9/11    Mushroom cloud over NK (probably not a nuke):
        http://tinyurl.com/6sr6h
        \_ thanks, I dont read the news

9/12    Does anyone have any good PHP learning sites that they could recommend
        to a webdesigner that doesn't have programming experience? So far,
        http://php.net and webmonkey seem to be pretty good.
        \_ http://www.w3schools.com

9/12    How can you still believe the media is not left wing biased?
        http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn12.html
        \_ FFS, media are not biased either way.  They print shit that will
           get stupid people riled up enough to buy papers.  Individual media
           (Fox maybe, don't know, never paid much attention to it, we don't
           get it over here) are probably biased, or at least their management
           or editorial staff are, but news are calculated to make money.
           Repeat after me:  newspapers are not (generally) lobbying tools.
           They are businesses.  -John
        \_ are you really this stupid?  Swift Boat got way more coverage
           than Texans for Truth have. -tom
           \_ Only after Kerry responded.  They ignored it for weeks until
              they couldn't any more.
           \_ Please! Look at all the anti-gun lawsuits that get front
              page and then page 10 when they are dismissed.
                \_ How do you explain the Bush administration exposing
                   intelligence operatives TWICE and the media not covering
                   it much?  The media is just a mouthpiece for very
                   conservative corporations, it just has liberal reporters.
                   \_ It was everywhere and the only item in the news for
                      weeks.  It is still being investigated so there is
                      nothing "new" to report.  Everytime they get the tiniest
                      bit of anything this is brought up again.  Please try
                      a different story if you want to make that claim.  It is
                      simply ludicrous to claim right wing media bias.  Don't
                      even bother.
                        \_ Are you saying that media is NOT controlled by
                           giant corporations which are inherently conservative?
                           \_ Giant corporations are not inherently
                              conservative. This is a fallacy.
                              \_ conservative was probably a bad word choice.
                                 multinationals support the repubs because
                                 they're the ones pushing tort reform and
                                 deregulation (read "neutering the courts" and
                                 "lawlessness")
                                 \_ Yeah suing for hot coffee is reasonable
                                 \_ Clinton? NAFTA? The truth is that big
                                    companies are always fiscally
                                    conservative, but where they land
                                    socially can vary a lot.
        \_ NYT slaps researchers who say business headlines biased against
           Republicans.  link:csua.org/u/8zy
        \_ I'm confused. Are you being sarcastic or stupid?

9/12    Did anyone go to the Cal game? Did you hear California Triumph?
        Was it good?
        \_ Went to the game.  Cal had a hard time getting started, then
           passed for a bazillion yards and trounced the Aggies' defense.
           Cal gave the Aggies a pity goal near the end.  A great Cal game.
           \_ You misunderstood the question. I was asking about a song,
              not the game.
        \_ Sounded fine to me!
        \_ There are a lot of college fight songs.  I think "Fight for
           California," "Big C," and "Stanford Jonah" are all top-notch,
           as college fight songs go.  "California Triumph" sounded pretty
           middle-of-the-road.  Maybe once there are words it will seem more
           compelling.  -tom

9/12    Why is the story surrounding fake ANG memos presented by CBS
        and 60 minutes not receiving more coverage? The story has
        huge implications.
        \_ It was front page news on CNN for two days. You'll probably see more
           once they get a better idea who produced them. What more do you
           want?
        \_ There is no left wing media bias.  Please ignore fake memos and
           swift boat vets behind the curtains.  Thank you.  You shall be
           escorted from the building by security.  Have a nice day.
        \_ Yeah, I am sure they are real. Makes perfect since he got an
           honorable discharge. Afterwards, he threw his medals over
           the White House fence as well.
           \_ If they aren't real, then the white house should come out and
              say it.  That they haven't should tell you alot.
              \_ What?  No it doesn't.  It's supposedly a secret memo this
                 guy wrote and hid.  How would Bush know if it was a
                 forgery or not better than anyone else?  He never would
                 have seen the document before.  Dang, I think I've been
                 trolled.
                 \_ Hid?  They came up in FOIA requests.
                    \_ URL for this claim?
                       \_ Sorry I was wrong.  They were supposedly from
                          Killian's personal files, but they are marked
                          "for record".  As FOIA requests in regards to
                          this matter are all funneled through the white
                          house, we won't know until the presidency changes
                          hands.

9/12    For those who use LaTeX, what do you use to create diagrams of vector
        graphics?  I don't want to insert a bitmap if I don't have to.
        \_ I make all my graphics in Adobe Illustrator, then save them
           as .eps and include them in the document with \figure.
           I also include graphs from various other programs, and I just
           make sure they're all exported as .eps files.
        \_ I've always used MS Visio. If you have access to it, you should
           try it. It's very easy to use, surprisingly powerful, and you can
           export to a variety of formats, including .eps.
        \_ Have used Illustrator, Visio, and OS X's OmniGraffle, all of which
           work just fine and are recommended.
        \_ I used xfig... "unique" UI and all.  --dbushong
        \_ tgif is a lot nicer than xfig. -- ilyas
        \_ http://www.linuxartist.org/2d.php
           Look in the "vector programs" section
        \_ http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue41/gm/musings.html

9/12    Iranian Republican Guard Official in Tehran University
        Lecture (Part II): We Plan To Target US Nuclear Warheads
        on US Soil; Will Take Over England Itself Not Embassy
        http://www.memritv.org/#
        \_ When spice flow stops, all eyes will turn to Arrakis.  The Baron
           and the Emperor himself will be forced to deal with us!
        \_ Oh no! The horror! Hide the women and children!
           To those of you who have not served, Iran had to convert HAWK
           for their F-14s because they do not have any working
           Phoenixes. So yeah, I am worried about them coming over here.
           \_ Remind me again, how many "volunteers" did they lose 1980-88
              walking across Iraqi minefields to clear paths for their army?
              Right, loads.  And pretty convenient for us that Islamic
              Jihad and Hizbullah (who love us, incididentally, and who're not
              directly funded by Iran) are not currently recruiting "martyrs"
              who'd, btw, be real sad to take a few thousand infidels with
              them for their share of doe-eyed virgins?  And equally nice
              to know that they _haven't_ gotten the Shahab-3 up to 1300km
              in range (and it's _not_ based on the No Dong -- great choice
              of names there, Dear Leader -- so we can be sure they're _not_
              talking to the North Koreans, who've _not_ gotten the Taepodong2
              to 3700 miles in range.)  So yeah, great for us that those dang
              F-14s aren't working right.  On the other hand, as long as
              they're busy pounding tables and spewing macho bullshit ("We
              *thump* will *thump* bury *thump* you!") instead of actually
              doing something about it, I don't think hot air ever won a
              war. -John
              \_ Seoul will be leveled by arty in a matter of hours.
                 \_ And when the iron boot comes down in response, nobody's
                    going to come across the Yalu to bail out the KPLA this
                    time.  -John
                    \_ Koguryo shall rise again!
                       \_ But China claims that Koguryo was part of Ancient
                          China.
        \_ #251 (Part 1 of this speech) is pretty amusing too.  "Islam and
           human rights have nothing in common."  w00t!  Couldn't have
           said it better myself.
           \_ it's just as true as christianity and human rights have
              nothing in common.
              \_ Huh?  Either I don't understand what you mean, or you
                 have no understanding of history.  I'm not sure which.

              \_ huh? God-given rights?
                 \_ i think pp is saying that the statements are equally
                    true because they are both false.
           \_ The article says "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" which
              isn't necessarily the same thing as human rights.

9/12    I often buy roast chickens.  After picking over them there's still
        bits of meat and fat on the carcass.  If I make stock from this, the
        meat falls off the bones and the bones take on the consistency of
        dry-rot eaten wood.  Is it safe to feed these crumply bones to my dog?
        I know all about hard bones' danger but these seem harmless.  Is this
        a new source of dog treats?  Advice would be welcomed.
        \_ No. Chicken bones splinter far more than beef or most others.
           Your dog may cause damage to his digestive system. Most vets
           will tell you to never give your dog (or cat) chicken bones.
           \_ I thought cats natually like eating birds.
           \_ These don't splinter, they crumble under light pressure.
        \_ Not to be dismissive of your question here (I'm sure somebody knows
           about this here), but maybe your vet would be a better person to
           ask?
           \_ Hear, hear.  And don't bother with google.  The cooked/raw/never
              bones controversy is a flamewar unto itself among pet owners.
              The fact is there's significantly more risk than if they _don't_
              eat bones at all, it's just a question of how beneficial they
              are to their dietary health.  (IMO, it's not worth it)