Here’s a couple neat little toys that allow you to create ransom-note-like bits of text. One uses Yahoo!’s image search, another that uses Flickr. If you truly want a secure note for your kidnapping, use both.
Month: March 2005
It’s The First Day Of Spring…
…and it’s snowing in Central Oregon. You can sort of tell it’s snowing by looking at our office Web cam, but it is certainly snowing. The mountain got some snow last night, too.
Why Is Google Building In The Dalles?
I mentioned before that Google was planning on opening up shop in The Dalles. So why The Dalles? Because there’s a big frickin’ hydroelectic dam there, and Google might need the extra power. Interesting theory, and actually makes a great deal of sense.
Addicting Flash Game For The Day
A simple game: Rotate a square on the grid, start a reaction, see how big of one you can make. My best is 1,246, 1,657 can you beat it?
Update: Updated my high score, but I’m still nowhere near some of the folks in the comments.
How Do We Save Social Security?
It’s our patriotic duty to eat more, get fat, and die young, so we can save social security. Or something like that.
It’s Like Wikipedia Gone Bad
It’s the Uncyclopedia. There are some hilarious entries there, like this bit about Ann Coulter:
Ann was born as John in Salt Lake City, Utah to polygamist Mormon parents. She had one daddy and twelve mommies. She does not know which one was her “real” mommy because she was such an annoying brat as a child that they all claimed she was the child of one of the other women. A recent search of her birth records, however, has revealed that she was the daughter of none of them; she is the spawn of Satan (a.k.a. Barry Manilow) and Barbra Streisand, who paid the Mormon polygamists to raise Ann as one of their own. Ann, however, remains unaware of her parentage. She is likely to remain in the dark, as she is illiterate.
Or this excerpt from an entry on Oprah:
Oprah Winfrey (born April 1, 1337) is a woman seeking world domination disguised as an innocent talk show host. Most people are not aware that she is evil due to her cunning and manipulative nature. Some specialists claim she has superhuman powers, which would classify her as a supervillain. (She has been known to devour a whole universe in a single gulp.)
Oprah was born into a dysfunctional family of circus clowns. When she was a teenager, she ran away to escape her abusive pet cat, Skanks. Fleeing to and creating the village on the Island of L’aard, Oprah became a woman. She acquired a very sizable sum of money by robbing churches and performing coat hanger abortions under the light of the full moon. Oprah invested this money in Microsoft stock; now she has more money than Bill Gates. She once killed a bear on live television, then ate its entrails while the audience looked on in horror, afraid to move lest they be the next target of consumption. The next day the subject of Oprah’s program was how to deal with the trauma caused by watching talk show hosts eat bear entrails. There was much crying, and only a few casualties. Actually everyone died.
Thanks a hundred places for that link.
How Is This Not Spyware?
Spyware is purely evil. Barney’s dealing with it, and now I’ve gotten a bit of it.
Actually, not me personally, but a couple of our homes. One of our homeowners that came onto our program brought an old computer into the house. It was loaded with Spyware and Virii. A quick scan and clean couldn’t get rid of it, but since he said he didn’t need anything on there to go ahead and erase it. So a quick reinstall of Windows, and we’re good to go.
However, one of our homeowners had a computer that made a mess out of things. The owner of the home faxed us his Qwest bill. It has an add-on charge for $39.90 for a 900-number call. He said that he knows the home was rented during that timeframe, and insisted that we charge the guests (this all happened a week ago before I got involved). Our front desk staff charged the renter’s card and left a message on his machine telling him why. Renter called back, saying he had nothing to do with calling any 900 numbers. Front desk said that’s fine, removed the charge, we’ll investigate.
So then I get involved. After looking at the bill and Googling the company and the 900 number, it looks like these folks have tried this crap before. Apparently, the computer at the house (which I didn’t know existed as I hadn’t been to the house in a long time) had a Spyware Dialer installed on it, and it dialed out when the guests turned on the computer (it was hidden so the guests had no idea). So I went out to the house, disconnected the phone line from the computer there, turned it on, and sure enough the thing popped up saying it couldn’t get a dial tone. I didn’t have time the gut what was undoubtedly a horribly infected system, so I just unplugged it and locked it in the homeowner’s storage closet.
But we still had the problem with the phone bill and the charge. So I called the 800# for billing for that 900# on behalf of that homeowner, acting like the homeowner. First off, I played dumb — even though I already knew what had called the 900# and why. I asked the lady on the other end where this call came from. The Intregretel company obviously just provides third-party billing for this company, so she was reading from a script. I told her that there was no way I’d make a phone call in the middle of the night to some 900 number. Where did this call come from? She went on to tell me that it wasn’t a voice call but a data call.
“So there’s a computer that is dialing some 900 number in the middle of the night without my permission?” I ask.
“The software installed that’s dialing out is value-added software used in some games and software [insert a crapload of marketing bulls**t] and provides a better service to the users of that software.”
“So it’s spyware?” Obviously having heard this question before, she goes into another monologue about how it’s not spyware, but a value-added, blah, blah, blah.
“How is this not spyware?” I ask again. “Some piece of software gets installed, without my permission, and dials a toll number at $4/minute, without my permission, and racks up toll charges on my phone bill. How is this not spyware?
Then she goes on with the same scripted response from above. Wash, rinse, repeat.
“I want this charge removed from my phone bill. Now.” I demand. “My law office will have a field day with this.” (I wasn’t lying on this one as, already having talked to the homeowner, who was a lawyer himself, he was ready to smack these bastards to pieces.)
“Sir, I can offer you a 50% reduction in your payment of this.”
“I want 100% reduction, and an apology.”
“So you’re rejecting the 50% reduction?”
“Quit reading your scripts and give me my money back!”
“So you’re rejecting the 50% reduction?”
“Yes I am, because I want 100%.”
“OK sir, we will remove this charge from your bill, block your number from being billed in the future, and will credit back your bill. Is there anything else we can do for you?”
“Quit supporting companies that do this kind of crap?”
“Have a nice day, sir.”
Really, I almost felt sorry for the lady on the other end. I was getting fairly aggressive with her for a bit there, and she obviously was used to people who just quietly complain to have it removed. She’s probably getting paid squat, but works for a company that’s probably rolling in money. Sad, really.
Anyhow, if you ever see a random 900 number show up on your phone bill, clean the Spyware off your computer, and then call their billing number and yell at them. They need it.
Only In Corvallis
Where else is the big news of the day the theft of a homosexual ram?
Beavers [football] player Ben Michael Siegert was apparently caught driving the getaway vehicle that whisked a ram away from the university’s Sheep Center, according to police.
[…]
Contacted Tuesday afternoon, Siegert said he recalled being pulled over, but denied any involvement with the ram.
“I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “I’m from a city. I don’t know anything about sheep.”
[…]
The ram lives at the research facility on 35th Street near Campus Way and is part of a study on homosexuality in sheep, said Sheep Center manager Tom Nichols.
They have a Sheep Center at OSU? I guess you learn something new every day.
Sadly, when I think of sheep, I don’t think of the ones we used to have when I was little (yes, I used to have sheep), but I think of the mind-scarring scenes in this Woody Allen classic.
Spoiled Brat
LYON, France, March 16 (AFP) – The posh French ski resort of Courchevel has reserved three slopes for the exclusive use of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-Hee during his three-week stay, officials said Wednesday.
“Lee Kun-Hee is coming for a Samsung seminar. He’s learning how to ski and is very worried about his safety,” Claude Faure, director of the Societe des Trois Vallees, which manages the slopes at Courchevel, told AFP.
Faure said the chairman of South Korea’s largest conglomerate would have exclusive access from Thursday to three slopes, protected by security nets, for two hours a day between noon and 3:00 pm.
Attorney Accidently Sues Self
I’m so very confused how this could happen…
Alton attorney Emert Wyss thought he could make money in a Madison County class action lawsuit, but he accidentally sued himself instead. Now he has four law firms after his money — and he hired all four.
Thanks Cheryl for the link.