Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2005:August:17 Wednesday <Tuesday, Thursday>
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2005/8/17-22 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:39145 Activity:nil
8/17    Anyone played the multiplayer online games in China (or Korea)
        offered by companies like Shanda and Netease before?  What
        are they like and how do they compare with US offerings?
2005/8/17-22 [Transportation/Car/Hybrid] UID:39146 Activity:nil
8/17    Solar powered Prius Project:
        http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/08/solar-powered_t.php
        \_ Why not put one more panel on the hood?
2005/8/17-22 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:39147 Activity:nil
8/17    World largest bio-diesel plant to be constructed in Iowa:
        http://webstar.postbulletin.com/agrinews/283971271149995.bsp
        \_ Does it output more energy than it takes to grow and transport the
           soybean?
        \_ I think we need to work on genetically enginnering an oil
           producing plant.  Something that doesn't spend most of it's
           energy on infrastructure.  Like Trifids!
2005/8/17-20 [Transportation/Airplane] UID:39148 Activity:nil
8/17    Why is it that when a plane depressurizes by accident, it becomes hard
        to control and it loses altitude?  Is it real or is it just a Hollywood
        thing?
        \_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabin_pressurization
           sounds like the biggest issue would by hypoxia of the pilots.
           \_ Thanks.  I guess it's just a Hollywood thing then.
        \_ cuz it's fricken cold
          \_ i think it's okay for pilots to drink alcohol so they
           can keep warm if this happens..
        \_ Wasn't there a passenger airplane in the late 80s that was flying
           over Hawaiian islands and suddenly started falling apart in
           mid-flight? They landed fine and I think there were few or no
           casualties then.
           \_ You mean the Aloha flight 243.
              http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cvr880428.htm -ax
              \_ http://www.planecrashinfo.com/w880428.htm
                 pictures or the plane after landing.
              \_ Yow!  I am so keeping my seatbelt buckled.
              \_ What's surprising is how come the airplane didn't fall
                 apart in mid-air and how come no one froze to death?
                 \_ Must be because the crew took the plane down to ~ 12,000
                    feet as soon as possible.
2005/8/17-22 [Uncategorized] UID:39149 Activity:nil
8/17    The Old Negro Space Program
        "The shocking-but-false story of America's Blackstronauts!"
        http://www.negrospaceprogram.com
        \_ Truly, this is a great link. I especially liked the letter from
           space.
           \_ Yah, that was awesome.    -mice
2005/8/17-20 [Computer/SW/Languages/C_Cplusplus] UID:39150 Activity:nil
8/17    Bell Labs kills Dept. 1127:
        http://www.unixreview.com/documents/s=9846/ur0508l/ur0508l.html
        \_ A massacre!  Oh, _Department_ 1127.
        \_ All high calibar people: Thompson, Kernighan, Ritchie, ...
        \_ All high caliber people: Thompson, Kernighan, Ritchie killed.
        \_ All high caliber people: Thompson, Kernighan, Ritchie, ...
2005/8/17-20 [Recreation/Humor] UID:39151 Activity:nil
8/17    Mom p0wNz son in WoW forum:
        http://tinyurl.com/akgpb (forums.worldofwarcraft.com)
        Read post #3 (Brion) and then post #5 (Faydra) (and the rest just
        gets funnier)
        \_ Yah, phunny, but only the first page.
           \_ The mom makes another good post on pg 10-11
              \_ Oh yeah, you can just click the magnifying glass next
                 to their names to see all their posts.
              \_ I don't understand why she apologizes.  -John
        \_ Mom porns son in ......
2005/8/17-20 [Computer/Rants] UID:39152 Activity:nil
8/17    http://yahoo.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948472.htm
        Cover Story on how India and China will outclass US.
        Sigh .... at least my India fund is doing well ... 85% gain since
        nov 03.  I think I will throw more money at India.  I like it more
        than China.
        \_ Did you actually read the article?  It is nothing like your
           description.
           \_ http://csua.org/u/d2n
              India and China join force to grab world oil resources.
              \_ login?
              \_ Personally, I can't wait for the end of American empire.
                 Things will be so much better when China is in charge!
                 \_ Why don't you go there?
                    \_ Racist.
        \_ Which India fund? I hold IFN, since I like ETFs.
           \_ that's the one I have too, but I thought IFN is a closed
           \_ yea, that's the one I have, but I thought IFN is a closed
                end fund and not an ETF.  there's also IIF and ETGIX.
2005/8/17 [Politics/Domestic/President/Clinton, Politics/Foreign] UID:39153 Activity:nil
8/17    "President Clinton is once again releasing American military
        might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no
        exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this
        operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed
        forces about how long they will be away from home. These
        strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."
        -Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)
2005/8/17-18 [Reference/Tax] UID:39154 Activity:nil
8/17    How's the housing boom in Canada? Vancouver, Richmond? How much
        are properties there and are they worth buying for investment?
        Are taxes much higher?
        \_ I know that Vancouver and Toronto have boomed a lot. I think
           it's pretty much like the US market.
2005/8/17-22 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:39155 Activity:moderate
8/17    Dear brother of the low IQ infantryman who is being sent to Iraq,
        what is your brother's stance on Iraq? Is he still believing
        Bush and the Faux News?
        \_ Uh, he's pretty smart.  Go read Starship Troopers, the book.
                                           \_ Send him Stranger in a Strange
                                              Land. Anyone who takes ST as
                                              a guideline for life needs
                                              to have their intelligence
                                              questioned
           Combine that and the horror of 9/11, and that'll clue you into
           what he's thinking.  Anyways, before he signed up, I told him at
           least he'll be relieving all those poor guys in Iraq now.
           \_ if anything, Iraqis are more poor than under Saddam:
              http://tinyurl.com/cnuw9
              \_ I think he was referring to US soldiers.
           \_ Ah, so he thinks Iraq was about 9/11?
           \_ If he were really smart, he'd do pretty well on the placement
              exam and either end up doing support or logistic related jobs
              (U.S. has a ration of 5-10 support for each frontline man)
              or move up as an officer, instead of being just an infantryman.
              \_ He scored well enough on the test to do whatever he wanted.
                 He chose Infantry.
                 He also chose to start as a grunt, since he didn't want to be
                 one of those know-nothing officers.  If he was going to lead
                 men, someone would have to promote him.
                 \_ My sister-in-law did the same thing. She could've been
                    an officer and chose to be a grunt. She's an idiot. So
                    is your brother. Sorry to have to break the truth to
                    you.
                    \_ I have no idea whether your sister in law is an idiot,
                       but I've definitely seen this before in non-idiots.
                       A friend of mine from highschool who was really
                       really smart, and extremely talented at pretty much
                       everything he tried (various academic subjects, art
                       sports) did exactly this.  He got really high scores
                       on everything and chose infantry.  His CO wanted him
                       to do ranger school, but he didn't go just to piss
                       the guy off.  Sometimes very intelligent people act
                       irrationally,  but are still intelligent people.
                       He finished his army time in the 90's and is a lawyer
                       now.
                       \_ i don't know.  don't people ever thought that they
                          might die or seriously wounded for being a infintry?
                       \_ I mean 'idiot' as in 'fool'. Lots of smart
                          people are unwise. Your friend sounds like my
                          sister-in-law. She didn't want to be an officer
                          because she didn't want to be a 'know-nothing
                          officer'. I have a lot of family in the military
                          and they will all tell you that's idiotic. You
                          definitely want to be an officer. Your friend
                          would've benefitted by Ranger school, but he
                          fucked himself over just because his CO at the
                          time was a jerk. That's a bad decision. FWIW, my
                          sister-in-law has 2 master's degrees and is
                          still an idiot for going in enlisted and
                          refusing to take advantage of what the military
                          had to offer.
                          \_ yea, but I watched Heartbreak Ridge, and
                             I wanna be like Clint.
                          \_ I could see that being true in peacetime,
                             but I also respect the decisions of those going
                             grunt first during wartime.  They might not be
                             so pro-officer that being the case.
                             Some people really don't feel ready to send people
                             to die.  We're talking Infantry.
                             \_ They have no problem being ordered to go
                                kill people, though? You can be the poor
                                sucker taking orders or you can give them.
                                At least officers are told what's going
                                on. There are lots of other benefits, too.
                                Grunts get paid less and get less respect
                                (from the brass) to do more work.
                                \_ (You didn't really need to tell anyone that
                                   officers get paid more, much better perks,
                                   and better career advancement for less
                                   work.)
                                   To repeat again what I've already written:
                                   Some people don't necessarily want to be
                                   Infantry officers during war-time,
                                   especially those with no prior battlefield
                                   experience.  And that's fine.
                                   Do I really need to tell you there's a
                                   difference between being reponsible for
                                   a whole platoon, and being one of the
                                   platoon members?  I think you're smarter
                                   than that, so I don't need to tell you.
                                   In peace-time, I can see how it would be
                                   foolish not to become an officer if you
                                   could.
                                   \_ If you're talking about decision-making
                                      it's better not to be in the infantry at
                                      all, like was said earlier by someone
                                      else. However, it's always better to
                                      be an officer. Always. Any other
                                      opinion is an attempt at rationalizing
                                      a poor decision, IMO.
                                      \_ I can see:  "It's always better to
                                         have money."
                                         I can see:  "It's always better to
                                         be an officer, if you can live with
                                         men dying under your command."
                                         I can see:  "It's always better to be
                                         an officer if you want to live."
                                         I can't see:  "It's always better
                                         to be an officer."
                                         \_ Were you in the military? How
                                            familiar are you with it?
                                            There are people who think
                                            it's better to be enlisted,
                                            but they are (to use the same
                                            word) idiots. I say this as
                                            someone with both enlisted
                                            soldiers (privates) and
                                            high-ranking officers (colonels)
                                            in my family.
                                            \_ No, I haven't been in the
                                               military.  I'm the one with the
                                               brother who signed up as a
                                               private.
                                               In any case, I'll go with
                                               "It's always better to be an
                                               officer, if you can live with
                                               men dying under your command"
                                               rather than
                                               "It's always better to be an
                                               officer".
                                               My opinion, only.
                                               Perhaps you can talk to the
                                               colonels again and ask them to
                                               compare the two sentences and
                                               see which one they like better.
                                               Don't push an opinion on them,
                                               please.  Oh yeah, and it's
                                               Infantry, too, and you're
                                               getting sent to Iraq.
                                               \_ Their opinion is to join
                                                  as an officer if you
                                                  can. I know this because
                                                  I have a niece who is in
                                                  now (not in Iraq - yet),
                                                  a brother-in-law who
                                                  just came back from
                                                  Iraq, and now my nephew
                                                  wants to join (Marines).
                                                  This is the opinion of
                                                  two Army colonels and an Air
                                                  Force captain. YMMV.
                                                  BTW, best of luck to
                                                  your brother!
                                                  \_ Thanks.  I can agree
                                                     with their advice.
                                                     The impact of the advice
                                                     is to seriously consider
                                                     becoming an officer, and
                                                     if you don't, its your
                                                     choice, and your family
                                                     members could always
                                                     discuss pros/cons with
                                                     the colonels.
                    \_ Nonono ... you meant:  "Sorry to have to express my
                       opinion of it in that way."
            \_ I'd say your brother is worth about 10 of the sissy pricks
               like the op that post on the motd.
               like the op that post on the motd.                      -jblack
               \_ Which makes you worth what, exactly?  Thank God our nation
                  has brave young men willing to post freeper links to the
                  motd every 20 minutes.
               \_ I'd like to see you serve in Iraq.
               \_ Don't make assumptions like that. I spent three years
                  (as a medic) in the 82nd Airborne and I post on the
                  motd all the time. -ausman
           \_ Great thing. Basing your life on a book promoting fascism,
              manifest destiny, mini-nukes and Cold War sensibilities.
              Ah Heinlein, where everyone is beautiful, the men all get
              laid and the women give it up like it's going out of style...
              \_ Fascism?  Manifest Destiny?  Have you even read the book?
                 If you have, then either your reading comprehension skills
                 need work, or you're looking with REALLY biased, politically
                 slanted glasses.
              \_ Have you ever wondered why he wrote ST and SIASL at the
                 same time.  I have a friend who suggested it was on a dare.
                 "Write two good books promoting opposing political stances
                 and sell them both."
                 \_ give me a call when Heinlein writes a good book.  -tom
                    \_ you know he's dead, right?  What fiction have you read
                       that you consider "good"?
                       \_ yes, I know he's dead, and good riddance.
                          I've got shelves full of good fiction books.
                          In sci-fi, notables include Hyperion and
                          A Fire Upon the Deep.  -tom
                          \_ Perhaps the problem is you see Heinlein as SF
                             instead of political theory?
                             \_ perhaps the problem is that he's a hack.  -tom
                          \_ Vinge is good, so is Banks.  Banks has some
                             interesting !scifi stuff also.  Vinge gets bonus
                             points for cool physics, and inventing the
                             notion of Singularity, Banks get points for the
                             setting and society, and of course his ship names.
                               -- ilyas
              \_ Bah, Heinlein was a pussy.  He should have started his own
                 religion like L Ron.  That's how you get paid and laid, yo.
2005/8/17-22 [Transportation/Car/Hybrid] UID:39156 Activity:nil
8/17    Don't buy a Prius! It costs over $5000 to replace the battery,
        which you'll have to do when you reach 100,000 miles or 10 years.
        Because the efficiency depends on the battery, your mileage WILL
        decrease in time, and when you take in account of the extra $5000
        you'll have to spend, this makes Prius a pretty awful investment.
        Buy it if you want to reduce gasoline consumption. Don't buy it
        if you think it'll save you money in the long run. It won't.
        \_ Does this mean there will be a lot of used Prius's for sale in
           ~ 5 years?
        \_ What about battery consumption?
        \_ overall, which is cheaper to maintain till 150k miles?
           Corolla or Prius?
           \_ I don't own a Prius, but considering that it is a much more
              complex machinery, I'd say Corolla.  Corolla's gas milage is
              really not bad at all.  In the 5 years I've owned my Corolla,
              I've not had a single mechanical problem.
        \_ A CAR IS NOT AN INVESTMENT!
        \_ When it's $10/gallon, $5k replacement battery is considered spare change.
        \_ When it's $10/gallon, $5k replacement battery is considered spare
           change.
           \_ I thought this was about environmental cost, not money cost. if
              it's about money cost fuck the Prius. How environmentally
              friendly is all this battery production and disposal?
2005/8/17-22 [Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Troll/Jblack, Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Motd] UID:39158 Activity:low
8/17    Did Al Gore say it? Or was it the Unabomber?
        http://www.crm114.com/algore/quiz.html                          -jblack
        \_ Either you sign your name, or it gets deleted. Since you're so
           persistent and tried to repost the same trash at exactly 19:02,
           23:40, 23:57, so on and so forth, I've done you a favor and signed
           for you. God Bless.                                        -god
           \_ [self-deleted for further investigation] -- ilyas
           \_ Hey look politburo, root abuse! -- ilyas
           \_ when sys admins attack...
           \_ Hey look politburo, root abuse!  The only people with soda root
              I don't know are dlong, erikk and brett.  erikk hasn't been on
              since Monday.  So, ... I am fairly sure it's one of the remaining
              two who is abusing.  At least one current root agrees with me
              this kind of root usage constitutes abuse.  Incidentally, where
              are all the fuckers who were calling for my squishage due to
              motd deletions?  Cat got your tongue?  Or is this one of those
              'nuanced situations' I keep hearing about? -- ilyas
           \_ [self-deleted pending further investigation] -- ilyas
           \_ I sure hope you're not *abusing* root for something as stupid
              as the motd.  Which reminds me, just how many people have root?
              It shouldn't be more than Politburo.  With power comes
              responsibility, etc.
              \_ Arguably, it shouldn't be (all of) politburo.  Arguably,
                 not even VP _needs_ root (we've had some severely
                 non-technical VPs in the past)
              \_ I don't know, some allumni who have root are very
                 important to keeping everything running and helping out
                 new VPs.  mconst and njh come to mind.
              \_ Forgive my density, but what about the post above indicates
                 sb with root was involved? -- ulysses
              \_ It's freakin' soda, fool. Root abuse is their only perk.
                 \_ Don't be lame.  "It is soda so we have no standards" is
                    idiotic.
           \_ when sys admins attack...
              \_ It's not like FreeRepublic embraces everyone, you know.
                 \_ Which has exactly *nothing* to do with root abuse on soda.
           \_ You didn't sign your name, and I don't like what you're
              saying, AND I think you're a jerk.  Should I delete your
              post?
        \_ There's not a single mention of "internet"?  Wow.
        \_ boring
2025/03/15 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
3/15    
Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2005:August:17 Wednesday <Tuesday, Thursday>