HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: pschmidt@athena.mit.edu (Peter H. Schmidt)
Subject: Re: Am I NUTS or What??
Followup-To: ne.general
Summary: P(right-of-way) = k*p/V
Organization: Midnight Networks
Distribution: ne.general
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 17:34:08 GMT

In article <BrKD7o.638@world.std.com> adamg@world.std.com (Adam M Gaffin) writes:
>Sorry, but whoever has the least to lose has the right of way, e.g.,
>when I had an '81 Omni with half a bumper, liberal amounts of rust and a
>crushed-in hood, I always had the right of way.  

This is correct, as far as it goes, but since I used to commute to BBN through
the Fresh Pond rotaries, I had ample time to refine this concept.  Based on my
years of observation/combat, I believe that the probability of one's obtaining
the right of way at the expense of another vehicle is described by the formula

                                     p
                P(right-of-way) = k ---
                                     V

p = mv (momentum), V = value of your vehicle, k = agressiveness/insanity index

Thus, an '81 Omni does well by having a low V, but would usually lose out to
an '81 F350 dump truck because of the truck's greater mass (=> >p), unless
maybe it was stopped (p = 0).

This relation explains all sorts of things about Boston Driving, e.g.:

        o Driving as fast as possible for the road/conditions pumps up p;
          fighter-pilots call this principal "keeping your energy up" when
          talking about dogfighting
        o Bicyclists and pedestrians can get the right of way by being *nuts*
          (high k overcomes low p and high V)
        o A bus or semi can cut off both lanes of an arterial successfully
          by rolling _slowly_ out into the road (high m makes for high p
          even with small v; also, V tends to be diminished by driver not
          being the vehicle's owner)
        o Hanging on the bumper of the car in front of you gets you through 
          the intersection because you have effectively doubled m by
          "attaching" your car to the one in front.

I experimentally verified this relationship by buying a F150 pickup to commute
with, replacing my Mazda 323.  The effect was immediatley noticeable: I almost
never get cut off anymore, people almost always let me change lanes in front
of them, and small cars doing 65 in the left lane of the Pike get out of my
way smartly when I come up behind them at 75.  Having the pickup has made
driving around here a lot more pleasant, actually.

(This may explain the recent rise in popularity in trucks/sport-utility
vehicles among people who 10 years ago would never have considered driving
anything but a car.  I buy a big truck and increase my P(r-o-w), so then you
have to buy one to keep up.  It's an arms race :-)

Vroooom! *honk* _errrrrrr_ -- Peter

--
Peter H. Schmidt        | ...mit-eddie!winter!pschmidt  |  MIDNIGHT NETWORKS
33 Plantation Street    | winter!pschmidt@eddie.mit.edu | voice: 508-987-6327
Oxford, MA 01540        |    -- Speaking for myself.    |   fax: 508-987-6328
Xref: sparky ne.general:2102 rec.photo:13158
From: James_J_Kowalczyk@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: ne.general,rec.photo
Subject: Re: Anyone know a cheap, GOOD, place to get photos developed?
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 18:16:54 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
  <ALG.92Jul24184727@idt124.is.morgan.com>
  <1992Jul27.001455.9198@cs.umb.edu>

As far as cheap film developing goes, I have been using Clark Color Labs
for about a year now, and I have been very satisfied.  As with *any* 
mail order service (and this includes most pharmacies, supermarkets, etc.),
you are taking a bit of a chance:  film might get lost in the mail,
negatives might get scratched, etc. (though these have not happened to me
yet).  However, Clark's quality is at least as good as any of the 
others I tried (CVS, Shaw's, Brandlee's), at LESS THAN ONE THIRD the price.

About 2 weeks ago, I sent Clark 5 rolls of 35 mm film (24 exposures),
and got my 4x6" double prints in about a week, all for $24.50 + $4.25 shippin
& handling + $2.03 postage = $30.78.

I have not noticed too much of a problem with color on my prints, but I 
have only ever sent them Kodak "Gold" and their own "Clark" brand (which
was not too bad, actually).

They have P.O. boxes in about 12 cities across the country.
(P.O. Box 991, Boston, MA  02103).


Jim Kowalczyk
Eisai Research Institute
Andover, MA  01810

James_J_Kowalczyk@cup.portal.com     JimK40@aol.com
Newsgroups: ne.general
From: spike@coke.std.com (Joe Ilacqua)
Subject: Re: Why did the Red line cross the tracks?
Organization: Software Tool & Die
	<SPIKE.92Jul27164343@coke.std.com> <Bs4n4K.C8K@world.std.com>
Distribution: ne
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 16:43:01 GMT

In <Bs4n4K.C8K@world.std.com> adamg@world.std.com (Adam M Gaffin) writes:
<Washington Street has become a major thoroughfare, and there's just
>no way you can squeeze both LRVs and cars through Brighton Center.

	It is true, for half a mile or so around Brighton Center, you
couldn't pass an LRV.  So what?  You can't pass the buses now.  It's
not like the trains are going to be parked, they are going to be
moving along.

<One proposal somebody raised: extend the trackless trolley line from
<Watertown Square, which not only would solve the diesel problem but
<provide better access to Harvard Square.

	Problem: The bus could not go beyond the end of Brighton Ave,
without installing new power lines, since the can't share them with
the B line.  You'd have to build a turn around for the buses at the
corner of Brighton & Comm and there is no room.

<Does it really make sense to spend $250 million to restore commuter rail
<to the South Shore, or even $50 million to extend it to Worcester when so
<few people will use it?  Why not use that money for improving mass transit
<where people would actually take advantage of it?

	What makes you think people won't?  From personal experience I
know that large numbers of people take the "purple line" in from
Providence, So. Attleboro, and Attleboro stations.  Why wouldN'T
people on the South Shore and west of 128 (or 495) make use of the
commuter rail?  Every been on the SouthEast Expressway or at the
Weston Tolls at rush hour?

	I belive if public transportation is there and reliable people
will use it.

->Spike
From: dmostrom@auratek.UUCP (Douglas E. Mostrom)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Recommendations for work around the house sought
Keywords: electrical, plumbing, carpentry, painting, chimney sweeps
Date: 30 Jul 92 00:47:22 GMT
Distribution: ne
Organization: Aurora Technologies, Inc.; Cambridge, Mass.


Hi Everyone,

I am still in the process of getting the hang of this homeowner thing.
I am looking for some recommendations for reliable people to do different
types of work around the house.  I would expect that these people
would be insured, so that if they, say, fell through my ceiling and broke
their leg, they a) would pay their own hospital bills, and b) would fix
the hole they created.  (Is this a reasonable expectation?)  Proximity
to Woburn is a plus.

Specifically I am looking for:

 - Electricians

 - Plumbers

 - Someone to do some light carpentry.

 - Painters (external).

 - Exterminators (termite and carpenter ant, although I may find
   use for rodent experience).

 - Chimney sweeps (ought to be able to do some light masonry and
   install chimney caps).  I have some questions related to this.
   How do I determine if I need a chimney cap?  Why do the prices
   on them vary so greatly?

 - Landscapers (mainly for tree pruning and/or removal).

 - Locksmiths.

If there is sufficient interest, I will summarize for the net.  Is
there a more appropriate newsgroup or mailing list in which to post
this request?  I know that DEC has an internal notes file that covers
such topics, but I am not aware of anything for the general USENET
community.

						Thanks,
						Doug

-- 
Doug Mostrom				Phone:	(617) 290-4800
Aurora Technologies, Inc.		FAX:	(617) 290-4844
176 Second Avenue			Email:	dmostrom@auratek.com
Waltham, MA  02154			or	uunet!auratek.com!dmostrom
From: msaletni@jade.tufts.edu (Michael J. Saletnik)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: Why did the Red line cross the tracks?
Date: 28 Jul 92 15:13:35 GMT
Distribution: ne
Organization: Tufts University - Medford, MA

I got a few of my "inbound" and "outbound" references mixed up on that
previous post, but you get the idea.
:-)
					Mike
--
Michael J. Saletnik, Tufts University E'91 G'93  / I reserve the right
Department of Civil Engineering Computer Lab TA / to be utterly and
michael@binkley.ext.tufts.edu (daily uucp)     / completely wrong.
From: betsys@cs.umb.edu (Elizabeth Schwartz)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: Why did the Red line cross the tracks?
Date: 28 Jul 92 18:16:08 GMT
	<HROSE.92Jul25155206@rocza.eff.org>
Distribution: ne
Organization: University of Massachusetts at Boston

Let me clarify this. 
  At Harvard, the upper level tracks are outbound and the lower level
tracks are inbound.
  At Porter, on the other hand, the upper level tracks are INBOUND and
the outbound is on the LOWER level.
  I think Porter is lower than Harvard, so this means that the
outbound track drops much more than the inbound track. Why was it
designed this way? Wouldn't it have been easier to have the same track
on the top at both stations?
  
--
System Administrator                  Internet: betsys@cs.umb.edu
MACS Dept, UMass/Boston               BITNET:ESCHWARTZ%UMBSKY.DNET@NS.UMB.EDU
100 Morrissy Blvd                     Staccato signals
Boston, MA 02125-3393                      of constant information....
From: dand@buscard.fidonet.org (Dan Davidson)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: what does the globe's
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 20:18:00 EDT
X-Maildoor: WaflineMail 1.00r

 -=> Quoting Michael A. Gelman to All <=-

 MAG> Can anyone tell me the purpose of the cryptic one-liner over the
 MAG> weather on the front page of the Boston Globe?  Today's was something
 MAG> about "air gasp", I think.  I don't understand any of them. 

They're *all* puns.  Even those of us who enjoy puns don't appreciate
all of those.

                                                 -- Dan --


... THINK! or thwim.
--- Blue Wave/QWK v2.10
From: eaton@cfa.harvard.edu (Commander X-2)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: CT motor vehicle reg. info needed
Date: 22 Jul 92 17:13:22 GMT
Distribution: ne
Organization: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA,  USA


  I'm moving to Connecticut in about a month.  Any advice/info on
  transferring my drivers liscenc, auto registration, and getting
  auto insurance?  e-mail to eaton@kodos.harvard.edu
  Thanks,
  Nancy
From: jm13@gte.com (Joseph D. Morrison)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: Need advice re: banks
Date: 21 Jul 92 15:48:38 GMT
	<1992Jul15.165832.25289@ferrari.nmc.ed.ray.com>
Distribution: ne
Organization: GTE Laboratories, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
In-reply-to: heiser@ferrari.nmc.ed.ray.com's message of 15 Jul 92 16:58:32 GMT

There is a bank close to where I live called "NFS Savings" (in
southern NH). I was thinking of opening an account there; has anyone
heard anything good or bad about this bank?

Thanks,
        Joe Morrison
--
GTE Laboratories Incorporated         Email: jmorrison@gte.com
40 Sylvan Road                        Phone: (617) 466-2614
Waltham, Massachusetts, 02254
From: jlacey@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (james.w.lacey)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Massachusetts Greens ??
Date: 21 Jul 92 22:02:39 GMT
Distribution: ne
Organization: AT&T


Is there an eastern Massachusetts or Greater Boston branch
of the Greens/Green Party/Green Movement ?

If you know of such a group, please send email.  Thanks!


-- 
Jim Lacey          
my own opinions    
email:  att!cbnewsl!jlacey  or  jlacey@cbnewsl.cb.att.com
From: milo@cbnews.cb.att.com (guy.f.klose)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: Am I NUTS or What??
Date: 22 Jul 92 12:35:52 GMT
Distribution: ne
Organization: AT&T

> Sorry, but whoever has the least to lose has the right of way, e.g.,
> when I had an '81 Omni with half a bumper, liberal amounts of rust and a
> crushed-in hood, I always had the right of way.  The one exception, of
> course, is people in Volvos from Cambridge.

Y'ever noticed that the drivers most likely to give "driving lessons" with
their horns or their middle fingers always seem to have really beat-up cars?

This was one of the first things I learned after I moved to this area:  I was
driving through the now-defunct Rt. 2 rotary, and some guy in an almost-new
Audi didn't care for the way I zoomed past him.  One whole side of his car
had been scraped in an accident.  I wondered why he felt compelled to give
me "driving lessons" when he obviously had been in more accidents than I had.

What amazes me most are the number of cars that have been in accidents and
not repaired afterwards.
-- 
Guy Klose
milo@mvuxi.att.com
From: rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: Why did the Red line cross the tracks?
Date: 28 Jul 1992 17:07:44 GMT
Organization: Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc.
Distribution: ne
NNTP-Posting-Host: spcsun25.bbn.com

In article <zippy.712266157@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu>, zippy@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Patrick Tufts) writes:

|> P.S. Does anyone know where the Transportation Library is?  Someone mentioned
|> it earlier on this group in reference to the T.

The Tranportation Library is in the Transportation Building downtown.
This building occupies most of the block bordered by Tremont Street,
Boylston Street, Stuart Street, and Charles Street.

The Library is open to the public.

-- 
Ron Newman		rnewman@bbn.com
From: heiser@ferrari.nmc.ed.ray.com (Bill Heiser)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: Internet News Access
Date: 21 Jul 92 16:55:31 GMT
Distribution: ne
Organization: Equipment Division, Raytheon Company

In article <4558@balrog.ctron.com> smith@glinda.ctron.com () writes:
>Can anyone tell me the best way to get access to net news via a modem from
>a home in Billerica? I have a friend who wants very much to get on internet,
>but all he has to work with is a PC and a modem.  Can he get news from
>ULowell?  Or is there a public access system within a local phone call?

It's not local to Billerica, but your friend could call UNIXLAND
at 508-655-3848, or send mail to bill@unixland.natick.ma.us for more info.



-- 
* Happiness is a hot boiled lobster with drawn butter, a side dish of hot     *
* fresh steamers with melted butter & a hot corn on the cob with butter & salt*
Work: heiser@sud509.ed.ray.com
Home: bill@unixland.natick.ma.us  Public Access Unix/USENET 508-655-3848
Newsgroups: ne.general
From: kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup)
Subject: Re: Am I NUTS or What??
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Distribution: ne
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 13:59:56 GMT

In article <1992Jul22.123552.28002@cbnews.cb.att.com>
milo@cbnews.cb.att.com (guy.f.klose) writes:
>...and some guy in an almost-new Audi didn't care for the way I zoomed past
>him.  One whole side of his car had been scraped in an accident.  I wondered
>why he felt compelled to give me "driving lessons" when he obviously had
>been in more accidents than I had.

You're contradicting yourself, or just don't get it. He has just had an 
accident in his new car, a sideswipe, which very possibly could have been
someone else's fault. I just think he's covering his butt trying to prevent
it from happening again.

>What amazes me most are the number of cars that have been in accidents and
>not repaired afterwards.

No surprise to me, considering insurance rates make people take high
deductables, not to mention the surcharges.

-- 
Kenneth R. Crudup, Contractor, OSF DCE QA
OSF, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142	+1 617 621 7306
kenny@osf.osf.org			OSF has nothing to do with this post.
From: shaig@Think.COM (Shai Guday)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: BBN Mechanics List
Date: 23 Jul 1992 17:16:14 GMT
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: merlin.think.com

Would anyone with a copy of this list please email it to me?
I am looking for a good reliable Ford mechanic.

	Thanks.
From: dand@buscard.fidonet.org (Dan Davidson)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: looking for ski club
Date: 26 Jul 92 10:03:18 GMT
X-Maildoor: WaflineMail 1.00r


  => In a message to All on 07-24-92  15:51 Beth Mazur said:

 BM> I'm looking to ski a lot more this year than last.  I'm thinking
 BM> about looking to join a house or club for the season.  If anybody has
 BM> any comments, pro or con, or if you know of any such places, please
 BM> let me know.

 BM> I'm especially interested in the North Conway area, as well as in a 
 BM> group that tends to be 30+ in age.

I was in the Prospectors Ski Club for more than one and a half
decades.  They're based in Waltham and in Bartlett, NH, and own a lodge
on the Bartlett - North Conway line that can sleep about 90.  Members
are families and singles of ALL ages.

There's an association of ski clubs called the Eastern InterClub Ski
League (EICSL), representing 20 or 30 clubs.  If you can get onto them
in the metropolitan Boston area, you'll be steered to one or more
clubs that meet your criteria.

See if The Chateau Restaurant in Waltham can put you in touch with
Judy MiddleBrook, who's been active in EICSL as well as the
Prospectors.  She probably still manages the restaurant.

                                                   -- Dan --



... Ad astra per aspera (or, I'll never get off the ground)
--- Blue Wave/QWK v2.10
From: blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: Am I NUTS or What??
Date: 22 Jul 92 14:08:25 GMT
Reply-To: blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert)
Distribution: ne
Organization: Horizon Research

In article <1992Jul22.123552.28002@cbnews.cb.att.com>, 
milo@cbnews.cb.att.com (guy.f.klose) writes:

> What amazes me most are the number of cars that have been in accidents and
> not repaired afterwards.

But this is a good feature! If you see a car with side damage,
be prepared for a sudden lane change - sans signal. If you see
a car in front of you with rear end damage, be prepared for a
sudden unexpected stop. And how many times have you seen cars
with front end damage tail-gating you.... so speed up and get
the hell away from them.

And so it goes.

Bill Lambert


Newsgroups: ne.seminars
From: fhapgood@world.std.com (Fred Hapgood)
Subject: lecture announcement
Organization: The World @ Software Tool & Die
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 22:59:07 GMT


Laser Stereolithography of 3D Microelectromechanical Devices

Tuesday, August 4 1992:
8th floor playroom, MIT AI Lab (NE43), 7:30pm
Ted Bloomstein


It is increasingly clear that a new category of electromechanical
devices are just over the horizon.  These devices, or micromachines,
are based on the merging of electronics with mechanics using current
integrated circuit technology.  Specific examples include optical
computing, where micromachines may be used to switch the directions of
small beams of light, and microfluidics -- devices that combine
chemistry, mechanical operation, and electronics into transducers that
transform small, evanescent, environmental changes into a flow of
information.  Such devices would allow the continuous tracking of
changes in gases and fluids to a very high degree of accuracy.

Conventional lithographic techniques for fabricating these inherently
three-dimensional mechanical devices are limited to unidirectional
extensions of two-dimensional patterns, for example, along a
crystallographic plane.  Laser systems on the other hand can produce
more optimal shapes that, for instance, are more fracture resistant or
have desired flow properties.  The flexibility of laser systems is
achieved by utilizing highly localized laser microchemical reactions.
Depth contouring is accomplished by dynamically refocusing the laser
beam.  Initial investigation has concentrated on laser microchemical
etching of silicon because of its excellent electrical and mechanical
properties.  Laser-induced metallization of resulting structures as
well as replication through compressing molding have also been
demonstrated.

Ted Bloomstein, graduate student in electrical engineering, will
review the role of 'laser micromachining' in the coming age of
micromachines.


MIT Nanotechnology Study Group
MIT Student Center
Cambridge, MA  02139




Newsgroups: ne.seminars,mitre.lang.c++,mitre.techbb,comp.sys.mac.programmer
From: pathak@mitre.org (Heeren Pathak)
Subject: New England MADA meeting
Followup-To: ne.seminars,mitre.lang.c++,mitre.techbb,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Organization: Mitre Corporation
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 13:07:29 GMT

Sorry for the very late announcement.  There was a attempt to get this
posted last week but we had some problems.

MADA meeting will be held the 4th Tuesday of every month.  The next meeting
will be on August 25th.  More information will be posted in the future.


July 28 - Component Workshop, from Component Software Corp.
Unless you're still wearing your winter earmuffs, you've probably heard
something about Component Workshop. Imagine a development environment based
on
C++, with some of the look-and-feel of Smalltalk, and a FAST incremental
linker. Everything but the compiler is shipped as source code, so your
platform
can be molded to fit your lifestyle.
 
Nominations will be accepted for the offices of President, Treasurer, etc.,
for
elections at the August meeting. (Yes, you can nominate yourself.) We'll
also
be forming a referal network for those who have questions and those who
have
answers, so bring your pencils.
 
Directions
    From Route 128, take exit 32A onto Route 3 North.
    Take the first exit (exit 26) onto Route 62.
    Turn right at the traffic light at the end of the exit ramp.
    Turn left at the next light (short distance) into MITRE Corporation.
    At the first branch of the road, stay left.
    You will see a garage and an open lot for parking. Use either.
    Walk to the M-Building, near the garage.
 
    The MITRE Corporation, Burlington Road, Bedford, MA  01730
    (617) 271-2000, Attn. Heeren Pathak
 
Doors open at 6:30, the meeting starts at 7:00, and will be over by 8:30.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heeren Pathak                      | Millions long for immortality who do 
pathak@mitre.org                   | not know what to do with themselves
Mitre Corporation                  | on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
(617) 271-7465                     |	               	-- Susan Ertz
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Mine not Mitre's.
From: gene@cs.bu.edu (Gene Itkis)
Newsgroups: ne.seminars,bu.seminars,mit.bboard
Subject: Talk at BU this Friday - Distributed Computation
Date: 23 Jul 92 19:17:40 GMT
Followup-To: ne.seminars
Organization: Computer Science Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

The Predictable Distributed Systems discussion group will meet this
Friday at 2pm in the CS lounge (rm. 137).  The topic (abstract
enclosed) will be on the more theoretical side.		---Abdelsalam


Title:		Hardware-Based Self-Stabilization
		---------------------------------
Speaker:	  Gene Itkis (Boston University)

Time:	 	>>>Friday, July 24 at 2pm <<<<
Place:		MCS-137 Computer Science Lounge, Boston University
		111 Cummington St. (behind 700 Commonwealth Av)

Abstract:

 We present distributed randomized protocols utilizing only constant memory per
edge for the following problems:

	* Depth-First Spanning Tree
	* Breadth-First Spanning Tree
	* Shortest-Path
	* Leader Election
	* Deadlock Detection
	* Network Reset
	* Network Synchronization

 Our protocols work for general topology asynchronous networks. Moreover, they
are self-stabilizing and efficient.
 We stress that all the previous protocols (even without self-stabilization)
required logarithmic memory per processor for general topology graphs.

 In fact, not only the above problems but everything computable in randomized
linear space can be computed by an asynchronous coin-flipping network (with
the same combined memory and in a self-stabilizing fashion).
 Thus, we obtain a tight and robust characterization of the power of randomized
distributed networks.


Joint work with Baruch Awerbuch (MIT) and Rafail Ostrovsky (MIT)

Host: Abdelsalam Heddaya

-- 
 ---
	Gene Itkis		(gene@cs.bu.edu)
Newsgroups: ne.seminars