HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: neilw@informix.com (Neil Williams)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: ----- Follow up -----
Date: 15 Apr 92 21:13:03 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

In article <1992Apr15.032747.1649@scott.skidmore.edu> jreiser@scott.skidmore.edu (jason reiser) writes:
>Yes, this is very possible.  I too am nearsighted (about -2.5 in both
>eyes) and found that when I first got my lenses, I would get headaches
>for about a week and had trouble adjusting to near vision.  I had
>trouble focusing when reading and would sometimes take my lenses out.
>This is especially a problem when changing to a higher power of
>magnification (more negative for nearsightedness).  The eyes have to
>learn how to focus at close distances with this new and different
>obstacle you have placed in front of them.  Try this... grab a book
>and start reading.  If at first, you find yourself struggling to
>focus, but ARE ABLE to do so, it's just a matter of adjusting to your
>new perscription.  If you are not at all able to focus the letters on
>the page, there might be some kind of problem

You can also get reading glasses to wear over your contacts,
to "reduce" the power somewhat, making it easier on your eyes 
over long periods.  I seem to recall one of my optomotrists
suggesting this for me a while back, but I didn't really find
it neccessary, so I declined.

--Neil
From: chrz@tellabs.com (Peter Chrzanowski)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Sales tax on cars
Keywords: state sales tax
Date: 6 Apr 92 22:40:55 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Tellabs, Inc.

In article <1992Apr3.200324.19849@b11.ingr.com>, lester@naomi.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Les Bartel) writes:
> In article <1992Apr1.201034.4318@cbnewsj.cb.att.com>, vjd11@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (virgil.j.duncan) writes:
> |> While purchasing a new car I noticed that one has to pay state
> |> sales tax only on the difference between the new car price and the
> |> trade-in price.
> 
> You only spent the difference didn't you?  Why should you pay sales
> tax on money you didn't spend?  

I don't see what "should" has to do with it.  There's no requirement
that laws, especially tax laws, have to make sense.

Try this one.  I bought my last car for cash.  It cost $9400.
That is, it was $10,400. with a $1000. rebate.  Of course, I didn't
hand the dealer $10,400. and get $1000. back; I just paid $9400.

I would say that this was not a $10,400. car that happened to cost
$9400.  After all, a thing is worth what it will fetch in the market
and I'm sure the dealer would have sold it for $10,400. if that
were possible.  Nonetheless, the state got sales tax on the whole
$10,400. even though I really paid only $9400.

To me, that doesn't make sense.   Unfortunately, "making sense" is 
not a constitutional requirement in the U.S.A. (or in any other
country, as far as I know).
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: mpb@troy.uucp (27331-bunz)
Subject: Re: Discrimination at Mitsubishi
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 92 14:19:46 GMT

In article <1992Apr14.132055.1987@crd.ge.com>, kornfein@azores.crd.ge.com (Mark M. Kornfein) writes:
> In article <1992Apr13.202933.21913@linus.mitre.org> rajiv@hilltop.mitre.org (Rajiv Kohli) writes:
> >
> >	This is the text of a series of conversations I had
> >	with Nashua Mitsubishi's Manager, Avery Beland, in Nashua,NH.
> >	If you are as upset as I was after reading this please register
> >	your dissatisfaction by calling this dealer or the Mitsubishi
> >	headquarters and complaining.
> >Subject: 	Breach of Contract and Vulgarity/harassment
> 
> 
> While there is never a reason for Vulgarity and harassment it seems to me 
> your actions were not in my opinion 100% ethical either. You bought a car
> at the lowest price skipping your local dealer and just 3 weeks later brought
> it to a competing dealer. I think most people would return to the dealer
> they bought it from for service even if it was a bit farther. Warrenty work is
> for the most part not a money maker for a dealer but a cost of doing buisness.
> 
> If I was the Nashua dealer I would be upset also, but they clearly should 
> have taken care of you.
> Mark Kornfein                            INET: kornfein@crd.ge.com 
Ah, but warrentee work IS a money maker, they simply charge back
to the manufacturer!  In general, the money maker for a car dealership
is the SERVICE department.

I can see why the dealer might be a little miffed after spending a lot
of time with a customer not to make the sale, but this is rediculous.
They should have serviced the car and worked to build up a relationship
so that he would buy there next time, even if the price were a little
higher.

Marc
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: ah595@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Eric J. Hess)
Subject: Sharp 27" TV
Reply-To: ah595@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Eric J. Hess)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 92 15:37:41 GMT


I have a chance to purchase a Sharp 27" Stereo TV Model #27A-5100
for $400.00.  Does anyone have any comments (good or bad) about
the TV itself?

Thanks,
Eric
From: joanne@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Joanne Petersen)
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 17:54:09 GMT
Subject: Re: goodbye Heathkits
Organization: Hewlett-Packard PAITC Data Center
Newsgroups: misc.consumers

So does anyone have a Heathkit weather station to sell? :-)

(Only half-joking -- my father-in-law is interested in one of those and 
hasn't been able to find one..... now I know why.....  If anyone knows of
a replacement that would be similar (or better :-), please let me know by
e-mail!)
From: tmkk@uiuc.edu (K. Khan)
Subject: Re: ***WARNING: BE CAREFUL WHEN DEALING WITH ALLSTATE INSURANCE!***
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 15:07:14 GMT


In article <1992Apr9.192825.8032@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> stank@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (Stan Krieger) writes:
>
>This is a perfect example of my posting a few days ago as to why auto
>insurance rates are so high. Cosmetic damage was done to the car, a low
>cost reasonable restoration was available, but the car owner wanted
>more.  The fact is that when we take our cars on the road, or leave
>them on the streets or public parking areas, we are taking a risk; we
>can't be so naive as to assume that damage won't be done to our cars,
>nor can we believe that we're entitled for perfect restoration as 
>opposed to fully functional restoration (and as I implied earlier,
>for less damage, such as a "ding" when a car door is opened into 
>another car, it's a jar of touch-up paint).

All I have to say is THANK GOD people like you aren't in control when it
comes to who gets paid for what when someone damages someone else's
property. However, it's nice to know that, should I one day lose my mind
entirely, get drunk, and drive my car at high speed through your living
room window, that I'll only have to pay for a plastic tarp to keep the
rain out and not a complete restoration of your house to the condition
it was before I trashed it. After all, your house is taking a risk by
being parked on the side of the street like that, and the plastic tarp
provides all the functionality that your windows did (it lets in light
and keeps out rain).

BTW, the REAL reason insurance rates are so high is due to a) the higher
cost of cars (and thus the higher cost of repairing those cars), coupled
with our litigation-happy society which sues at the drop of a hat and
gives the undeserving big dollar judgements ("I fell off the ladder,
your honor, and it didn't have a label on it saying that I could fall
off." "Judgement for plaintiff for $Billions and $Billions.")

Put the blame where it belongs, and don't make the victim of someone else's
negligence a DOUBLE victim.

Xref: sparky misc.consumers:10295 alt.business.multi-level:125
From: marks@ssdevo.enet.dec.com (Randy Marks)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Laundry Detergent recommendations
Date: 15 Apr 92 14:56:36 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp. - Colorado Springs


In article <khlcu.1@emerald.cc.columbia.edu>, khlcu@emerald.cc.columbia.edu (Kenneth Lee) writes...
>Can anyone give me any recommendations on laundry detergent that doesn't 
>have perfume in it and doesn't cause allergic reactions?

Just last night I saw a TV commercial for a laundry detergent that has
not perfumes or dyes in it.  It was a clear liquid and had the word FREE
as part of its name.  Sorry I can't recall more details.

	Randy Marks
(UUCP)	                {decvax,ucbvax,allegra}!decwrl!ssdevo.enet!marks
(INTERNET)              marks@ssdevo.enet.dec.com
(domain-based INTERNET) marks%ssdevo.enet@decwrl.dec.com
..........................................................................
	"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe
	while the legislature is in session."
..........................................................................
From: lindab@matt.ksu.ksu.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Contact lens: HELP needed !!!
Date: 13 Apr 1992 12:59:21 -0500
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: matt.ksu.ksu.edu


     I joined the group about a couple of months ago.  Please
forgive me if I asked a FAQ question.

     I need some help on disposable, soft contact lenses.  I live
in a small university town of Kansas.  A couple of days ago, I went
to an optometrist in town for an eye exam.  Since I play basketball
a lot and have broken too many pairs of glasses, I want to get a
pair of contact lenses.  The doctor recommended disposable, clear,
soft contact lenses (a pair every 3-month period with a year of
supply, including 1-year supply of cleaning solutions).  The cost
was $280.00 (including $47.00 for the eye exam).  The regular daily
soft contact lenses were $230.00.  When I asked them about the
quality between these two types of lenses, the nurse (?) told me
that the doctors now are actually trying to get all their patients
on disposal lenses.  Therefore I chose it.

     When I was trying them in doctor's office and found right away
that my left vision was not as good as the right one.  I told the
doctor about this, and he told that it might take some time for my
eyes to get used to it and asked me to come back in a week.  The
strange thing was the next.  He then told me that he would try
correct it if I still have the problem next week, but he could not
guarantee it would get much better.  I thought contact lenses are
supposed to give most people a much better vision than regular
glasses (right or wrong ?).  Right now, I can see objects in a long
distance very well; however, the words in books or on computers
look bleary. 

     I am going to see the doctor again next Tue.  Before I go, I
want to get some idea about soft contact lenses.  I need some help
from you guys in the group.  My questions are:

1.   Is $280 a fair rate for this type of disposable lenses ?
2.   What about the quality of disposable soft lenses ?  Could the
     problem I mentioned earlier be caused by poor quality of that
     particular pair of lenses I was given ?
3.   Would I be better off just to stay with the regular daily soft
     lenses (somehow I got an impression they were trying to sell
     these disposable lenses) ?

     Your comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

     Thanks in advance.



Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: miller@dg-rtp.dg.com (Mark T. Miller)
Subject: New Canadian Lotto Scam?
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 92 22:28:06 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC.

I just received in the mail an offer to depart with $9.95 to
participate in the Canadian lottery.  Text below, then a couple
questions about it's scam-i-ness:

	"YOU have been selected for entry in a special Canadian Lotto
	6/49 group program. You and your group get 84 sets of computer
	selected Lotto numbers in the official Canadian Lotto 6/49 game
	for the next 10 drawings.  You and 249 other Americans in your 
	group will share all the proze money won duriong the 5 weeks of
	play. (Prizes are drawn twice weekly, on Wednesday and Saturday)
	The total prize money given away in prizes over 10 drawings should
	be well over $100 million dollars. All prize money is paid out
	lump sum, and no taxes are paid in Canada on lottery winnings."

This offer was interesting, in that recently some European grouping of
people won a huge pot in one of the state's lotteries.

anyways, seems like the first scam is that they take your money and do nothing!
Next scam thougt is, how can they buy "840 chances to win" for 9.95? 
How much does it cost to enter the 6/49 Lotto? My guess is $.50 to $1.00
per entry (though I don't mess with lotteries, I lose my money on Wall St!:()
So if it costs much more to buy all these chances, and they claim it all
is distibuted, then it must be a scam - right?


(My mother plays the lottery, and I was thinking of getting her to send
 me $5.00, I'd split the pot. . .:-)


Thanks,
Mark M.

	Mark T. Miller					miller@dg-rtp.dg.com
							...uunet!xyzzy!miller
From: ald@clipper.ingr.com (Al Date)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Radio Towers as a neighbor
Date: 10 Apr 92 01:45:01 GMT
Organization: Intergraph Advanced Processor Division - Palo Alto, CA

In article <1992Mar31.003908.4397@morrow.stanford.edu> charlie@lindy.Stanford.EDU (Charlie Channel, Jr.) writes:
>In article <2390197@hp-vcd.vcd.hp.com> seb@hp-vcd.vcd.hp.com (Steve Bauer) writes:
>>
>>    Has anyone lived near a radio tower?  What effects did you observe?
>
>My intercom gets the same station all the time.
>

I've noticed an increased propensity toward filing nervous postings to
the net.

--Al Date
From: rtsmohd@memstvx1.memst.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Fingerhuts 800 number
Date: 9 Apr 92 16:12:20 -0600
Distribution: world
Organization: Memphis State University



Can anyone give me 1-800 phone number for Fingerhuts........


Thanks in advance.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.privacy
From: epstein@sunc7.cs.uiuc.edu (Milt Epstein)
Subject: Re: capturing caller id data
Reply-To: epstein@cs.uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 21:20:55 GMT

In <8bYf02a7c0uY00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> jsp@uts.amdahl.com (James Preston) writes:

>gilbert@mdd.comm.mot.com (John Gilbert) writes:
>
>}For most people, the answering machine could meet their needs... for others
>}who have more stringent requirements, a personal code system would do the
>}job.  Neither NEEDS CLID.  Both are available NOW.  For use ANYWHERE.
>
>}Tell you what, why not take a moment and describe HOW you will use CLID to
>}get what you want.  Be sure to include calls from people you did not
>}anticipate, and ones from people you know, but are not at a number you
>}would expect them to be at.  Let's say the call is somewhat urgent...
>
>John, don't you ever get tired of beating your head against this same wall?
>I answered the above question for you the last time this went around.  You
>didn't really listen to my answer then, and I don't see you really listening
>now, either.  You just keep telling people what they want.  You are so
>focused on what you see as the shortcomings of CID that you can't seem to
>acknowledege the shortcomings that others see in answering machines and
>secret codes.

He is not telling people what they want, but rather asking them what
their specific needs and wants are, and telling them what (he feels)
meets their desires better.  If people simply reply with "I still want
Caller ID", then who is not listenting?

There are shortcomings on both sides, so which you prefer depends on
how you evaluate the tradeoffs between the advantages and the
disadvantages of each.  However, Caller ID (without blocking) has one
very big disadvantage -- that of making it much easier for others to
get one's phone number.  This suggests proceeding with caution and
looking into other alternatives that might meet people's needs.


>So let's try an experiment.  Here is how I will use CID:  If I recognize
>the incoming number, I will decide whether or not I want to talk to the
>persons or persons associated with that number and act accordingly.  If
>I don't recognize the number, I will either take the chance and answer 
>it anyway or I will ignore it, depending on my mood at the time.  If that
>means I miss an urgent call, then that's just too bad for me.  It was my
>choice, and I'm willing to live with the consequences.

That is fine, but 

1. that is not how the poster who John Gilbert was responding to
implied that he would use Caller ID,

2. you admit that Caller ID will not meet all of your needs,

3. the amount of benefit you gain will not be that significant over
current methods (e.g. always letting calls go to your answering
machine or always answering them).  The exact amount of benefit can be
determined by an analysis of the kinds of calls you get.

-- 
Milt Epstein
Department of Computer Science
University of Illinois
epstein@cs.uiuc.edu
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:10430 rec.autos:11286
From: gadfly@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (Gadfly)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.autos
Subject: Re: Buy American parrots (was Re: 1991 Lincoln Continental.)
Summary: Wise up!
Date: 13 Apr 92 19:08:07 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers
Organization: AT&T

In article <1992Apr13.005306.17558@informix.com>, neilw@informix.com
(Neil Williams) writes:
> ...and how about that bill to make it illegal to fire striking workers???
> Simply incredible that this is even a remote possibility.
> These big unions (e.g. UAW) are just killing American industry.

Poppycock!  Although those big unions have certainly been playing
along with the real culprits--American "quarterly profits uber alles"
management.  It certainly is easier to blame the worker, but what's
broken is the *system*, for which management is almost completely
responsible.  Sounds like Marx?  Sorry, it's W. Edwards Deming.

You might want to reflect for a moment on why those unions exist
in the first place--on the squalid, inhuman conditions in which men,
women, and children were forced to work until they banded together to
campaign for their basic rights, most of which you simply take for
granted today.  You might also want to reflect for a moment on the
fraction of the American workforce that is unionized today, a near-
irrelevant 15%.  It's a lot higher in Germany and Japan, where the
cost of labor is higher than in the US, yet their industrial sectors
are relatively healthy.  Of course, they had to change--they lost
the war.  Or did they?

American unions and American management have become deadlocked in a
hopelessly antiquated system which no longer works.  The unions help to
perpetuate it, but only management can change it.  *That's* who's
killing American industry--not the guy on the line paid $40,000/yr to
make shoddy products, but the guy in the board room paid $1,000,000/yr
to squander the company's future.

               *** ***
Ken Perlow   ***** *****
13 Apr 92   ****** ******   24 Germinal An CC
            *****   *****   gadfly@ihlpa.ATT.COM
             ** ** ** **
...L'AUDACE!   *** ***   TOUJOURS DE L'AUDACE!  ENCORE DE L'AUDACE!
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: dye@i88.isc.com (Ken R. Dye )
Subject: Re: Discrimination at Mitsubishi
Organization: INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, Naperville, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 21:52:52 GMT

In article <1992Apr13.202933.21913@linus.mitre.org> rajiv@hilltop.mitre.org (Rajiv Kohli) writes:
>
>	This is the text of a series of conversations I had
>	with Nashua Mitsubishi's Manager, Avery Beland, in Nashua,NH.
>rajiv@mbunix.mitre.org
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Attachments:
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Calls - 1,2,3
>Complaint letter to Mitsubishi,etc
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>The following are the text of the conversation:

....long text of conversations deleted.....


? is this from memory, or did you record the conversation?

--Ken
-- 
Ken R. Dye				an optimist is a guy		 |
Interactive Systems Corp., Chicago	that has never had		 | 
(800) LAI-UNIX x341			much experience			 |
dye@i88.isc.comm						archy	 |
From: jack@myamiga.mixcom.com (Jack Decker)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Business cards
Date: 13 Apr 92 19:47:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: f8.1992Apr13.13d255
Organization: Northern Bytes BBS - Sault Ste. Marie, MI U.S.A.


 > rcf@pnet01.cts.com (Bob Forsythe) writes:
 >
 > [...]
 >
 > >     Locally, Von's Supermarkets does a program each year where they
 > >contribute so much toward a computer for a school for each cashier's ticket
 > >the school collects.  It gets them publicity and people are aware that
 > >shopping at Von's helps schools.  May be the same thing with the pop-tops.
 > >There's more to these charity gimics than the intrinsic value of the item
 > >being collected.
 >
 >    The local Wegman's supermarket chain did a similar thing in this area
 >    a few months back, so it's clear that Bob is right, here.  I must admit,
 >    however, that there are SO many urban legends which surround this sort
 >    of thing that a check on any story's veracity is mandatory.

Both of the large supermarket chains in my neck of the woods (Glen's and
SuperValu) also do this, but they will give funds to any non-profit group or
organization.  The amount is 1% of the total purchase and the value of the slip
is printed right on the slip (it's called the Save-Share amount, or something
like that... so if you purchased $50 in merchandise, the "Save-Share" amount
would be 50 cents and the slip would be worth that much when turned in by a
non-profit organization.  Schools, youth groups, church groups and a whole
bunch of other non-profit organizations get their members to save the slips.  I
do think the slips have to be turned in in a certain manner, with the amounts
added up and tallied on a paper adding machine tape, but the stores give away a
lot of money every year on these.

Jack Decker                               | No, I don't own an Amiga; I just
Internet address: jack@myamiga.mixcom.com | get Internet mail via a gateway
Fidonet address:  1:154/8                 | system that runs on an Amiga.
From: lalonde@semifs3 ( rd)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: New Canadian Lotto Scam?
Date: 10 Apr 92 03:04:48 GMT
Reply-To: lalonde@semi.mitel.com
Distribution: na
Organization: Mitel Semiconductor

miller@dg-rtp.dg.com (Mark T. Miller) writes:

>I just received in the mail an offer to depart with $9.95 to
>participate in the Canadian lottery.  Text below, then a couple
>questions about it's scam-i-ness:

>	"YOU have been selected for entry in a special Canadian Lotto
>	6/49 group program. You and your group get 84 sets of computer
>	selected Lotto numbers in the official Canadian Lotto 6/49 game
>	for the next 10 drawings.  You and 249 other Americans in your 
>	group will share all the proze money won duriong the 5 weeks of
>	play. (Prizes are drawn twice weekly, on Wednesday and Saturday)
>	The total prize money given away in prizes over 10 drawings should
>	be well over $100 million dollars. All prize money is paid out
>	lump sum, and no taxes are paid in Canada on lottery winnings."

Hmmmmmmm.
      Yes the tickets cost $1.00 Cdn each and are good for only one draw. 
      84 sets * $1.00 * 10 drawings = $840.00
Now:
      You + 249 other Americans = 250
      250 * 9.95 = $2487.50
      $2487.50 * 1.15 = $2860.63 Cdn.

       That looks like a tidy $2020.63 profit per group every 5 weeks.
      That's if I interpreted the deal correctly.
       The odds of winning 6/49 are 1 in 14Million+.


-- 
==============================================================================
Terry Lalonde (613)592-2122   | "the war between mainframes and micros is over
Usenet:...!uunet!mitel!lalonde| and the network has won" 
Internet: lalonde@mitel.com   |                Editors Network Computing 01/91
From: amp@cbnews.cb.att.com (anit.patel)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Info on camcorders
Date: 7 Apr 92 18:42:57 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: AT&T


Need info and recommendation on latest camcorders in $700-$1200
price range for home and recreational use.  Info on common and a
few special features, like editing, graphics, lenses, and its worth 
will be of lot of help.  Light weight is a prefered feature.

Anit Patel