Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2006:March:21 Tuesday <Monday, Wednesday>
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2006/3/21 [Recreation/Dating, Computer] UID:42350 Activity:nil
3/21    reviews of virtual escorts:
        http://sl-escorts.com
        \_ This was posted like three weeks ago. -dans
2006/3/21-22 [Finance/Investment] UID:42351 Activity:nil
3/21    Okay, why is yahoo finance letting this Robert Kiyosaki guy be their
        columnist?  His writing riles people which is kind of fun. But then
        this guy doesn't know if you owe a debt in US$, and US$ goes down in
        value, it's actually good for you, and he still goes to outlets to
        buy gold and silver when you can buy GLD: "The outlets that sell gold
        and silver I have visited are already low on inventory."  Isn't that
        kind of embarassing for a supposed financial guru?  No wonder people
        say he is a con man and he made all his money not through investing,
        but from giving investment advice.
        http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/richricher/2987?p=1
        \_ Because Kiosaki is a financial wizard. Several years ago he
           started seminars that encouranged people to flip homes, lots and
           lots of homes. He started many investment clubs and spun off
           THOUSANDS of investment clubs in the country where people
           bought properties for the sole purpose of investment, and those
           who followed his advice did very well. To many new millionaires
           who followed his advice, he is a hero. People look up to
           Kiosaki because he is financial leader, a financial hero, a
           financial trendsetter. PS I attended his seminar last year and
           he said something to the effect that real estate is still hot in
           some areas but we gotta be looking for the next thing. You have
           to attend his other seminar to know what that is. Oh yeah, thanks
           for reminding me I need to register.       -the next millionaire
           \_ Fuck you.  People like you are the reason people like me buy
              land in remote places and stockpile weapons.
           \_ but it seems to me that if he's only encouraging people
              to get into gold and silver now, he's at best a financial
              follower as opposed to a trendsetter.
              \_ This kind of thing is usually evidence that the trend is
                 almost over. I am selling my gold and silver stock.
        \_ Suze Orman gave some bad advice based on math that didn't work
           once all factors were accounted for. When I tried to call her on
           it, I couldn't find any way to contact her. These people are
           there for entertainment value, I suppose.
           \_ "These people" is rather dismissive, don't you think?  There
              are certainly good financial columnists out there.  It is true
              that Yahoo gets paid by you reading the article, not by you
              making money, so in some sense the corporation doesn't care if
              the advice is good.  -tom
              \_ It's intended to be dismissive. Giving out bad financial
                 advice and then making yourself unavailable for criticism
                 or comment is irresponsible. There are people out there
                 that consider 'these people' to be gurus and who take
                 what they say at face value. It doesn't mean all their advice
                 is bad, of course.
                 \_ my point is that Suze Orman was irresponsible, not
                    "financial columnists" as a class of people.  The
                    Motley Fool columnists, in particular, are quite
                    accountable for their positions.  -tom
                    \_ I don't know if they are accountable, but many
                       of their recent picks sucked big time.
                        eg. snda, nile
                       But I agree.  There are some good columnists
                       (eg. smartmoney columnists ain't bad).  I even
                       think Jim Cramer is pretty good.  -op
                       \_ Remember that it's always possible to do good
                          analysis and still be wrong, especially in
                          the short term.  -tom
2006/3/21-22 [Uncategorized] UID:42352 Activity:nil
3/21    What's the best way (fastest method) to increase your search rank?
        The business I work with doesn't mind paying someone but would
        like to know some of the options and their effectiveness. Thanks.
        \_ Pay Google?  That's probably fastest.
2006/3/21-25 [Reference/RealEstate] UID:42353 Activity:nil
3/21    Does anyone know what inflation value is used as a deflator on
        nominal GDP to get real GDP? It is pretty clear that the CPI
        has been understated, since it strips out housing costs (since 1983).
        Does this mean that real GDP has also been overstated? -ausman
        http://csua.org/u/fb6
        \- ausman advisory: the three commonly used prices indexes are:
           CPI, Producer Price Index and "the GDP deflator". The GDP deflator
           CPI, Produce Price Index and "the GDP deflator". The GDP deflator
           is based on a very wide set of goods and this bundle changes
           over years as the production weights change in the economy ...
           in contrast to the CPI which measures a fixed bundle of goods
           and services considered to be representative of an (urban) end
           user (although of course this bundle is recalibrated over time,
           and of course price may not capture quality improvements, but that
           is understood to be a limitation of GDP measurements). The other
           major difference between the CPI and GDP deflator is CPI would
           include some imported items which the end users demand, while
           the GDP deflator only includes domestically produced stuff.
           PPI is similar to CPI except the bundle is one representative
           of retailers and producers so the CPI lags the PPI. finally,
           of retailerrs and producers so the CPI lags the PPI. finally,
           CPI and PPI are announced monthy, while GDP deflator is a quarterly
           estimate. note also CPI can be used to do real GDP calculations
           in some contexts ... in sophisticated settings, which deflator is
           used and the index year is advertised (are you interested in
           cost of living, or physical growth of the economy). these numbers
           are often restated in retrospect as better data becomes avail.
           i believe the estimates for the underground economy not captured
           is supposed to be in the 3-8% range but i am not sure if these
           error bars have increased over the last 10yrs say. for a more
           sophisticated discussion about fixed vs weighted indexes you may
           enjoy googling for "PAASCHE and LASPEYRES". consumer substitution
           leads to systemic biases between the CPI and GDP deflator. --psb
           leads to systemic basies between the CPI and GDP deflator. --psb
        \_ Not answering your question, but providing more information on your
           underlying assumption.  You might want to look at
           http://www.nber.org/books/CRIW03-BH/gordon-vangoethem6-26-05.pdf ,
           Table 11 (on page 61).  Comparing rents computed from CPI and actual
           survey of rents, the CPI is found to underestimate the price of
           rental by 0.33% from 1995-2003.  The table also shows an improve-
           ment of the accuracy of CPI (compared to actual rents) over the last
           40ish years.  The sky may be falling, but it's actually been falling
           more slowly.
        \_ OBTW, the CPI doesn't strip out housing costs so much as it
           separates the owner occupied housing costs into 2 values, one for
           the house as investment (which is not part of the CPI computation)
           and one for for the house as a residence (which is part of the
           CPI computation).
           enjoy googling for "PAASCHE and LASPEYRES". consumer
           substitution leads to systemic basies between the CPI and GDP
           deflator. --psb
2006/3/21-25 [Transportation/Car, Transportation/Airplane] UID:42354 Activity:nil
3/21    The Coming Normalcy by Robert Kaplan of The Atlantic Online
        Write up about Mosul.  I think he has a clue.
        http://michaelyon-online.com/media/pdf/ComingNormalcy.pdf
        \_ An article on the Stryker vehicle:
           http://www.army-technology.com/projects/stryker
2006/3/21-22 [Uncategorized] UID:42355 Activity:nil
3/21    For those of you who mised Sean Connery in Zardoz last night... it
        was as good as ever!  The audio was a bit choppy in places but that
        did not diminish the quality of this cinematic classic in any way.
        \_ Can you post your address please?  I want to come to your
           house and rape you to make your life more interesting.
           \_ 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.  Washington DC.  Just ask for "Georgie"
              at the gate.
2006/3/21-25 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:42356 Activity:nil
3/21    Not a Civil War:
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060321/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
        \_ Has Bush been "on the ground" there since he served up the
           plastic turkey?
2006/3/21-23 [Politics/Domestic/President/Bush, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Israel] UID:42357 Activity:nil
3/21    http://www.russforpresident.com
        \_ is this guy Jewish? Isn't that bad news?
           \_ so who is the anonymous poster?
           \_ Would it change anything?  It's already common knowledge in
              Azurbijan that Bush and Cheney are both Jews.
              \_ "Jagshemash...I support my government's decision to sue
                 this Jew."  -Borat
2006/3/21-23 [Computer/Companies/Google, Recreation/Sports] UID:42358 Activity:nil
3/21    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/21/google_soccer_vendetta
        Register op/ed piece.  Take it as you will.
        \_ The Register claims to be a news source, but in reality The
           Register is little more than a purveyor of capitalism's most
           despised offshoot - advertising.
           \_ It's an op/ed, not news.  I said it was an op/ed.  What's the
              problem?  -op
              \_ Sheesh, it was a joke, calm down.  I just thought it was
                 funny to be reading about how evil advertising is on a page
                 filled with fashing annoying ads. You realize that line is
                 pulled from the article, right? -pp
                 \_ Sorry, it's the motd.  I've learned not to expect anything
                    intended to be funny.
2006/3/21-25 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:42359 Activity:kinda low
3/21    So it turns out that Saddam Hussein was telling the truth and
        Bush was the bullshitter. This must really be a bitter
        pill for Bush voters to have to swallow:
        http://csua.org/u/fbb
        \_ Poor Saddam!  It was so unfair that he was deposed by the evil
           George Bush!  We should reinstate him right away so he can bring
           peace and freedom back to his Peoples!
           \_ You're missing the point.  The point is that GW is actually no
              better than Saddam.  He launched this war declaring that he had
              proof that there were WMD.  Instead he has been proven a liar
              numerous times over and is as much of a terrorist as Osama bin
              Ladin.  So stop pretending that you are "holier than thou" and
              are doing the Iraqi ppl a favor, because you clearly are not.
              \_ Bush said there were WMD and there aren't, true.  Where's the
                 proof that this was a lie and not a mistake?  Quite a few
                 people with no vested interest in an Iraq invasion also
                 said they were there.  I realize you're already convinced, but
                 just as an exercise imagine you're the prosecuter in the
                 impeachment trial.  What evidence are you going to bring
                 out to support the lying claim?
                 \_ Look up "Downing Street Memo".  Was huge in the news all
                    around the world (except here).  But seriously, some
                    things are just plain obvious.  Are you going to say that
                    Barry Bonds never took steroids just because we can't
                    convict him for it? - pp
                    \_ I had heard about it, but I only just read it now after
                       you posted that.  Ok, impeach the son of a bitch.
                       I'm convinced.
                    \_ I'm saying that OJ got acquited because the gloves
                       don't fit.               -not the pp and not the op
                 \_ I think Bush has plausible deniability on this one.
                    "Plausible deniability" is code for "you know I did it,
                    but you can't prove it."  It's obvious that Bush and
                    the rest of the PNAC crew were planning to go to war
                    with Iraq from the outset of his presidency (and even
                    before), and were looking for an excuse that would fly
                    with the public.  -tom
                    \_ Fine.  There's a clear public record that indicates
                       that they were going to invade Iraq regardless, I
                       agree.  But how does that prove Bush was *lying*
                       about WMD's?  Where all the other people who said
                       about WMD's?  Were all the other people who said
                       publicly that there were WMD's who had no affiliation
                       with PNAC or the administration lying also?  I think
                       Bush is despicable, and should be run out of office
                       for a variety of reasons, but I find the lying label
                       to be tiresome since there does not appear to be any
                       proof, and I think sticking to that particular line
                       discredits Bush's critics.  Our country desperately
                       needs Bush's critics to not be discrecited in any way
                       needs Bush's critics to not be discredited in any way
                       right now.
                       \_ Yes I agree.  Saying that someone lied probably
                          seems pretty petty.  People lie all the time, but
                          usually for a lot smaller causes.  But I can see
                          your point.  In regards to proof, look at comment
                          above regarding Downing Street Memo.  Even without
                          the memo, it was pretty obvious tho.  When we first
                          went into Afghanistan, poeple were already making
                          predictions that Bush would try to fabricate reasons
                          to go to war with Iraq.  When that actually happened,
                          ...well guess what?  Now, the Muslim world is having
                          a field day in how Americans are taking over their
                          lands and trying to pretend that they are spreading
                          freedom. What we do will only exacerbate the
                          terrorism.  If you look at it, we are really the
                          authors of our own distress. (i.e. we are the
                          problem, not the solution)
              \_ Yes Bother!  I hear you!  Restore Saddam!  Let Freedom Ring!
                 Kick out the American Occupiers, the Great Oppressors of
                 Our Once Free Peoples and give us Our Great Leader back to
                 restore us to the greatness that was once Greater Iraq's 19
                 states!  Only Saddam can give us the Freedom and Peace we the
                 Iraqi Peoples have earned!  Praise Allah!  Alahu Akbar!
                 \_ See, here's the problem.  We did a Good Thing, but did
                    it badly and incompetently, and under super-dishonest,
                    illegal premises.  Like going down to the rail yards and
                    shooting the guy pushing drugs to little kids because the
                    cops won't deal with him.  Which doesn't change the fact
                    that it's a Good Thing.  Which doesn't change the fact
                    that it was stupid, incompetent and illegal.  No, I don't
                    have a point.  -John
                    \_ We took out the guy pushing drugs, along with most of
                       the kids, and now are in the process of installing
                       another guy to push different drugs.  Oh, and now
                       there's a turf war among other pushers competing
                       for the neighberhood, and lots of innocent people
                       are being killed in drive-bys.  -tom
                       \_ Except for the "installing another guy to push
                          different drugs" part, which is silly, isn't that
                          sort of what I said?  -John
                          \_ Why is that silly?  We basically have a history
                             of doing that.  Didn't we basically install
                             Saddam Hussein as leader of Iraq?  Didn't we
                             basically arm Osama bin Ladin with advanced
                             military equipment when he was fighting
                             the Russians in Afghanistan?  We have created our
                             own worst enemies time and time again.
                             And seriously, if we have this policy of
                             installing puppets around the world, at least
                             get it right.  --!tom
                             \_ Yes, we have done this.  I am not referring
                                to historical events.  I am referring to now.
                                And I see a reasonably good-faith, albeit
                                incompetent and probably doomed effort to
                                get the Iraqis and Afghans to vote for a
                                democratic representative govt., even if it's
                                a disingenuous ploy to get them off our
                                backs.  -John
                          \_ You are begging the question; it's not clear
                             that removing the pusher was a Good Thing.  -tom
                             \_ He was a murderous, totalitarian thug.  Getting
                                rid of these is always a good thing if you
                                don't fuck it up and don't do it on dishonest
                                premises.  The fact that we have installed and
                                supported similar thugs in the past, or that
                                a lot of the world is prepared to tolerate
                                such thugs in the interest of geopolitics
                                should not be an obstacle to removing them.  My
                                point is that if you're going to do it, do it
                                right--how is this begging the question?  -John
                                \_ What would be sad is if the Iraq debacle
                                   ended up discrediting idealistic ventures
                                   to secure freedom around the world in the
                                   future.
                                \_ "Getting rid of murderous, totalitarian
                                   thugs is always a good thing" is an
                                   unfounded statement.  It's only a good
                                   thing if the result is something better
                                   in the end.  I said before the invasion
                                   that the most likely result of a power
                                   vacuum in Iraq was an Islamic fundamentalist
                                   government, elected or not; that was
                                   completely predictable, and as such,
                                   the benefit of removing Saddam has to
                                   be weighed against the likely result.
                                   I still think it would be hilarious if
                                   the Iraqis elected Osama bin Laden.  -tom
                                   \_ OK, maybe I'm nitpicking semantically,
                                      but I don't consider getting rid of one
                                      thug to have him replaced by another to
                                      be "getting rid of a thug".  I consider
                                      that to be an amateurish fuckup.  In
                                      which case, yes, you're right.  But it
                                      occurs to me in Iraq that the danger is
                                      not us putting in another thug, but
                                      bloody civil war.  -John
                    \_ Oh... I dunno.  Did the guy at the rail yard end up
                       dead?  Ok, so the first shot took out a window and the
                       second hit a stray dog.  The third killed him so the
                       kids stand a chance now.  Actually the initial take down
                       was beautifully executed.  It was afterwards that things
                       could have been better, mostly I think because we're now
                       afraid to deal with chaos with the giant hammer required
                       because then people start screaming about human rights
                       for terrorists so we go half assed and drag it out
                       which is much worse than just dealing with it up front
                       and going home.  As far as illegal, sorry but pft.  In
                       the international realm, might makes right.  There is
                       no higher authority.  Without effective enforcement,
                       you don't have laws, just suggestions from your
                       neighbors and handshake agreements.
        \_ More reason to actually have WMD so Bush will think twice
           about an invasion. Go North Korea!
        \_ Nah.  The Bush voters don't care.
        \_ Except the same documents also show continued deceit and that
           Saddam's generals were honestly surprised when Saddam didn't have
           any WMD at the start of the war.
           http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Iraq/2006/03/17/1493281-ap.html
           \_ Hey we invaded, the burden of proof is on us to find
              the stuff.
           \_ We invaded Iraq because Dubya, I mean Saddam, I mean, Saddam's
              generals, had no doubt he had WMDs!
              They are obviously buried in the desert ... probably in Syria ...
              \_ We have always been at war with Eastasia.
                 \_ let's go start a land war!
                    \_ Let's have a War
                       So you can all Die.
                       Let's Have a War
                       We can all use our Brains.
                       Let's Have a War
                       Redeem this space.
                       Let's have a War
                       We have this place.
                       Let's have a War
                       Jack up the Dow Jones
                       Let's have a War
                       We can save New Jersey
                       Let's have a War
                       Blame it on the Middle Class
                       Let's have a War
                       Like rats in a cage.
                       Let's have a War
                       Sell the rights to the networks
                       Let's have a War
                       Nevermind about that last time.
                       Let's have a War
                       Give life a little twist.
                       Let's have a War
                       The Enemy's Within..
                       \_ You just made my fucking day.  Thanks.
                        \_ No wonder we couldn't find the WMDs, Saddam used
                           iocaine powder!
2006/3/21-25 [Recreation/House] UID:42360 Activity:nil
3/21    I bought 2 kotatsu heaters from eBay and mounted one on my desk and
        another one on my coffee table. Total energy cost this winter for
        me was only 30% of last year. I totally recommend using the kotatsu
        heater instead of traditional heaters.   -ichiban kotatsu-san convert
        \_ http://www.sushicam.com/Journal%20entries/001230.php this one?
        \_ Are you the flatulent Ionic Breeze guy?  Seriously man, the Home
           Shopping Network is ruining your life.  Change the damn channel!
           \_ I don't think American channels sell kotatsu. The average
              American male won't even fit a kotatsu meant for 2 Japanese
              grown-ups..
        \_ I bought a heavy coat last year. Total enegy cost this winter is
           0, just like it was last year.
           \_ My wife uses a small blanket when watching TV.  Ditto for energy
              cost.
           \_ You don't heat your house at all???
              \_ Don't be ridiculous. My computer doubles as my space heater.
                 \_ But...unless your computer is imaginary, then your
                    energy cost is very unlikely to be zero....  </pedantic>
                    \_ I'm not the same guy. Welcome to the motd.
                       \_ You guys are going to give me a panic attack.
                          \_ BOO! -!pp
              \_ I don't heat my house at all.  In fact I leave the windows
                 open all but like 3-4 days a year.  It's warm around here!
                 \_ Where do you live?
                    \_ I used to live in a house like this, in Berkeley: it
                       was a relatively small place, and it had been remodeled
                       in the 80's, so it had with modern insulation.  There
                       was a little heater in the living room, but we never
                       used it.  Now I live in an older, larger house in
                       Berkeley, and spend hundreds of dollars on heating
                       every winter. --!pp
                       \_ What's a few hundred dollars? I'm sure Bush's
                          generous tax cuts make it all worthwhile.
        \_ http://www.bizarreingredients.co.uk/japan/a/heater/heater.htm
        \_ Kotatsu looks cool.  I can be finger-screwing my sister while we're
           talking to our parents with a straight face.
                \_ Sister as in nun or nurse or sibling ?
        \_ Oh that is interesting ... that is essentially the technology
           used in the common dining halls at tea houses up in the himalaya,
           except the heater isnt electric, it is buring something.
        \_ I still prefer the Kang, a northern China stone platform bed heated
           by wood or coal.  It's like a modern day hot stone spa treatment:
           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_bed-stove
2006/3/21-22 [Uncategorized] UID:42361 Activity:low
3/21    Anyone felt the quake a few minutes ago?
        http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/nc51169283.php
        \_ Ayup, one of our buildings lost power for a minute.  Don't know
           why...  -Dublin
           \_ Larry Ellison is busy bugging your phones.
                   \_ No. Larry Ellison is too busy trying to become a
                      samurai. Why he wants to be a samurai... I have
                      no clue. Does anyone know?
                      \_ So he can lop the arms off peasants that forget to
                         bow to him?
                      \_ cultureless souless
              \_ Damn it!
2006/3/21-22 [Academia/Berkeley/CSUA, Industry/Jobs] UID:42362 Activity:nil
3/21    I just read the csua minutes wrt hard drive failures, fix, admin,
        email, root, whatever. Good job mrauser. You guys are doing a
        good job keeping the fine tradition of producing some of the
        best sysadms in the world.                -old sysadm from csua/cal
        \_ Woot, woot!  Go mrauser! -mrauser
2006/3/21-25 [Recreation/Pets] UID:42363 Activity:nil
3/21    What do you do if you see a stray dog/pet in your neighborhood?
        \_ aggressive?  call animal control.  friendly?  grab it and see if
           it has a name tag with contact info.
           \_ is animal control open at night or weekends?
        \_ If it is a cat, ignore it unless it is a total baby.  Feral cats
           aren't going to let a stranger get anywhere near them and if it
           isn't feral it has an owner.  Lots of cats refuse to wear collars.
        \_ Call your local Korean restaurant.  If it's a kitten/puppy, take
           it home (I never see kittens/puppies, they're too tender and get
           snatched up very quickly.)  -John
           \_ John, are you trying to be funny or are you trying to insinuate
              that Koreans are barbaric? Do you even know anything about the
              Koreans? I don't know who you are personally but I am
              personally offended. I am Korean.
              \_ No, I'm insinuating that Koreans eat dogs.  -John
                 \_ You're on my watch list now.                -Korean
2006/3/21-25 [Finance, Reference/Tax] UID:42364 Activity:nil
3/21    I'm here to expose that Edward Magluyan has a company called INA
        which is really Amway. This guys will say anything to get
        you into Amway trap. He'll talk about debt elimination, tax reduction,
        multiple income streams, etc. Don't buy into any of that crap unless
        you want to lose money. Edward Magluyan is a really nice looking guy
        and a smoooooth talker. Any time someone like that approaches you
        and talk about unlimited growth potential, WALK AWAY.  -really pissed
        \_ I lost 30lbs in 30 days!  Ask me how!
           \_ A very slow guillotine?
              \_ A cheese-grater.  Gotta be.
           \_ A cheese-grater?
           \_ An angry dystopic future?
        \_ so how did you get screwed? inquiring minds want to know
                                                \_ bored sodans
2006/3/21-25 [Recreation/Celebrity/WilliamHung] UID:42365 Activity:nil
3/21    Ack! William Hung songs available on itunes. It seems people are
        willing to buy anything these days.
        \_ Cal Pride!
        \_ He was #1 for the longest time.
2006/3/21-25 [Uncategorized] UID:42366 Activity:low
3/21    With the cancellation of JLU and Teen Titans; are there any first run
        comics worth a look? The Batman seems okay artwise but a bit too
        kiddish.
        \_ I've heard the Freedom Force comic book is decent. If you
           enjoyed the game (I did) you might want to give it a shot.
        \_ Warren Ellis is usually good.  He's been writing a cheap monthly
           called Fell that I quite like.  I like Brian K. Vaughn's Y. The
           Last Man, and he's been writing a title called the Runaways for
           Marvel.  I'm not a big fan of superhero comics so I don't know if
           Runaways is any good or no.  If you're not reading 100 Bullets, you
           should be, it is easily the best comic available today. -dans
           \_ last 20 issues of 100 Bullets have been stupid tone poems
              or treatises on the dark side of mankind, it's
              the most useless wanking imagineable.  Where'd the plot?
              go?  I agree the first issues were great.  If you're a dude,
              the new "Conan" comics are great.  "Girls" is creepy.
              Go read the trade paperbacks of "Lucifer".  "Punisher"
              has been written lately by the same guy who wrote "Preacher".
              Occasionally it's also the same artist.
              \_ I only read it in trade paperback form, so the last I read
                 was the Hard Eight storyline, which kicked ass.  Garth Ennis
                 wrote "Preacher".  I like his stuff when he's on to
                 something, but I don't find him to be reliably good. -dans
        \_ Powers. It just keeps getting better.
           \_ Also on my list. -dans
2006/3/21-23 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:42367 Activity:nil
3/21    I'm trying to remember the name of an arcade game they used to
        have in the UC arcade, I was hoping someone else might
        recognize/remember it.  It looked a little bit like defender,
        but had much more updated graphics - you could choose which
        planets to fly to (the planets varied significantly), where
        you had to save colonists from aliens, and collect weapons?
        (You had these marines that would hang from your ship, and
        drop down to pick up stuff).  Thanks!
        \_ Strike Force ?  -oj
           http://www.arcadeathome.com/shots3.php?strkforc
           \_ That was it! Going to try it with the emulator shortly,
              thanks! -mds
           \_ I like the ad on that site:
              http://www.arcadeathome.com/images/ads/XG_MAPU4_v2.gif
              "Play Over 4,000 Classic Arcade Games for FREE... Only $99.95
               + S&H"
              "Play Over 4,000 Classic Arcade Games for FREE... Only $99.95+S&H"
              Ah, "Free".  Meaningless in advertising, meaningless in modern
              politics.
2006/3/21-23 [Uncategorized] UID:42368 Activity:nil
3/21    USA!  USA!  USA!
        http://tinyurl.com/omejl
        \_ We've secretly replaced their ritual blade-cleaning solution with
           HIV!  Let's see if they notice.
        \_ I don't get the "USA Saber" deal.  Is it a subtle hint that "we
           will cut your unveiled women's genitalia, infidel dogs"?  Or do
           they indicate that "we are covered by the mighty sword of the
           badass high-school dropouts from Tennessee and their infallible
           supreme commander"?  What?  Imam Ali wouldn't approve.  -John
2006/3/21-22 [Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Troll/Jblack] UID:42369 Activity:nil
3/21    So where are amckee and jblack? I need stupidity for entertainment.
2006/3/21-25 [Science/Disaster, Reference/RealEstate] UID:42370 Activity:low
3/21    Yet Another Useless Motd Poll: .
        I own property in California and I:
        Have earthquake insurance: ..
                                    \_ My parents own, but I pay the
                                       earthquake insurance in lieu
                                       of rent.
        Dont have quake insurance: ...
        \_ Insurance is always a ripoff if you can survive without it.  And
           as most of the value is in the land anyway around here...
           \_ If you own a $600,000 home (low for the bay area) and get hit
              with $200k in damages, how are you going to survive it?  What
              if it was a total loss and your house is condemned and red
              tagged?
              \_ Earthquake insurance deductible is huge (15% of house value
                 when I last asked).  So for your hypothetical $600k house,
                 the deductible would be $90K.  So it's also a question of
                 your chances of the getting hit with >$90K or <$90K damage.
                 In the worst case, of course insurance makes sense.  But you
                 really have to look at the potential range of damage to make
                 a logical decision.
                 \_ This begs the question: Is the deductible based on property
                    value or structure value?  And if the former, is it
                    possible to get a policy/deductible for just the structure?
                    \_ Structure.  pp's didn't account for that.
                 \_ Who said the deductible is 15%?  Mine is $30k on ~$850k
                    house insured for $600k.
                    \_ let me get this right. You own a home in the Bay Area
                       that is almost 1 million dollars? Most likely it's
                       not near the mansion type you see in Texas. Why do
                       you guys even want to live in the Bay Area to buy
                       tiny little old beat up home for near 1 mil when
                       you can live in the life of luxury elsewhere? What
                       is so attractive about the Bay Area? -tired of Berkeley
                       \_ What's attractive is that if/when he decides to
                          leave, he can buy that mansion in Texas if he
                          wants to. The person in Texas doesn't have the
                          option of buying even a small house in the Bay
                          Area if he wants to and probably can't buy the
                          Texas mansion either. It's about freedom and
                          about making money somewhere with a high cost of
                          living to (later) spend somewhere else, if one
                          so chooses. It's the same reason people immigrate
                          to the USA and then go retire in their home
                          countries.
                       \_ Correct.  I live in a 'nothing special' home pretty
                          close to work that I own a large chunk of.  When it's
                          time, I'm going to sell it, make a bundle, buy a huge
                          house in a beautiful place elsewhere and still have
                          tons of cash and retire.  My counterpart in Texas is
                          going to work until he drops.
                       \_ I don't find having a huge house particularly
                          appealing.  Here I have nice weather, I'm close to
                          interesting shops and restaurants and good jobs.
                          Should I trade that to live in a huge tasteless house
                          out in the suburbs?
                          \_ Who said you should?  You should do what makes you
                             happy but don't expect anyone else to support you
                             in your old age.  I never said I had a huge house
                             in the suburbs.  I am close to my great job.  No,
                             I'm not in walking distance of interesting shops
                             but I'm not a consumer either so that doesn't mean
                             anything to me.  Go live on the beach if you want.
                             It's your life.  We all live with the consequences
                             of our earlier choices and actions.  No one has
                             told you to do otherwise.
                             \_ You don't consume?
                    \_ "Every offer of earthquake insurance must provide
                       coverage for your dwelling, for your personal property
                       (not less than $5,000 or 10% of the covered dwelling
                       loss)... CIC Section 10089(b) states that the maximum
                       deductible that can be charged is 15% of the policy
                       dwelling limit.  It is common for the deductible to be
                       the maximum 15%."
                       http://csua.org/u/fbe [<DEAD>www.insurance.ca.gov]<DEAD>
              \_ Note the "if you can survive without it" part.  We bought
                 a few years back and could survive an extra 200-300k tacked
                 onto the mortgage.  It would be hard, but we'd survive.  And
                 in the mean time, we've got $10k more in the bank from not
                 paying earthquake insurance.  And, as other posters pointed
                 out, the deductible _is_ generally huge.  -pp
2006/3/21-23 [Uncategorized] UID:42374 Activity:kinda low
3/21    You know, given all the crazy people and right wing nuts out there,
        [ remainer of post censored.  Certain discussions could get the
          CSUA in trouble with the Secret Service. ]
        \_ Once Geraldine Ferraro came to give a speech at my office.  Day
           before that, a coworker was over-heard joking about killing her.
           before that, a coworker was over-heard joking about shooting her.
           On the day of the visit, he was detained after Secret Service
           found a bow and arrow (he's an avid archer) in his car.
        \_ i'll right wing YOUR nuts
2025/04/13 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
4/13    
Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2006:March:21 Tuesday <Monday, Wednesday>