Grex Agora46 Conference

Item 64: The summer "short question" item

Entered by scott on Mon Jul 7 14:31:01 2003:

This is the item for short questions.
187 responses total.

#1 of 187 by scott on Mon Jul 7 14:32:11 2003:

I'm looking to get some kind of portable shortwave radio - like a little
travel alarm which could get BBC radio, maybe.  An alarm function isnecessary.


#2 of 187 by earnal on Mon Jul 7 14:48:37 2003:

I really don't know about any, but if you find your device, please let me
know. I could make good use of one of those!.


#3 of 187 by rcurl on Mon Jul 7 16:08:10 2003:

Little travel alarms are nearly give-aways. Get one of those and buy a
separate SWR. Mine is a Grundig YB400PE. These have been on sale recently.


#4 of 187 by scott on Mon Jul 7 17:44:35 2003:

I'd really like to wake up to international news instead of that annoying
beeping from my current travel alarm.  
And you might check the manual for your Grundig, Rane, since it does appear
to have an alarm function.


#5 of 187 by gull on Mon Jul 7 18:29:37 2003:

My Radio Shack DX-390 has no travel alarm, though it does have a sleep
function.  But they don't make it anymore, anyway.

I've been fairly happy with it, though it's a bit sensitive to selective
fading.  It's a pity synchronous AM reception didn't catch on with more
manufacturers.


#6 of 187 by scott on Mon Jul 7 18:56:23 2003:

Anyway, I've bookmarked the Grundig page for when I get home.


#7 of 187 by eprom on Mon Jul 7 19:18:06 2003:

re#5

hmmm...I own a DX-392 which is basically identical to your reciever but also
has a tape recorder...anyways I'm almost certain that there is a travel alarm
built-in.


#8 of 187 by cross on Mon Jul 7 19:39:57 2003:

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#9 of 187 by rcurl on Mon Jul 7 19:59:53 2003:

Well, watayaknow - it does have an alarm. Never paid any attention to that
fact as I only use it as a station radio. Well, bring along a separate alarm
anyway.....never know when your batteries might die.


#10 of 187 by gregb on Mon Jul 7 21:53:17 2003:

I read Passport and I've yet to read a really positive review on those 
small SWR's.  You'd do batter to get a mid-size portable.  I have an 
old Sangean ATS-803A and I've been happy with its performance.  The 
model you might want to check out is the ATS909.  Much improved, more 
goodies and it's got a alarm that'll wake you to either radio or 
buzzer.  You can find it and their other models at 
www.sangean.com/worldband.html.

73!


#11 of 187 by scott on Tue Jul 8 06:42:36 2003:

I'm really looking for something small, though.  That ATS909 weighs a couple
*pounds*.


#12 of 187 by cross on Tue Jul 8 11:42:39 2003:

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#13 of 187 by polytarp on Tue Jul 8 11:47:37 2003:

Yeah, if you're talking about the famed YB, it's great.


#14 of 187 by polytarp on Tue Jul 8 11:48:48 2003:

YES, AFTER READING THIS ITEM, I CAN CONFIRM IT DOES HAVE AN ALARM FUNCTION.


#15 of 187 by gull on Tue Jul 8 14:07:00 2003:

Re #7: Maybe it's the 370 I have, then.  I don't have it in front of me
right now to look.  I keep it in my bathroom to listen to while I
shower.  It's got digital tuning and covers AM, FM, and several SW
bands.  It has no clock, though.

Incidentally, I consider digital tuning pretty much essential in a
portable shortwave receiver.  The tiny slide-rule scales on the analog
ones are just too inaccurate and frustrating.  Digital tuning also lets
you save presets for your favorite stations, so you can quickly scan
through and see if any of them are coming in well.


#16 of 187 by tod on Tue Jul 8 18:22:05 2003:

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#17 of 187 by gregb on Tue Jul 8 20:45:10 2003:

Check out Popular Communications (a.k.a., PopCom).  They always have 
reviews of various kit in all sizes.  73 does too, but not as much.


#18 of 187 by goose on Fri Jul 11 19:59:48 2003:

Monitoring Times too, but the Passport to world band radio is probably the
best dead tree resource.


#19 of 187 by drew on Thu Jul 17 05:53:54 2003:

Are palmtops and palm pilot type devices subject to a TEMPEST attack? What
about laptops?


#20 of 187 by jmsaul on Thu Jul 17 11:48:30 2003:

...or desktops with an LCD monitor.  Hmm.  Google is your friend:

from the Cyphernomicon: "Many LCD screens can be read at a distance. The
signal is not as strong as that from the worst vdus, but it is still
considerable. I have demonstrated attacks on Zenith laptops at 10 metres or
so with an ESL 400 monitoring receiver and a 4m dipole antenna; with a more
modern receiver, a directional antenna and a quiet RF environment there is
no reason why 100 metres should be impossible." [Ross Anderson, Tempest
Attacks on Notebook Computers ???, comp.security.misc, 1994-08-31]

Source: http://www.infoanarchy.org/story/2001/11/15/04252/165


#21 of 187 by goose on Fri Jul 18 03:05:14 2003:

Damn...


#22 of 187 by jmsaul on Fri Jul 18 03:47:40 2003:

I was surprised.


#23 of 187 by goose on Fri Jul 18 04:15:53 2003:

Yeah, I didn't realize that technology was so advanced.


#24 of 187 by jmsaul on Fri Jul 18 12:26:49 2003:

I didn't realize LCDs threw off that much signal.


#25 of 187 by scott on Sat Jul 19 16:56:12 2003:

Ended up going over to Communications Electronics and getting a Sangean ATS
404.  According to Ken they stopped carrying the Grundig stuff because of
quality problems, or something like that.


#26 of 187 by cmcgee on Fri Jul 25 22:53:56 2003:

Back to the short question:

What does algolagny mean?

couldn't find it in my shorter OED.


#27 of 187 by kip on Fri Jul 25 23:57:03 2003:

hyperdictionary.com eventually leads to algolagnia defined as sexual pleasure
derived from inflicting or experiencing pain.


#28 of 187 by dcat on Sat Jul 26 00:00:27 2003:

That's because it doesn't exist.

However, CancerWEB's medical dictionary has the following at
[http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?query=algolagnia&action=Search+OMD]:


algolagnia

Form of sexual perversion in which the infliction or the experiencing of pain
increases the pleasure of the sexual act or causes sexual pleasure independent
of the act; includes both sadism (active algolagnia) and masochism (passive
algolagnia). 



#29 of 187 by dcat on Sat Jul 26 00:01:42 2003:

(CancerWEB's dictionary is linked to from Dictionary.com)


#30 of 187 by tod on Sat Jul 26 00:05:28 2003:

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#31 of 187 by janc on Sat Jul 26 01:38:56 2003:

Oh, so that's what programming in Algol was really about.  After all these
years, I finally understand.


#32 of 187 by russ on Sat Jul 26 13:19:12 2003:

That might explain Algol, but what about COBOL?


#33 of 187 by novomit on Sat Jul 26 14:19:23 2003:

I programmed in COBOL for about four years. It's more of a way of thinking
than a programing language. 


#34 of 187 by keesan on Sat Jul 26 17:45:29 2003:

What does 'lifestyle' mean, as in 'this house reflects your lifestyle',
'lifestyle magazine' and a questionnaire asking which category of website you
are likely to visit, one of which is 'lifestyle'.  Does it mean interior
decorating?

Also, is there currently a fashion color?  I recall purple, then teal, then
everything went black.


#35 of 187 by keesan on Mon Jul 28 03:40:32 2003:

An ad in the Observer offers me the choice between buying a condominium or
a single family lifestyle.


#36 of 187 by rcurl on Wed Jul 30 16:33:19 2003:

Our daughter, who is attending a college in Ohio and will be a Senior this
Fall, has been called to jury duty in Ann Arbor. She has asked to be
excused when she was first called, but only got postponed to mid August.
However she has a required summer internship and if chosen for jury duty
could have her graduation delayed to finish up requirements. Her inquiries
to the Court Clerk's office obtained the answer that there is no exemption
for either school or employment - only for medical disabilities. What has
been the experience of anyone here, especially college students, in this
regard? 



#37 of 187 by mynxcat on Wed Jul 30 16:55:56 2003:

Doesn't the college take jury-duty into consideration, like employers 
are supposed to?


#38 of 187 by cross on Wed Jul 30 17:44:07 2003:

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#39 of 187 by tod on Wed Jul 30 18:18:17 2003:

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#40 of 187 by beeswing on Wed Jul 30 22:28:05 2003:

Sounds like the best thing.

I got called for federal duty when I was in college. I think I was a
sophomore. The form had a checklist of exemptions and one of them was
being a full time student. I checked it, returned it, and got a letter
saying I'd been excused.

I know the county jury duty here is much more rigid. You have to be damn
near dead to be exempt. It used to be that teachers and medical
personnel were exempt, but now they have to serve too. I think if you're
a student, you can be exempt, but you need some written verification on
a school letterhead validating that you are a student.


#41 of 187 by jmsaul on Wed Jul 30 22:33:46 2003:

Is she actually a resident here at this point?  She could explain that she
lives in Ohio now.


#42 of 187 by scott on Wed Jul 30 22:50:54 2003:

According to George Carlin, you should tell the judge that you're "really good
at spotting guilty people".  :)


#43 of 187 by dcat on Wed Jul 30 23:00:44 2003:

I'm just curious what college?


#44 of 187 by rcurl on Wed Jul 30 23:17:12 2003:

Is that relevant to this question of jury service?


#45 of 187 by cross on Wed Jul 30 23:34:52 2003:

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#46 of 187 by rcurl on Wed Jul 30 23:36:48 2003:

No, but nearly as bad tuitionwise...Wittenberg.


#47 of 187 by dcat on Thu Jul 31 00:28:53 2003:

No, it wasn't relevant; as I said, I was just curious.  I went to Oberlin for
two years.


#48 of 187 by mynxcat on Thu Jul 31 03:17:53 2003:

My boss went to Wittenberg. 


#49 of 187 by goose on Thu Jul 31 03:21:41 2003:

Bonzo went to Bitburg.


#50 of 187 by bru on Thu Jul 31 03:45:15 2003:

Don't have her lie duriong jury examination.  If the judge suspects she is
lying to avoid duty, she could be fined or even get jail time.  


#51 of 187 by russ on Thu Jul 31 04:01:34 2003:

There are no hardship exemptions for jury duty?  You can't
ask for your duty to be deferred until the end of classes?


#52 of 187 by other on Thu Jul 31 04:05:24 2003:

Perhaps if she wanders into the prosecutor's office and makes friends 
there beforehand (without announcing her purpose), she can get the 
defense counsel to excuse her without her having to lie in court.

I was excused from a panel once when they asked if we knew anyone in the 
Prosecutor's office just because when I answered I said that the father 
of a friend of mine had run for Prosecutor (true).  He had campaigned as 
"The Victims' Lawyer," which prompted a peremptory challenge from the 
defense. 


#53 of 187 by other on Thu Jul 31 04:06:52 2003:

(She could claim she's considering law school and just wanted to see what 
daily life in a Prosecutor's office was like.)


#54 of 187 by cross on Thu Jul 31 04:10:40 2003:

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#55 of 187 by gelinas on Thu Jul 31 04:28:18 2003:

(I've always heard that the question period didn't always occur on the first
day.  She might have to show up every day, just to be told to come back the
next day.)


#56 of 187 by other on Thu Jul 31 04:42:40 2003:

Depends on the way that court has things set up.  Some are much more 
respectful of potential jurors' time than others.  YMWV.


#57 of 187 by keesan on Thu Jul 31 07:33:40 2003:

I had to show up every Monday for a month and sit around doing nothing while
groups of other people were chosen for questioning.  About the third Monday
they put me in one of those groups and immediately disqualified me for no
stated reason.  Possibly because I was so nervous they could not hear my
answers.  The disqualified at least 90% of the people in each group.  I hear
you can now request 1 week instead of 1 month.

I got out of jury duty one year because I was in school in Belgrade.

Anyone who had ever been burglarized or knew anyone who had been burglarized
or knew any police got disqualified.  They could not be impartial.


#58 of 187 by russ on Thu Jul 31 11:49:08 2003:

It occurs to me that it should be possible to get out of jury duty in
Ann Arbor by changing driver's license and voter's registration to Ohio.


#59 of 187 by jmsaul on Thu Jul 31 13:05:22 2003:

That's basically what I was getting at.


#60 of 187 by jep on Thu Jul 31 13:27:05 2003:

What is a mullet?  I understand it's a kind of haircut, but not what 
kind.


#61 of 187 by jep on Thu Jul 31 13:27:59 2003:

What are "hair plugs"?  I heard of them from a radio commercial for 
Sirius Satellite Radio, but nowhere else.  Did I mis-hear the phrase?


#62 of 187 by anderyn on Thu Jul 31 14:11:40 2003:

I got on a jury, the one time I was called! I was so happy! (Bruce has been
called about four times to my once, and I thought it was never going to
happen. So I was very excited and geeked to be called finally.)


#63 of 187 by cross on Thu Jul 31 14:16:12 2003:

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#64 of 187 by other on Thu Jul 31 14:36:33 2003:

In the "trial by ordeal" scenario above, the defendant was usually only 
found innocent if they drowned (died) in the trial.


#65 of 187 by gelinas on Thu Jul 31 15:00:41 2003:

A mullet is long in back and short(er) on top and side.  The earliest
example I remember is the "shag cut" of the early to middle '70s.
Photgraphic examples can be found at http://www.mulletsgalore.com

Hair plugs are small plugs of hair transplanted to a bald(ing) person's
scalp to replace the lost hair.  Same idea as using plugs of grass to
start a lawn.


#66 of 187 by jep on Thu Jul 31 15:11:39 2003:

Thanks, Joe!  I am culturally challenged.


#67 of 187 by mynxcat on Thu Jul 31 15:15:24 2003:

Why do most Jewish people use "G_d" instead of God. When I first 
encountered this, I thought it was just that one persons personal 
preferance, but now I notice most Jews do that.


#68 of 187 by gelinas on Thu Jul 31 15:21:00 2003:

The best way to avoid invoking the Diety unintentionally is to simply not say
the Name.  Even in writing.


#69 of 187 by janc on Thu Jul 31 15:49:44 2003:

I was called for jury duty a couple weeks ago.  I wasn't selected for the
jury, so it took me just one afternoon.  (For which the paid me $8.50. 
Wahoo!) I got far enough to be in the room when the questioned the jurors.
I thought two jurors were doing their best to answer questions in such a
way as to avoid being called to serve.  Both claimed that for personal reasons
they would not be willing to pass judgement on another.  Both were called to
the podium to discuss it privately with the judge, one was dismissed, the
other wasn't.  A woman who was a former homocide detective was dismissed.
A woman who seemed to have trouble following simple logical arguments was not.
The case was a drunk driving case, so a woman who was divorced from an
alcoholic husband with a history of drunk driving violations was dismissed.
A woman who herself had had her license suspended for drunk driving was not.
My impression was that it was pretty hard to figure out what would and would
not get you dismissed.


#70 of 187 by mynxcat on Thu Jul 31 16:00:07 2003:

Re 68> I'm not sure I understand. And why just the Jewish? Is it a 
certain belief?


#71 of 187 by jmsaul on Thu Jul 31 16:05:28 2003:

It's specifically a Jewish belief that you shouldn't say the name of God.


#72 of 187 by gelinas on Thu Jul 31 16:13:02 2003:

The King James Version translates the commandment as, "Thou shalt not
take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Ex 20:7a).  Christians and
Jews interpret the commandment differently.  I'm hard-pressed to decide
which is the more 'literal' interpretation, though.


#73 of 187 by mynxcat on Thu Jul 31 16:51:30 2003:

Ah, I understand. Like Christians wouldn't say something like "Oh my 
God". Jews just don't use the word at all. What would be considered a 
reasonable occasion to take the name of the Lord? When you're praying?

It's interesting to see the difference when compared to Hinduism. It's 
a common belief (I'm not sure whether it's actually written in some 
scripture) that saying the God's name is actually beneficial to your 
karma. In prior generations, and even the more old-fashioned people in 
the present generation, it was pretty common to name kids after 
reincarnations of Gods and even Bhagwaan, which literally translates 
to God, because everytime you called them, you were gaining karma 
points


#74 of 187 by tod on Thu Jul 31 17:15:15 2003:

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#75 of 187 by happyboy on Thu Jul 31 17:22:52 2003:

you mean your *m-ther*?


#76 of 187 by tod on Thu Jul 31 17:46:09 2003:

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#77 of 187 by happyboy on Thu Jul 31 18:09:56 2003:

don't be talking about my m_ther!


#78 of 187 by gelinas on Thu Jul 31 19:03:17 2003:

"First, be sure you really _want_ his attention."


#79 of 187 by keesan on Thu Jul 31 19:57:03 2003:

In English you leave out the vowel in God, but since Hebrew is written without
vowels, what does one do when writing God in Hebrew?


#80 of 187 by polytarp on Thu Jul 31 20:00:30 2003:

PRobably the middle letter, Dearie.  That's what people do with D---l.


#81 of 187 by cross on Thu Jul 31 22:28:54 2003:

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#82 of 187 by ea on Thu Jul 31 23:01:36 2003:

re #79 - some people I know replace the word "adonai" with "ha-shem", so 
as to avoid invoking the name.


#83 of 187 by tod on Thu Jul 31 23:09:58 2003:

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#84 of 187 by dcat on Fri Aug 1 01:19:54 2003:

(re #82 - the words in question are 'Lord' and 'His (or the) name',
respectively.)


#85 of 187 by other on Fri Aug 1 01:22:10 2003:

The Torah is written typically without vowels.  The word "Yahweh" for God 
is an anglicization of the hebrew acronym for "he whose must not be said" 
(or something to the same effect).  In Hebrew prayer texts, IIRC, I've 
often seen a double yud (a yud looks like large single quote) in place of 
the word Adonai, which means God.


#86 of 187 by cross on Fri Aug 1 01:38:27 2003:

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#87 of 187 by gelinas on Fri Aug 1 03:21:06 2003:

Really, other?  I'd gotten a different impression from my study of Hebrew.
The Tetragrammaton is The Name.  However, in pointed texts it has the
vowels of "Adonai", which gives "YeHoWaH", which is transliterated as
"Jehovah".  Written one way, Read a completely different way.


#88 of 187 by other on Fri Aug 1 03:52:16 2003:

I have never heard of "The Tetragrammaton," so I don't know what you mean 
by it.

Yahweh and Jehovah both originate from the same acronym I mentioned.  
Different people use different words/pronunciations.  In my (extensive, 
Reform) experience, it is uncommon for Jews to refer to Jehovah, but more 
common to use Yahweh.  Mostly, the Jews I grew up with just said "God."


#89 of 187 by jmsaul on Fri Aug 1 03:54:14 2003:

Re #74:  They don't just avoid taking it in vain, though.  They won't even
         use the full thing when writing about religious ideas.


#90 of 187 by gelinas on Fri Aug 1 03:55:19 2003:

"Tetragrammaton" means 'four letters', and refers to YHWH.


#91 of 187 by tod on Fri Aug 1 17:54:59 2003:

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#92 of 187 by beeswing on Sat Aug 2 04:05:08 2003:

Was my understanding that Jewish Law forbade writing the name of God on
anything that could be destroyed. Reckon computer bulletin boards fall
in that category.


#93 of 187 by oval on Sat Aug 2 12:24:07 2003:

doesn't everything?



#94 of 187 by goose on Sun Aug 3 14:36:41 2003:

Entropy


#95 of 187 by tod on Mon Aug 4 16:36:50 2003:

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#96 of 187 by albaugh on Thu Aug 7 21:57:25 2003:

While we were recently looking at the clear night sky on a lake in Michigan
(Ludington vicinity), we saw a number of clearly manmade things passing
overhead.  This leads me to ask the following:

1) There were solitary things passing overhead, "way up there", which in the
old days we used to say "that was a satellite".  But I really wonder:  Can
one actually see a satellite with the naked eye?  If so, since I can't imagine
them having their own illumination, what would illuminate them?  Are they so
high that the sun can light them from "behind" the earth?  If it's not a
satellite, then it must be some kind of very (?) high flying aircraft. 
Commercial?  Military?

2) At one point my sons first spotted 3 such things flying *in formation*.
Imagine the 3 points of an equilateral triangle in a "wedge" shape.  Certainly
couldn't / wouldn't be commercial aircraft doing that.  Why would the military
have 3 such aircraft flying in formation "so far up there"?


#97 of 187 by tod on Thu Aug 7 22:27:53 2003:

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#98 of 187 by rcurl on Thu Aug 7 22:29:58 2003:

Satellites are illuminated by the sun, depending on the time and point in
their orbit. You can see satellites almost anytime somewhere in the sky
at night. The synchronous-orbit satellites are several times the earth's
diameter high, so they are illuminated most of the time. 

Would have to know more about the orientation and colors of the 3-point
lights to interpret them. However some things do break up in orbit so
pieces can orbit near each other for a while.


#99 of 187 by sno on Fri Aug 8 01:20:56 2003:

I had been checking a satellite watchers list and noticed that the 
ISS was going to pass overhead that evening.  I went out and saw two
bright lights moving in formation from the northwest to the north-north
east.  This was the path that was expected that evening, but I couldn't
explain why there were two lights.

Checking later, I discovered that a shuttle was on a mission and had
just separated hours earlier, thus the two bright lights.  An interesting
bonus.



#100 of 187 by jor on Fri Aug 8 01:28:47 2003:

        ah, heavenly bodies



#101 of 187 by tod on Fri Aug 8 02:39:07 2003:

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#102 of 187 by russ on Fri Aug 8 02:54:04 2003:

Not only can you see satellites from the sunlight reflected off of
them, certain "birds" (Iridiums in particular) can appear brighter
than any star or planet.

If someone just launched a satellite, it might be in orbit in close
formation with its spent booster and perhaps parts of a payload
adapter.  That could account for several items moving together
across the sky.  To be certain, you'd have to check one of the
web sites devoted to such things; I suggest heavensabove.com.


#103 of 187 by albaugh on Fri Aug 8 17:22:21 2003:

These were definitely *3* objects in a well defined formation heading
approximately northwest to southeast.

> web sites devoted to such things; I suggest heavensabove.com

Hmmm, when I go there, I don't see a web site devoted to star gazing, I see
a page pull of links to a variety of things, none of which is an obvious
selection for star gazing or related diversions.


#104 of 187 by micklpkl on Fri Aug 8 17:51:11 2003:

try http://www.heavens-above.com/


#105 of 187 by tpryan on Sat Aug 9 20:39:23 2003:

        I also take it that when you do see a reflection of sunlight off
of a satellite, it is a bigger circle of light that you see than the
size of the satellite.  The true size would be seen in the last moments
of it pasting from *its* daytime to nighttime.


#106 of 187 by russ on Mon Aug 11 00:02:00 2003:

Re #105:  The eye does not focus perfectly, especially in the dark
when the pupil is wide open.  This causes light from bright point
sources to hit a circle of receptors intensely enough to cause the
impression of a much larger object.

The same is true of telescopes.  Even the biggest star is too small
to resolve to a disc in an image, but the brightest stars leave rather
large spots in astrophotographs because of diffraction in the optics.


#107 of 187 by cmcgee on Thu Aug 14 01:36:08 2003:

I'd like to make CDs of exercise routines, primarily my own voice and blank
spaces of the appropriate time duration.  

I was wondering if there was a something inexpensive that would work.  I'm
using a ThinkPad running Windows XP (ducks as the rotten tomatoes come my
way).  

Any suggestions?


#108 of 187 by goose on Thu Aug 14 12:24:09 2003:

CoolEdit 2000.  www.syntrillium.com


#109 of 187 by micklpkl on Thu Aug 14 14:09:03 2003:

I wouldn't call CoolEdit2000 (at $70, I think) "inexpensive" but I 
suppose that's subjective.

My suggestions for truly inexpensive solutions:

 * use the built-in Sound Recorder applet (there's still one of these
     in winXP, right?)

 * try Total Recorder from http://www.highcriteria.com/
   the standard edition should be more than powerful enough to record
   simple .wav files (which can then be turned into CD audio with any
   CD mastering software) from a microphone input.
   The standard version of Total Recorder is $12.


#110 of 187 by cmcgee on Thu Aug 14 14:23:50 2003:

Sound Recorder applet only records 60 seconds of information.  I'll take a
look at Total Recorder.  Thanks.


#111 of 187 by gull on Thu Aug 14 14:37:46 2003:

I haven't tried 2000, but older versions of Cool Edit would work for
most stuff without being registered.  You just couldn't use all the
functions at once.  Since all you need is the ability to record and
save, that should be enough.  I have CoolEdit 98, and when I start it it
gives me some checkboxes to choose what subset of the functionality I'll
get to have for that session.


#112 of 187 by goose on Thu Aug 14 17:46:12 2003:

Sorry Mick $70 is inexpensive ;-)  But it does have 30 days of free use
or some features are turned off...I forget which.  I use Cool Edit Pro
for some things, it's $250...and I use ProTools for other things, it starts
at $400 and goes up to about $10k.  So what was that about expensive? ;-)
I use the $1000 version of ProTools at home, the $10k version at a couple
of the studio where I do work.

Get Cool Edit 2000 while you can (at least the demo version) as Syntrillium
was bought by Adobe and some changes are coming down the pipe, and they will
likely be dropping CE2000.  CEP is becoming Adobe Audition (bad name)


#113 of 187 by goose on Thu Aug 14 17:59:03 2003:

Oh, and a short question:  Where can I get something electroplated (1 piece,
not 1000 pieces) in the ann Arbor area?  I'd buy a kit, but it looked to be
about $500 (and that's expensive! okay, not as expensive as buying plating
equipment like Marsh Plating has, but still...;-) )


#114 of 187 by gull on Thu Aug 14 19:28:45 2003:

Bad news.  Adobe will no doubt suck up what used to be a pretty nice 
software package.


#115 of 187 by goose on Sat Aug 16 14:31:56 2003:

Well, we're hoping for better than that, but the track record......
as for now however, as I understand it, Adobe is using the whole Syntrillium
team, so things might be okay.


#116 of 187 by gregb on Mon Aug 18 15:44:50 2003:

You can still get CE2K for free, but like previous versions, you can 
only choose two features to use at a time.  Also, there's a free 
version of ProTools called, well, ProTools Free (go figger!)  You can 
DL it at www.digidesign.com/free.  Another good audio editor for free 
is Audacity.  You can get that from audacity.sourceforge.net.


#117 of 187 by cmcgee on Mon Aug 18 18:04:42 2003:

Thanks.  I'm still trying to find the right bits and pieces to do what I want
now, plus give me a bit of growth room for future creativity.


#118 of 187 by gregb on Mon Aug 18 19:29:06 2003:

Well, I'm no expert, but I've been doing a lot of reading and 
experimenting.  Maybe I can help.


#119 of 187 by goose on Tue Aug 19 15:25:33 2003:

I see that Adobe Audition is now available from adobe.com...so there's
probably little more than cosmetic differences from CEP 2.1 at this point.
Also, CE2k looks to be gone....did anyone here grab a copy of that?  I wouln't
mind having one in the archives....


#120 of 187 by gregb on Tue Aug 19 17:43:47 2003:

Whew!  I'm glad I got ahold of CEP.  I didin't even know about Adobe's 
takeeover until I read it here.  I've been using CE since they started 
as shareware.


#121 of 187 by gull on Tue Aug 19 20:18:55 2003:

I've got copies of CE95 and CE98.  Nothing newer, though.


#122 of 187 by goose on Wed Aug 20 14:37:13 2003:

I found a copy of CE2000 if anyone needs/wants it.


#123 of 187 by cmcgee on Wed Aug 20 15:45:43 2003:

Goose, I'd like to try it.


#124 of 187 by goose on Wed Aug 20 18:10:59 2003:

try http://people.internet2.edu/~goose/ce2kmain.exe


#125 of 187 by cmcgee on Fri Aug 22 23:27:29 2003:

'nother short question.

What's the telnet address to get the weather forecasts at wunderground?


#126 of 187 by gelinas on Sat Aug 23 01:47:22 2003:

There used to be a finger address for them, before the World-wide Web was
launched.  I _thought_ they closed it down a long time ago.  The URL

        http:/www.wunderground.com

doesn't work for you?


#127 of 187 by gelinas on Sat Aug 23 01:48:14 2003:

Uh, dropped a slash.  The URL is

        http://www.wunderground.com


#128 of 187 by rksjr on Sat Aug 23 01:59:53 2003:

I was able to access the blackbird.wunderground.com menu using the
following telnet address:

    telnet://rainmaker.wunderground.com



#129 of 187 by jmsaul on Sat Aug 23 03:46:58 2003:

Yep, "telnet rainmaker.wunderground.com".  I use it.


#130 of 187 by gelinas on Sat Aug 23 04:34:40 2003:

Cool.  Thanks. :)


#131 of 187 by tod on Sat Aug 23 13:11:56 2003:

This response has been erased.



#132 of 187 by tpryan on Sat Aug 23 16:44:29 2003:

        Okay, what's not eating the Box Elder Bugs?  I have seen
quite a few around here.  Some brave enough to come into the house.
I don't recall this as a seasonal thing, like the late autumn
buldge in the ladybug population.


#133 of 187 by gregb on Sat Aug 23 18:08:16 2003:

Gopher still around?


#134 of 187 by scott on Sat Aug 23 18:12:19 2003:

THe box elder bugs are usually a late summer / fall thing.  I'm surprised you
haven't noticed them until this year.


#135 of 187 by tpryan on Sat Aug 23 22:29:30 2003:

        I seen them around, particlularly when they come out in the spring.
But this is the first time I recall seeing so many.   Makes me wonder
if the local birdies are sick or sumpthin'.


#136 of 187 by gull on Sun Aug 24 02:41:20 2003:

They seem to go up and down in cycles.  Every few years there's an 
unusually big crop of them.


#137 of 187 by slynne on Sun Aug 24 20:25:13 2003:

Yeah. This year, I havent had too many box elder bugs but two years 
ago, they were *everywhere*. 


#138 of 187 by dcat on Mon Aug 25 23:19:24 2003:

resp:133 -- SDF (telnet sdf.lonestar.org, www.freeshell.org) has a gopher
client, i believe.  whether that means it's still around, i'm not sure.


#139 of 187 by polytarp on Tue Aug 26 21:08:22 2003:

Hey, pvn, let's teach English in China.  meet you there.


#140 of 187 by cmcgee on Wed Aug 27 23:59:02 2003:

thanks for the wunderground.  I was stuck at my parents using a Powerbook 140
with local shell access.  (You would all get a kick out of my mother signing
the "shell access agreement".  I told her it was one legal document she would
never begin to understand, so don't even read it.  She's 81, and not much of
a hacker.)


#141 of 187 by polytarp on Thu Aug 28 15:11:42 2003:

Hey, cmcgee, let's teach English in China.  meet you there.


#142 of 187 by albaugh on Tue Sep 2 04:55:28 2003:

Do any grexers have any experiences with publishing their own books?
If so, any tips?


#143 of 187 by tod on Tue Sep 2 16:22:16 2003:

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#144 of 187 by albaugh on Wed Sep 3 20:38:55 2003:

Why not?


#145 of 187 by tod on Wed Sep 3 20:45:29 2003:

This response has been erased.



#146 of 187 by albaugh on Wed Sep 3 20:49:09 2003:

Do you have personal experience with that?  Or on using a publisher?


#147 of 187 by tod on Wed Sep 3 21:00:34 2003:

This response has been erased.



#148 of 187 by scott on Thu Sep 4 14:15:16 2003:

The technology (and the culture) is changing fast, though.  If you want a few
thousand copies made the traditional way, then yeah, it's going to be
expensive and difficult.  On the other hand there's now a machine to print
& bind a book on demand, so it would be easier to have a few dozen copies
made.

Then there's online distribution, which would be even easier.


#149 of 187 by albaugh on Thu Sep 4 17:19:14 2003:

While I can certainly go searching / surfing the web to see what's out there,
I would be appreciative if there were a grexer with specific references based
on experience / knowledge could relate them.


#150 of 187 by tod on Thu Sep 4 18:34:50 2003:

This response has been erased.



#151 of 187 by tpryan on Thu Sep 4 19:27:36 2003:

        I seen one of those print on demand machines (under utilized)
when I was at Borders.  The system IIRC was called Sprite or Sprint.
It uses the same files that would go off to a large press publisher.
Full color, perfect bound trade paperbacks.
        Great for text books that could be revised and published 
low volume each year.  Or that 1967 VW microvan repair manual.
I think the VPs at Borders thought they where going to be printing
Harry Potter paperbacks in a store on demand.


#152 of 187 by gull on Thu Sep 4 22:36:53 2003:

With technology like that, there's no real excuse for anything going
"out of print."


#153 of 187 by albaugh on Fri Sep 5 18:24:11 2003:

The book I have in mind is "what I did on my vacation", with a great many
photographs.


#154 of 187 by pvn on Sat Sep 6 07:33:40 2003:

Put it on a web page.


#155 of 187 by pvn on Sat Sep 6 07:34:10 2003:

Or burn some CDs.


#156 of 187 by lynne on Mon Sep 8 17:43:45 2003:

I changed internet settings on my laptop so as to be able to use the internet
access offered in some hotels on the roadtrip.  Now I can't change it back
because it won't let me type in the IP address/subnet mask/etc--the field
is white and appears writable, but when I click on it with the mouse I don't
get a cursor.  Typing blindly, cut-and-pasting don't work; I've restarted a
few times.  Any suggestions?


#157 of 187 by jep on Mon Sep 8 18:10:15 2003:

When I was a kid, I thought the coolest thing ever would be to get a 
box of 1000 magnets, as advertised in comic books and the like.  I 
never got one myself.

Advance X number of years; other than by going the comic book route, 
where would one go to get a collection of magnets of different shapes 
and sizes for a kid or two?  (I think I know of some kids who might 
like such a gift.)

Something that comes in the form of a kit, labeled "1000 Experiments To 
Do With Magnets", allowing you to create your own electric motor, 
generator, etc., would be just the thing.

Thanks!


#158 of 187 by dah on Mon Sep 8 18:12:29 2003:

You're welcome!


#159 of 187 by rcurl on Mon Sep 8 18:20:22 2003:

Try Edmund Scientific (http://scientificsonline.com/default.asp?) and/or
Science Kit and Boreal... (http://sciencekit.com/Default.asp?  Item
WW3082265 is a bag of 30 magnets for $6.)


#160 of 187 by glenda on Mon Sep 8 18:40:48 2003:

Stadium Hardware sells individual magnets of different sizes and shapes at
reasonable prices.


#161 of 187 by gull on Mon Sep 8 18:44:52 2003:

Re #156: You didn't mention what OS you're using.  Make sure you don't
have DHCP or "Obtain an IP address automatically" selected.


#162 of 187 by jep on Mon Sep 8 19:30:35 2003:

re resp:159: Thanks!  That Scientifics Online site has quite a few 
selections of kits, bags and individual magnets which would likely 
delight any kid.

You have very cool insights into scientific toys for kids, and I very 
much appreciate you sharing them.

re resp:160: Good idea; I wonder if even the hardware stores in Lenawee 
County would have magnets for sale.  I was going to hit the stores such 
as Toys R Us and The Discovery Store.  (That would require me to enter 
the mall, whereas I would rather enter Purgatory.)


#163 of 187 by dah on Mon Sep 8 19:34:15 2003:

I once found some huge magnets (100+ yards in diameter) at an army surplus
store.


#164 of 187 by rcurl on Mon Sep 8 20:55:42 2003:

Were you attracted to them?


#165 of 187 by jep on Mon Sep 8 21:04:09 2003:

The answer could be discgusting.


#166 of 187 by dah on Mon Sep 8 22:18:04 2003:

No, I'm not really interested in magnets like hepjep and his son are.


#167 of 187 by drew on Mon Sep 8 23:56:53 2003:

Re #157:
    Take apart some old hard drives.


#168 of 187 by other on Tue Sep 9 01:47:04 2003:

The old hard drive magnets I used to hold my map onto my gas tank top 
were quite effective, even at over 100 mph.


#169 of 187 by jep on Tue Sep 9 02:15:45 2003:

I don't have any old hard drives, except one MF/M drive I've kept to 
take apart and show my kid how a hard drive spins.  


#170 of 187 by gull on Tue Sep 9 13:26:03 2003:

I don't think I'd give hard disk magnets to a kid.  They're really
powerful and it's easy to hurt yourself.  I know people who have gotten
nasty blood blisters from them.


#171 of 187 by oval on Tue Sep 9 13:59:20 2003:

okay, here's the deal. i use a POP account (no shell) and on my machine i use
getmail/pine/procmail. i am phasing out use of this account and want to
forward my mail along with an auto-reply. is this even possible to do given
this setup? suggestions?

bedankt.



#172 of 187 by lynne on Tue Sep 9 14:44:03 2003:

re 161:  I'm running WinMe.  The field appears writable after I uncheck the
"Obtain IP automatically" box, but actually is not (as discussed in 156).
I can't quite figure out where the DHCP protocol is, and am therefore 
suspicious that this might be the problem (it's not in the pull-down menu
where the TCP/IP and dialup modes are).


#173 of 187 by cross on Tue Sep 9 16:32:59 2003:

This response has been erased.



#174 of 187 by scott on Tue Sep 9 16:51:15 2003:

Re 172:  This is where Microsoft cheerfully advises you to uninstall and
reinstall the network card, not physically but in the Network settings. 
Actually that's what I'd do myself, too.  :(


#175 of 187 by lynne on Tue Sep 9 19:01:58 2003:

That matches my labmate PC-guru's advice--planning to do that tonight, since
my reinstall CD is at home.  His advice was to reinstall the whole OS while
I'm at it, since the computer's nearly two years old and apparently you're
supposed to do that once a year anyway.  I'm trying to decide if I care 
enough to do that...managed to build up several CD's worth of stuff I'd need
to back up if I did.


#176 of 187 by scott on Tue Sep 9 19:09:15 2003:

If that's your only problem I'd wait on the full brain-wipe & reinstall.  Just
redoing the network device usually fixes a lot of problems.


#177 of 187 by glenda on Tue Sep 9 20:41:32 2003:

Yeah, I've been running win2k without re-installing for a few years.  Just
make sure you keep up the the security patches.  The instructor for my PC
Troubleshooting class never mentioned having to re-install the OS every so
often.  Seems to me to be a terrible risk of losing data that way.


#178 of 187 by scott on Tue Sep 9 23:08:11 2003:

I make a real effort to keep my data in the same spot(s), which are religiosly
backed up.  By not running propietary (Windows) email software I can easily
move my email folders onto a new installation.


#179 of 187 by lynne on Tue Sep 9 23:28:29 2003:

Thanks for the advice.  I'm going to back up everything just because it's a 
good idea, then un/reinstall just the networking part--not unhappy enough with
the way it's running to bother with the whole thing.
I'm not great at keeping up with patches, but last I went and checked (mid-
July this year) there were a grand total of 6 patches available for winme.
3 sets of duplicates, for internet explorer, microsoft publishing, and 
something else that I likewise never use.  I'll get the IE one once my
networking capability's back up.


#180 of 187 by eprom on Thu Sep 11 19:14:14 2003:

I'm updating a webpage for a friend who's from russia. My question is
how do I make an html page load both cyrillic and english characters?

When I go to type some cyrillic letters in wordpad, after I save it
then open it back up, the letters change to "????? ???? ?? ?????"
(all question marks.)


#181 of 187 by other on Thu Sep 11 20:16:10 2003:

There's a meta tag which specifices the character set.  You can use 
javascript to detect settings which might indicate which charset to use, 
and then dynamically produce the appropriate meta tag for that pageview.


#182 of 187 by oval on Sat Sep 13 00:06:34 2003:

thanks dan



#183 of 187 by cmcgee on Fri Sep 19 13:30:29 2003:

Any recommendations/comments about "Affordable Computers" on S. Industrial?
My mom's Powerbook 140 died, and I want to get her a refurbished laptop.


#184 of 187 by scott on Fri Sep 19 16:18:07 2003:

Seem like decent people.  I've gotten a couple of old/cheap used laptops there
for decent prices, but I think the higher-end laptops are overpriced for used.

The UM Property Disposition Center has a lot of used Mac stuff for OK prices.
Personally I think that buying a used laptop isn't that great a value, given
the difficulty of fixing any problems that might come up.  You can get newer
orphaned or factory-refurb stuff at good prices.


#185 of 187 by remmers on Fri Sep 19 16:37:31 2003:

I've purchased several systems from Affordable Computers and been quite
satisfied with both the quality and the service.  Only new desktop systems
though - no used machines or laptops.


#186 of 187 by gull on Fri Sep 19 17:17:05 2003:

Re #184: It depends on how leading-edge you want to be, I think.  I got
an IBM Thinkpad 770 in good condition off eBay for under $200.  It's
only a 200 MHz Pentium, though.  And of course when you buy off eBay
you're always taking your chances.


#187 of 187 by drew on Fri Sep 19 19:16:37 2003:

Laptops in the used market seem to run around $1 per MHz, give or take a bit
of slack. I still haven't found a good deal on what I'm after.


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