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| 2006/2/18-20 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:41916 Activity:nil |
2/18 I just replace a bunch of regular bulbs with energy efficient
bulbs. Now I have a bunch of old bulbs that I don't ever plan
to use. What is a non-wasteful thing to do with them?
\_ give them to someone or put them away so you're not in the
dark when the new ones break. </commonsense>
\_ Break them open with a hammer and smoke meth with them. </nonsense>
\_ do this: http://www.cockeyed.com/science/lightbulb/bulb.html |
| 2006/2/18-23 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:41917 Activity:nil |
2/18 Back in 2000 I bought a few 23W energy efficient bulbs that
output 100W, and a few 16W bulbs that output 60W. The
(output/energy used) ratio was about 4. Today I bought a
few more bulbs from Walmart... 7W bulbs that output 40W,
which has the (output/energy used) ratio of over 5.
Are new bulbs getting more and more efficient?
\_ no.
\_ The "equivalent to XX watts" is an estimate by correlating an
average N watt incandescent bulb to the number of lumens it outputs.
It's mostly just rounding error, I'd guess. It would be nice if
they'd start putting lumens in bigger numbers, but I guess we've
got as much chance of switching to that as switching to m and km.
\_ is your understanding of these bulbs that they put out more
energy than they take in? please give me the address of the magical
unicorn that gave these to you. -ali.
\_ Holy cow. You are such a pedantic prick. And your tone makes
you sound like a wanna be smart ass and above all else,
a big jerk. Please work on your tone and personality. You
still haven't gotten a PhD not because you're not smart,
but because people don't like to work with fucking pricks.
\_ obGoogle, looks like he graduated.
\_ I'm the op and the answer is, obviously, no. You put in X,
you get out X. The problem with regular incandescent bulbs
is that much of the X is useless to you. I define
usefulness as viewable spectrum, and uselessness as heat,
UV, etc. Energy efficient bulbs have higher usefulness
over uselessness ratio.
\_ Duh, they're from the North Pole. Everyone knows unicorns have
nothing to do with infinite energy. It's an elf thing.
\_ Probably. When we switch to LED bulbs the multiple will be even
better. All this shows you is how amazingly inefficient
incandescent bulbs are in producing usable light.
\_ do LEDs have the obnoxious flicker or any other negatives you
get from fluorescents? |
| 2006/2/18-20 [Computer/HW/IO] UID:41918 Activity:nil |
2/17 What's the best wireless keyboard to get? Looking for something
that's compact and quiet. I bought the Gyration keyboard/mouse
combo and it's a total piece of shit. The first package I bought
was completely broken. The second package had a working mouse
but the keyboard wouldn't respond. Upon researching I found
out there's a whole bad batch they shipped out and many people
have gone through 2-3 Gyration keyboards. Total piece of shit. |
| 2006/2/18-19 [Finance/Investment] UID:41919 Activity:kinda low |
2/17 George Soros is a loser. He made big money just one time but has
made countless mistakes afterwards. Anyways, he predicts
a huge recession in 2007 that'll make the late 80s
recession look tame. Let's see if he's wrong. Again.
\_ Let's assume he's right. What does he want us to do? What
can we do? What's the best way to profit?
\_ Buy land with access to fresh water, and lots of guns.
\_ short GOOG!!! short everything!!1!
\_ He wants you to take your money out of the US to make it a
self fulfilling prophecy so he can make another few billion
in exchange for providing no return value to the world.
\_ If you sell all your stocks and buy I-Bonds or something
like that, you should be able to ride it out fine.
\_ nah soros made big money quite a few times. |
| 2006/2/18-23 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:41920 Activity:low |
2/18 http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/13880387.htm "It's apocalyptic out there. Life has definitely gotten worse for" Iraqis, said Maj. Curtis Strange, 36, of Mobile, Ala. Mission Accomplished! \_ Curtis Strange, huh? http://Realcities.com? Ok, I'll bite: What is Major Strange comparing to and was he around during the Hussein era to compare? I suspect he was in Alabama at the time not studying the socioeconomic situation across the Iraqi demographic spectrum. Then again, maybe he's entirely right and we should pull out, and reinstate Hussein. Things should get better right away. He's a man who knows how to put down an insurgency. \_ THE ONLY TWO OPTIONS ARE TO STAY THE COURSE OR INSTALL HUSSEIN!! ALL LIFE IS BINARY!! YOU'RE EITHER WITH US OR WITH THE TERRORISTS! \_ Okey dokey! Propose a different solution and we'll discuss it. Thanks for contribution nothing. \_ And what exactly have you contributed, bitch? \_ A list of still unanswered questions that directly pertains to the OP and a clean mouth. You? Nada. \_ I already told you my plan. It starts with impeaching Bush and turning him and his whole war cabinat over to the Wolrd Court to be tried for War Crimes. You didn't the World Court to be tried for War Crimes. You didn't seem to interested. \_ Realcities is where Knight Ridder puts their wire stories. Didn't you see that this from KR newspapers, from the byline? \_ Shrug, ok its KR. What about my other questions? \_ Maybe he's assuming that the Iraqis had a better life when their town wasn't all blown up and "apocalyptic". when their towns weren't all blown up and "apocalyptic". Just a guess, though. \_ Wow, Iraq is just one town? \_ You do realize you're an idiot, right? \_ Hard to face your own incompetence, huh? \_ No, you're still the idiot. Just briefly, it is within the realm of possibility that Maj. Strange knows a bit more about the Iraqi situation and the extent of it than you do, but a news article can only be so long, and the major has no real input on which of his sound bites make it into the article. BTW, it makes you sound real intelligent to suggest the only two options are pulling out or reinstating Saddam. \_ Umm.. Can't you read? I never suggested that, you're freakin' out on the wrong guy. I just snarked about the town thing. Sheesh. If you wanted to respond to the binary post, you need to correctly format your post so everyone knows who you're responding to. \_ there. fixed. the grammar police strike and ignore all contextual content. yay! -!pp |
| 2006/2/18-20 [Consumer/CellPhone] UID:41921 Activity:nil |
2/18 Is it possible to have 2 cell phones with the same number? I want
to get a Treo, but I don't want to have to lug it around when I'm
not at work, so I'd like to use my current, smaller phone during
those other times. Would this be possible? Thanks.
\_ No, but most (all?) cell phone providers will let you change
between them from the website. I know Verizon does this.
\_ Of course it is. You need a GSM provider who'll issue you a
second chip. I don't know whether American ones do this, but
mine in Europe charges about $40 for it. -John
\_ I was going to suggest this too, but, like John, am uncertain if
American cell phone companies will do this. Some possible
alternatives:
* You may be okay swapping one sim card between two devices.
This will work with any GSM phone/provider (i.e. Cingular or
T-Mobile)
* There are services you can set up to allow one number to
simultaneously ring through to multiple other numbers. The
one caveat to this is that, without further machinations, your
outgoing caller id will be that of the particular phone you
are calling with, not your unified number.
-dans |
| 2006/2/18-23 [Reference/Law/Court, Politics/Domestic/California] UID:41922 Activity:high |
2/18 Now here's an excellent reason to put a child in the SF public
school system.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/19/SPED.TMP
\_ I'm going to make a prediction. I predict that the GOP is planning
a frontal attack on public education within the next year, and that
talking points are being distributed through their usual channels
in anticipation of that attack. You can jump up and down and flame
me, and say that's crazy now, but I'll just repost this whole thread
in a year, when we're hearing a new proposal to phase out free
public k-12 education in America.
\_ So, are you anti-vouchers? If so, what's your reasoning?
Or, do you really believe the GOP wants to completely phase
out free public education? Also, if you're so sure about
your prediction, why not sign your name? -jrleek
\_ I am 100% pro-vouchers, and yes, I believe that the long-term
goal of those at the top in the GOP is the destruction of
all social services.
\_ Well, I'm with you on vouchers, but I think your fear
of associating your name with your prediction shows
that you know the prediction is BS and your belief
really only amounts to paranoid delusion. -jrleek
\_ I believe in a totally anymous motd. Part of the
reason for that is that I think anonymity helps remove
ego from discussions. I find claims by people like you
that the only reason people don't sign is cowardice
to be childish and stupid. If you really care, I'll
just email you. Do you care?
\_ I didn't say the only reason people don't sign
is cowardice. I often don't sign myself, and I
would appreciate a completely anonymous motd, so
people wouldn't get "outted" by lamers. But
in this case you not only made a specific
prediction, but bragged that you'd come back and
rub it in any flamer's faces when it came true.
This suggests that you want the "benifit" of
being right, but don't want to pay the "price"
of being wrong. That actually does sound like
cowardice to me. I don't really care who you
are, I just suggest that if you're going to
"call people out" you should have the guts to
sign your name. That said, I'm sure not going
to remember this in a year. -jrleek
\_ okay, if i was a poor person and my children flunked out
of highschool i would start sueing schools for them not
having provided special education and ruining my childs life.
I would start sueing every school and get poor people to sue
school after school. it's the only way for the poor to make
money.
\_ I want to go kill the fucking parents, piece of shit.
\_ Yeah, me too. Evil manipulative fuckers.
\_ Um, when did Woodside become part of San Francisco?
\_ 1. SFUSD is a recent favorite motd target. 2. SFUSD is
probably an easier mark with deeper pockets.
\_ Hey, I was a frustrated youth too! I should sue for a million
dollars as well.
\_ The State of California is required to provide education to
all children. Unsurprisingly, special needs kids are not often
catered to. It's not uncommon for those parents to sue to get
the education their child needs. Maybe these parents took
advantage of that or maybe not. It's not clear the what extent of
services their child may need.
\_ How would you ever legally decide whether a child actually
"needs" a service? Horseback lessons? It's patently obvious
that while all children could benefit from that, no child
actually requires it. Same goes for a private schooling
across the country. The school they chose had no special
services, it was just away from home and small.
\_ Things like that can make a big difference. With children
who have special needs, class size is a huge factor,
for instance. As someone else said below, an army of
therapists, doctors, teachers, and so on must all be
involved in deciding that a child has special needs. I
am surprised at the callous and uninformed responses in
this thread. It's possible this couple manipulated the
system. However, what evidence do we have of that?
\_ I am a bit confused. You say "an army of therapists, etc."
are involved in deciding a child has special needs? An
army? 11% of all students 6 to 13 receive some special
ed (http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/research/rb2txt.htm And
an army is required to certify each child? I fail to see
how that army scales to 11% of the student population.
Ref please.
\_ Don't take the word 'army' literally. The point is
that parents can't just make this stuff up. There
are a lot of people involved in the process. My
nephew is 9 and autistic. Each year he gets evaluated
by at least 3-4 different people in addition to
his own doctors and teachers. He has probably been
seen by 30-40 different professionals by now. It's
not like his parents can just make stuff up. In fact,
in my experience they tend to score him as more
functioning than he really is, probably for a
combination of financial and practical reasons.
(It's easy for him to fake being 'normal' for an
hour session, but it's quite eye-opening to spend the
weekend with him.) One social worker can handle a
lot of cases, for instance, so don't worry about
the numbers game. Just rest assured that the government
(including school districts) doesn't easily cough up
wads of cash to any dipshit parents who claim their kid
has issues. From what I see, for the most part kids
who should be receiving services are not and not
the other way around.
\_ OK, so the "army" was just hyperbole. Now have
you read the sfgate article? There, the Woodside
parents are doing "'unilateral placement--enrolling
a child in a private school, then billing the
district for tuition". IOW, they bypassed that
\_ OK, so the "army" was just hyperbole, and you
extrapolated from your experience with one nephew.
Now have you read the sfgate article? There, the
Woodside parents are doing "'unilateral placement--
enrolling a child in a private school, then billing
the district for tuition". IOW, they bypassed that
"army" and hired their own special ed expert to find
a prep school, and then the Woodside parents hired
a lawyer to sue the school district so the district
would pay for tuition and family travel cost to
visit the child in Maine.
a prep school in Maine. Then the Woodside parents
hired a lawyer to sue the school district so the
district would pay for tuition and family travel
cost to visit the child in Maine. In fact, according
to the artcle, of 3763 special ed kids who filed
complaints last year, the distrcits had secret
settlements with 90% of them.
cost to visit the child in Maine. Nor does it seem
that the Woodside child was all that disabled.
Even the mother said "He's a model child". His
problem? "[H]is frustration and anxiety were so
high that [he could] turn to drugs...".
\_ Actually, I am not using just one data point.
I met a psychology professor whose specialty
is 'special education' and he referred me to
a private practice attorney who deals with
filing suits against school districts. The
way it works is that the district drags its
feet until confronted with parents who are
willing to do something about them. Then they
pay up because it's actually cheaper to pay
the parents than to solve the initial
problem. They don't do so until there has
been a mountain of evidence amassed against
them (i.e. they feel they will lose the
case). This is where the expert testimony and
evaluations come in. I don't know if these
parents were full of shit or not, but I am
appalled at the responses nonetheless.
\_ Did you read the article? It's obvious
they are full of shit. If you don't know
then you're an idiot.
\_ Why are you appalled? Did you read the
article? It's obvious that things like
horseback riding aren't needed. And in
this case of the small school across
the country, that's complete bull also.
From the article, the parents put the
kid there WITHOUT having any specific
reason, just the mother's whim basically.
If you think that's fair to the taxpayers
then you can fuck yourself.
\_ Now, 90% of complaints are settled by the
school districts. It seems difficult to
settle 90% of the time and at the same time
require "a mountain of evidence amassed
against them". In fact, the only way I think
90% settlement can be explained is if the
school district bends over like a cheap whore
on speed.
\_ If you don't know anything about the
process then just say so.
\_ Given a choice between anonymous motd
assurances from someone with a vested
interest in the system or sfgate,
interested in the system or sfgate,
I'll run with sfgate.
\_ Thanks for posting this. What a ridiculous ass story. I bet
that kid doesn't have a single thing wrong with him, except
that he has a psychotic bitch of a greedy mother. No wonder
he has "anxiety".
\_ I know who this family is. Is anybody prepared to terrorize
them if I provide the name?
\_ Do you mind if I ask how you know it's them?
\_ I don't have the time, money, or personal bandwidth to do it,
but I think it would be poetic justice to bring civil suit
against them for extortion/theft of public services or the
like. -dans
\_ It doesn't even matter. Technically speaking you don't have
standing to sue anyway.
\_ Gee, isn't this vigilantism?
\_ Yup. -dans
\_ No vigilantism would be if you firebombed their
house. This is using the legal system to bring
about justice.
\_ It's vigilante use of the courts. Of course, I
don't really mind this since I'm not opposed to
all vigilante acts (eg the Billboard LIberation
Front is non-violent, usually thought-provoking,
and makes good art). Using the courts for
vigilante justice is much safer than the street
variety since the formal bureaucratic procedures
of the courts provide some level of check against
the chance of `bad' or unjust acts being
successfully completed. Then again, there's
always the possibility for abuse. Many
organizations (eg the RIAA) use the legal system
the way a corner street thug uses a gun or
baseball bat. -dans
\_ So is their kid really a 'tard or just a typical
underachieving teen?
\_ So how do children get certified as needing special ed?
\_ doctor's evaluations, state and/or private, administrators,
teachers, etc., etc.
\_ In addition to the above, the process also hinges on an
advocate willing to badger and harrass. This is true both
for legitimate and illegitimate cases.
\_ It would be interesting to see what percentage of special
ed application is rejected.
\_ Probably not as many as you would think. More likely is
that an application without an active advocate will
simply be set aside.
\_ It's easy to get approved for 'special ed' (usually
just a diagnosis). It's hard to get approved for
special ed outside of the district and/or to get
money from the district to pay for additional
services. Also, as someone above said, without a
strong advocate your case will languish for years.
Many parents cannot afford such a person/people
(usually a social worker, a doctor, and an attorney).
Districts will otherwise practice a policy of
appeasement, giving in here and there over time to
avoid actually doing everything they should be.
Note that there are some good districts. I am
referring to the bad ones, which are most of them in
California.
\- You know I think one of the "right' outcomes
would be for the reporters in cases like this to
give the names of the parties involved. Journalists
makes sometimes make wild claims based on the
"public's right to know" but often they or their
editors filter it through a bit of an agenda.
For example in union strike coverage they often
dont list the salaries involved. The recent
muscisian strike was an interesting exception.
\_ Now, this is what confuses me. At first the poster
above says "an army of therapists, doctors, teachers,
and so on must all be involved in deciding that a
child has special needs." Now you tell me it's
easy to get approved. OK, so you say certification
as needing special ed is easy, it's getting approved
for outside resources that's hard. But isn't the
original articl all about parents skipping the
outside special ed process altogether, and then
sueing afterwards for the expenses? If the system
is set up so that certification to be eligible for
special ed is easy (your claim), and then sueing for
outside services rendererd is easy (sfgate's claim),
isn't that just asking for trouble?
\_ OK, so you say certification as needing special ed
is easy, it's getting approved for outside resources
that's hard. But isn't the original articl all
about parents skipping the outside special ed
process altogether, and then sueing afterwards for
process altogether, and then suing afterwards for
the expenses? If the system is set up so that
certification to be eligible for special ed is
easy (your claim), and then sueing for outside
non-preapproved services rendererd is easy (sfgate's
easy (your claim), and then suing for outside
non-preapproved services is easy (sfgate's
claim), isn't that just asking for trouble?
\_ You will only win a suit if there is evidence
supporting your case. You can send your kid
to boarding school in Switzerland and bill
the district for it, but you will lose unless
you have built a good case. Therefore, suing
for outside services (preapproved or not)
is not easy unless your case might win. It is,
however, easier than actually getting the school
district to provide those services themselves.
This is what the professor told me in so many
words. Keep asking the district for what you
need and let them tell you 'no'. It works out
better for everyone that way. If they say
'yes' and then half-ass it it becomes much
more difficult to prove that the program is
substandard and the school pays as much or
more money in the end anyway while your kid
fritters away in useless classes for 2-3-4-5
years of valuable time while the case goes
through the legal process. This is why many school
districts would rather pay kids who genuinely
need special help to go where they can
receive it. It's better for the kids and
cheaper/easier for the district. |
| 2006/2/18-23 [Computer/Networking] UID:41923 Activity:low |
2/18 My DSL modem's ip address is 192.168.0.1, my internal network
behind my router is 10.0.0.x. Is there a way I can configure
the router so I can access the DSL modem from my 10.0.0.x
network directly without re-wiring? Static routes? I tried it
but no much luck. I also tried changing my internal network to
192.168.0.x, but still does not work. Thanks.
\_ I assume this is the connectivity:
Wall -> DSL router -> Switch(es) -> Various PCs
If your DSL router is 192.168.0.1, and you configure your various
PCs to be 192.168.0.x, I don't see why you can't connect to
192.168.0.1, your DSL router. Can you ping it at least?
\_ Sorry, typo, it should say "DSL modem". It is
Wall -> DSL modem -> DSL Router -> PC.
How do I get to my DSL modem from my PC? If I
connect the modem directly to my PC, I can access
it's configuration URL, but if the router sits
in between, I can't.
\_ Huh. It ought to work either way. What happens if you run
"traceroute -n http://csua.berkeley.edu" from the PC? Do you see
a response from 192.168.0.1? What about "traceroute -n
192.168.0.1"? (On Windows, use "tracert -d" instead.)
\_ From your description it sounds like you have the
following setup:
Wall <-> DSL Modem <- 192.168.x net -> DSL Router <- 10.x net -> PCs
I'm assuming that eth0 on the DSL Router is connected
to the 192.168.0.0 net and eth1 on the DSL Router is
connected to the 10.0.0.0 net. I'm also assuming that
the PCs and the DSL Modem are on separate switches (or
hubs) or that you are using a cross over cable for the
connection btwn the DSL Modem and the DSL Router.
If so, you should probably have eth0 on the DSL Router
configured to something like 192.168.0.2. Make sure that
the DSL Router's default gateway is 192.168.0.1, the
IP of the DSL modem. Also make sure that IP forwarding
is enabled.
You probably need to set up eth1 on the DSL Router to
something like 10.0.0.1. Then configure your PCs to
use 10.0.0.1 as their default gateway. This should let
you talk to 192.168.0.1 from your PCs (assuming that
your DSL router's firewall/nat is configured to allow
this).
\_ My router has a WAN port, which is directly
connected to the DSL modem's LAN port via a
regular Ethernet cable. The PC is connected to the
router's LAN port. The DSL modem's ip address is
192.168.0.1. PPPoE is handled by the router but I
don't think it talks to the modem using its
192.168.0.1 address. On the LAN side, the router's
ip address is 10.0.0.1, and my PC is 10.0.0.100,
the router's WAN side is my external ip address
(which is connected to the modem that only answers
on 192.168.0.1). I guess it's not possible to get
to the modem from my PC directly through the
router. If I connect the modem directly to my PC,
and set my PC's ip address to 192.168.0.2, then I
can talk to the modem fine.
\_ plug everything into the "LAN" side, including the
connection to the DSL modem. configure your DHCP
pool to hand out IPS on the 192.168.0.x with default
gateway 192.168.0.1
\_ Won't I lose the firewall capability of my router?
\_ See if your router can support bridging the "WAN" side to the
"LAN" side. That would eliminate the entire 10.x network
\_ and eliminate the need for the router too.
\_ I don't want to lose the SPI firewall in my router.
If I connect the modem to the LAN side, then my
entire local network becomes a DMZ. To me, the
firewall capabilities of my router outweights the
inconvenience of reconnecting the cables when I need
to configure the modem. I am just wondering if
there's a trick that would allow me to access the
modem through the router. I guess it's not possible... |
| 2006/2/18-23 [Recreation/Music] UID:41924 Activity:low |
2/18 Where are good places to download music these days? BitTorrent
tends to have mostly albums and large quantities of songs...
\_ iTunes Music Store. Don't Steal Music. -sjobs
\_ Any music store that has seperate sections for "world",
\_ Any music store that has separate sections for "world",
"inspirational", "new age", and "pop", but no section for
metal or punk is a store I won't buy from just on principle.
Is there a competing legal online music seller that caters to
people under 40?
\_ I'm sick & tired of computer geeks spelling it wrong: separate.
\_ Click browse (Eye in the Corner), then click Rock. There
are many subgenres, including Death Metal and Trad Rock.
Under Alternative, there's Goth, Indie, Punk, etc.
\_ Holy crap. Ok, I'm impressed.
\_ Internet radio and Wiretap by Ambrosia (ships free with Macs).
Of course, you'll need to edit/convert the track after, but digital
is digital. |
| 2006/2/18-23 [Reference/Tax] UID:41925 Activity:nil |
2/18 Business SUV tax break still far greater than hybrid tax break
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060218/ap_on_bi_ge/suvs_tax_breaks |
| 2006/2/18-23 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:41926 Activity:nil |
2/18 Since 1990, the UK has cut greenhouse emissions by 13 percent while
growing its economy by 40 percent. An interview with Sir David King.
http://grist.org/news/maindish/2006/02/17/griscom-little/index.html
\_ The last thing I read said CO2 had risen about 12% since they had
committed to Kyoto and they'll miss their 2012 mark by miles.
Maybe they'd had a huge turn around in emissions in the last
6 months, go Britain!
\_ To me the most interesting bit of this interview is his
endorsement of nuclear power. Is this becoming more of a favored
option? |
| 2006/2/18-23 [Politics/Foreign/Canada] UID:41927 Activity:nil |
2/18 Switzerland Uber Alles (okay only Uber Canada, but still...)
http://csua.org/u/f11
Are the Swiss going to riot now John? -ausman
\_ WTF is with the John fascination? Why is he so special
and why do you pick on him? -someone who doesn't know John
\_ Only if the government tells them they can. ;-)
\_ I think our coach is Canadian. W00t! -John |
| 5/17 |