2/29    I am looking for a DVD burner to buy.  I want to make sure
        my existing Toshiba DVD player (2+ yrs old) can read the discs
        burned by the drive.  Consulting the web site and manual didn't
        help--it simply stated the player plays DVD discs.  So should
        I just buy a DVD-R format buner or shell out more money to buy
        a unit compatible with both DVD-R and DVD+R?  Are DVD-R more
        widely supported by most DVD players?
        \_ http://www.dvdrhelp.com Consult the player compatibility guide.
        \_ Get a Pioneer A06. The A06 is a 4x DVD+-R/RW and is extremely
           reliable and quite affordable (~ $120). I have two A06's and
           have never had any problems with them or with the A05 in my
           PowerMac.
           If you want to minimize problems with standalone players, I
           would recommend that you stick to brand-name (Apple, Pioneer
           or Fuji) 2x or 4x DVD-R media. You can get brand-name media
           for between $1.50 and $2 per DVD-R, so trying to save $.50
           per DVD-R and burning coasters using the cheap stuff isn't
           worth it. I would avoid DVD+R's since they don't play properly
           in many standalone players and older DVD-ROM drives.

2/29    Here's the only sensible middle ground reasonably non-partisan
        article on global warming I've ever seen.  The executive summary for
        the lazy: we don't really know, it's frustrating but we don't think
        the end of the world is upon us.
        http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/29/weekinreview/29revk.html?ex=1078635600&en=f83f2670a1159542&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
        \_ so...by "non-partisan" you mean information-free?  Personally,
           the more i learn about the data and simulations behind climate
           prediction, the more I'm skeptical of *any* statement on either
           side.  If someone says "everythings fine, don't worry about
           a couple hundred ppm of extra CO_2", my answer is "bullshit."
           If they say the sky is falling, and CO_2 is some majic thermostat
           that the global climate must follow, I also say "bullshit."
           \_ Not at all.  It simply admits that there might be some bad shit
              going on but they don't know how bad, they don't know if we're
              at all close to a magic tipping point, they're concerned about
              it, seem to believe it would be prudent to take it seriously,
              but aren't yet ready to declare the sky is falling.  It was
              honest.  How much information do you want?  They admit they don't
              have enough and in fact say how difficult it is dealing with
              people who want solid hard facts such as yourself when those
              facts simply don't exist to that level of certainty.  You seem to
              be mostly in agreement with the scientists in the article and
              with me.

2/28    Did anyone ever come up w/ a solution to the SQL sorting question?
        \_ yes

2/29    The post below reminds me of another post many years ago regarding
        op's uncle who said he lost all sensations on his left side (arm,
        legs, etc). It turned out to be a mini-stroke. Whatever happened
        to the op's uncle?
        \_ he had a ministroke, duh.

2/28    [ no. ]

2/29    Happy February 29!  See you in four years!
        \_ If you're lucky to live that long, buddy!

2/29    Would you date someone with a 10 year age difference?
        [twentysomething and thirtysomething]
        \_ Yes, I dated a 40 year old woman, and boy, could she suck cock.
                -tawei
        \_ Yes, I dated a 40 year old woman                     -tawei
        \_ Yes (20+ and 30+, but not teenager and 20+).
        \_ Why not? As long as she's at least 18  and younger than I am.
          \_ Unless all you guys do is fuck, you most likely won't have too
             many things in common with an 18 year old. Unless of course you
             have the maturity level of an 18 year old. (i.e. 28 going 18)
             \_ For the sake of arguement, is it so out of the question
                that an 18 year old could have the maturity level of a 28
                year old?
                \_ Mostly.  There are rare exceptions.  *VERY* rare
                   exceptions. Just curious, are you one of those 18 year
                   olds who thinks they're *REALLY* mature?
                   \_ funny. no,  I'm a 28 year old married to a 27 year
                      old using the motd to waste time when my attention
                year old?
                \_ Mostly.  There are rare exceptions.  *VERY* rare exceptions.
                   Just curious, are you one of those 18 year olds who thinks
                   they're *REALLY* mature?
                   \_ funny. no,  I'm a 28 year old married to a 27 year
                      old using the motd to waste time when my attention span
                      runs out at work.
                      span runs out at work.
                \_ A really mature 18 year old is more like your average 22
                   year old.  A really mature 22 year old is more like your
                   average 28 year old.  After that, it's more a matter of
                   life priorities and personalities; your really mature
                      very different understanding of life than an 18 year old,
                   25 year old may still be into clubbing when you're
                   much more interested in staying home with a good book.
                   \_ It's more than what you plan to do saturday night.  If
                      very different understanding of life than 18 year old,
                      you're just fucking it doesn't matter but for anything
                      real you need enough life experiences in common.  If
                      you're 28, own a home, on your third car, have an ex-wife
                      or ex-gf you almost married, and buried your 3rd dog last
                      year at age 15 you've done a lot of things and have a
                      very different understanding of life than an 18 year old,
                      any 18 year old just can't have.  If she's 18 and has
                      that much life experience already she's probably had a
                      really hard life and comes with a truckload of baggage.
        \_ The 18 to 28 mentioned above is unlikely to be a successful real
           relationship but she's old enough to fuck.  23 to 33 is much more
           likely to work out as a 23 year old is better able to deal but
           there's still no guarantees in life.  29 to 39 is no problem.  OTOH
           if it's just about sex and killing some time then as long as it's
           legal why not?
        \_ A 10 year age difference is irrelevant.  I've dated several people
           10+ years my senior.  All of those relationships ended amicably,
           and the exes are now good friends.  I recently dated someone five
           years my junior (I am 24, do the math).  She was very mature for
           her age, but stress showed some rough spots.  I think she is a
           fabulous girl, and I think that she will be an amazing woman in a
           few years.  Basically, I think that, in the general case, age is
           irrelevant.  If you're older than twenty, you shouldn't be dating
           people younger than seventeen, but once you resolve the questions of
           legality and decorum, anything goes.  Life experience is what you
           make of it.  People who are thirty *may* have more experience to
           draw upon, but that doesn't mean they actually learned from their
           experiences.  I know plenty of fifty-somethings with the maturity
           of a cranky toddler.  Conversely, I know lots of people who were
           very mature at age sixteen or younger. -dans
           \_ When I was 20 and sleeping with a 37 year old, I thought so,
              too.  Now that I'm 34, I don't know what (apart from youth,
              enthusiasm, and huge libido) she saw in me.  Apart from the
              aforementioned youth, enthusiasm, and huge libido, I can't
              understand dating someone now who is 20.
                \_ HELLO TAWEI!!! Long time no see!!!
              \_ Where does a 20 year old hook up with a 37?
                 \_ There are plenty of older women walking around who take
                    care of themselves and would love to fuck your brains out
                    if you're 20, healthy, and clean.  When I was 20 I thought
                    they were too old.  At 34, I 'appreciate' their
                    desperation and 'special needs'.  Just look around you,
                    they're single, need sex, and looking for you.
              \_ Are you still friends with her?  Also, have you dated any
                 men who are ten years your senior? -dans
                 \_ I believe the person above has never slept with men senior
                    junior, or otherwise.  At 20 the person was sleeping with a
                    37 year old *woman*.
           \_ Just because you're "still friends" and things ended amicably
              doesn't mean you had healthy relationships.  It may just mean
              that neither of you really gave a shit.  Don't confuse the two.
              At 24 you're hardly in a great position to say that a 28 year
              old hasn't learned more from life than an 18 year old.  If the
              28yo hasn't then they must have been sleeping in a cocoon.  That
              you even believe in the concept of mature 16 year olds (or even
              younger as you say) is ridiculous.  It sounds like you've 100%
              swallowed the whole SF/Berkeley "if it feels good, it's good"
              thing.  Your 50 year 'toddlers' need professional help if
              there's any 16 year old with more maturity.  No offense
              intended, but at 24 you're still young enough to be cute in the
              way know-it-all teens are, but not old enough yet to really know
              wtf you're talking about.  I think you're a fabulous boy and
              you'll be an amazing man in a few years but I think stress is
              showing the rough spots now.  Can we still be friends?
              \_ In the words of a dead English guy who said it better than I
                 can ever hope to,
                   There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
                   Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
                 You seem to be under the impression that that I claim
                 ``All 28 year olds have not learned more from life than all
                   18 year olds.''
                 I made no such claim.  If you think I did, kindly reread what
                 I wrote in my previous post, and if you still think that's
                 what I claim, you should brush up on your logic and rhetoric.
                 If after all that you still think that's what I claim, do
                 yourself a favor and have your head examined.  Although I've
                 met many 50-something `toddlers,' a great many members of
                 congress, not to mention our President, qualify for this
                 designation.  I agree with you they do, indeed, need
                 professional help.  Seeing as I held the aforementioned
                 beliefs for years before I set foot in California, I don't
                 see how they could result from any purported SF/Berkeley
                 ``if it feels good, it's good'' `thing' you suggest I
                 subscribe to.
                 When you state that ``... at 24 you're ... not old enough
                 yet to really know wtf you're talking about.'' it shows
                 that you subscribe to the fallacy that wisdom is a linear
                 function of age.  The fact that the depth of your N years
                 of experience does not include meeting a mature 18 year
                 proves only that you have never met a mature 18 year old.
                 It in no way proves that mature 18 year olds do not exist.
                 Assuming that N > 24, the very fact that you refuse to
                 believe me suggests that either a) You do not understand my
                 argument, or b) You do not believe I am capable of assessing
                 maturity.  Either way continuing this discussion with you is
                 pointless.  If a) is true, then you're clearly unfit to
                 participate in a rational debate.  If b) is true, you are
                 implying that everything I have to say on this matter
                 has no value, in which case, my only reasonable course of
                 action is to assume the same is true of all your thoughts.
                 More in heaven and earth, train harder young grasshopper.
                 -dans
                 \_ On part A) I didn't say the fabricated quote you attribute
                    to me, so everything on that topic that follow is your
                    own personal little delusion.  On part B) regarding your
                    impressive ability to survive 24 years, I honestly tried to
                    read your post but when you started to get all Spock logic
                    about it, it was just too boring and idiotic to continue.
                    There's simply no such thing as mature 18 year olds or
                    immature 50 year olds in the sense the OP was asking about.
                    If you really think you've met truly mature 16 year olds
                    then it only says you're rather young, not that they are
                    rather old.  Your political beliefs about Bush and some
                    members of the legislative branch has nothing to do with
                    anything and is unlikely to convince any liberals here of
                    the merits of your belief system but it was a nice try.
                    \_ So, three generations ago, it was routine for a 18 year
                       old and a 17 year old to strike out on their own,
                       get married, settle a 160 acre piece of land, build
                       their own house and start having children. These
                       young people strike me as mature. Perhaps things
                       have changed in 100 years, but human nature has
                       not. Do not confuse the fact that you don't know
                       any mature 18 year olds with the idea that there
                       are none anywhere in the world.
                       \_ wife beating was common and accepted then too. that
           likely to work out as a 23 year old is better able to deal but
           there's still no guarantees in life.  29 to 39 is no problem.  OTOH
           if it's just about sex and killing some time then as long as it's
           legal why not?
           draw upon, but that doesn't mean they actually learned from their
           experiences.  I know plenty of fifty-somethings with the maturity
           of a cranky toddler.  Conversely, I know lots of people who were
           very mature at age sixteen or younger. -dans
              younger as you say) is ridiculous.  It sounds like you've 100%
              swallowed the whole SF/Berkeley "if it feels good, it's good"
              thing.  Your 50 year 'toddlers' need professional help if
              there's any 16 year old with more maturity.  No offense
              intended, but at 24 you're still young enough to be cute in the
              way know-it-all teens are, but not old enough yet to really know
              wtf you're talking about.  I think you're a fabulous boy and
              you'll be an amazing man in a few years but I think stress is
              showing the rough spots now.  Can we still be friends?
                 believe me suggests that either a) You do not understand my
                 argument, or b) You do not believe I am capable of assessing
                 maturity.  Either way continuing this discussion with you is
                 pointless.  If a) is true, then you're clearly unfit to
                 participate in a rational debate.  If b) is true, you are
                 implying that everything I have to say on this matter
                 has no value, in which case, my only reasonable course of
                 action is to assume the same is true of all your thoughts.
                 More in heaven and earth, train harder young grasshopper.
                 -dans
                          tends to settle a lot of arguments pretty quickly,
                          whereas maturity is more important for that today.
                 \_ I agree with you, but you know what, you need to
                    take it easy.  - yet another poster
                 \_ I also think that there's not really such thing as a mature
                    18 year old. There's "mature for her age" but there is
                    some relationship between age/experience and wisdom. At
                    some point that curve starts to flatten, but someone age
                    18 can't even legally drink/gamble, go to a bar, may
                    not have ever voted, and could not be elected President.
                    The perception is that an 18 year old is a kid. Even a
                    really mature 18 year old does not have the wisdom of
                    an infantile 50 year old. An immature 28 year old and
                    a mature 18 year old can probably get along just fine,
                    but anyone older than 20 getting with an 18 year old likely
                    just wants sex and is rationalizing.
                    \_ I didn't rationalize it.  I fucked her brains out until
                       I couldn't move anymore and my cock was sore from the
                       endless sex.  The rest of what you say is spot on.
                       \_ is having sex with an 18 year old a lot better
                          than say a 25 year old? if so, in what way?
        \_ yes.  11y6m difference, she was older.

2/29    girl who feels no pain
        http://www.kare11.com/news/news-article.asp?NEWS_ID=60120

2/29    Anyone here have access to an openbsd machine? I'd like to know if
        their implementation of s/key is broken for SHA-1 and RIPEMD-160
        (at least, it's broken in Yuri Yudin's port of openbsd s/key).
        From RFC 2289, running 'skey -sha1 99 correct' and using
        "OTP's are good" as the passphrase should give
        "AURA ALOE HURL WING BERG WAIT". If someone can try that, I'd
        appreciate it. Also, if that does work, can you tell me what the
        result of 'skey -rmd160 99 correct' with the same passphrase as
        above is? Thanks.
        \_ s/key on my OpenBSD 3.3 system produces the following output:
           sha1:   AURA ALOE HURL WING BERG WAIT
           rmd160: ONCE FRAY EROS JADE GINA ONE
           --ranga

2/29    bill gates is worried that too few people are studying cs in
        college and is trying to do something about it. good luck getting
        other companies to follow, bill.
        http://csua.org/u/686
        [ reformatted - formatd ]

2/29    no offense dans, i think you're a funny guy and
        smart and you probably contribute to society now and then,
        but reading about your dating exploits and knowing
        you makes me a bit ill.
        \_ I think he's a fabulous boy and he'll be an amazing man in a few
           years but I think stress is showing the rough spots now.  We'll
           years but I think stress is showing the rough spots now.  We're
           still be friends, though.
        \_ You're just jealous because he got live action h0t a2n pr0n and
           you didn't.
           \_ a2n?  asian?  or ass-to-nose?
           \_ a2n?  asian?  or ass-to-nose?
              \_ Wouldn't you like to know.
        \_ I don't believe I've ever put a gun to your head, or blackmailed
           you into following my dating exploits or keeping company with me.
           Besides, danh and aspo post shit to the motd that makes my dating
           exploits look like a kindergarten age Sunday school classroom.
           -dans
           P.S. You should know me well enough to know that I'm easily
           annoyed, but rarely offended, so what's with this ``no offense''
           crap?
           still be friends, though.
        \_ You're just jealous because he got live action h0t a2n pr0n and you
           didn't.
           -dans
           \_ You're a fabulous boy and you'll be an amazing man in a few
              years but I think stress is showing the rough spots.

2/29    they're re-running Beavis & Butt-head on MTV2! yesh.

2/28    Dear motd doctor, lately I've been needing a lot of sleep. I need
        at least 10-12 hours of sleep. I got a blood check from the lab and
        my doc says I'm ok and just exercise more. However I don't feel
        like myself at all, even with the exercise. Sometimes I feel like
        I could faint in the middle of a day. What other problems could I
        have, like brain tumor, cancer, etc? I'm 30 years old btw.
        \_ Check your blood pressure.  I had something like that once, turned
           out to be unusually high blood pressure due to stress.  How much
           sleep do you usually need?  Also, try to see a Russian doctor.
           I had terrible luck with American-educated doctors for some reason.
             -- ilyas
                \_ actually, when I get up too quickly, I feel really dizzy,
                   and occasionally I'd be near fainting. I'll go check my
                   blood pressure, thanks.                      -op
        \_ you're dying.  can i have your soda disk space?
                \_ godamn! You're scaring me, though, when I have days that
                   I have problem getting up (feeling too tired) I do feel
                   like I'm dying. I guess I'll go make an appointment
                   again... wait 2 weeks, get referred, then get the same
                   useless exercise advice again. By the way I'm not fat
                   or anything, so who gives a shit about exercise      -op
                   \_ I used to feel like you do, but then I started jogging
                      one hour a day and eating healthy, now I feel good,
                      except when I miss some exercise or eat something bad.
        \_ do you eat a lot of beef? maybe you have the mad cow disease?
        \_ Three things: 1) Anemia possibly, 2) See another doctor, 3) don't
           rely on the advice of motd for health issues.
        \_ doesn't this sound kinda serious to you? i'd insist on some mri
           or cat scans or something at least.
        \_ sounds like chronic fatigue syndrome. have you had
           a viral illness lateley?
        \_ Adult-onset diabetes is big these days.  Your symptoms could
           be from wild blood-sugar fluctuations.  Eat "100% whole wheat"
           bread ("multi-grain" doesn't count) and avoid all other grains
           (even white rice -- eat brown rice instead).  Avoid red meat
           (beef), eat white meat (chicken) and fish.  Eat a salad or
           two a day.  And go read this book:  http://csua.org/u/67z

2/29    Russian Male Bride website opened up for Gay weddings.
        \_ Nice troll!  You're going to get the anti-Russians, the anti-gay
           marriage people, the anti-illegal alien people, and well, no, sorry
           actually no one is that stupid, even on the motd.  You get:  C-

2/29    List your favourite alternative/pop/KROQ-like music from 1990-1992.
        I'll start. Also list any particular songs you like:
        REM, U2, Depech Mode