Library of Congress to Host Dead Sea Scroll Symposium April 21-22
 To: National and Assignment desks, Daybook Editor
 Contact: John Sullivan, 202-707-9216, or Lucy Suddreth, 202-707-9191
          both of the Library of Congress

   WASHINGTON, April 19  -- A symposium on the Dead Sea
Scrolls will be held at the Library of Congress on Wednesday,
April 21, and Thursday, April 22.  The two-day program, cosponsored
by the library and Baltimore Hebrew University, with additional
support from the Project Judaica Foundation, will be held in the
library's Mumford Room, sixth floor, Madison Building.
   Seating is limited, and admission to any session of the symposium
must be requested in writing (see Note A).
   The symposium will be held one week before the public opening of a
major exhibition, "Scrolls from the Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of
Qumran and Modern Scholarship," that opens at the Library of Congress
on April 29.  On view will be fragmentary scrolls and archaeological
artifacts excavated at Qumran, on loan from the Israel Antiquities
Authority.  Approximately 50 items from Library of Congress special
collections will augment these materials.  The exhibition, on view in
the Madison Gallery, through Aug. 1, is made possible by a generous
gift from the Project Judaica Foundation of Washington, D.C.
   The Dead Sea Scrolls have been the focus of public and scholarly
interest since 1947, when they were discovered in the desert 13 miles
east of Jerusalem.  The symposium will explore the origin and meaning
of the scrolls and current scholarship.  Scholars from diverse
academic backgrounds and religious affiliations, will offer their
disparate views, ensuring a lively discussion.
   The symposium schedule includes opening remarks on April 21, at
2 p.m., by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, and by
Dr. Norma Furst, president, Baltimore Hebrew University.  Co-chairing
the symposium are Joseph Baumgarten, professor of Rabbinic Literature
and Institutions, Baltimore Hebrew University and Michael Grunberger,
head, Hebraic Section, Library of Congress.
   Geza Vermes, professor emeritus of Jewish studies, Oxford
University, will give the keynote address on the current state of
scroll research, focusing on where we stand today. On the second
day, the closing address will be given by Shmaryahu Talmon, who will
propose a research agenda, picking up the theme of how the Qumran
studies might proceed.
   On Wednesday, April 21, other speakers will include:

   -- Eugene Ulrich, professor of Hebrew Scriptures, University of
Notre Dame and chief editor, Biblical Scrolls from Qumran, on "The
Bible at Qumran;"
   -- Michael Stone, National Endowment for the Humanities
distinguished visiting professor of religious studies, University of
Richmond, on "The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Pseudepigrapha."
   -- From 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. a special preview of the exhibition
will be given to symposium participants and guests.

   On Thursday, April 22, beginning at 9 a.m., speakers will include:

   -- Magen Broshi, curator, shrine of the Book, Israel Museum,
Jerusalem, on "Qumran: The Archaeological Evidence;"
   -- P. Kyle McCarter, Albright professor of Biblical and ancient
near Eastern studies, The Johns Hopkins University, on "The Copper
Scroll;"
   -- Lawrence H. Schiffman, professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies,
New York University, on "The Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of
Judaism;" and
   -- James VanderKam, professor of theology, University of Notre
Dame, on "Messianism in the Scrolls and in Early Christianity."

   The Thursday afternoon sessions, at 1:30 p.m., include:

   -- Devorah Dimant, associate professor of Bible and Ancient Jewish
Thought, University of Haifa, on "Qumran Manuscripts: Library of a
Jewish Community;"
   -- Norman Golb, Rosenberger professor of Jewish history and
civilization, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, on "The
Current Status of the Jerusalem Origin of the Scrolls;"
   -- Shmaryahu Talmon, J.L. Magnas professor emeritus of Biblical
studies, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, on "The Essential 'Commune of
the Renewed Covenant': How Should Qumran Studies Proceed?" will close
the symposium.

   There will be ample time for question and answer periods at the
end of each session.

   Also on Wednesday, April 21, at 11 a.m.:
   The Library of Congress and The Israel Antiquities Authority
will hold a lecture by Esther Boyd-Alkalay, consulting conservator,
Israel Antiquities Authority, on "Preserving the Dead Sea Scrolls"
in the Mumford Room, LM-649, James Madison Memorial Building, The
Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C.
    ------
   NOTE A: For more information about admission to the symposium,
please contact, in writing, Dr. Michael Grunberger, head, Hebraic
Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C. 20540.
 -30-


: It is meaningless to compare one player's plus/minus statistic with
: another players' out of the context of the role and the playing time
: of the players involved.

: To compare Jagr's and Francis's plus/minus is ridiculous and absurd...

: Gerald

Thank you for putting this in perspective!


   If the Papacy is infallible, and this is a matter of faith, then the
   Pope cannot "be wrong!"  If, on the other hand, this is not a matter
   of faith, but a matter of Church law, then we should still obey as the
   Pope is the legal head of the church.

   In other words, given the doctrine of infallibility, we have no choice
   but to obey.

This is a primary problem in the Church today.  What you are saying is
more or less heresy.  You might call it "infallibilism".  It's the
idea that the Pope is always right in everything he says or does.
This is virtually all over the place, especially in this country.

The Pope is only infallible under certain very specific and
well-defined conditions.  When these conditions are not met, he can
make mistakes.  He can make *big* mistakes.

A couple historical examples come to mind.

Bishop Robert Grosseteste was perhaps the greatest product of the
English Catholic Church.  At one point during his career, the reigning
Pope decided to install one of his nephews in an English see.  Bishop
Grosseteste said that this would happen over his dead body (though
maybe not in so many words; you have to treat Popes with respect, even
when they are wrong).  The problem was that this nephew would just
collect the income of the see, and probably never set foot there.
This would deprive the people of the see of a shepherd.  Bishop
Grosseteste was quite right in what he did!

Another example is that of Pope John XXII, a Pope of the Middle Ages.
He decided that souls that were saved did not enjoy the Beatific
Vision until the Last Judgement.  He decided that this should be a
defined doctrine of the Church.  Though he didn't quite get around to
defining it.  Now there's no way this is compatible with Catholic
doctrine.  The Pope's doctrine was criticised by many in the Church.
He went so far as to put a number of his opponents in jail, even.  In
the end, he had to admit his mistake.  Shortly before he died, he
recanted.  His successor made the exact *opposite* idea a dogma of the
Church.

If you consult any of the great Catholic theologians who treat of such
subjects, such as St. Robert Bellarmine (a Doctor of the Church), you
will find detailed discussions of whether the Pope can personally fall
into heresy or schism.


There is eye dominance same as handedness (and usually for the
same side).  It has nothing to do with refractive error, however.

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  it is shameful to surrender it too soon."


Excerpts from netnews.sci.electronics: 16-Apr-93 Re: What do Nuclear
Site's .. by R_Tim_Coslet@cup.portal.

Great Explaination, however you left off one detail, why do you always
see them at nuclear plants, but not always at fossil fuel plants.  At
nuclear plants it is prefered to run the water closed cycle, whereas
fossil fuel plants can in some cases get away with dumping the hot
water.  As I recall the water isn't as hot (thermodynamically) in many
fossil fuel plants, and of course there is less danger of radioactive
contamination.


 Which Golden Dawn? How about the original from 100 years ago?

 No. No Rosicrucian would ever admit or deny being such.


From the "JPL Universe"
April 23, 1993

VLBI project meets with international space agencies


No. This is only relevant for OpenWindows 3.x as shipped with SunOS.
It is not relevant for MIT R5. MIT R5 should compile without problems.


Doesn't it also have the Statue of Liberty on it or is that Richter's Mask?

The back actually has a Bee followed by a Z to represent the Beezer. It
also has something that looks like the three interconnecting circles from
the Led Zepplin 4 album cover. Is that what it is supposed to be? and if
it is does anybody know why he would put it there? Ali?

John
"The official Language of Golf is Profanity"


I love it when magazine writers make stupid statements like that re:
performance. Where do they get those numbers? I'll list the actual
performance ranges, which should convince anyone that such a
statement is absurd:


Approximately four months ago, I purchased a Quantum 240LPS HD from La Cie for
$649. After two months, the drive started having problems. First, there were
intermittent freezes, then corrupted files and resources, then Silverlining
5.41 wouldn't even recognize the drive. So I got an RMA from La Cie and
exchanged the new drive for a reconditioned one.

Well, about a month has passed now and the second drive is having problems.
Often, when I boot up my IIsi I get the flashing question mark. Sometimes, if I
then insert the Silverlining (5.42) program I can get it to recognize the drive
by making it scan over and over for drives. At that point I can restart the
IIsi and boot from the HD. I've called La Cie again and they've given me
another RMA. Their tech support people tell me that if Silverlining doesn't see
the drive there's a definite hardware problem.

Given that this is the second bad drive in four months, I asked La Cie to send
me a *new* one, but they said "no." Also, within three weeks after I purchased
my original drive, La Cie dropped the price on it by over $100.

I can accept that a drive (or two) may be bad. And I know that hardware vendors
make a practice of sending reconditioned replacements when they do repairs. And
I understand that the nature of the computer industry lends itself to sudden
price fluctuations. Nevertheless, taken together, the convergence of these
facts/events have left a bad taste in my mouth. (I should have added above that
when I asked La Cie to transfer the contents of my current drive to the one
they will send_I think the data is still in good shape and I'll have to again
reinstall everything from floppies_they said it would cost me $250 for data
recovery.)

It seems to me that reconditioned hardware should be sold as reconditioned at a
discounted price, and that replacements for new hardware gone bad (still
covered under a 90-day warranty) should be new.

I feel a little helpless about all this. I don't mean to necessarily flame La
Cie_their support staff have always been friendly and sometimes even helpful.
But c'mon. Sometimes a little extra customer service goes a long way. (I sent
a letter to La Cie's customer service when the first drive was returned and I
asked them for a credit on the price difference since I had purchased the drive
three weeks before they slashed the price. I told them I would like to apply
the credit toward the purchase of another La Cie product. They didn't even
have the courtesy to reply one way or the other.)

What's the moral of this story? I'm not sure. But I do know I won't buy any
other products from La Cie in the future.

Bill Krauthammer
f2ehg786@umiami.ir.miami.edu


If no-one looks at the results, or acknowledges their correctness, in what
meaningful sense can the chip be said to "work"?? Does flibozity exist?
By "flibozity", I mean a particular, extremely complex configuration of
physical phenomena, which no-one, absolutely NO-ONE cares about in the
slightest. Does it exist, Eric?

Getting back to the question of whether the DES chip "works", doesn't "work"
mean something like "achieving the desired/expected effect"? Note the way
intentionality subtly underlies that definition. Even if we take the
definition as "expected", instead of "desired", can you deny that conformance
to expectations is itself a value of sorts, namely the scientific values of
accuracy-of-prediction and reproducibility-of-results?

The phenomenologist Husserl, for one, considered Intentionality to be the
primary ontological "stuff" from which all other ontology was built --
perceptions, consciousness, thoughts, etc. Frank is by no means alone in
seeing intentionality (or "values", as he puts it) underlying all human
experience, even the so-called "objective" experiences, such as
measurements of the natural world, or the output of your DES chip.


# # # And now those "other options" don't exist.  We probably agree on this
# # # more than you think--welfare was invented to solve a problem of the
# # # 30's, but the poverty is now so much worse, and our economic infra-
# # # structure has been so eroded, that it just can't keep up any more.
#
# # You mean, since your philosophy took over, the economy has almost
# # collapsed.
#
# Excuse me, *my* philosophy?  You don't have any idea what *my* philosophy
# is.  The American economy has had its ups and downs through a number of
# prevailing economic philosophies.  But then, economics is hardly a science.

In my lifetime, your philosophy -- socialism masquerading as a liberal
welfare state -- has been in ascendancy.

# No, I mean exactly what I wrote--the welfare system of the New Deal is
# wholly inadequate to cope with the current state of affairs.

Absolutely.  So the response of socialists is take us even further
into socialism.

# # # # # (2) Whether or not the fathers work
# # # # # is not germane to single mothers.
#
# # # # Very true.  But the promotion of casual sexuality is something that
# # # # plays a part in the single mother problem.
#
# # # I'll buy that--and there's lots of reasons for it, extremely far down on
# # # the list being the flash-in-the-pan media attention a bunch of middle-
# # # class dropouts got for their philosophy and experimentation.
#
# # Flash-in-the-pan?  No, your subculture has utterly dominated the
# # TV and movie industries for two decades now.
#
# *My* subculture?  My, we're getting personal.  The only subculture I see
# dominating the TV and movie industries is *money*.  If you'll buy it,
# they'll sell it.  And as recent movements to boycott TV advertisers have
# shown, they're *very* sensitive about what sells.  Whatever happened to
# personal responsibility, anyway?  Or am I personally responsible for
# the decline in that, too?

To the extent that people have been encouraged to NOT be responsible
for themselves, yes.

# # # # Come on.  You and I both know that the major problem of this society
# # # # today isn't a lack of employment, it's a lack of people willing to work.
#
# # # Huh???  Tell that to the single mother I know who was laid off from
# # # her $10/hour job at a hospital and now works 2 full-time minimum-
# # # wage jobs to barely be able to support herself and her kid.  *Barely.*
# # # Hey, she's too proud to go on public assistance, but the only jobs
# # # she can find are menial and with no benefits.  And no career path
# # # either--they find excuses to lay people off and hire new ones rather
# # # than give raises and perks.  And why not?  It's a lot cheaper.
#
# # Oddly enough, all the unskilled or semiskilled people I know manage
# # to find employment almost immediately.  Maybe she needs to move to a
# # cheaper part of the country, where jobs are plentiful, and the cost
# # of living is lower.
#
# The west side of Chicago is about as cheap as it gets--squalor city.
# Tell me about all these places where it's cheap to live and jobs are
# abundant--I'll pass them on.

Sonoma County.

# You live in a strange and wondrous place, sir.  Inexpensive housing,

Not exactly cheap, but not Los Angeles, either.

# lots of employment, and utterly surrounded by socialists.  Well, I suppose
# that's the sort of environment that would attract socialists, or at least
# not dissuade them.

No, it's that areas with a lot of wealthy breed socialists -- all the
spoiled rich kids, feeling guilty about their wealth.  But not guilty
enough to give it away -- they just look for politicians to take MY
more limited wealth away.

# # # I see a lot of people willing--nay, eager--to work.  What I don't see
# # # is a system that makes it at all feasible to do so.  It's not just
# # # welfare, which nobody enjoys, but there just aren't the jobs any more.
# # # When the US was expanding industrial capacity there was always a mill
# # # to go work in--skills to learn, a future.  Now there's only McDonalds.
#
# # Odd.  Not the experience of anyone I know.  Just the opposite.
#
# In California???

Yup.

# # # Mr. Cramer, I was there:  Hippiedom was a very low-budget operation.
# # # Our drugs were cheap.
#
# # The money I was referring to was Aid to Families with Druggie
# # Cohabitators (AFDC).
#
# Well, I doubt that much of this goes to drugs--there isn't much left after
# buying food, and there is very little in the first place.  Sure, you read
# about such cases now and then, but that's what makes them news.  Show me
# your statistics about AFDC abuse.

I can tell you that relatives I have known, the drugs came first, the
food was secondary.

# Ken Perlow   ***** *****


Original to: szabo@techbook.com
G'day szabo@techbook.com

29 Mar 93 07:28, szabo@techbook.com wrote to All:

 sc> szabo@techbook.com (Nick Szabo), via Kralizec 3:713/602

 sc> Here are some longer-term markets to consider:

Here are some more:

* Terrestrial illumination from orbiting mirrors.

* World enviroment and disaster monitering system. (the Japanese have
already developed a plan for this, called WEDOS) Although this may be more
of a "public good".

* Space tourism.

* Energy relay satellites

ta

Ralph


While I don't read normally read this group, I was looking for Valentine radar
information (sigh, maybe in the FAQ) and came across your posting..

I bought a '93 Probe GT with the PEP 263A last July (now at 9500 miles)
after debating over the Sentra SE-R/NX2000, MX6, MR-2, Stealth, Prelude,
and Celica.

Check this month's Consumer Reports for previous Probe records.

My criteria: a "fun" car with ABS, airbag, over 130hp, and less than $25K.
I thought about a turbo, but checking with insurance people ruled that out.
The Tri-Star cars (Eclipse/Talon/etc) were out since they don't have an air bag.
Ditto for the Mustang(also no ABS).
The SE-R/NX2000/M20 fell into the pocket-rocket category.  A good used car buy.
The MX-6 was almost there but rolled more than I liked.
I didn't like the Prelude dash/instrumentation at all.  Too weird for me.
The MR2 has a much smaller non-passenger space than I needed, so out that went.
The Celica was "ok" but underpowered when loaded with options (and somewhat
overpriced too) in non-turbo form.
I never considered the 240SX since it didn't have an airbag.  I did look at it
for its RWD virtues but that's it.  The Corolla never entered my mind.
I should have looked at the Mitsubishi VR4/Dodge Stealth more.
Since my list was exhausted, I bought the Probe.  :-)

The car design is different than earlier years, so it's too early to see its
reliability so far.  For what it's worth, my comments:

My dislikes:
Shutting door with windows up from inside rarely makes good wind seal.
Headlights have "stuck" up a few times (weather?)
air conditioning broke ~4000 miles (pressure cycling switch)
condensation around rear washer fluid container doesn't drain completely.
crammed engine; little hope for do-it-yourselfers (typical)
parts somewhat more expensive than normal Ford parts
underside plastic doesn't like sharp driveways and speedbumps (typical).
assembly gripes: tape on radiator, screw fell out of dash, seat seams not
stitched properly.  Hopefully just a fluke.
Ford only gives 1 key with the car.  C'mon Ford, spend an extra few pennies!
Rear hatch has no padding on corners when up.  I'm waiting for the day when
I bash my head on the corner.
horn buttons behind air bag in spokes and not in center (personal preference)
Tires fling dirt/mud onto side of car

My Likes:
engine (design/valves/sounds/smoothness/power/mileage/torque) -- definitely #1
handling (very good for FWD; understeer only at limits)
transmission (the 5 speed is a must)
usable instrumentation (lovely readable analog everywhere)
Very little torque steer at full power (much better than the '90 SHO I drive)
stability at 100+mph (high gearing though)
low cowl (good visibility in front)
Heated outside mirrors (nice in fog, never tested in freezing weather)
ABS/Air bag (see above)
rear seats fold down (I have few rear seat passengers so a trunk not important)
No shake/rattle noises when going over bumps/potholes (still!)
Tires: 225/55VR16 Goodyear Eagles (70% left; hoping for 30K :-)

As you can see, I'm primarily interested in the engine.  While it doesn't
have the uummmph of a big-liter car or the turbo rush, the big selling
point for me was the all-aluminum 24 value 2.5 liter engine.

The overall car is a good buy for the money.  That market segment hasn't changed
much since July (Prelude VTEC, Honda Del Sol??).  I drive it to and from work
each day on relatively smooth roads, and most noticable thing is that the
Probe's suspension doesn't like potholes.  When you test drive one, find a
potholed road somewhere around town and see if the jarring you get is tolerable.
If you have 3+ passengers, by all means bring them along too.  They'll find
that they have no room in the back and you'll find that the car rides
differently (if that's "better" is up to you).  Also, there's a lot of glass
around you which I wasn't expecting; the temperature inside the car gets pretty
hot in the summer.  My back seat passengers (now very few) complain about
the lack of ventilation; you may want to consider that when combined with
the heat.  I've heard that the exhaust system has trouble, but mine works fine.
Leather and the keyless entry system weren't available when I got the car so
I can't comment on them (I got the car before it was officially announced).
I prefer cloth to leather anyway.

I wouldn't want this car in the snow:  The suspension is too rough for the
inevitable surprise potholes, tires aren't meant for snow, and the seats assume
that you're not wearing lots of thick clothing.  Rain is much better:  water
generally beads off the windshield at freeway speed, the windshield wiper
controls are easy and understandable, and I barely hydroplaned once with the
Eagles (and I was really trying).
There is also a definite lack of cup holder/small storage places.  The GT
has map holders below the speakers in the door, but they're rigid plastic
that could fit two cassettes or CD's max.  The center console/storage bin/arm
rest has *1* cup holder and the back of the front seats have a cloth "pouch"
but that's it.  No change holders.  Quite a let-down from the SHO.
And the Probe is definitely not a people-mover car or an econo-box car!

Lastly, don't store wet car covers in the back.  The foam will soak the
water up and the result will *not* smell pleasant :-(.

Nathan
nathan@sco.com


I want to create a single-line Text widget for entering a small amount of text.

I want it to be of fixed width, but have a horizontal scrollbar that scrolls
automatically when the user types in order to keep the insertion point
visible.

In trying to do this I have two problems:

 - The addition of the horizontal scrollbar does not make the text widget
   taller, but instead it seems to cover part of the text.

 - The scrollbar does not scroll automatically as the user types in text
   in order to keep the insertion point visible.

Any help is appreciated.

Mike


A friend of mine called me on the phone and told me he was wathcing CNN
and saw a report that the ruling prohibiting AMD from selling their i486
clones has been thrown out, making it legal for AMD to ship in the US.
Can anyone out there verify this?


Now the bike is off warranty, I finally replaced the stock items on my
Softail Custom with the title ones. Installation was pretty easy in
both cases, even for a fairly non-mechanical chemist type dude like me!
 I discovered the limitations of my tool collection, but had fun buying
and making the requisite tools!

MC Ignitions Power Arc II Single Fire Ignition: easy to install, but
read the wiring diagram carefully!  Setting the static timing was a
piece of cake.  Once installed, I have found easier starting, smoother
idle, and more power, plus a more satisfying (to me) bass note in the
exhaust register...a lovely whompa-whompa-whompa idle  :-)
The folks at MC Ignitions were great in answering my dumb questions on
the phone..... a very helpful bunch of guys with a great product.

S&S Super E Carb: installation easy, once I hacked down an Allen wrench
to a small anough reach to get at the intake manifold bolts. Tunes like
a dream, just like they say!  The stock carb (non-adjustable) was so
lean that it was gasping and spluttering for gas sometimes, and even
backfiring into the intake manifold. The Super E is terrific, no
hesitation in any gear, and my plugs are a lovely tan color with no
need to rejet from the factory settings!

I know this may not seem like much to you grizzled veteran wrenchers
out there, but I had my bike in so many pieces this weekend I began to
get worried. But it all went back together again, and runs like a
dream, so I am feeling pretty happy.

Now all I have to do is install my BUB pipes and try to pass the NH
Noise Gestapo Test!


	And all this time I thought it was the US & Britian invading
Normandy, the constant, round the clock bombing, and the fact that the
Germans were fighting on two fronts.  How silly of me.  :)

	This is not to devalue the actions of the resistance
movements, but resistance movements did not defeat the Nazis.

	Israel has repeatedly stated that it will leave when the
Lebanese government shows that it can prevent attacks on Israel, and
when the Syrians agree to leave.

	The Lebanese have not tried diplomacy for very long, or maybe
they're not capable of getting rid of the Syrians and Iranians who
occupy their land.  If they closed down the Hezbolah, and negotiated a
withdrawl of Syrian forces, Israel would be happy to leave.

Adam

Adam Shostack 				       adam@das.harvard.edu


  >
  >  Besides, there's no case that can be made for US military involvement
  >  there that doesn't apply equally well to, say, Liberia, Angola, or
  >  (it appears with the Khmer Rouge's new campaign) Cambodia.   Non-whites
  >  don't count?

  Hmm...some might say Kuwaitis are non-white. Ooops, I forgot, Kuwaitis are
  "oil rich", "loaded with petro-dollars", etc so they don't count.

...and let's not forget Somalia, which is about as far from white as it
gets.


)  The documentation says that Wordperfect for windows, requires 4 M of ram, but
)when I try to install it on my laptop I get a not enough memory error message.
)I've unloaded everything that I possibly could but still, NOT ENOUGH MEMORY.
)Anyone have any ideas as to why this might be happening.


Try the folks at Dimolex Corp., La Crescenta, CA 91214.
Their number is (818) 957-7001.  They make membrane keypads
that are very flat, in layouts from 2 to 128 keys.  They
have standard models, tactile models (with stainless domes
under each key to make a 'click' you can feel), as well as
backlit models.  Some of them can even be cut with scissors
to form a funky shape other than a rectangle.  Many of the
models are available in a 'kit' which includes a bezel,
colored and plain key covers, and rub on lettering to make
your own layout.  One piece prices aren't cheap, though,
as they want $10 for one four position pad *kit*, and $45
for a 40 position *kit*.

I have no affiliation with Dimolex or any company connected
with them.  I *have* purchased a couple of keypads from them,
and am pleased with what I got.


What do you mean by omnipotent here?  Do you mean by "omnipotent"
that God should be able to do anything/everything?  This creates
a self-contradictory definition of omnipotence which is effectively
useless.

To be descriptive, omnipotence must mean "being all-powerful" and
not "being able to do anything/everything".

Let me illustrate by analogy.
Suppose the United States were the only nuclear power on earth.  Suppose
further that the US military could not effectively be countered by any
nation or group of nations.  The US has the power to go into any country
at any time for any reason to straighten things out as the leaders of the
US see fit.  The US would be militarily "omnipotent".

But suppose further that the US holds to a doctrine/philosophy of not
interfering in the internal affairs of any nation, such as the current
civil war in the former Yugoslavian states.

Technically (in this scenario) the US would have the power to
unilaterally go into Yugoslavia and straighten out the mess.  But
effectively the US could not intervene without violating its own policy
of non-interference.  If the policy of non-interference were held to
strongly enough, then there would never be a question that it would
ever be violated.  Effectively, the US would be limited in what it
could actually do, although it had the power to do "whatever it wanted".
The US would simply "never want to interfere" for such an idea would
be beyond the consideration of its leaders given such an inviolate
non-interference policy.

God is effectively limited in the same sense.  He is all powerful, but
He cannot use His power in a way that would violate the essence of what
He, Himself is.

I hope this helps to clear up some of the misunderstanding concerning
omnipotence.

Regards,


Does anyone out there use a SIGMA designs VIDEO/SOUND card ?
The model is called WIN-STORM-PC  .
They also have one model the  Legend-24lx

Any info on these like performance and compatibility,
or even problems encountered will be appreciated.


Are breathable liquids possible?

I remember seeing an old Nova or The Nature of Things where this idea was
touched upon (it might have been some other TV show).  If nothing else, I know
such liquids ARE possible because...

They showed a large glass full of this liquid, and put a white mouse (rat?) in
it.  Since the liquid was not dense, the mouse would float, so it was held down
by tongs clutching its tail.  The thing struggled quite a bit, but it was
certainly held down long enough so that it was breathing the liquid.  It never
did slow down in its frantic attempts to swim to the top.

Now, this may not have been the most humane of demonstrations, but it certainly
shows breathable liquids can be made.


May I respectfully suggest you NOT do this??  The ground is
supposed to be a protective ground, and though what you suggest
looks good on paper, it's dangerous to rely on the same wire for
power and protection.  It'd never meet code, and if you now own
the property and later sell it, you may end up with liabilities
you don't want, and if you _don't_ now own it, well...


	Duh! He was making a joke about how long the Leafs would last in the
playoffs. (Y'know, hit the courses in the off season). Sheesh... People are
so quick to complain...


Hey folks.

Is it possible to short out your CMOS chip?  I think mine is fried.
These are the symptoms...

I have to do the following to get my computer (a Gateway 486DX33)
to boot...

    Turn the power off

    Disconnect the battery to the CMOS chip

    Turn the power on

    Get into setup upon getting the CMOS configuration error

    Set up the CMOS

    Exit the setup with [F10]  (phoenix bios)

    Ignore the diskette 0 seek error and press [F1]

The computer then boots normally.  Both hard drives are accessible
but the floppy drives are not.

I can back up over the network and such, but if I need to reboot,
I have to turn off the computer and repeat the steps above.  If I
simply <Ctl>-<Alt>-<Del>, the computer hangs after the memory test.

Does this sound like the CMOS chip is fried?  Can I buy another one?
Where?

Thank you for your kind attention.

john


I saw an interesting product in NY Auto Show, and would like to
hear your comments.

MILITECH(tm) is yet another oil additive. But the demonstration of this
product really impressive, if it didn't cheat.

The setup of the demo is fairly simple. A cone shaped rotor is
half submerged in a small oil sink, filled with motor oil. The rotor
is powered by an electronic motor. A metal pad is pressed against
the rotor using the torque wrench until the rotor stopped by friction.
The torque that is needed to stop rotor is read from the torque wrench.

Before MILITECH was added, the rotor was stopped with about 60 lb-ft
of torque (You pick the brand of oil, no difference). Once MILITECH was
added to the oil, the rotor could not be stopped even with 120+ lb-ft of
torque.

Here is the good part: even after the salesman emptied the oil sink,
you still could not stopped the rotor with the thin film remained  on it.

They say you need only add 2oz per quart of oil every 15k miles. A 16 oz
bottle is $25.

I still have my doubts. If this product is really so great, why it was
so little known? The salesman said it is widely used in military. I didn't
believe it.  The demo was so impressive, that I bought a bottle against
my common sense.

Has anyone heard of or actually used this product? Is it real?
If you are going to the auto show, please visit this stand on the
second floor. See if can find out if the demo is a hoax or not.


But remember that had God extinguished the blasphemous trash of Europe (and
Imperialism with it), the United States would not exist today to put an end
to those "games"....begs the question, which came first, the chicken or the
egg???


Unfortunately, if you launch this from the US (or are a US citizen),
you will need a launch permit from the Office of Commercial Space
Transportation, and I think it may be difficult to get a permit for
an antisatellite weapon... :-)

The threshold at which OCST licensing kicks in is roughly 100km.
(The rules are actually phrased in more complex ways, but that is
the result.)


Glad to see Griffin is spending his time on engineering rather than on
ritual purification of the language.  Pity he got stuck with the turkey
rather than one of the sensible options.


Larry L. Overacker writes, responding to Simon:

   I may be interesting to see some brief selections posted to the
   net.  My understanding is that SSPX does not consider ITSELF in
   schism or legitimately excommunicated.  But that's really beside
   the point.  What does the Roman Catholic church say?
   Excommunication can be real apart from formal excommunication, as
   provided for in canon law.

Here's some of the theology involved for the interested.

There is confusion over this issue of the SSPX's "schism"; often the
basic problem is lack of an ability to distinguish between:

- true obedience
- false obedience
- disobedience
- schism

Take the various classifications of obedience first.  There are 2
important elements involved here for my purposes:

1) a command
2) the response made to the command

As far as the command goes, commands can be LEGITIMATE, such as the
Pope ordering Catholics to not eat meat on Fridays.  Or they can be
ILLEGITIMATE, such as the Pope ordering Catholics to worship the god
Dagon when every other full moon comes around.

As far as the response to a command goes, it can be to REFUSE to do
what is commanded, or to COMPLY.

Making a table, there are thus 4 possibilites:

command         response            name
-----------------------------------------------------
LEGITIMATE      COMPLY              true obedience
ILLEGITIMATE    REFUSE              true obedience
LEGITIMATE      REFUSE              disobedience
ILLEGITIMATE    COMPLY              false obedience

So now you see where my 3 classifications of obedience come from.

Obedience is not solely a matter of compliance/refusal.  The nature of
the commands must also be taken into account; it is not enough to
consider someone's compliance or refusal and then say whether they are
"obedient" or "disobedient".  You also have to take into consideration
whether the commands are good or bad.

In my example, if the Pope commands all Catholics to worship the god
Dagon, and they all refuse, they aren't being disobedient at all!

As far as the Society of Saint Pius X goes, they are certainly
refusing to comply with certain things the Pope desires.  But that
alone is insufficient to allow one to label them "disobedient".  You
also have to consider the nature of the Papal desires.

And there's the rub: SSPX says the Popes since Vatican II have been
commanding certain very bad things for the Church.  The Popes have of
course disagreed.

So where are we?  Are we in another Arian heresy, complete with weak
Popes?  Or are the SSPX priests modern Martin Luthers?  Well, the only
way to answer that is to examine who is saying what, and what the
traditional teaching of the Church is.

The problem here is that very few Catholics have much of an idea of
what is really going on, and what the issues are.  The religion of
American Catholics is especially defective in intellectual depth.  You
will never read about the issues being discussed in the Catholic press
in this country.  (On the other hand, one Italian Catholic magazine I
get -- 30 Days -- has had interviews with the Superior General of the
Society of Saint Pius X.)

Many Catholics will decide to side with the Pope.  There is some
soundness in this, because the Papacy is infallible, so eventually
some Pope *will* straighten all this out.  But, on the other hand,
there is also unsoundness in this, in that, in the short term, the
Popes may indeed be wrong, and such Catholics are doing nothing to
help the situation by obeying them where they're wrong.  In fact, if
the situation is grave enough, they sin in obeying him.  At the very
least, they're wasting a great opportunity, because they are failing
to love Christ in a heroic way at the very time that He needs this
badly.

Schism... let's move on to schism.  What is it?

Schism is a superset of disobedience (refusal to obey a legitimate
command).  All schismatics are disobedient.  But it's a superset, so
it doesn't work the other way around: not all disobeyers are
schismatics.  The mere fact that the SSPX priests don't comply with
the Holy Father's desires doesn't make them schismatics.

So what is it that must be added to disobedience to constitute a
schism?  Maybe this something else makes the SSPX priests schismatics.

You must add this: the rejection of the right to command.  Look in any
decent reference on Catholic theology, and that's what you'll find:
the distinguishing criterion of schism is rejection of the right to
command.

Here's what the Catholic Encyclopedia says, for example:

    ... not every disobedience is a schism; in order to possess this
    character it must include besides the trangression of the commands
    of superiors, denial of their Divine right to command.
    (from the CE article "Schism")

Is the Society of Saint Pius X then schismatic?  The answer is a clear
no: they say that the Pope is their boss.  They pray for him every
day.  And that's all that matters as far as schism goes.

What all this boils down to is this: if we leave aside the
consideration of the exact nature of their objections, their position
is a legitimate one, as far as the Catholic theology of obedience and
schism goes.  They are resisting certain Papal policies because they
think that they are clearly contrary to the traditional teaching of
the Papacy, and the best interests of the Church.  (In fact, someone
who finds himself in this situation has a *duty* to resist.)

Now, what is the stance of Rome on all this?  Well, if you read the
Holy Father's motu proprio "Ecclesia Dei", you can find out.  It's the
definitive document on the subject.  A motu proprio is a specifically
Papal act.  It's not the product of a Roman congregation, a letter
that the Pope has possibly never even read.  It's from the Pope
himself.  His boss is God... there's no one else to complain to.

In this document, the Holy Father says, among other things:

1) The episcopal consecrations performed by Archbishop Lefebvre
constituted a schismatic act.

2) Archbishop Lefebvre's problem was a misunderstanding of the nature
of Tradtion.

Both are confusing: I fail to see the logic of the Pope's points.

As far as the episcopal consecrations go, I read an interesting
article in a translation of the Italian magazine "Si Si No No".  It
all gets back to the question of jurisdiction.  If episcopal
consecrations imply rejection of the Pope's jurisdiction, then they
would truly constitute a schismatic act, justifying excommunication
under the current code of canon law.  But my problem with this is
this: according to the traditional theology of Holy Orders, episcopal
consecration does not confer jurisdiction.  It only confers the power
of Order: the ability to confect the Sacraments.  Jurisdiction must be
conferred by someone else with the power to confer it (such as the
Pope).  The Society bishops, knowing the traditional theology quite
well, take great pains to avoid any pretence of jurisdiction over
anyone.  They simply confer those Sacraments that require a bishop.

The "Si Si No No" article was interesting in that it posited that the
reason that the Pope said what he did is that he has a novel,
post-Vatican II idea of Holy Orders.  According to this idea,
episcopal consecration *does* confer jurisdiction.  I lent the article
to a friend, unfortunately, so can't tell you more.  I believe they
quoted the new code of canon law in support of this idea.

The Pope's thinking on this point remains a great puzzle to me.
There's no way there is a schism, according to traditional Catholic
theology.  So why does the Pope think this?

As far as the points regarding the nature of Tradition goes, here's
the passage in question:

    The root of this schismatic act can be discerned in an incomplete
    and contradictory notion of Tradtion.  Incomplete, because it does
    not take sufficiently into the account the living character of
    Tradition, which, as the Second Vatican Council clearly taught,

        comes from the apostles and progresses in the Church with the
        help of the Holy Spirit.  There is a growth in insight into
        the realities and words that are being passed on.  This comes
        about in various ways.  It comes through the contemplation and
        study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts.
        It comes from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which
        they experience.  And it comes from the preaching of those who
        have received, along with their right of succession in the
        espiscopate, the sure charism of truth.

    But especially contradictory is a notion of Tradition which
    opposes the universal Magisterium of the Church possessed by the
    Bishop of Rome and the body of bishops.  It is impossible to
    remain faithful to the Tradition while breaking the ecclesial bond
    with him to whom, in the person of the Apostle Peter, Christ
    himself entrusted the ministry of unity in His Church.

    (Papal motu proprio "Ecclesia Dei", 2 July 1988)

It seems to me that the Holy Father is making two points here that can
be simplified to the following:

- Vatican Council II has happened.
- I am the Pope.

The argument being that either case is sufficient to prove that
Archbishop Lefebvre must be wrong, because he disagrees with them.
This is weak, to say the least!

It would have helped clarify things more if the Pope had addressed
Archbishop Lefebvre's concerns in detail.  What is John Paul II's
stand on the social Kingship of Christ, as taught by Gregory XVI, Pius
IX, Leo XIII, Pius XI and Pius XII, for example?  Are we supposed to
ignore what all these Popes said on the subject?

I don't know what the future will hold, but the powers that be in the
SSPX are still talking with Rome and trying to straighten things out.

--------------------------------------------------------------

[Many people would prefer to call a justified refusal to obey
"justified disobedience" or even "obeying God rather than man".
Calling a refusal to obey obedience puts us into a sort of Alice in
Wonderland world where words mean whatever we want them to mean.

Similarly, schism indicates a formal break in the church.  If the Pope
says that a schism exists, it seems to me that by definition it
exists.  It may be that the Pope is on the wrong side of the break,
that there is no good reason for the break to exist, and that it will
shortly be healed.  But how can one deny that it does in fact exist?

It seems to me that you are in grave danger of destroying the thing
you are trying to reform: the power of the papacy.  What good will it
do you if you become reconciled to the the Pope in the future, but in
the process, you have destroyed his ability to use the tools of church
discipline?  It's one thing to hold that the Pope has misused his
powers, and excommunicated someone wrongly.  It's something else to
say that his excommunication did not take effect, and the schism is
all in his imagination.  That means that acts of church discipline are
not legal tools, but acts whose validity is open to debate.  Generally
it has been liberal Catholics who have had problems with the Pope.
While they have often objected to church sanctions, generally they
have admitted that the sanctions exist.  You are now opening the door
to people simply ignoring papal decisions, claiming to be truly
obeying by disobeying, and to be in communion while excommunicated.
This would seem to be precisely the denial of Divine right to command
that you say defines schism.


...

In reply to mail queries; I don't know if a video is available yet. I asked
about a month ao and was told RSN.

Several have also asked which of Chomskys books. My answer is ALL of them, and
anything else you can get as well. How ever, due to irritations like the 24 hr
day etc, I would say 'Manafacturing Conscent' first, them th last parts of
'Detering Democracy' ie the bits about the "domestic 3rd world". Chilling.

Anyone at MIT have a good St. Noam bibliography?


Every time you read about a shuttle landing they mention the double sonic
booms.  Having taken various relevant classes, I have several ideas of where
they come from, but none of them are very convincing.  Exactly what causes
them?  Are they a one time pheneomenon, or a constant one like the supersonic
shockwave that is constantly produced by a plane, but you hear only when it
goes over you?

---
---------------------------------------------------------------------


PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THIS ACCOUNT

FOR SALE:

Blue 1984 Toyota pickup truck with white blazer topper, AM/FM/Casette,
A/C, cruise control.  Great for camping trips.

New: brakes, master brake cylinder, Michelin tires, shocks,
maintenance free battery, clutch, windshield wipers.

Well maintained with all Toyota parts (all repairs done at the
dealers.)  Very little rust, body in good shape.

126K miles

Asking $2800.  If interested, please contact:

   Ursula Fritsch
   umf@gene.com
   (415)-347-6813

	    PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THIS ACCOUNT


That isn't enough to change your Windows startup logo.  vgalogo.rle is not
needed after you have installed Windows.  It is incorporated as a part of
win.com.
	To make a new win.com, you have to concatinate three files together,
using the /b option for a binary concatonation.  I beleive it is

copy /b win.cnf+vgalogo.lgo+vgalogo.rle mywin.com

Make sure you backup your win.com file in anotehr directory before you do this
-- I absent-mindedly typed win.com instead of mywin.com and had to resinstall
Windows!
	Anyway, substitute whatever .RLE file you want.  The win.cnf has the
info needed to start Windows (think of it as a bootstrap) and vgalogo.vga has
video information.  Just make sure that the .RLE file doesn't tip the whole
COM file size over the 64k limit of a .COM file!
	So anyway, I use mywin.com to startup MS Windows.  Now instead of that
annoying Micro$oft advertisment, I have the Joker (yes, from Batman) taking
yoru picture from the screen, saying "Smile!"  Also a little bit of text:
"Micro$oft Windows: The world's first commercially sucessful virus."  I added
that because of the frequency of crashes. <grin>

Rob


Julie, it is a really trying situation that you have described.  My
brother was living with someone like that and things were almost as bad
(although he left after a considerably shorter amount of time due to
other problems with the relationship).  Anyway, the best thing to do
would be to get everyone in the same room together (optimally in a room
with nothing breakable), lock the door behind you, throw the key out
underneath the door (just as far as the longest hand can reach.  You
would like to get out after the conclusion, I would imagine), and hash
things out.  More than likely, there will be screaming, crying, and
possibly hitting (unless of course someone decided to bring some rope to
tie people down).  Some of the best strategies in keeping things calmer
would include:
   have each individual own their own statements (ie, I feel that this
relationship is hurting everyone involved because.... or I really don't
understand where you're coming from.)
   reinforce statements by paraphrasing, etc. (ie, So you think that we
did this because of...?  Well, let me just say that the reason for this
was ....)
   don't accuse each other (It was your fault that ... happened!)
   find a common ground about SOMETHING (Lampshades really are
decorational and functional at the same time.)
   Guaranteed, in a situation like this, there is going to be some
gunnysacking (re-hashing topics which were assumed resolved, but were
truly not and someone feels someone else is to blame).  However, this
should be kept to a minimum and simply ask for forgiveness or apologize
about each situation WITHOUT holding a smoldering grudge.

The relationship really can work.  It's just a matter of keeping things
smooth and even.  It's sort of like making a peace treaty between
warring factions:  you can't give one side everything; there must be a
compromise.  Breaks can be taken, but communication between everyone
involved must continue if the relationships here are to survive.


As one of the happily sleeping people, I would just like to ask this->
aren't people just slightly overreacting to this?  Or are we all of a
sudden going to draw parallels to Nazi Germany and Communist Russia?

The point of the matter is that; yes this is a serious problem.  But it is
not the end of the world.  Guess what?  We're doing something now you
can't do in a Communist country or Nazi Germany.  We're complaining about
it, (or rather, you're complaining about it) and nobody is shooting at us.

(Or, rather, if they're shooting at me, they have real bad aim.  (:-) )

GUESS WHAT PEOPLE?  You live in one of the few countries in the world
where a person can complain without getting shot at.

People are always complaining that somebody did this wrong, or somebody
did that wrong, or whatever.  Sit down and figure out two things:

1)  What have they done right?
2)  How much worse can it get?

And you'll find that you and I, are pretty damn lucky.

So let's talk about it, get some action going, decide what's going on.
But let's not overreact!


No it didn't.  The motto has been on various coins since the Civil War.
It was just required to be on *all* currency in the 50's.


Oh great. Wonderful news. Nobody can listen in--except the feds. You
believe that the feds offer the least threat to liberty of anyone, and I'm
sure I do too.

Glad that jerk won't be tapping my phone anymore.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Hesse           |          A man,
jhesse@netcom.com    |                 a plan,
Moss Beach, Calif    |                         a canal, Bob.


Just wanted to ask a question. I bought a hard disk drive second-hand
the other day, and I opened the packaging up and saw that there was a small
sticker on the drive that had a little red apple with a bite taken out of it.
It's socket did not look the same as my existing hard disk that is in my
computer already (it has fifty little pins sticking out from it instead of
the 39 that is sticking out of my old hard disk.
I don't know if disk drives for the Apple (or Mac) are different from ones
used in AT clones, so could someone tell me if I could use this hard disk
on my AT clone? If not, what did I just purchase? It's a Quantum Prodrive.
It's dated 1988 on the green board. Will I need a controller/add-in card?
All the help is much appreciated. Thanks! :)


You're obviously not referring to any of the three above-quoted
individuals, because barnacles don't each send $20 to the crew of the
ship to keep it moving.

"Get the organization to act on it" is easy to say, but says little
about what one really can and should do.  What the organization
actually will do is largely determined by the president and directors,
as far as I can see.  That's what makes it so important to vote in an
election of officers.

It does strike me that the BMWMOA is a lot less politically active (in
the state and national arenas, not infighting) than other M/C
organizations.  Should we change this?  Or just join the other groups
that already are in politics?

(Incidentally, the political hazards to motorcycle riders in the US at
the moment don't compare to the problems of some other groups like gun
owners.  Just try to take up target pistol shooting in the Northeast
or California, and I bet you'll wish you only had to worry about
wearing a helmet.  (Why does every thread on rec.moto eventually come
around to guns?))


   Where can I get xman source?  I would rather get
xman for an HP 9000/700, but source will do.


Briefly, StarNet Communications has four PC X server packages.

	Micro X-lite		$ 75.00
		Includes integrated tcp/ip, runs in 640KB, no arcs().

	Micro X-enlite		$150.00
		Includes integrated tcp/ip, runs under DOS, shape extension
		   "     interface to Novell tcp/ip

	Micro X-DOS		$345.00		($225 ea. in a 5-pack)
		Includes integrated tcp/ip, runs under DOS, shape extension
		   "     interface to Novell tcp/ip, FTP's PC/TCP, & PC-NFS.

	Micro X-WIN		$425.00		($300 ea. in a 5-pack)
		Includes Lanera TCPOpen tcp/ip stack & utilities
		   "     interface to FTP's PC/TCP, Sun's PC-NFS, & WinSock.

For more information contact:
----------------------------------------------------------------
StarNet Communications		FAX:	   1-408-739-0936
3073 Lawrence Expressway	Voice:	   1-408-739-0881
Santa Clara, Ca.  95051		E-mail     microx@starnet.com


	That I did not do; however, the sample bolt I took to the store fit
rather well in the following:  1/2" open end wrench, 1/2" box end wrench, 1/2"
12-point normal socket.  I take that as meaning it's a 1/2" bolt head.

	Yup.  At $6 a socket, I want the @#$@# thing to FIT!

Later,


Greetings netters,

Steve writes ... <about Cobra Locks>

Well I have the mother of all locks. On Friday the 16th of April I took
possesion of a 12' Cobra Links lock, 1" diameter. This was a special order.

I weighs a lot. I had to carry it home and it was digging into my shoulder
after about two blocks.

I have currently a Kryptonite Rock Lock through the front wheel, a HD
padlock for the steering lock, a Master padlock to lock the cover to two
front spokes, and the Cobra Links through the rear swing arm and around a
post in an underground parking garage.

Next Friday the 30th I have an appointment to have an alarm installed on
me bike.

When I travel the Cobra Links and the cover and padlock stay at home.

By the way. I also removed the plastic mesh that is on the Cobra Links
and encased the lock from end to end using bicycle inner tubes (two of
them) I got the from bicycle dealer that sold me the Cobra Links. The
guys were really great and didn't mark up the price of the lock much
and the inner tubes were free.

Later.


I was at my parents' Seder and noticed the labelling on one of the
packages was English, Hebrew and French.  In the phrase "kosher for
passover" the French word used was "Pa^ques."   We've deliberately
mistranslated this at the Kulikauskas home and keep referring to foods
being kosher for Easter. :-)

Back to the original questions in this thread concerning Christians of
Jewish descent and the Law:  I always wonder when I see posts on this
subject whether the writers are Christians of Jewish descent relating
the life-decisions God has led them to or people who take only an
academic interest in the topic.  (Having known Seanna since she was nine
years old, I do know in this case.)  I admit that the answer to this
question affects the amount of weight I give to the writer's statement.


Dunno about Miller.

If you mean Scott Erickson, currently the reigning Twins Least Consistent
Good Player, he pulled a muscle in the neighborhood of the rib cage that
made it essentially impossible for him to pitch temporarily, and is
expected back on the mound Sunday.


Hi there,

I've made a VGA mode 13h graphics library available via FTP.  I originally
wrote the routines as a kind of exercise for myself, but perhaps someone
here will find them useful.  They are certainly useable as they are, but
are missing some higher-level functionality.  They're intended more as an
intro to mode 13h programming, a starting point.

*** The library assumes a 386 processor, but it is trivial to modify it
*** for a 286.  If enough people ask, I'll make the mods and re-post it as a
*** different version.

The routines are written in assembly (TASM) and are callable from C.  They
are fairly simple, but I've found them to be very fast (for my purposes,
anyway).  Routines are included to enter and exit mode 13h, define a
"virtual screen", put and get pixels, put a pixmap (rectangular image with
no transparent spots), put a sprite (image with see-thru areas), copy
areas of the virtual screen into video memory, etc.  I've also included a
simple C routine to draw a line, as well as a C routine to load a 256
color GIF image into a buffer.  I also wrote a quick'n'dirty(tm) demo program
that bounces a bunch of sprites around behind three "windows".

The whole package is available on spang.camosun.bc.ca in /pub/dos/vgl.zip
It is zipped with pkzip 2.04g

It is completely in the public domain, as far as I'm concerned.  Do with
it whatever you like.  However, it'd be nice to get credit where it's due,
and maybe an e-mail telling me you like it (if you don't like it don't bother)


I do not think it is at all unlikely that Clinton ro his policy
wonk facilitators arranged the Waco raid as a display piece for  the
Gun War on the Constitution.  Look at what the Bush administration did to
get material for the Drug War on the Constitution--remember that baggie of
crack George waved at the cameras?  They took a dealer from the ghetto
and brought him to the White House so they could say drugs had been
dealt onb the White House Lawn.
And I don't think anybody could honestly think Clinton would have any
moral qualms about the raid...
The only really worrisome thing is that the BD's heroic defense of
their ranch will make Clinton's Gun War on the Constitution _more_
successfull--exactly as he wanted.  The media and politicians will
filter this so that the general public will think the BD's
are bad guys!  Don't help them.  Stand up for the BD's with your
friends and family adnd in public anytime you can--their supposed
moral qualms are not important to the issue.  They are heroes in the
fight against oppressive government;  it could just as well have been
you.
-watkins@earth.eecs.uic.edu  (Brian E Watkins)


I am looking for a person who made an offer of $50 for five
of my VHS movies. I was not able to save the e-mail address
of this person. It has been a week since we made the deal,
please reply.

The five movies are
Basic Instinct
Born on the Forth of July
Backdraft
The Prince of Tides
Presumed Innocent


Suppose you have an idle app with a realized and mapped Window that contains
Xlib graphics.  A button widget, when pressed, will cause a new item
to be drawn in the Window.  This action clearly should not call XCopyArea()
(or equiv) directly; instead, it should register the existence of the new
item in a memory structure and let the expose event handler take care
of rendering the image because at that time it is guaranteed that the
Window is mapped.


Would anyone out there in DoDland be able to help me out in giving me
a contact to purchase a pair of military air-borne combat boots (9 1/2
D in size).  These boots (so I have read here on rec.moto) are calf
height boots that use only velcro for enclosure.  I have phoned around
and nobody seems to carry such an item.  I admit I have not gone into
the deepest bowels of NYC yet for the search but I have made some
calls to several of the bigger army/navy type stores with no luck.

Anyone out there know of a place that does carry such an item as well
as does mail order?  Any help would be appreciated.


There is just something disconcerting about the name of this group. :)


:
[ . . . . . ]
:
: Personally, I feel that since religion have such a poweful
: psychological effect, we should let theists be.  But the problem is that
: religions cause enormous harm to non-believers and to humanity as a whole
: (holy wars, inquisitions, inter-religious hatred, impedence of science
: & intellectual progress, us-&-them attitudes etc etc.  Need I say more?).
: I really don't know what we can do about them.  Any comments?
:

  I have always held that there should be no attempt to change a persons
attitude or lifestyle as long as it makes them happy and does not tax
anybody else. This seems to be ok for atheists. You don't get an atheist
knocking on your door, stopping you in the airport, or handing out
literature at a social event. Theists seem to think that thier form of
happy should work for others and try to make it so.

  My sister is a
born again, and she was a real thorn in the side for my entire family
for several years. She finally got the clue that she couldn't help.
During that period she bought me "I was atheist, now I'm Xtian" books
for my birthday and Xmas several times. Our birthday cards would contain
verses. It was a problem. I told my mom that I was going to send my
sister an atheist piece of reading material. I got a "Don't you dare".
My mom wasn't religious. Why did she insist that I not send it ??

   Because our society has driven into us that religion is ok to
preach, non-religion should be self contained. What a crock of shit.
I finally told my sister that I didn't find her way of life attractive.
I have seen exactly 0 effort from her on trying to convert me since then.

   I'm sick of religious types being pampered, looked out for, and WORST
OF ALL . . . . respected more than atheists. There must be an end
in sight.


Aviation Week March 15 1993 p.48

"the CBO estimates that matching the capability of 100 C-17s would
require 70 C-5s at a total cost of $14.4 billion. This option is still
more than $10 billion cheaper than completing the C-17 program, which
the CBO estimates will cost $24.7 billion."

Sorry, I was nine billion off. The C-5s would be ten billion cheaper.
Well, California voted overwhelmingly for change, right?
The argument to continue military programs just to support jobs is
a poor one. It's kept quite a few bases open that should have been closed
years ago, wasting billions of taxes.


I saw a mask once that had drawings of band-aids, presumably for every puck
that goalie stopped with his face/head.  I can't remember who it was or even
if it was NHL (I see quite a few AHL games here).

This is by far the funniest mask I've seen, and for me funny=cool