A country you perhaps never heard of

Daily Bulletin

Galloway seeks re-election Tom Galloway, a director in UW's plant operations department and a veteran of local politics, is seeking to move up to a seat on Waterloo Regional Council in the November 13 municipal election. Galloway served on the separate school board for a term, then in 1991 was elected to Kitchener city council representing the South ward. He's now one of 18 candidates for four Kitchener seats on the regional council, which governs Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and four surrounding townships. "The Region is responsible for 70 cents of every local property tax dollar and therefore is a very major player in our lives," says his campaign brochure. "Police and Ambulance services, water sourcing and treatment and garbage and recycling services are just a few of the many services it provinces. It is primarily for this reason that I have chosen to run for the separated Regional Council and as such will be the only Kitchener incumbent to do so."

Staff member seeks votes in city

"I did not want Bruce Anderson to be acclaimed to office once again," says Markan (left). "I believe in democracy, and that means an election should have more than one candidate!"

There were eight candidates when Markan was elected to a three-year term on UW's board of governors in the spring of 1999. He also serves on the board executive committee, and was a member of the nominating committee that found David Johnston to be UW's president last year.

"Why run for Council?" Markan asks in his campaign brochure, and then gives his answer:

Waterloo is a great place to live, work and play. It is the reason many of us choose to live here. But things have been slipping. . . .

Waterloo has been focused on "grand" projects such as the Downtown Redevelopment and the Millennium Park. Meanwhile, basic services have not received the attention they require. Good roads, clean water, timely snow removal and other basic services are not glorious undertakings, but they are the infrastructure that make Waterloo an enjoyable place to be.

Effective use of your tax dollars means focusing first on the services that come to your door! In hand with Quality Service, we must minimize the impact of city activity on our environment. Stephen is running for council to ensure that Waterloo remains a healthy and vibrant community serving your needs.

On a personal note: "I came to the city of Waterloo 1981. Before 1981, I lived in the farming hamlet of Utopia, Ontario. I remained in Waterloo because I found it was better than Utopia! . . .

"At the basis of my personal philosophy is a profound respect for the environment. I believe that we must minimize our impact on our shared surroundings. At the city level this means reducing our reliance on pesticides and chemical fertilizers. It means creating alternative means of getting places within the city -- and I don't just mean public transport! We need more trails and bike paths. Another basic idea is providing more bike racks so people have place to secure their bikes."

Computing courses for this month

• Linux
• Windows ME
• Introduction to JavaScript

• Introduction to Mathcad
• Preparing Your Thesis with Microsoft Word
• Capturing Screen Images and Screen Sessions
• Regression Analysis in SAS and SPSS
• Creating Equations for Microsoft Word
• Matlab for Scientific Programming
• Creating Animations for Your Course
• Preparing Your Thesis Using LaTeX
• Concept Mapping

• Keeping Up With Your Research Literature -- Electronically!
• Organizing Your References with Reference Manager or Endnote

Oops, I did it again Yesterday's Gazette had the same awful typographical error that I perpetrated in the Bulletin last week -- saying that the annual savings to UW from reduced pension plan contributions were "$6,500". In fact, the reduced contributions are saving $6,500,000 a year and helping to balance the university's $200 million budget.

230 musicians receive electronic payment

Matt Goyer and John Cormie describe Fairtunes as a "voluntary digital music payment system . . . a web-based method for sending money directly to artists". Their web site also includes extensive links to background on the controversy over Napster, Gnutella and similar controversial software that lets users share music (and other digital files) rather than buying CDs.

A news release from Fairtunes this month speaks of "progress towards wider acceptance" of their system:

Since its inception, the site has relayed thousands of dollars from fans to artists. While some contributors use the service to compensate bands for their digital downloads, others simply call the money they send a tip or honorarium.

"We've made some exciting advancements in just two months of operation: our process for contacting artists has been refined, our web payment system expanded beyond just credit cards, and artists are cashing their cheques!" said Matt Goyer, company co-founder.

"The latest, and I think most exciting development, however, is our Winamp plug-in," he continues. Fairtunes now makes supporting artists easy by allowing music fans to send money directly from the program in which they listen to their music. The plug-in, developed by Ed Zaleski of www.oddsock.org, works in conjunction with a special version of the Fairtunes website and allows users to send money to bands as they listen to their music using the popular Winamp MP3 player. The software also can track listening preferences, and based on the playback frequency, suggest which bands the user should tip, out of their possibly large and mostly un-listened-to collection of songs.

"Integrating voluntary contributions right into the actual listening and downloading experience is so crucial to the idea's acceptance into the mainstream. It moves the concept of tipping artists for digital downloads from the abstract, where it's been for too long, into the realm of reality," said co-founder John Cormie.

"When Fairtunes launched two months ago we took the idea of supporting artists directly from the possible to the practical. Today represents a huge step towards making the process actually convenient!"

Franklin the Turtle is expected to make an appearance on Saturday when the bookstore's Kids Club gets involved in Homecoming celebrations. Also appearing at the bookstore, from 1 to 2 p.m., will be Adwoa Badoe, author of The Queen's New Shoes and Crabs for Dinner. There will be story-telling, dancing, and African drum-playing, says Jason MacIntyre of the retail services department. Admission is free, but RSVPs are requested at ext. 5680. Also happening for Homecoming: the Naismith basketball tournament, face-to-face and "virtual" alumni reunions, the annual fun run, and a big night at Federation Hall.

Today's events and notes

The East Asian Festival based at Renison College continues with three activities today. From 10:00 to 1:00 in the Davis Centre lounge, it's the "Academic Showcase", a set of displays about "East Asian language and culture courses, exchange and employment opportunities". At 1:30, in the chapel lounge at Renison, it's a talk by social work expert Ashley Poy, on "Caring with an Open Heart: The Contribution of Eastern Traditions". And then from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Kitchener Public Library downtown, it's a "literary evening" starring Gerry Shikatani, dining critic for the Toronto Star and author of short stories about growing up as a Japanese-Canadian.

Today brings the first event in the new Silversides Theatre Artists Series, as playwright Michael Healey will appear at the UW bookstore from 12:00 to 1:30. Healey is winner of the 1999 Governor General's Award for Drama, among other distinctions. His presentation today is in the form of "discussion with Gerhard Hauck, our new faculty member and dramaturg", according to the drama department's announcement, and there will be refreshments.

Artist Doug Kirton, whose work, consisting of paintings between 1983 and 1999, is currently on display in the East Campus Hall gallery, will talk about his work at 1:30, also in ECH. "The paintings," a notice says, "reveal the evolution of the artist's style, thematic concerns, and process during a particularly prolific period of development."

And another exhibition opens on campus today: "Journeys", a collection of works by UW architecture professors Michael Elmitt and Anu Banerji. "The exhibition," says an announcement, "demonstrates the multidisciplinary nature of the work/inquisitiveness of two colleagues who use visual and material languages to examine cultural, perceptual and phenomenological issues of a design discipline (art and architecture). The works are eclectic collections of design, design drawings (both figurative and non-figurative), presentations and interpretations in many media including furniture design viewed as functional art." Their show continues through December 10 in the Modern Languages building gallery.

Vancouver architect Peter Busby speaks tonight as the architecture school's Arriscraft lecture series continues. His talk starts at 7 p.m. in the "green room" of Environmental Studies II.

Also at 7 p.m., the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group presents a video screening, "Words Are a Window, or They're a Wall", in Davis Centre room 1302. The video introduces "the basic ideas of non-violent communication".

UW's co-op and career services department wants to help entrepreneurs in Canada's technology triangle achieve their dreams, says a news release, and so it's offering a workshop today on "Creating Your Own Enterprise -- Local Resources Can Help!" The event takes place at Siegfried Hall, St. Jerome's University, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by a networking session. John Cullen, enterprise coordinator in the co-op department, said a similar enterprise workshop held last month attracted more than 200 new and hopeful entrepreneurs. Greg Barratt, president of Communitech Association Inc., the local high-tech industry group, will host today's event. Topics for discussion at the workshop include start-up experiences, local resources for start-ups and finding a mentor, the role of business incubators and Angel or VC (Venture Capital) funding, and how to select professional services to assist your start-up. A question-and-answer period will follow the presentations, as well as an occasion for entrepreneurs to network with one another. "Participants will want to bring their business cards to this event," Cullen said.

Tomorrow may be the day to buy glasses. "You're invited," says a flyer, "to our first Holiday Celebration Eyewear Show at the School of Optometry. Representatives from the most prominent frame companies will be presenting their latest frame releases." Eyewear will be for sale at 10 to 50 per cent off the usual prices, and there will be door prizes. Tomorrow's event runs from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Optometry building on Columbia Street. "Come and bring a friend," the flyer urges. "Holiday refreshments will be served. Eye appointments can be arranged."

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
| Yesterday's Bulletin
Copyright © 2000 University of Waterloo