∂21-Sep-77  0543	JMC  
To:   CLT    
Proposed paragraph in handout is fine.

∂18-Sep-77  1355	JMC  	papers to Leonard Monk, Philosophy dept.    
To:   PAT    
Please send him CONCEP, MENTAL, MINIMA, KNOW.ART[F75,JMC] and the ijcai paper.

∂18-Sep-77  1220	JMC  →11632 (27-Sep-77)  
To:   ___JMC.PLN[2,2]  
I will be at the University of Texas Computer Science Department in
Austin, Texas until September 27.  I can be reached there, and if
necessary, at Woody Bledsoe's home in the evening.

∂17-Sep-77  2048	JMC  
To:   LES    
I have seen an unknown named SOL recently.

∂17-Sep-77  1645	JMC  	modification to lsp.pub 
To:   CLT    
I have put three new text responses at the head of your list.  I believe
they won't harm anything you have done, and I am using them in
IMPURE[E77,JMC] which is a start on another chapter.  If they offend,
however, remove them.

∂17-Sep-77  1254	JMC  	Disks    
To:   LCW
CC:   JBR   
	Can you send me the literature on the disks (Diablo 410?)  you are
considering for the S-1 or send a message to PAT about how to get the
literature?  The performance of time-sharing system increasingly depends
on how they handle files stored on disks, because disk latencies can't be
sped up to the same extent as computing hardware.  Therefore, I think
Maybe we should even consider a theoretical approximation in which the
system is primarily a file system and consider what would be done to
optimize its performance as such.

∂17-Sep-77  1020	JMC  
To:   JRA    
That would be fine.

∂16-Sep-77  2358	JMC  
To:   ME
Recently yes, and probably since 23:38.

∂16-Sep-77  1350	JMC  
To:   LLW    
I have replaced the last paragraph of the letter to Trimble (now called
TRIMBL.LE1[LET,JMC]) by what follows and printed and signed a copy.  If
it's now ok, send a message to PAT (my secretary) asking her to send
it off.  Otherwise, I'll fix it when I return a week from Tuesday.

	I anticipate that the S-1 project will succeed, and if it does,
we would hope to acquire a system for our Laboratory and for the
Stanford University Computer Science Department.

∂15-Sep-77  1833	JMC  
To:   CLT    
I think it's his thesis, and there should be a bibliography for the book.

∂15-Sep-77  1617	JMC  
To:   CLT    
I have made minor changes to LSPCH4.  I guess we can ship it.

∂14-Sep-77  2331	JMC  
To:   LLW    
Lowell,

	S1.re1[let,jmc] is a draft of the letter you requested.

					John

∂14-Sep-77  2134	JMC  
To:   LLW    
Excuse my confusing you.  My idea was to talk with you about other matters
at 10 and have the meeting at 11.  I have told the others to come at 11,
so I assume that will be ok with Tom and Curt.  You and I could talk
afterward or some other time if 10 doesn't suit you.  My only commitment
is a group of touring Swedish superannuated parliamentarians at 2:45pm.

∂14-Sep-77  2103	JMC  	Meeting to discuss time-sharing system for Stanford-1.
To:   LCW, TM, PMF, LES, JBR, REG
CC:   LLW    
All but lcw and tm have already agreed to a meeting Friday at 11am
at AI Lab to discuss AI Lab undertaking time-sharing system for S-1.
I will be in Texas for 10 days after that, so it is either Friday or
after I return.  Would LCW and TM please say whether Friday is
possible for them?

∂12-Sep-77  1812	JMC  	A system for the S-1.   
To:   LLW
CC:   LES, JBR, REG, LCW, TM    
	I have talked to Jeff Rubin, our chief system programmer and
Lester Earnest, our executive officer.  We are definitely interested if we
can see our way clear to eventually making the S-1 our main machine.  I
have also talked to Ralph Gorin, who used to be chief system programmer,
and who is now manager of LOTS (the University's low-overhead time-sharing
system using a DEC-20.  Ralph is also interested.  Therefore, it looks
like we can assemble a first class team.

	It seems to us that the Navy might want a system that falls short
of a full-fledged time-sharing system on the S-1.  Specifically, it might
suit them to run an S-1 system as a satellite of something like a DEC-20
on which editing, compiling, and filing was done.  The S-1 would be
reserved for heavy computing with object programs on big arrays and much
number crunching.  Such a system could be developed quickly, but would
require buying a computer.  A Unix PDP-11 system would also work, but I
would guess that an installation that made good use of an S-1 might
require the larger satellite.  Such a satellite system could be gotten
working very quickly - within a year, I would imagine.

	Our own interest is not in that direction, although we might do it
under some conditions.  We want a complete time-sharing system running on
the S-1 that can handle a large number of users.  This will take longer.
It might be that ARPA Information Processing Techniques would be
interested in helping support such a development, because they support
many PDP-10 installations that are running out of address space.  If you
like, I could talk to Vint Cerf there, who used to be on the Stanford
faculty.  It isn't obvious to me whether ARPA interest would be an
advantage or a disadvantage to you.

	If we undertake to do a system, we will want to be sure that
it will be a good general purpose system and will be better than the
present KL-10 based system.  We don't have enough talent to do justice
to both in the long run.  I have not talked yet to Gio Wiederhold,
but several people seem to have got the impression that he considers
himself to have primary responsibility for the parallel-processing
time-sharing system.  We will have to see how well our ideas mesh,
but our interest will depend on our prospects of meeting our goals.

	What if any commitments have been made?

	I should be able to get back to you in a few days with some
technical ideas, and then we should arrange a meeting.

∂12-Sep-77  1651	JMC  
To:   PAT    
 ∂12-Sep-77  1643	FTP:Feigenbaum at SUMEX-AIM	weizenbaum review
Date: 12 SEP 1977 1644-PDT
From: Feigenbaum at SUMEX-AIM
Subject: weizenbaum review
To:   jmc at SU-AI

John, just a reminder to send down a copy of your Physics Today
review. Would you send one to Bruce too? Thanks!

Ed
-------

∂11-Sep-77  1334	JMC  
To:   RDR    
That's a good idea. I'll do it.

∂11-Sep-77  1332	JMC  
To:   RDR
CC:   REG, DPB   
Thanks for the info abbut 105/6.  I agree with their choice, mainly
because I don't want a lot of 105/6 alumni trying to do big numerical
and array computations
on LOTS with an interpreter.

∂11-Sep-77  1018	JMC  
To:   MRC
CC:   JBR   
REM's messages would be taken better coming from someone whose relation
to the Lab was less marginal, but the fact is that others prefer to
mutter under their breaths, so his messages serve a useful purpose,
and I don't want to make him stop.  After we have two channels, maybe
we can think of some way to confine the long transfers to one channel
so they will mainly compete with each other.

∂10-Sep-77  0904	JMC  
To:   MRC
CC:   LES   
I have gobbled down Moon's IOELEV program.  It would be worthwhile
to look at it at least; but if we want to make the DEC types happy I guess we
are stuck with DEC's bad ideas...sigh.
Sigh!!  We have more than keeping D.E.C. happy for sticking with
their bad ideas in IOELEV.  LOTS needS compatibility with their future
system changes.

∂10-Sep-77  0901	JMC  
To:   MRC    
Was it Glenn Ricart at NIH who uses the NBS TIP.  They are Dialnet
enthusiasts but have been transmitting information between PDP11s
by telephone.  We should listen to them and try to meet their needs
if we can, but we can't commit ourselves to compatibility with their
existing implementation.

∂09-Sep-77  2009	JMC  
To:   REG    
I think the following shows that you need to improve your relations
with the students.  The main requirement is more frequent and more
informative notices of what is going on.  Brief messages dictated to
Queenie would fill the need, and the co-ordinator could do much of
the work.

 ∂09-Sep-77  1733	FTP:Blohm at SUMEX-AIM	LOTS Student Coordinator   
Date:  9 SEP 1977 1734-PDT
From: Blohm at SUMEX-AIM
Subject: LOTS Student Coordinator
To:   jmc at SAIL


						9 - AUG - 77

Professor McCarthy,

    As a student who has used LOTS extensively for the past three quarters,
I feel that I have earned the right to express my opinions regarding the
operation of LOTS. [I also have come to expect that all reasonable thoughts
should be given serious consideration.]  Specifically, I feel that the
position of "Student Coordinator" as it is being advertised this year, 
is totally UNREASONABLE!  By making the position an almost full time
job (80%), Mr. Gorin is essentially making it impossible for ANY student
to take the job. For this reason, the job of Student Coordinator will 
probably fall to a non-student! [This year, it will go to Mike Bryon,
a person who showed NO interest in LOTS until Mr. Gorin hired him for
the summer (he graduated last June).]  
    I feel that the Student Coordinator should be required to be a student.
A non-student just does not have the contact with the general student
populace that a student does. Furthermore, there is a way that LOTS can
get twice as much for their money. By hiring two people at 40% time, 
Mr. Gorin will get two different viewpoints on any one issue. Second,
by paying two people 40% each, he will probably get about 110% time,
PROVIDED that two interested people are chosen.  I have discussed this
possibility with a number of students who were interested, and they all
agreed that while they could not handle an 80% job; they could handle
a 40% job.  As to the type of people who are desirable to have for
coordinator, it would probably be best to have one science/engineering
student and one social science student.
    What do you think?

		Jeff Blohm



-------
How do you envisage the job of student co-ordinator?  It seems to me that
we don't need two people just to express viewpoints.  I would like your
view on how much co-ordinating there is to do.  I am not sure of Ralph's
exact view on how much co-ordinating he needs as compared to programming,
but it's certainly clear that in the immediate future we have a lot of
tuning of the system to do.  I suspect his view of the matter is influenced
by the fact that David Roode got into an adversary position almost
immediately.  By the way, I assume you have sent a message of similar
content to Ralph.
 ∂09-Sep-77  1828	FTP:Blohm at SUMEX-AIM   
Date:  9 SEP 1977 1829-PDT
From: Blohm at SUMEX-AIM
To:   jmc at SAIL

What I feel the duties of the student coordinator should be:
 1) Serve as a user to staff interface for complaints, etc. The fact is,
    some users just can't converse with Ralph, and find it much more
    convenient to talk to a fellow student.  Also, a lot of students are
    afraid of Mr. Gorin.
 2) He should make life "easier" for the users. This entails making
    various system programs, such as "OPEN" easier for the user to
    understand.
 3) He (or she, in fact, it would be rather nice to have a female
    coordinator) should keep the users informed. Actually, this is Mr.
    Gorin's job, but he never seems to do it. Users should be given
    access to concise information describing the state of the system
    (this does not necessarily have to be in the form of a system message,
    a constantly updated file would work fine). Most users (myself
    included don't understand such explanations as "continuing REV10
    upgrade".
 4) He should keep in touch with other systems in the country, bringing
    updated versions of programs to LOTS. Again, this should be done
    by Ralph or Mo, because the student coordinator's job is transitory
    in nature. For instance, Dave is constantly bringing over revisions
    of SOS; and by his request, I am working with the author of HG in
    order to make it compatable to the LOTS environment and bring it
    over.

Undoubtedly, there are more tasks that are the SC's responsibility, but
these are the one's that come to mind.  As for LOTS's present situation,
certainly, what we need now is more programming. However, the job 
description for SC states that the candidate should have a general
knowledge of computing languages, NOT that he be a hacker! Of course,
if a candidate is a hacker, this should be counted as an asset. 

If you don't mind, I'd like to come back to my suggestion of having one 
person from "hard" science and another from the social sciences. There is 
no shortage of people who could both program and work with the users.  For
instance, in the social science's we have such people as JQJOHNSON and
KO (who has indicated an interest in the position, IF it was 40%). Both
of them are excellent PROGRAMMERS as well as students. Knowing the way
people divide their time, by hiring two people, you would get more than
you would get if you hired one person at 80%.

A final thought, I think that student's should have some kind of input
in the decision of who is chosen as coordinator. After all, he will be
their representative! In addition, it precludes the possibility of the
manager choosing a "patsy", who will always side with him on all issues.
Also, if a coordinator the students don't like is chosen, LOTS could very
well lose the services of a number of programmers (they could/would vacate
to such places as SCIP,SAIL,SRI,or SUMEX).


-------

∂09-Sep-77  1821	JMC  	NSF proposal at long last    
To:   LES    
On your desk is a copy.  Would you read it to see if it
has everything in it that NSF needs.  Please check the budget also.
Maybe it needs something more connecting the Lab support elements of
the budget with the goals of the research.  The total sum needs to be
inserted on the front page.  The source is NSF[E77,JMC].

∂09-Sep-77  1807	JMC  
To:   creary at SUMEX-AIM   
The following are pubbable versions of these papers.  A note to PAT here
will get you printed versions: MINIMA[S77,JMC], MENTAL[F76,JMC], CONCEP[E76,JMC].

∂09-Sep-77  1750	JMC  
To:   blohm at SUMEX-AIM    
How do you envisage the job of student co-ordinator?  It seems to me that
we don't need two people just to express viewpoints.  I would like your
view on how much co-ordinating there is to do.  I am not sure of Ralph's
exact view on how much co-ordinating he needs as compared to programming,
but it's certainly clear that in the immediate future we have a lot of
tuning of the system to do.  I suspect his view of the matter is influenced
by the fact that David Roode got into an adversary position almost
immediately.  By the way, I assume you have sent a message of similar
content to Ralph.

∂09-Sep-77  1505	JMC  
To:   CLT    
Here is a suggestion for the initial paragraphs of the appendix:

Examples of Computer-checked proofs

	In chapter 3 we showed how to prove that certain recursive
LISP programs meet their specifications.  The techniques presented
in that chapter require further development before they can be
economically applied to large programs.  One requirement is that the
proofs be checked by computer, since there is just as much opportunity
for wishful thinking in writing or reading a proof of correctness as
there is in writing the program in the first place.

	This appendix contains proofs of the correctness of
%2samefringe%1 in a form acceptable to a first order logic
proof-checker called FOL developed at the Stanford University Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory.  An FOL proof is organized into several
parts.  The object of this organization is first to establish the
language in which the proof is made, then to present the general
axioms of the field of reasoning (LISP programs in the present case),
then to present the facts about the particular problem (the function
definitions in present case), and finally to give the proof itself.
If the stage has been properly set, the proof itself will be short
and comprehensible as well as acceptable to the computer.

∂09-Sep-77  0011	JMC  
To:   PAT    
Please decorate miller.le5 as a LOTS memo with a copy to gorin and mo.and Jim Adams.

∂08-Sep-77  1635	JMC  	letter to Peter Weiner  
To:   PAT    
Dear Peter:
Thanks for your note.  You may be interested in the enclosed writeup on
Dialnet with a view to adding Dialnet capability to UNIX.

∂08-Sep-77  1357	JMC  
To:   LES
CC:   MRC   
Please improve the short Dialnet blurb as you proposed.  Let's wait on the
modem till we see the Vadic literature which is being mailed, but let's
plan to go ahead with one or the other promptly.  We also need new
dialers at each end.  Vadic sells them and Telco rents them.  I want
a separate dialer for Dialnet, because the program should be a package,
and the using the other dialer would mean that the program would have
to take into account other uses of the dialer.

∂07-Sep-77  2153	JMC  
To:   DGR    
The design has started.  Mark Crispin has been working on the project
since early in July.  He is called MRC here and has already prepared
some documents.  I suggest you introduce yourself by a message to MRC
here.  He is logged in at the moment.

∂07-Sep-77  1234	JMC  
To:   MRC    
Thanks, please do it.

∂07-Sep-77  1233	JMC  
To:   PAT    
also davis.le3

∂07-Sep-77  1217	JMC  
To:   PAT    
Please pub and print BOLLES.LE1 and include the Dialnet paper.

∂05-Sep-77  0119	JMC  	Book with invited addresses  
To:   erman at CMU-10B 
Is there in fact a plan to publish a book with the invited addresses.
If so, can I revise mine, and by when would this have to be done.  If
not, I may publish it in MI9.

∂05-Sep-77  0119	JMC  	Book with invited addresses  
To:   reddy at CMU-10B 
Is there in fact a plan to publish a book with the invited addresses.
If so, can I revise mine, and by when would this have to be done.  If
not, I may publish it in MI9.

∂04-Sep-77  1520	JMC  	Swap or buy   
To:   LYNCH at SRI-KL
CC:   RAPHAEL at SRI-KL, REG, LES  
The one possibility that occurs to me is that LOTS might want to
buy or swap for some night-time use just before final exams.  We
could offer daytime use in summer or maybe just money.
The big problem would be terminal access in either direction.

∂04-Sep-77  0026	JMC  	Inclusion in your document   
To:   MRC    

	Please include the following paragraph in any Dialnet protocol
document that are to be read outside Stanford.
Also please include Les in your messages.  Let's also use Dialnet as
a proper name for the project.

	These protocols are being developed as part of the Dialnet project
at the Stanford University Artificial Intelligence Laboratory supported
by NSF grant xxx(get the right number from Hersche) with John McCarthy
as Principal Investigator.  The project is described
in a paper available at SU-AI as DIALNE[DIA,JMC].

∂03-Sep-77  1710	JMC  	Crowding on your machine.    
To:   lynch at SRI-KL  
I notice that your users complain about crowding but don't use the machine
much at night or on weekends.  A place like SRI will never have as much
night use of a time-sharing system as a university, but if more of your
people had reasonable home terminals, e.g. Datamedias, the usage would
spread out somewhat more than it has.

∂03-Sep-77  0003	JMC  
To:   DON    
"Put air in X" where X is a container kills the program.

∂03-Sep-77  0001	JMC  
To:   dungeon at MIT-DMS
CC:   DON   
Is killing DUNGEON in two moves a record?

@<mdl>dungeon
Welcome to Dungeon.
You are in an open field west of a big white house, with a boarded
front door.
There is a small mailbox here.
>open box
Opening the mailbox reveals a leaflet.
>put air in box
I'm sorry, you seem to have encountered an error in the program.
Send mail to DUNGEON@MIT-DMS describing what it was you tried to do.

NTH-REST-PUT-OUT-OF-RANGE!-ERRORS 
PUTTER 
Your score is 0 [total of 448 points], in 2 moves.
This score gives you the rank of Beginner.

∂02-Sep-77  2036	JMC  
To:   dungeon at MIT-DMS    
 sapphire-encrusted bracelet here.
>d
There is no way to go in that direction.
>fill sack with air
I can't parse that.
>open sack
Opening the sandwich bag reveals a clove of garlic, and a .lunch.
>take garlic
Taken.
>take lunch
Taken.
>put air in sack
I'm sorry, you seem to have encountered an error in the program.
Send mail to DUNGEON@MIT-DMS describing what it was you tried to do.

NTH-REST-PUT-OUT-OF-RANGE!-ERRORS 
PUTTER 
Your score is 51 [total of 448 points], in 196 moves.
This score gives you the rank of Novice Adventurer.
@k
[Confirm]
Logout Job 20, User SU-AI, Account SYSV, TTY 235, at  2-Sep-77 20:38:30
  Used 0:0:9 in 0:25:58
Connection has been closed
Reset received from host
Host dead
Data quota overflow
End of file
Site:   ↑C
↑C

.r ppsav

∂02-Sep-77  1632	JMC  
To:   REF    
Vera has disappeared for the weekend, leaving me accepting invitations.

∂31-Aug-77  1057	JMC  	TA office space    
To:   RDR, REG, wiederhold at SUMEX-AIM    
When terminals are moved to Terman, we will need less space for them
in CERAS.  Perhaps CERAS will agree to let us keep all the terminals
we have in the lobby, and make more of 105 into office space.

∂31-Aug-77  1054	JMC  
To:   mf at MIT-AI
Unless you know something I don't, you can't carry treasures, except the
painting, up the chimney.

∂30-Aug-77  1601	JMC  
To:   PAT    
Can you get me a xerox of the article referred to.
 ∂30-Aug-77  1534	MS   
I and Mr. Ono have something to say about non-knowledge.  Do you have
time to discuss this afternoon?  Do you, by any chance, have a copy of
the Journal of Philosophy, vol. 72, no. 19, Nov. 6, l975, pp 690-716?
This issue contains an article by Kripke

∂30-Aug-77  0121	JMC  
To:   DON    
The above is more suitable for a program than a person.

∂30-Aug-77  0117	JMC  	Using the thief    
To:   DON    
The thief's cycle, if he has a fixed cycle, has length about 122.
Suppose one could establish his itinerary, i.e. in what phase in
the cycle he is in what room.  The gaps would indicate unknown
rooms, and the order would say something about what the game
designers were thinking about.

∂30-Aug-77  0024	JMC  
To:   DON    
I suppose the "invisible object" is just a grammatical goof.  Had you
left an object in the basket, it would have appeared in that place.
As for the sack, it fits in the receptacle even if it contains the
brick which will not fit in the receptacle by itself.  My far-fetched
idea is to collect coal gas (lighter than air) in the sack.  Alas, I
can't guess what the receptacle is.  I would guess a torch holder if there
were a way of not using up the torch or restoring it, but
perhaps it's a valve for gas, turnable with screwdriver or wrench.
TAKE VALVE might elicit a response if there is one.

∂29-Aug-77  2337	JMC  
To:   DON    
I forget whether I told you that I am thinking of trying to collect
coal gas, but don't give it much of a probability.  The sack is described
as a tall brown bag, and it is non-flammable.

∂29-Aug-77  1451	JMC  
To:   psz at MIT-ML    
Unfortunately, no-one seems to be organizing such a conference.  There is
a conference on the history of programming languages to be held in Boston
next June and LISP is one of the languages included.  Dr. Stoyan should
have received an invitation to that conference.

∂29-Aug-77  0925	JMC  
To:   DON    
I haven't tried getting 357 points recently.  Did you perhaps forget to
put something in the trophy case?  I have tried burning the leaves and
the listings.  My current idea, which I have not tried, is see if the
coal gas can be used, or, even more far fetched, to see if one of the
sources of water is really a source of oil.  It would be cute if the
solution were to burn the brick rather than explode it.

∂28-Aug-77  1136	JMC  	Baran and Farber   
To:   GFF    
Many thanks for pointing me at it.  Their view that computation and
communication are inseparable, if accepted, will lead to excessive
regulatory activity.  If we can get Dialnet (and/or PCNET) working
soon enough, the regulators can be faced with a fait accompli.  Any
help in achieving this will be welcome.

∂28-Aug-77  1133	JMC  	Your paper with Farber. 
To:   pbaran at USC-ISI
Geoff Goodfellow pointed me at it.  Some comments are in BARAN.RE1[E77,JMC]
at SU-AI.  I find one major point - the inseparability of compuation
and communication - unsupported, mistaken, and likely to lead to pernicious
regulatory activity if believed.  I would be glad to discuss the issues
further, either on the telephone or by net mail.

∂28-Aug-77  1132	JMC  	Your paper with Farber  
To:   baran at USC-ISI 
Geoff Goodfellow pointed me at it.  Some comments are in BARAN.RE1[E77,JMC]
at SAIL.  I find a major point - that communication and computation
are inseparable - unsupported, mistaken, and likely to lead to pernicious
regulatory activity if believed.
I would be happy to discuss the issues further, either by messages or by
telephone.

∂27-Aug-77  2215	JMC  
To:   DON    
No. Enter doesn't work.

∂27-Aug-77  2212	JMC  
To:   DON    
Yes, it answers to the name of balloon and can be boarded.

∂27-Aug-77  1653	JMC  
To:   TVR    
If so then the obvious thing to try is burning the leaves in the basket.

∂27-Aug-77  0924	JMC  
To:   TED    
NYT seems to be broken.

∂27-Aug-77  0132	JMC  	zork
To:   mf at MIT-AI
Handing the lit bomb to the thief doesn't work.  He puts it in his bag
and leaves, but you get blown up - not him.

∂27-Aug-77  0129	JMC  	Crocks and bugs.   
To:   dungeon at MIT-DMS    
Did you receive my previous message about the explosion taking place
in the room in which the brick was put in a container rather than
the room in which the fuse is lit?  It seems like a bug; if it's a
feature one is supposed to use, it looks too much like a bug to be
aesthetic.

Speaking of aesthetics, the coke bottles and listings seem rather
narcissistic, and one can't be enthusiastic about trying to use
them.

Just now, I handed the lit bomb to the thief.  He took it and left, it said.
However, I got blown up - not the thief.

Further crock.  When I got blown up, I was carrying the coffin, and it
reappeared in the kitchen, where I ignored it and went back
into the dungeon to the glacier room.  When I attempted to leave
through a passage too narrow for coffins, it refused to let me
do so, although "inventory" confirmed that I was not carrying
the coffin.  Another variable not properly updated.
It had let me in through the narrow passage.

I must confess that I have been exploring these strange possibilities,
because I have no better ideas at present about how to get beyond
357 points.

∂24-Aug-77  2134	JMC  
To:   REG    
I trust your judgment entirely in this matter.

∂24-Aug-77  2131	JMC  
To:   morris at PARC-MAXC   
May the truth win.  I'm still at IJCAI.

∂24-Aug-77  2127	JMC  
To:   MJL
CC:   CLT   
Carolyn Talcott (CLT) has been helping revise them.  We want to
sell them and the Maclisp manual in the bookstore.  I'll
be back Friday night and review progress.  By when must they
be available?  Some chapters have been revised.

∂21-Aug-77  2128	JMC   via AI	samefringe  
To:   boyer at SRI-KL, boyer at SRI-KL
Your proofs look very nice, but it isn't clear to me whether you
proved termination.  To put it sharply, if I write the Lisp
definition.  (DEFUN PARADOX (x) (not (paradox x))), can
I then prove anything?

∂21-Aug-77  2118	JMC  
To:   lots at SRI-KL   
I am inclined to agree with your message and would like to
know whom I am agreeing with.

∂18-Aug-77  2318	JMC   via AI   
To:   PAT    
I will make transparencies here, and won't need slides.

∂16-Aug-77  2209	JMC   via AI   
To:   PAM    
What were you doing editing my mail file?

∂16-Aug-77  0117	JMC  
To:   PAT    
Please send Suppes a copy of the memo sent to Massy.

∂16-Aug-77  0041	JMC  
To:   bobrow at PARC-MAXC   
When and where is our panel?

∂15-Aug-77  1653	JMC  	Antoine Cuvelier   
To:   JC
He has asked to use the computer for the next ten days, for some
IRCAM connected project.  If you consider what he is doin worth while,
I agree.  However, the fact that many people will be at IJCAI during
that period was my main reason for agreeing.

∂15-Aug-77  1648	JMC  
To:   PAT    
Please get Peggy Waters a minimal allocation of computer as MJW.

∂15-Aug-77  1457	JMC  
To:   PAT    
I need  copies of FIRST, MENTAL, MINIMA, EXOTIC, and CONCEP.

∂15-Aug-77  1456	JMC  
To:   PAT    
Please send Suppes a copy of the memo I sent to Massy, et. al.

∂14-Aug-77  1224	JMC  
To:   JC
Could the following have been intended for you?
 ∂14-Aug-77  1111	100  : Cuthbert	Breakfast
Cheese blintzes with Elizabeth.

∂13-Aug-77  2111	JMC  
To:   RWW    
I'll bring a copy on Tuesday.

∂13-Aug-77  0920	JMC  
To:   cerf at USC-ISI  
Vint,
	We have just hired Mark Crispin to work on the Dialnet project,
and we don't have protocols yet.  Our present plan is to try out the
protocols on 1200 bit/sec lines.  PCNET seems to be suffering from
committee disease - overelaboration from trying to get everybody's
ideas in.  There also seems to be a shortage of actual PCs.

John

∂12-Aug-77  2308	JMC  	Suspected bug.
To:   dungeon at MIT-DMS    
I note that if the brick is put in the sack, the sack is transported
somewhere, and the wire is burned, then the explosion takes place
at the place where the brick was put in the sack rather than where
the explosion was set off.  This is also true of putting the brick
in the coffin and moving the coffin.  Kindly state if this is purely
a bug.  I note that after the explosion, the container is described
as containing the brick, though not the wire, but attempting to take
the brick fails.  No harm comes from holding the bag while the explosion
takes place.

∂12-Aug-77  2305	JMC  	discovery
To:   DON    
I now suspect that I have discovered a bug, not a feature.  Putting
the brick in a container and carrying the container somewhere else
and setting off the explosion in the container causes the explosion
to take place in the room in which the brick was placed in the container
rather than in the room where the brick is when the explosion takes
place.

∂12-Aug-77  1912	JMC  	zork
To:   DON    
An explosion doesn't destroy the engravings, although it does destroy the
grail even when untouched.

∂12-Aug-77  1911	JMC  
To:   postel at USC-ISIB    
Thanks, I'll take you up on it when we have something.  Mark Crispin,
whom you may know, is working on the protocols.

∂12-Aug-77  1542	JMC  
To:   RWW    
Filman has fixed the bibliography.

∂12-Aug-77  1154	JMC  
To:   REG    
You will have to implement the thing.

∂11-Aug-77  1323	JMC  
To:   REF    
Yes, cite it as given at IJCAI-77, but to appear in SIGART Newsletter.

∂10-Aug-77  2123	JMC  
To:   DON    
Alas, I guess I'm to busy for any more zorking till the end of the month.

∂10-Aug-77  1048	JMC  
To:   DON    
I also tried lowering with the same result.  Yes, let's pool.

∂09-Aug-77  1324	JMC  
To:   PAT    
Please decorate americ.le2[let,jmc].  This one is urgent.

∂09-Aug-77  0953	JMC  
To:   DON, TVR    
I have heard nothing about taking the engravings.

∂08-Aug-77  2136	JMC  
To:   DON    
According to Tovar, your conjecture is correct.  The yellow turns on
the green light, and the brown turns it off.

∂08-Aug-77  1701	JMC  
To:   RWW    
Who did you think would complete the references for your part of the NSF proposal?

∂08-Aug-77  1218	JMC  	zork
To:   DON    
I tried planting the stick using guano as fertilizer with the idea
that it is a cutting.  It doesn't know "plant", and putting the stick
in the guano doesn't work even after digging.   I might try the garlic,
but it's a long shot.  By the way, only the yellow button is needed to
turn on the green light.
Thanks for  the weights and the packing info.  The message about not
being able to go through the door yourself seems significant.  Could
the thief be made to open it?  I have also thought of booby trapping
the coffin with the brick and lighting the fuse just when the thief
comes to steal it, but alas this world has few properties the programmers
haven't thought of.

∂06-Aug-77  1104	JMC  
To:   DON    
Gunk is one of the official names for the contents of the tube.

∂05-Aug-77  2256	JMC  
To:   DON    
zork[e77,jmc]/7p contains weights.

∂05-Aug-77  1042	JMC  
To:   MRC    
I'll dredge out what's relevant.  There is no special need for Sumex to
come into it at this time.  Please concentrate on getting draft protocols.

∂04-Aug-77  2338	JMC  
To:   RAK    
 ∂04-Aug-77  2311	RAK  	Mistak   
By your comments do I gather that page 3 is it?  What directory is it in
again?
Dick
page 3 mistak[e77,jmc]

∂04-Aug-77  2252	JMC  	MISTAK   
To:   RAK    
Your version on page 3 looks good, although it doesn't answer any specific
anti-nuclear arguments.

∂03-Aug-77  0037	JMC  	Rivest cipher 
To:   WD
I understood you to say that it wasn't obvious how to get p and q from
s and t.  Perhaps I misunderstood, because the following seems to work:
st ≡ 1 (mod phi(pq) = pq(1-1/p)(1-1/q) = (p-1)(q-1)), i.e.
st = a(p-1)(q-1)+1.  However, a is easily determined, since we know pq,
and (p-1)(q-1) will be only slightly less.  In fact, it seems that
a = [st/(pq)]+1.   This gives us (p-1)(q-1), so that we have p+q and pq
and solving a quadratic gives p and q.  Thus the problem of solving the
cipher is fully equivalent to factoring pq.

	As to the latter, I suspect that powerful factoring methods may
exist when a number is known to be the product of exactly two primes.
Notice that if we had a↑b ≡ 1 (mod pq) for just one a and b, we would
have a factor of (p-1)(q-1).  Most likely this possibility has already
been thoroughly explored.

∂01-Aug-77  2316	JMC  
To:   RAK    
Just got back from dinner.  Sure go ahead.

∂01-Aug-77  2215	JMC  	Leaflet to demonstrators.    
To:   RAK    
This is not the one we are promising for the press, but MISTAK[E77,JMC]
is a draft of one aimed at the demonstrators themselves.

∂01-Aug-77  1657	JMC  	lisp history  
To:   hewitt at MIT-AI 
Thanks for the list of questions.  I will make sure the draft addresses
all of them.  I wonder if you would check at M.I.T., especially the
RLE document room for relevant documents, especially RLE progress
reports.  I would like xeroxes of anything that turns up.

Also, would you pester Jean Sammett to fulfill her promise to send
Stoyan, remmeber him, a formal invitation to the conference.  I wanted
him to be an invited commentator, but she gave me a hard time.

∂30-Jul-77  0551	JMC  	bug 
To:   dungeon at MIT-DMS    
Tying rope to railing after untying it loses with
NTH-REST-PUT-OUT-OF-RANGE!-ERRORS ROPE-FUNCTION.

∂29-Jul-77  1803	JMC  	grump    
To:   dungeon at MIT-DMS    
1. How can 50,000 pounds of rock fall on me when I'm in the clearing
under the sky?

2. How about fixing the grammar of "The window opens with difficulty ...".
to something like "You open the window with difficulty..."

∂29-Jul-77  1555	JMC  	Emergency
To:   pratt at MIT-AI  
As the man says, "I don't care what you say about me so long as you
spell my name correctly".  You have synthesized for me a middle
initial.  I don't use one, and when I had one, it wasn't M.  Jerry
Pournelle provided me with R, but that wasn't right either.  You have
also misspelled "Electrotechnical Laboratory".  I like the paper up
to page 11.  More substantive comments later.

∂29-Jul-77  1057	JMC  
To:   hart at SRI-KL   
I think his ideas are often pedestrian, but there is no doubt about
his ability to accomplish the goals he sets himself.

∂29-Jul-77  1055	JMC  
To:   DON    
My meta-I files rarely work at DM, so I use SRI-KL.  I am thinking
about a LISP adventurer's assistant that could be programmed to
go places and get things on the basis of knowledge accumulated so
far.

∂28-Jul-77  2048	JMC  	zork
To:   DON    
I know how to use wire; willing to trade.

∂27-Jul-77  1832	JMC  
To:   dungeon at MIT-DMS    
Is it a bug that LIGHT CANDLE WITH MATCH no longer works at SRI-KL?

∂27-Jul-77  1706	JMC  	Thesis proposal    
To:   DBG    
1. I like the direction in which you are proposing to go.

2. If you aren't going to drive the cart, then you might consider
taking pictures yourself and processing them.

3. I haven't come to a definite conclusion, but lean to asking for a
bit more than you propose.

4. Since you won't have the inertial navigation, etc., perhaps you should
plan to calibrate by having a known large object in the scene.

∂24-Jul-77  2321	JMC  
To:   RAK    
Very sorry, I went out to eat and forgot.

∂23-Jul-77  1449	JMC  
To:   dungeon at MIT-DMS    
At dms, echo works.  At sri-kl I think echo originally worked, but I had
to change it at some time to eecho, and some said that <blank>echo worked.
As of last night, neither worked and neither did any obvious variant.
As to how I got it to lose, I usually take the painting, drug the cyclops
and return, then go to the dam, open it, and then go down for the bar
after picking up the boat and the pump.  The files scr.1, scr.2 and scr.3
on [e77,jmc] accomplish this.  When sri-kl gets fixed, please let me know.

∂22-Jul-77  2252	JMC  	BUG OR FEATURE
To:   DUNGEON at MIT-DMS    
Is it a bug or a feature that the previous solution to the the loud room,
saying ECHO no longer works?

∂22-Jul-77  1100	JMC  
To:   cerf at USC-ISI  
You have to say EXORCISE at the entrance while posessing bell, book and candle.
The candle must be lit, which will require a match if it has blown out.  If you
find out about how to get the ruby or how to get into the section of the dungeon
off the Egyptian room, I would be grateful for a clue.  The greatest sin I have
been able to commit is to burn the book.

Mark Crispin has just come to work on Dialnet, so we should have some
definite plans soon.