7/16    I thought "misha" was a russian girl's name.  So I sent a couple of
        flirt emails. Then I found that that misha was a big ugly russia GUY.
        Damn you!  Why is such a cute sounding name a man's name?
                -duped guy

7/16    Opinions on refurbished products such as computers?
        \_ I have a refurbished film scanner for four years and it never broke
           down, and a refurbished celeron PC that broke down once with a bad
           power supply.
        \_ I have plenty of refurb experiences.  The IBM P70 monitor I got
           went out of order in 18 month.  The refurb harddrive I got also
           died on me after about a year or so (but for some reason, it is
           under some sort of warrenty and I got a brand new replacement).
           It seems that refurb has a much shorter life span than regular
           stuff.
           \_ gee, wonder why refurb doesn't last as long as brand new??
        \_ IBM Thinkpad X20.  Works a charm.  Battery was fucked originally,
           but once I replaced that it was great.  -John
           \_ where did you get yours?  I am using company's X20 and loving
              it.
                \_ I looked on zdnet or cnet or something under the 'buying'
                   or 'shopping' links.  There are a lot of companies selling
                   refurbished laptops--this one was in Oregon or so. -John

7/16    ilyas, can you point out URLs that will scientifically prove
        (via chemistry or what not) that sugar kills the engine? And
        how much sugar per gallon is required?
        \_ http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Archive/2001/February/02.html
           Unfortunately it doesn't RUIN the engine. I need an alternative
           additive that'll do just that.
        \_ think: solidified grains of crystal going thru and fucking up
           fuel lines, clogging up injectors, etc.  scratching up previously
           clean surfaces.
           \_ think: fuel filter
        \_ why not set the car on fire
        \_ If you're trying to get back at someone, try stuffing prawn heads
           or limburger in his airco.  Battery acid/brake fluid on the paint
           lets you write nice things that eat into the body.  -John

7/16    What's the best way to get to San Diego on a weekday with least
        traffic, especially through Orange County?
        \_ There is only one route dumbass. Look on a map.
           \_ I see I5. I see 1 / 101.  Then past OC, I see 15.
        \_ most people take the 5 all the way.
           \- according to the CHP who pulled me over on the grapevine,
              "5 is the fastest way for sure" --psb
        \_ living in Irvine, here's my 2c:
                time of day: 9am - 330pm passing from the la/oc border
                   thru dana point is fairly light traffic.
           time of day: 9am - 330pm is ok from the la/oc border thru dana pt.
                route: if you do run in to traffic in OC(hunt.b. --> s.j.cap.),
                   you can take 73-toll
             if you need to pass thru LA, then avoid LA thru 930am(probably)
           route: if you do run in to traffic in OC, you can take the toll
             road: I-73 (hunt.b. --> s.j.cap.)  -nivra
        \_ Southwest Airlines  (assuming you're coming from somewhere they
           fly from - since you didn't say, we can only guess somewhere the
           far side of Orange County.)

7/16    Looking for a lite notebook that is reasonbly powerful as well.
        Really like the company IBM X-series.  But X-series only uses
        Pentium 3 processor.  Is there any other notebook that is similiar
        in size (e.g. 13" LCD) but use a CPU which is more powerful than
        Intel P3?  I don't mind CPU being slower than Intel P4, but I
        want a notch above P3.  What kind of Transmeta / AMD / VIA CPU
        should I looking for?
        \_ Fujitsu S6120D.  Pentium M is what you want, multiply GHz by 1.5 to
           get equivalent Pentium 4 speed
           \_ By 1.5??  Let's see a URL for that.  There's nothing wrong with
              a 1.0+ ghz P3 for normal use.  If you're playing quake on it,
              the graphics subsystem will be so slow it won't matter what cpu
              is in there.
              \_ Are you kidding?  My Radeon 7500 mobile card does very well for
                 all the games I've played, including several of the recent 1st-
                 and 3rd-person games.
                 \_ Turn on all the graphics and play at hi-res where the
                    developers intended you to play then come back and say
                    that.  No, I'm not kidding.
                    \_ Yes, I do turn on all the graphics, and display at hi-res
                       (1400x1050), and play the games that way.  And?
                       \_ I asked what games you're playing.  Solitaire in 3d
                          at any resolution isn't taxing.
                          \_ No, you didn't ask.  But now that you have:
                             GTA 3, UT2k3, Enter the Matrix, Splinter Cell,
                             Warcraft 3, and a few others.
           \_ google for "centrino 1.5 multiply pentium".  The Dell Latitude
              D600 weighs 5.5 lbs., but it has a Mobility Radeon 9000.  The
              Fujitsu has the integrated graphics, so 3D games are a no-no.
              \_ 5.5 lbs?  Why don't they just strap a cpu to a brick?
                 \_ That's true.  I'll be pretty happy when I can get a 4.5
                    lb. notebook with 3D acceleration, a 15" screen, and
                    is Windows-native.  (Yes, I know about the Macs.)
              \_ url re 1.5x:  http://csua.org/u/3n9
                 \_ Nuh uh!  This is comparing Pentium-M versus the *MOBILE*
                    version of the P4 not the desktop version.  And it's more
                    like 1.25 to 1.35 except for the highest end chips where
                    yes it is about 1.5x given Intel's own charts where you
                    don't have a clue how they came to these conclusions.
                    \_ http://csua.org/u/3na
                       \_ which confirms what I said.  1.5x is only true for
                          the highest end chips and those benchmarks aren't
                          graphics oriented if that matters to the OP.
                          \_ Systems with the 1.6 GHz Pentium M's are
                             $50 more expensive than 1.4 GHz these days.
                             Graphics oriented ...
        \_ The ThinkPad X series now has the Pentium M as well, but the
           screen is 12".  The T series weighs 5 lbs. and is $$$.
                             Warcraft 3, RtCW, and a few others.
                             \_ Hmm, I did but it's not there now.  Anyway, I
                                find it hard to believe you're playing some of
                                those games at with everything on at hires and
                                getting playable frame rates.  Maybe your idea
                                of playable is different from mine.
                                \_ 40-60 fps is good enough for me.

7/16    http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/07/16/farmers.market.crash/index.html
        Man mows people with his car, 8 dead, and he is released and no
        criminal charge has been filed. This is telling me that there's
        something wrong with the legal system and that if you want to kill
        someone, automobile is the way to go.
        \_ how about if you want to kill 30 thousand americans a year, more
           than all wars put together, destroy the environment, destroy
           communities, and then get your stupid ass bailed out by the
           taxpayer when foreign competitors beat you with superior engineering?
           The automobile is great for that as well.
           \_ Airplanes, fast food, alcohol, air conditioners, by-products
              from PC manufacture....go live in a bubble, whiner.  -John
        \_ The article writes: 'in police custody after being released by
           hospital.'  And no matter what, he wouldn't be charged on the
           day of the event.  But since he is odd (80s), odds are he'll
           just lose his license forever.
                \_ so the moral of the story is that if you want to hire
                   a hitman, hire a 80-90 year old hit man cuz he'll just
                   get away with it.
        \_ this IS sad. I was there yesterday... sad sad sad    -UCLA student
        \_ a different report said the guy might of had a heart attack.
                                                 \_ "might /have/" or
                                                    "might've".  Yeesh.
        \_ Are you the same person who thought "Misha" was a girl?
           \_ What do you mean?  "Misha" *is* a girl's name.  -- misha.

7/16    Dear John, thanks for the brake fluid advice. I may do just that
        because of simplicity (easier than prying out the gas tank, then
        pouring sugar). However I'm looking at ways to seriously damage a
        car without looking obvious. For example do things that the victim
        would not know unless he/she went to forensic scientists. Thanks
        John.
        \_ Oh dear, er, any chance I could convince you to just smear
           limburger on his air conditioning vents?  -John
        \_ err... are you intent to kill as well? or you just want to
           damage the car without causing bodiy harm?  People who
           messing around with other people's break fluid usually intend
           to kill as well.  Or you just don't care?
           \- just out of curiosity, what is motivating this.
              there are better things to attack than someones car.
              BTW, YMWTR "The Information" by Martin Amis, which sort of
              has this as a premise. ok tnx --psb
              \_ Hayduke lives!
        \_ If the victim doesn't know something has been done, what's the
           point? "Oh! Aha ha!  I fired my nullify ray at your car and now
           your anti-alien laser death beams shall never fire again!"  Just
           toss a brick through the windshield.  This isn't rocket science.
           Forensic scientists??  Now I'm sure you're just trolling.
        \_ I'm curious what the other guy did to you. Did he steal your
           GF?  Is smarter and more sociable than you so he's getting ahead
           at work or in grad school?  The people who exact revenge tend to
           be LOSERS.
        \_ Hey motherfucker. If I happen to catch you touching my car you will
           be in a world of hurt. Make sure it's worth it to you. This other
           person may not be so nice. Is this worth jail or death? I see
           someone sneaking around my car at night and I might just shoot.
                \_ you have an extremely large penis
                   \_ double-wide pussies need large penises.
                   \_ you don't own a car or get stalked by vandal losers
           \_ I am on to you now. Better check your brake cables before
              you get in because I just might slash them and cause you
              a horrible accident.

7/17    http://www.defectiveyeti.com/archives/000690.html

7/16    Poll. How happy are you/were you in the following schools, where
        10=very very happy and 1=depressed. I'll start          -ucla cs guy
        Berkeley: 3, 9, 1, 10 at first then 1 then back to 10, 9, 4, 8
                                \_ what are you, a schizo?
        UCLA: 8
        SITN (Stanford): 4
        CalTech: 1
        NYU: 1
        SDCC: 7
        Stanfurd: 3
        \_ I was very depressed going to Berkeley but didn't see it until
           after I graduated and recovered from the hell that is Berkeley.
           BTW, rates going up dramatically in the Fall. Good luck to you
           all.
           \_ How dramatically?
              \_ The Chronicle said $450 extra each semester.  I graduated
                 long ago but I recall that being a *lot* of money when I
                 was in school.  And that $450 is probably not the last
                 increase in the next year or two they said.
        \_ Hey, ucla cs guy, did you end up marrying ucla ee guy?
                \_ no, but I ended up having a lot more sex than when I
                   \_ with UCLA EE guy?
                                                        \_ with UCLA EE guy?
                        no, with horny undergrad girls  -op   -/
                        \_ all undergrad girls are horny.  if you went through
                           your undergrad years without getting laid anytime
                           you wanted some you must've had your head in a sack
                           \_ I didn't, I wanted to save myself.
                              \_ like I said, head in sack.  save yourself for
                                 what?  screwing up your sex life with your
                                 spouse because you're an inexperienced and
                                 lousy lover?  it helps to know what each
                                 hole is for *before* you get married.
                   was in UCB. I'm VERY happy here. I didn't give a 10
                   because I'm really unhappy about the rent here (Westwood
                   has no rent control and we're surrounded by Bev Hills,
                   Brentwood, BelAir, etc etc). But overall I like UCLA
                   a LOT better than UCB.
                   \_ UCLA sucks.  It's not about horny girls, you can find
                      them anywhere.  It's all beer and football, no substance.
        \_ Why did Caltech get such a low rating?
           \_ No women.
              \_ Caltech is also known as a homosexual haven.
                 \_ I think you meant "asexual".
                    \_ Why asexual?  All the girls-only schools are heavily
                       lesbian with tremendous pressure for the straight girls
                       to 'go along to get along'.  Why not the same at what
                       is essentially an all-boys school?  Just like prison.
                       \_ maybe in certain fields, but i know a large number
                          of women at mills who are most definitely straight
                          and horny.
                          \_ a "large number?" so what.  most women are
                             straight.  if 20% of the student population
                             is lesbian, there are still a "large number" of
                             straight girls, but compared to the general
                             population, there's no question that's
                             heavily lesbian.
                       \_ think about cory and soda, and who is there.  now
                          imagine that you clone that group of poeple
                          several times and get rid of all the other poeple
                          on the ucb campus.
        \_ so from the survey I guess the higher ranking school you go to
           the less likely you'll be happy there eh?
           \_ pretty much
           \_ no one ever said school would be fun.

7/16    Suggestions for a good place to get a car aligned in the East Bay
        (closer to Emeryville, the better?)
        \_ With or without sugar in the gastank and tires slashed?
           \_ Preferably without. With friends like these ...
        \_ Berkeley Steamworks
           \_ Um, I need an alignment, not a lube job.
        \_ call up Oceanworks in Berkeley - danh
           \- OW mostly work on JAPANESE cars ... you should vrfy they
              will process your car. Those guys are good to deal with if
              you are a clever person. --psb
                \_ even if you are not so clever i don't think they
                   will attempt to destroy you - danh
                   \- well i meant they will "speak your language" and
                      explain things to you if you have a technical/engineering
                      science background but dont know much about cars --psb

7/16    [censored auto-sabotage thread]
        \_ what's funny is that a thread with specific instructions for
           how to destroy someones car and possibly kill the driver and
           passengers stayed up for a day and a half, given all the
           other shit that gets censored.  it just goes to show what
           we all knew already: that the censors are asshole psycho
           idiots.  It's ok to kill someone by sabotaging their brakes,
           as long as you don't dissagree with them about US foreign
           policy.