2/21    Is gmail still available by referral only??  I can't believe it.
        \_ If you can't get a gmail invite, you truly have no friends.
        \_ I have 50 referrals now, email me and I will send you one.
           \_ username please.
              \_ Doh! -ausman

2/21    Robot Chicken was one of the funniest shows I've seen on TV in
        a long, long time.  Was that really ilyas in the third X-files
        screen test scene?? -meyers
        \_ can I download this somewhere? I don't have a TV...
         \_ http://www.mininova.org/tor/9884

2/21    I just checked out CSUA's homepage for the first time since I
        graduated many years ago. It's got a lot of stuff that overlap with
        activities from other clubs like like mentoring (UPN/HKN), help
        sessions (OCF), debugging session (XCF), etc. Since when did CSUA start
        getting so serious? It used to be a hub for volleyball, netrek, foodp,
        ice-cream, etc. Now it's stepping on other clubs. That's fucked up.
        \_ Uh, CSUA has been involved with help sessions for a long time,
           in conjunction (when they gave a damn) with the OCF and XCF.
           As for mentoring, I'll let the mentoring program shadow dictator
           speak to that.
        \_ The XCF doesn't do anything, and the OCF has never been involved
           in help sessions in any meaningful sense.  Certainly the CSUA is
           a social organization first and foremost, but it also needs to do
           things to justify its existence to the department.  -tom
           \_ search for foodp and netrek in the archiver. both traditions are
              dead. fuck the kids running csua, they are fucking up traditions
              \_ OK, now you're just trolling.  Carry on.  -tom
        \_ The CSUA is still comparably sociable to what I know of its
           culture from most of the '90s, but thanks to the hard work of
           several recent presidents (most notably, IMHO, darin, ajaffe, and
           karen) and their politburos, it's _also_ making itself useful on
           campus. I can't see how this is anything but a great thing for
           both the CSUA and the rest of the department. My loyalties are
           split with HKN, and let me assure you, the CSUA has yet to do
           anything to seriously "step on" what anybody else is doing --
           thus far its recent expansions have covered completely new niches
           or those abandoned by comatose groups like the XCF of the past 5+
           years. (And yes, what happenned to the XCF as of late is very
           much a shame). As per above, XCF has done nothing whatsoever
           lately to be "stepped on" and helpsessions haven't been OCF turf
           on my memory. As for mentoring, that's orthogonal and
           complementary to what HKN (and sometimes UPE) do which is
           _tutoring_. Oh and, fwiw, volleyball seems to be more HKN's turf
           at the moment, but that's just an artifact of me being into it
           more than most pro-volleyball CSUA people and hosting the
           listserv on HKN. Anyway, come by the CSUA office some time if
           you haven't lately and check out the new and improved CSUA. Trust
           me, it's nothing to be ashamed of.  -alexf (sodan 1999-?)

2/21    Fuck PG&E.  Fuck them in the ear.

2/21    What's the difference between T-showers and T-Storms? I can't decode
        http://weather.com. This rain is driving me nuts!!!
        \_ A T-Storm might not have rain.

2/21    Does anyone have good recommendations for an external USB hard drive
        enclosure?
        \_ Maxtor OneTouch.  I really like mine.  -John
        \_ They're pretty much all the same.
           \_ Thanks. Does this one seem pretty typical:
              http://tinyurl.com/4xokj
              \_ Not really.  It's USB and 1394.  USB only runs about $20.
                 Looks like this one has a proprietary power cable (I like my
                 USB 2.0 enclousure that uses a standard ATX power cable).
                 Looks pretty similar to my USB+1394 enclosure though.
        \_ I would go to http://newegg.com, click on Shop by Category, External
           Enclosure, select the parameters you want on the left (USB Yes, Size
           3.5 for desktop HD, 2.5 for notebook HD, or 5.25 for optical drive)
           and Search, sort by Best Rating, and then pick one near the top
           which has only one cable for power (none of this power brick crap
           with one cable drive->power brick and another cable power brick ->
           wall), kind of like this:
           http://csua.org/u/b4x ($38, AMS 3.5" USB 2.0 only)
           The other category of external drives is backup for your pointy-
           haired boss on the ThinkPad or relatives.  In this case I would go
           Western Digital, the two-option backup version (see their web site),
           but I'm still trying to figure out how to do encryption with
           (bundled) Retrospect Express.
        \_ Search for the "Metal Gear" enclosure-- they're not the cheapest, but
           simple, fanless, support firewire and USB, and they're pretty high
           quality-- the entire aluminum case acts as a heatsink, so it's very
           quiet but won't toast your drive(s).  I think I paid $40.
           \_ fyi, I'm the guy recommending AMS above, and I was also the guy
              that recommended the Metal Gear enclosure on soda half a year
              ago.  The Metal Gear uses the 2 cable power-brick thing.
              ago.  The Metal Gear uses the 2 cable + power brick thing.
              See the photo on http://newegg.com:  http://csua.org/u/b4z
              Anyways, a couple of the AMS comments talk about how the design
              is better than the Metal Gear's, although it is not as flashy.

2/21    Is it possible to block a certain number from reaching your mobile?
        I've got the psychotic ex-boyfriend of some chick calling and leaving
        threatening voice mails in the middle of the night.
        \_ If they sound real, this would be a good tiem to turn it
        \_ I talked to AT&T Wireless about this a year and a half ago, and
           they said they it wasn't possible for them to block specific
           numbers.  I didn't have a restraining order or anything, though.
           they said they couldn't block specific numbers.  I didn't have a
           restraining order or anything, though.
        \_ I asked AT&T Wireless about this a year and a half ago, and
           they said they couldn't block specific numbers.  I didn't have
           a restraining order or anything, though.
        \_ If they sound real, this would be a good time to turn it
           over to the police.
           \_ Dunno if that would help.  She already has a restraining order
              against him and it doesn't seem to have done much good.
              \_ Well, restraining order + harassment = jail time
                 Unless you never report the harassment.

2/21    Is there any reason to think that an older 2 megapixel digital
        camera would have trouble with a 1GB compact flash card?
        Previously, I've never used anything above 256Megs with it.
        Also, is the Ultra II Compact Flash any significant advantage
        over standard CompactFlash?
        \_ There are two different CF connectors; your older camera probably
           has a Type 1 connector, which might not work with your 1GB card
           or anything labeled "Ultra II".  CF cards vary in speed, check
           review sites.  -tom
        \_ How about with a 512M card?
        \_ You may encounter an ancient limitation : FAT 12-bit limits the
           number of files in each directory and root.

2/21    One bright spot of hope in the world.  Blink 182 may have broken up.
        http://ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/blink-182_break_up.html

2/21    List of big design blunders in computer science, I'll start:
        \_ IP6 needed because IP4's running out (reality: NAT made IP4 more
           abundant hence IP6 adoption has been slow to a crawl)
        \_ IPv6 needed because IPv4's running out (reality: NAT made IPv4
           more abundant hence IPv6 adoption has been slow to a crawl)
           \_ That's not a design blunder; IPv6 is still needed, just not
              as quickly as was first anticipated.  -tom
           \_ NAT is a bad thing(tm). It breaks applications that need
              end to end connectivity. It also makes it difficult to
              manage large clusters of systems each using the same
              NAT address space. In the IPv4 world we have been stuck
              using overlay networks to deal with these problems. If
              everyone was using IPv6 people would not need these type
              of hacks.
              \_ I'm increasingly convinced that the future is IPv6
                 overlays that have to be negotiated/constructed dynamically
                 by some sort of link control protocol where all the
                 paranoid authz checks can be done by the folks who
                 think firewalls and NAT are the greatest thing since
                 sliced cables.
        \_ Therac 25, baby.
        \_ DOS, 640K RAM is enough for everyone (reality: never enough RAM)
           \_ Why is DOS a blunder? For many applications DOS works well
              enough (ex. my DSLR runs DOS and it works just fine).
        \_ gets(), strcpy(), strcat(), and all other C standard library
           functions that assume infinite buffer sizes.
           \_ C++, period. Ugly, ugly, ugly.
              \_ Go away troll.
        \_ Y2K: first the prevelance of the bug, then the overblown reaction
           to it
           \_ bug != design decision.  People designed systems with two digits
              to hold the year because it was the right design tradeoff at the
              time.  If any of the designers really expected the systems to
              stay in use for literally decades they would have decided
              otherwise.
              \_ wouldn't it have been more space efficient to represent the
                 year as a single byte, offset from 1900? that would have kept
                 them safe until 2155 and saved a byte. Would that have been
                 more computationally expensive?
                 \_ You obviously aren't familiar with BCD and its prevalence
                    in the financial world.
        \_ Microsoft Bob. -gm
           \_ I just looked at it. It actually seems pretty cool albeit the
              primitive looking GUI. What happened to it?
              \_ I was referring in particular to its "password reset" feature,
                 which would prompt you for a new password if you entered the
                 wrong password three times. As for Bob in general, I don't
                 think it was ever really adopted, and its purpose (make the
                 Windows UI easier to use) became obsolete. -gm
                 \_ The password thing is just an implementation fuckup. -John
        \_ MBONE SHALL RULE ZE VORLD!!! MUAHAHHA!!
            --Professor Larry "The Slammer" Rowe.
            \_ slammer?
        \_ JavaScript. Language sucks, feature sucks, security sucks.
           \_ That's ECMAscript beotch!!!
        \_ The unification of data types and conceptual types in programming
           languages.  Unification isn't even the right word, because these
           two generally have not been separated to begin with.
           Also, the general philosophy of early CS pioneers of designing
           for non-malicious, cooperative use.  We are still dealing with the
           repercussions of THAT (unsafe languages, problems with network
           protocols, etc). -- ilyas
           protocols, etc).
           Designing languages for the 'average case' rather than the
           'best case' (I am talking about users of languages).  Designing for
           the average gives you Java. -- ilyas
        \_ Multics. The entire x86 security ring architecture. Java.
           SMTP (sans authentication).
           \_ Java? Yeah, that's big design blunder -- a language that is
              easy to program in and works on all sorts of different devices,
              not to mention fuels my paycheck every month.  Maybe the
              transistor is another big mistake?
           \_ I see your "Multics" and raise you a "Nachos". -gm

2/21    I read an article on FC cars in this months SciAm and I was wondering
        why FC is so hyped in comparison to CNG. AFAIK, CNG is easier to make,
        cheaper to transport and most conventional cars can be converted to
        use it at reasonable price. Are the emissions from CNG cars too high,
        that we have to switch to FC cars or is there another reason? Just
        curious.
        \_ FC=fuel cell, and CNG=compressed natural gas?
           \_ yes.
        \_ I'm all for CNG because it's a readily available technology. BTW
           US doesn't have a lot of natural gas. Iran does. Iran contains the
           world's most abundant natural gas. Go figure...
           \_ You can convert natural gas into diesel.  The world's biggest
              natural gas conversion plant is currently being built on the
              world's biggest natural gas field in Qatar.
           \_ I thought you could make CNG using corn.
        \_ Because we can't pour Billions into CNG research and convince the
           sheeple we are moving towards "energy independence" and
           renewables, but everyone is convinced Hydrogen==unlimited magic
           free energy.
        \_ CNG is cool man. I own NG stock. So this would be a dream come true.
        \_ why are you comparing a fuel to a combustion method?
           \_ An FC is a way of storing energy to drive a motor right?
              CNG is another way of storing energy to drive a motor.
              That is why I'm comparing them. Maybe I'm missing something
              though (definitely possible given that I barely passed 7A/B).
              \_ omgwtfbbq. FC outputs electricity. I don't see a strong
                 correlation between FC technology and motor technology as
                 FC could very well be used for other purposes, and the only
                 reason the two seem to be tied to each other is because of
                 R&D efforts from automotive industry. It's really sad that
                 private sectors instead of government aided R&D is leading
                 this. As for CNG, it's like engine but uses gas instead of
                 petro. You still go through the 4 strokes (intake, compress,
                 combust, exhaust). Again without government installing basic
                 infrastructures to handle either source, neither two will
                 be popular in masses to make the technology more affordable.
                 Fuck George W. Bush, SUV loving conservatives, and oil rich
                 friends. Also fuck John Fuckedup Kerry for not making it
                 clear that he'd support alternative fuel sources and fuck
                 DNC for being so incompetent. Go Ross Perot!!!
                 \_ I was specifically talking about FC as a power src for
                    cars. I've read about FCs for laptops and cellphones
                    where the technology seems like it will work well. For
                    cars it seems like switching to CNG might be better.
                    BTW, there are several places around the bay area where
                    you can get CNG. Also when I was in India I noticed
                    that lots of taxis ran on CNG there. So it seems like
                    there isn't as big a infrastructure issue for CNG as
                    for FCs.
                    \_ FC isn't a "power src". FC can run off hydrogen but
                       could also run off gas/CNG etc. It's a way to get
                       energy out of these fuels. You can also run a combustion
                       engine on hydrogen.

2/21    Someone please point me to a web site to learn about Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh,
        and similar games? I'd like to know the rules of engagement in these
        games, like how character X beats character Y under Z conditions
        (levels, hitpoint, potions, etc). I just want to understand the
        complexity of the game, and maybe write ILP constraints and see if I
        can solve it or derive an optimal strategy using ILP solvers like
        CPLEX or something. I'm in desperate need of a PhD thesis. ok thx

2/21    I just got a PayPal spam mail asking me to confirm my PayPal account.
        It says to go here: http://202.108.69.147/webscr which obviously is
        a fraud, but omg it looks 100% authentic and everything looks exactly
        like PayPal. I'm very impressed at scammers and their sophistications.
        \_ Yeah, it's downright eerie how people can use HTML to fake other
           sites.
            \_ try logging in with a wrong password, then a right password.
               See what happens? It's not trivial. Make sure to change your
               password to something new after this experiment.
               \_ Yeah, it's downright eerie how people can use HTML and
                  basic perl to fake other sites.
        \_ Have some fun with it with a browser running in a vmware session,
           fake username/password, and some basic xss exploits.  Dump the
           whole session into ethereal, and if you're not concerned about
           engaging in wire fraud and other illegal stuff, for bonus points
           see what hilarious vulnerabilities you can find on their box and
           on others they run.  -John
           \_ Yeah.  I found a list of ATM numbers and PINs and CC numbers on
              one site.

2/21    If you're still around Soda occasionally and are interested in
        playing volleyball on the amazingly-still-existant sand court behind
        Soda, get on this mailing list:  http://hkn.berkeley.edu/vball
        Thanks to the random troll thread below for the reminder. -alexf
        \_ OMGWTF.  Weren't they supposed to turn it into a big box full of
           grad students, like, years ago?

2/21    Seeing as most of politburo is new to the CSUA (and even the
        university) this semester, they havn't been "indoctrinated" (if that's
        an appropriate word) into the history and culture of the CSUA.  As
        such, there's a bit of culture change going on through their work.  I'm
        curious as to what people think about the historical culture versus
        the newer culture.  Should the CSUA maintain its "geeky" roots with
        respect to things like the office and web page, or migrate to the more
        "133+" look that some want?  For example, the office has inherited some
        "loud" furniture, and there's been talk of revamping the website. I am
        not one to be stuck in the past, but at the same time, there are things
        which maintain a certain "culture" within the organization.
        \_ how many of them joined because of babelicious karen?
        \_ Do both. For starter, get them to mesg y, nwrite, and most
           importantly, wall. It's always good for the young and the old
           to keep in touch with each other. From there, the noobs can choose
           which traditions they'd like to keep while the old can keep up
           with what's new. FoodP and volleyball tournaments between the
           old and the new would also be a great idea.
        \_ What makes CSUA unique? What does CSUA have that other organizations
           don't have? To name a few, relaxed atmosphere, informal non-uptight
           organization (like UCSEE), non-exclusionary (XCF), and above all
           else, the amazing synergy between alumni and new students. I think
           that as long as you can keep these unique characteristics in CSUA,
           it doesn't matter how the web site looks or how you rearrange the
           office.
           \_ Has the risk tourney taken place anytime recently?  -John
              \_ there was RISK playing last week, no tourney in a while though.
              \_ We got sick of Berkeley Gaming Club guys showing up and
                 cheating.  -tom
                 \_ What happened?  How do you cheat at Risk?
                    \_ Give yourself extra armies when making change.  (It
                       helps to play the Australia strategy in every game,
                       so all your armies are on the same place and are hard
                       to keep track of). -tom
        \_ The CSUA today seems like a much more jolly place than, say, the motd.
           I don't know whether you're actually around the office much; but it
           seems to me that the organization is doing quite well. I've only been
           a member for 3 odd years, so I may not be well versed in traditions,
           but if the goal of the CSUA is to be a place where geeks who love
           computers can congregate, socialize, and every so often be productive,
           then I don't think there's that much too complain about.
           \_ take out tom ilyas aaron,
              and everything old and smell,
              from motd and wall,
              then jolly you'll get all.

2/21    I'd like to post some MP3's on my soda web page.  Is there an apache
        restriction against doing this?

2/21    Are the magnets in a hard disk drive (the ones in the servo basse)
        strong enough to erase the data on the platters if the patters
        are removed and the magnets slid in contact with the platter
        surface? I was surprised how strong those magnets are!
        \_ I believe anything's possible. Too bad I don't have a spare HD
           to test this with. Magnetic field can't be shielded so I wonder
           how easy it is to erase your nemesis' computer by waving a strong
           magnet around his/her laptop.