9/30    Anyone use <DEAD>lowtrades.com<DEAD>?  anything to say about them?

9/30    How did Dr. Atkins die? Did he die of his own diet? And was
        Bill Clinton on the Atkins diet before the heart incident?
        \_ A young Jedi named Darth Vader - who was a pupil of mine
           until he turned to evil - helped the Empire hunt down the
           Jedi Knights.  He betrayed and murdered Atkins.
        \_ dr atkins was just really goddamn old when he died
        \_ Clinton was on the South Beach diet, but how well he had been
           following it or exercising, I'm not sure.  Atkins slipped on an icy
           sidewalk, hit his head, went into a coma and died.  Some people say
           his diet hampered any chance for recovery, but it's hard to say.
           \_ Some news article also said he's obese at the time of the
              accident, but his wife disputed.
        \_ Rib-eyes are on sale at Safeway this week, yay!
        \_ Uh, he fell on his head while walking on an icy sidewalk.
           \_ Why didn't they sue the State for $millions for negligence?
              \_ There's assumed risk when you walk down an icy sidewalk.  The
                 city is not negligent when the sidewalks are icy in winter.
                        \_ Yeah, right. I actually believe and agree with you,
                           but a lot of disgruntled and pathetic people don't.
                           Cities have been sued over lame things like that,
                           for example by a man who broke his shin while
                           sliding into home plate during a softball game
                           sponsored by some city league.
                           \_ Damn those ambulance chasing laywers.

9/30    I've never voted. What do I need to do before I can vote? Or do I
        just show up at the vote place the day of the vote? thanks.
        \_ if you are dead already, just go to the DNC
           \_ If you're black and in Florida, be sure to ask your local sheriff
              for permission first.
              \_ If you're heavily invested in tin foil, vote Democrat.
                 \_ If you think all them towelheads ought to be nuked into
                    blue glowing cinders, vote Republikkkan.
                    \_ Why do you hate towels?
                       \_ Err, I'm not sure how nuking towels is a clear
                          demonstration of love for them....
        \_ voting in Berkeley is a waste of time. You already know the
           outcome!!!!
           \_ Look, even if Bush will take California in a landslide it doesn't
              mean you shouldn't vote on state and local issues.
              \_ If illegals weren't voting, he might.
                 \_ Speaking of tinfoil hats...
                 \_ Yup Illegals will do anything to call attention to
                    themselves because they love to be noticed by the
                    government!
        \_ Walk down sproul, there'll be a hundred groups volunteering to
           get you registered.  Alternatively, go to the post office, maybe
           city hall, fill out a form.
           \_ Do I need to register where I am resident at? ie, if I work
              in city A but lives in city B, can I register in either city?
              so what exactly does registering get me? Do I get a mail saying
              I can vote now?
              \_ You must register at only one place, your "primary" address.
                 (Where you live). They mail you a packet (read following post)
                 \_ I believe you can pick up a form anywhere in your county
                    and it will go to the right place.  You do have to use
                    your home address though. [formatd]
                    \_ Yup, that is correct.  I registered outside the Masonic
                       Temple when I became a US citizen, but I don't live in
                       San Francisco.
        \_ No less that 2 weeks before the election, you must register to vote.
           This entails filling out a form with a bunch of personal information
           and signing it and submitting it to a registrar, such as the League
           of Women Voters (who can sometimes be found in public places) or by
           going to some place like a city hall or DMV office and getting /
           submitting the form there.  After that, your county registrar will
           mail you a packet with a sample ballot, explanation of the
           propositions, candidate statements, and information about where and
           when to vote.
           To register, you must be a citizen, be 18 by the time of the
           election (November 2.) and register using your current address.
        \_ http://www.declareyourself.com
        \_ Vote democrat, early, and often.

9/30    Motd poll: Will you watch the "debates?"
        Yes:  ..
        Yes, if I can find a free webcast: ..
        No, I could care less:
        No, the rules ensure that nothing interesting will happen.  The real
        "debate" is the post-debate spin war: .
        No, not a citizen: .
        \_ Any place with a free webcast?
           \_ http://nytimes.com is claiming it will have "complete video and live
              analysis". but... i'm betting the live video will be slow as
              hell. can't you just find a friend with a TV?
              \_ What is this 'TV' you speak of?
                 \_ TV is the devil!!!
              \_ What is this 'friend' you speak of?
           \_ [Replying to myself] It will probably be on bittorrent a little
              bit later.
           \_ voa.gov --gm
        \_ daily show commentary is all that matters
           \_ STONED SLACKER!!!!1!

9/30    what are some of the topics that irritate people? I'll start:
        ilyas: jew, commies
        aaron: bush/kerry
        john: morons, moron.
        meyers: ilyas
        ausman: freepers, florida 2000
        \_ I think thuggishness irritates me, I don't think any _topic_
           ever irritates me. -- ilyas
           \_ Nice to meet Jew!
           \_ Cartman: You know, maybe where not seeing heaven because one
              of us is a J-O-O?
        aaron: bush/kerry
        john: morons, moron. chicom troll
        meyers: ilyas
        ausman: freepers, florida 2000
        t0m: his education
        \_ I think this irritates the fuckwit that keeps posting this FAR more
           than it bugs tom.

9/30    Republicans trying to pull a "Florida" in Ohio:
        http://act04.org/paperstock
        \_ How?  No one pulled a "Florida" in the first place except the
           lawyers after the fact.
           \_ Um, bogus felons lists being used to prevent blacks from voting.
              \_ Um, didn't happen.
                 http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/kirsanow200310150822.asp
                 If you don't believe his analysis, follow the link the the
                 actual investigation.
                 \_ ...are you for real?
                    \_ Yes, I am.  And I read the report.  Did you?
                       \_ Yes, I did, and I see a system that failed to
                          accomplish its goals.
                       \_ That article is from the guy who wrote the
                          dissent of the US Election Commission Report.
                          In other words, he was in the minority in his
                          opinion. The majority disagreed with him.
                          \_ Did you read his dissent?  Did you read the facts
                             he presented in it?
                             \_http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/vote2000/report/ch2.htm
                                Facts are such stubborn things. He claims no
                                one was disenfrachised. The commission found
                                at least 78. I read his "dissent." It was
                                nothing more than a partisan rant, just like
                                that article.
                                \_ "The majority of those witnesses who
                                   experienced problems and who came before the
                                   Commission testified that they were
                                   ultimately able to cast their vote, despite
                                   the problems they described; a few were not.
                                   A chief flaw in the majority report,
                                   however, is that it generally fails to
                                   distinguish between problems of mere
                                   inconvenience, difficulties caused by
                                   bureaucratic inefficiencies, and incidents
                                   of potential discrimination. In this way,
                                   the complaint from the white male voter
                                   whose shoes were muddied on the path to his
                                   polling place is accorded the same degree of
                                   seriousness as the case of the
                                   seeing-impaired voter who required.but was
                                   denied.assistance in reading the ballot, or
                                   the African American voter who claimed she
                                   was turned away from the polls at closing
                                   time while a white man was not."
                          \_ The dissent was written by Thernstrom and
                             Redenbaugh.  The article was written by Kirsanow.
                             \_ Sorry, got that wrong.
           \_ truck in illegals, raise the dead to vote, democrats are
                hypocrites.
              \_ You can't possibly be comparing election fraud with wholesale
                 voter disenfranchisement based on race.
                 \_ So you think Democrats having the dead vote is ok?  If it
                    was Repuiblicans who raised the dead every 4 years you'd
                    be the first raising hell about it.
                 \_ Since "wholesale voter disenfranchisement based on race"
                    didn't happen...
                    \_ http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/vote2000/report/ch5.htm
                       \_ This was based on felonies (not race), and whites
                          were twice as likely to be incorrectly put on the
                          list.
                          \_ Uhm, you do realize that whites outnumber blacks
                             by more than a factor of 2x, yes?
                             \_ Lies, damned lies, and statistics.  Yes?

9/30    http://mywebpage.netscape.com/J3ffReifel/gore_04.jpg
        If only Gore had won...
        \_ He did.
        \_ Wow.  You're saying that 9/11 wouldn't have happened had Gore won?
           You *are* an idiot.
           \_ You can't know that.  Neither can he.  But Gore might not've
              taken the threat of terrorism so lightly, nor might his
              underlings.
              \_ The 9/11 Report makes it pretty clear that terrorism was
                 not as high a policy priority for the new Bush Administration
                 as it was for the outgoing Clinton Administration.  How much
                 of that can be chalked up to the growing pains of a new
                 administration is very tough to say. [sigh, restored]
              \_ I'm objecting to the positive assertion.  I agree that I
                 couldn't know that.  However there's nothing I've seen which
                 would have suggested Gore's being elected would have changed
                 the outcome.

9/30    http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?trkid=73&movieid=60034810
        I haven't seen this yet but what does Noam Chomsky say in the
        movie? Is he the same Chomsky the brilliant computer scientist, and
        is he a communist?
        \_ Noam Chomsky is a linguist (I refrained from making a pun), not a
           computer person.  He make incisive radical-left critiques of
           American politicians and foreign policy, and the way language is
           manipulated.
           \_ Incisive?  The man is a freak.
        \_ Chomsky, champion of the Khmer Rouge.
           \- Chomsky also invented the PEZ dispenser.
              \_ Noam Chomsky is a such a big dick, and tax-free!
                 \_ No, not tax-free, you have to find another phrase for
                    Chomsky. How about common use property?
                    \_ How about Nim Chimpsky?  (They actually called some
                       sign language chimp that). -- ilyas

9/30    82% of teenage boys wear cologne.  http://csua.org/u/9a2
        \_ 38.45% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

9/30    Republicans trying to block hundreds of thousand of new voters.
        Why? Because they can, there is no valid reason, except
        a raw desire for power:
        http://www.mydd.com/story/2004/9/27/125755/309
        \_ Republican: evil.  Democrat: good.  No need to post a URL or read
           anything.
        \_ Who just out-and-out deleted this? Lets hide unpleasant truths, huh?
           \_ Um, it's the same story as the Ohio one below.  More dupes than
              /. lately.
              \_ Which got deleted. Hence the repost.
            \_ He backed off, after public pressure:
               http://csua.org/u/9a0 -op
               I found this out after further research, which is why
               I deleted it myself.
        \_ No one talks about how in '92 the Demos blocked the voting rights
           of military overseas, who tend to vote Republican. The right to
           must be asserted.
           \_ Clinton won by a landslide anyway! Wouldn't have made a
           difference!
              \_ Land slide?  Uhm... whatever.
              \_ You obviously have never studied elections. Reagan '84
                 was a landslide, so was Nixon '72. Haven't seen a Demo
                 get a landslide since FDR.

9/30    You call that a purge?  HA!

9/30    Besides DVDFab, are there any nice freeware program like
        DVDShrink that will backup a DVD onto 2 DVD-R?

9/30    What causes the particle like thing that floats in your vision
        when you look at the sky? My eye doctor casually mentioned
        that if I notice an abnormal amount of particles floating,
        then I should have it checked out. Come to think of it, it's
        always there from the beginning of time. What exactly is it?
        It moves even if my eyes are not moving... I am curious if
        there are some technical explanation behind it...
        \_ ghosts, demons. etc
        \_ Crap floating in the vitreus humor (inside your eyeball).
           \_ So do most people have it? does it occur more with
              near sightness?
              \_ dad, the optometrist, calls them floaters.  everyone
                 has them, and they tend to accumlate with age.  like
                 dust that gets into a camera.
                 \_ so how come their number goes way up when you're about
                    to pass out from getting choked?  or is "seeing stars"
                    differnt?
              \_ Everyone has it.  It increases as you age.
                 \_ more on floaters:
                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater
        \_ I've always wondered about that since grade school.  So wow.
           I learned something today.

9/30    Poll, I predict that in today's debate:
        Kerry will mess up, 4 more years of Bush: .
        Bush will do great, 4 more years of Bush: ..
        Kerry will finally have a position, 4 more years of Bush: .
        Bush will mess up, 4 more years of Bush: .
        \_ Kerry is getting is ass kicked as of 6:39 PM PST. Its
           great.
           \_ yeah what are you talking about?  bush is floundering
              big time. - danh
              \_ I'm watching channel 7. Bush is doing great.
                 Just one example: Kerry trots out the Global
                 Test wrt US pre-emptive action, gets his ass
                 kicked on it. He also got schooled on Iran
                 NK issue and the whole more sanctions and
                 diplomancy bullshit.
                 \_ i guess this must be a case of liberal vs conservative.
                    from my viewpoint bush is doing awful. - danh
                    \_ I think this a motd troll.  Even the freepers can't
                       find nice things to say about this Bush performance.
                       Anyway, it doesn't really matter what happens now -
                       it's all in how its reported by Pravda.
                        \_ I'm not a troll. Bush did well.
                           He basically said America First,
                           the world be damned. Kerry said
                           America First but only if the
                           Euro-peons say its okay and btw
                           I went to Vietnam. I'm more
                           libertarian than conservative.
                           [ why was this deleted? ]
                           \_ Er, not to get all freepy on you, but Bush got
                              pwned.  I think you're delusional.
                              \_ You live in a leftist echo chamber.  Stop
                                 reading Bab's website for news and info.
           \_ Which debate are you watching?
           \_ you're not watching the one on fox news where they swap
              bush and kerry's voices, are you...?

9/30    So I actually spent some time at Wal-Mart today. Is it just me
        or does it really suck? The prices weren't really that good, the
        selection was pretty shoddy grade goods. I think you can do a lot
        better at smaller shops carrying a better quality of goods. Why
        is this the largest chain in the U.S.? I guess a lot of people
        are rednecks...
        \_ Mmm.  Flamebait.
        \_ ever been to places that make up the bulk of United States,
           like South Carolina, remote parts of Texas, Tennessee,
           etc? And yes most of the US is NOT California or New England.
           It is mostly uneducated rednecks who have never been to nice
           malls and nice shops that we take for granted. These are alos
           the same people who will vote for Bush.
           \_ Mmm. Flamebait.

9/30    Guide to Hard Drive Troubles:
        http://www.applegeeks.com/comic_archive/viewcomic.php?issue=135
        \_ Not stupid, just shows you didn't watch the debate from the start.
           Lehrer said that the candidates were not told the questions
           before the debate.

9/30    this may be a stupid question, but are the candidates told
        the questions before the debate?
        \_ The moderator said no.
        \_ Not stupid, just shows you didn't watch the debate from the start.
           Lehrer said that the candidates were not told the questions
           before the debate.

9/30    motd poll:
        that debate was
        at about the same level as a typical motd flame war:
        worse: .
        better: ...
        \_ although it was uncomfortable to watch Bush stumble
           as he often tried to find words with which to speak.
        \_ It makes little difference how the debate went because
           the average American will still vote for Bush. The average
           American has never attended a university (unlike most
           sodans), the average American has a score of 1000 or below
           on the SAT (unlike most sodans), the average American
           says NUCULAR (unlike most sodans), etcc etc. In another word
                \_ You know that Jimmy Carter PhD, "smartest President ever"
                   was the first to say "NUCULAR", right?  Does that bother
                   you at all?  I know you're too young to remember this, but
                   he was abused for it at the time.  It comes from being a
                   southerner, not because he's stupid.  Picking on people
                   for how they pronounce or use a very common variant of
                   a word is childish, at best.
           the average American will vote for the president who is like
           them, GWB.
           \_ In other words, Democrat: smart/good, Republican: stupid/evil.
              Thank you for adding nothing new to the motd.
           \_ GWB scored over 1300 on the SAT and went to Yale.  At any rate,
              it's your own fault for selecting the worst possible dwarf as
              your nominee.  Now kindly bend over for your new republican
              overlords.
              \_ yes but he presents himself as the average American,
                 and he does it really well... manner of speaking, etc.
              \_ 1206, actually.
           \_ Okay, what possible reason does a typical 1400+, 3.0+
              Cal (u)grad w/ Eng. degree have for voting Kerry over
              Bush?
                \_ Kerry will make sure that your hi-tech job will not
                   be outsourced by the Afghan Muhajadin Freedom Fighters.
                   \_ Bleh, fuck low level hi-tech jobs. If you're from
                      Berkley CS you should be smart enough to find a
                      relatively challenging job that doesn't go overseas
                      easily. If it is, then, well, don't be a CS major.
              \_ 1) You're a nifty target for the draft, 2) your nation's
                 economic policy will be based on good business practices,
                 not handouts to companies you missed out on joining.
           \_ I scored ~1400, had 3.5@Cal and voted for Bush in 2000 and will
              again this year.  The *real* question is what the undecideds
              thought of the debate.
                \_ yes and you're also religious and filter out words like FUCK
                   \_ All religious people are evil and stupid repbulicans.
                      Is that your point?  Can't you come up with something
                      worth saying?
                   \_ Hi aaron!
        \_ what difference does this make? If you were a pro-Bush
           person, you'll still vote for Bush regardless of anything
           else. Content aside, Kerry did better in terms of clarity
           and body language. But that doesn't really matter because
           most of the Americans are intelligent. Yeah.
           \_ Kerry was all talking points, which he stuck to very well.
              Bush had passion and came across honestly, although not with
              any of Kerry's slickness.  Some people will see through Kerry,
              some will not.  Anyway, expect everything both men said to be
              very thoroughly fact checked and lists of lies and errors
              posted all over the net and in the newspapers over the next
              few days.
        \_ If I were voting for president of the
           the debate club, on style I'd probably choose Kerry.
           Since the President must be an effective leader,
           especially during war, and on policy, I choose Bush.
           Honestly, build Iran a nuclear power plant and end research
           on bunker busters!? - bizarre.
           Maybe Kerry can debate the terrorists to death and impress
           the French and Germans with his elan.

9/30    "Both the President and I love this country very much-- there's
         no doubt in my mind, I think, about that."

9/30    NUCULAR!  NUCULAR!
        \_ Has anybody seen sweat?
        \_ Stop picking on Jimmy Carter!  The man is out of office for almost
           a quarter century and is ~80 years old.  Let his speach errors die.
           Enough abusing the ex-President.
           \_ Assuming you're not being ironic, have you considered that they
              might be picking on the Chimp-In-Chief?
              \_ Don't you mean Commander-In-Chimp (a-la Simpsons)?
                 \_ I've seen that Simpsons and was NOT referencing it.
                    Chimp-In-Chief is Bush perjorative which *may* derive from
                    the Simpsons, or maybe just from Bush's appearance and
                    percieved intelligence.
                    \_ I see you've put a lot of thought into your
                       dehumanization of the opposition.  Carry on. -- ilyas

9/30    NAKED MASTURBATING HOMO HUMAN PYRAMID
        \_ Shut up and get on the pile.

9/30    Does the president get live input during the debate? or
        do they have everything in their head?
        \_ why do you think bush continues to say "um"?
        \_ No.  Yes.

9/30    this is the url i give to my relatives who tell me they
        are voting for bush:
        http://www.newyorker.com/online/slideshows/pop/?040510onslpo_prison
        \_ http://csua.org/u/9a4 is better. - danh
        \_ Yeah, Bush is responsible for that. It's just the same as
           Saddam cutting off their hands, and rape. After all they
           are prisoners, right?
           \_ true conservatives should be angry bush hired guys dumb
              enough to take those photos on their digital cameras and
              and attach them to email to their buddies back home.
              and attach them to email to their buddies back home. - danh
           \_ shit rolls downhill.  Bush has hired a cabinet of people who
              show consistent, deliberate contempt for the Geneva convention,
              and for basic American ideas of human rights and justice
              (ashcroft, Rumsfeld, etc.).  This is why my mother in law
              who voted for Reagan twice, voted for Bush Sr.(in 88, not
              in 92), and voted for Bob Dole is actually giving money
              to the Kerry campaign.  All this in spite of her hating Kerry
              and never having given to a political campaign before ever.
              You can keep telling yourself that swing voters are too dumb
              to understand things like the Geneva convention, but you're
              wrong.
                \_ Well put.  -John
                \_ Bravo, and thank you for speaking up.
              \_ Your mother is deeply concerned about the Geneva Convention
                 and is going to change her life long (R) voting pattern
                 because some goof balls put underwear on some guy's heads?
                 This is unbelievable.
                 \_ This is a ridiculous response. "Political activism is
                    dumb, sheeple! Don't stand up for your values!" Fuck you.
                    \_ Strawman.  Political activism is not dumb.  Your
                       'story' about your mother is.  Try again.
                       \_ Nice reading comprehension, guys, it's "mother in
                          law", not mother.
                          \_ Ad hominen.  It isn't relavent if it was your
                                \_ hominem
                             mother or your spouses mother.  Try again.

9/30    For those of you who listen to MP3s with headphones a lot, music that
        uses a lot of stereo seperation can be fun, but gets tiring after a
        while.  I just found a neat Winamp plugin called HeadPlug which
        emulates the effects of a crossfeed amp.  It's *very* fully featured
        and I can detect no loss of quality.  Now bands that go nuts with
        stereo can be listened to on headphones again.

9/30    Who's the mouth-breather whose editor keeps appending HTML to the
        motd?
        \_ Dunno but I delete it when I see it.