tuple is too big

Hi

I'm trying to create a table that has only 8 fields or so. Two of the
fields have CHECK's that are essentally "LIKE 'this' OR LIKE 'that".
Apparently, these restrictions add something to the tuple size, which I
understand is set at 8192. How do I increase this limit? I read one
posting that says it can be adjusted at compile time, but that it may be

dangerous.

Maybe there's a better way. How would you suggest allowing only 'AL',
'AK', 'CA', etc. for a state field, for example? A c-function in a
shared library?

And where can I find the postgresql-hackers archive?

Thanks

Howie