HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jkapson@ad-29.Naitc.Com (John Kapson)
Subject: Re: DOES AMERICA SAY YES TO JAPAN? - Off track!!
Followup-To: misc.consumers,soc.culture.japan,misc.entrepreneurs
Organization: AC Nielsen Co., Bannockburn IL
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 22:10:59 GMT

------------------------------------
NOTE: followup line has been changed
------------------------------------
In article <3326@bsu-cs.bsu.edu> joemays@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Joseph F. Mays) writes:
>In article <1992Dec17.123430.24528@hellgate.utah.edu> llarsen%peruvian.cs.utah.e
>du@cs.utah.edu (Loren Larsen) writes:
>
>>BZZT! WRONG!  Consider that almost 80% of all Honda cars are made from
>>the ground up in the US.  Seems to me that injects quite a bit of money
>>into our economy.
>
>BZZT! WRONG! (I think this damned buzzer is about to break from overuse!)
>
>Honda plants in America are assembly plants which build cars out of parts
>made and imported from Japan.  Read:  far fewer jobs, and less skilled
>ones.
>
BZZT! WRONG! (Nope, this buzzer works just fine.  Where was it made?)

During Bush's trip to Japan with the auto company execs, I could swear
I heard on NPR that the Marysville, OH Honda plant built cars that had
more American-manufactured parts than _anything_ built by Chrysler. 
I noted this because I was living in Detroit at the time and, oddly
enough, none of the local papers made any mention of this tidbit. 
Anyone else hear this?

+-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
|      John Kapson      | "Americans have a right and advantage of being  |
| NRA               ILA | armed -- unlike the citizens of other countries |
| jkapson@nis.naitc.com | whose governments are afraid to trust the       |
|                       | people with arms."      - James Madison,        |
|                       | The Federalist Papers No. 46 at 243-244.        |
+-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
|                  PGP Public Key available via email                     |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:20554 soc.culture.usa:9158
From: sean@cobra.dra.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: Santa Dollars.......
Date: 12 Dec 92 21:54:03 CST
Distribution: usa
Organization: Data Research Associates, Inc.

In article <1992Dec11.210223.21105@leland.Stanford.EDU>, rsingh@goliath.Stanford.EDU (   raj) writes:
> I saw a red sticker at the local Safeway checkout counter that said
> "It's real!" in big letters, next to a one dollar us note that had
> Santa's pictures instead of late president George Washington. 
> It said the note is a legal tender, and bankable.

Yes, it is legal tender.  The "Santa Head" is stuck onto a standard U.S.
government issue dollar bill.  When you remove the stick-on, you'll see
Washington's head.  There was an article in our local newspaper a few
weeks ago about this.  It included a quote from a Treasury spokesperson.
She said they weren't happy with the practice because it created confusion
about the currency.  But as long as the "Santa's Head" can be removed from
the bill without damaging the bill, it isn't against the law.


> They were selling it for $2 (the proceeds go to charity.)  Well, I
> bought one as a novelty item, but I was wondering if one could get a
> lot of these just walking up to the local bank?  And who/what decides
> if Santa's picture is appropriate on a dollar note?

No government official decides.  You can stick Santa, Queen Elizabeth,
Malcom X, or a picture of my dog on the bill.  As long as it can be removed
without damaging the bill, they are all equally as legal.

You seem to be suffering the delusion that the government is sticking this
picture on the currrency.  The U.S. Government has nothing to do with this,
it is a private matter between yourself, safeway, and the charity.  If you
want to buy a dollar bill, a stick-on picture of santa and make a contribution
to charity for two dollars, you may.  

-- 
Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO
Domain: sean@sdg.dra.com, Voice: (Work) +1 314-432-1100
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: eravin@panix.com (Ed Ravin)
Subject: Re: PRODIGY New and improved STILL SUCKS, HORRIBLE as before
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 19:31:24 GMT
Organization: Not Just Another Pretty Face

In article <102569@netnews.upenn.edu> lginzb@ccat.sas.upenn.edu (Lionel Ginzburg) writes:

>In 2600 magazine, Autumn 1991 issue, a letter was printed in which a
>computer consultant from Brooklyn, NY claimed to have proven that
>Prodigy was using STAGE.DAT to obtain names for its mailing list.  (I
>won't reproduce the letter, as the issue may be copyrighted.) He gave
>two examples (I'll paraphrase):
>
>A. A user's STAGE.DAT file was found to consist of names, addresses, and
>telephone numbers that came both out of the dialing directories of other
>modem programs, and from letters written under WordStar in another
>subdirectory.

This happened because the Prodigy software grabs memory buffers from DOS
but didn't clear them before using them for disk I/O.  This "migration"
of data from memory into Prodigy's STAGE.DAT file scared a lot of people
and started the rumors about uploading.  The Prodigy software never uses
the extra data at the end of the memory buffers -- it gets overwritten
eventually -- it's empty space as far as the P* software is concerned.

>B. The LAN of this consultant's company uses internal names to refer to
>specific machines on the network.  These names are not used outside the
>company. Soon after the consultant installed and began using Prodigy on
>a machine on the LAN, snail-junk-mail letters started appearing from Prodigy,
>addressed to these machine-names, which would not have been known to
>Prodigy unless it was sneaking around the LAN.

Chances are that someone in his office used the dummy names to register
some software or subscribe to a computer magazine, which is where Prodigy
gets most of their bulk mailing lists.

Anyone who has ever connected a protocol analyzer, datascope, or other
monitoring device to their modem line has quickly realized that there's
nothing sneaky going on when your computer runs the Prodigy service.

disclaimer: I work for Prodigy as a telecom programmer -- I only wish
my job was so interesting that I got to write code that spied on people
and uploaded every file on their hard disk. :-)
-- 
Ed Ravin            | I like to think (it has to be!) of a cybernetic ecology
eravin@panix.com    | where we are free of our labors and joined back to nature
philabs!trintex!elr | returned to our mammal brothers and sisters,
+1 914 993 4737     | and all watched over by machines of loving grace
From: mueller@gdc.com (Martin Mueller)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: 2x Childs robot
Date: 14 Dec 92 15:19:44 GMT
Organization: General DataComm Ind. Inc., Middlebury, CT 06762
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]


 Just saw one of the new (?) learning robots for children. Has anyone
given the 2XL to their children and did it hold the childs attention
for more than 2 minutes?


--
Martin Mueller
General DataComm
Middlebury, CT  06762-1299
(203) 758-1811 x7565
mueller@gdc.com 

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: carnes@ico.isc.com (Steve Carnes)
Subject: answering machines
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Boulder CO
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 15:25:46 GMT


Does anyone have an archive of any recent discussions on answering
machines?  I'd surely appreciate you mailing it to me.  Thanks!
-- 
Steve Carnes       carnes@ico.isc.com        uucp: {ncar,nbires}!ico!carnes
   "Rock gives reality to the otherwise abstract notion of transhuman
    time." - Edward Abbey
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
From: tapp@uvphys.phys.uvic.ca (Bob Tapp)
Subject: Re: Help !! == cable TV on second floor ==
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Reply-To: tapp@uvphys.phys.uvic.ca
Organization: UVic, Physics & Astronomy, Victoria, BC
Date: 18 DEC 92 12:08:31    

In article <1992Dec18.150504.13403@ll.mit.edu>, cogen@ll.mit.edu (David Cogen)
writes...
> 
>So, what is it about cold air intake ducts that makes for a harsh environment?
>I can't see why any standard cable would not be sufficient. Please explain.

Ordinary PVC cable insulation produces poisonous fumes when it burns.

The concern is that such fumes would be circulated from room to room in a 
fire.

Bob Tapp, University of Victoria
tapp@uvphys.phys.UVic.CA
From: drevik@utkvx3.utk.edu (Drevik, Steve)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: just a silly question....
Date: 18 Dec 92 13:00:00 GMT
Organization: University of Tennessee Computing Center
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41


I had one of those calls from the <insert city name 
here> Association of the Blind, attempting to sell
me 10-year light bulbs.

Q: How do they know they work?

-s
From: mueller@gdc.com (Martin Mueller)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Visions (or other) cookwares?
Date: 14 Dec 92 15:04:18 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: General DataComm Ind. Inc., Middlebury, CT 06762
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

Debora Offer (daoffer@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu) wrote:
> 
> I recently bought a cast iron 10" dutch oven and a 12" skillet and they are
> the easiest things to clean.  I have a bit of a problem with meats sticking
> when I do stir fry but afterwards they clean with a dish towel and soap.
> You would not believe how hard some of my stainless steel *Reverware* was
>  to clean when I made chicken fried steaks.  I had to take steel wool to it.
> --

I have the same problem if the pan was not cleaned properly after
the previous use. This usually happens with the realy good grease
cutting soaps. Milder soaps (if any at all) can be used while the pan is 
still verry warm. The best results for me have been starting with a 
hot pan (to hot to touch, not red hot) and scrubbing with a non scrubby
sponge. Wath out for steam and good luck.

--
Martin Mueller
General DataComm
Middlebury, CT  06762-1299
(203) 758-1811 x7565
mueller@gdc.com 

Xref: sparky misc.consumers:20917 soc.culture.japan:12618 sci.electronics:21137 alt.sex:39894 soc.culture.african.american:13086 misc.education:5423 misc.entrepreneurs:3667
From: joemays@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Joseph F. Mays)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,soc.culture.japan,sci.electronics,alt.sex,soc.culture.african.american,misc.education,misc.entrepreneurs
Subject: Re: DOES AMERICA SAY YES TO JAPAN? - Off track!!
Date: 18 Dec 92 20:52:22 GMT
Organization: Dept. of CS Ball State University Muncie IN

In article <1992Dec17.123430.24528@hellgate.utah.edu> llarsen%peruvian.cs.utah.e
du@cs.utah.edu (Loren Larsen) writes:

>BZZT! WRONG!  Consider that almost 80% of all Honda cars are made from
>the ground up in the US.  Seems to me that injects quite a bit of money
>into our economy.

BZZT! WRONG! (I think this damned buzzer is about to break from overuse!)

Honda plants in America are assembly plants which build cars out of parts
made and imported from Japan.  Read:  far fewer jobs, and less skilled
ones.

Joe
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: wolfson@regatta.sps.mot.com (Stephen Wolfson)
Subject: Re: Recommendation for Nursery Monitors
Organization: SPS
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 17:30:17 GMT

In article <1992Dec15.124112.3158@mwhhlaw.uucp> jim@mwhhlaw (James P.  
Cavanaugh III) writes:
> In article <lipjr6INN1a2@needmore.cs.utexas.edu> tomfox@cs.utexas.edu  
> (Thomas Y.C. Woo) writes:
> > 
> > I remember seeing some discussion on nursery monitors earlier.
> > I seem to recall that a lot of people are happy with Playskool.
> > I did not pay much attention then. I would appreciate it if
I too have used and been happy with the Fisher-Price unit.  It has
two channels and both units run on batteries so you can run them
anywhere (they come with DC adaptors, batteries not required).  The
listening unit can also be clipped on to the belt and carried around
like a walkman.  I've had no problems being in the backyard and still
hearing the baby, of course at times I think I could have heared the
baby from several blocks away WITHOUT a monitor :-)

		- Steve
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,soc.culture.usa
From: ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper)
Subject: Re: Santa Dollars.......
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 23:17:58 GMT
Keywords: church, state, religion

In article <1992Dec11.220909.26097@asl.dl.nec.com> alie@csl.dl.nec.com (Andrew Lie) writes:
> In article <1992Dec11.210223.21105@leland.Stanford.EDU>, rsingh@goliath.Stanford.EDU (   raj) writes:
> |> As it is, a LOT of people have trouble with "In God We Trust" being on
> |> US notes, so isn't putting Santa's picture on the note not only
> |> endorsing religion, but also Christianity.  Comments? Flames?
> |> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
> 
> Santa has nothing to do with religion, or Christianity.
> It is just a benevolent figure reminding us to care and share.

It has been my experience that Christians say Santa has nothing to
do with religion and Christianity, but Jews feel otherwise.  Santa is,
after all, Saint Nicholas.  And Santa is linked with Christmas, an
arguably religious holiday.

Evelyn C. Leeper  |  +1 908 957 2070  |  att!mtgzy!ecl or  ecl@mtgzy.att.com
--
"God does not play dice with the universe."  --Albert Einstein
"Albert, stop telling God what to do."  --Niels Bohr
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
From: thomasr@cpqhou.compaq.com (Thomas Rush)
Subject: Re: Help !! == cable TV on second floor ==
Reply-To: thomasr@cpqhou.UUCP (Thomas Rush)
Organization: Compaq Computer Corporation
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 16:43:51 GMT

In article <1gl56rINNe5g@terminator.rs.itd.umich.edu> vln@icpsr.umich.edu (Victoria Neff) writes:
>>The cable company has no choice. The same court judgements that gave you 
>>the right to run your own phone lines and buy your own phones apply here.
>>
>Is it against code to run tv cable to the second floor through the cold-air
>intake??

	Yes, and furthermore, in the summer it will be against hot.


thomas rush			compaq computer corporation	
thomasr@cpqhou.compaq.com	their employee, not their opinions.
By my belief that government should be minimalized, I swear to oppose
the unrequested intrusion of government into the lives of individuals
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:20947 sci.electronics:21165
From: louis@aupair.cs.athabascau.ca (Louis Schmittroth)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: DOES AMERICA SAY YES TO JAPAN? - Off track!!
Date: 19 Dec 92 02:24:26 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers
Distribution: na

roh@CS.ColoState.EDU (Lucas Roh) writes:

>This message is not for Japan bashers.  Hit 'n' if you are.

Would someone please post a translation of this in clear text.  I have
no idea what Mr. Lucas Roh was trying to say.

>Once and for all, this is for the benefit of other netters who have not yet
>learned (of which I have learned late from other readers but which I think
>should be posted here)
--
Louis Schmittroth louis@cs.athabascau.ca
NW 1/4 18 67 21 W4 Alberta.  
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: hubcap@hubcap.clemson.edu (System Janitor)
Subject: Re: Summer jobs in Alaska
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 17:42:58 GMT

>a friend of mine is interested in getting a summer job in Alaska, doing 
>something with fish, I am not sure what. He had seen the ads about pay being
>very good, you could save up to $5000 during the summer.
>Thaks in advance,
>Aleks

You or your friend should spend some time reading alt.culture.alaska before
either one of you sells the farm and heads to Alaska. There's very few 
jobs of any kind up there, certainly not many for people from Outside.

-Mike
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.misc,comp.sys.mac.comm,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc
From: jimbo@leland.Stanford.EDU (Godfather of Soul)
Subject: Re: PRODIGY New and improved STILL SUCKS, HORRIBLE as before
Organization: NewsRUs
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 09:38:46 GMT

In article <1992Dec17.075003.3502@news.acns.nwu.edu> alasnik@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Adam Lasnik) writes:
>Prodigy has:
>---stronger and more utilized bulletin boards
>--More services offered for a flat fee
>--A $2 a MONTH surcharge for 9600 baud, which would get you about 10 minutes
>of use on Compu$erve at the same speed.
>--Plans to open an internet connection within 3 months.
>--A computer bulletin board INCLUDED in flat rate service (HA!)
>--More national members than Compu$erve.
>--a more diverse user base (that's my subjective opinion, however)
>
>In my opinion, Compu$erve is highly overrated, ridiculously overpriced, and
>terribly unfriendly.  So there.

Dude, you cannot say that Compuserve IM is more unfriendly than Prodigy.
That's just not true.  Compuserve's flat rate is a pretty good deal, although
I won't argue that you may get more services from Prodigy since I don't have
it.  I tried Prodigy once but was so disgusted I threw it away before I
became violently ill.  Compuserve and AmericaOnline already have an
internet connection for mail.

Until Prodigy comes up with more than a DOS port, don't do it.

James
 
-- 
James W. Brown		-  I dream of the day when conservatives learn   	-
			-  the difference between a sin and a crime and  	-
			-  liberals learn the difference between a       	-
			-  virtue and a requirement.      --William A. Niskanen	-
From: jmt@elsegundoca.ncr.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: How should I Deal w/a Photographer from Hell?
Date: 11 Dec 92 22:22:50 GMT
Reply-To: jmt@elsegundoca.ncr.com ()
Distribution: world
Organization: ATT/NCR Teradata Business Unit
Originator: jmt@cm2

Hi netters... I could use your advice on how to resolve a dispute
between me and a photographer from hell.

Basically, I made a big mistake by paying ($1200+) in advance,
prior to actually seeing the finished product.  After four
month's of waiting and fighting, I'm pretty convinced that I'm
never going to receive satisfactory pictures or a refund without
involving one or more 3rd parties.

The initial 3rd parties that come to mind are the Better Business
Bureau and Small Claims Court.  I'd like to know if there are
other avenues which I should explore, and in particular, are
there any organizations specific to the photography profession
(e.g., licensing boards, professional societies?) whom I can
contact?

BTW, the photographer in question is William Edwards Photography
located in Sherman Oaks and Palmdale, California.  For anyone
considering using them, I'd strongly suggest that you hold on
to your money until AFTER you see the finished product, not
just the proofs (actually, this is probably good advice for
ANY purchases-- I just lost my head this time around).

Please respond via email.  I'll summarize any enlightening
responses.  I'd also be happy to supply additional gory details
via email by request.  Thanks in advance.
From: beers@acsu.buffalo.edu (Andrew Beers)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Midwest Micro
Date: 15 Dec 92 03:05:08 GMT
Organization: State University of New York at Buffalo/Comp Sci


Does anyone have experience with the company called MidWest Micro?  If so, I
would appreciate any comments on the products and service you have gotten from
them?

Thanks in advance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Andrew C. Beers, N2LUH             beers@cs.buffalo.edu  
SUNY Buffalo, Computer Science     {rutgers,uunet}!cs.buffalo.edu!beers
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: sam@wa4phy (Sam Drinkard)
Subject: Re: Auto Windshield Replacement; Orig. Equip. vs Brand X
Organization: none
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 16:43:16 GMT


If you go to your local glass replacement shop, more than likely, they will
tell you all about the different "grades" of glass.  I had my windshield
replaced here twice in 2 months.  First time was el-cheapo brand X glass,
and when a small pebble fractured it, I went back and specified either
OEM glass, or PPG.  Turns out that OEM was what I got.. Chrysler brand.
The 1st replacement (last time was 3rd) didn't last long before it was
pitted, scratched and dinged, purely from road sand blown up from running
many, many miles on Interstate hwys, and from driving in the SF Bay area.

sam

-- 
	S.W. Drinkard			| Internet: sam@wa4phy.async.com
	4428 Branchwood Drive		| Internet: sam@galois.nscf.org
	Martinez, GA  30907		| Amprnet : sam@wa4phy.ampr.org
	(706) 868-8029			 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: chrz@tellabs.com (Peter Chrzanowski)
Subject: Re: Telescopes?
Organization: Tellabs, Inc.
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 18:33:24 GMT

In article <9710047@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM>, raj@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Bob Jewett) writes:
> In misc.consumers, odell@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Bernard O'Dell) writes:
> 
> > Son who just moved to San Fran overlooking the Bay has
> > asked about a telescope for Christmas-I guess I should
> > have a better idea of what he intends to use it for, but
> > I don't--he says he is very high up overlooking the bay--
> > he could see the pilots of the Blue Angels as they flew by.
> > Soo, I've looked at the following brands--
> > 
> > 
> >   Jason 500x Rotary Power Astronomical Model 502-$215.
> >   Tasco 42 to 334X Astronomical -$299.
> >   Tasco 30 to 90X-Model 44TR-$120.
> >   Tasco 30 to 200X Model 132T-$195.
> >   Tasco 525X 60mm Model 58T-$110.
> > 
> Be forewarned that the list of telescopes you have above will most likely be
> considered trash in the sci.astro news group.

> 
Perhaps so, but that doesn't mean you can't get a useable instrument for
under $300.  You might look for a copy of Sky and Telescope magazine, most
larger newsstands carry it.  

Note that some astronomical telescopes invert the image, which is 
unfortunate if you want to use it for terrestrial observations.

Keep in mind that high magnification is useless unless you have a really
stable platform.  Even then high magnification is not useful for
astronomy unless you have an equatorial mount, as objects will drift
out of the field of view as the earth rotates.  In any case, the
magnifications claimed for the above telescopes are not useable
considering their small apertures and (likely) poor optics.

Finally, a good binocular (with tripod if it's high power) can be quite
useful for both astronomy and local observing, as can a long telephoto
lens and SLR camera.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.food.cooking
From: richard@pegasus.com (Richard Foulk)
Subject: Re: Visions (or other) cookwares?
Organization: Pegasus,  Honolulu
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 16:21:52 GMT

>
>I have Reverware and one of the handels for one of the pots broke off.
>I didn't do anything strenous to it.
>

Well the 25-year warranty should take care of that.


-- 
Richard Foulk		richard@pegasus.com
Organization: CUNY/UCC VM Systems
Date: Friday, 18 Dec 1992 13:15:06 EST
From: Robert Chambers <RMCCU@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Tape protection

A friend of mine owns a video store and spends untold hours
taking apart video tapes that have been mauled by people's machines.

The charge of a quarter per tape hardly would probably pay for one
re-furbished tape after several rentals. If you figure that the
cheapest way to repair a severely mangled tape is get a cheap blank
tape, put it in the shell of the chewed tape, and copy from a good one
to it.

I've often told her that the people that bring in the most mangled tapes
should be flagged in the computer and told "If this tape comes back eaten
by your VCR you will be charged the full purchase price for it"

Most tape eating is done by dirty VCR's since the tape sticks to things it
shouldn't and gets tangled up.  If you keep your vcr internally clean the
chances of eating a tape are a lot lower.

If you keep your VCR nice and clean this charge is certainly a waste
of a quarter.

Robert
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: bud@sq.sq.com (Bud Greasley)
Subject: Mail Orders Contacts
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 17:26:47 GMT


Could someone repost (or email me) a number for Mail Order Contact
companies.  I think I saw it in this group not too long ago, but I forgot
to save the article.

Bud Greasley
bud@sq.com
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:20965 misc.misc:4139 comp.sys.mac.comm:12266 comp.sys.mac:553