https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=137.165.212.218&feedformat=atomWillipedia - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T06:54:50ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.32.1https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Easy_classes&diff=5075Easy classes2005-11-12T00:33:09Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>I know, know, we all came to Williams to take four to six challenging and rewarding classes every semester. Then we found how much we liked working for the newspaper or playing a sport or singing a capella or doing plays. Anyway, sometimes you need an easy fourth course. Let's make a list of guts. '''Please comment only on the size of the workload, and not on the quality of teaching.''' If there's not universal consensus that a course was easy, it would be relevant to mention whether you've had previous coursework in the subject, or if you're just a genius. If you want opinions about the quality of particular professors, please visit [http://wso.williams.edu/Factrak Factrak]. Not to be confused with [[Hard Classes]]<br />
<br />
==Easy classes (if you can do math)==<br />
<br />
===Econ 110===<br />
<br />
'''Bartlett's section''': There are daily homework assignments, but you can actually complete them ''during the class that it's due''. You'll probably have time to finish the next day's assignment, too. There were no projects or papers; just a mid-term and final exam. Bartlett is an adjunct from Smith, so he is only brought in when Econ 110 is overenrolled.<br />
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Estimated weekly workload: 0-2 hours<br />
Mandatory attendance? No<br />
<br />
===Psych 201===<br />
<br />
'''Kirby's section''': If you are not good at math, this class will be hard. But if you have a sound grasp of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and occasionally division, and if you have a sort of understanding of how math works, this class is easy. You don't need to do any reading to do the course, which is good since the texts and reading assignments are really dense. Classes are small, so the professor will notice if you are not there.<br />
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Estimated weekly workload: 0-2 hours<br />
Mandatory attendence? yes, since it's a small class<br />
Extra credit? No<br />
<br />
Not easy with Ari Solomon.<br />
<br />
==Easy classes (even if you can't do math)==<br />
<br />
===Econ 120===<br />
<br />
Sporadic problem sets that can be done at the last minute. Attendance is not necessary as the entire lecture (at least in one prof's section) is contained within a powerpoint presentation available through blackboard - print this out, don't take any notes. Readings from the course packet are assigned but not necessary. Exams are easy, especially if you've taken 110 before.<br />
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Estimated weekly workload: 0-2 hours<br />
Mandatory attendance? No<br />
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Note: This is just my personal experience, but econ 120 with Betty Daniel involves weekly problem sets, 2 papers, a presentation and debate on one of the papers, and two really hard tests and a final exam. Just to give you a good idea of how hard the tests are, the first one had a curve of over 20 points.<br />
<br />
===Ling 101===<br />
<br />
Not only is Introduction to Linguistics easy, but it's probably one of the most fun and interesting classes you could ever take at Williams. It's taught by a knowledgeable professor who's willing to explain any and all details of a subject, and also willing to get into discussions of related (or even not very related) material. Most of the class is spent learning the International Phonetic Alphabet...go to lecture, sit back, relax, and listen to the funny noises as all the members of the class try to mimic Professor Sanders' pronunciations. This class is also great for picking up fun facts: where else can you learn to properly use phrases like "bilabial fricative," "spread glottis," or "plosive?" Ling 101 is a problem set class and requires a good memory, but if you have basic quantitative reasoning abilities, it's easy to handle.<br />
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Note: I never attended this class, but learned I.P.A. elsewhere, and it is not at all difficult to learn within the course of a few classes, tops, if you have a reasonably good ear for sounds. It is, also, a useful class for anyone who plans to go into singing, since terms like "plosive" come up fairly often there too.<br />
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Estimated weekly workload: 0-3 hours<br />
<br />
===Psych 101===<br />
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It is not really that the material is easy, but this class is the only class I am aware of at Williams that has extra credit, in the form of participating in psych experiments that oftentimes are extremely interesting anyway. I got an A in the class and very rarely went to class on Friday mornings. The only section that you need to pay close attention in the lecture is Neuroscience, which many people have considered to be the most interesting set of lectures, anyway, and thus easy to pay attention to. Even if you don't do well on that test, you will surely ace the Cognitive Psych or Social Psych part and make up for it. This class is light on the reading, and since there so many people in it, you can find a study partner easily. <br />
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I would also add that there is very little in the lectures that cannot be found directly from the book. In fact, despite the fact that I attended almost every lecture, the notes I took down were basically just repeating what I'd read the night before.<br />
<br />
Whatever you do, '''do not buy the textbook.''' It was revised three times while I was a student, and every time Kassin would claim "students must have the recent edition." Bullshit. If you don't believe, grab copies of your favorite two editions and check the text side by side. I'll be damned if I didn't find, my freshman year, that precisely the same text and figures were present in the 3rd and 4th editions, with a two page difference between editions. If you are lucky enough to take the class in a revision year, check out the free book table in the [[1914 Library]], even if you are not on [[financial aid]]. They'll be liquidating their "old" editions.<br />
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Estimated weekly workload: 0-3 hours<br />
Mandatory attendence? no<br />
Extra credit? Yes!<br />
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Note: A great number of people have failed this course. Do not be misled by this information.<br />
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Also note: Ok, although I know someone who has failed this course, I feel strongly that this is a result of a complete lack of understanding about what an easy or "low-maintainence" class is and what it isn't. i.e. you still have to study for the exams, and the material is still on par with college-level academics.<br />
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(Seconded. This class is easy to fail if you decide not to do the reading or if you regularly skip class, but easy to pass if you simply do the reading and pay a reasonable amount of attention during lectures. Most lectures are also fairly interesting, and most reading material easily comprehensible, so this should not be at all difficult for anyone smart and motivated enough to be at Williams in the first place.)<br />
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===Math 175: Mathematical Politics: Voting, Power, and Conflict===<br />
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Very light on actual math.<br />
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Estimated weekly workload: 1-3 hours (problem sets)<br />
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===Geos 104: Oceanography===<br />
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Well-illustrated powerpoint lectures, an often fun and incredibly easy lab for two hours ever other week, pretty much no homework (though looking at your textbook doesn't actually hurt), and a field trip in the spring! This was one of the easiest and most entertaining classes I've taken here. <br />
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Estimated weekly workload: 0-3 hours <br />
Mandatory attendance? I don't remember, but it's actually worth going<br />
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===Theatre 101===<br />
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Has, in the past, been very easy, but this seems to depend to a fairly significant degree on which professor is currently teaching it. Has tended to involve minimal reading, a moderate amount of class participation, and little in the way of homework.<br />
<br />
And it no longer exists.<br />
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===Philosophy 102===<br />
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Has, in the past, been fairly easy provided you find philosophical discussion interesting. There are typically two sections, of which I only have experience with Professor White's version. Involves significant and frequent reading, but only page-long response papers twice a week, only one of wich was graded, while the other was reviewed by a TA. Class participation is important; do not <br />
take this curse if you are shy about offering opinions. (It should be noted that it has been several years since I took this course, so it may have changed by now.)<br />
<br />
....vastly depends on the prof which you have. Cruz, Gerrard, White, Dudley, Mladenvoic and probably others, have all taught this course. Each prof injects their own special flavor into 102. This class is "easy" in being light on the workload, ''depending on the professor'', but sometimes piecing together a coherent philosophical argument can be quite a bear, if it's not your thing.<br />
<br />
===Astronomy 101===<br />
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Easy (for me, at least, though I've heard that some others have disputed this) if you do the reading and show up for tests and labs. Missing tests, has, in the past, resulted in almost automatic failure, though, even if you have good excuses, so be careful about that.<br />
<br />
===English 115===<br />
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Taught by Prof. Murphy, the king of witty and dry sarcasm, this class is the simplest writing intensive course ever brought to Williams. "Writing intensive" really means, one page (double spaced!) response to the weekly reading. By "response" I mean, how did you feel? Did you like it? The biggest paper is a 3-5pager. Only thing is you can't miss more than 2 classes. But you can easily get by without reading a thing.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Anchor_housing&diff=4978Anchor housing2005-11-11T01:13:33Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>To those who disagree with any of the opinions expressed on this page: please remember that this wiki is an open forum. Feel free to add your own opinions about anchor housing at the end of the page. This issue is an important one, and deserves a free, open, and public airing of views.<br />
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Anchor Housing, also known as ''Cluster Housing'', the ''Williams House System'', or ''Neighborhood Housing'', is the new upperclass housing system to be implemented in fall 2006. The CUL refers to the system by its latest name, ''neighborhood'', but students most commonly call the system ''anchor'' or ''cluster'' housing, the original names.<br />
<br />
==Description==<br />
<br />
Currently, Williams upperclass housing is a "free agent" system. Students form groups of 4 and are assigned lottery numbers within their class. They then choose rooms on campus in order of lottery number.<br />
<br />
Anchor housing restricts the room draw to a small cluster of dorms. Houses on campus will be divided into five clusters, each containing approximately six houses and one "anchor" house chosen to serve as the social hub of the cluster. Rising sophomores will form groups of six, and each group will be randomly assigned to a cluster. Upperclassmen will choose rooms in a lottery exclusive to their own cluster. Students remain in the same cluster throughout their time at Williams.<br />
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The housing system was formed with the following goals in mind, as presented by the CUL at two informational forums in 2004:<br />
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* '''More autonomous social life''': more local control, funding, and energy; less dependence on ACE; more variety - parties, big weekend traditions, intramurals, faculty interaction<br />
* '''More active residential integration''': not merely desegregation, but genuine and lively communities<br />
* '''Improved sophomore experience''': deeper connections to other class years<br />
* '''Ability to live with friends, and have options within the system'''<br />
<br />
There are ideas for a "House Cup" and House IM teams, informal faculty dinners, designated bulletin boards in the new Baxter, and cluster outings, but plans are not definite yet. Some students (and CUL members) have joked about whether the clusters will be named after the houses in the Harry Potter books.<br />
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The anchor houses and their associated dorms are:<br />
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* '''Currier''': Fitch, Prospect<br />
* '''Dodd''': Hubbell, Dodd Annex, Goodrich, Parsons, Sewall, Dennett, Mills<br />
* '''Spencer''': West, Brooks, Gladden, Carter<br />
* '''Tyler''': Tyler Annex, Thompson, Armstrong, Pratt<br />
* '''Wood''': Perry, Garfield, Agard, Bryant, Mark Hopkins<br />
<br />
The houses Chadbourne, Doughty, Lambert, Milham, Poker Flats, Rectory, Susie Hopkins, and Woodbridge will remain (or become) [[co-ops]].<br />
<br />
For the CUL's complete description of anchor housing, see the [http://www.williams.edu/resources/committees/cul/reports/2005.pdf|full proposal]. It is fairly detailed and includes a history of housing at Williams, though it perpetuates the misconception that the change from House Affiliation to Free Agency was driven by the administration and was "accidental." In fact, students were freely swapping rooms well before the official switch to Free Agency, thus a de facto free agency system existed at the end of the House Affiliation period.<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
<br />
Anchor housing was first proposed by the 1999-2000 [[Committee on Undergraduate Life]] (CUL) under the leadership of Professor Charles Dew, a Williams alum from the time when College housing was based around fraternities. The proposed system was a bit different back then, and was finally abandoned by the 2002 CUL in favor of making discrete changes to room draw procedures: decreasing the size of pick groups from 7 to 4, implementing a blind room draw, and instituting gender caps on individual houses. The reason for this change varies depending on who you ask: 2005 CUL members claimed that the Committee of 2000 wanted to give their changes time to work, and allow time to see how the new [[House Coordinator]] system was faring; students who were on campus in 1999-2000 suggest that the student body protested the idea of anchor housing strongly enough to get the CUL to back down; and some student members of the 2000 CUL claim that it was their objections to anchor housing that kept the system from being implemented in spring 2003.<br />
<br />
Though students thought that anchor housing had disappeared, it turned up again, suddenly, in Winter Study 2004, when news was leaked to the Williams ''[http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?view=article&section=news&id=6225 Record]'' that the 2004-2005 CUL (led by Professor Will Dudley, an alum from the days when students were affiliated with one house throughout their upperclass years) was going to propose the system again. The proposed system involved creating six clusters, with houses in each cluster scattered across campus but united by a centrally located [[anchor house]]. Which freshman [[Entry]] a student belongs to determines which cluster the student would be assigned to as a rising sophomore. In the [http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?view=article&section=news&id=6308 second article] breaking the story, [[Morty]] was quoted as saying, "It’s in the interests of the students, ultimately. The challenge is to explain why."<br />
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The immediate student reaction was strong opposition. Commentary saturated the ''Record'' and [[WSO blogs]] for some time after the initial announcement. A group of students dedicated to preventing the implementation of anchor housing and maintaining free agency housing formed the group [[Anchors Away]]. These students conducted surveys of students (in one case, they collected written opinions from almost 200 Williams students opposed to anchor housing), wrote letters to the CUL, ''Record'', and [[Trustees]], and compiled documents detailing student objections to the anchor housing proposal. Their efforts culminated in a failed campaign for the [[College Council]] co-presidency by two of their founding members.<br />
<br />
In January 2005, the Committee on Undergraduate Life made a series of substiantial changes to the anchor housing proposal. Entries were detatched from clusters in favor of randomly assigning rising sophomores. This was generally regarded as an improvement by students. Additionally, the CUL determined that larger clusters would be more conducive to forming so-called genuine communities and decreased the number of clusters to five. The cluster boundaries were also redrawn to be geographically localized; each cluster, instead of comprising houses from all areas of campus, would consist of nearby houses. Also, the CUL began to refer to the new housing proposal by the name ''cluster housing'' instead of ''anchor housing'', because they felt that "anchor housing" gave too much of an impression that students would be stuck to something in their residential lives. Finally, the date of implementation was pushed back from fall 2005 to fall 2006. This move was [http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?view=article&section=news&id=6449 highly regarded] by the student body.<br />
<br />
The CUL finally [http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?view=article&section=news&id=6484 submitted] its proposal to the administration under the vague name "Williams House System" in late February 2005, and recieved the [[Administration's|Administration]] approval. Students in Anchors Away worried that the administration was ignoring their opinion, but the CUL determined that its mission in the 2005-2006 academic year would consist solely of determining how exactly the transition from free agency to anchor housing would be carried out.<br />
<br />
In April 2005, College Council submitted a [http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?view=article&section=news&id=6706 letter of opposition] to clusters to the adminsitration. The letter makes explicit the point that anchor housing cannot be successful without enthusiastic support from the students.<br />
<br />
==Student Opinion==<br />
<br />
The first Wiki entry for Anchor Housing consisted of the single word, "Evilll." A few edits later, a poster had corrected to, ''[Anchor Housing] . . . is actually NOT called anchor housing. It is cluster housing, built in neighborhoods around a central "anchor house.'' To which the following response was added: ''But nonetheless, it is still eeeeeevil, just in case you were confused about that.''<br />
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Students have been deeply concerned about various aspects of anchor housing. Voiced concerns include:<br />
<br />
* '''Loss of freedoms and choices.''' Any housing system that restricts the number of houses students can live in restricts students' choices. Given the great variety of dorms on this campus, many students believe it essential that they be at least given a chance to choose from some of the best dorms on campus. Clusters drawn by the CUL have rarely included equal numbers of "desirable" and "undesirable" houses, leaving students wondering whether members of classes after 2009 will find themselves randomly assigned to a "sucky cluster." Students also worry that they will be unable to form a housing pick group with their friends, especially with friends they make after cluster assignments have been made in their freshman spring.<br />
* '''Social engineering.''' The attitude of the CUL and administration has been seen as very paternalistic by many students. Students are wary of attempts to ensure "diversity" in all dorms on campus. The phrase "genuine communities" has been particularly contentious among students, as some believe it suggests that existing communities were judged by the CUL and determined to be "not genuine." <br />
* '''Freshman affiliations.''' The assignment of entries to particular clusters was met with strong disapproval by students worried that new students' housing choices would be determined entirely by their entry assignment, before they even set foot on campus. Fortunately, the CUL altered this aspect of the plan.<br />
* '''Loss of "class" living experiences.''' Sophomores will no longer be able to live as a class in [[Mission Park]], and juniors will no longer be able to live together in the [[Greylock Quad]]. Some credit the Mission Park renovations in the summer of 2003 as dramatically improving the Williams sophomore experience, and are concerned that anchor housing will take away the benefits of living as a class with all the people who got to know one another as entrymates during freshman year.<br />
* '''Disregard of suite affiliations.''' Many Williams students live with the same (or a similar) set of friends in a suite throughout their career. Students believe that the CUL did not take into account strong "suite identity" and the smaller, more tightly knit communities of two or three nearby suites, often composed of good friends who enjoy each others' company.<br />
* '''Differences in social behavior.''' The drinking culture on this campus appeals to some and not to others. Some of the less party-prone students worried that anchor housing would spread them thinly around campus, sandwiching them between students more interested in trashing common rooms with [[beirut]] refuse than using the common room for a quiet gathering, board game, impromptu poker night, or movie viewing.<br />
* '''The Odd Quad.''' Members of the [[Odd quad | Odd Quad]] (known as the Berkshire Quad to the uninitiated and CUL members) community use the dorms Currier and Fitch as a social hub. These students, self-described [[deviants]], are often set apart from the rest of campus culture. Without a physical social base, they worry that their way of life will be severely disrupted. Anchor housing will randomly spread these students around the entire campus, effectively destroying the Odd Quad as a cohesive community.<br />
* '''Failure of clusters at Middlebury.''' Middlebury College [http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?view=article&section=news&id=6393 recently implemented a cluster-model housing system], and students there have a low opinion of it. In fact, their objections are very similar to Williams students' objections to anchor housing: social engineering, preventing them from living with friends, et cetera.<br />
<br />
In its March 1, 2005 issue, the Williams ''Record'' [http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?view=article&section=news&id=6491 conducted a poll] of student opinion on anchor housing. The following results turned up:<br />
<br />
* 13% of students support anchor housing<br />
* 24% of students tentatively support anchor housing<br />
* 33% of students tentatively oppose anchor housing<br />
* 29% of students oppose anchor housing<br />
<br />
College Council also conducted a poll, which was [http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?view=article&section=news&id=6578 reported] in the ''Record'' on March 15, 2005:<br />
<br />
* 17% of respondants support anchor housing<br />
* 57% oppose anchor housing<br />
* 12% are neutral<br />
* 13% are undecided<br />
<br />
However, the Committee on Undergraduate Life made statements to the effect that a student opinion poll would not affect their decision. The 2005-2006 CUL has singlemindedly dedicated intself to implementing anchor housing in fall 2006. The implementation of anchor housing is now considered a moot point (in fact, indications are that anchor housing was destined to be implemented right from the beginning, when the administration voiced approval to it in its infancy), though some students push for a modified cluster system that preserves some elements of free agency.<br />
<br />
== Current Status ==<br />
<br />
The CUL is debating how to accomplish the transition to anchor housing, how houses should be governed, how to evaluate the success or failure of clusters in the future, and how funding should be allocated to clusters.<br />
<br />
Edit [[Stuff the CUL should do]] to provide input to the Committee.<br />
<br />
The [http://www.williams.edu/resources/committees/cul/members.html CUL website] currently contains a member list, links to previous CUL reports, and a feedback form. There are also minutes from some of the subcommittee meetings.<br />
<br />
<br />
The CUL is apparently trying to obtain the names of students who have edited this wiki.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=My_Dad&diff=4977My Dad2005-11-11T01:12:11Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>My dad was in the navy. He still has a sword from it. Does your dad sail a yacht? How would he feel about a huge-ass destroyer with loads of missiles? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
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Oh yeah? Well my dad played pro basketball in Greece and was on the team that won the European Championship. He's 6 feet, 8 inches tall and can still dunk with with ease. Does your dad have mad hops? How would he feel about a little 1 on 1? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
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So? My dad was an army artillery officer. He also has a black belt (3rd dan) in tae kwon do. Does your dad want my dad to kick his ass? How would he feel about sparring? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
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Oh, really? Yeah, well, my dad used to fly a stunt helicopter in movies. Did your dad see that movie, ''Apocalypse Now''? Is it true that your dad can't make his riding lawnmower work? How would your dad feel about my dad showing him how to mow the lawn - with a helicopter? I would guess that he would feel terrible. <br />
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Ya? Well my dad was in the Coast Guard. He was a tableman, which is super hard core Coast Guard talk for a waiter. His boat released weather balloons in the north atlantic. Could your dad wipe an officer's butt? How would your dad feel if he was waiting for his food and he found my dad's pubes in it? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
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Is that all? Well my dad used to be a bounty hunter. He tracked down hardened criminals like a great white shark following a trail of blood in the ocean. Could your dad lay the smack down on a mafia leader? How would your dad feel about my dad subjecting him to a full cavity search? I would guess that he would feel terrible. <br />
<br />
Really? Well, I would like to counter by asserting that my father was and is one of the world's most accomplished sophists. His rhetorical skills are at their best when employed in a totally cynical matter, and when they are so employed they are truly devastating. His insincerity and histrionics are the non pareil. So how would your dad feel about having the weaker argument come to appear the stronger, and thereby finding himself unexpectedly overthrown from a seemingly secure rhetorical position -- in short, about having the proverbial rug pulled out from under his proverbial feet through the dark arts of unabashèd sophistry? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
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Okay? My dad used to be a robot bodyguard for Jim Morrison. He could understand lasers, speak 6 robot languages, and walk sideways... while spinning his head 360 degrees to scare intruders. How would your dad feel about never having to take a break from using designer rockstar drugs to sleep, eat, or wash his hands? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
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Is that so? My dad is the narrator from Robert A. Heinlein's ''All You Zombies''. He was born a functional hermaphrodite and grew up to be a time-travelling bartender. Then he t.t.ed to his own past to kidnap himself and forced himself to come with him back in time to when he was 17 to seduce and impregnate himself. A year later, just before his 18 year old counter part had the sexual identity reconstruction operation, he stole her/his baby and took it back in time to be trained as a bartender. So in conclusion, my dad is my mom AND their only child, who is also me. How would your dad feel if he knew were he came from, but then had to ask somebody else about all the zombies? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Huh? Well, my dad is actually [[Your Mom]]. How would your dad feel if he had another family on the side AND had to hide his pregnancy for nine months? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
But, anyway... My dad is strong and powerful. One time, he and my mom were driving on the highway in a bad snowstorm, and my mom hit some ice and skidded so that the front of the car was off the road and the back of the car was still in the righthand lane of traffic. She tried to steer the car out of this position, but the snow prevented her from doing that. There were cars approaching at high speeds, and visibility was so bad that they might not have braked in time. So my dad got out of the car, picked up the back end of it, and moved that end off the road. How would your dad feel about being colorblind? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh? Actually, my dad used to be a travelling salesman. All up and down the East Coast, that was his territory. In all of the small towns, they knew him by name. In all of the big cities, they knew him by name. Even when he was older and kind of ugly, he had an affair with this hot young lady. How would your dad feel about talking to his dead brother that went off adventuring to find gold? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Is that a fact? Well, my dad is [[Religion|God]]. How would your dad feel about total omnipotence? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh really? Well, my dad is an atheist, and around the time you learned that Santa Claus was really your parents, I learned that God is really a fabrication of the priest class designed to dupe everybody else into renouncing reason and believing that human freedom is unimportant and that misery will be rewarded in some sort of afterlife. How would your dad feel about being told that existence is a fleeting, meaningless void? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Don't be so sure. My dad is [[Morty Schapiro]]. He heads up the best school in the Purple Valley, not to mention in the country, or the rest of the world, and sports a wicked white beard. Everyone loves Morty, and even if they [[Stuff Morty Should Definitely Do|try to tell him what to do]], he doesn't listen, because he's a total badass. He is also the little-known leader of an underground street racing circuit in Bennington. How would your dad feel about getting the liberal arts kicked out of him? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Are you serious? Well, my dad weighs two and a half tons. He keeps sandwiches in his back pocket and strung around his waist in a little backback that looks like a purse next to his gargantuan figure. How would your dad feel if my dad were ahead of him in line at Subway and bought EVERYTHING? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Hold up! My dad actually invented crack, opium, and morphine. Not only that, but he makes new and improved batches every day, which he tests personally. How would your dad feel about playing the "who's feeling worse emotional pain" game with my dad? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Is that all? My dad spent our entire family fortune buying somebody else's soul on Ebay. Since then, our family has found countless uses for this extra soul. I can't even begin to explain how much better our lives have been because of it. "The truth of a single soul is inexpressible," my dad told me while our mom was softly crying in the corner. How would your dad feel about not being able to forcefeed his youngest son a second soul? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Are you kidding me? My dad drinks gasoline to wash down his lunch. This one time, he walked into a gas station and just pumped that golden liquid straight down his throat in front of everybody. How would your dad feel if he were to pull into a gas station and realize that his hummer was more fuel-efficient than my father? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
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Big deal. My dad is really rich. He basically does whatever he wants. How would your dad like it if, on your parents' 25th anniversary, my dad reserved every table at every restaurant in America, and didn't let your parents sit at any of them? How would your dad like it if my dad bought up all the adult diapers in the country and dumped them on your front lawn? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
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So what... My dad is really an alien. He has sweet telepathy skills, and he invented the internet. How would your dad feel if he saw my dad's thirty-foot retractable penis? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Whoopdeefreakindoo. My dad? He's DEAD. How would your dad feel if he were dead? I would guess that he wouldn't feel anything at all, because he'd be dead.<br />
<br />
That's terrible. But my dad? He's UNDEAD. That's right—he's a zombie. Not even a magazineful of gunfire can stop him from hungrily hobbling towards your dad at an unflagging 1 mph. Also, when he moans, it's very scary. How would your dad feel if my dad took out his frustration about being stuck in purgatory forever by beating your dad into submission with the limbs of the guy he ate for breakfast? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
So I should be intimidated by that? Come on! My dad is a used to be a Jedi, until he became a Sith lord. While he can snap a person’s neck with the power of his mind, he prefers to use his light saber – so much more civilized. How would your dad feel if he was being laced with my dad’s Force Lightning? I would guess that he would feel terrible. <br />
<br />
Oh give me a break! My dad used to be an embryo. Then he turned into a fetus and finally was born after which he became my liberal, Kerry-voting dad. How would your dad feel if when he was an embryo, he found out that my dad was pro-choice? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Does this face look frightened? My dad works for the Department of Homeland Security. He has like Level 4 clearance, which means he can put anyone who looks like they have "turban hair" on the terrorist watch list. How would your dad like to be capillarily profiled? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Big whoop. My dad is Catullus. He's one of the foremost poets of ancient Rome. How would your dad like it if his writings were forever memorialized by my dad as "cacata carta", which is Latin for "paper having been shat out of my exceedingly tight anus"? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
That's nothing. My dad is a wizard at technology. He could borrow all of your dad's copies of your childhood videos and edit them so that it was just him alone on the tapes. How would your dad feel then when he watched them again and began to question whether his family really existed? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
My dad got caught rapelling off of [[Thompson Memorial Chapel]] in [[1970]]. How would your dad feel if he got kicked out of school and had to support his family on a pitiful income, but his legacies got in anyway? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Hah! People can't believe my dad's coming to speak at Williams. They're in absolute shock that such a big shot is coming. How would your dad feel when he realizes that no one's excited over him? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah? Well, they wouldn't ''let'' my dad on campus, because he's too much of a security concern. He's so much of a callous badass that he punched a police officer in the face because the moronic pig threatened to charge him with "risk of endangerment to a minor", whatever ''that'' is. My dad would totally murderalize your dad, because he ''just doesn't give a shit''. How would your dad feel about being on a jury trying my dad for child abuse, only to have my dad develop paranoid delusions about your dad and bore thousands of tiny holes in his skull with a auger to release the demons infesting his soul? And how would he feel about having raised such liberal pansy-waist kids because he "spared the rod", the fist, the hammer and the shotgun? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah? Well, my dad could whip your dad with his nuclear submarine. How would your dad feel to know that the fact that he has slept with your mom pales in comparison to my dad, who has slept with a nuclear warhead? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Is that so? Well my dad was a dirty hippie with hair down to his waist who drove a Volkswagen Beetle and went to Woodstock. He told me once that he didn't remember his sophomore year of College, because he was so high. He tried to teach me how to roll joints once, and said he could do it better than anyone he knew. He protested for peace, and burned his draft card. He's a lawyer now, but back then he wanted everyone, including your dad, to stop the fighting and just make love, not war. How would your dad feel knowing that he had chosen to make war? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Truly? MY dad enjoys watersports. He once told me a story about filling a waterbottle with urine and then spraying it all over his girlfriend during sex. That's pretty disgusting. How would your dad feel after discovering that my dad isn't just really into waterskiing and swimming, but actually has a sexual fetish involving pee? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah? Well my dad is part of the hetero-normative linguistic culture. The entire world is his heterosexual pride party. How would your dad feel if he wrote a pseudo-intellectual postmodern critique of my dad’s linguistic tendencies, and my dad didn’t even understand it, much less care? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Loser. My dad is part of the solution. He is uber-liberal and totally cool with everyone regardless of their sexuality. He is sooo cool with queer folk; he comes within like one centimeter of being gay himself. How would your hetero-normative dad feel if my dad cock-slapped him in every public forum on campus and basically reduced him to passive agressively turning his failure and public humiliation into a "My Dad" wiki joke? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Not so fast. MY dad is a ninja. He is totally sweet. This one time he and my mom were walking down the street and he just totally uppercutted this kid for NO REASON. How would your dad feel if my dad flipped out and killed your entire extended family? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
I'm shaking in my little space boots. Please! My dad is Dan Rooney. He is a totally badass, nihilistic, blog-wizard who enjoys nothing better then cutting down the dim-witted with his scathing, sardonic rhetoric. Plus, he begat me when he was like two. How would your dad feel about not being able to buy cheap manufactured goods or produce at Walmart because my dad keeps illegal aliens from crossing the border, thus protecting the job market and real Americans? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
You sure about that? Well my dad is an illegal immigrant. He works 5 jobs and over 90 hours a week. He works for less than 5% of what your dad works for, but when he brings it back home to our third world country, he is more loaded than anyone else in the village. How would your dad feel if he found out that 10% of the money he blew on a law degree could have made him a millionaire in my dad's homeland? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah? Well, guess what? My dad is The Man. No, really, he's like, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man The Man]. My dad ruined the ozone layer and burned down the Amazon and kidnapped Shamu and put her in a chlorine tank. Does your dad run his own business? How would your dad feel if he knew that my dad not only controlled the entire North American military-industrial complex but also owns every transnational media and entertainment conglomerate and topples democratically-elected governments on a regular basis, just for kicks? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah? Well, my dad is [[Your Dad]]. That makes us siblings! How would your dad feel about me showing up on his doorstep and claiming to be his long-lost child? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh, really? Well, my dad is a dolphin. That's right, an actual dolphin. Did you know that the military is training dolphins to aid in combat? Have you heard that dolphins can not only sing, but they can also repeat patterns of notes sung to them? How would your dad feel if my dad not only could do cool flips in the air and eat raw fish, but was also best friends with Flipper? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
My dad eats dolphins for breakfast and clubs baby seals before he makes love to large numbers of women. How would your dad feel if my dad clubbed your mom and then made love to a dead baby seal? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Well, my dad owns the world's largest distributor of bestial underwater pornography, and earns $45,000,000 a year just by selling videos and DvDs of people making love to dead baby seals. How would your dad feel if he learned that while he had sex with dead baby seals for $6.75 an hour, my dad was filming the whole thing and selling it for millions of dollars? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
O yeah? My Dad is a shadier dude than your dad. In his twenties, he dropped out from law school to play professional sports. In his thirties, about half of his income came from ripping people off while playing poker. In his forties, he traveled all around the world, and could speak 6 weird different languages. How would your dad feel if he got ripped off in poker by a shady jock who can speak in an obscure Moravian dialect of Czech? I would guess that he would feel terrible.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Coffee&diff=4976Coffee2005-11-11T01:11:33Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Coffee is a part of life for many Williams students. Fortunately, there are many places to go for a cup of joe.<br />
<br />
== EcoCafe ==<br />
<br />
Small: $1.00, Large: $1.25<br />
<br />
Dean's Beans coffee, usually well roasted, but very weakly brewed. The best choice around for reasonably priced organic coffee, but it unfortunately closes too early in the day to be of much use to many students.<br />
<br />
== Tunnel City Coffee ==<br />
<br />
20 oz: $1.90<br />
<br />
Acidic but refreshingly bold. You don't need to drink endless cups to get your fix, just a small cup is satisfying.<br />
<br />
If you have a coffee maker, save money by brewing your own black stuff from their excellent beans. While not all blends are organic or fair-trade, the beans are roasted locally at Tunnel City's location in North Adams.<br />
<br />
== Dining Halls ==<br />
<br />
All you can drink.<br />
<br />
Dean's Beans coffee, sometimes a bit diluted (especially in Dodd.) Plus the cups are tiny, bring your own mug.<br />
<br />
== Goodrich Coffee Bar ==<br />
<br />
Small = $1.25, Large = $1.50<br />
<br />
They have nutmeg you can put in your coffee! Be warned, however, that the quality of the actual coffee has been poor to horrendous as of late.<br />
<br />
If there is "extreme caffeine" go for it, it's amazing.<br />
<br />
== Dunkin' Donuts ==<br />
<br />
Coffee that is absolutely delicious, reasonably priced and conveniently available at all hours of the day, or horrible-tasting, not worth the money, and too far away - depending on who you ask. The Williamstown location, open from 5am to 10 pm, is near Colonial Plaza, which is either a bit of a walk or a short drive. The North Adams location, at the intersection of Rt. 2 and Eagle St., is open 24/7.<br />
<br />
== Brewhaha ==<br />
<br />
Located in North Adams near MassMoCA (coincidence?). Excellent toasted muffins.<br />
<br />
== South Street Cafe ==<br />
<br />
A bit of a drive, but who doesn't need their Vermont fix every once in a while? Located off of Rte. 7 in Bennington. The coffee is actually Tunnel City, but the ceiling is gorgeous, the atmosphere comfortable, and the crowd composed of strangers.<br />
<br />
== Lambert House ==<br />
<br />
Like any self-respecting Seattleite, [[Alan Cordova]] has a stash of gourmet coffee and will brew a cup for you if you ask nicely.<br />
<br />
==Harper House==<br />
<br />
54 Stetson Court, totally free, and you get to use the amazing and magical machine. Coffee by Green Mountain. It helps, but is not necessary, that you be a philosophy student.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Easy_classes&diff=4926Easy classes2005-11-10T21:38:05Z<p>137.165.212.218: /* Philosophy 102 */</p>
<hr />
<div>I know, know, we all came to Williams to take four to six challenging and rewarding classes every semester. Then we found how much we liked working for the newspaper or playing a sport or singing a capella or doing plays. Anyway, sometimes you need an easy fourth course. Let's make a list of guts. '''Please comment only on the size of the workload, and not on the quality of teaching.''' If there's not universal consensus that a course was easy, it would be relevant to mention whether you've had previous coursework in the subject, or if you're just a genius. If you want opinions about the quality of particular professors, please visit [http://wso.williams.edu/Factrak Factrak]. Not to be confused with [[Hard Classes]]<br />
<br />
==Easy classes (if you can do math)==<br />
<br />
===Econ 110===<br />
<br />
'''Bartlett's section''': There are daily homework assignments, but you can actually complete them ''during the class that it's due''. You'll probably have time to finish the next day's assignment, too. There were no projects or papers; just a mid-term and final exam. Bartlett is an adjunct from Smith, so he is only brought in when Econ 110 is overenrolled.<br />
<br />
Estimated weekly workload: 0-2 hours<br />
Mandatory attendance? No<br />
<br />
===Psych 201===<br />
<br />
'''Kirby's section''': If you are not good at math, this class will be hard. But if you have a sound grasp of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and occasionally division, and if you have a sort of understanding of how math works, this class is easy. You don't need to do any reading to do the course, which is good since the texts and reading assignments are really dense. Classes are small, so the professor will notice if you are not there.<br />
<br />
Estimated weekly workload: 0-2 hours<br />
Mandatory attendence? yes, since it's a small class<br />
Extra credit? No<br />
<br />
Not easy with Ari Solomon.<br />
<br />
==Easy classes (even if you can't do math)==<br />
<br />
===Econ 120===<br />
<br />
Sporadic problem sets that can be done at the last minute. Attendance is not necessary as the entire lecture (at least in one prof's section) is contained within a powerpoint presentation available through blackboard - print this out, don't take any notes. Readings from the course packet are assigned but not necessary. Exams are easy, especially if you've taken 110 before.<br />
<br />
Estimated weekly workload: 0-2 hours<br />
Mandatory attendance? No<br />
<br />
Note: This is just my personal experience, but econ 120 with Betty Daniel involves weekly problem sets, 2 papers, a presentation and debate on one of the papers, and two really hard tests and a final exam. Just to give you a good idea of how hard the tests are, the first one had a curve of over 20 points.<br />
<br />
===Ling 101===<br />
<br />
Not only is Introduction to Linguistics easy, but it's probably one of the most fun and interesting classes you could ever take at Williams. It's taught by a knowledgeable professor who's willing to explain any and all details of a subject, and also willing to get into discussions of related (or even not very related) material. Most of the class is spent learning the International Phonetic Alphabet...go to lecture, sit back, relax, and listen to the funny noises as all the members of the class try to mimic Professor Sanders' pronunciations. This class is also great for picking up fun facts: where else can you learn to properly use phrases like "bilabial fricative," "spread glottis," or "plosive?" Ling 101 is a problem set class and requires a good memory, but if you have basic quantitative reasoning abilities, it's easy to handle.<br />
<br />
Note: I never attended this class, but learned I.P.A. elsewhere, and it is not at all difficult to learn within the course of a few classes, tops, if you have a reasonably good ear for sounds. It is, also, a useful class for anyone who plans to go into singing, since terms like "plosive" come up fairly often there too.<br />
<br />
Estimated weekly workload: 0-3 hours<br />
<br />
===Psych 101===<br />
<br />
It is not really that the material is easy, but this class is the only class I am aware of at Williams that has extra credit, in the form of participating in psych experiments that oftentimes are extremely interesting anyway. I got an A in the class and very rarely went to class on Friday mornings. The only section that you need to pay close attention in the lecture is Neuroscience, which many people have considered to be the most interesting set of lectures, anyway, and thus easy to pay attention to. Even if you don't do well on that test, you will surely ace the Cognitive Psych or Social Psych part and make up for it. This class is light on the reading, and since there so many people in it, you can find a study partner easily. <br />
<br />
I would also add that there is very little in the lectures that cannot be found directly from the book. In fact, despite the fact that I attended almost every lecture, the notes I took down were basically just repeating what I'd read the night before.<br />
<br />
Whatever you do, '''do not buy the textbook.''' It was revised three times while I was a student, and every time Kassin would claim "students must have the recent edition." Bullshit. If you don't believe, grab copies of your favorite two editions and check the text side by side. I'll be damned if I didn't find, my freshman year, that precisely the same text and figures were present in the 3rd and 4th editions, with a two page difference between editions. If you are lucky enough to take the class in a revision year, check out the free book table in the [[1914 Library]], even if you are not on [[financial aid]]. They'll be liquidating their "old" editions.<br />
<br />
Estimated weekly workload: 0-3 hours<br />
Mandatory attendence? no<br />
Extra credit? Yes!<br />
<br />
<br />
Note: A great number of people have failed this course. Do not be misled by this information.<br />
<br />
Also note: Ok, although I know someone who has failed this course, I feel strongly that this is a result of a complete lack of understanding about what an easy or "low-maintainence" class is and what it isn't. i.e. you still have to study for the exams, and the material is still on par with college-level academics.<br />
<br />
(Seconded. This class is easy to fail if you decide not to do the reading or if you regularly skip class, but easy to pass if you simply do the reading and pay a reasonable amount of attention during lectures. Most lectures are also fairly interesting, and most reading material easily comprehensible, so this should not be at all difficult for anyone smart and motivated enough to be at Williams in the first place.)<br />
<br />
===Math 175: Mathematical Politics: Voting, Power, and Conflict===<br />
<br />
Very light on actual math.<br />
<br />
Estimated weekly workload: 1-3 hours (problem sets)<br />
<br />
===Geos 104: Oceanography===<br />
<br />
Well-illustrated powerpoint lectures, an often fun and incredibly easy lab for two hours ever other week, pretty much no homework (though looking at your textbook doesn't actually hurt), and a field trip in the spring! This was one of the easiest and most entertaining classes I've taken here. <br />
<br />
Estimated weekly workload: 0-3 hours <br />
Mandatory attendance? I don't remember, but it's actually worth going<br />
<br />
===Theatre 101===<br />
<br />
Has, in the past, been very easy, but this seems to depend to a fairly significant degree on which professor is currently teaching it. Has tended to involve minimal reading, a moderate amount of class participation, and little in the way of homework.<br />
<br />
===Philosophy 102===<br />
<br />
Has, in the past, been fairly easy provided you find philosophical discussion interesting. There are typically two sections, of which I only have experience with Professor White's version. Involves significant and frequent reading, but only page-long response papers twice a week, only one of wich was graded, while the other was reviewed by a TA. Class participation is important; do not <br />
take this curse if you are shy about offering opinions. (It should be noted that it has been several years since I took this course, so it may have changed by now.)<br />
<br />
....vastly depends on the prof which you have. Cruz, Gerrard, White, Dudley, Mladenvoic and probably others, have all taught this course. Each prof injects their own special flavor into 102. This class is "easy" in being light on the workload, ''depending on the professor'', but sometimes piecing together a coherent philosophical argument can be quite a bear, if it's not your thing.<br />
<br />
===Astronomy 101===<br />
<br />
Easy (for me, at least, though I've heard that some others have disputed this) if you do the reading and show up for tests and labs. Missing tests, has, in the past, resulted in almost automatic failure, though, even if you have good excuses, so be careful about that.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Course_equivalent_units&diff=4889Course equivalent units2005-11-10T18:32:36Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>It is widely recognized that how busy one is does not scale linearly with the number of courses one is taking.<br />
<br />
When reporting the number of courses you are taking the following rules apply:<br />
<br />
* [[Relationships]] count as one course equivalent unit<br />
* [[Sports Teams|Sports teams]] count as one course equivalent unit<br />
* No matter how [[Easy classes|easy]] a class is, it still counts as one course equivalent unit; you're still doing work<br />
* It is considered bad form to count [[Hard Classes|hard classes]] as more than one course equivalent unit<br />
**Why? And how about theses?<br />
**Or lab courses, or art studio courses, both of which often scheulde more than the standard 2.5 hrs a week of class time and have additional work to boot?</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Relationships&diff=4785Relationships2005-11-09T23:55:26Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div><br />
<br />
The long term high school relation will generally fail after one or two years. However, this will put you in a better position than all those of your classmates who immediately got wifed with some upperclassman/entry mate within the first semester because you'll have much better friends. Don't date someone at home while you're abroad, the results will be <i>disastrous</i>. Even if you're happy at school, leave it while you're away and come back when you return.<br />
<br />
On that note, don't feel obligated to actually be in a relationship while here. While some people feel the need to "pretend" to be happy being single, it really does provide freedom and entertainment for extended periods of time.<br />
<br />
The Boston Globe ran an article about Williams relationships [http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2004/02/09/for_dateless_on_campus_idea_clicks/ here]. An excerpt:<br />
At Williams, the refrain is that everyone is either "married" -- <br />
inseparable from their significant other -- or prone to "hook up" <br />
with people in casual, usually drunken, encounters. Or they have no <br />
love life at all.<br />
<br />
Get tested.<br />
<br />
<br />
This is not exactly an unbiased source of funding for a report of its kind, but it is a rather interesting study nonetheless...arguably pretty compelling evidence that college women get the short end of the stick when it comes to the hookup/marriage culture at places like Williams. (and of course, sometimes men do, too.)<br />
<br />
http://www.americanvalues.org/html/r-hooking_up.html</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Emily_Button&diff=4695Emily Button2005-11-09T05:37:19Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Is just awesome.<br />
<br />
So freaking awesome I cannot even comprehend the magnitude of her awesomnity.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:Competition_Cheerleading&diff=4484Talk:Competition Cheerleading2005-11-08T03:06:16Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Skills&diff=4360Skills2005-11-06T23:57:20Z<p>137.165.212.218: /* Cat Meow */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Don't be shy.''' Can you do something that other people find useful, entertaining, or impressive? Don't hide it under a bushel! Instead, post here. Put your proficiency in parentheses. Add new categories and skills as appropriate.<br />
<br />
==Automotive Skills==<br />
<br />
===Drive Stick Shift===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (maniacally)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (erotically)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (smooth as shit out of a duck's ass)<br />
<br />
Joe Shoer '06 (that's what she said)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07kfm Katie Montgomery] (could drive anything from a '82 Toyota Tercel to a forklift, or so she believes)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (She learned in a week.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08sjp Samantha Peterson] (automatics are for women)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jyl Janey Waney Lee] (She doesn't even need to say anything.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (In her other life, she actually is a race car driver.) (So she has problems making right turns.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman](Better than her brother)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrc Jay Cox-Chapman](Worse than his sister)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07hmh Helena Harnik] (I have two driving licenses, one for each side of the road. Yeah that's right- I can use either hand to shift. That makes me 2x more stick-savvy than everyone else)<br />
<br />
[[Ronit Bhattacharyya '07]] (Only ever driven stick shift; now I just wish I could drive on the right side of the road)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08amr_2 Anne Royston '08] (can shift from both driver's and passenger's seat; working on backseat)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mse Matthew Earle '07] (Double-clutch downshifts saves wear on synchros, but may have caused the expensive timing chain misalignment he just had fixed)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (Including sketchy old truck clutches)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06chh Clara Hard] (West Coast style)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09nsc Nick Colella] (Has to watch out for moose)<br />
<br />
===Drive Really Fast In Reverse===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dsf Danny Fischler] once pulled a k-turn, maxing at around 20mph, across the width of a freeway entrance. With [http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rmb Becky frickin' Burditt] in the back seat. Ca-raaaaaazy.<br />
<br />
===Sweet Jumps===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] likes to go as fast as he can when he sees speed bumps and likes to think he gets an inch or two of air in his 2-ton SUV every time.<br />
<br />
===Change a Tire===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has changed more than his fair share of tires and learned that salt+rust will effectively glue a wheel onto the axle. Solution? Wedge the flat edge of your hubcap-removal tool into the jammed area and whack the crap out of it with a hammer. Eventually, if you're lucky, that wheel will pop right off.<br />
<br />
===Jumpstart a Car===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has also had his fair share of car jumpstarts and knows not to connect the black plug to red and red plug to black. If you do, you will blow the battery fuse in your fusebox and burn out some expensive component in your car. Through his learning processes, he found just how costly it is to replace the stock amp that powers your stereo.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]] (who's been zapped)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (but only if you ask nicely)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
=== Parallel Park ===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]], native New Yorker, has parked in spots so tight that getting in and out depended on using room provided by nudging cars parked in front and behind, counting on the flexibility of their shocks. His record in Williamstown was set when moving into his [[Morgan#East|Morgan East]] room for the [[Summer 2004|Summer of 2004]], when he parked at the top of [[Spring Street]], leaving enough room on either end of the car to fit one finger, but not two.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] is also a native New Yorker and often takes it upon himself to giggle at the non-city folk that have such a tough time parking in huge spots on Spring Street.<br />
<br />
===Get Parking Tickets ===<br />
[[Chris St.Cyr]] (5 tickets and the infamous car boot to the front tire in first two months here as a freshman)<br />
<br />
[[Evan Miller]] (6 in as many days)<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] two in three days in Queens, NYC. Both while at the vehicle, one while inside it.<br />
<br />
===Get Speeding Tickets===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (2 tickets for a total of 500 dollars in fines within a month)<br />
<br />
==Oral Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can blow free-floating saliva bubbles===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (Mr. Bubbles)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (I can catch it, too)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08smc Sara Carian]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jvd James DiCosmo]<br />
<br />
===I can curl my tongue into a W===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09les Leah Shoer]<br />
<br />
===I can touch my tongue to my nose===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jfm Jake Manley]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons] (Without even having to strain.)<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]]<br />
<br />
===I can tie a cherry stem into a knot in my mouth===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] <br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (gimme 40 seconds)<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06 | Julianne Shelby]]<br />
<br />
Liz Macek, '07<br />
<br />
===I can turn my tongue so it's vertical instead of horizontal===<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]]<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06]]<br />
<br />
===I can turn my tongue past vertical, until it's upside down===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
==Manual Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can snap my fingers by flipping my wrist===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (right hand only)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (both hands)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrd Jonathan Dahlberg] - amazingly well<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
===I can snap without my thumb.===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons] (right hand more audible...my ticket to fame.)<br />
<br />
===I can pull my fingers back to touch the back of my hand===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jgc John Chatlos] can.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can pull her thumb back to touch her forearm, which is almost as good.<br />
<br />
==Other body skills==<br />
<br />
===Face Tricks===<br />
<br />
Some people can hang a spoon from their nose.<br />
<br />
Liz macek can hang 4 spoons on her face simultaneously<br />
<br />
===Ear Tricks ===<br />
Katie Montgomery can move her ears independently of one another. <br />
<br />
Margit Sande-Kerback '05 can wiggle her ears.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] can wiggle his ears, but he can only move his left ear independent of his right, not vice-versa.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can wiggle her left ear. Just her left ear.<br />
<br />
Andrew Meador can wiggle his ears separately or together.<br />
<br />
===I can dislocate my...===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bro Bonnie O'Keefe] can dislocate her right hip.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can dislocate her right shoulder. (Also, judging by the number of stupid body tricks she's signed up for, she might be a circus freak.)<br />
<br />
=== I Can Get a Cool/Rare/Weird Disease ===<br />
<br />
[[Seth Brown|Seth Brown '01]] (scurvy)<br />
<br />
==Computer Languages==<br />
<br />
===Assembly Language===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (kind of...)<br />
<br />
===Befunge===<br />
<br />
Steve Winslow '04<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04<br />
<br />
===C===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] <br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09ras Rahul Shah]<br />
<br />
===Haskell===<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (the most beautiful language ever -- don't give me this Ruby crap)<br />
<br />
===Java===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (disgusting)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (shamefully well)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (I frickin' TEACH this language)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (not bad either.)<br />
<br />
===JavaScript===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (just a pinch)<br />
<br />
===LaTeX===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (too good for word processing)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (too poor for Word)<br />
<br />
===Lisp===<br />
<br />
(cons '[[Brent Yorgey]] (cons '04<br />
(cons '[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] '07)))<br />
<br />
===Mathematica===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (is too a real language)<br />
<br />
[[Joe Shoer '06]] (it's my thesis, and I can do more with it than the math nerds can)<br />
<br />
[[Laura Effinger-Dean '06]] (I make pretty pictures for my thesis!)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (Pretty spirals! Ooh!)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] (I'll isoperimeterize you!)<br />
<br />
===PARI/GP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (For a number theoretic software called [http://pari.math.u-bordeaux.fr/ PARI]; similar to C)<br />
<br />
===Perl===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06cks Kai Steverson] (competent)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (wizardly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jwc_2 Jing Cao] (kind of)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (JAPH)<br />
<br />
===PHP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07yfh Young Hahn] (godly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08kch Katherine Huang] (sort of)<br />
<br />
===Python===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
===R===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (it makes statistics fun!)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (needs to learn how to put his skills on his own line but is probably very capable at R)<br />
<br />
===Ruby===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (the most beautiful language ever)<br />
<br />
===WC237 Microcode===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (well, at one point at least...)<br />
<br />
===XML/XSLT/XPath/XQuery===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (hey, at least I'm not claiming CSS & HTML to be languages)<br />
<br />
==Software==<br />
<br />
===ChemDraw===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (Don't make me clipware you.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons]<br />
<br />
===PowerPoint===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (godly)<br />
<br />
===AppleWorks===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (fears no page/margin/line spacing/font size requirement)<br />
<br />
==Human Languages==<br />
<br />
===Bengali===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09am_4 Aroop Mukharji]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07am Auyon Mukharji]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya]<br />
<br />
===Catalán===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (learned a little bit while abroad in Barcelona)<br />
<br />
===Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese)===<br />
<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09lcj Lauren Johnson]<br />
<br />
===Cyrillic===<br />
<br />
...is actually an alphabet, not a language.<br />
<br />
===French===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (He used to be much better, but he now inserts random Catalán words in French conversation.)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] is still pretty good at French.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08sjp Samantha Peterson] is majoring in it, so she probably knows a few phrases.<br />
<br />
===German===<br />
<br />
===Greek===<br />
<br />
Hazen (As in I can write in it and tell you how to pronounce the letters of their alphabet. I didn't write this.)<br />
<br />
Math nerds know the Greek alphabet.<br />
<br />
===Hebrew===<br />
Robert Streicker '07<br />
<br />
Zachary Ulman '06<br />
<br />
===Hindi===<br />
<br />
[[Ananda V. Burra '07]]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09nn Sandy Nandagopal]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09ras Rahul Shah]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ng Nikhar Gaikwad]<br />
<br />
===Italian===<br />
<br />
[[Lucy Cox-Chapman '06]] spent a semester in Italy<br />
<br />
===Japanese===<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] now knows how to say "my husband got drunk and hit me."<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] frequently mutters small phrases in Japanese. People think she is mumbling, becuase they don't understand Japanese. In addition to randomly speaking in Japanese, she also randomly speaks English with an excellent Japanese accent.<br />
<br />
[[Leah Weintraub '06]] spent a semester in Japan. Ergo, she probably speaks Japanese.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08cvw Charlotte White] is easily distracted by pretty things from Japan. She also says "wtf Japan" rather often. As should we all.<br />
<br />
===Latin===<br />
<br />
===Pig Latin===<br />
<br />
[[Seth Brown]] taught a course on Pig Latin during Winter Study 1997.<br />
<br />
===Oppish===<br />
<br />
[[Alden Robinson '06]] whopat dopo yopou thopink opof thopat?<br />
<br />
===Polish===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] can say "What's up, sweetheart?"<br />
<br />
===Portugese===<br />
<br />
===Spanish===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (speaks Dominican Spanish--impossible to comprehend for most other spanish speakers because it sounds more like really fast Italian than anything else)<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (budding bachatero)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bry Bernard Yaros]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09st Sofia Torres] (but apparently she speaks Mexican, a variation of Spanish)<br />
<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08pmr Paulette Rodriguez] can speak Spanish without consonants (also known as Puerto Rican--similar to Dominican)<br />
<br />
==Other Languages==<br />
<br />
===Caveman Talk===<br />
<br />
[[Chris St. Cyr]]<br />
<br />
===Dog Bark===<br />
<br />
===Cat Meow===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08amh_2 Alexa Herlach] and she does it often.<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06]] is probably just actually a cat<br />
<br />
===Cow Moo===<br />
<br />
===Bear Growl===<br />
<br />
Despite failing to get the dancing, trained circus bear part of "Gorky" in her high school's production of "The Cave Dwellers," Katie Montgomery was lauded for her ability to sound sort of like a bear.<br />
<br />
===Burping===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08sjp Samantha Peterson] can burp the alphabet. Backwards.<br />
<br />
==Circus Arts & other amazing feats==<br />
<br />
===I can ride a unicycle!===<br />
Alex Ambros (the 1 in 2000 girl)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (in the same entry as Alex - what's the probability of ''that''?)<br />
<br />
Abby McBride can too!<br />
<br />
Bryan Dragon can but doesn't want anybody to know about it.<br />
<br />
===I can slackline===<br />
Elissa Brown (shakily)<br />
<br />
Alex Ambros<br />
<br />
Dave Kleinschmidt (if I'm lucky)<br />
<br />
Evan Bick<br />
<br />
Sean McKenzie<br />
<br />
===I can juggle (balls, clubs, knives, flaming torches, etc.)===<br />
Alex Ambros (working on passing clubs)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (see above. We'll get it eventually)<br />
<br />
Ben Brooks (I can do everything listed in the title except "etc." Whatever that is...)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jcr Jason Ren] (I can do everything listed AND Etc. I know what it is)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rss_2 Robin Stewart] (He's the master)<br />
<br />
==Communication==<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mcp Margaret Pigman] can read and write braille, and has a braille typewriter! And, and, and! Margaret takes class notes in Braille.<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] can write holding a pencil with her toes.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] is the fastest two-finger typist there is, and can do so blindly.<br />
<br />
==Impressions==<br />
[[Joseph Gangestad '06]] can do an uncanny Gollum (Andy Serkis) <br />
<br />
==Luck==<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lds Lisetta Shah]<br />
can find 4-leaf clovers pretty much just by looking down at the ground for a couple seconds, and sometimes without even that much effort.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Skills&diff=4308Skills2005-11-06T18:36:53Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Don't be shy.''' Can you do something that other people find useful, entertaining, or impressive? Don't hide it under a bushel! Instead, post here. Put your proficiency in parentheses. Add new categories and skills as appropriate.<br />
<br />
==Automotive Skills==<br />
<br />
===Drive Stick Shift===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (maniacally)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (erotically)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (smooth as shit out of a duck's ass)<br />
<br />
Joe Shoer '06 (that's what she said)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07kfm Katie Montgomery] (could drive anything from a '82 Toyota Tercel to a forklift, or so she believes)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (She learned in a week.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08sjp Samantha Peterson] (automatics are for women)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jyl Janey Waney Lee] (She doesn't even need to say anything.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (In her other life, she actually is a race car driver.) (So she has problems making right turns.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman](Better than her brother)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrc Jay Cox-Chapman](Worse than his sister)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07hmh Helena Harnik] (I have two driving licenses, one for each side of the road. Yeah that's right- I can use either hand to shift. That makes me 2x more stick-savvy than everyone else)<br />
<br />
[[Ronit Bhattacharyya '07]] (Only ever driven stick shift; now I just wish I could drive on the right side of the road)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08amr_2 Anne Royston '08] (can shift from both driver's and passenger's seat; working on backseat)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mse Matthew Earle '07] (Double-clutch downshifts saves wear on synchros, but may have caused the expensive timing chain misalignment he just had fixed)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (Including sketchy old truck clutches)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06chh Clara Hard] (West Coast style)<br />
<br />
===Drive Really Fast In Reverse===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dsf Danny Fischler] once pulled a k-turn, maxing at around 20mph, across the width of a freeway entrance. With [http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rmb Becky frickin' Burditt] in the back seat. Ca-raaaaaazy.<br />
<br />
===Sweet Jumps===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] likes to go as fast as he can when he sees speed bumps and likes to think he gets an inch or two of air in his 2-ton SUV every time.<br />
<br />
===Change a Tire===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has changed more than his fair share of tires and learned that salt+rust will effectively glue a wheel onto the axle. Solution? Wedge the flat edge of your hubcap-removal tool into the jammed area and whack the crap out of it with a hammer. Eventually, if you're lucky, that wheel will pop right off.<br />
<br />
===Jumpstart a Car===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has also had his fair share of car jumpstarts and knows not to connect the black plug to red and red plug to black. If you do, you will blow the battery fuse in your fusebox and burn out some expensive component in your car. Through his learning processes, he found just how costly it is to replace the stock amp that powers your stereo.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]] (who's been zapped)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (but only if you ask nicely)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
=== Parallel Park ===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]], native New Yorker, has parked in spots so tight that getting in and out depended on using room provided by nudging cars parked in front and behind, counting on the flexibility of their shocks. His record in Williamstown was set when moving into his [[Morgan#East|Morgan East]] room for the [[Summer 2004|Summer of 2004]], when he parked at the top of [[Spring Street]], leaving enough room on either end of the car to fit one finger, but not two.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] is also a native New Yorker and often takes it upon himself to giggle at the non-city folk that have such a tough time parking in huge spots on Spring Street.<br />
<br />
===Get Parking Tickets ===<br />
[[Chris St.Cyr]] (5 tickets and the infamous car boot to the front tire in first two months here as a freshman)<br />
<br />
[[Evan Miller]] (6 in as many days)<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] two in three days in Queens, NYC. Both while at the vehicle, one while inside it.<br />
<br />
==Oral Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can blow free-floating saliva bubbles===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (Mr. Bubbles)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (I can catch it, too)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08smc Sara Carian]<br />
<br />
===I can curl my tongue into a W===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09les Leah Shoer]<br />
<br />
===I can touch my tongue to my nose===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jfm Jake Manley]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons] (Without even having to strain.)<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]]<br />
<br />
===I can tie a cherry stem into a knot in my mouth===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] <br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (gimme 40 seconds)<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06 | Julianne Shelby]]<br />
<br />
Liz Macek, '07<br />
<br />
===I can turn my tongue so it's vertical instead of horizontal===<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]]<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06]]<br />
<br />
===I can turn my tongue past vertical, until it's upside down===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
==Manual Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can snap my fingers by flipping my wrist===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (right hand only)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (both hands)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrd Jonathan Dahlberg] - amazingly well<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
===I can snap without my thumb.===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons] (right hand more audible...my ticket to fame.)<br />
<br />
===I can pull my fingers back to touch the back of my hand===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jgc John Chatlos] can.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can pull her thumb back to touch her forearm, which is almost as good.<br />
<br />
==Other body skills==<br />
<br />
===Face Tricks===<br />
<br />
Some people can hang a spoon from their nose.<br />
<br />
Liz macek can hang 4 spoons on her face simultaneously<br />
<br />
===Ear Tricks ===<br />
Katie Montgomery can move her ears independently of one another. <br />
<br />
Margit Sande-Kerback '05 can wiggle her ears.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] can wiggle his ears, but he can only move his left ear independent of his right, not vice-versa.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can wiggle her left ear. Just her left ear.<br />
<br />
Andrew Meador can wiggle his ears separately or together.<br />
<br />
===I can dislocate my...===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bro Bonnie O'Keefe] can dislocate her right hip.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can dislocate her right shoulder. (Also, judging by the number of stupid body tricks she's signed up for, she might be a circus freak.)<br />
<br />
=== I Can Get a Cool/Rare/Weird Disease ===<br />
<br />
[[Seth Brown|Seth Brown '01]] (scurvy)<br />
<br />
==Computer Languages==<br />
<br />
===Assembly Language===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (kind of...)<br />
<br />
===Befunge===<br />
<br />
Steve Winslow '04<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04<br />
<br />
===C===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] <br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09ras Rahul Shah]<br />
<br />
===CSS===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (like butter) (it's not a language)<br />
<br />
===Haskell===<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (the most beautiful language ever -- don't give me this Ruby crap)<br />
<br />
===HTML===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (like margarine)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (not a language (despite the fact that it's called HyperText Markup Language?))<br />
<br />
A ridiculously large number of other people.<br />
<br />
===Java===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (disgusting)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (shamefully well)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (I frickin' TEACH this language)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (not bad either.)<br />
<br />
===JavaScript===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (just a pinch)<br />
<br />
===LaTeX===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (too good for word processing)<br />
<br />
===Lisp===<br />
<br />
(cons '[[Brent Yorgey]] (cons '04<br />
(cons '[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] '07)))<br />
<br />
===Mathematica===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (is too a real language)<br />
<br />
[[Joe Shoer '06]] (it's my thesis, and I can do more with it than the math nerds can)<br />
<br />
[[Laura Effinger-Dean '06]] (I make pretty pictures for my thesis!)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (Pretty spirals! Ooh!)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] (I'll isoperimeterize you!)<br />
<br />
===PARI/GP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (For a number theoretic software called [http://pari.math.u-bordeaux.fr/ PARI]; similar to C)<br />
<br />
===Perl===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06cks Kai Steverson] (competent)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (wizardly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jwc_2 Jing Cao] (kind of)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (JAPH)<br />
<br />
===PHP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07yfh Young Hahn] (godly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08kch Katherine Huang] (sort of)<br />
<br />
===Python===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
===R===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (it makes statistics fun!)<br />
<br />
===Ruby===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (the most beautiful language ever)<br />
<br />
===WC237 Microcode===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (well, at one point at least...)<br />
<br />
===XML/XSLT/XPath/XQuery===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (hey, at least I'm not claiming CSS + HTML to be languages)<br />
<br />
==Software==<br />
<br />
===ChemDraw===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (Don't make me clipware you.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons]<br />
<br />
===PowerPoint===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (godly)<br />
<br />
===AppleWorks===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (fears no page/margin/line spacing/font size requirement)<br />
<br />
==Human Languages==<br />
<br />
===Bengali===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09am_4 Aroop Mukharji]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07am Auyon Mukharji]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya]<br />
<br />
===Catalán===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (learned a little bit while abroad in Barcelona)<br />
<br />
===Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese)===<br />
<br />
===Cyrillic===<br />
<br />
===French===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (He used to be much better, but he now inserts random Catalán words in French conversation.)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] is still pretty good at French.<br />
<br />
===German===<br />
<br />
===Greek===<br />
<br />
Hazen (As in I can write in it and tell you how to pronounce the letters of their alphabet. I didn't write this.)<br />
<br />
Math nerds know the Greek alphabet.<br />
<br />
===Hebrew===<br />
Robert Streicker '07<br />
<br />
Zachary Ulman '06<br />
<br />
===Hindi===<br />
<br />
[[Ananda V. Burra '07]]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09nn Sandy Nandagopal]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rsb Ronit Bhattacharyya]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09ras Rahul Shah]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ng Nikhar Gaikwad]<br />
<br />
===Italian===<br />
<br />
[[Lucy Cox-Chapman '06]]<br />
<br />
===Japanese===<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] now knows how to say "my husband got drunk and hit me."<br />
<br />
A lot of times when people think [[Diana Davis '07]] is mumbling, it is actually because she is muttering things in Japanese. She can say such things as "where are we going now?", "what is that?", and "you are my best friend." She can also do a killer Japanese accent in English.<br />
<br />
[[Leah Weintraub '06]] spent a semester in Japan.<br />
<br />
===Latin===<br />
<br />
===Pig Latin===<br />
<br />
[[Seth Brown]] taught a course on Pig Latin during Winter Study 1997.<br />
<br />
===Polish===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] can say "What's up, sweetheart?"<br />
<br />
===Portugese===<br />
<br />
===Spanish===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (speaks Dominican Spanish--impossible to comprehend for most other spanish speakers because it sounds more like really fast Italian than anything else)<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (budding bachatero)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bry Bernard Yaros]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09st Sofia Torres] (but apparently she speaks Mexican, a variation of Spanish)<br />
<br />
==Other Languages==<br />
<br />
===Caveman Talk===<br />
<br />
[[Chris St. Cyr]]<br />
<br />
===Dog Bark===<br />
<br />
===Cat Meow===<br />
<br />
===Cow Moo===<br />
<br />
===Bear Growl===<br />
<br />
Despite failing to get the dancing, trained circus bear part of "Gorky" in her high school's production of "The Cave Dwellers," Katie Montgomery was lauded for her ability to sound sort of like a bear.<br />
<br />
==Circus Arts & other amazing feats==<br />
<br />
===I can ride a unicycle!===<br />
Alex Ambros (the 1 in 2000 girl)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (in the same entry as Alex - what's the probability of ''that''?)<br />
<br />
Abby McBride can too!<br />
<br />
Bryan Dragon can but doesn't want anybody to know about it.<br />
<br />
===I can slackline===<br />
Elissa Brown (shakily)<br />
<br />
Alex Ambros<br />
<br />
Dave Kleinschmidt (if I'm lucky)<br />
<br />
Evan Bick<br />
<br />
===I can juggle (balls, clubs, knives, flaming torches, etc.)===<br />
Alex Ambros (working on passing clubs)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (see above. We'll get it eventually)<br />
<br />
Ben Brooks (I can do everything listed in the title except "etc." Whatever that is...)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jcr Jason Ren] (I can do everything listed AND Etc. I know what it is)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rss_2 Robin Stewart] (He's the master)<br />
<br />
==Communication==<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mcp Margaret Pigman] can read and write braille, and has a braille typewriter! And, and, and! Margaret takes class notes in Braille.<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] I can write by holding a pencil in my toes.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] is the fastest two-finger typist there is, and can do so blindly.<br />
<br />
==Impressions==<br />
[[Joseph Gangestad '06]] can do an uncanny Gollum (Andy Serkis) <br />
<br />
==Luck==<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lds Lisetta Shah]<br />
can find 4-leaf clovers pretty much just by looking down at the ground for a couple seconds, and sometimes without even that much effort.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Skills&diff=4307Skills2005-11-06T18:30:12Z<p>137.165.212.218: /* I can turn my tongue so it's vertical instead of horizontal */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Don't be shy.''' Can you do something that other people find useful, entertaining, or impressive? Don't hide it under a bushel! Instead, post here. Put your proficiency in parentheses. Add new categories and skills as appropriate.<br />
<br />
==Automotive Skills==<br />
<br />
===Drive Stick Shift===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (maniacally)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (erotically)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (smooth as shit out of a duck's ass)<br />
<br />
Joe Shoer '06 (that's what she said)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07kfm Katie Montgomery] (could drive anything from a '82 Toyota Tercel to a forklift, or so she believes)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (She learned in a week.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08sjp Samantha Peterson] (automatics are for women)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jyl Janey Waney Lee] (She doesn't even need to say anything.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (In her other life, she actually is a race car driver.) (So she has problems making right turns.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman](Better than her brother)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrc Jay Cox-Chapman](Worse than his sister)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07hmh Helena Harnik] (I have two driving licenses, one for each side of the road. Yeah that's right- I can use either hand to shift. That makes me 2x more stick-savvy than everyone else)<br />
<br />
[[Ronit Bhattacharyya '07]] (Only ever driven stick shift; now I just wish I could drive on the right side of the road)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08amr_2 Anne Royston '08] (can shift from both driver's and passenger's seat; working on backseat)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mse Matthew Earle '07] (Double-clutch downshifts saves wear on synchros, but may have caused the expensive timing chain misalignment he just had fixed)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (Including sketchy old truck clutches)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06chh Clara Hard] (West Coast style)<br />
<br />
===Drive Really Fast In Reverse===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dsf Danny Fischler] once pulled a k-turn, maxing at around 20mph, across the width of a freeway entrance. With [http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rmb Becky frickin' Burditt] in the back seat. Ca-raaaaaazy.<br />
<br />
===Sweet Jumps===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] likes to go as fast as he can when he sees speed bumps and likes to think he gets an inch or two of air in his 2-ton SUV every time.<br />
<br />
===Change a Tire===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has changed more than his fair share of tires and learned that salt+rust will effectively glue a wheel onto the axle. Solution? Wedge the flat edge of your hubcap-removal tool into the jammed area and whack the crap out of it with a hammer. Eventually, if you're lucky, that wheel will pop right off.<br />
<br />
===Jumpstart a Car===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has also had his fair share of car jumpstarts and knows not to connect the black plug to red and red plug to black. If you do, you will blow the battery fuse in your fusebox and burn out some expensive component in your car. Through his learning processes, he found just how costly it is to replace the stock amp that powers your stereo.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]] (who's been zapped)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (but only if you ask nicely)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
=== Parallel Park ===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]], native New Yorker, has parked in spots so tight that getting in and out depended on using room provided by nudging cars parked in front and behind, counting on the flexibility of their shocks. His record in Williamstown was set when moving into his [[Morgan#East|Morgan East]] room for the [[Summer 2004|Summer of 2004]], when he parked at the top of [[Spring Street]], leaving enough room on either end of the car to fit one finger, but not two.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] is also a native New Yorker and often takes it upon himself to giggle at the non-city folk that have such a tough time parking in huge spots on Spring Street.<br />
<br />
===Get Parking Tickets ===<br />
[[Chris St.Cyr]] (5 tickets and the infamous car boot to the front tire in first two months here as a freshman)<br />
<br />
[[Evan Miller]] (6 in as many days)<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] two in three days in Queens, NYC. Both while at the vehicle, one while inside it.<br />
<br />
==Oral Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can blow free-floating saliva bubbles===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (Mr. Bubbles)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (I can catch it, too)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08smc Sara Carian]<br />
<br />
===I can curl my tongue into a W===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09les Leah Shoer]<br />
<br />
===I can touch my tongue to my nose===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jfm Jake Manley]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons] (Without even having to strain.)<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]]<br />
<br />
===I can tie a cherry stem into a knot in my mouth===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] <br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (gimme 40 seconds)<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06 | Julianne Shelby]]<br />
<br />
Liz Macek, '07<br />
<br />
===I can turn my tongue so it's vertical instead of horizontal===<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]]<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06]]<br />
<br />
===I can turn my tongue past vertical, until it's upside down===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
==Manual Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can snap my fingers by flipping my wrist===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (right hand only)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (both hands)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrd Jonathan Dahlberg] - amazingly well<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
===I can snap without my thumb.===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons] (right hand more audible...my ticket to fame.)<br />
<br />
===I can pull my fingers back to touch the back of my hand===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jgc John Chatlos] can.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can pull her thumb back to touch her forearm, which is almost as good.<br />
<br />
==Other body skills==<br />
<br />
===Face Tricks===<br />
<br />
Some people can hang a spoon from their nose.<br />
<br />
Liz macek can hang 4 spoons on her face simultaneously<br />
<br />
===Ear Tricks ===<br />
Katie Montgomery can move her ears independently of one another. <br />
<br />
Margit Sande-Kerback '05 can wiggle her ears.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] can wiggle his ears, but he can only move his left ear independent of his right, not vice-versa.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can wiggle her left ear. Just her left ear.<br />
<br />
Andrew Meador can wiggle his ears separately or together.<br />
<br />
===I can dislocate my...===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bro Bonnie O'Keefe] can dislocate her right hip.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can dislocate her right shoulder. (Also, judging by the number of stupid body tricks she's signed up for, she might be a circus freak.)<br />
<br />
=== I Can Get a Cool/Rare/Weird Disease ===<br />
<br />
[[Seth Brown|Seth Brown '01]] (scurvy)<br />
<br />
==Computer Languages==<br />
<br />
===Assembly Language===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (kind of...)<br />
<br />
===Befunge===<br />
<br />
Steve Winslow '04<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04<br />
<br />
===C===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] <br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09ras Rahul Shah]<br />
<br />
===CSS===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (like butter) (it's not a language)<br />
<br />
===Haskell===<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (the most beautiful language ever -- don't give me this Ruby crap)<br />
<br />
===HTML===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (like margarine)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (not a language (despite the fact that it's called HyperText Markup Language?))<br />
<br />
A ridiculously large number of other people.<br />
<br />
===Java===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (disgusting)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (shamefully well)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (I frickin' TEACH this language)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (not bad either.)<br />
<br />
===JavaScript===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (just a pinch)<br />
<br />
===LaTeX===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (too good for word processing)<br />
<br />
===Lisp===<br />
<br />
(cons '[[Brent Yorgey]] (cons '04<br />
(cons '[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] '07)))<br />
<br />
===Mathematica===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (is too a real language)<br />
<br />
[[Joe Shoer '06]] (it's my thesis, and I can do more with it than the math nerds can)<br />
<br />
[[Laura Effinger-Dean '06]] (I make pretty pictures for my thesis!)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (Pretty spirals! Ooh!)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] (I'll isoperimeterize you!)<br />
<br />
===PARI/GP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (For a number theoretic software called [http://pari.math.u-bordeaux.fr/ PARI]; similar to C)<br />
<br />
===Perl===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06cks Kai Steverson] (competent)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (wizardly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jwc_2 Jing Cao] (kind of)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (JAPH)<br />
<br />
===PHP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07yfh Young Hahn] (godly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08kch Katherine Huang] (sort of)<br />
<br />
===Python===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
===R===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (it makes statistics fun!)<br />
<br />
===Ruby===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (the most beautiful language ever)<br />
<br />
===WC237 Microcode===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (well, at one point at least...)<br />
<br />
===XML/XSLT/XPath/XQuery===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (hey, at least I'm not claiming CSS + HTML to be languages)<br />
<br />
==Software==<br />
<br />
===ChemDraw===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (Don't make me clipware you.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons]<br />
<br />
===PowerPoint===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (godly)<br />
<br />
===AppleWorks===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (fears no page/margin/line spacing/font size requirement)<br />
<br />
==Human Languages==<br />
<br />
===Bengali===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09am_4 Aroop Mukharji]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07am Auyon Mukharji]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya]<br />
<br />
===Catalán===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (learned a little bit while abroad in Barcelona)<br />
<br />
===Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese)===<br />
<br />
===Cyrillic===<br />
<br />
===French===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (He used to be much better, but he now inserts random Catalán words in French conversation.)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] is still pretty good at French.<br />
<br />
===German===<br />
<br />
===Greek===<br />
<br />
Hazen (As in I can write in it and tell you how to pronounce the letters of their alphabet. I didn't write this.)<br />
<br />
Math nerds know the Greek alphabet.<br />
<br />
===Hebrew===<br />
Robert Streicker '07<br />
<br />
Zachary Ulman '06<br />
<br />
===Hindi===<br />
<br />
[[Ananda V. Burra '07]]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09nn Sandy Nandagopal]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rsb Ronit Bhattacharyya]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09ras Rahul Shah]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ng Nikhar Gaikwad]<br />
<br />
===Italian===<br />
<br />
[[Lucy Cox-Chapman '06]]<br />
<br />
===Japanese===<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] now knows how to say "my husband got drunk and hit me."<br />
<br />
A lot of times when people think [[Diana Davis '07]] is mumbling, it is actually because she is muttering things in Japanese. She can say such things as "where are we going now?", "what is that?", and "you are my best friend." She can also do a killer Japanese accent in English.<br />
<br />
[[Leah Weintraub '06]] spent a semester in Japan.<br />
<br />
===Latin===<br />
<br />
===Pig Latin===<br />
<br />
[[Seth Brown]] taught a course on Pig Latin during Winter Study 1997.<br />
<br />
===Polish===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] can say "What's up, sweetheart?"<br />
<br />
===Portugese===<br />
<br />
===Spanish===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (speaks Dominican Spanish--impossible to comprehend for most other spanish speakers because it sounds more like really fast Italian than anything else)<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (budding bachatero)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bry Bernard Yaros]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09st Sofia Torres] (but apparently she speaks Mexican, a variation of Spanish)<br />
<br />
==Other Languages==<br />
<br />
===Caveman Talk===<br />
<br />
[[Chris St. Cyr]]<br />
<br />
===Dog Bark===<br />
<br />
===Cat Meow===<br />
<br />
===Cow Moo===<br />
<br />
===Bear Growl===<br />
<br />
Despite failing to get the dancing, trained circus bear part of "Gorky" in her high school's production of "The Cave Dwellers," Katie Montgomery was lauded for her ability to sound sort of like a bear.<br />
<br />
==Circus Arts & other amazing feats==<br />
<br />
===I can ride a unicycle!===<br />
Alex Ambros (the 1 in 2000 girl)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (in the same entry as Alex - what's the probability of ''that''?)<br />
<br />
Abby McBride can too!<br />
<br />
Bryan Dragon can but doesn't want anybody to know about it.<br />
<br />
===I can slackline===<br />
Elissa Brown (shakily)<br />
<br />
Alex Ambros<br />
<br />
Dave Kleinschmidt (if I'm lucky)<br />
<br />
Evan Bick<br />
<br />
===I can juggle (balls, clubs, knives, flaming torches, etc.)===<br />
Alex Ambros (working on passing clubs)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (see above. We'll get it eventually)<br />
<br />
Ben Brooks (I can do everything listed in the title except "etc." Whatever that is...)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jcr Jason Ren] (I can do everything listed AND Etc. I know what it is)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rss_2 Robin Stewart] (He's the master)<br />
<br />
==Communication==<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mcp Margaret Pigman] can read and write braille, and has a braille typewriter! And, and, and! Margaret takes class notes in Braille.<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] I can write by holding a pencil in my toes.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] is the fastest two-finger typist there is, and can do so blindly.<br />
<br />
==Luck==<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lds Lisetta Shah]<br />
can find 4-leaf clovers pretty much just by looking down at the ground for a couple seconds, and sometimes without even that much effort.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Skills&diff=4306Skills2005-11-06T18:29:48Z<p>137.165.212.218: /* I can turn my tongue so it's vertical instead of horizontal */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Don't be shy.''' Can you do something that other people find useful, entertaining, or impressive? Don't hide it under a bushel! Instead, post here. Put your proficiency in parentheses. Add new categories and skills as appropriate.<br />
<br />
==Automotive Skills==<br />
<br />
===Drive Stick Shift===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (maniacally)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (erotically)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (smooth as shit out of a duck's ass)<br />
<br />
Joe Shoer '06 (that's what she said)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07kfm Katie Montgomery] (could drive anything from a '82 Toyota Tercel to a forklift, or so she believes)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (She learned in a week.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08sjp Samantha Peterson] (automatics are for women)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jyl Janey Waney Lee] (She doesn't even need to say anything.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (In her other life, she actually is a race car driver.) (So she has problems making right turns.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman](Better than her brother)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrc Jay Cox-Chapman](Worse than his sister)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07hmh Helena Harnik] (I have two driving licenses, one for each side of the road. Yeah that's right- I can use either hand to shift. That makes me 2x more stick-savvy than everyone else)<br />
<br />
[[Ronit Bhattacharyya '07]] (Only ever driven stick shift; now I just wish I could drive on the right side of the road)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08amr_2 Anne Royston '08] (can shift from both driver's and passenger's seat; working on backseat)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mse Matthew Earle '07] (Double-clutch downshifts saves wear on synchros, but may have caused the expensive timing chain misalignment he just had fixed)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (Including sketchy old truck clutches)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06chh Clara Hard] (West Coast style)<br />
<br />
===Drive Really Fast In Reverse===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dsf Danny Fischler] once pulled a k-turn, maxing at around 20mph, across the width of a freeway entrance. With [http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rmb Becky frickin' Burditt] in the back seat. Ca-raaaaaazy.<br />
<br />
===Sweet Jumps===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] likes to go as fast as he can when he sees speed bumps and likes to think he gets an inch or two of air in his 2-ton SUV every time.<br />
<br />
===Change a Tire===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has changed more than his fair share of tires and learned that salt+rust will effectively glue a wheel onto the axle. Solution? Wedge the flat edge of your hubcap-removal tool into the jammed area and whack the crap out of it with a hammer. Eventually, if you're lucky, that wheel will pop right off.<br />
<br />
===Jumpstart a Car===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has also had his fair share of car jumpstarts and knows not to connect the black plug to red and red plug to black. If you do, you will blow the battery fuse in your fusebox and burn out some expensive component in your car. Through his learning processes, he found just how costly it is to replace the stock amp that powers your stereo.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]] (who's been zapped)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (but only if you ask nicely)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
=== Parallel Park ===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]], native New Yorker, has parked in spots so tight that getting in and out depended on using room provided by nudging cars parked in front and behind, counting on the flexibility of their shocks. His record in Williamstown was set when moving into his [[Morgan#East|Morgan East]] room for the [[Summer 2004|Summer of 2004]], when he parked at the top of [[Spring Street]], leaving enough room on either end of the car to fit one finger, but not two.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] is also a native New Yorker and often takes it upon himself to giggle at the non-city folk that have such a tough time parking in huge spots on Spring Street.<br />
<br />
===Get Parking Tickets ===<br />
[[Chris St.Cyr]] (5 tickets and the infamous car boot to the front tire in first two months here as a freshman)<br />
<br />
[[Evan Miller]] (6 in as many days)<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] two in three days in Queens, NYC. Both while at the vehicle, one while inside it.<br />
<br />
==Oral Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can blow free-floating saliva bubbles===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (Mr. Bubbles)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (I can catch it, too)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08smc Sara Carian]<br />
<br />
===I can curl my tongue into a W===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09les Leah Shoer]<br />
<br />
===I can touch my tongue to my nose===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jfm Jake Manley]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons] (Without even having to strain.)<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]]<br />
<br />
===I can tie a cherry stem into a knot in my mouth===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] <br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (gimme 40 seconds)<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06 | Julianne Shelby]]<br />
<br />
Liz Macek, '07<br />
<br />
===I can turn my tongue so it's vertical instead of horizontal===<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]]<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06]]<br />
<br />
===I can turn my tongue past vertical, until it's upside down===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
==Manual Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can snap my fingers by flipping my wrist===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (right hand only)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (both hands)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrd Jonathan Dahlberg] - amazingly well<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
===I can snap without my thumb.===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons] (right hand more audible...my ticket to fame.)<br />
<br />
===I can pull my fingers back to touch the back of my hand===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jgc John Chatlos] can.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can pull her thumb back to touch her forearm, which is almost as good.<br />
<br />
==Other body skills==<br />
<br />
===Face Tricks===<br />
<br />
Some people can hang a spoon from their nose.<br />
<br />
Liz macek can hang 4 spoons on her face simultaneously<br />
<br />
===Ear Tricks ===<br />
Katie Montgomery can move her ears independently of one another. <br />
<br />
Margit Sande-Kerback '05 can wiggle her ears.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] can wiggle his ears, but he can only move his left ear independent of his right, not vice-versa.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can wiggle her left ear. Just her left ear.<br />
<br />
Andrew Meador can wiggle his ears separately or together.<br />
<br />
===I can dislocate my...===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bro Bonnie O'Keefe] can dislocate her right hip.<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] can dislocate her right shoulder. (Also, judging by the number of stupid body tricks she's signed up for, she might be a circus freak.)<br />
<br />
=== I Can Get a Cool/Rare/Weird Disease ===<br />
<br />
[[Seth Brown|Seth Brown '01]] (scurvy)<br />
<br />
==Computer Languages==<br />
<br />
===Assembly Language===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (kind of...)<br />
<br />
===Befunge===<br />
<br />
Steve Winslow '04<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04<br />
<br />
===C===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] <br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09ras Rahul Shah]<br />
<br />
===CSS===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (like butter) (it's not a language)<br />
<br />
===Haskell===<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (the most beautiful language ever -- don't give me this Ruby crap)<br />
<br />
===HTML===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (like margarine)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (not a language (despite the fact that it's called HyperText Markup Language?))<br />
<br />
A ridiculously large number of other people.<br />
<br />
===Java===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (disgusting)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (shamefully well)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (I frickin' TEACH this language)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (not bad either.)<br />
<br />
===JavaScript===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (just a pinch)<br />
<br />
===LaTeX===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (too good for word processing)<br />
<br />
===Lisp===<br />
<br />
(cons '[[Brent Yorgey]] (cons '04<br />
(cons '[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] '07)))<br />
<br />
===Mathematica===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (is too a real language)<br />
<br />
[[Joe Shoer '06]] (it's my thesis, and I can do more with it than the math nerds can)<br />
<br />
[[Laura Effinger-Dean '06]] (I make pretty pictures for my thesis!)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (Pretty spirals! Ooh!)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] (I'll isoperimeterize you!)<br />
<br />
===PARI/GP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (For a number theoretic software called [http://pari.math.u-bordeaux.fr/ PARI]; similar to C)<br />
<br />
===Perl===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06cks Kai Steverson] (competent)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (wizardly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jwc_2 Jing Cao] (kind of)<br />
<br />
[[Brent Yorgey]] '04 (JAPH)<br />
<br />
===PHP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07yfh Young Hahn] (godly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08kch Katherine Huang] (sort of)<br />
<br />
===Python===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
===R===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (it makes statistics fun!)<br />
<br />
===Ruby===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (the most beautiful language ever)<br />
<br />
===WC237 Microcode===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (well, at one point at least...)<br />
<br />
===XML/XSLT/XPath/XQuery===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (hey, at least I'm not claiming CSS + HTML to be languages)<br />
<br />
==Software==<br />
<br />
===ChemDraw===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (Don't make me clipware you.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07whp Hazen Parsons]<br />
<br />
===PowerPoint===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (godly)<br />
<br />
===AppleWorks===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (fears no page/margin/line spacing/font size requirement)<br />
<br />
==Human Languages==<br />
<br />
===Bengali===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09am_4 Aroop Mukharji]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07am Auyon Mukharji]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya]<br />
<br />
===Catalán===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (learned a little bit while abroad in Barcelona)<br />
<br />
===Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese)===<br />
<br />
===Cyrillic===<br />
<br />
===French===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (He used to be much better, but he now inserts random Catalán words in French conversation.)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] is still pretty good at French.<br />
<br />
===German===<br />
<br />
===Greek===<br />
<br />
Hazen (As in I can write in it and tell you how to pronounce the letters of their alphabet. I didn't write this.)<br />
<br />
Math nerds know the Greek alphabet.<br />
<br />
===Hebrew===<br />
Robert Streicker '07<br />
<br />
Zachary Ulman '06<br />
<br />
===Hindi===<br />
<br />
[[Ananda V. Burra '07]]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09nn Sandy Nandagopal]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rsb Ronit Bhattacharyya]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09ras Rahul Shah]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ng Nikhar Gaikwad]<br />
<br />
===Italian===<br />
<br />
[[Lucy Cox-Chapman '06]]<br />
<br />
===Japanese===<br />
<br />
[[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06 | Amanda Van Rhyn]] now knows how to say "my husband got drunk and hit me."<br />
<br />
A lot of times when people think [[Diana Davis '07]] is mumbling, it is actually because she is muttering things in Japanese. She can say such things as "where are we going now?", "what is that?", and "you are my best friend." She can also do a killer Japanese accent in English.<br />
<br />
[[Leah Weintraub '06]] spent a semester in Japan.<br />
<br />
===Latin===<br />
<br />
===Pig Latin===<br />
<br />
[[Seth Brown]] taught a course on Pig Latin during Winter Study 1997.<br />
<br />
===Polish===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] can say "What's up, sweetheart?"<br />
<br />
===Portugese===<br />
<br />
===Spanish===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] (speaks Dominican Spanish--impossible to comprehend for most other spanish speakers because it sounds more like really fast Italian than anything else)<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] (budding bachatero)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bry Bernard Yaros]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09st Sofia Torres] (but apparently she speaks Mexican, a variation of Spanish)<br />
<br />
==Other Languages==<br />
<br />
===Caveman Talk===<br />
<br />
[[Chris St. Cyr]]<br />
<br />
===Dog Bark===<br />
<br />
===Cat Meow===<br />
<br />
===Cow Moo===<br />
<br />
===Bear Growl===<br />
<br />
Despite failing to get the dancing, trained circus bear part of "Gorky" in her high school's production of "The Cave Dwellers," Katie Montgomery was lauded for her ability to sound sort of like a bear.<br />
<br />
==Circus Arts & other amazing feats==<br />
<br />
===I can ride a unicycle!===<br />
Alex Ambros (the 1 in 2000 girl)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (in the same entry as Alex - what's the probability of ''that''?)<br />
<br />
Abby McBride can too!<br />
<br />
Bryan Dragon can but doesn't want anybody to know about it.<br />
<br />
===I can slackline===<br />
Elissa Brown (shakily)<br />
<br />
Alex Ambros<br />
<br />
Dave Kleinschmidt (if I'm lucky)<br />
<br />
Evan Bick<br />
<br />
===I can juggle (balls, clubs, knives, flaming torches, etc.)===<br />
Alex Ambros (working on passing clubs)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (see above. We'll get it eventually)<br />
<br />
Ben Brooks (I can do everything listed in the title except "etc." Whatever that is...)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jcr Jason Ren] (I can do everything listed AND Etc. I know what it is)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rss_2 Robin Stewart] (He's the master)<br />
<br />
==Communication==<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mcp Margaret Pigman] can read and write braille, and has a braille typewriter! And, and, and! Margaret takes class notes in Braille.<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] I can write by holding a pencil in my toes.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman|Jonathan Landsman '05]] is the fastest two-finger typist there is, and can do so blindly.<br />
<br />
==Luck==<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lds Lisetta Shah]<br />
can find 4-leaf clovers pretty much just by looking down at the ground for a couple seconds, and sometimes without even that much effort.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Game_With_Four&diff=4305Game With Four2005-11-06T18:27:22Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Game With Four, like wiki, very easy. Play game with just sole rule: Only talk with four.<br />
<br />
Some folk very much love Game With Four. Some folk like less. Some, they just hate Game With Four.<br />
<br />
Once, [[Josh Ain|Josh]] with [[Seth Brown|Seth]] went down city, long walk. "Let's kill time," said Seth. "Good idea," said Josh. Thus, they made Game With Four.<br />
<br />
Game with four very hard. Very hard play keep four with head know. <br />
<br />
<br />
(Wiki: Edit this page!)</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Skills&diff=4087Skills2005-11-04T05:30:53Z<p>137.165.212.218: /* I can tie a cherry stem into a knot in my mouth */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Don't be shy.''' Can you do something that other people find useful, entertaining, or impressive? Don't hide it under a bushel! Instead, post here. Put your proficiency in parentheses. Add new categories and skills as appropriate.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Automotive Skills==<br />
<br />
===Drive Stick Shift===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (maniacally)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (erotically)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (smooth as shit out of a duck's ass)<br />
<br />
Joe Shoer '06 (that's what she said)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07kfm Katie Montgomery] (could drive anything from a '82 Toyota Tercel to a forklift, or so she believes)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jmc Jessica Chung] (She learned in a week.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08sjp Samantha Peterson] (automatics are for women)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jyl Janey Waney Lee] (She doesn't even need to say anything.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (In her other life, she actually is a race car driver.) (So she has problems making right turns.)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman](Better than her brother)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrc Jay Cox-Chapman](Worse than his sister)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07hmh Helena Harnik] (I have two driving licenses, one for each side of the road. Yeah that's right- I can use either hand to shift. That makes me 2x more stick-savvy than everyone else)<br />
<br />
[[Ronit Bhattacharyya '07]] (Only ever driven stick shift; now I just wish I could drive on the right side of the road)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08amr_2 Anne Royston '08] (can shift from both driver's and passenger's seat; working on backseat)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mse Matthew Earle '07] (Double-clutch downshifts saves wear on synchros, but may have caused the expensive timing chain misalignment he just had fixed)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (Including sketchy old truck clutches)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06chh Clara Hard] (West Coast style)<br />
<br />
===Drive Really Fast In Reverse===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dsf Danny Fischler] once pulled a k-turn, maxing at around 20mph, across the width of a freeway entrance. With [http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06rmb Becky frickin' Burditt] in the back seat. Ca-raaaaaazy.<br />
<br />
===Sweet Jumps===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] likes to go as fast as he can when he sees speed bumps and likes to think he gets an inch or two of air in his 2-ton SUV every time.<br />
<br />
===Change a Tire===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has changed more than his fair share of tires and learned that salt+rust will effectively glue a wheel onto the axle. Solution? Wedge the flat edge of your hubcap-removal tool into the jammed area and whack the crap out of it with a hammer. Eventually, if you're lucky, that wheel will pop right off.<br />
<br />
===Jumpstart a Car===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez '06] has also had his fair share of car jumpstarts and knows not to connect the black plug to red and red plug to black. If you do, you will blow the battery fuse in your fusebox and burn out some expensive component in your car. Through his learning processes, he found just how costly it is to replace the stock amp that powers your stereo.<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]] (who's been zapped)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06ljw Leah Joy Weintraub] (but only if you ask nicely)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
=== Parallel Park ===<br />
<br />
[[Jonathan Landsman]], native New Yorker, has parked in spots so tight that getting in and out depended on using room provided by nudging cars parked in front and behind, counting on the flexibility of their shocks. His record in Williamstown was set when moving into his [[Morgan#East|Morgan East]] room for the [[Summer 2004|Summer of 2004]], when he parked at the top of [[Spring Street]], leaving enough room on either end of the car to fit one finger, but not two.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] is also a native New Yorker and often takes it upon himself to giggle at the non-city folk that have such a tough time parking in huge spots on Spring Street.<br />
<br />
===Hotwire a Car===<br />
<br />
===Get a Williams Van License -If I Wanted To-===<br />
<br />
===Get Parking Tickets ===<br />
Chris St.Cyr (5 tickets and the infamous car boot to the front tire in first two months here as a freshman)<br />
<br />
===Demolition===<br />
<br />
==Oral Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can blow free-floating saliva bubbles===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty] (Mr. Bubbles)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (I can catch it, too)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06smc Sara Carian]<br />
<br />
===I can curl my tongue into a W===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09les Leah Shoer]<br />
<br />
===I can touch my tongue to my nose===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lc Lucy Cox-Chapman]<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jfm Jake Manley]<br />
<br />
===I can tie a piece of string in a knot in my mouth===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] thinks this is child's play. The real challenge is getting a cherry stem into a knot in your mouth.<br />
<br />
===I can tie a cherry stem into a knot in my mouth===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] <br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (gimme 40 seconds)<br />
<br />
[[Julianne Shelby '06 | Julianne Shelby]]<br />
<br />
===Tongue Twisters===<br />
<br />
====I can turn my tongue so it's vertical instead of horizontal====<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]]<br />
<br />
====I can turn my tongue past vertical, until it's upside down====<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06bwd Brendan Dougherty]<br />
<br />
===I can remove one/all of my teeth===<br />
<br />
==Manual Skills==<br />
<br />
===I can snap my fingers by flipping my wrist===<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (right hand only)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (both hands)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09jrd Jonathan Dahlberg] - amzingly well<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon]<br />
<br />
===I can pull my fingers back to touch the back of my hand===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jgc John Chatlos] can.<br />
<br />
==Other body skills==<br />
<br />
===Ear Tricks ===<br />
Katie Montgomery can move her ears independently of one another. <br />
<br />
Margit Sande-Kerback '05 can wiggle her ears.<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dr David Rodriguez] can wiggle his ears, but he can only move his left ear independent of his right, not vice-versa.<br />
<br />
===I can dislocate my...===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=09bro Bonnie O'Keefe] can dislocate her right hip.<br />
<br />
=== I Can Get a Cool/Rare/Weird Disease ===<br />
<br />
Seth Brown '01 (scurvy)<br />
<br />
==Computer Languages==<br />
<br />
===Perl===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06cks Kai Steverson] (competent)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (wizardly)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=08jwc_2 Jing Cao] (kind of)<br />
<br />
===Java===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06dpr Daniel Rooney] (disgusting)<br />
<br />
===Mathematica===<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Klein '06|Daniel Klein]] (is too a real language)<br />
<br />
[[Joe Shoer '06]] (it's my thesis, and I can do more with it than the math nerds can)<br />
<br />
[[Laura Effinger-Dean '06]] (I make pretty pictures for my thesis!)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06nsy Nick Yates '06] (Pretty spirals! Ooh!)<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] (I'll isoperimeterize you!)<br />
<br />
===PHP===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07yfh Young Hahn] (godly)<br />
<br />
===Ruby===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06emm Evan Miller] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07rb Ronit Bhattacharyya] (the most beautiful language ever)<br />
<br />
===Python===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (the scripting language of choice)<br />
<br />
===C===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] <br />
<br />
===Assembly Language===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (kind of...)<br />
<br />
===WC237 Microcode===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06tfv Travis Vachon] (well, at one point at least...)<br />
<br />
===Befunge===<br />
<br />
Steve Winslow '04<br />
<br />
Brent Yorgey '04<br />
<br />
==Feats of Strength==<br />
<br />
===I can benchpress my own weight in bad Christina Ricci movies===<br />
<br />
==Circus Arts & other amazing feats==<br />
<br />
===I can ride a unicycle!===<br />
Alex Ambros (the 1 in 2000 girl)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (in the same entry as Alex - what's the probability of ''that''?)<br />
<br />
Abby McBride can too!<br />
<br />
Bryan Dragon can but doesn't want anybody to know about it.<br />
<br />
===I can slackline===<br />
Elissa Brown (shakily)<br />
<br />
Alex Ambros<br />
<br />
Dave Kleinschmidt (if I'm lucky)<br />
<br />
Evan Bick<br />
<br />
===I can juggle (balls, clubs, knives, flaming torches, etc)===<br />
Alex Ambros (working on passing clubs)<br />
<br />
Elissa Brown (see above. We'll get it eventually)<br />
<br />
Ben Brooks (I can do everything listed in the title except "etc." Whatever that is...)<br />
<br />
===I can swallow... (list object below)===<br />
<br />
It's only a matter of time until [[Daniel Klein '06]] makes a joke about [[Your Mom]] here.<br />
<br />
==Foreign Languages==<br />
<br />
==Other Ways of Writing English==<br />
<br />
===Braille===<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07am Auyon Mukharji] knows braille. :.:.:.:: : :: : .. ::. He just said "I hate you all".<br />
<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07mcp Margaret Pigman]<br />
<br />
===With other digits===<br />
<br />
[[Diana Davis '07]] I can write by holding a pencil in my toes.<br />
<br />
==Foreign Object Tricks==<br />
<br />
==High Velocity Carbon Training==<br />
<br />
==Luck==<br />
[http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=06lds Lisetta Shah]<br />
can find 4-leaf clovers pretty much just by looking down at the ground for a couple seconds, and sometimes without even that much effort.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Aaron_Redfern&diff=3918Aaron Redfern2005-11-02T05:37:48Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>An [[English]] major with a heart of gold, abs of steel, drawing pencils of graphite and a selenium-silicon alloy-based pseudo-brain his [[Julianne Shelby '06 | evil genius girlfriend]] recently implanted.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Aaron_Redfern&diff=3880Aaron Redfern2005-11-02T00:31:33Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>An [[English]] major with a heart of gold, abs of steel, drawing pencils of carbon and a selenium-silicon alloy-based pseudo-brain his [[Julianne Shelby '06 | evil genius girlfriend]] recently implanted.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Aaron_Redfern&diff=3879Aaron Redfern2005-11-02T00:31:13Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>An [[English]] major with a heart of gold, abs of steel, drawing pencils of carbon and a selenium-silicon alloy-based pseudo-brain his [[evil genius girlfriend | Julianne Shelby '06]] recently implanted.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Brian_Hirshman&diff=3810Brian Hirshman2005-11-01T19:27:13Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>The bad-ass-est mo-fo in the [[Class of 2006|class of '06]], Brian Hirshman has:<br />
<br />
#Taken seven classes at a time<br />
#Attempted to drink a gallon of milk in one hour, twice<br />
#Eaten a handful of red pepper <br />
#Signed up to write a thesis and two mini-theses<br />
#Stuck it to the man <br />
#Spent Halloween night alone in Hopkins forest <br />
#Threatened to declare his own Mountain Day, if Morty failed to do so <br />
#Won a cheesecake in a pumpkin hunt <br />
#"Explored" about half of the "vertical surfaces" on campus <br />
#Worn exclusively shorts for an entire winter season in Williamstown <br />
#Unabashedly opposed [[anchor housing]] <br />
#Run for [[College Council]] President, along with the dearly departed [[Amarnath Santhanam]], and let the latter throw a pie in his face upon their defeat<br />
#Turned everything in [[Dan Burns '06]]'s room backwards.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=My_Dad&diff=3809My Dad2005-11-01T19:25:47Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>My dad was in the navy. He still has a sword from it. Does your dad sail a yacht? How would he feel about a huge-ass destroyer with loads of missiles? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah? Well my dad played pro basketball in Greece and was on the team that won the European Championship. He's 6 feet, 8 inches tall and can still dunk with with ease. Does your dad have mad hops? How would he feel about a little 1 on 1? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
So? My dad was an army artillery officer. He also has a black belt (3rd dan) in tae kwon do. Does your dad want my dad to kick his ass? How would he feel about sparring? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh, really? Yeah, well, my dad used to fly a stunt helicopter in movies. Did your dad see that movie, "Apocalypse Down?" Is it true that your dad can't make his riding lawnmower work? How would your dad feel about my dad showing him how to mow the lawn - with a helicopter? I would guess that he would feel terrible. <br />
<br />
Ya? Well my dad was in the Coast Guard. He was a tableman, which is super hard core Coast Guard talk for a waiter. His boat released weather balloons in the north atlantic. Could your dad wipe an officer's butt? How would your dad feel if he was waiting for his food and he found my dad's pubes in it? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Is that all? Well my dad used to be a bounty hunter. He tracked down hardened criminals like a great white shark following a trail of blood in the ocean. Could your dad lay the smack down on a mafia leader? How would your dad feel about my dad subjecting him to a full cavity search? I would guess that he would feel terrible. <br />
<br />
Really? Well, I would like to counter by asserting that my father was and is one of the world's most accomplished sophists. His rhetorical skills are at their best when employed in a totally cynical matter, and when they are so employed they are truly devastating. His insincerity and histrionics are the non pareil. So how would your dad feel about having the weaker argument come to appear the stronger, and thereby finding himself unexpectedly overthrown from a seemingly secure rhetorical position -- in short, about having the proverbial rug pulled out from under his proverbial feet through the dark arts of unabashèd sophistry? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Okay? My dad used to be a robot bodyguard for Jim Morrison. He could understand lasers, speak 6 robot languages, and walk sideways... while spinning his head 360 degrees to scare intruders. How would your dad feel about never having to take a break from using designer rockstar drugs to sleep, eat, or wash his hands? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Is that so? My dad is the narrator from Robert A. Heinlein's ''All You Zombies''. He was born a functional hermaphrodite and grew up to be a time-travelling bartender. Then he t.t.ed to his own past to kidnap himself and forced himself to come with him back in time to when he was 17 to seduce and impregnate himself. A year later, just before his 18 year old counter part had the sexual identity reconstruction operation, he stole her/his baby and took it back in time to be trained as a bartender. So in conclusion, my dad is my mom AND their only child, who is also me. How would your dad feel if he knew were he came from, but then had to ask somebody else about all the zombies? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Huh? Well, my dad is actually [[Your Mom]]. How would your dad feel if he had another family on the side AND had to hide his pregnancy for nine months? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
But, anyway... My dad is strong and powerful. One time, he and my mom were driving on the highway in a bad snowstorm, and my mom hit some ice and skidded so that the front of the car was off the road and the back of the car was still in the righthand lane of traffic. She tried to steer the car out of this position, but the snow prevented her from doing that. There were cars approaching at high speeds, and visibility was so bad that they might not have braked in time. So my dad got out of the car, picked up the back end of it, and moved that end off the road. How would your dad feel about being colorblind? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh? Actually, my dad used to be a travelling salesman. All up and down the East Coast, that was his territory. In all of the small towns, they knew him by name. In all of the big cities, they knew him by name. Even when he was older and kind of ugly, he had an affair with this hot young lady. How would your dad feel about talking to his dead brother that went off adventuring to find gold? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Is that a fact? Well, my dad is [[Religion|God]]. How would your dad feel about total omnipotence? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh really? Well, my dad is an atheist, and around the time you learned that Santa Claus was really your parents, I learned that God is really a fabrication of the priest class designed to dupe everybody else into renouncing reason and believing that human freedom is unimportant and that misery will be rewarded in some sort of afterlife. How would your dad feel about being told that existence is a fleeting, meaningless void? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Don't be so sure. My dad is [[Morty Schapiro]]. He heads up the best school in the Purple Valley, not to mention in the country, or the rest of the world, and sports a wicked white beard. Everyone loves Morty, and even if they [[Stuff Morty Should Definitely Do|try to tell him what to do]], he doesn't listen, because he's a total badass. He is also the little-known leader of an underground street racing circuit in Bennington. How would your dad feel about getting the liberal arts kicked out of him? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Are you serious? Well, my dad weighs two and a half tons. He keeps sandwiches in his back pocket and strung around his waist in a little backback that looks like a purse next to his gargantuan figure. How would your dad feel if my dad were ahead of him in line at Subway and bought EVERYTHING? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Hold up! My dad actually invented crack, opium, and morphine. Not only that, but he makes new and improved batches every day, which he tests personally. How would your dad feel about playing the "who's feeling worse emotional pain" game with my dad? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Is that all? My dad spent our entire family fortune buying somebody else's soul on Ebay. Since then, our family has found countless uses for this extra soul. I can't even begin to explain how much better our lives have been because of it. "The truth of a single soul is inexpressible," my dad told me while our mom was softly crying in the corner. How would your dad feel about not being able to forcefeed his youngest son a second soul? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Are you kidding me? My dad drinks gasoline to wash down his lunch. This one time, he walked into a gas station and just pumped that golden liquid straight down his throat in front of everybody. How would your dad feel if he were to pull into a gas station and realize that his hummer was more fuel-efficient than my father? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Big deal. My dad is really rich. He basically does whatever he wants. You know how upper-middle white people shop at Sam's Club and buy things in bulk? Well, my dad's so rich he buys things in SUPERBULK. Some rich people acquire the best things money can buy. My dad's philosophy is to acquire the ''most'' things money can buy. Like when I was a baby, my dad solved the Diaper Problem by buying 130 million disposable diapers, all on one order. That's enough to catch all the baby crap in Turkey for an entire year. Then my dad acquired another 2 million diapers for me by personally raiding a Red Cross relief ship headed for Africa. We still have most of those diapers. They're in our enormous basement. Anyway, how would your dad like it if, on your parents' 25th anniversary, my dad reserved every table at every restaurant in America, and didn't let your parents sit at any of them? So that your dad was forced to celebrate his marriage over a couple of Quarter Pounders with Cheese? And then your dad came home to find the front yard buried under six feet of unused Pampers? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
So what... My dad is really an alien. He has sweet telepathy skills, and he invented the internet. How would your dad feel if he saw my dad's thirty-foot retractable penis? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Whoopdeefreakindoo. My dad? He's DEAD. How would your dad feel if he were dead? I would guess that he wouldn't feel anything at all, because he'd be dead.<br />
<br />
That's terrible. But my dad? He's UNDEAD. That's right—he's a zombie. Not even a magazineful of gunfire can stop him from hungrily hobbling towards your dad at an unflagging 1 mph. Also, when he moans, it's very scary. How would your dad feel if my dad took out his frustration about being stuck in purgatory forever by beating your dad into submission with the limbs of the guy he ate for breakfast? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
So I should be intimidated by that? Come on! My dad is a used to be a Jedi, until he became a Sith lord. While he can snap a person’s neck with the power of his mind, he prefers to use his light saber – so much more civilized. How would your dad feel if he was being laced with my dad’s Force Lightning? I would guess that he would feel terrible. <br />
<br />
Oh give me a break! My dad used to be an embryo. Then he turned into a fetus and finally was born after which he became my liberal, Kerry-voting dad. How would your dad feel if when he was an embryo, he found out that my dad was pro-choice? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Does this face look frightened? My dad works for the Department of Homeland Security. He has like Level 4 clearance, which means he can put anyone wearing a turban or who looks like they have "turban hair" on the terrorist watch list. How would your dad like to be racially profiled? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Big whoop. My dad is Catullus. He's one of the foremost poets of ancient Rome. How would your dad like it if his writings were forever memorialized by my dad as "cacata carta"? The real question is, how will your dad feel when he finds out that "cacata carta" is Latin for "paper having been shat out of my exceedingly tight anus"? I would guess that he will feel terrible.<br />
<br />
That's nothing. My dad is a wizard at technology. He could borrow all of your dad's copies of your childhood videos and edit them so that it was just him alone on the tapes. How would your dad feel then when he watched them again and began to question whether his family really existed? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
My dad got caught rapelling off of [[Thompson Memorial Chapel]] in [[1970]]. How would your dad feel if he got kicked out of school and had to support his family on a pitiful income, but his legacies got in anyway? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Hah! People can't believe my dad's coming to speak at Williams. They're in absolute shock that such a big shot is coming. How would your dad feel when he realizes that no one's excited over him? I would guess that he would feel terrible.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah? Well, they wouldn't ''let'' my dad on campus, because he's too much of a security concern. He's so much of a callous badass that he punched a police officer in the face because the moronic pig threatened to charge him with "risk of endangerment to a minor", whatever ''that'' is. My dad would totally murderalize your dad, because he ''just doesn't give a shit''. How would your dad feel about being on a jury trying my dad for child abuse, only to have my dad develop paranoid delusions about your dad and bore thousands of tiny holes in his skull with a auger to release the demons infesting his soul? And how would he feel about having raised such liberal pansy-waist kids because he "spared the rod", the fist, the hammer and the shotgun? I would guess that he would feel terrible.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Dan_Burns&diff=3808Dan Burns2005-11-01T19:09:37Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Is too smart to be anything but a government experiment.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Julianne_Shelby&diff=3805Julianne Shelby2005-11-01T18:55:14Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Julianne Shelby '06 is a spiffy senior who lives in Fitch. Born in bucolic Bridgeport, CT, Julianne was probably raised by monkeys or mad scientists, but luckily, enough of her gigantic, pulsating brain remains intact for her to generate complete sentences upon request. She's doing a thesis in the [[Cognitive Science]] department, on the philosophy of science and conceptual development. She is majoring in [[Philosophy]] and [[Biology]] and concentrating in [[Neuroscience]] and [[Cognitive Science]]. When she isn't procrastinating, she writes cynical, acerbic or pseudoscientific articles for the [[Mad Cow]]. She's a self-proclaimed [[Deviants | deviant]] for life, and greatly enjoys petting [[Aaron Redfern '07]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Brian_Hirshman&diff=3803Brian Hirshman2005-11-01T18:51:33Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>The bad-ass-est mo-fo in the [[Class of 2006|class of '06]], Brian Hirshman has:<br />
<br />
#Taken seven classes at a time<br />
#Attempted to drink a gallon of milk in one hour, twice<br />
#Eaten a handful of red pepper <br />
#Signed up to write a thesis and two mini-theses<br />
#Stuck it to the man <br />
#Spent Halloween night alone in Hopkins forest <br />
#Threatened to declare his own Mountain Day, if Morty failed to do so <br />
#Won a cheesecake in a pumpkin hunt <br />
#Roofed about half of campus <br />
#Worn exclusively shorts for an entire winter season in Williamstown <br />
#Unabashedly opposed [[anchor housing]] <br />
#Run for [[College Council]] President, along with the dearly departed [[Amarnath Santhanam]], and let the latter throw a pie in his face upon their defeat</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Brian_Hirshman&diff=3802Brian Hirshman2005-11-01T18:51:04Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>The bad-ass-est mo-fo in the [[Class of 2006|class of '06]], Brian Hirshman has:<br />
<br />
#Taken seven classes at a time<br />
#Attempted to drink a gallon of milk in one hour, twice<br />
#Eaten a handful of red pepper <br />
#Signed up to write a thesis and two mini-theses<br />
#Stuck it to the man <br />
#Spent Halloween night alone in Hopkins forest <br />
#Threatened to declare his own Mountain Day, if Morty failed to do so <br />
#Won a cheesecake in a pumpkin hunt <br />
#Roofed about half of campus <br />
#Worn exclusively shorts for an entire winter season in Williamstown <br />
#Unabashedly opposed anchor housing <br />
#Run for [[College Council]] President, along with the dearly departed [[Amarnath Santhanam]], and let the latter throw a pie in his face upon their defeat</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Dvorak_Keyboard_Layout&diff=3799Dvorak Keyboard Layout2005-11-01T18:50:26Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>The Betamax of keyboard layouts. Used by [[Brian Hirshman '06]] to confuse [[Daniel Klein '06|the good folk]] who just want to play a simple game of Unreal Tournament 2005 on his laptop. Used by [http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jhs_2 Jared Strait '07] to torment the innocent souls who just want to use his computer to surf the web and check email.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Dvorak_Keyboard_Layout&diff=3795Dvorak Keyboard Layout2005-11-01T18:43:18Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>The Betamax of keyboard layouts. Used by [[Brain Hirshman '06]] to confuse [[Daniel Klein '06|the good folk]] who just want to play a simple game of Unreal Tournament 2005 on his laptop. Used by [http://wso.williams.edu/facebook/view?unix=07jhs_2 Jared Strait '07] to torment the innocent souls who just want to use his computer to surf the web and check email.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Stuff_The_Student_Body_Should_Definitely_Do&diff=2660Stuff The Student Body Should Definitely Do2005-10-19T20:25:22Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div># Edit this wiki.<br />
# Learn how to spell "definitely."<br />
##Done. My bad.<br />
# Embrace the revolution.<br />
##Against anchor housing?<br />
# Learn the difference between "you're" and "your"<br />
# Learn what constitutes a valid argument</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Evan_Miller&diff=2567Evan Miller2005-10-18T21:21:46Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Evan Miller was born on August 2nd 1984. He was born and raised in Tennessee and currently attends Williams College in western Mass. He is a part of the student organization [[Williams Students Online]] or WSO, where he is a [[Root]]. He is a senior [[Physics]] Major and resides on [[Thompson 3rd Floor]]. He is also good friends with [[Daniel Rooney]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Daniel_Rooney&diff=2566Daniel Rooney2005-10-18T21:21:29Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Daniel Rooney was born on July 16th 1983 in South Bend, Indiana. He currently attends Williams College where he is a senior [[Philosophy]] Major and lives in [[Thompson 3rd Floor]]. He is also infamously known on the [[WSO Blogs]] as Buck Dharma. He started his Williams Career in Williams E, creating havoc at every turn and blinding the entry with brown and pink. He is also good friends with [[Evan Miller]] and [[the Pope]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Philosophy&diff=2565Philosophy2005-10-18T21:20:44Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>[http://www.williams.edu/philosophy Williams Philosophy Department Webpage]</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Philosophy&diff=2564Philosophy2005-10-18T21:20:18Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>[http://www.williams.edu/philosophy/Williams Philosophy Department Webpage]</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Julianne_Shelby&diff=2563Julianne Shelby2005-10-18T21:12:27Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Julianne Shelby '06 is a spiffy senior who lives in Fitch. She's doing a thesis in the [[Cognitive Science]] department, on the philosophy of science and conceptual development. She is majoring in [[Philosophy]] and [[Biology]] and concentrating in [[Neuroscience]] and [[Cognitive Science]]. When she isn't procrastinating, she writes cynical, acerbic or pseudoscientific articles for the [[Mad Cow]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Julianne_Shelby&diff=2562Julianne Shelby2005-10-18T21:12:11Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Julianne Shelby '06 is a spiffy senior who lives in Fitch. She's doing a thesis in the [[Cognitive Science]] department, on the philosophy of science and conceptual development. She is majoring in [[Philosophy]] and [[Biology]] and concentrating in [[Neuroscience]] and [[Cognitive Science]]. When she isn't procrastinating, she writes cynical, acerbic or pseudoscientific articles for the [[Mad Cow Humor Society | Mad Cow]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Tray_carvings&diff=2503Tray carvings2005-10-17T11:56:34Z<p>137.165.212.218: /* Cult of Tom */</p>
<hr />
<div>Carvings generally fall into <s>three</s> <s>four</s> a bunch of categories: Wilbur trays, "Tray of" trays, tray puns, Cult of Tom trays, trays with pictures, and...other trays.<br />
<br />
Let's make a comprehensive list of dining hall tray scratchings. Include locations, if known/remembered.<br />
<br />
==Wilbur...==<br />
<br />
Does anyone know Wilbur's story? [http://wso.williams.edu/adventure/index Create it!]<br />
<br />
An unlikely but intriguing possible source for the great resentment towards Wilbur may be the late 19th century serialized novel "Wilbur of Williams", [note: title may need correcting] which can be found in the Williams Archives. It is, naturally, a romance. Jealousy, perhaps?<br />
<br />
* Wilbur Sucks I - LXII (beyond?)<br />
* Wilbur cooks with spices (Greylock?)<br />
* Wilbur was framed (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur plays ice hockey (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur takes econ<br />
* Wilbur invaded Poland (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur donates blood (Mission)<br />
* Welcome to Wilbur Country (including serifs and Surgeon General's Warning; Mission)<br />
* Wilbur works the corner (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur failed the MCATs<br />
* Wilbur tips poorly (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur has halitosis (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur felches (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur eats veal (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur watches figure skating (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur worships false idols (Greylock)<br />
* Wilbur brakes for moose (Mission)<br />
<br />
== Cult of Tom ==<br />
* Cult of Tom<br />
* Cult of <s>Tom</s> Tom<br />
* Cult of <s>Tom</s> <s>Tom</s> Tom<br />
:''and so on . . .''<br />
<br />
The Cult of Tom story orginated in 2000 when Tom Fleming ('00) and Jeff Grant ('00) were talking to each other and realized that people would wear pretty much any free T-shirt. Thus, Tom decided he could start his own cult merely by printing up shirts that said "Cult of Tom" and distributing them. The only rule for the Cult of Tom was that you must wear the T-shirt. <br />
<br />
Then, Tom asked everybody with the shirt to wear it and come to his thesis defense to ask questions (perhaps silly questions or pre-arranged really intelligent ones). It was afterwards that "Cult of Tom" began being scratched onto Driscoll trays.<br />
<br />
This is where the story diverges. Some say that Tom Stackpole ('01) got jealous and scratched out the orignal Tom and put his own name in. Others say that a friend of Tom's started the corrections, and thereby created a new Cult of Tom (Stackpole). At any rate, the original Cult of Tom supporters were angry, and scratched out the new Tom and replaced it with the old Tom. As a result, the system of odd-even number of Toms was created. An odd number of Toms meant Tom Fleming, and even numbers were Tom Stackpole. <br />
<br />
Source: members of class of 2000, 2001 -- many of whom still have original Cult of Tom shirts.<br />
<br />
Other incarnations of the Tom theme: <br />
*Cult of Thomas Edison<br />
*Cult of Strom<br />
<br />
==Tray of...==<br />
* Tray of the Thnikkaman (including drawing; Mission)<br />
* The tray of repeatedly hitting yourself over the head with a shovel (Mission)<br />
* Tray of Spiritual Horniness (Driscoll)<br />
* Tray of Snow Bocce 2004 (Mission)<br />
* Tray of Feral Pigs (Mission)<br />
* Tray of the Luv Potion (Driscoll)<br />
* Tray of Williams (Wesleyan)<br />
<br />
==Tray Puns==<br />
* Basic Trayning/I want to be a Driscoll Tray (Mission, was in Baxter)<br />
* Death Before Detrayal (Driscoll and Mission)<br />
* Tray Bien<br />
* Judgment Tray<br />
* Penetraytion (Mission)<br />
* Defenestraytion<br />
* Libertray, Egalitray, Fraternitray (Mission; also says Wilbur Sucks LI)<br />
* Take the A-Tray<br />
* Trayin' Alive (Mission)<br />
* Elizabeth Traylor (Driscoll)<br />
* Traymate of the Year (Driscoll)<br />
* Tray of Unfulfilled Desires (Driscoll)<br />
<br />
==Mysterious Drawings==<br />
*A proof that temperatures exist below absolute zero using orbital diagrams (Driscoll)<br />
*An illustration of a normal gaussian distribution (Driscoll)<br />
*Some nonsense with a guy in a boat and an angel thing (Driscoll) <br />
<br />
==Other==<br />
* Tray 3:16 (Mission)<br />
*e^(pi)(i) + 1 = 0 (Driscoll)<br />
<br />
==Ideas for Carvings==<br />
So awful.<br />
* Infiltraytion (I think this one exists)<br />
* Tray the course<br />
* Extray credit for puns<br />
* Wilbur: Zuckerman's Traymous Pig (sucks)<br />
* Et tu, Brutray? Then fall, salad.<br />
* Tray the Earth Stood Still<br />
* Auto-Traycheotomy<br />
* Tray that funky music, white boy<br />
* Jonathan Traylor Thomas<br />
* LNT: Leave No Trays<br />
* My baby takes the morning trayn<br />
* Early Gothic Traycery (with sketches)</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Anchor_housing&diff=2448Anchor housing2005-10-16T17:25:41Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Anchor Housing, also known as ''Cluster Housing'' or the ''Williams House System'', is the new upperclass housing system to be implemented in fall 2006.<br />
<br />
==Description==<br />
<br />
Currently, Williams upperclass housing is a "free agent" system. Students form groups of 4 and are assigned lottery numbers within their class. They then choose rooms on campus in order of lottery number.<br />
<br />
Anchor housing restricts the room draw to a small cluster of dorms. Houses on campus will be divided into five clusters, each containing approximately six houses and one "anchor" house chosen to serve as the social hub of the cluster. Rising sophomores will form groups of six, and each group will be randomly assigned to a cluster. Upperclassmen will choose rooms in a lottery exclusive to own cluster. Students remain in the same cluster throughout their time at Williams.<br />
<br />
The housing system was formed with the following goals in mind, as presented by the CUL at two informational forums in 2004:<br />
<br />
* '''More autonomous social life''': more local control, funding, and energy; less dependence on ACE; more variety - parties, big weekend traditions, intramurals, faculty interaction<br />
* '''More active residential integration''': not merely desegregation, but genuine and lively communities<br />
* '''Improved sophomore experience''': deeper connections to other class years<br />
* '''Ability to live with friends, and have options within the system'''<br />
<br />
There are ideas for a "House Cup" and other inter-cluster competitions, but we have heard no definite plans yet. This suggestion has caused some students to joke about whether the clusters will be named after the houses in the Harry Potter books.<br />
<br />
The anchor houses and their associated dorms are:<br />
<br />
* '''Currier''': Fitch, Prospect<br />
* '''Dodd''': Hubbell, Dodd Annex, Goodrich, Parsons, Sewall, Dennett, Mills<br />
* '''Spencer''': West, Brooks, Gladden, Carter<br />
* '''Tyler''': Tyler Annex, Thompson, Armstrong, Pratt<br />
* '''Wood''': Perry, Garfield, Agard, Bryant, Mark Hopkins<br />
<br />
The houses Chadbourne, Doughty, Lambert, Milham, Poker Flats, Rectory, Susie Hopkins, and Woodbridge will remain (or become) co-ops.<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
<br />
Anchor housing was first proposed by the 1999-2000 [[Committee on Undergraduate Life]] (CUL) under the leadership of Professor Charles Dew, a Williams alum from the time when College housing was based around fraternities. The proposed system was a bit different back then, and was finally abandoned by the 2002 CUL in favor of making discrete changes to room draw procedures: decreasing the size of pick groups from 7 to 4, implementing a blind room draw, and instituting gender caps on individual houses. The reason for this change varies depending on who you ask: 2005 CUL members claimed that the Committee of 2000 wanted to give their changes time to work, and allow time to see how the new [[House Coordinator]] system was faring; students who were on campus in 1999-2000 suggest that the student body protested the idea of anchor housing strongly enough to get the CUL to back down; and some student members of the 2000 CUL claim that it was their objections to anchor housing that kept the system from being implemented in spring 2003.<br />
<br />
Though students thought that anchor housing had disappeared, it turned up again, suddenly, in fall 2004, when news was leaked to the Williams ''[[Record]]'' that the 2004-2005 CUL (led by Professor Will Dudley, an alum from the days when students were affiliated with one house throughout their upperclass years) was going to propose the system again. The proposed system involved creating six clusters, with houses in each cluster scattered across campus but united by a centrally located [[anchor house]]. Which freshman [[Entry]] a student belongs to determines which cluster the student would be assigned to as a rising sophomore. In the original article breaking the story, [[Morty]] was quoted as saying that anchor housing was in the student body's best interest, and the only trick would be to convince them.<br />
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The immediate student reaction was strong opposition. Commentary saturated the ''Record'' and [[WSO blogs]] for some time after the initial announcement. A group of students dedicated to preventing the implementation of anchor housing and maintaining free agency housing formed the group [[Anchors Away]]. These students conducted surveys of students (in one case, they collected written opinions from almost 200 Williams students opposed to anchor housing), wrote letters to the CUL, ''Record'', and [[Trustees]], and compiled documents detailing student objections to the anchor housing proposal. Their efforts culminated in a failed campaign for the [[College Council]] co-presidency by two of their more vocal members.<br />
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In January 2005, the Committee on Undergraduate Life made a series of substiantial changes to the anchor housing proposal. Entries were detatched from clusters in favor of randomly assigning rising sophomores. This was generally regarded as an improvement by students. Additionally, the CUL determined that larger clusters would be more conducive to forming so-called genuine communities and decreased the number of clusters to five. The cluster boundaries were also redrawn to be geographically localized; each cluster, instead of comprising houses from all areas of campus, would consist of nearby houses. Also, the CUL began to refer to the new housing proposal by the name ''cluster housing'' instead of ''anchor housing'', because they felt that "anchor housing" gave too much of an impression that students would be stuck to something in their residential lives. Finally, the date of implementation was pushed back from fall 2005 to fall 2006. This move was highly regarded by the student body.<br />
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The CUL submitted its proposal to the administration under the vague name "Williams House System" in late February 2005, and recieved the promised rubber-stamp approval. Students in Anchors Away worried that the administration was ignoring their opinion, but the CUL determined that its mission in the 2005-2006 academic year would consist solely of determining how exactly the transition from free agency to anchor housing would be carried out. This is what they are deliberating now.<br />
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==Student Opinion==<br />
<br />
The first Wiki entry for Anchor Housing consisted of the single word, "Evilll." A few edits later, a poster had corrected to, ''[Anchor Housing] . . . is actually NOT called anchor housing. It is cluster housing, built in neighborhoods around a central "anchor house.'' To which the following response was added: ''But nonetheless, it is still eeeeeevil, just in case you were confused about that.''<br />
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Students have been deeply concerned about various aspects of anchor housing. Voiced concerns include:<br />
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* '''Loss of freedoms and choices.''' Any housing system that restricts the number of houses students can live in restricts students' choices. Given the great variety of dorms on this campus, many students believe it essential that they be at least given a chance to choose from some of the best dorms on campus. Clusters drawn by the CUL have rarely included equal numbers of "desirable" and "undesirable" houses, leaving students wondering whether members of classes after 2009 will find themselves randomly assigned to a "sucky cluster." Students also worry that they will be unable to form a housing pick group with their friends, especially with friends they make after cluster assignments have been made in their freshman spring.<br />
* '''Social engineering.''' The attitude of the CUL and administration has been seen as very paternalistic by many students. Students are wary of attempts to ensure "diversity" in all dorms on campus. The phrase "genuine communities" has been particularly contentious among students, as some believe it suggests that existing communities were judged by the CUL and determined to be "not genuine." <br />
* '''Freshman affiliations.''' The assignment of entries to particular clusters was met with strong disapproval by students worried that new students' housing choices would be determined entirely by their entry assignment, before they even set foot on campus. Fortunately, the CUL altered this aspect of the plan.<br />
* '''Loss of "class" living experiences.''' Sophomores will no longer be able to live as a class in [[Mission Park]], and juniors will no longer be able to live together in the [[Greylock Quad]]. Some credit the Mission Park renovations in the summer of 2003 as dramatically improving the Williams sophomore experience, and are concerned that anchor housing will take away the benefits of living as a class with all the people who got to know one another as entrymates during freshman year.<br />
* '''Disregard of suite affiliations.''' Many Williams students live with the same (or a similar) set of friends in a suite throughout their career. Students believe that the CUL did not take into account strong "suite identity" and the smaller, more tightly knit communities of two or three nearby suites, often composed of good friends who enjoy each others' company.<br />
* '''Differences in social behavior.''' The drinking culture on this campus appeals to some and not to others. Some of the less party-prone students worried that anchor housing would spread them thinly around campus, sandwiching them between students more interested in trashing common rooms with [[beirut]] refuse than using the common room for a quiet gathering, board game, impromptu poker night, or movie viewing.<br />
* '''The Odd Quad.''' Members of the [[Odd quad | Odd Quad]] (known as the Berkshire Quad to the uninitiated and CUL members) community use the dorms Currier and Fitch as a social hub. These students, self-described [[deviants]], are often set apart from the rest of campus culture. Without a physical social base, they worry that their way of life will be severely disrupted. Anchor housing will randomly spread these students around the entire campus, effectively destroying the Odd Quad as a cohesive community.<br />
* '''Failure of clusters at Middlebury.''' Middlebury College recently implemented a cluster-model housing system, and students there have a low opinion of it. In fact, their objections are very similar to Williams students' objections to anchor housing: social engineering, preventing them from living with friends, et cetera.<br />
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In its March 1, 2005 issue, the Williams ''Record'' conducted a poll of student opinion on anchor housing. The following results turned up:<br />
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* 13% of students support anchor housing<br />
* 24% of students tentatively support anchor housing<br />
* 33% of students tentatively oppose anchor housing<br />
* 29% of students oppose anchor housing<br />
<br />
College Council also conducted a poll, which was reported in the ''Record'' on March 15, 2005:<br />
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* 17% of respondants support anchor housing<br />
* 57% oppose anchor housing<br />
* 12% are neutral<br />
* 13% are undecided<br />
<br />
However, the Committee on Undergraduate Life made statements to the effect that a student opinion poll would not affect their decision. The 2005-2006 CUL has singlemindedly dedicated intself to implementing anchor housing in fall 2006. The implementation of anchor housing is now considered a moot point (in fact, indications are that anchor housing was destined to be implemented right from the beginning, when the administration voiced approval to it in its infancy), though some students push for a modified cluster system that preserves some elements of free agency.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=WARP&diff=2375WARP2005-10-15T21:20:59Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>WARP (the Williams Association of Role-Players) is a club dedicated to roleplaying and similar [[Odd quad | Odd Quad]]-type activities. The club is noted for its laissez-faire organization; traditionally WARP only holds one meeting, at the beginning of the year, and thereafter organizes through its listserver in smaller groups. (If it sounds fragmented and chaotic, that's because it is.) Although roleplaying is a primary focus of WARP, it coordinates a variety of similar activities. Among them are bopswording (hitting each other with PVC-and-foam swords for fun and profit), Laser Tag, board games, card games, and whatever else comes to mind. <br />
<br />
The WARP listserver, in addition to serving as the coordination tool of the club, also serves the valuable purpose of a spam conduit, down which people send links to strange news articles, online games, and other proscrastination aids. The listserver is also a good place to settle important fantasy-battle questions, like "who would win in a fight: a cave troll, or a pack of velociraptors?" Finally, the WARP listserver is an excellent place to observe WARP crust in action, since many WARP members never leave the listserver even after graduation.<br />
<br />
Traditionally WARP has two "real" officer positions: the Figurehead (president) and the Shady Grand Vizier (treasurer). The current (05-06) Figurehead is [[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06]], and the current Grand Vizier is [[Jake F. Manley '07]]. In practice, WARP has a long hierarchy of ever-fluctuating ceremonial titles, the most enduring of which is the [[Not-Pope]].<br />
<br />
WARP is affiliated with most of the other organizations of the [[Odd quad | Odd Quad]], if only by shared membership. The strongest link is to the [[Deviants]] listserver, which serves as a more neutral socialization branch of essentially the same social group. Other closely-affiliated organizations include the [[Elizabethans]], the [[(Moocho Macho Moocow Military) Marching Band]], and the [[Mad Cow]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=WARP&diff=2374WARP2005-10-15T21:20:07Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>WARP (the Williams Association of Role-Players) is a club dedicated to roleplaying and similar [[Odd quad | Odd Quad]]-type activities. The club is noted for its laissez-faire organization; traditionally WARP only holds one meeting, at the beginning of the year, and thereafter organizes through its listserver in smaller groups. (If it sounds fragmented and chaotic, that's because it is.) Although roleplaying is a primary focus of WARP, it coordinates a variety of similar activities. Among them are bopswording (hitting each other with PVC-and-foam swords for fun and profit), Laser Tag, board games, card games, and whatever else comes to mind. <br />
<br />
The WARP listserver, in addition to serving as the coordination tool of the club, also serves the valuable purpose of a spam conduit, down which people send links to strange news articles, online games, and other proscrastination aids. The listserver is also a good place to settle important fantasy-battle questions, like "who would win in a fight: a cave troll, or a pack of velociraptors?" Finally, the WARP listserver is an excellent place to observe WARP crust in action, since many WARP members never leave the listserver even after graduation.<br />
<br />
Traditionally WARP has two "real" officer positions: the Figurehead (president) and the Shady Grand Vizier (treasurer). The current (05-06) Figurehead is [[Amanda R. Van Rhyn '06]], and the current Grand Vizier is [[Jake F. Manley '07]]. In practice, WARP has a long hierarchy of ever-fluctuating ceremonial titles, the most enduring of which is the [[Not-Pope]].<br />
<br />
WARP is affiliated with most of the other organizations of the [[Odd quad]], if only by shared membership. The strongest link is to the [[Deviants]] listserver, which serves as a more neutral socialization branch of essentially the same social group. Other closely-affiliated organizations include the [[Elizabethans]], the [[(Moocho Macho Moocow Military) Marching Band]], and the [[Mad Cow]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Katherine_L._Dieber&diff=2373Katherine L. Dieber2005-10-15T21:19:07Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>Katherine Dieber is a shiny, herpetology-loving junior who lives in the [[Currier Cave]] and is majoring in [[Art Studio]] and [[Mathematics]]. She is co-leader of the [[(Moocho Macho Moocow Military) Marching Band]] and heads [[Dancesport]]. Katy's claim to eminence is her status as the [[Not-Pope]] of [[WARP]]. Katy also has a special fondness for horrible, horrible clothing, which she purchases at thrift stores and wears at [[Driscoll Deviations]], or any other time she has a moderate excuse to do so.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Driscoll_Dining_Hall&diff=2372Driscoll Dining Hall2005-10-15T21:18:07Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>Known once for its dirtiness. See [[The Dirty D]]. Also known for the engagement of Jake Manley, '07 and Suzanne Walsh '05 on December 1, 2004. Also also known for [[Driscoll Deviations]]. <br />
<br />
Driscoll has a deli lunch every day, serving deli sandwiches, both cold and the hot sandwiches of the day. Driscoll also has a pasta chef every day at lunch to make wonderful and diverse pasta dishes.<br />
<br />
Also notable are mini cinnamon buns at breakfast.<br />
<br />
Driscoll is NOT the place to be eating dinner though. Unless you go for the social atmosphere, in which Driscoll is clearly superior to all other dining halls.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Julianne_Shelby&diff=2350Julianne Shelby2005-10-15T18:38:54Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>Julianne Shelby '06 is a spiffy senior who lives in Fitch. She's doing a thesis in the [[Cognitive Science]] department, on the philosophy of science and conceptual development. She is majoring in [[Philosophy]] and [[Biology]] and concentrating in [[Neuroscience]] and [[Cognitive Science]]. When she isn't procrastinating, she writes cynical, acerbic articles for the [[Mad Cow Humor Society]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Julianne_Shelby&diff=2349Julianne Shelby2005-10-15T18:37:50Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Julianne Shelby '06 is a spiffy senior who lives in Fitch. She's doing a thesis in the [[Cognitive Science]] department, on the philosophy of science and conceptual development. She is majoring in [[Philosophy]] and [[Biology]] and concentrating in [[Neuroscience]] and [[Cognitive Science]]. When she isn't procrastinating, she writes for the [[Mad Cow]].</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Katherine_L._Dieber&diff=2347Katherine L. Dieber2005-10-15T18:25:01Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Katherine Dieber is a shiny, herpetology-loving junior who lives in the [[Currier Cave]] and is majoring in [[Art Studio]] and [[Mathematics]]. She is co-leader of the [[(Moocho Macho Moocow Military] Marching Band]] and heads [[Dancesport]]. Katy's claim to eminence is her status as the [[Not-Pope]] of [[WARP]]. Katy also has a special fondness for horrible, horrible clothing, which she purchases at thrift stores and wears at [[Driscoll Deviations]], or any other time she has a moderate excuse to do so.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Not-Pope&diff=2345Not-Pope2005-10-15T18:21:30Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>A completely unimportant title granted to a member of [[WARP]] who is not the Pope.<br />
<br />
The office of Not-Pope was created when Jesse Dill, '04, then 'pope' of WARP, excommunicated himself and gave over the office to a random dude he found in an Akron, Ohio phonebook. However, unable to stay away from WARP, he re-entered the fold as the Not-Pope. For the next several years, the 1st Not-Pope issued numerous random proclamations, signifying nothing in particular. <br />
<br />
Before his graduation, Not-Pope Jesse passed the miter to Katy Dieber, '07, who currently holds office. She has issued approximately one proclamation: the creation of the first Not-Cardinal of WARP (his not-eminence [[Hank Gerrard the "Not-Cardinal" Tojman]]). Her proclamations are advised and mostly-written by Sean Carollo, '07 ("The Guy with the Hat"), including this entry into this institution's store of knowledge.<br />
<br />
In May of 2007, Katy will pass the grave responsibilities of the Jessinian office on to some as-yet-undetermined member of the class of '10, though keeping the glory of the title for herself. But she will pass on the miter. Even if it's warm and nifty.<br />
<br />
<br />
See also [[Hank Gerrard the "Not-Cardinal" Tojman]], [[Sean A. Carollo '07]], [[WARP]]</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Rachel_S._Selinsky_%2706&diff=2322Rachel S. Selinsky '062005-10-15T01:32:30Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>Rachel S. Selinsky '06 is kickin'-rad. That's really all you need to know.<br />
<br />
Oh, and she's the HC of Fitch, the kickin'-raddest house on campus. Plus she has a thesis, so be nice to her.<br />
<br />
And she's really really hot. Like whoa.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Rachel_S._Selinsky_%2706&diff=2319Rachel S. Selinsky '062005-10-15T01:23:07Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>Rachel S. Selinsky '06 is kickin'-rad. That's really all you need to know.<br />
<br />
Oh, and she's the HC of Fitch, the kickin'-raddest house on campus. Plus she has a thesis, so be nice to her.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Paul_N._Stansifer&diff=2310Paul N. Stansifer2005-10-14T21:42:47Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
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<div>The alter ego (or egos) of [[Hank Gerrard the "Not-Cardinal" Tojman]], and the man responsible for the mysterious picture game currently being played in the [[Currier]] 1st floor common room.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Driscoll_Dining_Hall&diff=2308Driscoll Dining Hall2005-10-14T21:41:13Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Known once for its dirtiness. See [[The Dirty D]]. Also known for the engagement of Jake Manley, '07 and Suzanne Walsh '05 on December 1, 2004. Also also known for [[Driscoll Deviations]]. <br />
<br />
Driscoll has a deli lunch every day, serving deli sandwiches, both cold and the hot sandwiches of the day. Driscoll also has a pasta chef every day at lunch to make wonderful and diverse pasta dishes.<br />
<br />
Also notable are mini cinnamon buns at breakfast.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Paul_N._Stansifer&diff=2305Paul N. Stansifer2005-10-14T21:29:25Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>The alter ego (or egos) of Hank Gerrard the "Not-Cardinal" Tojman, and the man responsible for the mysterious picture game currently being played in the Currier 1st floor common room.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Hank_Gerard_the_%22Not-Cardinal%22_Tojman&diff=2304Hank Gerard the "Not-Cardinal" Tojman2005-10-14T21:28:01Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>Hank Gerrard the "Not-Cardinal" Tojman is the alter-ego (or alter egos) or [[Paul N. Stansifer '07]]. <br />
<br />
The story goes thusly: <br />
In the fall of 2004, Paul was told to introduce himself by someone who had mentioned that he would "forget all of your names anyhow". He introduced himself as "Hank". [[Rachel S. Selinsky '06]] mistook "Hank" for Paul's actual name, and began to refer to him as Hank. Thus a legend was born. Some called him "Hank" because it was funny; others, because they were confused. Nevertheless, the name "Hank" had a sort of sticking power, a life of its own, and would not be lived down. <br />
<br />
[[Sean A. Carollo '07]] provided Hank with a new middle and last name, and later, christened him the Not-Cardinal, under [[Katherine L. Dieber '07]], the current [[Not-Pope]] of WARP. The contract was signed on a Driscoll napkin by multiple witnesses. <br />
<br />
In the fall of 2006, [[Julianne Shelby '06]] made the cogent argument that Paul, Hank and Hank Gerrard the "Not-Cardinal" Tojman were actually three entities, not two, and that in this manner Paul represented the triune God.</div>137.165.212.218https://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Not-Pope&diff=2303Not-Pope2005-10-14T21:20:13Z<p>137.165.212.218: </p>
<hr />
<div>A completely unimportant title granted to a member of [[WARP]] who is not the Pope.<br />
<br />
See also [[Hank Gerrard the "Not-Cardinal" Tojman]]</div>137.165.212.218