1/7     new macbook 17" THE BIG ONE not the portable, has a non removable
        8 hour battery.  Dicuss.
        \_ it's like the airbook
           \_ no it's not, it's giant and i'm not going to carry that thing
        \_ stupid idea, will alienate customers.
         \_ Who will it alienate?  Assuming they can get longer battery
            life (both charge and number of charges) who cares?  So it costs
            an extra 100-200 bucks to change your battery but most likely
            you won't ever need to.  (I use my laptops pretty heavilly and it
            is only near the very end of their lives that the batteries start
            to go.  Give me 2x battery lifespan and that isn't going to be a
            problem.)  And if you do you save anyway because you replace the
            battery less often.
            \_ did you weld the hood shut on your bmw?
                \_ if the hood didn't need to be opened until 4 years later,
                   and the car had little economic life after 4 years, that
                   might be a better analogy. A better analogy might be that
                   cars use a lot more electronics than they used to, so a
                   2009 BMW is a lot harder to self-maintain than an '82 bug.
        \_ steve has syphilis and it's finally showing.
        \_ Why not?
        \_ Not as crazy as it sounds. I've only ever removed my battery to
           upgrade the RAM, and a 8 hour battery life is very attractive,
           since this past semester one of my classes was 2 hours and my
           macbook barely made it each time. --t
        \_ why are all these idiots sold on the 8 hours of battery life?
           \_ because apple has never provided that before
              \_ do they know you can get 8 hours of battery life with any
                 number of non-apple laptops?
                 \_ Not a thin(ish) top of the line, full power laptop with
                    a large screen.  It's hard getting 8 hours out of a
                    netbook.
                 \_ Yes. But choice of OS > battery life. I'd rather run OS X
                    than Windows, and with Linux I have the nasty tendency to
                    play with everything until I muck things up to the point I
                    have to reinstall (so I keep it on my desktop, which I don't
                    use as much, and can keep it working). --t
                    have to reinstall (so I keep it on my desktop, which I
                    don't use as much, and can keep it working). --t

1/8     http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-01-06/forgotten-bush-scandals

1/7     Ride BART, get handcuffed and shot in the back by BART police
        http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/05/BAK61540MH.DTL&tsp=1
        \_ Now now, that also includes fighting and resisting.
           \_ Oh, so you think the shooting was justified?
              \_ No, just in favor of full disclosure--and it looks like he
                 really thought he was drawing a tazer.
                 \_ Not so sure about that - it looks to me like he's using
                    a regulation draw, hold, fire, and re-holster.  Isn't
                    the taser usually kept on the other side?  And why would
                    you taser someone at point blank range?  Isn't that
                    dangerous/ineffective?
                    \_ Capture error.  I don't think he intentionally shot the
                       guy, I think it was a mistake.  Involuntary
                       manslaughter, rather than 2nd degree murder.
        \_ did anyone else notice that the last line from SFO is now at 11:40pm?
                    \_ I read on the Mercury News that the taser is kept right
                       next to the firearm. I finally saw the video last night
                       and the officer looked pretty surprised right after
                       the shooting.
                    \_ When cops use lethal force, they're not trained to
                       "draw, fire, reholster".  It's draw, fire MULTIPLE
                       times, then assess before reholstering.  The sequence he
                       goes through is closer to taser.
                       \_ Why the hell was he tasering him?  When did tasering
                          a dude become something you do because you are grumpy
                          and want to cause someone serious pain?
        \_ did anyone else notice that the last line from SFO is now at
           11:40pm?
        \_ welcome to the post auto bailout america.  Do you really think
           they'll reward rail riders now that detoit got free monies?
        \_ Now you see why we need civil rights groups like Copwatch.
        \_ now we scream 187 on a motherfucking cop.

1/6     Sanjay Gupta?  Really?  -->  New surgeon general of USA
        \_ But inside he is as white as KKK's white satins sheets.
        \- a friend of mine was in a lot of classes with him
           in high school. apparently he was kind of a sociopath,
           but evidently sociopaths make good neurosurgeons.
           it's too bad he didnt pick AGAWNDE.
           \_ Isn't everyone in high school kind of a sociopath?
              \_ Only the people worth knowing.
        \_ Indians have a core competency (+2) in Medicine.
           \_ well they sure can't code or sink pirates
           \_ The Danes have +2 hitpoint in axe and in bezerk mode.
              \_ +5 to hp and Str if we're drinking Akvaavit.
           \_ The Asians have +1 intellect and -4 in shield
           \_ Only if you mean getting degrees. In my experience they aren't
              necessarily good doctors. At least clinicians. Surgeons might
              be something else entirely. Not enough experience to say.
              \_ wrong stereotype. you're thinking of asians.
              \_ My Indian GP rules. --white guy
                 \_ i pick white doctors.
                 \_ I've had best experiences, by far, with Jewish doctors
                    over Indian, Asian, Arab, African, Russian, Armenian,
                    or caucasian, although I had a really good Italian
                    neurologist. Lots of Asian doctors are good, too, but only
                    if they are born in the US, especially the women. I had a
                    mysterious health ailment that required me to visit many,
                    many doctors of many specialties and, if I didn't have a
                    referral, I started going to the Jewish specialists (and
                    Cedars Sinai hospital). It was a Jewish gastroenterologist
                    who finally diagnosed and cured me. My pediatrician growing
                    up was also Jewish and overall I found the Jewish doctors
                    don't really know more or less, but have a better bedside
                    manner and were more likely to actually to have a
                    conversation and *listen* to me, which aided diagnosis.
                    \_ Why do you hate Israel?

1/8 13:35  Nap? or coffee??
        \_ You can sleep when you're dead.
        \_ Combine, but get that nap in first. I find that lying down with
           my feet up for 10 minutes is really rejuvenating.
           \_ Caffeine takes about 20 minutes to kick in.  Slugging something,
              then napping often is best -- it kicks in after you get a few
              winks.
        \_ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7783201.stm
           stop thinking so small.

1/8     I have several old CS books that I want to get rid of, just in time for
        the new semester. If someone from the CSUA wants to pick them up for
        the CSUA library or for themselves, contact me. I don't have a list
        handy but they include the dinosaur book, dragon book, some crappy
        EECS122 networking book, an intro to Java book that was used in 61B,
        and a few others. I'm keeping my Programming Perl book but might get
        rid of K&R ANSI C as well. --abe
        \_ More books for our library! You're in Cupertino, right? I wonder if
           Steven might be close enough to pick them up. He may already be back
           in Berkeley, though. --t
           \_ work in Cupertino, live in SF (Haight/Ashbury). Here's what I
                could find (I have another box of maybes somewhere, includes
                an^H^Hthe ANSI C book and Design Patterns):
                computer networks 1558603689
                java language specification 0201634511
                java how to program 0132634015
                operating system concepts "dinosaur" 0201591138
                DBMS 0070507759
                \_ If you'd like me to pick stuff up, I can come to
                Cupertino.  Email vp@csua if so inclined.

1/7     http://tinyurl.com/7lzzhv
        Barron's article warning about Treasuries says to buy TBT and PST.
        \_ Of course last year Barron's was telling us that the housing
           crisis would be minor and blow over by mid 2008.
           \_ CBS Marketwatch commentary says the same:
              http://tinyurl.com/7swxxd
              I am not saying this is good advice. It may be a contrarian
              indicator. However, it is something to consider and do more
              research on.

1/7     Anyone have a rangefinder camera? Like it?
        \_ LESS CAMERA BULLSHIT, MORE BOOBIES.  OK TNX BYE
           \_ here you go: http://www.anonib.com/_teensnorules/index.php?t=2673
           \_ What is the deal with geeks and cameras, anyway?
        \_ There was a time when people were interested in rangefinder
           camera because without the pentaprism, it's lighter than SLR....
           and it's cheaper to build.  Neither of these two reasons are
           valid in these days.  It seems that you are more interested in
           "camera" than "photography."   If that is the case, I would urge
           you look at some of more interesting cameras, like Kodak Brownie,
           Polariods, etc.
           \_ Yes that is true. I like cameras more than taking pictures.
              I like collecting them. It drives my wife nuts because she
              hates "old junks." But I like them, and I'd like to put up
              a mini at-home museum when I retire.
           \_ Rangefinders are still more quiet and has less vibration than
              SLRs.  -- !OP, owner of 3 SLRs
        \_ I don't know how they even work under certain situations. Let's
           say I use a rangefinder lens equivalent to that of a 85mm f/1.2L
           lens with only 1-2 inches of depth of field (DoF). How do I
           even measure 1-2 inches precisely on a rangefinder? I can't
           because the distance measurement isn't THAT precise on a
           rangefinder.

1/7     This was becoming a bit like message of the month instead of motd.
        *nuke rediculously old shit*

1/7     http://tinyurl.com/7lzzhv
        Barron's article warning about Treasuries.
        \_ Buy corporate bonds while you still can!