1/2     Why the Euro conversion is a Good Thing (tm):
        http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020102/od/germany_dc_1.html
        \_ Let's see... 1 euro = $0.90... Damn that's nice.
           \_ CSUA-field-trip-to-Deutchland-P
              \_ nil -- russian jew
        \_ The idea was originally 1 euro = $1.00.
        \_ There's a better reason: it'll take the europeans years to recovere
           from entangling and mushing up their different economies, legal
           system, transport, etc, etc, etc, during which time we'll leave
           them in a far distant second place economically while we continue
           to ship more cigarettes, Coke, and McDonald's over there.  There
           is more than one way to win a war.  Conquering your enemy's
           culture without bloodshed is the best long term method of victory
           and it creates jobs along the way.  I'm all for the Euro.
           \_ In 20 years we are going to be second to China anyway.
              \_ Laughable.
                 \_ Yeah, the World Bank is a bunch of jokers.
                    \_ do you know the real reason the american economy
                       has been having problems?  ever since the motd.public
                       has been unreadable to those without csua accounts,
                       allan greenspan has been unable to read it, and
                       has been without it's wisdom for quite some time.
                       the effects are obvious.
                       \_ finger motd@soda.csua.berkeley.edu
           \_ When you subtract out all of the .com crap which was transient
              growth,  Europe actually had better productivity growth than the
              US.  They also work less than we do.
              \_ which why Germany test scores are so high

1/2     If I apply to a MS/MBA program, will I need to take both the GRE
        and the GMAT?
        \_ depends on school.  But mostly yes.

1/2     Does CSUA support PHP?
        \_ No, PHP is an abomination.  It should be destroyed...
           Seriously though:
           > cd /usr/local/apache/conf
           > grep php httpd.conf
             # http://www.php.net will typically use:
             #AddType application/x-httpd-php3 .php3
             #AddType application/x-httpd-php3-source .phps
             #AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
             #AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps
             <Files ~ "\.(cgi|shtml|phtml|php3?)$">
           So the answer would be no.  That said, you can still use it.  Build
           your own copy of php, and run your php pages as CGI pages. -dans
           \_ Is JSP an abomination?
              \_ yes.
                 \_ Is CGI an abomination too?  What isn't an abomination?

1/2     Anyone have any craps strategies that you prefer?
        \_ I usually eat a burrito or some falafel for lunch, and that's
           always worked for me.  my craps are the best!
        \_ Yeah, don't play.  Can't lose.
           \_ Min bet on the pass line until the shooter hits the point twice.
              Then add a couple place bets on 6 & 8. All bets with full odds
              in increments of $5 for maximum pay out. Don't bet on losers,
              which usually means yourself (except for required min).
           \_ Can't win either. The RGC FAQ is here:
                http://www.conjelco.com/faq/craps.html
              As per usual, the strategy is to minimalize the casino's
              advantage, and walk away after randomness puts you ahead
              or behind by a significant amount. I play hard and fast,
              max table odds on pass line and come bets. The other stuff
              is just for fun.
        \_ Do what Chris Tucker does in Rush Hour 2.
           \_ That was the only truly funny part of a mediocre movie.
           \_ Anyone knows who the chic standing on Tucker's left at the craps
              table is?  I tried http://www.imdb.com and it's not listed.
        \_ Bet pass.  Max out on odds.  Bet come with full odds depending
           on how much money you want to put in play.  Hate don't betters.
           Other bets are for suckers.  Which is not to say you shouldn't
           make them, but you should know what you're doing when you do.

1/2     What are the pros and cons of using dnscache (djbdns) vs bind for
        a caching name server?
        \_ I ran djbdns as a caching/primary server for a few weeks. I
           didn't like it at all. The thing was a pain to setup (dirs in
           all sorts of strange places, a bunch of support pgms, ets) and
           maintain (the files have strange syntax rules and there isn't
           enough debug/error reporting).
           In terms of its operation, I found that it didn't like using
           certain nameservers (namely those of my isp) as forwarders,
           cached the ips of dns round-robin hosts far longer than the
           records were valid for, and played poorly with recursive
           requests from mac's and win95/98.
           I gave up and I'm using OpenBSD's BIND 4 as a caching ns now.
           Its secure and it works for what I need.
           \_ I had a similar experience with djb's publicfile (anon
              ftp/http file server) It requires non-standard utilities that are
              installed in non-standard directories (that's easily changeable
              though) and it doesn't support certain ftp clients that people
              use, such as netscape.
                \_ if it doesn't work with my software, you shouldn't be
                   using it.  -djb

1/2     CIA torture methods. http://www.msnbc.com/news/680832.asp
        \_ What's special about the film Glitter that's useful for the CIA?
           I've never seen it.
           \_ Uhm, it's a joke.  Nevermind.
              \_ Oh, I thought MSNBC is a real news only site.  Nevermind.
                 \_ Perhaps you ought to have been clued in by the fact that
                    the guy is described as a humorist, and that he's
                    described as having won the Dot-Comedy Award for Best
                    Humor Columnist.  That, and the fact that the article is
                    FUCKING ABSURD (but, imho, hilarious).  Work on your
                    clue, grasshopper.  Train harder.
                    \_ I didn't even read that.  I just needed to learn to read
                       through *everything* in the page.

1/2     jwang, is your bike garaged? how much is your insurance?

1/2     What's a good tire store in the south bay? (one that changes and
        checks for your break)
        \_ costco
           \_ its a good place.  But come at the wrong time (weekends),
              and you may have to wait an hour or two.
           \_ Does Costco also fix breaks?  I got new tires from there before
              and I thought it only does tires.
                \_ they may not check breaks.  you may be right.
                   \_ It's spelled "brakes"
                \_ they may not check brakes.  you may be right.
        \_ I really like Big-O; their prices are fair.
        \_ Any recommendations for Z rated tires? I need new tires for my E36.
           \_ Bridgestone Potenzas, Dunlop SP9000s, Pirelli P-zeros.
           \_ Michelin
           \_ E36 == BMW 3 Series?
                \_ yup, previous gen 3 series.  current is E46.