MIT Science Fiction Society

84 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139

MITSFS Meeting Minutes

Friday, October 10, 2004

MITSFS meeting called to order, 1700 SST, Kat Allen, President and Skinner, presiding; First Squirrel and Pseudo Onseck John Carr, and later Brian Sniffen, Onseck, recording.

Minutes read.

They are disapproved on the basis that they suggest that the society has a system (Vote not recorded).

BING!

Committee Reports

Algaecomm

The tiles are gone! Out, back, and gone for good!

PseudoAnalogcomm

The fall schedule graphic is up. Do we want Margaret to buy shiny things for us?

Pseudojourcomm

RSN. Can this be put into the ALGOL yet?

MobComm

Very little happened, but I have to say something.

Surgery

Soon we'll know how badly off most of the books in here are. Jade looks increasingly competent, and will be, together with an MIT Librarian, getting us a report on their quality soon.

What the heck is this Comm

We have an installation guide for a Verso--unfortunately no accompanying Verso. But it claims to have a DVI port, and macrovision.

Also, a phone/address book, blank--apparently from SFBC.

OldFartComm

The Skinner has no idea what the Brother word processor behind the dexes is. She is informed by JFC that it is, in fact, a Brother word processor, which can be used for filling out forms. Like a pen, only bigger.

LHE

More money!

Our Loyal Public

Security has apparently always been something of an idiosyncratic concept in Britain's government and royal buildings. In a letter to The Independent this week, a Londoner named Andy Cullen described how he had been allowed to take his penknife into the visitors' gallery of the House of Commons, but had had a banana confiscated by a guard.

``When I asked why, he said it was to prevent me throwing it into the chamber,'' Mr. Cullen said. ``I never understood why I could be trusted with a knife but not a banana.''

We, on the other hand, are quite sure.

BING!

Old Business

War Council

Still no locks, still no keys.

Y: ``The lock and the key shall never meet again on the bonnie bonnie banks of loch...'' and perishes under a hail of jeers. The motion chickens, as everyone but Y and BTS is confused.

Rumor has it Last Dangerous Visions will be out soon, only 35 years late. ``Repent, Harlan Ellison, said the Tick-Tock Man'' fails for lack of second.

ALGOL BING!

New Business

Harlan settled with AOL, after the 9th Circuit pointed out that their changing their DMCA-takedown address apparently for the purpose of bitbucketing Harlan's complaints might indicate that they weren't acting in good faith.

Also, the bnetd folks have finally been completely screwed, on the grounds that the EULA ``agree'' button apparently does bind you to the contract, including the restriction on reverse engineering.

Apparently early rocket tests used Methyl Mercury, or had exhaust plumes of $HF$. Sadly, the fusion-ramjet never got tested.

Mount St. Helens is erup...oozing.

It's Octogre.

BING!

Future Business

Blade Trinity is coming in December. It's the same length as ROTK Extended, and has all the quality of a trailer.

The new Boris calendar picture has no bones--she looks like a shoggoth sculpted into feminine form to lure in innocent hawks.

Andy's ``I like bananas because they have no bones.'' passes 7-4-1 plus Spehn

Meeting adjourned, 1730 SST.

Respectfully submitted,

Brian Sniffen, Onseck