lancer-lunch-music

A Lance is a weapon used in battle or tournament. A knight uses a lance to knock his enemy from the horse.
After the sword, the lance is the knight's primary offensive weapon.*

TODAY'S ETIQUETTE

MEDIEVAL ETIQUETTE

MEDIEVAL FOOD

International Dining Etiquette

Friday, August 18, 2006

Lancer's LAIR at the College of Lake County !

Pretty cool, huh?

97% finished and ready for enjoyment, the NEW CLC Student Lounge dubbed by local Lake County Knights as "Lancer's Lair" - THE place to be when you need a break from study or wait for your next class to start - with 3 pool tables,

HDTVs going, (1080i vs. 1080p HDTV should you care - Fully Equipped - CNET reviews)

computers internetting,

and

lights BLAZING,

So you won't get lost. Lost? Yes. Because this Lair is

H U G E !

The comfy new soft chairs are also

huge !

It's just too damned bad some of those chairs don't have those cool-curved swing-out mini-desktops: like the ones in the lower Library Study Pit.

But, hey, some people do their best studying with noise and visual distractions all around!

Other chair news: Some are regular-sized lower to the floor and others are at "high-tops" and higher above the floor - for those of us who like to dangle our feet like little kids. Heck, even those chairs are comfortable, although at first gLance you might not think so.

For the Pool table games? BRING 4 QUARTERS per game; but, there is NOW a bill changer!

There was always a bill changer in the old game room - we just wanted to let you know that it is back. (BTW, in case the bill changer doesn't work, here's a trick: go across the hall to a vending machine, put in a dollar, don't purchase, then press the coin return instead - you just might get your dollar back - in QUARTERS! Sometimes, that trick works, Bullwinkle)

There is also now an Internet-powered Jukebox! Well, as it says, the internet connection in it will be here soon! (despite the WRONG notion that hooking this puppy up to the internet would in any way interfere with the student self service system - DON'T EVEN GO THERE AGAIN. Man, if you are going to have a hobby, stick to Soccer!)

For the Internet connected computers? It doesn't cost you anything for access. We believe these Super Computers might also be networked together for GAMING! Ooooh. At least, that WAS the plan , and may still BE the plan. Hopefully the latest GAMES will already be there and INSTALLED. HA! Kind of funny, in a way, since the IT policy of CLC (basically plagerized from other college IT policies) does not allow gaming on computers!

These desktop computers are connected to the internet via Wi-Fi cards only.

So Have your FUN and eat it, too! Yes, you can bring your food & drink in there as well. BLISS! Just be wise and clean up after yourself. The attendant may remind you that it is NOT their job to clean up after you and that you could be banned from the LAIR if you do not help with this rule. Also, do NOT put food or drink near the computer table!

While all of this might sound complicated or confusing, not to worry, for the Office of Student Life has helpful sentries (attendants) posted in the Office of the Lair at all times; yet another student employment opportunity!

Everything is ready for your enjoyment!

One of the arcade-style games.

Link

Posted by: D to the P / 8/18/2006 09:28:00 PM

The LAIR REPORT

Well, take a peek here (starting with some before pictures and moving to some after pix):

And what's up with that music? We read in the CLC website and in the papers and heard in at least one speech mentioning that the new lobby was going to have music playing, selected (by some small committee ?) from CLC student and/or music ensemble performances. That is not quite exactly what was said, although that is how it should be. Actually what was said was more along the lines of music "created by students and faculty" - not quite the same as listening to the Gospel Choir or CLC Monday Night Jazz Band, for not only could listening to newly created music from students or faculty suck, and suck bad, but it will take a loooong time to fill the iPod with as much boring Baroque music there is to hear now.

Of course the latest edition of the Chronicle has proven itself in reporting the fact of cost for the Retrofit of the Main Lobby = $37,000us - why, that's nearly HALF OF 100,000 dollars!

Talk about automatic payment plans! No one ever said that the cost of the Lobby renovations would be ONLY 10,000 or even close to it. All that was mentioned was that the extra 10,000 that was found "laying about" (in some account, somewhere, previously unaccounted for - or just some general monies) could go TOWARDS a Lobby renovation. Listen people, listen to the words: the good Dr. doesn't mince words.

The first LAIR REPORT:

BARELY SUBMITTED 8-23-2006:(there have been improvements of volume adjustment, lower-wattage lamps, and postings of hours, rules & regs, since this posting date)

edited by Dan Prowse

LAIR FUN FACTS:

8pm is the official closing time for Lancers' new student lounge, the LAIR. We found the Internet connection to the LAIR computers and any Wi-Fi connection to work GREAT, but the connection stops at exactly 10pm when we tested them.

The LAIR is completely sponsored by and under the control of the Office of Student Activities as well as the Office of Student Life, with major help from the CLC Campus Safety, Business Office and ITS department.

Each desktop computer is Wi-Fi connected, in other words, not through a cable connection. Each computer is equipped with many goodies that are not normally permitted in the LRC or the - finally - open times of the D-Lab, for example, such as many brands of IM, but a DVD-ROM and CD-Burner as well as Zip drives and front USB ports and mic/headphone jacks are included. We highly recommend that you bring headphones if you want to stream clcradio.org, because of the audio noise currently experienced by us in the LAIR.

A cellular phone device was installed to improve cellular coverage downstairs, and it works! Full bars!

All 3 Widescreen HDTVs are receiving one each of 3 NON-CHANGEABLE channels; ESPN, FuseTV, and CNN. We think ESPNDV or HD is tuned in, but the HDMI connector is not being used, and cannot be anyway as it is incompatible with the HD output of the DirecTV tuner.

LAIR NOT-SO-FUN FACTS:

Don't bother trying to install any Music Download software other than Limewire such as Bearshare or iTunes, as those software "engines" that should work on your home computer have been disallowed for the LAIR computers as far as we can tell. Actually, installation of any of your own software will be automatically uninstalled whenever you reboot and you can assume that installation is not allowed yet anyway. If you think a certain software should be allowed, try mentioning that to the "sentry" on duty as they might know who to talk with to get that resolved. We mean something NOT like SIMS or DUKE NUKEM or DOOM - except in some gaming circumstances where the CLC Computer Club might have a LAN party in the LAIR sometime. Although approval may be given for some software, only CLC ITS employees would be authorized to install software most likely.

LAIR PROBLEMS WE SEE:

With a closing time of 8pm, or any other time, one problem we see is with the Internet connection cut-off time of 10pm sharp (which for now is moot), we are hoping there will be a 5 to 10 minute "homework safe" window added to the internet time. Our GM, Mr. Prowse pointed this out to us.

Currently, there are no signs posted for the LAIR hours of operation, but we hope the LAIR will be open whenever the college is open at some point in the future.

Room lighting is very bright. Enough legitimate and verified complaints have come to all the appropriate departments and we think the "power" people agree on this issue. This is one of those issues that is bound to make being an SGA senator fun! (more on that later).

The FuseTV volume was a real problem, especially when someone had PAID MONEY into the Internet Jukebox and that thing starts blaring - or working. Forget about using the LAIR as a study space when all that is going on. The excessive FuseTV volume has been fixed.

For that TV tuned to the HD channel, the HDMI connector is NOT connected! The issue for us? It is a waste of money for a Widescreen HD when you don't use the HD part of it. What is the point? Maybe they haven't purchased or received the proper cables yet? (That will NOT fix the problem) A widescreen non-HD TV monitor has got to cost MUCH LESS than one with HD in it, so we hope that the HD part will come soon.   We are not even sure we should worry about the expense, since we don't even know if student activity fees have paid for it! (They didn't, the vending machine, Coke, donated the money TOWARD the TV purchase).

TV heights are too low. We think some of the CLC Basketball Team could be injured off the court just getting up out their seat.

We would like to see the Student Information Network video slides on any of the new TVs as well. Maybe the those slides could be showing on the LAIR computers as a screen saver or into the Wide TVs, at some later date perhaps?

WHAT WE PROPOSE or WHAT IS BEING DONE:

First of all, since the LAIR is supposed to be and was presented at meetings to be mainly intended for the students of CLC, the students of CLC should be submitting ideas, as we have here, for the LAIR as often as they think of them, and forward those ideas at a regularly scheduled SGA meeting for a read, then a vote possibly. You may also become interested in becoming a senator once you see how professionally, peacefully, and quickly Student Governance Association meetings end. Meeting times are biweekly, last about 45 minutes to an hour, and meeting times are posted on the CLC Website and around the ample bulletin boards throughout all the CLC campuses.

The excessive lighting will be fixed by CLC Maintenance staff ASAP, sources said Tuesday. Our recommendation? We also think they should rewire the lights into smaller areas, not just the whole room. Our reason? We can foresee many types of events happening in the LAIR, so being able to dim certain areas for certain events would be smart. WE also think the sound should be aimed that way, also. Mr. Prowse says there are effective ways of accomplishing this.

        According to our General Station Manager & chief engineer, Mr. Dan Prowse, TV audio output of all TV Monitors can be installed with Audio Limiting devices that should take care of a "majority of program volume disparities".   Mr. Prowse has had quite a lot to say of the matter, "Leaving the volume higher so '...those playing pool can hear the music' is a non-solution to me. This also makes no sense at all. Since the Office of Student Life is in charge of the area, no other department should be concerned with volume levels - nor channel selection for that matter - unless the volume levels interfere with offices that will be moving upstairs directly above the LAIR, in which case the LAIR on-duty staff can immediately resolve a complaint. But, frankly the largest volume issue is going to be with the jukebox, as it has been an issue in the past. That issue could also be solved electronically, and should be ASAP.", Mr. Prowse commented.
        Mr. Prowse also felt the urge to tell us more, "I have heard from more than one source, let me be clear, MORE THAN ONE source, that using the Internet part of the newly installed Internet Jukebox will somehow interfere with the Student Registration system during peak times. PROVE IT.".

IN GENERAL:

    We like the new space overall as well as the "power" people of CLC letting us have the space as we appreciate it, even though it doesn't look like the Lair's of the Olde Tymes - and it was supposed to have "a medieval air", it is still way better than what it used to be! Well, come on, Lair? One man's lair is another man's cave, right? (It doesn't smell medieval, yet...)

The LAIR is not just a lounge, but a combination of lounge, game room, TV room, and computer area, and possibly a small event room. That is a lot of potential noise that certainly would eliminate - for most students - the possibility of using the LAIR as any sort of study area for now. We also wonder what type of offices or storage space might be directly moved above the new LAIR. The noise generated in the new LAIR far exceeds any noise complaints that CLC Radio ever had coming from Lancer's Cafe.

The concept of the LAIR is mainly for student use during most normal CLC open hours. Just not Saturday or Sunday. The concept of TVs located in community rooms such as the LAIR, should be operated this way: people near a TV take a vote as to which channel is to be tuned and when. Everyone in the room or a designated attendant should assess for volume level changes and be able to make those changes as needed.