9/18    Why don't we ever talk about a regime change in USSR back in the
        80s or a regime change in China/Paki/India? Do we talk about regime
                                             \- why would the us have been
                                             interested in a regime change
                                             in India? A better example is
                                             why was the "if you are not with
                                             us you are against us" thinking
                                             applied to say FRANCE when they
                                             refused to allow the USA planes
                                             to fly over french airspace on
                                             the way to bombing Libya.
                                             ok merci. --psb
                                                \_ French Embassy in Tripoli.
                                                   Multimillion dollar super
                                                   hi-tech laser guided smart
                                                   bombs.  "Accidental" bomb
                                                   hits.  -John
                                                   \_ Known as "whoops, sorry!"
        change only when we are able to kick the shit out of them militarily?
        \_ We tried.  We actually tried to stop the
           communist revolution in USSR in the 1920's.  We tried to stop
           the communist in China in the 1940's.  We tried to stop the
           communist in Vietnam in the 1970's.  We did managed to change
           regime in Iran, Guatamola, Zaire, and Afghanstan.  Unfortunately,
           all the regime we installed were extremely brutal in terms of
           human right abuses (Iran's Sha, Zaire's Sese Seko).  Communist
           of course, is absolute evil which we had to crush, even if that
                   this pithy statement.Please enlighten us about
           means the alternative are European Imperial Colonist or Islam
           Fundamentalist.
                   \_ He read it in the Daily Cal.
           \_ Just lesser evils.  One old and dying, the other new and soon to
              be crushed.
        \_ That's obvious. Why would you ever say something about someone
           who could kick your ass?
           \_ Wow, how clueless and naive.  Welcome to the motd!
        \_ AFAIK we did talk about regime change in the 80's with the
           Soviet Union.  It was this little thing called the 'Cold War'.
           \_ There weren't any talks about regime changes through a
              preemptive action.
                \_ LOL, you win the most uninformed comment of the week
                   award.  On what historical basis do you make
                   this pithy statement.  Please enlighten us about
                   Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Isreal, Angola, Mozambique, Chile
                   Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Poland, Germany...  Thanks.

9/18    So how should I write a "thank you" letter? any good examples on
        the web? Is it really that important in an interview?
        \- "hello, special announcement: ok tnx. ok bye --<initials>" --psb
        \_ Yes, it is highly recommended that you do so, and right away
           before they can forget you. Thank them for their time,
           and briefly remind them how excited you are about their co.
           and that you think you'd make a great fit with their co, or
           something like that.
           \_ is this appropriate after a phone interview, or only
              after a full proper interview? e-mail or snail mail?
              \_ usually a phone interview leads directly to an in person.
                 if yours didn't then it's not a good sign.  never let a phone
                 interview end without asking "so, what's the next step?" or
                 something like that.
              \_ if it's a screening interview, then prob not. a face-to-
                 face interview is a must. most interviewee's don't send
                 thank you's. so set yourself apart from the crowd.
                 \_ make sure you talk about your lofty goals and make
                    absolutely sure you tell them how you got your
                    nickname.
                    \_ Yeah totally.  I forgot that part.  Esp. the nickname.
              \_ If your phone screen didn't end with someone setting up an
                 in-person interview then it's hopeless anyway.  Always end a
                 phone interview with a "So, what's the next step?" type of
                 question.  And no, you don't generally do thank you's for
                 phone interviews without exceptional reasons like maybe the
                 entire interview process is by phone.

9/18    Has anyone here used dslextreme for dsl service? Are they a decent
        dsl provider? (I'm asking for personal experience, not a dslreports
        url). tia.
        \_ I've been using dslextreme for a year now, and I haven't
           had any problems.
        \_ Love them. No PPoE bullshit, i have a static IP, it's all good.

9/18    Please point me to the tutorial of spamassassin.  I want to know how
        to set it up.
        \_ Wow, people STILL can't use search engines? --aaron
                \_ some of us are >inside< china
                   \_ So?  As if *every* search engine was blocked.  Nonsense.
                      Use one of the dozens that aren't.  Or move to a free
                      country.
                   \_ cool.  Where in China?
                        \_ Slave labor Nike factory/politburo courtesan
                           training camp #114
                   \_ So why don't you login to soda and use lynx to get
                      to http://google.com or some other search engine?
                   \_ There are a dozen other search engines.  Use one.  Or
                      better yet, don't live in an oppressive state and then
                      whine and moan and bitch about it like it's someone
                      else's fault you live in a shithole.
        \_ cat ~crebbs/.procmailrc
           \_ hmm, i've been made an example of before, but never quite like
              this. -crebbs
              \_ At least it's a good example.

9/18    In UDP or multicast/datagram/whatever you call them, is it necessary
        to do CRC or some type of error checking? Or is it guaranteed to not
        have error (either you get correct data or none)?
        \_ my understanding is the latter.  that is what a datagram is
           all about
        \_ From "man udp":
           MIB VARIABLES
           The udp protocol implements a number of variables in the net.inet
           branch of the sysctl(3) MIB.
             UDPCTL_CHECKSUM    (udp.checksum) Enable udp checksums (enabled by
                                default).

9/18    Mexico is totally fucked.
        http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26545-2002Sep16.html
        \_ what mexico and many other country need is chinese communist
           party. Democracy my ass.
           \_ agreed. in a time like this you need a ruthless leader
              to crack down on crimes. After one or two generation, it
              will get better. China was much worst before 1949. Now
              it's one of the safest place, far better than any major
              city in the US.
              \_ China is one of the safest place now?  It probably was twenty
                 years ago, but that's no longer the case now.
           \_ Yeah let's bring in some iron fisted piece of shit to murder
              all the annoying people, then we'll have peace and security at
              the expense of freedom.  We need peace with honor!
              \_ if you mean horror, then ask anyone who lives in singapore
                 whether they feel horror or not. You know that
                 american fucker who painted a singapore bus? He got
                 what he deserved. You'll bet he'll never paint
                 another bus in singapore again. This is the kind of
                 law system Mexico need, not the one we have here.
                 \_ Punishment won't do jack if your cops are corrupt
                    or incompetant.
        \_ Just like the southern part of the Phillipines.
        \_ Mexico, like all South/Central American countries, was founded by
           European aristocrats and, with no middle class, remains this way
           today. A damning indictment of European 'enlightenment'.  Mexico
           is a wealthy country.
           Except now, the wealthy are ridding their countries of the poor by
           sending them to the U.S., where the US taxpayer bears the burden.
           Unlike past waves of immigrants who started at the bottom and worked
           their way up, the socialist Democrats now buy immigrant votes with
           welfare.  Import an underclass, nice scam at the expense of
           American citizens.
        \_ Pleeeezzzeee...the vast majority of illegals come here to work,
           unlike lazy, fat americans, and they work the jobs no one, including
           yourself, would take. And their low pay contributes to your cheap
           meals, low cost produce, clean offices, etc, etc. It may make you
           feel good to scapegoat them, but they are a priceless asset to
           US businesses.
                \_ Yes, a large percentage of them do come here to work.  But
                   have you bothered to look at the welfare and crime
                   statistics in California, Texas and other border states?
                   More likely, you are just emoting a knee jerk reaction to
                   something of which you are completely ignorant. I post
                   statistics to the MOTD, but they are deleted, probably by
                   someone not unlike yourself.
                   Why do you think California is in a fiscal nightmare?
                   Ever hear of Prop. 187, and Davis's / Clinton's backroom
                   deal to nullify the will of the voters?
                   And frankly, allowing illegals is an insult to those who
                   come here through legal channels.  What kind of message
                   does it send when you're existence in this country to begin
                   with flaunts statutes.  20% of Honduras' population is in
                   the United States.
                   Guess what Mexico has on its Southern Border - its MILITARY.
                   We have had border patrol agents murdered, two FBI agents
                   in critical condition just last week.
                   Controlled immigration yes. A porous border and unregulated
                   mass migration no, unless you like living in third world
                   shit holes.  One more thing, jobs Americans won't take:
                   maybe you as a prissy dilletante won't do blue collar work
                   for a living, but ALOT, maybe MOST Americans will.
                   Fucking limousine liberal.
                   \_ Have you ever picked fruit for a living? Do you know
                      anyone that has? I didn't think so. No
                      wonder your "facts" get deleted, every other
                      word out of your mouth is a cuss word or a personal
                      attack. Learn to behave like a human being and you
                      will be treated like one. And California is doing fine,
                      in fact it is the state more Americans would like to
                      live in than any other.
                        \_ Very well though out, cogent reply to factual
                           statements made above - really.
                           Can you do anything except emote?
                   \_ But Jose...
        \_ The reason you have cheap food is because the federal government
           provides prices supports.  They don't pay taxes and yet state/Fed
           pays welfare, health care, social security, education ...

9/18    Anybody have success with the qmail freebsd toaster?  I'm trying to
        set up a small mail server supporting <100 users that won't give me
        too many problems.
        \_ i386, 64 megs ram, 2 nics, OS disk, mail spool disk.
        \_ vpopmail or a different toaster? i tried w/o success to get
           vpopmail going on Solaris, so i rolled my own toaster.

9/19    DirecTV vs. Cable. I want to hear my fellow geeks' opinions. I've
        already found out quite a lot on the web.
        \_ AT&T analog cable works well for me.  Installation was cheaper than
           buying a dish.  If you run into a promotion period you can even get
           free installation.
           \_ AT&T extended basic is up to $40/month now.  It's hardly
              worth it.  Especially in Oakland, where we get shit for
              channels and have seen our bill go up 10% every three
              months.  Cancelled mine last month.
              \_ What are you replacing the service with, may I ask?
                 \_ read a book, play some frisbee. live your life instead
                    of drooling in front of the television.
                 \_ a DVD player.  What's worth watching on TV?
                    \_ History channel, sci-fi channel, discovery channel(s).
                       \_ Dicovery channel is really not as good as you think.
                          History channel is rarely better than boring.  If I
                          really miss scifi, i'll mooch off a friend.
                          \_ Oh well thank Jesus F. Christ I have you here to
                             tell me what's good or not on my line up.  Without
                             you I might be watching sitcoms and ER dramas
                             every night.  Idiot.
                             \_ Get the fuck over it, dumbass.
                                \_ HAHHAHAHHAHA WHAT AN IDIOT! HAHHAHAHA
                                   I CAN"T BELIEVE IT!  I SUCCESSFULLY TROLLED
                                   SOMEONE!  I CAN GET MY DUMBASS DEGREE NOW!
                             \_ PBS and The Simpsons. That's all I watch. I've
                                got an antenna on the roof and VCR/DVD. --dim
                    \_ JAG, Son of the Beach, E! Wild On, Howard Stern Show,...
                    \_ PBS
           \_ the new directivos with D* is a much better deal than
              snowy cable, or crappy digital.
        \_ The dude at Cambridge Soundworks who seemed knowledgeable told me
           that in terms of picture quality DirecTV > analog cable > digital
           cable

9/19    Any chance that a military coup happens here in the US?  Nobody seems
        to worry things like this.
        \_ Citizen army of volunteers. Also, notice that there hasn't been a
        military coup in England for well over 300 years.
        \_ The money in this coutry already has both the government and the
           armed forces at their beck and call, so there's no need for a
           military coup.
        \_ None.  That's why no one seems to worry about things like this.
           \_ What is being done here to prevent this altogether while other
              countries have to worry about such thing?  All I know is that
              the US military is not supposed to talk about politics, but not
              talking about it doesn't mean they can't quietly have a view.
                \_ basically, we prevent it by giving the military everything
                   they want.  -tom
                   \_ typical useless agenda driven reply.
                      \_ snide uninformed counter troll.
                         \_ None of those things.  Correct, precise, accurate.
                            \_ Random yermom double entendre.
                               \_ Double entry on yermom?  how...interesting.
                                  \_ DVDADO.
                                     \_ Dude.  Is that even possible?
              \_ Modern and civil countries do not have to worry about such a
                 thing.  Most of western europe, the US, Canada, and Australia
                 have no reason to fear a military coup.  Compare those to the
                 rest of the world such as Africa and Central America where
                 coups are a relatively common occurence.  Rule of law and
                 civilian control of the military as well as functional
                 electoral systems and a tradition of respect for civil
                 authority keeps modern nations safe from their own militaries.
        \_ Read the 2nd Amendment.
           \_ right.  you and your gun-nut friends are the "well regulated
              militia" the second amendment refers to.  i'm not a
              proponent of gun control for other reasons, but the idea
              that the US milinary is afraid of a bunch of citizens
              armed with legal weaponery is laughable.  the iraqi army
              is better armed than you and your local gun buddies, and
              we will soon see them get slaughtered--again.
              \_ Well regulated?  It's all about fiber, son.
           \_ I'm a big 2nd amendment supporter but that's not what keeps
              western nations safe from their own militaries.  You might note
              that the other western nations have very strict gun control laws
              compared to the US but no greater odds of a military coup.
        \_ What do you think happened in December of 2000?
           \_ What do you mean?  The election?

9/18    http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2002431528,00.html
        The interesting part is not the threat to nuke Bagdad, but the part
        where Blair says "We can largely protect against that, do not press
        me on how, we can protect against that" in reference to Saddam nuking
        the oil fields or a nearby capital city.
        \_ space-based beam weapons?
           \_ Most likely the new improved Patriot missle defense. Much better
              than the one in the Gulf War that just managed to miss Scuds or
              break them up thus spreading shrapnel over a larger area. Really.
              Or maybe the beta version US laser anti-missle platform which
              Israel bought nearly sight unseen.
              \_ gee, I'm sure Sadaam would never think of delivering a nuke
                 by some method other than a missile.  -tom
                 \_ are you for or against US military action in Iraq?
                 \_ Ohmigod! Does the Prime Minister know about that? This
                    could change EVERYTHING!
                 \_ Yeah there are multiple ways to fuck shit up so let's not
                    bother having a defense against any of them.  Good call!
                    \_ the statement was "we can largely protect against that",
                       which is absurd.  -tom
              \_ interestingly enough, Patriots didn't work well against Scuds
                 because Scud guidance was so crappy, it was difficult to
                 derive their trajectory from present speed and bearing.
                \_ by the time the scud got back to earth from its
                   short journey into the atmosphere, it had lost enough
                   mass that it was basically just a flying garbage can,
                   hardly any danger at all.
                 \_ Bullshit.  Can you say desperate spin after the patriots
                    totally failed after so much hype?
                    \_ Pretty much. The Scuds are ballistic. Nice predictable
                       trajectories. The GW Patriots were anti-aircraft
                       shoved into an anti-missle mission. Failure ensues.
                 \_ Maybe we should give the Iraqis better guidance systems
                    via the Chinese or NKoreans so we'll have a better chance
                    of shooting them down.  ;-)

9/19    motd gun poll:
        i have no guns, in favor of gun control:
        i have no guns, against gun control: .
        a handgun:
        several rifles and handguns:
        various illegal assault rifles and other military hardware:
        \_ Explain how gun ownership and gun control are mutually exclusive?
           I always assumed "gun control" included such concepts as a waiting
           period and background checks, as well as required proof of safety
           training, whatever.  If you mean 'gun ban', please state it as
           such.  -John
           \_ In CA, they are the same, John.  Waiting periods hurt victims,
              and background checks stop no one - how many of the hundred of
           \_ Yeah I believe in gun control - two in the head, one in the chest.
        i own no guns, am against gun control: ..
        i own a handgun: .(6)
        i own several rifles and handguns: .
        i own various illegal assault rifles and other military hardware: .
        own bb pelet rifle with scope and have personally taken out a few
              thousands of Brady positives were prosecuted for trying?  Close
              to zero.  So they bought somewhere else.
                \_ Well then it's a broken system.  That doesn't mean that
                   keeping guns out of the hands of convicted violent
                   criminals (or at least keeping track of them), or forcing
                   people to take a safety class, is a fundamentally bad idea.
                   And I think your comment about waiting periods is a bit of
                   a stretch--please feel free to elaborate.  Don't get me
                   wrong, I own several rifles, and dislike gun bans, or
                   registration for the general public.  I just find it
                   fascinating how the pro-gun and anti-gun nuts can't seem to
                   fathom the concept of a sane middle ground.  -John
                   \_ Waiting periods operate under the premise of a
                      "cooling-off" but those that want a guns already
                      do. And those that need it, need it now - as
                      witnessed by the shop owners during the LA riots.
                      In fact, Heston got calls from his fellow anti-gun
                      actors wondering if they could lend them some of
                      his. He scoffed. [motdformatd]
                        \_ Depends whether there are more people needing
                           self-defense during riots than people in a rage
                           storming into gun shops.  I dunno, not many riots
                           here.  -John
                           \_ Maybe they could use a few.
           \_ Gun control is a firm, two handed grip.
              \_ Amen brother.
           \_ i hereby give you permission to edit the poll to wording
              you like. -op
           \_ Yeah I believe in gun control - two in the head, one in the
              chest.
        I own guns but am in favor of gun control for everyone else: .
        I own no guns, am against gun control: .(4)
        I own a handgun: .(8)
        I own several rifles and handguns: .
        I own various illegal assault rifles and other military hardware: .
        I own bb pelet rifle with scope and have personally taken out a few
          noisy pets in my hood: .
        I am a weekend warrior (paintball): ..
        I am a weekend warrior (live ammo):
        I own nerf guns and/or supersoakers and my friends/coworkers and
          I take them to parks and other public places and pretend we are
          playing UT IRL: .
        Same a previous, except my nerf guns/supersoakers have been mod'ed
          with scopes and laser sights: .
        Same as previous, except my nerf guns/supersoakers with laser
          sights have been modded to fire depleted uranium and nitric acid: .
          \_ Hi Saddam!
        Same as previous, except we play in the office near our machines: ..
        Same as previous, except we're 1 month from layoffs so it doesn't
          matter what we do anyway and we're tired of foosball:

9/19    Right after I took cs61c, I sold back my copy of Computer
        Organization and Design, but I need to look up some things
        in it again.  Does anyone have a copy in good condition (no
        writing / highlighting) that they would sell?  -dlwhite
        \_ i've never understood science/engineering majors
           who sell back their books.  you knew you'd need that stuff
           later in life, and you knew you'd be making lots of money
           later, so why sell back books at shit prices you know you'll
           need?
           \_ starving college students need every buck they can get.
           \_ Not all of the books are vital references that you'll
              need later.  Some of them are really only good for the
              classes that use them.
           \_ Yeah, a book read and understood is very useful for
              future reference and recollection.  However, my
              experience as someone who kept most of his books
              was that they disappear anyway cause friends borrow
              and never return them.
              \_ Get new friends, keep old books.
           \_ I kept lots of books.  Never cracked another one again after
              the final.  YMMV.
              \_ let me guess.  you're a sysadmin?  why did you even bother
                 going to college?
                 \_ Uhm hint: college is more than just technical training for
                    geeks to become better trained geeks.  You can get that
                    at DeVry.  Go outside and meet some chicks.  You're missing
                    out on what college is *really* about.  -alum
                    \_ Amen!  -John
                \_ my anus is bleeding!
                   \_ Yaaaaay!
           \_ I sold all my college books back except for my chem and physics
              books since they switched books. I've never needed a single one
              of my books, but that probably because I majored in mse and
              ended up a coder. Of the books I've bought for SITN classes, the
              only ones I've kept are CLR, Applied Crypto and Steven's APUE.
              \_ CLR ... what a pile of shite
        \_ Try http://alibris.com or other online used book sellers.  Very reasonable
           prices and shipping costs.
        \_ http://half.com is also a decent place to pickup some used tech books.
           I paid half of what I would have paid new.