HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Hurricane Andrew's effect on building
Date: 9 Sep 1992 19:19:07 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, RTP, NC
Distribution: world
Reply-To: egreen@east.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: laser.east.sun.com

In article greg@netcom.com, greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough) writes:
>In article <1992Sep09.155252.15647@i88.isc.com> jeq@i88.isc.com (Jonathan E. Quist) writes:
>>
>>Ah, yes, don't you just love our free enterprise system!  Whenever someone's
>>down, there's always someone willing to step in, lend a hand,
>>and give them another kick. 
> 
>This strikes me as odd. In the past, it has been usual in times of national 
>crisis, to take legal steps against price-gouging and profiteering.
> 
>Where is the federal government in all of this?

The florida Attorney General has already made official inquiries into
the business practices of several lumber companies.

Before you start screaming profiteering, consider the economics.  There
is not enought plywood in the entire country to rebuild south FL.  The
only way to *get* enough plywood is to go out and hire some more
people, cut some more trees, run the lumberyards overtime, run the
shipping trucks overtime, and simultaniously decimate the current
inventory of every lumberyard in the country.  And you expect the price
to remain constant?!?   The huge increase in demand for building
materials in FL is going to tighten the supply EVERYWHERE else.  In a
free market economy, that means the price goes up.

If all the lumber companies get together and try to fix their prices,
that's illegal, and with treble damages for anti-trust suits, rest
assured they will pay (I doubt they could get away with it with the
spotlight on them the way it is).  As far as I know, no one has
eliminated competition in the building materials business.  Contractors
are still going to get competative bids, and if one company is too
high, they will lose business to a competator.  If prices are higher
throughout the industry, that is a reflection of the new supply and
demand relationship.

What exactly is it you expect the federal government to do?

---
Ed Green, former Ninjaite |I was drinking last night with a biker,
  Ed.Green@East.Sun.COM   |and I showed him a picture of you.  I said,
DoD #0111  (919)460-8302  |"Go on, get to know her, you'll like her!"
 (The Grateful Dead) -->  |It seemed like the least I could do...
From: starfish@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Smarter than the Average Blur)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: REALTY NET: anyone heard of this or anything similar?
Date: 6 Sep 1992 17:52:21 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: ucscb.ucsc.edu


Hi, I'm a new poster to this group. I have the following question:

My mom is interested in investing in realestate. A friend told her
she might want to check out "realty net" on the computer network.

Has anyone heard of this. Is this on the internet? How does one subsribe
to this service if it exists?

-Alan Waterman
From: ef7@prism.gatech.edu (Ed Fair)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: fiberglass shower panels to replace tile; any advice?
Date: 15 Sep 92 14:13:18 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Information Technology

> I need your experiences (use, installation, cleaning, etc) with
> fiberclass shower panels.

i put up a fiberglass tub enclosure recently:
1) it helps if your walls are square.  if they aren't you'll have a harder
time cutting and applying.
2) make each cut after checking and rechecking
3) use a straightedge
4) be prepared for it to not lay down flat.  use lots of adhesive.
5) don't put the adhesive so close to the edge that it'll leak out
when you press down on it.

i'm not real satisfied with my results, btw.

ed
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mma@thumper.bellcore.com (Mary Ma)
Subject: Home Depot now offers Bridal Registry service
Reply-To: mma@thumper.bellcore.com (Mary Ma)
Organization: Bellcore MRE
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 19:35:36 GMT


Seen last night in NJ ... The sign also includes:

	"Now get the practical gifts you always wanted"
From: stevem@gold.gvg.tek.com (Steve Miller)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: GE fridge ice-maker - Doesn't
Date: 10 Sep 92 19:11:43 GMT
Organization: Grass Valley Group, Grass Valley, CA

In article <hillman.716068314@sfu.ca> hillman@sfu.ca (Steve Hillman) writes:
>We recently purchased a used GE refrigerator (side-by-side, with ice and water
>in the door). At the time, the fridge was in storage so we had no way of
>knowing whether the ice maker worked or not. Upon getting it all hooked up,
>I found that it doesn't. The water dispenser works just fine, but no water
>ever enters the ice cube tray. I have searched all of the local libraries 
>looking for schematics and troubleshooting guides on GE fridges, but none
>had anything on the deluxe models with ice makers.
> 
>Is there any net.wisdom on where to start looking for the problem? Is there
>a particularly common problem (such as blown thermostat) that I should be
>looking for? Any advice would be most appreciated.
>
>-- 
>Steve "Skillman" Hillman                "Everyone generalizes"
>hillman@sfu.ca
>skillman@tz.wimsey.bc.ca

	Well, assuming you did hook up an external water supply, there is
	one very common mishap.  Upon first hooking up the water supply,
	many times the water will not make it to the valve right at first
	due to trapped air.  Kinda like when you hook up a garden hose
	with a nozzle for the first time.  You gotta open the nozzle and
	let the air out first, before you get water.

	To make matters worse, usually the water will freeze in the tubing
	to the ice maker, because by the time the water gets there, the
	tubing is REAL cold.  Once frozen, it will of course stay frozen.

	To correct all of this, you can usually defrost the water line etc.
	by using a portable hair dryer or something and waving it over the
	icemaker where the water should be comming out.  Be sure you take
	care to not get things too hot.  Remember, those babies can get
	HOT.  It may take a couple of cycles to get the water to the ice
	maker in liquid form.  I don't know of any way to purge the air
	manually, perhaps someone else does.

	Good luck!
	Steve
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Miller, Grass Valley Group, Grass Valley, CA. 95959, Mail stop N32B
916-478-3059, stevem@gold.gvg.tek.com.  The Six Phases of a Project:
  1. Enthusiasm  2. Disillusionment  3. Panic  4. Search for the guilty
  5. Punishment of the innocent  6. Praise and reward for the nonparticipants
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: rklute@enchanter.tymnet.com (Robert Klute)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Hurricane Andrew's effect on building
Date: 14 Sep 92 17:14:34 GMT
Organization: BTNA

In article <1992Sep12.054914.16903@u.washington.edu> kenney@milton.u.washington.edu (Michael Kenney) writes:
>
>According to Friday's NY Times, meteorologists examing the destruction
>in the Homestead area concluded that wind gusts may have reached
>200 mph in places  -  far worse than predicted.  Not many structures
>can withstand that kind of wind loading.
>
>I have no trouble with my taxes paying for the cleanup from a storm
>such as that because you're talking about a 100 year storm.  I
>certainly would'nt let an event with that kind of probability disuade
>me from living somewhere.
>
As I remember, Camille hit 200 mph, and that was what? ~30 years ago.
So, I don't think we can cavalier and call class 5+ storms 100 year
events, anymore.

-----


They came for the 4th amendment, I said nothing for I wasn't a drug dealer. 
Then they came for the 2nd amendment, but I said nothing, I wasn't a gun owner.
Then they came for the 6th amendment, but I kept quiet, I knew I wasn't guilty.
Finally they came for the 1st amendment, and it was too late to say anything.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: karl@ddsw1.mcs.com (Karl Denninger)
Subject: Re: Beware when prewiring for telephone
Summary: You're not SUPPOSED to get EMI from Hell
Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc., Chicago, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 01:24:26 GMT
X-Disclaimer:  Material posted in this article is the sole responsibility of
                the poster and does not represent MCSNet or the system owners.

In article <1702@shaman.wv.tek.com> andrew@frip.wv.tek.com writes:
>[]
>
>	"Don't use POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) wire to run a LAN
>	in the future.  There are five levels of cabling defined ..."
>
>But NONE of these twisted-pair wires are suitable for Ethernet 10BASE-T
>in a residence, because you get EMI from hell.  It could knock out your
>neighbor's 1960s-era TV, and the law says that *you* have to shut down
>your emissions if the neighbor doesn't want to install a choke filter.

You're NOT supposed to get EMI from hell from this wiring system.

The entire point of 10BaseT, and the other twisted pair systems, is that
they are supposed to meet FCC emissions specifications.

As a note, my radio works just fine, on both the AM and FM bands, right next
to the 10BaseT feeder wire for the cubes in my office.  And those cables are
damn busy with traffic all day and night!

If your house is 10' away from the neighbors 60s TV set there might be
a problem.  I suspect that in most installations and cases there won't 
be one, but I'm not at all sure who has the problem if there is.  If you 
meet FCC specs is it then your issue to resolve, or the neighbors?  How 
can the 10BaseT people sell equipment that doesn't meet FCC emissions specs?

--
Karl Denninger (karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM, <well-connected>!ddsw1!karl)
Data Line: [+1 312 248-0900] Anon. arch. (nuucp) 00:00-06:00 C[SD]T
Request file: /u/public/sources/DIRECTORY/README for instructions
From: egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Hurricane Andrew's effect on building mate
Date: 9 Sep 1992 14:36:33 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, RTP, NC
Distribution: world
Reply-To: egreen@east.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: laser.east.sun.com

In article 15698@urbana.mcd.mot.com, ddefend@urbana.mcd.mot.com (Dan Defend) writes:
>Does anyone have any information or opinions about the length, magnitude, or
>comprehensiveness of the effect of Hurricane Andrew on the prices of building 
>materials -- in particular, in the midwest.

There are not sufficient building materials in stock in the entire US
to rebuild FL alone.  Andrew is going to raise the cost of both
building materials and insurance, dramatically, severely, and for a
long time (probably for ever, I doubt the price of either will decline
once FL is rebuilt).

---
Ed Green, former Ninjaite |I was drinking last night with a biker,
  Ed.Green@East.Sun.COM   |and I showed him a picture of you.  I said,
DoD #0111  (919)460-8302  |"Go on, get to know her, you'll like her!"
 (The Grateful Dead) -->  |It seemed like the least I could do...

From: hmoss@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Howard Moss)
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 23:41:35 GMT
Subject: Re: Windows leaking - advice wanted
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Rosa, CA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

In misc.consumers.house, clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis) writes:

> What you really need to do is inspect the outside of the window very
> carefully.  Especially with wood window frames.  Ie:

> 	- is the caulking coming apart?
> 	- is the window frame wood and it needs a coat of paint?
> 	- crummy windows with lousy seals?
> 	- sliding windows need drainage holes to drain the water from
> 	  the tracks.  Are they plugged?

> -- 
> 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

Any similar hints for aluminum windows? I have terrible problems with
interior water stains (they are right around the window, not going down
the walls) and mold that grows on the sill. Where are the gaskets or leak
holes that maybe damaged or missing after 15 years of life? The outside
wall is stucco (oh, did I get stucco) so i don't plan on replacing the
windows as I'm sure it'll be very expensive...

Howard
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: garyp@gvls2.gvl.unisys.com (Gary Palangian)
Subject: Re: FLAT for SALE in Russia ( in Magadan )
Keywords: flat, sale, russia
Organization: Unisys Defense Systems, Great Valley Labs, Paoli, Pa
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 16:43:56 GMT

>          Dear Sears.
>     I'm offer to you a flat for sale.
>     Location: centre of Magadan - the capital of Russian Nord - East ( near
>        Alaska ).
>     Brief:
>        2 rooms, kitchen, toilet & bathroom, pantry.
>     Further details ( particulars ) can be obtained on request.
>     The price is 7900 $ and nothing more for cash.
>     I'll be happy to discuss the matter with you.
>                Yours faithfully Daniel Finogenov.
>
>        E - mail:       daniel@kenext.msk.su       or
>                        daniel%kenext.msk.su@relay.eu.net
>                        daniel%kenext.msk.su@techno.fuug.fi
>
>        FAX:            Russia 095-292-65-11 for "LAVINA box 1383"
>
>        TLX:            411700 for "LAVINA box 1383"
>
>        Phones:         095-150-88-52 from 09:00 a.m. till 02:00 p.m.
>                        095-193-50-09 from 05:00 p.m. till 07:00 p.m.
>                                (Greenwich time)
>

I don't get it.


Gary

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Credit report
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 92 15:42:11 GMT

In article <MACRAKIS.92Sep8105537@next4.osf.org> macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis) writes:
>In article <1992Sep3.224751.20350@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes:
>
>   ...here in the States you must not only prove that the information
>   was untrue and damaging, you must usually prove that the slanderer
>   *intended* to do you damage (in some States you need only prove
>   that the slanderer knew it was false)....
>
>Not true.  Libel and slander can be negligent, e.g. publishing an
>unsubstantiated rumor.  In the US, libel and slander are particularly
>limited in scope for "public figures", though.  For instance,
>negligence has to be "reckless", etc.

Depends on where you are. Here in Jersey, the legal phrase you hear is
"...knew or should have known that...". In Tennessee, it doesn't matter
if someone "should have known" something, if you can't prove that they
knew it, you don't have a case. Again, in many States the slander must
be "malicious" before a lawsuit can be justified.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | "Unfair Competition": Selling cheaper than we do.
George Patterson -  | "Note and Initial": Let's spread the responsibility
                    |    for this.
                    |         Kelvin Throop - The Management Dictionary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: kls4344@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (Person in flux)
Subject: Re: Anything before siding??
Reply-To: kls4344@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 16:03:50 GMT

In article <1992Sep3.090715.3558@wvnvms.wvnet.edu>, un026217@wvnvms.wvnet.edu 
writes:                        

>We just bought a old house and I like to put up siding
>before the weather gets cold.

I assume that you're planning to put up vinyl or aluminum siding over the
original brick, stucco, or wood facade.  Please, don't do this.  

I have a 70-year-old cedar clapboard and shingle sided house that I thought
seriously about covering with siding.  I decided *NOT* to install siding and
instead to have the house properly painted because:

1) I believe that older houses look best with their original facades,
especially wood ones.

2) Siding installed on top of the original house facade just covers up
problems and creates wonderful habitats for new problems.  Insects can build
nests easily; water can leak in and do damage you can take *YEARS* to find; you
won't be able to see how your house is aging; the list goes on.

3) Maintaining my house's original wood facade forces me to pay attention to
the house itself; I can see what's happening with it and then fix it
immediately.

4) And I can change the color of my house easily!

5) *AND* painting costs half (or less) what siding does.  Even though the house
will need to be repainted about every 10 years, it will look better and
probably cost less than having the house sided and then age badly.  Have you
looked at old aluminum or vinyl siding?  Ugly, huh?  Keeping it clean every
year helps, but only so much, and you cannot easily paint vinyl siding.  You
can paint aluminum siding, but why go to the expense of putting that up in the
first place if you'll end up painting it later to restore its beauty?  Why not
just paint your house next spring?

Your old house is probably special and distinctive looking.  If you side it,
you cover up that distinctiveness and just make it look like any other house. 
Why don't you investigate the cost of a good paint job?  

Katie (who is strongly in favor of keeping old houses looking like themselves,
if you all haven't noticed by now :)
From: clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re:  Removal of "very" old linoleum tiles
Date: 14 Sep 92 16:44:28 GMT
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc., Ottawa, Canada

In article <1992Sep13.040346.217@dg-rtp.dg.com> hamilton@robin.rtp.dg.com (Eric Hamilton) writes:
>In article <3795@ecicrl.ocunix.on.ca>, clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis) writes:
>|> (I say "somewhat of a health hazard" because the hazards are somewhat
>|> overrated, but disposal can be a severe pain).

>|> If you must remove tile that you suspect has asbestos, you can greatly
>|> reduce any possible risk by:
>|> 	- wearing a dust mask
>|> 	- bagging removed tile immediately
>|> 	- avoid tearing the tile
>|> 	- use a spray bottle full of water, and lightly mist the
>|> 	  areas you're working in.
>|> 

>Two comments.  First, add a little detergent to the water - improves its
>wetting ability by cutting surface tension.

Good idea.

>Second, a dust mask is worthless for asbestos protection.  A respirator
>rated for that purpose is necessary.

A dust mask will be adequate for the majority of the blown particles (because
a lot of it will tend to be clumped with the other components of the tile,
be large enough to be captured by a simple filter, and won't fly far),
but obviously not all.  If you take the stance that a rated respirator is
necessary, this shouldn't be done at all without full-blown room bagging and
HEPA filter-equipped vacuum systems anyhow - because the other precautions
aren't adequate *either* for that level of concern.

Ie: if you decide for yourself that removing asbestos-containing tile
sufficiently safe to DIY, the dust mask is just as adequate as the other
precautions.

Ie: a 100% effective asbestos respirator don't mean diddly squat if the
other techniques spread it around the house...

But a rated respirator wouldn't *hurt*.

[I should point out that the existing verified evidence against asbestos
involves prolonged (ie: years) high level exposure.  The evidence against
short-term or low level exposure is unverified, and is probably infrequent
enough to be considered chance cancers that are spontaneous or from other
sources.  Ie: smoking.]
-- 
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.house
From: cab@col.hp.com (Chris Best)
Subject: Re: Garage door opener question.
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 20:00:50 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: your service

Good responses so far, but none have mentioned:

Since the remotes are missing, it most probably means
someone else has them.  Like the previous owner.  Just
as you'd rekey your door locks after a move, so should
you change those DIP switches to something (anything!)
other than they're set for now.  If you DO ever find
new remotes, you can always set them again.

And, UNlike rekeying your doors, it's FAST and FREE!
From: bdette@gumby.Altos.COM (Bob Dette AOS)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Home security tips from a burglar
Date: 15 Sep 92 18:46:19 GMT
Reply-To: bdette@altos.COM (Bob Dette AOS)
Organization: Altos Computer Systems, San Jose, CA

In article <BuFItn.693@hatch.socal.com> richg@hatch.socal.com (Rich Greenberg) writes:
>In article <1992Sep10.160231.3536@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes:
>>Question for you electrical wiring gurus. I'd like to wire up a pair of
>>floodlights to a three-way switch in such a manner that in one position
>>the lights are driven by a motion detector and in the other position
>>they are on. I would also put a single pole switch upstream to let me cut
>>the thing off by cutting the power to the 3-way.
>
>I was going to do the exact same thing (except with a 3 position switch)
>but the electrician I was asking told me its not needed.  Just use a
>standard single pole switch and flipping it from on to off to on
>quickly will turn on the light reguardless of the motion detector.
>Off, and on some time later would enable the automatic detector again.
>NB: This is what the electrician told me.  I haven't installed it yet.
>-- 
>                
>Rich Greenberg - N6LRT - 310-649-0238 - richg@hatch.socal.com
-------------------------------------------------------------

I have installed two of those motion detector lights on either side of
my garage door. The one nearest the front door also controls the front
porch light. Whenever it turns on the front porch lite does also. 

You can toggle between detector operation and lights always on by doing
what Rich says above. Turn light switch to off and quickly (1/2 sec) back
to on and the light will remain on until light switch is turned off again.
To go back to detector operation, turn light switch off for longer then
a second or so and then back on. This puts the detector back in operating
mode.

Over several years I have had my cars broken into while parked on the
driveway. Since I have installed these lights a couple of years ago I
have had NO problems at all. I have set them so they cover the entire
front of my house including the driveway. The sensitvity is set so that
they will not trigger unless they detect motion right at the property
line. When they go on they stay on unitl either motion ceases or for at
least 2 minutes.

I swear by these devices. I sure wish I had them s 10-15 years ago.....


------
Bob Dette      WA6QAJ        bdette@altos.com         (408)432-6200 X3142
------