MIT Science Fiction Society

84 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139



MITSFS Meeting Minutes

Friday, 9 September 2011




MITSFS meeting called to order, 66.6 Ksec SST, Paul Weaver, President and Skinner, presiding; Lemur Rowlands, Onseck, recording.

Minutes read.

Motion to commend the Onseck for speedy and goodly reading of the minutes and to have the minutes read again backwards and have a matrix vote CHICKENS 5-7-4 plus Spehn.

Finger motion.

BING!

BING!

Committee Reports

pseudoSeldon

This week we're showing episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the second half of The Colour of Magic (which is actually based on The Light Fantastic). Next week we're showing the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever".

We're changing our Seldon location to 1-134, because members complained about having an infinitely long walk to showings from W20.

Oookcomm

The electronic checkout system is done, and will be deployed in a couple of weeks.

unintentionalPianocomm

Apparently Google Books and Amazon show you different parts of books, allowing you to get fairly far before you have to buy the book. Or, of course, you could just check it out from MITSFS, especially if it's something like Dance with Dragons, where we have three circulating copies.

Pianocomm

Prentices should do work!

pseudovanHelsingcomm

Redacted called the library and announced that she would be here real soon now, like in ten minutes, with a new vanHelsingcomm project.

Motion to EMP the internet. Fails for lack of a second.

pseudoPianocomm

There was a large workparty for Jourcomm, Catacomm, and Smilescomm, with lots of prentii and lots of work done.

pseudoDowntroddenMembership

Please stop throwing your bags at us!

Star-Chamber

We did lots of work! And we're now having Star Chamber meetings right before the real meetings; feel free to come and bug us.

hBarcomm

At least five frosh seem to have shown up. We have frosh! We want to get other people!

Hasselcomm

Work for prentices during

Onseck

Help, the committees are eating me!

Motion to make ummprobablycomm fails for lack of a second.

asynchronousvanHelsingcomm

Redacted showed up and brought us a sharpened gavel through a copy of New Moon. It shall be hung up and listed as our review.

BING!

Old Business

In the past there was the Activites Midway, but no classes. There were always frosh, and there shall always be frosh, world without end, reprieve, or rest.

In the past MIT's weather machine malfunctioned.

ALGOL

BING!

New Business

NASA wants more astronauts, even though they haven't any particular way to launch them at the moment. And probably no funding, anyway.

A Progress crashed on launch and didn't make it to the ISS.

Andrew's friend was on Kwajalen Atoll when SpaceX did one of their big launches, and was able to see it an hour after all the Air Force people gave up qand thought it would be weeks before it worked.

GRAIL, a neat mission to measure the moon's gravity field by having two satellites in the same orbit with an interferometer launched this week. Apparently Maria Zuber, the PI, is PJM's UROP advisor.

BING!

Future Business

In the future the Onseck will get the power to slow down time for everyone else in meetings so it can actually take useful notes.

In the future someone will actually come up with a grammar that actually makes time travel make sense.

The new person from Harvard will have readen The Restaurant at the End of the Universe tomorrow.

There is much discussion of paradoxes

In the future, there will be an open house on Sunday 15:00-17:00, and it would be great if people would show up! We want to make the frosh know that we exist.

In the future...

The weather beaten trail wound ahead into the dust racked climes of the baren land which dominates large portions of the Norgolian empire. Age worn hoof prints smothered by the sifting sands of time shone dully against the dust splattered crust of earth. The tireless sun cast its parching rays of incandescense from overhead, half way through its daily revolution. Small rodents scampered about, occupying themselves in the daily accomplishments of their dismal lives. Dust sprayed over three heaving mounts in blinding clouds, while they bore the burdonsome cargoes of their struggling overseers.

"Prepare to embrace your creators in the stygian haunts of hell, barbarian", gasped the first soldier.

"Only after you have kissed the fleeting stead of death, wretch!" returned Grignr.

A sweeping blade of flashing steel riveted from the massive barbarians hide enameled shield as his rippling right arm thrust forth, sending a steel shod blade to the hilt into the soldiers vital organs. The disemboweled mercenary crumpled from his saddle and sank to the clouded sward, sprinkling the parched dust with crimson droplets of escaping life fluid.

The enthused barbarian swilveled about, his shock of fiery red hair tossing robustly in the humid air currents as he faced the attack of the defeated soldier's fellow in arms.

"Damn you, barbarian" Shrieked the soldier as he observed his comrade in death.

In the future, they're making another Conan movie. It apparently sucks. The books have been said to be good, but only in comparison to things one might compare it to.

In light of the fact that personality disorders are caused, in many cases, by vitamin deficiencies, motion to send Conan the Barbarian a nice bunch of bananas PASSES 7-4-6 plus Spehn.

BING! Meeting adjourned, 68.4 Ksec SST.




Respectfully submitted,
Lemur Rowlands, Onseck