5/4     You can't spell "sodans" without "dans".  Meditate on this.
        \_ Soduhns.  Sodawns.  Sod'ns.  Sodens.  Soduns.
           \_ Sodites.  Sodalites.  Soditians.  CSUA-ers.
              \_ Sodamites.
                 \_ Sotians.  Sodalians.  Sodarians.
        \_ Sod off, wanker.
           \_ Wow.  I see someone has picked up my penchant for insults lifted
              from British English. -dans

5/4     earphone recommendation:
        I am debating between Etymotic ER-6 and Shure E2/E2C.  Does anyone
        has experience with both?  recommendation?  I've lost my Sennheiser
        and I decided that I am going to try passive sound isolation.
        \_ I'm no audiophile, but I have both, and I prefer the ER6s.  They
           fit better and seem to block out more ambient noise.
           \_ I am not an audiophile neither and I mostly listen to NPR.
              I actually prefer not having 100% sound isolation for safety
              reasons.  Is E2/E2C uncomfortable?   --OP
              \_ I like the foam tips on the E2Cs better than the silicone
                 ones which take more effort to put in your ear.  The foam
                 tips don't last as long, though.  The ER6s rubber tips feel
                 more comfortable to me.
        \_ I have just the Shure E2c's and they're great.  I wear them all
           the time on the plane too.  You may want to check out Amazon,
           newegg, and epinion reviews of both.  I had to make a decision
           between the 6i and E2c as well, and I went with the latter,
           probably because of the number and feeling of the Amazon reviews.
        \_ I have only the ER-6i but I've had it for long enough to get a
           pretty good sense of it.  Sound quality is very nice but I'm sure
           audiophiles could find fault.  They are close to the best sounding
           headphones I've tried.  They do have 'consumables', filters and
           plugs.  I go through about 1 fliter in 4 months and a new set of
           flange plugs in 8-12mos.  Operational cost is probably ~$10/yr.
           Sound isolation is very frequency-neutral, and about 20-30db.  I
           can hear people talking fine with the music off or shouting if the
           music is on.  You can reduce the sound isolation by just not
           inserting them as far.  Lastly, if you bump the cord or there is a
           big wind they will channel that noise up the cord.  I can get rid
           of this problem if I wrap the cords over and behind my ears.
        \_ I've been trying to listen to movies and/or music while commuting
           on BART, and bart is DAMN LOUD, especially in the bay tube.  I need
           new/beatter headphones.  Are either of these up to such a
           challenge?  Has anyone actually tried?  -ERic
           \_ I use the ER-6i on BART every day and while I can still hear some
              BART, they work quite well for almost everything except classical
              music with a huge dynamic range (unless you're willing to blow
              out your ears for the loud parts). -Above poster.
        \_ it's interesting too that on http://cnet.com, user opinions give the E2c's
           the edge over the 6i
           http://reviews.cnet.com/4521-6531_7-5120625-1.html?tag=nl.e501

5/4     http://www.runmuki.com/commute/commuting2.html
        http://www.runmuki.com/commute/calvin.gif
        The automobile has not merely taken over the street, it has
        dissolved the living tissue of the city. Its appetite for space is
        absolutely insatiable; moving and parked, it devours urban land,
        leaving the buildings as mere islands of habitable space in a sea
        of dangerous and ugly traffic."--James Marston Fitch, New York Times,
        May 1, 1960
        \_ wow, so well said ... this describes my childhood in the LA
           suburbs to a T. and in 1960? amazing.
        \_ Nice article, but your quote kind of disguises it.  I'm working
           myself up to biking to work more regularly.  Maybe a light
           weight set of panniers would help.  Any recommendations?  I
           have a 20 year old schwinn road bike. -jrleek

5/4     http://www.sheldonbrown.com/marty_light_hist.html
        "... For these reasons, [LEDs] are not a practical approach to high
         output bicycle lighting, tho I have been told that at least one
         designer tried to use a large bunch of LEDs in a bicycle light.
         It never made it to the mass market."
        It's amazing how things have changed in a mere decade.

5/5     Congrats to the new politburo!  I wish you good luck in your pursuit
        of kimchi ramen and counter-terrorism.  -mrauser
        president:      michener
        vice-president: edilaic
        treasurer:      minghay
        secretary:      vaheder
        librarian:      pdevore
        events:         ishidav
        alumnirelations: awall

5/5     Surprise, the establishment's propaganda IS effective
        http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2006-04-16-1.html

5/5     Pretty funny (Star Lords!)
        link:csua.org/u/fpv  -John

5/5     Bush-appointed CIA Director Porter Goss abruptly resigns (instead of
        taking the usual "more time with the family" retirement/job switch)
        \_ queueing jblack and conservatives on motd to support your
           people. Waiting for you guys to state something to the effect
           that Bush's problems are attributed to Clinton and liberalism.
        \_ Maybe there was something to those new Watergate rumors.
           \- E_DEADGIRLLIVEBOY
        \_ uh, really?
           \_ Is it the hookers or just the bribery?  Bush sure can pick 'em.
              \_ ob anal rapists
        \_ amazing all of the publicity Mary Mapes (some erudition for you -
           appointed by Berger with ties to Plame) has received.
           Vitiates sedition labels Dems receive.

5/5     Blair fires Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who said that a preemptive
        nuclear strike on Iran was "completely nuts", and also said he was as
        "certain as he could be" that the U.S. would not engage in a
        (conventional) preemptive strike, and neither would the UK.
        http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/sunday_am/4893130.stm
        As recently as April 18 this year, Dubya said "all options" were on
        the table ... I believe Blair hasn't publically backed up Straw,
        and instead let Dubya do the talking.
        \_ Jack Straw from Witchita cut his buddy down

5/5     http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060505/od_nm/germany_virgins_dc
        Heil German Virgins!!!

5/5     Article on RFID hacking.  dmolnar, CS grad student cited
        http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.05/rfid.html

5/5     FCC votes unanimously to require ISPs, VoIP providers, universities,
        and municipalities to cover the cost of building VoIP call
        surveillance infrastructure for law enforcement use
        http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6067971.html?tag=nl.e550