Computing A-B-C's

["mark a. foltz" <mfoltz@>]

Recent events have shown us that our field has grown too accustomed to 
the convenience of newfangled technologies.  If we want to get 
``old-school,'' stay ``hard-core,'' and remain ``true to our roots,'' we 
should immediately go back to the A-B-C's of computer science:

                         Abacus-Based Computing!

No electricity needed here!  Incoming students will be issued their very 
own base-16 abacus, and begin training on how to use their fingers *and* 
toes to run Emacs, gcc, and LaTeX.  Soon, they will ramp up to a 
productive 3,000 nanomips.  By candlelight, the halls of CSAIL will 
reverberate with the musical sounds of clanking beads.

Electricity is for wimps and Stanford-ites; join the true crew at this 
week's

           +-                                                 -+
             girl scout benefit -+-  5:30 pm  -+- 7ai playroom
           +-                                                 -+

             [ for those coming from elsewhere: building ne43,
               http://whereis.mit.edu/bin/map?locate=bldg_ne43 ]