11/2    http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/20/magazine/20INEQUALITY.html
        Ok freepers out there, you can all start ranting about this now.
        \_ Why would anyone bother ranting about a NYT article?  It's the NYT.
           Everyone knows in advance what they're going to say on any topic,
           so why bother?
           \_ and the same isn't true for the Free Republic? what's your
              point, anyway?

11/02   What's the state of secure (i.e. encrypted) pop/imap these days?
        \_ Alabama I believe.  YMMV.

10/28   Someone posted a prepaid 2.7c/minute long distance provider.
        What was the url
           \_ http://onesuite.com is 2.5 cents/minute.  http://bigzoo.com (2.9
              cents/minute) is not bad either.

11/2    Anyone use good OCR software for Windows or Linux?  If so, please list
        it here.  Thanks.
        \_ if you know any good OCR for CHinese for Linux, list here please

11/3    Physics/Chem question: when I microwave water for tea (usually
        it gets to a superheated state w/o boiling over) I can often see
        an oily layer at the top.  Anybody know what causes this?  oktnx
        \_ film from soap or something left in the cup/glass?
        \_ You're drinking city water.
        \_ moron, you can't superheat water without pressurize it
           \_ wrong.
        \_ it's just the oils within the tea.
           \_ It's filtered tap water (no tea yet) and I never see it
              except when the water is very hot and not boiling.
                \_ Are you interested in BS speculative answers?
                   \_ Definitely.  It's a slow day.
                        \_ Well, then, maybe it's not oil at all but
                           a thin layer of very hot water.
                           Alternately, maybe it IS oil, but it was oil
                           that was sort of embedded in your teacup, and
                           didn't float to the top until things got very hot.
                           To test that, put tap water in, heat, pour out
        \_ Try it with distilled water
                           hot water + oil, put more water in, heat,
                           and see if the oil eventually runs out.
                \_ I already told you: you're drinking shitty city water.
        \_ Try it with distilled water vs. tap water.  Also try cup vs
           sterilized microwave-safe glassware.  Basically, use all of that
           science training they tried to beat into you.
        \_ Clean your damned turdcovered microwave.
           \_ yeah i am guessing the oil spatter in your \uwave floats around
              when you are nuking or there is oil floating around your kitchen
              which lands in the mug. kitch != fab lab. --psb
              \_ Speak for your own kitchen.  *Mine* is cleaner than the
                 best fabs IBM has.
                 \_ dude, you are SO gay. admit it to yourself.
                    \_ I'll let you know as soon as your cock ring stops
                       bouncing off my teeth, loverboy.
        \_ Dude it's rat pee.  From rats stuck in the sewage system, which
           is where your "drinking" water comes from anyway.  You think they
           filter it?  Ha ha, you fool.  They just send it through the giant
           underground CIA rat pee farms and add some fluorine.  -John

11/3    the town i live in votes for mayor every two years.  this week
        we will vote on a measure to change the term length to four years.
        proponents say this will allow the mayor to focus on more long term
        issues than the next election, and opponents say that longer terms
        just mean more corruption.  both cite other cities that have
        very corrupt city government with either a strong mayor or
        weak mayor model.  what does the motd think?  right now, our
        city government works better than most(obviously i don't live
        in berkeley).
        \_ If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But I'd think that a four year
           model would work better. If the mayor really sucks, you could
           always try and force a resignation or early elections.
           \_ you can never get rid of someone before their term.  dont be
              naive.
              \_ I am not a crook.
                 \_ Whatever, as if your mayor is going to send operatives
                    into the political opposition's hotel room.  Anyway, this
                    sort of thing happens all the time now and no one gives a
                    shit anymore.  See Harkin.

11/3    Even though in California my vote is meaningless I still plan to vote:
        Yes: .
        No : .
        Already have : .
        \_ Practically useless, yes. Meaningless, no.
        \_ you can directly affect the quality of your life by
           voting for or against the measures on your local ballot,
           even in California. - danh
           \_ Not really.  You can believe that if you want but you're just
              one tiny grain on a huge beach.  No one will miss you.
              \_ Political BS aside, Bush's margin of victory came down
                 to a few hundred Florida voters.  And more locally, the
                 90 Berkeley mayoral race came down to 12 votes short of
                 50% in the main, and less than a hundred in the runoff.
                 Sometimes one vote does matter.
                 \_ yeah, and it's pretty predictable where that can
                    happen.  both parties knew florida was going
                    to be close, as did the press and anyone who
                    followed politics.  i live in a state where neither
                    party even bothered to campaign, and, as predicted,
                    one party beat the other by tens of percentage points.
                    my vote in that election did not count for shit,
                    thanks to the electoral college system.
              \_ Please, don't vote, be my guest. The more morons like you
                 stay out, the more my opinions will matter.
                 \_ And you figure your opinion counts how?  You're a genius!
                    That's the very topic we're trying to discuss until you
                    came along and simply decided it because you're so smart!
        \_ How is it meaningless?
           \_ Because this is such a heavily Democrat state there's no point
              in voting for anything.  All the Democrats will win so why
                    is reelected. COmpanies are fleeing this state in untold #'s
              bother?
              \_ Meaningless depends on party affiliation.  I'm a democrat.
                 \_ Damn commie. In ten years CA will be in the dumps if Davis
                    is reelected. COmpanies are fleeing this state in untold
                    #'s
                 \_ So am I.  So what?  Your vote is still meaningless.  As if
                    your going makes a damned bit of difference.  Your party
                    has nothing to do with it.  I guess if you're Green then
                    it could matter but everyone else is wasting their time.
                    \_ But imagine if more and more democrats started to
                       believe that, eventually they'd start losing.
                       \_ Yeah if like 85% of them did that, maybe.  I can't
                          imagine it.  It's too silly.
        \_ that is why I don't particularly believed in democracy.
           Having said that, I would have to say in the case of United States
           democracy has worked pretty well.   And if you accept the
           "democracy" which the founding fathers has envisioned, you
           probably would have less complaint.  It was not meant for
           people of common at begin with, so, embrace it.
           \_ How to govern country? Mass executions and state security?
              \_ This isn't China, thanks.
                 \_ I was making fun of the awful nonsensical English
                    of the post I was responding to.
                    \_ how good is your Chinese?
                       \_ Doesn't matter.  This is an American hosted computer
                          at an American University and you're writing in what
                          is supposed to be English.  How well the poster knows
                          or writes Chinese is about as meaningful as how long
                          you've had herpes (sorry about that, I swear I didn't
                          know I was shedding virus at the time).
                          \_ Insulting someone who has a better command of
                             two languages than you do, for not having a good
                             enough command of the language, is rather
                             curious.
                             \_ Get over it, nobody gives a shit how well
                                he speaks chinese.
                                \_ Oh really? See above...
                                   \_ *laugh*  Yes, a motd poll.  That's a real
                                      good way to measure anything here.  I'm
                                      *sure* the motd poll is a pure gold
                                      standard quality measurement just like
                                      voting in Broward, FL.  How fucking funny
                                      you'd fall back on a motd poll for
                                      'proof' of anything.
                                      \_ wan ba dan, gai si.
                                      \_ Get a life.