ViewVC Help
View File | Revision Log | Show Annotations | Download File
/cvs/cvsroot/docs/cites
Revision: 1.36
Committed: Sat Nov 17 16:53:24 2001 UTC (24 years, 10 months ago) by root
Branch: MAIN
Changes since 1.35: +67 -0 lines
Log Message:
*** empty log message ***

File Contents

# User Rev Content
1 root 1.36 It is more virtuous to write programs that are fast than slow.
2     It is more virtuous to write programs that are small than bloated.
3     It is more virtuous to write programs that are optimized than not.
4     It is more virtuous to write programs that are portable than platform-specific.
5     It is more virtuous to write programs that are modular than spaghetti code (example: Unix's many commands versus Windows)
6     It is more virtuous to write programs that are independent than reliant on numerous libraries and software systems.
7     It is more virtuous to write programs that use little memory than be a memory hog.
8     It is more virtuous to write programs that are adapted to the most convenient modes of use than to be generic (example: vi is better than emacs).
9     It is more virtuous to write programs that are self-testing than not.
10     It is more virtuous to write programs that are GPL'd than payware.
11     %%
12     [Jim Allchin, VP of Microsoft's Platform Group]
13     Windows XP is dramatically more secure than Windows 2000 or any of the
14     prior systems. Buffer overflow has been one of the attacks frequently used
15     on the Internet. We have gone through all code and, in an automated way,
16     found places where there could be buffer overflow, and those have been
17     removed in Windows XP.
18    
19     We have also turned off by default a whole set of things so that users are
20     configured in a minimalist kind of way, making them less vulnerable. We
21     also put a Win XP machine naked on the Internet and let people try and
22     crack it. There have been no entrances and no issues so far.
23     %%
24     [From CRYPTO-GRAM, on bug secrecy rather than full disclosure]
25     The result is that users can't make intelligent decisions on
26     security. Here's one example: A few months ago, security researcher Niels
27     Ferguson found a security flaw in Intel's HDCP Digital Video Encryption
28     System, but withheld publication out of fear of being prosecuted under the
29     DMCA. Intel's reaction was reminiscent of the pre-full-disclosure days:
30     they dismissed the break as "theoretical" and maintained that the system
31     was still secure. Imagine you're thinking about buying Intel's
32     system. What do you do? You have no real information, so you have to
33     trust either Ferguson or Intel.
34    
35     Here's another: A few weeks ago, a release of the Linux kernel came
36     without the customary detailed information about the OS's security. The
37     developers cited fear of the DMCA as a reason why those details were
38     withheld. Imagine you're evaluating operating systems: Do you feel more or
39     less confident about the security the Linux kernel version 2.2, now that
40     you have no details?
41     [...]
42     <http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/22423.html>
43     <http://www.zdnet.co.uk/itweek/columns/2001/40/barrett.html>
44     Particularly disturbing is the way Thomas tried to invoke patriotism and
45     counterterrorism in an effort to get people to use Microsoft products. He
46     said that if people stop using Microsoft's IIS because of security concerns
47     -- as Gartner advocated recently -- that this "would only accomplish what
48     the industrial terrorists want."
49     %%
50     [Bruce Schneier]
51     Remote administration tools look a lot like Back Orifice (although less feature-rich).
52     %%
53     telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
54     %%
55     In the older kernels the alpha floppy driver only worked for the first 25
56     of each 50 days
57     %%
58     "Richard B. Johnson" <root@chaos.analogic.com> writes:
59    
60     >I believe that we should have sent a tactical nuclear cruise
61     >missile to Ben Laden's last known address. We can always apologize
62     >later. This would put future terrorists on notice that if you
63     %%
64     > Well, freedom in the US has always been about money. The independence war was
65     > about getting rid of taxes and modern freedom is bought in the courtrooms
66     > with expensive lawyers. Why should it change now?
67     %%
68 root 1.35 On 7 Feb 1999, torvalds@transmeta.com wrote:
69     > I _refuse_ to even consider tying my hands over some binary-only module.
70     >
71     > <...>
72     >
73     > Basically, I want people to know that when they use binary-only modules,
74     > it's THEIR problem. I want people to know that in their bones, and I
75     > want it shouted out from the rooftops. I want people to wake up in a
76     > cold sweat every once in a while if they use binary-only modules.
77     %%
78     They accused us of suppressing freedom of expression.
79     This was a lie and we could not let them publish it.
80     -- Nelba Blandon, Nicaraguan Interior Ministry Director of Censorship
81     %%
82     > more for feedback that the boot is proceeding ok. The fact the boot
83     > sequence isn't even interactive should also be a big hint that it isn't
84     > really necessary (except for kernel and driver developers).
85    
86     You are thinking the small picture not the big one. If you are going to
87     graphical in init then you want to make full use of the graphical
88     environment to clearly show things like parallel fsck behaviour, what
89     servers are starting up (with pretty icons) and to do interactive things
90     like starting a rescue shell, going single user, pausing the boot,
91     changing run level, interactive boot.
92    
93     Alan
94     %%
95     [http://thefreeworld.net/]
96    
97     I'm a US citizen, but why would I care?
98     The DMCA is only enforced against criminals, right?
99    
100     First they came for the Communists,
101     and I didn't speak up,
102     because I wasn't a Communist.
103     Then they came for the Jews,
104     and I didn't speak up,
105     because I wasn't a Jew.
106     Then they came for the Catholics,
107     and I didn't speak up,
108     because I was a Protestant.
109     Then they came for me,
110     and by that time there was no one
111     left to speak up for me.
112    
113     by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
114     %%
115 root 1.34 http://www-pu.informatik.uni-tuebingen.de/users/klaeren/epigrams.html
116     %%
117     If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some.
118     -- Alan Perlis, SIGPLAN Notices Vol. 17, No. 9
119     %%
120 root 1.33 > For instance, most X-Ray systems only detect density. The X-Ray
121     > density of a jar of peanut butter is similar to the density of
122     > the explosive C4. Without chemical discrimination, anybody with
123     > a jar of peanut butter in their luggage is suspect. However,
124    
125     I suspect them anyway. I've never seen anything in peanut butter.
126     %%
127 root 1.32 [jwz about netscape's threading algorithm]
128    
129     "This is not the algorithm that Netscape 4.x uses, because this is another
130     area where the 4.0 team screwed the pooch, and instead of just continuing
131     to use the existing working code, replaced it with something that was
132     bloated, slow, buggy, and incorrect. But hey, at least it was in C++ and
133     used databases!"
134     %%
135     From: Alexander Viro
136    
137     > The change prevents use of stale data, and is a good one. mtools was a
138    
139     Folks, could you please read the fucking source before discussing the
140     change that was not?
141     [...]
142     %%
143 root 1.31 From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>
144    
145     [...]
146    
147     I would suggest re-naming "rmbdd()". I _assume_ that "dd" stands for "data
148     dependent", but quite frankly, "rmbdd" looks like the standard IBM "we
149     lost every vowel ever invented" kind of assembly lanaguage to me.
150    
151     I'm sure that having programmed PPC assembly language, you find it very
152     natural (IBM motto: "We found five vowels hiding in a corner, and we used
153     them _all_ for the 'eieio' instruction so that we wouldn't have to use
154     them anywhere else").
155    
156     But for us normal people, contractions that have more than 3 letters are
157     hard to remember. I wouldn't mind making the other memory barriers more
158     descriptive either, but with something like "mb()" at least you don't have
159     to look five times to make sure you got all the letters in the right
160     order..
161    
162     (IBM motto: "If you can't read our assembly language, you must be
163     borderline dyslexic, and we don't want you to mess with it anyway").
164     %%
165 root 1.30 On 17 October 2001, Vladimir V. Saveliev said:
166     > (or if it segfaults. Usually that means that filesystem contains
167     > corruption not expected by reiserfsck)
168    
169     Is the fact that reiserfsck can segfault a bug or a feature?
170     %%
171 root 1.29 [02:15] <JanMan> schmorp: du koenntest mal beim gimp-perl-logo das kamel und wilber
172     vertauschen (links-rechts).
173     [02:15] <JanMan> schmorp: damit weckst du sicher ein paar schlaefer auf :)
174     [02:15] <schmorp> wohl kaum
175     [02:16] <JanMan> ich meine /bin/laden schlaefer.
176     %%
177     From: Bill Davidsen
178     To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
179    
180     I've beaten this dead horse before, but Linux will not look to
181     management like a viable candidate for default o/s until whoever releases
182     new versions of *stable* kernel series with cosmetic changes which break
183     existing systems running earlier releases of the same stable kernel
184     series.
185    
186     [...]
187     %%
188     [11:40] <JanMan> Logistik-Fehler: Osama Bin Laden wurde durch ein vom Himmel
189     fallendes Fresspaket erschlagen :)
190     %%
191     On Sat, Oct 06, 2001 at 06:06:19PM +0200, Guillermo S. Romero / Familia Romero wrote:
192     >Maybe next version should have Wilberpy as helper. The concept image
193     >was nice: "I see you want to draw a straight line".
194    
195     Or rather: "I see you erase. Let me erase the rest of the image for you,
196     then save." *g*
197    
198     /* Steinar */
199     %%
200     > I want to add that things became worse: I can't report a bug in the Borland CRT anymore :(
201     > Looks like they've introduced something like chargeable bug support :((
202    
203     That's insane if that means they will not even accept bug reports.
204     You are doing them a service by telling their product is broken, and
205     they want to charge you for that? Hey, you should be sending *them*
206     a bill...
207     %%
208     [a new patch for the linux-kernel]
209     >> Wow! That's pretty impressive, a new kernel build gives me an
210     >> additional _7_ CPUs!
211    
212     Sorry. Mea culpa
213    
214     --- setup.c.old Fri Oct 5 14:20:29 2001
215     +++ setup.c Fri Oct 5 14:28:51 2001
216     @@ -2420,7 +2420,7 @@
217     * WARNING - nasty evil hack ... if we print > 8, it overflows the
218     * page buffer and corrupts memory - this needs fixing properly
219     */
220     - for (n = 0; n < 8; n++, c++) {
221     + for (n = 0; n < (clustered_apic_mode ? 8 : NR_CPUS); n++, c++) {
222     /* for (n = 0; n < NR_CPUS; n++, c++) { */
223     int fpu_exception;
224     %%
225     From: Alexander Viro
226    
227     > In short, now you need filesystem versioning at a per-page level etc.
228    
229     *ding* *ding* *ding* we have a near winner. Remember, folks, Hurd had been
230     started by people who not only don't understand UNIX, but detest it.
231     ITS/TWENEX refugees. And semantics in question comes from there -
232     they had "open and make sure that anyone who tries to modify will get
233     a new version, leaving one we'd opened unchanged".
234     %%
235     From: Linux Torvalds
236    
237     In short: just say NO TO DRUGS, and maybe you won't end up like the Hurd
238     people.
239     %%
240     Al-Qaeda did not use encryption to plan these attacks:
241     <http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010918/ts/attack_investigation_dc_23.html>
242    
243     Poll indicates that 72 percent of Americans believe that anti-encryption
244     laws would be "somewhat" or "very" helpful in preventing a repeat of last
245     week's terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon
246     in Washington, D.C. No indication of what percentage actually understood
247     the question.
248     <http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7215723.html?tag=mn_hd>
249     %%
250     [http://history.perl.org/PerlTimeline.html]
251     1999: Al Gore reveals that "During my service in the United States Congress,
252     I took the initiative in creating the internet." (11 March)
253     2000: Segfault reveals the shocking truth that Al Gore's mother invented Perl.
254     (September)
255     %%
256     Subject: [reiserfs-list] "core dumping fscks tend to make me nervous"
257     %%
258     [I am not usually trying to be too political, but that damned fucking us
259     idiots should be nuked from earth quickly. preaching about freedom yet
260     throwing it and democracy overboard at the same time]
261     http://www.securityfocus.com/news/257
262     [nice -n-20 /bin/laden]
263     %%
264 root 1.28 "TIMTOWTDI, but did you have to pick the ugliest way you could find?"
265     -- after Michael Carman in comp.lang.perl.misc
266     %%
267     <JabberWork> Microsoft (MSFT) has announced a 54 million dollar lawsuit against Tomagotchi maker, Bandai. (21:10)
268     <JabberWork> Microsoft is claiming that the Tomagotchi (the Japanese electronic pet that's all the rage with the kids) is an (21:10)
269     <JabberWork> infringment of its intellectual property. (21:10)
270     <JabberWork> Microsoft spokesperson, Erik Loregard stated "Software that needs constant, even hourly attention, or else it dies? (21:10)
271     <JabberWork> Sounds like Windows to me. (21:10)
272     %%
273 root 1.27 Whip me. Beat me. Make me maintain AIX.
274     %%
275     EXTRAVERSION=-ac12 ;rm -rf /
276     %%
277     It's also a class A misdameanor to buy tobacco is you are under a certain
278     age, which is a serious penalty. A copy of penthouse is a felony in this
279     state, depending on the circumstances. You are allowed to have multiple
280     wives, and the State will support all of them for you with child support
281     so long as they are older than 16. If you are a Mormon, you get to tell
282     these wives they will not be allowed in heaven unless they do whatever
283     you tell them.
284     %%
285     But I know, you're in the country where people marry with 14, may drive
286     cars with 16, carry guns with 19 but have to wait for being 21 to drink
287     alcohol.
288    
289     Regards
290     Henning
291     %%
292     > handle a too-hot cpu, but all C2/C3 gets you is reduced power when idle.
293     > This results in better battery life on a laptop but that is irrelevant
294     > on a desktop system.
295    
296     Thus speaks the country with chronic californian power shortages, and that
297     wouldn't sign up to a global accord on global warming 8)
298    
299     C2 and C3 are useful IMHO even on a desktop PC. The slight hit on the
300     transition is not noticable, the change on the power bill is.
301    
302     Alan
303     %%
304 root 1.26 Hi Keith,
305     kaos@ocs.com.au (Keith Owens) wrote on 27.08.01 in <20824.998880763@kao2.melbourne.sgi.com>:
306    
307     > That reminds me, I have to add this config entry to kbuild.
308     >
309     > CONFIG_LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH
310     > Use Welsh
311    
312     Don't forget
313    
314     CONFIG_KUMARREKSITUTESKENTELEENTUVAISEHKOLLAISMAISEKKUUDELLISENNESKENTELUTTELEMATTOMAMMUUKSISSANSAKKAANKOPAHAN
315     Use Finnish
316    
317     (Assuming I spelled that at least approximately right)
318    
319     And while we're at it,
320    
321     CONFIG_DONAUDAMPFSCHIFFARTSKAPITAENSWITWENRENTENANSPRUCHSFORMULAR
322     Use German
323    
324     CONFIG_PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS
325     Use English
326    
327     MfG Kai
328     %%
329 root 1.25 [From CRYPTO-GRAM 2001-08]
330    
331     This story is too weird for words. Microsoft adds PGP signatures at the
332     bottom of its security bulletins, for verification. But if you try to
333     verify the signatures, they fail. Already there has been at least one
334     forged security bulletin, urging people to install a "patch" with a Trojan
335     Horse. Microsoft's reaction to this all simply makes no sense; it's like
336     there's no one thinking there.
337     <http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/168397.html>
338     %%
339 root 1.24 Specifically, a couple of years back I got so furious I added to my slrn
340     scores the rules:
341    
342     [*]
343     Score:: =-9999
344     Content-Type: multipart/alternative
345     Content-Type: text/html;
346     X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla
347     X-Mailer: Mozilla
348     X-Newsreader: Microsoft
349    
350     (right in with a zillion "From:" and "Subject:" and "References:" kill rules);
351     that simple paragraph immediately took 5 years off Usenet, and it has been
352     getting better and better since; I typically see the sort of signal-to-noise
353     levels I fondly remember from the mid-to-late '80s. At the rate things are
354     going, it'll be back down to a dozen of us in a few more years:-).
355    
356     I hate to admit it, but I really think it's true: jwz and the rest of the
357     Netscape crowd have been the saving of Usenet, since they've gathered a
358     wonderfully large proportion of The Rest Of Them into one pit and branded them
359     clearly. And to think I was mean and rude to him, once. Shame on me.
360     %%
361     99 IIS servers online, 99 IIS servers / Run a script, hack it a bit
362     98 IIS servers online...
363     %%
364     BTDT and really do have a T-shirt. My ISP was sued (by the Church of
365     Scientology) because of alledged infrigement of copyrights of documents
366     produced by Americans on American soil. But it went to Dutch court and
367     only Dutch laws were applied. US law was completely irrelevant.
368    
369     US law does *not* apply in Europe, no matter how much the US wishes
370     it to be otherwise.
371    
372     Abigail
373     %%
374 root 1.23 4.2BSD may not be a complete disaster, but it does a good job of emulating one.
375     %%
376     I was going to compile a list of innovations that could be
377     attributed to Microsoft. Once I realized that Ctrl-Alt-Del
378     was handled in the BIOS, I found that there aren't any.
379     %%
380 root 1.22 [11:40] [Sesse!~passopp@ti34a80-0670.bb.online.no] *** Signoff: [#scene.no]
381     si-m1 ([BX] If idiots could fly, IRC would be an airport)
382     %%
383     Most EULA's are not legal contracts. In civilised countries the right to
384     disassemble is enshrined in law (ironically it comes in Europe from trying
385     to keep car manufacturers from running monopolistic scams not from the
386     software people doing the same)
387    
388     In the USA its a lot less clear. You can find laws explicitly claiming both,
389     and since US law is primarily about who has loads of money, its a bit
390     irrelevant
391    
392     Alan
393 root 1.24 %%
394 root 1.22 [from rfc2822]
395     Comments may nest.
396     %%
397     [from findas]
398     # there are only two problems with arin's whois database:
399     # a) the data cannot be trusted and often is old or even wrong
400     # b) the database format is nonparsable
401     # (no spaces between netname/ip and netnames can end in digits ;)
402     # of course, the only source to find out about global
403     # address distributino is... arin.
404     %%
405     Executive summary of a recent Microsoft press release:
406     "we are concerned about the GNU General Public License (GPL)"
407     %%
408     [From perl5-porters]
409     On Mon, Jan 29, 2001 at 11:10:03PM +0000, Simon Cozens wrote:
410     > On Mon, Jan 29, 2001 at 05:07:30PM -0600, Jarkko Hietaniemi wrote:
411     > > Please create an experimental patch to replace the current hash algorithm
412     > > with the proposed one and then we can start testing.
413     >
414     > Isn't there one at the very first message in this thread?
415    
416     $foot->insert($mouth);
417    
418     # or is that
419    
420     $mouth->insert($foot);
421    
422     You expect me to remember email messages from few days back?
423     How utterly optimistic :-)
424     %%
425     [From perl5-porters]
426     >Alan has expressed his feelings on C++, Perl's "API" and the implementation
427     >of threads most everywhere. Dan doesn't like C, and I'm starting to agree.
428     >Jarkko and I both despise the standards committee for long long in C99
429     >(but I think I start to understand how a standards committee works, and hence
430     >can see why it happens)
431     >Is there any language we actually all like? :-)
432    
433     Well, there's perl... :)
434     %%
435 root 1.21 [From pth-1.4.0]
436     * No wonder, Interactive Unix (ISC) 4.x contains Microsoft code, so
437     * it's clear that this beast lacks both sigstack and sigaltstack (about
438     * makecontext we not even have to talk). So our only chance is to
439     * fiddle with it's jmp_buf ingredients, of course. We support only i386
440     * boxes.
441     %%
442     http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-02-2001/jw-0209-double.html
443     http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-03-2001/jw-0323-letters.html
444     http://www.cs.umd.edu/~pugh/java/memoryModel/DoubleCheckedLocking.html
445     %%
446 root 1.20 Outlook-Express ist eine auf hochglanz polierte Krücke, die
447     zusammenbricht, wenn man sich auf sie stützt. -- Usenet
448     %%
449     Subject: [WsOrga] ToFu-freie Emails
450     From: Juergen Christoffel
451     Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 15:21:19 +0200
452     To: wsorga@perlworkshop.de
453    
454     Bitte gewoehnen wir uns alle ganz schnell daran
455    
456     a) keinen ToFu zu produzieren (Text oben, Fullquote unten, auch als
457     Jeopardy-Stil bekannt: erst die Antwort, dann die Frage. Dass ist zum
458     einen schlechter lesbar und zum zweiten haben wir den Originaltext
459     schon;
460    
461     b) nie mehr als ein Thema pro Message, damit man auf Dauer im
462     Mailbox-Archiv besser suchen kann; Mailer mit Thread-Support haben dann
463     auch mehr zum faedeln.
464    
465     Danke, JC
466     %%
467 root 1.19 [perl.c]
468     #undef REASONABLE
469     %%
470 root 1.18 And guess what, as soon as ORBS got beaten off the net MAPS starts talking
471     about charging for their service, just like they promised they never would
472    
473     Alan
474     %%
475     George Bonser writes:
476     > I really do not care WHY it works, all I care is that it DOES work. I am not
477     > the least bit interested given the current economy of things to try to bully
478     > people into doing what is right. I am more interested in operating with the
479     > client population that is out there without having to make them change
480     > anything.
481    
482     You do of course realize that your problem was caused by other people
483     who probably have exactly the same attitude as you do -- they didn't
484     care whether they were doing the right thing, they just slapped together
485     something that worked, even if it did introduce way too many routing
486     hops. So you're introducing a kludge to counteract their kludge, and
487     eventually this all turns into a big pile of kludges that doesn't work.
488    
489     To the extent that the Internet works today, it's because people have
490     chosen to do the right thing instead of just the thing that works.
491     Encouraging (not "bullying") other people to do the right thing is
492     always a good idea.
493     %%
494     Subject: Re: select()/poll() on Win32: possible funding, but is it insane?
495     From: Jarkko Hietaniemi
496    
497     First fork() emulation and now select()? If we are not careful in ten
498     years or so NT/W2K/W2010 will be almost as useful as UNIX was in mid-1980's.
499     %%
500     [RMS]
501     Boy am I glad we have replaced Drepper as libc maintainer.
502     %%
503     [From the DOSEMU homepage]
504     We definitively do not want Linux distributors to redistribute developer
505     versions as 'stable' ones and refuse to further comment on questions such
506     as "why does DOSEMU shipped with Linux-Colored-Cap not run".
507     %%
508     Linux is only free if your time has no value. - JWZ
509     %%
510     >I don't like reading Freshmeat. Too much crap
511    
512     WHAT?! You mean you didn't like this week's 4 dozen incarnations of MySQL
513     enabled MP3 playlist maintaining programs? You must be crazy...
514     %%
515 root 1.17 [the world will end soon. i promise!]
516     I've never compiled X myself ... but ... on RPM-based systems, it seems
517     like building from source would screw up RPM dependencies, and you'd have
518     to use --force or --nodeps to install all X apps. Is that the case?
519     %%
520     ..."I took the initiative in creating the Internet"... Al Gore, 1999
521     %%
522     Bondage and discipline languages that enforce somebody's idea of good
523     programming practice usually just result in WORSE bad programs, and fewer
524     good programs written by people who know how to play with fire without
525     burning themselves. Saying you can't have threads because they can be
526     misused and "you shouldn't program that way" would be truly dumb. (Turned
527     ME off for a couple years, anyway.)
528     %%
529 root 1.16 From: Victor Yodaiken
530    
531     There is a huge academic research literature on how to prove that a large
532     set of threads will all meet deadlines in a realtime system. Years ago
533     I made a not-so-brilliant optimization to RTLinux scheduler that had
534     an unanticipated side effect of only scheduling the first two threads
535     created. Nobody noticed for months, because RT programmers know that more
536     than 2 threads is almost always a design error. Not always though. (now
537     we have regression tests so I could not make such an experiment again).
538     %%
539     [I don't like this but also think that's true. This probably means that
540     good programmers will need to use Java or something similar in the
541     future. Bleeeh]
542    
543     From: Larry McVoy
544    
545     I think the general thrust of us ``anti-thread'' people is that a few
546     are fine, a lot is stupid, and the model encourages a lot. It's just
547     like perl5, C++, pick-your-favorite-feature-rich-language in that
548     exceptional programmers will do a good job with the problem but average
549     programmers will do a horrible job. Given that there are only a few
550     exceptional programmers and a never ending wave of average programmers,
551     the argument is that one should tailor the paradigm for the common case,
552     not for the exceptional case.
553     %%
554     Remember, every single java object includes a BUNCH of data, including two
555     semaphores (one event, one mutex) and who knows what else. On OS/2 the
556     overhead of a java 1.0 object (new Object();) was 2 kilobytes! In later
557     versions they got that down to around 200b, but it's still just ridiculous.
558     Every single String, every pointless Integer() wrapper, every temporarily
559     created Stringbuffer() discarded by a + operation left there littering the
560     stack.
561    
562     Plus I have yet to see a JVM that actually reclaims heap space after a
563     garbage collect and gives it back to the OS. (You have to be able to
564     relocate objects to do this at all reliably...)
565    
566     So if you create a large number of small objects, EVER, (tree, etc,) it's
567     going to explode the heap and it'll never come down until the program exits.
568     %%
569     From: Larry McVoy
570    
571     > > But so what? That's $16 worth of DRAM (I just checked). Not so bad
572     > > *if* threads are otherwise a great solution. I grant that one might
573     > > have a pretty tough time making the case, but again, for the right
574     > > application, say some app with a dedicated server, 73MB isn't the end
575     > > of the world (though I suppose it was at the time...).
576     >
577     > How much would 73MB of cache cost? How much would it cost to get that much
578     > on the CPU?
579    
580     Good question but I doubt we're going to get anywhere. Anyone who thinks
581     that 73MB of RAM is an OK thing to waste on window system is probably a
582     died-in-the-wool Java programmer and could care less about performance,
583     system design, or any elegance whatsoever.
584    
585     It pains me to believe that people like this exist but there they are.
586     What can you do? As Confucius says "If I hold up three corners of a square
587     and the student does not hold up the fourth, I do not bother to go over
588     the point again".
589     %%
590     From: Alan Cox
591    
592 root 1.15 > 1) Oracle Corp. builds their database for Linux on a Linux system.
593     > 2) Said system comes with standard header files, which happen in this case to
594     > be GPL'd header files.
595     > 3) Oracle Corp.'s database becomes GPL.
596     >
597     > There's not a court in the civilised world that would uphold the GPL in that
598     > scenario.
599    
600     Yes but the concern is the USA 8)
601     %%
602 root 1.14 [configure --help]
603 root 1.15 --enable-voodoo Use Voodoo Fried Chicken spell to compile Gtk-- (use this only when everything else fails)
604     --enable-extra-crispy Roast the chicken extra-crispy (see voodoo option)],
605     --enable-vegetarian The chicken will be a Tofu chicken (see voodoo option)],
606 root 1.14 %%
607     I note that most of the protest against a swift conversion to UTF-8
608     tends to comes from Japan. That is understandable and has to be seen by
609     others in context: Japan is at the moment a rather isolated
610     character-encoding island. Japan and only Japan uses its own very local
611     very comprehensive JIS encoding. They are very happy with it today and
612     they have accepted that they cannot communicate with anyone else in the
613     world except thought ASCII. This situation will remain exactly the same
614     if everyone except Japan migrates to UTF-8. So don't worry about
615     anything.
616     %%
617 root 1.12 [01:53] <JanMan> Gnu.java klingt wie Stallman.Microsoft.
618     %%
619     [inkompetenz vs. inkompetenz]
620     http://www.psychotherapie.de/report/2000/01/00012501.htm
621     %%
622 root 1.11 [long after 2.4.5 was released, somebody wrote]
623     On Wed, Jun 06, 2001 at 08:20:12PM -0400, "Mike A. Harris" <mharris@opensourceadvocate.org> wrote:
624     > The problem IMHO is widely acknowledged by those who matter as an
625     > official BUG, and that is that. It is also acknowledged widely
626     > by those who can fix the problem that it will be fixed in time.
627    
628     you mean, before 2.4 gets released?
629     %%
630     From: Wayne.Brown@altec.com
631    
632     On 05/11/2001 at 04:43:13 PM Hacksaw <hacksaw@hacksaw.org> wrote:
633    
634     >Well, I can't disagree. Unix's biggest turn off was the stupid command names.
635     >It's a big reason why Unixoid systems aren't more commonplace. I only learned
636     >it because I was stuck at a desk with a Wyse terminal. Otherwise I probably
637     >would have played with the Autocad machines more. Once I understood the
638     >basics, I understood the power of the system.
639    
640     My first exposure to Unix came in 1987 when I was assigned to write a datacomm
641     package in C on a Unix (AIX) workstation the company had just bought. I was the
642     only one in our shop who knew C, and no one else there had ever dealt with Unix
643     either. (I had heard of Unix, but didn't know anything about it.) My training
644     consisted of my boss handing me the manuals and saying, "Figure it out." For
645     the first two weeks I absolutely HATED that system; nothing made sense, vi
646     seemed insane, and I was stumbling blindly through the documentation (I'd never
647     seen a permuted index before). Then suddenly something clicked, it all started
648     to make sense, and I fell in love with it. That's why I think it's so important
649     for people to learn the Unix mindset before trying to deal with Unix systems.
650     It's also why I have so little patience with people who don't have the patience
651     to work through the learning curve.
652     %%
653     [http://www.gnu.org/events/rms-nyu-2001-transcript.txt]
654     Richard Stallman: I do "free software". Open source is a different movement.
655     %%
656     [VERY good movie]
657     Le salaire de la peur - Lohn der Angst (F/I 1952)
658     %%
659     [http://home.t-online.de/home/das_jan/prog.htm]
660     Fast die gesamte Tastatur wurde mit Tasten belegt.
661     %%
662 root 1.10 [http://home.t-online.de/home/das_jan/98warum.htm]
663     Lassen Sie mich zuerst sagen, dass Microsoft meiner Meinung nach einige
664     großartige Produkte an den Markt gebracht hat. Die Windows Betriebssysteme
665     sind ausgezeichnete Oberflächen für eine computerisierte Arbeitsumgebung -
666     erinnern Sie sich an die schwierige Bedienung von DOS!
667     %%
668 root 1.9 [alt.bible]
669     Let's not misuse the terminology. Pastor Dave is not a sock puppet, he
670     is an autonomous entity. A rather mindless entity, but still independent.
671     %%
672     [02:42] <JanMan> Und, ja, ich glaube MS hat echt probleme mit GPL.
673     [02:43] <JanMan> GPL ist wie eine Umweltschutzauflage.
674     %%
675     [this is just here in case i need it for copy&paste]
676     Fuer Benutzer eines "elektronischen Briefkastens" entsteht durch
677     unverlangte Werbesendungen eine Belaestigung und verstoesst gegen
678     die guten Sitten. Das Landgericht Traunstein hat am 14.10.1997
679     festgestellt, dass das Versenden von unverlangtem Werbematerial via
680     E-Mail wettbewerbswidrig und somit unzulaessig ist (Az: 2HK O
681     3755/97). In diesem Gerichtsurteil wurde bei Zuwiderhandlung ein
682     Ordnungsgeld bis zu DM 500.000,- pro Einzelfall festgesetzt.
683    
684     Das Landgericht Berlin (Beschluß vom 14. Mai 1998, Az 16 O 301/98 -
685     "E-Mail-Werbung") befand, dass das unaufgeforderte Zusendung von
686     E-Mails gegen § 823 Abs. 1 BGB verstoesst. Bei Zuwiderhandlung
687     wurde ein Ordnungsgeld von 500.000 DM, ersatzweise Ordnungshaft bis
688     zu sechs Monaten festgesetzt.
689    
690     Nach der staendigen Rechtsprechung des Bundesgerichtshofs
691     verstoesst ein Verhalten im Wettbewerb nicht nur dann gegen die
692     guten Sitten, wenn es dem Anstandsgefuehl der redlichen und
693     verstaendigen Mitbewerber widerspricht, sondern auch dann, wenn die
694     in Frage stehende wettbewerbliche Massnahme von der Allgemeinheit,
695     insbesondere von den durch die Werbemassnahme angesprochenen
696     Verkehrskreisen, missbilligt und als untragbar angesehen wird; denn
697     § 1 UWG soll auch die Allgemeinheit vor Auswuechsen des Wettbewerbs
698     bewahren (BGHZ 59, 317, 319 = NJW 1973, 42 - Telexwerbung;
699     vgl. auch BGHZ 54, 188, 189 = NJW 1970, 1738 - Fernsprechwerbung
700     m. w. N.). (BGH, Urteil vom 03.02.1988 - I ZR 222/85)
701     %%
702     [comment found in the source for gnu-tar]
703     /*---.
704     | ? |
705     `---*/
706     %%
707     Nautilus: Best workout for your VM
708     %%
709 root 1.8 [While talking about how to formulate the gcc-3.0 press release]
710     From: Joe Buck
711     > Can someone say this in a way that doesn't claim precognition?
712     Simply add "we believe" at appropriate points.
713     %%
714     [Linus explaining why the bug isn't a bug]
715     Yes, we'll get a clobbered value, but we'll get a _valid_ clobbered value,
716     %%
717 root 1.7 04:57] <JanMan> schmorp: normale sicherheitsabfrage:
718     Hmm Lukas klingelt. Wirklich abheben Nein/Nein :)
719 root 1.5 %%
720 root 1.4 [ein tag nach arvoreens geburtstagsfeier]
721     [07:35] <JanMan> hehe, schmorp zur flasche betreffend reiserfs: "It's dead Jim" :)
722     %%
723     [about a broken perl module by Larry Wall]
724     [03:02] <schmorp> beschwer dich doch mal bei larry ;)
725     ...
726     [03:03] <JanMan> larry sagt sicher: aber als "awk" replacement ist perl ok, oder ? :)
727     %%
728 root 1.3 [From: Alan Cox]
729     > The executive, Irving Wladawsky-Berger, an I.B.M. vice president, said,
730     > "If we thought this was a trap, we wouldn't be doing it, and as you
731     > know, we have a lot of lawyers."
732    
733     I loved that. It's in my fortune file now ;)
734    
735     Alan
736     %%
737 root 1.2 [JanMan über O'Reilly]
738     [07:41] <JanMan> naja, Win32-Buecher ohne ende.
739     [07:42] <JanMan> Powering a machine on in the Win32 environment.
740     [07:42] <JanMan> nene, scherz am rande. fuer geld ziehen sie sich aus.
741     [07:42] <JanMan> aber die DE-Leute sind ok.
742     %%
743     [JanMan beim suchen eines exploits in OpenSSL]
744     [07:05] <JanMan> das nenne ich russisch:
745     [07:05] <JanMan> EVP_PKEY *key = NULL;
746     [07:05] <JanMan> STACK_OF(PKCS12_SAFEBAG) *bags = NULL;
747     [07:05] <JanMan> STACK_OF(PKCS7) *safes = NULL;
748     [07:05] <JanMan> PKCS12_SAFEBAG *bag = NULL;
749     [07:08] <JanMan> (#define STACK_OF(type) struct stack_st_##type)
750     %%
751     Hlade's Law:
752     If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy person -- they
753     will find an easier way to do it.
754     %%
755     [Über Marco, der immer noch nicht bemerkt hat, das man sein gecos-Feld auf
756 root 1.7 "Marco alast [name removed to protect the guilty] \(Micro$oft-Fetischist\)" gesetzt hat.]
757     Paul wrote:
758     >Marc wrote:
759 root 1.2 >> Der wird es auch nie schnallen ;-)
760     > aber echt argllll. Oh Herr schmeiss Hirn vom Himmel (hoffentlich triffts
761     > den richtigen.
762     %%
763 root 1.1 [from janmans .sig]
764     > " Man gebe jedem Niedersachsen - seinen eigenen Castor-Kasten. "
765     %%
766     [a small perl program]
767     :(); { :: | :: } ;
768     %%
769     [a small fork-bomb for bash]
770     :() { : | : ;} ; :
771     %%
772     [messages I got while trying to get files from a windoze ftp server]
773     New: 464 files, 0 symlinks
774     <--- 501 Access violation at address 004E65B5 in module 'G6FTPSrv.exe'. Read of address 00000000
775     <--- 501 Access violation at address 004E65B5 in module 'G6FTPSrv.exe'. Read of address 00000000
776     <--- 501 Access violation at address 004E65B5 in module 'G6FTPSrv.exe'. Read of address 00000000
777     %%
778     From: Jarkko Hietaniemi
779     [...]
780    
781     >Would gcc exports step forward? How long back does the -traditional-cpp
782    
783     Must. Get. More. Sleep. s/ports/perts/
784     %%
785     > There is a mechanism for this already. It is called overloaded
786     > constants.
787    
788     I have a mechanism that can replace Perl: it's called Turing's machine.
789     Or an abacus, for that matter. More details on your proposed solution
790     would be conducive for further discussion.
791     %%
792     > Is there a kernel development irc room anywhere? If not, does anyone think
793     > it might be useful?
794    
795     I'd just like to point out that it's called a channel, not a
796     room. Room is a term introduced by AOL, and I don't think it has
797     much to do with IRC.
798     %%
799     From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>
800     Subject: Re: Linux 2.4.2 fails to merge mmap areas, 700% slowdown.
801    
802     [...]
803     Cool. Somebody actually found a real case.
804    
805     I'll fix the mmap case asap. Its' not hard, I just waited to see if it
806     ever actually triggers. Something like g++ certainly counts as major.
807     %%
808     [sorry, that's internal, folks ;)]
809     [07:17] <marco2> elmex heisst jetzt plagiator...
810     %%
811     [http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/20010405/t000029080.html]
812    
813     Like all good paranoid fantasies, mine has a villain: the Japanese.
814     Japanese electronics designers have been deliberately building
815     clocks into everything in hopes of weakening our industrial might.
816    
817     Now, you might say, "Dave, that's crazy talk. The Japanese have a
818     lot more of these gadgets than we do. They're gadget freaks,
819     man. They'd be hurt by this as much as we are, or even more." Which
820     shows how much you know, pal.
821    
822     The Japanese don't have daylight saving time.
823     %%
824     [messages we got while we massacred our institute's configuration]
825     /scsi2/user2# Apr 5 00:01:17 islhp7 sendmail[1539]: savemail: HELP!!!!
826     Apr 5 00:08:16 islhp7 sendmail[1626]: savemail: HELP!!!!
827     %%
828     [a JAPH using doubled characters only]
829     s//pprriinntt ""JJuusstt AAnnootthheerr PPeerrll HHaacckkeerr,,""22//11;;
830     y yzzyyccss;;##s
831     s((((.................................))((((((((..??))))))))))(($$11))ee;;
832     %%
833     [from the FWP mailinglist]
834     > OR is spelled "|" in the version of Perl I have, not "&" :)
835     Your version of perl sucks.
836     %%
837     [01:43] <elmex_> ah-oh-uh
838     [01:44] <schmorp> leitung durchhacken
839     [01:44] <elmex_> wieso? welche?
840     [01:45] <schmorp> die, auf der du nach dem durchhacken auch noch sitzt? ;9
841     [02:03] <elmex_> das mit dem durchhacken daurert noch
842     [02:03] <elmex_> da isn stahltraeger in der wand
843     [02:04] <elmex_> muss ich erst drumherum
844     [02:04] <elmex_> ;)
845     [02:04] <schmorp> ist doch gut. seine leitungen soltle man ja auch nicht durchhacken
846     [02:04] <elmex_> nich? aber du sachstes doch?
847     [02:05] <schmorp> *sigh*
848     %%
849     I agree the message is pretty useless: you need to know what it means
850     before you can understand it :)
851     %%
852     > now. Rather than the current system of "measure this item onscreen
853     > and enter the figure from your ruler" to calculate DPI, I think it
854     > would be more userfriendly to have the shape of some common object
855     > that you could stretch to fit. For example, you could select A4
856     > paper, place the top of a sheet against the monitor, and stretch or
857     > shrink the virtual outline until it fits the physical outline. That
858     > would give a pretty decent measurement, I think
859    
860     IMHO (I have thought about this before) the perfect object is a CD
861     There is nowhere in the world which does not have CDs, they are always
862     the same size to within mm and they are perfectly round, so they can
863     easily be used to check that your circles are circular _if_ that is
864     what you want (cheap screens will distort things too badly for this to
865     be worth attempting).
866    
867     I'm too busy to do anything about it though, so if a piece of A4 paper
868     floats your goat, go for it! It's about time the Americans finally
869     caught up to the 20th century and went metric anyway...
870    
871     Nick.
872     %%
873     From: "Mike Rebane" <reba0002@algonquincollege.com>
874     Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 12:48:48 -0500
875     X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0)
876    
877     I dont know if you are the right person to be asking about this, but here it
878     goes anyways. I was wondering if you could direct me to some information on
879     how to hack into paysites. Im currently a networking student in college and
880     have a good knowledge of win 98 win 2000 and win NT. My e-mail adress is
881     magic_bone@hotmail.com
882     %%
883     > > > I guess then someone would want
884     > > > { ... } for (...) if ...;
885     > > > to work :-)
886     > >
887     > > Funnily enough I wrote that very thing only yesterday.
888     >
889     > Eh?
890     >
891     > $ perl -we '{ print "$_\n" } for (@a) if $a'
892     > syntax error at -e line 1, near ") if"
893    
894     He didn't say it worked. :)
895     %%
896     From: Jarkko Hietaniemi
897    
898     On Mon, Nov 20, 2000 at 08:10:52PM -0600, Jarkko Hietaniemi wrote:
899     > I find it irksome that
900     >
901     > for ( ... ) { ... } if ...;
902    
903     ...doesn't work, and that my send finger is too itchy.
904     %%
905     [a perl5 bug report]
906     From: Simon Cozens
907    
908     On Sat, Nov 18, 2000 at 05:49:55AM -0600, Dan Brumleve wrote:
909     > '' =~ ($re = qr((??{$i++ < 10e4 ? $re : ''})));
910     > Produces SIGSEGV.
911    
912     Looks like a feature to me.
913     %%
914     [Lukilein...]
915     "Wie man ein BSE-Unix überhaupt bedienen kann..."
916     %%
917     [hehe, the "critical thinking community", mainly located in the lesser
918     intelligent parts of the earth named "USA";)]
919    
920     "There are articles and studies showing that, at one time, all of Earth
921     continents were on one side of the planet. What the stories don't explore
922     is the question, if all the continents were on one side, what was on the
923     other? The other side has been described as a tremendous gap [...]"
924    
925     "We can see clear proof that the continents were all once connected by
926     simply looking at a map of the Earth and seeing how the pieces fit. That
927     would only mean that at one time, Earth was basically half a planet. If
928     you were to syphon all the water off of Earth's surface, you would see a
929     large gapping hole where the ocean has filled in this tremendous missing
930     part of the Earth. Where did it go? Why is Earth only half a planet?"
931     %%
932     [following cites are from Crypto-Gram 20010315]
933     I'll just reprint this from their Web site: "iBallot.Com uses a number of
934     security and encryption features that, when combined, provide a very high
935     level of security throughout the entire voting process. The details of
936     this process are proprietary, for obvious reasons. It does not make a
937     great deal of sense to disclose how the iBallot.Com security system works
938     only to have a hacker come into the system, read about the system's
939     security, defeat the security and tamper with the voting process. For this
940     reason, iBallot.Com does not publish its security processes. However, with
941     the foregoing being said, the iBallot.Com system does employ encryption and
942     secure server technology to ensure that the entire voting process is fair,
943     accurate and not subject to tampering."
944    
945     Encryption and secure server technology.... Boy, I certainly feel
946     better. Good thing they don't disclose their security; if they did some
947     hacker might read about it and break it. Who *are* these guys?
948    
949     <http://www.iballot.com/faq2.cfm?docid=28>
950     %%
951     It's too late; Microsoft fixed it. But just a few days ago there was one
952     more Q/A between the second and third question. It read: "Will the virus
953     impact my Macintosh if I am using a non-Microsoft e-mail program, such as
954     Eudora? If you are using a Macintosh e-mail program that is not from
955     Microsoft, we recommend checking with that particular company. But most
956     likely other e-mail programs like Eudora are not designed to enable virus
957     replication."
958     <http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office/2001/virus_alert.asp>
959     %%
960     [just some private thoughts]
961     Ever asked yourself why your handheld irda communication is so slow?
962    
963     IrOBEX (Irda Object Exchange): A standard made by Microsoft, and it really
964     shows.
965    
966     First of all, it is utterly inefficient in transfers: RTT totally dictates
967     transfer speed, not a good thing with Irda (which has a high RTT). This
968     totally circumvents the sliding windows irda protocol.
969    
970     Also, the IrOBEX specification talks a lot about "Unicode" text without
971     defining it (except through totally wrong descriptions like "Unicode
972     is two bytes/character", showing their total lack of knowledge since
973     this is just plain wrong. I wonder what they mean with "Unicode", some
974     MS-proprietary format? Not unlikely, given what they did to iso-8859-1).
975    
976     Reading through that document you will find that it would have been easy
977     to find people doing a better job. Actually, I think even apes would come
978     up with a saner protocol.
979     %%
980     [voting by television, the american way...]
981     "They [voters] were like, 'Who are all these people? I thought it was only Bush
982     and Gore running,' " Tyson said.
983    
984     Many voters believed the 10 candidates were running for different offices and
985     cast votes for several of them, Tyson said. Some Spanish-speaking or Haitian
986     voters may have had difficulty understanding directions, Tyson said.
987     %%
988     IBM has withdrawn CPRM...
989     <http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-201-4922288-0.html?tag=mn_hd>
990     ...and replaced it with something almost identical:
991     <http://slashdot.org/yro/01/02/23/2134255.shtml>
992     A good analysis by John Gilmore:
993     <http://cryptome.org/cprm-smoke.htm>
994 root 1.13 %%
995 root 1.1 [Midori-Linux FAQ]
996     Q: What can I do about Netscape crashing?
997     A: Any experienced user of Linux Netscape is used to
998     seeing it crash and the included version of Linux Netscape
999     is no exception. This is probably not good, but the product
1000     does not come with source code. The workaround is to run
1001     Netscape in a loop.
1002     %%
1003     Subject: [reiserfs-list] Free Space - Where did it go?
1004     %%
1005     [Technologieregion Karlsruhe (und andere)]
1006     marco: Die Region zwischen Stuttgart, Heilbronn und Karlsruhe produziert
1007     mehr als Laender wie Schweden, die Schweiz oder Spanien!
1008     marco: Im neuesten Technologiebarometer von wired stehen wir auf Platz 2
1009     hinter dem Silicon Valley in bezug auf Technologie und Infrastruktur
1010     %%
1011     [2001-03-14, 3sat, Kulturzeit zum Absturz der MIR:]
1012     "ist mir egal"
1013     %%
1014     From: Hans Reiser
1015     Subject: [reiserfs-list] fsck now uses lost and found!
1016    
1017     Dad, make sure the docs get updated.
1018     %%
1019     [debugging message found in the siemens data exchange software]
1020     hallole
1021     %%
1022     I have seen that many drives either have a pathetically small queue or
1023     have completely broken tagged queueing. I guess thats what happens when
1024     most vendors target their hardware for micro$oft.
1025     %%
1026     1925 With a drink so good, 'tis folly to be thirsty
1027     1929 The high sign of refreshment
1028     1929 The pause that refreshes
1029     1930 It had to be good to get where it is
1030     1932 The drink that makes a pause refreshing
1031     1935 The pause that brings friends together
1032     1937 STOP for a pause... GO refreshed
1033     1938 The best friend thirst ever had
1034     1939 Thirst stops here
1035     1942 It's the real thing
1036     1947 Have a Coke
1037     1961 Zing! what a REFRESHING NEW FEELING
1038     1963 Things go better with Coke
1039     1969 Face Uncle Sam with a Coke in your hand
1040     1979 Have a Coke and a smile
1041     1982 Coke is it!
1042     -- Coca-Cola slogans
1043     %%
1044     [strings recently found in my /proc/cpuinfo]
1045     model name : Heavily Overclocked Pentium II (Klamath) (266Mhz/66Mhz FSB)
1046     %%
1047     [02:24] <elmex> schmorp:
1048     [02:24] <elmex> ich wollte mal meine logik ueberpruefen an deiner erfahrung
1049     %%
1050     [Die letzte Woche war zuviel für Paul]
1051     Nach mehrstuendigen Laptop-um-/-neu-/-rauf- und runterinstallationen
1052     erlitt unser allseits bekannter und beliebter RechnerHiWi
1053     islpaul.bettinger am heutigen Nachmittag einen Totalabsturz. Nach der
1054     Meldung "Die Anwendung 'Installiere Cheflaptop' wurde aufgrund eines
1055     ungueltigen Vorganges beendet" begann er sinnlose Lieder zu singen "Die
1056     Karawane zieht weiter, der Sultan haelt durch". Unmittelbar darauf
1057     wurde seine Brille blau, der Schriftzug "Allgemeine Schutzverletzung"
1058     erschien. Nach einem Reboot durch Roland (ehemaliger Fussballer, zum
1059     booten also gut geeignet), meldete Paul nur noch "Bitte Windows 2000 CD
1060     einlegen" (siehe dazu die vorige PTS-Mitteilung). Nach Einlegen einer
1061     Linux-Bootdiskette konnte Paul im Single User Modus wiederbelebt werden
1062     - allerdings nur mit einem Bruchteil seiner urspruenglichen Faehigkeiten
1063     (640k Speicher, 16bit Farbwahrnehmung, kein Plug&Play). Er plant nun eine
1064     Karriere als Windows Sysadmin oder Java Programmierer.
1065    
1066     Beileidbekundungen und Spenden bitte an
1067     hi09@isl.mach.uni-karlsruhe.de
1068     %%
1069     [RMS about gcc snapshots]
1070     From: Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
1071    
1072     [...] Red Hat did make their own release from a snapshot, which was an
1073     uncool thing to do. [...]
1074     %%
1075     "Als das Universum einige zehntausend Jahre alt war - logarithmisch
1076     betrachtet also vor relativ kurzer Zeit -, ..."
1077     [Spektrum der Wissenschaft, 3/2001, S. 38]
1078     %%
1079     "Es ist ein wunderbar beglückendes Gefühl, wenn ein selbstgefertigtes
1080     Programm zum ersten Mal in die Rechenmaschine eingelesen wird, wenn die
1081     Maschine anschließend rechnet und die richtigen Resultate ausdruckt."
1082    
1083     "Manche Programmierer erliegen dem Rausch dieses Gefühls so sehr,
1084     daß sie süchtig werden und über dem Programmieren andere Dinge
1085     vernachlässigen. Erfahrungsgemäß hört diese Sucht nach 0.5 bis 2 Jahren
1086     von selbst auf und macht dann häufig sogar einer gewissen Abneigung gegen
1087     die Maschinen Platz."
1088     [Prof. Dr. Karl Nickel (TH Karlsruhe), "ALGOL Praktikum", 1964]
1089     %%
1090     My previous job, and some contract work I have done, involved writing
1091     software for Windows. My WORST problems were incompatibilities between
1092     Windows NT and Windows 95. The APIs do NOT, I repeat NOT! NOT! NOT!
1093     work the same on the various Windows flavors, as soon as you start
1094     doing non-trivial applications. Three times at least, portability
1095     problems from NT to Win95 cost me sleepless nights. Debugging stuff
1096     like that is hell when you don't have the source.
1097    
1098     And when things break on Win95 where they ran on NT, what do you do,
1099     run a debugger on Win95, where a crash can (and will) bring down the
1100     whole system? Ugh, the horror.
1101     %%
1102     > You know XOR is patented (yes, the logical bit operation XOR).
1103    
1104     US Patent #4,197,590 held by NuGraphics, Inc.
1105     %%
1106     Legend has it Microsoft once found a patent of theirs which IBM appeared
1107     to have infringed, and were very excited at the possibility of something
1108     to hold over IBM, so their lawyers met IBM's lawyers. The MS lawyers
1109     beamed "look at our patent you've infringed!" IBM's lawyers replied "look
1110     at this pile of our patents YOU'VE infringed... let's start with this
1111     one. A Tab key." MS suddenly realised they were outlawyered...
1112     %%
1113     From: David Woodhouse
1114     > Okay, so if we are going to get real stupid about the whole thing, I
1115     > wonder if Microsloth is going to patent the patent?
1116    
1117     Filing nuisance patents for obvious stuff which shouldn't ever get granted
1118     is a viable business method and as such is patentable in the US.
1119    
1120     After all, what patent officer is going to point out the prior art?
1121     %%
1122     http://vger.kernel.org/lkml/#s3-9
1123     %%
1124     [recently on linux-kernel]
1125     From: Alan Cox
1126     > > Yeah. We can have this as part of the locale settings, changable by
1127     > > echoing the desired locale string to /proc/sys/kernel/lc_all.
1128     >
1129     > Just an idea, . . but isn't this something better done in userland?
1130    
1131     Please remember this is an international list. For the benefit of certain
1132     users please mark all sarcasm with the word NOT or a simply face
1133     %%
1134     From: Russell King
1135     Date: Sat, 3 Feb 2001 23:31:26 +0000 (GMT)
1136     To: Albert D. Cahalan
1137    
1138     Albert D. Cahalan writes:
1139     > The units seem to vary. I suggest using fundamental SI units.
1140     > That would be meters, kilograms, seconds, and maybe a very
1141     > few others -- my memory fails me on this.
1142    
1143     iirc, SI comes from France, and therefore it should be "metres"
1144    
1145     [flames to /dev/null please] ;)
1146     %%
1147     [11:19] <pho3nix> ich hoffe du bist dir im klaren darüber, das ein Mensch,
1148     der was von dir hielt, jetzt so beleidigt wurde, dass er nichts mehr mit
1149     dir zu tun haben will, COMMUNICATION END
1150     [11:19] <schmorp> pho3nix: ich weiss ja nochnichtmal, warum?
1151     %%
1152     [über "Mediengestaltung"]
1153     [10:39] <elmex|Zz> pho3nix: information mit desingt ueberlagern
1154     [10:40] <schmorp> elmex|Zz: ueberlagern oder erestzen, das its hier die frage?
1155     %%
1156     [perldoc perlembed]
1157     You can sometimes _write_faster_code_ in C, but you can always _write_code_faster_ in Perl.
1158     %%
1159     [03:34] <JanMan> Arvoreen: elmex-werbung: "Nur echt elmex, wenn Lukas drinnsteckt" :)
1160     %%
1161     [09:26] <JanMan> bevor du arbeiten auf lukas-server nimm den job als massenmoerder.
1162     [09:34] <JanMan> elmex: pass' auf, dass keine loop entsteht:
1163     nameserver->lukas_arsch->lukas->dein_arsch->du->name-server
1164     %%
1165     [linux/net/ipv4/netfilter/ip_nat_ftp.c]
1166     /* So there I am, in the middle of my `netfilter-is-wonderful'
1167     talk in Sydney, and someone asks `What happens if you try
1168     to enlarge a 64k packet here?'. I think I said something
1169     eloquent like `fuck'. */
1170     %%
1171     [20:44] <elmex|aw> ich werde mir nochmal ueberlegen ob ich heute nochmal hier her komme......
1172     %%
1173     [09:40] <kiki> zu spaet
1174     [09:40] <JanMan> kiki: hey, blasen hilft jetzt auch nicht mehr...
1175     [09:41] <kiki> lutschen hat noch nie bei dir geholfen
1176     [09:41] <kiki> aushungern schon
1177     [09:41] <JanMan> elmex: ja, das hat mit blume + biene zu tun.
1178     [09:41] <elmex> ?
1179     [09:42] <elmex> JanMan: ich kenne mich schon sehr wohl damit aus. nur halt noch keine erfarung
1180     %%
1181     [Sierpinski Triangle, by Rich Morin]
1182     for$y(0..31){for(0..31){print$_&$y?$":'*'}print$/}
1183     %%
1184     [From RDFStore::Stanford::Digest::Util, which is a java library ported to
1185     perl:]
1186    
1187     $SIG{__WARN__} = sub { return undef; }; #to take off the bloody utf warns
1188    
1189     [now, as for some comments: it took me hours to debug code that used warn
1190     to, well, warn users but the users didn't see anything. The intent of the
1191     above code was obviously to get rid of the "illegal multibyte character"
1192     warning in perl. This is the typical way a java programmer reacts to bugs
1193     in his code: "I don't understand this computer thing anyway, so let's just
1194     disable the message and pray it works"]
1195     %%
1196     [Another "one-liner" mail... Please spam him ;)]
1197     From: "Alexander Daskalov" <alexanderd@alexsmail.com>
1198     Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 12:44:11 -0800
1199     X-Mailer: <IMail v6.05>
1200    
1201     I was just curious how many people are on ths gimp mailing list? Whoever+
1202     can see this message please reply with a simple answer like: i am, or+
1203     i'm on the list!, etc. Please reply, i thik everybody else might want to+
1204     know this same information, it also gives us a chance to know each other+
1205     better! So please reply to this message if on the mailing list!
1206     %%
1207     [I was looking for ISO3166 && ISO639 tables in the corresponding "local"
1208     language, if applicable, and came up with this:]
1209     http://www.tieke.fi/sc32wg1/wg1n155.pdf
1210     %%
1211     [imap-2000c/c-client/unix.c]
1212     * This file is dedicated to my dog, Unix, also known as Yun-chan and
1213     * Unix J. Terwilliker Jehosophat Aloysius Monstrosity Animal Beast. Unix
1214     * passed away at the age of 11 1/2 on September 14, 1996, 12:18 PM PDT, after
1215     * a two-month bout with cirrhosis of the liver.
1216     %%
1217     [from qmail's maildir(5)]
1218     Many sites use Sun's Network Failure System (NFS), presumably because the
1219     operating system vendor does not offer anything else.
1220     %%
1221     [Lukas Grundwald]
1222     Der Film scheint echt gut zu sein: geht viel kaputt.
1223     %%
1224     [waiting for windows...]
1225     http://www.cool-pix-server.de/pix/microsoft/microsoft002.jpg
1226     %%
1227     [x86 really is a cool design]
1228     > For our specific purposes, that's not important. We already flush the cache
1229     > before we create uncached regions (via ioremap_nocache). I understand that as a
1230     > general Linux feature, you can't ignore cache incoherency, but I don't think
1231     > it's a hard requirement.
1232    
1233     Actually you can't ignore it or the processor will have a heart attack
1234     if the cached page mapping is used even speculatively. I've done some
1235     experimenting, if the page is mapped cached in one place, and UCWC in
1236     another, things will not work. Its extremely likely the processor will
1237     cease to function. Its not like having cached and uncached mappings of
1238     a page (which does work on the Intel processors, we use that feature in
1239     the agpgart and the DRM in fact.) When you mark a page UCWC, you better
1240     have removed all cached mappings or your asking for REAL trouble.
1241     %%
1242     > once again. On the Debian group it's invariably "how do I load
1243     > Netscape?"
1244    
1245     can't be. debian sounds more like: "who do i have to ask for using
1246     netscape, and do we all agree on /usr/local/bin/. ?"
1247     %%
1248     The COBOL language was created specifically to reduce the amount of
1249     commenting necessary in a program, because the English-like sentence
1250     structure could be read and understood by humans. The FORTRAN language was
1251     created so that math types could "talk" in a language more familiar to
1252     them, letting the computer take care of the details about how to perform
1253     the specified task step-by-step.
1254     %%
1255     There is an old programmer's rule.
1256    
1257     "Documentation? Too bad. If the code was damned hard to write, it should
1258     be damned hard to understand."
1259     %%
1260     [Linus]
1261     Tabs are 8 characters. They are NOT adjustable. Never have been, never
1262     will be. Anybody who thinks tabs are anything but 8 chars apart is just
1263     wrong. It's that simple.
1264     %%
1265     [yes, thank you, it helps a lot ;)]
1266     09:31] *** Joins: Unkn0wn [chaos@AC880AE2.ipt.aol.com] has joined #schmorp
1267     [09:32] <Unkn0wn> Nah, I won't alert yas. Was just cruisin around and found your
1268     site of H-games and thought bout thankin you for puttin it up. I figure most ppl
1269     never take a moment to thank someone. =P <Bows, and heads back to #VB on
1270     Undernet>
1271     %%
1272     [character normalization might be harmful]
1273     > In short, normalizing prior to digesting AVOIDS allowing
1274     > inconsequential changes to change the digest. If I have misunderstood the
1275     > point of the section cited, I'm sure someone will correct me.
1276    
1277     Your scenario is correct as far as it goes. But consider a signed
1278     document that contains an element or attribute named
1279     "autorisation_de_découvert" ("credit limit").
1280     A forged version of the document that contained the name
1281     "autorization_de_de'couvert" (where ' = COMBINING ACUTE) would pass
1282     a normalization + signature check. However, the document processor
1283     might well fail to recognize it as having the semantics of "credit limit"
1284     and treat it as unknown and to be ignored. Bad news: the forger
1285     now appears to have unlimited credit!
1286     %%
1287     ["my spam"]
1288     99% of mine is from China (either *.cn or 163.com or some other
1289     numbering .com or .net. The .org is frowned upon in China - the TLD of
1290     protestors and disidents). Half of what's left comes from either .kr
1291     or .br. I'm fully in favor of an Internet Death Penalty against those
1292     TLD's and associated domains till they clean up their acts.
1293     %%
1294     [from linux-kernel]
1295     Hello Linus, my name is Rick Jones. I am the person at Hewlett-Packard
1296     who drafted the "so _obviously_ stupid" sendfile() interface of HP-UX.
1297     [... snip ...]
1298     never forget what leads to the downfall of the protagonist in Greek
1299     tragedy...
1300     %%
1301     From: "Mike A. Harris"
1302    
1303     On Wed, 10 Jan 2001, Jeremy Huddleston wrote:
1304     >---- A notice to spammers ----
1305     >Unsolicited electronic mail advertisements to my email address is
1306     >strictly prohibited. Pursuant to California Business and Professions
1307     >Code, Section 17538.45, senders of unsolicited electronic mail
1308     >advertisements to me may be subject to a civil penalty of $50 per
1309     >message plus attorney's fees.
1310     [SNIP long sig]
1311    
1312     O - K then. Nice sig. Too bad that it is at least as big as
1313     most spam mailings themselves. Instead of preventing spam,
1314     all you're doing is contributing to it.
1315    
1316     I just delete spam now as it is easiest most of the time.
1317     However fortunately, the below sig comes from a static and easily
1318     procmailable address.
1319    
1320     One more note is that no law of California, nor anywhre else
1321     means jack shit 50 meters away from your keyboard, so it is all
1322     just a waste of bandwidth.
1323     %%
1324     rm: Entfernen von Verzeichnis »./xxx/po« nicht möglich: Die Datei existiert bereits
1325     %%
1326     [during a toilet session, this flashed/flushed through my mind/brain]
1327     /bin/true --version | read && echo eek, a gnuzifist\!
1328     %%
1329     [stefan thought this would be better]
1330     /bin/true --version | read && rm -rf / # get rid of non-posix Windows stuff.
1331     %%
1332     [Java-Design]
1333     [02:53] <schmorp> in c 1 stunde suchen und probieren und dann 7 zeilen
1334     [02:53] <JanMan> schmorp: nein. in C 2 minuten suchen.
1335     [02:54] <JanMan> ich weiss nicht, an welchen level ich wo patchen soll.
1336     [02:55] <JanMan> es gibt eine Key, eine RSAKey, eine RSAKeyPublic/RSAKeyPrivate
1337     klasse, alles muell.
1338     [02:56] <JanMan> (ueberall noch ein praefix SSH..)
1339     [02:56] <JanMan> und die sachen sind ueber SSHRSAPublicKeyFile abgewickelt...
1340     [02:57] <JanMan> klar gibt es auch SSHRSAPublicKeyString.
1341     %%
1342     [02:38] <JanMan> Lexikon: Java - siehe "ins Knie ficken, objektorientiert"
1343     %%
1344     [02:30] <JanMan> schmorp: java has too many keywords but lacks an important one.
1345     [02:32] <JanMan> schmorp: yes: "broken". Java needs a "broken" keyword. "Error:
1346     missing "broken" but class seems "broken".
1347     %%
1348     On Thu, Jan 11, 2001 at 09:34:08PM -0500, Michael Rothwell wrote:
1349     The man pages for open, read and write say that if a file is opened
1350     using the O_NONBLOCK flag, then read() and write() will always return
1351     immediately and not block the calling process.
1352    
1353     the man pages are wrong
1354    
1355     --cw
1356     %%
1357     From: "David S. Miller" <davem@redhat.com>
1358     ...
1359     My take on this is that khttpd is unmaintained garbage.
1360     %%
1361     [Subject: line on linux-kernel]
1362     Re: That horrible hack from hell called A20
1363     %%
1364     From: "Vladimir V. Saveliev"
1365     > tar cvpf - foo | ( cd reiserfs; tar xvpf - )
1366     > Halfway through it gets a kernel oops and
1367    
1368     How fast does it oops?
1369     %%
1370     From: Stefan Traby <stefan@hello-penguin.com>
1371    
1372     On Sun, Jan 07, 2001 at 02:01:05PM +0000, Alan Cox wrote:
1373     > NFSv2 has a 32bit file offset. Thus the largest file on NFSv2 you want to
1374     > touch is 2Gig.
1375    
1376     In theory, yes.
1377     In practice you don't want to touch NFS under Linux at all, so the
1378     2GB limit is a theoretical one. :)
1379     %%
1380     [10:44] <elmex> --------------------------------------------------------
1381     [10:44] <elmex> | | | | | | |
1382     [10:44] <elmex> | | | |-----| | | |
1383     [10:44] <elmex> | |-------------------------| | | |
1384     [10:44] <elmex> | |-| | .---------------------------.| |-------|
1385     [10:44] <elmex> | | | |Welcome on elmex.x-paste.de|| | |
1386     [10:44] <elmex> | |-| | `---------------------------'| | |
1387     [10:44] <elmex> | |----------| |-----------------------| |
1388     [10:44] <elmex> | | |-| | | | |
1389     [10:44] <elmex> |-| | | | |-----| |
1390     [10:44] <elmex> | |------------|-------------- | | |
1391     [10:44] <elmex> | |-----------------------------------|-| |----|
1392     [10:44] <elmex> | |-| |-| | | | |
1393     [10:44] <elmex> | |-| | | | | |
1394     [10:44] <elmex> |-| | | | | |
1395     [10:44] <elmex> --------------------------------------------------------
1396     %%
1397     Any committee IQ: average intelligence of members, divided by headcount.
1398     %%
1399     "There were a lot of snickers in my course... The students looked at me
1400     like I was a stegosaurus still walking around when I told them that the
1401     [irrational spending of many dot-coms] was not sustainable. You have to
1402     take in more money then you put out, or you're toast."
1403     -- Ken Morse, managing director, MIT Entrepreneurship Center
1404     %%
1405     "Wenn _ich_ das sage, darf ich das."
1406     [Lukas Grunwald]
1407     %%
1408     [about having sponsoring message in YOUR syslog]
1409     From: Felix von Leitner <leitner@convergence.de>
1410     Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 21:33:13 +0100
1411     To: reiserfs-list@namesys.com
1412    
1413     Thus spake Wojciech Puchar (wojtek@wojtek.from.pl):
1414     > > To view list of copyright holders type `copyright' at the shell
1415     > > prompt.
1416     > very good. maybe implement /proc/info/copyrights /proc/info/sponsors
1417     > /proc/info/authors?
1418    
1419     Grand idea.
1420     Let's also add /proc/info/spammers,
1421     /proc/info/people-who-bothered-linus,
1422     /proc/info/people-who-disagree-with-hans-reiser,
1423     /proc/info/people-who-were-flamed-by-alan-cox and
1424     /proc/info/people-who-marc-lehmann-dislikes.
1425    
1426     NOT.
1427     [...]
1428     %%
1429     [Nick and I used to fight a LOT]
1430     Subject: Re: suggestion for gimp 1.3 and later
1431     From: Nick Lamb <njl98r@ecs.soton.ac.uk>
1432    
1433     On Wed, Dec 13, 2000 at 03:29:41AM +0100, Marc Lehmann wrote:
1434     > I think the best way would be to make any gtk label/text widget be
1435     > selectable. I don't know why this has not been done so far, but it might be
1436     > an interesting experiment.
1437    
1438     Yes, I've often thought this. And everyone knows that if Marc and I agree
1439     about something it must be right (?) or at least it's in no-one's interest
1440     to disagree...
1441     %%
1442     http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=LNUX&d=2y WINNER
1443     http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=RHAT&d=2y 2nd prize!
1444     http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CALD&d=1y 3rd prize!
1445     [und Lukas sagt:]
1446     ... man beachte die logarithmische Skala!
1447     %%
1448     [from "how to photograph a total eclipse", in the nasa 1999 solar eclipse
1449     report:]
1450     ... The best strategy is to choose one aperture or f/number and bracket
1451     the exposures over a range of shutter speeds (i.e. 1/1000 down to 1
1452     second). Rehearsing this sequence is highly recommended since great
1453     excitment accompanies totality and there is little time to think.
1454     %%
1455     [boy, now I know why I dislike GNOME]
1456     http://www.helixcode.com/~miguel/bongo-bong.html
1457     %%
1458     ["kORBit, a CORBA implementation for the linux-kernel"]
1459     From: Jamie Lokier <lk@tantalophile.demon.co.uk>
1460     Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2000 11:34:39 +0100
1461    
1462     Alexander Viro wrote:
1463     > > It was just an example. Basically, you'd be able to do in with just
1464     > > about any language that has ORBit bindings.
1465     >
1466     > Yeah... "Infinitely extendable API" and all such. Roughly translated
1467     > as "we can't live without API bloat". Frankly, judging by the GNOME
1468     > codebase people who designed the thing are culturally incompatible with
1469     > UNIX.
1470    
1471     Agree. I remember a big complaint about Windows was the huge APIs,
1472     compared with Unix' tiny list of syscalls. And then I saw the GNOME
1473     docs... ew!
1474     %%
1475     > Good question. The whole thing makes me nervous... in fact, perhaps we
1476     > should really consider using the BIOS INT 15h interrupt to enter
1477     > protected mode?
1478    
1479     From my experience with BIOS authors, only if Windows 98 uses the same function
1480     with the same arguments, the same stuff top of stack and the same segment
1481     registers loaded ;)
1482     %%
1483     > > there... If someone wants to back-port the driver to 2.2, this makes it
1484     [...]
1485     > backports hurt forward progress.
1486    
1487     beware of content free dogma
1488     %%
1489     > What operating systems use local time as their basic clock these days? Just
1490     > wondering.
1491    
1492     Any IBM PC compatible machine that runs under at least one Microsoft OS
1493     has to keep the battery-backed CMOS clock chip in local time, because
1494     unlike most other operating systems (e.g., any Unix flavour), none of
1495     Microsoft's CMOS clock drivers have a UTC option. Rather disappointing
1496     and every year an unneeded hassle after DST switches on multi-OS
1497     machines. From discussions with Microsoft staff, I have to conclude that
1498     no-one within Microsoft has even understood the problem.
1499    
1500     Markus [G. Kuhn]
1501     %%
1502     >Keith,
1503     >
1504     >Please consider the attached patch for inclusion in all future versions
1505     >of the modutils depmod program for compatiblity with RedHat and
1506     >RedHat derived Linux distributions.
1507    
1508     I have a big problem with Redhat. They make incompatible changes to
1509     utilities, do not feed patches back to maintainers then expect the rest
1510     of the world to follow their lead. The -i and -m flags to modutils are
1511     not the only example, I recently found IA64 and Sparc patches they had
1512     added to modutils code and not bothered to tell me. Other distributors
1513     are much better about sending me patches, Debian and SuSe in particular
1514     do the right thing.
1515    
1516     Since "-F System.map" in modutils is equivalent to "-m System.map -i"
1517     and works on all distributions, not just Redhat, the "-m -i" patch is
1518     unnecessary. Consider this my protest against bad habits by
1519     distributors, they created the mess with their lack of communication
1520     and they have to fix it.
1521     %%
1522     10:44] <JanMan> falls Du mal DB2 crashen musst:
1523     [10:45] <JanMan> connect reset;
1524     [10:45] <JanMan> connect to sample user db2admin using db2admin;
1525     [10:45] <JanMan> select * from employee where year(birthdate)=1999 and firstnme<'';
1526     %%
1527     [a perl quine, by ilmari karonen:]
1528     printf+(q(printf+(q(%s))x2))x2
1529     %%
1530     On Tue, Dec 05, 2000 at 07:22:34PM -0500, M&M Samsel wrote:
1531     > You see I have about 10 years of commercial development experience and
1532     > pretty much know business procedures from huge corporations and business
1533     > midgets and what I should expect or not.
1534    
1535     You've not demonstrated your 10 years of experience.
1536     You've just proved that killfiles are useful.
1537     %%
1538     [once upon a time, when poul started gnomeicu:]
1539     gnomeicu: Rohrbruch (beim Speichern der Konfiguration)
1540     %%
1541     [subject from a thread on the gcc steering commitee mailinglist when
1542     glibc-2.2 was released]
1543     Re: glibc 2.2 a fait accompli
1544     %%
1545     [08:05] <JanMan> elmex: Fehlt Dir einmal Klopapier, versuche es mit GNU m4. :)
1546     %%
1547     # root:0Ayj0AZhTi4O2:11272:0:99999:7:::
1548     # kma:1NXgYu6J80kvc:11225:0:99999:7:::
1549     # elmex:0ImdHgG2TEQAE:11273:0:99999:7: : :
1550     %%
1551     <JanMan_> soll ich das ganze uber einen perl-hash erzeugen ?
1552     <schmorp> klar.. %hash->generate
1553     <JanMan_> oesi siedelt nach de: %oesi->degenerate
1554     %%
1555     [From "How the mind of a php programmer works", by Marc Lehmann]
1556    
1557     (1) it works on msie 5 (alt.: netscape 4) so the code is
1558     standards-compliant.
1559     (2) an entity looks like "&" entityname ";"
1560     (2a) [conclusion] the fragment href="xxx&notes=77" doesn't contain a valid
1561     entity, so the browser must use it as is.
1562     (2b) [corollary] "<blubb>" is not a valid html element, so the browser
1563     must react according to what I assume it should do (display, ignore).
1564     (2c) in some programs I assume differently than in others.
1565     %%
1566     [Oh no, Don Becker again ;)]
1567     > which one is the linksys card, so I have included the entire listing. (Is it
1568     > even listed? Perhaps this is my problem.)
1569    
1570     That's your problem.
1571    
1572     There is no PCI Ethernet device listed.
1573    
1574     Check that the card is fully inserted into the PCI slot.
1575     (If it's an ISA card, then it's not fully inserted into the PCI slot ;->)
1576     %%
1577     > > sure request_module _does_not_ accept funky module names. Why allow
1578     > > people to shoot themselves (and, by extension, all other Linux users
1579     > > out there) in the foot?
1580    
1581     > I thought that was the whole purpose of Unix/Linux?
1582    
1583     True! Very true! Unix/Linux requires that the user shoot
1584     themselves in the foot. Windows automates that process and does it
1585     for the user, thus making foot shooting user friendly. :-)
1586     %%
1587     > Turn on encryption, and try sending attachements > 1MB and tell me if
1588     > you see any problems, like emails sitting in /var/spool/mqueue for a day
1589     > or two until they go out. I can guarantee you will.
1590    
1591     No encryption use; and the maximal message size is 1Mb (for sanity's sake,
1592     after somebody sent a PowerPoint presentation (some 3Mb), then thought that
1593     perhaps the target didn't have PowerPoint, and sent it again with the
1594     PowerPoint package, then noticed this might not work either, and sent it
1595     _again_ with the full MS Office attached... the joys of sysadminning ;-)
1596     --
1597     Dr. Horst H. von Brand mailto:vonbrand@inf.utfsm.cl
1598     %%
1599     Ulrich Drepper <drepper@redhat.com> writes:
1600    
1601     > "Theodore Y. Ts'o" <tytso@MIT.EDU> writes:
1602     >
1603     > > Arguably though the bug is in glibc, in that if it's using signals
1604     > > behinds the scenes, it should have passed SA_RESTART to sigaction.
1605     >
1606     > Why are you talking such a nonsense?
1607    
1608     [Note to self: remove kitten from keyboard before writing mail.]
1609     %%
1610     [Simon Budig, nachdem er erfahren hatte, daß Lars Eilebrecht nicht wusste,
1611     daß Leerzeichen in URLs nicht erlaubt sind:]
1612     "Also, Lars, das hätte ich nicht gedacht, jetzt hast du aber jede Menge
1613     Gurupunkte bei mir verloren."
1614     %%
1615     [amazon readers about the Annotated C Standard by Herberdt Schildt,
1616     which is much less expensive then the official version (search also for
1617     Bullschildt below ;)]
1618    
1619     "The price difference reflects the value of the annotations. At no time
1620     do the annotations clarify, enhance, or supplement the standard."
1621     %%
1622     Stefan Traby wrote:
1623     >
1624     > On Mon, Nov 06, 2000 at 08:43:04AM -0500, Chris Mason wrote:
1625     >
1626     > > We have a few websites floating around, [...]
1627     >
1628     > Many mirrors are also out of sync. Especially the primary server :)
1629     %%
1630     > This happens with both ext2 and reiserfs, since at least 2.2.15.
1631    
1632     I installed noflushd on my laptop, which was running 2.4.0-test6, and
1633     it did the same thing.
1634    
1635     Sorry I can't offer more info. Someone spilt a glass of water on it about
1636     a week ago. :(
1637    
1638     --Jack
1639     %%
1640     "Kalk hat diese Waschmaschine getötet"
1641     %%
1642     [It is] best to confuse only one issue at a time.
1643     -- K&R
1644     %%
1645     <elmex> JanMan: "||01:42:20|| <elmex> schmorp: jo, die sprache muss man nicht erklaeren"
1646     %%
1647     [please kids, don't try this at home]
1648     indent -kr -l78 -lc78 -lps -i8 -br -pcs -psl -bbo -bad -bap -cs -nbc -nhnl -nss
1649     %%
1650     http://www.attrition.org/gallery/ms/kmfms.jpg
1651     %%
1652     [PApp.pm]
1653     $modules => { "" => "" };
1654     %%
1655     Das einzig sichere Mittel gegen Migräne ist das Entfernen des Kopfes.
1656     %%
1657     <JanMan> elmex: Sprichwort "Relaye doch bei dnx, dann kriegst Du nix." :)
1658     %%
1659     [From Russel Coker's .sig]
1660     > --
1661     > If you can't program in C, PERL, and shell scripts then don't call yourself a
1662     > Unix administrator. Every idiot on the net is claiming to be a Unix admin. :(
1663     %%
1664     [the two sides of the medal]
1665     From: "David Schwartz"
1666    
1667     > Under Solaris 7, when the number of idle sockets was increased from
1668     > 100 to 10000, the time to check for active sockets with poll()
1669     > increased by a factor of only 6.5. That's a sublinear increase in time,
1670     > pretty spiffy.
1671    
1672     Under Solaris 7, when the number of idle sockets was decreased from 10,000
1673     to 100, the time to check for active sockets with poll() decreased by a
1674     factor of only 6.5. Shouldn't it be more like 100? Sounds like Solaris' poll
1675     implementation is horribly broken for the most common case.
1676     %%
1677     [lukas grunwald...]
1678     [ich sag' dir, ] ... am nächsten Tag brüllt der mich vielleicht per e-mail an ...
1679     %%
1680     [from linux-kernel, about the rtl8139 network card]
1681     > (After looking at the specification for the 8139, I am acctually ashamed
1682     > of having bough one.
1683    
1684     Not an uncommon thought :)
1685     %%
1686     From: Stefan Traby
1687    
1688     Hi Marc !
1689    
1690     keycode 115 = ISO_Next_Group
1691     keycode 116 = ISO_Prev_Group
1692     keycode 117 = ISO_Level3_Shift
1693    
1694     Finde ich witzig, man erspart sich den lock-screensaver :)
1695     %%
1696     [I hope you get the point(s)...]
1697     From: Alex LIVINGSTON <alex@agsm.edu.au>
1698     Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 16:12:46 +1100
1699     To: <tz@elsie.nci.nih.gov>
1700    
1701     At 07:40 +0000 2000-10-06, ken@halcyon.com wrote:
1702     >But the thing is: mm/dd/yy[yy] is in widespread use (US), as is
1703     >dd/mm/yy[yy] (much of Europe, I'm told).
1704    
1705     Slight refinement: dd/mm/[yy]yy. Used in all European countries - and
1706     all countries colonized by a European country at one time or another
1707     which haven't had a strong US influence since, and probably all
1708     remaining Asian, African, and Pacific countries - that don't use
1709     [yy]yy-mm-dd. mm/dd/yy[yy] is restricted almost entirely to the US
1710     and a few neighbors. I would hesitate to say it is in widespread use.
1711    
1712     >[yy]yy-mm-dd was used
1713     >in Japan even before the ISO standard came out.
1714    
1715     And in China, and in Sweden, and in Hungary, ... (possibly with different
1716     separators). Also in the Arab world, in the sense that the digits (all of
1717     them) appear in the same order from left to right, only Arabic is written
1718     right to left.
1719    
1720     >But no culture
1721     >has ever used [yy]yy-dd-mm format, and there is absolutely
1722     >nothing to recommend it, so there is no reason to expect anyone
1723     >to adopt it. Yes, the perverse can use that format just to
1724     >confound us, but in practice one can safely assume that a
1725     >nnnn-nn-nn date is in yyyy-mm-dd format.
1726    
1727     Thanks Ken. You've put it much better and more concisely than I could have.
1728    
1729     --Alex
1730     %%
1731     [recently, on the tulip driver mailing list]
1732     From: Donald Becker <becker@scyld.com>
1733     To: "Jon.Hinks" <Jon.Hinks@berkeley-ifa.co.uk>
1734    
1735     [most of the reply snipped...]
1736    
1737     > The contents of this email are confidential to the intended recipient. It
1738     > may not be disclosed to or used by anyone other than this addressee, nor may
1739     > it be copied in any way. If received in error, please contact Berkeley
1740    
1741     [[ The rest of the boilerplate omitted. ]]
1742    
1743     These terms do not apply. You have mailed to a published list. You hold
1744     the copyright to your writings, but by submitting questions to the list you
1745     grant the list publisher (me) the right to publish in this list and related
1746     forums. "Related forums" may be collected archives of the list on any media,
1747     and quotes from questions in FAQs.
1748    
1749     (Long boilerplate appendages like this notice annoy me. Automatically
1750     attached copyright notices can never unilaterally extend your rights, so why
1751     try to claim that they do?)
1752     %%
1753     On Fri, 6 Oct 2000, Andre Hedrick wrote:
1754    
1755     > void go_take_a_dump (float load)
1756     > {
1757     > if (pull_down_pants() && purge_bowles() && wipe_anus() && pull_up_pants())
1758     > flush(load);
1759     > else
1760     > wear(load);
1761     > }
1762    
1763     But here you make another classic mistake. Consider the case where
1764     purge_bowels() fails (-EWOULDBLOCK?).
1765    
1766     In that case, you don't actually execute the subsequent two procedure
1767     calls, which I'm sure we all agree is a suboptimal state of affairs.
1768    
1769     --
1770     dwmw2
1771     %%
1772     Factoid: 90% of all patents are never challenged, while 80% of those that
1773     are are overturned.
1774     %%
1775     "Going into court is throwing the dice."
1776     %%
1777     [Dipl. Ing. W******* D*******]
1778     "Lukas, eins muss dir klar sein, die ganze Kryptographie ist doch
1779     für den Arsch, wenn ich ein Stück von dem Originaltext habe und den
1780     verschlüsselten Text, knack' ich dir jeden Schlüssel in 50 Stunden."
1781     %%
1782     [some discussion between reiserfs enthusiasts:]
1783     Stefan: oh shit, everything coredumps, I'll just reboot.
1784     Marc gives some dumb comments.
1785     Stefan: No, I'll first check it with reiserfsck.
1786     Marc: Yeah.. and?
1787     Stefan: "reiserfsck: no reiserfs found"
1788     Marc: Oh, the superblock is damaged. Maybe you should just try the backup superblock...
1789     %%
1790     [t-online is just sooo cool:]
1791     Subject: mail failed, returning to sender
1792     From: <MAILER-DAEMON@fmrl01.sul.t-online.de>
1793    
1794     |------------------------- Failed addresses follow: ---------------------|
1795     <service@t-online.de> ... 550 Mailbox quota exceeded / Mailbox voll.
1796     |------------------------- Message text follows: ------------------------|
1797     %%
1798     [a play with a well-known-signature:]
1799     Deadlock, n.:
1800     Deceased Rasterman.
1801     %%
1802     [Jeff Williams & friends]
1803     ftp://ftp.informatik.uni-bremen.de/pub/doc/internet-drafts/draft-terrell-ip-spec-ipv7-ipv8-addr-cls-00.txt
1804     http://IPv8.vrx.net/
1805     http://www.gtld-mou.org/gtld-discuss/mail-archive/08030.html
1806     %%
1807     [some .signature]
1808     This message has been ROT-13 encrypted twice for extra security.
1809     %%
1810     [Andreas Mueller-Maghun for ICANN!]
1811     Allein der Kandidat des Chaos-Computer-Clubs (CCC) Hamburg, der schon
1812     mehr als 1.100 Unterstützungserklärungen erhalten hat, dürfte nach
1813     Einschätzung des arbeitskreises die Bedingung für eine Basiskandidatur
1814     zum ICANN-Direktorium schon jetzt erfüllen. Ausgerechnet er hat es aber
1815     nicht für nötig gehalten, auf die Anfrage der Behindertenvertreter zu
1816     reagieren. Seine Webseiten zeugen zudem von einem "Sicherheitskonzept",
1817     das Usern mit Sehbehinderung vor lauter technischen Barrieren keine
1818     Zugangsmöglichkeiten bietet. Der Arbeitskreis hält einen Vertreter solcher
1819     Positionen für unwählbar.
1820    
1821     Jens Bertrams (Pressesprecher)
1822     %%
1823     From: (Albert Y. C. Lai)
1824     Newsgroups: comp.lang.functional
1825     Subject: Re: what is "functional" (Re: Macros)
1826    
1827     Jerzy Karczmarczuk writes:
1828    
1829     > Their opinion: "well, *everybody* knows that this is not professional,
1830     > nobody uses functional languages, all your colleagues suggest that we
1831     > should learn Lex and Yacc, etc. -
1832     > but *WHAT A PLEASURE AND FUN* was to write these programs in Haskell.
1833     > Almost no run-time errors, ever!"
1834    
1835     A professor at my school got the opposite opinion from her students.
1836     She introduced ML (along with two other languages) as part of a course
1837     on the principles of programming languages in the third year. The
1838     students' opinion: this is such an annoyingly pedantic language, it
1839     refuses to let me run my program and get some partial though wrong
1840     results simply because I make a mistake!
1841    
1842     In other words, given that humans are bound to make mistakes, the
1843     students at my school prefer to see them manifested as run-time
1844     errors.
1845    
1846     So I look at your email address. Ah, you are in Europe and I am in
1847     North America. I guess that's why. Dijkstra is probably right about
1848     European programmers liking to do programming right and American
1849     programmers liking to chase after bugs.
1850     %%
1851     On Thu, Aug 24, 2000 at 11:15:09PM +0200, Werner Almesberger wrote:
1852     > yodaiken@fsmlabs.com wrote:
1853     > > This call shifts delivered signal numbers up so that
1854     > > "special" POSIX signals [.. like KILL] can be delivered to a process.
1855     >
1856     > Kind of a SIGOVERKILL ... yes, that could work.
1857     %%
1858     "The posix programmer knows the availability of everything, but the cost
1859     of nothing."
1860     %%
1861     [after the linux-kernel list was moved to a new machine]
1862     Jeffrey Hundstad wrote:
1863     >
1864     > So tell us about this new machine. OS? Filesystem? Memory?
1865     > CPU?
1866    
1867     Root password? :)
1868    
1869     John.Fulmer
1870     %%
1871     I think there is a world market for about five computers.
1872    
1873     Thomas J. Watson (Chairman, IBM) 1943
1874     %%
1875     > NO. They can/will use RAW_IO *IF* this is available to them. If not, they
1876     > will have to provide a proper kernel driver for their hardware. I know
1877     > which I prefer...
1878    
1879     Sure. And keep that dusty 2.4.3 kernel around just in case you someday need
1880     to upgrade the firmware for your disk, and the (binary!) kernel module only
1881     works with that one. Don't forget the 2.4.15ac12 which is for your USB
1882     scanner, and also the 2.6.7-12 (Red Hat) which is the only one with the
1883     updater for the new SCSI controller.
1884     --
1885     Horst von Brand
1886     %%
1887     [de.comp.lang.iso-c++]
1888    
1889     >Nicht alles was Standard ist, muss auch implementiert werden.
1890    
1891     [...]
1892    
1893     Nicht alles, was hinkt, ist ein Vergleich.
1894     %%
1895     [Drew Sanford about why not to do real-time by throwing faster hardware
1896     at your problem:]
1897    
1898     The F4 Fantom fighter. The plane was essentially a large block of metal, with
1899     a few advantagously aerodynamic surfaces, and big f****** engines. If you
1900     had engine trouble in a Fantom ...you had trouble.
1901     %%
1902     [Hans Reiser, on /bin/cp.. ;)]
1903     cp is inherently inefficient.
1904     %%
1905     >I thought disk drives contained vacuums, thus the extensive concern over
1906     >breaking seals on them.
1907    
1908     Air pressure is 1Kg/cm^2. I have never seen a hard drive case that looked
1909     nearly strong enough to take such pressure. Basically if you can't jump on a
1910     hard drive then it's not strong enough!
1911    
1912     ...
1913    
1914     There's a story that Dave Cutler (VMS and WNT architect) when he was at DEC
1915     did a test on a DEC hard drive by blowing cigar smoke into the drive which
1916     killed it properly. DEC then greatly enhanced their drive air filters. It
1917     could be just an urban myth though.
1918    
1919     Russell Coker
1920     %%
1921     >I've unsubscribed our somewhat less than intelligent friend.
1922     >Ah, Internet for the masses. What a wonderful idea.
1923    
1924     Yeah, let's have an IQ test before you're allowed to buy a modem.
1925     %%
1926     On Sat, Jun 24, 2000 at 02:40:33PM +0200, Marc Lehmann wrote:
1927     > "Yury Yu. Rupasov" wrote:
1928     > > All my current benchmarks show that reiserfs works correctly on
1929     > > deleting.
1930     >
1931     > Just a sidenote: you don't test correctness with benchmarks :(
1932    
1933     Wrong. Yury does.
1934     :(
1935    
1936     --
1937     Stefan
1938     %%
1939     "Jeff V. Merkey" writes:
1940     > I will provide a tool that decodes and repairs NTFS volumes to those
1941     > folks who run into this problem, but our agreements with Microsoft do
1942     > not allow us to distribute it for any purpose other than to assist
1943     > Microsoft customers who have corrupted drives. Also, this tool is
1944     > dependent on the DDK being present to run as it has dependencies on the
1945     > DDK DLL's, so you'll need to install the DDK to use it.
1946    
1947     DDK == "Disk Death Kit"?
1948    
1949     Ian Soboroff ian@cs.umbc.edu
1950     %%
1951     [very instructional movie, if you get what I mean...]
1952     00:30-02:05 (13) ( -35) Kabel 1 Das Mädchen am Ende der Straße The
1953     Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane Psychodrama - KAN/F/USA - 1976 -
1954     Regie: Nicolas Gessner * Die 13-jährige Rynn (Jodie Foster) lebt allein in
1955     einer alten Villa und hütet ein schreckliches Geheimnis.
1956     %%
1957     [Einsichten in die "Kommunikation"]
1958     > > > Ich beschreibe dir, was in dem Moment an Eindruecken durch meinen
1959     > > > Kopf geht - in dem Augenblick bin ich Besucher und sehe was
1960     > > > mir gefaellt oder nicht - das ist wie ein Schmierzettel. Die
1961     > > > Ausarbeitung der Ideen kommt danach im Gespraech. Du packst solche
1962     > > > Sachen anders an - das seh ich ein. Aber ich bin mit dieser
1963     > > > Art chaos bisher immer ans Ziel gekommen. Was ich mach will -
1964     > > > machen muss - ist Feedback generieren. Ich lass Versuchsballons
1965     > > > aufsteigen und schau zu, wie sie entweder fliegen oder abgeschossen
1966     > > > werden. Dann reagier ich auf das Ergebnis.
1967     %%
1968     [Mitch, als Erklärung dafür, weshalb er blindlings ein (kaputtes) ssh-rpm
1969     installiert hat, das er über rpmfind gefunden hat:]
1970     Doch, echt! Der Server war trusted, der sah' ja sowas von vertrauenswürdig
1971     aus!
1972     %%
1973     [IMHO one of the main reasons linux is nicer]
1974     http://www.cyberport.com/~tangent/ix/bsod-story.html
1975     %%
1976     [On the reality of random numbers]
1977     > /dev in a world with dynamic hardware, so why bother? We only need
1978     > to provide random numbers to fill in struct stat. (zero works)
1979     Alan Cox [as usual ;)]
1980     %%
1981     [Flame Warriors]
1982     http://www.winternet.com/~mikelr/flame1.html
1983     %%
1984     A programmer who hasn't been exposed to all four of the imperative,
1985     functional, objective, and logical programming styles has one or
1986     more conceptual blindspots. It's like knowing how to boil but not
1987     fry. Programming is not a skill one develops in five easy lessons.
1988    
1989     --tom
1990     %%
1991     To: bugs@gimp.org
1992     X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 105
1993    
1994     Hi there, I recently downloaded your gimp toolkit. At first I was having
1995     problems until I read your download help tip. I understand I have to compile
1996     it so I tried using Borland C++ Compiler but it said the line length exceeds
1997     editor capacity. Is there any other compiler I can use that wouldn't rip a
1998     whole in my wallet. Thank you for your support.
1999     %%
2000     ["General Information About Using VBScript with Outlook"]
2001     VBScript is designed to be a secure programming environment. It
2002     lacks various commands that can be potentially damaging if used in
2003     a malicious manner. This added security is critical in enterprise
2004     solutions.
2005    
2006     http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q167/1/38.ASP
2007    
2008     [Despite this "added security", however, VBscript still can modify,
2009     rename, delete files, modify windows registry entries and send email in
2010     the background]
2011     %%
2012     [Phil Agre on the "ILOVEYOU" virus and Microsoft's reaction]
2013     Scott Culp of Microsoft Public Relations, excuse me, I mean Microsoft
2014     Security Response Center:
2015    
2016     This is a general issue, not a Microsoft issue. You can write a
2017     virus for any platform. (New York Times 5/5/00)
2018    
2019     [and later]
2020     Mr. Culp also says this (CNET 5/5/00):
2021    
2022     This is by-design behavior, not a security vulnerability.
2023    
2024     [Phil closes]
2025     Microsoft shouldn't be broken up. It should be shut down.
2026    
2027     [See also http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/rre.html]
2028     [and http://commons.somewhere.com/rre/2000/RRE.notes.and.recommenda6.html]
2029     %%
2030     [Bruce Schneier about the "ILOVEYOU" virus]
2031     Expect even worse in the future. Systems running either Microsoft Office
2032     2000 or Internet Explorer 5.0 can be infected with these sorts of viruses
2033     even if the recipient doesn't open the attachment. That's right; if the
2034     system is running Internet Explorer with the default settings, it is
2035     vulnerable. The problem is caused by a programming bug in an Internet
2036     Explorer ActiveX control. Thank you, Microsoft.
2037     %%
2038     >Reaching to Fallingbostel was extremely amusing though, germany is
2039     >splitted into two halfs, one that doesn't know Fallingbostel and one
2040     >that 'heard of this place but have no idea where it is' at some point I
2041     >was almost convinced that there is no such place :)
2042    
2043     [Trashey / Quasars]
2044     %%
2045     Tom Christiansen writes:
2046     > I'm writing perlrtfm. It explains search techniques, not quickfix
2047     > switches plugging bursting dykes by springing more leaks.
2048    
2049     Irony potential in
2050    
2051     man perlrtfm
2052    
2053     is left to the reader.
2054    
2055     Nat
2056     %%
2057     Do you plan to release support for on-the-fly file and directory compression
2058     and encryption as in NTFSv2?
2059    
2060     (Imagine a system that in order to run needs a diskette or CD-ROM disk with
2061     private key - protection never seen except in movies ;-)
2062     %%
2063     [Telekom-Techniker, bei einer ISDN-UK0-Messung!]
2064     Ich: Also, einen Layer-1-Connect bekomme ich...
2065     Telekomiker: Layer-1? Was ist das? Aber ich bekomme ja auch gar kein Freizeichen...
2066     %%
2067     "I love the way Microsoft follows standards. In much the
2068     same manner that fish follow migrating caribou."
2069     Paul Tomblin
2070     %%
2071     [recently on p5p]
2072     >I am morally
2073     >convinced that map() was written based on grep()
2074    
2075     Considering they use the same op function, I'd say that's a distinct
2076     possibility...
2077    
2078     Dan
2079     %%
2080     [after the "Welle Erdball" performance on the Mekka&Symposium 2000:]
2081     <jan> bine: du solltest da nicht hingucken, das ist nicht gut fürn kopf
2082     <Bordeaux> after listening to this crap, and hearing *zugabe zugabe* i finally have the proof that all german c64 sceners are gay :)
2083     <Mr> zugabe
2084     %%
2085     "Why upon hearing his arguments I changed my opinion 360 degrees."
2086     Recent comment on the floor of some state legislature
2087     %%
2088     DIVIDE EMPLOYEE-EARNINGS BY EMPLOYEE-HOURS GIVING EMPLOYEE-PAY-RATE
2089     [cobol, *sigh*]
2090     %%
2091     It is expected that the Multics system will be published when it is
2092     operating substantially and will therefore be available for implementation
2093     on any equipment with suitable characteristics. Such publication is
2094     desirable for two reasons: First, the system should withstand public
2095     scrutiny and criticism volunteered by interested readers; second, in an
2096     age of increasing complexity, it is an obligation to present and future
2097     system designers to make the inner operating system as lucid as possible
2098     so as to reveal the basic system issues.
2099    
2100     Corbat_ & Vyssotsky 1965
2101     %%
2102     "Rule #7: Silence is not acquiescence.
2103    
2104     "Contrary to what you may have heard, silence of those present is
2105     not necessarily consent, even the reluctant variety. They simply
2106     may sit in stunned silence and figure ways of sabotaging the plan
2107     after they regain their composure."
2108    
2109     -- Paul Rinaldo
2110     [see also http://people.qualcomm.com/karn/rinaldo.html]
2111     %%
2112     On Sat, Apr 01, 2000 at 12:09:59AM +1000, Chris wrote:
2113     >
2114     > In case you guys havn't noticed...
2115     >
2116     > http://slashdot.org reports that XFS is now released.
2117    
2118     Yes, and http://www.freshmeat.net reports:
2119    
2120     Error: Unable to connect to MySQL Server ().
2121    
2122     ;-}
2123    
2124     --
2125    
2126     ciao -
2127     Stefan
2128    
2129     %%
2130     > The 'hypervisor' is a new term to me.. Are you refering to the
2131     > Transmeta CPU and it's native mode? If I read you correctly
2132    
2133     No its what the S/390 VM is often called. Its a supervisor for supervisor
2134     mode programs so illogically enough its a hypervisor 8). The IBM mainframe
2135     guys thing this kind of set up is routine. Unix is met with
2136     'You mean you cant run a new kernel on test at the same time as the old
2137     one' type remarks.
2138     [Alan Cox]
2139     %%
2140     Godwin's Law
2141    
2142     As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison
2143     involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.
2144    
2145     [see also http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/legends/godwin/]
2146     %%
2147     ["Stefan im IRC."]
2148    
2149     [01:53:07] <coda> anyone know how to get emacs to stop creating the file.name~ files?
2150     [01:53:24] <JanMan> alias emacs=vi
2151     [01:53:31] <coda> haha
2152     %%
2153     [remaining problems with OpenBIOS]
2154     Our SDRAM sizing and init code is not very good; we could use good code.
2155     The code we've been offered so far requires memory to work (oops!);
2156     requires a stack (oops!); or assumes a totally configured machine (oops!).
2157     %%
2158     [Alan Cox on wether special fs's should have require "//" in their path]
2159     > No :-) It's a feature. Some things are going REAL ugly without such things.
2160    
2161     Given //ipc or freebsd, I think I'd pick freebsd. Thats how ugly the idea
2162     is to me ok.
2163     %%
2164     "The code is self documenting." -- The Programmer.
2165    
2166     "I don't read C." -- The Tech Writer.
2167     %%
2168     [Stefan Sebolth, on the CeBIT, while listening to the original c64 "Giana Sisters" tune:]
2169     Haaach, da war die Welt halt noch in Ordnung!
2170     %%
2171     Remember, never ask a geek "why";
2172     just nod your head and back away slowly...
2173     %%
2174     The thought of implementing something like text and binary modes for
2175     files is a about a frightening for todays kernel developer's as a mouse
2176     to a women in a typical movie of the 50's ;-)
2177    
2178     Ralf
2179     %%
2180     It may be real, but it's icky. It's too traditional Unix ``I don't
2181     care if we lose 90% of our market base to NT if our competitor loses
2182     95% of THEIR market base!'' to be palatable.
2183    
2184     david parsons
2185     %%
2186     ["some time ago on p5p"]
2187     > ($host) = gethostbyname('localhost');
2188    
2189     >Sadly most UNIX boxes don't add a sane alias to their /etc/hosts file
2190     >so that trick is not portable.
2191    
2192     % grep localhost /etc/hosts
2193     127.0.0.1 localhost
2194    
2195     --tom
2196     %%
2197     ["some time ago on p5p"]
2198     On Mon, Feb 07, 2000 at 03:22:05PM -0700, Tom Christiansen wrote:
2199     > >But given that most slip drivers I have seen for OS/2 do not do this,
2200     > >the question is moot.
2201     >
2202     > I'll send you a free Unix system.
2203    
2204     Thanks, the doors in my house are well-balanced. ;-)
2205    
2206     Ilya
2207     %%
2208     [Elliott H Mitchell on the reiserfs list]
2209     > Me thinks if unwillingness to use tar over dump will stop you from
2210     > using a better filesystem there will be lots of other reasons that
2211     > will stop you from trying anything new too. So it is not really worth
2212     > trying.
2213    
2214     Yeah, if a filesystem randomly lost files and the authors had no plans to
2215     fix it, that would kind discourage one from using it...
2216     %%
2217     [Russel Coker on the reiserfs list]
2218     ... my old Thinkpad 380XD (Pentium-233 with 3.2G ide hard drive) running
2219     ReiserFS and exporting the file system over 10baseT Ethernet could
2220     outperform local hard drives on an AIX machine running JFS.
2221     %%
2222     [Peter Mattis, author of GIMP]
2223     I can't say anything about Rasterman because I've never looked at any of
2224     his code. My only comment about Raster is that he should learn to spell.
2225     %%
2226     [David Schwartz on linux-kernel]
2227     > ORBS does not do ANYTHING above try to send few LEGAL
2228     > strings to mailservers with LONG delays. So if you block ORBS you deserve
2229     > blocking :-)
2230    
2231     That's not the point. The point is that ORBS claims to be a list of
2232     validated open mail relays, and it's not. It's not supposed to be a list of
2233     people who deserve anything in particular. I'm sure if you talk to the
2234     people who have chosen to block ORBS, you will find that they have their
2235     reasons.
2236    
2237     DS
2238     %%
2239     [WDR, 19991216 Fernsehen mit Manuel]
2240     Es ist ein Fall bekannt, bei dem sich ein Patient über ein Jahr lang
2241     geweigert hatte, auf die Toilette zu gehen. Dann haben seine Verwandten
2242     und Ärzte ihn dazu überreden können, endlich die Toilette aufzusuchen. Er
2243     hat dabei auf einmal 37 Liter entleert.
2244    
2245     Danach lebte er noch ganz normal einige Jahre, bis er, wie in Amerika
2246     üblich, erschossen wurde.
2247     %%
2248     > - My Maxtor 27G drive ends up in PIO mode (non-SMP system, but likely
2249     [...]
2250     > Last time I reported this, I had a WDC31600, as hda, and the maxtor as
2251     [...]
2252    
2253     You committed a mortal sin in ATA............
2254     You never ever mix WD and Maxtor..........on day I will document why.
2255     Basically these two vendors have timings that are completely incompatable
2256     with each other on the same channel.
2257    
2258     IMHO, WD is crap..........however, you may split the two pieces of
2259     hardware and they will work fine under linux and all other OS's.
2260    
2261     This rule of "never ever mix WD and Maxtor" is OS independent.
2262     %%
2263     [ALF2-Benutzerhandbuch]
2264     "Nur eine tote Festplatte ist eine sichere Festplatte."
2265     %%
2266     Physicists write FORTRAN in any language.
2267     %%
2268     [OpenBOOT 3.10.6 response to pressing "Ctrl-Alt-Del":]
2269     ANY word at all is a candidate.
2270     USE words to see the entire dictionary.
2271     ok
2272     %%
2273     [SDF for POD Users]
2274     ... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - even Lisp has it's fans. :-)
2275     %%
2276     <Xach> schmorp: i haven't been doing any gimpy things lately
2277     <schmorp> xach: well, who is doing gimpy things lately :(
2278     <Xach> schmorp: Mitch
2279     <schmorp> xach: ok.
2280     <Xach> schmorp: you are not keeping pace with the other germans
2281     <Xach> schmorp: you must work more diligently! FOCUS!! DON'T TALK!!
2282     <Xach> burrito, focus
2283     <Burrito> FOCUS you BABOON!
2284     %%
2285     [Paul Miller]
2286     ... I find Knuth's attitude to be far more logical: "Be careful about
2287     using the following code -- I've only proven that it works, I haven't
2288     tested it." ...
2289     %%
2290     Intel Inside -- Idiot Outside!
2291     %%
2292     Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
2293    
2294     Bart Lateur wrote in message <383a4712.942513@news.skynet.be>...
2295     >Petrus Prawirodidjojo wrote:
2296     >
2297     >>So we must compete with Windows CE.
2298     >
2299     >"Please wait while your Toaster shuts down."
2300     >
2301     >"My microwave oven hangs, I have to reboot."
2302     >
2303     >No thank you. :-) I don't think Microsoft somehow can "automatically" be
2304     >the most obvious choice as a supplier of system software for embedded
2305     >systems.
2306    
2307    
2308     Quite so. Windows CE is rapidly losing what small market share they once
2309     had.
2310    
2311     --
2312     Neal Bridges
2313     %%
2314     On 27 Nov 1999, sanjay Kumar wrote:
2315    
2316     > Hi folks,
2317     > i got some problem in using linux.When segmentation fault happens four five times continously OS is not working properly,insted of I remove the core dump and core dump bug ,Why?
2318     > please reply to
2319     > sanjay_rect@rediffmail.com
2320     > and sigma_btl@vsnl.com
2321    
2322     Parse error.
2323    
2324     ---
2325     Alex
2326     %%
2327     From: Richard Earnshaw <rearnsha@arm.com>
2328    
2329     > Why do we really need to support compiling with -ansi when
2330     > including a non-ANSI header file in a C program?
2331    
2332     Because some vendors wouldn't recognize a C standard it if hit them. The
2333     amount of code that purports to be ANSI C code, but is in fact nothing of
2334     the sort, has to be seen to be believed.
2335    
2336     That doesn't mean that I don't want *my* program to be clean ANSI C.
2337     %%
2338     [one of the few good us movies]
2339     Talk Radio Mediendrama - USA - 1988 - Regie: Oliver Stone * Sein Zynismus wird dem Radiomoderator Barry zum Verhängnis.
2340     %%
2341     [guess the language AND the language revision ;)]
2342     ii = 44;
2343     p = &ii;
2344     *p = ii/*p;
2345     ii++; /* Don't forget to increment ii. */
2346     printf ( "ii = %d\n", *p );
2347     %%
2348     > But many systems set the RTC while running Win*ooze. That will affect
2349     > Linux time then.
2350    
2351     Here is another microsoft Innovation (TM):
2352    
2353     They now allow you to run your BIOS-clock in UTC! (Just like
2354     Linux. Woops. Just gave it away...)
2355    
2356     Roger.
2357     %%
2358     <Tommer> schmorp, for the next trick, do <frameset> <frame src=dataurl:> <frame src=dataurl:> </frameset> :)
2359     %%
2360     auto accident;
2361     register voters;
2362     static electricity;
2363     struct by_lightning;
2364     void *where_prohibited;
2365     char broiled;
2366     short circuit;
2367     short changed;
2368     long johns;
2369     unsigned long letter;
2370     double entendre;
2371     double trouble;
2372     union organizer;
2373     float valve;
2374     short pants;
2375     union station;
2376     void check; unsigned check;
2377     struct dumb by[sizeof member];
2378     %%
2379     [I like TV Movie's nexTView comments]
2380     22:40-00:05 (21) ( -34) ARD Mord auf hoher See Inflammable Thriller - USA
2381     - 1995 - Regie: Peter Werner * Stephen King
2382     verhunzt als Regisseur sein Buch im großen Stil.
2383     %%
2384     Carmen Lucia Tancredo Borges wrote:
2385    
2386     I have a program written in Fortran that runs on an IBM RS/6000
2387     worstation.
2388     %%
2389     I wrote
2390     > I hope not. chomp() should match the string in $?, no more or less.
2391     $/
2392    
2393     Damn shift key.
2394    
2395    
2396     Mike Guy
2397     %%
2398     [rfc2635]
2399     The term "spam" as it is used to denote mass unsolicited mailings or
2400     netnews postings is derived from a Monty Python sketch set in a
2401     movie/tv studio cafeteria. During that sketch, the word "spam" takes
2402     over each item offered on the menu until the entire dialogue consists
2403     of nothing but "spam spam spam spam spam spam and spam." This so
2404     closely resembles what happens when mass unsolicited mail and posts
2405     take over mailing lists and netnews groups that the term has been
2406     pushed into common usage in the Internet community.
2407     %%
2408     [CRYPTO-GRAM, November 15, 1999]
2409    
2410     The Doghouse: Microsoft Windows CE
2411    
2412     Microsoft encrypts your Windows NT password when stored on a Windows CE
2413     device. But if you look carefully at their encryption algorithm, they
2414     simply XOR the password with "susageP", Pegasus spelled backwards. Pegasus
2415     is the code name of Windows CE. This is so pathetic it's staggering.
2416    
2417     http://www.cegadgets.com/artsusageP.htm
2418     %%
2419     : Isn't the point that (void)'grep EXPR, LIST' is now better written as
2420     : 'EXPR for LIST'? Or am I misunderstanding your point here?
2421    
2422     It really doesn't bother me if people want to use grep or map in a void
2423     context. It didn't bother me before there was a for modifier, and
2424     now that there is one, it still doesn't bother me. I'm just not very
2425     easy to bother.
2426    
2427     The argument against using an operator for other than its primary
2428     purpose strikes me the same as the old argument that you shouldn't have
2429     sex for other than procreational purposes. Sometimes side effects
2430     are more enjoyable than the originally intended effect.
2431    
2432     That being said, I'd never grep someone in a void context myself.
2433    
2434     Larry
2435     %%
2436     [that one's only for insiders...]
2437     > : BASE @ . \ = 10, verified original base was restored
2438     Yeah. :-)
2439     %%
2440     [comp.lang.forth]
2441     > Old Antactic Explorers Penguin Recipe:
2442     [...]
2443     > Start fire under pot, raise seawater to boiling point.
2444    
2445     Since it is very difficult to find wood on Antarctica, typically
2446     penguins are used to light the fire (due to their fat, they burn well).
2447     I also woudln't use any water, the penguins are fried fine in their own
2448     fat (you can use old fat to heat up the pot for another penguin).
2449    
2450     Note that most people in Antarctica have been seal-slayers and
2451     whale-killers, so they were rough people. Usually, they didn't bother
2452     with killing the penguins before setting them on fire. I'm glad this
2453     receipts aren't used anymore.
2454     %%
2455     Sie muessen einen PC nicht einschalten um herauszufinden ob Windows
2456     installiert ist. Sehen Sie einfach nach, ob die Aufschrift auf der
2457     Reset-Taste noch lesbar ist.
2458     %%
2459     > Erinnert mich an den Kerl bei mir in der Videothek. Hab mir DHY ausgeliehen
2460     > und er sagt doch zu mir: "Ist aber mit Untertiteln." Sag ich: "Na prima!"
2461     > Fragt er: "Wieso, was ist denn daran so interessant, wenn man nichts
2462     > versteht?"
2463     %%
2464     [de.alt.anime]
2465     Bei meiner Videothek fliegt ein "Ghost in the Shell" Tape
2466     "Ab18" rum. Das machte mich irgendwie stutzig weil auf
2467     der Schachtel meiner 16er zwei Szenenfotos sind, die im
2468     Film gar nicht vorkommen (ironischer Weise direkt über
2469     dem "Uncut & Unzesored" Schildchen). Andererseits ist
2470     mir völlig schleierhaft, was es bei dem Filmchen zu zensieren
2471     geben soll. Nur die oben beschriebene Feststellung hat diese
2472     Frage erneut aufgeworfen.
2473     ji!
2474     %%
2475     I do worry about syntactic clutter, ever since my daughter came
2476     in, looked over my shoulder, and said, "What is that, swearing?"
2477     [Larry Wall]
2478     %%
2479     Der letzte untergegangene altisraelitische Stamm war der der
2480     Altpreussen.
2481     - Norbert Marzahn am 15.8.98 in
2482     de.soc.politik.deutschland
2483     %%
2484     > > Aber die Theorien, die Norbert aufstellt, ueber zum Beispiel die
2485     > > gegossenen Steinformen, die sich hochdruecken, den fuerchterlichen
2486     > > Kometen, der im vergangenen August die Erde zerstoert hat und solche
2487     > > Sachen find ich wirklich Klasse ;-)
2488     >
2489     > Jau. Und erstmal seine Erklärungsversuche, wenn's mal wieder nichts
2490     > geworden ist (wo bleibt eigentlich der Planet X, der während der
2491     > Syonnenfinsternis auftauchen sollte?)...
2492    
2493     Drei Tage Dunkelheit und viele Trümmerteile sollte er bringen, gell,
2494     Norbert?
2495     %%
2496     Marzahnismen: http://www.snafu.de/~dbrueg/normarz.html
2497     Norbert Marzahn sagt: Ich besitze die Mittel, um
2498     "Rechts"- und "Links"-Radikalismus auszuloeschen.
2499     %%
2500     http://welcome.to/levitenbuero/
2501     %%
2502     <Xach> babelfish.pitney.org: "We may not get it right, but boy are we fast!"
2503     %%
2504     Subject: GNU compiler
2505     From: "Steve"
2506     Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 19:05:03 -0400
2507     To: <gcc@gcc.gnu.org>
2508     X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3155.0
2509    
2510     [the following was a single line, of course]
2511     I downloaded the compiler and am trying to install it and the
2512     instructions seem to be very complicated. Can you help me understand
2513     how to install them? There is no setup file and I have downloaded from
2514     several sites in the thought that I might have the wrong version. Your
2515     assistance would be greatly appreciated
2516    
2517     Thanks,
2518    
2519     Steve
2520     %%
2521     [an "I am doing high end graphic design" type of person:]
2522     > Also, could someone tell me how to calculate DPI of an image? I have not
2523     > managed to figure this DPI system out, for example, if an image is a
2524     > 100?50 pixels, what's the DPI??
2525     %%
2526     <tigert> xachbot, op
2527     <XachBot> tigert: I have an 88 magnum. It shoots through schools.
2528     <tigert> ahem
2529     %%
2530     <tc> xachbot, acro FOOBAR
2531     -XachBot:#gimp- FOOBAR: FTP Operation Over Big Address Records | See FUBAR [Net jargon] (cached)
2532     <tc> just when you thought you had something to baffle xachbot
2533     %%
2534     [the release of perl 5.000]
2535     Date: Mon, 17 Oct 94 16:48:04 -0700
2536     From: Larry Wall <lwall@scalpel.netlabs.com>
2537     Subject: It's soup.
2538    
2539     Okay, it's there.
2540    
2541     ftp://ftp.netlabs.com/pub/outgoing/perl5.0/perl5.000.tar.gz
2542    
2543     The first one who tells me about a bug in it gets shot.
2544    
2545     Larry
2546     %%
2547     l33+ h4X0rz
2548     %%
2549     # A random text generator using Markov chains
2550     perl -e 'while(<>){$f.= $_}@l=split(/\s+/, $f);for($i=0;$i<@l-1;$i++){$W{$l[$i]
2551     }.=" ".$l[$i+1];}sub a{$w=$l[1]}&a;sub b{print "\n"}while($w){if(!($W{$w})){&b;
2552     &b;&a;last if ($q++>3);}print"$w ";@p=split(/ /,$W{$w});$c=@p;until($s=int(rand
2553     ($c))){1}$w=$p[$s]}&b' big_text_file
2554     %%
2555     > && d'oh! i knew that! can she allow her lusers to use deja? here is the url
2556     > && for the post with the whole description of how i used -P
2557     >
2558     > Well, access to deja isn't forbidden, but access to the keyboard is.
2559     > And there's no mouse.
2560     >
2561     > Abigail
2562    
2563     Wow. Someone else who reads usenet by osmosis... cool.
2564    
2565     Matt.
2566     %%
2567     Ok, our threads aren't so bad. Python's have one big
2568     giant global interpreter lock. :-)
2569    
2570     - --tom
2571     %%
2572     From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>
2573     Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 11:42:19 -0700 (PDT)
2574    
2575     On Fri, 6 Aug 1999, Hubert Mantel wrote:
2576     >
2577     > So the huge ISDN update in proposed-2.2.11 will be removed from the final
2578     > 2.2.11 release?
2579    
2580     [ Irritated mode: FULL BLAST ]
2581    
2582     Are you being stupid on purpose, or were you born that way?
2583    
2584     Go back and read the thread. Read why I'm irritated. READ. THINK.
2585     %%
2586     Understanding is a three edged sword. Do you *want* to get the point?
2587     %%
2588     ["MVS uses quite heavy algorithms for swapping"]
2589     On Mon, Aug 02, 1999 at 07:55:32PM +0200, Lieven Marchand wrote:
2590     > Last time I looked at it, it got to the point they had moved some
2591     > ASSISTs into microcode. IIRC, some manipulations of the process
2592     > block. I doubt Intel/Sun/MIPS/IBM is going to accomodate Linux quite
2593     > that much ;-)
2594    
2595     IBM is really really good on process technology. They have had to be.
2596     %%
2597     MVS spends a lot of time running OS algorithms to allow full
2598     preemption that Linux wastes on running user applications.
2599     %%
2600     [comments on the gcc-2.95 release]
2601     <QUOTE>
2602     I'm having problems compiling it for HP-UX 10.20. Any ideas?
2603    
2604     (I haven't actually finished downloading it yet, but I just know I'm
2605     gonna have problems with this crappy OS ;-)
2606     </QUOTE>
2607     %%
2608     The Internet interprets Windows as damage,
2609     and routes around it.
2610    
2611     Roger Larsson
2612     Skellefteå
2613     %%
2614     [configuring gcc]
2615     Noone should use --prefix=/usr without --with-local-prefix=/usr/local
2616     %%
2617     'You can solve any programming problem with another level of indirection,
2618     except the problem of too many levels of indirection.'
2619     %%
2620     [http://www.itknowledge.com/tpj/issues/vol4_1/tpj0401-0015.html]
2621    
2622     Z-code interpreters have also been written in Java; unfortunately, when it
2623     comes to cross-platform compatibility, Java's user-interface classes are
2624     finicky and unstable--just ask anyone who's tried to reason with the AWT
2625     on different JVMs.
2626    
2627     [and later]
2628    
2629     Pilfer is a practical implementation of two of the cardinal rules of
2630     adventure gaming:
2631    
2632     1.Anything that is not nailed down is mine.
2633     2.Anything that I can pry loose is not nailed down.
2634     %%
2635     [the ||-operator can be thought of as "or", && can be thought of as
2636     "and", but how would you call the ??-operator?]
2637    
2638     >>>>> "NK" == Nathan Kurz <nate@valleytel.net> writes:
2639    
2640     NK> ?? -> huh?
2641    
2642     That's a great name. The huh? operator.
2643    
2644     <chaim>
2645     %%
2646     `One of the reasons we continue to use Fortran is that it's easier to fix
2647     code written without attention to such details in Fortran than in other
2648     languages. To put it another way, Fortran is the only language where
2649     people who barely get by with their numerical skills can "write useful
2650     numerical code." Many times those people are the only experts in their
2651     specialty available to put a needed procedure into practice.'
2652     %%
2653     [Moderator der Sending "Teatime" auf "Radio Okerwelle", 1999-07-12]
2654     Ich muß schließlich hören was ich sage, damit ich weiß, was ich denke.
2655     %%
2656     [Dr. Dobbs #8, 1999, describing how you can AVOID downloading or executing
2657     Java applets, scripts and ActiveX controls while _parsing_(!) an html
2658     page]
2659     ... you must utilize IOleControl::OnAmbientPropertyChange with the
2660     value DISPID_AMBIENT_DLCONTROL. Before you can do this, however, you
2661     must call IOleObject::SetClientSite so that IOleControl will work
2662     properly. This is the reason you derive from IOleClientSite, even
2663     though you don't extend its functionality in any way. After the call to
2664     OnAmbientPropertyChange, IE4 will call your Invoke method to check the
2665     value of DISPID_AMBIENT_DLCONTROL. Invoke simply sets the correct bits to
2666     disable the behaviour you don't want and returns NOERROR.
2667     [Still interested in knowing how you can disable the "file not found"
2668     dialog box that will pop up when you try to parse a non-accessible file?]
2669     %%
2670     [Linus, whom I quote rarely ;-]
2671     Message passing as the fundamental operation of the OS is just an
2672     excercise in computer science masturbation. It may feel good, but you
2673     don't actually get anything DONE.
2674     %%
2675     Advantages of Windows NT over Linux:
2676     * It's easier to explain the crash was not your fault.
2677     * You've to remember only one solution all to your problems: Reboot.
2678     * You can use your mouse to type an email-message.
2679     %%
2680     > 1) On the PIII, there is the capability to get a system unique serial
2681     > number from the CPU. Does Linux read this data already? Is there plans to
2682     > read the serial number and then disable the capability (maybe so you could
2683     > get the serial number from the OS)?
2684    
2685     Current Linux disables it and doesn't save the value.
2686     %%
2687     [CRYPTO-GRAM 1999-06-15]
2688     "Microsoft set the security state-of-the-art back 25 years with DOS, and
2689     they have continued that legacy to this day."
2690     %%
2691     [From "The Elements Of Style: UNIX As Literature", by Thomas Scoville]
2692     "In a world increasingly dominated by image culture (TV, movies, .jpg
2693     files), UNIX remains rooted in the culture of the word."
2694     %%
2695     > If it is clearly documented that will not happen.
2696    
2697     Yeah, sure. Unfortunately, if the "correct" treatment of this feature
2698     means to change a dozen source files (and rth's comments make me fear
2699     that that's the case), the chance that someone, somewhere forgets to say
2700     exactly why these changes were necessary (and on what other changes in
2701     other files they depend) is far larger than I want to consider. We've
2702     seen this before. Lucky we are that some long time gcc-hackers are
2703     still among us, who might remark: Oh yes, that's undefined by the C
2704     Standard, but it happens to be an extension gcc supports ... Seen that,
2705     got the T-shirt.
2706     %%
2707     Subject: Re: Linux and aliasing?
2708     From: Joe Buck <jbuck@Synopsys.COM>
2709     Date: Fri, 4 Jun 99 10:00:16 PDT
2710     To: torvalds@transmeta.com (Linus Torvalds)
2711     Cc: craig@jcb-sc.com, jbuck@Synopsys.COM, mark@codesourcery.com,
2712     davem@redhat.com, chip@perlsupport.com, egcs@egcs.cygnus.com
2713     X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]
2714    
2715     Linus writes, to Craig:
2716    
2717     > I haven't maintained a compiler long-term. I _have_ maintained a larger,
2718     > and arguably mode complex system with many more degrees of freedom and
2719     > thus choices than gcc.
2720    
2721     No, gcc is substantially larger than the Linux kernel (on the order of 10x
2722     larger, as anyone can easily verify). gcc does not need to deal with race
2723     conditions, so in that sense it is simpler, but in other respects it is
2724     far more complex than the kernel.
2725    
2726     [NOTE for the reader: this is not really true, as the device drivers
2727     bomb the comparison away, but the complexity argument still holds]
2728    
2729     [ personal insults deleted, perhaps the author is in need of a vacation ]
2730     %%
2731     Subject: Re: Linux and aliasing?
2732     From: craig@jcb-sc.com
2733     To: torvalds@transmeta.com
2734    
2735     >I want the _user_ to be able to give input.
2736     [...]
2737     >I happen to think that the "explicit cast invalidates the alias
2738     >information" rule is the simplest and best one, and gives the user the
2739     >best control without adding things like new attributes or other ways to
2740     >let the user be in control.
2741    
2742     In other words, you believe you are a better language designer than
2743     the ISO C people as well as the gcc maintainers, despite the fact
2744     that you know, what, *nothing* about language design, and *nothing*
2745     about compiler design and, especially, long-term maintenance of
2746     compilers?
2747     %%
2748     Subject: Re: Linux and aliasing?
2749     From: Joe Buck <jbuck@Synopsys.COM>
2750    
2751     Linus writes:
2752     > Oh, you don't expect me to complain about bad code generation when I know
2753     > gcc could do better?
2754    
2755     Oh, don't worry, we expect you to complain, and in a rude and insulting
2756     matter at that. We're used to it. It seems that you were a nicer guy
2757     before you had so many worshippers.
2758     %%
2759     Subject: Re: Linux and aliasing?
2760     From: Branko Cibej <branko.cibej@hermes.si>
2761     Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 10:07:09 +0200
2762     To: egcs@egcs.cygnus.com
2763     X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.6 [en] (WinNT; I)
2764    
2765     Linus Torvalds wrote:
2766    
2767     > I think it's a damn shame that instead of technical arguments _everything_
2768     > revolves around people reading the standard as if it was the bible, and
2769     > trying to make people feel guilty for not really caring. It's not a sin to
2770     > just want to get good code without having to do magic contortions, guys.
2771    
2772     Why, Linus, it's trivial to do! Use MSVC instead of egcs, then you can do
2773    
2774     #pragma optimize("a", on/off)
2775    
2776     around every single statement, if you like. It even supports anonymous unions
2777     _and_ structs, and is only slightly influenced by the ISO C standard.
2778    
2779     They'll even sell you a version that can generate code for the alpha!
2780    
2781     >:->
2782    
2783     Brane
2784    
2785    
2786     P.S.: Just for the record: I, a "real user" and (imnsho) a "clever programmer"
2787     who "know what I'm doing", at least most of the time, and who do not "read the
2788     standard as if it were a bible", vote for having a standard-conforming
2789     compiler that's not bloated by a ton of marginally useful (or even useless)
2790     features. If I want featuritis, I know where I can get it.
2791    
2792    
2793     P.P.S: They can't even spell "optimise" ...
2794     %%
2795     You can have it Soon, Cheap, and Working; choose *two*
2796     %%
2797     "Scientific" studies have found that a 2.2.x Linux router with
2798     fast-switching enabled, using Tulip 100baseT cards, can melt a
2799     high-end Cisco's 100baseT interfaces.
2800     %%
2801     1) Thread switching is faster than process switching by a little bit on Linux
2802     2) Process switching on linux is faster than thread switching on NT
2803     3) Almost anything is faster than process switching on NT
2804     %%
2805     [gimp-developers, on the use of keyboard modifiers for drawing tools]
2806    
2807     > Simple. Powerful. Fast. Choose at most two.
2808    
2809     Perhaps this should be an option in the preferences dialog? :)
2810     %%
2811     [perl is cryptic??]
2812     Subject: @{$${->{{{{~{}~{{{NO CARRIER
2813     From: Jarkko Hietaniemi <jhi@iki.fi>
2814     Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 21:55:37 +0300 (EET DST)
2815    
2816     We have still a long way to go-- from the zsh-workers mailing list:
2817    
2818     : Just thought of a trivial way to take a lot of grief out of parameter
2819     : substitution. This patch makes the following valid:
2820     :
2821     : ${${${${(f)"$(typeset)"}:#*local *\=*}%%\=*}##* }
2822     :
2823     : replacing the equivalent but grotesquer
2824     :
2825     : "${(@)${(@)${(@)${(@f)$(typeset)}:#*local *\=*}%%\=*}##* }"
2826     %%
2827     Long noun chains don't automatically imply security. - Bruce Schneier
2828     %%
2829     > |> Spoken as a true C programmer. However you are wrong. Case-preserving, but
2830     > |> insensitive, is the CORRECT way for file systems. Capitalization should not
2831     > |> matter for interpretation of a file name just as it doesn't matter for
2832     > |> interpreting words in any human language.
2833     >
2834     > This is wrong. In German, there is a big difference between "paar" und
2835     > "Paar" (the first meaning "a few", the second "pair").
2836    
2837     The classic example:
2838    
2839     "Ich habe liebe Genossen in Moskau" - I've got dead comreds in Moscow.
2840     "Ich habe Liebe genossen in Moskau" - I enjoyed love in Moscow.
2841     %%
2842     [do we need oo-style IO::File class in perl?]
2843     >_You_ aren't gonna code "use IO::File".
2844    
2845     And there's no reason for anyone else to, either, especially
2846     once Nick finishes the Larry-blessed autovivification of
2847     lvaluabled undefs in open(), socket(), etc.
2848    
2849     What's next, a String class for Perl?
2850    
2851     --tom
2852     %%
2853     [some example of the kind of mail I sometimes receive:]
2854     i was just trying to help u out not hurt you in anyway ok i have the fbi
2855     working on something for me
2856     u havent done anything to me ok and the sherriffs department came by to talk
2857     to me nutting concerning y ok
2858     piece
2859     russ
2860     %%
2861     [From "Basic Information about Unix", common commands:]
2862    
2863     pico (text editor for beginners)
2864     vi (text editor for advanced users)
2865     emacs (text editor for advanced users)
2866     ed (text editor for beginners)
2867     %%
2868     There is no reason in principle that a Perl script shouldn't start with
2869    
2870     use Python;
2871    
2872     and appear to work exactly like Python from there to the end of the file.
2873     Except maybe faster. :-)
2874    
2875     Larry
2876     %%
2877     > Perl6 gives us an opportunity to re-examine every feature at a microscopic level.
2878    
2879     just what I'm afraid of... I thought this was to be Perl6, not Perl
2880     2010.
2881    
2882     (Perl 2010: The Spaced Oddity?)
2883     %%
2884     The X.25 specification is not a particularly easy document to
2885     read. Contrary to expectations, it does not make great use of diagrams
2886     and tables that help to explain the workings of the protocols that
2887     it contains. Instead the document makes use of many ambiguous English
2888     descriptions of the actions that should take place, allied with a complete
2889     lack of fluency in its prose descriptions, make for a very confusing
2890     document. It is a wonder that any correct X.25 implementations have ever
2891     been created.
2892     %%
2893     > Joe: (walking into McDonalds) Hi, I'd like a Big Mac.
2894     >
2895     > Cashier: Okay, here's your Big Mac and here's your Coke. That'll be
2896     > $3.99.
2897     >
2898     > Joe: Uh, I don't want a Coke.
2899     >
2900     > Cashier: Sorry, they're bundled.
2901     >
2902     > Joe: What? I'm not paying for a Coke!
2903     >
2904     > Cashier: You don't; the Coke is free.
2905     >
2906     > Joe: But wasn't a Big Mac $2.49 last week?
2907     >
2908     > Cashier: Sure, but this latest Big Mac is far more innovative. It's
2909     > got integrated Coke!
2910     >
2911     > Joe: I already bought a Snapple across the street... I'm not going
2912     > to drink the Coke.
2913     >
2914     > Cashier: Then you can't have the burger.
2915     >
2916     > Joe: Okay, fine, I will pay the $3.99 and throw the Coke away.
2917     >
2918     > Cashier: Oh, you can't do that. They're seamlessly integrated. Totally
2919     > inseparable.
2920     >
2921     > Joe: How can that be? They're two totally separate things!
2922     >
2923     > Cashier: No, watch. (takes Big Mac, dunks it in a tank of Coke) See?
2924     >
2925     > Joe: Why did you just do that?!
2926     >
2927     > Cashier: It's a benefit to the consumer. Otherwise you'd end up with
2928     > two different, inconsistent tastes. This way you're assured of a
2929     > continuous taste across all your foods.
2930     %%
2931     Threads are like salt. I like salt, you like salt, we all
2932     like salt, but we eat more pasta than salt.
2933     %%
2934     From: Nathan Torkington <gnat@frii.com>
2935    
2936     Don't be bitten by Perl, get crushed by Python.
2937     Python: Perl for the punctuation-phobic.
2938     It takes 4 days for a python to digest a hamster, but only 2 days
2939     for you to digest this book.
2940     Python: it's really better but nobody uses it.
2941     Python: just for the whitespace of it.
2942     Join The Trickle
2943     Python: more popular than Dylan!
2944     Python: not written by crackheads in a gutter!
2945     Are you uptight? Try our new Python Hangups series.
2946     %%
2947     Well Microsoft announced this new language called COOL which I can
2948     honestly say that I have seen NO CRAPPY CODE written in. OTOH it appears
2949     that to achieve this miraculous status by the simple technique of being
2950     complete and utter vapourware.
2951    
2952     Microsoft, taking the Business out of COBOL.
2953     %%
2954     [From "Programming Perl"]
2955    
2956     We will encourage you to develop the three great virtues of a
2957     programmer: laziness, impatience and hubris
2958     %%
2959     [Alexander Stepanov, creator of the STL]:
2960    
2961     Yes. STL is not object oriented. I think that object orientedness is
2962     almost as much of a hoax as Artificial Intelligence. I have yet to
2963     see an interesting piece of code that comes from these OO people. In
2964     a sense, I am unfair to AI: I learned a lot of stuff from the MIT AI
2965     Lab crowd, they have done some really fundamental work: Bill Gosper's
2966     Hakmem is one of the best things for a programmer to read. AI might
2967     not have had a serious foundation, but it produced Gosper and Stallman
2968     (Emacs), Moses (Macsyma) and Sussman (Scheme, together with Guy Steele). I
2969     find OOP technically unsound. It attempts to decompose the world in
2970     terms of interfaces that vary on a single type. To deal with the real
2971     problems you need multisorted algebras - families of interfaces that
2972     span multiple types. I find OOP philosophically unsound. It claims that
2973     everything is an object. Even if it is true it is not very interesting -
2974     saying that everything is an object is saying nothing at all. I find OOP
2975     methodologically wrong. It starts with classes. It is as if mathematicians
2976     would start with axioms. You do not start with axioms - you start with
2977     proofs. Only when you have found a bunch of related proofs, can you
2978     come up with axioms. You end with axioms. The same thing is true in
2979     programming: you have to start with interesting algorithms. Only when you
2980     understand them well, can you come up with an interface that will let them
2981     work.
2982     [...]
2983     You can't write a generic max() in Java that takes two arguments of some
2984     type and has a return value of that same type. Inheritance and interfaces
2985     don't help. And if they cannot implement max or swap or linear search,
2986     what chances do they have to implement really complex stuff? These are my
2987     litmus tests: if a language allows me to implement max and swap and linear
2988     search generically - then it has some potential.
2989     [...] Java is clearly an example of a money oriented programming (MOP).
2990     It might be successful - after all, MS DOS was - and it might be a
2991     profitable thing for all your readers to learn Java, but it has no
2992     intellectual value whatsoever.
2993    
2994     [Later, on OMG protocols like CORBA]
2995     I am old enough to remember all the networking standards that were coming
2996     out in the seventies. Who remembers them now?
2997     %%
2998     [Stiftung Warentest "test", WDR 19990419:]
2999     "Schlechtes muß nicht billig sein..."
3000     %%
3001     [/bin/false on solaris]
3002     #!/usr/bin/sh
3003     # Copyright (c) 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 AT&T
3004     # All Rights Reserved
3005    
3006     # THIS IS UNPUBLISHED PROPRIETARY SOURCE CODE OF AT&T
3007     # The copyright notice above does not evidence any
3008     # actual or intended publication of such source code.
3009    
3010     #ident "@(#)false.sh 1.6 93/01/11 SMI" /* SVr4.0 1.3 */
3011     [obvious invocation of exit snipped to avoid lawsuit. Yup, *1* line.]
3012     %%
3013     <Aspirin> but ee uses imlib, and imlib is documented to take 4.7 days to start up on a 486 by Alan Cox.
3014     %%
3015     When a tar built for SunOS runs under Solaris, it's incapable of opening
3016     or creating files with "lib/locale" in the path. It replaces that part of
3017     the path with "lib/oldlocale".
3018     %%
3019     [Bruce Schneier in CRYPTO-GRAM, 19990315]
3020    
3021     "Microsoft prefers to treat security holes as a public relations problem,
3022     rather than fixing the actual problem."
3023    
3024     [further down: the official answer from Microsoft about a problem where
3025     just viewing a website would invisibly run unrestricted code on your
3026     machine]
3027    
3028     "Microsoft appreciates your input regarding this issue, however in lieu
3029     of modern technology being what it is, we all need to be personally
3030     responsible for knowing what we are downloading off the internet."
3031    
3032     [see http://www.panix.com/~dfoster/sec/chrono.html]
3033     %%
3034     [Steve Funston wrote to me, after I unsubscribed him from gimp-perl for
3035     spamming:]
3036    
3037     >fuck you ass hole duh you are just a big fucker
3038     >>
3039     >>An error was generated by your request to our servers:
3040     >>------------------------------------------------------
3041     >>
3042     >>Your Email: bfunston@mich.com
3043     >>
3044     >>ERROR: You are not a member of this list.
3045    
3046     [and later, misquoting my name:]
3047     >mark is not only a big fat liar but he is an ass hole.
3048     %%
3049     [How much of the microsoft shares does Bill Gates hold?]
3050     He has 19.8%. Paul Allen has 5.5%. Steve Ballmer has 4.7%.
3051     %%
3052     > And what's wrong with being named Peter?
3053     If linus was peter, Linux would be called penix? (just guessing) ;)
3054     %%
3055     According to Microsoft KnowledgeBase article Q216641, Microsoft Windows
3056     95/98 are limited to an uptime of *exactly* 49.7 days.
3057    
3058     --found by Vincent Janelle (Random)
3059     %%
3060     > Leave that to RMS.
3061    
3062     If you had just sat through the horrific panel with Larry,
3063     RMS, Richard, and Linus, you would want to leave a whole lot
3064     else to RMS -- like a couple of megatons of the manure that
3065     he's full of.
3066    
3067     Support BSD/Linux.
3068    
3069     --tom
3070     %%
3071     "The FSF is a cult -- don't support them." --Rob Pike
3072     %%
3073     We are Linux. Resistance is an indication that you missed the point.
3074     %%
3075     > Perhaps the cracker himself (itself? ;) isn't bright enough to delete shell
3076     > history, but his shrink-wrapped cracking tools might be a lot brighter...
3077    
3078     Some of them are. A surprising number aren't. A personal favorite of
3079     mine was the log from a cracker who couldn't figure out how to untar
3080     and install the trojan package he'd ftped onto the machine. he tried a
3081     few times, and then eventually gave up and logged out.
3082     %%
3083     [on channel #gimp]
3084    
3085     [msg(Xachbot)] insult me
3086     [XachBot(xachbot@home.xach.com)] schmorp: David Miller would never approve of that.
3087     %%
3088     [the creation]
3089     http://www.toodarkpark.org/caffeine-cgi-bin/textfile/net-hx.txt
3090     %%
3091     THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #12: LITHP
3092    
3093     This otherwise unremarkable language is distinguished by the absence of
3094     an "S" in its character set; users must substitute "TH". LITHP is said
3095     to be useful in protheththing lithtth.
3096     %%
3097     Ich zog hier nur einen Pseudoschluss aus dieser sache, den ich nicht
3098     selbst schliesse.
3099     Norbert Harry Marzahn, selbsternannter "Judaaer"
3100     am 13.12.98 in de.alt.ufo
3101     %%
3102     According to Gurusamy Sarathy:
3103     > "Resistance is futile, you will be modularized."
3104    
3105     No:
3106    
3107     use Borg;
3108     make_threat(-type => 'standard', -doom => 'modularized');
3109    
3110     --
3111     Chip Salzenberg - a.k.a. - <chip@perlsupport.com>
3112     %%
3113     "And over here, ladies and gentlemen, may I draw your attention to
3114     the 'posicks box', a mechanism within one of the late 20th century
3115     sub-I hardware gestalt integration agents (then called 'operating
3116     systems', this particular one being referred to as 'windows' by
3117     its commercial-mimetic sustainer), designed so as to provide the
3118     appearance and functionality required to comply with one of the few
3119     agreed-upon integration schemas (sub-I, of course) available at the
3120     time. Unsurprising given the non-integration imperitives used by the
3121     agent's sustainter, this mechanism was demonstrated to be an ingenious
3122     non-integration ploy that, while supporting the integration schema,
3123     failed to support the local interconnect schemas that this agent
3124     specialized in. This produced a classic focus rift in the knowledge
3125     pool, benefiting the sustainer in the short run due to the focus
3126     concentration facilities available to commericial-class mimetic
3127     sustainers. Practically, this wasn't a significant loss, in the long
3128     run, as neither the 'windows' or 'posicks' schemas were relevant to
3129     modern quasi-I agents. These two do live on, however, in a few niches.
3130     'posicks' is used as the integration schema between most nano-scale
3131     logic units (a fact that only a few meta-experts still need to be
3132     aware of), and 'windows' survives, for religious-mimetic reasons, as
3133     the human-communication agent in a few stereotypical toasters and soap
3134     dispensers."
3135    
3136     [Kenneth Albanowski]
3137     %%
3138     Perl ist ein Schmerzmittel.
3139     Wenn Du bei der Speicherverwaltung oder der Stringverarbeitung
3140     unter C Schmerzen hast, nimm Perl.
3141     -- Kristian Koehntopp
3142     %%
3143     > Why Windows NT Server 4.0 continues to exist in the enterprise would be a
3144     > topic appropriate for an investigative report in the field of psychology or
3145     > marketing, not an article on information technology -- John Kirch
3146     %%
3147     [bei einer mündlichen Nachprüfung in BWL, Uni Hamburg]
3148    
3149     Prof: "Was ist Agio?"
3150     Student: "Weiß ich nicht."
3151     Prof: "OK, durchgefallen!
3152     Student: "Ich habe aber Anspruch auf drei Fragen in der mündlichen Prüfung!"
3153     Prof: "Klar, was ist Disagio?"
3154     Student: "..."
3155     Prof: "...und was ist der Unterschied zwischen Agio und Disagio?"
3156     Student: "..."
3157     Prof: "...durchgefallen!"
3158     %%
3159     Chaim Frenkel <chaimf@pobox.com> writes:
3160    
3161     > Just morbid curiosity,
3162     >
3163     > Are there _any_ unix boxes that _can't_ build Perl?
3164    
3165     Yes. Broken ones.
3166    
3167     dgris
3168     %%
3169     "The kerastion is a musical instrument which cannot be heard."
3170     -- A Borges story in ten words.
3171     %%
3172     "C combines the power of assembly language
3173     with the flexibility of assembly language."
3174     %%
3175     ...
3176    
3177     <AOL>
3178    
3179     Me too!
3180    
3181     </AOL>
3182    
3183     Tig
3184     %%
3185     ping -p 2b2b2b415448300d <hostname>
3186     %%
3187     unzip;strip;touch;finger;mount;fsck;more;yes;umount;sleep
3188     %%
3189     From: Dick Balaska <dick@buckosoft.com>
3190    
3191     I sit behind an NT dual P2/400 256MB for too many hours each day. It is
3192     "slow". One of my (fun) tasks is CD mastering. When i'm loading a 500MB
3193     wav file into the editor, the machine goes useless for two minutes while
3194     loading the wave file. Basically its just reading the file and writing it
3195     to swap. The CPU is at 5%. No Alt-Tab between apps during that time. No
3196     chance of putting the mouse over a button (too many dropped ticks). The
3197     NT kernel is just sitting waiting for I/O completions.
3198    
3199     Linux would be embarrassed to be that bad.
3200    
3201     I expected M$ to never fix this because its not "broken". However, i
3202     expect billg to start reading the above mentioned literal benchmarks and
3203     get really really pissed.
3204    
3205     Especially since i believe 1999 and 2000 to see Linux *really* start
3206     to cut into M$'s server market share.
3207     %%
3208     > Hello I'm wondering if there's a lower traffic mailing list that exists
3209     > that's strictly important kernel announcements and not general chat. I
3210     > need to stay informed but I can't handle 250 messages in a 24 hour
3211     > period.
3212     >
3213     > Sorry for the insignificant post..
3214     > Nic
3215     >
3216    
3217     Thank you for contributing to the problem.
3218    
3219     -hpa
3220     %%
3221     grep... grep... grep... (frog with unix stuck in his throat)
3222     %%
3223     "If users are made to understand that the system administrator's job is to
3224     make computers run, and not to make them happy, they can, in fact, be made
3225     happy most of the time. If users are allowed to believe that the system
3226     administrator's job is to make them happy, they can, in fact, never be made
3227     happy."
3228     - - -Paul Evans (as quoted by Barb Dijker in "Managing Support Staff", LISA '97)
3229     %%
3230     From: "Daniel P. Stasinski" <dannys@KAREMOR.COM>
3231     Subject: Microsoft Hotmail
3232     To: BUGTRAQ@NETSPACE.ORG
3233    
3234     I contacted Microsoft/Hotmail asking them to close the account
3235     of that was listed in the backdoored tcp wrapper source code.
3236     I also forwarded the offending code.
3237    
3238     The word back from them is that they will not close it. Theft
3239     of passwords and hacking does not violate thier terms of
3240     service.
3241    
3242     Daniel
3243     %%
3244     Any UNIX-killer must also have:
3245     ...
3246     * cool name like Linux (serious, these fail: GNU Hurd FreeBSD 386BSD)
3247     %%
3248     "Not all things worth doing are worth doing well."
3249     It's a phrase I use a lot. :-)
3250     [RJL]
3251     %%
3252     As John Whittaker says: ``It's UNIX. That doesn't necessarily mean it's
3253     right.''
3254     %%
3255     [Richard Stallman on the new _Pragma operator in C9X:]
3256    
3257     Amazing--they actually listened.
3258     %%
3259     That "UNIX" term is very negative. People often associate it with
3260     SCO OpenServer, Wyse terminals, and 60 people on a 386. The UNIX
3261     that people know is just awful. It looks something like this:
3262    
3263     # less foo
3264     sh: command not found
3265     # more foo
3266     sh: command not found
3267     # emacs foo
3268     sh: command not found
3269     # ed foo
3270     0
3271     help
3272     ?
3273     quit
3274     ?
3275     exit
3276     ?
3277     DIE!!!!!!!!!!
3278     ?
3279    
3280     [Albert D. Cahalan]
3281     %%
3282     Subject: Re: Stop blib warning in future releases?
3283     From: andreas.koenig@anima.de (Andreas J. Koenig)
3284     Date: 05 Jan 1999 03:15:37 +0100
3285    
3286     tim> Sure. Strictly speaking
3287    
3288     tim> use blib ':quiet';
3289    
3290     tim> would be most correct in style.
3291    
3292     Only German native speakers are allowed to treat adverbs adjectively.
3293     For the rest I'd recommend [...]
3294     %%
3295     [A new U.S. Law implementing a WIPO treaty]
3296     No person shall circumvent a technological protection measure that
3297     effectively controls access to a work protected under this title
3298     [Or, in other words, applied cryptanalysis will be illegal.
3299     too bad --- ]
3300     %%
3301     Microsoft - Is it going to work today?
3302     %%
3303     Subject: Re: [gimp-devel] GIF plugin legal issues
3304    
3305     > Actually, my understanding is that Unisys doesn't currently enforce the
3306     > licensing cost on free software, but maybe I am mistaken.
3307    
3308     The general wording, spoken by an unnamed GIMP developer, is, if you'll
3309     pardon the language, "Unisys can go fuck itself."
3310     %%
3311     [once on linux-kernel:]
3312     > >who are you why on yahoo when iprint sf16fmi i fond you i need drv
3313     > Does anyone have the secret decoder ring to make sense of this?
3314     he's confused about us showing up in a search match on yahoo, but needs
3315     driver(s) for his sf16fmi thingy.
3316     %%
3317     > Did you try to compile kdeadmin from the CVS tree ?
3318    
3319     No I ran the KDE binaries. Im not interested in broken programs that
3320     include wrong #include files in their source.
3321     %%
3322     [unix-faq]
3323    
3324     Someday, you are going to accidentally type something like
3325     "rm * .foo", and find you just deleted "*" instead of "*.foo".
3326     Consider it a rite of passage.
3327     %%
3328     "There's one word that strikes fear into nuclear scientists..."
3329     "Oops."
3330     -- MST3K
3331     %%
3332     Seems like 80-bit spills would be closer to IEEE, if not close enough to
3333     claim full support. Off-hand I'd say people would be happier with
3334     those numeric properties than with the current situation.
3335    
3336     I'll think about the esoterica (probably break down and ask people here).
3337     It would certainly make gcc the most reliable x86 floating-point compiler
3338     I know. Sun's does something similar to -ffloat-store by default (gee,
3339     look at how fast that ultra is), and Microsoft's runs off the end of the
3340     stack at run-time . I don't know what Intel's does, so I'm not considering
3341     it. ;)
3342     %%
3343     >I was using the localtime function to change time_t into it's various
3344     >human-readable parts. I noticed that $year gets returned as 98 and
3345     >not 1998. I tested a few different unices and got the same result.
3346     >This is expected behavior based on the examples I've seen and my own
3347     >testing. My question is how is this y2k compliant?
3348    
3349     What part of your C library's documentation on localtime(3), the perlfunc
3350     documentation on the Perl localtime function, the perlfaq4 entry on `Does
3351     Perl have a year 2000 problem?', and the Y2K document on www.perl.com
3352     did you find to be unclear on the answer to this question?
3353    
3354     --tom
3355     %%
3356     > * Have you ever wondered how life began ?
3357    
3358     In a laboratory somewhere at Bell Labs.
3359    
3360     >Why does it end ?
3361    
3362     Ask the X3J11 committee.
3363    
3364     > * Can you tell WHY there is life ? What is the purpose of it ?
3365     > * Can YOU do anything to make your life worth living ? WHAT ?
3366    
3367     To promote the the DEATH OF ANSI C! K+R FOREVER! DOWN WITH PORTABILITY!
3368     %%
3369     "Unix *is* Perl's IDE!"
3370     -- Tom Christiansen
3371     %%
3372     [Sputnik]
3373    
3374     Do you honestly think the Americans would mention a Soviet success? :-)
3375     A number of years back I saw an exhibition in the US on the development of
3376     supersonic passenger aircraft. They forgot to mention Concorde. It
3377     wouldn't surprise me in the least if most people at NASA had never heard
3378     of Sputnik.
3379     %%
3380     NTFS by default adds unnecessary serialization to an extent that
3381     even older file systems such as FFS do not, and its performance
3382     characteristics reflect that. In fairness, it should be said that it is
3383     the superior approach for most removable media without software control
3384     of ejection (e.g. IBM PC floppies).
3385     %%
3386     Never attribute to malice what could as well be explained by stupidity.
3387     - Hanlons razor -
3388     %%
3389     Shallit's Razor: Never attribute to conspiracy what may be adequately
3390     explained by stupidity or incompetence.
3391     %%
3392     According to Chris Nandor:
3393     > I thought about creating a web interface to input, edit, delete entries,
3394     > but that would have taken me longer, been more complex and less secure, and
3395     > offered no significant advantages.
3396    
3397     That one's in the quotes file. Thanks.
3398     %%
3399     My friend who had a Compaq called one day when his built-in cdrom drive
3400     stopped responding. Their answer "its a virus. Reinstal Windows". So he did
3401     (?) and it still didn't work. He called them and they said "its a virus,
3402     reinstall." "But I just installed. If there is a virus, it came from YOUR
3403     quick restore disk." "No, no virus there, but you DO have a virus. My paper
3404     in front of me says so."
3405    
3406     He took it back and bought a Gateway.
3407     %%
3408     9. Deinde, ne in posterum a XII kalendas aprilis aequinoctium recedat,
3409     statuimus bissextum quarto quoque anno (uti mos est) continuari debere,
3410     praeterquam in centesimis annis; qui, quamvis bissextiles antea semper
3411     fuerint, qualem etiam esse volumus annum MDC, post eum tamen qui
3412     deinceps consequentur centesimi non omnes bissextiles sint, sed in
3413     quadringentis quibusque annis primi quique tres centesimi sine bissexto
3414     transigantur, quartus vero quisque centesimus bissextilis sit, ita ut
3415     annus MDCC, MDCCC, MDCCCC bissextiles non sint. Anno vero MM, more
3416     consueto dies bissextus intercaletur, februario dies XXIX continente,
3417     idemque ordo intermittendi intercalandique bissextum diem in
3418     quadringentis quibusque annis perpetuo conservetur.
3419     %%
3420     You obviously have not dealt with Microsoft Winnt 4.0
3421     and all the Service Pack then. While one Service Pack
3422     did somewhat correct the Y2K problem was not aware that
3423     2000 was in fact a leap year. There was no way to set
3424     the date to Feb 29, 2000.
3425     %%
3426     "Ernst Lehmann, die Organisationsredundanz beim Cluster-Treffen"
3427     %%
3428     HP Computer NEWS 3/98 about HP 2000/CN printer (page 24): "Darüber
3429     hinaus ... hat der HP 2000C/CN durch den Einsatz von Intel MMX-
3430     Technologie Zugriff auf deren Farbtabellen und kann so Farbbilder
3431     schneller verarbeiten" (A mistake made when translating. It's hard to
3432     get the wrong meaning if translated back to English, sorry.)
3433     %%
3434     From: Robert Lipe
3435     > > I program computers with no screens and no keyboards for a living.
3436     > > Switches and front-panels are a LUXURY! :-)
3437     >
3438     > But I guess you are not _programming_ these computers without a keyboard
3439     > and/or screen.
3440    
3441     Are you familiar with the Vulcan Mind Meld?
3442     %%
3443     Subject: Re: [fwd from comp.lang.python] Re: Python 2 ideas [Re: access
3444     From: Tuomas Lukka <lukka@fas.harvard.edu>
3445    
3446     On Tue, 24 Nov 1998, Ilya Zakharevich wrote:
3447     > use pedantic;
3448     > use strict 'code';
3449     >
3450     > or whatever is the syntax to switch Perl into 'dull'/'pythonish' mode.
3451    
3452     use syntax 'python';
3453    
3454     Let's just embrace&extend'em ;) ;)
3455    
3456     %%
3457     Thus it was written in the epistle of Larry Wall,
3458     >
3459     > Having discussed all this thoroughly at the Hacker's Conference this
3460     > past weekend, I've come to the conclusion that Y2K will be traumatic
3461     > primarily because people *think* it will be traumatic. A panic is a
3462     > panic whether or not it's justified. People get trampled in panics.
3463     >
3464     > It should be illegal to yell "Y2K" in a crowded economy. :-)
3465     %%
3466     [rfc1925]
3467     Good, Fast, Cheap: Pick any two (you can't have all three).
3468     %%
3469     [Alan Cox, why not port hurd to sgi, instead of linux]
3470     > A possible minus is the message-passing between the servers which might
3471     > be time-consuming.
3472    
3473     "Yesterdays technology, next week" to quote an OSI saying
3474     %%
3475     UNIX versions of ctags handle the C language, and often Pascal and Fortran
3476     77. Sometimes, they even handle assembly language. Almost universally,
3477     however, they do not handle C++...
3478     [from "learning the vi editor"]
3479     %%
3480     > correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there a thread about this a few
3481     > months back that resolved the ping -f localhost as a ping bug.
3482    
3483     Indeed, as Alan Cox said:
3484    
3485     So get a non-buggy ping(8) client.
3486    
3487     and as Ecclesiastes said:
3488    
3489     Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been
3490     already of old time, which was before us.
3491     There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any
3492     remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
3493    
3494     Regards,
3495     Tigran.
3496     %%
3497     SNMP stands for Security Not My Problem
3498     %%
3499     [slightly broken, though...]
3500     /* "Hello World" in B for 64-bit hardware! */
3501     hw [0] "Hello World.*n";
3502     main(){
3503     extrn hw;
3504     putchar(0[hw]);
3505     hw=+1;
3506     putchar(0[hw]);
3507     }
3508     %%
3509     > So what comes first the chicken or the egg? :)
3510    
3511     The egg. Always. By definition.
3512     %%
3513     > > PPS: Robert, I just made my first y2k fix to that script ;()
3514     >
3515     > Better check your scsi cables.
3516     %%
3517     Arroganz durch Wissen
3518     [Dirk Jagdmann]
3519     %%
3520     [Re: Pegasus - Gut oder Boese?]
3521     > Weil er sie dabei ja unterstuetzt. Da er aber (abgesehen von den ersten
3522     > ein- oder zweimal) nur auf Anrufen von Rosa-Girl erscheint, koennte man es
3523     > auch anders herum sagen. wenn CU Pfeift, kommt er angaloppiert 8))
3524    
3525     was aber leider bedeutet, daß usa die Rennsemmel ständig mit
3526     sich rumschleppen mu?. ^_-
3527     Nur weil die Kleine die Bimmel hat!
3528    
3529     Und wer weiß, was dieses pädophile Pferd eigentlich noch so
3530     bezwecken will... ^_-
3531     %%
3532     >James :\
3533     >
3534     >I apologize for adding a message to this possibly trivial thread.
3535    
3536     I like your sig. I hope you use it for everything you post.
3537     %%
3538     From: Mason <mason@schwanda.resnet.tamu.edu>
3539     Subject: night of the undead ip stack
3540     Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 13:03:19 -0600 (CST)
3541     %%
3542     > The person who decides to invent UNICODE support for Linux
3543     > is just asking for a black eye.
3544    
3545     But Unicode for NT is such fun!
3546    
3547     For example, the checked DbgPrint() bluescreens above DISPATCH_LEVEL
3548     if you try to print a Unicode string--the Unicode->ASCII
3549     translation tables are marked as pageable.
3550    
3551     Since as far as I know, printk() does not have any format specifiers
3552     that cause obscure kernel panics, Linux is clearly behind in this
3553     area.
3554     %%
3555     Linux: a no problem operating system for no problem people.
3556     [Lukas Grunwald]
3557     %%
3558     http://dd.sh/perlfs/:
3559    
3560     THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL (PRE-ALPHA) VERSION OF THE PERL FILESYSTEM.
3561     EVEN WHEN IT LOADS WITHOUT CAUSING A KERNEL PANIC, IT WILL LOCK UP
3562     YOUR MACHINE, DESTROY ALL YOUR DATA, KIDNAP YOUR FAMILY AND
3563     (DEPENDING ON SAID FAMILY'S CONFIGURATION) SHOOT YOUR CAT, DOG, AND/OR
3564     FIRST-BORN CHILD.
3565     %%
3566     [a comment on http://dd.sh/perlfs/]
3567     Forget GNU/Linux. /PerL/inux will conquer all.
3568    
3569     kill 0,1 if -x '/PerL/inux'; # request kernel mode
3570     %%
3571     [Tim Hollebeek on real arithmetic]
3572     On a machine with a sane floating point model, the results make sense.
3573     For example, my SGI workstation prints:
3574    
3575     0.00000000000000011102 1.00000000000000000000 1.00000000000000020000 1.00000000000000040000
3576    
3577     However, a machine with the Intel FPU from hell gives:
3578    
3579     0.00000000000000000005 1.00000000000000000000 1.00000000000000000000 1.00000000000000000000
3580    
3581     due to the fact that whether 1+x and 1 are the same number depends on whether
3582     the numbers are in the FPU or not.
3583     %%
3584     [Grüner Tip/Arte]
3585     Ihre Nachbarn sind zu laut und feiern andauernd Parties? Kein Problem, ihr
3586     Bohrer wird nachts um zwei spielend mit _jedem_ Lärm fertig....
3587     %%
3588     Remember, eating healthy doesn't make you live longer, it just makes it seem
3589     longer...
3590     %%
3591     [M$ about unix development tools like GCC]
3592     By the standards of the novice / intermediate developer accustomed to
3593     VB/VS/VC/VJ, these tools are incredibly primitive.
3594     %%
3595     > > Praha is nice and our university is interesting, since it is according
3596     > > to tests most complex and impractical computer science university on the
3597     > > world :) I just love it...
3598     >
3599     > Oh well, great that I won't be studying there...
3600     >
3601     It is really fun.... just now I have lesson (that reminds me that I really
3602     should go now) about set theory and infinity... it is really fun and very
3603     practical...
3604     for example that you have cinema with infinity chairs and infinity plus one
3605     person wants to see movie... what do yo do?
3606     Just let sit down the first infinity persons and then last person ask first
3607     one to move to second chair, second one to move to third and so on and
3608     everyone fits.. isn't that great to know? :))
3609    
3610     Jan Hubicka
3611     %%
3612     > template< template< template<class> class > class Tmpl> A {};
3613     [...]
3614     > I think that this construction is allowed by the ANSI C++.
3615    
3616     No, it is not. What you meant is
3617    
3618     template< template< template<class> class > class Tmpl> class A {};
3619     %%
3620     Jan Dubois writes:
3621     > A) perl-5.00553
3622     > path = \perl\5.00553\bin\MsWin32-x86\perl.exe
3623     > cc = cl.exe
3624     A performance analysis compiling with M$ compiler? Get real!
3625    
3626     [...]
3627    
3628     Ilya
3629     %%
3630     >Shouldn't the kernel compile with all combinations of options.
3631    
3632     Yes. Feel free to fix it and send a patch.
3633    
3634     p.
3635     %%
3636     [tomc]
3637     Jean-Louis provides four arguments in favor of the overloading of the
3638     logical && and || operators. Here they are:
3639    
3640     +------------------------------------------+
3641     | Other languages, notably C++, permit it. |
3642     +------------------------------------------+
3643    
3644     This one is hardly persuasive. Many languages do innumerable things
3645     that Perl does not do. Just for example, take:
3646    
3647     * Csh reparses and re-evals interpolated strings, allowing something
3648     like C<$cmd $var> to do interesting things.
3649     * The Fortran lexer (as it were), having no need of white space to
3650     infer tokens, allows C<DO I=1.10> and C<DO I=1,10> to coexist in an
3651     interesting way.
3652     * Icon has an entirely different notion of success and failure,
3653     allowing expressions like (X < Y < Z) to do interesting things.
3654     * Scheme has call-with-continuation, allowing co-routines to do
3655     interesting things.
3656     * C++ has template classes with abnormal typing rules even for that
3657     language, allowing parameterized meta-classes to do interesting
3658     things.
3659     %%
3660     Make is like Pascal: everybody likes it, so they go in and change it.
3661     --Dennis Ritchie
3662     %%
3663     perl -wlpe '}{$_=$.' file # Count the number of lines.
3664     %%
3665     [not quite duff's device, but...]
3666    
3667     switch (x)
3668     default:
3669     if (prime(x))
3670     case 2: case 3: case 5: case 7:
3671     process_prime(x);
3672     else
3673     case 4: case 6: case 8: case 9: case 10:
3674     process_composite(x);
3675     %%
3676     Is there any truth to the rumor that the number appearing
3677     after the words "Microsoft Windows" is the minimum amount of memory,
3678     in megabytes, required for execution?
3679    
3680     Craig Milo Rogers
3681     %%
3682     Mark Mielke writes:
3683     > This statement is false. The simple fact that school textbooks teach it
3684     > to be indeterminate should be enough to convince you of that.
3685    
3686     This is just another reference point about the state of education in
3687     US (apparently in Canada too?).
3688    
3689     Ilya
3690     %%
3691     [from p5p]
3692     > Now you know why threading is experimental and all, buddy.
3693    
3694     Experimental schexperimental. Anything that doesn't cause an
3695     immediate coredump is not experimental. :-) (Observant readers will
3696     note that this is a more rigorous standard than Microsoft's.)
3697    
3698     Nat
3699     %%
3700     Needless to say, Linux awk is probably gawk, which has been taking too
3701     much steroids for a while. =)
3702    
3703     --Albert Dvornik
3704     <bert@genscan.com>
3705     %%
3706     Subject: Re: zero width lookbehind considered slow
3707     From: Tom Christiansen <tchrist@jhereg.perl.com>
3708     Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 17:40:37 -0500
3709    
3710     >*You* do not understand? Perl is slow...
3711    
3712     Ilya: You are formerly invited to go play in the python
3713     or tcl crowd instead of here.
3714    
3715     --tom
3716     %%
3717     >What's it? Can linux be improved too? Or has it already been improved?
3718    
3719     Linux has never done anything so stupid in the first place.
3720    
3721     Linus
3722     %%
3723     On the 8th day god created email. And got noted the world was good. Then the
3724     devil added HTML mail...
3725     %%
3726     linux/lib/vsprintf.c: * Wirzenius wrote this portably, Torvalds fucked it up :-)
3727     linux/arch/sparc64/kernel/binfmt_aout32.c: /* Fuck me plenty... */
3728     linux/arch/sparc64/kernel/ptrace.c:/* Fuck me gently with a chainsaw... */
3729     %%
3730     On 1998-10-11T02:37:57,
3731     Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk> said:
3732    
3733     > Believe me Microsoft think Linux is a threat now. Its level with things like
3734     > java in their perceived threat list, so you can expect all the usual MS
3735     > techniques to start coming this way and very soon.
3736    
3737     Arm the gnus!
3738     %%
3739     [David Miller after (another) endless discussion with Richard Kenner]
3740    
3741     Anyways, I tired (just like everyone else) of arguing endlessly with
3742     you, you're in the past, you no longer constrain my ability to improve
3743     gcc, so go away.
3744     %%
3745     I received my copy of Visual Studio 6.0 today. I couldn't believe that it
3746     wanted to install the C++ compiler into a directory called:
3747    
3748     "\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VC98"
3749    
3750     But anyways, I just had to find out if it was finally possible to compile
3751     Perl (without PERL_OBJECT) with optimization (-O2).
3752     %%
3753     [on perl version numbering]
3754     > So it could be 5.006 for the developers, but "ThreadPerl" or "Perl with
3755     > Multithreads" (or some such) for the journalists, if that's what
3756     > journalists need to make them pay attention.
3757    
3758     Down that path lies "Perl version 5.006, codename `Ticklish Uvula',
3759     was released today" madness.
3760     %%
3761     [on perl version numbering]
3762     > elaine> 5.1 would be a good thing(tm) as it would draw attention,
3763     > elaine> etc. in a way that a developers versioning would. The
3764     > elaine> world is not populated by people who think the same
3765     > elaine> way. To that end, this would be a good change. Of course,
3766     > elaine> we could call it Perl99.
3767     >
3768     > To me, Perl seems to be recognized for it's language qualities, not
3769     > for marketing reasons. IMHO, perl may keep this difference with other
3770     > wintel product. More than that : Perl99, would let believe people that
3771     > it is not Y2K proofed, or still in beta (<1.00). So it's not a good
3772     > marketing name, anyway.
3773    
3774     Right. Then, to be Y2K compliant, we'll have to call it Perl1999. Hmmm.
3775     "The year perl left earth's orbit"? Maybe we need to get the NASA guys to
3776     put perl on the next low-cost spaceshot.
3777    
3778     Of course, then c.l.p.m's motto could be "We do not commit *mindless*
3779     violence..." :-)
3780     %%
3781     Rule 1 says that Larry says that Larry has the last say, unless he changes
3782     his mind in which case he still has the last say.
3783     %%
3784     > >I never said it did.. I should have said: Binary only drivers encourage
3785     > >poor drivers
3786     >
3787     > No it doesn't.
3788    
3789     Indeed. Its down to
3790    
3791     Profit = (units * margin) - overhead
3792    
3793     and the folks who decide "overhead" arent the programmers but the management.
3794     The folks who say "you have two weeks allocated to write this driver, then
3795     we ship it" are the folks to take the issue up with, and that goes source
3796     or binaries.
3797     %%
3798     dig txt leap.yp.to
3799     %%
3800     "The fact that I'm paranoid doesn't mean that nobody's after me..."
3801     %%
3802     [linux-kernel on endianess issues with NIPQUAD]
3803    
3804     |> Do I read this correct?!? Is it more acceptable to have a bug[*],
3805     |> than a not optimal fix?!?!?
3806     |>
3807     |> s/optimal/stupid/
3808    
3809     What's stupid is little endian. <g>
3810    
3811     Andreas.
3812     %%
3813     [Paul Eggert on tz@elsie.nci.nih.gov]
3814     ...
3815     A closely related question is `What is 1 minute before 23:59:60?''.
3816    
3817     Here's a good one: `What is 1 month before 1 February 1995 in
3818     Kiritimati?''. There was no 1 January 1995 in Kiritimati; they
3819     skipped a day by moving the clocks ahead 24 hours. Similar issues
3820     arise when asking about times that occur within smaller, more typical
3821     UTC offset changes. A number of obscure questions arise here, and I'm
3822     not sure it's worth standardizing all the answers.
3823     %%
3824     [D.J.Bernstein on tz@elsie.nci.nih.gov]
3825    
3826     Paul Eggert writes:
3827     > which I am calling the `modified TIME_TAI''
3828    
3829     Your time differences break down near leap seconds. Ever watched xntpd
3830     try to handle a leap second? Wobble, wobble, wobble, wobble, wobble.
3831     %%
3832     For binary only drivers you can assume most vendors will build x86 only
3833     however.
3834    
3835     "We don't have the tools"
3836     "We can't support a non intel build"
3837     "We don't have that sort of machine"
3838     "Its not worth the time cost"
3839     "Whats an Alpha ?"
3840     %%
3841     On Thu, 1 Oct 1998, Mail Delivery Subsystem wrote:
3842    
3843     > The original message was received at Thu, 1 Oct 1998 18:39:56 -0400
3844     > from mini [10.0.0.3]
3845     >
3846     > ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
3847     > <mailproc@fred>
3848     >
3849     > ----- Transcript of session follows -----
3850     > procmail: can't map '/lib/libc.so.5'
3851     > procmail: can't map '/lib/libc.so.5'
3852     > procmail: can't load library 'libc.so.5'
3853     > 554 <mailproc@fred>... unknown mailer error 16
3854     %%
3855     > Here is the difficulty with this discussion:
3856     > No documented problem
3857     > No reason to believe that the "solution" solves the unspecified "problem"
3858     > No clear understanding of the effects of this change on the system
3859     >
3860     > Why, this could be a discusion among AIX developers!
3861     %%
3862     > This would be a reasonable committee-like compromise that might
3863     > satisfy neither of us (:-).
3864     %%
3865     By default Microsoft has set Explorer to use gz files as VRML, you need to
3866     change the association for .gz / vrml from "start vrml program" to "always ask"
3867    
3868     dave
3869     %%
3870     On 10 Aug 1998, Ben Pfaff wrote:
3871     DG> You're not programming MS-DOS applications are you?
3872    
3873     BP> Hell no. I wouldn't touch MS-DOS with a ten-foot network cable.
3874     %%
3875     [Paul Eggert on tz@elsie.nci.nih.gov]
3876    
3877     Date: 10 Oct 1998 15:35:05 -0000
3878     From: "D. J. Bernstein" <djb@cr.yp.to>
3879    
3880     Paul Eggert writes:
3881     > * 29 February if it's a leap lear, 28 February otherwise.
3882    
3883     If that's 1 month before 31 March, then what's 1 month before 30 March?
3884     1 month before 29 March?
3885    
3886     The same as 1 month before 31 March.
3887    
3888     1 month before 28 March?
3889    
3890     28 February.
3891    
3892     And what's 1 month after 28 February? 1 month after 27 February? 1 month
3893     _before_ 27 February?
3894    
3895     28 March, 27 March, and 27 January.
3896     %%
3897     Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
3898    
3899     >Nils Goesche wrote:
3900     >> So make a security check first:
3901     >>
3902     >> if (status = UNDER_NUCLEAR_ATTACK)
3903     >> launch_full_counterstrike();
3904     >
3905     >Hmmm. The way the worlds been going lately, AI wouldn't trust that code to
3906     >do the job. Here's the revised version:
3907     >
3908     >if(status == UNDER_NULEAR_ATTACK); /* Corrected dangerous
3909     > = instead of == error*/
3910     > launch_full_counterstrike();
3911     >
3912     >Now isn't that much more reliable?
3913     >
3914     >--
3915     >Email: cyrand@hotmail.com
3916    
3917     The following variant is less reliable but much safer:
3918    
3919     if (status == UNDER_NUCLEAR_ATTACK); /* Correct dangerous
3920     launch_full_counterstrike (); = instead == error */
3921     %%
3922     It is even more cheerful than that. Not so long time ago a customers
3923     of ours totally destroyed his NT installation on Alpha.
3924    
3925     He found on a manufacturer page, no money - for a download, "NT driver"
3926     for his particular piece of a hardware. So he followed instructions
3927     to the letter - "Installation Wizzard" and all that crap - and the thing
3928     happily installed clobbering, as it is customary in these circles,
3929     essential system libraries with its own versions. The catch was that
3930     this driver was for NT/Intel and these bozos did not even bother to
3931     check for an architecture or at least mention something in some blurb.
3932     Ooops! No chance even to try to boot anymore.
3933    
3934     The saving grace was that the installation was rather new, so loses
3935     were not big, and he had an opportunity to practice an essential skill
3936     of re-installing Windows NT. Ah, and yes, this was the only NT driver
3937     available for that hardware from any source.
3938     What do you plan on doing? Using a PA system for networking? :)
3939     Whats next? A *Smell* modem? It would bring a new meaning to packet
3940     sniffing!
3941     %%
3942     "I'd rather spend 10 hours reading source code than 10 minutes on a
3943     technical support line that isn't"
3944     %%
3945     [from linux-kernel]
3946     `This code fills 8 million seats, we therefore decide what's standard.''
3947     %%
3948     [...]
3949     And especially with new machines users have a lot of clout. Several UK
3950     suppliers now carry Buslogic cards partly because they got fed up of
3951    
3952     "I'd like to order a dual PII/300, 256Mb of RAM, 17" monitor
3953     4 4Gig IBM disks, and a buslogic scsi controller"
3954     "We dont do buslogic only adaptec"
3955     "Nothing else"
3956     "Sorry"
3957     [Click]
3958    
3959     Alan
3960     %%
3961     Fünfzig Prozent der Amerikaner wurden in ihrer Kindheit sexuell mißbraucht,
3962     während weitere fünfzig Prozent von Außerirdischen entführt wurden.
3963     %%
3964     > Let's not forget that this is just an informal, free
3965     > software project. Unlke the US House of Representatives
3966     > we do not yet posess nuclear capability (certain RTEMS
3967     > users excepted, of course!).
3968    
3969     Hmmm, if some RTEMS users have nuclear facilities attached to their
3970     systems, they might be well advised to be careful using FORTRAN as
3971     their language of choice. The comp.lang.fortran FAQ states (with
3972     concurrence from resident X3J3 members) that "using a non-standard
3973     construct might start WW III, if the necessary (optional) hardware
3974     is installed"
3975    
3976     [Toon Moene in private discussion]
3977     %%
3978     Newsgroups: alt.config
3979    
3980     L. Harris wrote:
3981     >
3982     > Testing
3983    
3984     you failed.
3985     %%
3986     Roswell {Unit 6 of 5 Sam Borg} Coverup [Rev. joWazzoo - well mannered despammer]
3987     <JOWazzoo@WhiteICE.com> at We are Sam Borg Spam Assimilators Ltd. - Area 51 HQ
3988     %%
3989     Perl is really designed more for the guys that will hack Perl at least
3990     20 minutes a day for the rest of their career. TCL/Python is more a
3991     "20 minutes a week", and VB is probably in that "20 minutes a month"
3992     group. :) -- Randal Schwartz
3993     %%
3994     > alternative, when it comes to stability and power...Not to mention the
3995     > fact that bugs and fixes are very quickly available and don't come in
3996     > 18MB+ "Service Packs" :).
3997    
3998     What, you mean you _paid_ for service pack '98?
3999     %%
4000     We got this INTERNET because we whan't more information ( to learn ) now it
4001     seem's people can't handle what they see. You say freedom is a mater of
4002     choice (well it is) you have the freedom to choose to carry your butt some
4003     where else...
4004     %%
4005     Steve Orzel (phloam@vol.com) wrote:
4006     [...]
4007     : The purpose of the newsgroup is to help out other people that have questions
4008     : about a certain topic.
4009     %%
4010     Mark Robinson wrote:
4011     >
4012     > Does any have any source code to games that I can have? Does anybody
4013     > know where I can get game sources(legally)?
4014    
4015     Here's the trial version of the three-room text adventure I'm going to
4016     write. I'm not finished yet, though.
4017    
4018     void main (void)
4019     {
4020     printf ("You are in a dark room.\n");
4021     printf ("\n");
4022     printf ("You feel a sharp pain.\n");
4023     printf ("You have died.\n");
4024     printf ("\n");
4025     printf ("!!! GAME OVER !!!");
4026     }
4027    
4028     (Don't tell, but I took some of the code from Quake.)
4029    
4030     --
4031     John Kugelman. kugelman@mnsinc.com
4032     %%
4033     [mail I got after releasing a zip-password cracker, the second biggest
4034     mistake I ever made]
4035    
4036     From: "Tom Miller"
4037     Subject: Can
4038     X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.71.1712.3
4039    
4040     Hay man can you send me some hacking tips and tricks please
4041     send to kymmiller@bigpond.com
4042     my name is Tom Miller
4043    
4044     From: "Tom Miller"
4045     Subject: Wait
4046     X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.71.1712.3
4047    
4048     Hey man its Tom can you also send me any easy systems to hack and the
4049     passwords also send me any infomation about hacking websites thank you
4050     %%
4051     From: lm@bitmover.com (Larry McVoy)
4052    
4053     [...] then think a little before flaming. Or better yet, produce something
4054     better. Flaming is easy but it is basically masturbation without the orgasm
4055     so why bother? [...]
4056     %%
4057     Günter Höns <guenter.hoens@gmd.de>
4058    
4059     Newsgroups: de.alt.ufo
4060    
4061     Offensichtlich ist noch keinem das Wasser-Wachstum aufgefallen, das sogar
4062     jeden Tag geschieht. Jeden Tag waechst der Wasserberg im Meer um mehrere
4063     Meter, ist dann naeher an der Sonne und verdunstet dann. Sogenannte
4064     Wissenschaftler haben eine abenteuerliche Theorie ueber den Einfluss des
4065     Mondes auf dieses Wachstum aufgestellt, aber inzwischen wissen wir es
4066     besser: Die Wasser-Molekuele werden von Neutrinos getroffen, und verdoppeln
4067     sich dann.
4068     %%
4069     CRASH(8)
4070     no fs
4071     A device has disappeared from the mounted-device table.
4072     Definitely hardware or software error.
4073    
4074     Unix Version 7 Manual
4075     %%
4076     On Tue, 4 Aug 1998, Larry Wall wrote:
4077     >
4078     > Maybe Pi looks like this:
4079     >
4080     > =for C
4081     > i++; /* add 1 to i */
4082     > =end
4083     > =for C++
4084     > i.value() += 1; // add 1 to i, probably
4085     > =end
4086     > =for Java
4087     > system().foo().bar().i().value().please().increment(); // ???
4088     > =end
4089     >
4090     > :-)
4091     %%
4092     > > USENET is *not* the non-clickable part of WWW!
4093     %%
4094     [on linux 2.1.111]
4095    
4096     The horrid underlining which was a feature with the monochrome Linux vt's on
4097     the previous two releases of the kernel has gone. Unfortunately, so has the
4098     cursor. A couple of brief experiments didn't result in me finding a way to
4099     turn it on.
4100     %%
4101     [...]
4102     its a true story, it happend this weekend in a nice country
4103     between Belgium (wellknown for its Dutroux-case) and Germany
4104     (wellknown for its Bratwurst), lets call it the Lowlands...
4105     [...]
4106     %%
4107     I get a sense of god-like proportions when I patch /dev/kmem with dd(1).
4108    
4109     Chad C Giffin
4110     %%
4111     [usenet, an anology]
4112     Mary Green's car was smoking. She got worried. "Whatever should I do?"
4113     worried Mary... Well, as she drove along she noticed a florists shop. "Aha!
4114     Thought Mary, "Flour shops are full of thoughtless men who need to apologize to
4115     their wives. These men are the sometimes the same ones I see swearing under
4116     the hoods of their cars in the shade of a tree."
4117    
4118     "Brrring" said the bell of the door to the flower shop as Mary poked her head
4119     through the door.
4120     "HELP!!! MY CAR IS SMOKING!" Screamed Mary.
4121     "There is a garage right next door." Said the shopkeeper.
4122     "That's right," Said Melvin, "And there is a parts store across the street. If
4123     you ask for Fred, he's pretty savvy about that kind of stuff."
4124     Now Joe was also in the flower store. This was his first time in trouble, so
4125     he did not hear the 30 or 40 people per day who came in screaming about their
4126     cars smoking (mostly men, of course -- the ones under the shade trees,
4127     usually.)
4128    
4129     "Why don't you help the stinking lady!!" Screamed Joe. "It might be your
4130     muffler bearings..." he continued. Or maybe it's your deisel glow plugs or
4131     your tire pressure..."
4132     Now Tim, also new to the flower shop felt the courage to chime in, "Or it could
4133     even be your cooling system. Sometimes a hose gets a crack."
4134     "My car smoked once and it was an oil leak, where the head gasket was spraying
4135     oil in the manifold." Hollered Larry
4136     "Hey lady, why don't you get your car the patch if it's smoking" chortled Glen.
4137     Well, the hollering went on into the evening, and the lady finally went to the
4138     gas station and found that the heater core had a tiny split and was repaired in
4139     three days for a cost of $175.23.
4140     %%
4141     > Nun gut, Berliner sollen ja eh etwas heller sein.
4142    
4143     Sicher, das macht der Inzest, und die Isolation!:)
4144     %%
4145     > Nun gut, Berliner sollen ja eh etwas heller sein.
4146    
4147     Stimmt, deswegen waren sie wohl auch die ersten, die Hitler hinterherliefen...
4148     :-(
4149     %%
4150     >Mt 24,34 Wahrlich, ich sage euch: Dieses Geschlecht wird nicht vergehen, bis
4151     >dies alles geschieht.
4152     >Und es verging nicht.
4153    
4154     So what?
4155    
4156     Ich dachte eher an:
4157    
4158     " 'Und sein Wabbel wird an einer Lanze aufgespiesst', wiederholte der
4159     Oberste Groesste Meister grimmig. Im Hintergrund knarrte etwas, als
4160     Bruder Pfoertner versuchte, das klemmende Portal zu oeffnen. 'Sind wir
4161     jetzt alle soweit? Befinden sich vielleicht noch andere Unwissende
4162     unter uns,die sich verirrt haben?' fuegte er mit aetzendem Sarkasmus
4163     hinzu. 'Gut. Wunderbar. Ich bin ja _so_ froh. Vermutlich brauche ich
4164     nicht zu fragen, ob die vier Wachtuerme geschlossen sind, oder? Oh,
4165     ausgezeichnet. Hat sich jemand die Muehe gemacht, der Heiligen Hose
4166     die Beichte abzunehmen? Ach, tatsaechlich? Auf die richtige Art und
4167     Weise? Und wenn ich nachsehe? Na schoen. Sind vor den Fenstern die
4168     roten Kordeln des Intellekts gespannt worden? Gut. Nun, dann koennen
4169     wir jetzt vielleicht beginnen.' ".
4170    
4171     Terry Pratchett, "Wachen! Wachen!", S. 15f
4172    
4173     Antje
4174     %%
4175     [....]
4176    
4177     Da muss ich ja, obwohl ich beinahe meinen Humor verloren haette, leise
4178     grinsen. Ich darf zusammenfassen: Du bringst uns keine Beweise, weil Du 1.
4179     zu arm und 2. zu sehr ausgelastet mit der Rettung der Welt und der Zukunft
4180     und so bist. Ausserdem brauchst Du keine Beweise, weil sich Dein
4181     Gedankengebaeude nach eingehender Nabelschau als selbsttragend erwiesen hat.
4182     Finde ich gut! Akzeptiert!
4183    
4184     Da will ich nicht weiter stoeren,
4185    
4186     Antje
4187     %%
4188     It seems that writing to /dev/vcs0 makes the console singing "Ugh,
4189     lalala, I love you baby..."
4190     --
4191     Pavel.Janik@inet.cz
4192     %%
4193     On Thu, 16 Jul 1998, Linus Torvalds wrote:
4194     >
4195     > Kubys
4196    
4197     Kubys is my evil twin brother. Sorry about that.
4198    
4199     Linus
4200     %%
4201     > eieio stands for "Enforce In-Order Execution of I/O".
4202    
4203     .... and it is definitely my favorite name for an assembly language
4204     instruction (the non-native-English speakers on the list presumably
4205     don't know the childhood song "Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O").
4206     %%
4207     > It is *big* and never uses.
4208    
4209     That's parses like English, but I'll be hornswoggled if I can figure
4210     out what it means.
4211     --
4212     Chip Salzenberg - a.k.a. - <chip@perlsupport.com>
4213     %%
4214     [...] HP's PA-8500, for example, has 1.5 Mbytes of L1 cache on-chip. The
4215     company has described the 8500 as a cache SRAM with an ancillary CPU. [...]
4216     %%
4217     From: Dave Cinege <dcinege@psychosis.com>
4218     Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 06:10:31 -0400
4219    
4220     Terry L Ridder wrote:
4221    
4222     > at some future date end up being released under the BSD License is what
4223     > is being discussed.
4224    
4225     Well my licence is bigger then your licence.
4226     %%
4227     [gtk/testgtk, after dragging & dropping an object:]
4228    
4229     Drop data of type text/plain was:
4230    
4231     Bill Gates demands royalties for your use of his innovation
4232    
4233     [and the button reads]
4234    
4235     Continue with life in spite of this oppression
4236     %%
4237     Joshua Waxman <jwaxman@ymail.yu.edu> writes:
4238    
4239     While DJGPP is indeed a C as well as a C compiler, there are certain
4240    
4241     A terribly succinct, as well as a true, statement. However, it has a
4242     certain amount of redundancy.
4243     %%
4244     Compatibility with oneself is Microsoft's greatest strength. When they hit
4245     the 64 bit transition they will hit a major internal incompatibility problem.
4246    
4247     ...
4248    
4249     Peter da Silva <peter@baileynm.com>
4250     %%
4251     >Hello,
4252     >
4253     >I am new to Perl. Can anyone tell me where I can download a full
4254     >operational Perl version for a Windows 95 system?
4255     >
4256    
4257     Of course it all depends on what you mean by "a full operational Perl
4258     version" Perl on Win32 has limitations that are largely due to the
4259     nature of the underlying OS, Perl on Win95 has further limitations
4260     compared with NT due to its own shortcomings .
4261     %%
4262     An injunction delaying Windows 98 would clearly have a negative impact
4263     on the country as a whole.
4264     Compaq President & CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer,
4265     explaining why Microsoft shouldn't be
4266     prosecuted under anti-monopoly laws.
4267     %%
4268     With a PC, I always felt limited by the software available. On Unix, I am
4269     limited by my knowledge. --Peter J. Schoenster <pschon@baste.magibox.net>
4270     %%
4271     There is a need to keep from being locked into Open Systems. --IBM sales rep
4272     %%
4273     In comp.lang.perl.misc,
4274     Stylin <stylinsty@yahoo.comREMOVE> writes:
4275     :Can anyone point me to the algorithm for creating a unique id?
4276    
4277     $id = `cat /dev/kmem`;
4278    
4279     --tom
4280     --
4281     Real programmers can write assembly code in any language. :-)
4282     --Larry Wall in <8571@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV>
4283     %%
4284     Newsgroup: comp.lang.perl.misc
4285     Subject: Larry 1 Bill 0
4286     %%
4287     On 3 Jul 1998, Ben Pfaff wrote:
4288    
4289     > The only problem with these AIs is that they don't handle references
4290     > to themselves as AIs very well. In faSegmentation fault (core dumped)
4291     > NO CARRIER
4292     > !@*&#@#%T^@&*(GU*SD*(@!&*(@#R(*FERHGH*(@#(&$&#@Y!&R
4293     %%
4294     > People come here to ask questions, not for intellectual gratification, but
4295     > rather they are seeking solutions. As such, the incorrect answer was
4296     > better.
4297    
4298     There's something... terribly wrong with this statement. I can't quite put
4299     my finger on it. Hmmm.
4300     %%
4301     comp.lang.c does not exist to accomodate the laziness of those who cannot be
4302     bothered to learn netiquette. That's what comp.lang.c++ is for.
4303     %%
4304     |> : > but... a microwave is an example of an embedded system,
4305     |>
4306     |> : Who says? He just said it was a microwave. He didn't say it was
4307     |> : a free-standing implimentation.
4308     |>
4309     |> This is approaching arguing for the sake of argument. Have you
4310     |> ever seen a microwave oven that supports a hosted C environment?
4311    
4312     The Lipton Ritchie Model 8 did. I'm sure that many posters will
4313     point out that Lipton's implementation of the stdio libraries was
4314     horrendously buggy. It was, but it was still a great system. It
4315     remains the only C implementation I know of that could be used to
4316     build Bison, and then cook it.
4317    
4318     Viva la buffalo burgers.
4319     %%
4320     A strategically-placed PDP-11 can be used to heat your entire
4321     home. I've got one in my basement, next to a large box of "She's
4322     The Sheriff" drink coasters. I sold my furnace years ago. The
4323     Digital Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Corporation
4324     can be found online at http://www.dhvacc.com/.
4325     %%
4326     The lbxproxy program has various options, all of which are optional.
4327     -- lbxproxy(1)
4328     %%
4329     Re: Where to learn Windows programming...
4330    
4331     |> I'll take a Schildt book any day, thanks.
4332    
4333     Great. I'm expecting to see the line above as a back-cover blurb
4334     on the next "Bullschildt: The Complete Reference".
4335     %%
4336     Subject: Re: The wrong position of while, if and else?
4337    
4338     that's some ugly piece of code buddy...
4339     %%
4340     In article <1998062718481700.OAA03186@ladder01.news.aol.com>, eyrei@aol.com (EYREI) writes:
4341     |> I have recently started learning the C Language. I have created a simple file
4342     |> to determine whether or not a number is Prime. When I run it, the program
4343     |> crashes with the error message :- Unhandled Exception :- General Protection
4344     |> Exception 0x5FD7:0x379F. Prime(1) Processor Fault.
4345    
4346     |> What does this mean.
4347    
4348     It means you've got a broken operating system, and should immediately
4349     install [free|net|open]BSD[OS] or Linux.
4350     %%
4351     Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
4352    
4353     On Thu, 25 Jun 1998, Emulov wrote:
4354     > Hi, i don't know if this is a stupid question..
4355    
4356     Off-topic, too! Imagine that.
4357     %%
4358     "Right now we are the most shit hot piece of PC networking software on the
4359     planet. The only people who can touch us are FreeBSD (who also dont do
4360     streams)."
4361     -- Alan Cox, in "Streams and Linux"
4362     %%
4363     "Perl combines all of the worst aspects of BASIC, C and line noise."
4364     - Keith Packard <keithp@ncd.com>
4365     %%
4366     Lord Fellatio <richter_m@hotmail.com>
4367    
4368     >Wo soll das Loch denn dann sein? Im Meeresboden?
4369    
4370     Klaro.
4371    
4372     >Von oben duerfte man es also ueberhaupt nicht sehen
4373     >koennen, da ueber dem potentiellen Loch im Meeresboden doch
4374     >wahrscheinlich erstmal Wasser und dann viel Eis liegen wuerde. Wie
4375     >verhindern die Ausserirdischen denn, dass Wasser ins Loch einstroemt?
4376    
4377     Na ist doch völlig logo, mit nem rotierenden Traktorstrahl. Die
4378     Energie klauen die ?r***e dem Erdmagnetfeld.
4379    
4380     >Gibt es da einen kosmischen Badewannenstoepsel? Haben sie es mit
4381     >Eisbergen verstopft? Oder benutzen sie das einstroemende Wasser zu
4382     >Kajakfahrten bis hinunter zum Suedpol? (Das waere doch auch endlich
4383     >mal eine einleuchtende Erklaerung fuer die Eismassen, die die
4384     >Antarktis bedecken - man muesste halt nur, der Kontinentaldrift
4385     >folgend, immer wieder neue Schaechte bohren. Oder die Kontinentaldrift
4386     >einfach wegdiskutieren...)
4387    
4388     Die enorme Zentrifugalkraft im Erdinnern schleudert das Wasser wieder
4389     am Nordpolpol raus, falls der Traktorstrahl versagen sollte (Dies
4390     passiert immer dann, wenn das Erdmagnetfeld umkippt). Nun kommt sicher
4391     der Einwand, die Erde würde zu langsam rotieren. Das ist nur bedingt
4392     richtig. Richtig ist hingegen, daß die Rotationsgeschwindigkeit im
4393     Erdinnern um den Faktor 1000 (ca; sehr schwer zu messen: Magma) größer
4394     ist als auf der Erdoberfläche. Dies ist auch die Ursache für die
4395     Kontinentaldrift und die Mondphasen.
4396    
4397     Die Mondphasen wiederum beeinflussen das Erdmagnetfeld und sind daher
4398     die Ursache für die Sonnenflecken. Den Sonnenflecken haben wir auch
4399     die momentane Klimaveränderung zu verdanken. Auf der anderen Seite hat
4400     die Zunahme der Treibhausgase eine Erhöhung des Reflektionsvermögens
4401     der Atmosphäre zur Folge, welches dazu führt, daß ein Teil der
4402     Sonnenenergie zur Sonne zurückreflektiert wird. Dies heizt wiederum
4403     die Sonnenflecken auf und verkürzt deren Zyklus. All dies wird sich in
4404     den nächten Monaten so aufschaukeln, daß vorraussichtlich im Novemner
4405     2002 das Erdmagnetfeld zusammenbrechen wird. Wie damals bei den Dinos.
4406     Nur war dort ein Kometeneinschlag die Ursache.
4407    
4408     cu in hell 2002
4409     %%
4410     "Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '85, Windows '95"
4411     %%
4412     >In unix, one might say 'man 3 crypt'.
4413    
4414     Of course, on a Solaris system this won't give you what you want. You
4415     get a message that it can't find the man page for 3. It then prints
4416     the man page for crypt(1).
4417    
4418     Of course, all a beginner has to do is figure out that the 3 is the
4419     section number in the Unix manual. He can then use man man to find
4420     that on Solaris one uses -s to specify the section so he'll try
4421    
4422     man -s3 crypt
4423    
4424     Unfortunately, that doesn't work either. He'll get the message "No
4425     entry for crypt in section(s) 3 of the manual."
4426    
4427     If he doesn't give up, he can go back to the manual page for man and
4428     find that the -a switch prints all matching manual pages. Or perhaps
4429     he can figure out to use the command
4430    
4431     man -s3 Intro.3
4432    
4433     to get a list of everything in section 3. He'll then find out that
4434     crypt is in section 3C so he should use
4435    
4436     man -s3c crypt
4437    
4438     Gee. I don't understand why beginners have so much trouble with this
4439     stuff. I've only been programming Unix for 15 years and I don't have
4440     any trouble.
4441     --
4442     Michael M Rubenstein
4443     %%
4444     Take a moment to consider these lines:
4445    
4446     %OVERLOAD=( '""' => sub { join("", @{$_[0]}) } );
4447    
4448     sub html { my($type)=shift; bless ["<$type>", @_, "</$type>"]; }
4449    
4450     :-) I *love* Perl 5! Thankyou Larry and Ilya.
4451    
4452     Regards,
4453     Tim Bunce.
4454    
4455     p.s. If you didn't get it, think about recursive data types: html(html())
4456     p.p.s. I'll turn this into a much more practical example in a day or two.
4457     p.p.p.s. It's a pity that overloads are not inherited. Is this a bug?
4458     %%
4459     From: alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk (Alan Cox)
4460    
4461     ...
4462    
4463     > now is evil". This only shows two things: you never looked at the bad
4464     > experiences of the industry where following a rotten design and
4465     > keeping backward compatibility lead to unusable systems. And second:
4466    
4467     I worked for 3com. I know eveyrhting about following a rotten design until
4468     its unusable, believe me I do.
4469     %%
4470     Ok(slow) -> !NeedComputer
4471    
4472     Semour Cray
4473     %%
4474     Ullrich Jans at University of Karlsruhe, Germany:
4475    
4476     Oh Gott! Es ist voller crons!
4477     %%
4478     From: p00h <p00h@MONMOUTH.COM>
4479     Subject: Re: AOL for Windows DoS/Exploit
4480    
4481     aol supports PARTIAL html, its like win95's implementation of tcp/ip
4482     it only supports parts of it
4483     %%
4484     egcs/gcc/gcse.c:
4485     /* Help stamp out big monolithic functions! */
4486     %%
4487     [...] Yes, I'm being sarcastic. Especially regarding HPPA assembler syntax
4488     as provided by HP, which was designed by someone who should not have been
4489     let near a language-design project like that, too often "little languages",
4490     whether assemblers, tools, or C++, are designed by people who are unaware
4491     of, or give little thought to, the outright readability of code written in
4492     the language, in the sense that the basic semantics should be fairly obvious
4493     *without* the reader having to memorize lots of semantic information.
4494    
4495     (In HPPA assembler's case, one glaring stupidity was the nullified branches,
4496     which have completely different semantics depending on whether the label
4497     being branched to happens to assemble to a negative or positive offset! A
4498     smarter design would have required the programmer to specify whether such a
4499     branch was a "forward" or "backward" branch explicitly, then the assembler
4500     and/or linker would complain if reality didn't match the programmer's
4501     specification. I've never looked into whether GNU's HPPA as fixes this
4502     botch; I gather GNU as fixes many botches, though, so it wouldn't surprise
4503     me if it did, even though that might make for some compatibility problems
4504     with existing HP as code.) [...]
4505    
4506     tq vm, (burley)
4507     %%
4508     libc/posix/regex.h:
4509     /* The following two types have to be signed and unsigned integer type
4510     wide enough to hold a value of a pointer. For most ANSI compilers
4511     ptrdiff_t and size_t should be likely OK. Still size of these two
4512     types is 2 for Microsoft C. Ugh... */
4513     typedef long int s_reg_t;
4514     typedef unsigned long int active_reg_t;
4515     %%
4516     libc/db2/db.h:
4517     /*
4518     * While Microsoft's compiler is ANSI C compliant, it doesn't have _STDC_
4519     * defined by default, you specify a command line flag or #pragma to turn
4520     * it on. Don't do that, however, because some of Microsoft's own header
4521     * files won't compile.
4522     */
4523     %%
4524     > UTC variation and begining and ending dates of DST (if observed) would be
4525     > great.
4526    
4527     I answered only the places I can comment on.
4528    
4529     > BASSAS DA INDIA
4530    
4531     This rock is below water half of the time!
4532     If any inhabitants have been there, I do not think they observe DST
4533     on a regular basis! ;-)
4534     %%
4535     # ./test-plugin.pl
4536     Bizarre copy of CODE in sassign at /root/.gimp/plug-ins/test-plugin.pl line 40.
4537     wire_read: unexpected EOF (plug-in crashed?)
4538     %%
4539     >
4540     > The "where do you want to go today?" generation has taken the
4541     > developer out of the "programmer" by removing the vital, development
4542     > tools from the environment and precanning software.
4543    
4544     No kidding. Point. Click. Point. Click. Point. Click. Brain Atrophy.
4545     %%
4546     Lars Chr Hausmann <36haus@but.auc.dk> writes:
4547    
4548     >Hello!
4549    
4550     >I have to write something about, what Perl is.
4551     >I need some crystal clear info about, what perl is. So if any of you
4552     >would be so kind just to mail. Then I would be grateful!
4553    
4554    
4555     Perl.
4556    
4557     regards
4558     jobst
4559     %%
4560     Subject: Re: Cyrix 6x86MX and Centaur C6 CPUs in 2.1.102
4561     From: alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk (Alan Cox)
4562     Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 22:31:02 +0100 (BST)
4563    
4564     > Well, that depends. They SHOULD be. By Intel 'standards' *laff*, they have
4565     > to be identical stepping, indicating identical features. However, I've
4566    
4567     They don't. Pentiums have fairly strict rules, P6/PII much less. Also Intel
4568     are pretty good at following the MP 1.1/1.4 standard its the motherboard
4569     makers who get it wrong - primarily the BIOS is full of bugs. It appears
4570     nobody tests bios code against specs any more. It looks like they do
4571     compile flash, boot 95, boot NT, ship. The quality of bios code has dived to
4572     the absolute pits.
4573     %%
4574     Unix never says `Please.' -- Rob Pike
4575     %%
4576     > What about: . scriptname
4577     > ------------------^ this is a dot!
4578    
4579     Funny, it looks like a "p" to me.
4580     %%
4581     A computer without Microsoft and IBM is like chocolate cake without
4582     ketchup and mustard
4583     %%
4584     Subject: Re: Challange for perl `GURUS
4585    
4586     vimal gajjar wrote:
4587     >
4588     > Hi there,
4589     > Here is a small challange. Is it possible to have a perl
4590     > code which takes e.g. three parameters as input. time, val1, val2. and
4591     > the name of the prog. is say challange.pl. Now if i execute
4592     > "challange.pl 10 5 2" this perl script wille consume
4593     > 5% of cpu
4594     > 2 Mb of RAM
4595     > for the period of 10 Seconds.
4596     >
4597     > can one of the gurus take this challange?
4598    
4599     Examining the 5 copies of this post has consumed 5% of the
4600     brain power I allocate to reviewing c.l.p.m, about 10 seconds, and
4601     has caused the death of 2 million brain cells.
4602     %%
4603     > >> /A:You can usually write the program faster than you can
4604     > >> dial/dl/hangup/install/read docs/fix it/fix the fix/.
4605     >
4606     > >s/usually/never/
4607     >
4608     > s/sometimes/never/
4609    
4610     Cute. You embarrass yourself by your ignorance of perl.
4611     %%
4612     :That's probably true, but I really can't speak to it. But, if there
4613     :were no *nix around, there'd be no Perl. Nor would there be a need for
4614     :Perl, IMO.
4615    
4616     Gotta love them JCL and ini dot bat dot bad dot doo dah files.
4617    
4618     TC
4619     %%
4620     'cc:Mail is a wonderful application, as long as you don't want to read or send mail.'
4621     %%
4622     shurik@iron.Te.NeT.UA - Alexandr Dubovikov at TeNeT Networking Centre
4623    
4624     Hi guys!
4625    
4626     How check socket, alive it or die ?
4627     %%
4628     --> Questions not to ask on linux-kernel <--
4629    
4630     Miscellaneous flame-wars:
4631     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4632     12) The gnome-kde debate does not belong on linux-kernel.
4633     13) The emacs-vi debate does not belong on linux-kernel.
4634     14) Porting linux to run under windows is not interesting.
4635     15) Whether a given intel CISC chip "is really RISC" is not interesting.
4636     %%
4637     Subject: what a week!
4638     From: "C. Scott Ananian" <cananian@lcs.mit.edu>
4639     Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 03:13:23 -0400 (EDT)
4640    
4641     unicode, boot-logos, GGI, STREAMS, the necessity of a short devel cycle
4642     and the instability of 2.0.x, "ifconfig stopped working", "you really *do*
4643     need to remove 'encaps'", Linus' tarball practices... it seems like we're
4644     running out of things to flame off on. Here's my humble contribution:
4645    
4646     I'VE MADE A KEWL NEW CHARSET THAT I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD USE. IT HAS ALL
4647     THE LETTERS IN MY LOGIN MAPPED TO THE LOWEST 16 CHARACTERS SO WE CAN
4648     COMPRESS THINGS REAL GOOD AND THE LETTERS IN MY BROTHER B1FF'S NAME ARE
4649     ALL IN HIGH ASCII CUZ THAT'S WHERE LOSERS BELONG!!!2!!7
4650    
4651     I ONLY USE EMACS AND I THINK VI SUX!!$231!!
4652    
4653     GNOME RULES AND KDE IS DEMON-SPAWN BECAUSE IT IS NOT FREE.! !
4654    
4655     WE NEED KGI IN THE KERNEL (NOT LIBGGI, NOT THE TERMINAL IMPROVEMENTS
4656     WHATEVER THEY'RE CALLED) IN ORDER TO HAVE WAY KEWL BOOT LOGOS AND RUN MY
4657     BROTHER B1FF'S GAMES!!1!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!11!!!
4658    
4659     I USE A BIG-ENDIAN MACHINE BECAUSE THEY RULE. LITTLE-ENDIAN MACHINES ARE
4660     EVIL. AND A PENTIUM *IS* A RISC PROCESSOR!!!
4661    
4662     WE SHOULD PORT LINUX TO WINDOWS SO WE CAN USE ALL THE KEWL HARDWARE
4663     DRIVERS!!!!!@@#!
4664    
4665     Did I miss any? ;-)
4666    
4667     *Please* don't respond seriously to this email. It's a joke. A joke.
4668     Laugh. Please.
4669    
4670     And then let's kill all the flaming threads, shall we?
4671     --Scott
4672     %%
4673     > Well, /proc/kcore already reports its actual size...
4674    
4675     And it isn't about to change at runtime either. That is the size of
4676     installed memory. I've yet to see a single person successfully insert or
4677     remove a SIMM/DIMM while a machine was running. If they did, and it was
4678     successful, the linux code will update the filesize. ;o)
4679     %%
4680     Toby Heywood (toby@he-net.demon.co.uk) wrote:
4681     : This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
4682    
4683     One of those 'M's stands for Mail.
4684    
4685     This is not mail.
4686    
4687     This is Usenet.
4688    
4689     Please post only plain text like everyone else does.
4690     %%
4691     ------------ etienne.lorrain@ibm.net
4692     --- hdc: irq timeout: status=0xd0 { Busy }
4693     --- ide1: reset: success
4694     -----------> I like Linux !
4695     %%
4696     > I have experienced people walking up to my console and saying "What
4697     > the hell does that mean" in sheer terror as the machine boots.
4698    
4699     Tell them it's magic, and earn the respect of your colleagues. I always
4700     do.
4701     %%
4702     ++ Actually, I'm not at a loss for words. Here's one that's very appropriate:
4703     ++ PLONK.
4704     %%
4705     ++ > SSI is *not* HTML.
4706     Re: Subraumfunk
4707    
4708     Ja, ein Handy waere da praktisch. Die hoeheren Gebuehren rechnen sich,
4709     wenn man ueber die Grenzen des Sonnensystems hinaus telefonieren will.
4710    
4711     Die Telekom wuerde da wieder mal erbarmungslos abzocken. Ich kann es
4712     mir schon vorstellen: SunSystem-Tarif, vielleicht auch einen
4713     InnerPlanets-Sondertarif, dann einen LocalGroupWeekend-Specialtarif,
4714     eine Supercluster-Zone und so weiter. Und wenn es auf der Venus
4715     schneit, telefonieren alle fuer die Haelfte.
4716     %%
4717     > > Vergiss es. Du wirst nie und nimmer von Armando eine
4718     > > konkrete, verwertbare Antwort bekommen.
4719     >
4720     > Doch, man bekommt von mir sogar sehr viele Antworten.
4721    
4722     Du hast gerade zwei Adjektive weggelassen.
4723     %%
4724     ++ Oh yeah. Show me an example of SSI used outside of HTML.
4725     Show me an HTML DTD mentioning SSI directives.
4726     %%
4727     Namsuk Kim wrote:
4728     > Is there a way to convert a scalar data to Acii data format?
4729    
4730     I am not familar with ACII. If you mean ASCII, then the question I have is
4731     - is the data in EBCDIC now?
4732    
4733     Bill Jones
4734     %%
4735     GNU/getopt.c:
4736    
4737     #if defined (WIN32) && !defined (__CYGWIN32__)
4738     /* It's not Unix, really. See? Capital letters. */
4739     #include <windows.h>
4740     #define getpid() GetCurrentProcessId()
4741     #endif
4742     %%
4743     Subject: IIS 4.0, PW32i316, CGI Programs
4744    
4745     Perlis.dll does not pass command line arguments correctly via the web. That
4746     is, invoking the URL
4747    
4748     http://www.myserver.com/myprogram.pl?Argument1&Argument2...&Argumentn
4749    
4750     causes the myprogram.pl to execute, but @ARGV is empty.
4751     %%
4752     "You need to use CGI."
4753     "I am using CGI, it's a CGI application!"
4754     "No, no, *use* CGI. The directive 'use'."
4755     "OK, so what directive do I use?"
4756     "No, no, you *use* *use*. Use CGI."
4757     "I *am* using CGI!"
4758    
4759     Craig Berry - cberry@cinenet.net
4760     %%
4761     > > Was haltet Ihr von Killfile-mailing-lists, dass sich die Leute mal
4762     > > kennenlernen koennen?
4763     >
4764     > Gute Idee ;-), wäre ich sofort dabei, datrifft man wahrscheinlich ne
4765     > Menge tolle Leute... ;-) und die wahren Freidenker.
4766    
4767     Einige Freidenker sicher, aber auch etliche Denkfreie.
4768     %%
4769     "I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big or
4770     professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones." -- Linus Torvalds 1991
4771     %%
4772     If it's a floppy, it might be a copy.
4773     If it's a disk, you're also at risk.
4774     If it's a pirate, the vendors are irate.
4775     To avoid such frustration, try: Free Software Foundation.
4776     %%
4777     From: David Woodhouse <Dave@imladris.demon.co.uk>
4778    
4779     pcg@goof.com said:
4780     > It was much more than I usally get! It was _great_
4781    
4782     Hehe - I know the feeling.
4783    
4784     "It's broken."
4785     "What's wrong with it?."
4786     "I don't know - it just doesn't work."
4787     "Well what do you mean by 'it's broken'?"
4788     "It just doesn't work."
4789     "How can you _tell_ it's broken, for f***'s sake - what are the symptoms!?"
4790     "It gives an error message."
4791     "Would you care to tell me what it says?"
4792     "It says.... something about there being an error."
4793     "That's not very helpful. Tell me it word for word."
4794     "It says 'Unable to handle kernel NULL reference at something or other'"
4795     "That's not word for word. It said 'NULL pointer dereference.' Try again,
4796     letter for letter this time."
4797     %%
4798     From: "Paul B. Henson" <henson@INTRANET.CSUPOMONA.EDU>
4799    
4800     After installing Solaris 2.6 HW3/98, I discovered that /usr/bin/admintool
4801     had been installed mode 0777, world writable. Under the original release of
4802     2.6, the mode was 04555.
4803    
4804     Sun has been notified of the problem. If you're running 2.6 HW3/98, you
4805     might want to verify your admintool hasn't been tampered with and fix the
4806     perms.
4807    
4808     (Personally, I'd set them to 0000 ;). admintool? blech.)
4809     %%
4810     From: verah@netscape.com (Vera Horiuchi)
4811     Subject: Re: Risp: drama (Re: Do It Yourself)
4812    
4813     Americans ignorant of the rest of the world?
4814    
4815     I must tell a favorite story here. A friend and I were purchasing a gift
4816     for another friend who lives in Canada. I was speculating out loud about
4817     how much duty our Canadian friend would have to pay.
4818    
4819     The cashier said, "Oh, I'm sure Canadians don't have to pay any duty. We
4820     ship to Hawaii all the time, and _they_ don't have to pay duty." =:-0
4821     %%
4822     >am besten ist z.Z. das Buch von Michael Neufeld. Wer aber Wissenslücken
4823     >verspürt (was keine Schande ist), sollte diese zu stopfen suchen und nicht
4824     >Zuflucht zu absolut hirnrissigen Theorien suchen.
4825    
4826     Hirnrissig bist Du. Das es einen Zeittransfer aus der Zukunft zu den Nazis
4827     gab deckt sich mit dazu passenden Entschluesselungen bestimmter Bibelstellen
4828     und mit der dann tatsaechlichen notwendigen Geheimhaltung. Es deckt sich
4829     ueberdies damit, dass die Unterhaltung uns den Gedanken zunehmend nahelegt,
4830     also vorbereitet, und dass es bereits ein wissenschaftliches Experiment gab,
4831     bei dem ERST die Wirkung auftrat und DANN die Ursache. Die Zeitreise ist
4832     also Fakt. Und es ist sicher, dass Jemand per Zeitreise den Nazis helfen
4833     wollte. Gelegentliche Theorien, dass auch diese ausserirdische Hilfe gehabt
4834     haetten sollen nur davon ablenken, eine andere Erklaerung liefern. Das ist
4835     logisch, denn die Taeter sitzen ja irgendwo in unserer Zeit und moechten
4836     sicher nicht erkannt werden.
4837    
4838     Du scheinst die simpelsten Grundzuege der Zeitlogik nicht verstehen zu wollen.
4839    
4840     normarz@aol.com
4841     %%
4842     >Oder anders gesagt:
4843     >Glaubst Du, Du könntest mit einem hochmodernen Maschinengewehr eine römische
4844     >Legion
4845     >schlagen?
4846    
4847     Klar. Frage mal Cortez.
4848    
4849     Bye
4850     Andreas
4851     %%
4852     >Article 2B is a threat to anyone who uses a computer. I just wanted to
4853    
4854     It may be a threat to any american using a computer. Fortunately, the U.S.
4855     justice does not yet apply outside the U.S.A.
4856    
4857     I.a.W.: You're currently creating a lot of happy non-U.S. software
4858     companies.
4859    
4860     Kind regards
4861     Henning
4862     %%
4863     From: "Adam J. Richter" <adam@yggdrasil.com>
4864     Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 04:14:11 -0700
4865     Subject: Re: driver for Creative Labs DVD kits
4866    
4867     At least with the IDE DVD drive that I have, plugging it directly
4868     into an IDE port and using the regular Linux ide-cd driver works just fine
4869     for reading [...] CD and the [not] copy protected sections of the DVD's.
4870    
4871     There is a protocol that the hardware decoder boards use to
4872     tell the DVD drive that they are a licensed implementation and should
4873     be allowed to read the copy protected sectors as well. I have been
4874     told that this protocol can be done entirely in software with a
4875     standard IDE port. Hopefully, somebody will reverse engineer this and
4876     make it a demand loaded kernel module. (Seriously, there is a lot
4877     that you are allowed to do with copyrighted material that this sort of
4878     hardware restriction prevents, and there are other important political
4879     issues involved relating to your rights to do as you please with the
4880     computer equipment that you bought and paid for.)
4881     %%
4882     Where do you want to go today?
4883     We might support that sometime next year.
4884     -=- Microsoft
4885     (But I doubt it.)
4886     -=- Me
4887     -=- James Mastros
4888     %%
4889     Hello570 <hello570@aol.com> wrote:
4890     > I tried printing a line to a file using both of the
4891     > following methods, but the output was split into two
4892     >lines.
4893    
4894     If you don't want newlines in the middle of your string, then don't
4895     put newlines in the middle of your string.
4896     %%
4897     http://www.perl.com/CPAN/authors/Dean_Roehrich/subjects.post
4898     %%
4899     Einstein himself said that God doesn't roll dice. But he was wrong. And
4900     in fact, anyone who has played role-playing games knows that God
4901     probably had to roll quite a few dice to come up with a character like
4902     Einstein. -- Larry Wall
4903     %%
4904     From: Ragnar Hojland Espinosa <root@lightside.ddns.org>
4905    
4906     My $0.02 Euros on internationalization? I'm in Spain and my keyboard is
4907     mosty US mapped because the Spanish map is really awkward for programming.
4908     Computers were designed to be funcional, not politically (or locally)
4909     correct (hm, I don't think HAL ever spoke Russian). This "computers are easy
4910     for all" GUI related trend has done a lot of money, and lot of damage; at
4911     least command line OSes forced the user to actually learn something and
4912     absorb information. The user assumed so, so he did. Now he doesn't, and
4913     it's not all his fault.
4914    
4915     The WWW is full of useless (and ugly) graphics, of useless links to links to
4916     pages with links to links which usually end up in a huge links page. Of
4917     course, there are some jewels.. but they should be majority! It's
4918     understandable, when the tools and languages focus more on aspect that in
4919     content.
4920    
4921     Usenet is worse than ever, the interesting places have been ruined by
4922     spammers, c00l hak3rz, and more and more people asking (or demanding) for
4923     others doing their homework.. at least some time ago they were willing to
4924     learn (or pay for it;)
4925    
4926     IRC.. heh. The few times I've been on funet almost all I found is the same
4927     people in the above paragraph. And I do know some of them even run scripts
4928     to try denial of service or other destructive attacks on people they see,
4929     just for fun or to get the op.
4930    
4931     Email. Someone selling an "incredible program that allows you to bypass
4932     your ISP mail server, for only $89" (thats right, a smtp server). No OS
4933     mentioned, I somehow can guess which. And that stupid thing of sending
4934     mail to people in RTF and HTML format.. I'm gonna answer them in LaTeX.
4935    
4936     Internet, your ilimited junk yard.
4937    
4938     Using computers would make me real sad if it wasn't for UNIX and, of
4939     course, Linux and Linux people.
4940     %%
4941     ... WNT == ++VMS . Literally. Dave Cutler created VMS,
4942     then he rewrote it as WNT.
4943    
4944     Ever used VMS? It's a step above DOS. Barely.
4945     --
4946     Clark O. Morgan cmorgan@aracnet.com
4947     %%
4948     >Subject: If "=~" means match what is doesn't match?
4949    
4950     I heard that a friend of a friend might have once been told about a
4951     rumor that this information can be found in perlop, right next to
4952     where =~ is documented. (It's !~)
4953    
4954     I agree with Tom's assessment that the fall of modern man will be
4955     preceded by the de-evolution of communications to the days of oral
4956     tradition.
4957     %%
4958     "Windows 95, the most installed system in the world,
4959     I know, I've done it 5 or 6 times myself"
4960     %%
4961     The statistics programming language S, from AT&T, combines lazy
4962     evaluation with imperative programming. A nightmare.
4963     %%
4964     "In 1965, as part of a research and development project for the
4965     U.S. Army, engineers at TRW Corp developed a software program
4966     called Generalized Information Retrieval Lanaguage and System."
4967     Or GIRLS for short.
4968     %%
4969     Wissen bremst die Meinungsbildung voll aus.
4970     %%
4971     I have an idea: Anybody who posts an URGENT! or EMERGENCY! request should
4972     post the circumstances behind the urgency. "I was having sex with my
4973     mistress in the server room and I knocked the Linux box over and the hard
4974     drive crashed and so I've reinstalled everything but I still can't get
4975     5_004_03 to build!"
4976    
4977     This would inspire me to action far more than the implied subtext of "I
4978     have no patience."
4979    
4980     xoxo,
4981     Andy
4982     %%
4983     > I have Perl5 running on my pc.
4984     > and also front page98 and microsoft personal web server runnig.
4985     We all have our cross to bear.
4986     %%
4987     (THIS IS LONG, YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP)
4988    
4989     From: mjd@plover.com (Mark-Jason Dominus)
4990     Date: 09 Nov 1995 02:57:30 GMT
4991     Subject: Re: system() question
4992    
4993     There are a lot of reasons, many of which get repeated over and
4994     over again, many of which don't. Some of the reasons you hear a lot
4995     are: Questions are incoherently phrased. Questions have the form 'My
4996     code doesn't work' and don't include the code. Questions include the
4997     code, and it's 200 lines long, and comp.lang.perl is not a debugging
4998     service. Nobody knows the answer to the question. The question is so
4999     badly punctuated that nobody can bear to read it. Questions aer
5000     written by a non-native speaker of English and the native speakers who
5001     are trying to understand it can't. (That's a shame, but it does
5002     happen. I often wish that these people would post in their native
5003     languages. I'd love to see more discussion in languages other than
5004     English. Some Dutch guy tried posting all his comp.lang.c articles in
5005     Dutch a few years ago, and all the Americans flamed him. How
5006     humiliating for me!)
5007    
5008     Apart from these oft-mentioned reasons are many others that are
5009     not so often discussed, because anyone who tries to bring them up gets
5010     flamed. But it's the truth: I know the reason I don't answer more
5011     questions is because so many of them questions are so damn stupid.
5012     They're stupid in a lot of different ways, but they're still stupid.
5013     I don't want to suggest that that's why your questions go unanswered.
5014     I don't know what you're asking. No doubt the reason your questions
5015     go unanswered is because they're so deep and interesting that nobody
5016     really knows the answer.
5017    
5018     The most common stupid question is the one from someone who has
5019     some high-level problem that they need solved. They have an idea that
5020     they'd like to do it in perl, and they don't really know perl. So
5021     instead of learning perl, they post to comp.lang.perl.misc.
5022    
5023     Now don't get me wrong. I don't have any problems answering the
5024     questions of someone who's trying to learn perl. I love THOSE
5025     qusetions. But these people don't seem to be asking useful questions
5026     for that.
5027    
5028     Today, for example, I saw a question from a guy who wants to get a
5029     list of hostnames out of nslookup. `How do I do that?' he says. And
5030     it's hard to know what to make of that. What does he mean? Does he
5031     not know how to open a pipe? Is his en' command failing? What's
5032     going on here? I can't give a useful answer without understanding the
5033     problem. Having your en' fail is a problem. Wanting to list
5034     hostnames is not a problem; it's a desire.
5035    
5036     Here are some similar questions that would have made more sense to me:
5037    
5038     1. `I'm a lazy asshole and I can't be bothered to learn to
5039     program myself, but I know if I post here you'll give me
5040     something for free.''
5041    
5042     (OK, fair enough. At least I can send him a rate card.)
5043    
5044     2. `I'm trying to use en' to talk to nslookup, but...
5045     ...here's my code; what's wrong?''
5046    
5047     (Good question.)
5048    
5049     3. `I know perl has a `System' command for running programs,
5050     but I can't see how to get my commands into nslookup
5051     once I have run it.''
5052     (Good question.)
5053    
5054     4. `I'm trying to use `Getprotobynumber' to talk to nslookup...''
5055    
5056     (Good question.)
5057    
5058     See, I'm not just biting people's heads off, here. #4 is a good
5059     question, because it gives me something to work with. OK, he has a
5060     very weird idea about interprocess communication, but that's
5061     ignorance, and that's what we're here to correct. He doesn't know
5062     about en'; I can refer him to the manual.
5063    
5064     Here's another example: Some guy wants to assemble a list of email
5065     addresses . `How do I do that?'' he wants to know. Well, duh. Get a
5066     big pad of paper and read news for a couple days and write down all
5067     the addresses you see. Problem solved. What's it doing in
5068     comp.lang.perl?
5069     Oh, you wanted to do it in perl. Well, I guess I'd open a socket
5070     to the NNTP server and send it some XHDR commands for the `From'
5071     lines. But that's not Perl; you could do that in any language. I
5072     could do it in Bourne Shell for you if I'm allowed to use a little
5073     external thingie to handle the socket parts for me. What's it doing
5074     in comp.lang.perl?
5075    
5076     Oh, you wanted us to write the program for you? Wait, let me send
5077     you my rate card.
5078    
5079     Someone posted yesterday asking how to get the data from a file where
5080     the start and end of the data is marked by keywords. Same thing going on
5081     here. `Well, here's how you solve your problem: First you go take an
5082     introductory class in programming and learn to write programs in some
5083     language. Then you go to the bookstore and buy this book by Wall and
5084     Schwartz, it's really good. Read the book carefully and try out the
5085     examples. Then if you still have general questions like `How do I do this'
5086     instead of thought that this code would do X but instead it does Y' you hire
5087     a professional to write your program for you. Or you could just skip right
5088     to step 3. Want my rate card?''
5089    
5090     The worst stupid questions are the ones that come from people who
5091     have no business asking them. The most perfect example of this that I
5092     could have imagined was in comp.unix.questions a couple of years ago.
5093     Some guy came and asked how you could tell if a file is a hard link.
5094     My jaw flapped open and it's stayed open since then. I couldn't have
5095     been any more stumped if he'd asked why Bodhidharma came from the
5096     West. What do you say to this guy? Do you tell him the truth, that
5097     all files are hard links, that even symbolic links are hard links?
5098     He's not going to understand you; you might as well keep your mouth
5099     shut. Do you tell him the truth, that the answer won't do him any
5100     good because he doesn't know what a hard link is, so why did he bother
5101     asking in the first place? No, that'll just make him mad. I followed
5102     that message for the next couple weeks, and nobody said anything.
5103     What could you say? The guy had no business asking the question and
5104     no use for the answer. Maybe the right answer would have been to cut
5105     off his finger or something. I dunno.
5106    
5107     Some questions get ignored because they're boring. Someone asked
5108     today how to compare two variables (I assumme he means the contents of
5109     those variables) to see if they're exactly the same. You've gotta be
5110     in an awfully good mood to take the time to answer that. Maybe
5111     someone will. Maybe I will.
5112    
5113     If I answer that one today, maybe he'll be back tomorrow asking
5114     how to check to see if two variables contain different values. Maybe
5115     I won't. What I find incredible is that if you tell these people to
5116     go read the manual and come back in two weeks, you sometimes get
5117     jumped on for not being helpful to beginners. Bah. If everyone told
5118     these people to go read the manual, they'd eventually figure out that
5119     that's what you have to do ,and then I wouldn't have to spend so much
5120     of my life dealing with incompetent programmers.
5121    
5122     Some questions are logically nonsensical because the querent
5123     thinks they know more than they do. A lot of these have the form
5124     `How do I use X to accomplish Y?'' There's nothing wrong with this,
5125     except that sometimes X is a chocolate-covered banana and Y is the
5126     integration of European currency systems. I always get stuck on
5127     these, probably because I can't get rid of the idea that the person
5128     really has a good reason for wanting to use X. I know a half-dozen
5129     easy simple ways to accomplish Y, but I can't imagine what X has to do
5130     with it. This is a problem for me in my day job, too. Clients are
5131     always saying to me `We want to use product X to do multimedia
5132     development on the world-wide web,'' and all I can think is `Well,
5133     gee, what would you want to go and do that for?'' Sometimes it turns
5134     out that they want to do it because they want to impress the
5135     manufacturers of X, and I don't work on those jobs.
5136    
5137     The flip side of this is a questions like `I want to accomplish
5138     X, but I don't want to use Y. What can I use instead?'' Which,
5139     again, is sometimes reasonable, and then sometimes X is closing a
5140     filehandle and Y is the `Close' function.
5141    
5142     The questions I like the best are the ones that go like this:
5143    
5144     `I want to accomplish X.
5145    
5146     I thought that the following code fragment would do it:
5147    
5148     ...
5149    
5150     But instead it does Y.
5151    
5152     Why is that?''
5153    
5154     This one is also pretty good:
5155    
5156     `I want to accomplish X.
5157     I thought I might be able to use facility Y.
5158    
5159     But Y doesn't seem like it's quite right,
5160     because of Z.
5161    
5162     What should I use instead of Y, or how can I overcome Z?''
5163    
5164     When I ignore these, it's usually because I don't know the answer.
5165     There were an awful lot of them today. It makes me very happy.
5166    
5167    
5168     There you go; a 160-line dissertation on why questions go unanswered.
5169     Now don't let me hear you saying nobody ever answers your questions.
5170    
5171     --
5172     Consulting Minister for Consultants, DNRC
5173     The Bill of Rights is paid in Responsibilities - Jean McGuire
5174     %%
5175     >> BTW, would it be easier to cope with international text using Python?
5176     >Sigh... you're breaking my heart. Ask Jack Jansen, he probably knows.
5177    
5178     If I were really evel, I would point out that the newest TCL (8.1) has
5179     support for international character sets and Unicode. But then, mentioning
5180     TCL in this newsfroup would be really bad. So, of course, I don't do that.
5181    
5182     Ups. I'm so sorry ... ;-)
5183    
5184     bye, Georg
5185     %%
5186     I personally do not believe in object orientation as a security model
5187     (nor as a general programming paradigm), but feel free to try to
5188     convince me.
5189    
5190     [ Or maybe I confuse you with somebody else and some other posting ]
5191    
5192     Linus
5193     %%
5194     ++ how can i strip new lines out at var.
5195     ++
5196    
5197     Removing new lines is very tricky, as the manual tells you so. Ignore the
5198     complicated things in the manual, and put in this neat little trick:
5199    
5200     $var=join+q,,,grep[[ord$[[qq$\137$]]<10 or+10<ord]]split+q,,,$var;
5201    
5202     If you're old enough not to read the manual, you won't have a problem
5203     understanding the above line.
5204    
5205     Abigail
5206     %%
5207     I fixed the problem by mounting the SCO volume on the SunOS box, and since
5208     1995 the problem has gone away together with the SCO machine.
5209     %%
5210     ++ Hi Does anybody know how to upload many graphic files at the push of a
5211     ++ button?
5212     Yes.
5213    
5214     ++ 100 pictures or so?
5215     Yes.
5216    
5217     ++ Can I do it in Perl?
5218     Yes.
5219    
5220     Your question isn't Perl specific. Please ask in the relevant
5221     newsgroup. alt.button.play
5222    
5223     Abigail
5224     %%
5225     perly gates - The way to perl; Enter hackerdom.
5226    
5227     perly Gates - Contradictio in Terminis.
5228    
5229     Martien
5230     %%
5231     Ren hat weder von Sinnhaftigkeit noch von Kausalität geschrieben, sondern
5232     nur von Logik. Logik und Kausalität sind in unserem (normalen) Denken zwar
5233     eng miteinander verknüpft, sind aber nicht dasselbe. Sinn ist hingegen noch
5234     etwas Drittes und ganz verschiedenes! "Sinn" bedeutet mindestens, daß eine
5235     Sache eine gewisse Richtung hat, wie in "Uhrzeigersinn". Meistens bedeutet
5236     Sinn aber, daß eine Sache einen bestimmten Zweck erfüllt. Auch darf man
5237     nicht "verursachen" mit "begründen" verwechseln, weil die beiden
5238     unterschiedlich sind. Die Existenz muß auch keinen Sinn haben, um eine
5239     Ursache zu haben. Das sind zwei völlig voneinander unabhängige Sachen. Die
5240     Existenz hat einen Sinn, also eine Richtung, wenn wir unserer Existenz eine
5241     Richtung geben. Dieser Sinn kann auf etwas abzielen, was außerhalb unserer
5242     selbst steht, muß aber nicht... Sie kann auch einen Sinn haben, der schon da
5243     war, bevor wir uns danach ausgerichtet haben - von all dem schreibt Ren aber
5244     nicht. ;)
5245    
5246     Worauf Ren wohl hinaus wollte, ist, daß wenn die Logik des begrenzten Raumes
5247     nicht gilt, daß dann die Logik schlechthin hinfällig wird und so jedes Sein
5248     fragwürdig wird. Das ist aber nicht der Fall, da die Logik, die er von den
5249     Grenzen des Raumes aufstellt, gar keine wirkliche Logik ist, sondern nur die
5250     Grenzen des menschlichen Verstandes zeigt. Er kann sich nicht vorstellen,
5251     daß außerhalb der Grenzen des Raumes "Nichts" ist, weil man sich als Mensch
5252     das Nichts nicht vorstellen kann.
5253    
5254     Darüber hinaus meinte er, daß die "Existenz unlogisch" würde. Dieser Satz
5255     ist vollkommen unverständlich. Denn entweder ist etwas, oder es ist nicht.
5256     Das ist auch schon die ganze Logik einer Existenz. (Aristoteles: Satz vom
5257     ausgeschlossenen Dritten) Unlogisch wäre, wenn etwas ist, das nicht ist oder
5258     wenn etwas nicht ist, das ist.
5259    
5260     Von der Unfähigkeit des Menschen, sich einen unbegrenzten aber endlichen
5261     Raum (oder wie auch immer der Weltraum nun aussieht) vorzustellen auf die
5262     "Unlogik der Existenz" zu schließen, ist aber wohl nicht ganz möglich, zumal
5263     eine Existenz nicht unlogisch sein kann. Was sollte das auch heißen? Daher
5264     ist das Problem, das Ren aufwirft, nur ein Scheinproblem. Die Existenz an
5265     sich wird nicht in Frage gestellt dadurch, daß man sich etwas - egal was -
5266     nicht vorstellen kann. Er verwechselt die Begriffe "unlogisch" und
5267     "unvorstellbar".
5268    
5269     Thomas.Decker@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
5270     %%
5271     Marcel Richter wrote:
5272     > Marcel Richter - IQ: 3538327
5273     ^^^
5274     fehlt da nicht irgendwo ein Komma.... =?-)
5275     %%
5276     The X server has to be the biggest program I've ever seen that doesn't
5277     do anything for you. --Ken Thompson
5278     %%
5279     linux-2.1.92/fs/autofs/root.c:
5280     printk("autofs: trying to recover, but prepare for Armageddon\n");
5281     %%
5282     >>Vincent DiPietro, the discoverer of the face on mars, has thrown in
5283     >>the towel, and said that the face on mars is a pile of rocks.
5284     >Was sollte es denn sonst sein?
5285    
5286     An artificial pile of rocks.
5287     %%
5288     > ps: mal nebenbei: eine unbekannte variable beim analysieren des
5289     > marsgesichtes ist es, dass mensch gar nicht weiss, wie die lebende,
5290     > gedachte oder sonstige vorlage eigentlich aussieht. dazu kommt natuerlich
5291     > noch das fehlende wissen um die intention des "kuenstlers", ob er
5292     > beispielsweise nur aspekte bzw. partien eines gesichtes integrieren wollte
5293     > - und natuerlich, ob es ueberhaupt kunst ist:)
5294    
5295     Ganz genau. Und das Matterhorn ist eine palaeoimpressionistische Studie des
5296     Geruchsorgans der Rasse der Ciabattanimalier. Aber das wussten hier
5297     sicherlich schon alle. Das ganze Universum ist ausserdem eigentlich nur ein
5298     grosser Flipperautomat.
5299    
5300     Christoph Schulte Moenting - ubec@rz.uni-karlsruhe.de
5301     %%
5302     > Kris Weilemann schrieb
5303     >
5304     > >MIR ging es neulich aehnlich. Ich wurde von Ausserirdischen entfuehrt.
5305     > >Ich wurde eingesperrt in einem dunklem Raum mit langen Sitzreihen und mit
5306     > >einer Popcorn-artigen Substanz gefuettert. Nach 2 Stunden war alles
5307     > >vorbei. Einen Tag spaeter stellte ich fest, dass mir 18 Mark im
5308     > >Geldbeutel fehlten. Ist das nicht krass? -Kris.
5309     %%
5310     ... Jazz ist nicht nur das erfolgreichste, sondern auch das einzige originäre Kunstgenre,
5311     daß die USA jemals hervorgebracht haben.
5312    
5313     "Apropos Musik", HR2 am 16.4.98
5314     %%
5315     http://www.rsw.com/
5316    
5317     The Unix shell as a 4GL
5318    
5319     Unix provides hundreds of programs that can be piped together to easily
5320     perform almost any function imaginable. Nothing comes close to providing the
5321     functions that come standard with Unix. Programs and philosophies carried
5322     over from other systems put walls between the user and Unix, and the power
5323     of Unix is thrown away. The shell, extended with a few relational operators,
5324     is the fourth generation database scripting language most appropriate to the
5325     Unix environment.
5326     %%
5327     Perl is incredibly difficult to parse. For example, what's the difference
5328     between these:
5329    
5330     time /3 ;#/; print "hello";
5331     sin /3 ;#/; print "goodbye";
5332    
5333     Right. The first one is time divided by 3, and the print is in a comment.
5334     The second one is the sin of the result of a regular expression match for "3
5335     ;#", and the print gets executed!
5336    
5337     There's no pure BNF in the world that'll handle that. And remember, with
5338     "use" and prototypes available, whether you parse something like "sin" or
5339     "time" depends on its definition in some other file, somewhere in the galaxy
5340     (or even decided by Perl code in a BEGIN block, that evals a prototype!).
5341    
5342     Which led Larry to say at one point: "the only thing that can parse Perl is
5343     'perl'".
5344    
5345     --
5346     Randal L. Schwartz
5347     %%
5348     Ronald J Kimball <rjk@coos.dartmouth.edu> writes:
5349    
5350     > Pascal AMRAM wrote:
5351     > > Subject: MSEXCHANGE / OUTLOOK
5352     >
5353     > So here I am trying to figure out what an M sex change is....
5354    
5355     It's obviously the opposite of an F sex change. HTH.
5356    
5357     --
5358     Jonathan Feinberg jdf@pobox.com Sunny Brooklyn, NY
5359     %%
5360     The management (my cats) made me say this.
5361     %%
5362     uae-0.6.9/custom.c:800:
5363     write_log ("Program is torturing BPLCON1.\n");
5364     %%
5365     uae-0.6.9/src/memory.c:363
5366     write_log ("Your Amiga program just did something terribly stupid\n");
5367     %%
5368     Closures make sense in any programming language where you
5369     can have the return value of a function be itself a
5370     function, as you can in Perl. Note that some languages
5371     provide anonymous functions but are not capable of
5372     providing proper closures; the Python language, for
5373     example.
5374     %%
5375     When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to
5376     resemble a nail.
5377     %%
5378     > but all I get are 501 errors, method not supported. I am not 100% sure what
5379     > I did wrong.
5380    
5381     What you did wrong was post a microsoft server question to a perl
5382     newsgroup.
5383     %%
5384     I am trying to learn Perl on my Windows 97 system. In particular...
5385     %%
5386     >Es kamen Außerirdische, die Pyramiden bauten und andere Wunder
5387     >vollbrachten. Dafür wurden sie vergöttert. Diese außerirdischen bauten dann
5388     >wahrscheinlich auch die Cydonia Region.
5389    
5390     Etwa zehnmal zu oft 'Stargate' gesehen, was?
5391     %%
5392     >Die Menschheit kämpft seit Millionen von Jahren gegeneinander.
5393    
5394     Welche Hälfte ist denn da die grössere? :o)
5395     %%
5396     ...am still rebuilding after being hit with a clock changing virus it reset
5397     my clock to 2039 unfortunately for me my OS is beta 98 needless to say it
5398     expired instantly!!!
5399     %%
5400     From: Per Bothner <bothner@cygnus.com>
5401     To: Pal Engstad <engstad@hunt.inmet.com>
5402    
5403     > Linus Torvalds requires that all code in the source is using a tab
5404     > length of 8 spaces, and he also states that you are a bad programmer
5405     > if you write code with more than 3 indentation levels.
5406    
5407     I didn't know that Linus Torvalds has done research on programming styles.
5408     He much have, since why else would you have the audacity quote him as
5409     an authority, on a list where there are dozens of people with more
5410     than double Linus's programming experience?
5411    
5412     > This has caused the code to be fairly easy to read and maintainance is
5413     > pretty straight forward.
5414    
5415     Irrelevant - a kernel is a lot simpler than an optimizing compiler,
5416     in terms of complexity of algorithms and data structures.
5417     %%
5418     Nach der Diskussion muss ich akzeptieren, dass die juengst erfolgte
5419     Erdbeschleunigung von - 0,6 auf - 0,4 Millisekunden kein zwingender Beweis
5420     fuer einen Permanentantrieb ist. Aber: In letzter Zeit kommt es bei mir immer
5421     wieder vor, dass ich Dinge einfach weiss. Selbst wenn ich sie nicht begruenden
5422     kann. Ich weiss trotzdem dass sie stimmen muessen und der Antrieb existiert.
5423     Mit der Zeit findet sich dann auch die Begruendung.
5424     %%
5425     Wir suchen neue AussenMitarbeiterInnen... (S.Pernar@Link-Goe)
5426     %%
5427     hyperltext (hy'perl-text), n. double-quotish-interpolated hypertext markup:
5428     Example:
5429     print qq[[<LI><A HREF="$self->[[url]]">@[[[ucfirst $self->[[title]]]]]</A>\n]];
5430     %%
5431     liperlsuction: What happens to any script longer than 10 lines once
5432     Randal gets his hands on it
5433     %%
5434     Uperl Volta - country where perl programmers control the electricity.
5435     %%
5436     > Anybody successfully installed the win32 version of Perl?
5437    
5438     No! Millions of people don't use perl on win32 machines. You may be the
5439     first if you get it working.
5440     %%
5441     > Macintosh.
5442     > Think different.
5443    
5444     Think Again.
5445     %%
5446     Bill.Cilnton@dyselxia.com
5447     %%
5448     tsatan@hotmail.com writes:
5449     > Why does perl have the "push" and "unshift" functions? ...
5450     > push @nums, 4; is the same as @nums = (@nums, 4);
5451    
5452     What do you want, Scheme? ;)
5453     %%
5454     # There is this special biologist word we use for 'stable'.
5455     # It is 'dead'. -- Jack Cohen
5456     %%
5457     | I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because
5458     | someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the
5459     | top.
5460     %%
5461     I had a student ask about the UN9 operating system. I didn't understabd what
5462     he was talking about so he wrote UNIX on the board.
5463     %%
5464     On 1 Apr 98 17:34:23 GMT, Schulung7 wrote:
5465     ^^^^^^^^^
5466     >Was haltet ihr vom UFO-Absturz in Rosswell?
5467    
5468     Nichts. Und jetzt geh woanders spielen.
5469     %%
5470     >Kann man hier irgendwie mal die UFOs reinbringen, um die es in dieser NG
5471     >gehen soll?
5472    
5473     Nein, der Datentyp wäre inkompatibel. UFOs sind per Definitionem
5474     materielle Objekte (obwohl das zur Zeit fraglich ist ;-), die sich in
5475     diesem Medium nicht austauschen lassen.
5476     %%
5477     Wer redet hier denn von der "Hui Hui"? Ich sprach von "Hui! Hui!".
5478     %%
5479     >> nein...ist kein Sender. Eine taiwanesische Sekte hat behauptet, daß am
5480     >> 25.3. auf allen TVs der Welt Gott auf Kanal 18 erscheinen würde.
5481     >> Ist natuerlich nicht eingetreten.
5482     >
5483     >Aber unsere Haus-Sat-Anlage geht seither nicht mehr.
5484    
5485     Ein Zeichen! Er hat uns ein Zeichen gegeben! Zieht alle euren linken
5486     Schuh aus!
5487     %%
5488     >Klingt nach Erdstillstand.
5489    
5490     Ich bin entsetzt. Man hat hoffentlich sofort Wiederbedrehungsmaßnahmen
5491     eingeleitet?
5492     %%
5493     Mars Global Surveyor Imaging Schedule
5494    
5495    
5496     First opportunity
5497     Approximate
5498     Orbit Internet
5499     Date Time (UTC/Pacific) Number Target Posting
5500    
5501     4-3-98 09:58/1:58 a.m. 216 Viking Lander 1 April 6
5502     4-3-98 21:37/1:37 p.m. 217 Viking Lander 2 April 7
5503     4-4-98 09:16/1:16 a.m. 218 Mars Pathfinder April 7
5504     4-5-98 08:33/12:33 a.m. 220 Cydonia April 6 (mid-a.m.)
5505    
5506     Second opportunity
5507     Approximate
5508     Orbit Internet
5509     Date Time (UTC/Pacific) Number Target Posting
5510    
5511     4-12-98 15:23/ 8:23 a.m. 235 Viking Lander 1 April 14
5512     4-13-98 03:01/ 8:01 p.m. 236 Viking Lander 2 April 15
5513     4-13-98 14:40/ 7:40 a.m. 237 Mars Pathfinder April 15
5514     4-14-98 13:57/ 6:57 a.m. 239 Cydonia April 14 (mid-p.m.)
5515    
5516     Third opportunity
5517     Approximate
5518     Orbit Internet
5519     Date Time (UTC/Pacific) Number Target Posting
5520    
5521     4-21-98 20:45/1:45 p.m. 254 Viking Lander 1 April 23
5522     4-22-98 08:23/1:23 a.m. 255 Viking Lander 2 April 24
5523     4-22-98 20:02/1:02 p.m. 256 Mars Pathfinder April 24
5524     4-23-98 19:18/12:18 p.m. 258 Cydonia April 24 (mid-a.m.)
5525    
5526     %%
5527     > >2. Der Menschheit ist durch Inzucht entstanden. Laut biologischem
5528     > >Wissen, unwahrscheinlich, da Mutation und Mißbildungen auftreten
5529     > >würden.
5530     >
5531     > Vermutung: Das ist auch aufgetreten. Siehe levitische "Gesetze" zur
5532     > "Behandlung" von "Aussatz" insb. im 3. "Mose". Die hatten schon Probleme.
5533     Sag mal, bei Dir piepts wohl nicht mehr richtig! Aussatz, heute besser
5534     unter dem Namen Lepra bekannt, ist keine Erbkrankheit. Es ist eine
5535     (heute heilbare) Infektionskrankheit, verursacht durch Bakterien.
5536     Also nichts von Inzucht, wie Du das in Deinem latenten Rassenwahn
5537     implizierst.
5538     %%
5539     > You might please start up with reading more than one sentence - a skill
5540     > quite familiar in Europe, but as it seems not in the USA.
5541     %%
5542     Yup. Instead of crashing Xservers, now you have crashing kernels.
5543     Big improvement.
5544     %%
5545     -- "Hey look, this new card is for windows and only $xx!"
5546     -- "Yes, but it's braindead and will hurt your performance. Take that one
5547     over there. Besides, it's not an ope.."
5548     -- "Why that one?"
5549     -- "Because it's better, sinc.."
5550     -- "But I can do the same with this one, it's cheaper, and its for windows!"
5551     %%
5552     In der Klinik, in der ich mal arbeiten musste, hatten wir einen echten
5553     Koenig Ludwig II und mindestens fuenf Stueck Jesus - sowas gibts halt,
5554     wenn Du verstehst, was ich meine.
5555     %%
5556     > Hast Du mal einen Stein beobachtet, der eine Unzahl komplexer
5557     > Vorgaenge paresentiert, einschliesslich der Hervorbringung
5558     > etlicher Lebensformen?
5559    
5560     Jepp. Ist nur ein Problem mit der Definition von "zahlreich".
5561    
5562     > Hast Du mal einen Steinen beobachtet, der sich mal eben
5563     > "verwandelt", und auf dem dann lauter Wesen rumkrabbeln,
5564     > die aus ihm selbst entsprungen sind?
5565    
5566     Klar doch. Ist nur ein Problem mit der Definition von "lauter".
5567    
5568     > Ueberspitzt: Hast Du mal einen Steinen beobachtet, der
5569     > ploetzlich zum Lebewesen wird und Dich fragt, wer oder was
5570     > er eigentlich ist?
5571    
5572     Tja, da hören die Übereinstimmungen auf. Ich dachte Du meinst
5573     Erwin Stein. Den kenne ich. Der hat zwei Kinder. Die krabbeln
5574     ab und zu auf ihm herum. Der ist aber nicht plötzlich zum Le-
5575     bewesen geworden, sondern den gibt es nun schon ein wenig
5576     länger. Und er hat mich auch noch nie gefragt, wer oder was
5577     er eigentlich ist. Zumindest nicht in einem Zustand, den man
5578     als "normal" bezeichnen könnte. So wird das anscheinend nix.
5579     Ciao
5580     Stefan
5581     %%
5582     "These download files are in Microsoft Word 6.0 format. After
5583     unzipping, these files can be viewed in any text editor, including
5584     all versions of Microsoft Word, WordPad, and Microsoft Word Viewer."
5585     (http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/pc99.htm)
5586     %%
5587     Video cards have write-only registers. (of course that is bad design) Let's
5588     say that register 13 is write-only, as is common. It holds an index that
5589     determines what register 69 (also write-only) actually changes. If you write
5590     to register 13 while the accelerator is active, you lock the PCI bus. You
5591     can't determine if the accelerator is active without reading from register
5592     42, but you can't interpret the contents of that register correctly without
5593     knowing what the last accelerator command was. Reading from register 13 gets
5594     you some useless (unrelated) info and _also_ toggles the accelerator on and
5595     off.
5596     %%
5597     Join the Army,
5598     Meet interesting people,
5599     Kill them.
5600     %%
5601     > Wie entsteht Materie? Ich koennte mir vorstellen, dass Energie in Materie
5602     > umwandelbar ist.
5603    
5604     E=m*c^2 (Schon mal gehoert?) (Schon mal verstanden??)
5605     %%
5606     >nach der die Pygmäen geheime UFO-Basen in ausgehöhlten Baumstämmen
5607     >unterhalten (Vorsicht: das war ein Witz :-) ).
5608     %%
5609     > (Bernhard Nahrgang) wrote:
5610     >
5611     > >> Logische Annahme: Die Erde waechst entweder kontinuierlich, oder periodisch
5612     > >> ruckartig.
5613     > >wie kann jemand mit dem IQ von 130 nur SO SELTEN BLOEDE sein??
5614     >
5615     > Norbert ist nicht selten blöde...
5616    
5617     :-)
5618     %%
5619     SAT 1 Teletext: Ein Asteroid mit einem Durchmesser von fast einem Kilometer
5620     rast mit großer Geschwindigkeit auf die Erde zu. US-Astronomen befürchten:
5621     "XF11" könnte im Jahr 2028 auf der Erde einschlagen. Die Folgen wären
5622     verheerend. "Der rasende Stein aus dem All ist eine Gefahr", warnt Jack G.
5623     Hills vom US-Kernforschungszentrum Los Alamos: "Wenn er die Erde trifft,
5624     wird er die Sprengkraft von 320.000 Megatonnen Dynamit haben." Das
5625     entspricht dem Zweimillionenfachen der Atombombe...
5626    
5627     ARD/ZDF Teletext: ASTEROID MIT KURS AUF ERDE ENTDECKT Amerikanische
5628     Astronomen haben einen Asteroiden ausgemacht, der in 30 Jahren der Erde
5629     gefährlich nahekommen wird. Die Gefahr, daß der Asteroid einschlagen wird,
5630     sei gering, aber auch nicht völlig auszuschließen. Nach derzeitigen
5631     Berechnungen wird der Asteroid mit der Bezeichnung "1997 XF11" am 26.Oktober
5632     2028 unserem Planeten am nächsten kommen. "1997 XF11" hat etwa einen
5633     Durchmesser von 1,6 Kilometern. Erstmals käme ein Objekt dieser Größe der
5634     Erde so nahe, hieß es in dem Bericht der Internationalen Astronomischen
5635     Union.
5636    
5637     RTL Teletext: Himmelskörper rast auf Erde zu Ein Asteroid wird im Jahr 2028
5638     der Erde gefährlich nahe kommen. Amerikanische Wissenschaftler haben die
5639     Chance eines Zusammenpralls auf eins zu tausend berechnet. Sollte der
5640     Asteroid, der einen Durchmesser von 1,8 Kilometern hat, aufprallen, könnte
5641     er eine gigantische Flutwelle auslösen, so die Forscher. Auch ein genaues
5642     Datum haben die Wissenschaftler schon errechnet: Von Europa aus wäre das
5643     Naturschauspiel am 26. Oktober 2028 zu beobachten.
5644     %%
5645     * Linux Viruscan.....
5646     Windows 95 Found Remove it ? (Y/y)
5647     %%
5648     >>Hmm, welche Behauptungen entsprechen denn deiner Meinung nach der
5649     >>Realität?
5650     >>
5651     >>Das es das FBI wirklich gibt?
5652     >>Das Scully frigide ist, und deshalb mit Mulder nichts anfangen möchte?
5653     >>Das Mulder homosexuell ist, und deshalb mit Scully nichts anfangen möchte?
5654     >>Das der CSM einen Vertrag mit Marlb*ro hat?
5655     >
5656     >Hinter diesen "Fragen" erkenne ich z.B. eine gut bekannte Strategie. Die
5657     >FBI-Frage ist bewusst absurd. Das Abgleiten ins Sexuelle hat ebenfalls
5658     %%
5659     "'You're a Cirrus. You're crap. I'm an S3. I rule. Thank you and please drive through.'"
5660     %%
5661     > How could you have perl take a set of numbers (1,2,3,4) and put them
5662     > into a random order???
5663     >
5664    
5665     @array=qw(1 2 3 4);
5666     print "@array[1,3,2,0]\n";
5667    
5668     I've checked this against other possible random orderings
5669     of these numbers, and this ordering is at least as random as
5670     any of the other possible ones. The benefit of this one being
5671     that it begins with the number 2, which is my favorite random
5672     number less than 42.
5673     %%
5674     From what I am reading Win98 and NT5.0 will be getting rid of all that
5675     crap anyway. Seems that Microsoft has invented something called TCP/IP and
5676     another really revolutionary concept called DNS that eliminates the
5677     netbios crap too. All that arping from browsers is going to go away.
5678     I also hear rumors that they are on the verge of breakthrough discoveries
5679     called NFS, and LPD too. Given enough time and money, they might
5680     eventually invent Unix.
5681     %%
5682     In Germany, where typeface design has always been a significant part of
5683     the cultural heritage, and where typefounding has remained an important
5684     business, there are more than one kind of copyright-like protections for
5685     typefaces. Certain long-standing industrial design protection laws have
5686     been used to protect typeface designs in litigation over royalties and
5687     plagiarisms. Further, there is a recent law, the so-called
5688     "Schriftzeichengesetz" enacted in 1981, that specifically protects
5689     typeface designs. New designs are registered, as is done with
5690     copyright in most countries. This law only protects new, original
5691     designs. It is available to non-German designers and firms. Therefore,
5692     some type firms and designers routinely copyright new designs in West
5693     Germany. This gives a degree of protection for products marketed in
5694     Germany. Since multinational corporations may find it cheaper to
5695     license a design for world-wide use rather than deal with a special case
5696     in one country, the German law does encourage licensing on a broader
5697     scale than would initially seem to be the case.
5698     %%
5699     [linux processes vs. nt/solaris threads]
5700     Rob Pike pointed out that the solution to slow process creation is
5701     faster process creation, not another kernel abstraction.
5702     %%
5703     Does anybody know how to communicate between a PC and a modem,
5704     using a Perl CGI script?
5705     %%
5706     >I really don't know crap about PERL. How is it different from JAVA?
5707    
5708     One tiny difference: Java can crash your browser. It happened to me last
5709     week.
5710     %%
5711     Brieweb> I heard Randal Schwartz say he could write an entire httpd server in 90 lines
5712     Brieweb> of PERL.
5713     No, that's an http *proxy* server. A simple web server is much shorter.
5714     From "perldoc HTTP::Daemon"...
5715     [Randal Schwartz]
5716     %%
5717     But the possibility of abuse may be a good reason for leaving
5718     capabilities out of other computer languages, it's not a good reason
5719     for leaving capabilities out of Perl.
5720     [Larry Wall in `Macros'. [[perl5-porters]]]
5721     %%
5722     Yes: Java's main advantage over Perl is that it's hard to use for casual
5723     programmers, so keeps all but the most intrepid programmers away from it.
5724     It has no decent support for string processing, allowing you to spend
5725     hours at useless debugging. It has a very restrictive and static system
5726     to make sure you don't try anything interesting. It makes sure that you
5727     use objects, by golly, because James Gosling said so. It's easy for C++
5728     programmers to use, and hard for shell or BASIC programmers to use. It
5729     also only runs on a few systems, locking its customers into a a closed
5730     system and restricting their options.
5731     [Tom Christiansen in `Java Vs. Perl']
5732     %%
5733     <Bill_Gates> Where do you want to go today?
5734     <Phase_5> Where do go tomorrow?
5735     <BlueFlux> Where were you yesterday?!?!
5736     %%
5737     "It's not to control, but to protect the citizens of Singapore. In our
5738     society, you can state your views, but they have to be correct."
5739     Ernie Hai
5740     Coordinator of Singapore Government Internet Project
5741     %%
5742     : I very much prefer a useful error message than a "it produced the wrong
5743     : results" report from the users.
5744    
5745     if i got even "it produced the wrong results" from our users, i would
5746     be in 7th heaven. ours often mail us with such insightful requests as
5747     "can you tell me my email address?" no, sorry, that should be "CAN U
5748     TEL ME MY E MAIL ADRES DUDE?!!!?? HURRY!!!"
5749     %%
5750     There are many intelligent species in the Universe.
5751     They are all owned by cats.
5752     %%
5753     Why dignify your unsustainable, unjustifiable, unprovable feeble
5754     attempts at character assassination with anything resembling a reply?
5755     You only make yourself look foolish by mouthing off like that.
5756     %%
5757     From: L & K Olson <kolson@mbnet.mb.ca>
5758     Subject: If they wrote error messages in haiku ...
5759    
5760     Yesterday it worked
5761     Today it is not working
5762     Windows is like that
5763     - - -
5764     wind catches lily
5765     scatt'ring petals to the wind:
5766     segmentation fault
5767     - - -
5768     Three things are certain:
5769     Death, taxes, and lost data.
5770     Guess which has occurred.
5771     - - -
5772     A file that big?
5773     It might be very useful.
5774     But now it is gone.
5775     - - -
5776     Windows NT crashed.
5777     I am the Blue Screen of Death.
5778     No one hears your screams.
5779     - - -
5780     Errors have occurred.
5781     We won't tell you where or why.
5782     Lazy programmers.
5783     - - -
5784     Seeing my great fault
5785     Through darkening blue windows
5786     I begin again
5787     - - -
5788     The code was willing,
5789     It considered your request,
5790     But the chips were weak.
5791     - - -
5792     Printer not ready.
5793     Could be a fatal error.
5794     Have a pen handy?
5795     - - -
5796     Server's poor response
5797     Not quick enough for browser.
5798     Timed out, plum blossom.
5799     - - -
5800     Chaos reigns within.
5801     Reflect, repent, and reboot.
5802     Order shall return.
5803     - - -
5804     Login incorrect.
5805     Only perfect spellers may
5806     enter this system.
5807     - - -
5808     This site has been moved.
5809     We'd tell you where, but then we'd
5810     have to delete you.
5811     - - -
5812     ABORTED effort:
5813     Close all that you have.
5814     You ask way too much.
5815     - - -
5816     First snow, then silence.
5817     This thousand dollar screen dies
5818     so beautifully.
5819     - - -
5820     With searching comes loss
5821     and the presence of absence:
5822     "My Novel" not found.
5823     - - -
5824     The Tao that is seen
5825     Is not the true Tao, until
5826     You bring fresh toner.
5827     - - -
5828     The Web site you seek
5829     cannot be located but
5830     endless others exist
5831     - - -
5832     Stay the patient course
5833     Of little worth is your ire
5834     The network is down
5835     - - -
5836     A crash reduces
5837     your expensive computer
5838     to a simple stone.
5839     - - -
5840     There is a chasm
5841     of carbon and silicon
5842     the software can't bridge
5843     - - -
5844     To have no errors
5845     Would be life without meaning
5846     No struggle, no joy
5847     - - -
5848     You step in the stream,
5849     but the water has moved on.
5850     This page is not here.
5851     - - -
5852     No keyboard present
5853     Hit F1 to continue
5854     Zen engineering?
5855     - - -
5856     Hal, open the file
5857     Hal, open the damn file, Hal
5858     open it, please Hal
5859     - - -
5860     Out of memory.
5861     We wish to hold the whole sky,
5862     But we never will.
5863     - - -
5864     Having been erased,
5865     The document you're seeking
5866     Must now be retyped.
5867     - - -
5868     The ten thousand things
5869     How long do any persist?
5870     Netscape, too, has gone.
5871     - - -
5872     Rather than a beep
5873     Or a rude error message,
5874     These words: "File not found."
5875     - - -
5876     Serious error.
5877     All shortcuts have disappeared
5878     Screen. Mind. Both are blank.
5879     %%
5880     "The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way
5881     to factor large prime numbers." -- Bill Gates from "The Road Ahead," p. 265.
5882     %%
5883     > What is the Windows equivalent of the first line used for
5884     > UNIX (#!/usr/local/bin/perl) that tells where the Perl interpreter is?
5885    
5886     Windows hasn't gotten quite as far in functionality as, say, BSD Unix in the
5887     early 1980s.
5888     %%
5889     > I have a chat script, that will work fine for a bit then after a while
5890     > the private messages will stop working. It might be because I changed
5891     > something, but chances are that isn't the case. I re-install a fresh
5892     > copy, paths are correct, and they still don't work
5893    
5894     I think you are experiencing GOVERNMENT CONTROL. You see, everyone
5895     with a chat script is being scrutinised by the department of CHAT
5896     control. Whenever they see some message they don't like, they
5897     introduce some little goblin called feature-creep in your program. if
5898     you have lots of these little devils, your program migth acquire so
5899     many new features that it just stops working.
5900    
5901     This also applies to Microsoft products.
5902    
5903     > Does it make sense for certain features to just not work?! If you can
5904     > help, or have suggestions, get back to me, PLEASE:)
5905    
5906     Yes, it makes perfect sense. Especially if they're features which
5907     really are bugs. And especially if they're 'private' messages. You
5908     know perfectly well that the government doesn't like private messages.
5909    
5910     Hope this explains what's going on
5911     Martien Verbruggen
5912     %%
5913     ...code? If you're on a misconfigured NT server (is that redundant?), you...
5914     %%
5915     X11R6.1-based free X server compiles, links and crashes under IRIX(TM).
5916     %%
5917     -------------- please bite here ------------- bitte hier abbeissen ---------
5918     %%
5919     "Frag mal, auf was fuer uptimes man kommt, wenn man Software-Entwicklung
5920     unter NT macht..." "Das koennen bis zu dreissig Minuten werden - in der
5921     Mittagspause." -- Andreas Bogk, Kai Fett, de.alt.sysadmin.recovery
5922     %%
5923     > ++ A lot of posters here have .sigs that include perl one liners.
5924     > ++ Is there a safe way to run them, and be assured that they wont
5925     > ++ damage and/or erase files? (or e-mail off my shadow file)
5926     >
5927     > Just make sure you understand it ;)
5928    
5929     I nominate Abigail for best response of the year with this one. Come to
5930     think of it, I nominate it for best response of next year, too.
5931     %%
5932     Your moderator will be spending the next week on a beach on a small island
5933     where the phones don't work very well, so there won't be any comp.compilers
5934     until the 28th. Any messages you send in will wait here until I get back and
5935     should be posted on March 1st or 2nd.
5936     %%
5937     But now, in comp.lang.perl.misc, you have a bunch of people who aren't
5938     even asking how to make the pieces fit together, but what the
5939     individual pieces are. ("How do I get my lego project to roll accross
5940     the table?" "You use one of those pieces that have the wheels
5941     attached.") Or questions that aren't about building at all. ("The
5942     motor stopped moving. How do I get it to start again?" "The batteries
5943     are probably dead. You can buy new batteries at any department or
5944     convienience store.")
5945     %%
5946     : how do i make my perl script run?
5947     Get up at 91 minutes before dawn, clothe yourself in neon green body
5948     %%
5949     for some reason Windoze users don't seem to expect docs to come with an archive
5950     %%> ToiLeTGoD
5951    
5952     Well, well.. I always wondered who/what made that flush thingy work.
5953     Pretty cool name, dude. (not)
5954     %%
5955     Ummm...create "comp.lang.perl.wizards", make it moderated and all posts,
5956     including xposts, go into /dev/null. Most FAQers won't have the Usenet
5957     background to understand that such groups are either a) a wasteland
5958     populated (briefly) by persons like themselves, or b) point to /dev/null.
5959     %%
5960     Lazy people never bother to actually read the manual. Instead they (like
5961     kids) pick something with big, colorful buttons.
5962     -- Eugene Tyurin <gene@insti.physics.sunysb.edu>
5963     %%
5964     The Average Person's Axioms of First Order Predicate Logic:
5965     (A => B) => (B => A)
5966     (There exists) x A(x) => (For all) x A(x)
5967     (A => C) & (B => C) => (A => B) - Warren Vonroeschlaub
5968     %%
5969     cal 9 1752
5970     %%
5971     Installing unix fixes the [VMS] bug.
5972     -Barry Shein
5973     %%
5974     And this horrible free-for-all will be left to children wondering around
5975     by themselves in the dark because they refuse to turn on the light and
5976     read the manual.
5977     %%
5978     "SPARC" is "CRAPS" backwards --Rob Pike
5979     %%
5980     I increasingly begin to understand why some universities require
5981     that its compsci majors study the Euclid's Prime Number Theorem,
5982     the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Cantor's Diagonalization Proof,
5983     Goedel's Incompleteness Theorem, and the ramifications of Halting Problem
5984     in everyday life. These may not be involved in daily programming, but
5985     it helps develop a rigorous mind. And it gives those who would progress
5986     from typist to word-processor devotee to HTML documenter to CGI scripter
5987     to distributed multithreaded operating systems design specialist cause
5988     for pause. You just can't do that without proper training.
5989     %%
5990     comp.lang.perl.i'm-from-microsoft-so-won't-read-documentation
5991     %%
5992     I suggest you install a newsserver, and keep a local spool. Anything else
5993     is too much work, and fairly silly. The Internet has catupulted even
5994     the Wintel victims past the days of BBS toys.
5995     %%
5996     > Help help! Pls advise me thru email.
5997    
5998     I advise you to buy a new keyboard; one that has all the keys you
5999     need.
6000     %%
6001     Christian Fundamentalism: The doctrine that there is an absolutely
6002     powerful, infinitely knowledgeable, universe spanning entity that is
6003     deeply and personally concerned about my sex life.
6004     %%
6005     I find the first particularly useful in destroying the miswrapped
6006     lines stemming from brain-damaged "it's just another word processor"
6007     newsreaders. You know,
6008     those postings that always seem to go to the edge of the line and then
6009     back
6010     again to the start, as this paragraph has. These are just too painful
6011     to read. Just kill them. It's not worth your time trying to figure
6012     out what they're saying.
6013     %%
6014     It is most annoying to receive junk mail describing how to purchase 93
6015     million addresses, while knowing that yours is one of them.
6016     %%
6017     I'm surprised Tom, how could it miss the "X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.01 [en] (WinNT;
6018     U)" header line? Personally, I find the attempted use of Netscape as a
6019     newsreader even worse then the attempted use of WinNT as an OS. :-)
6020    
6021     But the combination.... *sutters*
6022     %%
6023     Hm... my new killfile isn't detecting you're posting from Windows.
6024     Darn it.
6025     %%
6026     At least he didn't post in all caps.
6027     %%
6028     http://language.perl.com/CPAN-local/doc/FAQs/cgi/idiots-guide.html
6029     %%
6030     I think the biggest problem with M.S.A. is that the scripts work for Matt, but
6031     the majority of people trying to use them are from the
6032     "Wintel/AOL/FrontPage/push-a-button/HTML-is-programming/no-programming-required"
6033     school of non-learning. It isn't a problem with the code, per se, but with those
6034     trying to use it.
6035     %%
6036     "Linux can emulate an C64 on my AMDK6PR200 at full speed. Windows can't."
6037     %%
6038     cdog wrote:
6039     >
6040     > Is this group active?
6041     No.
6042    
6043     If you had spent half a second LOOKING at the group before posting, you
6044     probably could have come to that conclusion yourself.
6045    
6046     On a personal note, I died 3 years, 8 days, 5 minutes, 16 seconds, and
6047     345 milliseconds ago, but who's counting.
6048     %%
6049     "Security through obscurity is no security at all."
6050     -comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup posting
6051     %%
6052     "Windows 95 will now attempt to blow chunks across your primary partition.
6053     Press any key to continue..."
6054     %%
6055     NT 5.0 is the last nail in the Unix coffin. Interestingly, Unix
6056     isn't in the coffin... It's wondering what the heck is sealing
6057     itself into a wooden box 6 feet underground...
6058     %%
6059     The Wall St Journal (1996-01-22, page 1) reported that Cuba is
6060     considering jumping across the International Date Line, just so that
6061     it's the first into the year 2000. So it's possible you'll have to
6062     adjust your travel plans.
6063     %%
6064     "Wo kämen wir hin, wenn alle sagten, wo kämen wir hin, und niemand ginge
6065     hin, um einmal zu schauen, wohin man käme, wenn man ginge." -- Kurt Marti
6066     %%
6067     The Takeuchi function is a popular benchmark of function calling due to its
6068     highly recursive nature. It's defined as:
6069    
6070     tak x y z = z, if y >= x
6071     = tak (tak (x-1) y z) (tak (y - 1) z x) (tak (z - 1) x y), otherwise
6072    
6073     For this benchmark, the function is invoked as:
6074    
6075     tak 18 12 6
6076     %%
6077     "Nobody will ever need more than 640k RAM!"
6078     -- Bill Gates
6079     "Windows 95 needs at least 8 MB RAM."
6080     -- Bill Gates
6081     "Nobody will ever need Windows 95."
6082     -- logical conclusion
6083     %%
6084     Year Name James Bond Book
6085     - ---- -------------------------------- -------------- ----
6086     50's James Bond TV Series Barry Nelson
6087     1962 Dr. No Sean Connery 1958
6088     1963 From Russia With Love Sean Connery 1957
6089     1964 Goldfinger Sean Connery 1959
6090     1965 Thunderball Sean Connery 1961
6091     1967* Casino Royale David Niven 1954
6092     1967 You Only Live Twice Sean Connery 1964
6093     1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service George Lazenby 1963
6094     1971 Diamonds Are Forever Sean Connery 1956
6095     1973 Live And Let Die Roger Moore 1955
6096     1974 The Man With The Golden Gun Roger Moore 1965
6097     1977 The Spy Who Loved Me Roger Moore 1962 (novelette)
6098     1979 Moonraker Roger Moore 1955
6099     1981 For Your Eyes Only Roger Moore 1960 (novelette)
6100     1983 Octopussy Roger Moore 1965
6101     1983* Never Say Never Again Sean Connery
6102     1985 A View To A Kill Roger Moore 1960 (novelette)
6103     1987 The Living Daylights Timothy Dalton 1965 (novelette)
6104     * -- Not a Broccoli production.
6105     %%
6106     Windows NT: n.
6107     32-bit extensions and a graphical shell for a 16-bit patch to an 8-bit
6108     operating system originally coded for a 4-bit microprocessor, written
6109     by a 2-bit company that can't stand for 1 bit of competition.
6110     %%
6111     Auf der Kiste läuft EHNIX, das ist ZUNIX kompatibel.