My responsibilities as co-chair of CUSEC 2009 have been catching up to me, and it’s time for me to get my ass in gear and focus on what’s really important: making CUSEC 2009 kick ass. We’ve had our set of hiccups along the road, and it’s a rocky/bumpy/pothole-filled road at best.

But I’m not worried. And the reason I’m not worried is because of what makes CUSEC so amazing in the first place, and that’s the quality of the presentations that we get and can bring in front of hundreds of students from across Canada. Today we released the first keynote speech video from CUSEC 2008: Tim Bray presenting “Hard Problems in Network Computing”. If you think that sounds dry, then you’ve obviously never seen a CUSEC presentation before.

This is fascinating stuff. Enjoy it, share it, and spread it around! :)

Tim Bray - Hard Problems in Network Computing from CUSEC on Vimeo.

1. Ottawa is Pretty. There’s no doubt that Ottawa is a gorgeous town. There’s a lot of contrast between old and new buildings, and gorgeous sights like the Chateau Laurier and Parliament Hill. The Rideau Canal runs through the city, and walking across the bridges connected the two halves of downtown makes for some nice views. The Rideau Locks, which connect the canal to the Ottawa/Outaouais River are also pretty impressive. The best part is that if I happen to be out for a night on the town in the Byward Market I can look forward to a very pleasant walk home!

2. Pubs. Ottawa is a pub town. You won’t really understand what this means until you see it for yourself, but there are a lot of pubs in Ottawa. I’d say that Ottawa has pubs the way Montreal has strip clubs. It never ends! There’s no shortage of places to go for a pint, and lots of these pubs are really nice. Pub food in Ottawa is likewise leaps and bounds ahead of Montreal. As far as Ottawa goes, pubs seem to be the center of everyone’s lives. Families go to the pub for breakfast, business people are always in the pubs for lunch, and everyone hits the pubs for dinner. There are easily more pubs than actual restaurants, at least in the downtown area, so why bother going to a “real” restaurant?

3. My Apartment. Even though I live alone, my apartment is pretty awesome. I’m on the 13^th floor (love the fact that it’s actually 13) and I have a full-sized balcony facing downtown, overlooking the city. Looking out my window I can even tell time by ball atop World Exchange Plaza. It’s more than spacious enough for a bachelor, though I need to learn to cook … and I suppose clean more regularly. :S My apartment is right smack in the middle of Centretown, which means that I’m about a 15-minute walk to the Clocktower (Ottawa’s only brewpub) in one direction, and the Byward Market in the other direction. And there’s a grocery store half a block from me.

4. Toy Stores. Okay, I really just mean store. But seriously, Mrs. Tiggy Winkles is so much cooler than any similar store I’ve seen in Montreal. The closest thing that would come to mind is the second floor of Urban Outfitters on Ste-Catherine, but minus the clothes. This place (and its sister store, Lost Marbles) is full of trinkets, geek toys, and various other little gems — like a hammer/bottle-opener. It’s a good place to pick up a silly gift for someone.

5. The LCBO. Everyone knows that the selection of liquors available at the LCBO easily trumps that of the SAQ. Not only that, but stuff is usually significantly cheaper and you get air miles.

Your graduation, leaving for Ottawa, seem an opportune time
To finally be the recipient of a personalized rhyme
Your accomplishments and achievements over the past several years
Your induction to the group of software engineers
Your myriad friendships and the respect of your peers
The number of friends with whom you drink beers
All speak to your successes in various spheres
And to how you’ve grown and evolved over the years

And although it was often a challenge parenting you
Your positive attributes always shone through
From your earliest years you always displayed
A curiosity for learning that left others dismayed
Reading fluently from encyclopaedias at the tender age of four
Playing games like Quarcetti and enjoying a classical music score
Were just some eccentricities that set you apart
But that won you a special place in my heart
Being so cerebral, not a jock like your peers
Made growing up somewhat difficult in your formative years
Your intellect and social skills were just not yet in sync
Your ability to problem solve, analyze, think
Were light years ahead of the average norm
So it took a few years for a coherent self to form

But now you’re so popular, sociable, fun
Innumerable friendships you’ve easily won
You’re smart, independent and you still love to learn
The respect of peers and professors you easily earn
So know that I’m proud of all you’ve achieved
And in your potential I’ve always believed

Though I know you’re ambivalent as you prepare to leave
And for bars, friends and festivals you surely will grieve
In time, you’ll adjust; new adventures you’ll find
And for sure you will visit all of us left behind

Please e-mail or phone, as you must stay in touch
‘Cause you know as your mom I will miss you so much

Isn’t that awesome? I don’t remember what Quarcetti is, and I couldn’t find anything familiar on Google. But it is true that for my eighth birthday, when asked what kind of music I want, I asked for classical music and received a boxed set of Mozart cassette tapes. Back then I used to listen to classical music while building my lego sets. I was one of the kids that followed the instructions to the letter, never wavering, each time I got a new set. Only once the set was built and subsequently deconstructed would I allow myself to be creative and build things from all kinds of parts.

I’m really going to miss this place, and all of you.

Ingredients

• 1 15.5oz. jar of salsa (pretty much any salsa will do, I used a jar of Tostito’s Medium)
• 1 19oz. can of black beans
• 1 bar of cheese, any kind you like. I used a 540g bar of Medium Cheddar because that’s what they had at the grocery store.

Steps

1. Rinse the beans in a strainer or colander
2. Dump the rinsed beans into a baking dish (I used an 8″ square baking dish)
3. Open the jar of salsa and dump it on top of the beans
4. Mix everything up with a spatula or spoon so that the beans are spread relatively evenly throughout the salsa
5. Grate the block of cheese with a cheese grater (or avoid the whole step by buying grated cheese)
6. Spread the grated cheese evenly over the baking dish
7. Shove into the oven at 350° for 15 minutes.
8. If the cheese isn’t melty enough after 15 minutes, let it stay in there a bit longer.
9. Remove the baking dish and let it cool. It turns out it was still way to hot after 5 minutes so we let it cool for closer to 10 minutes.
10. Serve with tortilla chips!! Yum!!

This stuff was so popular it never even made it entirely around the room. It’s delicious and super-easy to make.