Guilty Plea From Internet Gambling Executive The plea was entered by Anurag Dikshit of India Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan. He is the co-founder of PartyGaming, an online gambling company registered in the United Kingdom. The name proves that while it may have lovely meaning in India, the man's name labels him accurately in English.
When Professor Hooton of Harvard had a daughter, he delightfully cursed her with the name Ima Hooton. Not satisfied with giving a child a name that would require explanation throughout life, he did it to his son by naming him Newton Hooton.
Cheatham and Steele were, in fact, Bankers. Needa Climax, Methodist Church Officer, Centerville, Louisiana. Never Fail, Builder, Tulsa, Oklahoma. John L. Senior Jr., an aeronautical engineer, died Sunday at his home in Heritage Village in Southbury, Conn. He was 66 years old. In 1952,
Classmates shows: Justin Tune
Summerville Union High School, TUOLUMNE, CA, Class of 2005
Wasn't it bad enough that our school children were confused by trying to find Round John Virgin who was supposed to be in the Creche. or Richard Stands, mentioned in the Salute to the Flag. we should think about what we are asking of our children when we name them odd names they will have to explain or spell for the rest of their lives.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
MARKETING GOES INVENTIVE?
Marketers have ever been trying to find a new way to reach buyers. Burger King is marketing a new men's fragrance with the scent of meat, called Flame. I've heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach but never that the stomach has to draw it through the nose!
It is good that it is aimed towards a male audience because the commercial is a complete turn-off to me as a woman. Besides, it is too long to watch.
In this day and age, fewer people are looking for scents that bring on allergy symptoms or mask pheromones. In fact, pheromones are the most significant olfactory teaser. Some companies have figured out that pheromones can get a dog to a bitch in heat from miles away. Finally marketers are going to cash in. Advertising is catchy:
Order Your Pheromones To Attract Women Here
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Pay By Discover Card PayPal Accepted
Pay By American Express
It is good that it is aimed towards a male audience because the commercial is a complete turn-off to me as a woman. Besides, it is too long to watch.
In this day and age, fewer people are looking for scents that bring on allergy symptoms or mask pheromones. In fact, pheromones are the most significant olfactory teaser. Some companies have figured out that pheromones can get a dog to a bitch in heat from miles away. Finally marketers are going to cash in. Advertising is catchy:
Order Your Pheromones To Attract Women Here
Pay by Mastercard Pay By Visa
Pay By Discover Card PayPal Accepted
Pay By American Express
Thursday, December 18, 2008
UNEXPECTED ELEMENTS TO EAT UP YOUR TIME
Having ordered a Christmas gift online, my ISP put the confirmation in my junk mail. Lacking it. I ordered another (from a different company, unknowingly, but for the same price) I assumed I must have been mistaken in thinking I had made the order previously. Shocked when the first order arrived I realized a second would later arrive. Polling the family, no one else has a use for the item so , grudgingly, I decide to return it when it arrived. Sadly (since I never return things) I learned I would have to call the company to have the return approved. Not realizing I had done business with two separate online stores, though the product originated from the same source, I called the phone number on the first packing slip received. It had the order number (after being asked me how I got the cell phone number, which I was reading from the packing slip) my order was found but told I had not bought 2 from him. He said he would like the sale, so could I please call the company which had sent the second which arrived today, the reason for my call.
This time the confirmation was still on my computer. 'Katie' answered and was very polite, though I had to wait interminably while she consulted with someone. I explained I was returning the second one as I had opened the first. Patience not being my greatest virtue, a very long time later I was advised I could not just mark it 'return to sender', which would have simplified my life. So far, Murphy's Law was much alive and well. I was to email the company, state the reason for the return, and,in turn, I would be emailed the address and directions for the return.
I live in a house with a second floor and a basement. Here for 42 years, I have never minded that things I want or need are always on a different floor. Stairs have not been a problem and, if anything, I have enjoyed that I get exercise up and down between floors. Euphoric that I didn't have a cold or the flu this holiday season, I injured injured an already compromised knee. Now it is agony to climb stairs. If I allow three times the usual time, I can get some jobs done. I just carry baby elephants any more as i do it.
It seems that phone calls ring only after I am seated and the phone is several feet away in its cradle. This is another time my disabled knee causes grief and lost time. The rage only turns on when I go through the motions only to find that it is a 'legal' telemarketer (a non-profit, the police beggars, or a charity.)
These are only a minute quantity of the many things we are all facing as the world becomes more complicated and as we are left to talk to more machines who haven't been programmed to handle our questions. The road workers will never know we are in a hurry when they tear up a street and force us into the wilderness of a detour in an area which is not familiar to us. The postal line will always be the longest just as we enter the queue. The days we count on to run errands are the days it is not safe to drive and one major disaster will befall every holiday season making the long list of tasks seem longer or outright impossible.
I am under no illusion that it is worse for me than for others...I just am in a position to pity myself more. If you think about all the obstructions in your own life, we could pool notes and figure out how to save time despite them.
This time the confirmation was still on my computer. 'Katie' answered and was very polite, though I had to wait interminably while she consulted with someone. I explained I was returning the second one as I had opened the first. Patience not being my greatest virtue, a very long time later I was advised I could not just mark it 'return to sender', which would have simplified my life. So far, Murphy's Law was much alive and well. I was to email the company, state the reason for the return, and,in turn, I would be emailed the address and directions for the return.
I live in a house with a second floor and a basement. Here for 42 years, I have never minded that things I want or need are always on a different floor. Stairs have not been a problem and, if anything, I have enjoyed that I get exercise up and down between floors. Euphoric that I didn't have a cold or the flu this holiday season, I injured injured an already compromised knee. Now it is agony to climb stairs. If I allow three times the usual time, I can get some jobs done. I just carry baby elephants any more as i do it.
It seems that phone calls ring only after I am seated and the phone is several feet away in its cradle. This is another time my disabled knee causes grief and lost time. The rage only turns on when I go through the motions only to find that it is a 'legal' telemarketer (a non-profit, the police beggars, or a charity.)
These are only a minute quantity of the many things we are all facing as the world becomes more complicated and as we are left to talk to more machines who haven't been programmed to handle our questions. The road workers will never know we are in a hurry when they tear up a street and force us into the wilderness of a detour in an area which is not familiar to us. The postal line will always be the longest just as we enter the queue. The days we count on to run errands are the days it is not safe to drive and one major disaster will befall every holiday season making the long list of tasks seem longer or outright impossible.
I am under no illusion that it is worse for me than for others...I just am in a position to pity myself more. If you think about all the obstructions in your own life, we could pool notes and figure out how to save time despite them.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
PRIVACY SHOULD BE PUT ON AN ENDANGERED LIST
Brian Krebs writes on Computer Security in the Washington Post: "When you visit msnbc.com, you're actually visiting 16 third-party sites, 10 of which are from different companies," Conti says, referring to the secondary content of providers and advertisers whose data make up the page. "You're really dealing with the lowest common denominator privacy policy when many sites are involved." If you want to see the site, the reader is given no option to opt out of that giving up of our privacy. When we read all news in newspapers, the worst the paper could do was sell your mailing address. Today, with the advantage of the great databases being built built up for profiteers, cross referencing can pinpoint just who you are with only a few clues.
Privacy.org, for December 17, 2008 with: Verizon Employees Snoop on President-Elect Obama's Cellphone Records
"It was recently disclosed that curious Verizon employees snooped into then Senator Obama's cellphone records during the recent election. Senator Patrick Leahy has asked the Department of Justice to provide information about investigations and prosecutions under the federal law that prohibits viewing confidential phone records information, related to the reports about Verizon employees improperly accessed President-elect Obama's cell phone records. The employees were dismissed but no criminal investigation was pursued. Unauthorized or illegal access to telephone records through pretexting, domestic surveillance, and now employee curiosity are posing problems for telecommunication privacy."
Our government has ignored our privacy throughout this past 8 years of Bush administration. Perhaps a focus should be placed on what harm can we have happen to us when our privacy is lost. We all know about identity theft. Are there more dangers? Many write about all the ways we are invaded and intruded upon but I was not able to find sites which have listed the ways that people can or are being hurt by the lack of respect for privacy. One site which allows one to read from the thousands of credible publications used by Highbeam Research requires registration and raises my suspicions of what happens after you give them your full name and email address...do you suppose they would have any difficulty finding everything about you just through matching your name and email address?
Paul Cox wrote in the Wall Street Journal that since Social Security Numbers began to be issued in 1936,in recent years the nine-digit numbers have taken on the additional role of universal identifier for tax collection, employment, financial accounts, medical care and more. And with these new uses have come abuses.
Lastly, the Privacy Right Clearinghouse lists some examples fo things that can go wrong like minors receiving spam, people receiving credit carts because they were told a year ago if they didn't answer (a letter they never received) that they would automatically have a credit card sent in their name, etc. And I thought it was bad enough that we in the USA have top press "1" to speak English!
Privacy.org, for December 17, 2008 with: Verizon Employees Snoop on President-Elect Obama's Cellphone Records
"It was recently disclosed that curious Verizon employees snooped into then Senator Obama's cellphone records during the recent election. Senator Patrick Leahy has asked the Department of Justice to provide information about investigations and prosecutions under the federal law that prohibits viewing confidential phone records information, related to the reports about Verizon employees improperly accessed President-elect Obama's cell phone records. The employees were dismissed but no criminal investigation was pursued. Unauthorized or illegal access to telephone records through pretexting, domestic surveillance, and now employee curiosity are posing problems for telecommunication privacy."
Our government has ignored our privacy throughout this past 8 years of Bush administration. Perhaps a focus should be placed on what harm can we have happen to us when our privacy is lost. We all know about identity theft. Are there more dangers? Many write about all the ways we are invaded and intruded upon but I was not able to find sites which have listed the ways that people can or are being hurt by the lack of respect for privacy. One site which allows one to read from the thousands of credible publications used by Highbeam Research requires registration and raises my suspicions of what happens after you give them your full name and email address...do you suppose they would have any difficulty finding everything about you just through matching your name and email address?
Paul Cox wrote in the Wall Street Journal that since Social Security Numbers began to be issued in 1936,in recent years the nine-digit numbers have taken on the additional role of universal identifier for tax collection, employment, financial accounts, medical care and more. And with these new uses have come abuses.
Lastly, the Privacy Right Clearinghouse lists some examples fo things that can go wrong like minors receiving spam, people receiving credit carts because they were told a year ago if they didn't answer (a letter they never received) that they would automatically have a credit card sent in their name, etc. And I thought it was bad enough that we in the USA have top press "1" to speak English!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
DIFFERING MEANINGS IN DIFFERING CULTURES
We in the United States do not have as much symbolism about shaming and insulting. The shoe-hurling Iraqi journalist has become a folk hero for many in Iraq. In an article in the NY Times, Timothy Williams wrote: "In Saudi Arabia, a newspaper reported that a man had offered $10 million to buy just one of what has almost certainly become the world’s most famous pair of black dress shoes."
Further: "A daughter of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, reportedly awarded the shoe thrower, Muntader al-Zaidi, a 29-year-old journalist, a medal of courage."
Bush took shoes being thrown at him, while he ducked the incredibly accurate aim of the thrower, as being a benign expression of feelings. He still believes we have done a service to the Iraqis and is under the illusion (or perhaps delusion) that the war has been an American victory.
For those who were out to lunch when the news has been repeated in an endless loop, look at it here. Be sure to watch and hear the whole piece, as Bush brushes it off as what happens in a 'free society', not the usual description I have heard about Iraq and certainly not what it seems to be as the law is calling for several years in prison for this man's act.
That the President's black suits didn't rise until after the second shoe had been thrown, and then only slowly, has been the reason for the question as to how much protection Bush really enjoys. In 36 more days, we will no longer have to listen to his revisionist history, or may we more accurately call them his lies? With the perfect recall the media has in its data bases and the ability to search so quickly to find exactly what disproves current statements, one might have thought Bush would have caught on, that is if he really remembered what he had said in the past as the journalists seem to do. (Actually, they get the network step-and-fetch-its to search the archives and in short order, voila, they have the truth....or at least what he claimed to be the truth when he spoke earlier.)
More from the Times article: "As Mr. Bush was speaking, Mr. Zaidi rose abruptly from about 12 feet away, reared his right arm and fired a shoe at the president’s head while shouting in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” "
"Mr. Bush deftly ducked and the shoe narrowly missed him. A few seconds later, the journalist tossed his other shoe, again with great force, this time shouting, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” Again, the shoe sailed over the president’s head." It should be noted, it sailed over Bush's head only because Bush was very good at ducking.
It boggles my mind how Bush can believe that the Iraqi people can really enjoy a liberated feeling when they are so far away from Saddam Hussein and have suffered so much more since then. Muntader al-Zaidi's second shoe statement seems to say it all and is being rejoiced through the Arab world. Of some small amount of comfort is that it seems clear to even the Arabs that Bush did not represent the American people. They are much more perceptive than some of our Republican stalwarts in the US.
The process of mopping up the mess he leaves behind will take a very long time after those 36 days are over.
Further: "A daughter of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, reportedly awarded the shoe thrower, Muntader al-Zaidi, a 29-year-old journalist, a medal of courage."
Bush took shoes being thrown at him, while he ducked the incredibly accurate aim of the thrower, as being a benign expression of feelings. He still believes we have done a service to the Iraqis and is under the illusion (or perhaps delusion) that the war has been an American victory.
For those who were out to lunch when the news has been repeated in an endless loop, look at it here. Be sure to watch and hear the whole piece, as Bush brushes it off as what happens in a 'free society', not the usual description I have heard about Iraq and certainly not what it seems to be as the law is calling for several years in prison for this man's act.
That the President's black suits didn't rise until after the second shoe had been thrown, and then only slowly, has been the reason for the question as to how much protection Bush really enjoys. In 36 more days, we will no longer have to listen to his revisionist history, or may we more accurately call them his lies? With the perfect recall the media has in its data bases and the ability to search so quickly to find exactly what disproves current statements, one might have thought Bush would have caught on, that is if he really remembered what he had said in the past as the journalists seem to do. (Actually, they get the network step-and-fetch-its to search the archives and in short order, voila, they have the truth....or at least what he claimed to be the truth when he spoke earlier.)
More from the Times article: "As Mr. Bush was speaking, Mr. Zaidi rose abruptly from about 12 feet away, reared his right arm and fired a shoe at the president’s head while shouting in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” "
"Mr. Bush deftly ducked and the shoe narrowly missed him. A few seconds later, the journalist tossed his other shoe, again with great force, this time shouting, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” Again, the shoe sailed over the president’s head." It should be noted, it sailed over Bush's head only because Bush was very good at ducking.
It boggles my mind how Bush can believe that the Iraqi people can really enjoy a liberated feeling when they are so far away from Saddam Hussein and have suffered so much more since then. Muntader al-Zaidi's second shoe statement seems to say it all and is being rejoiced through the Arab world. Of some small amount of comfort is that it seems clear to even the Arabs that Bush did not represent the American people. They are much more perceptive than some of our Republican stalwarts in the US.
The process of mopping up the mess he leaves behind will take a very long time after those 36 days are over.
Monday, December 15, 2008
IT'S NOT MUSIC TO MY EARS
There are people more equipped musically than I to determine what effect the current genre of music is doing to keep people stirred up and angry. When the lyrics suggest love and turn me to thoughts of tenderness, I see evil faces, fire burning, loud noise at a fever pitch and find none of the physical reaction of the ballads of long ago when the world was a calmer place. When a family night out with two teen age boys is to this I wonder at the emotions engendered and the neurons that got stimulated by the concert.
Since I know the teens well, I know that they are basically caring, thoughtful boys and being brought up with good social values. These particular two are also hearing other music, including classical, so I am less concerned about their tastes. What I do not understand are those who listen ONLY to this ear crashing drumming and metal sound, that which crescendos to such angry and hateful vision and feeling.
YouTube has lots of examples. One, Metallica-All Nightmare Long surprises me that it can be called music since it assaults all my associations with the pleasure that music has provided over the years. One friend tells me he listens to this music because of the drum beats which he finds compelling.
St. Anger was about as depressing as one can get. It felt like someone's psychotic episode. I'm beginning to believe that this current generation doesn't realize that music can be made from more than voice, guitars and drums. Miles Davis, especially when he worked with Gil Evans doing arrangements, really made beautiful music. His MY FUNNY VALENTINE is especially lovely as he plays behind the vocalist.
In my head, to the tune of Lover Come Back to Me, I keep hearing Music, Come Back to Me. With luck I will be ever able to avoid Metallica and Schoenberg and his disciples.
Since I know the teens well, I know that they are basically caring, thoughtful boys and being brought up with good social values. These particular two are also hearing other music, including classical, so I am less concerned about their tastes. What I do not understand are those who listen ONLY to this ear crashing drumming and metal sound, that which crescendos to such angry and hateful vision and feeling.
YouTube has lots of examples. One, Metallica-All Nightmare Long surprises me that it can be called music since it assaults all my associations with the pleasure that music has provided over the years. One friend tells me he listens to this music because of the drum beats which he finds compelling.
St. Anger was about as depressing as one can get. It felt like someone's psychotic episode. I'm beginning to believe that this current generation doesn't realize that music can be made from more than voice, guitars and drums. Miles Davis, especially when he worked with Gil Evans doing arrangements, really made beautiful music. His MY FUNNY VALENTINE is especially lovely as he plays behind the vocalist.
In my head, to the tune of Lover Come Back to Me, I keep hearing Music, Come Back to Me. With luck I will be ever able to avoid Metallica and Schoenberg and his disciples.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
...AND I MISSED THE SHOW!
It is rare for me to miss a Daily Show. However, I missed one that would have delighted me to see it when it happened. The magic of the media that can reproduce it the day after, in video form, is wonderful so, for those of you who also missed it, here it is.
Jon Stewart and Hall and Oates Piss Off Hannity with Colmes Tribute
Posted by Jason Linkins, Huffington Post at 6:03 AM on December 13, 2008.
"The highlight of last night's Daily Show was the moving send-off that Stewart gave career Fox News doormat Alan Colmes." The musical tribute was well-earned by a man who should consider himself as having the patience of Job. I would strongly urge all readers to glance at the article but, especially, look at the video. Of course it is all ridiculous and sarcastic, but one must wonder what it takes to make people feel they want to handle their feelings that way, and for the rest of us to understand it.
Personally, in my decision to spend the rest of my life feeling as good as it is possible in this world, I have cut Fox News out of my viewing diet. After watching a few like Hannity, Coulter, and Rove, my view of the world tends to turn to dark brown, a color whose image in my brain insults my olfactory sense and has me quickly wanting to throw things at the video screen. I used to talk at the screen but my profanity vocabulary was too limited to make it satisfactory. They just went on to more of their unfair and imbalanced proselytizing opinions. Since I am also a confirmed 'non-violent person', I channel surf to more quiet places like the History Channel or National Geographic. I would rather watch WWII pictures. At least I know how that story ends and that the good guys won!
Jon Stewart and Hall and Oates Piss Off Hannity with Colmes Tribute
Posted by Jason Linkins, Huffington Post at 6:03 AM on December 13, 2008.
"The highlight of last night's Daily Show was the moving send-off that Stewart gave career Fox News doormat Alan Colmes." The musical tribute was well-earned by a man who should consider himself as having the patience of Job. I would strongly urge all readers to glance at the article but, especially, look at the video. Of course it is all ridiculous and sarcastic, but one must wonder what it takes to make people feel they want to handle their feelings that way, and for the rest of us to understand it.
Personally, in my decision to spend the rest of my life feeling as good as it is possible in this world, I have cut Fox News out of my viewing diet. After watching a few like Hannity, Coulter, and Rove, my view of the world tends to turn to dark brown, a color whose image in my brain insults my olfactory sense and has me quickly wanting to throw things at the video screen. I used to talk at the screen but my profanity vocabulary was too limited to make it satisfactory. They just went on to more of their unfair and imbalanced proselytizing opinions. Since I am also a confirmed 'non-violent person', I channel surf to more quiet places like the History Channel or National Geographic. I would rather watch WWII pictures. At least I know how that story ends and that the good guys won!
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