11/8    Is there a way to do access control lists using .htaccess files in
        apache?  I want to do something like if src IP is A then redirect
        to this URL.  if src IP is B, deny.  If src IP is C, then permit.
        That kind of stuff.  I've been getting a lot of hits that try to
        execute cmd.exe or some other NT stuff.  To exploit IIS. But my server
        is a unix box.  They're getting to be annoying and I want to filter
        them out.  Thanks.
        \_ You can certainly block certain IP addresses using the Allow
           and Deny directives.  Don't know if .htaccess does redirects
           based on IP address.  You should go on google and type in
           "htaccess allow deny".
        \_ You can do anything you want (almost) with mod_rewrite (it's one
           of the standard modules).  Check out:
           http://httpd.apache.org/docs/mod/mod_rewrite.html    --dbushong

        [MOTD partially restored; apparently someone thought
         it was too long - boo-hoo....]

11/8    http://www.fuckedcompany.com/images/headsup.mpeg
        You've got to see this.  Has audio.  Don't play with your manager near
        by.
        \*mommy, what was that man doing?*
        \_ Definitely not work safe, has video.
                \_ It's an mpeg.  Yes, it has video.
        \_ That can't be real!
        \_ can someone please gouge my eyes out for me?
        \_ I so didn't need to see that.
           \_ What exactly is happening?
              \_ Take the title of the file and use your imagination.
                 \_ Is it some variation of "Go stick your head in a pig"?
        \_ That... was... actually, I don't know what to think.
        \_ Pleeeease tell me there were some special effects involved.
        \_ I never imagined it was possible.
        \_ This crashed my browser. What is this about?
           \_ Ignorance is bliss.

11/8    The Tick premieres on Fox today.  Anyone really care?
        \_ maybe
        \_ yes

11/9    "Let's roll!"

11/8    Is there any truth to this (Israeli detained for celebrating WTC)?  http://www.americanfreepress.net/11_03_01/Suspects_Still_Held/suspects_still_hel
d.html
        \_ are you serious?  look around the website.  I don't know where
           to start, the racist christian identity site banners?
           new world order paranoiaanners?
           new world order paranoia?  ok i actually
           agree with
http://www.americanfreepress.net/08_25_01/Banksters_to_Discuss_Phony_Age/bankste

rs_to_discuss_phony_age.html
           \_ Well, I suppose we know where the extreme right meets the
              extreme left nowadays....

11/9    In async serial communication, what's the purpose of using 1.5 or 2
        stop bits instead of just 1?  Doesn't that only waste time and slow
        down the line?  Thanks.  -- UART newbie
        \_ Bits are good.  More bits are better!
        \_ What's 1.5 bits?  How do you divide a bit?
                \_ run the clock twice as fast
           \_ probably alternates between 1 and 2 bits on each transmission.
              Just a guess. google it.
           \_ http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Serial-HOWTO-19.html#ss19.2
              "In rare cases 1 1/2 stop bits are used. This means that the
              line is kept at -12 V for 1 1/2 time periods (like a stop bit 50%
              wider than normal)."
              wider than normal)."  But that doesn't say why someone would want
              to use more than 1 stop bits.

11/9    Do the 386 and 486 versions of SETI@home work on 386 or 486SX PCs
        without a 387 or 487SX?
        \_ "Back in the day", you had to either get a math co-proc or the
           software had to be written to use software emulation which meant
           it would run at 1/10th the speed or so for things that normally
           required a math co-proc.  What's the point of grinding out a unit
           per 2 months anyway?  By the time you get your unit in, they'll
           have already given up on your client/unit pair.  As far as seti
           goes, it depends totally on how they wrote it.  Try it.
           \_ I know it depends on how they wrote it, or more likely, what
              compiler switches they passed to the compiler.  But since I
              don't have a 386/486SX PC, I can't try it out myself.
              \_ Then why do you care?
                 \_ Okay, I'm just curious.
        \_ Surely you've got better things to do than provide horribly
           energy-inefficient computing power to SETI with negligible
           results.
           \_ Hey, at least it's not a 8088 or a Z80.
           \_ It was either inefficient cycles going to SETI or wasted idle
              cycles.  Which one is worse?
           \_ It was either inefficient cycles going to SETI, or wasted cycles
              running idle loop or drawing flying toasters.  Which one is
              worse?
                \_ Turn the fucking thing off, duh.  Just because it still
                   works doesn't mean it should be on.
                   \_ Dude, chill.  It seems unlikely that the wasted power
                      from an old machine is going to matter all that much
                      in the grand scheme of things.  Try decaf next time....
                   \_ What about the wasted idle cycles when you're typing in
                      your source code, or your compiler is reading a file from
                      the hard disk or over the network, or you're downloading
                      something from the web, or your debugger is waiting for
                      the target machine to hit a breakpoint?  I power on my
                      PC at work 8 or 9 hours a day, and at the end of the day
                      I usually find that only 10% of the CPU cycles went to
                      the ocmpilers/browser/OS etc, whereas the other 90% is
                      idle cycles which I use to run SETI@home.

11/9    Let's say you have f(n)=2^n. Then as a function of n the output is
        exponential (easy). In that case, why is it that as a function of
        f(n) the output is linear?
        \_ I don't know what "output" means, but I'll try.  Let m =
           f(n), then m = 2^n, hence f(n) = 2^n = m, and hence f(n) =
           m.  So f(n) is a linear function of m, therefore f(n) is a
           linear function of f(n).  I guess that means the "output"
           is linear.
           \_ so this is universally true no matter what f(n) is right?
              \_ uh, so f(n) is always linear to itself?  well, duh.
        \_ Is this from some Math class in Cal?  Which one?

11/9    I've a boss who is impossible to work for -- he has to show that he is
        superior at every occasion and had staff meeting once every 1 or 2
        months. should i just quite and look for a new job? how is the market?
        \_ You think that's bad?  I have a boss would never listen, wanted
           to write a batch file that automate a telnet session, never had
           a staff metting for the 11 months I've worked for him.  Job
           market is bad. Stay where you are.
        \_ I thought there was justice when my ex-boss was pushed into
           retirement due to gross incompetence. Then I found out he left
           because of a sexual harassment issue. Oh well, he's gone anyway,
           and my life's been happier since.
        \_ Staff meeting every 1 or 2 months? Is that it? Is this
           your direct boss or your VP? Every place I have worked at
           has weekly staff meetings. Oh, keep your job, especially
           if you work in the Bay Area.
        \_ The market is softer than it was last year, but it still exists.
           It never hurts to poke around and see if your speciality is in
           demand enough to warrent quitting. An impossible boss will drive
           you nuts. Looking for a new job will at least give you some sense
           of hope.
        \_ I have a boss whose sole job is to ask me how my projects are doing
           and not actually manage me.  He doesn't care whether it's late or
           not or whatever.
        \_ I was recently made a team lead, what do you guys want out of
           a manager?
           \_ For me: provide suffucient information to get something done.
              My current manager gives me half described and very vague
              little projects which just means I have to go back and ask what
              the hell she wants.  Today's: tell the vendor how we want the
              Sun A5200 setup.  How the hell should I know?  I didn't even
              know we were buying one or what we're attaching it to.
        \_ Job market is sucking but exists.  Do not ever quit a job before
           you have a new one in hand.

11/9    "FBI: Same Person Probably Wrote Anthrax Letters"
        ttp://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011109/ts/attack_anthrax_fbi_dc.html
        More than a whole month after anthrax letters appeared, the FBI has
        finally come up with a criminal profile:
        - probably an adult
        - probably male
        - may have worked in a lab or had a scientific background
        - may have gotten vaccine or antibiotics.
        A high school kid can come up with this in twenty seconds.  Geez.
        \_ uhhh, right.  and after 20 odd years on the unabomber case,
           they had a profile of an out of work airline employee with
           little to no education waering sunglasses and a sweatshirt.
           \_ - There are a lot more adult criminals than minor criminals.  Ie.
                the % of adults among criminals is higher than the % of adults
                in the general population.
        \_ Ok, you've had some college or maybe graduated.  Let's hear your
           educated reasoning that would bring one to this 20 second
           conclusion.
           \_ - There are a lot more adult criminals than minor criminals.
              - Same argument for male.
              - Having either worked in a lab or had a scientific background
                makes it much easier (although not easy) to understand and
                get anthrax.
              - Knowing that anthrax is hazardous, it's more likely that not
              FBI has said anyway.  ("probably", "may".)
                that (s)he's taken steps to protect himself/herself with
                vaccine or antibiotics so that (s)he can stay healthy and
                produce a chain of attacks.
              None of these are definite conclusion, but neither was what the
              FBI has said anyway ("probably", "may", "or").
                \_ The difference is when the FBI says "probably" they're right
                   more often than your random guesswork.
                   \_ But according to that article, the only thing that the
                      FBI is near certain is that all three letters were
                      written by the same person.

11/9    In case you though your money was safe:
        http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/22751.html

11/9    Patton to the 3rd army:
        http://www.nationalreview.com/weekend/history/history-patton111001.shtml

11/9    When the Taliban asked to see the evidence of bin Laden's guilt,
        why did our gov't refuse?
        \_ becuase when Clinton gave evidence that was very clear, they
        just shrugged it off. (the african embassy bombings)
           \_ yes, they said there's nothing they can do since he is there guest
              \_ Any good links to this? I want to read more about it.
                        \_ http://www.google.com  It's everywhere.
        \_ what's wrong with you? are you pro-taliban or something? the
           taliban has no intension to turn over bin laden. so why do we bother
           give them hard evidence?  besides, bin laden is wanted even before
           911. U.S. has to take military action.  Do you think you can sit
           there and tell the terrorists to submit themselves?  One good example
           is the bible has been around and preached for thousands of years,
           there are still terrorists.  So those who oppose the U.S. action
           suggest us just sit around and forget 911 ever happened?
        \_ Because the US has no proof. This whole thing was cooked up by
           the CIA to keep Bush in power in strengthen their role.
           \_ And the CIA and Bigfoot are in cahoots with Castro and Elvis
              from his space ship to take over the world!
        \_ Our leaders want to get some "quick results", and they have
           faith in our vastly superior military prowess to attain it.
           Only capturing or killing Bin Laden ourselves is satisfying
           enough.  Bin Laden ending up in some Taliban negotiated
           international court just doesn't cut it.  They want a total
           victory and infinite justice, to hell with a few collaterally
           damaged human lives or a little starvation in Afghanistan.
           \_ They weren't going to turn him over then, now, or ever to anyone.
              \_ How would you know?  The Taliban may be harsh and fanatic,
                 but they are not unprincipled.  That's why they stopped
                 opium growing in Afghanistan in spite of the fact that it
                 earned the country a lot of money.  Khaddafi (spelling?)
                 gave up the terrorist who bombed a British plane.