3/1     I'm new to buying notebooks. If I get 802.11b/g for free, then should
        should I pay extra $50 for 802.11a? How about warranty, is that
        a rip-off or is it really useful with no hidden fees? How about
        BlueTooth, is that important? I don't have any PDA stuff that does
        BlueTooth, but maybe in the future *shrug*
        By the way what do you guys think about the Toshiba Satellite R10
        TabletPC? It's pretty cheap:    http://tinyurl.com/55jjb
        \_ 802.11b is essential, 802.11g (same spectrum frequency as b but
           g transmits data at 54mbps vs. b's 11mbps) is nice and I'd look
           for it in a new laptop.  802.11a is not necessary, and I'm
           actually surprised someone is shipping a laptop that supports it.
           802.11a was something Cisco was pushing heavily for ``enterprise
           wireless,'' it debuted at roughly the same time as b, runs at a
           higher, non-overlapping frequency than that used by b/g, but it was
           never widely deployed because the market was flooded with
           inexpensive consumer-oriented 802.11b equipment.  802.11a is nice
           if you want to run a long distance backhaul link without worrying
           about all the noise generated by 802.11b/g devices, but wholly
           unnecessary on a laptop.  Bluetooth is nice if you happen to have
           bluetooth enabled phone or pda, and also convenient for wireless
           keyboard mouth, but, IMO, more of a perk than an essential feature.
           YMMV.  These days I run a 12 inch Apple PowerBook, though my next
           laptop will likely be a 15 inch PowerBook. -dans
           \_ your useful responses have rendered the motd-- a place known
              for rants, politics, & bitter remarks-- useless. But thanks:)
           \_ A few companies only have 802.11a networks, just be sure your
              employer isn't one of them.
           \_ there has actually been a second wave of 802.11a commericalism
              and deployment with higher bit rates, and a lot of folks
              who don't think the first happened since they didn't hear
              about it.  my old university lab office deployed 802.11a
              while all the gov't labs went with 802.11b.  then, they went
              to 802.11b and now, of course, many of the labs are starting
              to deploy fast 802.11a alongside.  my IBM thinkpad has an
              IBM internal a/b/g card w/ atheros chipset that does 54 Mbps
              on a/g bands, and works pretty well with Linux.  that said,
              whether a band is useful depends on where you plan to use it!
        \_ There are different schools of thought on warranties.  One school
           of thought is:  If it breaks, it'll break in the first year, so
           only buy one year.  The second school of thought is:  It breaks
           in the third year, you're spending $1-2K anyway, spend the $200
           for three years.  School 1 replies:  You're going to buy a new
           notebook anyway in three years.  School 2 says:  But you can keep
           the old notebook as a low-power server running 24x7.  School 1 says:
           It's going to crap out in year 4.  School 2 says:  I take really
           good care of my computers.
           Both schools say:  Standard warranties don't cover accidents
           (dropping the notebook, spilling water, car accident, etc.), only
           workmanship defects (random failure while you were innocently using
           the computer).  The accident warranty is another ~ $100-250.
           If you're accident-prone, BUY THE ACCIDENT PROTECTION, and buy
           it for THREE YEARS.
           If you've owned a notebook or two without incident, you don't need
           it.
           If you eBay (as seller or buyer) your notebook, find out if the
           warranty is transferrable (e.g., Dell's is transferrable; Fujitsu's
           becomes voided once you sell it, and you can't buy a new warranty).
           Finally, most warranties are either mail-in or bring-in-to-service-
           center.  If you use your computer for work, you may want to buy
           the on-site service for $100-$200.  They send someone out with a kit
           of replacements parts to fix it on the spot.
           Personally, I treat my computers well and don't have accidents:  So
           I buy 1-year, on-site service, no accident protection.

3/17    WTF, Scott Peterson gets hot meals at the taxpayers' expense?  If
        he's going to be executed anyway, let him eat table scraps from
        dumpsters like a homeless person.

3/17    How much would you tip for a 14 dollar haircut, assuming they did a
        good job?
        \_ $2 or $3.
        \_ 3-5 dollars depending on how much of a mess it was beforehand.
        \_ I refuse to pay $14 for a haircut.
           \_ Do you go with the popular 'bowl' or buzzcut styles?
              \_ I went with buzz cuts for many years.  Now that I'm
                 married my wife does a decent rendition of the Barber
                 shop standard men's haircut.
           \_ Where can you get a haircut for less $14?!
              \_ Naval base barber.
              \_ Get coupons.
              \_ Chinatown.
              \_ Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.
              \_ My local chinese barber does it for $10. I usually
                 tip her $2-$5, depending on how depressed she is
                 re her family that day.
           \_ Damn, no wonder so many sodans look so bad.  $40 is minimum
              for something that actually looks good.
              \_ Planning to post a picture of yourself any time soon?
                 Didn't think so.
              \_ That kind of investment requires: A) Knowledge what looks
                 good, and B) the desire to keep it looking good daily.  I
                 have niether of these.
                 \_ And C) where to get such a haircut.
                 \_ Damn, no wonder so many sodans are virgins.  Looking and
                    smelling good is the minimum for getting laid.
                    \_ 10-20 haircuts, 10 dollar pants, 20 dollar shoes,
                       and I get laid!  (Though I do shower and stuff.)
                       Not being a total twat goes so much farther than
                       throwing money at the problem.
                    \_ I don't know, dans doesn't have either and he
                       seems to do ok.
                       \_ Yay for anonymous slander!
        \_ How much would you tip for a $25 haircut? That pretty much looks
           like a $14 haircut?
           \_ -$11
        \_ http://tipping.org/tips/TipsPageBarberShop.html.
           15%.  -tom

3/17    Why doesn't Amazon show customer reviews for Michael Jackson albums?
        \_ Guess.
        \_ Wow!  Good catch, that's BIZARRE!
        \_ This CD box set still has customer reviews: http://tinyurl.com/48zef
        \_ You like Michael Jackson's songs?
           \_ It's just funny how they don't allow customer reviews for his
              stuff... I guess they must have turned into trollfests but
              that CD box set one looks reasonable. What other thing does
              Amazon exclude from reviews? I don't know of any. As for MJ,
              well, not that I listen to a lot of pop but the early stuff was
              good pop to say the least. It's kind of nostalgic. When I imagine
              certain old MJ songs I get an image in my mind of times when I
              was like 7 years old on vacation etc. and heard the songs...
        \_ Actually, it looks like there are reviews for some of his
           albums, maybe for the other ones no one has bothered:
           http://tinyurl.com/6kjrj
        \_ I heard there was an issue when Jay Leno made MJ jokes.  Is there
           a court injunction/gag order?
           \_ That's only if you have been subpeoned(sp?) in the case, as
              Leno was.
              \_ I don't get this. Jay Leno is an employee of NBC. He didn't
                 write the jokes, his script-writers did. NBC scripted MJ
                 jokes, NBC filmed the jokes, NBC aired the jokes. Why is the
                 blame on Leno instead of NBC?
                 \_ A subpoened witness is speaking in public about a defendant
                    in a criminal case.  It's pretty hard to seperate out what
                    part is recitation of lines, and what part is off-the-cuff
                    commentary.

3/17    Is Peterson that stupid? Why doesn't he show some emotion to get
        the jury's sympathy? Is there a good reason for not showing
        any emotion?
        \_ And why is his lawyer also so stupid as not to tell him to fake some
           emotion?  I thought his laywer is a high-profile one.
           \_ Maybe he his lawyer knew he was guilty and wanted him to
              fucking get the death penalty so he could represent him through
              15 appeals.  --PM
              \_ But I thought that lawyer of his is more into fame than money.
                 And losing Peterson's initial trail brings no fame even though
                 all the appeals will bring lots of lawyer's fees.
                 \_ 1. A different lawyer will handle the appeals.
                    2. His attorney *is* famous just by handling the case,
                       win or lose.
           \_ Over a long period of time, nearly everyone can spot faked
              emotions. As for Peterson, who knows?

3/17    Quiz from Discovery Channel:
        According to FBI, arrest records indicate that the typical terrorist
        is a:
        a) black
        b) white
        c) Hispanic
        d) Asian
        e) Homosexual
        Which one is the right answer?
        \_ According to NIH records, which ethnic group has the shortest
           life expectancy for males?
           a) black
           b) white
           c) Hispanic
           d) asian.
        \_ Asians don't commit crimes. It's the fucking black dude.
        \_ Averaged across all of the US? Quite possibly white (especially
           given that whites are still well in the majority nation-wide). But,
           given the kind of points you're likely trying to make -- is that
           really the question you want to be asking?
           \_ You're getting it.  I'm trying to illustrate a certain point by
              posting this question.  Let's see who gets it.  -- OP
              \_ Gets what?  That you're probably a racist fuck with a
                 hardline agenda and little understanding or desire to
                 understand the underlying social issues driving the
                 phenomenon on which your superficial interpretation of
                 carefully gathered tidbits of information is based?  I
                 think that was pretty obvious from the outset.  Maybe I'm
                 wrong, and you're not the freeper-storm bastard I think
                 you are -- if that's the case I'll even apologize and have
                 the good grace to feel like a knee-jerk over reacting fool
                 ....but I don't think I'm wrong.
        \_ Proportionally speaking, the answer is (a)!
           In absolute numbers, the answer is (b)!
           To complete the (factual) troll:  (d) is always the smallest!
                                             \_ not in China

3/17    http://csua.org/u/bem [seattlepi]
        So, it turns out idiocy is genetic. Rachel Corrie's parents suing
        Caterpillar because apparently IDF's use of bulldozers to uncover
        weapons smuggling tunnels (which is specifically what they were
        doing when Rachel decided to kill herself with one) is not only
        a human rights violation, but also somehow Caterpillar's problem.
        (Whoever is censoring this: what's your problem?)
        5A
        \_ Maybe their problem is that you're a callous asshat?
           \_ Really now? So I should empathize with someone who in her
              self-righteousness jumps (literally) in the way of a country's
              attempt to keep terrorists from murdering its citizens?
              Interesting.
              \_ Hi troll.  Have you ever lost a family member?
                 \_ Yes. And up until today, I had a lot of sympathy for her
                    parents. Now that they're _clearly_ abusing their own
                    daughter's death to further a political agenda (note
                    that the suit complains about "human rights" specifically),
                    whatever sympathy I had for them is gone. -op
                 \_ They're not suing the Israelis.  They're suing the
                    BULLDOZER MANUFACTURER.  Think.  Think.  Think.  -John
              \_ She was stopping a country's attempt to bulldoze houses.
                 Houses in an area occupied by said country's army.
                 \_ ...Which they long since would not have been had the locals
                    not been consistently attacking said country, using weapons
                    smuggled through tunnels with exits inside these very
                    houses. Which part of "necessary defense against guerilla
                    warfare" do you not understand?
                    \_ Except that's BS and Israel stopped doing it because it
                       was BS.
                       \_ Where's your proof that it was BS? I have tons of
                          proof that is NOT BS. If you want proof that it's
                          NOT BS all you have to do is go to the various
                          cemetaries of the victims of suicide bombings.
                          \_ There's actually a big difference between proof
                             and sensationalism.  You've shown that you're
                             very good with the latter...now, can you settle
                             down and provide substantive information?
                          \_Uh, that's not proof of what you are claiming.
                \- I've never been accused of being a Zionist but I
                   also think this is stupid. I assume this is an attempt
                   to keep the story/issue in the next rather than shakedown
                   the Caterpillar Corp, but still ...
        \_ Pity they didn't repost Corrie's picture.  She was pretty cute.
           \_ http://images.google.com
        \_ Actually IDF is using those bulldozers for wiping out the
           houses of the relatives of the suicide bombers. In addition,
           they were used to destroy any buildings that posed a threat
           to Israeli settlers or military. Rachel Corrie's blog seemed
           to suggest that those bulldozers were being used quite
           indiscriminately.
           \_ Even if that's true I have a pretty hard time blaming Cat.
              \_ Isn't suing CAT the equivalent to suing Smith & Wesson
                 for a murder, which as long since proven unsubstantiated?
              \_ Suing CAT might or might not be stupud. I was just correcting
                 op's sensationalist reporting about the role of CAT bulldozers
                 in IDF.
        \_ I haven't read the pleadings but I'm guessing that they are
           suing Cat on a tort theory of strict product liability alleging
           that Cat breached their duty to provide a non-defective prod
           in its reasonably foreseeable use and this caused her death.
           If I were them I would allege a design defect arguing that
           the placement of the armor, &c. created an excessively dangerous
           product and that the danger was preventable.  Her family
           could point out that b/c the driver couldn't see people
           well, he could easily drive over ppl and that the likelihood
           of that happening was pretty high.  You'd have to come up
           with some feasible alternatives.  An alternative would be
           to argue that the bulldozer is per se unreasonably dangerous.
           If they are going under this type of tort theory, the problem
           will really be assumption of the risk and/or comparative fault.
           Even if the ct finds that she didn't assume the risk of death
           by running in front of a bulldozer, she was likely negligent
           in running in front of the bulldozer, thus any recovery will
           be offset by her level of negligence, which in this case is
           quite high.
           NOTE: I would not have brought such a claim.
           \_ Does cat even put the armor on the bulldozers?  I thought the
              IDF bolted the stuff on after-market.  "Caterpillar Inc. does
              not manufacture a military version of the D9 per se..."
              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDF_Caterpillar_D9  -John
              \_ Well, that's about the evilest looking bulldozer I ever
                 saw. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:D9-idf_pic214.jpg
              \_ I assumed that Cat put the armor on for the IDF. If
                 Cat did not put the armor on for the IDF, it will be
                 harder to bring a strict products liability claim.
                 However it may still be possible if they allege that
                 the modification was foreseeable b/c Cat sold it to
                 the IDF knowing it would be modified.

3/17    How come CNN doesn't print Jackson's accuser's name, but BBC does??
        \_ Different editorial policies.
        \_ in case you didn't notice American media is fucked up. If you want
           fair and balanced news, you read ALL news sources, like ones from
           Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, and then make your own
           conclusions based on all the different sources.
           \_ All these countries' media are fucked up too, right?
              \_ But in different ways.  often predictable ways.

3/17    It's spring season and every now and then I see spiders inside my
        house. Anything I can do to stop them from coming inside the house?
        \_ kill all but one.  rip one of his legs off.  he'll go back and
           tell his friends to stay away.
           \_ Think this would work in Palestine too?
           \_ This doesn't work. No one makes that small of a wheelchair
              that works with the straw. You need to leave at least 1 leg
              intact.
              \_ Read: "...... rip one of his legs off."
                 \_ One? Hell, that doesn't prove anything. If you gonna
                    do this right, you need at least four ripped out.
                    -Scored low in SAT verbal guy
                    \_ You don't want to incapacitate him.  He needs some cred,
                       though, for his story that everyone else was killed.
                       \_ Yeah, but he could have lost one leg in some sort
                          of accident. If he's missing every other leg, the
                          others know you're not screwing around.
        \_ Stop leaving delicious insects all over the place.
           \_ This is the correct answer.  Spiders are hard to kill
              systematically, but they only go where the food is.
              \_ And as long as you do have spider food all over your house,
                 having spiders to eat it is probably a good thing.
                 \_ Except they leave sticky piles of spidercrap beneath them
                    if you let them hang out too long. Just so you know.
                     -- been there.
           \_ The house hardly has anything even for me to eat. I think it's
              too hot outside during the day so they tend to come in. What type
              of food attracts spider? I don't even leave kitchen garbage
              inside overnight so I don't think it's the problem....
              \_ Spiders eat insects.  If you have any insects, it will attract
                 spiders.  Even if you have no insects you will get the
                 occasional spider looking for insects.
                 I'd guess it's more likely they want a nice warm house at
                 night.
                 \_ Spiders also eat other spiders.
        \_ Rear some cockroaches.  They will breed really fast, and eat up
           all the spiders.  They will also quickly infest your annoying
           neighbours' homes.
           \_ How do you get rid of the cockroaches afterwards?
              \_ Call the dude who sprays lots of chemicals.  That, or just
                 move to a new place.
                 \_ Then there will be a lot of dead cockroaches lying around,
                    which attracts spiders again.
                    \_ Spiders don't eat dead insects.
              \_ Camel Spiders
                 \_ No way dude, cockroaches tend to smoke in bed. Next thing
                    you know, the apartment is aflame. Plus secondhand smoke
                    kills! And the filters everywhere are a pain to clean.
           \_ Similarly, if you have termites, encourage ants to infest your
              home. They will feed on the termites and neatly stack their
              refuse (e.g. piles of their dead) in piles for you to clean
              periodically.
              refuse (e.g. their dead) in piles for you to clean periodically.
              \_ A coworker killed the ants milling about his doorstep and
                 the next year termites were discovered in the same place.
                 \_ Are you sure what he was killing weren't termites?
                    Termites look a lot like ants.
                    \_ IMO, termites and ants are easily distinguishable.
                       Also, termites don't tend to mill about outside.
                       \_ Also, ants won't strip your face to the bone in
                          seconds.  Termites are dangerous, man.
                          \_ Termites killed my mother. Bastards.

3/16    williamc you ARE a god. Which law school do you go to? -williamc #1 fan
        \_ Very amusing. If you really want to know post your email.

3/17    How would you like a forged Koran?
        http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050315-093931-9304r.htm
        \_ I thought you said forged Korean.
        \_ I kind of thought the koran was sort of "open source"?

3/17    http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/03/17/el.baradei/index.html
        CNN interview today on Iran with IAEA head ElBaradei.
        Summary:
        North Korea is "an absolutely black hole" -- we know they have the
        plutonium for a bomb, but we don't know if they've built it into a
        bomb yet.  There are no technical hurdles now they have the plutonium.
        -- Iran, on the other hand, we don't think they have the plutonium or
        highly enriched uranium yet, and they have been cooperative.
        As long as we're talking, it's good.  The U.S. joining is wonderful.
        Enrichment should be limited to an "international consortium" --
        everyone needs to agree on an inclusive and fair system, so if a
        country wants enriched uranium for peaceful purposes, they can get it.
        No one's ruling out the possibility of Iran doing enrichment, but Iran
        has built a "confidence deficit" because of its "undeclared program" of
        the last 20 years.
        Translation:  Iran can enrich, but maybe in the future.
        (My interpretation:  Iran will settle for a plan whereby in x years,
        it can operate research centrifuges, after y years, enrich a certain
        amount, z years, enrich more.  There will be many, many folks
        in Dubya's admin that say x, y, and z should be undefined, or Iran
        should never enrich, but my gut feeling is that Dubya will settle,
        after much bargaining, for x >= 5 years, y >= 10 years, z >= 20 years.
        Included with such an agreement will be a ban on heavy-water reactors
        and other reactors that produce fissile material as a by-product.
        Freepers will scream and shout.)
        \_ Considering that Iran has had a (more or less) stable government
           for the last 15 years, I'd be less worried about them than
           Pakistan. The heavy water reactor is troubling, but given Western
           attitudes towards them, I understand Iran's goals. Hard call on
           this one.
           \_ Shrug.  If they proceed seriously with the heavy water reactor
              or enrichment, we at least call sanctions.  It's just a
              question of how many allies are with us at that point.
        \_ The IAEA is worthless.  Prior to GWI they issued even less
           urgent statements about Iraq.  Post GWI we learned Iraq was 18-
           24 months from a a bomb and had up to 20,000 researchers on the
           project.  Iran has been the largest state sponsor of terror, maybe
           after the USSR, over the past 25 years.  It's naive and completely
           irresponsible to trust them, but thanks to Dem. and leftist
           propaganda Iran is painted as a victim of imperialist American
           hegemony.
           \_ Name a Democratic defender of Iran.
              \_ Name one who will do anything about Iran.
                 \_ Answer the question.  What Democrat is painting Iran as
                    a victim of imperialist American hegemony?  -tom
                    \_ Uhm, anyone who is Iranian in origin and a democrat?
                       Duhhh? Talk about missing the point. But what can you
                       expect from tom? He walks in and the average IQ of
                       the room goes down a couple of points. -!PP
                       \_ I notice nobody has answer my question. !tom
           \_ Dubya FAA security was worthless pre-9/11.
              Everything changed after 9/11.
              (Hey, the excuse seemed to work for Dubya, who not for the IAEA)

3/17    Is Latex still the defacto standard in academia/papers/publications?
        \- yes, esp pdflatex.
           \_ latex, dvips, Distiller is the standard in my field, not
              pdflatex - some argue that Adobe, having invented ps and pdf,
              generates the highest quality pdf. I realize this is not free.
              \- i just meant i see .ps and .pdf files provided more often
                 than i am seeing .dvi left around today.
        \_ Yes, at least in CS/EE. Most conferences provide LaTeX templates
           (all conferences to which I have submitted), but rarely do I see
           well-crafted ones for other formats. There are lots of great
           reasons to use LaTeX but in the academic realm, probably the most
           important is that most academic bibliographies are in BibTeX format.
                \_ and the ease of typesetting high quality mathematical
                   equations.
                   \_ Well, there are lots of science/engineering pubs that
                      don't need equations (although of course LaTeX rocks at
                      those), but very few don't need bibliographies.
        \_ Physics and Astronomy use LaTeX, but I'm told biological sciences
           prefer MS Word.  Go figure.
                \_ biologists have no need, or patience, for the features
                   that LaTeX offers.
        \_ Yes, it's proven to be more effective than lamb skin.

3/17    In MS Word, how do I change the bib (endnotes) so that it'll display
        [1], [2], etc instead of the default? -ok thx
        \_ Try "format bibliography" icon