Remember, remember, the 'stache of Movember: We're well into the month-long men's health awareness-raising campaign, and members of the university community are hard at work growing moustaches, raising funds, or both.

Pictured above are the members of the university library's Movember team (l-r) Tim Ireland, Jonathan Sutherland, Mark Spencer, Ted Harms (team captain), Charles Woods, and Jenny Williams. As you can plainly see, this photo was taken around Hallow e-en, and thus is the team's "before" shot. I hope to run a photo of their "after" shot when the campaign draws to a close.

If there are any other individuals or teams out there raising money for men's cancer, let me know, and send me a photo of your progress.

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No matter where you go, there you are

Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) technology is the intersection between mapping, statistical analysis and database management, taking a geographic approach to interpreting data and creating intelligent maps that turn statistics into stories.

The role played by GIS in increasing peoples' understanding about the world they live in is highlighted each year with GIS Day, an annual worldwide celebration

If you are interested in finding out how researchers and students are using GIS on campus, then consider yourself invited to the University of Waterloo's annual GIS Day celebration, which takes place tomorrow in EV10221 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., and in the EV1 Courtyard from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Hosted by Mapping, Analysis and Design (MAD) and the Dana Porter Library's Geospatial Centre, GIS Day 2012 will include a poster and demo exhibition, lightning talks, a talk on Open Data by GEM’s Peter Johnson, as well as coffee and cake.

More information and a schedule of events is available on the university's GIS Day website.

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Second wettest October on record

It was a warm, wet October, according to the University of Waterloo Weather Station's latest report. In fact, it was the second wettest October on record.

The monthly report from the university's weather station reveals that daily average high temperatures were close to average, but the cloudy conditions throughout the month didn't let that temperature dip too much at night. "As a result, the daily low average temperatures were 2 degrees higher than the long-term average," reports weather station co-ordinator Frank Seglenieks. The maximum temperature reached was 23.6°C, with a minimum of -3.5°C.

"The story of the month was the incredible amount of precipitation," Seglenieks continues. "At 156.4 mm it was the second wettest October since records began in the area in 1914 (the wettest was back in 1954 with 190.8 mm). It was consistently wet with 6 days where over 10 mm fell, a couple over 20 mm and the longest dry period only lasted 2 days."

With a month as wet as October now on the books, the total precipitation for the year (679 mm) is now getting closer to the average for this point in the year (754.9 mm).

Historical temperature and precipitation information is available online.

And Seglenieks gives us a point to ponder. "This marks the 19th month in a row with above average overall temperatures."

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Staff association president nominations due

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) is seeking nominees for the position of president. Today is the deadline for nomination forms to be submitted, with a 4:30 p.m. cutoff.

The association's membership approved a special election and special general meeting to elect the UWSA president at their annual general meeting on October 25. The president will take office on November 29 for a two-year term.

The nomination form is available on the UWSA website. Completed forms are to be submitted to the UWSA office in DC 3603 by 4:30 p.m.

The president works with the association's board of directors and serves on a number of university committees, including the Provost's Advisory Committee on Staff Compensation (PACSC) and the Staff Relations Committee (SRC).

"Please consider serving the uWaterloo community by becoming a candidate for UWSA President or nominating a staff member," reads the message from the staff association. "As the University of Waterloo adapts and evolves in a changing world, we need a strong voice to ensure that our perspective is clearly presented."

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Town Hall coming and Tuesday's other morsels

The next town hall meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, November 20 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Humanities Theatre. At the meeting, Feridun Hamdullahpur and Sallie Keller will report on recent strategic planning activities, the university's internationalization agenda, and key campus updates.

The event is open to all members of the university community and is held twice annually, with extra town halls added to the schedule as events warrant, with last spring's Mid-cycle Review update being a recent example. The town hall meetings usually feature opening remarks from the president and provost, followed by a mix of questions sent in via email in advance, and questions from the floor. The event will be webcast for those who can't make it in person.

Additionally, a new method of asking questions of the university's senior leaders (vice-presidents and other executives are routinely drawn into the discussion) will be given a test-drive at next week's town hall. People can ask questions via Twitter by tweeting them to @uWaterlooLIVE or by using the hashtag #uwth. The hashtag can also be used to follow @uWaterlooLIVE's tweets from the meeting, as well as the tweets written by those who are attending the meeting or watching the webcast. Questions continue to be welcome from the floor as always, and can also be sent via email to townhall@uwaterloo.ca.

Other notes:

Professor Paul Spagnuolo, assistant professor in the University of Waterloo's School of Pharmacy, will be speaking at the latest installment of the UW Biomedical Seminar Series on Thursday, November 15 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in B1-266. His seminar is entitled "Exploring the anti-cancer treatment applications of nutraceuticals."

Shannon Lodoen of the women's volleyball team and Erich Woolley of the men's volleyball team were named Athletes of the Week for their skills on the court this past weekend. The men's volleyball team is in the midst of a perfect season, with a victory over the RMC Paladins in the PAC Friday night. The women's volleyball team also bested their opponents from RMC on Friday.

The Computer Science Graduate Information Session and Fair is scheduled for Wednesday, November 21, with the information session taking place at 11:00 a.m. in DC 1302, followed by the graduate fair from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in DC 1301.

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