This freeks me out cause suddenly I'm getting a lot of hits and now I have to write something
Index
The web demolition commitee.
Research help.... how to find the good stuff on the web Not just a paragraph or an
advertisement but sites that offer archives of full text articles
IRC channels of interest for students
My reasons for closing #Student_Lounge
#Math Chat on the Undernet
About me

Digressing to stupidity.....
my homeless ramblings that don't deserve a seprate page yet
really .... the other pages are better.....

A cranky man's Anti-Spam campaign

I wonder what would happen if whenever a spammer sent a lot of messages with a Toll-Free number if just a small percentage of people dialed the number and left their phone off the hook. Likely the phone call would be disconnected quickly. But still, if a spammer had to pay even 10 cents on these phone calls, it could add up with enough volume. Be carefull I'm not sure if every number they mention is toll-free I know 800 and 888 are but 877? and others. This could back fire if the spammer says it's toll-free and it isn't. You can always try a payphone but they may be blocked. One last warning. If this gets to be a practice. Someone who had it in for a legitimate company could list their toll-free number in a piece of fake spam.
Oh and never call 809 numbers

Messing with marketing data

It drives me nuts when I use my vonsclub card( <-- Actually though I'm having a little fun venting. This anti-vons site seems a little too whiney for me. I also am aware that in a way they are in some way buying this data from the customers). I know that I'm helping the evil marketing elves compile more useless data on what they think we need. The problem is it does not seem worth the large amount of money it would cost not to use the card.

The solution: Swap Vonsclub cards with a friend who has a completely different buying pattern. I almost thought it would be fun to have a Vonsclub exchange internet exchange site.

E-commerce

Website cannibals
 
 
 

Stuff from 1997
Oct 24
Republicans on Welfare
Democrats who evade taxes
Maybe I'll offer support to the politicly confused

oct 16
Ranting about the news

Diet Guru Susan Powter(deadlink) 2(link works but why??!? do i have it.  Oh yeah this is her ex), the 'Stop the insanity' lady with the real short white buzz cut, announced her recovery from alcoholism. I figured she already had a product ready. We were denied any chance to worry over her as she began her initial steps to recovery. Since it was a media blitz, it finally caught up to me when I was bored enough to watch 20/20. Powter overemphasised the weak biological link of alcholism and heredity.  I mean sure eating badly makes anything in life a bit harder but is eating well an entire cure?

Even if Powter is right, the honerable thing would have been to selflessly promote the book she read by another author for her ideas. Well at least she is not as low as Kevin Trudeau 2 in the fact that she admits her ideas are not new. 20/20 frustrated me a bit by doing the typical media paradigm of creating two radicaly opposed sides. In their blow off of Powter, they made her characterise the entire biological link. Contary to the final impression given, good nutrition may be helpfull to combat alcholism. It is just that popping loads of Powter's special vitamin compound it not the miracle cure.

There is a funny trend to eliminate words like mankind and make silly words like peoplekind so that male plural does not mean men and women. I have a nephew that calls my wife and I both the same name. We are both Lowell. She's gotten so used to it she calls herself Lowell to him.

Someday I'll tell the story of Dale the dog. oh that reminds me... down a street near where I live are a lot of alley cats. You can find most of them some mornings all sitting on the Animal Control vehicle. Well maybe the guy who told me that is lying or exaggerating but if you want confirmed data you wouldn't be surfing the net.
Tip of the day
If you are making Kool Aid, do not use 4 quarts of water. (The directions call for 2). I had a roommate who said he hated kool aid till I made him some. His mother may have kept him from sugar highs but ruined his childhood. I taught the poor sap to experiment in below 2 quart water levels. He became a bigger junky than I. Probably had it down to 1.2 quarts of water. You can tie die with that. It burned going down if you cut the sugar a bit .... but oh well .... i digress...