HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rogerv@sco.COM (Roger Vortman)
Subject: Re: Help !! == cable TV on second floor ==
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 02:15:02 GMT


>   We have cable TV cable run to the family room on the first floor and like 
>to be able to have cable TV also in the second floor bedroom. I believe I have 
>two options :

>	1) run a cable to the second floor, 
>	2) get one of those broadcastors so I can receive cable TV signals any 
>	   where in the house. 

>Solution 1) seems difficult to do as it has to be done between walls, but it 
>should provide better signal quality. Is this a possable DIY ? Do I need
>some kind of signal enhancer for the cable to travel about 30 ft to the
>second floor ? Does this have any thing to do with the cable company ? 

Our cable company tries to charge by the outlet.  We put in 3 outlets when
we moved into our house, with a splitter in the area of where we expected
the cable company to put their drop.  Well, they said that either the
splitter goes, or we pay for 3 outlets.  So we removed the splitter (and
left the other wiring), they came out and made their drop and tested the
one outlet that we left connnected.  Then we put the splitter back and
painted the whole thing to look inconspicuous.  We also put in an amplifier,
but it would probably work fine without it.

For the second floor outlet, we just ran the cable on the outside of the
house in an inconspicuous spot, and painted the cable (as mentioned
above).  Nobody ever notices it, including myself.  No problem.

However, if the cable company ever comes out to do any service, we will
probably have to disconnect the splitter and take it down again.  I don't
know the laws, but our cable company is pretty anal-retentive about
this stuff.

-Roger
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jim@egret.imagesRus (Jim Mitchell)
Subject: Re: Dumb finance question?
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 17:49:57 GMT
Reply-To: jim@egret.imagesRus
Organization: Harris Corp, ISD

In article 5753@acheron.uucp, clarke@acheron.uucp (Ed Clarke/10240000) writes:
>Here's a (maybe) dumb question for you ... given a fixed-rate no
>prepayment penalty mortgage of 10% (for example),  is paying down
>the mortgage the same as getting a 10% return on your money?  I
>THINK that it is, but something about it makes me nervous.
>-- 

That's what Bob Brinker says on his radio show, "Money Talk."  I would
guess it's true as long as you can eventually get your money out of the
house upon its sale.

-jdm-

p.s.  "There is no such thing as a 'dumb question.'"



Xref: sparky misc.consumers:20662 rec.food.cooking:23123
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.food.cooking
Subject: Re: Visions (or other) cookwares?
From: lindstrom@acs.harding.edu
Date: 15 Dec 92 09:58:40 -0500
Reply-To: lindstrom@acs.harding.edu
 <1992Dec7.143540.8849@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> <1992Dec12.000028.8035@news.mentorg.com>,<11DEC199218193409@reg.triumf.ca>
Distribution: world
Organization: Harding University

In article <11DEC199218193409@reg.triumf.ca>, fwj@reg.triumf.ca (JONES,FRED_W.) writes:
>Warning to Visions owners: watch those handles!
>
>Others have mentioned shattering due to dropping or thermal stress or
>whatever.  In our case, a handle broke cleanly off a saucepan, right
>where it joined the body.  There was no stress except that of lifting
>the pot.  Fortunately it didn't land, or splash, on anybody.
>

My roomate had *MY* large visions "dutch oven" explode while he was 
making some sort of pasta. The reason being he heard the 'frug say
you should wait until the pan is hot before you put the food in...
so he waited until it was good and hot before he put the water in
to boil. I now have a new roomie (well, OK.. my wife) who talked me
into reverware when we were married (I do the cooking, thank-you).
I have been happy with it and plan on buying more.

Greg--
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.food.cooking
From: jnielsen@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (John F Nielsen)
Subject: Re: Visions (or other) cookwares?
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 22:11:54 GMT

In article <1992Dec7.143540.8849@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> fsmarc@tristero.lerc.nasa.gov (Marc Cooper) writes:
>In article <1992Dec7.025442.2659@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com> markr@mcil.comm.mot.com writes:
>>In article <1ftpnlINN8mj@gap.caltech.edu> thogek@cco.caltech.edu (Thomas G. Kiefer) writes:
>>>
>>>Anyone out there know about any of this, or have any information about
>>>Visions Cookwares that we should be aware of before buying any?
>>>Any Visions (former-)owners want to share their experiences/opinions?
>>>
>>>How 'bout comments on other brands of pots 'n' pans?  (Farberware? etc?)
>>>Any favorites, things to avoid, etc?
>>
>>Visions :
>>  
>>  [lots of stuff]
>>  my sister hates her Visions cookware.
>
>I hated mine too. got rid of 'em. it's liek cooking on an electric stove, even
>if you have gas. they KEEP COOKING, even after you remove them from heat.
>so my pasta was overdone and stuck to the bottom, my grilled cheese got burnt,
>and my sauces boiled over, even with the 'advance warning'..
>
>Avoid them.
>
>>Farberware :
>>
>>  [more stuff]
>
>no comment on farberware. never owned 'em.
>
>
>>I am very demanding of my pots, I have seen some of the very high end
>>pots and would love to have a set, but I can't see myself spending $140
>>on a saucepot and $300 on a stockpot. (Calphalon springs to mind here,
>>among some European brands)  If anyone has recommendations for pots of
>>quality somewhere midway between Farberware and the high end stuff, I
>>would greatly appreciate their input.
>
>Well, Revereware is nice. that's what I got.  They make several lines, 
>some very budget-oriented and some way out there.  
>
>My set of revereware:
>
>	stacks reasonably well
>	riveted handles
>	stainless (easy to clean)
>	copper bottoms (nice, quick, even heat)
>	handles are very sturdy and stay cool
>	on smaller saucepans, handles are heavy enough that they'll 
>	  tip when empty. (a minor inconvience)
>	
>	I love my revereware. My folks love their revereware. my wife's 
>	ex-roommate loves here reverware, but married rich and got a set of 
>	those $140 saucepan jobs, just because she could afford it. and she 
>	doesn't cook. *grumble*
>

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

The stuff I have has besty experience with are Circulon(sp?)
frying pans. Can make pancakes without using any oil. They don't
use teflon either.

john
-- 
John Nielsen   MAGNUS Consultant            ______   ______   __  __	
jnielsen@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu         /\  __ \ /\  ___\ /\ \/\ \
                                           \ \ \/\ \\ \___  \\ \ \_\ \
  Back off man, I'm a Scientist!            \ \_____\\/\_____\\ \_____\
From: jxs18@po.CWRU.Edu (Jerry Sy)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: snow tires
Date: 16 Dec 1992 04:48:04 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: jxs18@po.CWRU.Edu (Jerry Sy)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, tubis@cs.purdue.edu (Charlotte I. Tubis) says:

>
>What are traction cables and where do you buy them?
>I called
>many places for snow tires, and no one carried them for my
>type of car.
>Charltote
>
traction cables are basically the same sa tire chains, except that
they are made with a steel cable with lots of small washers inserted
through the cable.  these are recommended for front wheel drive cars.

try a walmart store, it cost about $24 a pair.

advantage of traction cable is quieter ride but onces it breaks, thats it,
unlike a chain, which can still be repaired.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Subject: Re: Secured Credit Cards
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 20:03:10 GMT

In article <Bz9FMr.5xF@news.cso.uiuc.edu> acheng@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Albert Cheng) writes:
>I did not apply because I just don't like the idea that they can take
>my money in case there is a dispute in the VISA bills.

They can't.  They can only take money out of the savings account if you
default on the terms of the card, which is considerably more difficult
than just disputing a charge.
--
-- Christophe

"I draw the line at Styrofoam packing kernels, you sick pervert."
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: tzs@stein.u.washington.edu (Tim Smith)
Subject: Japanese Wonder Batteries? (Was Re: rechargeable batteries)
Organization: University of Washington School of Law, Class of '95
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 10:42:07 GMT

chrz@tellabs.com (Peter Chrzanowski) writes:
>The bottom line is that NiCads can almost always be used to replace throwaway
>alkalines; their lower voltage is rarely a problem (it seems to be a problem
>in many infrared 1 remote controls, however).  

Is it even worth trying to use rechargeable batteries in a remote?  I used
my remote for my first remote controlled TV from 1982 to 1989, watching for
a few hours a day, with frequent use of the mute button, and a lot of channel
surfing, without ever needing to replace the "National NEO Hi-Top" AAA
batteries from Matsushita that came with the the thing.  The thing then went
into storage for three years, because I got a large screen TV.  It now has
come out of storage to be dedictated to the Super Nintendo, and it is still
running fine.

Meanwhile, the remote for my A/V receiver, which has learned the codes for
the big TV, has been used extensively for the last three years to mute,
diddle volume, channel surf, and radio station surf.  The Toshiba "New
Ultra Z" AAA batteries are working just fine.

My experience with four VCR remotes, two laserdisc player remotes, two
CD player remotes, and another receiver remote have been similar: they
all came with Japanese batteries, and they have always lasted longer than
I have owned the equipment or are still working.

So, what's the story here?  Do remotes consume an amazingly small amount of
power, so that the batteries only have to be after several years of use, or
do these Japanese batteries that come with these things use some secret
process that Ever Ready and Duracell and Energizer haven't figured out
yet?

Am I ever going to have to change these batteries?  Does anyone else have
remote batteries that seem to last forever?

--Tim Smith
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jeffj@panix.com (Jeff Jonas)
Subject: Damark not so great deals
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 04:23:24 GMT
Organization: Jeff's House of Electronic Parts

I just got the "Damark - The great deal company" catalogue.
The prices are not so great.
I just caught this one:
The Hamilton Beach classic drinkmaster (old fashioned malted milk mixer).
Damark wants $59.99 + $6.50 shipping.

Hammacher Schlemmer has it for $49.95 + $6 shipping.
And Hammacher Schlemmer has never been known for low prices
since it always sells "the best".
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.misc,comp.sys.mac.comm,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc
From: alasnik@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Adam Lasnik)
Subject: Re: PRODIGY New and improved STILL SUCKS, HORRIBLE as before
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 22:27:27 GMT

In <1992Dec19.160020.9866@chpc.org> rboudrie@chpc.org (Rob Boudrie) writes:

>It also has "moderators", and automated software, to assure that :

>  (a)  "Distasteful" topics and words are not used in bulletin board
>       postings.
>  (b)  Postings not in the best interest of Prodigy are removed
>       (if anyone on Prodigy is able to start a bulletin board discussion
>       about Prodigy's email surcharge, or limited length of an email
>       message compared to other services, without it being censored
>       please let me know...I'm refering to bulleitin board postings,
>       not email).

>                                        rob b.

Let's clear up some misconceptions here, ok?

1) Prodigy does not look at e-mail, except when mandated to do so by a court
of law.  I've never even heard of this extreme situation taking place, by the
way.
2) Prodigy automatically screens pulic postings for vulgar words and phrases. 
Humans do NOT read every post.
3) Public posts are NEVER censored and never have been.  They are either
accepted or rejected.  And with new posting guidelines, you have to work REAL
hard to get a post rejected.
4) Posts critical of Prodigy are seen frequently.  While e-mail and other
Prodigy criticism USED to be taboo under previous management, this is no
longer the case.
5) Prodigy will be introducing internet access, snail mail and fax sending
capabilities within 90 days.  A new interface for the mac and Windows IBM are
both being developed.
6) Prodigy does not "snoop" in your hard drive.  Period.  Read up on DOS,
ignore stupid inflammatory accusations, and then think for yourself.

Thank you.  I feel better now.

--ADAM "KEYS" LASNIK
No, I am not:
* affiliated with Prodigy in any way other than as a happy customer
* trying to compare Prodigy with USENET.  I like and frequently use both.
From: lstowell@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: TRW Credit Reports
Date: 14 Dec 92 20:43:53 GMT
Reply-To: lstowell@pyrnova.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell)
Organization: Pyramid Technology Corp., Mountain View, CA

> > I heard from others the following trick: If you have a card, ask them
> > to raise the limit to $15,000.  When denied (assume you are not
> > that credit worthy), ask for a credit report.  If you don't have a
> > card, go apply the most expensive one like AE platinum.  Denied?
> > Demand a credit report.
>
    Nice try, for a thought experiment.

      o  Credit applications show up on your credit report.  These
	 are red flags to other credit grantors...particularly
	 facetious ones.

      o  AMEX is not a credit card.   And you don't apply for a
	 Platinum, they offer it to you.  You can only apply for a
	 Gold or Green.    

Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.misc,comp.sys.mac.comm,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc
From: rubin@watson.ibm.com (Bill Rubin)
Subject: Re: PRODIGY New and improved STILL SUCKS, HORRIBLE as before
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 17:37:23 GMT
News-Software: IBM OS/2 PM RN (NR/2) v0.16c by O. Vishnepolsky and R. Rogers
Reply-To: rubin@watson.ibm.com (Bill Rubin)
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In <1992Dec18.092947.26001@news.acns.nwu.edu> alasnik@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Adam Lasnik) writes:
>--Prodigy's users are more representative of the makeup of America as a whole
>(i.e. minority and women users, as well as computer hackers and neophytes)
 
This is quite true.  While Usenet is nice, the simple fact is that Prodigy 
has an incredible mix of everyday people and you cannot say that about 
Usenet.  I have met some really nice people on Prodigy, from housewives to 
the chef/co-owner of one of the top restaurants in San Francisco who invited 
me to let him know when I will be in town next time.

>>See if you can post anything about Prodigy there - try posting something
>>critical of Prodigy - if you remember they even CENSORED people's *email*
>>on Prodigy and it became such a major issue some months ago.
>
>I strongly challenge you to prove your statement about censored e-mail.  I
>truly believe that's a rumor.  Regarding bulletin board censorship... Really? 
>with subject titles like "Prodigy Sucks" "Compusex me!" and "Masturbation
>techniques"... you think there's that much censorship?  Where have YOU been
>hiding? <grin>

You are correct, Adam, E-mail is never censored and is never even looked at 
unless the receiving party complains to Prodigy about its content.  The case 
that people keep pointing at over and over again was where a small number of 
people started bombarding vendors on Prodigy with E-mail complaining about 
the new charges.  This had the result of basically putting these vendors out 
of business because they could not find the mail from their REAL customers.  
They complained to Prodigy, and they did something about it.  This sounds 
reasonable to me.  And the boards have been loosened up quite a bit of late.  
There is an adult area where things are discussed that you would not believe 
possible on Prodigy.  

There has been an incredible amount of misinformation about Prodigy posted 
here.  Yes, the Mac interface is probably horrible (I've never used it) but 
Prodigy has said that they are working on a new version of their software 
which will behave like a real application and not take over the machine.  
They are also working on a Windows version of the code.  But to make the 
claim that Prodigy is snooping on your machine is just ridiculous.  I do not 
care what the anonymous letter to that magazine said, it simply is not true.  

DIsclaimer:  I do work for IBM but I do not work for Prodigy and have no 
connection with them other than being a satisfied customer.  

-- Bill rubin@watson.ibm.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: ajg@controls.ccd.harris.com (Arnold Goldberg)
Subject: Re: Secured Credit Cards
Organization: Harris Controls and Compositions
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 16:46:51 GMT

>>>>> On Mon, 14 Dec 1992 09:34:28 GMT, billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) said:

bill> jamshed@gradient.cis.upenn.edu (Jamshed Masood) writes:
bill> : Could somebody please post me the list of banks/institutions that
bill> : offer secured credit cards.

bill> Why would you want one of those? Why would you want to pay a bank interest
bill> on a card for which they had absolutely no risk? Nor are they loaning you
bill> money - you are using your own.


It's not quite as unheard of as you would think.  The best reason for
getting a secured card is a very bad credit rating, where no 
credit card company would issue one of their cards; it's a good
way to start improving your rating.

Another reason is for people who have no credit history whatsoever.
Most credit card companies won't give you a card in this situation
either...


--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arnold Goldberg                            Email:  ajg@ccd.harris.com
Phone: (407)242-5051                       Snail:  Harris Controls
Fax  : (407)242-4262                               407 John Rodes Blvd.
                                                   Melbourne, FL 32905
The opinions expressed are my own and do not in any way represent Harris 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:20979 alt.visa.us:764
From: fino@point.cs.uwm.edu (Alexander Finogenov)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.visa.us
Subject: Re: Can one be denied insurance based on citizenship?
Date: 19 Dec 1992 23:21:40 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.2.5

: shekar@bnr.ca (Shekar Benakatti) writes:
: 
: >I was recently denied Insurance because I am not a citizen
: >of USA, but a permanent resident.  I have been informed that
: >they cannot legally do this to a permanent resident just
: >because he is not a citizen.  Does anyone know what I can
: >do?  The insurance company is refusing to put this in
: >writing.
: 
: >I wonder if one day a grocery store refuses to sell me food
: >because I told them that I am not a citizen?
: >   
: >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
: >  Shekar Benakatti         |  My Opinions only; NOT BNR/NT's  
: >  Bell-Northern Research   |  EMail: shekar@bnr.ca            
: >  Richardson TX 75083      |  Phone: (214)-684-4795 (ESN 444) 
: >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Call your state's insurance comissioner office.  Tell them about that.  But
never use this insurance company...
From: klf@druwa.ATT.COM (FranklinKL)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Help With phones.
Keywords: Two lines, and a suggestion
Date: 8 Dec 92 20:04:38 GMT
Distribution: misc

I've been in  the telephone industry for almost 30 years and can tell
you that if they think they can snow you, they will.  You have to KNOW
what they can and can't do and insist on getting what you want.

If your house is relatively new, 10-20 years, and was wired by the builder
or a contractor, it almost certainly has 4-wire cable running to all the
the jacks.  The 4 wires are in pairs, generally a red-green pair and a
black-yellow pair.  These colors are pretty standard for residential
cabling.  If only a single line is installed, it will most likely be
on the red-green pair, leaving the black-yellow pair free.  You can
easily check the wiring by opening up a jack.

Now go out to the "demarc" or the point where the telephone company wiring
enters your house.  You will very likely be able to get the cover off the
demarc block and can then check how many wires are coming from the
phone header or pole.  Usually it too, will be a 4 wire configuration
with a red-green and a black yellow pair.  More often that not, the
unused pair will be folded back and not connected to the demarc.

When you order the new line, tell them that you have a spare pair in
the cable, although, I'd suspect that they will check that out for themselves
when the installer comes out to connect to the pole or header.  If
possible, intercept the installer and tell them that you want the second
line run on the black-yellow pair.  They'll know what you mean.

Once the second line appears at the demarc, it's all yours.  Usually,
modern jacks mount in a box much like an electrical outlet box.  If that's
so, it's a piece of cake.  Radio Shack and many other stores will
sell dual jack assemblies that fit in the box.  All that is required
is to replace your existing single jacks with dual units, running the
red-green pair to one and the black yellow pair to the other.
One caution.  The two wires in a phone line are referred to as "tip"
and "ring" in the industry, for reasons I won't go into here.  In
general, phones are not polarity sensitive, but some cheaper tone dial
phones may not have a polarity guard and will require hooking up in the
correct polarity in order to originate calls.  This is also true of
cheaper auto-dial modems.  To test, hook up a phone, go off-hook and
you should get dial tone.  If you can't break dial tone, that is the
first digit you dial doesn't stop dial tone, you have the polarity
reversed.

Note that if you have older wiring, or wiring not installed to telephone
company standards, your mileage may vary significantly.  Good luck.

--
Ken Franklin 	They say there's a heaven for people who wait
AMA     	And some say it's better but I say it ain't
GWRRA           I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
DoD #0126       The sinners are lots more fun, Y'know only the good die young
From: paula@nlbbs.UUCP (Paula Stockholm)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: just a silly question....
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 92 14:53:26 GMT
Reply-To: paula@nlbbs.uucp
Distribution: world
Organization: The Electronics Workbench - Cumberland Maine


In article <18DEC199208004156@utkvx3.utk.edu> drevik@utkvx3.utk.edu writes:

         10-year light bulbs.
 > 
 > Q: How do they know they work?

        It's for a good cause . . . would you really pay much attention
        when just one of them went in, say, 6 months? And another that
        goes a week or so later. Or would you just shrug and replace the
        bulb?

        I did hear a story on ABC about Soviet bloc consumers being
        dismayed by western light bulbs . . . apparently commie bulbs
        DID last forever.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Help !! == cable TV on second floor ==