jhuacm *

Meeting: OMG BBQ!
2008-03-26

Esteemed colleagues,

This week, we cordially invite you to our informal dinner at the esteemed AMR Barbecue Pit. Light snacks, tea, and crumpets will be provided, in addition to our main course, a delightfully quaint offering of beef and vegetarian patties. In addition, we will offer sausages of varying parentage and content, which I'm told are referred to in the vernacular as "Hot Dogs".

RSVP is not necessary. Come as you are.

5 PM, at the Barbecue Pit.
Join us, won't you?


Barbecue Pit, 5:00 PM, Thursday March 27th, 2008

Contact: Rich

More Info

Meeting: Real ID: The Real Deal
2008-02-28

Big brother is watching you. Or at least he's trying to. The Real ID Act of 2005 is helping the government slowly encroach on your privacy, costing billions in tax money, and allowing the government to track your every move.

This week, the JHU ACM has teamed up with the Johns Hopkins ACLU to bring experts from the national ACLU's Technology and Liberty Program on the controversy surrounding the Real ID. The Act will turn our state driver's licenses into a de facto national identity card. Find out what a national ID system would mean for you and your rights, how it would affect identity theft and privacy rights; and the discrimination it would mean for immigrants, the poor, and minorities.

Free pizza, soda, snacks, and t-shirts for the first 25 people to arrive! Note the late meeting time this week!

Shaffer 3, 7:30 PM, Thursday February 28, 2008

Contact: Matt

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Meeting: Hack-a-thon
2008-02-21

Ok, so I'm sure everyone, like myself, has outstanding projects, assignments, and miscellanea that needs some tender love and care. Personally, I need to finish a few websites, write an allocator, better learn some Perl, and take a nap. Luckily, this Thursday, the ACM is having a hack-a-thon. We'll be staying as long as we can, coding and eating all night long. If you want to learn a language, work on that pet project you've been keeping under your pillow, or recruit some people to help you code your awesome open source project, this is the place to do it.

Bloomberg R&D has graciously provided us with Pizza, soda, snacks, shirts, and some other goodies all for the taking. All you have to do is show up and stick around for a while, maybe code something up. The party goes on as long as you want it to, so come! Eat! Be merry!

(Meeting sponsored by Bloomberg R&D)

Shaffer 304, 5:00 PM, Thursday February 21

Contact: Matt

 

Meeting: A Very ACM Valentines Day
2008-02-13

Guess what?! The ACM got asked out! We're going to be <3 HopSFA's <3 valentine, and accompany them on a fantastic date to play laser tag. For those of you who don't know, HopSFA is the Johns Hopkins Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. They're an older guy, but its cool. The ACM likes to date up. Anyway, we'll be providing transportation, but games are $5.50 a piece (figure on 2 - 3), so bring your wallet (or a friend with a wallet). We'll be meeting by Levering Hall tomorrow (Thursday) at 5pm (five pee emm).

For more info about the venue, check here, and if you want to transport yourself, go right ahead and meet us there. For more info, questions, or concerns, call the date's chaperon, Rich Ercolani. His email is rercola@acm.jhu.edu, and he's a very responsible chaperon.

So again, thats tomorrow! At 5pm! Outside levering! For a laser-ful valentine <3

LESS THAN THREE LESS THAN THREE LESS THAN THREE

Contact: Rich!

More Info

Meeting: Emacs and Vim!
2008-02-07

This week, Arthur and myself will be presenting the wonderful world of Emacs. What is Emacs, you ask? Emacs is an extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor. Basically, its like vim, but good.

We'll be talking about the history of emacsen as well as how to get (all) things done in our favorite editor. We're going to cover topics from emacs-lisp to customization to how to live your life without ever leaving the editor. Send emails! Browse the web! Compile your homework! Play tetris! All from one place!

Also: Cookies, cereal and milk.

Shaffer 304, 5:00 PM, Thursday February 7th, 2008

Contact: Matt and Arthur

 

Meeting: Great Scott! '08
2008-01-31

This week will be the first ACM meeting of the semester, and we're hosting Dr. Scott Smith, current chair of the CS department.

This is your chance to hear about the new things going on with the department and what we can expect down the road. Moreover, this is your chance to ask questions and pick the Good Doctor's brain.

Ask about the department, Coke vs. Pepsi, Little endian vs. Big endian, or American vs. British office. Ask about his pizza-making hobby. Anything!

Free cookies. Free milk. Free Dr. Scott.

Join us! This Thursday, January 31st.

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday January 31st

Contact: Matt

 

Meeting: ACM Movie Night
2007-12-06

A man and his robots, trapped on a satellite, forced to watch horrible sci-fi home movies. Any lesser group of adventurers would succumb to the pressure, but Joel Robinson has come out on top, bringing witty commentary and hilarious B-movie sci-fi to the masses!

By popular demand, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is making a come back! Don't worry, it won't be the same movie. We've got a wide selection of possibilities, from the classic "The Magic Voyage of Sinbad" to the epic "Swamp Diamonds". It'll be a surprise as to which comic adventure we choose, but I promise you this: you'll be rolling on the floor.

Come see Joel, Crow T. Robot, and Tom Servo serve up some incredible sci-fi commentary on one of the greatest b-movies ever created!

And of course, an ACM Movie Night is just not complete without food, so we'll be providing plenty of it. Pizza, cookies, soda, and who knows what else.

(note that this weeks meeting starts at 5:30!)

Shaffer 3, 5:30 PM, Thursday 12/5/07

Contact: Matt

 

Meeting: Video games for all!
2007-11-29

So this week, we had originally planned to have our semester "this is what you should take" meeting. Since we got all excited with our other meetings, we've apparently missed the whole registration deadline thing. In that light, we'll be having question and answer time, with a twist.

This week's meeting has instead become OpenArena/Tremulous super-fun-party-time. For anyone who hasn't discovered these gems yet, Open Arena and Tremulous are both free open source games based off of the GPL's Quake 3 engine. They're lots of fun, and they're totally free. This week, if you bring your laptop, we'll a) help you install Open Arena and Tremulous and b) Play video games with you. Come enjoy the free fun! If we're lucky, maybe a professor or two will drop in to play a few rounds.

In addition, we'll also be voting on a movie for our end of the semester movie night, so make sure you come with some suggestions!


Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday November 29th

Contact: Matt

More Info

Meeting: Dr. Peter Fr&ouml;hlich on LaTeX
2007-11-14

This week, Peter Fr&ouml;hlich will be giving an introduction to the LaTeX typesetting engine/language. LaTeX is a typesetting engine that's widely used in computer science, math, and engineering to make beautiful documents automatically. With LaTeX, typesetting math, articles, resumes, and screenplays is as easy as typing text. He will also be talking a bit about the python graphics package, PyX. PyX lets you create gorgeous charts and graphs in Python, and it integrates seamlessly with LaTex.

Watch text files be rendered into PDFs! Embed comments in your documents! Make pretty charts!

As always, free cookies and milk! />
Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday November 14, 2007

Contact: Matt

 

Meeting: Natural Language Processing at Google
2007-11-08

Come join Google engineers and Hopkins graduates Jay Crim ('03) and Constantinos Michael ('06) as they discuss how the availability of more data online (and the computing power to process this data) has changed the field of NLP, and ultimately the way we interact with the world. They will also share what it's like to work at Google and describe opportunities available for students.

Pizza will be served before the event.

Krieger 205, 5:00 PM, Thursday 11-08-2007

Contact: Matt

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Meeting: Locks and Lockpicking
2007-11-01

If you've ever been curious as to how locks work and how to pick them, come to tomorrow's meeting.
Brandon Wilson will be giving a presentation on all things locks: how they work, where they come from, and how to make them do what you want. We'll be going over the mechanisms involved, and everything from bump keys to shims.
As always, 5pm in Shaffer 303. Milk and cookies will be served with the presentation.

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday November 1st 2007

Contact: Matt

 

Meeting: NVIDIA is coming!
2007-10-25

This Thursday, October 25th, Dr. John M. Danskin will be giving a presentation on NVIDIA's latest graphics chip, the GeForce 8800. Come learn about the design and architecture of one of the most powerful processors on the planet. There will be pizza and lots of pretty pictures.
NVIDIA is also interested in hiring interns and full time employees. Send an email to jdanskin@nvidia.com or just sign up at the meeting for an interview. Remember: free pizza!
Maryland 110, 5:00 PM, Thursday October 25, 2007

Contact: Arthur

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Meeting: WHIRLY DISCU
2007-10-18


This week, our esteemed Lab Admin Rich will be presenting a frisbee.

I know that doesn't sound all fancy and technical-like, but I assure you, frisbees are dangerous and should only be used by trained nerds. We shall persevere, however, and engage in a vigorous game of frisbee on the lower quad, eschewing all worries of personal harm.
This Thursday (tomorrow) will be the ACM's annual fall frisbee game on the lower quad. It will be the best game of nerd-frisbee ever, and I'll be bringing Milk and Cookies to make it even better. Show up!
Get some exercise while it's still nice out!


Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday, October 18th, 2007

Contact: Ziegs

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Meeting: JHUISI Tour + Talk + Food
2007-10-11


This Thursday, October 11th, the ACM meeting is being hosted by JHU Information Security Institute. Thats JHUISI (pronounced Juicy). If you've ever been curious about what they're up to over there, or are interested in going into security or informatics, this week's meeting will be packed with great security-related fun. From their website:
"The Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute (ISI) is the University's focal point for research and education in information security, assurance and privacy. Securing cyberspace and our national information infrastructure is more critical now than ever before, and it can be achieved only when the core technology, legal and policy issues are adequately addressed. ISI is committed to a comprehensive approach that includes input from academia, industry and government. The University, through ISI's leadership, has thus been designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance by the National Security Agency and leading experts in the field. Through our broad range of educational opportunities including a ground-breaking graduate program and leading edge research in foundational science and applied technologies, ISI is having a significant impact in the region and nationwide. Our research in networking, wireless, systems evaluation, medical privacy and electronic voting, among other areas is widely circulated among academics and policy-makers. Moreover, ISI is instrumental in homeland security efforts across Hopkins, including emergency health preparedness, bio-terrorism and national defense."
Dr. Gerald Masson, the Director of JHUISI, will be giving a talk on the neat things they're researching over in Wyman, and will lead a tour through their labs. If you ever want a chance to see some really cool gadgets and security research, this is your chance.
Please note that this week's meeting will NOT be in the normal Shaffer meeting place, but instead will be in the Wyman Park Conference Room (Wyman 421).
Wyman Park Conference Room (Wyman 421), 5:00 PM, Thursday 10-11-2007

Contact: Matt

More Info

Meeting: Microsoft is coming to town
2007-10-04


Hey All,
This Thursday, October 4th, Microsoft is coming to pay us a visit. JHU Alumni and current Microsoft-ers will be here, and they'll be talking about what Microsoft is really like, and why Halo 3 is awesome.
They're bringing lots of food, and they'll be raffling off a Zune, Halo 3, and some other goodies. Come to check out what they've got, and to play Halo 3 on a really huge screen.
This Thursday, October 4th at 5PM in Krieger 205.
See you there!
--Matt

Krieger 205, 5:00 PM, Thursday 10/4/2007

Contact: Matt

More Info

Programming contest 2007
2007-09-25

Win a Nintendo Wii! Eat free food! Test your programming skills, and represent JHU at the Regional ACM programming contest!
We are holding our annual programming contest where we will present each contestant with 6 programming problems. After two hours, the student with the most problems solved wins.
The first-place prize is a Wii. The top six contestants represent JHU as two three-person teams in the regional programming contest. In the past, JHU teams have gone as far as the Finals of the International ACM Programming Competition! Everyone in our local contest gets free pizza, and some other snacks as well. The first bunch to register/arrive will also be awarded some swag for, well, being first.
When: 1 PM - 4 PM, Saturday, September 29, 2007
Where: New Engineering Building room 227 (CS UGrad lab)
Register: Email contest at acm.jhu.edu with your full name, major (non-CS Majors welcome!), and class standing (grad students welcome!). Walk in registrations on Saturday are welcome too, but if you register early you might get some presents!
Prizes are sponsored by Bloomberg R&D
NEB 227, 1:00 PM, Saturday 9/29/07

Contact: Matt

More Info

Meeting: 0xDEADBEEF (BBQ GrillFest!)
2007-09-20

/ JHU ACM Presents: | 0xDEADBEEF | | Thursday, September 20th @ 5PM in the | AMR I Barbecue Pit / ------------------------------------------------------------- ^__^ (oo)_______ (__) )/ ||----w | This week is our introductory BBQ, so everyone, come out and enjoy some grilled flesh and fun. 5PM, AMR I BBQ Pit. Be there!

AMR I BBQ Pit, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2007-09-20

Contact: Matt

 

Meeting: Free Software Installfest 2007
2007-09-13

We're having our annual Free installfest for our first meeting of the new year this Thursday, September 13th. We'll install anything Free that you can imagine - Firefox, Debian, GNU, Ubuntu, OpenOffice, Abiword, VLC, Adium, Nexenta, you name it, we got it. Guaranteed! If you're lucky, you can even convince Rich to install Gentoo for you.
If you bring your computer to get some free software installed, we'll let you eat our pizza. Desktops or laptops are welcome, and if you ask for iPodLinux or Rockbox we'll give you extra pizza. We have lots of power outlets, network cables, keyboards, mice, and monitors, so all you need is your machine.
This meeting will also serve as a general ask-questionfest as well, so if you're curious about anything (anything!), stop by and ask. If you have a question about using our lab machines, learning how to run your own SOCKS proxy, or make quiche, someone at the meeting will be able to answer. We're a talented bunch. As always, remember to email ACM@ with any questions you have in addition!
And one more time to emphasize it, FREE PIZZA if you bring your computer. Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2006-09-21

Contact: Matt Ziegelbaum

 

Meeting: Movie Night: Mystery Science Theater 3000
2007-04-23

A man and his robots, trapped on a satellite, forced to watch horrible sci-fi home movies. Any lesser group of adventurers would succumb to the pressure, but Joel Robinson has come out on top, bringing witty commentary and hilarious B-movie sci-fi to the masses!

This week, we challenge you to outdo the masters - we'll be showing the cult classic, Mystery Science Theatre 3000. See Joel Robinson and his robotic assistants make fun of a classic sci-fi movie and bicker with each other about cleaning up the Satellite of Love. The only thing that can make this better is delicious snacks: pizza, cookies, and who knows what else.

Shaffer 3, 5:00 PM, this Thursday April 26. Be there, or the movie won't be the only thing we're mocking.

Contact: Matt Ziegelbaum

 

Voting: Results!
2007-04-20

For those of you who didn't show up today, we voted (and had a barbecue!), and so thusly we have a new board.

The officers for next year are as follows:

Chair - Me (Matt Ziegelbaum)
Vice-Chair - August Sodora
Lab Admin - Rich Ercolani
Treasurer - Parker (Harrison) Shelton
Secretary - Arthur Danskin

We appreciate your votes/not running against us :-)

PS: The movie next week is the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 film.

Contact: Matt Z

 

Meeting: OMG ELECTIONS BBQ
2007-04-18

This week, we've already had a terrific meeting on the dangers of DAS KEYBOARDEN (and how you can protect yourself), but tomorrow brings our most important meeting of the semester - BARBECUE!

That's right, 0xDEADBEEF, our semi-regular barbecue event, will be going on right outside of Shaffer, on the Lower Quad, at 5 PM. Hot dogs, hamburgers, and whatever else anyone wants to bring for cooking will be served. It's free, but members-only, so SSSH. :-)

We're also holding ELECTIONS for next year's officers at this meeting, so if you want to be elected, and you're a member, don't forget to come! Also, you can be nominated and elected without being there, so if you want to make sure you're not elected, don't forget to come!

Finally, we'll have our vote for next week's MOVIE NIGHT at this meeting, once we've gotten all the unimportant things (like officers) out of the way. If you don't want to see Clerks II, come by and vote!

MMM, BEEF...

Lower Quad, 5:00 PM, Thursday April 19th, 2007

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: How to win the battle against the keyboard!
2007-04-17

You're all going to be typing for the rest of your natural life. Typing hurts.
Physical therapist Cindy Perlman is coming to talk about what you can do.
There will be stuff like:


There is always a possibility of free food.

Shaffer 301, 5:30 PM, Tuesday 2007-04-17

Contact: Albert Lee

 

Meeting: A Day in the Life of a Google Engineer
2007-04-12

Ever wondered what happens all day at Google?
In this talk, Jay Crim, a software engineer at Google's New York engineering office and JHU grad ('03), will share his experiences working on "Labrat", a project currently under development that aims to create a framework for testing new user interfaces against live traffic on google.com. Jay will explain some of the interesting challenges that arise when trying to safely test and deploy new features on a service as widely used as Google, andhow enginers at Google tackle these on a day-to-day basis. JHU grad ('06) and Google NY software engineer Constantinos Michael will also be on hand to answer questions.
Pizza will be served before the talk.

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday April 12, 2007

Contact: Matthew Ziegelbaum

More Info

Meeting: Joe Bates' Supercomputers
2007-04-05

This week we have a special meeting: an Adjunct Research Scientist with a long history both at Hopkins and in computer science is giving a talk about an exciting project. He has raised money to explore an idea to build chips of a radically new design, and is looking for students at JHU to work with (for pay) to work on programming them. He writes:

"I'm exploring a maybe crazy idea. I suspect a range of important computations could run 1K-10K times faster than they do now, using existing silicon fab technology to make chips of a new design. They ultimately could cost $1000. They would be programmable (though odd). They could be built now. Having one in a laptop would be like having a machine from 2030, or having a personal Blue Gene, at least for some important applications."

Joseph Bates entered JHU as a psychology experiment that led to the formation of CTY, the Center for Talented Youth. He was a visiting scientist at the MIT AI Lab before spending 10 years as a CS professor at Carnegie Mellon. He worked for 8 years on a CMU spinoff company, and is now pursuing this maybe crazy idea.

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2007-04-05

Contact: Asheesh Laroia

 

Meeting: Class discussion
2007-03-29

In honor of your impending course selection deadlines, we're going to have one of our famous class discussion meetings!

ACM members have a lot of experience with computer science courses, and we're of course well-equipped to answer questions (*) about those. We'll be even better-equipped if you come.

And together we've been through French literature, history of science, math, physics, biology, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, and many other departments' courses.

This will be one of our more informal meetings. We'll have free food to nibble on, as usual. (-:

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2007-03-29

*. (and provide quips)

Contact: Asheesh

 

Meeting: Wii Want You
2007-03-21

The ACM has swum the icey depths of space, crawled through the tunnels underneath Mordor, and taken a helicopter to the highest peaks of Olympus Mons, but it was worth it.

We struck Wii.

One of our members, Venkatesh, has spent long, grueling hours training himself in the art of Wii-fu. Once we found him, and treated him for severe wrist RSI, he offered to teach us what he had learned.

Join us this week, as we gather round the blue glow and plumb the depths of the Wii Remote.

Shaffer 303, 5 PM, Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
Cookies and milk will be provided.

I've got a fever.
And the only cure.
Is more WII!

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: Promit Roy discusses Java and .NET optimization
2007-03-08

Programming in Java and .NET is easier, safer, and more productive. That doesn't mean it has to be slower. Learn what actually makes programs written in these higher level environments run slowly, and how to make them faster. Get ready to fire up the afterburners.

This Thursday, March 8th, Promit will be giving a follow up to his previous awesome meeting on speeding up C/C++, but this time in Java and .NET. Plus cookies and milk!

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2007-03-08

Contact: Asheesh

 

Meeting: Subverting the Masses
2007-02-28

When you want to snapshot your work, compare it against future or past versions, you need a revision control system. Subversion is the most popular tool in the Free Software world for tracking revisions, and I use it to manage gigabytes of my (and others'...) personal information, as well as software code.

With it, I can make *sure* that the work I'm doing on a project (or homework) is never wasted: if the work I'm doing makes things worse, I "svn revert", and if they make things better, I "svn commit"! No more "hw1-this-one-has-working-file-output" and "hw1-less-broken-networking" directories....

I'll cover:

Come by, and learn how I use "svn", and then flame me to a crisp for not using an ubermodern revision control system like Mercurial or Bazaar-NG!

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday March 1st, 2007

Contact: Asheesh

 

Meeting: Twirl! Twirl! Twirl!
2007-02-22

Fun for all at this week's ACM meeting, where we demonstrate the value of getting out a little more...a little, at least.

Come join us on the lower quad this Thursday, February 22nd, at 5 PM, where we'll be playing several large rounds of frisbee. We're planning on playing some Ultimate Frisbee, but if there's sufficient resistance, we'll just throw some circular things around for awhile and then go home. :)

Those who come and play get free pizza.

Bring your swim trunks; this could get messy.


PS: If the lower quad turns out to be a pond at that time, we'll meet in Shaffer 303 and surprise you with some other form of entertainment.


Lower Quad, 5:00 PM, Thursday February 22nd, 2007

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: {Meeting Topic}
2007-02-20

For those of you who've been paying attention, we brought mirrors.acm.jhu.edu back online within much less than two hours from the previous note. The data from /scratch is being copied, but it should be back shortly if it's not already.

Contact: Asheesh

More Info

Mirrors and scratch are down
2007-02-18

We're working on getting them back up. It'll take us a while (ca. 2 hours), as the root disk failed. Sorry about the inconvenience....

Contact:

 

Meeting: CS: BigHugeGames!
2007-02-14

This week, the ACM and the Department of Computer Science are hosting Big Huge Games, developers of "Rise of Nations", "Rise of Legends", and probably anything else with Sid Meier's name on it.

They make some seriously cool games, and they're hiring, so come down and check them out.

Also: FREE PIZZA!

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday, February 15th, 2007

Contact: Ziegs

 

Meeting: Pimp Your Code, Part 1
2007-02-05

We've all slaved for hours getting our code to work correctly. But sometimes, correct just isn't good enough.
It's time to learn how to make correct code run fast. Optimization isn't easy, but knowing what to do can lead to a big pay-off (whether that's money, a lower system requirement, or just feeling smug about it). If you need to fit a turbocharger into your C and C++ programs, this is the place to be.

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday, February 8th, 2007

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: Great Scott!
2007-01-31

This week, the ACM is hosting a discussion with the current CS chair, Dr. Scott Smith.

Listen as he talks about the new, exciting directions the CS department is going, and what the roadblocks are.

Ask him about the secret history of the CS department, what kind of cookie he likes best, or anything else!

Watch as he denies developing Weapons of Mass Instruction.

Take some of the free cookies and milk...if you dare.

Go this Thursday, 5 PM, Shaffer 303, and help us pick the good doctor's brain.


Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday, February 1st, 2007

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: Raiders of the Lost RFID
2007-01-23

This week on Lost Treasures of Johns-Hopkins, we'll be investigating the much-feared Adaptive RFID.

Hidden for millions of years beneath the surface of the Earth, this once-mythical group has begun to surface in unexpected locations, deploying mysterious DoD-compliant RFID networks which scale to frightening levels.

Join us at 5 PM on Thursday, in Shaffer 303, where we will have an actual member of this shadowy organization there to explain their actions, and to enjoin you to join them.

Recently-unearthed free pizza and drinks will be provided for your convenience.

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday, January 25th, 2007

Contact: Rich

More Info

Systems: Mirrors upgrade
2007-01-17

Mirrors has received a minor overhaul in the past week or so.
We now mirror the Blastwave package repository, as well as a few other minor things.
There have also been a lot of changes under the hood - like the entire userland.

Anyway, go check it out, and remember - if there's anything you'd like us to mirror, just email us with a request, and it'll probably happen. :)

Contact: Rich

More Info

Aaand we're back
2007-01-08

Normal mirrors functionality has been restored.
Have a nice day. :)

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: Bad Taste
2006-12-07

This week, join us in the oral arena for a fight to end all fights. In one corner, our movie of the semester, Bad Taste - a...classic film involving aliens opening a fast-food restaurant, directed by Peter Jackson; in the other corner, delicious pizza and pie taunt your tastebuds endlessly.

How will you succumb to temptation? Will you attempt to consume the delicious treats, or will you be doomed to laughing endlessly as innocent farm animals are exposed to anti-tank weaponry?

Remsen 101, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2006-12-07

Contact: Rich Ercolani

More Info

Systems: Guu is down
2006-12-07

Guu is down right now.
This means FC.org, blogs, wiki, and a few other things are down right now.

We're working on resolving it even as I type.

Contact: Asheesh

 

Meeting: Pandora
2006-11-15

Tim Westergren, Founder of Pandora, is coming to the JHU campus. This is his chance to share with you the Pandora story - where the Music Genome Project came from, how the company got started (seven years ago), how they survived the dotcom collapse and what this last whirlwind year has been like as they approach 4 million listeners.

Most of all, Tim would love to get your ideas and thoughts about Pandora and where you think radio and digital music are headed.

Oh, also, free pizza!

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2006-11-16

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: Course Selection
2006-11-09

Need one more class to meet your 21-credit minimum? Want to know if that AMS course next semester is worth your time?

This week, the ACM is hosting an open discussion on which courses are worthwhile. We discuss why you should take Automata even though you don't think you want to, why you shouldn't take [CENSORED]...and the hidden cache of candy given out every day in certain courses! (Alternatively, discuss classes generally. But one does have lots of candy.)

See: True Confessions of CS Students (Hint: even more sordid than watching Centaur Goes Down XIX.)
See: Spot Run
See: Free Milk and Cookies!


Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday November 9th, 2006

Contact: Rich

 

Centaur is fixed
2006-11-05

Centaur had problems earlier today, and we had to reboot it.

We think it's fixed now. If you encounter any issues, email admins@acm.jhu.edu about them.

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: David Recordon and OpenID
2006-11-02

Tired of remembering your login for every site you visit?
David Recordon can help. OpenID makes this problem history. It's a "distributed digital identity system", which lets you use your identity from any site - anywhere else.

Ever thought airline security was appallingly bad?
David Recordon totally agrees, and he'll show you why.

Want tips on writing a really scalable web site, or managing a large open-source project?
David Recordon can explain the ins and outs.

Who the heck is this David Recordon guy?
(David Recordon is a co-author of OpenID and former staff of LiveJournal. He currently works for VeriSign in their Advanced Products & Research group.)

Come to this week's ACM meeting, where you'll learn all this and more!
Don't miss out on "hacking the airlines"!

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2006-11-02

Contact: Albert Lee

More Info

Meeting: Ruby on Rails
2006-10-26

Tired of writing your own SQL or RSS generating code?
Annoyed at having missed that ONE input validation?

Rails does it all for you, and it looks damn good doing it.

This Thursday, come see Praem talk about Rails while he writes a site in front of you.

Also, free pie!

Thursday, 5 PM, Shaffer 303.

Be there, or no pie for you!


Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2006-10-26

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: Contest info
2006-10-19

Notice: For signup, please see here

This week's ACM meeting will be a nice, quiet content-filled Q&A about our programming contest next Saturday (October 21st). We'll be answering your questions and giving away cake and pie to all who attend in time.

First prize for the contest is an iPod, and the top six will represent us in two three-person teams in the regional ACM programming contest! Plus, everyone in our local contest receives a free t-shirt and free pizza!

Free pie, free cake, free questions...there's only one place to be Thursday.

Shaffer 303
5 PM

See you at the pie!


Contact: Rich

More Info

Meeting: Google!
2006-10-12

Ever since discovering an effective way to find good web search results and discovering how to attract advertisers, Google has had piles of money; that money has variously turned into YouTube, Google Maps, GMail, funding for the Firefox web browser, and the schwag you will surely receive by just listening to them talk. Tomorrow (Thursday 10/12) they will give a tech talk as an ACM meeting; all Google fans and foes are invited!

Where: Maryland 110
When: 5 PM
Free: Pizza, t-shirts, schwag...
Why: You'd love to hear Google talk. Plus you want to come to ACM meetings!


They'll surely tell us about the jobs and internships they offer. Come out tomorrow to learn about their latest projects and plans! Free pizza and one of the world's most famous software companies.

Maryland 110, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2006-10-12

Contact: Asheesh Laroia

 

Meeting: Asterisk/VoIP/SIP
2006-10-05

This week, M. Scott Doerrie will be talking about his experiences with Asterisk and all of the various things you can do with it. They range from the mundane (managing phone calls from your computer) to the useful (getting paid for every long distance call made to you) to the bewildering (reading a randomly generated paper to you).

He'll tell you why you should care about this alternative to more mundane methods of calling people, show you how to use it, and take any weird questions you may have about whatever horrible ideas are already forming in your minds for this technology.

All this and more awaits you this Thursday, at 5 PM in Shaffer 303!

Be there, or be a rectangular prism attempting to be forced into a cylindrical void!

Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday, October 5th

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: Microsoft is coming...to town!
2006-09-27

They're making a list
Checking it twice
Gonna find out who's an open-source loving evil communist mongrel
Microsoft is coming to town...

This Thursday, join us in Maryland 110 for a presentation by everybody's favorite legal monopoly, Microsoft!

We'll have former JHUers discussing their real* experiences at Microsoft, while giving away cool swag and previewing random things that may or may not be tomorrow's breakthough technologies!

Also, if you bring your resume, you can enter a raffle to win free software!

Free food, free software, and Microsoft - what more could you ask for?
* - reality not guaranteed


Maryland 110, 5:00 PM, Thursday, September 28th

Contact: Rich

More Info

Meeting: Free Software Installfest
2006-09-21

We're having a Free installfest as our meeting this Thursday. We'll install any Free programs you can think of - Firefox, Debian GNU/HURD, OpenOffice, Abiword, OpenSolaris, Ubuntu Linux, VLC, FFDShow, Stepmania, OpenBSD, Nexenta GUN/Solaris, Thunderbird - anything else you can think of (maybe one of us will even venture into the Dark Netherrealms and return with a Gentoo install CD...)

If you bring your machine by, and try some software, you get some Free pizza.

Tired of iTunes not allowing you to put songs on your Creative player? We'll have something to say about that. Want help converting your movies to play on your iPod? We can teach you to do that.

As usual, competent (and other) ACM members often are willing to field more general questions, e.g. "I have Data Structures with Peter Froehlich and I don't know how to compile programs on ugrad machines!" We'll probably focus first on people who need help installing software first.

We'll have a limited number of screens, network cables, keyboards, and mice, so you can just bring your computer.

Shaffer 300, 5:00 PM, Thursday 2006-09-21

Contact: Rich Ercolani

 

Meeting: Intro to ACM
2006-09-14

We're having an introduction to the ACM and our myriad members, and you're all invited for free pizza and interesting conversations!

Want to find out if the ACM will host your insane project? Come find out!


Shaffer 303, 5:00 PM, Thursday, September 14th, 2006

Contact: Rich

More Info

Movie Night: Clerks
2006-05-04

Two clerks.
One movie.
Free pizza.

According to IMDB: "A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof."

Come see the classic film which launched Kevin Smith's career!


Shaffer 3, 5:30 PM, Thursday 2006-05-04

Contact: Rich

More Info

Meeting: Distributed Wireless
2006-04-27

Wireless networking - pervasive, useful, but limited.
You need a nearby AP to use it, and while you're in a car, those are often hard to come by.

What if you had an AP in your vehicle, that would connect to a large network scattered around the region, granting you wireless access anywhere the vehicle could go?

Join us on Thursday, when Herbert Rubens tells us about the wave relay network his group has deployed around campus to track the campus vans and find out how they push the limits of the 802.11 protocol.


Shaffer 300, 5:30 PM, Thursday 2006-04-27

Contact: Rich

More Info

Election/Movie Results
2006-04-20

The election results are as follows.

Congratulations to all.

...and heaven help us.

On a brighter note, the movie chosen for the first May meeting was Clerks.

Contact: Rich

 

Meeting: Debuggers
2006-04-13

Promit Roy presents debugging: "Your code doesn't work, and you need to find out why not. You could stare at it until your eyes bleed, and if you're lucky you'll notice that somewhere in that five hundred line algorithm you forgot to increment a counter. Fortunately there's a better way. Learn how to use common debugging software to efficiently and effectively fix misbehaving code, and forget those long nights wondering just how on earth you're supposed to fix a "Segmentation Fault" somewhere in your project."

Cookies and milk! Arcane commands!

Shaffer 300, 5:30 PM, Thursday 2006-04-13

Contact:

 

Meeting: CS - it R0x Your B0x3n.
2006-04-06

Come see our own Dr. Scott Smith give a talk in the department, special research, opportunities, and anything else you want to ask him.
Then stick around as we discuss why you *should* take Automata even though you don't think you want to, why you shouldn't take...well, I'm not going to reveal those secrets here...and the hidden cache of candy given out every day in certain courses! (Alternatively, discuss classes generally. But one does have lots of candy.)
See: Dr. Scott See: True Confessions of CS Majors (Hint: even more sordid than watching Centaur Goes Down XV.) See(and perhaps even eat): Free Milk and Cookies

Shaffer 300, 5:30 PM, Thursday 2006-04-06

Contact: droo

 

Meeting: "Pretty Good Privacy" (PGP) and Keysigning Party!
2006-03-30

Praem Phulwani, recovered anarchist and long-time privacy aficionado, will explain how to use "PGP" technology to secure your email and other communications. You'll learn:



Bring your laptops and your PGP keys if you have them, because after this we'll have a keysigning party! Having other people sign your key helps the GPG "Web of Trust" grow; key signing is the process by which others vouch that a number (your key) actually belongs to you, not some imposter.

Free pizza during the key signing party if you come to the half-hour talk :-).

Shaffer 300, 5:30 PM, Thursday 2006-03-30

Contact:

 

Movie Night: Serenity
2006-03-16

A thrilling tale of a rag-tag band of fugitives of a corrupt government!
In space!
With free pizza!

This week, we're screening the film Serenity. Based on the TV series Firefly, it's an best described as a sci-fi Western. Google is kindly providing free pizza for this showing.

We invite everyone to come and enjoy the movie and food! Tell your friends! Remember, if this is your third meeting, you'll get membership to the ACM.

Shaffer 3, 6 PM, Thursday 2006-03-16

Contact: Albert Lee

More Info

Meeting: Building computers (PCs and exotic)
2006-03-09

This week, if you don't know how to build a PC, come to the ACM meeting and we'll teach you. We'll even give away a few computers to people who come! (And they even work.)

This week, if you do know how to build computers, help us get a DNARD working. We recently inherited this historical computer by Digital (later Compaq, later HP) that has an ARM processor, S-Video out, and OpenFirmware. We'll need to use netbooting to get an OS on it; we'd love to see it running NetBSD or Linux. You don't need any experience with this stuff to come; we'll all be learning together :-).

Shaffer 300, 5:30 PM, Thursday 2006-03-09

Bonus geekery notes:

Contact:

 

Meeting: Eric Northup explains OS security (hint: it sucks and he's fixing it)
2006-03-02

Imagine an operating system where, when you run a program, you know it will do nothing malicious.

Windows is a non-starter. So is Linux and UNIX. Vista and SELinux are not good enough either.

This Thursday, Eric Northup from the Systems Research Laboratory will discuss the current state of operating system security and how object-capability security models blow those OSs' out of the water.

Shaffer 300, 5:30 PM, Thursday 2006-03-02
Free cookies & milk!

Contact:

 

Meeting: Peter Fröhlich on LaTeX
2006-02-23

JHU CS's new lecturer Peter Fröhlich will give an introduction to LaTeX. LaTeX is a typesetting engine that's widely used in computer science, math, and engineering to make beautiful documents automatically. With LaTeX, typesetting math, articles, resumes, and screenplays is as easy as typing text.

Watch text files be rendered into PDFs! Embed comments in your documents! See the heavy metal umlaut!

Free cookies & milk! Early birds will also receive ironic valentine's candy.

Shaffer 300, 5:30 PM, Thursday 2006-02-23

Contact:

 

Meeting: TopCoder Single Round Match
2006-02-16


TopCoder is coming to Hopkins! Kevin Clune, from TopCoder Employment Services, will come to speak about the TopCoder software development method, as well as host a TopCoder Single Round Match for Hopkins students.
Prizes include an iPod, $50, and a 1GB USB Key.
See you in the Arena!
NEB 225/227, Thursday 2/16

Contact: Brendan O'Connor

More Info

Meeting: Promit Roy on C# and .NET
2006-02-09

Demand for .NET programmers is higher now than for any other programming job out there. It's time to become one of them. We'll get you started learning C#, a modern, actively developed language that is now being used across the computing industry. Featuring clean interoperability with dozens of other programming languages, cross-platform support, and a rich class library, you can't go wrong.

Free cookies and milk!

Shaffer 300, 5:30 PM, Thursday Feb. 9

Contact:

 

Meeting: Shell-shocked? Get help!
2006-02-02

For this semester's first ACM meeting, we're offering free pizza and the chance to learn more about awk, grep, sed, sort, tr, uniq, cut, paste, make, and xargs! I'll throw in some bash scripting and the tactful use of screen and ssh for good measure.

Eat free pizza! Stump Asheesh with questions about obscure UNIX commands! And most importantly, if you're a rare UNIX user who's seen other people perform total magic on the command line through text filtering and process handling, come!

Why? Free pizza! Become a more powerful UNIX hack.

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday {DATE}

Contact: Asheesh Laroia

 

Movie night: War of the Worlds
2005-12-08

ACM Movie Night: War of the Worlds

Aliens! Destruction! Dakota Fanning!

Come see Hollywoods recent adaptation of the radio drama that threw our nation into a panic. Enjoy FREE PIZZA and FREE SODA while watching Tom Cruise battle invaders from outer space.

Better than any lecture, come to Maryland 110 this Thursday, December 8th at 5pm.
Maryland 110, 5 PM, Thursday 2005-12-08

Contact:

 

Meeting: National Crypto Museum field trip
2005-12-03

We didn't have a meeting on Thursday, but we're having a field trip on Saturday Dec. 3 (soon!) to the NSA's National Cryptologic Museum in the shadow of Fort Meade. For those of you who have never seen a real spy before, you obviously haven't been in NEB recently, but whether you have or not: this is an exciting opportunity. See an original German Enigma machine, real decoder rings, and a Cray supercomputer!

We'll meet up in NEB 319 at 11 am before driving out to the museum. If you'd like to go, simply email trip@acm.jhu.edu and say so!

Meet in NEB 319, 11 AM, Saturday 12/3

Contact: Asheesh Laroia

 

Next time you hear, "Don't touch that dial," YOU MAY NOT HAVE A CHOICE
2005-11-17

Today, as the Internet and other advances give you the freedom to create music and movies and edit others' work, corporations are trying to pass laws to build a "hands-off" world of passive consumption. Media companies have threatened to outlaw fast-forwarding through commercials and launched lawsuits against important works of art. Their laws limit civil liberties and public discourse. Nelson Pavlosky will explain the issues at stake in this crisis of law and creativity over FREE MILK AND CEREAL.

About Nelson Pavlosky:
Pavlosky is a leader in the fight to take back our disappearing digital rights. After going to court to win the right to critize Diebold Election Systems' voting machines, the State of California and others took note and filed criminal suits against the corporation. Most recently, Pavlosky co-founded FreeCulture.org, an international student movement for copyright reform and participatory culture.

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday November 17, 2005

Contact: Albert Lee

 

ACM Mid-Atlantic Regional Programming Contest
2005-11-12

After skirting disaster with the annual local contest last month, we're hosting the Mid-Atlantic Regional of the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. Good luck to the two JHU teams participating in the competition- this promises to be an exciting and challenging event for all involved!

NEB 227, 8 AM - 7 PM, Saturday November 12, 2005

Contact: Albert Lee

More Info

Praem Phulwani Discusses Ruby
2005-11-10

This Thursday, Praem Phulwani will talk about Ruby, a Pure Object Oriented, interpreted language with power that will shock you and syntax that will make you smile.

Free cookies! Plus an an all-powerful programming language!

The following language features will be discussed:



Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday November 10, 2005

Contact: Albert Lee

More Info

Google!
2005-11-03

As the next installment in our continuing efforts to bring major players in the computing world to Hopkins, we at the ACM are proud to present Google. Come hear the people who gave us Gmail, Google Maps, Froogle and of course the most popular search engine in world are up to. Learn about their upcoming ventures, internship/job opportunities and enjoy FREE PIZZA. Yes once again, there will be PIZZA provided at absolutely no cost to you.

Remsen 101, 5 PM, Thursday November 3, 2005

Contact: Andrew Carney

 

Creating Computer Games!
2005-10-27

We all love playing computer games, but how about creating them? This Thursday, we'll be discussing the first important step -- getting something on screen. Using C++ along with portable OpenGL and SDL libraries, you'll learn everything you need for programming your very own games. Finally, something a little more interesting to show your friends than a console program and boring text!

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday October 27, 2005

Contact: Andrew Carney

 

ACM vs. Pandora: Opening Pandoras Box
2005-10-13


Imagine free, personalized streaming music stations for your enjoyment...

It exists! Though, as good as the services provided by Pandora may be,
members of the ACM have discovered ways to make them better (legally?).

Join us this week and exactly what you can do with Pandora.
To accomplish this, We'll be using such technologies as:
XML-RPC, Flash, Ethereal, Python, and many more.


Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday October 13, 2005

Contact: Andrew Carney

 

At Your Service!
2005-10-06

Did you know that you can...
- Blog at blogs.jhu.edu
- Create a web site
- Run a mailing list

Come and find out all about the free services the Johns Hopkins
Association for Computing Machinery offers to every student here at
Hopkins! We'll also be demoing the cool things you can do as a member!

Learn about...
- Why ACM shell accounts are awesome
- What we can do for your student group
- Our mythical menagerie (of computers, of course)
- Freedom from ResNet

We'll have snacks for everyone too! Yummy!


Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday October 6, 2005

Contact: Andrew Carney

 

Microsoft
2005-09-29

Ever wonder what life is like in Redmond?
Want to know how to get YOURNAME@microsoft.com?
Hungry for details on the Xbox 360, Windows Vista, VS 2005, or Office 12?
Come find out this Thursday!

The Johns Hopkins Association for Computing Machinery invites you to this special event where former JHUers from Microsoft will talk about what it's like to work for the company that brought you the Xbox, Office, and the BSOD. Don't miss out on the free food, Q&amp;A sessions and special giveaways!

Highlights:
- Enjoy free food and drinks!
- Preview Microsoft's exciting new projects!
- "Ask Microsoft anything!"
- Get some totally swank* Redmond swag!
* "Swank not guaranteed"

We look forward to seeing you there!


Maryland 110, 5 PM, Thursday September 29, 2005

Contact: Andrew Carney

More Info

Movie Night: Pirates of Silicon Valley
2005-09-22

See Bill Gates drop out of Harvard!
See Apple engineers work 90-hour weeks!
Eat our free pizza!

In preparation* for the upcoming visits from Apple and Microsoft, we'll be showing the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, which tells the story of the struggles between power-hungry entrepreneurs Steve Jobs and Bill Gates as they forge the empires that will make them household names.

We'll have a blast, and there'll be free food and drinks! See you there!

Shaffer 3, 5 PM, Thursday September 22, 2005
* Actually, this was voted on last meeting. Oh, the irony.

Contact: Albert Lee

More Info

Introductions
2005-09-11

This is our first meeting of the year. We'll be doing a meet-and-greet for new would-be members and getting updates from officers on recent and ongoing projects. We will also be voting on a movie to watch next week (where FREE pizza will be served). There will also be hardware given away to anyone willing to take it. Come and find out who we are and what we do!

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday September 15, 2005

Contact: Andrew Carney

 

Movie Night
2005-05-05

This week we're going to be watching the movie Sneakers. Here is a synopsis of it:

Martin Bishop is the head of a group of experts who specialise in testing security systems. When he is blackmailed by Government agents into stealing a top secret black box, the team find themselves embroiled in a game of danger and intrigue. After they recover the box, they discover that it has the capability to decode all existing encryption systems around the world, and that the agents who hired them didn't work for the Government after all...*

6PM in Maryland 109 (Note that this is a different time and place from usual)

There will be pizza and soda.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

More Info

Election/Movie Results
2005-04-29

The election results are as follows:

Chair: Asheesh Laroia
Vice-Chair: Brendan O'Connor
Treasurer: Scott Waldron
Secretary: Andrew Carney
Lab Admin: Albert Lee

Congratulations to our new officers!

Also, the movie we will be watching next week was chosen to be:

Sneakers

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Elections
2005-04-28

Anyone who wants to help run the club next year must attend this meeting to be an official officer. There are 5 (or 6) positions available:

The informal position of "Resource Manager" (aka "Office Czar") will probably be retired this year unless someone is enthusiastic about filling the position. The Resource Manager is the hardware counterpart to the software duties of the lab admin.

PICK NEXT WEEK'S MOVIE

Next week we're going to watch a movie, and this is your chance to help influence our choice. Note that next week's meeting will feature pizza and soda.

HARDWARE TALK

The remaining time will be spent on a hardware talk prepared by Brotzman ("Extreme PC Upgrading").

NEB 319, 5 PM, Thursday April 28, 2005

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Meeting: x86 Assembly Talk
2005-04-21

Have you ever wondered what language your program turns into when you compile it? Come to our introduction to the language of Intel and AMD processors and their basic architecture.
Michael Kornbluh will be giving a talk on this subject this week

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday April 21, 2005

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Reverse engineering file formats
2005-04-14

This week, John Rittenhouse will be presenting a talk on the basics of reverse engineering file formats. Emphasis will be on game file formats discussing textures, models, maps, and package files. An example will be shown by giving a quick demonstration of reverse engineering of the model files for the game LEGO Star Wars. Also there will be discussion in how understanding file formats help you understand how others program.
C'mon, LEGO Star Wars?!

Shaffer 300
5 PM, Thursday April 14, 2005

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Meeting: Student Technology Survey Discussion
2005-04-07

This Thursday, Theron Feist of the Center for Educational Resources (CER) will be presenting the results of the Student Technology Survey. Students are invited to come join in on the fun and discuss what's available - and what's missing - from Hopkins IT.
Get a preview of upcoming final report, to be released campuswide. This is a area in which ACMers will certainly have a lot to say (in an appropriately lively manner).

Be heard!

NEB Conference Room (317), 5 PM, Thursday April 7, 2005

Contact: Albert Lee

 

Centaur Upgrades
2005-04-01

Thanks to a very generous donation from our friends at Redmond, we've had an opportunity to improve the stability and security of Centaur. Enjoy the new hardware and operating system.

Contact: root

More Info

Meeting: DTrace
2005-03-31

This week we're going to have Eric Northup from the Systems Research Laboratory talk about Solaris' incredibly powerful kernel-level debugger: dtrace. To give you a small taste of the power of dtrace: it will even let you debug distributed applications across computers! There will be realtime demonstrations of dtrace in action, possibly of OpenOffice or Quake in action.
Be there!

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday March 31, 2005

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

More Info

Meeting: LaTeX
2005-03-10

Have you ever wanted to produce publication quality documents from your own computer? For 20 years now, this in fact has been quite possible with the document preparation system TeX (pronounced 'tek') with the aid of a macro package called LaTeX (pronounced lay-tek). This week we'll be covering how to get started using LaTeX and why its *not* scary to use a non-WSIWIG document presentation system and is in many ways easier than using MS Word for reports.

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday March 10, 2005

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: {Meeting Topic}
2005-03-03

This week's meeting will be on how to use microcontrollers to aid with complex projects while still being quick and easy to design and debug. I will be focusing on the Microchip PIC series due to their exceedingly low price, Microchip's nice free sample policy and the outstanding documentation available online.

The basic goals are to describe generally why one would like to use microcontrollers for projects over other devices and also how one goes about writing firmware. Personally, I tend to be a fan of writing it all in straight assembly language, but alternatives are available for the faint of heart. Feel free to come with questions or project ideas or suggestion.

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday March 3, 2005

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Hardware Hacking
2005-02-24

Ever want to web enable your toaster or coffee maker? Well, you can do that and more with some very simple hardware and a little bit of programming. Whether you're a die hard hands-off software guy or not, the hardware and software required to 'extend' the functionality of many household appliances is well within the grasp of anyone who is familiar with the operation of a screwdriver. Even less straightforward and involved projects can be very easily designed and constructed to perform tasks ...such as opening the door to the ACM office upon a successful card swipe.

Another example useful hardware hacking skills will be presented in the form of a hack that brought the ACM's NeXT box back from the dead by re-wiring an interface connector.

We'll go over some of the options for a hardware-software interface including the parallel port and ISA bus and include some example hardware and software setups along with a demonstration of how the NeXT system was brought back to life. If anyone would like to come with a project idea in mind, feel free to bring it up and we can discuss approaches to making it a reality.

Quick Summary:
Where: Shaffer 300
When: Thursday February 24, 2005 5:00PM
What is the air speed of an unladen swallow: {exercise left to reader}

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Practical Electronics Skills for Evil... or Good
2005-02-17

Ever have a power supply or monitor die on you? Often times problems arise that a trip to Radio Shack and some solder can fix for next to nothing. This week, I'll be leading a discussion on some simple repairs that anyone can do to quickly and easily bring devices back from the dead. I'll demonstrate proper soldering technique and will encourage audience participation. I'll quickly go over most of the electronics knowledge that one would need for most repair jobs along with a discussion on figuring out which part is broken and needs to be replaced... assuming there aren't flames or char marks on the board to guide you!

Shaffer 300, 5 PM, Thursday February 17, 2005

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Social software
2005-02-10

At this meeting, Asheesh Laroia will be talking about "social software". That is, software like blogs, wikis, and RSS feeds to keep track of many blogs at once. He'll talk about his recent work within ACM to start these services for the Hopkins community.

Time: 5 PM, Thursday, February 10, 2005
Place: NEB 319

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Movie night with pizza and soda!
2004-12-02

This Thursday we're watching Takedown (a.k.a. Hackers 2), the story of the capture of Kevin Mitnick, one of the world's most fam0us h4xx0rs. Yes, there will definitely be pizza! And soda! 6 PM in Shaffer 3

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Centaur... Not Just for Rooting Anymore?
2004-11-30

Everything looks good.

Contact: Albert Lee

 

Centaur Problems
2004-11-20

For those who didn't get the emails, centaur was rooted a few weeks ago. We appreciate everyone's patience while we reloaded and have been getting things back to normal with a newer and more secure kernel. At this point it is believed that all major services are functional as before. If this assumption is not correct please feel free to email us with requests/problems so we can resolve them. Its been a learning experience for everyone especially for us dealing with our more secure configuration.
Thanks

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Macromedia Flash... Not Just for Animation Anymore!
2004-11-04

Most people think flash is an animation suite with little or no power in the area of programming. Most think it was invented by Abraham Flash in 1892. Only the latter would be correct.

In this meeting I will cover some cool things one can do with flash:
-writing a 3d polygon drawing thingy
-writing a flash movie that loads another movie and lets you hack it
-attempts to make flash support TCP connections
-what is the difference between flash and shockwave

Also I will go over the basic structure of flash, differences between animation and coding, and whatever else.

Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday November 4, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

ACM Local Programming Contest
2004-10-30

It's that time of year again. You are all invited to participate in the annual ACM Programming Contest. Here is how it works. There is a local contest, which will take place on Saturday. In that, you work individually to solve a series of problems. You are primarily evaluated on correctness and then on the speed with which you complete the problems. The top scorers will be taken and used to form our two teams for the regional contest. At the regional contest, you compete against teams from other schools for a shot at participating in the international competition. Last year, one of our teams went to Prague for the international.

You don't have to be a programming wiz to participate.

If you're interested or have any questions, send e-mail to contest@acm.jhu.edu .

NEB Undergrad Lab, 12:30-5 PM, Saturday October 30, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Python for Web Scraping
2004-10-21

There are lots of web pages in the world, and lots of programs. Web 'screen scraping' seeks to let your programs interact with those web pages - for example, getting updated stock info, or programmatically searching on or updating your friends list on Friendster.

This week Asheesh Laroia will talk about the use of Python for web scraping. We'll step through the basics of Python, and then dive into interacting with Live! Nude! web sites. If there's a particular web site you want the meeting to focus on, email him - (asheesh at jhu).

Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday October 21, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Computer Hardware Repair and Troubleshooting
2004-10-14

This week we'll be having an ad hoc meeting about computer hardware repair and troubleshooting lead by Mike Brotzman. Members are encouraged to bring questions of topics for discussion. Otherwise Mike will default to talking about general troubleshooting tips and tricks to getting older machines up and running. Members are also invited to bring in any boxes or components they are having trouble with.

Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday October 14, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Google Visiting This Tuesday!
2004-10-12

Google will be giving a presentation for us this *TUESDAY* October 12 in Remsen 101 outlining what is going on at Google and industry in general. There will be pizza/food and some Google stuff being given away at the meeting.

The presentation will consist of a panel of four engineers (at all degree levels) who will talk about their background and experiences at Google. There will be ample opportunity to ask questions to the panelists about Google and Google engineering, along with any general questions regarding industry.

Remsen 101, 5 PM, Tuesday October 12, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Emulators- A blast from the past!
2004-10-07

This week the ACM will be holding a meeting on the topic of emulators and how they can be used to bring back long dead hardware from the grave... In software at least. Some favorites include the Atari and Nintendo, or even the classic Commodore 64 and Apple ][e. Even newer emulators such as dosemu and wine may make a guest appearance. So come for what will surely be a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Besides, its a good excuse to play video games!

Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday October 7, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Saturday Linux Install fest!
2004-10-02

The ACM will be holding a Linux install fest tomorrow from 2pm on. This will be a good opportunity for anyone unfamiliar with the process of installing/configuring Linux to learn. Additionally, anyone who wants Linux installed on their machine should bring it in so you'll have resources available if/when things start to go south. So grab your laptops/desktops/handhelds and head on over after 2 tomorrow to NEB 319 (our office)

NEB 319, 2 PM-late, Saturday October 2, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Fun with UNIX/Linux
2004-09-30

This week's meeting will feature Michael Kornbluh giving a tutorial on UNIX/Linux for both new and returning members. For those already familiar with UNIX/Linux this meeting will be a good refresher and an opportunity to learn some of the more cryptic tricks. If none of that interests you, then come with some UNIX/Linux tasks and try to stump the presenter on their implementation.
Members who have attended three meetings will be eligible for an account on ACM systems in addition to jcard access to the office.
Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday September 30, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: APL Technical Interviewing Workshop
2004-09-23

ACM will be hosting a recruiter from the JHU APL (Applied Physics Lab) out of Laurel MD. The recruiter will be holding a workshop at our normal meeting time Thursday 5-6 PM in Shaffer 304 where he will give his perspective on what to consider when going for a technical interview for both full-time jobs and for internships. So bring your friends (assuming you have any) for what is sure to be a worthwhile experience.
Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday September 23, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Meeting: Linux Server Administration
2004-09-16

This week, we will bring a linux server for you guys to play with. The challenge will be to get various services up and running. Then we'll start breaking the installation in various ways and you'll have to find out what's wrong and fix them.

We'll be setting up a local network in the meeting room for this one, so if you have a laptop, bring it in.

Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday September 16, 2004

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

First Meeting of Year: Messing with Computer Hardware
2004-09-09

We're going to kick of the year with a bang by taking a bunch of computer equipment and seeing what works and what doesn't. Come and satisfy your thirst to mess with computer guts. Shaffer 304, 5 PM, Thursday September 9, 2004

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Explanation of DNS Troubles
2004-06-06

Many of you may have been having DNS issues preventing you from accessing your domains. Here's why. OpenSRS has claimed that our domain has expired, although the expiration date on file is 2005. Michael Hilsdale will be calling them on Monday to handle this, and hopefully get things straightened out. It appears that at worst we'll have to pay an $80 recovery fee.

We're sorry about this, and we're trying to get things straightened out as soon as possible.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Movie: Office Space
2004-04-29

&nbsp;&nbsp; This week we'll be having a movie night on Thursday in Shaffer 3 at 6:00PM EDT to watch the classic Office Space. So get your red swingline staplers ready and we'll see you there!

Quick Summary:
This Thursday, Shaffer 3 6:00PM

Where: Shaffer 3
When: 6 PM Thursday (April 29)

Contact: Michael Curtis

 

Talk by Dr. Smith and Elections
2004-04-22

&nbsp;&nbsp;1) In addition to being our faculty advisor, Dr. Smith has recently taken the position of CS department chair. We have invited him to this week's meeting to give a half-hour presentation on the state of the department. As usual, this is a great opportunity to hear about what is going on in the department: new faculty, new buildings, and so on. There will be plenty of time to pass any comments about courese onto Dr. Smith if you have any.
&nbsp;&nbsp;2) Following Dr. Smith's presentation, we will have elections for next year's officers.

Hope to see you all there... both parts of the meeting promise to be pretty informative and entertaining!

Where: Shaffer 302
When: 5 PM Thursday (April 22)

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Cleaning Room
2004-04-15

This week we're cleaning the office! Anyone who comes gets first dibs on anything we're getting rid of. It's also a good chance to just hang out with other ACM folks. Where: NEB 319 (Different from usual!) When: 5 PM Thursday (April 15)

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Technology Debates
2004-04-08

Do you like debating with other tech-savvy people about tech-related things? Then come to our next meeting! We're going to have debates about various hot topics in technology, including (given enough time):

- DMCA
- wireless at JHU
- HITS (shutting down connections for doing bad things, port blocking, bandwidth allotment, etc.)
- copying music
- SCO

It will be exciting! Be there!

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Website Vulnerabilities
2004-04-01

This Thursday at 5 PM in Shaffer 302, Michael Hilsdale will give a talk on website vulnerabilities.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Computer Salvage and Restoration
2004-03-25

This Thursday at 5 PM in Shaffer 302, Michael Brotzman will be giving a talk on computer salvage and restoration.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Pre-Spring Break Movie
2004-03-11

This Thursday at 6 PM in Remsen 101, we're going to show a movie. Until Thursday at noon, you can email matrix at acm.jhu.edu to cast the vote for which movie you want to see.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Procmail
2004-03-04

ACM's main server Centaur uses procmail to sort/filter your mail if you set up a file with your rules. Carlos Macasaet is going to give a talk on how to do just that. With procmail, you can do such things as sorting your mail into various folders, forwarding it, or throwing it away. You can even pipe your mail into programs.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Hardware
2004-02-26

This week, Michael Curtis will discuss low-level hardware and its physical implementation, starting with a transistor level and progressing up to the level of a rudimentary microprocessor. Emphasis will be on how simple gates can be combined together to accomplish high-level tasks. Additionally, the physical layout considerations of a simple CMOS microprocessor and associated logic will be presented using Magic (A VLSI layout program) illustrating the transition from simple gate-level logic to their perhaps more recognizable forms of register files and ALUs.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Dynamic Linking
2004-02-19

This week, Nat Duca is going to talk to us about dynamic linking. Dynamic linking is a way for programs to use code which isn't compiled in.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Perl Tutorial
2004-02-12

This week, Steven Johnston will give an introduction to Perl, a powerful scripting language with many uses that range from automating computing tasks to gathering information from the world wide web.

Contact: Carlos Macasaet

 

New Secretary
2004-01-29

Let's welcome our new treasurer, Scott Waldron. He's also in charge of getting soda, so bug him when we run out.

Contact: Michael Kornbluh

 

Yan Ke, NetScreen Technologies
2003-10-30

Thursday, 5PM, Shaffer 304
This week, ACM is hosting a lecture by Hopkins alum Dr. Yan Ke. As Chief Architect, Co-Founder and Vice-President of NetScreen Technologies, Dr. Ke has been intimately involved with all the varied levels of network security systems. Like all ACM meetings, this should be an action-packed event that you won't want to miss!

Contact: Nat Duca

 

Apples of the Panther Variety
2003-10-21

Thursday, 5PM, Hodson 110(Note the room change)
This week, we've got Aaron Davis from Apple coming to give us a sneak preview of 10.3 ... including the fun technical details. It should be a fun time, and they've promised to feed us! Mmm good. As always, anyone is welcome.

Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther" Sneak Preview
Mac OS X Panther is set to roar onto the scene later this week, and it’s something you don’t want to miss. No matter how you use your Mac, Panther offers many new features from head to paws. Learn more about the future today in this sneak preview. As a super-modern operating system, Mac OS X already combines the power and stability of Unix with the simplicity and elegance of the Macintosh. Its gorgeous user interface, Aqua, brings your desktop to life with expressive icons, vibrant color and fluid motion. Cutting-edge graphics technologies offer capabilities beyond anything ever seen in a desktop operating system. At the foundation of Mac OS X lies an industrial-strength, Unix-based core operating system, called Darwin, that delivers unprecedented stability and performance. And only with Mac OS X can you run Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, browse a Windows network and use Unix commands — at the same time.

Contact: Nat Duca

 

Programming Competitions
2003-10-08

Thursday, Shaffer 304, 5 PM
All current and new members welcome, as usual
As some of you may know, the ACM programming contest is coming up. The contest will take place on Saturday, October 18th at 2 PM. If you plan on participating, email contest@acm.jhu.edu --- we will briefly describe this contest and what it means to participate at this weeks upcoming meeting.
As a lightweight version of the "real" contest, we're going to have a series of programming competitions - team based - for the next few weeks. This week, we're going to explain how these competitions work, form teams, and get to it.
Keep in mind, you don't have to be a programming wizard to participate. Usual time and place: Thursday, Shaffer 304, 5PM.

Contact: Nat Duca

 

Cool stuff with Networking
2003-10-01

Thursday, 5PM, Shaffer 304
This week's meeting is going to be about networks. There should be something in there useful for newbies and oldbies alike... we're going to start by talking about basics of networking, share some old-school network trivia, and then discuss big issues like routing, firewalling, NAT, wirelessness, TCP and a whatever else we think up at the time. We're then going to bust out a "packet sniffer" on a synthetic network to demonstrate the insecurity of networks. We'll use it to break into a fake mail server, unix account, and a few other things. Of course, this is for educational purposes only.
For a lot of you, this is your third meeting. That means you'll be a "real ACM member"... which comes with lots of benefits:

Make sure you show up! Thursday, 5 PM, Shaffer 304

Contact: Nat Duca

 

Computer Games, Design, What's Hot, and Halo
2003-09-23

Shaffer 304, 5PM
Thanks to the Hurricane, we've been saved the discussion of Computer News for a while being. For this week's meeting, get excited, because we've got an awesome event planned: computer games, in every format you could possibly want. Here's why the ACM meet is going to be the place to be this Thursday:

Be there!

Contact: Nat Duca

 

Current Events Debate and Hurricanes
2003-09-16

Shaffer 304, 5PM
So there's a storm coming, and Friday is National Talk Like a Pirate Day. If the storm hasn't come by 5 PM on Thursday, we'll have a meeting in Shaffer 304 as usual. If it has hit, I'm going to update the ACM web page and email this list with a cancellation notice. Hopefully this won't happen, because....
For this weeks meeting, we will be having a [hopefully raucous] roundtable debate on any of the following recent news topics:

I doubt that this is the first time you've ever thought about this topic. In fact, you can just pull up slashdot and find a nice long set of discussions on any of the above... yet have you ever argued out your opinion in real life? Here's your opportunity to share and learn. The format of the meeting will be pretty simple: officers will present some basic facts and thoughts, and then open it up for discussion.
In the event that we do cancel the meeting, there are sure to be hurricane celebrations going on around campus... keep your ears open. :)
Happy coding!

Contact: Nat Duca

 

First meeting
2003-09-11

Shaffer 304, 5PM
For this week's meeting, we'll have snacks and a bunch of new members. We'll do a brief introduction and then turn our attention to all of the broken hardware in the possession of the ACM. The goal of our meeting will be to get as many computers booting as possible, and operating systems installed on those that boot.
Look forward to seeing you all there!

Contact: Nat Duca

 

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