opinion
—
Battalion/Page 2
April 7,1982
Slouch
By Jim Earle
“It's from your mother. Apparently she’s serious about
you getting your grades up. ”
Blipping your way
to physical fitness
by DICK WEST
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Some readers
may think I am making this up, but I
swear I’m giving you the facts, ma’am.
Just as three books revealing solutions
to the Rubik’s Cube became national
best-sellers last year, so is the video game
industry now fomenting a literary out
break.
One of the latest volumes, Bantam’s
“How To Master Home Video Games,” is
lulled as “the first complete guide” to im
proving your scores. Now comes the
hard-to-swallow part. *>'
This book contains a comprehensive
training program for video game play
ers, include an entire chapter devoted to
“Off-television Exercises.”
“Physical adeptness is essential to im
plementing your strategies,” writes the
guru, Tom Hirschfeld, who then goes on
to recommend exercises for “improving
hand-eye control coordination,
peripheral vision, finger strength and
tempo control.”
If this reads like the introduction to
one of those sex manuals that were so
popular a few years back, I can only say
the coincidence is entirely coincidental.
“You will accomplish wonders by
training your hands to react as quickly as
posible to visual stimuli,” the book prom
ises.
Video game aces, the book confides,
must “be alert to the slighest flicker of
movement in any part of the screen and
be able to analyze all visual data without
shifting focus.”
To sharpen that aptitude, have your
assistant stand to one side and flash ran
dom combinations of fingers, which you
try to pick up with your naked eyeballs
while staring straight ahead.
“Often, what you see ‘out of the corner
of your eye’ can mean life or death on
screen,” Hirschfeld assures those who
might suspect they were engaging in idle
pursuits.
(Hirschfeld, let it be noted, recom
mends using the buddy system in video
game training. Trainees will need a side-
kick, perhaps a faithful Indian compan
ion, to help them get into tiptop shape.)
As for the fingers, well it goes without
saying that “digital skill” is vital.
To avoid “pain and slowness in the
joints” during sustained play, “fingers
must be strong and limber,” Hirschfeld
explains.
Since “thumbs are especially suscepti
ble to overuse during play,” he recom
mends sending the left forefinger into
the game as a substitute when thumb fati
gue threatens.
“Try also to use the small joints in each
finger much less than the larger one,” he
advises.
The book also outlines some 10-finger
“warm-up exercises” for “loosening and
stretching the muscles that might other
wise cramp.”
OK. Where do we go from here? At
the risk of spoiling the aura of verisimili
tude I have so carefully cultivated, I must
here inject a personal prediction.
The next wave, I fear, will have video
game diet books featuring recipes for los
ing weight while zapping kinescope in
vaders.
Then will come books about games
you can play on a microwave oven.
Letters: First a hotel
Editor:
My congratulations to Bum Bright
and the Board of Regents for another
brilliant proposal for the improvement
of our humble campus. I am forever
awed by the benevolent concern for the
students’ interests which is continually
exhibited by our Regents. Of course, I’m
referring to the proposed Hilton Hotel.
What a wonderful idea! Not only should
this plan be implemented immediately, it
â–  should be followed by another quite
worthy project. If you would, allow me to
ruminate. I humbly suggest that, upon
the completion of the Hilton, we should
begin the construction of an amusement
park on the southeast corner of campus.
I realize this proposal calls for the dele
tion of the golf course, but I’m sure we
can all agree that the positive aspects far
outweigh the loss of the golf course.
First, the new amusement park will be
sure to attract several fast food res
taurants, a convenience of which the
southside residents have previously been
deprived. Futhermore, combined with
the new hotel , a new amusement park
such activities will provide for students of
political science.
Since I am a resident of the northside,
need no job, and am neither a student of
business nor of politics, you may rest
assured that I make this modest proposal
not for any personal gain of my own, but
out of my genuine concern for the wel
fare of our students.
Susan K. Young ’85
116 Clements Hall
What’s in a name?
Editor:
jobs will be a great benefit to those stu
dents who have been unable to find work
as a result of the tight economy of trans
portation problems. We could also estab
lish a scholarship fund with the profits
from the park. And, of course, we cannot
overlook the invaluable, hands-on work
experience which these establishments
would provide for our business students.
Finally, we should not underestimate the
priceless learning experiences which
I have been at this university fot three
years and feel it is now time to point out a
spelling error made often at Texas A&M.
I am referring to the spelling of K.K.
Legett dormitory. Notice there is only
one “g” and two “t’s“. I have seen it spel
led Legget, Leggett, and Legette. It has
been misspelled in The Battalion, on
cie^uoii ballots, on flyers, and many
other items. The name Legett was not
picked out of the blue. It was chosen by
the University to honor an important
man. So come on Ags, let’s learn to spell
his name correctly . The only other alter
native I see is to change the plaque that
adorns our dorm.
Apartment break-in causes
unconscious fears to surface
When my friend and I found my apart
ment door ajar Monday night, I thought
of several possible explanations — my
roommate hadn’t shut it, I hadn’t shut it,
the maintenance man had been there.
But I didn’t seriously consider the pos
sibility that someone could have broken
into my apartment — or worse, was still
there. T hose things only happen to other
people — never me.
phyllis
henderson
A<
to
But I can’t accept being afraid nl
at night.
Everyone is quick to tellnift
have happened — the worst
know what could have happen
The real crime in thisincidi
I’m not alone in having thesefe
almost every woman has e\|
some of these fears at sometii
life. And almost every woman
mad because of it.
We were cautious, though. We started
to search the apartment, leaving the
front door open to run or scream,
whichever seemed warranted. We looked
through most of the apartment, and no
thing was wrong. In the doorway of my
bedroom, we joked about the half-open
closet doors. But when we saw the win
dow screen propped against my bed, the
fun and games ended.
While we had stood in the doorway,
the intruder had been in the closet. He
heard our jokes, he knew when we real
ized something was wrong.
That was — and is — scary.
We left, called the police and were told
to meet them at the apartment. We did,
but this time we took another friend — a
man — with us. No one was in the apart
ment and nothing was missing, but the
window screen had been moved and was
against the wall.
But fear is just one of the emotions
you feel when something like this hap-
C ens. Along with fear comes shock, dis-
elief and, most of all, anger.
I’m mad.
No one has to tell us to bee
safety precautions have becomei]
our lives.
We attach our keys to :
chemical repellant sprays, wet
defense classes and we read am
scribing the most effective watj
off an attacker.
by I
Battal
Awards v\
outstanding :
tv from the <
Hire at the St
onvocation
Alpha Z
rofessional:
the College c
iented schola
ho have exl
eademic i
adership qi
Receiving
/ere Roy Da
griculture
antes Matt
unior plant
tajor; Chari
unior anim
nd Liza C
ophomore r
I’ve accepted not being able to walk
across campus alone late at night — even
though it’s my favorite time. I’ve
accepted having to peer over my shoul
der every time I cross a dark parking lot.
We don’t see attackers bcM
shrub, but we’re aware ofounii
ity. We’re cautious doing maul
men take for granted liketakincj
in an empty apartment anddri
at night.
And every time we walk into J
apartment, we subconsciouslufJ
may be the time it isn’t empty.
Tes/t
D
[HT COLUMN WSR\TCH'<U 1932- PTWE cnwtW/ s***W^.
by Cin<
Battal i
The Texas
ll'eam is stat
.again, in spi
ilace award
Saturday’s sta
larking lot.
This is th<
ampionshij
ears.
The FDT
eetby one p
Jity of Texas
am Saturd;
ate champh
United Pres;
HOUSTON
then an amusement park
ent mvestigat
ase Hilton 1 h
1 lives last i
ith medical <
gs that man’
ied of soot ini
The Foun
afety, based ii
uestioned the
edical Exam
ion of the fire i
icated 10 oft h
f soot and carb
alation. Th
laimed the \
oisoning Iron
;as.
The medic;
aid two small
amounts of c
Jlpody.
Michael Oi
for the founda
ture, drapes ai
the Westchase
room produce!
Editor’s Note: This letter was accompa
nied by 82 signatures of Legett resi
dents.
Drill team ignored
place. Even after the outcome of the com
petition, there was not a single acknow
ledgement in The Battalion. I do think
the FDT has a greater impact on the Uni
versity than the amount of Bic pens
ordered by a city clerk in Ozark, Mis
souri. In any case, I would like to congra
tulate the FDT on their supeibp
ance! I look forward to their Pared
exhibition, where maybe more 1 '
can see what an outstandinggrouj
are.
Hayes Bla
125 Ho’
Editor:
Maggie Foster ’83
Legett Resident
I am writing you in regard to a certain
event that recently occurred here on the
Texas A&M campus. The incident was
not malicious, slanderous, or in any way
degrading, but on the contrary, brought
esteem and recognition to the University.
The bad part is the publicity it received,
or should I say, did not receive. The
event that I am referring to is the drill
meet held last Saturday at Zachry park
ing lot, in which the 1985 Fish Drill Team
competed. ROTC drill teams from va
rious universities around the state in
cluding the University of Texas, Univer
sity of Texas at Arlington, and the Honor
Guard from the United States Air Force
Academy, came to participate in the
three event competition. Every team did
an outstanding job, but the meet was
clearly dominated by two teams. The
Texas A&M University Fish Drill Team
and the UTA Jodies. The FDT worked
hard all year and were justly rewared
Saturday for their efforts. Though they
lost the meet by one point to the UTA
Jodies, they claimed the title of 1982
Texas State Champions.
However, I was really disappointed at
the crowd turn-out, and even more so in
the lack of publicity. Very few people
knew about the meet, and those who did
had to struggle to find out the time and
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