HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: ont.general
From: acs@csri.toronto.edu (Alvin Chia-Hua Shih)
Subject: Re: Bell grudgingly offers free call blocking
Date: 30 Aug 92 06:38:51 GMT

In <1992Aug28.011513.4073@alias.com> dcoskun@alias.com (Denis Coskun) writes:

>So is Bell trying to hinder call blocking by making you first order it
>or is there a legitimate reason?  (Not surprisingly, I didn't get a
>straight answer from the Bell customer reps I spoke to.)

Remember that Bell *charges* for Call Display.  If everyone were automatically
"call blocking", they couldn't sell you Call Display, now could they?

ACS
-- 
 ___ ___ ___ ______________________________________________________________
|   |   | __|      Democracy is not a way of getting better solutions.     |
| - | --|__ |           It's just a way to spread the blame.               |
|_|_|___|___|______________________________________________________________|
Alvin_C._Shih____________________acs@csri.utoronto.ca______________________|
Newsgroups: ont.general
From: steinman@me.utoronto.ca (David Steinman)
Subject: Re: Bell grudgingly offers free call blocking
Organization: UofT Mechanical Engineering
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 16:56:47 GMT

acs@csri.toronto.edu (Alvin Chia-Hua Shih) writes:

>In <1992Aug28.011513.4073@alias.com> dcoskun@alias.com (Denis Coskun) writes:

>>So is Bell trying to hinder call blocking by making you first order it
>>or is there a legitimate reason?  (Not surprisingly, I didn't get a
>>straight answer from the Bell customer reps I spoke to.)

>Remember that Bell *charges* for Call Display.  If everyone were automatically
>"call blocking", they couldn't sell you Call Display, now could they?

Of course, one of the key sales pitches for call blocking was to protect
yourself against harassing phone calls; offering free call blocking
makes this point moot.  
--
Dave!
Newsgroups: ont.general
From: dave@silver.sni.ca (Dave Till)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Organization: Siemens Nixdorf, Sietec Open Systems, Toronto, Canada
Distribution: can
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 19:24:45 GMT

In article <6229@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca> mmt@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca (Martin Taylor) writes:
>
>Not following any specific posting on this speeding and left-lane-hogging
>thread.  Just a general comment.
>
>Over the last decade or so, I have probably driven more in Europe than at
>home, with many tens of thousands of km on the German autobahn.  I find
>it relaxing and have a feeling of relative safety when driving on the
>autobahn at 160-170 kph in a VW Jetta (or on a French or Italian superhighway
>where it is technically illegal but conventional to go so fast.)  Every
>time I drive on the expressways near Toronto after returning from Europe
>I find myself terrified for several days at 120, because, largely, of
>the left lane hogs who cause other drivers to switch lanes and do
>generally unpredictable things.  My feeling is that on the autobahn,
>cars move faster but "events" happen slower because one knows pretty well
>what everyone else on the road is going to do.  Here, one can never guess
>what anyone else will do, or why it is that there is someone going much
>slower than the traffic passing on both sides (on a 6-lane highway).

Out of curiosity:  how crowded are the German autobahns (autobahnen?)?
I don't enjoy driving on Toronto freeways or in the Kitchener-Toronto 401
corridor because of the traffic load; however, when I last drove to Detroit,
or drove in the rural United States, I enjoyed the drive because there
were so few cars on the road.
-- 
--Dave Till, SNI, Sietec Open Systems Division (dave@snitor.uucp or "Hey, you")
"My Canada Includes The World Series" -- banner seen at SkyDome
Blue Jays all the way in '92!   (Allons-y Expos!)
Newsgroups: ont.general
From: sharma@nrcphy1.phy.nrc.ca (Rohit Sharma)
Subject: U2 ticket for Sunday show
Summary: u2 ticket 
Keywords:  u2, ticket, sunday
Organization: National Research Council of Canada
Distribution: ont
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 92 12:54:31 GMT
Expires: sep 7 1992

I have a spare ticket (my friend bailed out:-( ) for the U2 concert
in Toronto on Sunday, Sept 6 at the Exhibition centre.  The ticket is
for the stage front section A, row 28 <- great seats.  The cost will
be $ 41 max. (includes TicketMaster service charges).  I will be leaving
for Toronto tomorrow.  email me at  sharma@nrcphy1.phy.nrc.ca or call
993 - 5950, 993 - 1397 (work) or  825 - 4452 after 6:00 in the evening.

- rohit
p.s. This is not a scalping post, the price on the ticket is 41:00.

=========================================================
Rohit Sharma,     sharma@nrcphy1.phy.nrc.ca
============================

Newsgroups: ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: woods@robohack.UUCP (Greg A. Woods)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc.
Distribution: can
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 01:12:48 GMT

In article <1992Aug24.185656.23879@watson.ibm.com> crispin@watson.ibm.com (Crispin Cowan) writes:
> While tailgating is unsafe, it is beyond question that it does not, in
> itself, cause problems in traffic flow.  The traffic flow problem is
> entirely the fault of the bozo blocking the left lane.

You've obviously never studied traffic flow in a scientific manner.

If you observe traffic patterns from an aerial view, you'll see that as
soon as one or more speeders approach traffic moving at a regular and
consistent speed, they bunch up.  This will often result in those
ahead slowing down.  This further increases the bunching action.  If
there is any significant amount of traffic flow, and/or if some
*!#(&%$& starts to weave, a "wave" will start, which can result in
stop-and-go driving until congestion is vastly reduced.

This same pattern also occurs instantly when someone attempts to gain
a few car lengths by passing on the right on ramps or on the shoulder.

The so-called "bozo", if travelling the at the speed limit, has
absolutely no responsibility for the traffic wave generated by a
speeder advancing on him.  He/She/It should not be advancing on him in
the first place.  Period.

If any speeding traffic begins tailgating, the driver(s) ahead will
often appear to become somewhat apprehensive, and either slow down, or
create a traffic hazard by behaving erratically while trying to change
lanes and hoping the tailgator doesn't weave past them.

Weaving and tailgating are far worse offences to safety (regardless of
legality) than either speeding or not keeping right.

People who change lanes un-safely, and people who do not help their
neighbours change lanes safely, are a hindrance to all who follow.

If everyone would travel within 1% of the speed limit, *or* get the
hell into the right lane at *all* times, then we wouldn't have nearly
so much stop-and-go traffic.  Such problems are entirely the fault of
the bozo(s) who speed, and/or travel in the passing lane(s) at any
significant speed below that of regular traffic flow (not I did *not*
mention speed limits here!).  In addition, if all traffic travelling in
the passing lane(s) cannot maintain a consistent speed, congestion
will result.
-- 
						Greg A. Woods

woods@robohack.UUCP woods@Elegant.COM  VE3TCP	UniForum Canada & ECI
+1 416 443-1734 [home] +1 416 595-5425 [work]	Toronto, Ontario; CANADA
Newsgroups: ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: jnetto@bnr.ca (John Netto)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Reply-To: jnetto@bnr.ca (John Netto)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Distribution: can
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 02:43:50 GMT

In article <1992Aug25.225845.15460@ccu.umanitoba.ca>, ens@ccu.umanitoba.ca writes:
|> In <3176@isgtec.isgtec.com> robert@isgtec.com (Robert Osborne) writes:
|> >If 120
|> >is too fast and dangerous for me than 100 is too fast and
|> >dangerous for half the drivers in Ontario (I'm young with good
|> >reflexes and driving skills).
|> 
|> Funny how the young are responsible for a disproportionate number
|> of accidents.
|> 

 Perhaps someone can show some stats to support this ? I mean, it also has
 to take into account accidents/kms driven, not just the number of accidents.
 There would be other variables (type of vehicle, road conditions, alcohol, etc)
 to consider upon which to benchmark these figures. Only then can you compare...

 John

 There are truths, lies, and then there are stats.
Newsgroups: ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: ens@ccu.umanitoba.ca
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Distribution: can
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 03:05:40 GMT

In <3182@isgtec.isgtec.com> robert@isgtec.com (Robert Osborne) writes:

>ens@ccu.umanitoba.ca writes:
>> Funny how the young are responsible for a disproportionate number
>> of accidents.

>Wrong.
>Poorly skilled and inexperienced drivers are responsible for a
>disproportionate number of accidents.  

Don't think the statistics are available to prove this. They are 
available to prove that it's the young.

Skill (i.e. reaction time etc) will help in a dangerous situation but
prudence will help you avoid dangerous situations which is still
better. (I'm neither skilful or prudent but I'm working at it.)

Newsgroups: ont.general
From: tony@nexus.yorku.ca (Anthony Wallis)
Subject: Paternalism and the Price of Plonk.
Organization: York University
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 16:40:39 GMT

Just heard a government bureaucrat (LCBO dept) on CBC radio say that
they cannot allow competitive pricing of wine (e.g. by small wineries
running their own retail outlets) because this would "violate
international free trade agreements".

("competitiveness" =/= "free trade" ?  Spirit of St. Orwell, protect us !)

Both he and the capo of the Ont. wine mafia also spoke of the
"social responsibility" aspect of keeping those plonk prices up.

--
tony@nexus.yorku.ca = Tony Wallis, York University, Toronto, Canada

Newsgroups: ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: tracy@radium.sni.ca (Tracy Tims)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Organization: Siemens Nixdorf, Sietec Open Systems, Toronto, Canada
Distribution: can
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 17:44:00 GMT

In <1992Aug26.173930.4432@ee.ryerson.ca> cal@ee.ryerson.ca (Calvin Henry-Cotnam) writes:
>Recommendation:  JUST KEEP TO THE RIGHT!
>                 The speeder might be legit or might be an asshole.
>                 One or zero assholes is a helluva lot safer than two.

I like the kind of brinksmanship the agressive speeder displays:

	I will create a situation in which it will be dangerous for
	you to perform reasonable driving manouvres until I have gone
	by.  I'm just being selfish, but if you get in my way, you'll
	be dangerous.

I speed moderately (10kpm), and I obsessively keep to the right.  I
usually just relax and match the prevailing moderate speed.  Even if
everyone did this there would still be occasions that would require a
driver in the left lane to slow down to wait for a turn to pass.

But there is a large group of dangerous, self-important drivers out
there.  When they are delayed for the merest fraction of a second they
will immediately do something impatient, aggressive and unpredictable,
no matter what the circumstances are.

Here's a clue.  The "slower traffic keep right" law is not a "faster
traffic has the right of way" law.  I wish I had videotape of all the
times when some arrogant asshole comes from nowhere (typically weaving
over from the right lane) and tailgates me or honks at me while I'm in
the middle of passing someone.

Tracy
From: mmt@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: ont.general
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Date: 28 Aug 92 21:17:56 GMT
Distribution: can
Organization: Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine


Dave Till asks:

:Out of curiosity:  how crowded are the German autobahns (autobahnen?)?
:I don't enjoy driving on Toronto freeways or in the Kitchener-Toronto 401
:corridor because of the traffic load; however, when I last drove to Detroit,
:or drove in the rural United States, I enjoyed the drive because there
:were so few cars on the road.

Depends where and when you are, just like here.  I've seen a traffic
jam that was almost continuous from Heidelberg to Nurnburg and up almost
to Bayreuth (luckily I was going the other way).  Highways in the Ruhr
can be pretty jammed at rush hour (just try going round Koln at 17:00).
But you may hardly see another car in the middle of a weekday going past
Ulm south to Kempten.  Compare 401 at rush hour with 400 north of Barrie
on an October Thursday afternoon.

Martin
-- 
Martin Taylor (mmt@ben.dciem.dnd.ca ...!uunet!dciem!mmt) (416) 635-2048
Beauty being skin deep, it would seem that the hippopotamus has an
epidermal advantage that it has somehow failed to exploit. (Jack Kent)
Newsgroups: ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: jnetto@bnr.ca (John Netto)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Reply-To: jnetto@bnr.ca (John Netto)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Distribution: can
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 16:04:10 GMT

In article <1992Aug26.065319.6205@ccu.umanitoba.ca>, ens@ccu.umanitoba.ca writes:
|> In <1992Aug26.024350.11839@bmerh85.bnr.ca> jnetto@bnr.ca (John Netto) writes:
|> 
|> >In article <1992Aug25.225845.15460@ccu.umanitoba.ca>, ens@ccu.umanitoba.ca writes:
|> >|> Funny how the young are responsible for a disproportionate number
|> >|> of accidents.
|> >|> 
|> 
|> > Perhaps someone can show some stats to support this ? I mean, it also has
|> > to take into account accidents/kms driven, not just the number of accidents.
|> 
|> I'm assuming the insurance companies employ capable actuaries.
|> 

 You may be surprised !

 I asked for the data, how it is collected, how it gets put together, how it is
 interpreted.... I do not base my judgements on assumptions of what insurance
 companies do or who they employ; after all, they are operating to make money,
 not give it out.

 Do you lump motorcycles (type of vehicle) with all car accidents ? Fatalities??
 How about the car drivers that do not 'see' the oncoming motorcycle, turn left,
 and bang the (young) motorcycle driver is dead ? How do the 'stats' interpret
 this ?

 You are probably right in that the young (<25) are involved in proportionately
 more accidents. However, remove the alcohol and inexperience related accidents
 and the numbers will drop substantially. Alcohol accounts for 50% of fatalities,
 if I remember well. I'm just interested in what these numbers are.

 And back to the topic... how does speeding and keeping to the right have to do
 with this ? Your statement (in context) implies that mainly young drivers speed
 and cause accidents. Remember, it's very easy to indicate 'SPEEDING' on the
 accident report; or should it really have been inexperience, reckless driving
 or whatever else ? Speeding by itself does not kill, driver error does.... 

 Cheers,
 John

 BTW: I am not a motorcyclist...only a cyclist when not driving...you really
      see the competence of most drivers in traffic while cycling. And yes, I
      stop at red lights and stop signs....


Newsgroups: ont.general
From: dcoskun@alias.com (Denis Coskun)
Subject: Bell grudgingly offers free call blocking
Organization: Alias Research, Inc., Toronto ON Canada
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 01:15:13 GMT

My latest phone bill came with an offer for "free automated per-call
blocking," which means you can dial *67 before placing a call and the
person you call doesn't get your phone number if they have a caller-ID
phone.

What's not clear to me is why you have to order this service before you
can use it.  Why doesn't Bell enable the service for everyone -- those who
want it will use it, and those who don't, won't?

There's no fee for ordering the service, there's no fee for making a
blocked call, it doesn't change the user interface of the telephone for
regular calls, and no great harm is done even if you somehow dial *67 by
mistake.

So is Bell trying to hinder call blocking by making you first order it
or is there a legitimate reason?  (Not surprisingly, I didn't get a
straight answer from the Bell customer reps I spoke to.)
Newsgroups: ont.general
From: charters@madhaus.utcs.utoronto.ca (Jim Charters)
Subject: Re: Paternalism and the Price of Plonk.
Organization: University of Toronto Computing Services
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 14:43:14 GMT

In article <1992Aug28.164039.9047@newshub.ccs.yorku.ca> tony@nexus.yorku.ca (Anthony Wallis) writes:
>Just heard a government bureaucrat (LCBO dept) on CBC radio say that
>they cannot allow competitive pricing of wine (e.g. by small wineries
>running their own retail outlets) because this would "violate
>international free trade agreements".
>
>("competitiveness" =/= "free trade" ?  Spirit of St. Orwell, protect us !)
>
>Both he and the capo of the Ont. wine mafia also spoke of the
>"social responsibility" aspect of keeping those plonk prices up.
>
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 Yep, good old Ontario.  Our government (of any colour) looking out
 for us, because we're incapable of making reasonable, adult decisions
 on our own.

 Having lived in countries with more liberal (and reasonable)
 approaches to sales of alcoholic beverages, I sure noticed lots of
 spineless people unable to resist the evils of that demon rum,
 rolling drunk in gutters everywhere.....(can't make a large enough
 one of these ;-) to emphasize the sarcasm....)


-- 
#include <standard_disclaimer>
Jim Charters
Geophysicist & Chief Computer Flunkey / University of Toronto Geology
Toronto / Ont. / CANADA / M5S 3B1 / charters@quartz.geology.utoronto.ca
From: clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: ont.general
Subject: Re: Bell grudgingly offers free call blocking
Date: 2 Sep 92 02:26:47 GMT
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc., Ottawa, Canada

In article <1992Aug30.131935.17747@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> acs@csri.toronto.edu (Alvin Chia-Hua Shih) writes:
>Hmmm.  I believe there is another feature called "call trace".  If someone
>is really getting harassed, there is yet another service they can buy.
>Aaaaannnnndddd, Bell adds a per-use toll for each traced call.  Could be
>more profitable for them anyway!

Caller ID and Call trace are fundamentally different.  I believe that
there is a upfront charge, plus a charge per use of Call Trace.  "Use"
is done by dialing a code on your phone immediately after hanging up
from the call you want traced.

However, the results from "call trace" are sealed - the customer can't
find out the number traced.  It's kept for the police or the phone company
to use in investigating any criminal charges - if the customer wishes to
pursue them - as in harassing phone calls.

Thus, it isn't likely to make Bell much money, but it can't be blocked.

Caller ID is mostly a "frill".  Call Trace is essential to combat the
very large number of harassing phone calls that occur.  I worked for a
Royal Commission which, amongst other things, tracked down one man who
made over 3000 *confirmed* sexually harassing phone calls - one of these
calls even led to the recipient committing suicide.  This is serious
stuff.
-- 
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: uw.general,ont.general
From: news@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca (USENET News System)
Subject: Re: Warning: notorious Nazi apologist headed our way
Organization: University of Waterloo
Distribution: ont
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 07:56:14 GMT

In article <92Aug28.135255edt.12046@roll.db.toronto.edu> fche@db.toronto.edu
("Frank Ch. Eigler") writes:
>shallit@graceland.uwaterloo.ca (Jeffrey Shallit) writes:
>>P. S.  Although I detest Irving and his views, I nevertheless
>>support his right to speak.  But the Hotel Bayrischer Hof and
>>European Sound Import are not compelled to give him a forum,
>>and I have every right to express my displeasure at their choices.
>>So do you.
>
>Sure, express your displeasure, but leave him alone.  Parade
>outside his talk, if you want.  Admit at least that some people
>have a legitimate curiosity toward what this person has to say.

I suspect his brand of historical revisionism (the standard euphemism for
denial of the Holocaust) isn't all that different from what is currently out
there already.  In fact, there was (and no doubt it still continues) an
organization based in California called the Institute of Historical Review
(IHR) which publishes a journal dedicated mainly to historical revisionism.

For a study on the right wing in Canada, one may find the work "Is God a
Racist?" (Barrett, U of T Press, 1987) to be of interest.

>abrodnik@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca writes:
>>I completely agree that he has all right speak, but does he has right
>>to spread lies? Somehow I can't understand this.
>
>Oh, come now.  Lie-spreading is the bread-and-butter of many activist
>groups.  I don't think he's more dangerous than, say, some of the
>views promoted by the National Action Committee on the Status of Women.

Ah, but that's political naivety.  The point of speaking in public is not
merely to promote one's own views, but to organize sympathizers as well.
Though it may be possible to study a topic in isolation in academia, all too
often in the political realm issues are intertwined.  If organization and
networking is indeed a goal, then counter-organization is a legitimate
response.  I would not advocate censorship, however, as that would merely
sweep issues under the rug.
Newsgroups: ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: dave@imax.imax.com (Dave Martindale)
Subject: Speedometer inaccuracy and "driving at the speed limit"
Keywords: significant words from a document used as an index to content
Organization: Imax Corporation, Mississauga Canada
Distribution: can
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 15:15:29 GMT

A question to everyone: Have you ever checked your speedometer to see
how accurate it is?  If you want to drive at exactly the speed limit,
do you know what your speedometer has to indicate to be going that speed?

To check your speedometer, you need a measured section of roadway.  In
southern Ontario, the 401 and QEW both have little markers every 5 km
or 2 km apart - those work nicely.  Although individual markers might
not be in exactly the correct place, they should be quite accurate over
a long distance.  So, driving at any suitable steady speed, drive 10 or
20 km and see how long it took, then figure out your actual speed.

My own car's speedometer reads about 5% high.  So when I am driving at
100 km/hr indicated, my real speed is only 95 km/hr, and everyone else
on the road is probably wondering why I'm driving below the speed limit.
Instead, knowing the error, I drive at 105 indicated when I really want
to be travelling at 100.  Similarly, 120 indicated is really only 114.

My odometer also reads high, but only by about 3%.  My previous car read
low - so I was travelling faster than the speedometer indicated.  I
suspect that cars generally read high rather than low, because a customer
given a ticket for driving faster than he thought he was going will be
a lot more unhappy than one who never gets a speeding ticket because he's
always travelling slower than he thought.  Of course, the accuracy will
also change as the tires wear and their diameter changes.

So, if you decide to drive at exactly 100 km/hr and glare at or block
anyone who is "speeding", first make sure that you know what speed you
are *really* travelling at.  Maybe a lot of those speeders are really
travelling at the speed limit, and you're just slower than you think.
On the other hand, if you want to drive at 120 km/hr, make sure you're
doing 120 and not 130.

	Dave