g

ﬁaiko‘
uses

'real
thing’

Things go better with CocarCola,
including the Hungarian gypsy
iolk dance group Rajko. The
dancing area of Darby Gym-
nasium has been swabbed with a
lnild solution of Coke and water to
give the lioor a tacky sui-iace tor
their complicated spins and turns.

Varnish too slick

Tom Latimer, director of
recreational facilities and ser-
vices, told the 5843 that Rajko
requested the special preparation
when the troupe discovered that
the pertormance would be held on

9 a varnished lloor.

Latimer ieels that the Coke will
not damage the tloor itscli,
although “varnish may get a little
dull.” He added that if Darby has
already survived rock, time and
other concert parties, then the
najko concert will not harm the
tlooring tor the upcoming
basketball season.

Earlier plans to cover the floor
with a protective plywood surtace
were discarded as impractical and
too costly.

roriorm tonight

The folk dancers will pertorm
tonight, Friday, Nov. 3, in the
gymnasium. Admission is by ticket
only. and the public is invited to
pick up the leetickets at the Forum
desk. Seating is not reserved.

Iowa in focus

by John M. Wylie Ii
NewsDircctor. KDIC-l’M

Experienced travellers don't
need the red and White warning
signs that mark a 22»mile stretch oi
US. Highway 69 between the
Missouri towns of Bethany and
Pattonsburg,

if they've ever travelled the
road, they know the next 457
minutes will be sheer torture.

Worse still, the road is the only
link between Iowa and Kansas
City. its been called America’s
most treacherous highway, and the
statistics seem to back that up.

Since 1970, there have been 440
accidents on the road—about one
every three days Twenty-five
persons have died and 235! have
been injured.

The road would be bad enough if
its only problems were the sharp
curves and the sudden hills. But
the bridges turn a bad dream'into
an almost unbelievable nightmarel

There are at least eight major
bridges. If two of the big tractor
trailer rigs that ireouent the high-
way have to pass going opposite
directions, they have less than a
foot between them.

Two of the bridges—one more
than a cityrblock longil-iave sharp
curves in the middle. Frequent
breaks in the guard rail offer mute
testimony to vehicles that haven’t
quite made it.

Why has the old road not been
replaced by modern Interstate 35,
which covers the rest of the
distance between Kansas City and
Des Moines?

That answer lies with the U.Si
Army Corps oi Engineers, which
since 1928 has been planning a dam

at Pattonsburg. The Corps ad-
mitted in August that the project,
now estimated to cost smamillion,
is no longer economically ieasible.

Missouri Highway Department
officials estimate that, in three or
tour years, modern Interstate
roadways will replace the killer
road.

Meanwhile, a Sign on a partially
completed portion of 7-35 neatly
sums upwhat many travellers
must teel. it says simply, “Stop‘
Turn Back’ You’re going the
wrong ways" ,. ,

Unfortunately ior the 25 dead
motorists, thereis noiother way to
go,

-l- + +

Television tans can l‘ejolcei
KCRG tChannel e in Cedar
Rapids) completed work on its new
2,oon toot tower last Saturday.

The tower replaces a similar
transmitter which tell October 3,
1973, killing iive persons. Station
ntiicials said the new tower will
greatly increase the signal quality
ior viewers in the Grinnell area.

+ + +

inﬂation has done strange things
to the press olticer at the lowa
State Conservation Commission. In
a recent press release announcing
that flush toilets and showers will
be closed at state parks for the
remainder oi the winter, he noted,
“the camping tee will be lowered
from $2.01) to $2.50."

photo by John who

This sign. erected by a concerned citizens group near the Missouri-
iowa border, marks the beginning oi a nightmare tor Iowa's southv

bound travellers.

Computer jocks take over lockers

thc
mathematics. When fed the right

by Shelly Blair

imagine yourseli in a lunar
module on the suriaoe of the moon
as a little man comes out ot a
McDonald’s and hands you a
hamburger, This game is only one
oi the many possible on the new
computer system coming January,
1975,

B o G workers are currently
transiorming the old locker rooms
n the southwest part oi Darby

' Gymnasium to house the new

computer system. when the
project is, complete, a computer
room will house a new PDP 1145
computer, the ﬁrst computer to be
owned by the College.
Terminal Room

Adjoinging the computer room
will he a terminal room containing
seven CRT terminals. A terminal

is a machine used to program the
computer and receive computer
feedback. The work room will be
the location where computer
programs are prepared, and ad-
ditional rooms will be used as
offices and classrooms.

The computer service, however,
will not be limited to Darby
because computer terminals will
be spread over various locations at
the college, With outside terminals

’one may communicate directly

with the computer, either to
program or receive informationi
Without using the terminal room in
Darby. The exact location of the
terminals is not deiinite but
some likely poss' ice are the
library, ARH, Carnegie, the
registrar's oiiice, alumni and
development ottices, the student

affairs office, office of the Dean
and FI‘eSIdent, and various tid-
ministrallve admlnistratlve of-
tices.
'l'imershm'cr

The new computer Will he a time
sharing computer. This means that
several people may use the
computer simultaneously through
different transformers
without interfering with the
computer system. David Renaud,
a student involved in computer
services, said Grinne‘ll‘s new
computer will give the school “the
best time-sharing computer
system in the country for a school
oi our size and type."

The possible uses ot the new
computer are innumerable, but
probably the most familiar use of

 

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computer involves
instructions, the computer can
solve algebra problems. analyze
statisticsor do just about anything

Telephone hook-rip

in academics the computer can
be used in classroom situations and
as a learning tool. Eventually
computer services will have
portable terminals capable of
the mathematical ntlnd could
imagine.

The computer is also capable of
handling class registration and
storing vast amounts of records on
students and alumni. This capacity
will save large amounts oi tile
space, and clerical time, and in
crease etticiency,

CoNFEEE/Idi

hooking up directly with the
computer by using the telphone
and the computer‘s own telephone
number.

The additional equipment to the
new computer will probably prove
the most interesting. A graphics
display terminal can produce
computer pictures, and a plotter
can make graphic designs.

The lunar landing game was
created by people involved in
computer servmes and made
possible through the computer. If
the slightest mistake is made the
lunar module explodes and crashes
on the screen But if it lands safely
a little man will emerge irom
McDonald's and rewards the pilot
with a hamburger.

Courses

Using the computer system
requires training in the language
and basic concepts oi the come
puter. An introductory course in
computers will be offered next
semester by Mr James McDonald,
director of computer services,

Several workshops will also be
held once the new computer is
installed, probably in the begin»
ning of January.

David Renaud estimates that
Grinnell College could be an
automated college within a few
years. what else could you expect
of a machine which can Solve the
game with 300,000 possible answers
called Instant Insanity in ill;
seconds?

%

Free Scarlet and Black Want Ads
must be in the Fosl ntiice Collection
Box by Tuesday 5 p.rn tor Friday
publication.

\______.{

 

 

