HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: reg@dptg.att.com (51351[efw]-Regina Mackiewicz(MT4799)1374MT)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: MSG
Date: 29 Jul 92 13:19:12 GMT
Organization: AT&T BL Middletown/Lincroft NJ USA

In article <1992Jul29.055658.17576@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com>, billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) writes:
> lstowell@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell) writes:
> : In article <1992Jul22.144117.20399@walter.bellcore.com> jchen@ctt.bellcore.com writes:
> : >
> : >There is  no clinical evidence to link MSG to any health problem to a
> : >normal person. Even for those who are allergic to it, the symptoms are
> : >typically short and mild. Very few had strong reactions, none has died
> : >The whole thing was blown out of proportion in 60 Minutes.
> : >
> :     You are obviously not allergic to the stuff...nor a physician
> :     who has to deal with people who are.  


yes i agree, it seems most of the folks going through the mental gymnastics
of this "thread" on MSG don't write as if they have ever had a reaction
other than thirst or mild headache.  Take it from someone whose last
meal from a chinese restaurant, that claimed NO MSG, sent them to the
hospital.  When your arms and legs go numb, your heart is palpitating,
and you are about to pass out there is no way you can convince them
that they are "blowing it out of proportion."  you shouldn't be so judgemental
about something that you have never experienced.


just my 2 cents
reg
From: tyger@netcom.com (Kitty in the Middle)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Please help Craig
Date: 30 Jul 92 23:30:46 GMT
Organization: I didn't do it, nobody saw me do it, you can't prove anything!

In article <13818@auspex-gw.auspex.com> johnf@Auspex.COM (John Fereira) writes:
>
>I was in a mall yesterday and saw a woman that was wearing a "Make a Wish
>Foundation" T-shirt.  It looked like a new shirt.  Too bad I wasn't wearing
>my "Get a Clue" T-shirt.

What, pray tell, is your problme with Make A Wish? As a former volunteer, I'm
intrigued...usually people responded favorably to their work...and our
collective intellect was never called into question that I can recall. Make
A Wish, IMHO, does some very good charity work.

     Tyger

>| John Fereira            


-- 
      Kristen Kohlbecker    And I would choose to be with you
      tyger@netcom.com      That's if the choice were mine to make   
                            But you can make decisions too
      A Tyger and a Lady    And you can have this heart to break 
 
                       
        
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.folklore.urban
From: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Subject: Re: Banks + Short Term Car Loans = Scam?
Reply-To: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 18:10:51 GMT

In article <1992Jul19.201037.11634@sneaky.lonestar.org> gordon@sneaky.lonestar.org (Gordon Burditt) writes:
>
>If a bank repossesses something, it does NOT get to keep the full value
>of that something.  It gets to keep the amount owed on the loan, unpaid
>interest, and legal fees.  The remainder, if there's any money left,
>goes back to the owner.  (Owners in trouble with a lot of equity left
>in the car/house/whatever would be better off trying to sell it before
>letting the bank repossess it - both to save their credit rating and to
>get a better price for it.)  There might be a small profit in cooked-up
>legal fees.  The only reasonable way for banks to profit from something
>like this is to sell it at a little-publicized auction and have an
>accomplice buy it cheap, then re-sell it, and pocket the profit.
>
>If this really was such a lucrative deal for banks, there would be a bunch 
>of repossessions in a boom real estate market.  You bought a house for
>$200K, borrowed $180K on it, and now it's worth $400K, 3 years later,
>and your loan is down to $160K.  Banks would love an excuse to grab the 
>house and make $240K, right?  Well, it doesn't work that way.
>They don't get to keep the profit.  They also have their money back
>and have to find someone else to lend it to to get any interest,
>since the owner's not going to keep paying interest after the
>repossession.

But in a declining economy, the bank has no incentive to get the owner's
equity back, and could be inclined to an expedient third-party sale just
to get their money back.  No accomplice needed.

My original post hasn't been answered: who determines the fair market value
of the house which indicates the owner's equity (if any).  A judge can't
claim to be a real-estate expert.  Would the court attempt to appoint
an arbiting assessor in such a case which was agreeable to both sides?
Presumably each side would accuse the other of biasing their assessment
of the current property worth.

cjl
From: rro@cs.ColoState.EDU (Rod Oldehoeft)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Airline Antitrust Litigation
Keywords: airlines antitrust litigation refund
Date: 23 Jul 92 14:45:03 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Colorado State University

In article <1992Jul23.041215.117@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>, tjoa@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Richard Tjoa) writes:
|> 
|> The address I got (from United Airlines, no less) is:
|> 
|> 	Airline Antitrust Litigation Committee
|> 	P.O. Box 209
|> 	Philadelphia, PA  19107-9711
|> 

This address, without the "-9711", was printed in the NYT article, and
is where I sent my letter.

|> Me too!  I hope you saved your ticket stubs/receipts...
|> 

In anticipation of needing info for whatever comes back in response
to my letter, I got copies of all my travel receipts starting in 1989 
from the travel agency I use.  Took about a week.  Still waiting to
get a response from this Committee.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Sharpening knives (was: Using your friends)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 04:12:20 GMT

neilw@informix.com (Neil Williams) writes:
: 
: I was chatting with the chef at my favorite sushi place yesteday
: about this.  I asked him how he keeps his knives sharp, and he said
: he used a stone.  Well, I asked him if I should use a stone on my
: knives, and he said emphatically "No, no, no! Just use the steel!",
: and he pulled out a steel like the one I have at home.  Anyway,
: he asked what kind of knives I had, I replied Henckels, and he said
: yup, just use the steel or I'll grind away my knives too fast.  He
: also said Henckel's are great, but not to use a stone on them regularly.
: 
: Anyway, he then launched into a rather interesting discussion of
: his mixed set of Japanese and German knives.  The Japanese knives
: he says are "blue steel", and can take the stone regularly, but
: for the German knives, henckels like mine, he just uses the steel.

Well, he is right and wrong. If a knife is only starting to dull, then
you can resmooth the edge with a steel. However, if it has been neglected,
then you need a stone to get the edge in shape again. This is true, no
matter what the metal used for the blade - some just hold an edge longer
than others.

I long ago built myself a wet grinder to hollow-grind my blades. I use it
on some, but not all, of my knives. Using the grinder, my hard extra-fine
stone and then a strop - I can get a razor sharp edge that will last in
less than 5 minutes time.

It takes quite a bit longer using just the stones. I do not use the steel
until the blade starts to lose its fine edge. 

Bill
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: reb@Ingres.COM (Phydeaux)
Subject: Re: New requirement (was: Time-sharing condos - Win a free trip - ??)
Reply-To: reb@Ingres.COM (Phydeaux)
Organization: E 4th St Home For The Overeducated Underemployed - Chicago Div.
Date: 29 Jul 92 05:16:27 GMT

In article <1992Jul28.102351.1@jaguar.uofs.edu> littlec1@jaguar.uofs.edu (Chris Little) writes:
>call, I discovered that one other requirement was that I had to be a
>U.S. citizen, which I'm not.  Nowhere on the original entry form was
...
>energy on this, but I may write a letter expressing dissatisfaction with
>their inconsistent requirements' specifications.  Any suggestions?

Don't bother to waste your time or a 29c postage stamp.  These
guys are SLIME.
							reb
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: mpb@troy.uucp (22161-bunz)
Subject: Re: Air Conditioning
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 92 20:39:03 GMT

In article <Brr3Ap.5J5@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan) writes:
> 
> In article <1992Jul20.222849.21220@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> ferng@happy.rc.arizona.edu (Jimmy M. Ferng) writes:
> >Does any one have any experience with charging freon to
> >your car and/or home air conditioner? What's the
> >difference between these two (execpt that the types of
> >freon are different)?
> 
> My understanding (as related to me by someone who repairs AC units for a
> living) is that home AC units should NEVER need recharging. If your AC
> just doesn't appear to be doing the job, make sure that all the dust and
> dirt is vacuumed out of it. If it's still not doing the job, you need a
> bigger air conditioner. If for some reason your home AC has developed a
> genuine leak, then it's definitely a job for the pros to take care of
> it.
> 
> As for car AC, yes these need to be recharged. For some reason, they
> tend to leak like crazy. You can do it yourself if you are careful. Be
> sure to get a good do-it-yourself manual for your car before attempting
> this - if you attach the hose to the wrong side, you could be in for a
> nasty surprise.
> 
Home A/C's can require a freon recharge.  After 18 years the unit
had very little freon left.  3 years after it was recharged, it is
still going strong.

Car A/C's should be just as tight as a Home A/C, but with all the
shaking that they take, they will develop a leak.

After working on 1 GM, and 3 Dodges :-(  I've found that you can
not connect the freon to the wrong side, the valves are different
sizes.  Also, Inertial Dynamics has developed a can that will
vent through the bottom it the pressure gets to great.  (Isn't 
that nice, now that Freon will not be available after 11/1.)

Any way, a few additional points, the hoses on the low pressure
side are BIGGER than the hoses on the high pressure side.  If
you have a chance to look at the A/C BEFORE IT DIES, find the
components that get WET, they are on the Low Pressure side of
the system.

Be sure to only add the FREON as a gas, i.e., with the can UP.
Adding as a liquid WILL harm your system, maybe not the 
first time, but eventually it will kill it :-(.  You
may wish to override the A/C clutch, since it will normally
cut out when the pressure on the LOW side gets to LOW, i.e.,
nothing there to compress, so why operate.  This will spead up
the recharge time.

Marc

PS.  Freon harms the OZONE layer, or so they say.  If you try
playing with it, try not to release too much to the atmosphere
(i.e., make sure the can is as empty as possible before detaching
it from the can tapper).

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jchen@cash.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Jason Chen)
Subject: Re: MSG
Reply-To: jchen@ctt.bellcore.com
Organization: Bell Communications Research
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 18:11:43 GMT

In article <1992Jul22.173124.1309@cs.yale.edu>, nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu (Nathan F. Janette) writes:
|> In article <1992Jul22.165731.23990@walter.bellcore.com>  
|> jchen@cash.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Jason Chen) writes:
|> > In article <1992Jul22.164206.732@cs.yale.edu>,  
|> nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu (Nathan F. Janette) writes:
|> > |> In article <1992Jul22.144117.20399@walter.bellcore.com>  
|> > |> jchen@cash.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Jason Chen) writes:
|> > |> > 
|> > |> > There is  no clinical evidence to link MSG to any health problem to a
|> > |> > normal person. Even for those who are allergic to it, the symptoms are
|> > |> > typically short and mild. Very few had strong reactions, none has died
|> > |> > from consuming it.
|> > |> 
|> > |> Nor is there any good reason to use it.  If the food is fresh,
|> > |> you won't need to make your tongue swollen with MSG to enjoy
|> > |> the taste.
|> > |> 
|> > I certainly agree that MSG is not a neccesity of your life. Nor are
|> > hot pepper, parsley, cinnamon, or even sugar. As a matter of fact,
|> > salt and sugar do more harm to your body than MSG.
|> 
|> Salt and sugars are naturally occurring substances within
|> the human body; MSG is not.  In reasonable quantities,
|> salts and sugars pose no harm to the body.  MSG is a highly
|> concentrated substance derived from a natural
|> substance.  Hot peppers, spices, etc have inherent taste;
|> MSG does not, it just makes your tongue swollen. 
|> 
MSG consists of a number of amino acids, which are found naturally
in living matter, and yes, in human as well. Although MSG will not
provide nutrition to the human body, it is theoretically harmless to
a normal human body.

I am not an advocate MSG, but would like to provide a balanced view on 
the matter. There have been a lot of blind fear around.  Your statement:
"IMHO, Avoid it in any quantity." is a typical reaction of that.


-- 

C. Jason Chen                 
**************E-Mail: jchen@ctt.bellcore.com
**************V-Mail: (908)699-6993
**************P-Mail: 444 Hoes Lane, 1E229, Piscataway, NJ
From: jms@vision.sarnoff.com (Jerry Shapiro x2420)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: universal card payments
Date: 22 Jul 92 19:07:03 GMT
Reply-To: jms@vision.sarnoff.com
Organization: David Sarnoff Research Center

In article 20357@math.rutgers.edu, kuplinsk@math.rutgers.edu (Julio Kuplinsky) writes:
>
>I mailed a payment to ATT's Universal Card on July 1st, which was posted on the
>13th, so that finance charges were assessed. It is possible (but
>unlikely) that my letter was 12 days in the mail. 
>
>Has anyone in the net experience the same problem?
>
>Julio Kuplinsky


No creditor gets to do this to me more than once. Your threat to stop
doing business with them should be reason enough for them to take your
word for it. Provident did this to me when I was in college. They would
not remove the finance charges. I enclosed my cut up card with the next
bill and sent it certified mail return receipt. They begged me to
reconsider but would not refund the finance charges. I got other credit
cards, no problem.

For creditors with whom you cannot or do not want to get rid of like
student loan collectors, or mortgage companies, send the payment
certified mail return receipt. Two dollars a month per bill is a small
price to pay to save your credit history. I always send my mortgage
payments and student loan bills this way. Nothing gets ``delayed'' in the mail.


You should ask AT&T nicely to remove the finance charge. They probably will. 

Jerry Shapiro
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jchen@flash.bellcore.com (Jason Chen)
Subject: Re: MSG
Reply-To: jchen@flash.UUCP (Jason Chen)
Organization: Bellcore, Morristown NJ
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 03:26:49 GMT

In article <1992Jul30.210928.11417@cs.yale.edu> nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu writes:
>In article <1992Jul30.012711.19094@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com> billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com  
>(bill nelson) writes:
>> Just show me research that this occurs, except for the rare individual,
>> and I will retract my statements. There are many things that could have
>> caused that reaction. I am not saying that it wasn't MSG, just that the
>> research does not support any such conclusion.
>
>You dumb schmuck, wake up and smell the coffee.  There have been
>several postings from different folks that are saying they have
>exactly the problem you are denying exists.

Please be civilized. You don't have to call names whenever you disagree
with somebody. 

Bill did not deny the existance of MSG allergy. He simply stated that the
so called "Chinese Restaurant syndrome" is not scientifically linked to
MSG, according to FDA's experiments.

>All I and other MSG-wary people want is to be able make our personal
>decision not to ingest MSG by being able to read a clear labeling of the
>food. 

YES,YES,YES. Nobody has ever disagree with the necessity of the clear
labeling of any food additives.

Case closed.

C. Jason Chen 
jchen@flash.bellcore.com
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:14671 rec.arts.tv:15623
From: staggers@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Ken Staggers)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.arts.tv
Subject: PPV Olympics: Oh, so now it's free
Date: 30 Jul 92 14:43:13 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers
Distribution: na
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.

I would be laughing hysterically if it wasnt for the insipid contract
Cablevision signed which stated that it would be responsible for the
first $50 million in loss caused by the PPV Olympics.  As a Cablevision
basic subscriber I certainly do expect them to pass on this loss directly
to the customers.  Expect a rate increase soon.

Anyway, did you pay $125 for the Triplecast?  If so, what do you think about
the fact that, if I was really interested, I can watch it for free tonight
and tomorrow?  NBC, in order to lure more suckers, I mean viewers, to pay
the $29.95 daily coverage, will be offering cable viewers 14 hours of
PPV Olympics for free.

Using a split screen with 4 quadrants, NBC will again invade another cable
channel (at what point do I start getting a pro-rated refund...I am getting
Olympic coverage on FOUR channels already, and now they want to add a FIFTH
channel) to show PPV Olympics.  From 6-10pm ET Thursday and Friday, and
1-4am ET Friday and Saturday, you can tune into CNBC and see all 3 channels.
Obviously not intended for screens 14 inches and under.

According to USA Today, about 125,000 people have bought some part of the
Triplecast.  Here's a great quote from Cablevision's Jim Dolan:
"We've found [oh yeah, like you would really want to believe any research
or statistics that they have discovered...2 million people would buy
PPV according to their 'original' findings] that once a viewer has the chance
to actually what the Triplecast is, [this is exactly how the sentence appears
on pg 2E] they get excited about it and want to buy it."

Yep, a man with a future...

I hope cable executives are paying attention this month.  First, the FCC
grants the baby bells permission to deliver video to the home.  Finally,
competition.  Then the House passes new cable re-regulation laws so that
these monopolies will stop gouging us (but will it take effect before
Cablevision can pass on their stupid loss to me?).  And then finally
America has spoken about the future of paying per every view...we don't
really want it, and we really can't afford it.

--Ken
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: mf@dancer.uucp (24241-fusco)
Subject: Compact 35mm cameras
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 00:43:27 GMT

	I'm interested in buying one of these compact
35mm cameras (probably the 35-70 zoom) and would
like to hear some brand recommendations (or cameras to avoid).
(I'm also particularly interested in hearing about features to 
get/avoid.)

Please E-mail to me (and I'll post a summary if desired.)

Thanks!
Marc
mf@dancer.cc.bellcore.com
From: rl@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (roger.h.levy)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: air conditioner longevity
Keywords: refigeration
Date: 21 Jul 92 19:57:16 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

How long does the refigerant last in a typical window air conditioner?  It
occured to me that longevity of the refigerant for three refrigeration
machines is something like:

	kitchen refrigerator - forever
	room air conditioner - 5-10 years?
	auto air conditioner - 3-4 years?

The declining lifetime of the refrigerant as you go down the list may
correlate to harshness of operating conditions.  The refrigerator lives in
a relatively constant ambient temperature and is not subject to much shock
or vibration.  The auto air conditioner is at the other end of the environ-
mental harshness scale.  Do thermal expansion of seals and vibration
effects cause the refrigerant to leak out?

I have two identical Freidrich 9800 BTU window air conditioners.  I remove
them for the winter and neither gets used more than 20 days a year because
I live in a relatively cool house.  One of the machines quit cooling this
year and the repair shop informed me it needed to be charged but they found
no leak in the system.  Both units are in their 8th season and the other is
doing fine.  Is my experience about what one should expect?

BTW, I was charged $85.00 for diagnosis and recharge.  I don't know how
much freon was needed except to say that the 9800 BTU unit wasn't cooling
very much.  Does that seem like a fair price?  I've heard that EPA regu-
lations make this a costly and undesirable business.

Roger Levy
roger@allegra.att.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: rl@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (roger.h.levy)
Subject: Re: Air Conditioning
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 20:41:19 GMT

In article <Brr3Ap.5J5@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan) writes:
> 
> In article <1992Jul20.222849.21220@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> ferng@happy.rc.arizona.edu (Jimmy M. Ferng) writes:
> >Does any one have any experience with charging freon to
> >your car and/or home air conditioner? What's the
> >difference between these two (execpt that the types of
> >freon are different)?
> 
> My understanding (as related to me by someone who repairs AC units for a
> living) is that home AC units should NEVER need recharging. If your AC
> just doesn't appear to be doing the job, make sure that all the dust and
> dirt is vacuumed out of it. If it's still not doing the job, you need a
> bigger air conditioner. If for some reason your home AC has developed a
> genuine leak, then it's definitely a job for the pros to take care of
> it.
> 
> As for car AC, yes these need to be recharged. For some reason, they
> tend to leak like crazy. You can do it yourself if you are careful. Be
> sure to get a good do-it-yourself manual for your car before attempting
> this - if you attach the hose to the wrong side, you could be in for a
> nasty surprise.
> 
As someone who just picked up my air conditioner today from what I believe
is a reputable shop, I disagree with the statement about room air conditioners.
My 7 year old Freidrich was fine except for lack of freon.  I was told that
even without a leak, the freon can eventually diffuse out.  I believe this
problem is less severe with machines like refrigerators that get constant
use because seals are more effective if they are used continuously.

It's definitely not a do-it-yourself job since even if you know how, you
won't have the recovery tanks and other equipment needed to prevent freon
from leaking and doing bad things to the ozone layer.  If you care about
that, you should also know that it's probably illegal for you to do the
job without the right equipment.  And if you don't know what you're doing,
it's dangerous.

Also interesting is that my unit was factory sealed and the shop installed
a valve.  BTW, I paid $85.00 for the job.  I don't know what the going
rate should be since I selected my shop on the basis of a recommendation.
I didn't mind paying the $85.00 in view of the factors I've discussed and
the fact that that my unit is worth about $500.00.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers