2/22    Let's do a political-OS correlation poll. I am a:
        Democrat and Linux user: .
        Democrat and Un*x user: ...
        Democrat and Mac* user: .
        Democrat and Windows* user: .
        Republican and Linux user:
        Republican and Un*x user: ...
        Republican and Mac* user: .
        Republican and Windows* user: ..
        Kook-third-party and Linux user: .
        Kook-third-party and Un*x user: .
        Kook-third-party and Winderz user: ..
        If you're neither Democrat or Republican or don't use the above
        listed OS we don't care about you. (Un*x includes Linux, any BSD
        but OS X, Solarix, IRIX, HPUX, etc... Mac* includes any OS made
        by Apple and Windows* includes any OS made by M$).
        \_ can we vote multiple times?
           \_ sure why not. but most of all, which OS do you prefer.
        \_ Technically MacOSX counts for both Un*x and Mac*.
           Shouldn't you also have a column for LinSUX since
           its not really Un*x? (BSD, IRIX, HPUX, Solaris were all
           derived from System 7 UNIX from AT&T or SVR4, but LinSUX
           is not (minix)).
           \_ Fine. But all Mac users tend to be an island of their own
              so  I'm going to consolidate them on one line.
           \_ No!  If you allow that argument, then you could say that
              NT should count as Windows and Unix, since it's Windows on
              top, Unix (*cough*  supposedly) underneath, and nothing but
              bugs and instability in between.  -bcm
                 \_ You are a twink. Windows NT (WNT) was built on top of
                    VMS technology. M$ hired the core VMS team from DEC
                    and then renamed thier work WNT. WNT is like UNIX in
                    that it runs (just barely) on a computer. In all other
                    aspects it is the resurection of the worst bloated blithe
                    DEC ever produced.
                    \_ the story i heard from a severe VMS nut was that
                    there were two main peole responseible for VMS originally,
                    and MS hired one of them, but not the other.  supposedly
                    WNT was VMS like, but there were alot of missing aspects
                    because of the missing half of the team.  just a story.
                    the guy who told me the story was as much a VMS nut
                    as people here are BSD nuts, and he never used NT.
              \_ I hear it is windoze on top of VMS -ausman
        \_ but what criterion do we use for "prefer"?  If I had to use one
           OS I would use Windows, simply for the software and hardware support.
           There are many things you just can't run without Windows, from games
           to certain CD-writing software.  I'd "prefer" something like MacOSX,
           minus the goofy GUI, and minus the reliance on Apple hardware.
           \_ You don't have to run the "goofy GUI" if you don't want to.
              Personally, I find the ability to watch a quicktime movie play
              underneath a transparent terminal *really* cool.
              And Apple Hardware is quite nice. None of that config/jumpers
              and memory address shit like on PCs. Also G3/G4 is *much* faster
              than x86 (the ability to retire 3 instructions/cycle rather
              than 1). I prefer my *supercomputer* to your x86 toy.
              \_ no config? no memory addresses? gee, i guess programs run on
                 telepathy? and 3 instructions/cycle is relevant why??
        \_ Windoze includes MS-DOS!?

2/22    Bush = Oligarchy
        \_ Oh, and the president was arrested for murder. More and
           that tomorrow night. Or you can turn to another channel.
        \_ Oligarchial, hedgemonic plutocracy if you want to be
           specific.
           \_ hegemonic, even

2/22    any good restaurants around san jose downtown, santa clara st?
        \_ http://www.todai.com
        \_ Pagoda.
           \_ Get the rainbow chicken salad. Mmmmmmmmm....
        \_gordon biersch, bella mia, e and o.
        \_ Birk's, Lion Compass
        \_ Picasso... it's Spanish
        \_ Burger King. Ask them for their latest breakfast special.

2/22    I know network performance of FreeBSD is better than Linux.  But what
        about FreeBSD vs NetBSD?  Any differences?  Do they use the same
        stack?  I've pretty much decided on *BSD for my firewall/nat/dns box.
        Thanks.
        \_ dont forget openbsd!
        \_ All the stacks for *BSD came from the same place (Cal, in case
           you can't put two and two together). They have been modified
           by the developers of the different BSD projects but all in all
           *BSDs feature the best non-propreitary stack (BSD/OS and Solaris
           are rumored to have better ones (multithreaded)).
           FreeBSD is rumored to have the fastest and most stable stack
           but new hardware support is said to be hard to add. Juniper
           used FreeBSD (a heavily modified version) in most of thier
           routers/switches. The actually routing/switching is done by
           asics, but some of the protocols are run on FreeBSD.
           Riverstone used NetBSD because they found it much easier to
           add support for fiber interfaces and to strip out unneeded
           kernel features. (In care you haven't heard of Riverstone,
           they power all the switches between Nasa Ames, the bay area's
           primary distribution point and Mae West).
           I don't know of any network vendors using OpenBSD. But I
           would highly recommend it for firewall/nat/dns because it
           is probably the most secure OS on the planet. I run it for
           my firewall/nat box.
           ----ranga

2/22    http://www.jadedonline.com - ph33r tina yothers.  ph33r.
        \_ who are these people? and what is wrong with the girl
           named tina? (I hope its not "She's a MAN Babee!")
           \_ you knew her as alex P keaton's younger sister on Family Ties.
              wow. heather thomas is like 50.  ph33r.
           \_ in much better shape is miriam bialik, who's in ucla grad
              neurosci
              \_ who is miriam bialik? - unhip sodan
                \_ starred in the sitcom "Blossom".
                   \_ "Mayam," even
                   \_ Blossom? Never heard of it. Was it on
                      cable or something. - really unhip alum
        \_ One of the guys is wearing a Cal hat in one of the pictures.
           That's better than most press Cal gets.
           \_ "Unknown TV Sitcom Actor Wears Cal Hat!"  Yeah thats the sort of
              press you should be dying for.
              \_ She's not wearing the hat. It's someone in her band that
                 is barely visible. So it should be "Unknown member of
                 Unknown TV Sitcom Actor's Band Wears Cal Hat!"
                \_ go bears.  Actually Cal is consistently one of the top 5
                   universities in sports merchandising sales, the others
                   being football/basketball powers.  We just have the
                   coolest colors and the coolest logos.  -tom

2/22    Are butterfly knives illegal in CA?  Are there any good online sources
        where I can find out information on stuff like this?
        \_ blades less than 4" are legal. butt knives, stilettos are not
           legal no matter what the length.
        \_ Previous poster is wrong (*all* blades over 4" are not illegal!
           That would outlaw steak knives!).  CA state law says that
                \_ No, you just don't know how to read.  The two statements
                   'blades less than 4" are legal' and '*all* blades over 4"
                    are not illegal!' do not contradict each other.  The
                   first statement implies that some blades over 4" are
                   not legal, but it can be completely true even if all
                   blades less than 4" are legal, since it actually says
                   nothing about blades longer than 4".
                   \_ yup (late night).  The statement "blades less than 4"
                      are legal" is false, which is what I should have said.
           automatic knives with blade lengths of less than two inches are
           legal.  CA case law classifies butterfly knives as automatics.
           As far as state law is concerned, a butterfly knife with a blade
           less than two inches long is perfectly legal.  Some local
           governments (Mountain View, for example) ban possession of all
           automatic knives, regardless of blade length.
           <DEAD>pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm<DEAD> is a good reference
           on state knife laws, but I don't know of one that covers local
           ordinances.  The relevant federal agency (sorry -- I don't
           remember which one that is off the top of my head) has reversed
           themselves, declaring that butterfly knives are no longer
                 not carried in public.
           considered automatics (making them legal for interstate sales
           and importation into the country).  California's state knife
           laws are ambiguous and open to abusive enforcement.
           \_ my apologies.  i stand corrected.  wow. and just to think
              i could have been carrying a legal 2" butterfly knife.  guess
              i'll sell this 6" one.
              \_ The 1.9" automatics are kinda cool.  With how poorly the laws
                 covering this are written, some argue that it is technically
                 legal to own a full-size butterfly knife in CA, as long as it
                 is not carried in public.  Wanna be the test case?
           \_ is my rapier legal?
              \_ I think it's legal to carry around a sheathed sword, as long as
                 it's visible.
              \_ Yes.  Is it under 2"?
           \_ You can't go wrong with a flail.
                \_ I prefer the standard mace.  Just a big chunk of steel at
                   the end of a stick can do wonders on Telegraph.

2/22    Where do people buy acid in berkeley?
        \_ cloyne court.  2600 ridge rode.
           \_ Yeah, but who?  (Not like I expect an actual name to show up
              on the motd)  Just ask at the front door?
                \_ Yes.  "Hi, I'm here to buy acid.  Which room?"
        \_ does anyone on soda sell acid?
           \_ yes.  just think about it, and read the aliases file.
        \_ Latimer Hall has lots of kinds of acid.
              \_ Also VLSB and LSA. Really strong acids too.
                 You could probably get some free base to go
                 along with your acid. (Pardon the puns).
           \_ Don't be stupid.
              \_ What the hell do you think those organic chemistry
                 grad students are *really* doing?
                 \_ Don't be stupid.
                 \_ making speed. it was on the news a couple of years ago.
                    responsible for 1/3 the meth supply of the state.
                    Go Bears.
        \_ casa zimbabwe, look for it at http://www.usca.org ask for fliz or
           the house mgr.  say you are looking for "a joyride".  make sure
           they know it's acid, not e or special k that you want.  get a
           pager number from the dealer he hooks you up with.
        \_ The USCA Coops Central Office.  Ask anyone behind the counter.
           If they're out that day, they can direct you to the right coop
           house.

2/22    Could someone outline the steps you need
        to do to take a dvd movie and cram it into an
        mpeg in linux or windows?
        \_ get a vob extractor, get a vob to mpeg encoder.

2/23    What the hell is "All your base are belong to us"?  Why is everyone
        putting it on all their web pages & .sigs?
        \_ Because they're dumbshits.
        \_ http://www.allyourbase.net/AYB2.swf
        \_ I also saw it on a HL/TFC server
        \_ People are idiots.
           \_ what you say!!
        \_ Go to http://www.portalofevil.com and search for "all your base are
           belong to us"
        \_ somebody set up us the bomb
           \_ It's you
        \_ Someone with way too much time on his hands made a shockwave
           video based on a poorly translated japanese nintendo game from
           the early 80's.  Most of the people who think it's funny are just
           going along with the crow.  They have _no idea_ what would be
           funny about it except everyone else is laughing so they do, too.
           The odds of so many people knowing the original game reference is
           about zero.  However, this is a very interesting (to me) item to
           note about people's need to fit in socially, no matter what.  You
           simply stand out as one of the people who doesn't have such an
           overwhelming desire to fit that you'd pretend to laugh at something
           that left you baffled like so many other clowns spewing "all your
           base..." all over the net.  Feel better about yourself.  The rest
           are sheep.
           \_ The video's funny. Just because it doesn't match your sense of
              humour means that the rest of us are somehow "faking it"...
                \_ What's funny about a bad translation in a game?
                   \_ The translation.
                        \_ Bad translations are common.  So what?
                \_ this phenomenon is what has kept Saturday Night Live going
                   for the past 20 years.  -tom
                   \_ I dunno -- I laughed pretty hard when eddie murphy,
                      chevy chase and john belushi (samurai deli) were on.
                      Sometime after that it just sorta' got edgy without
                      any real humor.  Was that 20 years ago?
                        \_ SNL *was* funny when Belushi was on.  It hasn't
                           been funny since that cast left.  Yes, it was 20
                           years ago, give or take a few.
           \_ i saw it, and i thought it was funny. people around me didn't
              get it. i think there's something genuinely funny about the
              opening video as well as some of the slides. -ali
                \_ What's funny about a bad translation in a game?
                   \_ The translation.
                        \_ Bad translations are common.  So what?
           \_ Maybe you should get that stick out of your ass.  It's made
              you an annoying person.
                \_ Ok, thanks, I'll take that on advisement.  Send the rest of
                   your highly educated and profound comments to /dev/null.
                   \_ Aww, is the self-important dimwit going to cry??  Cry,
                      dimwit, cry.
                        \_ Uh... hello?  Where'd you get that idea?  Cry?
                           Don't be stupid.  I was letting you know that
                           your reply was so stupid it wasn't worth the
                           effort to make a real reply.  They let you into
                           Cal?  Why do I have to spell these things out?
                           Go visit the USCA Coops and get some acid.  It
                           might raise your IQ a few hundred points.  You're
                           a sheep.  A dumb sheep.
                           \_ Hey, I'm not the one making sweeping
                              generalizations about society based upon my own
                              ill-informed opinions.  You typify everything
                              bad about the arrogant CAL stereotype: "I have
                              an opinion about society, therefore I'm right
                              and don't need to justify my absurd, immature,
                              and rediculously short-sighted views."  Try
                              using YOUR brains, ya' intellectual elitist
                              fat-head, and maybe learn to use a dictionary
                              and start by looking up "objectivism".
                              It's okay to cry, moron, no one respected you
                              anyway.
                              \_ "objectivism"? Ayn fucking Rand? run for
                                 your life!!
           \_ I got a link to the video in my mailbox, viewed it, and laughed
              without other people around.  How would you explain that?
                \_ What's funny about a bad translation in a game?
                   \_ The translation.
                        \_ Bad translations are common.  So what?
           \_ I work in a Japanese company and regularly have to review
              documentation written in "Engrish", and I thought the video was
              pretty funny.
                \_ I'm sorry your work life is so twisted.
           \_ So, I'm thinking that there's some not-so-subtle racism going
              on here where people find poor English translations so funny
              they have to pass it around the net like this and repeat the
              one phrase endlessly like the bleating sheep they are.  One
              sheep sees a link, says "baaaa!" and sends it on so thousands
              of other racist sheep can say "baaaa!" and keep the sheep thing
              going.  Welcome to America, land of the once-free, home of the
              bleating sheep.
                \_ Fuck you, ChinaMan.
                   \_ ChinaMan?  Damn, the motd was hit with the stupid
                      stick today.  I wrote that.  I'm white.  I'm male.
                      I vote Republican.  You're a racist and not a very
                      bright one at that.
                   \_ Fuck you back, Arsehole.
                \_ Go Back to Japan, Ho Chi Min.
                   "Go Back to Japan, Ho Chi Min."? Go back to England
                   Hitler. Go back to New York City, Stalin.
                   \_ Uh whatever.  Was any of this shit supposed to parse
                      in English or am I supposed to find the bad translation
                      funny?  Hint: senseless babble is not funny.
        \_ "All your base are belong to us"
           \_ Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahoho
              hehehehehehohohohohahahahahehehehehuhuhuhuhehhehhehhehhahahaho
           \_ this whole phenomenon has been spread by 12-15 yr. old kids
              who are in gaming "clans" and w4reZ groups.
              \_ Oh ok, thanks.  That explains it.  Warez hosers and motd
                 readers find it funny.  It makes sense now.  Thanks.
              \_ Hey! But ali thinks its funny!
                \_ ali the bengali
                   \_ sodan the moron!!!
                   \_ Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
                      ohohohohahahahahehehehehuhuhuhuhehhehhehhehhahahaho

2/23    tab in emacs only goes 2 spaces.  How do I get it to tab to four?
        What's the best simple .emacs resource around for simple things
        like this?
        \_ ^X^Cvi !*^M
        \_ (setq default-tab-width 4)
           \_ the right way of doing this: type m-x customize and go wild.
              this particular feature is in "Editing:Editing basics"
              other ways: m-x apropos

2/23    I have a x86 box running redhat 6 and I can't get my new soundcard
        to install.  where should I go to get help?  someone told me the
        motd would be a good place to ask, because there are alot of linux
        users here.
        \_ linux user, yes. Helpfull people, no
                            \_ I guess you failed the TOFEL. Learn
                               some spelling and grammar fob.
        \_ OSuX! OSuX! 1T'5 A11 A80U+ OSuX D00D! K3WL AKWUA & 5H1T!
          \_ The first thing I would try is a later version of RedHat.
        \_ D00D D1D U U53 linSUXconf?
           TRY RH 6.2, 1T W0RK5 4 M3!
           - 3133T LinSUX H@X0R/L0053R
        \_ What does a server need a sound card for?  If you want to play
           games or pirated mp3s go install win98.  It's better at both.
           \_ Or MacOS. Its better than Win98 at both.
              \_ MacOS? games? that's certainly news to me
                 \_ UT, Q3A, Monkey Island, Voyager Elite Force, Diablo II,
                    Baulder's Gate, all playstation games, SimCity 3K,
                    Caesar III, Oni, Marathon (it is still the best fps
                    ever made), radom other games.
                    Yeah, there aren't 50 million retarded games like in
                    the PC world, but that's just because a Mac is more
                    than a simple WinTendo.
                    \_ silly me, I thought people didn't publish Mac
                       games because there just aren't enough Mac users
                       to justify it, but I guess I was wrong
                    \_ uh you are on crack. by the time something comes out on
                       the mac it's usually pretty old news already. marathon
                       is not the best fps ever made, i played it.
                                  \_ Perhaps in your opinion. But I still
                                     like it. No other fps I have ever played
                                     works well with just keyboard controls
                                     and produces so much carnage. I've played
                                     newer games and Marathon is still better.
                       i guess half-life, fallout2, arcanum, baldur's gate 2,
                       planescape: torment, nolf, deus ex, and tons and tons of
                           This is available on a Mac _/
                           \_ well exqueeze me.
                       old classic games that were never available on the mac
                       just don't matter when it comes to what system is better
                       for games. p.s., guess what game dominates online fps
                       play by a huge margin, and can't be had on a mac?
                       \_ CounterStrike? Yeah whatever. A Mac is much more
                          than a WinTendo. If I want to play games, I'd buy
                          a console. I use my computer to do *real* work.
                          \_ first you say macs are better at gaming. then you
                             say whatever, you don't want to play games. well
                             that's fine dumbass but then why the hell are you
                             talking about it. anyway try playing counterstrike
                             or any other mod for any game on a console. or any
                             rpg more complex than the linear "interactive
                             cutscene" style of console rpgs.
             Also, what sound card?
          \_ I wish Apple had died and Amiga survived. Amiga wiped the floor
             with Crapple.

2/23    The Empire Strikes Back.
        \_ eh?

2/23    Any dancers have opinions on codpieces? I'm debating whether to
        just go freesytle.
        \_ Ever been kicked in the head with a steel tipped boot?  Ever been
           a prisoner in a Turkish prison?

2/23    Reverse Traceroute Tool:
        <DEAD>www.traceloop.com<DEAD>
        Interesting Idea.

2/23    I'm applying to Grad School this fall and I want to write a good
        letter of intent. Is there a decent book/web site that explains
        how one might go about writing a good letter of intent?
        I'm applying to EE at the farm, UCSC, SJSU and MSE at Cal and
        CalTech.
        I don't need to hear about how academics sux and industry is
        k3w1. I work in industry, I want and advanced degree so I can
        advance faster and do research work for my company.
        \_ The books suk.  Just post your draft on /csua/tmp and
           let your CSUA compadres "help" you.
           \_ bah.  Post draft to motd.
        \_ Did you just have you letter of intent up there?  You want to
           good to grad school to make more money.
           go to grad school to make more money.
           \_ Yeah, but grad schools don't want to hear that. They
              want to hear how I am interested in doing research and
              science and stuff like that. They don't give a shit
              about people like me who want a grad degree in order
              to help them build & patent neat stuff for thier companies
              so that they can retire early and possibly contribute
              to the alumni fund.
                \_ Well, do you know what research group you want to land in at
                   those schools?  This is what you need to find out first.
                   Instead of chossing schools by reputation, show them
                   you pick them because you and the group have common interests.
                   Then tell them why you can contribute.
                   \_ Thanks for the advice. I'll search the EE depts.
                      looking for a match.
                      I'm mainly interested in network congestion modeling
                      and low latency route switching (ie MPLS-NG) along
                      with some advanced OS theory.
                      Since I'm looking to get the 1 yr MS or the 2 yr
                      ME, I don't know how convincing I can be about
                      the research part as I'd be doing most of the work
                      for my company not for the school.
                        \_ Look at Stanford's CSL group.  Stanford does
                        have the STIIN co-op thing.
        \_ try http://www.google.com/search?q=%22computer+science%22+%22statement+of+purpose%22+MS+Phd