HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jims@bnr.ca (Jim Spallin)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Reply-To: 1596118@x400gate.bnr.ca
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Distribution: ont
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 92 18:25:41 GMT

|> |> In article <Bt1E2s.4x4@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca> drraymon@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca (Darrell Raymond) writes:
|> |> 
|> |>  If I'm moving at the speed limit, there is only one class of vehicles
|> |>  that have a valid reason for wanting to go faster, and that consists
|> |>  exclusively of emergency vehicles with their flashing lights,
|> |>  sirens or whatever in operation.  Anyone else wanting to go faster
|> |>  is someone who wants to break the law.  I feel no more compulsion
|> |>  to satisfy their wants than I do regarding someone who is trying to
|> |>  pick my front door lock.  The moment I drop measurably below the
|> |>  speed limit, an entirely different set of rules comes into operation,
|> |>  and I should (and in fact must) move right to accomodate anyone
|> |>  who wants to proceed at the posted limit.  If that seems like a
|> |>  quite arbitrary line, so be it; the law is full of such lines -
|> |>  remember the original "dead line" in Dodge City?
|> 

Ever givin any consideration to why they might be going faster??  Could be they 
are on their way to the hospital?  Maybe they're injured, maybe they have
to perform surgery?  Ok, enough of the maybes.  What it comes down to is
you forcing your views on someone else.  I fail to see any correlation 
between someone picking the lock on your front door and someone speeding.
You mean you've never dropped a paper wrapper, failed to signal a turn 
the appropriate distance from the corner.  OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!

For your's and everyone else's safety, keep to the right.  Less accidents,
less deaths.  Remember its not the speed that kills, its the sudden 
deceleration!

-- 
Jim Spallin, (613)765-2581
Opinions expressed are my own, although others are free to share them
Xref: sparky ont.general:1706 can.general:4189 soc.culture.canada:6149
From: jack@watarts.uwaterloo.ca (Jack Cooper)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Organization: University of Waterloo
Distribution: can
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 20:40:35 GMT

	I am really surprised how many drivers have expressed a 
preference for upholding the law over minimizing disruptions 
to the traffic flow.

	Have any of the posters who have advocated frustrating
speeders ever taken a defensive driving course?   It seems that
driving lessons I took (several years ago) stressed defensive 
driving techniques repeatedly-- that is, always assume there
is an idiot on the road and try to get out of their way if 
possible.

	Has anyone ever been waiting to make a left at a traffic
light and encountered somebody racing straight through in the
opposite direction as the light was turning red?  Would the same
people who advocated blocking speeders in the left lane suggest
that they try to block the path of miscreants trying to drive through
a red light?
-- 
Jack Cooper - Arts Computing Office            --  E-mail: --
      University of Waterloo              jack@watarts.uwaterloo.ca
        Waterloo, Ontario                 
=====  If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't dwell in the past.  =====
From: currie@Software.Mitel.COM (Kim Currie)
Newsgroups: ont.general
Subject: Re: Bell grudgingly offers free call blocking
Date: 1 Sep 92 19:18:28 GMT
Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada.

In article <landolt.715007977@yorku.ca> landolt@nexus.yorku.ca (Paul Landolt) writes:
>dcoskun@alias.com (Denis Coskun) writes:
>
>>What's not clear to me is why you have to order this service before you
>>can use it.  Why doesn't Bell enable the service for everyone -- those who
>>want it will use it, and those who don't, won't?
>
>It's _VERY_ possible that the adaministrative nightmare of putting everyone
>on call blocking is too much.  Some people just don't want it.  Of course, that
>doesn't excuse Bell. However, the notification in each phone bill should be
>enough.

My theory is that Bell would prefer that people not suppress their ID, so make
it a little inconvenient for them.  The problem for Bell is that too many peoplemight choose to suppress, and then it would be hard to sell the caller ID
feature.  (Why pay for a feature that's not available on all calls, especially
the calls that warrant it such as obscene calls?)


Kim

Newsgroups: ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: buchignani@hg.uleth.ca
Subject: Re: Speedometer inaccuracy and "driving at the speed limit"
Reply-To: buchignani@hg.uleth.ca
Organization: University of Lethbridge
Distribution: can
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 21:01:31 GMT

re: speedo accuracy

Well, I never thought I would be sucked into this discussion, but...
Tire profile makes a great deal of difference here. You may,
for example, have 15 inch rims, but, within reason, these might
be fitted with profiles ranging from 15X75 to 15X60; here, the
"75" and "60" measure the ratio of tread width to sidewall
height. Moreover, all tires of the same nominal profile don't
actually have the same sidewall height.
Newsgroups: ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: cal@ee.ryerson.ca (Calvin Henry-Cotnam)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Organization: Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto
Distribution: can
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 17:39:30 GMT

In article <3176@isgtec.isgtec.com> robert@isgtec.com (Robert Osborne) writes:
>cal@ee.ryerson.ca (Calvin Henry-Cotnam) writes:
>> Of course we all agree that the speeding law is more important.  And there
>> is some agreement that there may be valid reasons to speed, although
>> some disagree on this.
>
>No we don't all agree.   I think the speed limit is completely

Let me clarify, and re-state it the way I should have in the first place:


1) Let's assume that breaking the speeding law is bad/terrible/wrong.
2) Let's also assume that not keeping right is bad/terrible/wrong.
3) Let's assume that some asshole thinks that he is going to stop others
   from breaking the law -- in other words, he wants to lessen the
   total lawlessness in society, thus making it a safer world for all.
4) So he/she/it breaks the keep right law in front of the speeder.

Result:  instead of a net decrease in lawlessness, there is an increase.

Conclusion:  do-gooders results usually end up doing the opposite
             of their intention.

Recommendation:  JUST KEEP TO THE RIGHT!
                 The speeder might be legit or might be an asshole.
                 One or zero assholes is a helluva lot safer than two.


Calvin Henry-Cotnam, CATE            |    MY CANADA INCLUDES CANADIANS!
Ryerson Polytechnical Institute      | I would really like this to include
Toronto, Ontario, Canada             | Quebec - but I won't hold my breath.
Newsgroups: uw.general,uw.cs.eee,uw.cs.dept,uw.cs.general,uw.cs.grad,uw.ee.sunee,uw.mech.system,ont.sf-lovers,ieee.general
Newsgroups: ont.events,ut.dcs.seminars,ut.dcs.theory
From: edith@cs.toronto.edu (Edith Fraser)
Subject: Victor Shoup, Thursday 17 September 1992: THEORY
Date: 1 Sep 92 20:19:08 GMT


           Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
         (SF = Sandford Fleming Building, 10 King's College Road)

       -------------------------------------------------------------

                                  THEORY
             SF1105, at 3:00 p.m., Thursday 17 September 1992

                               Victor Shoup
           Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto

         "Constructing Irreducible Polynomials Over Finite Fields"

A classical theorem in algebra states that for each prime p and all
positive integers n, there exists a finite field (essentially unique) of
cardinality p^n.  The question arises: how to construct such a field, given
p and n.  As it turns out, this is essentially the same problem as
constructing an irreducible polynomial mod p.

Up until now, apparently the best way to solve this problem (in both a
theoretical and practical sense) has been to choose random polynomials
until an irreducible one is found.

In this talk, we discuss a new algorithm for this problem that is based on
a quite different strategy, and is (asymptotically) faster than older
methods.  The running time of the new algorithm is faster than older
methods by a factor of n.
Newsgroups: ont.events,ut.dcs.seminars,ut.dcs.dbois
From: edith@cs.toronto.edu (Edith Fraser)
Subject: Yoram Kornatzky, Thursday 17 September 1992: DATABASES
Date: 1 Sep 92 18:08:25 GMT


           Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
         (SF = Sandford Fleming Building, 10 King's College Road)

       -------------------------------------------------------------

                                 DATABASES
             SF1105, at 2:00 p.m., Thursday 17 September 1992

                              Yoram Kornatzky
Dept. of Math & Computer Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

              "An Extensible Data Model for Hyper-Documents"

We present an extensible data model for hyper-documents. It is intended to
serve as the basis for integrating hypermedia systems with other
information sources, such as object-oriented database management systems,
information retrieval systems, and engineering CAD tools.  Hyper-documents
are described by means of a small number of powerful constructs that
integrate their structural and behavioral aspects. The different
instantiations and combinations of these constructs yield an open class of
hyper-documents. Nodes, anchors, and links are all considered as first-
class objects and modeling constructs are applicable to all of them. These
constructs permit a description of the multiple levels of functionality of
an object within a hyper-document, and the packaging together of the
different views of an object. Composite objects range over an extensible
collection of structures including networks, sets, time-lines, and three-
dimensional space CAD models. Virtuality is regarded as an orthogonal
dimension of the model that allows a virtual object to be used everywhere a
stored one can appear. To facilitate the definition of virtual structures
we provide an algebraic FP-like language for virtual structures that is
founded on the model. The behavioral aspects of a hyper-document are
defined using a general construct for tailoring the browsing semantics to
the kind of composite structures that are used. The structural and
behavioral aspects of the model can be implemented using database
programming languages, thereby leading to a programming environment
supporting the integration of information sources through the hypermedia
system. Our data model is intended to serve as a foundation for a design
methodology for hyper-documents.

Joint work with Paul De Bra and Geert-Jan Houben, Eindhoven U. of
Technology.
Newsgroups: ont.events,ut.dcs.seminars,ut.dcs.theory,ut.dcs.ai
From: edith@cs.toronto.edu (Edith Fraser)
Subject: Joe Halpern, 9 September 1992: AI/THEORY
Date: 27 Aug 92 19:40:34 GMT


           Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
              (GB = Galbraith Building, 35 St. George Street)

       -------------------------------------------------------------

                                 AI/THEORY
                   GB248, at 4:00 p.m., 9 September 1992

                                Joe Halpern
                        IBM Almaden Research Center

          "Degrees of Belief, Random Worlds, and Maximum Entropy"

Consider an agent who has a knowledge base KB consisting of first-order and
statistical information.  (The agent could be, say, a doctor, with a
database of information regarding diseases and symptoms.)  To make
decisions, it is often useful for the agent to assign a numerical ``degree
of belief'' to measure the strength of his belief in a given statement A.
We consider one principled method for doing so.  The method, which we call
the random worlds method, is a natural one: For any given domain size, we
can look at the proportion of models satisfying A among models of that size
satisfying KB.  If we know that the domain is large, we can take the degree
of belief in A given KB to be the limit of this fraction.

In many cases that arise in practice, the random worlds method converges,
and gives answers that match heuristic assumptions made in many standard AI
systems. We show that when restricted to unary predicates, the answer
provided by the random worlds method can often be computed using maximum
entropy.  On the other hand, we show that there are limitations to the
approach. If the language includes binary predicates, typically there will
not be convergence. Moreover, almost all the questions one might want to
ask are highly undecidable.  Even for monadic languages, computing the
asymptotic probability is #EXP-complete.  The techniques we use to show
this demonstrate the close connections between this approach and the theory
of zero-one laws.

This represents joint work with Adam Grove and Daphne Koller.

Newsgroups: ont.events,uw.talks,uw.cs.grad
From: ylkingsb@icr.uwaterloo.ca ()
Subject: ICR Presents a Colloquium on "Cluster Analysis Research at King Fahd    University", on Sept. 9/92, at 3:30 pm, in DC 1302.
Keywords: Speaker:  Dr. Shokri Z. Selim, Dept. of Systems Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Organization: University of Waterloo
Distribution: ont
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 19:09:17 GMT



                   The University of Waterloo
                      200 University Avenue
                        Waterloo, Ontario


           The Institute for Computer Research (ICR)

                    Presents a Colloquium on

        Cluster Analysis Research at King Fahd University



by:     Dr. Shokri Z. Selim

of:     Department of Systems Engineering
        King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
        Dhahran, Saudi Arabia


Date:   Wednesday, September 9, 1992  
Time:	3:30 pm.
Place:  William G. Davis Computer Research Centre, Room 1302



Abstract:

An overview of the research  in  Cluster  Analysis  conducted  by
faculty members and graduate students in King Fahd University.

Biography:

B.S. and M.Sc. from Cairo University  in  Mechanical  Engineering
and  Industrial Engineering respectively.  Ph.D. from Georgia In-
stitute of Technology in Systems Engineering.

Current  research  activities  are  in  the  area  of:    Cluster
Analysis; Machine Scheduling; Goodness of fit statistical tests.



Everyone is welcome.  Refreshments served.
Newsgroups: ont.events,uw.talks,uw.cs.grad
From: wlrush@jeeves.uwaterloo.ca (wlrush)
Subject: THEORY SEMINAR
Keywords: D.Kratsch, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat, Germany
Organization: University of Waterloo
Distribution: ont
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 19:45:58 GMT


DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
SEMINAR ACTIVITIES

THEORY SEMINAR

                    -Wednesday, September 9, 1992

Dieter     Kratsch,     Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat,
Germany,  will  speak  on  "On  the Complexity of Graph
Reconstruction".

TIME:                 1:30-2:30 p.m.

ROOM:                 DC 1304

ABSTRACT

In  the  wake  of  the  resolution  of  the  four color
conjecture,  the  graph  reconstruction  conjecture has
emerged  as  one  focal  point  of  graph  theory.  The
reconstruction conjecture states:  Any undirected graph
with  at least three vertices can be reconstructed---up
to   isomorphism---from  the  collection  of  its  one-
vertex-deleted  subgraphs.   It is widely viewed as one
of  the  most interesting and challenging open problems
in graph theory.

We  consider  the  computational complexity of decision
problems   (DECK   CHECKING   and   LEGITIMATE   DECK),
construction   problems  (PREIMAGE  CONSTRUCTION),  and
counting  problems  (PREIMAGE  COUNTING) related to the
graph  reconstruction  conjecture.   We show that: DECK
           l                     l
CHECKING  <   GRAPH isomorphism <  LEGITIMATE DECK, and
          -                     -
           m                     m
		   l
GRAPH ISOMORPHISM =    DECK CHECKING.
                   iso

In  a  related  fashion,  we  display the first natural
GI-hard  NP  set  lacking  obvious  padding  functions.
Finally,   we   show  that  LEGITIMATE  DECK,  PREIMAGE
CONSTRUCTION,  and  PREIMATE  COUNTING  are solvable in
polynomial  time  on planar graphs, graphs with bounded
genus, and partial k-trees for fixed k.

This is joint work with Lane Hemachandra.
Newsgroups: ont.events,ut.dcs.seminars,ut.dcs.theory
From: edith@cs.toronto.edu (Edith Fraser)
Subject: Dieter Kratsch, Monday 14 September 1992: COMBINATORICS
Date: 1 Sep 92 17:58:59 GMT


           Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
              (GB = Galbraith Building, 35 St. George Street)

       -------------------------------------------------------------

                               COMBINATORICS
               GB221, at 4:00 p.m., Monday 14 September 1992

                              Dieter Kratsch
               Friederich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany

                  "Minimal Neighbourhood Perfect Graphs"

Neighbourhood-perfect graphs form a subclass of the perfect graphs if the
Strong Perfect Graph Conjecture of C. Berge is true.  However, they are
still not shown to be perfect.  Here we propose the characterization of
neighbourhood-perfect graphs by studying minimal non-neighbourhood-perfect
(MNNP) graphs.  After presenting some properties of MNNP graphs, we show
that the only MNNP graphs with neighbourhood independence number one are
the $3$-sun and $2}$.  Also two further classes of neighbourhood-perfect
graphs are presented: line-graphs of bipartite graphs and $2}$-free
cographs.
Newsgroups: ont.events,ut.dcs.seminars,ut.dcs.na
From: edith@cs.toronto.edu (Edith Fraser)
Subject: D.J. Higham, Thursday 3 September 1992: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS (ROOM CHANG
Date: 1 Sep 92 14:51:04 GMT


           Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
              (GB = Galbraith Building, 35 St. George Street)

       -------------------------------------------------------------

                     NUMERICAL ANALYSIS (ROOM CHANGE)
              GB248, at 11:00 a.m., Thursday 3 September 1992

                                D.J. Higham
    Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, University of Dundee

    "Stability of Adaptive Algorithms for Delay-Differential Equations"

Please note this talk was originally scheduled for SF3201 and has been
moved to GB248.

This talk will contrast the linear stability properties of explicit
numerical methods for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and delay-
differential equations (DDEs).  In particular, we will be concerned with
the effect that introducing a delay has on the behavior of modern,
variable-stepsize methods.

Our approach, which is motivated by the equilibrium theory of Hall (1985),
is to regard the DDE method as a discrete nonlinear map.  Insight from
standard constant stepsize analysis then allows us to identify fixed points
of the map, and symbolic computation can be used to determine the stability
of these fixed points.  As in the case of ODEs, it can be shown that the
stability of the fixed points is independent of the error tolerance.
However, unlike the ODE case, the fixed point stability, and hence the
qualitative behavior of the algorithm, is sensitive to the particular
parameters in the DDE. In consequence, standard adaptive algorithms for
DDEs cannot be guaranteed to behave smoothly when stability limits the
stepsize.  We will illustrate these results for a particular Runge-Kutta
algorithm, and show how the analysis can be used to predict the behavior of
the algorithm on a nonlinear DDE that has applications in biology.

Xref: sparky ont.events:410 wny.events:13 wny.seminar:18
From: rapaport@acsu.buffalo.edu (William J. Rapaport)
Newsgroups: ont.events,sunyab.cs.general,sunyab.announce.events,wny.events,wny.seminar,sunyab.cs.grads,sunyab.cs.undergrads
Subject: BUFFALO COMPUTER SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM
Date: 1 Sep 92 17:20:30 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: State University of New York at Buffalo/Comp Sci


                         UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
                      State University of New York

                     DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

                               Colloquium


                            HELENE KERSHNER
                                  and
                          WILLIAM J. RAPAPORT

                     Department of Computer Science
                State University of New York at Buffalo


                  How to Teach (Computer Science) Good

We will discuss various teaching techniques that instructors can use  to
deal  with  the various learning styles that students have.  In particu-
lar, Rapaport will discuss a "scheme of intellectual development" due to
William Perry that can illuminate a great deal of our students' (and our
own) behavior, and Kershner will discuss the "10  Commandments  of  Good
Teaching".   This special "teacher-training" colloquium is intended pri-
marily for  teaching  assistants  in  the  department,  but  all  people
interested in teaching and learning are welcome.

                  Place:  444 Fronczak, Amherst Campus
                  Date:  Thursday, September 10, 1992
                      Time:  3:30 P.M. - 4:45 P.M.

     Refreshments will be served in 226 Bell Hall, after the talk.
                   For further information, contact:
    Dr. William J. Rapaport, (716) 636-3193, rapaport@cs.buffalo.edu
Newsgroups: ont.events,ut.dcs.seminars,ut.dcs.na
From: edith@cs.toronto.edu (Edith Fraser)
Subject: D.J. Higham, 3 September 1992: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
Date: 27 Aug 92 19:10:36 GMT


           Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
         (SF = Sandford Fleming Building, 10 King's College Road)

       -------------------------------------------------------------

                            NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
                  SF3201, at 11:00 a.m., 3 September 1992

                                D.J. Higham
  Department of Math and Computer Science, University of Dundee, Scotland

    "Stability of Adaptive Algorithms for Delay-Differential Equations"

This talk will contrast the linear stability properties of explicit
numerical methods for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and delay-
differential equations (DDEs).  In particular, we will be concerned with
the effect that introducing a delay has on the behavior of modern,
variable-stepsize methods.

Our approach, which is motivated by the equilibrium theory of Hall (1985),
is to regard the DDE method as a discrete nonlinear map.  Insight from
standard constant stepsize analysis then allows us to identify fixed points
of the map, and symbolic computation can be used to determine the stability
of these fixed points.  As in the case of ODEs, it can be shown that the
stability of the fixed points is independent of the error tolerance.
However, unlike the ODE case, the fixed point stability, and hence the
qualitative behavior of the algorithm, is sensitive to the particular
parameters in the DDE. In consequence, standard adaptive algorithms for
DDEs cannot be guaranteed to behave smoothly when stability limits the
stepsize.  We will illustrate these results for a particular Runge-Kutta
algorithm, and show how the analysis can be used to predict the behavior of
the algorithm on a nonlinear DDE that has applications in biology.

Newsgroups: ont.test
From: nguyen@scs.carleton.ca (HH Nguyen)
Subject: Re: test, what else ?
Organization: Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Distribution: can
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 05:42:53 GMT

	H.H. Nguyen

Newsgroups: ont.test
From: bwolfe@trentu.ca (BEN WOLFE)
Subject: Re: testing 1 2 3
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Trent University Computer Services Department
Distribution: ont
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 03:22:00 GMT

Ignore me. I'm a new user just seeing if I can successfully
reply to a message.

Newsgroups: ont.test
From: nguyen@scs.carleton.ca (HH Nguyen)
Subject: Re: test, what else ?
Organization: Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Distribution: can
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 05:49:59 GMT

	Last test for the day !
	H.H. Nguyen

Newsgroups: ont.test