2/9     Does anyone here own a Kindle?
        \_ Yes, why?
         \_ Are the books tied to your kindle?  Is there any kind of
            resale/lending option?
         \_ Are the books tied to one device?  Can you lend them out/
            resell them?

2/9     Is it my imagination or it seems like it rains more this year
        in Q1 more than last year?
        \_ Considering that the data are easily available, and pretty much
           every newspaper and news broadcast has been talking about the
           water shortage: you're an idiot.
           \_ Wow, you're pretty arrogant for a guy who doesn't know what
              the word 'seems' means.  Furthermore, since the lack of rain
              last year is having a large impact on the shortage this year,
              the water shortage doesn't necessarily mean there hasn't been
              more rain this year than last year, just not enough.  Although,
              you are correct there was more last year.
              \_ We just had two straight weeks of sun in January.  Get a clue.
                 \_ Try reading next time.  Seriously.
        \_ We seem to have had more rainy days at more regular intervals where
           I live this year, but there has been less total rainfall.  Last year
           it rained almost every day in January, and then nothing till
           I live this year, but there has been less actual rainfall.  Last
           year it rained almost every day in January, and then nothing till
           December.

2/9     Moral of the story, never stay in a Chinese-built high rise?
        http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/world/asia/10beijing.html?hp
        \_ Moral of the story, high rises suck. I prefer my single family house
           \_ Because single family homes never burn down?
           \_ Moral of the story: building safety is yet another thing you
              shouldn't leave to deregulation.
              \_ moral of the story: not everyone shares young people's vision of
                 dense living urtopia. A SFH has less dependency on others, hence
                 is more fault resilient. Also as you get older, you realize that
                 there's much more than meeting new people and partying everyday
                 in your dense living utopia in San Francisco. Also, when you have
              \_ moral of the story: not everyone shares young people's vision
                 of dense living urtopia. A SFH has less dependency on others,
                 hence is more fault resilient. Also as you get older, you
                 realize that there's much more than meeting new people and
                 partying everyday in your dense living utopia in San
                 Francisco. Also, when you have
                 kids, you really don't want them to grow up with a bunch of
                 crackheads and weirdos. There's a reason why SFHs in Pasadena
                 and San Marino cost so much.   P.S. Jackie Johnson & JPL rock!
                 Francisco. Also, when you have kids, you really don't want
                 them to grow up with a bunch of crackheads and weirdos.
                 There's a reason why SFHs in Pasadena and San Marino cost so
                 much.   P.S. Jackie Johnson & JPL rock!
                 \_ moral of the story: 80 col is the standard. Also, I'm 39.
                    I very purposefully do not live in a SFH. I like a vibrant
                    neighborhood with shops and diversions in walking distance.
                    Not all urban living is the projects. Get over your fear.
                    \_ any kid?
                       \_ Working on it.
                  \_ Stop trolling.
                \_ http://www.spur.org
        \_ Some hot girl from school added me in Facebook.  Looks like she
           just had a kid.  A cute kid.  A cute kid with Down's Syndrome.
           Her husband is a manly alpha male Special Forces officer.
           No nerds for miles.  Kids are overrated.

2/9     GOP may be "winning" stimulus debate on TeeVee, but they're losing quite
        badly with the public:
        http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/another-poll-shows-public-approving-obama-disapproving-gop-on-stimulus.php
        http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/poll-obama-way-ahead-of-gop-on-stimulus.php
        \_ Uh, the support for the pork package is falling, and now the CBO
           says we'll get out of the recession without a stimulus.
           \_ Is the fallback position for the GOP? First they claim that
           \_ Is this the fallback position for the GOP? First they claim that
              the stimulus bill will be a disaster, then after it works, they
              are going to claim "we would have gotten out of the recession
              anyway"?
              \_ No, they'll claim that the stimulus package prolonged the
                 recession.  They'll keep repeating it and repeating it
                 until the dittoheads think it's a consensus view instead
                 of the product of ideological wack jobs.  (See: Conservative
                 positions on FDR and the Depression).  -tom
                 \_ Oh, yah, UCLA is conservative.
              \_ Last I checked, CBO wasn't Republican.
                 \_ Your track record of reliably reporting from other sources
                    is suspect, at least to me. What is the URL to the CBO
                    report in question? It is not an exaggeration to claim
                    that almost every economist, no matter their political
                    stripe, think that a stimulus package is warranted.
                    stripe, thinks that a stimulus package is warranted.
                    \_ There's a summary at:
                       http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/02/cbo-predicts-recession-will-end-in-2009.html
                       But you'll dismiss that.  So here's a link to the PDF
                       from the CBO:
                       http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9958/01-08-Outlook_Testimony.pdf
                       \_ There is nothing in the CBO report that supports
                          your claim. In fact, it actually says this:
                        Principles for Fiscal Stimulus
                        In the absence of any changes in policy, CBO projects
                        that the economy will produce about $1 trillion less
                        output per year than its estimated potential in each of
                        2009 and 2010 and significantly less than its potential
                        in 2011 and 2012 as well (see Figure 12). The unemploy-
                        ment rate is forecast to rise above 9 percent by early
                        next year. Many economists believe that a stimulative
                        fiscal policy (that is, an increase in spending or
                        reduction in taxes designed to foster faster economic
                        growth in the short run) is desirable under the
                        current economic conditions.
           \_ You apparently have a different definition of the word "falling"
              than most people.
              \_ 62% Want Stimulus Plan to Have More Tax Cuts, Less Spending
                 http://tinyurl.com/cajvyb   [rasmussen]
                 \_ Wow, just wow.  So a 36 point approval gap means nothing
                    to you?  Keep drinking that Kool aid, man.
                    \_ I was responding to the "different definition of
                       falling" claim.  Sorry for that linear logic.

2/9     http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Camera-Lenses/2183/AF-S-DX-NIKKOR-35mm-f%252F1.8G.html
        AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G just announced. Best news: MSPR is only
        $200, and will make a perfect companion for the D400.

2/9     What hypocrites we are--everyone climbing on Phelps' back for
        possibly taking a hit of marijuana from a bong?  How many of
        us HAVEN'T done that, and other similarly petty crimes?
        Fer chrissake, cut the guy a break.
        \_ Hello liberal, soft on crime?
          \_ your childlike fundamentalist idea of "law" is amusing to me.

2/9     New NAS study claims that ethanol is worse for health and environment
        than regular gasoline.
        http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/new-study-tallies-corn-ethanol-costs
        \_ I'm sorry, are there still people who aren't directly benefitting from corn
           subsidies (yes, this include our president), who still claim to think any-
           thing else?  -phuqm
        \_ I'm sorry, are there still people who aren't directly benefitting
           from corn subsidies (yes, this include our president), who still
           claim to think anything else?  -phuqm

2/9     What are good alternatives to Netflix?
        \_ Bittorrent.  Usenet + nzb files.
           \_ I mean renting the disks.  I actually would like to watch movies
              without infringing copyright, I'm just tired of netflix.
              \_ Why are you tired of it?  There's VoD type services but
                 they kinda suck.  There's a few other Netflix wannabes out
                 there but they suck.  The movie industry is so scared of
                 pirates they are unwilling to provide any service that
                 is even remotely as useful as illegal downloads.  It's
                 not a money thing it's a convenience thing, so until
                 the movie/tv studios pull their heads out of their asses
                 I'm sticking with piracy.
                 \_ This is one reason:
                    http://abcnews.go.com/Business/CEOProfiles/story?id=6823376

2/9     motd finance whizzes, if the total value of CDS last year was
        62 trillion, and now it's basically worthless, does that mean
        somewhere, somehow, someone collectively has lost 62 trillion?
        thanks
        \_ Yup.  Somehow, somewhere, $62T of money just went with the
           wind.  And what's more, if people suddently decide that CDS
           is worth something again, that money comes right back.
        \_ These things are supposed to net out, so for every loser, there
           should be a winner. Some of the losers are bankrupt though and won't
           be able to make good on the claim. Your second proposition "now
           it's basically worthless" is dubious, btw.
           \_ Who are these 'winners'?  Also I'm asking a real question, not
              being an ass. thanks.
              \_ I understand that you are not being an ass, but you are
                 repeating some common misperceptions here. If I buy a CDS
                 from you, giving you some cash up front in return for your
                 promise to make me whole if GM goes bankrupt and I lose the
                 money on a bond I just bought, and then GM goes bankrupt, you
                 are the loser and I am the winner. Is that clear enough? Now
                 if I go to redeem my claim and you declare bankruptcy, then
                 we are both losers, which is what people are afraid of now.
                 We don't know what this "counter-party risk" really tallies
                 up to right now, which is why the economy is in such a mess,
                 but it is certainly less than $62T.
           \_ I disagree with you about this being a "zero sum" game.  Here,
              I definitely think there are losers without there being any
              winners.  Suppose suddenly all stocks are worthless.  Who
              wins?  People who just got out of stocks might consider
              themselves lucky, but they didn't directly benefit from
              stocks going to zero:  they won "otherwise".  Short sellers
              might win, but that's a small fraction of the loss, not a
              zero sum.
              \_ Stocks aren't very much like CDSs. If I redeem my CDS to
                 you and you honor it, you lose money and I gain it. The only
                 way there can be an overall loss if via counter-party risk
                 e.g. you don't make good on the contract.
        \_ Why do you think they are worthless (URL, please)? They are still
           enforceable contracts, unless written by Lehman. They also aren't
           "supposed to net out." That was the undoing of the ibanks. They're
           supposed to be underwritten by people who can price the risk of
           default accurately. They're like tradeable insurance.
           \_ Yes, for every person losing a dollar, another person gains
              a dollar. That is what "net out" means. The $62T didn't just
              disappear, except in bankruptcy cases, where it can be argued
              that it never really existed in the first place.
              \_ Correct me if I am wrong, but the costs of insuring debt
                 fluctuates because these things are traded. Worse,
                 derivatives based on these things were traded.
                 \_ Yes, but their book value is not $62T, just the nominal
                    value.
        \_ I would argue that most of the value of the 72T CDS market is/was
           imaginary, and therefore all of the profits and jobs and stock
           fluctuations based on CDS trade profits are a load o'crap,
           and this is a huge contributing factor to current financial woe.

2/9     Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, May 1939
        "We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever
        spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and
        now if I am wrong somebody else can have my job. I want to see this
        country prosper. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people
        get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. I say after
        eight years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment
        as when we started. And enormous debt to boot."
        \_ Let me guess, 6 years ago you were telling us how great the
           Iraq war was because look how WWII caused us to spend out of
           a depression?
           \_ Uh, no.  It was a cost that I think needed to pay for our safety.
              I was against Bush's expansion of medicare, against the first
              bailout and against Bush's unconstitutional cash grab for the big
              3.
                \_ rememebr when Iraq invaded us?  I wonder what motivates
                   people to think like this.
                   \_ Remember, in 2004 a majority of Bush voters believed
                      that Iraq was responsible for the WTC attacks, maybe
                      even our motd poster. What do you say guy who thinks
                      that attacking Iraq was needed to pay for our safety,
                      do you think that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11?
                      Did you believe this in 2004?
                      do you think that Saddam Hussein was responsible for
                      9/11? Did you believe this in 2004?
        \_ http://tinyurl.com/57nocs
           Stop lying about Roosevelt's record.
           \_ Uh, are you talking to FDR's friend and Treasury Sec'y?

2/9     Likud is going to win the election in Israel.
        \_ It's possible, esp. in light of continued rocket attacks from
           Gaza, but what would that mean? I don't recall Bibi solving the
           problem last time he was in power.

2/10    paolo here are some links to tide you over
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6QcFDqgEDg
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpoO49AUzxk
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcxYlhJdvhc
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQYsKjUTkeQ
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewxJjZb40kk

2/9     I am new to signal handlers in C. I want to clean up some temp
        files if my program is interrupted. I can catch the interrupt
        just fine, but signal() doesn't take any args to pass to the
        handler. So how can I pass it the information it needs to be
        useful, like the names of the files to delete before exiting?
        STFW doesn't yield much.
        \_ You are going to need a global variable.
        \_ Be careful.  Almost every library function can't be used from
           within a signal handler.  Take a look at this website, and
           take its message to heart ;)
           <DEAD>www.securecoding.cert.org/confluence/display<DEAD>
           seccode/11.+Signals+(SIG)
        \_ You will probably need to do something with sigsetjmp and
           siglongjmp.  Stevens APUE Ch 10 has a good explanation iirc.
           \_ Depending on your security needs this is a bad idea
              <DEAD>www.securecoding.cert.org/confluence/display/seccode<DEAD>
              SIG32-C.+Do+not+call+longjmp%28%29+from+inside+a+signal+handler
              \_ Didn't know this. Thanks for the link.

2/9     Oh wow, the motd still works?  What happened?  I've been asleep for
        a hundred years.  -John
        \_ Hello sleepy beauty, where have you been?
        \_ Who the fuck are you and why should we care?
           \_ he makes tanks.
              \_ excuse me? Care to elaborate?
                 \_ He misspelled (close, though.)  I own the company that
                    makes all the lolcat pictures.  -John
        \_ HEIL!
        \_ John Van Winkle ?

2/9     Dear Canonboi, poll shows that Nikon is preferred over Canon,
        at least as of December 2007:
        http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-9827989-39.html