Surfing The Web So You Don't Have To
They’re trying to charge people $380 to put them on the free Do Not Call list.
What’s even more annoying about this, is that telemarketer can now annoy the hell out of you if you agree to it, because, according to the loopholes in the Do Not Call list, he now has a prior relationship with you, and can still continue to annoy the hell out of you, and by putting your name on the list, he’s probably the only one that can annoy you.
OK, I’ve put this entry in to an extended entry (so it didn’t take up so much dang room on my page). Click on the “Read More” link below to read the full post.
By horrendously marking up their beer prices. From the story:
“According to local beer industry sources, the Mets’ and Yanks’ concessionaires purchase half-kegs in bulk for approximately $29 per half-keg, roughly half the cost charged to bars and restaurants. Each half-keg holds 1,984 ounces, or 124 16-ounce servings.
“So, if the teams sell 16-ounce servings for about $6.50, which they do, the profit over the initial purchase price of each half-keg begins when the fifth beer is sold and that profit, per half-keg, is nearly $800.”
Thanks to Al Tompkins for the link.
I really love Al’s Morning Meeting. It’s a great place for stories like these. For example, the whole Do Not Call idea may not work. Some of the biggest users of telemarketing are exempt. From the column:
Long-distance phone companies got an exemption for their nightly slam calls. There’s an irony in there someplace.
Airlines got an exemption, which I suppose is cool if they’re calling to let you know that they’ve gone bankrupt and your flight is canceled.
Banks and credit unions got an exemption, probably to offer the newest consumer credit package: zero-percent auto loans with zero-percent savings accounts.
Insurance companies got an exemption, too, so they can call and tell you that your rates are going up as a result of their lousy investments of your premium money in the stock market.
Wait, there’s more.
Charities got an exclusion. Hmm … I’m beginning to wonder whether this list is really going to cut down on my dinner-time calls after all.
Telephone surveyors don’t have to honor the list, either. Does it seem like the loophole is expanding?
And, I’m sure George W. was happy to note, the new Do Not Call list does not apply to political organizations.
Finally, there’s the biggest loophole of all: The Do Not Call list can be ignored if the company already has an existing business relationship with you. So, if you once gave $10 to the Tinker Toys for Tiny Tots Trust, you’ll be hearing from them again.
So, really, what is this Do Not Call registry protecting us from? Not a whole lot, especially since the FTC and the FCC can’t figure out what’s actually going to be enforced by that list.
So say the list does serve its purpose. Telemarketers will have to find other ways to bug us, so expect the amount of spam and junk mail to rise sharply.
Update: Since the articles are no longer on Fortune.com, I’ve linked to a Web Archive or Google Cache version of them where possible. If anybody has good copies of these articles, let me know.
Update on 10/02/05: Two years later, the list still isn’t working.
Please, please don’t go to this site. You’ll be there all day, trust me.
I’m surrounded by illegal fireworks and loud explosions all over the place. I’ve got some loony behind me about to burn down the neighborhood. The folks next-door are having a party with really bad live music. And it ain’t even 10 o’clock, when the fireworks are supposed to be launched off the Butte here in Bend (we have a good view from our house, that’s why everybody flocks to our neighborhood).
Just as long as my house is here in the morning.
“BootIt NG is a partition and multi boot manager with a powerful and simple to use set of tools for partitioning, imaging, and multi-booting your computer. It combines the features of several standalone products costing hundreds of dollars more.” Yes it does! I’ve used Partition Magic for a while, and Norton’s Ghost and the fact that this does everything they both do and more, all on one floppy, is a very nice thing. Thanks to Fred Langa for the tip.
Use this great tool and find out! Google has 1600 pages of UtterlyBoring.com indexed (that number’s a bit high, because it’s indexing my trackback cgi script, which is now banned in my robots.txt file).
From MediaNews:Here is what Carl Spackler said (second quote) in the movie “Caddyshack” about a very special golf course grass (that was Bill Murray‘s character, if you remember). Here is what “Carl Spangler” said in the Roswell Daily Record about the new grass at Roswell Country Club. And here is what Daily Record editors wrote after learning the truth about “Spangler” and his grass.
Animal rights activists are furious after a Norwegian comedian attached an engine to a dead pig and used it a boat. Full Story.
Thanks to Ole Valaker for the tip (remember, you can e-mail me anytime at jake at orty dot com with tips, or just fill out the e-mail form on every page in the right column!).