October 1998 - College of Marine Science - University of South Florida

.The Squid’s InkOctober 1998Volume 3, Issue 6Inside this Issue***Virtual InkMovie ReviewWatch Out Bill Nye the ScienceGuy!And much more!University of South FloridaDepartment of Marine ScienceSt. Petersburg, FL 33701Notes From the EditorsWebster’s New College Dictionarydefines editor as “one who edits.” Editis defined as “to prepare forpublication…to supervise thepublication of.” As the elected editorsof SI, we take our job and ourresponsibility to this department veryseriously. We would like to remind youthat anything published in SI must firstgo through us. After all, that is our job.Submissions of any kind are alwaysencouraged. Remember, if it is not inthe usual SI format, we had nothing todo with it, and it should not have beenpublished as an edition of SI. Accept noimitations! As the song goes, “Ain’tnothin’ like the real thing baby!”America RecyclesTo celebrate Florida Recycles Days, theH.M.S. Rose will be visiting TampaBay November 13-15. This ship is areplica of a ship used during theAmerican Revolution, and is theworld’s tallest active wooden sailingship. Almost all of the sails (13,000sq.ft.) were made from recycled plasticPET bottles and automobile fenders as adramatic demonstration of recycling inAmerica.This promises to be a fun-filledweekend including environmental fairs,educational seminars, celebritiesdisplays of products made fromrecycled items, ship tours, games, food,and fun for the whole family.Florida is a national leader in recycling,with a statewide recycling rate of 37%.It is time to show concern for the futureof our environment and commit torecycling and buyng products made ofrecycled materials. For moreinformation about this event, call tollfree 1-877-Go-Aboard. (All informationtaken from a press release from Dave Dickinson1-800-954-8134)Congratulations!Congratulations to Scott Burghart, JimEdwards, and Andrea Mosier. All threesuccessfully defended last monthAlso, congratulations to Mingrui Zhangand Haihua Liu. Haihua has landed aposition at the prestigious Mayo Clinic.They will be leaving us soon to head forthe colder climate of Minnesota. Besure to wish them luck.Congratulations and a roll of quarters goto Heidi Crevison for realizing that theservice people don’t come to empty thechange machine at 9:00 at night! Shewitnessed the theft and called it in to theauthorities.Finally, congratulations to Pam Cochranfor winning the best M.S. thesis award.Don’t forget…Superstars is just acouple of weeks away! Mark yourcalendars. Volunteers will beneeded.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Upcoming EventsOct 7, noon, MSL conf. roomJuly Wacky 1998 Wednesday WunchtimeTo be announced. See Jyotika ifyou have any ideas orsuggestions. Bring your lunch.Oct 12Columbus DayThis is the day that we celebratethe man who didn’t discoverAmerica!Oct 14, noon, MSL conf. roomWacky Wednesday WunchtimePart 1 of the movie “Monty Python:The Holy Grail”. Come watch thishysterical classic for the first or thetwenty-first time. Bring your lunch.Oct 21, noon, MSL conf. roomWacky Wednesday WunchtimePart 2 of the movie “Monty Python:The Holy Grail”. Bring your lunch.Oct 24SuperstarsOne of our biggest fundraisers,and a lot of fun too. We will behearing a lot more about this fromBob Jolley in the upcoming weeks.Oct 25Daylight Savings Time EndsDon’t forget to set your clock backone hour.Oct 28, noon, MSL conf. roomWacky Wednesday WunchtimeOktoberfest! Presented by ourfriends at C.O.T. (subject tochange). Bring your lunch.Thought For the DayIf today is a typical day on planet Earth,we will lose 116 square miles ofrainforest, or about an acre a second.We will lose another 72 square miles toencroaching deserts, as a result ofhuman mismanagement andoverpopulation. We will lose 40 to 100species, and no one knows whether thenumber is 40 or 100. Today the humanpopulation will increase by 250,000.And today we will add 2,700 tons ofchlorofluorocarbons to the atmosphereand 15 million tons of carbon. Tonightthe Earth will be alittle hotter, its watersmore acidic, and the fabric of life morethreadbare.”(From “What Is Education For?” by David Orr,1991)Project Oceanography is stronglysupported by USF Marine Sciencefaculty, students, and staff. Drs. PeterBetzer, Paula Coble, and MargaretHewitt work closely with Dr. SarahTebbens, Teresa Greely, and the show’sAdvisory Board to make sure thatPorject Oceanography continues to bean exemplary series. In addition, staffmembers David Brodosi, TracyChristner, Kim Donaldson, ChadEdmisten, Lori Huthmacher, JuliRasure, and Shelly Rich assist thepresenting scientists by writing teacherguide packets, demonstrations,rehearsals, props, graphics, creativesupport, and the use of studiotechnology.The Spring 1998 series includedprocesses of the Ocean in Motion,Natural Disasters, Aquaculture,Careers in and related to oceanography,Project YOTO Drifters. USF MarineScience presenters for the 1997-98series included Drs. Norm Blake andPaula Coble, along with Teresa Greely,Mark Hafen, Tracey Sutton, JyotikaVirmani, Drs. Sarah Tebbens, MeredithHaines, Mark Luther, and Pam Hallock-Muller. USGS presenters were Drs.Chris Barton, Robert Halley, and EllenPrager with Don Hickey. DEP/FMRIpresenters were Dr. Bill Arnold andWalt Jaap. Dr. John Ogden (FIO) alsopresented a show.The Fall 1998 series will focus onvarious topics related to the Year of theOcean, satellite oceanography(especially the Topex Poseidon project),and why the ocean is at risk. Showideas for the ocean at risk series are stillneeded, please call Dr. Coble with yoursuggestions. Project Oceanography willbe broadcast live on Channel 14 everyFriday at 11:30 a.m. in Pinellas Countybeginning September 11. Tune in andwatch fellow faculty and students showAmerica what Oceanography is allabout.Executive Producer Paula Coble wouldlike to thank the staff, crew, and team ofpresenters mentioned for a great 1997-98 series.Did You Know…In 1996 an all-time high of 9.2% of USpatents were granted to a women inventors.Some of them are obviously better and moreuseful than others. Innovations included:*the Safeseal nonreusable syringe*a hairbrush that squirts out conditioner foruse in the shower*a canine car seat*a new type of playground*several time saving kitchen tools(From Glamour magazine, Oct. 1998)Isn’t It Ironic?Two animal rights protesters wereprotesting at the cruelty of sending pigsto a slaughterhouse in Bonn. Suddenlythe pigs (all 2000 of them) escapedthrough a broken fence and stampeded,trampling the two hapless protesters todeath.Virtual Ink2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By Johan SchijfNeed books? They got books!www.amazon.com is a page that manyof you may already be familiar with.For those of you who are not, check itout! Amazon started a few years agowith over 1 million titles, claiming to bethe largest online bookstore. They havesince grown to over 3 million titles,which now includes music as well.Like last month’s page, this one is toolarge to discuss in much detail, but it isreally mostly self-explanatory. Forthose who still get lost, there is anextensive help function.Amazon’s best feature is its searchengine which allows you to search forspecific books by author, title, ISBNnumber, publisher, or subject. You cansearch for music by keyword. Both thebook and music sections also allow youto browse more generally by subject, ormore limiting categories such as “bestseller”, “award winner”, “featured in themedia”, and “recommendations”. Thebook section also has a “kids” categorythat lets you search for age-appropriatebooks.When you find a title you like you canput it in a shopping cart. When you aredone you can order its contents with acredit card. You can open a secureaccount (with e-mail link) that you cancheck at any time and that will informyou of the status of pending orders. Anexcellent gift service supplies you withideas for “kids”, “weddings andanniversaries”, or “the person who haseverything”. Amazon will even wrapyour gift, allowing you to choose fromsix kinds of wrapping paper.Ed. Note: I frequently use this website.One of my favorite features is that it letsyou listen to songs from CDs so you candecide if you want to purchase them ornot. Another great feature is the “eyes”service. This will notify you by e-maileverytime a book comes out by yourfavorite author, on a specific subject, orif the title includes keywords of yourchoice.Notes From MSACBy Terri SlifkoElections for new officers will be heldlater this month. Everyone, includingnew students, is encouraged to run. Noexperience is necessary. It’s a greatway to have some fun and help out thedepartment.A good time was had by all at SpringSplash. However, the total profit wasonly $60. 7 kegs were paid for out ofthe money from ticket sales. The $60went back to student government, andwe expect the money returned to us inthe form us approved extraneousexpenses such as other parties, etc.WWW UpdateBy Jyotika VirmaniOnce again, thanks to everyone whoparticipated in June’s WackyWednesday Wunchtimes. We had 3excellent and very diverse wunchtimes.The hurricane season began with a talkby Jack Parrish, who thrilled us withsome great photos and video footage ofa flight through a hurricane. Thefollowing week, our senses werechallenged in Bob Byrne’s Tuvan musicdemonstration. It changed the lives ofquite a few people, and their cats aswell! In the final June wunchtime,some of our sensibilities werechallenged by Bryan Black, whoenlightened us with Navy Seal storiesand a graphic video.Movie ManiaThe Squid’s InkBy Sherryl Gilbert & Jason LenesCompleting his “20-somethings”trilogy, Whit Stillman attempts to placeprivileged individuals into a plotresembling the story of the famousdisco club “Studio 54”. In The LastDays of Disco, a group of characterscaught in post college liberation is ledby Alice and Charlotte (Chloe Sevignyand Kate Beckinsale). They venture outon a quest for stimulating nightlife in anattempt to escape the daily doldrums ofbeginning a career. As Alice andCharlotte approach the disco on footand notice the elitist doorman, Charlottestates, “I hear it’s easier to get in if youcome in a cab.” Unfortunately, quicktalk and witty analogies cease todisguise their misplacement uponadmission into the club. Focusing moreon fashion, STDs, and sexuality (allimportant issues) than on the demise ofdisco, it’s hard to tell if this film is aperiod satire or pieces of oldconversation.Stillman disappoints in this film wherehe wildly succeeded in Metropolitanand Barcelona. The eccentricconversation, focused introspectivelytowards their “place” in it all, frequentlyfails to lure us into compassion orunderstanding of the characters. Exceptfor Des’ (Chris Eigemann) tirade abouta traumatic college hook-up and a groupdissection of Lady and the Tramp asdangerous social propaganda, The LastDays of Disco neglects to focus on thewild nights of the disco age. Theawkward placement of the lives of thesecharacters caught in a social comedyultimately fails to mesh with the toneddown disco setting.Score: 2 squids out of 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

The Squid’s Ink “Staff”: Editor: Lizz Singh (lizz@marine); Assoc. Editor: Jyotika Virmani (jyotika@marine);July 1998Contributors to this issue: Tracy Christner, Sherryl Gilbert, Jason Lenes, Juli Rasure, Johan Schijf, Terri Slifko, your name could be here!WE WANT YOU!Want to see your name inprint? Do you want tohave another publicationto add to your list? Thenwrite something for “TheSquid’s Ink”.Did you go to a greatconcert? Find a newrestaurant? Just want tovent about something?Then write about it!All submissions are dueby the end of each month.Only you can preventblank space!4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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