User talk:24.91.86.110

Corrections re: the Vegreville Egg monument posting
My name is Jim Yocum. I was a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Utah (1973 to 1977). I was one of the fabricators, and subsequent constructors of, the pysanka (a.k.a. "Easter egg" or simply "the egg" in Vegreville.) Many errors, some significant, and some very "suspicious" statements, exist re: this posting about the egg. I would like to start to set the record straight. (Pls let it be noted, I have nothing to gain, except setting the record straight by this input. While I have not had any interaction with Ron Resch for decades, none significant since the completion of this project, my understanding, he is now deceased -- hence my correction of this, not his.))

Let us start with an easy one -- one of which I had very direct, very first-hand knowledge, since I did a lot of this work with my own two hands. No lasers were involved in the fabrication of the egg -- as in "...to guide the lasers which cut the Pysanka's tiles..." The "tiles" were cut on a Gerber(tm) plotter, interfaced to the University of Utah's UNIVAC 1108 (pls note that number) using an aluminum cutting router. (The paper was removed, aluminum was put down (by your's truly and others, e.g., Bruce Gold); buttons were pressed (again, by me -- and other, again, Bruce Gold), and a router cut out the "tiles" -- obtw, we called them "star shapes.")

Next, let me point out one any "casual observer" can prove for themselves. To describe the egg as "...fashioned over an aluminum framework" is a mis-characterization. It _is_ a "skin" of anodized aluminum.

Pls let me go to the other end of the "error spectrum" (the most extreme error), from my prospective. While I am sure Paul Maxym Sembaliuk was a very nice person, possibly involved with artistic work, maybe even fund raising (I have reasons to doubt it), I do not think, in the many months I worked on the egg (sometime to the exclusion of everything else) I ever met the man. Not once. By no means do I consider the egg to be "The work by Paul Maxym Sembaliuk..." It _was_ the work of Ronald Dale Resch -- and some of us "grunts." For something like two (2) years, this was his (Ron's) sole project. (Please see National Geographic Oct 1976 and RonResch.org.) OBTW To characterize Ron as a Computer Science Professor is... not accurate. I think his "title" might have been "Adjunct professor" -- not "(full) Professor" as implied by this article. He was a creator, an artist -- if you will. I do not think anyone, including himself, would consider him to be a computer scientist. To the best of my knowledges, he never even wrote a single line of computer code. I am fairly certain he never taught a course (of any type) at the University of Utah.

FYI the "The small sum of money granted to Vegreville" was $30,000. That was a number I heard _many_ times while working (almost for free), on this project. (It was posted in newspapers, etc., ofter incorrectly - e.g., I think it was once posted as off by an order of magnitude as $300,000, which kind upset Ron.) If any additional funds (above the $30,000) were raised, it was not known to me -- not that it would have made any difference to me. As in "Paul used many of his political and community contacts to muster up support (presumably financial) for the project.")

Many "smaller errors" are in this web page, including, but not limited to, "Dr. Ron Resch and his team of mathematicians at the University of Utah." According to his resume on RonResch.org Ronald Dale Resch never earned his Ph.D, hence no "Dr." before his name. Masters, yes. Ph.D. no. Also, while some of the team members, especially Robert McDermott, had (have?) strong math skills, (I do not) I think he (Robert) and certainly I and others, again, probably not Bruce Gold, were (and are) computer scientists -- Not mathematicians. (We were at the University of Utah. That part is correct.)

OBTW - very minor point -- Re: the (very misleading statement) "Resch and his team tiled the egg using a total of 1108 congruent equilateral triangles" (Sounds suspiciously like someone "crossed their wires" with the Univac _1108_ -- the computer used at the University of Utah to design and fabricate the egg.) According to RonResch.org -- "Total number of triangles in egg (hidden and visible) is reported at ronresch.com as being 8,048."

I would strongly suggest Wikipedia be open to having this (very "Paul Maxym Sembaliuk centric") page being rewritten by someone(s) who actually know what they are talking about, e.g., the people at ronresch.org.

Sincerely,

- Jim Yocum