Month: September 2005

UtterlyBoring.com Gets New York Times Mention thanks to AOL Idiots

Morons who subscribe to AOL have made this site (sort of) famous. Over two years ago I posted a simple, quick little link about how a guy canceled his AOL account in 3 minutes. Nothing really exciting about the link, really, but for some reason the entry got listed well on Google (as well as this search), so people are coming to the page, thinking that by posting a comment on my site, I can somehow cancel their AOL account (even to the point where some idiots were posting usernames, password, credit card numbers, etc…). In a later entry about cancelling AOL, I’m also getting some odd-ball comments.

So far, I’ve left the comments on the entry open, and while a few commenters have found it hilarious, most of the 150+ comments are from AOLers wanting to cancel their AOL account. I’m almost considering starting a service where I’ll cancel their AOL service for a small fee (So for $50, I’ll just call AOL and deal with ’em for you).

That entry, obviously, has been mentioned on a couple blogs, and now comments from it have shown up in a New York Times article (mirrored on the IHT site).

And to think the only reason I found that article was because I was looking for the source for this forward sent to me by Barney:

As reported last week in the NYTimes:

Guy tried for better part of a week to cancel AOL. He talked to six or seven different people on six different days. Each time he was thwarted by what is apparently an AOL plot that make it next-to-impossible to cancel the service, as the representatives pretend to be concerned about you and your reasons for cancellation and give you soothing chat and reasons to continue AOL service.

Finally, weary of the runaround, he went into a “chat room” and started threatening to kill people in the room.

His AOL account was cancelled in under three minutes.

I’ll be sure to update the original AOL post with a link to this entry, in case somebody there actually reads the entry copy before commenting.

Really Bad Blogs

OK, first off these guys sent me a press release that was a bit spam-like, but I wouldn’t have posted it here if it wasn’t a remotely entertaining site. I’ll just copy the first paragraph of their press release (mostly because I’m too tired to think up something witty):

Since its launch on August 5, 2005, Shitty Blogs has reviewed over 15 really boring, stupid, and ugly blogs, attracting more than 1,500 unique visitors and quickly becoming a destination for those tired of the mundane swamp of blogs. The past month also introduced the addition of guest political commentaries, starting with critiques of Michelle Malkin and Barbra Streisand. Shitty Blogs celebrates these recent successes, and plans to continue having fun making fun of blogs while entertaining its growing audience of jaded readers.

The Bulletin Previews Their New Site

For some reasons that a few people reading this site know, I’m going to just remain a neutral bystander on this, but it looks like The Bulletin is previewing their new design and registration scheme. Thoughts, comments? Feel free to comment here.

Unplugged

If you wondering where I’ve been the last few days, here’s my story. It’s something every wired person should do: Just Unplug. That’s what I did the last couple days (my weekend). After I left the office on Thursday night, I locked my laptop away, turned off my cell phone, and didn’t get online for my entire two days off. (OK, I lied — I got on my wife’s computer to check the TV Listings when the TV Guide channel was running that concert on top of the listings. But that was it).

It was therapeutic, actually. After checking my voicemail and e-mail today, I probably should’ve paid attention a bit more, but you know what? It can wait. Every geek needs a break, and considering all the things I have to do today that are due in the next couple days, I really needed it.

Now, back to work.

Hilarious Sketch Comedy

Got a link to these guys from BBspot and their videos and sketches are a riot.

Overclocking Yourself

Leave it up so a caffeine-crazed geek, who has probably overclocked his computer as well, to test the various ways to speed yourself up.

Bunnies are Fluffy, and Larry Like Fluffy

This South Park-esque cartoon of Scoble taking a visit to Google is frickin’ hilarious. Of course, I’m a geek, so that’s why I find it funny, but you probably will, too.

Microsoft To Replace Blue Screen Of Death

Yes, we all know (or maybe some of us know) that the Blue Screen of Death is going to become Red in the next version of Windows, but I think the idea of replacing the BSOD with Solitaire of Death would be much more entertaining.

Now if Google ever releases and OS, I think it should carry ads on its crash screen.

More New Orleans Links: Lousy Gov’t Response, Heroes, Volunteers, and More

I apologize for all the Katrina links lately, but this is a massive story that is not going to stop developing any time soon (especially once we get official death numbers).

I do I wish I could make it down south right now — I’d love to help out with this in the best way I could, and this would be my cup of tea: A group of volunteers (with some help from some major corporations) is trying to wire up Houston and New Orleans so that they can get communication systems back up and going. Part of the community effort is getting documented here, and more on BoingBoing. So any of you with Wireless network, mesh network, VoIP, low-power FM radio, etc… , be sure to donate your time.

Note for geeks out there with Internet2 access (which means you’re probably in college), your traffic might be suffering a tad.

On a side note, I won’t get into my feelings about the government’s piss-poor response to all this (stories like this, this, this, this, this, this and this sicken me), but I do get very angry when I see stories like this of very valuable resources going mostly unused.

But on a brighter note, PayPal allows you to setup a fee-free donation page for Katrina victims, and there are a pile of colleges helping out students. Also, here’s a flickr photo collection from a volunteer who’s wiring up the Astrodome.

On a totally random note, here’s a nutjob that thinks Hurricane Katrina was a guided weapon (with more conspiracy theories here).

Thanks to Waxy and BoingBoing and many others for all these links.

Answering Life’s Biggest Questions

If you’ve ever got a question that you need some divine answers, you can always ask yourself: What would Zach Morris do? If he doesn’t know, ask AC Slater.