11/24   They say that this is the first official State Visit from America
        to Britian since 1918.  What is the difference between official
        "State Visit" versus all other visits by the head of the State?
        \_ Queen formally invites the president. Queen is head of state, the
           PM (Blair) is the head of the government. In the US, Gee Whiz is
                                                        LOL  __/
           both. The head of state in constitutional monarchies usually
           don't involve themselves in politics. Queen just rubber stamps
           legislation and gives out state dinners. In reality, it is of
           little or no concern whether or not the Queen is involved.
           \_ I don't read the pseudo conservative sites or newspapers that
              use cutesy/stupid names for politicians.  It distracts from the
              real issue and after the 2nd or 3rd time becomes beyond childish.
              In fact, I don't recall seeing much of that on the motd, either.
              Why do leftists feel it's so funny to use the same silly little
              names over and over?  It doesn't add any weight to your points.
              You just look petty and childish.  --motd conservative
        \_ maybe the stupid royalty gets involved? pomp, circumstance etc?
           \- helo a state visit from the "client end" requires the head of
              state is the person coming. so canada probably cant qualify
              since the queen [who should be beaten] is herself
              the head of state for canada [i assume if the queen's governor
              general is invited that is more of a summons rather than a
              visit]. on the "server side" nowadays the invitation really
              comes from the govt but i think they still go through a lot
              of archaic procedures like the monarch [sic] sends a personally
              written invitation, puts out the visitor in one of the royal
              households [sic], it usually is midweek, they have fancy dinners
              and speeches and i believe some monarch started the mandatory
              trip outside london. after wilson didnt Raygun get an state
              visit from m. thatcher? i dunno who else was invited but
              i am sure others were ... i think they've usually been rejected
              on the usa end because of all the strings attached. although
              it would be nice to think some would have taken a anti-monarchist
              stand on principle and told the queen and her sodomite son to
              go behead themselves. --psb
              \_ there's no proof he's a sodomite.
                 \_ Yes, and the Royal Family denies everything.  Everything,
                    including the bit about the sheep and the crazy glue and
                    your dead great aunt.  Full denial.  Never happened.
                    \_ if only my aunt really were dead....

11/24   So is it legal or illegal to not have a front license plate?
        I've heard both answers from various sources, and I haven'et
        had luck finding answers online. Does anyone know?
        \_ Wrong. It is legal if the CA DMV only gives you one plate.
        \_ It is legal if the CA DMV only gives you one plate.
           If they give you two plates it is 'illegal' to not have
           \_ Why is the OP wrong?  I don't get it.
           one in front.
              my first car 12 years ago it only had a rear plate.  Then later
              I got a citation for a missing front plate.  However, I see
           \_ Why would the CA DMV only give you one plate?  BTW when I bought
              their excuse is their front bumpers are not designed to hold a
              plate.  Hell, just drill two holes.  Why should you be exempt
              my first car (used) 12 years ago it only had a rear plate.  Then
              later I got a citation for a missing front plate.  However, I see
              people driving fancy Mercedes which have no front plate, and
              their excuse is that their front bumpers are not designed to hold
              a plate.  Hell, just drill two holes.  Why should you be exempt
              just because you have a fancy car.
              \_ the cops don't care whether or not you front bumper isn't
                 "designed" to hold a plate or not, my sister's old car was
                 like that and she got a ticket for it.  she went to the
                 dealership and complained about it enough that they drilled
                 the bumper for a plate and gave her a new license plate
                 holder and a car wash.
        \_ A lawyer friend of mine told me that, in general, they can't
           give you a ticket solely for that, but technically it's illegal.
           Dunno if that's true or not, but I was given a ticket for it
           also (I had expired registration stickers cuz I was a dumbass,
           and the CHP tacked on the no-front-plate to the citation).
        \_ in CA it's not "legal" but nobody seems to care.
           \_ except for the cop that gave me a ticket for
              that very reason.
              \_ Yeah LAPD tickets for this also.
              \_ Just curious, how much was your fine? I'm thinking about
                 getting a new car and I don't want them to drill holes
                 into my bumper.
                 \_ fixit ticket
                    \_ Well, fixit ticket after you "fixit".  You are supposed
                       to have a front plate.  I've had my front plate stolen
                       a number of times, and have had anywhere from $50-120
                       tickets that changed to $10 after i payed the DMV $7
                       for new plates.  Total joke...
        \_ It's illegal. You will be ticketed. Plus it gives cops a reason
           to pull you over.
        \_ Bought a new car last month.  They made me sign a form that said
           I chose not to have the front plate put on and indemnifying the
           dealership.

11/23   Any recommendations for a nice hotel near Mt. Shasta CA?
        \_ Beware the Lemurians:
           http://www.outwestnewspaper.com/rsj4.html
           \_ HAIL Mighty THONGOR!
        \_ Beware the Norse:
           http://forum.kicken.fm/topic.cgi?forum=44&topic=3927
           \_ NOT WORK SAFE!

11/24   M$ Using PPC in XBox to Kill Linux:
        http://tinyurl.com/wbrl (redherring.com)
        \_ that has got to be one of the dumbest articles I've read in years
           \_ agreed..

11/24   Anybody here drive a Subaru?  What model do you have and how long
        have you had it?  I'm thinking of getting a used Forester or Outback.
        Wondering about the reliability and such.   Thanks.
        \_ Why do you want AWD? Just to avoid chain controls in Tahoe?
           \_ the joy of non-truck, permanent AWD must be experienced
              first hand.  on dry summer pavement.  then, in a blizzard.
           \_ AWD (not 4WD) gives better control on wet paved roads.
        \_ i knew some people who drove subaru station wagons back in the
           late 80's, and beat the shit out of them, driving them
           over salted icy roads on ski trips.  they lasted to over 200k
           miles typically.  i don't know if they still have that reliability.
           \_ and note, caltrans uses sand, not salt.  so used ski cars
              in ca are in good shape compared to any eastern used car.
        \_ What a coincidence!  I'm thinking about a new Forester or Outback.
           Haven't done much research on Subaru's reliability yet.  I guess
        \_ my co-worker has a RS (they don't make it anymroe?).  She says
           Consumer Reports will have something.
        \_ WRX, since July.  It's holding up pretty well. -geordan
           \_ is it a new car?  I'm wondering about the reliability of 2-3
              year old subarus.  Thanks.
              \_ It first appeared in this country in 2001. -geordan
        \_ my co-worker has a RS (they don't make it anymore?).  She says
           maintanence fee is reidiculus.
           \_ RIDE BIKE! USE LINUX! LIGHT CANDLE!
              \_ Candle?  Open the shade at your office and use sunlight.
                 Saves both lighting and heating cost.
           the maintance costs over $1000.  And I thought honda's $500+
           road feel and the car feels solid and heavy.
           maintanence fee is reidiculus.
        \_ My brother and sister-in-law had a Legacy wagon.  They liked
           it very much, more so than their Camry.  I drove it a few
           times.  I thought the handling is very decent, with good
           road feel and the car feels solid and heavy.
           \_ All Subarus come with All Wheel Drive.  Most excellent.
        \_ WRX station wagon, since earlier this month.  Fine so far. --dbushong
        \_ legacy sedan, 2+ years, 38k miles.  reliable, yeah.  very quirky,
           though.  overall, good winter car.

11/24   Study: Higher Speed Limits Create Dangers
        http://csua.org/u/533 (Yahoo News)
        \_ I'd like to see the numbers broken down by age, gender and DUI/!DUI.
        \_ yeah, right. as if speed limits aren't part of a Big Government
           plot along with traffic lights to enslave Red Blooded Americans
           to the UN.  Get out of here with your whacko liberal trolls.
           \_ more likely low speed limits generate revenue for the
              government and insurance companies.   Low blood-alcohol levels
              are a cash cow.
              \_ Even if this is true, I'm still all for it as long as it
                 reducts fatal accidents dramatically (according to the
                 article).  One nice side effect is that it slightly reduces
                 gas consumption.
        \_ And yet the societal advantage of 99.999999% of the population
           who dont have accidents who will be  wasting less time in
           transportation is completely ignored.
           \_ When a fatal crash occurs, a large number of people are affected
              minutes you save with a higher speed limit.
              by the gridlock it creates.  And the delay is bigger than the
              minutes you save with a higher speed limit.  Plus the delay is
              unpredictable unlike ordinary traffic jam.
              \_ That study said nothing about number of accidents, just the
                 deaths involved. Also it admitted the fatality rate dropped
                 nationally each year in the study. They make some weird
                 comparisons between different states. It's a crock of crap.
                 Of course, not all highways are the same. If I look at 280 vs.
                 101 in the bay area, 280 is just much better suitable for high
                 speeds. A lot of freeways have really bad on and off ramps,
                 and idiots who don't know how to merge.
              \_ still the accidents causing traffic jams would have to be
                 really frequent to overcome the advantage of everyone else
                 being able to go faster ALL THE TIME.   And you're ignoring
                 the other advantage of increased fatal accidents -- every one
                 is at least one less driver on the road.

11/24   I really don't understand the 3rd Robotech. Dana and her friends
        use those cool motorcycle/bot things to fight enemies and get energy
        from Protocultures (from dead enemies). But where do these enemies
        get those Protocultures?
        \_ Weren't these harvested from slave labor on Earth like in Dune?
           \_ I don't know anything about Robotech, but just what the
              fuck are you talking about about Dune?  Earth is a semi
              mythical place of the distant past in Dune.  If you're
              thinking of Arrakis, you're still wrong, since although the
              Harkonnens had slave labor on Giedi Prime, they did
              not use slave labor to harvest spice.
        \_ Dana was from the second generation, not the third.  There's not a
           lot to understand; the three Robotech series are a conglomeration
           of three totally separate anime series (Macross, Southern Cross,
           and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA respectively).  That they were strung
           together with anything resembling coherence is a feat.
           \_ Southern Cross was basically two factions fighting each other
              over a scare resource (I think it was food or something).
              It had nothing to do with Macross. At the end they were somehow
              united and made peace with each other when all the spores were
              released. Anyway, it was supposed to be a happy ending vs.
              the totally chopped up ending they presented in Robotech.
              As for MOSPEADA, it was a much simpler story, the aliens
              invade earth, enslave the remnant surviving humans, and there's
              a fleet off of Mars left who wants to retake earth. The aliens
              think that earthlings are basically virii who need to be cleared
                \_ wow that's exactly how iu feel about neocons!
              off the planet, but in the process of studying them they decide
              that it's better to just leave earth in peace.
           \_ So in the original Japanese version of Southern Cross, for
              example, Dana isn't even really the daughter of Max and Myria?
              Are they all completely separate universes?
              \_ Yup.  They mostly tied together the three series with that
                 _really_ cheesy voiceover narration to explain away serious
                 inconsistencies.  I think "protoculture" was a vague concept
                 from the second series that was back and forward propogated
                 into the others.  If this seems like an unjustifiable thing
                 to do artistically, remember that the primary motivation
                 for Robotech was to cash-in on the robot toy craze going
                 on in the States.  So the more robots, the better.
                 \_ "protoculture" was from Macross. It's similar to the seeder
                    idea the Star Trek universe uses to explain why all the
                    races are very nearly humanoid. Humans and the Zentraedi
                    are both descendants from a common sort-of-species. That
                    species's culture was the "protoculture" from which all
                    cultures developed. I don't know what the back story was
                    for Southern Cross.
                    \_ except that in the first generation, "protoculture"
                       is talked about in the narrations as something more
                       akin to a power source.  some sort of biological
                       technology.  as well as the culture of the proto-
                       human and -zentradi species.  it was hard to
                       distinguish whether the protoculture that was shipped
                       around in oil drums and fought over teeth and nail
                       was just some sort of technology salvaged from the
                       protoculture, or whether it was some energy source
                       labeled "protoculture."
                       \_ The confusion you speak of was an aspect of the
                          Robotech plot alone. The original Macross backstory
                          was quite clear and straightforward such as it
                          boys).
                          was (a robot space opera targeted at ~10-14 yr old
                          boys). Kudos to the op on the success of this
                          troll, btw.
                          \_ I don't think troll means what you think it
                             means.  The OP seems to have been asking a real
                             question that he wanted an answer to...unless
                             you ARE the OP, in which case I stand corrected.
                             It's really unfortunate that the term, which once
                             actually had a pretty specific and well defined
                             meaning, has come to mean any thread that one
                             doesn't like or agree with.  Ah well...such is
                             the nature of language, I suppose.
        \_ I hate you.
           \_ Why did Rick choose Lisa over Minmei?
              \_ In the end, a hot walking receptle gets old fast if it
                 nags as much as she did. He knew he could always get a
                 new hot chick later after doing the domestic thing for a bit.
                 \_ 'Cos when I think misogyny, I think motd.
                    \_ misogeny of the day
              \_ Because he wanted a real woman over a two dimensional
                 piece of lolita bait?  Oh, wait, they're both anime.
                 \_ But lisa wasn't underage at any point in the show....

11/24   I have SBC Enhanced DSL at home (5 fixed IP addresses) which
        until recently ran at roughly 15 kilobytes/s upload and 150 kilobytes/s
        download.  All of a sudden, for no reason that I can determine, I'm
        getting 25 kilobytes/s upload.  I haven't upgraded my service or
        anything.  Has SBC changed their equipment suddenly?  I live in
        San Francisco.
        \_ I have SBC 'consumer level' 1.5/128k in Berkeley and have also
           noticed they changed it to 1.5/192k.  I'm not complaining.
           \_ My 256 rated (233 actual) upload turned into 315+ recently
        \_ Mystery solved:
           "SBC/ASI will be changing the speed profiles that are installed
           on the DSLAMs and RTs that provide DSL service to it's customers.
           The biggest change will be that the upload side of the DSL profiles
           will now be rate-adaptive versus a fixed speed. This will allow
           the upload side to achieve higher sync speeds, based on line
           conditions."
           Amazing.  For the first time I have something nice to say about
           SBC.  Though I'm sure it was simply Comcast finally getting their
           ass in gear about service coverage that inspired it.

11/24   Anyone have a live video feed link of the dem primary debate from
        msnbc?  I can't find it in the cluttered msnbc site.

11/24   How effective were kamikazi pilots? For example, for each suicide
        committed, how many enemy deaths resulted?
        \_ You shouldn't just count deaths but damage to equipment.  I'd say
           the disabling of a carrier is a very good trade for one life.
           BTW, this is a tactical, not ethical calculus.
           \_ It should be one life plus one plane.  But I agree that it's a
              very good tactical trade.
           \_ Was one plane generally enough to disable a carrier? I suppose
              if they smashed into the bridge, yes?
              \_ It was generally a stripped-down fighter plane which was
                 packed solid with explosives.  They then would try to go
                 straight into the bridge.
                 \_ Why didn't they just drop the explosives, go home and come
                    back with more explosives?
                    \_ By the time they were using kamikaze tactics, the US
                       had way more planes.  Even if they managed to hit the
                       bridge with a bomb (which is hard), they would almost
                       certainly be destroyed by US fighters and AA guns.
                       \_ search for the Marianas Turkey Shoot.  US
                          was dominating towards the end of the war.
                          Kamikaze's were desperation attacks.
        \_ ^kamikaze pilots^Iraqi suicide bombers
        \_ kamikaze (kami: god/spirit/divine; kaze: wind.  from the Divine
           wind that smashed the Mongol Invasion Fleet, thereby saving Japan)
           \_ actually, the storms drove back a few such fleets.
              \_ Mongols were good on horsebacks.  I wonder how they did on
                 water, let alone at sea.
                 \_ They had problems against Japan, and against
                    Sumatra/Java (sea plus tropical rainforest means
                    horses are useless) in present day Indonesia.
                    They were surprisingly good at taking cities
                    though.
        \_ At the time, the Japanese pilot corps was severely depleted,
           with several experienced pilots shot down/killed already.  The
           pilots who took their place were of lesser experience and training.
           They were not up to dogfighting against more experienced Allied
           pilots (primarily US) but were just fine for ramming into carriers
           just a note.
        \_ No, they were not terribly effective. The numbers are 4,000
           kamikaze pilots killed 15,000 sailors and damaged 300 ships,
           including sinking 2 escort carriers and 3 destroyers. Most of
        \_ No, they were not terribly effective.
           the damage was caused by initial successes (surprise). Once the
           Americans figured out what the Japanese were doing and changed
           tactics they were not nearly as effective.
        \_ not very effective.  Kamikaze's were desperation acts.
           I recommend the History Channel's specials on Kamikaze's
           (Divine Wind)
        \_ http://www.worldwariihistory.info/WWII/American.html
        \_ japan has severe pilot shortage and severe fuel shortage
           means that they had problem training new pilots.  so they
           decided to do kamikaze.  japan in ww2 is nation gone mad.
           if they had some self control and stopped after capturing
           manchuria, they might have been able to keep it (and
           taiwan and korea) until today, making japan a much bigger
           nation.
           \_ the issue was that they couldn't completely control Manchuria
              without completely elimate China.  Despite their initial
              success, Japan was having a material shortage, which force
              them invade Indonisia, Maylysia for robber and other raw
              material.  It is a classic example of mission creep gone mad.
              One stragetic mistake they made, in my mind,  was declare war
              on America.  Despite that United States were by no mean
              neutral before the conflict, Japan would of better off without
              bombing Pearl Harbor and invade Philopine.
              \_ Bingo!  We have a winner!  Bombing Pearl Harbor was a huge
                 mistake and some of the Japanese high command knew it at the
                 times.  There was no reason to attack the US at that point.

11/24   Cell phone number portability starts today.  Anyone have an
        experience to report?  Any questions/answers?
        \_ Rules in technology: Never be the first, never be the last

11/24   Any recommendations on stuff to see/do in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
        during last week of December 2003?
        \_ fishing
        \_ see Sammy Haggar
        \_ Protest NAFTA.  Also, try the lobster.
           \_ Is that union-friendly lobster?  I bet not.
              \_ I hate those scab lobsters taking work from good, honest
                 union lobsters.
        \_ Party like it's 1999, but 4 years later.

11/24   MOTD Spelling & Grammar Drill.  Say it out loud a few times:
        THAN: "It's better to be honest and good THAN to not."
        \_ Is it "...... THAN not to."?
           \_ It's a quote from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.  Both are pretty bad
              form, but we'll leave that for the next lesson.
        THEN: "I went to the store, THEN to the gym."
        SEPARATE: "'A' and 'E' are SEPARATE letters."
        \_ "...... DISTINCT letters."
        RIDICULOUS: "It's RIDICULOUS to spell it 'rediculus' or 'rediculous'."
        \_ nigga that's so diculous it's REdiculous
        \_ thanks, I will definately prevent more inadvertant occurrences.
                               \_ DIE!
                                  \_ I bet that was meant to be a joke to the
                                     OP.

11/24   Patriot Act II surreptitiously passed via Congressional spending bill
        http://wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,61341,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1
        \_ Why do you hate America?
        \_ and why wouldnt it be?
           \_ Oh, FOAD, you lousy troll.

11/24   squish squish squish

11/24   http://csua.org/u/534
        Do you support anti-spam internet vigilantes?
        \_ Yes.
           \_ how far would you go?
              \_ Nuke the site from orbit.  Its the only way to be sure.
                 \_ Orbit? Nukes? That would be expensive. Stick with
                    chainsaws and shotguns.
                 \_ A quick hot death is too good for them.