General

It’s almost tempting to implement this just to see if anybody enters their info, isn’t it? Scam fail

I thought this was a great explanation of why I’ve had trouble dealing with some excellent technical people. They had wonderful skills and cared about doing a good job but were very abrasive. Tact Filters has been around a long, long time but it’s as true today as it was 10 years ago, when it was written. Or 20 years ago, when I first started working with techies.

This is a test for BlogRefs

Seriously good article on why we don’t think of other people as “people”. Inside the Monkeysphere is terrific.

Wow, this is a great post. Pet Peeve #7: I’m Sorry You Feel That Way totally sums up how snotty some people are when saying “I’m sorry you feel that way”. Wow.

Found a neat idea if you’re into doing things yourself. You can use this device to make your own bottles of soda, mixing the flavors and setting the carbonation the way you want. Create Your Own Fizzy Drinks

Just Cancel the @#%$ Account is a neat write-up of experiences with 32 online services, including big names like AOL, Earthlink, New York Times, Netflix and Vonage.

I’ve dealt with my local phone company for many years. From the roll-up of Pacific Northwest Bell into US West and then the merger with Qwest, prices have gotten higher and higher and the reliability has gotten a little worse. At some point my wife or I will decide that we don’t really need the land line and it will go away. The thing that’s most annoying about them is the amount of advertising they’re doing. They’re constantly on the radio, TV, billboards, in the newpaper, ads on the internet and direct mail pieces. It seems obvious that they’re not getting a lot of takers. Why not? Well, they could start with the big disclaimer on every ad. Anything that they’re promising on the front, they’re taking away on the back. ...

Super-Sizing Your Meal Costs More Than You Think talks about the hidden costs of super-sizing. “Once on the lips, forever on the hips” or something like that. I stopped off at McDonald’s to grab lunch for my daughter Charlie and myself as we drove out to Nana Sue’s. To my surprise, the plain hamburger and “fancy” cheeseburger no longer seemed to be available. There was only the double cheeseburger or bacon cheeseburger. And there was now a “Mighty Kid’s meal” that’s the equivalent of super-sizing a Happy Meal. ...

David Pogue of the New York Times writes about how images are manipulated with Photoshop. As a dad with 2 young daughters, I find this kind of thing appalling. The images in magazines are what some women (and men) compare themselves to. How in the world can they justify this? Put me down for requiring a “altered by Photoshop” logo. Or just prohibiting this altogether.