Delivery-Date: Fri, 25 Oct 91 00:11:56 +0200 >From babble-request%ucdavis.edu@unido.uucp Fri Oct 25 00:11:53 1991 Received: from sw0001 by is0001 (AIX 3.1/UCB 5.61/4.03) id AA63595; Fri, 25 Oct 91 00:11:53 +0200 for /usr/lib/mh/slocal Return-Path: Received: by sap-ag.de (5.52.1/SAP-1.1) id AA19096; Fri, 25 Oct 91 00:10:26 +0100 for wohler@is0001 Received: from ucdavis.ucdavis.edu by unido.informatik.uni-dortmund.de with SMTP (5.65+/UNIDO-2.0.4.d) via EUnet for sapwdf id AA12645; Thu, 24 Oct 91 23:46:32 +0100 Received: by ucdavis.ucdavis.edu (5.61/UCD2.03) id AA10403; Thu, 24 Oct 91 15:37:20 -0700 Reply-To: babble%ucdavis.edu@unido Sender: babble-request%ucdavis.edu@unido Errors-To: babble-request@ucdavis.edu Received: from unido.Informatik.Uni-Dortmund.DE by ucdavis.ucdavis.edu (5.61/UCD2.03) id AA10101; Thu, 24 Oct 91 15:27:11 -0700 Received: from sapwdf by unido.informatik.uni-dortmund.de with UUCP (5.65+/UNIDO-2.0.4.d) via EUnet for ucdavis.edu id AA06493; Thu, 24 Oct 91 22:34:49 +0100 Received: from is0001 by sap-ag.de (5.52.1/SAP-1.1) id AA18092; Thu, 24 Oct 91 22:22:51 +0100 for ucdavis.edu!babble Received: from localhost by is0001 (AIX 3.1/UCB 5.61/4.03) id AA57384; Thu, 24 Oct 91 22:24:09 +0200 for moussatos@yalemed.bitnet Message-Id: <9110242024.AA57384@is0001> To: babble@ucdavis.edu Cc: ray.jang@corp.sun.com, robert.obrien@eng.sun.com, allan.mckillop@eng.sun.com, jackson.wong@eng.sun.com, heather.rose@eng.sun.com, elric@imryrr.eng.sun.com, moussatos@yalemed.bitnet Newsgroups: soc.culture.babble,news.answers Expires: 1 Dec 91 05:00:00 GMT Supersedes: <3064@sapwdf.UUCP> Subject: Babble Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) with Answers Keywords: FAQ babble question answer Followup-To: poster Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Organization: SAP AG, Walldorf, Germany Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 22:24:08 +0200 From: Bill Wohler Archive-name: babble-faq Last-modified: TODO Version: TODO This is a living list of frequently asked questions on babble. The point of this is to circulate existing information, and avoid rehashing old answers. Better to build on top than start again. This article is posted monthly. If it has already expired and you're not reading this, feel free to request copies directly from me ;-). When someone posts a frequently-asked question, I will point out to them that the answer is here to ensure that everybody gets their question answered fully and to eliminate unnecessary traffic in this newsgroup. Posted answers that are in the FAQ are just as annoying as posted questions that are in the FAQ! Your comments, additions and fixes to this list are welcome: please send them to Bill Wohler . Complete, accurate and grammatically correct answers are appreciated to reduce the time I have to take to test or edit your answers. . Table of Contents (+ new, - deleted, ! changed) Introductory +1. Why should I use babble? +2. Where can I get babble? +3. What references exist for babble? +4. How can I make life simpler when starting babble for the first time? Babble in Day to Day Life +10. What kind of beer goes best with Chocolate Chip cookies? +11. Why is Robert getting a lobotomy in '96? +12. What color are Hesh's feet? +13. Does babble have any aliases? +14. How does one address someone in babble? +15. What is ATHLI? +16. Was Major Tom "Date-em" Dayton really sociopathic? +17. How do I wear your underwear? +18. When is Picnic Day? +19. When is Whole Earth Festival? +20. What is a BabbleQ (TM) and what do people do there? +21. How much Sally is really worth? +22. How was Hugh's mom milked? +23. What does the babble t-shirt look like? +24. What is Melvyl's internet address? +25. Is babble dead, or when was the first time that Sally said the P-word? +26. What is the state of our union? +27. Do you use immoral Nazi experiments in your research? +28. In societies with "free-er" sex, is there less rape? +29. How is Stevie doing? +30. I overheard a drug deal, do I report it to the police? +31. Did the Internet Virus affect babble? +32. Did the UCD ACM programming team win second place in 1988? +33. What is the only executable in /usr/lib? +34. What was BillW's presidental campaign promise? +35. Which is healthier: Regular Coke or Diet Coke? +36. Where were you on 7/7/77? +37. Should drugs be legalized? +38. What does the license plate 8K8I8T8 mean? +39. What does an official "Hear Ye! Hear Ye!" look like? +40. Which is the best terminal? +41. How do I know if I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? . Viewing This Article To skip to a particular question numbered xx, use "/^.xx\." with most pagers. In GNU Emacs type "M-C-s ^.xx\.", (or C-r to search backwards), followed by ESC to end the search. To skip to new or changed questions, use "/^[!+]" with most pagers and "M-C-s ^[!+]" in GNU Emacs. To get an overview of just the questions in GNU Emacs, type "M-2 C-x $". Use "C-x $" to display the text again ("M-0 C-l C-x $" ensures that the current cursor location remains on the screen). . Questions and Answers . Introductory +1. Why should I use babble? Babble sprung into being when the babble manager posted an introductory message on 17:00:04 on Friday, May 11, 1984. This message was written in haste since the babble manager knew he was late for the UUGHH at Mansion Cellars. Babble was the brain child of some brain-dead computer science students (and some brain-dead non-students) of the University of California, Davis. The founding fathers sat in a lecture hall in Wellman Hall, across the street from infamous Hutchinson Hall, discussing how to continue the light and spontaneous discussions on uconsultants without pissing off Lynn Shaw. Some of the key features of babble are: * You can post anything you want. * You can get flamed for anything you post (or don't post). * You can learn how to be Politically Correct. * You can post interesting stories or recipes that are later published. * You can ask questions and discuss interesting topics: wearing underwear with or without a fly, Dante, sexism, politics, sendmail, mail headers, current events, trip reviews, and so on. * You can get invited to such activities such as a BabbleBash (TM). +2. Where can I get babble? Send a message requesting to be added to babblemanager@ucdavis.edu. +3. What references exist for babble? Babble archives. +4. How can I make life simpler when starting babble for the first time? There is no need to worry. According to Hume, babble is a priori knowledge. . Babble in Day to Day Life +10. What kind of beer goes best with Chocolate Chip cookies? Rainier Ale. +11. Why is Robert getting a lobotomy in '96? Robert O'Brien responds: "I will lead a revolt against those insane enough to ban the use of .mailcf files. +12. What color are Hesh's feet? Hesh replies: "red where i was burned last week, brown where i haven't started peeling (from last week). +13. Does babble have any aliases? The Babble Manager fields this one: "yes, there are now two names for the babble list. blame kyle and bill for this one. if you send to either babble or twimc, the mail will go to the same people. for those who are dying to know, twimc (prounounced "tweemac") means: To Whom It May Concern so are you a babbler or a twimcer? +14. How does one address someone in babble? gibber, gibber, mibber, morf +15. What is ATHLI? As the Hackers Log In, an exciting tale documenting those fearless young men (and women) and their computing machines. The series ran 9 official (plus 1 bootleg) gripping episodes between May 7 and Jun 2, 1984. +16. Was Major Tom "Date-em" Dayton really sociopathic? See for yourself: "This guy walks into a bar, sits down and orders 6 gin martini's (shaken not stirred). The bartender looks at the man kinda strange, but lines 'em up anyhow. The bartender says, "Hey buddy, you gonna drink all those right now?" Well, this man is onto the bartender, see, and realizes that he is probably some sort of Communist spy, or the anti-christ, or even the man who drives around in the Oscar-Meyer weiner truck. So he pulls out his .45 magnum and starts shooting and shooting and shooting... --Love Thomas S. Dayton +17. How do I wear underwear? Babbler's wear underwear with and without a fly. On their hips. On their head. Dave Kumpf explains what the fly is for: "You could let your friend know that the final resolution of the babble discussion was that the extra panel helps keep Lisa's tummy warm. Hesh comments on how long Germans go between changes: "well, herb, maybe germans don't shit in their pants like you do, huh? +18. When is Picnic Day? +19. When is Whole Earth Festival? +20. What is a BabbleQ (TM) and what do people do there? This is an event whereby babblers, husbands and wifes of babblers (scary), children of babblers (even more scary), get together for a barbeque, usually around some significant event such as Picnic Day. At a BabbleQ, one drinks Ackeries, plays twister, and runs around like crazed children in parks. +21. How much Sally is really worth? Our resident pilot, Dan Dorough responds: "so i got out my handy flight calculator and figured out the actual numbers on that flight from sacramento executive to hayward air terminal. distance is 59 nautical miles (68 statute). the following are speeds, times, and costs, for a round trip. plane knots/mph time cost cessna 152 92/101 01:20 $ 57.00 cessna 172 100/112 01:12 $ 63.00 cessna 182 132/145 00:54 $ 85.00 for fun, based on authoritive but unconfirmed numbers: citationIII 200/224 00:36 $1,480.00 boeing747SP 200/224 00:36 $19,250.00 citationIII is a 10 passenger corporate jet. boeing747SP is a berry, berry, big plane. (jets are limited to 200 knots due to speed limits below 10,000 feet; they could actually go lots faster.) so, i guess like other things in life, what sally is worth depends upon a) how much time you want to spend with her b) how much room you want her to have c) how fast you want her to go for practical purposes, sally is worth $63. (so you were right all along, sally.) +22. How was Hugh's mom milked? Hugh Everett elaborates: "Alas, I don't remember. The following fantasy may be pretty close. Mom made a ceramic cup designed to fit over her tit. It looked like... __ | \_ | \_ | \_____ | _____ | _/ | _/ \ / \\ \\ She put a piece of plastic hose on each of the two tubes. The bottom one goes to the bottle, the top one is for suction. She merely pinches the bottom tube shut while applying suction through the other. The milk will run into the bottle between pulls. Note that the shape of the cup shown is for the idea. The cup should be large enough to avoid pinching. +23. What does the babble t-shirt look like? It doesn't exist. +24. What is Melvyl's internet address? Sam McCall answers: jay% gethost melvyl.ucop.edu name: melvyl.ucop.edu addrs: 31.1.0.1 31.0.0.13 31.0.0.11 31.3.0.1 31.1.0.11 +25. Is babble dead, or when was the first time that Sally said the P-word? Sally A. Wilson fields this herself: "Geez, I was preparing, thinking of posting a requiem for babble, since up until the last two days, it appeared that babble was dead. I was remembering babble in its hey day, over 20 posting a day; PBFH, Make Love Loving, The Tomato Torturer, Sir Bill, & the rest & their great flame wars; how I was unable to read my mail for the words being printed by my fellow babblers, words which I could not say, pronounce, or fanthom. I was going to suggest that we have a great big Wake for babble seeing that it appeared to be dead--after all isn't that what wakes are for to have a good time, & to make sure that the corpse was actually dead, & if so well--well, after these past few days it appears that the patient has recovered; and, I just read a flame, & it appears that the PBFH is back. Geez, I am misty-eyed, I am so happy I can almost write the "p" word. "Hell, let's have a resurrection party, comining it with a bday, post-wedding, post-birthing, & wedding anniversary party. So, are there any suggestions for a Big Babble Is Not Dead Party? "Sally---Penis---A. Wilson and the date: Sat, 28 Oct 89 00:19:10 PDT +26. What is the state of our union? The Psycho Bitch from Hell fields this easily: "The govnernment's fucked. The system's fucked. The parties are fucked. The voters are fucked. The media is fucked. And we're fucked. But it works so far, so I'm content for now...sometimes. +27. Do you use immoral Nazi experiments in your research? Yes. +28. In societies with "free-er" sex, is there less rape? No. Just "free-er" sex. +29. How is Stevie doing? Dave Kumpf , the proud father, replies: Today Stevie is nine months old. A lot has changed since my last posting. He is now crawling and thinks it is great. Anything that is less than three feet above the floor is now his. He also loves stairs. He loves to go up them and down them. The only problem is he doesn't know how to go down. He also doesn't know that he doesn't know how to go down. The result is that daddy has to be right behind to catch him when he decides to turn and go downhill. I tried letting him practice on just the bottom two steps, but the kid seems to think that doing face plants on the rug is fun. +30. I overheard a drug deal, do I report it to the police? A ball that hits an umpire is in play. +31. Did the Internet Virus affect babble? Bryan McDonald speaks: "Ucdavis, deneb, minnie, vega, and harpo were all taken down yesterday, around noon, although the virus supposedly came in at 5 am. Jammed things up nicely, as well as throwing all the class account people into a major league panic. Things were coming back up by 2pm, though, and the gateway reopened by then or a little latter, according to what I heard. Did anyone catch Russ on channel 3 last night? +32. Did the UCD ACM programming team win second place in 1988? Doug Cook responds: "Since you ask... Davis' grad team took second place overall, coming in behind only the UCB grad team. We beat both Stanford grad teams, which came in 3rd and 4th. Our undergrad team came in 5th overall, 1st place in the undergraduate division (I'm told our undergrad team solved the same number of problems as the Stanford grad teams, and, what's more, they only had two members)... +33. What is the only executable in /usr/lib? This is a dumb question. There are many. +34. What was BillW's presidental campaign promise? "BillW for president... A BMW in every garage, and a disc in every trunk. "Gain weight in '88!" Bumper stickers proclaim, "I'm a friend of BillW." +35. Which is healthier: Regular Coke or Diet Coke? Bill Odom <3002odom@ucsbuxa.bitnet> replies: "In recent pentathalons, diet coke finished an average of 52 points ahead of regular coke. In medical surveys, however, regular coke proved to be more resistant to viral infections and kidney disorders. More testing is on the way. ttyl +36. Where were you on 7/7/77? Lisa Bakeman provides one of the more colorful answers: "Where was I? Mexico. With the runs." +37. Should drugs be legalized? Dave Ciemiewicz elaborates: "Drugs, just say yes! But in moderation. My drug of choice: Gordon-Biersch Marzen Bier. My problem is that it's fattening. +38. What does the license plate 8K8I8T8 mean? Herb Maeder , of good stock, responds: "How 'bout "Ate Kate In '88" +39. What does an official "Hear Ye! Hear Ye!" look like? The Babble Manager knows: Person's Name has been [deleted from/added to] babble. . --the babble manager +40. Which is the best terminal? Dan Dorough states: "Mime terminals are *the* input device of choice." +41. How do I know if I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? John Carlson reveals: "I talked to my sister-in-law (physical therapist) and she said that the test for CTS is to hold your hands with their backs together and the fingers pointed down and arms parallel to the floor. left arm right arm hh aa nn dd If you feel pins-and-needles, you have carpal tunnel. If not, it may be a pinced nerve in your neck. Work on body position at your terminal. The surgery for CTS involves cutting some band around the nerves in your wrist. This is intended to relieve the pressure on the nerves. She also said something about putting your wrist(s) in a splint to rest them. . Glossary UUGHH Unix User's Group Happy Hour SBUUGHH South Bay Unix User's Group Happy Hour ATHLI As the Hackers Log In CBM Critical Babble Mass pbfh Pscho Bitch from Hell ttyl Talk to You Later ttfn Ta Ta for Now HUI Hacking Under the Influence DUI Driving Under the Influence LUI Lusting Under the Influence TMB Token Meaningless Blather . Acknowledgements I'd like to thank the following people for providing ideas on the layout of this article: Joe Wells Richard M. Stallman David Elliott Tom Christiansen Eugene N. Miya We are also grateful to the unnamed individuals that have provided answers or other information to make this a better document. [The following statement epitomizes the ridiculous state of affairs in our country (I'm an American) and can be ignored outside the US...] No Warranty: Because this article is provided free of charge as a service to soc.culture.babble readers, we provide absolutely no warranty, to the extent permitted by applicable state law. This article is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Should the information prove defective, you assume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.