Jasen Betts wrote in a message to Matt Mc_Carthy:

 MM> dull-side-to-the-eraser end of a pencil (note that the foil has a
 MM> shiny side and a dull side - the shiny side is pure aluminum, the
 MM> dull side has a 'wax' coating).

 JB> I was told by someone in the industry that they made alfoil by
 JB> puttinfg two sheets through the rolling mill ontop of each other,
 JB> the dull side is where they touch and the shiny side was polished
 JB> by the rollers.... 

 WC>> Buying a replacement Sharp Universal remote for this VCR is out
 WC>> as it's just about as cheap to buy a new Sharp VCR with remote.

 MM> Ain't that the truth!  And I've never seen any brand of
 MM> "universal" that covers ALL the functions of the original.   :-(

 JB> what's needed is some software to cook up codes that can be
 JB> recorded into a learning remote...

That's an interesting thought.  I remember an article in Byte magazine some
years back,  when Steve Ciarcia was still writing for them,  and it
featured a "learning remote".  I don't recall if it learned its
stuff from the original remote or not,  though.

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