Dear Unc,
Thank you for answering my questionss - Man of 1000 questions.  I was wondering if you could elaborate on one of my questions about swimming at Teagle (5/18/95 Q01).  You mentioned the night hours of 7- 8:15 on M, Tues, Thurs, F.  Is there any hours on the weekend?  Also, are these lap hours or free swim.
        Also, how about Helen Newman with free swim and lap hours?
        Can you swim and put your own lock on the lockers (males room) if you don't rent a locker for $12.50?
        Finally, I would like to work out over the summer.  Can you tell me the hours of ALL the places I can work out over the summer?  All I need is a simple weight room.  Can you tell me if it costs $$$ or not.
        I am sorry to ask so many questions but my job lets out after 5pm and starts at 8:30 so I son't have much time to research this on my own.  Also, just to voice a complaint - I went to Teagle before the school year finished and asked the guy in the place where you rent equipment out swimming and he told me there would be no evening hours.  So, I wrote you and looked into joining a club for the summer.  I am sorry but this man is incompetant.  I don't know his name (and I wouldn't name it anyway) but he works there and should know these things.  I am sorry to vent this but I am stressed from the new job and am mad that I spent time looking into another option when I could have been doing something else - like studying!!!!  Thank you

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Yes-FM Fan,
I asked Jeffrey Anbinder from 93.5 FM WVBR for help with your question.  He responds:
        "The 'most popular' radio stations?  That's a tough one -- it depends mostly on who you ask, and when.  Recent surveys, such as those conducted by the Ithaca Times and Ithaca Journal, have shown 103.7 The Wave to be quite popular.  But any first-year stats student can tell you that the only conclusion you can really draw from those results is that The Wave is quite popular with people who read those newspapers (or perhaps quite popular with people who tend to submit ballots to 'best of' surveys).
        "A national independent company called 'Arbitron' has their own ratings system for judging radio station popularity.  They send out 'diaries' to a small percentage of listeners in each market, and for a small financial reward, the listeners provide personal demographic information, keep track of their daily listening habits for several weeks, then return the diaries to Arbitron.  Unfortunately, Ithaca is a very small market, and this presents two problems - the already small percentage calls for only about forty households to keep diaries, which isn't a very reliable sample space - and Arbitron only conducts their research in Ithaca once a year (in the late spring), instead of four times a year as they do in large markets.  Even Arbitron's own statisticians question the value of numbers that claim that a particular station is #1 among women 35-54 when there were only nine or ten such women in the sample to begin with.
        "The past few years of Arbitron results show that Lite 97 is more or less consistently popular, but rarely in first place overall.  If the results are to be believed, they also show that 93.5 WVBR more than tripled their listenership from spring 1992 to spring 1993 (placing them first in most categories), and then 103.7's metamorphosis from Q104 to The Wave almost doubled their listenership from 1993 to 1994 while WVBR fell to third. The station now known as I-100, previously known as OK-100, Power 99, and Yes-FM, has rarely been higher than fourth or fifth (out of seven FM stations) in the past, but since this spring's survey (known as 'Spring Book') will be their first as I-100, it's still too early to know what their latest format shift has done for them.  When the results come in, though, they'll also be outlined by daypart (a broadcasting term referring to divisions of the day, such as morning, midday, afternoon, and early evening) so it will be easy to see if Don Imus's syndicated morning show is indeed the most popular feature of their programming.
        "Unfortunately, radio stations aren't even entitled to see Arbitron's results - or brag about them to potential advertisers - unless they pay several thousand dollars for a copy of the 'Book'. This is how Arbitron stays in business."
        Thanks, Jeffrey!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Glad to Leave,
You sound genuinely unhappy about your experience here overall: your difficult encounters with staff, your lack of personal relationship with professors, and your dislike for depressing attitudes you've observed in many Cornellians.  I wish we had time to talk in detail about what's behind your statements, because I'd like to know what specific incidents caused you so much frustration that you generalize about Cornell staff and faculty as a whole.  Some professors are distant, and some staff rude, but in my experience they're a small minority; most are caring and dedicated.
        What we see depends in large part on how we deal with problems as they arise.  Do we take concrete, constructive steps to improve a situation, by talking with a staff person we've had problems with or seeking help from their supervisor or an unbiased resource like the Ombudsman (118 Stimson; 255-4321)?  Or do we add each troubling experience to a stockpile of negative memories that wears away at our ability to see the good in life?
        The choices we make about what to focus on and how to act determine whether our cup is half-empty or half-full, whether the weather is pleasantly varied or annoyingly unpredictable, and whether we're alienated by difficult people or use respect and understanding to make friends with them.  We can, in keeping with Reinhold Niebuhr's serenity prayer, have the courage to change the things we can, the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Mailman,
Whoever told you about e-mail access via telnet is trustworthy, at least in this case!  I forwarded your letter to Ken Stuart at CIT Services (kps1@Cornell.edu), who replies:
        "Telnet can be used to access e-mail, gopher, and most other Bear Access services.  If you have a telnet prompt, the address for e-mail is travelers.mail.cornell.edu.  After you connect, you will need to enter your Network ID and password, then enter your password a second time as the machine actually looks for your mail.  Note that you can leave mail on this server for only a limited time (see details when you connect).
        "The telnet address for CUINFO is gopher.cornell.edu:300 -- note that the ":300" designates a port and some telnet programs use two periods (..) or a space instead of a colon to set it apart from the main address.
        "Telnet addresses for other Bear Access services and details about using them can be found in CIT's Bear Access Lite Guide, available for no charge from the CIT HelpDesk (124 CCC, 255-8990, helpdesk@Cornell.edu).  The HelpDesk staff can also answer questions about the use of telnet and guide you to free telnet software if you need it."
        Thanks, Ken!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Pre-Med Student,
You're not alone in your concern, following the deaths of Jeffrey Stenstrom here at Cornell and Craig Sherbinski at Ithaca College this spring from Meningitis C infection, plus the two cases of meningococcal meningitis in Elmira, New York (which are unrelated to the Ithaca cases).  These cases have health officials in the county on the alert, but they don't constitute an outbreak (which is defined as three cases within a three-month period).  At this point in time, staff at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta are NOT recommending vaccinations for folks in Tompkins County.
        According to my nurse contact at Gannett, the meningitis vaccine, or menamune, lasts five years and covers a number of different kinds of meningitis, including Meningitis C.  Side effects are always possible, although the vaccine is not known for them. It takes people ten days to build antibodies to the vaccine, which is approximately the same as the incubation period for the germ.  So it's not appropriate treatment for people who think they've already been exposed.  People who had close personal contact (such as sharing utensils or drinks, kissing, or "household contact" with Jeffrey Stenstrom from Cornell or Craig Sherbinski from IC have already been utensils or drinks, kissing, or "household contact") have already been given preventive treatment with antibiotics to help prevent further spread of the disease.  Chances of contracting the disease are therefore extremely slim, especially if you follow the health guidelines mentioned in Q08 of the 5/9/95 "Dear Uncle Ezra" posting.
Unless you're planning on travel to an area with a high incidence of meningitis, vaccination at Gannett would only be possible with permission of the medical director, Les Elkind.  If you decide that's what you'd like to do regardless of the CDC's current recommendation, you can reach Dr. Elkind at 255-3564 or LE12@Cornell.edu.  You can also call Gannett at 255-5155 to find out more; ask for "meningitis information".

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Pound-wise,
How exciting!   I checked with Cornell alum Bill Myers, Manager of the Alternative Federal Credit Union (wlm4@Cornell.edu), who says that simply put, exchange rates represent the sum of opinions about the relative value of currencies.  These opinions are expressed by buying and selling currency traders in what is assumed to be an efficient market.
        According to Bill, the major factors in currency swings are:
        *  Balance of trade
        *  Confidence in the country's economy /
           Sense of panic at world events
        *  Anticipated future interest rates /
           Rate of savings accumulation
        *  Central Bank actions
        *  Political factors
        "Timing is a speculators game," says Bill.  "There are many divergent opinions about the future movement in exchanges.  Current rates represent the sum of all current knowledge.  In other words, for every speculator willing to sell dollars short, there must be another who disagrees and is willing to buy that short.
        "One concrete piece of advice.  The best exchange rates consumers see are negotiated on their behalf through VISA cards.  If you have dollars to spend in a foreign country, usually you get a better deal by paying with VISA and letting VISA negotiate the exchange rate."
        Thanks, Bill!  Hope you come back to the States enriched by your Oxford experience...whether by money, knowledge, friendships, or other forms of wealth!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Ez,
I just read your posting about the man with the Beret outside of CTB and Oliver's every day and I have one suggestion.  I believe that this person actually lives in his car and survives by finding peoplottles.  You can leave them out for him by trash cans and dumpsters which will make it a little easier for him to get by.  He does shelter when it's too cold, if that is any consolation.

                                                       A grad school niece

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Awaiting Grades,
I did, actually (Q01 in the 5/18/95 posting), but the answer was buried amidst multiple questions so it bears repeating in its own right.  In mid-June, grades will be mailed out and will also appear in Just the Facts.  Hope yours are cause for celebration!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Mike the Fish,
Feel free to vent -- that's part of what I'm here for!  And, as you say, when you're starting a new job and you've got studying to do, you want even more than usual for folks like the Teagle staff to know their stuff so that you don't need to double your own research.  I passed your concern along to Assistant Athletic Director Jack Writer (255-8467; GSW1@Cornell.edu), who will look into the problem of making sure staff have accurate, current information.
        Jack also passed along answers to your latest questions.  Over the summer, neither Teagle nor Helen Newman pools will have weekend hours.  There will be lap swimming -- rather than free swim -- format for all hours.  Helen Newman pool hours (lap only) will be:
        11am-2pm (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday);
        11am-12:15pm and 1:20-2pm (Tuesday and Thursday); and,
        5-6:30pm (Monday through Friday).
        Universal rooms are free with valid student ID in both Teagle (9am-7pm) and Helen Newman (7:30am-8pm).  Nautilus and Olympic weight rooms have a fee.  Only Athletic Department locks are permitted on lockers; others will be cut off.
        Thanks, Jack!

Uncle Ezra