infrastructure, amazing success by the area's largest tech companies and encouraging signs of startup growth and new financing deals," K Crowley wrote in The Record last Thursday.

UW alumni with their own firms

Before the Chilton talk at the Launchpad50k launch on & Oct I talked to two guys with their own firms.

Chris Y ran Unwired Studios and Jason H ran Syllogistic Software Inc.

Accepted into Impact conference

I submitted my application to the Impact 2004 entrepreneurship conference last Thursday.

The acceptance e-mail is pretty funny because it opens like a rejection (id est thank you for applying, large volume).

Clues in Perimeter inscription translation

Perimeter institute greek inscription 11 Oct 2004

First, Malenka pointed out that the palm tree looking letter represents Upsilon and should be transliterated as a U and not a Y though a capital Upsilon in Greek looks like a Y or a palm tree. So, the incription transliterates as: [ASPOuDASTOS PERI GEOMETRIAS MHDEIS EISITO]

Signed up for Rae Review

I signed up for the local town hall meeting of the Postsecondary Review being headed by Bob Rae.

The purpose is to review the design and funding of the postsecondary education system in Ontario. The discussion paper states that it explored five key themes: accessibility, quality, system design, funding, and accountability.

They talked about it at senate and the u town hall meeting last week. I have read the discussion paper, but I want to learn more, which means more reading.

Pancake breakfast for staff this morning.

This morning I went to the thank you brakfast for staff and faculty. It wasn't very crowded. I saw Peter and Peter there at the first of three stations. Catharine called them down to her station at the third. I remained and got served by Paul, Bud, and Ranjana. They wreally loaded me up too. i got five sausages and four pancakes.

Saw Peter after team missed play-offs

I saw soccer coach Peter on Saturday afternoon at the plaza as he was going to meet up with the team for dinner. The men had just missed a play-off spot, but the women were in the post-season for sure.

While it is only his second year coaching the women, he has eben with the men's team for four years. He said that seven players are graduating this year. Some of them he has coached for their whole time in university. In that time they won provincial gold, silver and went to the national tournament twice. To miss the play-offs entirely this year is difficult.

Brian K's saturday party

To celebrate his convocation in the morning, Brian K. Had a party Saturday evening.

It was great. He and Jeong had recently made some 43 inch high bar tables out of lumber plywood and particle board. They provided a great deal of food and drink too, guest brought some too. I brought some bread and a bottle of beaujolais.

Continue reading "Brian K's saturday party"

Reading Chernow's Alexander Hamilton

I went to the book sale at the UW Bookstore on Thursday and bought two books including a biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, which is called Alexander Hamilton.

I started reading it on Friday and I am about one fifth the way through the about 738 pages of text. Thus far I have read about his family, birth and youth on Nevis and St. Croix; his emigration to New York and schooling at Kings College which would become Columbia; and his work during the revolution.

Dani and I made pie on Friday

At Thanksgiving Dani asked me about making pie. In Deutschland they have cake and tortes rather than pie. So, on Friday we made pecan pie and apple pie.

When you make two-crust apple pie (with a pastry cover) straight from raw apples there is a gap because the apples reduce as they bake. This time we cooked the apples a bit before putting them in the crust.

Miscalculation in Alias 2-3

We watched the third and fourth episodes of Alias last night.

In the third episode when the tech guy, Marshall, is telling Syd about the mission he says that the "hydraulic luge" with a maximum speed of 150mph will take (he pauses to think) 12 second to travel the two mile ducts.

Armoury Fri 22 October

Friday 22 October 2004 07:54 — 6 people
Friday 22 October 2004 08:03 — 13 people

Armoury 20 Oct

Wednesday 20 October 2004 12:45 — 26 people
Wednesday 20 October 2004 12:55 — 33 people
Wednesday 20 October 2004 13:09 — 23 people

Another election site youforgotpoland

Of course there is not just one incident specific election website out there. In addtion to the is he wired? site there is you forgot poland.com.

This is based on when Kerry missed naming Poland as part of the coalition during one of the debates and GW getting excited about calling him on it.

At another site Warblggin the writer says:

How could John Kerry forget Poland in naming President Bush's "allies" in the invasion and occupation of Iraq? It's not like there are so many you can't keep track.

is GWB wired web site funny conspireculation

I heard about this bloggr powered is bush wired? at a party last Sat, no I was telling people at that party. It is a site based on the speculation and discussion around whether GduB was using a radio receiver to get answers fed to him.

Dr. Dave and Amika at 04Town Hall

Dr. Dave and Amika spoke then answered questions at a UW Town Hall. I came in a few minutes early (most people, faculty and staff, came a few minutes late). I sat in the front row beside Avvey who was operating the ppoint on a powerbook. She lent me the slide printouts to review beforehand.

Here are some of the things that were talked about:

UBssey stournalist inflitrates ubcams

UBC science student and campus journalist Jonathan Woodward ran and won election as an arts representative a position for which he was ineligible.

He wrote about it in the Tue 19 Oct issue of The Ubyssey:

Stewart J part of political discourse

John Stewrt fron The Daily Show appeared on Crossfire last week here is a piece on it Commentary: Jon Stewart gets serious

[...] Stewart took a surprisingly aggressive stance in his appearance on CNN's "Crossfire," telling the hosts that the CNN mainstay basically just brings in a hack from the left, a hack from the right, lets them fight, and calls it a day. (See "Crossfire" transcript.)

"You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably," Stewart said.

Fexec are busy...making excuses

The executive reports have been late for four out of six meetings this year. The reasons cited this past meeting were slightly different, they included sleeping and being away as well as the usual being busy.

Being busy is something that might reasonably prevent someone from completing a task, but it indicates that everything else that was done is being treated as more important that those things that were not done.

Armoury 17 Oct

Sunday 17 October 16:23 — 23 people
Sunday 17 October 17:05 — 33 people

Jon and I worked out after the meeting.

Harsh weather on the weekend

After Friday's rainstorm Saturday's weather moved all over the place and continued the first harsh weather of the fall. It was sunny at times and both rainy and sunny at other times. Thusly there was a rainbow.

Armoury 14 Oct

Thursday 14 October 16:53 — 34 people
Thursday 14 October 16:55 — 37 people
Thursday 14 October 17:13 — 26 people

The attendant seemed pretty bored. It felt pretty crowded.

Helmer Wedding 04 -- Reception party

Adina and Jesse's wedding -- success 2 July 2004
The Helmer wedding 01 -- getting to the rehearsal on time 8 July 2004
Helmer wedding 02 -- sun on the wedding day 14 July 2004
Helmer wedding 03 -- The ceremony 25 Aug 2004

After leaving the house driving north turning left at the tracks and north again we arrived a Huron House. It is located in the corner of a strip mall by a large intersection with, I think, a gas station. Above the restaurant was a big brown sign maybe four metres wide with the word RESTAURANT in yellow letters. As we walked into the restaurant we could see that it was a diner. I thought maybe we would have a reception in a diner style. The tuxedoes and formal dress got a few looks. We continued into the back dining room, but that was not the venue either. After going through another room we arrived in the banquet hall.

Match 5 - A08 Strength - another advantage win

Having a deep enough roster can be a significant difference in the CRec league. I have been on the short end of that in the past, but this term it is making a difference to have a group of committed players.

We beat The Pride of Persia with a three-man advantage and subs. They had only eight players. They played with intensity off the start. They kept us under good pressure and clogged the box on our attacks. Our lower intensity, confidence, lack or creativity and poor shots, stopped us from converting.

Armoury 12 Oct

Tuesday 12 October 12:15 — 28 people
Tuesday 12 October 12:29 — 33 people
Tuesday 12 October 12:50 — 23 people

We did bpress, lat pull, and weight subtracting dips and pullups, tri pulls and abs on the stability ball.

Tg Dinner at JKDC

I had a third Thanksgiving dinner in Toronto. JB and I left in the morning caught a bit of the parade as we walked from the diverted bus route to the transpocentre.

When I got to the beaches, Dave John and Susan were about to leave to see the new house. So, I went with them to check it out.

When we got back, Selena was there. Frank and Chris came up later. Jason and Nika were going to be late so we started before they arrived.

We had Turkey, roasted peppers and squash, brussel sprouts, broccolli and cauliflower, potatoes, pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie.

Touring W with JB

JB and I walked around campus in the morning on Tg Sunday. We went to the SLiCe through the PAC and around North Campus. Then we went back and had some leftovers for lunch. We had had french toast for breakfast. We had squash soup or mashed yams or something for lunch.

Perimeter institute greek inscription

Above the doors of the two main entrances into the perimeter institute is the same five word greek inscription in square brackets. Transliteration of the letters produces something like "[ASPOYDASTOS PERI GEOMETRIAS MHDEIS EISITO]." Searching for some of these words on the web reveals references to the supposed inscription above the doors of Plato's school in ancient Athens.

Tg dinner 2 at K

On Sunday JB and I went over to MK's house for dinner. We had beet soup with beans, perogies, stuffed pork loin roast, potatoes, string beans, peaches with cranberry or something, and blackberry sok.

During the dinner I noticed that one of those green plastic mesh wine bottle protectors was in the light fixture. Weird, I pulled it out but part of it had melted on to one of the light bulbs.

Thanksgiving 2004 dinner 1

I started preparing Tg dinner Friday night when I mixed some pie pastry and cooked the squash for soup.

I got up the next day at around 08:30 and went to the RCWCLub (Real Can Wholsl) to get an low-use aluminium roasting pan. I had been considering purchasing a stainless steel roasting pan, but the payback period was too long.

Looking for mobile phone advice

I am thinking of getting a mobile telephone to facilitate telinteraction with people.

The first stage of consideration will be research on providers and making a comparison table and also asking friends who are mobility users about their plans.

Chilton spoke at Launchpad launch

Thursday I went to the Launchpad 50k launch Thursday afternoon. I walked over to Schlegel with Mel and Karl. At the event I met Chris Y and Jason H who both have individual businesses. Also at their I met Falko, saw Christine A (doing MBA), Leo, Kurtis McB, met Adam W, Kunal, Steve Farlow.

Carson, Armitage, and Farlow spoke. Kim and Alim presented the Launchpad50k program. The program is a $1,000 pitch competition and a $50,000 business launch competition.

Cashed in books from used bookstore

I picked up my cheque today for three books sold at the used bookstore. It was the first day for pick up from the first cheque run of the fall. I think I got there at a low point in the line.

Now with my budget surplus from last month and extraordinary income like this and my GST rebate I can cover my plane ticket home for Christmas outside my normal monthly budget.

EAUW entrepreneurship conference "Impact"

Kunal and Adam are organizing an entrepreneurship conference in November. It is called Impact: Empowering Tomorrows Leaders.

It's a one-day conference and they have the founder of Second Cup as the keynote speaker. The schedule includes networking activities and a case study competition, in addition to a panel discussion and speakers.

Ben presenting at space conference

Benjamin Sanders is presenting at the International Astronautical Congress. There was a UW press release (Student plays role at space event and also a story in The G&M.

Giving his views among those of leading researchers from around the world discussing the future of flight and space exploration is Benjamin Sanders, a second-year electrical engineering student. He presents a paper Thursday (Oct. 7) in a session on "Hypersonic and Combined Cycle Propulsion." He is the only Canadian and the only student presenting in this field. He will also present a poster on student outreach.

I met Ben at a party in Toronto in May.

Chill 'n' Grill promo

Chill 'n' Grill had a promotion today where they were giving out free mini hamburgers and talking loudly about what they sold. They were standing out by the street with big signs about two metres high. It was fun, I cycled by in the morning and they told me to come back at lunch. I had only been there for milkshakes before.

I talked to the one of the guys with the signs. He told me his business was Abracadabra Signs. I guess he made the neapolitan ice cream and flames sign in front too.

The small burger was good, but then I went house and had a big size burger.

Tuesday is Tie day where you get a free "combo" with a burger if you are wearing a tie.

WU mentorship details

Here is more information about WU student mentors.

The University of Waterloo is launching a unique enrichment experience for high school students of exceptional potential. The new program, Waterloo Unlimited, is university-wide and trans-disciplinary, inviting participants to the campus during the school year to sample University life at its richest.

Continue reading "WU mentorship details"

Posted by Ryan Chen-Wing at 09:43 AM | Comments (0)

Waterloo Unlimited looking for student mentors

I just spoke with Rae of WU. They are looking for student mentors for their pilot project in November. While I don't know the details, if I were a student, I would be eager about an opportunity to get involved in the program.

I will have more information soon.

Waterloo Unlimited, an exciting idea

Lesley, sushi, Wednesday

Lesley e-mailed me on Monday and suggested that we meet up. We arranged to go out for sushi at Charlie's place. She was supposed to arrive in town at about 17:30 but she was about a half hour early.

The last time I saw her was on 20 December 2003 when we were hanging out with the ssbb g-kids. So, it was good.

Jim Estill talk at lunch

Jim Estill delivered a talk for Entrepreneurship Week called "How to build a business and sell it for $50 million." He talked about the development of EMJ Data Systems, his company that he started in 1979 when he was still a sysde student and built into a large distribution company and gave business advice. A particularly good thing about the talk was the long question period.

Tuesday night watched Mean Girls

Last night mm, Jason, Shauna and I watched the movie Mean Girls. It was after we watched episode 14 of Alias.

I thought it was great, because it was continuously funny and clever. Tina is a really good writer. Also, Tim was hilarious as the principal.

Ken Morse at Fed Hall for entrepreneurship week

I caught the tail end of Tuesday afternoon event for Entrepreneurship Week. This event was held at Fed Hall. I missed the first three speakers John Seminerio, Gary Will, and David Ossip, but I joined the audience for Ken Morse's presentation.

Here are some points I took from his presentation: Continue reading "Ken Morse at Fed Hall for entrepreneurship week"

A08 Strength match 4

We played most of the match two men short. We had nine and they had a fullsquad and some subs. It was a reverse of our prior match.

They broke through our defence twice in the first half and we gave up goals to them.

Football at lunch

Today at lunch mm and I played two types of football. We kciked and kept up an association football (soccer) and also threw and kciked around a Canadian football.

We did that because mm didn't want to do weights.

more alias on monday

We watched episode 11 and 12. They tell a two part story called "the box" on Sunday night. We watched episode 13 and 14 Monday night.

The show is pretty good, but has some funny quirks. It is like a mix between felicity, tomb raider, james bond, and something else that I keep forgetting.

A08 Strength Match #3 longhanded victory

We got our first win on Monday and our first goals. We had a full squad and we were playing a team with the minimum (seven 7). Much of our play was sloppy, but we scored the maximum differential just before full time. In campus rec they won't let you go past a lead of six. So, when we scored six unanswered goals, the game was called. The team was good but they were short numbers. They got an eighth man part way through.

Winning with a three and four man advantage should not be the source of great pride and losing with three and four men short should not be the source of shame. The refereeing was good, almost unnoticeable, and the other team were good sports. They joked that the week before they didn't even have shinguards and this week they still needed players.

3 Oct Armoury Sun

Sunday 03 October 2004 19:48 — 28 people
Sunday 03 October 2004 19:55 — 30 people
Sunday 03 October 2004 20:17 — 25 people
Sunday 03 October 2004 20:40 — 23 people

Perimeter convocation and open house

Magda and I went to see the Perimeter Institute convocation this morning. They conferred honorary degrees to Jim Hartle, Roger Penrose, and Steve Weinberg in the Mike Lazaridis Lecture Theatre. The ceremony was nice and short about an hour. The only females on the stage of about 14 people were Rebecca and Rowan, both students.

Some interesting things: Continue reading "Perimeter convocation and open house"

Viewing more alias

Last night mm and I watched two more episodes of Alias season one (I think episodes 9 and 10). She ate some cantelope, banana, cherry vanilla ice cream and rocky road ice cream with fuzzy peaches. She gave me some some cherry vanilla ice cream and I also had a lphb lgr with lime and ginger beer syrup.

Womon at demonstration doesn't recognize Heramb

The Womyn's Centre set up a table outside the Imprint Office on Friday. They were demonstrationg against Heramb's column. They had a spin wheel to choose different types of "labels" that Heramb used one of his columns. There were names like "the boring girl," "man's worst friend," "slut," "krazy korean," etc.

Brent's business "The Bike Forest"

Last week I ran into Brent Curry outside the Rec. We chatted for a bit and he told me about his business, The Bicycle Forest.

Part of the business is the software he created to design bicycle frames.