HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 18:59:50 CST
Organization: Garys' Home for Obsolete Computers

cornutt@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (David Cornutt) writes:

> I'm looking for a way to improve my FM radio reception.  I'm thinking
> of either buying or building a dipole unit that I can mount in the
> attic, but would be willing to consider one of those wierd-looking
> indoor units if someone could give me a recommendation.  Signal
> strength is not a problem here, but multipath is.  I seldom listen
> to more than one station, so retuning an antenna would not be much
> of a problem (as long as it didn't make it absolutely impossible to
> pick up anything else).

I don't know about the indoor things, but Radio Shack has an FM
antenna for less than $15, I think (been a while since I bought 
mine). A set of wall mount brackets, a piece of mast, and some
leadin should add another $20 or so.

Or, you can donate some money to HART (Huntsville Association
Rock Translators) so you can listen to WKDF.....  

(Obviously, I'm also in Huntsville.  :-) )

Gary Heston, at home....
gary@cdthq.uucp
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: asalerno@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (antonio.j.salerno..jr)
Subject: Re: Basement Water-proofing System
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 22:41:28 GMT

In article <1992Dec12.025616.18419@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r) writes:
>A while ago I saw a blurb in a magazine for a water-proofing system that
>consists of hollow baseboard-style panels which are to be glued to the
>bottom of a basement wall to guide water to a sump pump. This system
>was later mentioned here on the net, and one poster said that she had
>used it. Well, I could have sworn that I saved that posting, but it seems
>to have disappeared, and now I need to know the name of the manufacturer.
>
>I do mean *need* the name, too. My basement sprung a few more leaks this
>morning and I just spent the last 12 hours dashing downstairs every few
>minutes to run the shop vac. Please reply before the next rain!
>

I saw the same add, but called them for information on their other product 
(the underground downspout kit).  They sent me some nice info but I have not 
bought any of their products...  Maybe there were some other adds, I saw this
in "The Family Handyman".

Beaver Industries (Of St. Paul MN.)
890 Hersey Street
Dept. FH
Saint Paul, MN  55114

1-800-828-2947 (for oder and free info!)

Good luck,
Tony
(I am not associated with nor have I used any product from the above company)
-- 
=-=-= These opinions are nothing but my own, and I may not even want them =-=-=
Tony Salerno
antonio.j.salerno@att.COM                          "We're living in a society!"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - Seinfeld =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: aad@siemens.com. (Anthony Datri)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: big antenna in suburban area
Date: 14 Dec 92 22:03:36 GMT
Organization: Siemens Corp. Res., Inc.


I just moved into a place in a fairly rural area east of Princeton, NJ.
There's a very simple antenna in the attic, with the old-style flat
dual-conductor cable coming down.  Reception is nothing to brag about.
I recently saw an ad for a ~$70 indoor antenna from Winegard, but haven't
heard anything about it.

The local cableco (Storer) claims to not require a converter box, but they
lack the SF and Comedy channels, and have the nerve to want to charge me
a $50 installation fee.
--

======================================================================8--<
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: cheongi@austin.ibm.com (infan cheong)
Subject: New House Walkthrough
Originator: cheongi@infan.austin.ibm.com
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 22:22:33 GMT
Organization: IBM Austin


Someone on the net asked about new house walkthrough lately. We had just 
gone through a lot of frustrations recently with our first house. Now if 
the builder can finish fixing the very last problem on our list, we can 
close the deal next Monday.

We had our first walkthrough right after Thanksgiving. Before the official
walkthrough, we had spent a solid weekend in the house to find out all the
things we wanted the builder to fix. We even found out all the popping and
squeaking locations (coordinates) on the second floor. We finally came up 
with a 5-page list of problems in different area of the house. We then 
just went through the list with the salesperson and the foreman during the 
official walkthrough. 

During the second walkthrough, we found that a number of obvious problems 
that the builder didn't fix. The foreman and the salesperson came up with 
many ridiculous reasons and said that the problems were not fixable and 
they have tried, etc, etc. From many previous encounters with them, 
we have decided that they could lie through their teeth. And we were 
very frustrated every time we found something wrong with the house that 
they refused to fix. We finally wrote a letter and faxed it to the VP of 
the building company. In the letter, we listed all the remaining problems 
with the house and requested the builder the fix them to our satisfaction 
before closing. The VP immediately ordered the foreman to fix most things 
listed in our letter. Before we sent out the letter, the salesperson even 
threatened us that he would put our house back to the market if we didn't 
close the deal. He claimed that the house has been completed. 

From this experience, we concluded that we could have just written down
all the problems that the foreman refused to fix during the construction 
process and walkthroughs and sent out the letter to the VP earlier. 
It is a waste of time and frustrating trying to argue with 
the foreman. They must make us happy before closing and they are more 
anxious to close the deal. Also, I think it's a good idea to go through 
the home owner insurance booklet and find out what are being covered. 
Before closing, make sure that the builder fixes all the
things such as paint missing and floor squeaking to your satisfaction. 
Don't compromise if you are not happy with the house. 
  

        Infan Cheong

-- 
Infan Cheong                      awdnet:   cheongi@infan.austin.ibm.com
IBM AIX System Performance   Internet: cheongi@perfmap.austin.ibm.com
11400 Burnet Road, Bld. 906/9632  VNET:     CHEONGI AT AUSTIN
Austin, TX 78758-3493             phone:    (512) 838-2620, tie 678-2620
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: pjh@mccc.edu (Pete Holsberg)
Subject: Re: How to tell a REAL buyer's agent
Organization: The College On The Other Side Of Route One
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 17:33:34 GMT

In article <1gstivINNfnb@sixgun.East.Sun.COM> egreen@east.sun.com writes:
=It is blatently obvious who the mutual fund or motorcycle salesman
=works for, where his loyalties lie, who is paying his commission, and
=whose interests he represents.  In the traditional model of the RE
=industry, such loyalty of the selling agent is not at all so clear, and
=there are many RE's who, at best, will not actively work to correct a
=buyer's mistaken impression that they are working for the buyer.

What Ed says is true, as long as I can paraphrase it to "there are some
rotten apple RE salespeople." What he overlooks is several things.

1. The industry is changing. Local boards, national realtors
association, state governments, etc. are all requiring that an RE who
works with a potential buyer disclose to that buyer at their first
meeting that the RE's fiduciary relationship is with the seller. In
addition, that RE may offer the potential buyer a "buyers agency"
agreement which, if executed, CHANGES THAT RE's FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP
from seller to buyer.

2. The psychology of a selling agent (that is, an RE who works with the
buyer but who has not executed a buyers agency agreement) often works
against the fiduciary relationship! I know that this is illegal or at
least counter to the ethics of RE, but who do you think your
psychological allegiance would be with if you were an RE, the buyer who
you've spent many hours with and whom you've gotten to know as a person,
or the seller whom you've never met?

3.  Every successful RE depends on referrals from satisfied clients and
customers. It's folly for REs to alienate people.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: alexg@austin.ibm.com ()
Subject: Closing on the newly built home - need check list
Originator: alexg@madrid.austin.ibm.com
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 21:26:24 GMT
Reply-To: alexg@austin.ibm.com
Organization: IBM Austin


Consider getting a professional building inspector. Should not cost
more than $150-200 but you'll learn a lot about your future home.
At least his unbiased and not as excited as you are.

- Alex Gurevich
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,rec.food.cooking
From: macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis)
Subject: Re: Is a convection oven worth the cost ??
Organization: OSF Research Institute
Date: 17 Dec 92 20:03:29

In article <1992Dec16.191944.25854@news.mentorg.com> philip@mentorg.com (Philip Peake) writes:

   A convection oven is just a normal oven - the heated air is distributed
   simply by convection.

Please, let's not be pedantic!  Yes, a conventional oven is, strictly speaking, a
"natural convection oven", while the kind with a fan should be called a "forced
convection oven".  But the latter is familiarly called a "convection oven".  For
that matter, in conventional ovens, a larger part of the heat transfer happens by
radiation from the walls of the oven rather than convective transport of hot air.

   Higher price ovens are "fan assisted" - as the name suggests, they have an
   electric fan to circulate the hot air. They heat up marginaly faster, but their
   main benefit is that you have an even temperature - good if you want to bake
   large batches of something....  Paying the extra for a fan oven is only worth
   it if you are going to do large batch baking.

Large batches are one good application for even temperatures, but there are many
others, namely baking in general (no more burnt bottoms) and roasting (crisper
chicken skin with less danger of burning).  Reheating baked goods (even frozen
baked goods) is an application where the difference is particularly dramatic.

   More important is the cleaning method - there are three:

Oven cleaning methods are orthogonal to conventional vs. convection ovens.

	-s
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: allen@tessi.com (Allen Warren)
Subject: Re: T1-11 What is it?
Organization: Test Systems Strategies, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 15:59:43 GMT

howie@voodoo.boeing.com (howie) writes:

>Just curious.  Anybody know about this for siding.  How good is it?

I used it to side my garage.  I put it up and painted it and it's
still doing great, 5 years later.

allen
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: meir@watson.ibm.com (Meir Laker)
Subject: Summary: forced-hot-air vs baseboard heating: is it really "drier" heat?
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 15:53:42 GMT
Distribution: usa
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house

   From: giand@opencon.com (Deepak S. Gianchandani)
   Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1992 23:19:14 GMT

   	Also, my parents house is baseboard, oil heat, and in the
   winter it to would get dry (winter in New Jersey, on some days is very
   dry, humidity less than 30%), and as I stated earlier we would have an
   external humidifier to suppliment the air.

In summary, anecdotal "evidence" (supplied over the net and received
direct via email) seems split over whether forced hot air heat is any
drier than baseboard hot water heat.

If it is indeed drier, there were several interesting speculations
posited (via email) as to why:

1. I can speculate on that.  Perhaps with radiant heat you can achieve
the same subjective "warmth" level with a lower air temperature, and
consequently higher relative humidity.  In other words, energy is
being deliverd to your body (and walls, etc.) via radiation instead of
conduction.

Topher Eliot             Data General DG/UX Systems Administration Development

2. My conjecture is that the forced air system with its neccessary
pressure differentials to force air movement, also forces air from
leaky joints in the duct work into attics, walls and other places
where it is eventually forced out of the house.  (Just look at the
joints in sheet metal ducts; sometimes you can see through them.)
Also because of the pressure differentials, heated rooms will be at a
higher pressure than the room containing the blower, so that air will
be forced out at one place and drawn in at the other around windows,
doors, light fixtures, etc.

Erv  --  schroede@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Erwin Schroeder)

I find them both plausible and interesting.  I personally am surprised
that there is no absolute information available.  Hasn't any
university done a study on this?

Thanks,
Meir 
--
Meir Laker 

IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center      
P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598    
Phone: 914-945-2699  
Tieline: 862-2699

meir@watson.ibm.com
From: masticol@cadenza.rutgers.edu (Steve Masticola)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Liquid crystal windows
Date: 15 Dec 92 19:47:58 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


The following is posted for Peter Dressner (pdressne@netex.netx.com).
-S.

From: pdressne@netex.netx.com (Peter Dressner)
Organization: NetExpress Inc., Vienna, VA, USA


Hi.

Regarding LCD windows, I believe Edmund Scientific, in Barrington, NJ,
sells them. Call them up and ask for their catalog. Sorry, I don't
have their number.

I remember that they are somewhat expensive.

Since I am having trouble posting to the newsgroup, and there seem
to be a lot of people interested, maybe you could post this info
for me.

Thanks in advance.

Peter
From: fzjaffe@othello.ucdavis.edu (Rory Jaffe)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: WATER SOFTENER/PURIFICATION QUESTIONS - HELP!
Date: 17 Dec 92 06:34:07 GMT
Organization: University of California, Davis

$1200 for a water softener is outrageous!!!  Even the ones at Sears are
maybe a third of what you were quoted.  I bought (several years ago) one
that metered the water usage, knew the incoming hardness, and recharged
accordingly--I didn't have to guess about how often to recharge.  I
think it cost <$500 (my memory ain't so good no more :->).
From: li40199@prism.gatech.EDU (Ann Grusin)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Refinancing a home loan
Date: 16 Dec 92 13:52:15 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

This is posted for a friend.  Please respond to
li401lh@hydra.gatech.edu.

--------

I refinanced my home mortgage about 2 weeks ago.  What does the
old mortgage company usually charge when the load is paid off?  I
haven't heard anything from them yet.

Thanks.

Larry Hansard

-- 
Ann Grusin, Library Systems  
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
ann.grusin@library.gatech.edu
From: bob@hobbes.dtcc.edu (Bob Rahe)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Gas Dryer is not that hot
Date: 15 Dec 1992 02:03:12 GMT
Organization: Delaware Technical & Community College
NNTP-Posting-Host: hobbes.dtcc.edu

In article <1992Dec14.215939.9281@novell.com> bradley@novell.com (Brad Soe) writes:
>
>I have a gas dryer that has to be 18 years old or so. It was working fine
>until recently. The dryer does not heat up that much and takes a long time
>for close to dry. After about 60 min of drying, the dryer is not very hot, 
>and I noticed that there is some condensation on the door which drips on to 
>the floor. It takes a while, but eventually I can get the clothes to dry
>after over 2 hours of drying time.

Two possibilities come to mind quickly: first, and most likely given the
condensation you mention, is that the vent is clogged/blocked/etc.  Check
the output for freely flowing hot air.  Could be lint clogging the vent pipe,
flap outside jammed shut, flexible tubing got crunched etc. etc.  What
happens is that there is no air flow, the moisture can't get out of the dryer,
the firebox gets hot but not much else so the thermostats shut off the gas
to the heater.  The dripping condensation is most likely due to the pressure
buildup from the clog causing wet air to leak past the door seals.

  The other possibility is that you have some defective thermostats that 
regulate the temperature and/or the controls that set it.  A trickier
problem.

  My experience with either type of drier tho, would lay odds on the 
clogged venting system.  Quick test, disconnect the vent at the back of the
dryer.  Should produce a mini-gale and lots of heat reasonably quickly.

  Good luck,
     Bob


-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Bob Rahe, Delaware Tech&Comm College | AIDS, Drugs, Abortion: -        |
|Internet: bob@hobbes.dtcc.edu        |  - Don't liberals just kill you?|
|CI$: 72406,525 Genie:BOB.RAHE        |Save whales; and kill babies?    |
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: kevina@PROBLEM_WITH_INEWS_GATEWAY_FILE (Kevin Abernathy)
Subject: Re: OneTime MIP = Cashback ?
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 01:06:13 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard / Boise, Idaho
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.2 PL7]

Yes this is for real!  I was able to get over  $1500  back.  I'm sorry I
can't  remember  all the details but it goes  something  like this:  You
call  your  mortgage  company  to get your FHA case  number  and to make
certain that they have sent in the required  form  indicating to the FHA
that you have sold your house and are now  eligible to receive a refund.
While  you're  at it ask them for the  toll-free  number  where  you can
contact  the FHA  regarding  this.  Next call the toll free  number  and
listen to the automated  answering  service to decide who it is you want
to talk to.  When you get a human  being  explain  to them that you have
sold your house and wish to get your refund for the FHA insurance.  They
will take down some  information  and send you a form that you must fill
out that  basically  say's you were in fact the owner of said  property.
Fill out the form and send it in, wait  about six months and  BINGO!  If
you are  eligible  then you will get a refund of a  portion  of your FHA
insurance payment.

Some caveats.  In the information you receive you will find the terms of
eligibilty.  Basically  what this boils down to is when did you buy your
house?  Congress  (I believe)  did some  monkeying  around with the laws
regarding  FHA  insurance  during  certain  years in the 80's that could
impact how much if any of the money you will get back.  The  amount  you
get back is also  limited  by how long you had the loan  since  you will
receive a pro-rated amount.

Finally,  the most  important  thing to  remember  is this:  YOU have to
start the ball rolling.  It's not the responsibility of the Uncle Sam or
the Mortgage company to contact you to let you know about this.  (Not an
opinion,  simply  fact).  If you have  problems I found both my mortgage
company and (surprisingly) the people at FHA to be quite helpful.

It's been over a year since I went through this so I may have some of it
wrong, but I hope I've given you enought info to get started!

Good Luck!
Organization: CUNY/UCC VM Systems
Date: Thursday, 17 Dec 1992 16:05:56 EST
From: Robert Chambers <RMCCU@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Attic Insulation addenum

Sorry to confuse, but it appears I used the wrong word in my previous
post.  I have received some really useful info for the ceiling insulation
(which I will be doing as well).  My question (in my mind anyway) was
not the top of the ceilings but directly under the roof-timber which
is directly under the roof shingles.  My house is a cape style so the
rooms upstairs are technically in the attic.  The place I need to
insulate is the underside of the roof (the pitched part). The roof boards are
supported by 2" by 6".  This is where I'm worried about moisture buildup.


Sorry for the confusion and thanks to those who responded.

Robert
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: jeq@i88.isc.com (Jonathan E. Quist)
Subject: Re: How to tell a REAL buyer's agent
Organization: INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, Naperville, IL
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 22:46:29 GMT

In article <Bz2DpM.IFA@magpie.nycenet.edu> manes@magpie.nycenet.edu (Steve Manes) writes:
>Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher (egreen@east.sun.com) wrote:
>: Compared with other professions, where fudicial, moral, and ethical
>: loyalty between the professional and his client are clear, the RE
>: industry has *institutionalized* a system whereby there is a huge
>: potential for abuse.
>
>Oh, for crying out loud, what's your standard of ethics anyway?
>Sainthood? A real estate agent is a salesman, plain and simple, and
>is no more "morally bankrupt" than the guy who sells you a suit or
>a mutual fund or patio furniture or Kawasaki Ninja or WHATEVER.  You
>typically pay him or her by a commission on the sales price.  With
>such people you always use your best judgment, or wish you had
>later.  If you work for any company, in any kind of capacity, it is
>also expected (on both sides) that when communicating with a potential
>company client that you will varnish the truth in favor of the folks
>who sign your paycheck even if it means being less than candid about
>the flaws in your product.

During the past 8 years I have been asked to place our client's interests
ahead of my employer's interests.  I have even been asked to place a client's
interests ahead of my personal priorities on occasion.

The day my employer asks me to "varnish the trush" is the day
they get my resignation.
-- 
Jonathan E. Quist                              INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation
jeq@i88.isc.com  '71 CL450-K4 "Gleep", DoD #094        Naperville, IL
        There are many things a person should experience in a lifetime.
       Among them are an infant's first cry, and an infant's first laugh.
From: slm@cs.arizona.edu (Sandy Miller)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: curtains for sliding glass door
Date: 14 Dec 92 17:54:57 GMT
Organization: U of Arizona, CS Dept, Tucson

In article <9212121859.AA03731@golf.visix.com>, eric@golf (Eric Wiseblatt) writes:
|> 
|> I just bought a house with a pair of sliding glass doors and would like to put
|> up curtains (or draperies?).  There is an existing traverse rod on each
|> which draws from one end toward the other.
|> 
|> I am under the impression that to cover an area that wide (72"), the draperies
|> come in 2 halves.  How does a one hang 2 independent pieces of material on a
|> rod which only draws from one end?  There is nothing to pull half the material.
|> 
|> Are these one-way draw traverse rods for vertical blinds?  Can I get standard
|> draperies which will cover 72" of window?  I think I would prefer having the
|> draperies split in the middle so that I can tie them back.  Do I want a
|> different traverse rod.  Should I convince myself that I really do like
|> vertical blinds?
|> 
|> Thanks for any insight.
|> 
|> - eric

Usually curtains over sliding glass doors pull to one side (the side that
doesn't open) so they don't interfere with going in and out the door.
Our house has 3 sliding glass panels, two 8 feet wide and one 6 feet wide
(4 and 3 foot doors).  These are fairly standard sizes.  I was able to find
inexpensive one piece curtains for all of them.  Sears, Penneys, KMart,
Target and Walmart all carry them.

You can hang two piece curtains that pull to both sides, but you will need
different traverse rods.  I don't think you can change the one-way draw
rods into two-way draw.

One-way draw, or opening-in-the-middle -- it just depends on what look
you want.

-sandy