7/8     Berkeley MOTD's search feature is back. Have fun.
        http://csua.com
        \_ thanks!! kchang

7/7     What is the origin of the phrase "with a whisper not a bang", or of
        versions thereof?  I recall Dennis Hopper's "not with a bang, with
        a whimper" from Apocalypse now, but I keep seeing references to
        variants of the phrase...or is it just a common saying?  -John
        \- ts eliot's "the hollow men". there are a lot of connections between
           dante: divine comedy -> conrad: heart of darkness -> ts eliot ->
           apocalypse now ... and now i guess "v for vengence". ok tnx --psb
           apocalypse now ... and now i guess "v for vengence".
           you must now pay a penny to the old guy. ok tnx --psb
           \_ Forgot to say thank you.  I owe you a coke.  -John

7/8     Afghidan
        http://afghanidan.blogspot.com

7/8     What is the origin of the phrase BFE (Butt Fuck Egypt)?
        \_ This is not authoritative by any means, but a friend of mine claims
           that it comes from all the towns in the South named after Egyptian
           cities, such as Memphis.  Apparently there are quite a few such
           towns.

7/8     What's the best way (as in least messy, least effort) to remove rust
        on metals that have been sitting in the basement for a while? I have
        a few things that I'm trying to recover to sell on eBay but I'd like
        to clean them up first. For example, rusted screws, panels, etc.
        \_ Acid, the stronger, the quicker it works.  Lemon juice will work if
           you can let it sit for a day or two.  If you want to seal the metal
           there are products that will turn the rust into a black paint like
           substance.  If you want something nice try:
           http://tinyurl.com/olpyz (TM technology) -scottyg
        \_ MythBusters claims coke + alumnium foil worked well on rusted chrome.

7/8     Afghidan
        http://afghanidan.blogspot.com/                        -jblack
        \_ Wow, nice photoblog.
        \_ "A young man's strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk."
           ...erotic?
        \_ Good link, thank you.  -John

7/8     No flame wars about the Mexican election??! Damn.
        \_ How can Mexicans be so interested in politics, yet still have
           such a massively corrupt govenment?
           \_ Who said they're interested in politics anymore than anyone
              in any country.  Mass demonstrations are dime a dozen in
              Mexico, Central and South America.  And what do you expect
              them to do about it anyway?  Mexico isn't a democracy and
              has a cultural history of corruption just like the rest of
              the world.  It is the United States that stands out for our
              relatively minimal corruption and our unwillingness to accept
              that as standard practice when discovered.  You won't find the
              governments of other countries regularly investigating their own
              political leaders a la Abscam or Jefferson's fridge.
              \_ Yes, shoveling tons of money to the lawyer class helps those
                 who are too uneducated to follow fucking directions.
                 \_ What?  What does this have to do with anything?  Did you
                    mean to post this somewhere else?

7/8     http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/08/bush.radio.ap
        Bush urges more science research funding. God Bless Science.
        \_ you know, if Bush just let people do their stem cell research, and
           back school that teaches evolution, will help US' science stance
           tremedously... without costing tax payer a single penny.
           \_ It looks like you learned English at the same prep schools as
              Bush.
              \_ Then, you should see my IQ test.  I was labeled menally
                 retarded because IQ test was conducted in English and
                 I don't speak English at the time.  I made it to Berkeley,
                 thousands of immigrants like me never got a chance to
                 even eligible for US system because they were being forced
                 to stay in those retarded courses.
                 \_ A lot of people made it to Berkeley.  More than half made
                    it out "early".  So what?
           \_ Um, Bush isn't preventing anyone from doing stem cell research.
              True, he's not allowing federal funds to pay for research on new
              stem cell lines, but you're already saying that it shouldn't cost
              taxpayers a single penny.  So should he defund the stem cell
              research on existing lines?
              \_ In the context of pp's claim about not costing a single
                 penny, your comments are correct, but I believe you know that
                 by *removing* already budgeted funding for labs that would
                 now be using new lines, Bush is preventing people from doing
                 stem cell research.

7/8     Please recommend a cheap place to change oil in Berkeley. I used to go
        to Purrfect Auto Service on San Pablo where it costs $10 with a coupon
        but they closed due to a fire. Just-do-it-yourself types need not
        apply.

7/8     So there is another secret spying program that even the
        Republicans are annoyed about. I wonder what it could be:
        http://www.csua.org/u/gd4

7/8     What is a good and free program to edit .mov files (macromedia i assume)
                        eh?  .mov is Apple's Quicktime container. _/
                        \_ ug, yeah, sorry, haven't been getting much sleep.
                           These are quicktime movies.
        from my camera.  Pref windows, but linux o.k. too.
        \_ just convert it to a more open format and edit it there.
           There are plenty of free (and legally questionable) software
           that converts .mov to xvid avi files.

7/8     So where's a good place in the City to go watch the World Cup Finals?
        \_ North Beach if you want to root for Italy. Mission Dolores park
           will have a big screen set up for a free showing. Some alley
           downtown if you are cheering for France. -ausman
           http://www.csua.org/u/gdc
        \_ What time? What channel?