HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: john@jlc.mv.com (John Leslie)
Subject: Re: America doesn't have a clue: (was DOES AMERICA SAY YES TO JAPAN? - Off track!!)
Followup-To: misc.consumers,soc.culture.japan,misc.education,misc.entrepreneurs
Organization: John Leslie Consulting, Milford NH
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 03:10:13 GMT

thomasd@tps.COM (Thomas W. Day) writes:
>
> I've read that Japan invests $400,000,000 per year in Washington.

   That sounds high by a factor of two or so.  Can anybody verify it?

> Buying government is much cheaper than any other investment they
> could make.  

   No argument there.  It's obvious why politicians talk "protectionism."
Our problem is that Joe SixPak seems to honestly believe that government
bought and paid for by foreign lobbyists is going to "protect" him from
foreign competition.

   Amazing, but true...

NB I've removed sci.electronics from the Followup-to, as somebody requested.

John Leslie <john@jlc.mv.com>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: ad992@yfn.ysu.edu (Allen Abel)
Subject: Re: Cat Paws
Organization: Youngstown State University/Youngstown Free-Net
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 19:12:27 GMT


The obvious (i.e. cheap and dirty) answer would be to buy one
of those (canvas?) car covers.
From: cab@col.hp.com (Chris Best)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Cover Charge for Restaurant?
Date: 21 Dec 1992 18:45:53 GMT
Organization: your service
NNTP-Posting-Host: hpctdke.col.hp.com

> If you really like this restaurant, and want to stay a regular, you should
> write a letter to the manager and follow-up with a phone call.  Ask them to
> change their policy on cover charges.  Make it clear that they will lose the 
> business of a regular, loyal customer (you) and potentially other business, 
> such as your family, friends, etc. Be polite and reasonable at all times, and 
> try to make them see the customer's point of view.  If they decide to change - 
> great, but if not, I would stop going altogether.  

----------

Maybe suggest that the cover charge gets credited toward your purchase,
over a certain amount?  That way, if you don't order enough to justify
occupying the table for so long, they have the cover to cover it - and
if you do, then they didn't need to charge it in the first place.
From: yuanj@ucbeh.san.uc.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: electric razor experience
Date: 31 Dec 92 15:33:18 EST
Distribution: world
Organization: Univ. of Cincinnati

In article <1huvihINN5f0@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, jxs18@po.CWRU.Edu (Jerry Sy) writes:
> 
> I think it may shave part of skin off also because of that. as for being
> autovolt, with the braun, you just plug it into any outlet (special plug
> to plug into car lighter), while the norelco works with 110 or 220 volts AC
> but you still need to turn a switch. 
> 
> as for the blades, I suppose the 660 is not the lift and cut model. the 805 is
> and the faceplate of the blade fell off after 1 month of use.
>>
> 

I can recall the model number of my Norelco, which is autovolt, 2 years old,
lift-and-cut.  There is no switch for changing voltage.  

On the second point, it is still using the original blades because it still 
works very well.  The life span of the blades may depend on the characteristics
of your hair (being hard and thick, or soft and thin).  Mine is thin. 

J. Y.
From: STAN@VM.TEMPLE.EDU (Stan Horwitz)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Free trade discussion
Date: 27 Dec 92 20:09:10 GMT
Organization: Temple University - Computer Services

This thread about free  trade is very interesting.  I am  tempted to post my
opinion here,  but I  was raised to  that a  change in the  topic of  a long
discussion should take  place only upon the mutual concent  of those who are
involved in the discussion.  The topic of free trade is outside our topic.

I read misc.consumers to find out what's  good and what's not good among the
various products and services available for sale to me.  I enjoy engaging in
discussions on topics such  as free trade, but rarely do I  have the time to
do so.  These  discussions on Usenet newsgroups can  become very long-winded
so I prefer to not see postings  of such discussions to avoid the temptation
of joining in.  I am sure other misc.consumers readers feel the same way.

Sure, this discussion  on free trade has consumerism as  its roots, but now,
this  thread has  gone way  beyond the  scope of  misc.consumers.  Can  this
intriquing discussion please be moved to  another newsgroup where it is more
at home?  This way, more people  who are interested in participating in this
discussion are likely to to found.  Thanks!

Happy holidays to everyone who celebrates them now.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,soc.men,misc.misc
From: phr@telebit.com (Paul Rubin)
Subject: Re: Levi Strauss DEFUNDS Boy Scouts
Organization: Telebit Corporation; Sunnyvale, CA, USA
	<1992Dec31.000435.22718@ads.com> <1992Dec31.222147.25836@adobe.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1993 00:26:38 GMT

In article <1992Dec31.222147.25836@adobe.com> choffman@adobe.com (Charles Hoffman) writes:

   Most of the front line leadership of the BSA could care less what
   orientation, or theistic beliefs a boy has.  We are in the business
   of guiding boys into becoming moral and stable men.  If a boy's
   family would like to subsitute "strong, stated and practiced
   philosophic beliefs" for "relgious beliefs" than I would gladly
   remove the phrase "Duty to God" and its ilk from the various BSA
   oaths and replace that with something more applicable.  

Can you do this without getting in trouble with BSA?  I remember
seeing on TV some family losing a lawsuit against BSA because BSA
refused to let their kid join because he would not perform the oath
saying he believed in God (because, for him, that would be lying in an
oath).  People's attitude seemed to be that the kid should just take
the damn oath so he could join the scouts--after all that's what
everyone else does.  Some way to make moral men, by making them swear
a dishonest oath before they can even join.  I wonder whether
Weinberger, Macfarlane, Ollie North, and all those other people who
lied under oath in the name of morality got their start as boy scouts.

I was interested in scouting as a teenager but refused to get join up
on account of the religious stuff.  (I did get involved with an
explorer post which cared less about these things).
From: ChazL@county.lmt.mn.org (Chaz Larson)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Dedicated ATM card?
Date: 29 Dec 92 20:52:37 GMT
Reply-To: ChazL@county.lmt.mn.org (Chaz Larson)
Organization: LaserMaster Corporation

In article <9212270022.AA19551@_vader.cc.emory.edu_>, 
thfore@vader.cc.emory.edu (Troy Howard Fore III) writes:
> Has anyone heard of one of these. I think it would be similar to the non-
> subscriber AT&T calling acrds. It is referred to in a novel i'm reading. It 
> metions
> a red CIRRUS dedicated ATM card. Is this just fiction or does such exist 
and 
> how can I find out more?

More specifics, please, on just what you mean.

"Cirrus" is a national ATM "network" of sorts.  When I had a checking account 
at Norwest Banks here in Mpls, my ATM card had "Cirrus" [and the Cirrus logo, 
a nifty swirl] on the back and was accepted at any "Cirrus" affiliated ATM in 
the world.  My Citbank VISA and MasterCard work the same way; they are 
labelled with "Cirrus", and I can get a cash advance at any ATM labelled with 
"Cirrus".  My current ATM card [Twin City Federal] is labelled with "Plus", 
and is accepted by any ATM bearing the "Plus" designation, such as Wells 
Fargo's ATMs in Sacramento, CA.

In my experience, these designations are no longer of much significance.  My 
current "Plus" affliated card has been accepted by every ATM machine I've 
stuck it into in every city I've tried it in.  I've never checked in advance 
to see if the machine was "Plus" affiliated.  5 years [or so] ago, my Norwest 
card would not work in a Twin City Federal ATM, and vice versa.

Next time you use an ATM, look [usually] at a sign on the top of the machine, 
it will be covered with little logos; all of these are national ATM 
"networks" of the same type.

chaz

..must think...bubble pipe will relax me and I think...
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: heflin@rtsg.mot.com (Suzanne Stratton Heflin)
Subject: Re: TYCO Super Duper Double Looper
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 15:27:31 GMT

roger@wrq.com (Roger Fulton) writes:


>So, my questions are:
>(1) If you have this set, are you able to consistently jump the
>    UDJ?  If so, how?

No.

>(2) If you have this set and have not been able to consistently
>    jump the UDJ, what have you done about it?

We're pretty much wimps when it comes to things like this, so we have
done nothing about it.  We bought it last year and I think that it has
been sitting (or packed away) for the last 8 months or so.  Maybe TYCO
is the one we should be contacting.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Tell me about electric blankets
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1992 07:51:20 GMT

kolstad@cae.wisc.edu (Joel Kolstad) writes:
: In article <1992Dec26.092731.3215@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com> billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) writes:
: 
: >If the person simply rectified the current then - with a half-wave rectifier,
: >the current would pulse at 60 hz (1/2 that of a 60 hz AC voltage, which 
: >pulses at 120 hz)  or - with a full-wave rectifier, the current would pulse
: >at 120 hz.
: >
: >It is questionable that anything in the human body resonates at either 60 Hz
: >or 120 Hz either.
: 
: Bill, Bill, Bill... DC DC DC!  Not pulsating DC, ok?  When you go buy a "DC
: power supply" for your computer, it doesn't pulsate, now does it?

That was not specified. In other threads on this subject, people have sworn
that rectifying the power to dc would change it to a "non-hazardous" form.
Now, if you want to talk about ripple free DC, then specify that is what you
are talking about. Otherwise, I have to assume that any type of dc is valid.

Actually, the dc in your computer does pulsate - although not very much,
unless you are running it near the limit of its power handling capabilities.

: Likewise, a "DC electric blanket" would not pulsate.  (Or at least not more
: than a miniscule amount.)

It would depend on the design of the blanket. I certainly would not want to
sleep under a blanket with a large capacitor hooked to it. If course, the
current requirements might be small enough that you could use a voltage
regulator instead.

Bill
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:21111 sci.electronics:21424 soc.culture.japan:12764 misc.education:5515 misc.entrepreneurs:3724
From: Krzysztof@netxsys.guild.org (Krzysztof Adamski)
Subject: Re: just a silly question....
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Distribution: world
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: 24 Dec 92 13:39:16 EST
Organization: NetX Systems Inc.

Paula Stockholm (paula@nlbbs.UUCP) wrote:

: In article <18DEC199208004156@utkvx3.utk.edu> drevik@utkvx3.utk.edu writes:

:          10-year light bulbs.
:  > 
:  > Q: How do they know they work?

:         It's for a good cause . . . would you really pay much attention
:         when just one of them went in, say, 6 months? And another that
:         goes a week or so later. Or would you just shrug and replace the
:         bulb?

:         I did hear a story on ABC about Soviet bloc consumers being
:         dismayed by western light bulbs . . . apparently commie bulbs
:         DID last forever.

Yes they last much longer but a 150W bulb gives only as much light at a
60W bulb here. They save on replacment by paying with electricity. In a
country where manufactured goods are hard to get this tradeof is I guess
acceptable.
 
Krzysztof
From: dunster@sdsu.edu (mark dunster)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Getting rich -- this is no joke!
Date: 2 Jan 93 23:01:06 GMT
Organization: sdsu
NNTP-Posting-Host: mathfp10.sdsu.edu

In article <1016@rc1.vub.ac.be>, rdictus@vnet3.vub.ac.be 
(Roy Dictus) writes:
> 
> If anyone is interested in reaping $69984 in six to eighteen
> months' time, virtually effortless, for every $96 investment
> you make, drop me a line and I'll send you more information.
> 
> I'm talking about a foolproof way of making money.  This is
> serious!!

Yes it is bloody serious. Let's see... 69984 = 96*3*3*3*3*3*3

Correct me if I'm wrong: we "invest" $96, & recruit three friends
who pay $96, who themselves recruit three friends who pay $96,
who themselves recruit three friends who pay $96, who themselves 
recruit three friends who pay $96, who themselves recruit three 
friends who pay $96, who themselves recruit three friends who pay $96.

What's this called boys and girls? HINT: The Pharoahs built them.


On a related note: What is the biggest pyramid scam in the history
of mankind?

Answer: The U.S. social security. Thanks grandpa and grandma!
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 15:27:46 EST
From: <SASBOB@vm.sas.com>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: AMWAY et al. ==> How to Say No...

After getting countless (including 3 in the past 3 days) proposals
to be part of multi-level "opportunities," I will share some
sure-fire ways of saying "no" to those who ask.

This is not an attack on Amway or any multi-level organization; it's
just that not everyone sees these things as opportunies.  Send flames
to your MLM upstream, bee-line, diamond-person (or whatever you call it).

The questions: Would you like to make extra money, have spare time,
               have a better relationship with your wife, retire in
               six months, have your own business?


Answers:

"Thanks, but I already have more money than I can handle.  Please
let me have a catalog."  (Note: You'll never see a catalog and they
go away.)

"How much will you pay me to start?"

"Are you kidding? Retire? Then what would I do all day?"

"If you take me and my family out to dinner, we'll listen to your pitch."
(Note: Plan this one around a family reunion.)

"We don't believe in using soap (or whatever the product is)."

"You have any real long videos that explain the plan?  I need to
tape some movies during the next HBO preview weekend."

"I'll hear whatever you have to say, as long as I don't have to
go to any meetings, listen to any tapes, or read anything."

"Sure I want to know more.  Let me schedule a company conference
room for 10 a.m. Monday.  I'll send a memo around so you can cover
everyone at once."


###
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.legal,soc.misc,alt.conspiracy
From: jsloan@ncar.ucar.edu (John Sloan)
Subject: Re: How does a PI locate somebody?
Organization: Scientific Computing Division/NCAR Boulder, CO
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 04:44:28 GMT


I'll recommend two books from my reference shelf:

	Ted L. Gunderson with Roger McGovern, _How to Locate Anyone
	Anywhere without Leaving Home_, E. P. Dutton/New York, 1989

and for the flip side

	Anonymous, _How to Create a New Identity_, Citadel
	Press/Secaucus, N.J., 1983

--
John Sloan              "Since I've given up hope,       +1 303 497 1243
NCAR/SCD                   I feel much better."      Fax +1 303 497 1137
Boulder CO 80307-3000 USA                           jsloan@ncar.ucar.edu
Logical Disclaimer: belong(opinions,jsloan). belong(opinions,_):-!,fail.
From: jarnold@tixel.mv.com (Jon Arnold)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: HELP! TRW/Equifax/etc Phone #s needed
Distribution: world
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 16:09:36 GMT
Organization: 
Reply-To: jarnold@tixel.mv.com

 >In article <1992Dec22.140605.9656@aio.jsc.nasa.gov> cobarruvias@asd2.jsc.nasa.gov writes:
 > Sorry for the FAQ, but I need the phone# for TRW, Equifax, and (the other
 > credit report company) ASAP. Can someone provide these for me please?

TRW: 214-235-1200
Equifax: 800-879-4094

The other "big one of the Big Three" is TransUnion -- I don't have their
phone number, but you might try looking in the Yellow Pages under
"Credit Bureaus" or a similar title.

Jon Arnold                        Phone: W: 603-883-1233
Nashua, New Hampshire             Fax:   W: 603-883-7350
                                         H: 603-883-6371

      "If you ain't the lead dog, the view never changes."

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: timlee@netcom.com (Timothy J. Lee)
Subject: Re: Foreign ATM Fees
Followup-To: misc.consumers
Reply-To: timlee@netcom.com (Timothy J. Lee)
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1993 20:45:30 GMT

jordan@IMSI.COM (Jordan Hayes) writes:
|Tony Konashenok <avk@hafnium.cchem.berkeley.edu> writes:
|
|	There still are banks which won't charge you a penny for using
|	other banks' ATMs. Most of them are very small, have only a few
|	ATMs ...
|
|Like Citibank (on Cirrus)!

Citibank in California DOES charge $1 or something for all foreign
ATM withdrawls.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee                                        timlee@netcom.com
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: n3022@cray.com (Jim Knoll)
Subject: Re: transferring film to video
Keywords: 
Reply-To: n3022@cray.com
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 28 Dec 92 13:01:48 CST

Regarding...

>My brother and I used the method (1) that you proposed [recording off of
>the movie screen]. It worked very very well.

My question is this:

In trying this procedure myself over the weekend, I ended up with a lot of flicker
on the video copy of the movie.  I single-stepped the video copy in the VCR and
noticed that the frames alternated a little lighter and darker.  I'm wondering if
this fluctuation is due to the auto-exposure system in the camcorder responding
to the "movie" flicker action of the projector? (Unfortunately there is no manual
exposure on my RCA CC507 camcorder).

I did have the movie projector about three feet from the screen and the camcorder
about two feet from the screen.  Would the flicker be reduced if I projected the film
maybe 20 feet to the screen and captured the image on the camcorder from there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jim


Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Where to sell jewelry
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 10:57:56 GMT

dealy@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Brian Dealy - CSC) writes:
: -- 
: Hi, I have a friend who has a piece of jewelry which has been appraised in
: europe for approximately 97,000.00 . This friend needs money and is considering
: selling the jewelry. How does one find a reputable jeweler who can handle this 
: kind of a sale. Is there an asscociation of jewelers? how does this work?
: Do you give them the jewelry on consignment? what's a normal commision then?

Well, if it is appraised for $97,000 - it probably nets for about $10,000.
Your friend is not likely to get much more than that out of a direct sale
to a jeweler. 

Jewelers differ in the commission they charge - it will be at least 20% of
the sale price. Within reason, your friend should be able to set what that 
price is to be. There are also a limited number of places that would be
willing to handle something that expensive - the market is limited, unless
the piece is unique in some way. The jeweler will want a fast turnover.

Bill
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Tell me about electric blankets
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1992 07:42:34 GMT

kolstad@cae.wisc.edu (Joel Kolstad) writes:
: In article <1992Dec26.092022.3114@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com> billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) writes:
: >
: >I am me, not the company. So far, they have not chosen to censor me.
: >I do not expect them to do so for my using a non-pc term.
: 
: You certainly have a right to say whatever you want, and I would never
: suggest that you should be censored.  On the other hand, choosing to
: sprinkle your language with vulgarities often suggests that you're rather
: crude and uneducated, which looks bad when you're working for an employeer
: that doesn't employ crude and uneducated people.

So. I used one word that some people to consider to be vulgar, and you get
upset. It is also a word in common usage - yes, even among employees of my
company. Anyone who assumes anything about my employer, from what I post,
is a fool.

As an aside, how often, in my thousands of postings I have made over the
years, have you seen what you consider to be a "vulgarity"? 

... delided ...

: current vector J), such as through a wire at a given, non-changing current,
: products only a magnetic field, and not an electric field.  Period, amen.
: (At least in a Maxwellian Universe, which is very close to what we're
: talking about here.)

: Trust me.  Hook up one of your HP constant current power supplies to a coil
: of wire or a resistor.  Set it to pump out 1A DC, constant current.  I
: guarantee you that any E field you measure by the coil is not being
: produced by that coil.  (Try inducing a voltage in another nearby coil for
: starts.  It isn't going to happen, because you need an EM field to induce
: voltages, and you only have a M field.)

Nope - all you have to do is move the other coil. It is a simple high
school physics experiment. Any conductor moving in that field is going
to generate a changing electric current, with its associated electic field.

: >: P.S. -- Which division of HP do you work for?  Certainly not one where
: >: they do anything with fields and waves?
: >
: >What does that have to do with my training? One of the people in my
: >group got his degree in religious studies. He still is one of the
: >brightest engineers in the division.
: 
: I would hope that he has an engineering degree (or a science degree)
: _as well_.  I think it's rather obvious what training in a given field has 
: to do with one's knowledge on the subject: It tends to lend credibility to 
: your arguments.

Nope - he doesn't. Nor do quite a few other engineers in the company. The
company has always been willing to employ people for what they can accompish,
not which particular piece of paper they happen to possess.

In the more technical engineering programs, you learn little more than 
fundamentals. The rest, you learn on the job - or in specialized training
that you take while working.

Bill
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: henry@ADS.COM (Henry Mensch)
Subject: Re: Levi Strauss DEFUNDS Boy Scouts
Organization: Advanced Decision Systems; a div of Booz, Allen & Hamilton
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 20:04:25 GMT

rrw@sunset.cse.nau.edu (Bob Wier) wrote: 
->Call me cynical (ok, youre cynical :-) but it wouldn't also
->happen to be that Levi Strauss also USED to have the 
->concession to manufacture part of the boy scout uniform
->but recently lost that contract, would it?

i doubt it.  how many boy sprout uniforms could they possibly make ...
now how many pairs of jeans do they sell in a day?  compare the
numbers and the dollars.

--
# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <henry@ads.com>
# "fight the real enemy."  -- sinead o'connor, and many others.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: henry@ADS.COM (Henry Mensch)
Subject: Re: Dedicated ATM card?
Organization: Advanced Decision Systems; a div of Booz, Allen & Hamilton
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 23:45:30 GMT

ChazL@county.lmt.mn.org (Chaz Larson) wrote: 
->In my experience, these designations are no longer of much significance.  My 
->current "Plus" affliated card has been accepted by every ATM machine I've 
->stuck it into in every city I've tried it in.  I've never checked in advance 
->to see if the machine was "Plus" affiliated.  5 years [or so] ago, my Norwest 
->card would not work in a Twin City Federal ATM, and vice versa.

there are still places where plus machines won't work with cirrus
cards (and vice versa); these are usually outside the usa.

--
# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <henry@ads.com>
# "fight the real enemy."  -- sinead o'connor, and many others.
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:21050 soc.culture.japan:12710 sci.electronics:21322 alt.sex:40094 soc.culture.african.american:13182 misc.education:5491 misc.entrepreneurs:3707