1/30    "Pieces of U.S. Satellite May Land on Earth - NASA"
        http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020130/sc/space_debris_dc.html
        We would be crying out loud if it were a Russian satellite.
        \_ Why do all morons presume others are complicit in their
           stupidity?
        \_ RIP, EUVE.
        \_ Russian crap falls out of the sky all the time.  The fact that you
           don't hear about it says we wouldn't be crying out loud about it.

1/30    Has anyone bought a new car online lately?  If so, what is good
        site to shop cars online?  Thanks.
        \_ http://autobytel.com for research and purchase request to a local dealer
           link:peoplefirst.com for the car loan (blank check sent to house)
        \_ ride bike!
        \_ use linux!

1/30    Need two units? DeCal class being offered Thursday nights
        from 7-8:30PM. Class is offered in S300T@Haas. Class is
        focused on getting graduates and undegraduates internships/
        jobs. Email for course control number. -williamc
        \_ Could you maybe elaborate on how this class will help one
           get an internship/job? eg, What will this do for me that
           BearTraks/CareerCenter won't?                - rory
        \_ Why dont you just post the CCN? Also, is it for techies only?
        \_ There aren't any internships or worthwhile jobs out there for NCGs
           right now.  Do yourself a favor and stay in school for another year.

1/30    Is there a place in the Bay Area where one can buy a mobile
        (something you put up on the ceiling)?
        \_ you can probably find some nice ones at art museums.
           they may have calder ones at sfmoma.
        \_ What's a mobile?
           \_ opposite of a stationary
                \_lol very appropriate answer.
        \_ SFMOMA and Chiasso.  You may also find some at random
           shi-shi stores.  I'd go with the ones in SFMOMA, for
           better price and make.
           \_ I haven't tried this but I hear they're not that hard to
              make yourself, I've seen nice homemade ones made from
              wood and string and using shells, coins, found objects
              to hang on them.
              \_ I made one few years back while working at a computer lab.
                 The entire thing was made out of paperclips.
        \_ make one!
        \_ if it's not good, make it big.  if it's not big, paint it red.

1/30    .coop domains available. link:www.bayarea.com/c/breaking/docs/001887.htm

1/31    Can someone explain with minimum buzzwords what a java application
        server (like websphere) is and why companies use them?

1/31    I used to get "You have mail." or "You have new mail." messages when I
        logged in but not anymore.  What happened?  Where do they come from?
        \_ the system sshd_config may have had CheckMail turned off.
           \_ CheckMail in sshd is deprecated
              http://www.monkey.org/openbsd/archive/misc/0111/msg00384.html
        \_ I think tcsh may have been upgraded.
        \_ look at your .login.   if you dont have nfrm anywhere in the
           file, add it.
           \_ nfrm shows you who the mail is from, which is nice but takes
              way too long. I just want to see if I have new mail or not
              like it used to show. how do I get that?
              \_ RTFM, einstein. It's in there.

1/30    Stupid Question:  How does one read the MOTD archive?
        \_ It sure is.
        \_ assuming you know how to read...um...how did you ask that
           if you need to know???
        \_ Yes, it is.
        \_ It is not a dumb question since I have yet to see a README or
           FAQ about it. For a start, though, I've heard it is mehlhaff
           who archives the motd. Maybe you should try poking around
           ~mehlhaff/.
           \_ first rule of motd: you do not talk about motd.
              second rule of motd: you do not talk about motd!
           \_ ~mehlhaff/tmp/motd,v.  Use "rlog" and "co -p" to read it.
              \_ I've found it's easier to grep or search in an editor if I
                 have an idea of what I'm looking for.

1/31    Got any working / non-working old cell phones that you don't want?
        Check out http://www.donateaphone.com  It's even tax-deductible.
        Don't forget the charger.

1/31    Can someone explain (with minimal buzzword usage) what a java
        application server (like websphere) is and why companies use them?
        \_ This might be wrong, but it will probably give you a general idea:
           They make java beans and servlets easier.  Java beans are of 2
           colors:
           Entity beans, which have attributes that map to database rows (w/
           associated getters/setters + other custom methods); and session
           beans, which save state between page loads (easier to deal with
           than cookies).
           Servlets are tiny java classes/methods embedded in html files.
           \_ Servlets can be automatically generated from JSP files which
              have java embedded in HTML, but that's not all a servlet is.
        \_ An application server is just an environment for code
           to run under. In addition, app servers provide some
           capabilities like monitoring, reliability/failover,
           security, etc.
           Some types of applications require an application server because
           they need an execution environment for the code (e.g., web-based
           applications or EJB applications).
           Companies use app servers either because they type of application
           they are writing requires one or because they need (or think they
           need) the additional services an app server provides.
        \_ The notion is that a lot of server-based applications have a very
           similar core: multithreading, database connectiviy, directory
           connectivity, load-balancing, management, failover, transaction
           management(especially distributed transaction mgmt),etc...The idea
           is that if you accept certain limitations on your design, you can
           get these features without having to implement them yourself.
        \_ Duh, he said minimal buzzwords.  Application Server is nothing
           but a sophicasted midlleware that lies between your client and
           backend server.
           \_ buzzwords: middleware, client, and backend server.
              \_ He didn't say no buzzwords.  Learn how to read.
                 Even with 3, that is a lot fewer than 20.  And that is
                 if you consider client and backend server buzzwords.
        \_ what's a good way to learn to work with application servers if
           I've never used them before (but I'm good with java)? thanks for
           the answers, btw. -OP
        \_ Read the introduction to the book "Enterprise JavaBeans, 3rd Ed."
           on http://amazon.com or in a bookstore.
        \_ CGI PERL SCRIPTS INSTANTIATE NEW PROCESSECES EVERY TIME THEY
           ARE RUN, JAVA APP SERVERS DONT END OF STORY
           \_ bitch calm down!
              \_ you meant... "stupid bitch calm down!" appservers are
                 much more than CGI replacements and don't necessarily
                 have anything whatsoever to do with HTTP (ejb, jms,
                 soap/.net, etc).  since most business is just some
                 process and software is good at modeling processes,
                 most modern businesses are heavily automated with
                 software (sap, peoplesoft, seibel, etc.).  app
                 servers provide a platform to build business apps
                 on top.  if you want the warehouse to tell the
                 e-commerce site that you are out of a product, you
                 probably want reliable, guaranteed message delivery
                 so you use an appserver with messaging middleware
                 (jms is the java standard interface for messaging).
                 \_ Anyone who has been in an organization that has
                    implemented SAP or PeoplesSoft knows that they're
                    actually very poor at modeling processes.  They're
                    good at getting organizations to change their processes
                    to fit the business software.  -tom
                 \_ i never said java app servers are replacements for CGI
                   nor did i say they only have to do things with HTTP. Jerk.
                   \_ yes you did CGI-end-of-story retard.  learn to
                      communicate.
                        \_ plus, if you have mod_perl installed, CGI perl
                           scripts don't instantiate new processes.  -tom

1/31    I want to control 16 different LED's by sending in
        short (~1ms, ~5V) pulses at various times and I need to be
        able to specify what the times are when the pulse begins
        (not necessarily the same for each LED). I'd like my
        computer to control all this, too. Whats the best
        way to do this?
        \_ If control doesn't need to be in real time, then a simple
           way to do it is to write to your parallel port, and build
           a simple board with ground from the port and have other
           pins drive the various LEDs.  Otherwise get a clock chip
           and some flipflops and build a logical circuit.  Look at
           your 150 book.
                \_ Thanks. how do I write to my parallel port
                   then?
                   \_ i realize that stfw is not a nice thing to say,
                      but i have done exactly this before, and there
                      is a document available on the web that has
                      many pages of detailed useful info on
                      the parallel port.  I ended up using the assembler
                      command "out" in C.  also, don't just drive the LEDs
                      straight from the parallel port, use a buffer of
                      some kind.
                      some kind. oh, yeah.  that's the hardware definition
                      of "buffer", not the software definition.  high impedance
                      input, low imdance output;otherwise you could fry your
                      parallel card!

1/31    http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2002050329,00.html
        Man has sex with goat.  Dozens of witnesses call police.
        \_ He's gay and he did a female goat?
        \_ Is this the first time youM-4ve ever heard of people doing it
        with animals? What planet have you been living on, for the past few
        centuries? Well, come to think of it, this _is_ soda. This news is
        probably a first for many people here...
           \_ No, genius, but it *is* the first time I've heard of *dozens* of
              witnesses, people calling the cops on their cell while others
              held down the goat raper.  I know you didn't read it so I made
              a one line summary for you so you wouldn't have to but you
              *still* didn't get it.  I live on Earth.  You should try it out
              here where this isn't a common event.
              \_ i've heard of multiple first-hand accounts of women
                 putting on shows with animals in public south of the border.
                 i've never seen it, but it's nothing new.
                 \_ Ok one last time for the slow ones in the back: This was a
                    dude caught out in public fucking a goat by dozens of
                    people on a passing train that stopped there for a while.
                    It wasn't a sex show in TJ, it wasn't yermom in an act in
                    SF.  This was a random private citizen fucking a goat by
                    the train tracks in public because he wanted to fuck a
                    goat.  Back here on Earth this is *not* a common event.
        \_ So is PETA for or against this?
        \_It depends on whether the goat consents.
        \_ This is because of the Gay Homosexual Bestiality lover Daschle.
           Help conservatives fight this sort of corruption and immorality!
           http://www.worthynews.com/commentary/hate-crimes-bill-2.html

1/31    What is it about balding prfessors? Canny is balding, Katz is balding,
        Malik is bald, etc etc. Suzan Graham isn't bald, but she ain't a
        male professor.
        \_ Hey, females go bald too.
        \_ It's called "aging".  It has nothing to do with professorship, but
           you knew this.

1/31    looking for starter marriage partner.
        \_ craigslist!
          \_ what's "starter marriage partner"?
             \_ Sounds like a starter kit like you'd buy at Radio Shack in
                the old days for doing electronics projects... but different.
                \- this term is from a recentish book about the state of
                marriage inteh US today. i forgot the name but you can
                probably find it via the WEEB. ok tnx

1/31    All hail the updated Google Usenet Archive. Though lost for almost
        a decade, it's finally avilable again: the first Phillip Nunez posting
        ever:

        http://groups.google.com/groups?q=author:penn%40mud.upenn.edu&hl=en&selm=zipquify%40vahmifqy.coooool.edu&rnum=7
        \_ Also see:
           http://groups.google.com/groups?q=tawei&hl=en&selm=3tmfio%244p3%40agate.berkeley.edu&rnum=7
           Tawei must speak from personal experience.

1/31    where can I get a rear view mirror for my monitor?
        \_ Perhaps any number of car parts stores that sell such things
        for cars?  (e.g., Kragen, Pep Boys, etc.)
           \_ Something monitor sized and not a 4" x 6" monster suitable for
              an SUV.  I don't want a car rear view mirror.  I want a monitor
              rear view mirror.  I've seen them at previous companies.
              \_ Yeah....like the little round 2" diameter fisheye mirrors
               people used to put on the sideview mirrors of their van
               conversions back in a time known as "The 80s".
        \_ you can probably get one of those rear view mirror for bicyles.
        \_ go to a trade show.
        \_ stfw
        \_ I used to have one, and now I have a web cam set up so I can
           monitor everything happens in my back.  I can also turn the
           angle and have it point at my boss's office to monitor him.
           Much more useful than a mirror.
        \_ it's much more satisfying to arrange your desk to face the
           office door...
        \_ computer stores. Or go to a Sun Microsystems store, like at
           their Agnews Santa Clara office.
           their Agnews Santa Clara office. But they may not let you in.

1/31    WSJ Reporter Kidnapped:
        http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64685-2002Jan30.html
        \_ This has been on CNN's front page for two days.
        \_ This is old news.

1/31    Taliban want Cuban vacation.
        http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/40306.htm