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"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net>: Feb 13 11:30PM -0500 Jeff Liebermann wrote: > rather a later patent as the one I used was in about 1976: > <https://www.google.com/patents/US6198701> > I'll dig through the citations later...     <http://oakbluffclassifieds.com/Funny-Listings/Very-Funny/Curtis-elapsed-time-indicators-520LNA-115-240-indachron-picture-3.jpg>     -- Never piss off an Engineer!   They don't get mad.   They don't get even.   They go for over unity! ;-)

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net>: Feb 14 12:16AM -0500 Foxs Mercantile wrote:   > One of the stranger things to come across was Henry Radio offered a > kit to install a Collins mechanical filter in the Drake 2B receiver.   > Absolutely pointless, but it allowed you to win "dick waving" contests.     I recently saw a notice that Rockwell Collins has stopped production of Mechanical Filters.     -- Never piss off an Engineer!   They don't get mad.   They don't get even.   They go for over unity! ;-)

jurb6006@gmail.com: Feb 13 02:00PM -0800 Actually I did have Thunderbird set up at one time when my ISP (apparently) was having trouble with Usenet access.   Also, I am not fond of Google Groups because it does not give a tree view.   Now it is acting up more and more and in two different browsers. I need to do something else. There is one problem, I deal only in cash so there is no way to pay anyone online. The occasions when I do buy something I generally use a postal money order. I am actually not blacklisted by the banks, which is when they charge you $300 for a $1.00 overdraft, but it ain't ever going to happen. It happened to a couple of people I know and I am not letting it happen to me. Plus the fact that everyone I deal with at the moment takes cash. I work for cash, I spend cash.   Bottom line, no matter how much money is in my safe and drawer, there is no way to pay them.   I did have it set up with Thunderbird and AIOE (IIRC) and it did not solve my problem. It still had access issues. Then all that cleared up, but then so did Google, so I just went back to that. It bitches about my browsers but when it says "A problem occurred while communicating with the server" it is NOT a browser issue, especially when the same browser works a half an hour later. So I am not "upgrading" anything. But then if I have to go Thunderbird again I will probably get the new version of that. And it STILL might not fix my problem. Like updating drivers, it does not work, like I have no sound so I need the newer drivers, hows come it worked last week ? Bunch of bullshit.   Is there free client software out there other than Thunderbird ? Is there something that is really about guaranteed to connect ?   Or is Usenet slated for a slow death by the PTB because of unmoderated groups and so forth promoting free speech ? (or at least enabling it)

Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net>: Feb 13 06:16PM -0500 > Or is Usenet slated for a slow death by the PTB because of > unmoderated groups and so forth promoting free speech ? (or at least > enabling it)   How do you pay your ISP? If you have to go to the library to use the net, it might be an issue on that end.   Cheers   Phil Hobbs   -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics   160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510   hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net

"pfjw@aol.com" <pfjw@aol.com>: Feb 13 05:47PM -0800 On Monday, February 13, 2017 at 6:16:06 PM UTC-5, Phil Hobbs wrote: > Briarcliff Manor NY 10510   > hobbs at electrooptical dot net > http://electrooptical.net   Making sense with this individual is a bit like nailing Jell-O. A not very rewarding exercise with few positive results.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Feb 13 08:40PM -0800 >Is there free client software out there other than Thunderbird?   <https://usenetreviewz.com/free-usenet/usenet-clients/> I use the paid version of Forte Agent. You can see what others are using by looking at the article header on the User-Agent: line.   >Is there something that is really about guaranteed to connect ?   Could you translate that line into English please?   >Or is Usenet slated for a slow death by the PTB because of >unmoderated groups and so forth promoting free speech ? (or >at least enabling it)   The eventual death of Usenet has been predicted many times in the past. Somehow, it doesn't seem to be happening. One of the things that keeps Usenet alive is the lack of commercial advertising. If there's any successor or competitor, it's Reddit. Reddit offers moderation by content and reputation, which helps get rid of threads like this one. You might give Reddit a try because it only needs a web browser and doesn't require a dedicated news reader program.     -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com>: Feb 13 12:02PM -0500 In sci.electronics.repair, on Sun, 12 Feb 2017 20:46:00 -0500, PeterN >> change for him.   >The natives of the City and its environs, only do so when necessary. At >least not during the rush hour.   One time I drove from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side during rush hour without getting stuck in traffic once. I think this might have been when part of the Westside Highway was closed too, because I suppose I would have taken that if it were open. . I'm not sure I remember how, but I think I went west to avoid the Holland tunnel traffic, then east for a one way avenue, then west again to avoid Lincoln Tunnel traffic, and then to 10th Avenue / Amsterdam Avenue and up to 86th St.   I knew how to park for cheap at the Fulton Fish Market too, which was open until about 8:30AM and had room after that. Although eventually they moved the fish market to the Bronx.     New York City news report: We have bad news and good news to report. The bad news is that the world will end tomorrow. The good news is that alternate side of the street parking regulations have been suspended.

Stijn De Jong <stijndekoning@nlnet.nl>: Feb 13 06:12PM On Sun, 12 Feb 2017 17:35:22 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:   > gully. If he were going slower, the van would have gone over nose > down, and possibly ended up vertically, or fallen over on its top. > However, I'm guessing. The driver was lucky.   This is a good point that, if he had just edged over the cliff, he'd likely have gone down nose first.   He had momentum, it seems possible.     > Mine went out for more than 5 minutes perhaps 4 times. The longest > was about 2 hrs.   The PG&E crew out here knows me by name! I talk to them as they park their trucks on the side roads. I have their cell numbers! What happens, they tell me, is that have "isolators" and "fuses".   The fuses are literally fuses. THey have to be manually replaced. The isolators are circuit breakers that go out for short periods of time (like less than 30 seconds). They have 3 trip points: a) If a tree branch hits the wires, causing a short, they trip. b) They wait a short period of time, and go back on c) That can happen a second time d) The third time, they shut off completely.   So, often you'll get 30-second outages out here, which is what the PG&E guys tell me. The way to tell is to call it in as a "real" outage. They actually call you back since you're the ONLY one reporting the real outage. They check their software, which shows that it only tripped at the source. So if you have a real outage, then it's just you. That's why they call you back.   Its' a great way to get to know the PG&E guys. :)   The reason I *though* the power was out was because I could hear my generator, but it turns out my generator runs longer than 30 seconds when the power is only out for 30 seconds. SO they told me to look at the smart meter before calling. :)   > Facts? We don't do no stinkin facts. This is the land of opinions, > feelings, and progress through meditation.   yup. Global warming. Energy Crisis. Trumpism. All disasters in California due to politics alone. :)   >>Isn't that the same river that washed out Highway 9 last week?   > Yes, but that was in Boulder Creek, 15 miles to the north.   Thanks. I saw Sanborn all washed out. Entire cliffs wiped out all three trails going into Lake Ranch (which is directly on top of the San Andreas fault line).   There is no way to get a vehicle into Lake Ranch at the moment even though it has three access roads. All three are gone at some point (multiple points in two of the three).   >>http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/kgo/images/cms/automation/vod/1748305_1280x720.jpg   > Keep the rain and runoff from further eroding the hillside. However, > it won't do anything for underground rivers and springs.   They put some of that plastic on the roads I use to get home. I think it's wishful thinking. What they did was put asphalt on top of the plastic (to hold it down). I doubt it will stop much since the slumping is from below.   >>We have been getting horizontal rain over on the Loma side of things.   > I hate when that happens. It ruins my rainfall measurements because > the rain misses the rain gauge.   All you have to do is turn the rain gauge sideways! :)

Stijn De Jong <stijndekoning@nlnet.nl>: Feb 13 06:13PM On Mon, 13 Feb 2017 16:24:14 +0100, android wrote:   > He could be right. The undermined paving, covered with mud probably > collapsed under the weight of the car...   That's an interesting observation. Maybe the road was still there when he drove over it, and maybe it dropped out from under him?   I'm sure if someone was there before him who might have reported it as a collapse, then that didn't happen, but I don't know if that's the case.   So, at this point, it's possible that there "was" a road there when he drove on it, and it collapsed out from under him, I guess.   Either way, let's hope he's learned how to deal with the mountains.

Stijn De Jong <stijndekoning@nlnet.nl>: Feb 13 06:13PM On Sun, 12 Feb 2017 20:39:32 -0500, PeterN wrote:   > Photoshopped. Your posting came just at the point that the Duck and I > were having a discussion about Photoshopping images. The gist of which > is that he and I shoot for different purposes.   Thanks for explaining 'cuz I wasn't sure so I apologize if I auto-completed incorrectly.   I once read that almost all (and that means almost all) images are "touched up" to some extent when published in paper print media. Apparently almost not a single photo isn't changed to some extent.   This one certainly looked out of place, since the blue van had not a spot of mud on it, and it was shiny and clean and not all crumpled up (only one small dent in the roof).   So it certainly seemed out of place. Plus the angle of the best shot was from the air (unless there is a road across from where the accident occurred).   So, I agree, it *looked* photoshopped.

Stijn De Jong <stijndekoning@nlnet.nl>: Feb 13 06:13PM On Sun, 12 Feb 2017 17:44:24 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:   >>driving.   > It's a conspiracy to make you thirsty so that you'll drop into an > overpriced convenience store for something to drink.   My point is those are emergency road signs. What are they for? Why do we pay for them?   Originally they went in for amber alert and traffic conditions, and road closure purposes. Which is fine.   But when they start putting on signs saying "brush your teeth", then they went too far.   Basically, they're abusing the signs, is my point, by even mentioning water, because (a) it's not a roadside emergency that we can do anything about while driving, and (b) it's not gonna make a difference since agriculture is what uses almost all the water (not homes).   >>It's a political farce.   > Hardly. It's the current reality. Government believes that you need > to be told what to do and what not to do.   The government is welcome to tell me, but they can do it with mailings and news and print, not emergency roadside signs.   What's next on those signs? "Wash behind your ears?"   > go around leaving the water running, or commit some other crime > against the environment. Just salute as you drive by the sign and > you'll be all right.   Every time I see those stupid drought messages, I tell my kids how dumb the gob'ment is, and how they abuse EVERYTHING so the only solution is not to give them the power to abuse things.

Stijn De Jong <stijndekoning@nlnet.nl>: Feb 13 06:13PM On Sun, 12 Feb 2017 19:16:43 -0600, Dean Hoffman wrote:   >> It's a political farce.   > A quick search. Public Policy Institute of California. > <http://www.ppic.org/main/publication_show.asp?i=1108>   Thanks for that reference. Based on a quick read of that reference, the political farce behind those idiotic road signs is even worse than I had thought.   "Approximately nine million acres of farmland in California are irrigated, representing roughly 80% of all water used for businesses and homes."   "Total urban water use has been falling even as the population grows. Even before the latest drought, per capita water use had declined significantly?from 232 gallons per day in 1995 to 178 gallons per day in 2010?reflecting substantial efforts to reduce water"   The "urban" use is what those road signs target. I feel they're a political farce because: a) These are freaking emergency road signs - not political placards b) We homeowners aren't the ones using the water (we use only 10%!) c) There's nothing more we can do (we have cut back tremendously already!) d) There's nothing we can do while driving in our cars!   What galls me is that we PAY for those road signs, which serve an emergency purpose for safety roadway and amber-alert reasons (where license plates an and make/model/color of perpetrator's vehicles are posted which we can do something about while driving).   But the idiotic state employees use those emergency signs for freaking drought purposes, which is not a roadside emergency which has anything to do with highways and which anyone can do anything about while driving and which isn't appropriate.   It's all a political abuse of power for political purposes. (They want us to "feel" the drought, even though we're not the problem.)

android <here@there.was>: Feb 13 07:27PM +0100 In article <o7ssvb$18u7$6@gioia.aioe.org>,   > That's an interesting observation. > Maybe the road was still there when he drove over it, and maybe it dropped > out from under him?   That was that that I wrote...   > So, at this point, it's possible that there "was" a road there when he > drove on it, and it collapsed out from under him, I guess.   > Either way, let's hope he's learned how to deal with the mountains.   Oki... -- teleportation kills

micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com>: Feb 13 01:41PM -0500 In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 13 Feb 2017 08:43:48 -0800, Jeff Liebermann ><http://www.belson.com/Concrete-Security-Barriers-Highway> >It's a convenient place to anchor the tarps. However, putting all >that weight on a crumbling roadway does not seem like a good idea.   No, it doesn't. Maybe the idea is to be sure it takes the plastic down the hill when the road gives way.   Did you or someone imply that some pictures on the web had location data that you or I could extract? And then go to the place.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Feb 13 03:11PM -0800 On Mon, 13 Feb 2017 18:12:58 +0000 (UTC), Stijn De Jong >> the rain misses the rain gauge.   >All you have to do is turn the rain gauge sideways! >:)   <http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/181263/rain-measurement-with-wind-blowing> <http://novalynx.com/store/pc/260-952-Alter-Type-Wind-Screen-8p225.htm> I thought they were to discourage birds from sitting on the rain gauge rim and from dumping their load into the funnel. However, it won't do anything for horizontal rainfall.   Another problem is where someone located the rain collector on the apex of a hip roof. Wind blowing perpendicular to the roof will create an updraft, causing the rain to "fall" upwards. I've watched it happen.   -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Feb 13 03:29PM -0800 On Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:41:54 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> wrote:   >>It's a convenient place to anchor the tarps. However, putting all >>that weight on a crumbling roadway does not seem like a good idea.   >No, it doesn't.   No, it doesn't what? Doesn't anchor the tarps or doesn't seem like a good idea? Please eschew posting ambiguous obfuscations.   >Maybe the idea is to be sure it takes the plastic down >the hill when the road gives way.   Nope. Might be a trampoline to catch erratically driven vans trying to jump the gap. Hard to tell, but it does look like a fun ride.   >Did you or someone imply that some pictures on the web had location data >that you or I could extract? And then go to the place.   Guilty as charged. That was me.   Most web photos do NOT have EXIF information. I use Irfanview for photo editing. It also has an EXIF viewer and editor built in with links to various mapping sites. <http://www.irfanview.com> You'll need both the program and the plugins. Save the image to your machine, feed it to Irfanview, hit "I" (for information), and you can figure out the rest. I couldn't find a decent video or tutorial so here's what it should look like: <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/EXIF%20Info.jpg> Use the buttons at the bottom for mapping. Enjoy. Incidentally, that's how everyone found out that John McAfee was in Belize. He posted some photos with the EXIF info was not removed and that included the location data. Oops.   -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Eric Stevens <eric.stevens@sum.co.nz>: Feb 14 12:55PM +1300 >> It's always possible that the hole got there after the van did.   >Yes... It could have been an occurrence of an unscheduled twist in the >time space continuum. The boss gets vimy occasionally! ;-))   I wrote that before I realised that I was near the top of a long thread. Lower down I read the actual explanation. Nevertheless I may have been partly right. It could have been that the first time he crossed that section of the road it was covered with flowing mud. When he came back he again thought the road was (as he said) covered with mud but by then it was a hole. --   Regards,   Eric Stevens

Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu>: Feb 13 04:23PM -0600 Phil Hobbs wrote:     > In my neighbourhood the top line is usually 1600V, with one or a few > pole pigs per block to make 120-0-120V. Of course we're about half a > mile from the substation.   Interesting, they run 7200 V here. I read the plate on a transformer when it was down on the ground for replacement.     So, anybody know how the folks in Brookville are getting their lives back together? With the burned siding and meters in some pictures, I doubt much electrical in those houses survived. Everything from light bulbs to the breaker panels and in-wall wiring might need to be replaced. I guess electrical contractors are going to be busy for some time.   Jon

Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu>: Feb 13 04:25PM -0600 > Maybe you could've taken them to the scrap yard, but since you decided to > keep them, how did you cycle them to make their connects better? The breaker was in the tripped position, half way between On and Off. I flipped it to Off, and then back to On. I have checked a few times, no sign of heating anymore.   Jon

jurb6006@gmail.com: Feb 13 12:05PM -0800 >"I was born in 1950 and remember much from those days. I would not want to go back . Things were inexpensive that people had to have, other things not so much. "   Well 1960 here, but I WOULD go back. Of course you can't. One really bad thing was Nam, if they drafted me I would be Canadian. Don't get me wrong, bunch of assholes attack this country I will be right there, but don't gimme this shit we gotta go tear up someone else's country because France did this and China did that.   People used to pay cash or a new car, now they have to put gasoline on a credit card. The banks practically own the whole country. People did only have one car, but if the synchros in third gear were not quite up to snuff or some other overdrive solenoid thingie in the tranny was bad back then you just drove it. Now it throws a code and you can't get license plates until you put $2,000 into a car that is in good enough working order to do what it needs to do. If you had a little fender bender you drove a dented car until you got it fixed, now the air bags deploy and it won't run. I am no big fan of seat belts either, we used to watch where we're going. Now they got cars that practically drive themselves. I think that is bad, because when you get people used to this they won't know what to do in a real car where you have to actually put your foot on the brake pedal. Same with those table saws that stop the blade in a microsecond if skin is detected so it won't cut anyone. Let people get used to that and then a real table saw will cut their hand off. but then the government will mandate this safety feature and we all have to buy the retrofit, made in China of course, to bring our old trusty table saws up to "code". And speaking of code, teflon tape is garbage and actually is more likely to cause a leak than the old pipe dope, I use pipe dope. You want teflon garbager tape in there you put it in. Another case of replacing something that worked with what does not.   >"YOU should remember the TV sets. "   I certainly do. We had like five channels and actually had a debate about what to watch. Now we got five hundred channels and there is nothing on. They can't write a script, the camera work looks like it was done by a six year old and there are so many special effects you don't even know if the TV is working right or not. Yes I will goo back and watch Gunsmoke and the original Star Trek and Get Smart and whatever. Actually with the exception of Star Trek that is pretty uch what I go for on like Hulu or whatever when I get in the mood for TV, not this bullshit they have today. Used to catch a few old Star Treks but CBS has decided to not give them up, most likely because they can't write anything worthwhile. The new Star Trek guy likes lens flares, which any real photogragher tries to avoid, and there is practically no plot. In fact that is common now and they are turning to "reality" type shows because of it. Even the murder mysteries on are based on true stories, look at "Homicide Hunter", all cases of this one detective over about forty years in Colorado investigating murders. And the new music reflects the lack of talent as well.   In the old days a local rock and roll band could mail a tape in to a local radio station and the DJ would play it and people got discovered. This happened alot in Cleveland here. Not the only place though, I think it was NYC where the guy pretty much made Buddy Holly a household word. But now to get into the biz you need to know someone, and they bitch and moan that they aren't amking money. And they blame the profileration of P2P and other means of downloading as the source of their financial downturn but I am here to tell you the real reason is that they are putting out a junk product. Same with movies, all effects, no plot.   Yes, I would go back.   >"Many only had one car and as you said it was almost a junker. "   What, a junker because it doesn't get XM radio ? This new junk can kiss my ass. I want a 1967 Chevy. Simplicity. What's more, that one "junker" got the sole (that means one) wage earner to work, and the Wife to the grocery store on Saturday.   >"Homes had a telephone and some were even on party lines. Now many people have their own cell phone. "   Yeah, and when I owned my own house and had my druthers I made people leave those damn phones out in their car if they wanted to visit me. I turn mine off quite a bit. I pay for it, it is my prerogative to answer it or not. It is not a pager and I am not on call. As far as I am concerned, I might just get rid of it but I am older now and could get stranded somewhere or something. If you call my lanmdline and there is no answer (and no answering macjhoine either) that means I am not home and you have to call back. I LIKED IT THAT WAY. However I do like either caller ID or the old answering machine that allowed you to screen calls.   >"Only thing I relly can think of back in the good old days that was better was there was very little crime. "   There was less crime but it was not non-existent. Much was not reported like whoever said in another post here. Rapes were the worst. Woman got raped and her brothers would drive her 2,000 miles away to give the kid up for adoption, as was the case with all out of wedlock kids back then. For better or worse that is how it was. Though from what I have seen, to raise a kid right you need both a male and female influence, they sort of balance each other somehow.   One of the reasons there was less crime was the armed Citizen, really. They never really reported much on how much crime really is stopped by bystanders who are armed. One case at a "Waffle House" a few years ago, two thugs tried to pull an armed robbery, a custoer shot and killed one of them and the other fled, only to get caught a short time later. The dead thug's cousin got up on TV to claim we need more strict gun laws as hjer cousin, who spent his life trying to steal from others, migth still be alive.   Well I have to agree, because if the guy who shot her piece of shit cousin was train better he might have been able to kill both thugs. And I will look their Mother straight in the eye and say "Next time you drop a litter, teach them some respect".   I remember people who got out of prison saying "Damn, I can't even begin to name these new cars". That is your biggest concern ? But then back then they did not require a full background check to flip burgers.   And now, you want to talk Snowden and Assange ? The US government committed an act of war against an ally to get Assange who has never set foot on US soil. I would go back to when there was a little bit of respect. But then there wasn't. the escapades of Smedley Butler were back in the early 1900s and made enemies of most South American cointries. That is why you get aspartame of HFCS in youir food and drinks instead of regular sugar, which is not as damaging to your health. Mexicans enjoy real sugar because they did not try to replace damn near every government down there. Look at the labels if you don't believe me.   A few things went right, we shed alot of our bigotry. We became more tolerant of those who are different. Of course now with Trump's win at the election the liberals are turning into animals, having riots and all that shit, but you have to realize that they see that as their meal ticket being cut off. Conservatives build things, liberals sell them.   Enough for now.

jurb6006@gmail.com: Feb 13 12:08PM -0800 >"Actually not. Today, reporting crime is ubiquitous. "   I remember they did bust NYC for underrepoting crime. Guess it was bad for real estate values.

"pfjw@aol.com" <pfjw@aol.com>: Feb 13 02:10PM -0800 On Monday, February 13, 2017 at 3:05:42 PM UTC-5, jurb...@gmail.com wrote:   You are NOT entitled to your opinion. You ARE entitled to your informed opinion. NO ONE is entitled to be ignorant.   For the record, all your glib little bits and phrases are kinda-sorta stupid and hollow when viewed - I am a born-again liberal who has built a great many things, from aircraft and nuclear parts carrying my signature that kept *you* alive, to structural designs for historic renovations that are now 'in the book' and included in NFPA, UL, BOMA, UBC and other standards and codes, and much more - things that actually affect lives. What have you done?   A conservative was once defined as someone with something to conserve. The alternate definition is A liberal who has been mugged.   But, it has become clear to me that conservatives, in essence, are individuals deadly fearful of change at any level that *might* threaten their lives.   tRump is anything but a conservative. tRump is an opportunist looking after himself, no more. He wears the conservative mask as it suits his purpose.   The general levels of ignorance demonstrated by conservatives is pretty wretched, frightening and nauseating, all at once. Now, here is a rant I have used in the past.   This country has a long and illustrious history of electing corrupt, ignorant, stupid or simply inept politicians to high office, starting all the way back with Ulysses S. Grant, Warren Harding, Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, G.W. Bush, to name just a few. Donald Trump is at home in that crowd at any of several levels.   We get exactly the government we deserve, as we vote them in time after time after time, and every part and piece of our government devolves back to those elected "representatives" as by deliberate choice or by neglect, they permit all those parts and pieces to continue.   Keep in mind that the Average American:   Does not have a college education, including an Associate Degree (60%). Does not have a passport (64%). Speaks one language – badly (74%). Has never traveled voluntarily more than 200 miles from his/her birthplace (57%). Has never visited a foreign country, not even Mexico or Canada (71%). Cannot name the Speaker of the House, even today (82%) Cannot name the three branches of government (64%) Cannot read at a college level (83%) Cannot read for content (54%). 60% of American Households do not buy any book in a year. Does not believe in Evolution (42% creationism, 32% evolution, 26% no opinion). Only 71.2% of eligible voters are registered. Only 57.9% of registered voters voted in 2012. Meaning that the average American eligible to vote does not vote (only 41.5% net). Not much changed in early statistics for 2016, although the change was to greater participation (48%). The Average American still does not vote.   And you think that our government is anything other than exactly what we deserve, doing exactly what we should expect it to do based on what we tell it (and allow) it to do?   This has not one damned thing to do with party, democrat, republican, libertarian, communist, green, whatever. It has to do with massive, systemic and deliberate neglect, and industrial-grade stupidity mixed equally with mil.Spec. ignorance.   Like some few Americans, I have lived and worked as a civilian in another culture vastly different from here - and I have seen how Americans are perceived in other parts of the world. You might be surprised how easily it is for other cultures to separate Americans (whom they largely respect and admire) from American Culture (continuous amazement, mixed with a varying amounts of jealousy and horror) and the American Government (poorly understood, largely disliked - much as here). Would that Americans had the same ability to separate the individual and sub-group from the various other parts and pieces of the entirety in other cultures and regions.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

"pfjw@aol.com" <pfjw@aol.com>: Feb 13 01:37PM -0800 > I have an old tube set that I want to fire up, but know this stuff can > be unpredictable, especially with old caps.   I sat on my fingers until just now. This rant goes back a few years, but is as relevant now as then.   RANT WARNING:   Isolation transformers are critical for any workbench, and after good hand-tools the first thing any radio person should get... perhaps even before said tools.   Variacs, on the other hand, are either very handy diagnostic tools or worse-than-useless anchors fit only to let the magic smoke out of an otherwise salvageable radio. I am not really sure if there is an in-between other than their original function as light dimmers.   Without both current and voltage metering, they are worse-than- useless. With the proper metering, they can be very handy tools.   Myths: A variac will help reform caps (with specific reference to tube/ valve radios).   Fact: Only on those vanishingly few radios with solid-state rectifiers that pass B+ current at any voltage, and only if done over more time than one cares to consider. Bench DC supplies are best for this typically futile purpose in any case.   In the case of a tube rectifier, most of them do not start to pass DC until the filament voltage reaches between 65% and 75% of nameplate rating. If the B+ on the particular radio is say.... 350V, that means that the first voltage the caps-to-be-reformed would see would be something between 227V and 263V... not exactly a soft-start.   Myth: A variac will allow one to apply voltage gently to a radio, so as to discover problems before they become fatal.   Fact: No, not at all. True, a variac does allow a radio to see the minimum amount of current to trigger its functions... an AA5 with bad filter caps may begin to hum at 80V rather than 120V, similarly with a transformer radio. But if the caps are not so bad as to show audible hum, the variac ceases to be useful. And a variac will *not* tell you whether a repaired radio is OK or not.   However, if the proper meters are put on the Isovariac, then some real diagnosis can happen: An AA5 which should, by calculation draw say... 35 watts or so (0.3A), and draws 42 watts is dissipating 7 watts of heat somewhere... perhaps the output transformer. And, unless one has calibrated eyeballs, the difference of 7 watts will not show up on a dim-bulb tester.   Comes down to a current meter with fine enough increments to give meaningful information. Such a tool is useful right down the line from initial diagnosis to testing the completed results.   End Rant. And it could have been much longer.   There are various sorts of metered isovariacs out there. I keep a Heath IP 5220 (Nice write-up here: http://www.byan-roper.org/steve/steve-at-play/antique-electronics-and-2/heathkit-ip-5220-variable.html ) that has two ranges 0-1A and 0-3A. So far, nothing I have had on the bench has been beyond the 3A quiescent range - I don't do televisions, which helps. But they are also made by VIZ, B&K, and a bunch of other top-flight companies. Some even have a leakage function.   I am *not* a believer or supporter-in-concept of reforming electrolytic caps more than 40 years old. That is not suggest that 40+ year old caps cannot be good - I own many such in-circuit. But if a cap at any age does not pass ESR/Capacity then reforming is a fools' errand as it is only a matter of time. Further, that *time* will be at its most unfortunate when it arrives.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Tekkie® <Tekkie@comcast.net>: Feb 13 04:00PM -0500 Mike Duffy posted for all of us...     > likelyhood everyone else except you uses their DVRs (not DVD recorders) to > record TV programs, and most DVRs use the same protocol as your PC uses > (NTP) to maintain synchronization.   Is this Comblast? They are noted for their lousy coding.   -- Tekkie

frank <frank@invalid.net>: Feb 13 06:21PM Hi all, just trying my luck: does anyone have a Data I/O mod. 201 (E)EPROM programmer with a firmware version at least 4.0? I need to program TMS2532A (21V VPP) and version 1.0 of the firmware only knows TMS2532 (25V VPP) so I've already lost a few of the -As :/ There's an EPROM inside the programmer, so if I'm lucky, the owner must have another way to read it other than the 201 :) Thanks in advance Frank

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