in the library with circles

the spiral staircases in the BLPES are a source of huge inspiration and debate. take for example questions posed to what is the equivalent of an "aunt agony" in the beaver, our student newspaper. i am not quoting verbatim given that i can't remember what was actually said, but this is the main idea.

"the design of the spiral staircases is annoying. every time i have to walk up one of those i end up using one foot disproportionately more than the other (if you've ever tried our spiral staircases you will know what i mean). this will lead to lopsided walking patterns or asymmetrical muscular development."

why is this so? if you tried walking up a spiral staircase normally (one after another) you will end up walking straight. which means you run into the railing. as a result you have to push out off the inside of your outer foot, and distance traversed by your left and right foot also differs. the distance means you're like to push off with the same foot most of the time. our library is a right spiral i believe (clockwise moving up) so your left foot is the one travelling a greater distance.

i would personally have encouraged the complainant to take the lift. unfortunately the designers have a knack of using stainless steel everywhere because it looks pretty (ask powerbook owners). if you don't use fabric softener while doing your laundry, you are prone to the occasional electrostatic jolt in low humidity environments. so be prepared to receive a nice shock when you press the shiny button beckoning "4". of course the staircase railings are made of stainless steel too but i'm assuming fit young men generally need not use such railings.

(redesigning staircases? but it looks good!) spiral staircases seemed efficient at the time and were not foisted on us by aliens, no matter what cultic patterns they form. everyone knows that a spiral utilises space economically and ascends vertically at the lowest directional gradient each time. but the point, my love, is that everyone loves circles, even joni mitchell, and i love joni mitchell, and any friend of circles is a friend of mine. and spirals form circles when you map them onto 2d-space. time really passes faster when you have seasons as markers.


Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when you�re older, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We�re captive on the carousel of time
We can�t return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell him,
Take your time, it won�t be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We�re captive on the carousel of time
We can�t return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There�ll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through
And the seasons they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down
We�re captive on the carousel of time
We can�t return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game