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| 2005/11/11-12 [Computer/SW, Computer/HW, Computer/Companies/Google] UID:40540 Activity:nil |
11/10 "In Soviet Russia..." http://csua.org/u/dzf Quick notes about Soviet computer industry from a lecture -- thought someone might be interested. -- misha. \_ NGMD = Nakopitel' na Gibkix Magnitnyx Diskax NMD = Nakopitelyakh Magnitnikh Diskov NZMD = Nakopitelyah na Zhestkix Magnitnyx Diskov Cool notes. Thanks. If you're into E. block useful appliations, google for POLY PLAY. -John |
| 2005/11/11 [Uncategorized] UID:40541 Activity:nil |
11/10 Hey, I notice kchang's logger thing is working again. |
| 2005/11/11-13 [Politics/Domestic/California] UID:40542 Activity:high |
11/11 Robertson to Pennsylvania town: Drop dead.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Robertson_Evolution.html
\_ Bill O'Reilly to SF: City not worth saving:
http://csua.org/u/dzj [sfgate.com]
\_ Why do they hate America?
\_ San Franciscans? The ones I know don't consider themselves
a part of this country so I guess it's a tribal us vs. them
thing, but really you'd have to go there and ask. It's only
a BART trip away.
\_ No, the obvious interpretation.
\_ San Franciscans? Which "they" are you referring to?
SFans is the only plural. Unless you mean the
Penn. town but then you're mis-indented.
\_ Nice misleading headline, dumbass. (you and the columnist)
\_ How's it misleading?
\_ He didn't say it was "not worth saving". He said that if
you don't want the military recruiting, then you don't get
the protection of the military. Talk about biased
reporting.
\_ Then can I stop paying the percentage of my taxes
that fund the military?
\_ If you're willing to fund your own military, your
own coast guard, etc, and the other million people
in the area are willing to do the same, then you
should try to get the city to cecede. I'm sure the
economics of the situtation will work in your favor.
Let us know how that works out for you.
\_ Perhaps a more interesting question is, should the federal
government do anything about SF banning military recruitment in
SF schools?
\_ Of course. No federal funds for them. Thanks for playing!
\_ That's exactly what they threatened to do to Yale Law for
exactly that reason. Yale backed down. Of course, that
may have partly been a personal feud between our moron
in chief and his alma matter.
\_ Ok, that's basically all O'Reilly said, he just threw in
a bunch of stupid hyperbole.
\_ Hmm, maybe the rest of California should pass similar
measures then, since we only get back half of what we
pay to the federal government.
\_ Half? URL please. And what's wrong with that anyway even
if true? I get back far less than half of what I pay into
the tax system, you don't see me or others trying to drop
out of the tax system. You want less taxes? You'll get
fewer services. It isn't possible to get 100% of your
taxes back because the government can't be 100% efficient.
No organization can. What's your beef with taxes, exactly?
\_ It's not half, but it is a fraction and it is a lot
in absolute dollar terms.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/266.html
\_ The same is true of your state and local taxes.
Government tax systems can *not* be 100% efficient.
The moment you put a middle man in between your
dollar and the service it renders, you lose.
\_ I think you misunderstand. It is indeed a
zero sum game. The dollars are going to be
spent somewhere. It may as well be California.
Why should other states get out of it more
than they put into it? If the middle man
takes his share, it shouldn't be a middle man
somewhere other than California (like DC).
\_ au contraire mon frere! I understand quite
well. You send $X to the Feds. Simply
employing someone to process your taxes costs
money (super simplified example). Thus right
there at step 1 you can't get 100% back. It
costs money to run the Federal government.
Taxes are not zero sum. They are a minus and
a drag on the system but they also provide
services that we agree as a nation are
necessary so we pay up and take the hit. So
instead of Federal taxes you seem to want to
pay only CA state taxes. Ok, you're still
not getting your money back. Some people are
going to get more, a lot more, money out of
the system than you. So let's only pay local
county/town taxes. But oh wait.... See? You
can't tax people and have all the people taxed
get 100% of their money back out. I don't care
where the middleman/waste is. Waste is waste.
Certainly, the CA State Legislature has not
proven itself better run than the Federal
level House/Senate.
\_ I think you still misunderstand. If the
person employed is a *CALIFORNIAN* then
there is no loss of money to the *STATE*.
Whether I, an individual, get back 100%
of what I put in is rather irrelevant.
I just don't want to see the money leave
the State if it can be spent here. So,
it is zero sum. Every tax dollar is
spent on something. None is lost to
'overhead' if the 'overhead' means
jobs/services for Californians. Sending
money off to Arkansas helps me not. Capiche?
\_ So you are not willing to consider your-
self a member of the "U.S. tribe" but
are willing to sacrifice to the "CA
tribe"? How does money spent on someone
in <random cow county in CA> help you?
How does money spent in another state
hurt you? Either way you get nothing
and pay the same amount. Money spent
on overhead is not productive for the
economy; furthermore, the economies are
so tightly intertwined that a poorly
performing state will drag the others
down. I understand what you're getting
at but fail to see how that philosophy
actually applies to the real world.
\_ If I am receiving 'federal' services
I would rather receive them from
my neighbor than from someone across
the country. If a dam is built in
Random Cow County it may benefit
me more than one built in New Orleans.
I would argue that spending more
money in CA is more likely to get me
something for my money. Or, more
obviously, just refund me my 'overage'
money back and I will benefit
directly. I identify strongly as
a Californian and I think, if
anything, much of the rest of the
country drags CA down. Certainly
many red states are just a drag
on the blue ones.
\_ If Cow County, CA is wiped off the
face of the map, most people won't
notice. If NO, LA is wiped off the
face of the map, the effects ripple
through the rest of the economy.
States are no longer highly
distinct entities, especially so
where the economy is concerned.
Your money is better invested in
NO, LA than it is in Cow, CA if
your concern is getting value back
for your tax dollar. If you just
hate everyone outside CA, well,
that's got zip to do with the way
that taxes or the economy work and
is a different topic.
\_ If NO, LA is that important
economically it should be
able to pay for its own dam
and not rely on CA to pay
for it. It's not like CA is
doing so well that we can
afford that stuff for other
places. What about our own
dams in the Delta, for example?
\_ So any part of the US that
isn't making profit should
be left to die? Now I think
you're just trolling but I'll
respond anyway: *when* CA is
hit by The Big One, you'll
be the first one bitching
about slow FEMA response and
any delays in the National
Guard showing up to save your
ass from looters.
\_ If so, it's because I
expect our fair share
after paying for floods
and tornados elsewhere
for the last 30 years
while FEMA refuses to pay
for our landslides and
wildfires.
\_ A landslide is too tiny
for FEMA. 5 houses?
Oh please. And the
wildfires aren't a Fed
issue either but we do
get help from other
states when they get
too big but really,
CO has had much bigger
fires than us. You're
really stretching now,
troll. Pay your damned
taxes and stop the fake
whining.
\_ Where was FEMA
in the last
couple quakes?
\_ Troll. They
weren't needed.
1 old guy had a
heart attack. A
few ancient bldgs
had cracks. Go
away troll. You
are stupid and
boring. Pay
your taxes.
\_ I have no beef with taxes. I'm merely pointing out
that it would be in our best interest to stop paying
federal taxes if, as the above post suggested, we
no longer are given federal funds. In other words,
be careful what you wish for.
\_ You don't pay taxes to get federal funds. You pay
taxes to get federal services such as the military,
the federal court system, the fbi, someone to
regular interstate commerce, etc. If you wanted
your tax dollars back in full measure you *can't*
pay federal taxes or any other taxes because the
tax system *can't* be 100% efficient. The government
is giant middle man system.
\_ Perhaps that might be related to the hostility to the
federal government exemplefied in the SF measure?
\_ say what?
\_ He has also said that feminism encourages women to "kill their
children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become
lesbians."
\_ That's silly. How does it destroy capitalism?
\_ Because women should be barefoot & pregnant in the home,
not part of the workforce, which ... Um ... helps
capitalism?
\_ The idea is feminism would force companies to accept lesser
qualified women in the name of equality. Their lack of
experience (wink and nod about female frailities) and forced
quotas would destroy the Competitive Edge (i.e. capitailism).
And they'd all be lesbians and pick up the good ones from the
secretarial pool thanks to their human children sacrifice to
their Wiccan gods.
\_ AND what is wrong with LESBIANS?
\_ Feminism doesn't force companies to do anything. Quota
systems do but obviously that's not the same thing. As
far as what real conservatives think about women in the
workforce, it is considered wasteful and stupid to scrub
half your country's brain power and creativity from
economically productive pursuits as seen in the Middle
East (except for Israel).
\_ AND what is wrong with LESBOS?
\_ Nothing BUD DAY can't fix!
\_ The local economy has been sucking, and tourism
hasn't been able to pick up the slack. Plus the
usual fears of terrorists attacking planes, trains,
and automobiles.
\_ In my observation, lesbians are in fact very good for the
economy.
\_ *laugh* A bit off topic? |
| 2005/11/11-12 [Finance/Shopping] UID:40543 Activity:nil |
11/11 http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9555157/site/newsweek Reality check on the housing bubble-- no bubble. The fundamentals are strong, immigrants still find million dollar homes to be cheap, and wealthy boomers are finally tapping their money to buy 2nd and 3rd homes. This is the age of the new economy! lalalalala \_ Well, now that a Newsweek columnist says it, it must be truuuuue!!! |
| 2005/11/11 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:40544 Activity:nil |
11/11 Terrorist attack in Oakland Chinatown?
\_ Go ahead.
\_ I mean was that what happened this morning?
\_ A quick look a google news just says there was a big
fire at a supermarket at about 6am. Maybe arson, I doubt
it's terrorism in the normal sense.
\_ Are you asking for one or asking if one happened or will happen?
The magic 8-ball says, "it can not be determined at this time". |
| 2005/11/11-14 [Reference/BayArea] UID:40545 Activity:nil |
11/11 Article in this month's California about a book about the
1906 SF quake and how the death of the SF fire chief
died, so the Army showed up and started mortaring
and burning buildings in SF in a misguided effort to
save it.
http://tinyurl.com/9qe7h
\_ That strategy survived and was used in Fallujah many years later |
| 2005/11/11-13 [Reference/Law/Court] UID:40546 Activity:kinda low |
11/11 Make sure not to get caught in the subway train doors (work safe)
http://csua.org/u/dzm (latimes.com)
\_ something similar happened to a friend in nyc. her bag got
caught in the door w/ her arm in it. she got her arm out
but the bag kept going. some nice person at the next station
grabbed it and waited for her. someone told MTA authority
about it and "they did an investigation". dont think anything
ever came of it ... she didnt bother to try and sue.
definitely conductor negligence though
\_ Gee. I'll make sure I pick up my son from the stroller first when
we board a train next time.
\_ That woman in dark dress was a hero. And she's fast too.
\_ In America this would be instant lawsuit.
\_ In Hong Kong this would be lawsuit too, since it's not equipment
failure but train operator negligence. The operation is supposed
to look at the CCTV outside the train to make sure nobody gets
caught by the doors before he starts the train. Don't know about
in Korea.
\_ something similar happened to a friend in nyc. her bag got
caught in the door w/ her arm in it. she got her arm out
but the bag kept going. some nice person at the next station
grabbed it and waited for her. someone told MTA authority
about it and "they did an investigation". dont think anything
ever came of it ... she didnt bother to try and sue.
definitely conductor negligence though
\_ Isn't anyone else bothered by the fact that the mother would
just let the kid drop on the floor while trying to wrestle the
stroller off the train door?
\_ watch the video again
\_ I think the audio said she was caught by the stroller.
\_ Thanks :) No sound card on my work PC. |
| 2005/11/11-13 [Reference/RealEstate] UID:40547 Activity:high |
11/11 http://csua.org/u/dzn (Washington Post) Oops, a couple bought a townhouse under construction for $796K in May, but equivalent places are now selling for $699K, and their house isn't even done yet! \_ Here's the full context strongly implying the eager beavers did no research: "Lynn Edmonds and his wife, Sebnem, could barely wait to sign on the dotted line back in May when they committed themselves to pay $796,000 for a three-floor townhouse under construction in Alexandria's Cameron Station. But since May, the sales prices for the development have fallen -- and units like the one the Edmonds bought are now being sold for $699,900. The Edmonds are facing the prospect of a $100,000 loss in value before they even walk through the front door." "Lynn Edmonds and his wife, Sebnem, could barely wait to sign on the dotted line back in May when they committed themselves to pay $796,000 for a three-floor townhouse under construction in Alexandria's Cameron Station. But since May, the sales prices for the development have fallen -- and units like the one the Edmonds bought are now being sold for $699,900. The Edmonds are facing the prospect of a $100,000 loss in value before they even walk through the front door." [ reformatted - formatd ] Even though their on paper value has dropped, they apparently plan to live in it so the important thing is the interest rate they're paying, what would their costs be to live somewhere else for the additional time they didn't have this house to be in the same area, and what will the final selling price be years from now when they eventually do leave that house? Being overly concerned about a single number without context is like saying you're a google ipo millionaire based on your unsold options. Anything can happen between now and the sale date. \_ "... Sandra Cabral, a real estate agent with Re/Max Pros ... 'Within two or three years, there's going to be a whole lot of foreclosures, because with all of the interest-only loans ...'" \_ Axiom 1: people are stupid. \_ ouch! that's a fast way to throw 100k down the drain. well, maybe they got a consolation prize in a lower interest rate. \_ For reference: $796k @ 5.25% for 30 years: $4,395.54/month, total principle + interest paid over life of the loan: $1,582,394.93 $699k @ 6.5% for 30 years: $4,418.16/month, total P+I: $1,590,535.97 \_ For reference: - average length of time americans stay at a home: 5 years For reference: - 30 year fixed interest rate: current rate - lowest rate in last 2 years: 0.9% For reference: - The additional $20k downpayment if put in the stock market and assuming a return of 8% per year, in 30 years, would earn: $200,000 assuming a return of 8% per year, in 30 years, would earn: $200k For reference: assuming a return of 8% per year, in 30 years, would earn: $200k - Did you forget mortgage interest tax deduction? \_ between ~ June 1 and today, the difference is 0.8% don't need to go back 2 years not as big as the 6.5 - 5.25 = 1.25% that other guy posted \_ that's pretty interesting! \_ 8%/yr for 30 years? Really. Now if you had stuck $20k in the stock market, say, 2 years ago... How would that 8% be looking? \_ S&P500 was 1060 two years ago, and 1235 now, almost exactly 8% per year. \_ None of these numbers take into account their current cost of living somewhere else for 8-9 months if they had bought now instead of in spring. Are they in a house? Probably not or they'd be less desperate. So what's their rent cost/ month? Either way we just don't have enough info to know if they got hosed or not. The average person may stay in a house 5 years but these people may stay 30. And does that 5 year ownership number include all the speculator flips which would drag the number down by some other unknown number? Basically, it looks like a scare article intro. The people who are going to get hurt are those who paid $X in the past and are now forced for some personal reason to sell now at $X - $Y. Everyone else can sit tight. Anyway, I wouldn't mind a huge housing crash. I'd snap up a few houses if prices dropped enough and rent em out for a few years until prices recovered again but I fear they'll never drop enough to fall back into my investment price range. |
| 2005/11/11-13 [Transportation/PublicTransit] UID:40548 Activity:moderate |
11/11 "Caltrain Ridership Up 29 Percent Since Baby Bullet Debut"
http://www.caltrain.org/news_2005_11_10_ridership_up.html
\_ Public transit really works if it's done right.
\_ I was in Holland and wanted to do some shopping in the small
town where my grandmother lives ... I left at 3:30 and she
warned me that the shops were already closed in town. So I
took the train to Utrecht, a major city, which took just 25
minutes. When I got to the train station, I noticed there was
a mall connected to the train station. I bought some candy &
clothes, and then noticed a street market, where I bought
marijuana, and then noticed a street market, where I bought
stroopwafels (one of my favs) and other things. I got back on
the train and managed to get back even before the time I said
I would (within 3 hours). I've only driven a car once in
Holland and I preferred the train.
\_ one time, I was driving a car, and then I hit a train
and I was sad and then I saw a flower and picked it up
and when I stood up I saw that the engineer of the
train was beautiful woman and we fell in love and thats
why I know cars are better than trains.
\_ also helps that the economy's picked up too. The streets seem
a bit busier too -caltrain rider
\_ Holland is smaller than my backyard and you took 3 hours to
go shopping? You think an hour of travel time just to buy
some candy at a train station mall is a good use of time?
I can walk to the store and back in less time than that in
my SUV ridden suburb. If you had an hour of travel time and
it took 10 minutes to get a box of candy, where'd the other
2 hours ago? Smoking that pot?
\_ Slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey, according
to the CIA world factbook. New Jersey also has good
public transit, by the way.
\_ Gas prices over $2 / gallon probably helps too. |
| 2005/11/11-14 [Uncategorized] UID:40549 Activity:nil |
11/11 Put on your tin foil hats. Or not.
http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet
\_ Yep. That looks like a typical Media Lab project.
\_ Note that they aren't using "tin foil", but aluminum.
\_ I told you aluminum was the new tin foil a few weeks ago but
you laughed me out of the Academy. Well, I'll show you! I'll
show you all!! Muahahahahhaaa! |
| 2005/11/11-14 [Transportation/Car] UID:40550 Activity:low |
11/11 Is umbrella insurance worth it? I have a net worth of about $500k from
appreciate home, stock, 401(k), savings, cars, etc. I have a working
wife and a kid. Thx.
\_ Not when a new umbrella is $5. :-)
\_ I think he's talking about the type of insurance that compensates
the families of people who's heads get slashed off with katanas
on the sidewalk becasuse they're using a fucking 6 foot umbrella
to protect their short ass 5 foot 5 body from a little drizzle
while stabbing everyone on the sidewalk in the eye with the
spikes on the edge of the umbrella. Five dollars' coverage will
be insufficient for that.
\_ No, no -- I think he's making reference to insurance from
the Umbrella Corporation so when his family is ravaged by
flesh eating zombies in Raccoon City, he'll be able to collect
life insurance or something. Personally, I'd avoid
transacting business with them at all, but hey -- each to his
own, man.
\_ Silly, that's Flesh Eating Zombie insurance. Which reminds
me, thanks, I let mine lapse last week. I need to go
renew. Brraaaaaiiinnssss....
\_ Can you insure againt your wife stopping to work? |
| 2005/11/11 [Uncategorized] UID:40551 Activity:nil |
11/11 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9997566 If loading/unloading 300 passengers take X hours, how long does it take to load/unload 555 passengers? |
| 2005/11/11-13 [Uncategorized] UID:40552 Activity:nil |
11/11 Leia's Metal Bikini:
http://www.leiasmetalbikini.com/members/whatsnew
\_ Bonnie has the hottest body. |
| 2005/11/11-14 [Reference/RealEstate, Finance/Shopping] UID:40553 Activity:nil |
11/11 Are mega apt complex->condo conversion units particularly bad
to buy as homes or investments, even if you plan to own them
for a while? I'm asking because single family homes are
out of my price range.
\_ Not particularly bad, but not as good as SFRs. Find a SFR, even
if it means a city you don't like as well.
\_ What if the city with the cheapest affordable SFR is
over an hour drive away? What if the city where the
condo is has a lot of amenities, like walkable markets,
close to the beach, etc?
\_ Why do you think you can't afford the SFRs if those are
the amenities? Why do you think you *can* afford the condo? |
| 12/23 |