9/30

9/30    special announcement in re: AFGA ULTRA ... it is discontinued.
        FUJI has a very saturated negative film but i dunno if they make
        one at 50 speed. BTW, do you actually *like* any agfa film? --psb
        \_ I've only tried Agfa Portrait 160 and Ultra 50.  Portrait 160 turns
           out very grainy, even though many people say it's fine grained.
           Maybe it has something to do with the lab I used (Kodak).  Ultra
           gives exaggerated color.  Usually I don't use it.  But when I go on
           a trip and I want some postcard-looking pictures, I'll use it.
        \_ also try this:
           http://www.outdoorphoto.com/slide.htm#print
           \_ Kodak Portra 100T.  -- yuen
        \_ while we are at it... does any one knows any Tusten-balanced
           PRINT film (35mm format)
           \_ you can also get filters to help out.
           \_ http://www.filmemporium.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/fuji_film.html
              \_ Thanks!!!
              \_ But those are of motion picture film formats.  Can you use
                 them on a still-picture camera?
                 \_ you are right.  ObGoogle?  Key words:
                    "tungsten balanced film fuji"
                    (or kodak)
           \_ Kodak Portra 100T, Fuji NPL 160.  I've never tried them though.
              -- yuen
        \_ Which Fuji film is it then?  Thanks.  -- yuen

9/29    Safire: Selling Our Secrets
        link:csua.org/u/339

9/29    Anyone had any success with taking your ex-landlord to small claims
        court over idiotic move-out deductions from your security deposit?
        Ours deducted such things as $140 for "cleaning windows, inside and
        out" and $300 for "mini blind repair (est.)" (only damage that I know
        of was that *one* blind had the plastic rod that opens/closes the
        louvers snapped off).  Unfortunately, I didn't do a walkthrough or
        take pictures of such minutia as the move-out condition of every mini-
        blind.  Landlord is an asshole, so appealing to his sense of reason and
        fairness won't be any help.  Will I just be wasting my time and getting
        into one big he-said/she-said catfight?
        \_ I'm not an expert, but I'd say that your odds are pretty poor.
           The landlord most likely has documents with notes made during the
           initial walkthru, and similar notes during the exit inspection.
           If you don't have any records or evidence that they're playing
           games with you, then you're basically screwed.  Again, I'm not an
           expert -- So it might be worth your while to check with any
           renter's associations that exist (berkeley has many).  Luck.  -mice
           \_ Actually I think you sould take him to small claims court.
              You have to pay a minor filling fee but relaly, if you have
              a bill as unreasonable as you say it is you should get back
              most of your deposit.  Plus you make the landlord have to spend
              a day going to court.  And, at least in some areas, not sure
              about CA, you get things like tripple damages.  There are a lot
              of landlords abusing deposits and the judges know it.  Hell,
              just threatening the guy with small claims court might get you
              your deposit back.
              \_ tripple? treble?  What are you trying to say?
                 \_ Triple?
        \_ Take this as a lesson.  How to rent: when you move in, *after* you
           have signed a contract with the landlord but *before* you have moved
           your shit in, you take pictures, and give a written description of
           *every* trivial anal rententive mark, gouge, stain, piece of fluff,
           dent, discoloration, drip, water stain, or anything else less than
           brand new.  DO A WALK THROUGH WITH THE LANDLORD WHEN YOU MOVE OUT!
           And you'll also want a pre-moveout walkthrough to give you a chance
           to correct anything before you're gone and the bastard sends you a
           bill.  Death to landlords.   Protect yourself from landlord scum
           and buy a house ASAP.  --ex-renter, happy home owner
           \_ Walkthroughs on entering and leaving an apartment with the
              landlord are SOP here--make sure you also both sign the above-
              mentioned written list of damages.  And bring a friend as a
              witness--even better, if it's a friend who knows what sort of
              damages to look for in apartments.  -John
        \_ Landlords can't charge you for "maintenance" things like washing
           windows--it's not your fault they're dirty.  You're not in great
           shape on mini-blinds and such.  -tom
           \_ Why not?  If you don't clean up the place before you leave,
           they should be able to bill you for that.  When you refer to
           maintenence items I think of items that need replacement, like
           bathroom tiling.  Not dirt removal.
           \_ However you may feel about it, tenants' rights are written as
              Tom describes. Cleaning your apartment is basically a courtesy to
              the landlord and the next tenant. The damage deposit is just
              that, a deposit to cover actual damage. E.g., when my housemate
              has a bad day and kicks a baseball sized whole in the wall near
              the fridge. --ulysses
              \_ Maybe in Berkeley or SF, but not the rest of the state.
        \_ In Berkeley, you can get the Rent Board to come to your appt and
           video tape it before you move in. It's highly recommended.
           \_ How much do they charge for that?
              \_ It's Berkeley... if you have to ask... well, it's free.
                 \_ Tax dollars.  Nothing is truly free, except BSD code maybe.
                    \_ Wasn't BSD code developed in a public university which
                       runs on tax dollars?
                       \_ Hmm, got me there. Ok, nothing is truly free.
                          \_ "property of the Regents of the University
                              of California"...
                              \_ Yermom is free.

9/30    http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/09/30/iraq.congressmen
        Rep. Fonda, D-Hollywood goes to Iraq.

9/30    What does "neo-liberalism" mean?
        \_ google "what does newliberal mean", "I'm feeling lucky":
           http://tiss.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de/webroot/sp/barrios/themeA2a.html
           Essentially I think it means economically liberal... which means
           a hands-off type approach to economics... so free-market-type
           stuff. I think this type of liberal ecnomic policy is now
           considered somewhat conservative (as "liberals"  believe in more
           hands-on type of economies), hence the term "neo-liberal". This
           is essentially what libretarians are: economically conservative (eg
           neo-liberal), but socially liberal (in the tradtional sense).
           \_ I think a better term for libertarians is "nutcases"
              \_ another term is "half of the csua"... sad but true, computer
                 geeks love ayn rand.
                 \_ I never read Ayn Rand in my life.  Does that mean I'm not
                    a computer geek?  I don't even know what her beliefs are.
              \_ There's nothing wrong with the basic libertarian premise of
                 minimal government.  They just take it too far.  That's the
                 nutcase part.  Sort of like how democrats would have a 100%
                 confiscatory tax or republicans would allow big business to
                 bring back slavery if allowed free reign.
                 \_ Some libertarians are more extreme than others.  It's
                    obviously equally silly to equate the entire movement
                    with the fringes, for democrats, republicans, or
                    libertarians.  A conservative libertarian is very hard
                    to tell from a moderate republican.
           \_ No, that's not what 'libretarians' are.  Libertarians believe
              in a hands off approach both economically and socially.  Ayn
              Rand is an objectivist, not a libertarian.  All objectivists
              are libertarian, but not all libertarians are objectivists.
              And incidentally, you are all uninformed morons.  -- libertarian
              \_ your attitude illustrates why most people dislike
                 libertarians.  it's not just an ideological difference,
                 it's that most libertarians seem to be assholes.
                 \_ Better to be an asshole than wrong.  That's the whole
                    premise of being a libertarian.

9/30    ANyone seen the new movie "Sweeeet Ahlahbahmah" this past weekend?
        \_ yes, why? it was a pretty good flick.

9/30    Eight-wheel drive electric vehicle with top speed 192MPH, faster than
        a Porsche!  186 miles range.  From the picture it looks like it seats
        at least six, maybe more.  And the development cost is only $2.4M
        which seems pretty low to me.
        link:csua.org/u/33a
        http://csua.org/u/33b
        \_ funny how the idiot American reporters can't convert meters to
           feet.  -tom
           \_ you're right. looks like the conversation ratio was
              about 2.2. he probably was confusing the m-ft ratio
              with that for kg-lbs.
           \_ What for?  This isn't Europe.  Do you really tell people,
              "A bit to the left, about 2.2 meters, thanks!"?  I didn't
              think so.
                \_ Actually, I do use metric measures whenever possible.
                   See my bicycle pages.  And whether or not you use them,
                   if you are a reporter writing a story for international
                   publication, and you insist on converting meters into
                   feet, you'd think you'd want to get the conversion factor
                   right.  Especially when that thing is obviously way more
                   than 14 feet long.  -tom
                   \_ Why would you use metric units when communicating with
                      people unfamiliar with them? That's just dumb.
                      \_ The cycling world uses metric all of the time, even
                         in the US.  Allen keys, cranks, road bike frames,
                         and road bike tires are all measured in cm or mm.
                         If you pay for one of those organized rides in
                         California held by local cycling clubs you get to
                         pick distances of 50km, 100km or 100 miles.
                                                                -jeffwong
                         \_ 19.5" frames, century rides, MS150, 27" wheels.
                            Bikes are as metric as cars.  Mixed units.
                         \_ well he said "whenever possible".
        \_ Some amazing features:
           590hp!!  6-wheel steering, 8 seats, ability to keep moving with some
           of the eight wheels broken.  Weights 6556lbs, so that gives only
           11.1 lb/hp which is very low.
           http://web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~hiros/kaz
        \_ Yeah but it looks ridiculously expensive to produce. Not much ground
           clearance either.
           \_ Don't worry, you'll see lowered ones soon with xenon lamps,
              a 5" exhaust tip ("but it's an electric motor!"), nose, tail,
              and midship spoilers.
              \_ Dude!  I've already got dual midship soilers on order for
                 mine!  It's hella!
           \_ I think the low ground clearance is by design.  "As the height of
              the integrated chassis is 15cm, the lower height of KAZ is almost
              the same as a conventional sedan and much lower than a
              conventional MPV, thus making access much easier."  The slides
              also sell stable cornering and high stability due to low CG.
              Why do you want high ground clearance anyway?  It's not an SUV.
              \_ The thing is 22 feet long. That's longer than our long-bed
                 pickup. I think that thing will have problems hitting slopes
                 and driveways. I guess it's fine if you live on a racetrack.
                 Hmm, well I suppose the extra set of wheels could compensate,
                 if some conditions make 2 wheels go in the air, but then
                 you have potholes and things too.
                 \_ Ah, good point!  I was only thinking about cornering.  Hmm,
                    maybe that's the reason why the second front axle is so
                    far behind the first one.  Maybe when it goes from level
                    ground to a downward slope, the first front axle are lifted
                    in the air for a short moment while the second axle (and
                    the rear axle) continues to steer.  I have no idea.
        \_ hydrolicsP

9/30    Is it true that T-Mobile reception is as bad as Cingular? That's what
        the Verizon sales rep was saying... TMobile is offering 1000 minutes
        in San Diego for $40/mo...
        \_ To clarify what the english-P people are trying to say below:
           tmobile uses the cingular network so reception is *exactly* the
           same.
        \_ They share the same infrastructure / digital network.
           \_ to elaborate, gsm:cingular::gprs:tmobile
              \_ actually no.. they both are gsm.. gprs can be explained
                 as umm, data over gsm. and t-mobile is voicestream, and
                 has been around for a while, just now building out their
                 own infrastructure in california.
                 \_ I read in a tmobile for blackberry ad today that tmobile
                    is a trademark of Deutsche Telekom.
           \_ The elaboration seems to imply that they are on different digital
              networks (gsm vs gprs)... do they share the same transmitters?
              \_ THat's not quite right. T-mobile is currently using Cingular's
                 towers for California area until they build their own.
                 \_ In other words, they suck. Where did you get this info?
                    \_ T-mobile rep. What the other writer is true, too. it is
                       known as VoiceStream in other parts of America and
                       Deutsche Telekom in Europe. Their capacity is better
                       than Cingular's - that is less mysteriously dropped
                       calls. But the coverage is the same - pretty bad in
                       some areas.
                       \_ Reformatted. -motd reformatd

9/30    Do people think more naturally in infix notation, prefix or postfix?
        \_ I don't know about people, but I know 8 out of 10 cows prefer
           prefix notation.
        \_ I guess it might depend on which language you speak.  Proabaly
           infix for Chinese and English speakers, and postfix for Japanese
           speakers.  -- yuen
           \_ true.  but what if you were designing your own language
              (programming) and want to make it accessible to most.
              \_ To most people, most people likely to program anyway, most
                 people you want to teach programing, what? what? WHAT?!
              \_ I guess it'd still depend on the mother tongue the person
                 speaks.  Now people with both English and Japanese, or both
                 Chinese and Japanese, as their native languages will be good
                 candidates for such a study.  -- yuen

9/30    http://www.asianguy.com/personals
        \_ http://www.gropedasians.com

9/30    Anybody watched last week's "Enterprise"?  The site of 3 vulcans
        sitting around watching TV is hilarious!  And T'Pol is so HOT!!!!
        Who is hotter,
        T'Pol:  .
        \_ T'Pol without that ridiculous hair: .
        chialea: ...
        7 of 9:
        \_ "sight" not "site"
        \_ Jolene Blalock would look better if her lips weren't surgically
           pursed all the time.
        \_ No, I didn't.  I thought the idea of Vulcans wandering around lost on
           pre-contact earth was really lame as presented in the commercial so I
           avoided it like the plague it is.  Hot?  Well with enough time under
           the knife, no food, and spending all your off-screen time exercising
           with a personal trainer you could look like them, too, including the
           breasts.
           \_ Learn to format @ 80 cols
           \_ angry nerd! angry nerd! watch out!

9/30    which aspect of libertarianism are you upholding by deleting
        motd threads you don't agree with?  fucking asshole hypocrytes.
        \_ Huh?  It isn't a libertarian deleting motd threads they disagree
           with.  Most of it is a single big gubbmint liberal.
           \_ Riiiiiight.
              \_ I've been keeping track.  I know who has been naughty and
                 who has been nice.
        \_ It is probably not a libertarian, but a cranky Republican. Post
           something critical of Bush and see how fast it gets deleted.
           \_ i was refereing to a specific thread which was deleted the
              instant it became insulting to libertarians.
              \_ Look fools, I'm telling you I keep track and it has nothing to
                 do with who was getting slammed.  Anything not interesting to
                 this particular person gets deleted the instant they see it.
                 \_ oh, yeah?  who is it?
                   \_ Not, I post articles critical of Bush from
                      freerepublic all the time that are deleted.
                      Conservatives do not need to censor because their
                      ideas are superior and defensible under the
                      scrutiny of facts.  Look for example, at the level
                      of discourse in any Democratic / Socialist
                      event or protest.
                      \_ can you name a single political perspective
                         whose posts do not get constantly deleted by
                         idiots on the motd?  censoring idiots clearly
                         come from all points on the political spectrum
                         on the motd(or they just don't give a shit
                         and like to delete.)  some censors call themselves
                         liberal and some call themselves conservative,
                         but they all have thing in common: they are
                         cowards.

9/30    http://www-bcs.mit.edu/people/adelson/checkershadow_illusion.html
        (self-documenting link)
        \_ Amazing.  Even after measuring the shade of grey with Photoshop, I
           still find it hard to believe the two checks are of the same gray.
           \_ yeah I had to do that also, I cut and pasted them side by side.
        \_ Uhm... I simply blocked out the rest of the screen with some paper.
           I don't see how they're the same.
           \_ The "A" and the "B" letters are still deceiving your brain.
              \_ I blocked that out too.  Maybe I'm just blind.
                 \_ maybe this animated GIF will help.
          http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~jameslin/tmp/checkershadow-AB-anim.gif

9/30    On a Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, is there a neutral gear on the
        transmission?  What happens if you put it in neutral and then step on
        the "gas" pedal?
        \_ My coworker has a Honda Civic hybrid (not Insight) and the
           transmission is continuously variable. There are no "gears".
           Perhaps Insight and Prius are, too? --dim
           \_ It has a neutral. All cars do.
        \_ Prius?  Insight?  Might as well RIDE BIKE! and USE LINUX!  Get a
           hummer!  Go anywhere!  Park anywhere!
        \_ gas is by default. Electric kicks in when you don't have enuf
           powa. So my guess is that it'll be just like revving up yer gin.

9/30    truly the end of an era:
   % host 128.32.43.52
   52.43.32.128.IN-ADDR.ARPA domain name pointer http://dhcp-43-52.EECS.Berkeley.EDU
        \_ What does that mean?  -- newbie
           \_ I think it's soda's old ip address, now consigned to the ignoble
              duty of dhcp.
              \_ it's currently a windows machine, no less.
                 \_ oh, now that really hurts. damn.
                    \_ Paolo's dream has come true, in a way.
        \_ We should rebuild soda as a MS Terminal Host.