9/8     People who have rec'd parking tickets in SF, have any of you
        used this service: http://www.parkingticket.com
        It seems borderline "too good to be true". ok tnx.
        \_ <DEAD>obStartup.com<DEAD>

9/8     http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5260715,00.html
        I would have real trouble being an objective juror in this case.
        Would you be able to be a good juror?  --PeterM
        \- YMWT read about "jury nullification".
        \_ I can't say that I'll be more bothered by this than any other
           murder case.  The murder victoms had served their sentences.
           I don't think there is any suspicion that they've become criminals
           again, and, even then, that should be dealt with by the police
           and not some vigilante.  There are other, more correct solutions
           if the child molesters' original sentences were too short or if
           law enforcement were too slow to respond to their current crimes.
           \_ Actually, both offenders were so-called "Level 3" sex offenders,
              characterized as 'those most likely to commit more crimes'.  Yes,
              they had served their sentences, but according to the penal
              system, these guys were likely to do it again, and weren't
              'rehabilitated'.  There's a very good chance that this vigilante
              saved a couple of kids from being raped and/or murdered.  --PM
              \_ You think it's appropriate for some random guy to look
                 up convicted criminals in crimes that had no relation to him,
                 show up at their door and shoot them?  Including a 68-year-old
                 guy whose offenses were 15 years ago?  -tom
                 \_ Appropriate?  No.  This vigilante is obviously guilty of
                    something.  I think I'd have a hard time convicting him
                    of full 1st degree premeditated murder, however.  --PM
                    \_ What else would looking up a stranger's name in a
                       database, going to their house with a gun and shooting
                       them constitute?  -tom
                    \_ either he did it or he didn't.  Maybe the circumstances
                       may come into play during sentencing, but if he did it,
                       he did it.
                    \_ Why, do you know there's no Minority Report?
              \_ That you are likely to do something does not mean that you
                 will do something.  We punish people for what they do, not
                 what they will likely do.  And even if the child molesters
                 were guilty of some new crime, it would be the court system's
                 place to determine guilt and punishment, not the killer's.  I
                 would likely be open to the argument that child molesters'
                 original sentences should have been longer and that they
                 should not have been released from prison.  But once they are
                 released, they not be punished further for their old crimes,
                 and they have done nothing to warrant being killed.
                 \_ Exceptions to this are conspiracy charges and DUI.
                    Both assume you will do something, but you have yet to
                    actually do it.

9/8     "100 gunmen stormed Moussa Arafat's four-story family compound in Gaza
        City after exchanging gunfire with his security guards for 30 minutes
        and dragged him in his pajamas to the street, where they shot him."
        link:tinyurl.com/ag9ob (NYTimes)
        \_ Ha ha, doesn't he wish he'd listened to his mom when she told him
           to always wear clean pajamas just in case you're dragged to the
           street and shot by a horde of nutso gunmen!  -John
           \_ John were you scared when you thought ilyas was coming to get you?
              \_ john sleeps in the buff.. so doesn't matter
              \_ No, yermom was there to protect me.  -John
           \_ More to the point, if you have a horde of 100 gunmen dragging
              citizens out of their homes and executing them, you do not have
              a viable state.
              \_ You do realize that lynching was common in the US into the
                 late 1950's. Sure it took fewer gunmen, but whole towns
                 (well, the white part) showed up to watch through the 1930's.
                 \_ You do realize that Gaza City is not the Mississippi
                    backwoods?
                    \_ They're probably more similar than you realize.
                       \_ Given population size, this is much more similar to
                          New York's Five Points in the 1850s.

9/8     "People who do not want to play The Blame Game....
         are to blame." - last night's daily show.
        \_ i think it's the 'meet the f**ckers' link
           http://tinyurl.com/9c3ko
           http://tinyurl.com/9c3ko - danh
           \_ That was really good, thanks!
        \_ are you talking about Iraq and its role in 9/11 attack?

9/8     My understanding is that UC schools used to accept half of their
        students based on SAT I + SAT II + GPA*1000 (max score: 8000). I can't
        find anything on the web confirming this, as it seems like now
        admissions are more comprehensive:
:
        http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/general_info/uc_reviews/freshman_app.html

        A friend of mine claims that his school would only accept 0-1 students
        to Berkeley (and UCLA) no matter what the caliber is, and I'm
        claiming BS (as that would be reverse affirmative action). Anyone know
        anything about either of our claims? #14 at the URL above could
        be seen as support for his claim:
                 Location of the student's secondary school and residence.
        \_ He's full of shit. For proof see how many students from large
           high schools go to UCLA or UCB. It's not 0-1.
           \_ The friend is probably saying his sk00l blows, out in the boonies
              but I agree that if his SATs are high (hard) and his GPA is high
              (easy being in the boonies), then there is no quota per se.
              I believe it's true that a high GPA at let's say Lowell HS
              is better than a high GPA at Podunk HS, but I don't know the
              conversion, and maybe I'm totally wrong.
              \_ Yes, this is what he was saying. She got into UCLA and UCB but
                 decided to go have fun at UCSB. She wasn't the validictorian
                 but the four students who were were really pissed that he
                 applied and "wasted" the slots. She doesn't know their SAT II
                 scores but knows that they had 4.0+ GPA's and 1400+ SAT's
                 which should have been good enough for UCLA top 50%. 1998.
                 \_ I didn't think you could "waste" a slot--I was under the
                    impression that your HS played a role in UC admissions,
                    but only in consideration of individual applications, not
                    as part of a "quota-per-high school" system.  If you are
                    accepted to Cal and don't go, wouldn't the next-best
                    person from whichever high school just take your place?
                    Sounds odd to me.  But then again, maybe her 4 friends
                    aren't all that bright either.  -John
                 \_ If she went to UCSB instead of UCLA to have fun, then
                    she's not that bright afterall. UCSB is fun but UCLA is
                    funner.
                 \_ I see in today's UCLA admissions FAQ:
                    "It should be noted, however, that because UCLA does not
                    use a mathematical formula when evaluating applicants,
                    there is no fixed numerical weight attached to either GPA
                    or test scores."
                    So I can see how human beings, being lazy, would just pick
                    the few top slots out from Podunk HS, allocate more to
                    Lowell HS, and not really pay much attention to waiting
                    lists.  Shrug, it wasn't malicious of the UCB/UCLA girl,
                    and I bet you could find a lot of people with 1400+
                    post-recentered SAT scores.
                    \_ Of course there's no formula.  It's much easier to
                       game the system when there's no objective standard.
        \_ This is how I was admitted in 1991.  They published the minimum
           score every year, and when I applied I was above the minimum and
           didn't have to worry about getting in.
        \_ See this usenet post circa 1992: http://csua.org/u/dbd
           IIRC the GPA was capped at 4.0.
           \_ I was admitted in '92 with a 4.5 GPA. -1337
              (easy being in the boonies), then there is no quota per high
              school
           \_ GPA was capped at 4.0 in 1996. They had the 8000 ranking, I
              remember to have a 98% chance for Berkeley you needed like 7000
              and for EECS it was like 7400.

9/8     http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/08.html#a4851
        Watch conservative Joe Scarborough, while saying Nagin and the LA
        governor are inept and in over their heads, ask why Dubya's people
        didn't run New Orleans as efficiently as the Florida hurricanes
        (three different sections where he talks)

9/8     http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/08.html#a4856
        Mississippi resident yells "Go f-ck yourself" during Cheney interview.
        (click movie link, wait 1 minute until web site responds)
        \_ Who cares?
           \_ sodans do!  but obviously not the bush luvahs
        \_ The Mississippi resident is just practicing the golden rule
           \_ No, he is practicing the reverse Golden Rule, also known
              as the psb rule.

9/8     The Circle is complete: Mexican army convoy rolls into storm-affected
        states with supplies:
        http://tinyurl.com/7ud2z (Reuters)

9/8     Anyone ever get evolution (freebsd 5.4) and exchange server to
        work with shared folders/calendars ?

9/8     Is there a better Windows ghostscript front-end than GSview? What do
        you use to view PostScript on Windows?
        \_ Not really. The usual method is to convert to PDF using distiller
           and view it using Acrobat Reader.

9/8     Compare the CBS News poll and CNN/Gallup poll, and how the way
        a question is asked can produce results giving dramatically different
        impressions on the Hurricane Katrina disaster:
        http://www.pollingreport.com/disasters.htm
        \_ CNN/Gallup also started their poll on Labor Day.  I wonder what
           effect that has in the makeup of respondees.

9/8     has anyone ever gotten freebsd to work with
        firefox and http://www.comedycentral.com ? - danh
        \_ I tried for a while.  Haven't tried recently. --scotsman
        \_ nevermind i figured it out,  i installed firefox
        and the mplayer-plugin port, works great. - danh
           \_ you just violated Intellectual Property's law, my friend.
              welcome to the world of DMCA and American domination.

9/8     California, the next Katrina? What do you think? Will the big
        one strike in your lifetime, or has it already passed?
        \- The big one may not be the most likely catastrophe. A large part
           of the Central Valley relies on levees for protection. There's
           already been one dramatic breaching recently but it didn't get much
           attention because it didn't affect a populated area. -- ulysses
           \_ This is crap. Only the Sacramento/Stockton area is in danger of
              flooding by failed levees. And it would take a total breakdowns
              of all the levees to hurt Sacramento proper (Stockton is a
              different story) which might happen in an earthquake that would
              level most of the area anyhow. And while devastating, the
              property damage would be nothing what the levee destruction
              would mean to the loss of freshwater flow from NorCal to SoCal.
              property damage would be nothing next to how the levees'
              destruction would mean the loss of freshwater flow from NorCal
              to CV/SoCal.

9/8     A not so bright German thief got arrested. What is it about Germans?
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050908/od_nm/germany_thief_dc

9/8     Power Generating Backpacks for you hippy pot smoking tree huggers:
        http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/09/wip_energy_gene.php
        http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/006948.php

9/8     I think psb will agree this is a work of genius:
        http://csua.org/u/88w
        \- oh i read that back when i was still a NYker subscriber.
           that's not as good as "on the run with manuel noriega".
           BTW, i like pat lehey ... he gave a really good speech about
           something in the last 5-6 yrs and appeared on my radar.
           i dont remember what the speech was about. --psb