Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2005:November:28 Monday <Tuesday>
Berkeley CSUA MOTD
 
WIKI | FAQ | Tech FAQ
http://csua.com/feed/
2005/11/28-30 [Computer/SW/Languages/C_Cplusplus] UID:40736 Activity:nil
11/28   Recommendation for a good business card printing site.  There are
        a zillion of them that pop up when I search for "business card".
        One that offers a lot of templates would be nice.  Thanks.
        \_ There are general purpose printers and places that specialize
           in the profession that you're in. What profession are you in?
        \_ I was happy with just going in to Kinkos with a pdf of my card and
           having them print them up.  I realize that doesn't exactly answer
           your question, but I found this to be a low hassle method of getting
           cards.  I used Illustrator to make the card.
           \_ actually this is good feedback also.  I didn't consider
              this option.  Thanks.
        \_ Vistaprint
        \_ Speedway printing.
2005/11/28-30 [Consumer/CellPhone, Computer/HW/Scanner] UID:40737 Activity:low
11/28   Does anyone here have any experience with reading bar codes from
        cell phone displays?  Can be any encoding mechanism (semacode, etc.)
        I'm mainly interested in whether most cell phones allow reading with
        conventional laser scanners or require some sort of weird optical
        contrast <DEAD>scanner--mticket.net<DEAD> is an example of how this is done, but
        I haven't been able to figure out the actual scanning tech.  -John
        \_ I've been curious about this myself.  Could you try it using
           a CueCat and various cell phones?
           \_ I got some info back from mticket--apparently an "optical
              scanner" like what http://www.trinitymobile.co.uk have will work well,
              he said that "laser scanners have difficulty reading from 100%
              of mobile phones", which makes sense.  -John
        \_ you are trying to read a barcode off a cell phone display?  most
           barcode has specified size.  And I am not sure a "laser scanner" is
           necessary to read a barcode.  Cell phone in Japan and Korea can
           read 2D barcode using built-in cameras.  No laser there.
           \_ That wasn't the question--I know there are apps that can read
              barcode contents (including 2D bar codes) via cellphone
              cameras.  2D codes allow more condensed encoding of info than
              1D--that's most of what you use for e-tickets.  I've found some
              infos and apparently cell phone displays have problems with
              red light in barcode light scanners--if you only use green
              light, it seems to work fine.  Also, there are optical pattern
              contrast scanners which do this--if anyone is curious about
              it, I'll gladly share.  -John
              \_ You are talking about two things here.  Optical recognization
                 off the cell phone display being one, barcode being another.
                 Due to rigid specification of barcode, I am not sure
                 reading barcode off a cell phone display can be done or not.
                 Optical recognization off the cell phone display seems to be
                 a completely different subject, eventhough my instinct
                 wasn't able to find an application for it yet.   Exactly
                 what are you trying to achieve?    kngharv
                 \_ I know they're 2 different things.  I am trying to read
                    a 1D or 2D barcode off a cell phone display.  My conclusion
                    is that there are two ways of doing it--"optical" scanners
                    and laser scanners.  The point being that the laser
                    scanners do not work well with red light.  You _can_
                    read a bar code via optical recognition.  This is used
                    for a lot of purposes, including concert and train tickets
                    (just introduced for trains here).  I'm trying to do it
                    for user authentication at non-networked PCs.  -John
2005/11/28-29 [Uncategorized] UID:40738 Activity:nil
11/27   microsoft korean hip hop propaganda
        http://www.microsoft.com/korea/events/ready2005/vs_song.asp
        \_ I like the Nas sample ... "its yours". ha. too much
2005/11/28-29 [Recreation/Interesting, Recreation/Humor] UID:40739 Activity:nil Cat_by:auto
11/27   Okay, maybe Icelanders are more strange than the Germans:
        http://www.hugi.is/hahradi/bigboxes.php?box_id=51208&f_id=1471
        \_ No.
        \_ Japan trumps that. http://www.devilducky.com/media/38146
2005/11/28-29 [Politics/Foreign/Asia/China] UID:40740 Activity:high
11/27   Apex, Changhong, and the perils of doing business in China.  Good
        reading for those MOTDers so bullish about finding their fortune
        in China.  http://csua.org/u/e39 [nyt]
        \_ what is your point again?  those MOTDers who are so bullish about
           China are as foolish as those who think China is a economic /
           military threat.  This is one of the reason why I am so pissed
           at USA for their constant pressure on China's currency, textiles
           and the trade surplus.   Using texitile as an example, China may
           have 5 years of competitiveness on their texitile products, yet
           China was forced to bow to EU and American pressure to impose
           quota on their textile product due to the fact that neither EU
           nor America has bothered to phase out the texitile quota
           incrementally according to the agreement reached a decade ago.
                                - Just came back from mainland last week
           \_ Just a cautionary tale about how business deals can go very
              wrong in China.  Did you think China is a country governed
              by the rule of law?  I'm sure stuff like that happens in all
              the best corrupt totalitarian states.
              \_ I am sorry, if those who doesn't even have that degree
                 of common sense, then, he/she shouldn't do business in
                 China at first place.  It's a wild wild west out there,
                 and the real tragic part is that China is not the worse
                 country in terms of laws, corruptions, and goverance.
                 If you are trying to do business in the hyper-growth
                 area (e.g. Vietnam), you will have to play the local rules.
                 Just put things in perspective, some of stuff in USA
                 is pretty messed up too, just that you and I have gotten
                 used to it and accept it as law of the universe.
              \_ things are slowly improving, but at this stage, if you
                 are hoping to depend on the rule of law, you shouldn't
                 go.
                 \_ It's pretty hard to predict when you might suddenly
                    need to rely on the rule of law.
                    \_ rule 1: don't get into trouble with powerful
                       people, unless you have someone even more powerful
                       behind you.  instead learn how to identify and
                       build good relationships with these bad dudes.
                       This is unfortunately the price of doing business
                       in the prc.  why do you think rupert murdoch and
                       chris galvin spent so much time schmoozing with
                       chinese leaders?
                       \_ Apex guy lesson 1: Eventually you'll piss off
                          someone big enough to seriously fuck up your life.
                       \_ That Murdoch are Galvin are protected doesn't mean
                          schmucks on motd are.
                       \_ I'm not worried about Murdoch or Galvin.  I'm
                          worried about the average motd schmuck.
                          \_ The same rule applies, except at a lower
                             level.
                             \_ That worked real well for the Apex guy.
                                \_ didn't apex guy run afoul of rule 1, which
                                   is why he's in trouble?
                                   \_ Your rule 1 is useless, since expectations
                                      for your behavior may be unknown and may
                                      change over time.  Also, the perception
                                      of your behavior may be unknown and
                                      unknowable, and that perception may
                                      also change in unknown or unknowable
                                      ways.  One the other hand, a written
                                      set of rules agreed to by both sides
                                      and adjuged in an impartial (or at least
                                      predictable) way can stand the test of
                                      time and changes in persons and
                                      perception.
                                      \_ can we agree that china is a location
                                         where you cannot get rules "adjuged"
                                         in an impartial/predictable way which
                                         can stand the test of time and changes
                                         in persons and perception -- if the
                                         other player is allied with powerful
                                         people in china and you don't have an
                                         equivalent ally?
                                         (btw, you could have shortened your
                                         response to:  "rule 1 sux, get a
                                         real contract not a 3-page invoice!")
                                         \_ Is any of this worse than, say,
                                            Russia?  How many countries in
                                            the world have what someone used
                                            to doing business in the U.S. would
                                            call the "rule of law"?
                                            \_ i don't know if it's as bad in
                                               russia and to what degree it's
                                               the same/different.  that's
                                               another very long thread.
                                               but does "rule 1 is useless"
                                               guy agree that china is
                                               a location where [blah blah]?
                                            \_ The World Economic Forum gives
                                               China a corruption ranking of
                                               71, meaning there are 70
                                               countries less corrupt than
                                               China.
                                         \_ There is a difference between
                                            "rule 1 sux" and "rule 1 is
                                            impossible to meet over the long-
                                            term".  Rule 1 is impossible to
                                            meet over the long-term.
                                            \_ so what's your long-term
                                               solution ... a detailed,
                                               sensible contract or something
                                               like that?
                                               \_ The rule of law.  I think
                                                  that's where this discussion
                                                  started.
                                                  \_ and how does rule 1 figure
                                                     in locations where the
                                                     rule of law is relatively
                                                     weak?
                                                     \_ We're going in circles.
                                                        Do you think it is
                                                        possible to meet rule
                                                        1 over the long-term?
                                                        \_ first you answer
                                                           my question.
                                                           how does rule 1
                                                           figure in locations
                                                           where the rule of
                                                           law is relatively
                                                           weak?
                                                           (The answer to
                                                           this question is the
                                                           core reason why
                                                           rule 1 is relevant
                                                           in the first place.)
                                                           Let me answer it for
                                                           you:
                                                           Rule 1 applies where
                                                           the rule of law is
                                                           relatively weak.
                                                           Where the rule of
                                                           law is relatively
                                                           strong, the
                                                           relevance of rule 1
                                                           decreases.
                                               \_ now is when you make money,
                                                  not when the system matures.
                                                  as they say, "go west, young
                                                  man".
                                                  \_ Right.  Because no one
                                                     makes fortunes in the
                                                     U.S. anymore.
                                                     \_ you still do, but it's
                                                        harder.
                                                  \_ I imagine that's what the
                                                     Apex guy thought too.
                                               \_ why do you care about
                                                  long term.  take your money
                                                  and run.  that's how taiwanese
                                                  do business.  constantly change
                                                  and adapt.
                                                  \_ Ah.  I take it this means
                                                     you agree that Rule 1 is
                                                     impossible over the long-
                                                     term.  When is it long-
                                                     term?  Is it possible
                                                     to meet Rule 1 over the
                                                     medium term?  Is it ever
                                                     possible to win a game
                                                     where the rules are hidden
                                                     and invented on the fly for
                                                     the benefit of one side?
                                                     \_ I am not sure what you
                                                        are trying to say.  Can
                                                        a relationship lasts a
                                                        long time?  sure.  With
                                                        rule of law, you have
                                                        the law's protection.
                                                        With relationships, it
                                                        depends on how the
                                                        relationship holds.  It
                                                        could be all back
                                                        stabbing and self
                                                        interest.  It could be
                                                        one that lasts while it's
                                                        mutually beneficial, and
                                                        a happy parting when that
                                                        no longer holds, it could
                                                        be like you and your
                                                        best Harvard roommate
                                                        buddy with total trust,
                                                        etc.
                                                        \_ I read somewhere
                                                           that Hitler was
                                                           psychologically
                                                           incapable of hav-
                                                           ing a loving rel-
                                                           ationship!
        \_ china currently is like the wild west combined with 19th century
           capitalism.  an uncle of mine has spent a decade and a half
           there.  some of the things he had to do include:
           * after a plan to start a business school fell through, they had
             to sneak in at night to truck out all the computers and other
             invested equipment, which would otherwise not be returned to
             them.  people from the other side were literally chasing after
             them.  people from the other side were literally running after
             the trucks when they left.
           * because property rights laws were vague, land acquired where
             their factory was to be built was problematic when beijing
             their factory was to be built was problematic when it was
             decided that a lot of farmlands were improperly taken away
             from farmers.  To avoid inspections, they had to
             replant the land with a big rice padi field for a while to fool
             people, until the proper permits can be worked out.  Lots of
             ethical questions, but the factories did eventually provide jobs
             for hundreds of workers from poor inland provinces.
        \_ The New York Times is biased liberal trash.
           \_ except when they say Saddam has WMDs.  Go Dubya!
        \_ I wonder who's going to import those TVs now?
2005/11/28-29 [Computer/SW/SpamAssassin] UID:40741 Activity:nil
11/27   Ever since the reboot today, "spamc" doesn't seem to be doing it's
        job.  Any idea what's causing this?
        \_ Interestingly, it seems to be working as of about an hour after
           I posted this. -op
           \_ I really don't know, but I think it becomes less effective based
              upon load.  When soda is bogged down spamc won't run as
              thoroughly. -mrauser
2005/11/28-29 [Computer/SW/OS/OsX] UID:40742 Activity:nil
11/27   I have an annoying ass problem with MS Powerpoint in OS X, where I
        can make and save any changes I want, except font changes. If I
        change the font, save the document, close powerpoint, and then
        open the document again, the font is still the old font. WTF?!
        Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
        \_ No, but my Powerpoint under OS X doesn't do this.
                \_ Oh, it doesn't behave like this all the time, just with
                   this one ppt file (that was created with a PC). -op
                   \_ you might want to install MS core font on your Mac
                      so it doesn't try to substitute fonts.
2005/11/28-29 [Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Motd] UID:40743 Activity:nil
11/27   Soda rebooted, so I decided to edit the motd when noone's loggers
        were turned on. -mrauser
        \_ What went wrong with soda?
2005/11/28 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:40744 Activity:kinda low
11/26   A friend of a friend is being deported based on some truly jive-ass
        bs.  Thank you for defending us from this terrorist, Office of Homeland
        Security!
        http://savehuck.com
        \_ If that story is true and without omissions, it seems like the
           department of homeland security has nothing on him. Why is he being
           deported? I have heard of non-citizens being arrested for posession
           AND sale of marijuana and other drugs. The worst thing that happened
           to those particular people was a probabtion period (after basically
           walking away a few times) without being deported.
        \_ Your friend's friend's problem is the 3 years probation he served.
           He ran afoul of the IIRAIRA passed in 1996 to streamline the
           deportation of aliens.  The IIRAIRA defines as aggravated felony
           any crime with a sentence of a year or more, including probation,
           and it made the deportation of aggravated felons mandatory.
           If you want to blame someone, blame Clinton.  The IIRAIRA
           came from a commission established by Clinton and chaired by
           Barbara Jordan.  I'm also surprised Huck is unaware of all this
           after having consulted some number of lawyers.
        \_ I fwd'ed this to my immigration lawyer friend ... who knows
           maybe he'll take the case for free. - rory
        \_ Warning to everyone with a green card, if you want the
           protections of being a citizen, you need to actually BE a
           citizen.
           \- and dont be an enemy combatant.
2005/11/28 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Israel] UID:40745 Activity:nil
11/26   The New Pentagon Papers
        http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/4/3853
        \_ uh, this is from march 2004
2005/11/28 [Politics/Domestic/Gay] UID:40746 Activity:nil
11/26   Garriage in Dubai:
        http://tinyurl.com/7af4y
2005/11/28 [Politics] UID:40747 Activity:nil
11/26   Let's say I buy a plasma or LCD. Are dead pixels under
        warranty, and for how long? It'd really suck if I get something
        only to find annoying dead pixels later.
        \_ All manufacturers have different policies for how many dead pixels
           you need to be eligable for a warranty replacement.  They are
           generally pretty tight-lipped about what the threshold number is,
           but a few will advertize a zero-pixel defect policy.
2005/11/28 [Politics/Domestic/President/Clinton] UID:40748 Activity:nil
11/26   http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176728,00.html
        Clinton lied too. Bosnia took 9 years, not 1.
        \_ Really? And how many sucide bombers killed Bosnians in that time?
        \_ Cf. Korean War: 55 years of American troops presence.
2005/11/28-30 [Computer/SW/Languages/C_Cplusplus, Computer/SW/Languages/JavaScript, Computer/SW/Languages/Misc] UID:40749 Activity:nil
11/28   Any recommendations for a provider of unmanaged dedicated servers.
        My current provider is 2 hours into a network outage today. and they
        don't have an ETA yet.
        \_ Check http://www.webhostingtalk.com and see the offer section.  Then
           do a search to see if any of the company you are interested
           in has any bad review.
2005/11/28-30 [Health/Women] UID:40750 Activity:low
11/28   Historical CPR guidelines:
        1995: 15 presses and 5 breaths
        2000: 15 presses and 2 breaths
        2005: 30 presses and 2 breaths
        \_ Slightly interesting, but did you have a point?
           \_ People having grown a larger lung capacity with weaker hearts?
        \_ It also varies between training agencies.  The class I took about
           a month ago suggested 15 presses and two breaths per cycle.  The
           change I found most noticeable from the last time I took a CPR
           class (1993) was that they taught us to position our hands between
           the victims nipples instead of coming up slightly from the tip of
           the breastbone.  The recommendations change over time as they
           find different things working or failing in the field.  The basic
           idea of "get some air into the victim and squish it around"
           remains unchanged.
           \_ Bio nitpick: CPR is about getting some air in the lungs and then
              putting pressure on the chest so the blood moves.
              \_ how was pp's version wrong?
                 \_ "squish it around", i guess it depends on the meaning
                    of "it"
                    \_ Well, technically, I'm "squishing it around some"
                       on myself as I type.  While semantically accurate, it
                       doesn't concisely explain what's actually happening.
                       He did make his point though, so this really is a
                       nitpick.
                    \_ "it" == "oxygenated blood".  The reason you're trying to
                       move blood during CPR is to deliver oxygen.
           \_ the joke in EMS is that the primary purpose of CPR is to
              treat the anxiety of the person treating the patient.
2005/11/28-30 [Science/Electric, Science/GlobalWarming] UID:40751 Activity:moderate
11/28   Which one is more efficient?
        1. Use electricity to generate hydrogen and burn it in a fuel-cell car.
           \_ this is a very very inefficient process.  Only country such as
              Iceland where geothermal energy is plentiful can they afford
              to do this.  Here is a lesson for energy:  The key for many
              energy-related industries (including chemcial industry) is how
              to generate *HYDROGEN* cheaply.  And electrolysis water is one
              of the most *EXPENSIVE* way of doing so.  The cheapest way
              to generate hydrogen is from natrual gas and petroleum.  This
              is one of the main reason why I don't really believe in
              hydrogen fuel-cell cars, as I suspect the amount of energy
              required to generate hydrogen is typically being ignored.
                                                kngharv
              \_ I just heard on the radio today that Honda has some $1M
                 prototype cars that run on hydrogen generated from water
                 electrolysis using solar power.  So I was wondering why not
                 simply use the solar electricity to charge the batteries of
                 electric cars.  Hence the efficiency question of #1 vs. #2.
                 --- OP
                 \_ in that context, then, it's a toss up, and we really
                    don't know which one is more efficient.  Charging
                    batteries are horribly inefficient and this is why
                    we don't see any electric car on the street at first
                    place.  The new trend of thought is use solar/wind to
                    generate hydrogen (hence, much easier to store) and
                    let various devices run on hydrogen.  It's a relatively
                    new concept and it has a lot of kinks to work out.
                    Personally, I am very excited about this trend.  kngharv
              \_ There is a short blurb in Dec 2005 Scientific American
                 about some new solar cells being worked on that directly
                 generate hydrogen... still not as cheap as hydrogen from
                 natural gas though.  Perhaps in time...
                 \_ this is the reason why I am so pissed at Bush and his
                    policy.  The administration is doing everything to
                    lower the price of petro-based product (by invading
                    another country, relax the environment standard, etc)
                    instead of investing money on those solar/wind + hydrogen
                    based technology.
                    \_ Hydrogen isn't an energy source.  It is a storage and
                       transport mechanism.  The reason we don't use solar
                       and wind for main power is they aren't consistent
                       enough, solar cells are very toxic to produce and take
                       up large amounts of land, wind kills birds, and neither
                       can produce enough power to replace enough fossil fuels
                       to bother.  They each have some limited uses but aren't
                       exactly new tech.  Are you also pissed at Clinton,
                       Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, etc? What
                       serious steps did any of them take in that direction?
                       None.  Because neither is economic and *never* can be
                       for large scale energy production.  If we ran out of
                       oil tomorrow, we'd go nuclear and everything would be
                       wired electric, batteries, or both.  The batteries
                       might be hydrogen, they might not.
                       \_ Silicon cells suck, yes.  But the problem with
                          solar is completely a technology problem, not a
                          problem of not enough energy.  The total area of the
                          U.S. that is paved by either roads or parkinglots
                          recieves enough power from the sun to satisfy our
                          energy needs.  Making a system that is as cheap as
                          paint and as robust and safe as asfault that produces
                          electricity efficiently and converts it into some
                          convenient storage medium is a very very large
                          challenge, but it violates no laws of physics, and
                          that's what we should be srtiving for.  It might
                          take decades, but I believe that if the U.S. focused
                          its physical sciences research in this direction it
                          would happen.   I also think this will
                          happen by profit-driven corporate researchers without
                          the government if the government does nothing, but
                          it might take longer.  It is silly to dismiss solar
                          just because the present technology is useless.
                          If we had to use 1800's technology, oil wouldn't
                          work for running our civilization either.
                          \_ So you want to have a huge federal program to
                             create solar tech sometime in the next few decades
                             that may or may not work?  To the exclusion of
                             other technology?  Money doesn't grow on trees.
                             \_ If we already know something definitely will
                                work before we look into it, it wouldn't be
                                called "research", would it?  -- !PP
                                \_ Exactly.  So you want to blow a few decades
                                   of effort on something that may not come to
                                   anything, yet up above you claim there is
                                   no reason it can't work.  So which is it?
                       \_ when I say solar/wind + hydrogen, I meant hydrogen
                          as a transporting/storing mechanism.  and I repeat,
                          I am pissed at Bush because they choose to align
                          themselves with the old industry, at the expense of
                          environment (clear sky initiative, for example).
                          Frankly, last thing we want is to make petro-based
                          energy cheaper if we want to provide more incentive
                          for new, renewable energy, especially when war,
                          drill of national refuge, and allowing barf mercury
                          to the air is involved.
                          \_ We have the same mercury standard we've always
                             had.  Are you aware the last minute (literally)
                             Clinton standard would have required levels lower
                             than mercury occurs naturally in many places?
                             That was political BS and too many people ate it
                             up.  "Bush wants to poison us with mercury! ack!"
                             As far as the rest, Bush hasn't done anything any
                             differently than any other President going back
                             forever.  Name the POTUS who has pushed for
                             artificially higher gas prices in an effort to
                             provide industry incentive to pursue alternative
                             energy research.  If you want to hate Bush, go
                             ahead, there are a lot of reasons for it.  What
                             you've stated isn't unique to Bush in any way.  No
                             sane person would vote for someone who wanted
                             higher oil prices.  That's the politics of the
                             extreme/green left.  You can't name anyone in
                             Congress of either party ever in favor of that.
                        \_ Umm, wind is already competitive with other power
                           sources, and you really think wind turbines kill
                           more birds per year than fossil fuel production &
                           consumption?
                           \_ I'm just repeating the anti-wind rhetoric on
                              birds.  Wind is *not* reliable as a nationwide
                              source of power.  Not enough places have room
                              or enough consistent wind for it.  At best it
                              will always remain a secondary source.
                              \_ Being a secondary source isn't bad.  If wind
                                 provides, say, 30% of the energy, that's a
                                 pretty big dent on the whole problem already.
                                 \_ 30%  That would be a miracle.  What is
                                    the current % in places that support
                                    wind power?  I don't have the numbers but
                                    I'd bet it's in the trivial below 2%
                                    range.
                           \_ Or glass-wall highrise buildings, for that
                              matter.
        2. Use electricity to charge the battery of an electric car and run it.
           \_ you need to be careful about that statement, as you need to
              taken account where is the electricity come from at first place
                                                kngharv
        \_ More completely:
           1. Use some renewable or non-renewable resource to generate
              electricity, and taking into account transmission costs to the
              hydrogen plant, generate hydrogen.  Then, taking into account
              hydrogen transportation costs, use it to power a fuel-cell car.
              (Note, you don't "burn" fuel, in a fuel cell, per se)
           2. Yadda generate, yadda transmission costs all the way to charging
              location (home?  central?)

        \3. Install an electric grid such cars get their power directly as long
           as they are on the road.  Kind of like bumper cars, or electric
           powered buses (like you see in SF) or electric trains.   Oh, were
           we talking energy efficient or cost efficient? (this idea has huge
           infrastructure costs)
           \_ Energy efficiency.  -- OP
              \_ Though it could take more energy to construct a really
                 elaborate super-efficient system than you'd ever save over the
                 useful life of the system.
        \_ 4. Ride Bike!
        \_ 5. walk.
2005/11/28-30 [Health/Men, Health/Women] UID:40752 Activity:nil
11/28   America land of gigantic asses, and here's the proof:
        http://tinyurl.com/9sybk
        CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fatter rear ends are causing many drug injections
        to miss their mark, requiring longer needles to reach buttock muscle,
        researchers said on Monday.
        \_ Although your point is probably still valid, the study mentioned in
           the article was done in Ireland, not America.
                \_ yeah, I imagined the average American ass of an American
                   exceeds the average Irish ass.
                \_ yeah, I assumed the average American ass exceeds the
                    average Irish ass.
2005/11/28-30 [Recreation/Media] UID:40753 Activity:kinda low
11/28   Got myself the Kodak c340 digital camera at Fry's ($199) that
        does movies with sound. Anyone have reccomendations on video
        size and codec that give decent results(default was 640x480
         QT which resulted in a rather large and fuzzy movie) This is
        a 5MP camera.
        \_ My Nikon Coolpix 3200 also has 640x480 15fps movie mode which also
           yields large and fuzzy QT movie.  Why are QT files so large and
           fuzzy?
           yields large and fuzzy QT movie.  Why are QT files so large?  It's
           about 500KB/sec.
           \_ I don't think any of these cameras let you specify codecs, only
              resolution and framerate.  From what I've come across, "QT" files
              are merely containers that can use any number of codecs.
              Chances are, the manufacturers are choosing codecs that require
              the least amount of processing power to encode, hence the size.
              Movies in digital cameras are gimmicks at best.
              \_ I see.  My Coolpix 3200 only lets me specify resolution, not
                 frame rate or codec.  QuickTimer Player says the format of the
                 video track is "Color: Millions, Data Format: Photo-JPEG".
                 Does that mean the "movie" is just a series of 15 JPEG still
                 pictures per second?  Is there any tool to convert QT files to
                 other smaller file formats?
                       \_ from the desktop ? try radtools.  It has a
                          decent QT converter
2005/11/28-30 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:40754 Activity:nil
11/28   http://CNN.com lead story
        "The government of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin fell Monday
        evening when opposition parties united to topple him with a
        no-confidence vote. Martin's center-left Liberal Party has been dogged
        by a corruption scandal, in which it paid advertising firms with
        Liberal links more than $1 million with little or no work done in
        exchange. An election -- probably in January -- could now end 12 years
        of Liberal rule in America's largest trading partner."
        \_ I don't know much about Canadian politics.  What does this
           translates to?  Lower taxes?  Welfare cuts?
           \_ I doubt it.  I don't know much either, but there are quite a
              few parties in Canada.  I would assume there will be a lot
              of confusion, and then a different liberal party will be in
              charge.
2005/11/28-30 [Consumer/Camera, Recreation/Media] UID:40755 Activity:kinda low
11/28   Watched Electra on cable. I was expecting a real turkey and
        was surprised to see that it wasn't, at least compared to the
        other Marvel films out there. The only ignificant gripe was
        that it was too long. Most of those flashback scenes could
        have gotten cut resulting in a better flow. According to the
        net: DD2 is a good possibility. Supposedly electra 2 is being
        considered as well.
        \_ I caught Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Definitely
           Charlie Kaufman's best film yet.
        \- editing becomes electra
        \_ yeah, batman begins actually had cheesier moments
        \_ yeah, batman begins was actually cheesier imo
           \_ batman begins had a lot going for it, but quite a bit that
              didn't really work.  it had enough that i hope they continue
              in this vein and work out the kinks.
        \_ you're kidding?  the cameraman spent half the film pointing at her
           flabby stomach.  maybe i saw a different film.
                  \_ Well, I wasn't thinking of it like a porn
                     flick. If you want that; try Entrapment.
                     I am thinking in comparing it to other superhero
                     films.
                     \_ I was trying to focus on the positive aspects of the
                        film.  "Flabby stomach" was the best it got.  The
                        acting sucked.  The fight scenes mostly sucked.  The
                       plot.. well I'd say it sucked but that implies it had
                       one.  Even the worst of the batman movies were better
                       because they actually attempted to entertain the
                       audience.  I'm not sure what this film was trying to do.
                        plot.. well I'd say it sucked but that implies it
                        had one.  Even the worst of the batman movies were
                        better because they actually attempted to entertain
                        the audience.  I'm not sure what this film was
                        trying to do.
        \_ Elektra.  God, I thought it was horrible.  The action was close-in,
           dark, and poorly choreographed... and that's really all there was to
           the movie.  You didn't really understand her motivation, powers,
           future...anything
                \_ This is actually something I can agree with. My
        original point was keeping in mind that all superhero
        movies are cheesy and campy. Its just puzzling considering the
        relatively good reviews that Batman begins got compared to
        other superhero moviews of late.  Yet it suffered from many
        of the same problems. The most vitriol seems to focus on
        Jennifer Garner which is similar to what Clooney got when he
        was batman (now that was just plain bad).
                \_ This is actually something I can agree with. My original
                   point was keeping in mind that all superhero movies are
                   cheesy and campy. Its just puzzling considering the
                   relatively good reviews that Batman begins got compared
                   to other superhero moviews of late.  Yet it suffered from
                   many of the same problems. The most vitriol seems to
                   focus on Jennifer Garner which is similar to what Clooney
                   got when he was batman (now that was just plain bad).
2005/11/28-30 [Uncategorized] UID:40756 Activity:nil
11/25   http://csua.org/u/e3u
        Vote for the worst corporate anthem - ever!
2005/11/28-30 [Reference/RealEstate] UID:40757 Activity:low
11/25   http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051128/ap_on_bi_ge/economy
        Sales of Existing Homes Drop in October. Swami the Magnificent
        was right afterall! All the greedy investors will now suffer.
        Suffer they shall, muhahahahahaha.         -bitter priced-out guy
        \_ "The decline in sales pushed the number of unsold homes to 2.87
           million, the highest level in more than 19 years."
           Anyone happen to have access to a graph or table of this data for
           NoCal/SoCal/the U.S.?
        \_ "Home sales hit new record - Yahoo! News"
           http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051129/bs_nm/economy_dc
2005/11/28-29 [Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Domestic/President/Reagan] UID:40758 Activity:nil 61%like:40761 88%like:40766
11/28   David Brin is worried
        http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2005/11/ideas-for-rescuing-modernity-part-1.html
2005/11/28-30 [Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:40759 Activity:nil
11/28   The long march of Dick Cheney, from http://salon.com.
        http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/11/24/cheney/index.html
        \_ cool article!
        \_ If Lucas ever makes another Star Wars, "Darth Cheneyius" sounds
           like a cool villain.
2005/11/28-30 [Recreation/Music] UID:40760 Activity:low
11/28   OK, Fark has shown me http://www.pandora.com and it is kinda cool.  After
        10-20 reviews it can get pretty good at predicting what music you will
        like.
        \_ I'm an engineer at pandora...glad you're liking it.  --lye
           \_ Ah, now that I've got your attention can I suggest a couple
              features?  It would be nice to have the option to open the player
              in a seperate 'undecorated' window or whatever the JavaScript
              word for it is.  Also, though you can start a station based on a
              band or song, it would be interesting to search by selecting
              several of the song attribute tags you have...  Keep up the good
              work. -dgies
              \_ also, replay of previous songs would also be nice.
        \_ ok. it doesn't seem to work for me.  I entered Floyd, and got a
           station that only plays Floyd.  I entered Postal Service, and got
           a station that only plays The Postal Service.  I thought it was
           supposed to find _similar_ music.
                 \_ They're not licensed to do that.  I'm sure it's obviously
                    obviously something they'd like to do if the music
                    industry let them.  I still wonder if it would be a
                    problem if they simply allowed playing small snippets of
                    previously-played songs instead, though.
              \_ dgies - You can do this. Just click the little box that says
                 "minimize" below the bottom right corner of the flash app.
                 Thanks for the search suggestion - something like that is
                 probably in the cards at some point.  --lye
           \_ you work there?? do you know david michel-ruddy? he's a
              music guy
           \_ It sounds really cool, any chance there will be a non-flash
              version?  The license on flash is obnoxious.
2005/11/28-29 [Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Domestic/President/Reagan] UID:40761 Activity:nil 61%like:40758 57%like:40766
11/28   David Brin is worried
 http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2005/11/ideas-for-rescuing-modernity-part-1.html
        [+80col URL deleted. Please use URL shortener]
          \_ wtf?!? comment if you want, don't delete the url.
        \_ you are an ass. why do you care?
2024/11/22 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
11/22   
Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2005:November:28 Monday <Tuesday>