5/23    What's the deal with the http://csua.org URL shortener? Lots of links
        below do not resolve.
        \_ I'm amazed people still use this crap
           \_ Why is this crap?  Thx.  -- !OP
           \_ Why is it crap?  Thx.  -- !OP
        \_ owner's dsl is out, due to incompetence of telco/isp.
        \_ just use tinyurl.
           \_ The problem is following the links of *others*.
           \_ "Lots of links below do not resolve"
              It's not a matter of me needing a shortener. I wanted to
              follow links others had put up previously.

5/22    No time pho love, Doctor Jones!
        \_ Enjoyed the new movie. Thought it hit the numbers. Still, nowhere
           near as good as, say, Iron Man. Give it a B or so. --erikred
           \_ First 15 minutes of film:  Good. REALLY good.  oh my.
              then it gets silly, and not in a good way.
           \- IMHO: lucas and speilberg started out properly picky and then
              got desperate to find a screenplay, i.e. "the harrison ford
              biological clock theory" along with a failure of the "secretary
              problem" algorithm. but not jar-jar level eyegouge worthy --psb
           \_ So bad.  So very very bad.  Try a D+.  Or maybe a gentleman's
              C- because, hey, the first one is still good.
              \_ just saw it.  bleah.  someone went wacky with the
                 raytracing.

5/23    Erroneous computer programs made Moodys incorrectly
        give AAA ratings to crazy weirdo debt CDO stuff I really
        do not understand:
        http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0c82561a-2697-11dd-9c95-000077b07658.html

5/23    The true cost of an iPhone:
        http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/26/how-does-the-iphone-stack-up-in-total-cost

5/23    http://cij.inspiriting.com/?p=455
        Who is to blame for surging food and energy prices?
        \_ No! It's India and China and anyone who says otherwise is an
           idiot! Peak oil!

5/23    How to Creat a Magibon:
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwzwshKGMv0&feature=related
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLEDRMZEMzw&feature=related
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwkOJ7TifIE&feature=related
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFX2wwOnDAo&feature=related
        \_ Yay, can I have the minute I bothered to spend watching this
           back now, please?

5/23    Are there Pentax K-mount to Nikon F-mount converters out there?
        I have a bunch of pretty good older Pentax K-mount lenses that
        I'd like to use, and I don't mind manual F-stop and manual focus.
        I also realize that I'll lose 1-2 F-stops by using a converter.
        I'm just wondering if such a converter exists. ok thx.
        \_ "Losing 1-2 F-stops by using a converter" is something
        \_ 1. "Losing 1-2 F-stops by using a converter" is something
              associated with teleconverters which increase the focal length,
              not converters in general.
           2. It looks like you'll need two converters:
              K to M42: http://tinyurl.com/5ze892 (B&H)
              M42 to F: http://tinyurl.com/5l5h62 (B&H)
              I've never used lens mount adapters.  You'd better call B&H to
              confirm that this method actually works before you buy them.
              Do lens mount adapters have lens elements to compensate for the
              increased length of the combined lens?  I imagine that if they
              have lens elements, you'll lose optical quality.  OTOH if they
              don't have lens elements, you won't be able to focus at infinity.

5/23    The true cost of an iPhone:
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/ypxpov [engadget]
        \_ Wow, that's old enough it doesn't even have the right prices
           or storage capacities.  (Not to mention the shady -15/month
           they took off for all non iPhones.)  -not a iphone user but
           DAMN if that isn't a crappy chart.

5/23    "With the news this morning that Bill Clinton and other
        Hillary Clinton supporters are openly pushing for Barack Obama
        to choose Hillary as his running mate, it has become apparent
        that the Clinton camp is going through the stages of the
        Kübler-Ross model of coping with death or tragedy."
        \_ now in "bargaining"?  -tom
        \_ I think Hilary wants $20M.  --PeterM
           \_ $31M at last count.
        \_ "That's a nice black candidate you got there.  It would be a shame
           if something were to happen to him..." -- ilyas

5/23

5/23    "March driving down for 1st time since 1979: government"
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080523/us_nm/usa_driving_data_dc
        \_ With gas now over $4 per gallon even at cheap places, it costs
           me $10 per day ($5 for gas, $5 for parking) to drive to work,
           and that's by picking up people for casual carpool. That's a
           tipping point for me, so I'm going back to public transport,
           at least until the schools get out and I can snag free parking.
           \_ See, price signals do work.

5/23    http://www.christiangunowner.com/handgun_shooting_stance.html
        URL says it all.
        \_ Ok?  Who cares?  What's your point?
           \_ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24818417  S Koreans hate US beef
              \_ Dude, there are protests in Korea all the time.  There's
                 always a protest going on somewhere over something. Farmers
                 against lowering food tariffs is a pretty normal one. -jrleek
                 \_ Is US beef shipped to S Korea cheaper than local Korean
                    beef?
                    \_ Yes.  S. Korea has little aritable land and mostly
                       small family farms.

5/23    Hey dim I'm going to LA this weekend, would like to know what is
        worth doing, and how to avoid traffic. I've already been to
        Disneyland, Universal Studios, Old Town Pasadena, Third Street
        Promenade, and suburbs in Orange County.
        \_ Congratulations! You've seen the entire Los Angeles.
        \_ Knott's. Magic Mountain.  -!dim
           \_ Yuck. And stop deleting my posts.
           \_ Someone keeps deleting my posts but I will say I don't like
              either of the above. Yuck.
              \_ I didn't delete your posts.  And if you're willing to go to
                 dland, you're willing to go to knotts or mm.  It's the same
                 junk.
                 \_ Not really. Knotts and Magic Mountain are geared towards
                    local teenagers, which means everything that implies.
                    Disneyland is geared towards families and international
                    tourists.
                 \_ Well someone keeps doing it. Disneyland isn't the same
                    thing, because it's geared to families and
                    international tourists and not local, rowdy teenagers.
                 \_ Whatever.
                 \_ Who keeps doing it then? It's tiresome.