1/7     'Iranian boats "provoke" US Navy ships in Hormuz: CNN'
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080107/ts_nm/usa_iran_ship_dc
        \_ Why is 'provoke' in quotes?  You don't think their actions were a
           provocation?
           \_ If Iranian battle ships are sailing as clost to our
              border as we are, you bet we'll provoke them as well, haha.
              Now go back to work.
              \_ 12 miles, kids.  It's the law.  International law.  Outside
                 12 miles you're in international waters and free to float.
           \_ I just copied the title verbatim from the web page.  -- OP

1/7     Whoops.  War with Iran is getting closer.
        http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8U17HM80&show_article=1
        \_ Someone set us up the bomb!
        \_ Yawn.  We shot down a friggin civilian airliner and didn't end up
           in a war.  Our guys and their guys are shooting each other on both
           sides of the land border.  We didn't get in a war.

1/7     I find this video game joke oddly hilarious
        http://www.fanboys-online.com/index.php?cid=255
        \_ You sir have no taste at all.
           \_ If tom were here, he'd tell you what funny is.  tom knows funny.
              -dans
              \_ I think this is pretty much anti-tom humor.
                 \_ Yeah, personally I don't find it that funny.  But I do
                    not have tom's awesome power to shape reality with my
                    thoughts. -dans
                    \_ What's wrong with you?  Why are you bashing tom when he
                       hasn't even posted on this thread?  I'm hardly his #1
                       fan but can you at least grow up enough to bash him for
                       something he's actually said on a thread instead of
                       making shit up?

1/7     yuppy city loving dans is an idiot for arguing with a
        dim-witted suburban lover. There are pros and cons for either
        choice. Convenience (restaurant, shopping, mass transit) for people
        who need to work hard near the city, and the luxury of country
        side living for wealthy people who have maids/servants to deliver
        and process food, clean, etc.
        \_ I'm not a suburban lover. I actually like the city. However,
           I also understand all of the drawbacks involved. In an ideal
           world I'd have a penthouse in the city and a sprawling compound
           away from the city. Given a choice between the two I'd rather
           have the sprawling compound, though. I think a lot of people
           would, especially if it was close enough to still get to the
           city. --dim
           \_ Hey it's OK, I prefer the suburb myself. No need to
              apologize to yuppy assholes.
        \_ so if you agree to disagree the motd discussion goes nowhere.  How
           boring is that??  You'd encourage the trolls to come out!
        \_ Wow.  You're pretty clueless.  And you don't know how to spell
           yuppie. -dans
        \_ dans is not an idiot for arguing with someone who loves the
           suburbs. dans is an idiot for feeding the trolls. As am I,
           no doubt...
           \_ Lost Weekend Video was closed.  I needed something to amuse
              myself. -dans

1/7     Does anyone know how rainfall is measured? Weather Underground
        says my area got from 4-7" of rain in nearby areas, but I have a
        bucket out on the middle of my driveway that filled about 15" (or
        more) deep. Is it just my microclimate or is rainfall measured
        differently than seems obvious? BTW, in my research I discovered
        that meteorologists define temperature as that IN THE SHADE. I never
        knew that.
        \_ Temperature is not a well-defined quantity in sunlight.
        \_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_gauge
           \_ How is a rain gauge different from a simple bucket? To me,
              my bucket is a rain gauge is it not?
              \_ Rain totals are given per 24hr period.  Did you empty your
                 bucket daily?
                 \_ No, I did not. It was empty on Friday. However, I
                    looked up the weekly rain totals for the last two
                    weeks (we are already in a new week now) and they were
                    about 7 inches total (5.x last week and 1.x this week
                    so far). I looked at a lot of Personal Weather Station
                    data in my general area and some reported even less
                    than 7 inches but none anywhere near how much is in my
                    bucket.
                    \_ Did you actually stick a ruler in your bucket to
                       measure it? Your method should have worked, assuming
                       your bucket has perpendicular sides.
                       \_ It's a paint bucket so yes it's a big cylinder.
                          I measured 14 inches just now.
           \_ This passage from the web page may explain OP's problem: "Also,
              rain gauges only indicate rainfall in a localized area. ......"
              \_ Well, duh.
        \_ If you are truly curious, you should get this
           http://www.scientificsales.com/Davis-6152-Wireless-Vantage-Pro2-p/6152.htm

           I would, but it's a hassle convincing the wife, hehe. ;)
           \_ I am thinking about getting this or something similar. It
              makes me wonder how much of our weather data really applies
              to us specifically.

1/7     Clearly, you're not a golfer.
        \_ Clearly you've never served.
           \_ Starship Caddyshack?
              \_ It really tied the room together.
                  \_ The Big Lebowski.
                     That's a fact jack

1/7     So I don't get it. San Francisco is listed as a major world city,
        but San Jose is not even listed! What is wrong with these idiots,
        don't they realize that San Francisco is just a suburb to the mighty,
        much more important metropolis of San Jose???
        http://www.csua.org/u/ken
        \_ http://appleorangescale.com/?wd0=san%20francisco&wd1=san%20jose
           Indisputable Google proof that San Francisco >>>>> San Jose.
           Accept this as fact!                 -urbanite
        \_ San Jose is a dump! Los Angeles is a world class city and is
           way better than San Jose.    -suburb lover w an Accord hybrid
        \_ ObSanFranciscoSucksLess
        \_ I know this is a troll, but ... Let's compare the number of truly
           exceptional restaurants, buildings, museums, schools, etc., in
           San Francisco vs. San Jose.
           \_ Plus size of downtown, GG bridge.  And the San Jose
           \_ Plus size of downtown, GG Bridge.  And the San Jose
              Int'l Airport didn't actually have international flights until a
              few years ago.
              \_ What does the GG bridge have to do with anything?
                 \_ GG Bridge is a tourist attraction.  People usually
                    associate it with SF not SJ.
                    \_ So what? Mount Rushmore is associated with South
                       Dakota. Disnleyland is associated with Anaheim. I don't
                       Dakota. Disneyland is associated with Anaheim. I don't
                       follow here.
                       \_ I don't know about Mount Rushmore.  Yes Disneyland is
                          in Anaheim, but to the international tourists it is
                          associated with LA instead of some place called
                          in Anaheim not LA, but to the international tourists
                          it is associated with LA instead of some place called
                          Anaheim.
                          \_ Point is that landmarks are landmarks and can
                             be in a major city, a suburb, or the boonies.
                             \_ Point is that it's not about where the
                                landmarks are, but about what their perceived
                                associations are.  Disneyland is mistakenly
                                associated with LA, which, among other ways,
                                boosted LA's status.
                                Number of Google search results:
                                "Disneyland LA":          667000
                                "Disneyland Los Angeles": 557000
                                "Disneyland Anaheim":     211000
                                \_ Just because people are uninformed
                                   doesn't mean anything. You missed my
                                   point entirely, which is that the
                                   presence of absence of a landmark makes
                                   presence or absence of a landmark makes
                                   no commentary on the surrounding area.
                                   As an example consider Mt. Rushmore.
        \_ Ancient history. SF was the most important city in CA in the
           late 1800s. It's hard for people to let go. It won't happen
           overnight. SF is living on reputation, but the reality is that
           over the last 30 years San Jose has contributed as much or more
           to SF's reputation as SF itself. The number of people who fly
           into SJ for business who never even see SF is growing. SF will
           of course always be a tourist destination because it's scenic.
        \_ San Jose has no view. It's far more entertaining to drive
           your relatives around in San Francisco than it is in San
           Jose.  You get the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay, pier 39,
           etc. What do you get in San Jose?  Office buildings.
           Enlighten me, really, because if there's something
           interesting besides night life, I am all ears. Me and my
           wife could use some local sight seeing.
           \_ We're not talking about the place with the best view or best
              tourist spot. I love driving around San Simeon for the
              views, but that doesn't mean anything.
           \_ San Jose has night life?
              \_ What, you've never heard of a LAN party? -!pp
              \_ Lots of hiphop clubs. Los Gatos has a good bar scene.
              \_ Sure.  There are plenty of liquor stores with porn, and
                 lots of places to rent video games.  It's paradise.

1/7     What is the energy requirements of living in a city vs. living
        in a suburb? For example, on average, what is the kw/day needed
        for the elevators, gallons of petro/day, gallons of water/day,
        heating, transportation of food, etc etc? Is it 1:2? 1:5? Curious.
        \_ You probably can't answer that in the general, only in the
           specific case, i.e. city by city. I am sure Pheonixites use
           more electricity than San Franciscans.
           \_ Maybe, but they have nukular power stations because they
              are smart.