11/5    A hefty bounty to the first person to bring me the mutilated, rotting
        carcass of the idiot who comes up with or creates those stupid
        http://lowermybills.com ads to refinance your home with the buttons for all
        the states and the completely unrelated to anything refinancing
        background (snake, cellphone, palm tree, etc).  A not-as-hefty, but
        still substancial bounty to whomever brings me the mutilated body of
        the person who makes those stupid IQ-lowering ads pop up on 1 in 5
        page views.  AARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH.
        \_ er, do we get a bounty for introducing you to the concept of
           blocking popups?
           \_ Sorry, by "pop-up", I mean "appear".  The google toolbar seems
              to solve my pop-up issues just fine.  I am complaining more of
              the stupid Flash ads that are a billion pixels high and animated
              and catch your eye as much as you try not to look at them.  Those
              bloody things make me want to strangle a freshman.
           \_ and blocking ads. try the "adblock" firefox plugin, works great.
           \_ As above, Firefox has a number of extensions that block this
              sort of thing. Adblock, Flashblock, etc.

11/4    Dear physics guru, say I have a device (phone, notebook, iPod,
        radio, etc) with a rechargeable battery. Is it best to keep
        them charged most of the time, or use them up and then charge?
        For example my cell phone has a standby of 3 days, should I
        charge up everyday, or wait till it's almost dead and then
        charge it up? Which one is better for the lifetime of the battery?
        \_ It depends on the type of battery.  For Li-ion batteries, the
           consensus seems to be that you should charge them all the time;
           they don't have a memory, and completely draining them is bad.
           \_ how about the 0859-0010, 4V 8AH Pure Lead Monoblock Battery?

11/5    Whoa!  Google had a high of 201.60.  It's now at 169.35 and down 1.05
        from there in afterhours trading.  Did one of the founders rape an
        underage nun on national TV?  What's going on?
        \_ Immature companies' stock price is subject to significant
           fluctuation.  -tom
           \_ You have an amazing grasp of the obvious.
              \_ Ask a stupid question... -!tom

11/5    The "insurgents" are now being called "rebels" in the BBC.  Is this
        a new development?
        \_ Yes. Soon they will be referring to the Americans as "The
           Galactic Empire" and Saddam's Regime as the "Old Republic."
        \_ No.  -John
        \_ I prefer the term 'freedom fighters'

11/5    http://www.supadubya.com
        \_ fight the power!
         \_ nice idea, but it's probably better if:
            1) someone famous was in it
            2) if it gets on MTV
               \_ Fuck MTV.  I think it's time to buy some RF power amps.
            3) less profanity to get the point more clearly
            4) if it's not rap. acoustic guitar would be nice.
               you want white listeners don't you?
               \_ Most people that listen to rap are white.  But of course
                  you already knew that.

11/5    So, I'm reading "Godel, Escher, Bach" and I came to a part I think
        I should be able to understand, but I can't.  On page 137
        Hofstadter introduces a recursive function G, such that
        G(n)=n-G(G(n-1)) for n > 0, and G(0) = 0;  He then shows a graph
        that is supposed to corrospond to G, figure 30, on page 136.
        However, I just can't figure out how the graph is related to G.
        Can someone explain?  BTW For G(1)-G(8) I get the values
        1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5. ok thx.
        \_ The graph shows the tree of recursive values.  G(4) and G(5) = 3;
           G(6) and G(7) = 4, G(9) and G(10) = 6, G(14) and G(15) = 9, etc.
            -tom
           \_ Thanks tom.  That's pretty neat.
              \_ Awwww, Tom answers a math and science question.

nuked because you ilyad my message

11/5    http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1286272004
        I was going to make some sort of snarky comment but I think this one
        speaks for itself.  Headline:  "Van Gogh murder backlash begins"

please leave this nuked, i want to get my message across the asshole
who selectively ilyaed my message.
\_ go fuck yourself.  some poeple are actually trying to communicate using
   the motd.
        \_ someone should've done the same to Michael Moore.   -liberal
           \_ Perhaps you could, then you could pretend to be a mouth
              breathing pig ****ing bible basher.
           \_ MM is a big fat idiot, but your comment can only be met with
              something along the lines of "U SUKC TEH COCK".  Sad.  -John
                                                       \_ C0KC

[ pick a better adjective, bitch. -- ilyas ]

11/5    someone told me that the votes will all be hand counted 11 days
        after the election. If that is the case, where are the vote
        stubs kept? aren't they subject to contamenation?

11/6    I'm in my 30s and I still have a lot of acne. Is this normal?
        At what age did you guys/gals start to see a diminish? -acne guy
        \_ The off the shelf acne wash from neutorgena actually works
           for me, though I still get some.  Also, try to avoid touching
           your face with your hands ... I find that I had a big reduction
           after eliminating habits like leaning my head on my hand.
        \_ For me, sometime mid-college. Go to your doctor and ask for
           Retin-A. It's not to harsh at all, but it's very effective
           (after about 6 weeks though of course). If your acne is
           more than just mild, you should get antibiotics; if it's
           super bad, bust out the big guns and get Accutane.
           \_ See a dermatolagist.  It may also have something to do with
              your diet.
              \_ Stress, lack of sleep, depression, etc...
           \_ see a Demonologist.
        \_ I've been told that eating greasy food, junk food, spicy
           food, chocolate, coffee, and other thing contribute to
           acne. In fact, I don't eat any of the above. I eat healthy
           food with a lot of grains and fiber, and I exercise
           at least once a week. None of the above works.       -op
                \_ Those are all myths that have been disproven over
                   the years, so don't believe them. Acne can come
                   and go at any age, so just go see a doctor for
                   any of those previously mentioned treatments.
           \_ I've alternately heard that a high-starch diet can do it.  In my
              experience the biggest diminishers were:  Getting to around age
              20, and washing my face daily.
           \_ My microbiology instructor told our class that acne is
            caused by a bacteria that feeds on the oils on skin.
              \_ I have less acne when I have less sex and take zinc
                 capsules.  Not a zinc joke.
                 \_ to reduce acne
                    have less sex and eat more zinc
                    motd health advice
                 \_ stop ugly acne
                    no sex no love this autumn
                    bathe yourself in zinc
        \_ Have you tried washing your face in urine?  This is a
           homeopathic remedy people have had alot of success with.

11/6    Fuck you all. You destroyed America.
        \_ America is far from destroyed, you reactionary shithead -- and this
           attitude accomplishes nothing aside from demonstrating your unfitness
           to participate in the political system.       -moderate democrat

11/5    Is there somethink like WHOIS for phone numbers? I want to
        find out if a particular phone number is mobile or landline.
        Is there a way to determine what phone company has it?
        \_ http://www.anywho.com/rl.html
           You can at least tell if the number is a listed landline.
        \_ http://thedirectory.org/pref
           This is to tell whether the 3-digit prefix is a mobile or landline.
           If it's the latter, provides approx. location. For the former,
           it doesn't provide a specific phone company though.

[ bitch. ]

11/5    Pixar does it again.  I went to see The Incredibles tonight.  It's
        amazing how they've managed to nail every single movie.  I highly
        recommend it.  (And the CGI was up a notch.  The water was amazing, and
        some of the hair effects were spectacular--when the mom finished
        wrestling with the kids, her hair was believably frazzled a bit.)
        \_ While hair *rendering* is no doubt a CGI skill, wouldn't the state
           of frazzledness be an animator's achievement?
           \_ No. The software is everything. Seriously.
        \_ I also saw it.  Best - Pixar - movie - ever.
           Weirdly, it also had something that if Kerry demonstrated, would
           have won the election with.  This "something" is stupid, irrational
           faith.
           \_ I always get a kick out of people saying shit like that.  Stupid
              irrational faith, indeed.  You know, mr. secular western
              liberal, how much of your belief system is just arbitrarily
              chosen axioms, right?  Honestly, after this election, I haven't
              talked to a _single_ actually tolerant liberal.  They are all
              angry and prejudiced for some reason. -- ilyas
              \_ "for some reason"
           \_ Aren't you looking for a different thread?
        \_ More importantly, how was the Star Wars teaser trailer?

11/6    I'm looking for advice on how to properly package a bicycle for
        traveling by plane in order to minimize hassle from the airline
        and damage to the bike.  I'm flying Delta if that makes any
        difference. Thanks.
        \_ I've seen bike cases for sale at bike shops.  I've seen a
           lot of different types, too.
        \_ There's pretty much no way to minimize hassle from the airlines,
           these days; they're going to want to charge you at least $50
           per flight.  Maybe if you take the bike completely apart (remove
           cranks, handlebars, rear derailleur) and can fit it in a bag
           small enough to not look like a bike, you might get away with it.
           I've tried claiming it's "workout equipment" and such, but usually
           the drones at the counter will screw you.
           In terms of damage, I think the best way is to take the whole
           bike to the airport and buy a box (usually $15). Then you just
           remove the pedals and turn the handlebars sideways.  That's a
           lot more rigid than it would be with the wheels removed.  -tom