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| 2006/11/6 [Uncategorized] UID:45177 Activity:nil 77%like:45181 |
11/7 The motd.public will be frozen for 48 hours beginning at 3pm on
Electionn Day as a "Colling Off Period." |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:45178 Activity:low |
11/6 On the timing of the Saddam verdict. Hmm ... what to think?
"The idea's preposterous. This is one of these tinfoil hat sort of
things." -WH press sec Snow
- http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1781719.htm
"Only the naive believe it's a coincidence."
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1940534,00.html
\_ What to think? Think for yourself.
\_ Its all part of a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, you know the
one that is run by the Bush BrownShirts and is responsible
for the "hundreds" of warcrimes against dissidents across
the country. The Cabal will do anything to keep itself in
power. We are just cattle to them. They are preping us for
colonization. Trust No One. -fmulder
\- i really do think the Cockroach Republicans are only limited
by imagination and are not at all ethics. now if some "crypto-
anarchist" would get a job at diebold and put in a virus to
cause mass failure on election day, instead of cracking DMA
technology, that would be interesting. you have to wonder
what the aftermath would look like if there simply was no
result to a large fraction of the elections in the country.
[i think this is a really tricky area to come up with remedies.
it's one when when basically the election is solid with a few
one off problems, but mass problems would be unprecidented].
\_ yes all corruption is republican. democrats are all squeaky
clean and golden. you are brilliant. your solution to your
false sense of republican-only corruption is voter machine
anarchy. great. all that will happen is setting a new date
and doing them on paper followed by lawsuits about how the
ballot format disenfranchised stupid people.
\- i didnt say the democrats were clean. i did say the new
breed of cockroach republicans have charted new terrain
in corruption and sleaze. sure it's possible some Dems
have it in them, but until they do it, it's a thought
crime. here i include things like inter-census
\_ $90k in your fridge isn't a thought crime. and
he's still in office and has his committe position
too, btw.
gerrymandering, signing statements, something like the
\_ gerrymandering is a cooperative two party effort.
cheney energy tast force is vastly more secretive than
the hillary health care one. i thought Billhary had plenty
\_ secrets are not corruption nor a sign of it in and
of themselves.
of sleazy with filegate and travelgate and such or
rostenkowsky stealing postage stamps but delay, brownie,
are all taking it to a new level. this is a far cry from
\_ not really. same old, same old. i see no real
difference. they just have different sub-
specialties of corruption and an equal share of
the generic stuff.
the part of people like warren rudman, for example ... or
even alan simpson or o hatch. at least mccain is
apologetic over the keating five episode.
\_ mccain is a scum bag. i dont want his apology.
i want his head on a pike with all the rest of
the corrupt scum bags in DC. his apology has
no value. apologise for a joke gone bad? sure.
apologise for criminal activity? sorry, pal, try
prison instead.
\_ So McCain gets the death sentence for bribery
but Cheney gets a pass for colluding to offer
no-competition contracts to Halliburton? If it's
death for the goose, it's at least prison for the
gander.
\_ Pike em all but I'd settle for prison. And
I do mean *all* regardless of party. The
Congress would be mighty close to empty if
we really took corruption seriously.
\_ Agreed. --erikred
\- if you think mccain and cheney are
comparable, i dont think we can
really have a conversation [speaking
personally]. mccain has done some
fucked up things [agan keating 5],
but he's also done some thing waaaaay
beyond almost all others and they are
things you cant make up or posture.
i mean not only was he tortured but
was super connected and could have
gotten himself out of it. he adopted
child from bangladesh ... that probably
wasnt motived by it being good press,
his son is in the marines etc.
\_ So do you guys believe that the
politicians presently in power are
somehow born bad, and we just need
to replace them with Good(TM) people?
This makes no sense to me. The problem
is not that we happen to have bad
people in Washington, but rather
that we have a culture in Washington
that brings out the worst in people.
I have no idea how to fix this culture,
and I'm not convinced it will ever
be fixed, but I'm positive that just
changing the face of the corruption
won't do it.
\_ I can't speak for pp, but I don't
think they're all bad people. I think
we have a system in place now that
encourages corruption and moral
ambiguity (i.e., a disincentive to
avoid conflicts interest). There are
tools that could be used to fix this
(or at least make it unattractive),
but there's a culture of back-
scratching and mutual-benefit cover-
ups that makes real reform unlikely.
Campaing finance reform would be an
excellent step in the right direction
but a non-partisan, independent body
to investigate corruption might be a
better idea. The problem is that even
a "Grand Inquisitor" office is
vulnerable to corruption and
political stacking, and so the entire
cycle keeps rolling. --erikred
\_ I don't know. My current working
theory is that, for the most part,
only power-hungry megalomaniacs
are willing to go into politics.
Normal honest people would quit
before they ever got to even the
state level.
\_ I believe that line about power
corrupting and absolute power, etc.
Term limits and none of this merry-
go-round stuff to a different
district stuff. Serve your time as
a *public service* and get the hell
out. It sickens me everytime some
senator retires after 6+ terms in
office and they have him voting from
his death bed wheeled into the
chamber.
\_ Non-event. The media would bluster about it for a week or
so, until some juicy sex scandal popped up. Most people
would just say let's do it over w/ paper ballots and the
country would go about its business. I'm all for this plan
b/c it would surely return us to paper ballots and delayed
election results. Delayed results means the media would
have nearly nothing to pontificate about and we would have
to be subjected to endless drivel about red-blue state
"seismic" shifts on election day. |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Politics/Domestic/Gay, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:45179 Activity:moderate |
11/5 wtf is this?
http://www.pollingreport.com/2006.htm
Can someone explain the rapid turn in polls? Don't tell me it's
GOP TV advertising; but it would be the only principal reason.
\_ In case you haven't noticed for many polls out there you need to
add +10-15 points in favor of the R. This is because conservatives
in general are very hushed about their intentions and they don't
like to take polls or talk to pollsters.
\_ The same reason why you never hear anyone claiming to be R
in SF even though 1/5 are registered R. They'd get beat up
or ridiculed if their friends find out. It's worse being R
in SF than being a gay man in Tennessee.
\_ The same reason why you never hear anyone claiming to be R
in SF even though 1/5 are registered R. They'd get beat up
or ridiculed if their friends find out.
\_ So you think the open minded liberal and friendly folks in
the SF area would physically assault someone for being R?
\_ Absolutely. SF is tolerant to anyone liberal. That's
why you never hear the other 1/5 of the voice. They're
scared of liberals.
\_ No just SF. Many parts of the south bay as well.
\_ That goes for exit polling too, apparently. In most countries
exit polls are used to see if the election was fair. For some
reason, in the United States conservatives don't like admitting
they voted for their candidates. Either that or the election
is not fair, which can't be possible, right?
\_ Elections have been rigged in this country before either
of the current parties existed. That goes without saying.
As far as exit polls go, yes, I believe there is a difference
between some small third world country doing exit polls and
the US spanning 3 time zones with exit poll reports coming
out from the east coast before the west coast polls have
closed. It isn't that hard to tweak the numbers and there
is a very partisan reason for doing so (to make late voters
not bother). As far as talking to exit poll people, no, I
absolutely don't have the time to waste talking to some exit
poll taker for whatever media outlet. There is no value or
requirement to do so in order to support my candidate so I
wouldn't do it. I don't 'admit' to having voted for my
candidate(s). I just 1) don't care to spend my time telling
you and 2) don't think it's any of your business anyway.
\_ Yes. Because polls are a measure of who is being polled. In
tight races with small samples it only takes a small change in
the pollees to shift the final numbers a significant amount.
The pollees to shift the final numbers a significant amount.
That's why I've said for years that polls are useless. In a wide
margin race you don't need one and in small margins everything
falls within the margin of error so there's no point to it. |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Academia/GradSchool/MBA, Academia/GradSchool] UID:45180 Activity:moderate |
11/5 Anyone here get an MS in CS? Did it help your career advancement
or earnings? Do you wish you would've gotten a different MS
degree instead? Was it worth the time and expense?
\_ I was working on a MS in EECS when I went to a law school open
house for the free pizza. Switching to ls has been the best
decision I have ever made. My starting salary (w/o bonus) is
1.5-2x what I could have made as an engineer w/ a MS. [ I know
that you asked wrt another MS degree, but if you are considering
grad school, I think you should keep an open mind re the subject ]
\_ Well, assuming you could make $150K with the MS, are you
saying you are *starting* at $200+K, because I find that hard
to believe. If true, maybe we're all in the wrong field.
Also, did you go to a top-ranked law school? What about the
loss of earnings while going to law school? Most of the
better ones are full-time, unlike, say, MS EECS.
\_ $150K w/ a MS EECS? I think you are overestimating the
starting salary for a MS EECS. I'd say it was closer
to $100K (at least that is what we would offer to new
hires w/ a MS EECS).
Re loss of earnings: You can do part-time at many ls.
I worked part-time as an engineer and did school full
time to avoid loosing money. Its harder but at least
I'm graduating w/o any debt.
Re top rated law school: I went to a mediocre ls, but
I was near the top of my class and I went into patent
work (which pays more than say a DA or transactional
work b/c of the initial burden). The salary is even
higher if you were to go to a really good ls. The main
problem is that you have to deal w/ a lot of jackasses.
work). The salary is even higher if you were to go to
a really good ls. The main problem w/ the law is that
you have to deal w/ a lot of jackasses.
\- so how annoying are the legal people? ... like
annoying face to face or keep you up at night
grinding your teeth annoying? also do you think
this is just the personality of some of the people
in the field or a product of the nature of the
field ... e.g. rather than cooperating to find an
efficient solution, people pointlessly being
difficult, or shoudl i say dillatory, just to
be a pain in the ass and raise costs to the other
side.
\_ Some are keep you up at night grinding your
teeth annoying, some are just annoying in
that the way they practice law is to be as
difficult as possible on every single thing.
I think that the profession attracts people
who are agressive and egotistical and rewards
that type of behavior in many cases.
\_ I didn't say *starting* salary for a MS EECS. If you
meant that, I apologize. I took "what you could make"
to mean "what you could make" and not "what you would
start out at with no experience".
\_ Sorry, I misunderstood. I agree that you might be
able to make ~ $135-$150K w/ MS EECS + experience.
But that is about as high as I've seen people go
(principal engineer, sr. staff eng., &c.). In
comparison, $135-$150K is what one makes right out
of LS and it keeps going up after that. Even if
you decide to not work at a firm and go to work in
gc's office of a decent sized co. you will be making
approx. what a sr. staff makes but w/ 9-5 hrs.
\_ Don't IP lawyers make quite a bit more money than
your average corporate law drone?
\_ Corporate law drones may make less than
the number above, but if you already have
a BS EECS, why would you do anything but
IP (Patent) Law?
Not all IP Law pays as well as Patent.
Trademark, for instance, pays somewhat
less and there isn't as much job security.
Copyright is okay, but you pretty much
have to live in LA or NYC to get really
good work.
\_ The range I gave above, is for patent
work. Sorry for not making that clear.
You are right, not everything pays as
well as patent work. Copyright, Trademark
and IP licensing (all "IP"), pay a little
big less.
bit less.
Corporate can pay the same as patent, but
it really depends on how well you did in
school and whether corporate law is in
vouge when you graduate. There are lots of
of other practice areas that pay less than
being an engineer (Crim, Transactional,
Estate Planning, Family Law, Real Estate,
Civil Rights, &c.), but if you have a BS
in EECS, there isn't really a financial
reason to go into something other than
patent/copyright practice.
\_ Does a phd give you a bump in pay as a
patent lawyer straight out of school?
\_ Depends on the field. PhD in any
pharma related subject (o-chem,
immunology, &c) can give you a $10K
or more edge. In EECS, materials,
&c. I don't think so.
\_ $140K right out of law school? That seems high
compared to the salary calculators on the web,
unless you went to Harvard Law. What about law
school vs. MBA?
\_ I don't know what the salary calculator say
but this is the starting rate at most reasonable
sized firms in the Bay Area and NYC.
\_ Please see above. The number I gave was for
patent work. I'm guessing the salary calc.
are based more on general practice at mid-
to large sized firms, which doesn't really
pay as well.
\_ I'm in business school but will probably make <= when I
graduate. I was making $87k + ~$10k bonus/stock before I went back
to school. But I'm getting my MBA b/c I don't want to be an
engineer anymore. What's the ROI/payback of my MBA? I don't know,
I could probably have transitioned into business at my old job,
but getting the MBA is more general and involves more drinking. |
| 2006/11/6 [Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:45181 Activity:high 75%like:45186 77%like:45177 |
11/7 The motd.public will be frozen for 48 hours beginning at 3pm on
Election Day as a "Cooling Off" period.
\_ Post this on motd.official if it's real.
\_ I suppose this is a troll. --PM
\_ Yeah, right. Better to let people vent. Troll anyway, most likely.
\_ If the motd is locked how can we stay informed about the
"hundreds" of incidents of voter intimidation and
disenfranchisement committed by the Bush BrownShirts?
\_ Post this on motd.official if it's real. |
| 2006/11/6 [Politics/Foreign/Asia/China] UID:45182 Activity:high |
11/7 Two spaces after a period(.) is grammatically correct. There is no
reason to edit them all down to one space. K?
\_ The Chicago Manual of Style's Editors disagree w/ you:
http://tinyurl.com/y6r2qz (chicagomanualofstyle.org)
\_ All this one person says is that in our WEEB2.0enabled world,
two spaces is less efficient and he doesn't find it easier to
read. In his opinion which he makes clear is just his singular
opinion. He also makes it clear that 2 spaces is how many people
were taught in school (and I'm guessing still are if they're
taught anything at all). Certainly the difference is not
worth editing other people's posts to eliminate what you and
this one copy editor agree is an unnecessary space. At no
point does he say it is grammatically incorrect. He just doesn't
like it.
\_ And here's the techie of WEEB2.0 techie writer types discussing
it. You'll note it is a discussion. There is no right or wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Manual_of_Style_archive_(spaces_after_a_full_stop/period
http://preview.tinyurl.com/t3s7d
\_ _____
/ \ _n_ ______ ________
|Oink!|_ _/o \/ \@ /C.M.o.S.\
\_____/ \ O_ )=( ____|_ \____
\___/\______/ \ \ \_____ |
|| || || ||
\_ Hmm, I wonder who I should go w/, the CMoS or
some anon coward on "teh motd" who posts ascii
art in lieu of making an actual argument?
\_ The well-reasoned response at top summarizes my feelings.
--PP (pig-poster)
\_ Two spaces are inefficient and should be banned. It uses up too
much bandwidth and disk space, and aids our country's enemies by
making us buy more cheap Chinese hard disks and upping our balance
of trade deficit. Patriots use one space. -John
\_ You ' ve convinced me .I shall no longer use two spaces
after a period.In the name of Freedom Everywhere , I
shall use just once to save the extra spaces for our
boys over there .
\_ Yup, especially that there is no space after periods in the
Chinese language. (Basically there is no space in the
language.) In the next round of trade talks we should demand
Chinese to add spaces in Chinese, or else we would impose high
tarriffs on Chinese hard disks because of unfair trade practices!
\_ What about two spaces after state abbreviation and ZIP code in US
\_ What about two spaces between state abbreviation and ZIP code in US
addresses? I can't find an explanation for two spaces on
http://www.usps.com
\_ itisfarmoreefficienttogetridofallspacesandpunctuationpleasemake
futuremotdpostingsformattedlikethisone |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/President] UID:45183 Activity:nil |
11/7 wtf #2? The most recent poll shows the Dems with a 20-point lead
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/06/demos.poll/index.html
\_ Sigh, I've been saying on the motd for a long time that polls are
all whacky voodoo bs and just got mocked for it. Welcome to
reality.
\_ The scariest part of being ahead in the polls is that it
encourages voter apathy when "your" party is ahead in the polls. |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:45184 Activity:low |
11/7 The Press at War: What ever happened to patriotic reporters?
http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110009203
\_ The country at war: What ever happened to just conflicts?
\_ OP, do you actually believe any of this crap? Do you think
the sectarian thugs who are making our life miserable in
Iraq read the NY Times? Also the writer of this article seems
to think that Iraq would soon be edging out Irvine, CA
in Time's annual Best Places To Live Poll if only newspaper
owners took a firmer hand in reigning in the evil liberal
press. I love the WSJ's news operations but they must really
store their editorial people on a ship far, far away from
other sources of information. - danh
\_ You're confused and miss the point if you think this is about
thugs in Iraq reading American papers. Wars are won by
breaking the will of the enemy to keep fighting. If your own
press breaks the will of your own people then you've lost no
matter what is going on in the actual war zone. Your Irvine
comment is rhetorical noise and ignored.
\_ 'justice' is not an absolute. There is no such thing as a
'just conflict'.
\_ 'Intelligence' is not an absolute, there are just people who
are far from it.
\_ Did you even read the link?
\_ I'm reading it. Who is this guy? He's comparing
the Iraq invasion to WW2, and while he's at it,
blaming the Vietnam loss on leftist protestors.\
Even more powerful than the all powerful leftist
blaming the Vietnam loss on leftist protestors.
Even more powerful than the all powerful leftist
protestors was the several million residents of
Vietnam willing to die to the very last man to
kick the invading force out.
\_ Specifically he said the Tet Offensive was a win for
the US but mischaracterised as a loss and the media
allowed that wrong to stay uncorrected in the
public's view of the war. The TO was a devastating
loss for the north but you never knew it if you only
listened to American media at the time. How is he
wrong on that?
What is your issue with his WW2/Iraq comparison which
is specifically about how reporters reported in each
war?
\_ You don't get it, do you. We can win all
the giant military victories we want, witness
our quick victory over the regular Iraqi
forces in this war. We can win 100 Tet
offensives. You can loudly point out the fact
we won every battle in Vietnam. This is not
how you fight a guerilla insurgency. Those
"hearts and minds" guys really did have the right
idea. By letting Iraq spiral into sectarian
violence with roving guerrilla death squads
on all 3 sides run Iraq, we are doomed to failure,
no matter how many biased Fox or NYTimes
articles are written.
\_ As usual the War Nerd is right on on this one:
http://www.exile.ru/2006-November-03/the_doctrine_of_asymmetrical_war.html
http://preview.tinyurl.com/u6zec (exile.ru)
\_ http://www.exile.ru/2002-April-21/war_nerd.html
He's a data-entry tech in Fresno. He has
some points about the changing nature of
war but he sure as hell doesn't say that
winning hearts and minds is the way to go.
\_ Vietnam was lost in the media right here at
home, not in Vietnam. And 100 Tet Offensives
would have wiped out N.Vietnam about 8 times
over to the last man, woman, and child, but
I'm sure you didn't mean that literally. The
hearts and minds guys have it wrong. No one
tried to win the hearts and minds of anyone
in Germany, Japan, Italy, or any other place
the US or any other war has ever been won.
Wars are won by killing people until they
stop hitting back. Obviously roaming death
squads in Iraq is Bad(tm), but you're not
going to win the hearts and minds of death
squads. They must be killed and that is one
of the many failures on our part: we are
actually trying to win over those people
instead of just killing them.
\_ This isn't WWII anymore. That's not how
war works anymore, especially not in an
occupied country.
\_ Of course it isn't however no one is
going to win the hearts and minds of
the "roving guerilla death squads".
Especially for the largest ones such
as Al Muq Tadr (however its spelled)
which has a sizable force and known
leadership. The reason these guys are
still around is they are part of the
tribal power structure holding up the
current PM. All that tribal garbage
needs to be stepped on and buried or
they will fight a real civil war, not
this pansy thing they're doing now.
We have 130k or so troops there the
last I knew. They patrol? For what?
To be sniper and IED targets? They
should either be out there mopping up
a la Faluja or they should come home
now and just let it fall to crap.
\_ I don't think this works with Shiites.
They LIKE being killed. It just
reaffirms in their minds their martyr
complex. How do you defeat an enemy
that only gets stronger when you kill
them? I really don't know.
\_ I agree that some small percentage of
them are a-ok with the getting killed
thing, but tell me this, if pure force
can't keep them down then how did Saddam
keep the majority population from taking
over 25+ years ago? Why was there no
endless civil war between the Sunni and
Shia?
\_ They really should put Saddam back
in charge. Seriously.
\_ Also the writer lectures at Pepperdine, home of
more and more batshit crazy person Ben Stein. What
happened to him? He didn't seem so crazy in the
movies.
\- did you see the infamous BSTEIN - PKRUGMAN
"i won the john bates clark medal; you are a
game show host" exchange?
\_ Anyone who says "authorization to use force == authorization to do
absolutely anything he 'needs' to" is not worth reading.
\_ Where'd he say that?
\- james q wilson is pretty famous. mayor guiliani probably
got his crime fighting ideas from JQW. it;s called the
"broken window" theory [focus on small crimes to deter a
lawlessness culture] athough i believe there is some
cintroversy about who really came up with the idea ...
as well as controvery about the effectiveness.
he's one of the intellectuals favored by a number of
conservatives but he's not a wacko loser like
victor david hansen.
\_ Uhm ok, I know broken window theory. Where did he say
the bit about auth-to-use-force = auth-to-do-abs-anything? |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Politics/Foreign/Asia/China] UID:45185 Activity:nil |
11/7 Sample questions for China's driving test:
http://www.bookofjoe.com/2006/11/driving_in_chin.html
\_ I was in China earlier this year. They are crazy. People there
use their horns like we use turn signals. Also, one time my driver
missed a freeway offramp, so rather than continuing onto the next
exit, he just drove the opposite way on the subsequent onramp.
\_ which part of China were you at?
\_ Shenzhen/Guangzhou
\_ The "correct" answer for #3 is B? That's what you should do if you
want to protect yourself, but I can't believe this is the official
correct answer. |
| 2006/11/6-8 [Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:45186 Activity:nil 75%like:45181 |
11/7 The motd.public, http://cnn.com, http://nytimes.com, the AP wire, and all local news services will be frozen for 48 hours beginning at 3pm on Election Day as a "Cooling Off" period. \_ Yeah, right. Better to let people vent. Troll anyway, most likely. \_ If the motd is locked how can we stay informed about the "hundreds" of incidents of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement committed by the Bush BrownShirts? \_ Post this on motd.official if it's real. \_ all hail our fearless politburo^Wleaders |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Politics/Foreign/Asia/China, Politics/Foreign] UID:45187 Activity:nil |
11/6 Good grief: China's foreign reserves top $1 trillion.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6120906.stm -John
\_ Why don't they spend some of that money on their POS country?
The place is a cesspool, but it's all good because they are
sitting on $1 T cash.
\_ If they were to spend it, it would be on military spending
They have been increasing their annual military spending by
double-digit percentages for many years.
\_ Agreed. Also, remember that the PRC is an oligarchy, not a
democracy. Benefits are doled out as rewards for service to
the party, not on the basis of need.
\_ Maybe they should focus on their polluted, shithole country.
\_ the #1 rule in China is stability
\- i'm trying to stay out of these kinds of discussions
beyond leaving ptrs. if you are interested in this
and related topics, see:
http://www.frbsf.org/economics/pbc/index.html
(teh "pacific basin notes" are pretty accessible)
the feds will also send you all of their publications
the fed res bank will also send you all of their publications
for free. obtrivia: Janet Yellin of ucb dept econ is the head
of the SF fed. she is also married to ucb econ nobel
george akerlof. |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Reference/RealEstate] UID:45188 Activity:nil |
11/6 http://csua.org/u/hdu (mysanantonio.com) http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=joseph+statue Bury a figurine of St. Joseph on your property, and the power of the Lord will help you sell your home \_ Sounds very feng shui |
| 2006/11/6 [Politics/Domestic/California] UID:45189 Activity:moderate |
11/7 I'd like to thank all absentee voters for making it impossible to know
the outcome of this election on Wednesday.
\_ I'd like to thank all the NeoCons and Jesus worshippers who
don't participate in polls AND vote the last minute. I thank
for our glorious victories in 2000 and 2004. Surprise!
\_ your welcome. -absentee voter
\_ ur welcome. -absentee voter
\_ ^your^you're
\_ ^y^Y
\_ ur w31c0me! -4b53nt33 v073r
\_ It was impossible to know even without absentee voting. |
| 2006/11/6 [Science/Space] UID:45190 Activity:nil |
11/6 Homeowners: Anyone have a swimming pool and know how much it costs
to repair it? My mother's swimming pool needs repairs, and the
estimate is about $4000. The following needs to be repaired: 1.
Waterfall is cracked; leaks, does not hold water; needs to be
repaired. 2. Tiles in jacuzzi are cracked, missing; needs to be
replaced. 3. tiles in pool are missing; needs to be replaced.
4. Crack in bottom of pool; starts in shallow end and runs to
middle of pool; should be repaired. 5. spillway into pool is
cracked needs to be repaired. 6. Pool border needs bonding.
7. Rough edges of pool rocks need to be smoothed. 8. Flagstone
around pool is cracked and needs repairing. 9. After all pool
repairs have been completed, the expansion joint needs to be
repaired. 10. Patio pool area surface needs to be re-painted.
Water will need to be drained for this job. Does $4000 sound
reasonable to you guys? Thanks.
\_ Get several bids and compare.
\_ Agree, get more bids and compare. From the long list you posted
I'd guess $4k is a low offer, and beware of 'extra charges' if you
let the contracter take that job. The cracks & leak are especially
troubling. |
| 2006/11/6-8 [Politics/Domestic, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:45191 Activity:nil |
11/6 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15590729/site/newsweek/from/RS.2 "Saddam and the Republicans" |
| 2006/11/6 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:45192 Activity:nil |
11/6 Why is Cheney's hunting trip news, and election tampering
and HELLO THE UNITED STATES HAS GIVEN UP ON FUNDING THE
RECONSTRUCTION OF IRAQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELLO !!!!!!!!!!!!
BLING BLING BLING BLING BEEP BEEP BRRRRRRRRRRWAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!
I can't do the car alarm thing properly anyway WTF.
\_ Were you looking for vr00p! vr00p! vr00p!? And why is Iraq
protected by a car alarm?
\_ Hello, Mark Foley brought down by being dirty to a page, not by
general shitbagness. Tom "The Hammer" DeLay brought down by
money fiddling, not by general shitbagness. There's kind of a trend
here. I think the US needs an emperor and a Ministry of Truth to
keep the slobs happy. -John |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Computer/Rants] UID:45193 Activity:nil |
10/6 Bill Gates donated $48K to Democrats!
http://www.newsmeat.com/billionaire_political_donations/Bill_Gates.php
\_ l4m3. now tell motd why you're l4m3. |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Troll] UID:45194 Activity:nil |
11/6 MOTD boob guy strikes again: Can anyone read the small prints below
"Goals" on the poster at link:www.csua.org/u/hdx (NSFW)? Serious
answers please. Does anyone know where I can get such a poster?
Thanks in advance.
\_ "Focus on your goals...just don't get caught focusing."
http://tinyurl.com/ylzugq but hurry, auction only lasts until
Nov. 8. You're welcome, I love a challenge. Next? -John
\_ Damn that'd look good in the office. Might be a lil too non-PC
though, sadly. |
| 2006/11/6 [Uncategorized] UID:45195 Activity:kinda low |
11/6 emarkp, why don't you like to admit you voted for R anymore?
\_ Hi troll. When did you stop beating your wife? -emarkp
(Hint: the point is, your premise is incorrect.)
\_ emarkp, when did you stop waterboarding your wife? |
| 2006/11/6-8 [Politics/Domestic/California, ERROR, uid:45196, category id '18005#6.55' has no name! , ] UID:45196 Activity:nil |
11/6 Taking a page from Rove, the GOP robocalls to the point of harassment--
on behalf of their opponents:
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/06/2011251
(Slashdot link leads to multiple articles in multiple locales.)
How can anyone think of this as a valid campaign tactic?
\_ as I understand it, these calls are originated by the national
GOP committee. they hired "Conquest Communications Group":
http://www.conquestgroup.com |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Politics/Domestic/Immigration] UID:45197 Activity:nil |
11/6 http://safercolorado.org/initiative_language I don't get it. Where are people supposed to obtain these now-legal < 1oz quantities of marijuana? This feels like legalizing employment of illegal immigrants while keeping undocumented immigration illegal. \_ They aren't supposed to. It's a symptom of the public having a split opinion on the issue. The net effect is a half-assed bill. \_ They can't buy it, but if it is found on someone's person they can't get arrested/have their car taken from them/etc. \_ You're missing the point. "Legal to own but (effectively) illegal to aquire" is stupid. \_ Grow? -John |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Recreation/Dating, Computer/SW/Apps/Media] UID:45198 Activity:kinda low |
11/6 What do you guys do when you have continual impure thoughts?
I will not elaborate what they are but I can't seem to get
my mind off of these thoughts.
\_ http://www.moonmac.com/Mormon_masturbation.html
\_ Nuke the motd.
\_ impure thoughts? this is a joke right?
\_ No I'm serious. There's a really cute blond girl at my work
place. I have absolutely no interest in her except for sex.
She's a bit fat but otherwise very cute. I'm obsessed about
having sex with her and that's all I can think about at work.
It's driving me nuts. By the way masterbation works!!! -op
\_ http://csua.org/u/he6 Code Monkey song for you.
\_ masturbate. duh. not joking. suddenly, you can concentrate on
other things again! amazing! (sex obviously the preferred option,
but somehow i'm guessing that's not a viable option for you)
\_ CRACK ONE OUT, BABY.
\_ I had sex twice on Saturday night, came home and masturbated
4 times (Sunday), today I am up to #5. Tomorrow I have
to badger people into not voting for the abortion
notification proposition so I won't have a lot of time. - furious
\_ This is kind of insane. Are you sure you don't have a brain
tumor which is causing insane sexual desire? Maybe you should
see a doctor. Or exercise a lot. I find that 2hrs/day of
exercise suppresses libido.
\_ I'm running late this morning so I googled for
"Brianna Briggs" and had myself 1. Gotta start my
day now. - furious |
| 2006/11/6-8 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:45199 Activity:nil |
11/6 US Army recruiters lie to get people to enlist:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2626032&page=1
\_ This is news how exactly? I was looking for info on ROTC while
applying for college, and made the mistake of asking at a
recruiting station (long since closed, fuckers) about how one goes
about becoming an officer. The shit they put me through and told
me was absolutely amazing. -John
\_ So you didn't join the Waffen-SS after all?
\- i think the news or rather the "new" part is the country
is at war now. it's one thing to BS about benefits and
such, it seems another to lie to a direct question "will
i end up in iraq". and it is sad we dont consider it
"news" that mlitary recruiters are the same species as
gym salesmen and cell phone vendors. the real or the
"big" issues here is obvious, so i wont belabor it.
\_ It surprises me that you feel there is a difference. The
tactics they use to get people to sign up are very low, and
I can see how someone without much education would fall for
it easiily. I recall the same shit during Iraq #1, but
nobody made as much of a stink over it because not as many
people were dying. They are salesmen, they have a quota to
meet, and the company's in trouble. Quotas just got upped.
I don't differentiate between lying to get people into an
organization whose nature it is that you might get killed,
whether people are actually dying or not. -John
\- well i dont think there is a bright line about what
falls under "buyer (recruit) beware" and something that
crosses the line. but sometimes "you know it when you
see it". for example, if you are buying a house but you
never bother to discover there is a frat house next door,
that's likely your fault. but in another case a friend
of a friend bought a house in los gatos and the sale was
reversed after 6mos because it turned out the house seller
had asked a autobody shop [or some other kind of industrial
operation] not to operate when he was showing the house.
[now if he hadnt colluded but had just picked a time when
the place was closed, maybe that would have passed muster].
there might have been other sleazy dealings too. i didnt
know the exact details but i had relatively little sympathy
for the people in gulf war 1 to bailed on their obligations
after taking advantage of the college and other benefits.
i would hope that given you are dealing with people
probably in the 16-20 range, it is potentially a matter of
life and death ... and certainly a major lifestyle choice,
and it is your govt after all, military recruitment would
be a more sober and serious and solemn process, but we
cerainly no better than that dont we. so we probably
are in 90% agreement ... but i suppose i see this
though the "big issues" [national service, wealth and
opportunity etc] rather than focusing on the sleaziness
of the army's salesmen. in re: the "i dont differentiate"
comment: consider the informed consent: everybody no
matter how dumb or how young who is more conscious than
terry schivo knows there is some chance of getting
killed or hurt in the military ... since it even
happens in training etc. people also know that your
chance of getting hurt/maimed or killed go way up
if you are sent to iraq ... it probably doesnt matter
whether that probability is .5% or .1% ... everyone
knows it is high enough to take notice of. but what
people dont know is what is the probability of their
being sent to iraq/afganistan upon joining the military
now ... is it 5% or 80%? further, they should reasonable
believe that the govt representative will either say
i dont know or not massively lie to them. expecting an
18yr old to "expect" the govt to lie to them doesnt seem
reasonable. although it's starting to be.
\- maybe this is a good example to bring out some of
my thinking: we think of cosmetic surgeons as perhaps
a little sleazy [the beverly hills kind, not the
charity and military ones]. and a patient really is
a customer and should be on the alert to beig pitched,
oversold, upsold etc ... i dont have much sympathy for
a young impressionable girl in for a nose job getting
talked into a lip puffing sugery "while your at it".
but if your real doctor says he hears something
"funny" with your mitral valve and you need to pay
more money to be probed so he can buy a new titaniam
golf device, that is totally beyond the pale since
there really may not be any good way for you to protect
your interests. you are totally in his hands ... that's
why this is supposed to be a relationship of solmn
trust [with threat of malpractice] rather than a
consumer relationship. so the ideal answer isnt
the consumer/patient/recruit should be careful in
both cases but society sould hold the person in the
position of trust to a higher standard ... unfortunately
that ideal doesnt always happen and perhaps caveat
emptor is "min max" strategy.
\_ Personal responsibility aside (if you're signing up
for the army, I'd hope that you are thinking about
what you are doing), there's a pretty major difference
between lying to sell aluminum siding and lying to get
someone to join the national "we can fuck up your life
send you to a place where you have a real possibility
of getting your ass brought home in a box, and all that
on false pretenses" club. I don't care if you're in
a war or not, it's criminal. -John |
| 2006/11/6 [Politics/Domestic/California] UID:45200 Activity:low 79%like:45207 |
11/6 1A:
1B:
1C:
1D:
1E: .
\_ None of the above because running your failed state via
proposition to purchase basic structural needs and services
while using the general fund for pork is nutty and doomed: .
\_ So, how much of the general fund is used for pork? It does
seem crazy to borrow money for basic structure, but it's
pretty obvious the CA legislature isn't going to become sane
anytime soon.
\_ In the last 3 years, tax revenue has grown by about 22% and
spending about 28%. You tell me -not pp
\_ None of the 1*'s are propositions. They're all either amendments
to passed initiatives (1A) or bond measures which the legislature
approved, but which by CA law require direct voter approval to
pass. Bonds used to be (and in most other states are) sold
without direct voter approval.
\_ ok, ok, I'm voting for 1a but not the rest.
\_ I'm definitely no on 1C. The problem with housing in CA won't
be solved by the govt. giving handouts. Lifiting building
restrictions would do a lot more.
\_ McClintock on the props. As usual, good on bonds.
http://www.tommcclintock.net/news.php?news_id=85&start=5 |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Consumer/CellPhone] UID:45201 Activity:nil |
11/7 I don't know why this was deleted so reposting:
Thinking of switching from Verizon to Cingular. Mostly use in Mountain
View and sometimes Berkeley. Thoughts?
\_ Cingular is pretty good in the South Bay. I haven't had any problems
in the 4+ years I've been w/ AT&T and Cingular. One downside,
Cingular's unlimited data plan is (was?) pretty expensive. --ranga
\_ my boss in Santa Clara complains about GSM services, and he end
up getting a Verizon phone DESPITE he could really use a GSM
phone because he clock about 100,000 miles a year.
\_ Cingular is pretty good in the south bay. I've had AT&T Wireless
and Cingular for the last 4 years and haven't had any major issues.
The one drawback is that the unlimited data plan is (was?) quite
expensive. --ranga |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Computer/SW/Editors, Politics/Domestic/Immigration] UID:45202 Activity:low |
11/6 Poll: How are you avoiding kchang's identifier on
http://csua.com/24/?incr=1 ? I'll start:
scp: .
cp, vi, cp: .
it's wrong most of the time (at least for my posts), so why care?: ..
Didn't know kchange was back: .
\_ man, kchang's message is out of date
"WARNING: Random aliases shown are solely for the purpose of
entertainment. Real logins, as well as randomized names really
didn't post these messages."
\_ I always launch my editor (Vim) when I login to soda and load the
motd into the buffer. When I write to the motd, I load my comment
into a buffer, reload the motd and then write the change. Since I'm
always running the editor, kchang nearly always flags me as a a
possibility. Thus my actual comments are lost in the noise. -emarkp
\_ I don't give a rat's ass. -John
\_ I don't give a man's ass. -John
\_ I don't give yermom's ass. -John |
| 2006/11/6-8 [Uncategorized] UID:45203 Activity:nil |
11/6 Open enrollment begins today. Should I appyl for FSA Debit Card
(Flexible Spending Account)?
\_ This is the health spending plan, yes? If you have known static
medical expenses each year then you might want to put some cash
in there but please please please be aware that if you don't use
the money by year's end or you quit and still have money in there
*you*lose*the*money*! |
| 2006/11/6-8 [Politics/Domestic/Gay] UID:45204 Activity:nil |
11/6 RNC attackes "Charlie Brown":
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/TD/20061102/NEWS/111020080
\_ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4190699.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/276677.stm
Could be worse. -John
\_ What is your point? I'm a Democrat but I also think gay people
are bad and they should minimize contacts with children.
\_ What is your point? I'm a Democrat but I also think gay people
are bad and they should minimize contacts with children.
\_ Hope springs eternal that this is a troll. |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Uncategorized] UID:45205 Activity:nil |
11/6 3D Digg:
http://www.footloosemoose.com/michael/mb3dEngine/fullscreen.html
\_ is there any structure to the organisation? seems pointless. |
| 2006/11/6-7 [Computer/HW/Display] UID:45206 Activity:nil |
11/6 Nvidia buys PortalPlayer:
http://www.portalplayer.com/news-and-events/PPI_NVIDIA.htm |
| 2006/11/6-8 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/California/Prop] UID:45207 Activity:low 79%like:45200 |
11/6 1A: .
1B:
1C:
1D:
1E: ..
\_ None of the above because running your failed state via
proposition to purchase basic structural needs and services
while using the general fund for pork is nutty and doomed: .
\_ So, how much of the general fund is used for pork? It does
seem crazy to borrow money for basic structure, but it's
pretty obvious the CA legislature isn't going to become sane
anytime soon.
\_ In the last 3 years, tax revenue has grown by about 22% and
spending about 28%. You tell me -not pp
\_ None of the 1*'s are propositions. They're all either amendments
to passed initiatives (1A) or bond measures which the legislature
approved, but which by CA law require direct voter approval to
pass. Bonds used to be (and in most other states are) sold
without direct voter approval.
\_ ok, ok, I'm voting for 1a but not the rest.
\_ why not 1e?
\_ eh. Compared to the size of the general fund and
considering it takes several budget cycles to build,
repair, etc, on that scale, we can or at least should
be able to afford the levees from general funds.
\_ the bonds are all going to get paid that way anyway.
Why not get some balls in the legislature and get
the work done, wihtout having to pay interest for
borrowing the money to do the job. That way just costs
more in the long run.
\_ yeah that's what i'm saying. we're in agreement.
\_ If you're in favor of the legislature being able to
operate as they do in other states, as the person above,
that's exactly backwards.
\_ I'm definitely no on 1C. The problem with housing in CA won't
be solved by the govt. giving handouts. Lifiting building
restrictions would do a lot more.
\_ McClintock on the props. As usual, good on bonds.
http://www.tommcclintock.net/news.php?news_id=85&start=5
Good, Interesting justification on 1E. (no on B, C, D)
\_ Gah, hadn't read that, but that was the exact reason I came up
with for having that be my only 1* "yes"
Sad to see he actually believes 83 will do anything.
\_ I don't think opposing that prop is politically tenable.
\_ Yeah, I've decided to vote no on 83. Sad as it is to see
kids get raped, it's too much money to reduce a very rare
crime. Not to meantion things like Satutory rape can get
you a GPS tracker. Seems a bit much.
\_ False. Statutory isn't part of it.
\_ Why should my tax money go to support someone who decided
build in a flood plain? I'm voting no on 1E. |
| 5/28 |