10/31   How can I save the output of a subshell command into a Makefile
        variable? I want something like TIMESTAMP=`date '+%Y-%b-%d-%H:%M'`,
        and then use that in the following rule:
        checkpoint : clean
                tar cf ../$(TIMESTAMP).tar .
        ------------
        But instead of returning the date string, it makes tar files named
        date '+%Y-%b-%d-%H:%M'.tar ... What am I doing wrong?
        \_ 1. Which shell?
           2. Loose the brackets. They have a special meaning in most shells
           3. Post the exact commands/script you're trying to run
        \_ What version of make?  From Solaris 8 make(1S)
        \_ What version of make?  From Solaris 8 make(1S) -jon
  Command Substitutions
     To incorporate the standard output of a shell command  in  a
     macro, use a definition of the form:

        MACRO:sh =command

     The command is executed only once, standard error output  is
     discarded,  and NEWLINE characters are replaced with SPACEs.
     If the command has a non-zero exit status, make  halts  with
     an error.

     To capture the output of a shell command in a  macro  refer-
     ence, use a reference of the form:

        $(MACRO:sh)

     where MACRO is the name of a macro containing a valid Bourne
     shell  command  line.  In this case, the command is executed
     whenever the reference is evaluated.  As with shell  command
     substitutions,  the  reference is replaced with the standard
     output of the command. If the command has  a  non-zero  exit
     status, make halts with an error.

10/30   Can we run a webcam in Soda and/or CSUA?
        \_ webcam are voyeuristic tools of perversion.
           \_ i suppose that means yes?
        \_ There already is one in soda somewhere.  It's even watching CSUA
           people (no, not the lounge or office).  But I'm not telling you
           the URL.  Neener.
           \_ is this the one you had in mind?
              IE:
                http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~mhoward/cam/popup-java.html
              NS:
                http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~mhoward/cam

10/31   What are you dressing up as for Halloween?
        \_ paolo, covered in blood
        \_ an unemployed geek.
        \_ ass pirates!
           \_ Ahoy mate-y ...
        \_ vampire, reusing old costume from many years ago.
        \_ I convinced my (Chinese) friend to dress up as a Chinese
           coal-miner (ie, from 1800's era). Will this be offensive?
           \_ Everything is offensive to some person in the world.
        \_ I convinced my (Anglo-Saxon) friend to dress up as a white
           trash (ie, from 1950's KKK era). Will this be offensive?
           \_ A white sheet is a white sheet.  A ghost is a ghost.  Is that
              offensive?  Yes, to some.
           \_ What a horribly crafted counter-example (and poor indenting
              to boot). The main difference between your example and mine
              is that dressing up as a KKK member is offensive to other
              people (namely, almost everyone) whereas dressing up as a
              Chinese laborer would probably be offensive mainly to Chinese
              people... which my friend is. I'm not convinced that the
              costume is not offensive... just that your argument is
              flawed.
                \_ I am not familiar with the history.  Were the Chinese
                   laborers used as coal miners?  I thought they were
                   mostly working on the railway.
                   \_ er... yeah... I guess that is somewhat of a
                      weakness in the whole thing. But some must have
                      worked in coal mines too right?
        \_ Jesus Christ carrying a big ol' cross on his back. Will this be
           offensive? If not I will try harder.
           \_ if you want to offend this crowd, why not dress up as a pico user?
                \_ No.
           \_ Try harder. Some Christians even do this (_and_ hang
              themselves on crosses) around Easter.
              \_ Yes, I see that now. Perhaps, also put a swastika across my
                 chest, and wear a big rubber dildo on a strap?
        \_ Layoff survivor
        \_ DotCom CEO or VC.  Not sure yet which.
        \_ Captain Save A Ho.
           \_ E40, n***a!

10/31   What's the best way to erase your CDR? I'm not talking about CDRW.
        \_ Get a hammer or yermom.
        \_ microwave oven.
        \_ Put it in a parked car under the sun in a hot sunny day.
        \_ You understand a CDR can't be erased?  It's a write-once deal.
           That's why the above people are giving that sort of advice.
        \_ Circular sander.

10/31   Help with DNS!  I'm following somebody suggestion here and using
        <DEAD>granitecanyon.com<DEAD>'s free DNS service.  I'm not sure what to put in
        my DNS entry.  I only want two things:
        1) http://foo.com and http://www.foo.com should go to ip address A (say http://bar.com).
        2) all mail sent to user@foo.com should go to user@bar.com.
        I'm looking for a sample DNS entry that does just that.  Nothing
        else.  The example they have is too complicated.  Thanks.

10/31   I asked this before, but it got nuked.  Does anyone know where
        I can find one of those machines that will exchange pennies for
        more useful change?
        \_ link:www.coinstar.com
        \_ It got nuked?  It must have been offensive.
        \_ It must have offended someone so it got censored.
        \_ Vegas, baby.
           \_ Has anyone actually exchanged their five-year-old jar of
              coins in Vegas?
        \_ I use them up on AC Transit. Amazing how fast a jar of pennies
           can be used up as bus fare -- social science major

10/31   More on motd stuff.  So if we record who added something to the
        motd do we also record who censors it and what they removed?
        \_ of course not.  i think it's clear that thae same jerks who
           want to ruin the motd by logging it are also responsible for
           trying to ruin it with their deletions.
           \_ see paolo. -!tom
              \_ where is paolo anyway?  He hasn't logged in for a while