HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cgoldman@leland.Stanford.EDU (Charles Goldman)
Subject: Re: Kitchen Aid mixers
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 18:50:24 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.123113.10821@ncrcae.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM> bdewey@grok116.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM (Bob Dewey) writes:
>I am looking for a mail order (read inexpensive/discount) source for a Kitchen
>Aid food mixer. I am looking for the larger size where you move the bowl

The five-quart mixer as you described is usually available at Price
Club around here for $234.49 plus tax.  They don't always have a
choice of colors like the department stores.  If you have such a store
near you, check and see if they have it.  Being so heavy, I expect
that shipping charges would make mail order more costly.  Also, try to
get a local store to match or come close to a mail order price.  You would
be surprised how often that works, especially at fancy stores, if you
talk to a manager.

"I have this ad for the same product for $235.  Will you sell me one
for $250?  I'd rather give you the business."

Charles Goldman
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jmalloy@itsmail1.hamilton.edu (Joseph T. Malloy)
Subject: Re: Insurance question
Organization: Hamilton College - Clinton, NY
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 15:35:56 GMT

In article <wfLKkAK00WBOI22X1A@andrew.cmu.edu> David Goldreich <dg10+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>
>A friend of mine will be taking out auto insurance soon.  In the past
>he has gotten a couple of speeding tickets.  He is planning on 
>"forgetting" about the tickets when the insurance company asks.  
>(I don't believe he has any points or any other easy way for the
>insurance company to find out.)
>
...
>
>If he were to get into a serious accident and the insurance company
>investigates and finds out he lied on the application, will the
>insurance pay for the accident?  i.e. does lying on the application
>mean your not insured, or does it mean that you are insured but are
>cheating the company on the premium?
>
...
>
>If the insurance is still valid, then I have another question.
>
>Suppose someone takes out life insurance and "forgets" that he has
>cancer or AIDS.  The insurance company can't be liable in such a case,
>can it?
>
>Again, there are ethical problems in all these cases.  I'm just asking
>about the legal issues.
>
>David

I suspect answers to these questions might very well have to be decided
in court since they are not simple matters.  But I would add that in my
experience, automobile insurers are interested in moving violations one
may have been cited for only in the past three years, so if that's the
case (one could anonymously call an agent and ask), then there's really
no reason to 'forget' the tickets.  OTOH, if they are more recent, then
you're in the gray zone: a lie when directly questioned could, but may
not necessarily, lead to trouble.

Frankly, I'd say one ought to take one's lumps and simply do better in
the future (i.e., either not speed or get a better radar dectector!).

Good luck...

jmalloy@hamilton.edu
From: camerons@NAD.3Com.COM (Cameron Spitzer)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Mail Order Coffee
Date: 26 Jan 93 19:07:09 GMT
Reply-To: cls@truffula.sj.ca.us


In article 250193113613@47.140.3.220, Dmerrill@bnr.ca (Dana Merrill) writes:
>Due to numerous requests I am posting my mail order coffee source:
>
>Nicholas Coffee Co.

My favorite mail order coffee is Cafe Nica from Pueblo to People, 800-843-5727.
Not only does it taste great, but it's organic and produced by worker-owned
cooperatives instead of the usual third-world exploitive labor system.
Pueblo to People is a non-profit organization.

Cameron

From: twv@hpcss01.cup.hp.com (Terry Von Gease)
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 15:46:49 GMT
Subject: Re: Rude drivers, was Re: Auto insurance laws in different state
Organization: the Lodi Home for the Bald
Newsgroups: misc.consumers

>/ hpcss01:misc.consumers / camerons@NAD.3Com.COM (Cameron L. Spitzer) /  6:30 pm  Jan 22, 1993 /
>

...standard laments of a poor but honest bicycle operator deleted

>Cameron
>Please help Usenet work: respect the Followups-To: line.

Look sport, when you're out there pedaling your little heart out on your
child's toy you are mostly in the way.  Not only are you in the way,
you pay not one dime in support of the roadways you claim a right to
use and you have no obligation to be financially responsible for any
damage or mischief you and your toy might cause.  But it's the part 
about being in the way that you don't seem to understand.  No matter
how fast you little legs can pump, unless you've got gravity working
for you, relative to an automobile moving along at any sort of
speed at all, you're standing still.  It's kinda like coming around
a corner and finding a sawhorse sitting in the middle of the road.

I don't want to harm you but I want you to share my anxiety.  I want you
to think your going to die.  If you want to finance and construct your
own bicycle road system or even add realistic bike lanes to the existing
road system, that's great.  But you have to pay for it yourselves.  
Until that time I want you to hang your toy on the garage wall.

Terry
From: jack@sybil.jpl.nasa.gov (Jack Kobzeff)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: CRYSTAL PEPSI & TAB CLEAR
Followup-To: misc.consumers
Date: 27 Jan 1993 00:26:03 GMT
Organization: Jet Propulsion Lab
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: compstore.jpl.nasa.gov

In article <1993Jan25.171048.1912@falcon.aamrl.wpafb.af.mil>,
bkottmann@falcon.aamrl.wpafb.af.mil (Brett Kottmann) wrote:
> 
> In article <7399.25.uupcb@uttsbbs.uucp>, neil.black@uttsbbs.uucp (Neil Black)  writes:
> > Earlier today I had the misfortune of tasting PepsiCo's new offering
> > here on the West Coast (Bay Area to be exact), Pepsi Clear.  This stuff
> > is AWFUL!
> 
> 	My wife thinks it tastes like RC, and is ok.  I think it tastes like a
> cross between the old Pepsi Light (that used lemon to distract you from the
> aftertaste) and ginger ale.  Thumbs down from me.

The above is the closest that I have seen to my impression of the taste. My
take on it was a 'half cola, half Slice' flavor.

Jack Kobzeff     (jack@sybil.jpl.nasa.gov)
From: lazlo@triton.unm.edu (Lazlo Nibble)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: PEPSI CLEAR & TAB CLEAR
Date: 24 Jan 1993 06:04:25 GMT
Organization: Mr. Lazlo's Temple Of The Mighty Rude-Boy Skank
NNTP-Posting-Host: triton.unm.edu

darren@zikzak.apana.org.au (Darren Brett Gower) writes:

> I was of the opinion that the coloring in these drinks was a separate
> ingredient to the *flavorings* - ie, I thought the color did not have an
> effect the taste at all.

This is true in a general sense, but taste is a very subjective thing, and
a difference in a food's color *can* result in a difference in how its
flavor is perceived, whether there's a chemical justification for that
difference or not.

I haven't had a chance to taste the new colorless Pepsi yet, but I was
under the impression that Pepsi tinkered with the drink's flavoring as well
as its tint.

--
Lazlo (lazlo@triton.unm.edu)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: stank@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (Stan Krieger)
Subject: Re: Insane NYC Tolls
Organization: Summit NJ
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 16:41:03 GMT


>the reason for the tolls being so high is quite simply that they, like all
>the so-called "user fees," are simply a tax rate on the public.
>
>do you -really- think your highway taxes are dedicatd to road work?  
>
>ALL (except for a VERY few specifically mandated by law) fees and taxes in
>the federal, and most other, levels of government go into a huge pot
>called the "general revenue."

This is no secret.  NY City has publically stated that the high tolls
are being used to subsidize mass transit within the city.  It's also
intended to "discourage" commuters from driving into Manhattan.  Of
course, to assist in this goal, the condition of the 4 free bridges
between Long Island and Manhattan (the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg,
and Queensboro bridges) is deplorable.  I can't comment on the three
$3.00 crossings (the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel,
and the Triborough Bridge) because I can't afford the luxury.

Also, in an unrelated incident, but timely, it was reported that a
new kind of street crime (smashing a car window and stealing whatever
can be reached) was occuring to drivers stuck in traffic jams in the
Bronx streets that lead to the free bridges over the Harlem River
into Manhattan.
-- 
Stan Krieger                 All opinions, advice, or suggestions, even
UNIX System Laboratories     if related to my employment, are my own.
Summit, NJ
smk@usl.com
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:22509 misc.consumers.house:17338 misc.kids:33336
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house,misc.kids
Subject: Re: Emptying Water System in Unused House
From: michael@sunbeam.ksc.nasa.gov (Michael D. Myjak x7-3286)
Date: 25 Jan 93 10:48:16
 <93019.105102JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET><1993Jan21.212408.12711@schbbs.mot.com>
Distribution: usa
Organization: NASA, Kennedy Space Center, FL.
In-reply-to: EMN002@email.mot.com's message of 21 Jan 93 21:24:08 GMTLines: 23

In article <1993Jan21.212408.12711@schbbs.mot.com> EMN002@email.mot.com (Mary Beth Northrup) writes:

   Antifreeze (a glycol ether) is biodegradable and can be broken down by the
   local municipal water treatment plant (when reasonably well diluted). 
   If you pour it down a storm sewer, it's going straight into the 
   environment in a concentrated form which won't easily degrade. So,
   it's much better to get rid of it by pouring into the sanitary sewer than
   into a storm drain or septic tank.

I wonder how well that thought works for septic tank systems. Doe sit
become diluted reasonably well enough to be considered a non-problem?
does the position (or later addition) of local a in-ground well make a
difference?


--
- Michael D. Myjak			
  Senior Technical Specialist, Systems Analyst
  McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company
  Kennedy Space Center, Fl., 32815
  MYJAK@TITAN.KSC.NASA.GOV

Gravity. It's not just a good idea. Its the LAW!
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: rboudrie@chpc.org (Rob Boudrie)
Subject: Re: Lightweight bullet-proof vests illegal?
Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 12:36:26 GMT

Although there have been occasional attempts to ban vests, to the
best of my knowledge they are legal everywhere in the US.  (Those 
that ban the vests might as well also require you to wear a bullseye
over the heart to give govt agents a good sight picture if they want
to shoot you).

I would recommend you research the dept of justice threat level 
ratings - basically they go I - II - IIA - III (though I forget if
IIA  or II is higher).  There is the obvious compromise between 
comfort/weight and level of protection provided.

Some manufacturers (Second Chance, among others) limit sales to
"police only" - this is mostly marketing hype to make the police
feel like part of a restricted elite (not unlike American Express
marketing tactics), not a matter of law.

One source of Second Chance vests that wil sell to civilians
(I think) is :

Armor of New England
Massad Ayoob, President
Po Box 122
Concord, NH

Mas will generally require some sort of proof you have a clean
criminal record (he wants to maitain a 100% pro-police image since
he is one).  Also, his prices are generally "100% of full retail".
(You *will* get great service form him though).  The only problem
with Mas, or any mail roder vest supplier, is that exchanges may
not be possible since treatment of the vest can compromise it's 
effectiveness (For example, there is only one dry cleaning process
which is vest-safe...mas can tell you which one it is to ask for).

Good luck, and stay safe out there.

                                        rob b.
From: ken@wybbs.mi.org (Ken Jongsma)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Gevalia Kaffe Offer
Date: 22 Jan 93 01:37:24 GMT
Reply-To: jongsma@benzie.si.com
Distribution: na,local
Organization: Smiths Industries

kroin@mcvax4.d48.lilly.com writes:

>I just got this wonderful offer in the mail from an outfit called
> Gevalia Kaffe.  $10 for a trial offer in which you receive a European style
> automatic drip coffee
>maker(4cup) and a pound of really wonderful (i am reading this) coffee. It's
>one of those we'll keep sending you coffee at probably $10 a pound until you
>tell us not to. You keep the coffee maker whatever you decide. You don't get
>the next shipment for six weeks and may cancel by letter or phone before then.
> I would really be interested in the offer if the coffee is that good. If not,
>I could still console myself with the free coffee maker. The co. is based in
>Sweden and has local importers.Anyone dealt with them or have any info about
>this offer? Thanks, Stan -- 

The offer is legit. We signed up a few years ago, bought one round of coffee
and cancelled. No hassle, no problem. The coffee was good, but we weren't
fanatic enough about it to pay what they wanted.

One minor correction: The company is actually set up and run by Proctor
and Gamble (or one of the other major food companies - I forget) despite
what their marketing material leads you to believe.


-- 
Ken Jongsma                                     jongsma@benzie.si.com
Smiths Industries                                    ken@wybbs.mi.org 
Grand Rapids, Michigan                      73115.1041@compuserve.com 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,co.general
From: woods@claven.ucar.edu (Greg Woods)
Subject: Re: Illegal telephone recording
Organization: Scientific Computing Division/NCAR Boulder, CO
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 17:15:05 GMT

In article <JASON.93Jan21101055@jazz.cnd.hp.com> jason@jazz.cnd.hp.com (Jason Zions) writes:
>Entrapment occurs when law enforcement officials commit some illegal act

Doesn't it go even further than that? I thought the phrasing was something
like entrapment occurs when a law enforcement officer commits an act,
legal or illegal, to induce someone to commit a crime that would not
have been committed otherwise. Things like following close in an attempt
to induce someone to speed would also qualify as entrapment even if
the officer himself never exceeded the speed limit.

I think exceptions are made in advance by the courts for things like sting
operations (undercover police selling drugs and things like that), but
this requires a court order ahead of time.

--Greg
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:22463 misc.consumers.house:17314 misc.kids:33291
From: clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house,misc.kids
Subject: Re: Emptying Water System in Unused House
Date: 24 Jan 93 05:26:06 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers
Distribution: usa
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc., Ottawa, Canada

In article <C19nM2.Fp5@panix.com> dannyb@panix.com (Daniel Burstein) writes:
>>Antifreeze (a glycol ether) is biodegradable and can be broken down by the
>>local municipal water treatment plant (when reasonably well diluted). 

>umm, well, let's see now.  you pour one gallon of antifreeze (we'll forget
>the percentage figures here) into the [storm] sewer.  A small amount (say, 1/2/
>inch) of rain occurs.  that single sewer inlet drains an area of 100*20
>feet, or 2,000 sq ft.  

>volume of rain water draining into that single point is 2,000 ft *0.5
>inch, or roughly (don't have slide rule handy) 80 cubic feet.  

>one gallon is about 0.13 cubic feet, so you have a 1/750 dilution, just
>based on that one single spot.  by the time it actually gets anywhere near
>the final dumsite, of course, dilution is far greater....  (unless of
>course it was something thick that didn't come apart)

This is all well and good.  But what if it doesn't rain?  And your
calculations only work if the ground doesn't absorb any of the rain.

While one person dumping a gallon of antifreeze down the storm sewer
probably won't matter, especially considering the rest of the gunk
that gets there too - pesticide/herbicide/fertilizer runoff, road salt,
oil, pulverized tire rubber etc, why make it worse than it is already?
Already, many urban and suburban streams are really just open sewers -
no fish, no aquatic plants, just slimes and algaes and nasty chemicals.
But in many cases, they could even support sport fishing if less gunk
was tossed into them.

Many storm sewers are simply open pipes into nearby streams.  No treatment,
no settling ponds, nothing.  They're primarily intended *just* for
rain runoff.

If your local municipality recommends the sanitary sewer, it can't be
that much trouble to dump it down the toilet.

Around here, some garages participate in a recycling program.  So I
just save it up in old antifreeze bottles, and carry it to the local
garage's used antifreeze tank...
-- 
Chris Lewis; clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca; Phone: Canada 613 832-0541
Psroff 3.0 info: psroff-request@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Ferret list: ferret-request@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: hirai@cc.swarthmore.edu (Eiji Hirai)
Subject: Re: Discover Card - Pffffft!
Organization: Information Services, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 17:12:20 GMT

charleen@net.bio.net (Charleen Bunjiovianna) writes:
:agree that it makes no sense to make many small charges and pay
:interest on them from month to month, but some of us are not
:sufficiently flush with cash to be able to pay off one or two large,
:utterly necessary charges in a month.

You can get a loan from a good bank with interest rates that are
significantly lower than what most credit cards offer.  You can actually
save money by getting a bank loan and using that money to pay off your
credit card bills.

Saving just a little percentage points like this can mean a lot, ESPECIALLY
if you're low on cash.

--
hirai@cc.swarthmore.edu (Eiji Hirai)    :     :    :   :  : :: ::: :::: :::::
Unix Geek for Swarthmore College        :     :    :   :  : :: ::: :::: :::::
Information Services, Swarthmore, PA, US.       Copyright 1993 by Eiji Hirai.
I don't speak for Swarthmore College.                    All Rights Reserved.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: disaacs@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (david.e.isaacs)
Subject: Re: FAQ:   BMG phone number?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 18:47:20 GMT

In article <C1KnBw.2Lt@boi.hp.com> kmcintyr@boi.hp.com (Kevin McIntyre) writes:
>
>Yes, it's another lost soul looking for the number to 
>BMG (either a 1-800 number or a "regular" number).  I
>tried directory assistance for 800 numbers but they didn't
>list it :-(.
>
>			--Thanks,
>				Kevin.
>
>
>kmcintyr@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com

They no longer have an 800 number.  They are in information under the 
area code they are located at (check the mailing address).

David Isaacs			If I said it, why blame anyone else?
Ok.... So I didn't major 
in English.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,soc.culture.usa,misc.misc,rec.autos
From: bill@Celestial.COM (Bill Campbell)
Subject: Re: Speeding ticket in OKlahoma --- what's SP8?
Organization: Celestial Software, Mercer Island, WA
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 07:31:57 GMT

In <1993Jan22.035210.13463@leland.Stanford.EDU> tedebear@leland.Stanford.EDU (Theodore Chen) writes:

:In article <rotheroe.727653014@convex.com> rotheroe@convex.com (Dave Rotheroe) writes:
:>>4 mph in 65 mph is a quite small percantage.
:>>Remember that if the police use radar, they just CANNOT work on the minimum
:>>accuracy of their speedo/radar - they HAVE to add in the maximum tolerance
:>>on your speedo:
:>
:>>	Example: My speedo says 65. It has +/- 4% accuracy, and
:>>		 actually reads 4% low. My real speed is therefore 67.6 mph.
:>
:>But you are actually seeding.  Technically, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

:this is a mistake of fact, not ignorance of the law.
:and mistake of fact *can* be an excuse.  in this case,
:though, the law may hold the owner responsible for the
:accuracy of his speedometer.

Another factor is the number of significant digits of accuracy.
The typical automotive speedometer is pretty coarse, particularly
compared to the digital readout on a radar unit.  There are quite
a few other factors such as tire size and pressure which can have
an effect on the speedometer reading.

Of course we can't expect anyone who watches pro football to
understand measurment accuracy.  I always find it amusing to have
them measure downs to inches when the placement of the ball is
probably accurate to the nearest yard :-).

Bill
-- 
INTERNET:  bill@Celestial.COM   Bill Campbell; Celestial Software
UUCP:   ...!thebes!camco!bill   6641 East Mercer Way
             uunet!camco!bill   Mercer Island, WA 98040; (206) 947-5591
SPEED COSTS MONEY -- HOW FAST DO YOU WANT TO GO?
From: camerons@NAD.3Com.COM (Cameron Spitzer)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: How to fight telemarketers
Summary: whether to
Date: 21 Jan 93 18:41:49 GMT
Reply-To: cls@truffula.sj.ca.us


In article SA5WBF91@cc.swarthmore.edu, hirai@cc.swarthmore.edu (Eiji Hirai) writes:
>If you're really interested in stopping calls from coming into your home,
>get a free brochure from:
>
>	Private Citizen
>	Box 233
>	Naperville, IL 60566

I have no doubt this unique "outfit" does good work.  However, there's reason
not to sign up for their junk call preference service.
For whatever reason, I receive very few nuisance commercial calls, perhaps
one a month.  But I often (~ once a week) receive unsolicited calls which
are marketing surveys, political opinion surveys, followups to mailings
by 501(c) non-profits I support, etc.  The input I provide to these surveys
is input into the national decisionmaking process which I would have no other
opportunity to send.  The last thing I want is to lock myself out of the Gallup
polls while my reactionary neighbors remain represented!  The nonprofit
reminders are almost always a waste of a minute or two, but sometimes they
prompt me to write the letter (or check) I've been procrastinating.  And when I registered Green, the two calls I got from the Democratic National Committee
(to "talk me out of it") were entertainment I wouldn't have wanted to miss!

I will sign up with Private Citizen when its database and "agreement" make a
distinction between commercial and non-commercial callers, and between legit
market and opinion surveys and cold sales calls.

(The legit phone surveys I'm talking about are the type conducted by Gallup,
Consumer Mail Panel, and the focus group outfits.  Sombody may do by phone
phony opinion surveys like the direct mail fundraisers sometimes use, but
they've never called me.)

Cameron
aka cls@truffula.sj.ca.us
From: jdavidso@teknowledge.com (Jim Davidson)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Discover Card - Pffffft!
Date: 22 Jan 93 16:23:07 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Cimflex Teknowledge Corporation, Knowledge Systems Division
In-reply-to: rdonahue@spdcc.com's message of 19 Jan 93 10:34:56 EST

In article <1993Jan19.153456.5168@spdcc.com> rdonahue@spdcc.com (Bob Donahue) writes:

>  Smart Rate[SM] - A new program that lets you lower your interest rate!
> 	   ---> *IF* you've spent $1,000 in the last year.
> 
>     	   *This* is incentive?
>    ...
> 	 But, Discover has decided that although I've never missed a payment,
>    and have been a cardholder for 5 years, I don't merit the same incentive
>    as other might to use their card more.  Moreover, they *are* willing to
>    lower their rates, but only for about 1/5th of their customer base...
>    ......
> 	   Me, I'm cutting up my card and mailing it in.
>    BBC

Lemme get this straight: you're complaining because Discover 
expects you to charge a whopping $1000/*year* on the card?

Welcome to reality.  The credit card business has become very competitive.
Small accounts (and anything under $1000/yr is *very* small) don't make
enough money for the card company.    The fact that you've had the card
for 5 years or whatever doesn't make any money for them.

Also, are you saying that only 1/5 of Discover card holders charge
more than $1000/yr?  That's hard to believe.

Let's look at the three ways that card companies make money: (a) annual fees;
(b) interest payments; (c) the percentage of every charge that they take from
the merchant.  Cards that have no annual fees are dependent on the latter two
sources.  Small account just don't generate much money either way.

-Jim