9/18    Thanks for all the help with shoes, MOTD!     -mice

9/18    Looking for bouncer binaries that used to reside here:
        http://www.r00t3d.org.uk but the site no longer exists. Where
        to get them? Thanks.
        \_ http://blog.jwiz.org/archives/000251.html tcp http redirect

9/18    http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=2050678
        The world economy is screwed.  Frightening.
        Perhaps it's time for the Greater China (PRC, ROC, HK, SG)
        region to allow its currency to appreciate slightly, and to
        spend its trade surplus on developing its own countries and
        people, but the region is not big or powerful enough to solve
        the world's problem by itself.  Also, US probably
        shouldn't have gone to Iraq, but saved the money, which
        would've helped a little too.  And Japan and Germany need
        to get their act together.  Otherwise it's Great Depression 2.
        \_ Its all the white imperialist protorapist fault!!!
           \_ Huh?  I am suggesting ways that would help lessen the
              burden on the US.  Blame goes all around.  Did you
              bother to read the article?
        \_ Err... read the article please.  The Economist consistantly
           point out that China's economy, despite media hype, is not
           that big of an economy (in the article about 1 month back,
           it said that China's economy is about the size of Italy,
           or 3% of Global GDP).  Further, China is not competing with
           USA in all front.  Those manufacture jobs will moved to
           somehwere else, Mexico, Indonesia, or some odd ex-Soviet
           block nation if it's not moved in China.   China is not
           running a high trade surplus in general (it has huge trade
           plus with USA, but trade deficit with virtually all its
           neighboring country, so in effect, China is the tiny
           lawn-mower engine of Asia... compare with USA being the
           jet engine of the world).
           Lastly, what would you think GM, Coke Cola, Motorolla think
           about rising RMB while big chunk of THEIR plant is in
           China?  These US firms are the benefisories of cheap Chinese
           currency.
           \_ I don't disagree with you.  A few points though.
              Motorola, Coca-Cola, GM probably would not mind a slight
              controlled increase in the value of the Renminbi.
              They don't just have factories in China, an important
              and growing part of their market is very much there too.
              A pure export driven model like that of TW, SG, SK is not
              feasible for PRC because of its size.  It needs to be
              driven by internal demand.  Buying US dollars and debt
              forever is a no win game.  While US uses the money
              to invest and improve productivity (and spend on good
              life), China's local companies remain short of credit.
              And once US dollar devalues, you essentially threw
              away a big chunk of your dollars.  Instead, the money
              could be better invested in PRC, and help it innovate
              and move up the chain.  As for China's trade deficit
              ex-USA, a big part of it is raw materials and
              commodities from SE Asia, Australia, etc. needed for
              China's manufactures.  The trade deficit vis-a-vis Japan
              is more worrisome perhaps due to Japan's protectionism?
              As for manufacturing jobs moving to other countries,
              I am not too worried because I think China has a
              significant and growing margin (cost + productivity)
              versus those countries.  No one wants a sudden drastic
              increase in the value of the Yuan, but a slight,
              controlled increase may be a good idea.  This Econmist
              article pretty much sums it up:
              http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_id=2050783
        \_ Just a note. The Economist also uses every opportunity to point out
           that Russia's GDP is "slightly larger than Belgium's". Whoever at
           Economist who's making those ridiculous GDP comparisons between
           different countries, obviously hasn't gasped the concept of the
           purchasing power parity adjusted GDP.  They just compare the nominal
                      \- you know the e'ist is the magazine that invented
                         the BigMac index, right?
                         \_ An excellent point, but I should point out that
                            the Economist was merely the first publication
                            to popularize the BigMac Index.  It's been a
                            standard conversation topic among expats and
                            backpackers for much longer than it's been a
                            stay of the Economist.
                            \- topic of conversation != having a model and
                               computing it and correlating to FX futures,
                               comparing to PPP, UIP, RIP etc.
           GDPs as measured using US dollars using some exchange rate which is
           not saying much. In USA, dollar has a very low purchasing parity
           power compared to all poor counties and possibly most rich
           countries. Therefore, the non-purchasing power parity adjusted GDP
           does not convey much information about the size of economy. If you
           look at the PP adjusted GDP, then China is suddenly world's second
           largest economy. Of course, GDP still doesn't say much about how
           well off people are in a country. You'll have to look at the
           per capita GDP figures, and even then the per capita GDP can be a
           very rough measure depending on how equally on unequally the income
           is distributed.
           \_ And when you revalue the Yuan, PRC's GDP would go up immediately.

9/19    Computer manufacturers sued over hd sizes:
        http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030918/tech_computers_suit_1.html
        \_ How about 'Memory manufacturers sue consumers over mem size'?
           Said one spokesman "We're selling them 512MB chips, but they're
           getting 536MB.  We feel we should be compensated for that 24MB."
        \_ this is good news, it is time to put them in the right place.
           If the law suit succeeds, the next one should be SD/CF cards
           Since they are also falsely advertised.  I bought a 256MB SD
           card, and it turns out it only holds 241MB that is about 15MB
           of space missing. 15MB extra on a SD can store so much more info.
           \_ It's called "formatting".  The lawsuit is garbage.
              \_ No, it's 1024 versus 1000, 1,048,xxx versus 1Mil.
        \_ Just because computer scientists like to call a gigabyte 2^30 bytes
           doesn't mean HDD designers (engineers) have to abandon their 10^9
           scientific notation.
           \_ I'm an engineer not a scientist, but I go by 2^30.
              \_ Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a bricklayer!
        \_ Arrr!
           \_ Avast!

9/19   Programming Language Inventor or Serial Killer?  Can you tell?
       http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz   (requires flash)
        \_ "requires flash".  Nope, sorry.  Flash is on the stupidity
           boycott list.
           \- does it make you better to share this with other people?
              \_ why would you care?  would it make you better to know?
        \_ Arrr!
           \_ Avast!

9/19    Avast!   Don't ye be forgetting that today be International
        talk like a pirate day?  Arrr!  http://www.talklikeapirate.com
        \_ Pieces of eight and shiver me timbers, lads!  How could ye be
           forgettin' our day?!
        \_ Booty! Booty! Booty! Booty!!!
        \_ Arrr!
           \_ Avast!

9/19    Whites no longer a majority in bay area: http://csua.org/u/4e0

        "Whites slipped from 51 percent to 49 percent of the region's
         population from July 2000 to July 2002, as a result of
         foreign immigration and the high birthrates among some ethnic
         groups. In contrast, the percentage of Asians and Latinos
         each rose from 20 to 21 percent, while the African-American
         population remained at 8 percent."

        [ learn to format - formatd ]
        \_ FINALLY. It's time for us to take back all the stuff that the
           big oppressive white dicks have been denying us of in the past
           200 years or so. Down with white. Black/yellow/brown power!!!!
           \_ Yeah, now you can go get a job and get off welfare and start
              paying taxes.
        \_ Does this cause you some concern?
                   \_ I'm not concerned.  Now that whites aren't a majority,
                      I'm going to form the White Students Association.
        \_ What exactly is "white"? Are Arabs white? Are Indians Asians?
           I assume most Jews are white. White is also Russian immigrants
           and such as opposed to your standard anglo-style American white.
           I think that group has been a minority for longer. "White" is not
           an ethnic group.
           \_ Tell that to the people who offer certain scholarships for which
              I wasn't eligible simply due to the color of my skin.
                -- russian immigrant (the man can't keep me down)
        \_ Is it any surpise that yellow fever is rampant in the bay area?
           \_ He said "rampant"! heh, heh, heh!
           \_ Adhering to motd formatting conventions makes the motd
              accessible to everyone.
        \_ Arrr!
           \_ Avast!

9/19    I have something like this:

        unsigned char a;
        char b;
        unsigned short c;
        short d;

        if (a < 9999999) {}
        if (b < 9999999) {}
        if (c < 9999999) {}
        if (d < 9999999) {}

        When I compile this with gcc 2.8.1 on SunOS 5, it only complains
        "comparison is always 1" for b and d, but not a or c.  Why?  Thanks.
        \_ Perhaps in converting 99999999 to a signed char or signed short
           the compiler wraps the number around the max (i.e. takes it
           mod the max value) whereas for unsigned data types it saturates.
           Another possibility might have something to do with the fact that
           99999999 is negative for signed char and signed short. -emin
           \_ I see.  I just tried 65537 and I got the same result.  Same for
              gcc 2.95.4 on soda also.
              \_ Try 65535.
                 \_ Same result.  But in this case, not complaining about the
                    'c' line makes sense because the comparison is not always
                    1.
        \_ from gcc 2.95.2 on sparc:
   % gcc -o foo foo.c
   foo.c: In function `main':
   foo.c:7: warning: comparison is always true due to limited range of data type
   foo.c:9: warning: comparison is always true due to limited range of data type
           try b < 127 and d < 32677
           --jon
        \_ Arrr!
           \_ Avast!

9/19    How do I get gcc to not include crt0.s? (for incremental linking)
        \_ -mno-crt0
        \_ Arrr!
           \_ Avast!

9/19    How old are you and what is your net worth?
        \_ 30, single, around $80k
        \_ http://www.humanforsale.com
        \_ 26, married, $208k/2
        \_ 25, single, around $80k
        \_ 30, single, around $415k
        \_ 28, negative - .com laid off worker.
        \_ 27, 300k
        \_ 25, around $100k
        \_ 23, 15k
        \_ 33, divorced, $9999999/2
        \_ 27, married, 300k
        \_ 33, married, $450k.  $1600 after-tax going to our parents every
           month and they don't let us claim them as dependents.  I put my sis
           thru Cal paying out-of-state tuition.  Got laid off once.
           \_ How does your wife feel about this?
              \_ Where do you think the $1600/mo comes from?  She's on an
                 Oakland corner.
        \_ 33, married, $450k
           thru Cal paying out-of-state tuition.
        \_ 33, married, 100k
        \_ 28, single forever, often unempolyed, 100k
        \_ 30, married, $600k
        \_ 30, married, $285k
        \_ 28, single, ~ $10-30K, I pay mortage for my parents and have gf
        \_ 30, married, $285k
        \_ 28, single, ~ $10-30K, I pay mortage for my parents and have gf
        \_ 28, single, ~ $10-30K, I pay mortage for my parents and have gf
           \_ Buying a house only decreases your net worth by a few thousand
              dollars due to loan points and fees.
           \_ you could sell the gf for at least 100k
              \_ Depends on how hot his gf is.
        \_ 38, single, 200k
        \_ Should I divide the net worth by two if I'm married?
        \_ most of these guys will be at 0k when they have to buy a house
           \_ Buying a house only decreases your net worth by a few thousand
              dollars due to loan points and fees.
        \_ Does money in 401(k) count?
           \_ Yes. All assets, including jewelry, car, and such minus your
              liabilities.
              \_ Are mortgages and car loans considered liabilities
                 for this calculation?
                 \_ Yes.
                          \_ Yes but you can't ignore current market value or
                             how much has been paid off.  You *own* that part.
                    \_ No, that's stupid.  The house value is your equity +
                       the difference between buy price and potential current
                       sale price.
                       \_ If I read that properly, it looks the same as
                          market value minus mortgage.
                       \_ Mortgage is always a liability regardless what your
                          house value is.
                          \_ Yes but you can't ignore current market value or
                             how much has been paid off.  You *own* that part.
        \_ Is your spouse considered an asset or liability?
           \_ does she put out for strangers?
        \_ 33, married, 450k, two big salaries, no debts, low expenses, will
           be retiring by 50.
        \_ I read an article that says if your net worth is at least "annual
           salary * age / 10", you're in good shape.
           \_ Which article? Which magazine? Good shape for what?
              \_ It was in http://quote.yahoo.com.  By good shape I think it means
                 you're on the right track to be able to afford your current
                 lifestyle after you retire.
        \_ How ballpark are all your figures? What's the margin of error?
        \_ I'm assuming most (if not all) are including your property/options
           in net worth calculation. How much does everyone actually have in
           cash?
           \_ 50k in checking, 20k in retirement plans, 10k in stock, the
              rest is house equity (I'm the first married guy, claiming
        \_ I'm assuming most (if not all) are including your property/options
                 lifestyle after you retire.
           in net worth calculation. How much does everyone actually have in
              \_ maybe not his
        \_ How ballpark are all your figures? What's the margin of error?
        \_ I'm assuming most (if not all) are including your property/options
           in net worth calculation. How much does everyone actually have in
           cash?
           \_ 50k in checking, 20k in retirement plans, 10k in stock
           cash?
           \_ 50k in checking, 20k in retirement plans, 10k in stock, the
              rest is house equity (I'm the first married guy, claiming
              300k, and that's not /2
              \_ Stocks count as cash?
        \_ 26, $2.15 -geordan
        \_ 26, $2.15 -geordan
        \- do any of you over 30 have no idea [like me] --psb
           \_ I had no idea, but it was pretty easy to estimate.
              http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/networth.html
              \_ Great,  I'm 33, and my net worth is mostly determined by
                 my life insurance.
        \_ Arrr!
           \_ Avast!
              300k, and that's not /2
              \_ Stocks count as cash?
                 \_ If it can be sold M-F 8-4 at market rate with a button
                    push, yes.
              \_ Unless your checking account makes above-average interest
                 or you have high cash-flow, that's too much in checking.
                 I suggest moving most of it at least to a money market
                 account. Probably even a CD or bond ladder. If not a
                 stock mutual fund.
           \_ 33, married, $100k of $450k in cash, mostly in 401(k).
        \_ 26, $2.15 -geordan
           \_ Your organs alone are worth more than that.
              \_ maybe not his
        \- do any of you over 30 have no idea [like me] --psb
           \_ I had no idea, but it was pretty easy to estimate.
              http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/networth.html
              \_ Great,  I'm 33, and my net worth is mostly determined by
                 my life insurance.
                 \_ life insurance? I didn't bother to think about that. how
                    much is the typical "cash value" of that? life insurance
                    don't matta when you're single
                    \_ Unless you want to give someone a motive to want
                       you dead.

9/19    Dixie Chicks victims of BushCo assassination attempt!
        http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30500-1104462,00.html
        \_ Is this an attempt to be funny in the MOTD or funny in the head?
        \_ Arrr!
           \_ Avast!

9/19    ATMs to run Windows:
        http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,60497,00.html
        \_ I just love the new BART terminals that run NT, and seem to
           be out of order 75% of the time...
           \_ Does anyone know what system they use for the New York Subway?
              It seems to work incredibly well.
              \_ When I was in NY the last time, the fare was always $1
                 no matter which direction and how far away you. Obviously,
                 you don't need a terribly complicated ticket terminals for such
                 system.
                 \_ Believe me or not, Windows NT embedded.  I was in
                    New York when the subway ticket cost $1.50.  They have
                    raised the fare since then, though.
        \_ ATM's already do run windows...I saw a repairman fix one once
           and it was windows.
           \_ the article notes that by end of 2003, 12% of ATMs will be
              Windows; also says most ATMs today are OS/2
              \_ Yeah at teh Albertsons BofA ATM on mathilda runs oS/2
        \_ Arrr - nold for California Governor!
           \_ Avast Right-Wing Conspiracy!