2/16    R.I.P. HD-DVD -- Toshiba kills the format.
        Too bad, Blu-Ray has more DRM, doesn't play on DVD players, players
        are still more expensive, and the format isn't even finalized yet.
        Oh for those of you who bought HD DVD players -- Enjoy Betamax II
        \_ bahahahhaa. Suckers.

2/16    My Verizon contract is expiring soon (2 months) and I'm
        debating whether to switch to AT&T or not, mostly because of
        the nicer phones. Is there any big reason for me to remain
        with Verizon, or a big reason not to make the switch? I know
        Verizon claims they'll allow "outside" phones onto their network
        this year, but I'm not sure that'll be as great as they make
        it out to be. Thanks!
        \_ AT&T sucks.  I've heard verizon sucks slightly less than the
           other sucky cell phone companies.  I live in SF and it's a
           small miracle if I can talk for over 5 minutes on the road or
           in my house without dropping the call.  And I have supposedly
           a good phone (LG CU500)
                \_ Thanks. but the Samsung Blackjack II looks so cool!
                   \_ Far more important than being able to talk on it.
                        \_ What, it's not easy to talk on?
                           \_ Not if it drops every 5 minutes as above.
        \_ AT&T is the only carrier with the iPhone. 'nuff said.

2/15    Obama and Clinton bribe the superdelegates:
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/384jru (ap.google.com)

2/16    LA.  what a shithole.
        \_ Los Angeles is the left armpit of United States.
        \_ A hurricane will do that.
        \_ Yes my biggest problem with LA's night club was that it was
           great except... you have to drive home.
        \_ It drives me batshitinsanewithbellson every time I hear someone
           from LA precede a numerical freeway name with "the". The 101.
           The 405. The 5. Then they move up here and keep doing it, The
           101, The 280. It's unnecessary. It's a careless squandering of
           words the same way they squander water and air and land
           and culture.
           \_ It makes sense to do so. Do you say "Take 5 freeway to 10
              freeway"?
              \_ No, they don't say "take the 5 freeway either.  NC people say
                 "Take 80 to 5."  SC says, "Take the 80 to the 5."
                 \_ Because it sounds stupid to say "Take 5 freeway". "Take
                    the 5" is short for "Take the 5 freeway".
              \_ No, we say "Take 101 to 280" etc.
                 \_ But that makes no sense if you are talking about
                    freeways. It makes sense for "Take Highway 101 to
                    Highway 43" -> "Take 101 to 43" but "Take the 5
                    freeway" -> "Take the 5". "Take Highway 101 to 280
                    freeway (or even freeway 280)" doesn't sound right.
                    The Century freeway to the Foothill freeway, etc. is
                    exactly the same and you wouldn't omit "the".
                    \_ Who says "Take the 5 freeway?"  People say "take I-5"
                       or, "Interstate 5."  I've never heard a single person
                       say "take the 5 freeway."  Are you a FOB?
           \_ It makes me batshit crazy when I hear people say "hella" as in
              "the Bay Area is hella lame for having stupid slang."

2/16    "Violinist: Fall fractures $1M fiddle"
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080214/ap_en_mu/odd_fractured_fiddle

2/16    Woa dude, I feel a lot of negative energy on motd. Instead of
        talking about what you hate, how about what you love? What is
        it about Los Angeles you love? Share love not hate!
        \_ Excuse to be late all it time. "Sorry it's the traffic!"
        \_ No mosquito problem-- smog killed them.
           \_ I thought it was all the poison they spray at night?
        \_ Cheaper gas and more Hummer dealerships to choose from.
        \_ Free heart thumping Mariachi music your neighbor loves to
           play every weekend.
           \_ That's Narcorridos music, stoopid gringo.
        \_ Lots of gated communities to choose from.
        \_ Opportunity to date Latinas and learn Mexican Spanish.
        \_ The homeland of our proud NATIONAL HEROS: Ronald Reagan and
           Richard Nixon!
        \_ Lots of pawn shops, bail bond shacks, gun shops, and strip clubs.
                                                \_ Not true. LA CC has
                                                   legislated them out.
                                                   \- what about GIMP and
                                                      deceased african-american
                                                      storage facilities?
           \_ My awesome LA moment was seeing a pawn shop near a BMW dealership
              (like neighboring buildings).  -- ilyas
        \_ If you don't like the sucky downtown there are plenty of other
           sucky downtowns to go to (e.g. Pasadena old town, Irvine Spectrum,
           3rd Street)
        \_ Share love?  No way.  I want no STD.
        \_ The Chinese food in LA is the best.
           \_ Not good enough for me to want to stay there forever.
              \_ Good. Rowland Heights, San Gabriel, and Arcadia are crowded
                 enough already.
        \_ USC cheerleaders.

2/16    Snobs use google, normal people use yahoo:
        http://gizmodo.com/357353/poor-people-use-yahoo-richies-use-google
        \_ http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/02/the_wealthy_use.html
        \_ http://preview.tinyurl.com/23mjhs (informationweek.com)
        \_ I know a few conservatives who hate Google (liberal company)
           and use Yahoo as the less liberal alternative.
        \_ I don't know anyone who uses Yahoo search.  I know Yahoo
           employees.  I know zillionaires.  I know poor people.  I know
           people who are a few dollars from living in their car.
           They all use Google Search.
        \_ In another news, smart people prefer the Bay Area, and dumb
           people are stuck in Los Angeles.
           \_ True story.  -- ilyas
              \_ URL to support your claim?
              \_ True as in Berkeley/Stanford rejects go to UCLA, UCI
                 UCSD, and (laugh) UCR?
                 \_ Stanford rejects go to Cal. Let's be honest here.
                    \_ I always thought that the system was that the
                       rich kids Stanford rejects go to USC, the asian
                       kids Cal rejects go to UCLA, Davis rejects end
                       up at UCI/UCR and the asian kids with cool
                       parents go to UCSD.
                       \_ Stanford kids are actually smarter than USC
                          kids. It's more like Stanford rejects go to
                          the east cast, Cal rejects go to UCLA, Asian
                          kids who couldn't make it to any of the above
                          go to UCI or San Diego, and all the rejects
                          who don't want to go to CSUs go to Riverside,
                          Santa Barbara, or Santa Cruz. In terms of
                          hierarchy:
                          UCB > UCLA > (UCD|UCI|UCSD) > UCSB > UCSC > UCR
                          UCSD for some reason attracts a lot of Republican/
                          conservative and UCR attracts a lot of dumb asses
                          \_ San Diego is a conservative area relative to the
                             rest of the state.
                    \_ When I applied to CS grad school in 1993, I got rejected
                       by Cal but accepted by $tanfurd.
                       \_ You end up going to Stanford?
                          \_ No, I ended up getting a job.
                       \_ Grad school is something else entirely. I was
                          talking about undergrad.
                 \_ Another true story. -- ilyas
                    \_ Ilyas is a dumb reject.
                       \_ Another true story. -- !ilyas
                       \_ Yup. -- ilyas
                          \_ Ilyas loves it when people sign
                             his name. Yup. -- ilyas
                             his name. Yup.
                             \_ No, that was actually me. -- ilyas
                                \_ But not me.  -- !ilyas

2/16    Illinois grad student psycho:
        - Sent to psych ward by parents after high school -- constantly cut
          himself and refused to take meds
        - Kicked out of Army after 6 months on psych discharge
        - Worked briefly as 21-year-old prison guard
        - Wrote paper on prisoners cutting themselves
        - Republican
        http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/16/university.shooting/index.html
          \_ Yes, I'm sure that's a factor.