Here we are, yet another term is drawing to an end. It is the season of vacant gazes, rampant coffee consumption and crowded computer labs. Yet it still seems like just yesterday that September was beginning and we were all moving back to Waterloo. Ohhh, the days of being relatively well rested and eager to learn… those were the times. Nevertheless, this term seems to have just flown by! As with any term, there have been plenty of sleepless nights and lots of stressful deadlines, but it has also been quite rewarding.
For my part I’m quite pleased with how this term has gone. As far as the five issues of the Iron Warrior are concerned, it has been pretty fantastic. Thanks to all my awesome IW staff and contributors we have consistently turned out solid 16 page issues. From witty yet serious articles on ‘All about #gamergate’ and ‘Use a Crowd-Sourced Cloud Platform to Protect Yourself from Hackers’ to coverage of big events on campus including student team wins and faculty referendums, we have covered a breadth of topics. That is just touching on the tip of the iceberg though. There have been tons of really interesting and well written articles as well as some fun things like our comics on the back page. As you procrastinate from exams be sure to revisit old issues in the pdf archive on our website! (http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/pdf-archives/, the 5th issues have tin soldiers!)
This year we have had a lot of first years join the newspaper. It has been really exciting watching them settling into their lives here at Waterloo and getting comfortable with writing for the paper. From the hesitant articles in the first issue to the witty and informative articles I’m receiving now there has been a remarkable shift. I’m really excited to see how these new members of the Iron Warrior will grow in the terms to come.
Everyone has been fantastic putting in many hours to research and write their articles as well as attending our weekly meetings where we plan out each issue. However, some people have gone above and beyond. Vince Magas and Jessica Keung have been amazing, each writing several articles an issue and collaborating together to do the Iron Inquisitions for each issue. They have also been a huge help with circulation, getting meeting food and putting the issues up on the bulletin board outside of the office. Bryan Mailloux, who can often be found sleeping in POETS, has also been a huge help; particularly this past production weekend as we put together the Tin Soldier. Tommy Donnelly also took the initiative to do some investigative journalism by interviewing admissions about the startling amount of high school applicants turned away who had averages above 90. Ratan Varghese can always be relied upon for a solid article on science and tech from a fresh perspective, while Raeesa provided great budgeting advice and addressed feminism from a female perspective. On the subject of reliable, thanks to Allen and Derek who would write the things I volun-told them, and even got them in before deadline! Quieter members of the IW, Suchi, Devika, Bogdan and Elizabeth are pretty awesome, I can’t wait to see their articles in the coming terms! Last but not least, I am excited to see what types of articles Ethan Alter turns out; don’t over think it and just go with the flow!
Although we have many new people this term, there are also many older students who have been contributing to the Iron Warrior throughout their academic careers here at UW. Among them are 3 past EIC’s: Jacob Terry, Lucas Hudson and Spenser Good. While the powerful pull of FYDP has greatly decreased their participation in the Iron Warrior, they can always be called upon to help with tricky photoshop and layout issues. Since I won’t be around in their final term I’d like to take this opportunity to wish them good luck on their post graduation lives! A big thanks also goes out to Michael, Andrew and Sherwin for the great articles they have submitted over the term. Hopefully your lives continue to one big adventure!
One final mention goes out to our (NOT CREEPY) grad student Krishna Iyer (are you Iyered Krishna?) Who really understands the Iron Warrior computers and software. He’s a truly invaluable resource and we’ll be increadibly sad when he graduates.
Finally the all so important issue of who will replace me! I know, I know, you were totally not thinking about that’s right? Anyhow, here we go. For those of you sticking around for Winter 2015 get ready for Nancy Hui to man the helm as Editor-in-Chief of the Iron Warrior. You may already know her as the creator of the ever popular cross word and author of the film critiquing column “Take 5”. A fourth year herself, she is sure to bring copious amounts of knowledge to the position. We have already discussed some of her plans and let me assure you, she is a much more organized and able EIC than I am. (i.e. She might actually sleep regular hours, even on production weekends!).
If you are staying on term and will be back on campus for the Spring look out for Cameron Soltys who will be forging ahead despite my abandoning him to take an 8 month co-op in Edmonton. He has been incredibly dedicated this term and has produced a constant stream of articles which as of Issue 4 had him considerably ahead of other writers for his overall word count. I have no fears about Cameron’s approaching rule…except perhaps that it will severely eclipse my term in terms of awesomeness. Feel free to stop him around campus or shoot the iron warrior an email if you have any questions.
Now on to something more practical: as the freezing cold and high winds have swept over Waterloo, there has been once positive aspect. Nearly instantaneously bike racks around campus became empty waste lands. Although chilly, bike riding can still be one of the quickest ways to get to campus. Personally, with assignments to do and final exams to cram… ahem…study for, there isn’t enough time for taking public transport. So I bike. Winter biking can vary substantially day to day since snow storms can leave heaping piles of snow to power your way through. These days are a huge pain and sometimes you just have to get off the bike and push it. (Hey, at least it’s exercise).
Yes, you could go all in and purchase massive winter tires thus making drifts less of an obstacle for your more distributed weight, but I’m not sure it’s really worth it. For the most part, unless it is actually snowing outside the roads get cleared fairly quickly so winter tires or not you should get fairly good traction. The key to winter biking is being aware of the potential for black ice or more slippery conditions. For instance, racing down University towards King may not be such a brilliant idea. Also, now more than ever it is important to wear a helmet! Always protect your head.
On the practical side of things, it is useful to deflate your tires somewhat for winter biking. As the temperatures decrease the lower air density may do it for you, so just don’t pump them up too much. Putting copious amounts of oil (NOT WD40!) in your bike lock will make sure you can rely on your bike no matter the temperature. Be sure to give your bike a little more TLC than in the summer – salty roads and freezing temperatures are no picnic!
As far as clothing, warm gloves or mittens are a must, with an emphasis on mitts that can protect your hands from wind chill – after all, you won’t be sticking your hands in coat pockets as you maneuver around snow piles. Layers of clothing including a wind breaker and scarf to cover your ears and face while still fitting under your helmet are also a requirement.
Now that I have imparted my winter biking wisdom I hope you all have a fantastic end of term and a bearable exam period. Happy holidays! All said I have really enjoyed this term and hopefully you have also enjoyed our publication, learned some things, and had a few laughs!
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