9/10    what's a good inexpensive solution to capturing video
        from a PC?  One of those 3DFX Voodoo capture cards?
        A Snapper?  Something else?  Thanks. - danh
        \_ I'm actually looking for something that I can use maybe as a
           second video card to both display PC video out (i.e. DivX)
           on a TV, as well as TV signal on a PC (like in a separate window
           on your desktop--I have seen this somewhere.)  The idea is to
           be able to watch stuff I recorded on my PC on TV while using the
           machine.  Any ideas?  -John
           \_ TVIA (http://www.tvia.com makes something like that.  -- yuen

9/12    http://students.cs.byu.edu/~campbell/figures.htm
        Graduate School admission factors.
        \_ Interesting data, although those linear fits look way too weak
           to be reasonably meaningful

9/12    Gardening question: in general, if you plant a tree's fruit will the
        fruit grow?  Or is there some special pollination process with a male
        tree that must happen?  Or does this totally depend on the species
        of the tree?  There are some ginkgo biloba trees with fruits near
        my house, I'm thinking of taking some of its fruits.
        \_The answer is; you must buy a ginko tree from a store.  First
        of all, Ginko trees are not angiosperms...they do not have fruit.  What
        looks like fruit is really a strange sort of cone/seed structure that
        is only found in ginko trees today, (all the rest that had this feature
        died out over 10,000 years ago.)  And the odds are the seed inside the
        structure is not fertilized.  It's true that ginko trees are monoicious.
        each tree has only male parts or female parts.  (yes, female trees
        stink.)  Therefore, unless there is a grove of male trees near,
        (and there better be alot because these trees are wind
        pollinated,) the seed is not fertalized and cannot grow into a
        mature plant.
        \_ Stop it.  Stop it right now with this filthy discussion.
           Such sexually perverse questions do not belong on the MOTD.
        In general, if you plant a tree's "fruit" it will not
        grow. You must plant the seed...this may seem picky, but take the case
        of bananas sold in stores; they have no seeds in them so planting
        one will not grow a banana tree.  further more there are certain
        things that must happen to some seed for them to sprout, such as
        soaking them, freezing them, or passing them through a fruitbat's
        gut.(yes, there are a few I can think of that require this).
        Answer; it totally depends on the species of tree.
                                                -sofia (Bio Major)
        \_ Ginkos are special cases, as each ginko tree is only male or
           female.  Most plants are hermaphrodites and have both male and
           female parts, stamens and pistels.  Some of those can self
           pollenate, some can't.  However, there is generally enough
           pollen in the air to pollenate just about anything you will
           grow.
           \_ so the answer is?  What do I have to do grow a ginkgo tree from
              its fruit?  Take the fruit and do what with the male tree?  I
              don't see any pollen-looking thingies on the male trees.
              \_ You shove it up the male tree's ass.
           \_ But he/she was talking about planting the fruit, which already
              contains the seeds which come after pollination, right?
              \_ err, sorry, yah.  Seeds are what create plants.  They
                 are pollenated already.  Of course you are probably not gonna
                 get a tree unless you pay some attention to how and when you
                 should plant the thing, and you may jsut want to get a
                 plant from a nursery or read about cuttings.  Some trees
                 do cuttings really well and those tend to give you a nice
                 year's head start.
                 \_ Try not to plant a female tree.  The fruits stink.
                    \_ this generalizes well.
                  \_ luck of the draw with seeds

9/12    Do you think Berkeley CS or EECS has grade inflation or deflation?
        I'm talking about Undergrad.
        \_ It's a "fact" that grades are inflated at Berkeley in general, and
           EECS/CS in particular. Average ugrad GPA was like 3.06 and EECS was
           3.2. I think CS was 3.4 or something but that's partially because
           CS rejects major in applied math or cog sci. But the average GPA is
           supposed to be around a 2.7. There was a DailyCal article with all
           these stats about a year ago.
           \_ Having studied in several departments, I can tell you without
              qualification that EECS students are a cut above most of the
              campus.  If they have a higher ave. GPA, they've earned it.
              Probably by kicking ass in non-EECS classes, possibly by
              having to jump a huge bar to get into EECS.  --PeterM
              \_ damn, when I was in school, the ave. was ~ 2.5
                 for engineers, with ud only ave. ~ 3.1.
                 \_ Bullshit. What year did you graduate?
              kicking people out has NOTHING to dowith those grades.
                    \_ 97 and I said engineers, not just EECS.
                       \_ Bullshit. The article I read was written in 1999
                          (I think) and 3.1 was the average eng GPA. The data
                          probably came from '98 grads.
                          \_ I guess I'm below ave. then. Oh well...
                             I wonder how many of those ave. eng. have patents
                             and wrote books since graduating? Perhaps GPA
                             isn't everything...
           \_ uhh, of course the fact that EECS tends to be aggresive about
              kicking people out has NOTHING to do with those grades.
              \_ EECS kicks people out after 4/5 years, not for bad grades.
                 My friend graduated with a 2.46.
                 \_ I think he meant weeding the weak folks out during the
                    first two years.
                    \_ This is completely inaccurate.  Some of the weak (and
                       arguably a whole lot more strong folks who get bounced
                       out by weak folks playing GPA games) get weeded from
                       L&S CS, but very few EECS majors get weeded.  It's
                       REALLY hard to flunk out of EECS.
                       \_ I agree.  By any standards, I tried pretty hard.
                          I think for all my classes in 4 years at Cal I
                          went to a total of maybe 50 lectures.