HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: de5@ORNL.GOV (Dave Sill)
Subject: Re: Are Your Light Bulbs Radioactive?
Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 18:18:39 GMT

In article <1992Aug25.152857.19117@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>, crb7q@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU (Cameron Randale Bass) writes:
>
>     Ahhh, but I *am* a parent.   And if you are worried about yours injesting
>     the source from a lightbulb or a smoke detector, I suggest that you 
>     have bigger worries than just the little source.   Apparently you
>     should keep all objects destroyable by hammer out of reach of 
>     your children.   I don't know about you, but *I'd* hate to lose
>     *my* televisions.

You're thinking too narrowly.  It isn't necessary to use a hammer to break a
light bulb.  Nobody is suggesting that extreme measures be taken to counteract
this risk--just that the risk exists.  Forewarned is forearmed.  Knowing that
compact flourescents and smoke detectors contain radioactive sources will help
parents take the precaustions necessary to use them safely.

>     I suggest that the class of children
>     with the 1) strength combined with the 2) inability to recognize food
>     with the 3) required stealth with the 4) cognative ability to actually
>     reach the vast majority of smoke detectors, is vanishingly small.

I suggest you're missing the point.  Calm down and reread the thread rationally
and critically.  *You're* the one who's blowing this out of proportion.

-- 
Dave Sill (de5@ornl.gov)	   For every Bill Joy there is a Kirk McKusick.
Martin Marietta Energy Systems     For every Bill Gates there is a Richard
Workstation Support                Stallman.                     --Paul Graham
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: wood@rtsg.mot.com (Dan Wood)
Subject: Re: Major problems with Frigidaire washer/dryer combination
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 15:23:02 GMT

   I have a Frigidaire side by side W/D combo that have given me
great service for almost 10 years.

   Recently the dryer began taking much too long to finish, so
we called the repairman.  He found that a gasket on the back of
the drum had worn out and no longer kept the hot air inside the
drum.  The part + service call was about $70.  It works great
again.

   This being an apartment, you could try to get your landlord to
get it fixed.  I assume that your lease says that the W/D are
included, which would certainly imply "working condition".  They
may also still be under warranty, at least for parts.  If your
landlord resists you could then pay for a service call to verify
that there is something wrong, which would give you more ammunition,
or just pay for the repair (assuming reasonable $) and try to get
your landlord to cover (or split) the cost.  IMHO, you have
already gone "beyond the call" for a tennant.  

   I don't think that the venting is the problem, if there really
are a dozen 1" holes.  You could check this by running it with
the hose detached.  You won't suffocate, but it could blow lint
around your apartment.
-- 
*********************************************************************************
*	Dan Wood   Motorola Inc.	*	 Moto didn't say it,       	*
*	wood@rtsg.mot.com 		*	 and I don't recall...  	*
*********************************************************************************
From: joanne@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Joanne Petersen)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 00:15:36 GMT
Subject: Re: bread makers
Organization: Hewlett-Packard PAITC Data Center
Newsgroups: misc.consumers

One of the known problems with the domed breadmakers is that they are 
likely to burn up!  The Welbilt and DAK models have this problem.....
if left plugged in, they can burn up (I don't remember if the people
who had this problem had the units on timer to bake later in the day
or if they were empty units plugged in the wall).
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.forsale
From: cosc176t@menudo.uh.edu (Jason Asbahr)
Subject: NSA Air Purifiers
Organization: /posole/cosc176t/.organization
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 01:41:11 GMT


Greets!

My grandmother is considering the purchase of a "NSA Environmental
Air System", a small air purifier.  

NSA is a company whose customers are often its salespeople, as anyone
can buy a NSA water or air purifier and resell it for profit.  With
enough sales, you move up the hierarchy for more earning potential.

My grandmother has no interest in selling the things, but she is
interested in the air purifier.  So...

I've seen the thing, and it seems to work nicely.  It's a small
plastic box, fairly light, obviously consisting of a fan and various
air filters.  It's about 3/4 the size of my NeXT cube.  :)

The problem?  The NSA purifier costs ** $175 ** !  Grandmother
currently has the box on a trial basis, with the option to buy 
her own.  It seems to be, though I haven't gone out and checked
the local department stores yet, that NSA is asking way too much
for their air purifier...

Can anyone confirm that similar air purifiers can be purchased
elsewhere for less?  Any suggestions on where to look?

Thanks much,

Jason Asbahr                           116 E. Edgebrook #603
asbahr@uh.edu                          Houston, Texas  77034
next@tree.egr.uh.edu   (NeXTmail)      (713) 941-8294  voice (summer)
asbahr@tree.egr.uh.edu (NeXTmail)      UH NeXT Campus Consultant
--
Jason Asbahr                           116 E. Edgebrook #603
asbahr@uh.edu                          Houston, Texas  77034
next@tree.egr.uh.edu   (NeXTmail)      (713) 941-8294  voice (summer)
asbahr@tree.egr.uh.edu (NeXTmail)      UH NeXT Campus Consultant
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.sport.misc
From: rsl@aplpy.jhuapl.edu (Russell S. Laderer)
Subject: Looking for horseshoes
Organization: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 92 13:49:06 GMT

I've just started playing horseshoes with a friends set,
and I'd like to get a set of my own.  Can anyone recommend
a good quality set that is not too expensive.

Also, could anyone tell me how high the posts are supposed
to be out of the ground, and how far apart they are supposed 
to be? 

Thanks,
	Scott Laderer
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.food.drink,ba.food
From: pharvey@mipos3.intel.com (Paul Harvey)
Subject: Re: Looking for a *great* coffeemaker
Organization: Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA USA
	<2A9AB376.59A6@deneva.sdd.trw.com> <z9anfdp.strnlght@netcom.com>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 18:06:39 GMT

In article <z9anfdp.strnlght@netcom.com> 
strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) writes:
<I understand stomach cancer started to decline dramatically when
<filter paper coffee makers (Melitta and Mr. Coffee types) became
<common in the U.S. I'm also told some physicians will allow their
<ulcer patients paper-filtered coffee (which removes even the fine
<sediments) but no other kind.
<On that basis the use of the French Plunger Pot, and the cold
<extraction pot mentioned earlier are probably both very bad ideas.

Hmm, I don't know, seems highly speculative. Do you work for a filter paper
company? Do you use bleached or unbleached paper? If anything, the health 
trend is to less filtering and more roughage in the diet. Besides, I can't 
imagine that chocolate covered coffee beans could be bad for you. I suppose 
you could swallow them whole, but it's much more fun to crunch them when you 
eat them. Don't tell me you don't partake of these? You know, certain people 
have been trying to blame all the world's ills on coffee for a long time, but 
the hard evidence just doesn't seem to be forth comming. If you are really 
concerned about your diet, fat intake is much more important. It's the cream
and sugar you put in the coffee, not the coffee. Trust me on that. 
Newsgroups: pdx.consumer,misc.consumers,sci.energy,sci.environment,sci.med,sci.physics,talk.environment
From: jfreter@triton.unm.edu (The Myth)
Subject: Re: Radioactivity and Superstition; was: Re: Are Your Light Bulbs Radioactive?
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 92 20:49:02 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Distribution: Dept of Nuclear Engineering, UNM

All this discussion about the "dangerously" radioactive sources found in
smoke detectors, in flourscent tubes, and in incandescent bulbs needs to
be placed in perspective.  The amount of radioactive material in each of
these is equivalent to the amount of Polonium-210 that is absorbed by the
tobacco leaves needed to make 1/4 of a cigarette.  If we're serious about
eliminating these "highly dangerous" sources of radiation in our homes, 
then we must OUTLAW TOBACCO NOW!  The activity of these sources is about
the same as six bananas (though the K-40 is mostly gamma with a little
beta compared to the mostly alpha with some beta/gamma thrown in for
the Americium-241, Pm-147, Th-232, and Po-210 that are commonly found).

We must outlaw anything that contains Carbon, too, since carbon-14 is 
radioactive.  That means that you can no longer have diamond.  In fact,
you can't have a body anymore, since it's radioactive and will kill you.

We must outlaw stainless steels, too. Some of the vanadium that is used in 
it is radioactive.  We must also outlaw the sun and the universe and all
volcanoes, too.  These are major sources of radiation and will kill our
children.


Get real!  Radiation is a fact of life.  Without these sources, I doubt
that evolution would've occured as fast as it does.  Quantum fluctuations
in the DNA will not cause changes nearly as fast as low-level background
radiation does.  If it weren't for these low sources, we'd all be pond-
scum still.

Remember, a day without sunshine is a day without radiation!

Jerry



Xref: sparky misc.consumers:15604 sci.energy:4115 sci.environment:10841 sci.med:16379 sci.physics:13511 talk.environment:3368
From: mcovingt@athena.cs.uga.edu (Michael A. Covington)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,sci.energy,sci.environment,sci.med,sci.physics,talk.environment
Subject: Re: Are Your Light Bulbs Radioactive?
Date: 25 Aug 92 17:29:49 GMT
Article-I.D.: athena.1992Aug25.172949.7381
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens

>In article <1992Aug24.221305.7696@ucsu.Colorado.EDU> saastad@spot.Colorado.EDU (SAASTAD OLE) writes:
>>
>>Hi,
>>You will probably dont eat smoke det. or bulbs. But a small child might
>>eat something. A child playing with a smoke det. end smashing it with an
>>hammer. Then eat the Am 241 source ! Not a nice scenario. Nobody seems to
>>even bother to think of this !

And a child can eat a cigarette and die from it.  Ban tobacco first!


-- 
+ Michael Covington - Artificial Intelligence Programs - U of Georgia - USA 
+ Unless otherwise noted, these are private opinions, not official statements.
+ VOTE NO GEORGIA LOTTERY - don't tie education to an unpredictable income.
Newsgroups: pdx.consumer,misc.consumers,sci.energy,sci.environment,sci.med,sci.physics,talk.environment
From: beede@sctc.com (Mike Beede)
Subject: Re: Are Your Light Bulbs Radioactive?
Organization: SCTC
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 17:16:38 GMT

>     [....] Normally
>     they learn early-on that the class of objects to be hammered
>     does not usually include foods. [....]

Like veal, chicken, Swiss steak, coconuts, cracker crumbs, and cracked
ice?  I would imagine a more realistic scenario to be 1) big kid
mashes smoke detector with hammer 2) big kid chucks it somewhere 3)
little kid finds it, chows it down.

However, the usual controls a parent uses for things that can kill a
kid rapidly, e.g., Drano, seem sufficient to protect kids from smoke
detectors.  The argument quoted above does not, since the release and
consumption don't have to be by the same child.




-- 
Mike Beede         Secure Computing
beede@sctc.com     1210 W. County Rd E, Suite 100           
------------------ Arden Hills, MN  55112
                    (612) 482-7420
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: shf@ais.org (Steve Fox)
Subject: Re: VCR recommendations
Organization: UMCC
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 23:55:03 GMT

uyeno@meetng.enet.dec.com (Alice Uyeno) writes:


>HI,

>I'm on the hunt for a VCR.  Any recommendations?  I don't plan to record anything since we don't have cable.

Well, if you *really* don't plan on ever recording, look into play only
machines, they are somewhat cheaper for comparable playback quality.  If you
want record capability I recommend JVC.  I had one for 11 years with no
problems whatsoever, until I dropped it 4 feet, that is.  I bought a JVC
HR-D91OU this week to replace it.  It's a discontinued model still available
in some stores.  I paid $390 for 4-head HI-FI sound, and I like it a lot so
far.

____________________________________________________________________________

Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.food.drink,ba.food
From: steve@endgame.gsfc.nasa.gov (Steve Rezsutek)
Subject: Re: Coffee coffeetable book (was Re: Looking for a *great* coffeemaker)
Organization: none
	<1992Aug24.175902.5866@erg.sri.com>
	<STEVE.92Aug25104911@endgame.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 00:12:31 GMT

In article <STEVE.92Aug25104911@endgame.gsfc.nasa.gov> I wrote:

   Another enjoyable book which followed me home not too long ago is by
   Illy and Illy [yup, those Illys]. The title is something like "The Coffee
   Book" [or perhaps it's "The Book of Coffee"?  I forget, and it's at home
   on the coffee table ;-)].  

OK. I'm at home now, and I've got the real info, in case anyone cares:

"The Book of Coffee", by Francesco Illy & Riccardo Illy.  ISBN 1-55859-321-7.

I found the book in a book shop, so I assume it is readily available, but
just in case you can't find it, direct Stateside inquiries to:  

    Abbeville Press, 488 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10022


Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.food.drink,ba.food
From: pharvey@quack.sac.ca.us (Paul Harvey)
Subject: Re: Looking for a *great* coffeemaker
Organization: The Duck Pond public unix: +1 408 249 9630, log in as 'guest'.
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 03:11:41 GMT

Of course everyone already knows how to make real coffee, right? You get
fresh roasted beans, like from Trader Joes or any number of other fine
places, and you use them as soon as you can and store them in the
freezer. Grind them fine with a grinder and place them into a French
press coffee maker with water just below boiling. It takes about a 1/2
cup of beans to make about a cup and a half of good strong coffee. You
can eat some beans while you're waiting for the water to heat up. Then
you can try Ethiopian coffee, like at Dalak in Sunnyvale. Now that's
coffee, good and bitter and stiff. I still don't know how they do it. I
think they might be using robusta beans which are known to be bitter,
but I don't know and they are not telling. Anyway, as far as which is
the best bean, it's subjective just like wine. I guess you can tell I go
for strong and bitter. If that's what you like ask for it or just read
the labels on the coffee beans, it will tell you if they have a strong
bitter flavor or a mild one. As for Kona, I think you have to go to the
Big island to get good stuff, but it is a mild coffee. Jamaican is
probably over-rated, but good 'erb and music. Jah! Ras TafarI!
From: zhang48@wharton.upenn.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: auto-start AUDIO cassette recorder ??
Date: 2 Sep 92 16:34:30 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

In article <6089@transfer.stratus.com>, amy@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Amy McNulty) writes:
> 
> With all of the recent advances in VCR technology, I'm surprised that  
> I've never seen an AUDIO cassette recorder that can be pre-set to start  
> taping at a specific time. Has anyone ever seen or heard of one of  
> these? Although I haven't tried it, I assume [...deleted]
My Panasonic mini system SC-CH55 has such a function. The start and stop
time can be preset.  
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: wood@rtsg.mot.com (Dan Wood)
Subject: Re: Camp stoves
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 15:17:32 GMT

   A word of caution regarding the big propane tank hookup
to Coleman stoves and lanterns.  This story is second-hand,
so please forgive the lack of details.  The parties involved
are fairly bright people, so don't assume that it can't
happen to you...

   Friends of mine were cooking breakfast inside a screened
tent and dripped bacon grease inside the Coleman stove, 
starting a small fire.  Understandably nervous about the
20 lbs of propane in close vicinity, he shutoff the valve on
the tank, she put the stove on the ground.  Apparently there 
was some amount of propane remaining in the connecting line,
which ran downhill to the stove, creating a large flareup
that melted an entire side of the screened tent.  As I recall,
the stove burner was extinguished previously in attempts to
kill the grease fire.  I guess the propane accumulated in 
the bottom of the stove until it reached the grease flame,
then blew burning grease out of the stove.

   Fortunately no one was injured.  Be aware that this could
happen in many other scenarios, with worse consequences.

   I've seen scary things happen with Coleman fuel also,
so I'm not arguing that it's safer, but the cause of the
problem was more obvious in those cases.

-- 
*********************************************************************************
*	Dan Wood   Motorola Inc.	*	 Moto and I disclaim       	*
*	wood@rtsg.mot.com 		*	 everything in this post.	*
*********************************************************************************
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:15730 sci.energy:4148
From: ccheng@mips.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.video,sci.electronics,sci.misc
Subject: Re: VCR Maintenance Advice Wanted. Head Cleaners Any Good?
Keywords: VCR
Date: 4 Sep 92 17:03:31 GMT
Reply-To: ccheng@mips.com
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: wildcat.mips.com

In article <1992Sep4.163429.11781@tc.cornell.edu>, chrisp@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU (Chris Pelkie) writes:
|> In article <1992Sep3.135437.13013@nntp.uoregon.edu>, davecole@cie.uoregon.edu (Dave Cole) writes:
|> |> Re: VCR HEad cleaning
|> |>  
|> |>   If you do get the urge to clean your VCR heads, be sure to get the following
|> |> items in addition to those listed by others...
|> |>  
|> |> SHAMMY Q-TIPS
|> |>  
|> 
|> This is not a spelling flame, but if you are looking for this critter, you'll find it under
|> "C" for "chamois" (those darn French and their funny spellings...). (;-)
|> The phonetic spelling "shammy" is correct pronunciation. Nevertheless, it's
|> all still goat hide. And it is very good for cleaning heads.
|> -- 
|
Just another piece of info. My electronic dictionary gives an alternate spelling "chammy".
BTW, is it available in common stores?

Cheers,

Leslie.
From: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: "Bak to Skule" and other seasonal junk pushes.
Date: 28 Aug 92 17:07:39 GMT
Reply-To: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow)
Organization: NCR E&M CLEMSON Liberty, SC

In article <1992Aug26.200520.16697@newshub.ccs.yorku.ca> tony@nexus.yorku.ca (Anthony Wallis) writes:
>Argh !  I've just made my monthly visit to my used-to-be-favorite
>stationary store and hardly recognised the place.  Festooned with gaudy
>and hideous promotional garbage to do with "Back to School".  All sorts
>of stupid stereotyping about "School".  It would appear that the great
>unwashed masses don't bother to provide their children with learning
>materials, such as pencils, paper, rulers, ..  until they have to go
>back to the dreaded institutions after their summer release.

Don't know if this is the case in Canada, but in the U.S. there is a
time-honored custom called the "teacher's school-supply list".  The first
day of school, every elementary-school teacher hands out a list of
required supplies to the kiddies.  They're expected to have everything on
it, and woe betide the poor kid who turns in a report on "college-ruled
3-hole paper" when it's supposed to be "wide-ruled 5-hole paper" or whatever.
Mom and Dad can't buy supplies for the kids until they have THE LIST and
then they have to buy them THAT SAME DAY or the kiddies think Big Bad Teacher
will eat them for lunch.  I made the mistake of hitting my local Wal-Mart
store the evening of the first day of school and thought I would get
trampled.

>
>I learned long ago to avoid certain mainline department stores during
>"Christ"mas shopping (which begins Nov 1 in Canada) after finding them

Lucky you.  In the U.S. it starts sometime in September.

Xref: sparky misc.consumers:15672 sci.energy:4137 sci.environment:10874 sci.physics:13583 sci.med:16434
From: brian@ucsd.edu (Brian Kantor)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,sci.energy,sci.environment,sci.physics,sci.med
Subject: Re: Are Your Light Bulbs Radioactive?
Date: 26 Aug 92 17:32:38 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: The Avant-Garde of the Now, Ltd.
NNTP-Posting-Host: ucsd.edu

dietz@cs.rochester.edu (Paul Dietz) writes:
>Viewed another way: this is about the gamma activity of 100 milligrams
>of potassium (from the natural isotope K-40, which is .0117% of
>potassium and decays with a halflife of 1.25e9 years...

So how many bananas is that the radioactive equivalent of?  I.e., if I
eat 10 bananas a month, I'll actually get more exposure than if I ate
one compact fluorescent light bulb per month?

Or did I slip a decimal point somewhere?
	- Brian
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: gregc@emilio.WPI.EDU (Gregory M Charland)
Subject: Re: Pyramidal mail-order scam
Followup-To: misc.consumers 
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 13:38:55 GMT

In article <collin.714938780@angelo> collin@angelo.amd.com (Collin K. Ong) writes:
>I've seen such things before; what exactly is bad about these plans?

     There are two catagories of valuable things to do in this world. Sell
stuff (including VCRs, cars, food, clothing) and sell SERVICES (repair,
manicure, cook food, make travel arrangements).
     When some enterprising person finds a need for a new service, new stuff,
or even the same old thing in a new location, they start a business to
provide it.  But the item or the service is the backbone of the operation.
     Some (very few) pyramid-type schemes actually do have a product base.
     Well, very, very few.
     And that's where the problem lies.  When there's a product there, if the
business closes down, your investment is still alive in some stuff that you
own.  If, however, there's no tangible good involved, all you (and everyone
involved) are doing is passing money to the people who "enrolled" you.  
     And they pass it to the people "above" them, and they to the people
"above" them, and so on...
     Until one or two guys at the top decide that they have made enough money,
and call the whole thing off.  Now the people below you don't give you
anything.  (This inevitably happens before you break even.)
     I'd STRONGLY advise you to read the fine print of anything you get into,
and if you invest any money make sure there's something to invest IN.
     If you come across anything suspicious, call the Better Business Bureau
and Chamber of Commerce in the organization's base.

     -greg
-- 
     ---------------------------------------------
      Gregory M. Charland-----> gregc@wpi.wpi.edu  
     ---------------------------------------------  
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house,misc.invest.real-estate