4/20    I just got a "buy 4 CDs or else we bill you" notice from
        Columbia House. (I signed up in '96).  I'm tempted to respond
        saying they'd never expressed a time limit anywhere in the
        membership agreement (moreover, the ad I used to sign up
        mentions a "No-Time-Limit Membership"), but I have this
        paranoid suspicion that these letters are some columbia house
        manager's clever scheme to grift some immediate cash, and
        might save both me and customer support time if I continue to
        ignore their mailings.  Can they really cash me in now?
        I imagine almost everyone has had some experience w/
        shady CD club.
        \_ Yes, as part of the the Patriot Act.  Regime Change at Home,
           End Racism.
           \_ Hey that was a useful reply.  Not only did you complete ignore
              a decent question and turn it into some idiotic political screed
              but your rant was poorly executed and mindless.
                \_ Are you saying you expect better in the motd?
                   \_ Are you saying only white people can ride fast
                      motorcycles?

4/20    I have a 3 year old computer and the power supply fan just
        started making much more noise.  Is this a fire hazard?
        Will something bad happen to my computer or is it just noisy?
        Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks.
        \_ Pabst fans.  Very high quality, very quiet.  -John
        \_ It means that your fan is getting dirty. If you don't clean out
        your fan and just let it run, it'll continue to make more and more
        noise as time goes by. It is a fire hazard if your fan ever fails,
        then your powersupply will overheat and potentially damage your
        computer's innards. I've had this happen to me once on a cheapie
        server, and I've seen this happen a couple of times when power
        supplies have failed on my customers' computers.
        The chance of that happening depends on the quality of the power
        supply, but is usually rare. The chance that it affects the
        lifetime of your power supply is common, since the dust coats
        everything in your powersupply, and if you don't clean it out
        every year or so it becomes like insulation.
        I generally like to clean out my fans and the vents every once in
        a while. It just is really annoying in general to use a computer with
        an overly loud fan anyway.
        \_ I have an old P-75 I use as a router.  The fan started making
           noise several years ago and I used to stick wads of paper in it
           to make it stop.  Now the fan doesn't run at all; the box still
           runs fine with no fan, but a computer that old probably doesn't
           produce much heat.
           \_ Forgive me, but what sort of twisted freak logic encouraged
              you to stick kindling in an overheating electrical
              appliance?  I'm not trying to flame, it worked and
              everything, but what the fuck were you thinking?
              \_ yah, this puzzles me also.  it's like, putting a bullet
                 in someone's brain cuz they have a bellyache.  not to mention
                 the fire hazard, etc.  Please elucidate, P75-router-guy....
                 \_ hmm, i removed the fan from my hard drive bay unit
                    because it was noisy.  am i dumb too?
                    \_ Yes.  Absolutely.  No question about it.
        \_ Thanks for the info.  Just one more question: how do you clean
           the power supply fan?  I removed the power supply from the
           machine but the fan is encased in the power supply.  Also,
           the power supply has a sticker which says "THIS PART IS NOT
           USER SERVICABLE DUE TO RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK."  Thanks. --op
           \_Obviously unplug the power supply before servicing. You need
           to dissassembly the powersupply, which is easily do-able with
           a phillips head screwdriver. Once you have the cover off you
           want to use either a small vacuum or compressed air to clean
           out the power supply. If the fan needs deeper cleaning or
           needs to be replaced, you need to unscrew the fan from the
           outer casing. There is also a 4 pin power plug you need to disconnect
           so that you can remove the whole unit. Once that is done you can
           easily clean the fan. Make sure you are able to clean the bearings
           which is not easy to do. You may also want to inject some
           lubricant such as silicon gel to smooth out the bearings.
           If the fan is so old or gunky that the
           blade wheel is spinning off kilter, get yourself a new fan.
           This usually means that the bearings or washer (some of these
           cheapie fans don't even have bearings) has gone bad. No amount
           of cleaning is going to save that.
           And I can't stress this enough, MAKE SURE YOU CLEAN THE VENTS.
           I don't know how many people go through the trouble of cleaning
           a PS and forget to do that then complain that the thing gunks up
           after only a couple of weeks.
           If this sounds too complicated for you, get yourself a new
           power supply if the original is one of those cheapie ones.
           And yes, you are on borrowed time if you don't properly ventilate
           a power supply, opposite of what the fellow who stuck paper into
           his powersupply might say. Just FYI, power supply problems are
           probably the leading cause of electronic equipment failure. The
           worst part is that a bad supply leads to other failures, especially
           on cheapie PCBs which use inferior parts.
           One more thing, if you are savvy enough (which you probably aren't)
           check the caps in your powersupply. If any of them don't look right
           you can jerr-rig a multimeter to see if they're still good. The
           first things to go in a powersupply are the caps. Since I deal with
           Sun boxes, it's worth it to my customers to get the powersupply
           fixed vs. use-and-throw.
           \_ You're talking to CSUAers here.  They are professional fan
              cleaners.  This task is not for the weak of weak or other
              non-professionals lacking in critical computing skills.
           \_ Very useful reply. Thank you.
        \_ goto http://endpcnoise.com buy a Nexus PSU. quiet, clean power.
        \_ One thing with opening up the PS case is that there will be
           electricity left in the capacitators, and it can shock you.
           Unplugging the computer from the wall and then turning it on can
           help dissipate it before you crack the case.

4/20    How come some magazines post the dry weight of the new 600RR as
        379 pounds and others as 410 pounds?
        \_ The chick weighs more in some pictures.
                \_ Her breasts, specifically.

4/21    Summer internship at Berkeley - /csua/pub/jobs/roc

4/21    How much would it cost to ship a car from one coast to the other,
        approximately? I have no idea how much it costs, and the few sites
        I went to online for a free quote won't get back to me anytime
        soon. Also, anyone have any company recommendations? Thanks.
        \_ It's been a few years, but it cost me $900 from Berkeley to
           NY.  Can't remember the company, got it from the phone book.
           It's more expensive if you have them do door-door service,
           less if it you drop it off at their depot.
           \_ Everyone I've talked to with towing has complained of
              delays, damages, etc.  Seems easier to sell or drive.
                \_ I had my motorcycle shipped from the east coast,
                   and there were no problems.  It only took 4 days too.
                   Of course it was actually in a truck the entire time.
           \_ Did they tow it or did they put the car on a truck?
              \_ on a truck.  I took the option of leaving it at the
                 depot, and then had it delivered there.  Another
                 option is to advertise and let someone drive it (and
                 split gas with them or something), but a friend had
                 someone blow out their engine doing that, so I didn't...
                 I would have driven myself if I'd had more time :(
              \_ are you an idiot? you think they'd tow a car 3k miles?
                 \_ You need to chill out, dude.  It's not that big a deal.
                 \_ I've seen cars being towed behing RVs, and since those are
                    RVs I assume they're driving long distance.
                 \_ I towed a car with a Uhaul across the country before.
                    That's your only option if you are moving the
                    whole house and your car.  Why do you think it's
                    idiotic to do so?
                    \_ there's nothing wrong with it when you're doing it
                       yourself, but it's not something you'd pay someone
                       to do.  also, how much do you think the companies
                       would make if they had to own a tow truck for every
                       car they transported?
        \_ if you have time, get a friend or two and drive across the
           country.
                \_ that's the thing, there are two of us planning on
                   driving x-country, and each of us have a car. but
                   we'd like to be in the same car, so we're gonna have
                   one of the cars shipped.     -op
                   \_ and neither car is beefy enough to tow the other,
                      right?
                        \_ see "are you an idiot" comment above.
                           \_ cf, "chill out", beavis.
                   \_ if you have time, take the scenic route.  This may
                      be a rare event in your life.  Thought about your
                      route yet?
                        \_ I already drove across country to go to the east
                           coast, now i am driving back w/ my SO, who i
                           happened to accumulate along w/ my degree.
                           \_ take another route.
                           \_ you accumulated SOs in school?  were they handed
                              out at the same time?  -didn't attend graduation
                   \_ you can probably stuff the car with lots of stuff
                      you are moving...
                        \_ sounds good, but wouldn't you worry about stuff
                           in that car being stolen? a locked car isn't
                           THAT secure.
                           \_ I have a friend who has done it before.
                              Just make it look like a bunch of junk and
                              don't put anything too valuable like good
                              stereo equipment.
                   \_ get your kicks on route 66.
                      \_ or yermom.
        \_ I might be willing to drive it for the price of a one-way
           airplane ticket. well, maybe... post your email if you're
           interested.
                \_ drivemehard@desire.com
        \_ I suggest you sell your car and ride a bike across.

4/21    Why Laci Peterson gets so much press coverage while others don't:
        http://csua.org/u/d94 (sfgate.com)
        \_ people get touchy about young women who disappear
           in Modesto.
           \_ Yeah.. it really fucks up the sex-slave market...
        \_ What a crackpot.  Laci was Hispanic.  She was also very photogenic
           and had a family working the media circus.  Her killer/husband also
           was a weird story in and of himself.  All that combined for a major
           media story.
        \_ Because she disappeared on Christmas Eve.
        \_ bias: we care more when bad things happen to Pretty women, and thus
           they get more coverage. Elizabeth Smart & J-B Ramsey was a similar
           thing, while other disappeared kids don't get the media attention
           \_ Elizabeth Smart is pretty?  I think she got more coverage
              because her family is rich and made louder voices.
                \_ the smart case got more coverage because it's
                   really weird and fucked up!  crazed lunatic Mormons,
                   weird hermits in the desert, Stockholm syndrome, etc.
                   are you that same guy who was mad the death of
                   reporters in Iraq was covered?
              \_ she is blonde and thin, yes she's pretty
        \_ Sounds to me like the police messed up the earlier case. --dim
        \_ Surprise - women, kids, and esp more attractive ones get media
           attention. lowly men people coudl care less about.
           \_ I certainly don't care about you.

4/20    Who the FUCK unplugged wintermute?  What the FUCK do you not
        understand about BIG FUCKING RED LETTERS that say 'DO NOT TOUCH!'
        I need that box for research work.  I cannot do my research work
        without that box.  There is a time-sensitve issue here.  I am visitng
        family in New York, otherwise I would go over to the office myself,
        plug wintermute back in and demonstrate RUBBER HOSE CRYPTANALYSIS
        ON WHOEVER THE FUCK UNPLUGGED WINTERMUTE. -dans
        \_ Oh man, someone do it again, just to piss dans off!
        \_ you probably shouldn't put any critical research work on some
           dumb csua box.
        \_ Who the FUCK is so stupid as to not understand about BIG FUCKING
           RED LETTERS that say, 'DO NO PUT CRITICAL TIME SENSITIVE RESEARCH
           WORK ON REMOTE DUMB CSUA BOX'?  If I was in NY, I'd teach you not
           to with RUBBER HOSE COMMON SENSE all over your dumb ass.
           \_ it's reasonable to expect random people to not unplug
              random things in the CSUA office.
                \_ It is, unplugging machines is dumb.  However, putting
                   critical work on volunteer-run here-through-the-grace-of-
                   others machines is not a great idea either (unless it's
                   part of the conditions under which you donated the machine,
                   see Soda Mk. III or whatever it was)  -John
                \_ it is also reasonable to not break other shit with your
                   "work"  It's also reasonable for people not to care about
                   your "research work"
           \_ Awww, you're so cool.  Some day you may even be funny. -dans
        \_ Are you storing all the bukkake porn on wintermute?  Please do
           share dans.  WE LOVE BUKKAKE!  -bukkake #1 fan
        \_ maybe if it weren't plugged into a hub on the eecs network ...