![[UW shield]](https://uwaterloo.ca/images/UWlogo.GIF)
"Golf as a recreational activity is extremely land and resource intensive," the ERS 285 audience was told yesterday. But UW's course is "definitely a good model for others to follow". It's watered only by the rain, and no chemicals are used on the grass -- with the result that "it's kind of yellowing." The student team also found that grass clippings are left on the ground to fertilize new growth; the greens are mowed twice a week in the summer, and the fairways "when necessary".
There is a bit of a trash problem, the team found, recommending that recycling bins be provided and that glass containers be banned in the area.
But mostly they said what the golf course needs is more publicity, in UW's general publications and from the athletics department, which is responsible for it as a recreation facility. It does have a steady trickle of users, many of them youngsters from off campus, but it's not clear that most UW students even know it's available -- and free. (Golf clubs can be rented at the Physical Activities Complex.)
The team said the city of Waterloo has expressed interest in taking over the course and expanding it from nine to 18 holes. A full-sized golf course, properly managed, might be a fine complement to the nearby Laurel Creek wildlife habitat, the students suggested.
Another team making its presentation yesterday looked at the berm between the ring road and the railway tracks, recommending that two of three eroding trails be blocked off with vegetation and the third one be turned into a proper flagstone pathway.
And a third team recommended that the number of Gazettes printed each week in the spring term be reduced to 7,000 from the present 10,000, based on how many seem to be left over. It found too many papers at some dropoff locations and not enough at others. (Yes, you'll be reading more about these findings -- and what we'll do about them -- as time goes on.)
WebVoyager is the Web interface for the system the three libraries are buying (from Endeavor Information Systems) to manage their catalogues, their circulation systems, their electronic information services, and so on. The recently introduced WebVoyager has "some new features we hadn't yet seen", says Linda Teather, who is "coordinator, systems support services" in the UW library.
She and her colleagues should be trying Voyager out on a test database this week or next. "When the database has been declared 'good'," she writes, "it will be transferred to the TUG server at the University of Waterloo for wider access and for a more thorough examination by participants in the project."
Life is a little weirder than usual in human resources today, by the way, as 50 "barnyard critters" -- that's the official description -- have dropped by to help David Dietrich celebrate his 50th birthday.
You may have read in the July 19 and 21 editions of the K-W Record that a 13-year-old boy was involved in a serious accident on Belmont Avenue. This young man is Peter, son of psychology staff member Richard Crispin and wife Deb, who until six weeks ago was a member of the alumni and development office. Peter was seriously injured and air-lifted to McMaster hospital suffering severe head injuries; he is still in intensive care but has shown some encouraging signs of improvement during the past few days. The plan is a noon-hour barbecue with hot dogs, hamburgers, and ice cream cones for sale; all proceeds from the sale will be provided to Richard and Deb Crispin to help them while living in Hamilton. We have generous donations from M&M Meats, Schneiders Meats and Zehrs; the creative and willing spirit of graduate students Melissa Smith and Anne Wilson and staff Ben Bauer, Rita Cherkewski and Yvonne Weppler. Our guest list has reached 100!
The staff association has named its new office secretary, succeeding Pat Martin, who retires at the end of this month. Barb Yantha, formerly of the research office, is on duty this week, overlapping with Martin to get the benefit of many years of experience; then the office will be closed August 5-15, and regular operation starts in mid-August. "New office hours will be posted shortly," says staff association president Karen LeDrew. . . .
Tonight's "coming out discussion group", sponsored by Gay and Lesbian Liberation of Waterloo, deals with "Same-Sex Couples and Marriage and Parenting". Talk starts at 7:30, with a social hour following at 9:00, in Humanities room 378. . . .
Hot water will be turned off in Engineering I tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for some plumbing work, the plant operations department advises. . . .
I hope nobody was confused by a typographical error in yesterday's Bulletin: you knew that "$1,7000" meant $1,700, right? The extra zero has been deleted from the Web page. . . .
"I didn't want to have some boring site consisting only of a bunch of links," says Paul Johnson, a third-year student in computer engineering. But he did want to have a web site. And then he had an idea:
Anyone who plays golf understands that the game is 90% mental and, well, 10% mental. It's a sport with which people get easily obsessed. This past fall, as the golf season drew to a close, I had the initial idea: Why not create a computer program which would track my golf scores, and report on a myriad of crazy (but interesting!) statistics. My golf buddies thought it would be a great idea, since it would allow us to compare our respective golf games. Then, last winter, when I discovered that we would all be on work terms in different parts of the country I had my final inspiration: Why not put the whole darned program online, and make it accessible to anyone!What a surprise: Johnson's page also includes a link to the commercial Golf.Com web site about the grand game.My website's mission statement is simple: To provide golfers with an opportunity to share their golf scores, and in return, receive statistics on their golf games including their averages on par 3s, 4s and 5s, their scoring standard deviation, their handicap and much more. The site took about 3 weeks to complete, and its intended audience is golfers of all skill levels. Currently, the only users of my site are my close friends, but hopefully I'll be able to get some interest from other golfers around the area, or around the globe.
I think the GPGP-31 golfer is a great demonstration of how an undergraduate computer engineer (me!) with a little free time on his hands (and the magic of the Web) can offer a truly useful service to anyone interested.
CAR
Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information
and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca --
(519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
Comments to the editor |
About
the Bulletin |
Yesterday's Bulletin
Copyright © 1997 University of Waterloo