This entry was posted on
Friday, November 1st, 2002 at
8:53 am and is filed
under Uncategorized.
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Date
20021101
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
08:53
U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone (a self-described ‘liberal Democrat’) died when his plane crashed in Minnesota last week. The black boxes are missing. Speculation is rife, and the focus is on George Dubya Bush. Dr. Michael I. Niman provided the main ammunition for conspiracy theorists with this piece, which was followed by this, a more tempered article by Ted Rall. Both have now been hammered over at Salon.com, and all three links have been dominating Blogdex for days.
So, who’s right?
Personally, I think the truth lies somewhere in Ted Rall’s piece (which was quoted waaay out of context by Salon.com – who also neglected to provide a link to the full article). If you read it in full, he’s not saying Dubya is an arsehole who will stop at nothing; he’s suggesting that Dubya is an arsehole that nobody trusts.
[UPDATE – You’ve probably also noticed that some folks don’t think he’s very bright.]
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Date
20021101
Time
08:55
Never mind the hackers, it’s the boogeymen that are after you.
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Date
20021101
Time
08:57
Meet the Hugman. He loves. He hugs. He loves to hug.
Just like Barney the dinosaur. In other words, he’s evil incarnate.
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Date
20021101
Time
09:00
Elwood Blues (aka Dan Akroyd) said it best – over twenty years ago, I might add – on the excellent album Briefcase Full of Blues:
“You know, so much of the music we hear today is preprogrammed electronic disco. We never get to hear master blues men practicing their craft any more. By the year 2006 the music we know today as the blues will exist only in the classical records department of your local public library.”
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Date
20021101
Time
09:07
Someone popped a cap into Jam Master Jay.
Just in case you haven’t aleady heard about it a dozen times already.
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Date
20021101
Time
09:09
Get a personal consulation (erm, via email) from Daniel DiCriscio, the makeover artist to the ‘stars’.
I’m tempted to offer him a design consultation by email. His website sucks.
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Date
20021101
Time
09:24
Heh. I watched The Shining last night, so this amused me for all of 30 seconds.
(Link via ultimateinsult.net)
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Date
20021101
Time
09:48
Sometimes, I even manage to amuse myself.
*yawn*
OK, must get ready for London now.
I gots me a photo shoot to do.
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Date
20021101
Time
09:52
Oh, just before I go:
Is visiting this site costing your boss money?
Probably. Still, you can always claim that you’re researching viral marketing and what not. It works for me, but then I’m my own boss.
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Date
20021102
Time
02:03
Congratulations to the gentlemen who tonight insisted that our creative differences stemmed from the ‘fact’ that he was an ‘artist’.
Now I ask you: Is this art, or is this art?
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Date
20021102
Is It Art?
Time
10:07
Dammit. For months now, I’ve been trying to decide whether I should reclassify myself as an Artist.
Actually, I’ve been entertaining this notion since seeing the work at conceptlab.com over two years ago. The problem is, after my run-in with a self-proclaimed ‘artist’ last night – a man who is convinced that I’m riding on his coat tails – any move I now make in this direction is sure to be seen as yet another imitation of what he does.
So…
1) Should I let this stop me?
2) Is what I do art (or is it too sullied by filthy lucre)?
I’m serious, BTW. Feedback would be appreciated. The last thing I want to do is look like a pretentious tosser.
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Date
20021102
25 Years Ago
Time
10:32
I received a fantastic parcel in the post this morning – a diary from when I was 7 years old. Thanks Mum.
You know what’s going to happen now, don’t you? It’s inevitable, really:
Monday, 7th March, 1977
on Saturday I made a barricade on top of a big pile of mud in the corner. Then I put a pile of coal in it and spreaded them out for the floor. When I came up with the last mud rock I slipped in a big muddy puddle and whem I got back home mum gave me a smack and I went to bed.
Teacher’s comments: Four corrections, three ticks and two stars.
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Date
20021103
Time
09:04
Yep, that’s art.
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Date
20021103
Time
09:10
It looks like all references to John Leslie are being quietly erased over at the BBC website.
This page has been removed, but is still in Google’s cache.
John Leslie even seems to have disappeared from this listing in H2G2, which is a disgrace – especially as the site is littered with the happy-happy banner message: “On h2g2, you get to decide what goes into the Guide.”
But they get to decide what gets taken out, obviously.
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Date
20021103
Time
13:04
The latest edition of Celebrity Bestiality is out. The subject this month just had to be John Leslie.
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Date
20021103
Time
13:11
Ooh, lookie. A nice collection of sites by people who contribute to B3ta. I am by far the most normal. No, really.
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Date
20021103
Time
21:32
Well, she’s finally done it. Together with News of the World, Posh Spice has finally pulled off the ultimate publicity stunt.
Barrymore, Leslie and now Mrs Beckham…
Christ, doesn’t anyone call the police first anymore?
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Date
20021104
Time
10:02
Catherine Zeta Jones has turned down a multi-million dollar offer to star in a grumble flick. What a shame. I’m sure John Leslie would have been able to talk her into it.
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Date
20021104
Time
10:06
How fast can you type?
Well, as a hunter and pecker I don’t do too badly, but I am starting to suffer from computer-aided dyslexia.
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Date
20021104
Time
10:07
So, who was really behind the shooting of John Lennon? The answer is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Have a dig through the site – it’s all good stuff.
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Date
20021104
Time
10:09
Well, how about that? Folks are finally realising that Icann is crap. They’re also largely unnecessary. Think about it – do you place your trust in name.com first, or go straight to Google?
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Date
20021104
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
10:12
The Mirror Project should do well over the next few days, tapping as it does into a common bond that all photgraphers share and then making a largely pointless website about it.
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Date
20021104
Time
10:14
As if airplanes weren’t dangerous enough. Now it’s not even safe to drink the water. Do what I do and stick to those little bottle of Bourbon. The hours just fly by.
(Oh, and for safety’s sake, do try to get a seat in the rear of the plane. There has never been a recorded instance of a plane backing into a mountain.)
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Date
20021104
25 Years Ago
Time
10:17
From the genuine diary of Manic (Age 7)
Monday, March 14th, 1977
Today I started riding my bike to school but Rowan lost the key. I got a idea to use a bobey pin as a key and when I tried it fitted the lock. So today mum will be buying a new lock and key.
Teacher’s comments: Four corrections, one tick and a little witchy stamp.
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Date
20021104
Tony Blair’s Email: Deletion of the Hostages
Time
13:29
Tch! Would you look at that? (See first comment below entry.) No wonder I get so much of Tony’s mail. People are stupid.
Oh, and FunJunkie just now buzzed me a link to this article at The Register. Basically, it outlines a report that found 3/4 of all UK government sites are shite.
It also specifically mentions the site for 10 Downing Street, saying that one of the reasons it rated so poorly was that ‘it allows no way for members of the public to contact either the Prime Minister or his office.’
Well, there you have it. And you can’t say that I didn’t offer to help.
So, today, I do believe I will delete… (Manic asks youngest son for number between 1 and 10)…
10? 10 it is.
Hmm, let’s have a look. Nothing interesting in there, really – just the usual pleas for peace, love and mung beans. Oh, wait, there is one chap who is sure that the quake in Italy was triggered by Crux Orientalis, through ‘subtaranean, atomic explosion’. Ooh, lookie, and another Italian who by the looks of things has CC’ed every other world leader in an appeal for immediate economic aid.
Oh well, I’m sure Tony already knows. And cares. That’s why he only wants to hear from you by snail mail.
OK, here we go…
10 wonderful emails intended for the PM. Count them as they disappear into oblivion!
Ah 1 *delete*, ah 2 *delete*, ah 3 *delete*, ah 4 *delete*, ah 5 *delete* – Ahahahahaha!
Ah 6 *delete*, ah 7 *delete*, ah 8 *delete*, ah 9 *delete*, and ah 10 *delete*!
10 deleted emails! Ahahahahaha!
[Ths blog was brought to you by the number 10 and the letters W, T, and F.]
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Date
20021104
Time
14:38
Here’s one of the more interesting sites that links to the whole Tony Blair email thing:
“Believe it or not, in Britain, guide dogs who arrive at a British airport or port from most countries in the world cannot enter – customs officials will send them to a quarantine kennel for six months.”
Read more here.
Six months?! What the bloody hell is a blind person supposed to do without their guide dog for six months?
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Date
20021105
Christianity Watch
Time
08:41
The athiest boy scout was, ultimately, kicked out. Time to leave the planet, methinks.
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Date
20021105
Time
08:45
Pop-ups may be on the way out (says the article with a pop-up for American Express).
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Date
20021105
Time
08:47
A 19-year-old offender with ‘countless’ court cases behind him and an electronic tag on his wrist has won close to £10 million on the lottery. What the Daily Mail will make of this one is anybody’s guess.
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Date
20021105
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
08:50
Retro for the geeks – CD-Rs that look like vinyl records. I’m a vinyl junkie from way back – but I’m also a cheapskate. The £10 bulk packs will do me fine, thanks.
Oh, and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Yet Another Lame Quiz rate well on Blogdex, so this rates a mention also:
Which Founding Father Are You?
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Date
20021105
Time
08:55
Teacher threatens to shoot pupils for not playing recorders correctly.
Now that’s just not on. I’ve heard some horrible recorder recitals in my time and let me tell you that even one bullet would be a waste. Clubbing’s the way to go, so it is.
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Date
20021105
Time
09:04
How the bloody hell did I miss this?
OJ claims to be ‘not 100% sure’ that he’s innocent.
“If it turns out that I’m actually the one who did it, then looking for the real killers would be a big old waste of time.”
Hmm, pehaps he was being a tad sarcastic. Just a stab in the dark, mind you…
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Date
20021105
Viral Marketing
Time
09:08
I was so busy yesterday that I didn’t pick up my copy of Monday’s Guardian until well after midnight, and was greatly amused to discover – shock, horror – that not all ‘amateur’ virals are by amateurs. This article even suggests seeding such things requires you ‘to walk into an internet cafe and email it to viral sites such as Lycos’ Viral Chart.’
This is just my personal opinion, mind, but I’m pretty sure that no such cloak and dagger nonsense in necessary when it comes to Lycos. Judging by the pretty lame material that have in their ‘featured’ selection, I’m pretty sure that there’s a commercial wire going right into the guts of the thing.
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Date
20021105
Flash Games
Time
11:08
Kill Harry Potter!
This was released for the last film, but it’s still fun.
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Date
20021105
Time
13:20
Here’s some nifty London trivia for you.
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Date
20021105
Photoshopping
Time
16:20
I had a bit of a London-ey thing going on today, so there were a few images floating around. You may recognise the rather familiar landmark on the right, you might (or might not) also recognise this one.
All quite fun, but only this one made the front page at B3ta.
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Date
20021105
OK, So I’m a Lego Geek
Time
17:23
WARNING: This is only for those with a hefty connection (.MOV file size is 14MB):
See the trailer for Star Wars Episode III – The Rise of The Empire made entirely out of Lego.
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Date
20021106
Been There, Done That
Time
08:46
We’ve already seen Dancing Paul and the commercial adaptation for the UK – Stereo MPs (built by Paul) – so why the hell should we care about Dancing Bush (also built by Paul)?
It’s time to change the bloody record, surely?
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Date
20021106
Time
08:52
Posh Spice (she’s the one who looks and acts as common as dog’s muck) doesn’t want to be known as ‘Posh’ anymore – but she sure as hell doesn’t want anyone else to use the name, either.
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Date
20021106
Christianity Watch
Time
08:54
We’ve blogged this Bible-quiz based television show before, but now it’s got a slammin’ new site with funky dance music.
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Date
20021106
Time
08:57
Family robs bank to pay mortgage.
It’s OK, folks. The two 14-year-old daughters only used fake handguns.
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Date
20021106
Time
09:00
Jennifer Dute was arrested by Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis’s deputies for ‘pandering obscenity’ (she was selling homemade porn tapes through a website at www.jendd.com). She fought back by using www.simonleis.com as a portal to her own site, so found herself in court again and got a year in prison.
The article says the sites have since been taken down, but – and here’s a treat for you – there’s still a copy of simonleis.com live in the Web Archive. Enjoy.
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Date
20021106
Time
09:09
More on the tagged hooligan who won close to £10 million. There’s even a picture of him if want to see it. I wonder how many of his past victims are now thinking of suing him for compensation? Probably all of them, I would expect.
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Date
20021106
Time
09:18
The U.S. government is bugging Internet access in public libraries and the FTC wants you to send them your spam instead of deleting it. Man, that’s a lot of data collection.
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Date
20021106
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
09:21
The Founding Fathers quiz we blogged yesterday shot from #28 to #1 – so well-picked, I would say.
I’ll even go out on a limb and predict that tomorrow’s No. 1 is sure to be the re-design blogger.com competition.
A slightly easier pick, but I’d like to be right two days in a row. Just once.
(Oh, BTW, the pain is over for Dr. Smith…)
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Date
20021106
Time
09:28
New York finally gets a real superhero – and it’s a woman. Yes, she actually dresses up in tights and patrols the city fighting evil. (She goes by the name of Terrifica, but – having no super powers to speak of – she’s got nothing on this woman, who can change into a werewolf.)
More predictions? OK…
Terrifica will be an established Fark.com cliche within a week – and in court or the morgue within a year.
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Date
20021106
Tony Blair’s Email: Deletion of the Hostages
Time
09:42
Bloody hell. You can even send email to Santa Claus – but not the PM.
As FunJunkie notes: “Frankly, it’s embarrassing!”
Today’s deletion is a fitting one – a rare spam with the subject header: Losing Touch With Your Clients?
*delete*
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Date
20021107
Time
07:55
Let me make this as clear as possible for you: 98% of marketing folk are scum. Or stupid. Or both. (Then, of course, there’s that 1% that are very intelligent scum – you have to watch out especially for these guys.)
As for the final 1% – well, I try as hard as I can to fall into this category. I certainly wouldn’t get a town to consider changing its name to ‘Got Milk..?’ and then leave them to the debate as I (sorry) milked the issue for all the publicity it was worth.
This is just what has been done to the small town of Biggs, who have fought back by turning around and telling everybody to fuck right off. Is the community united in this? Well, let’s put it this way; the only interviewee who still thought the scheme was a good idea used the word ‘proactive’.
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Date
20021107
Time
08:04
I have a busy, busy morning and must rush off (sorry). Here’s a picture to tide you over and somewhere you can waste a few clicks with a clear conscience. Back soon.
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Date
20021107
Time
08:10
Oh, Winona Ryder is guilty, BTW – and the first satirical article is already live.
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Date
20021107
Time
13:37
Huh. How about that?
I’m only 15% insane.
I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Remember when I was convinced that killer toys were on the loose in the woods? Does this kind of openly shared delusion count for nothing? I demand a recount! (mutter, grumble, etc.)
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Date
20021107
Time
13:38
I’m not sure how well this flash-based t-shirt store is supposed to be doing.
It’s decidedly Boo-esque (and then some).
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Date
20021107
Time
13:47
Michael Carroll, the tagged offender who won £9.7 million, is no longer tagged. His curfew has been lifted, supposedly so he can hide out from the journalists who have been camped on his doorstep since the news was announced. FFS, can we just hand control of the government over to the media and be done with it?
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Date
20021107
Time
17:22
OK, I’ve got a head of steam up (and the red mist is rising).
Time for a new campaign (just a quickie this time):
Michael Carroll needs more money!
Enjoy.
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Date
20021107
Time
21:06
On the 8th of March this year, I found a photo of a woman wrapped in plastic and learned how to shave my testicles. On the 8th of March next year, 8march2003.com ensures us that an even more astounding discovery will be revealed. (I’m not so sure about that, to be honest. The shaved testicles thing is going to be pretty hard to top.)
[UPDATE – It should be noted for the record that 7march2003.com has already been grabbed by an enterprising cybersquatter. There’s no link because there’s no content – just a shitty pop-up.]
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Date
20021107
OK, So I’m a Star Wars Geek
Time
21:20
Anakin Sywalker explains why he switched to the dark side. Heh. Wow, is that for real or was it written by Emporer Palpatine’s PR company? Also, see the new version of the ‘Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi’ scene. (Links straight to NSFW 2.87MB MPG file – got all of that?)
[Links shamelessly grabbed from BBSpot and TTR2… erm, D2… (sorry, couldn’t help myself).]
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Date
20021107
Time
22:31
Jusht two drinksh can cloud your judgement.
*hic*
(You’re all my besht mates, you are….)
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee are the champyuns, my fre-hend….
Actually, do you think it would be interesting to have a multi-blog bull session? Just three or four blogs getting ‘together’ as it were, spending the day/night/whatever exchanging links/stories and becoming increasingly blasted…
It might be worth it just to do a comparative study on the frequency of typos as the blood/alcohol levels increase.
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Date
20021108
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
09:31
You might just be wondering how this link almost ended up topping Blogdex:
http://www.ecreditrepair.com/creditrepair.asp?RefId=26364
It’s pretty obvious that it’s an affiliate link – but how did a unique affiliate link get to #6 on Blogdex? Surely that would involve at least a dozen blogs linking to it? Actually, the total number of ‘independent’ links in this case is 14. Culturally it makes no sense – until you take a peek at the link tracker and start poking around.
All of the domains for the blogs involved appear to have been hosted via ItsYourDomain.com. As far as I can tell, at one stage all of them were actual weblogs. Obviously they would have to have been, or Blogdex simply wouldn’t list them. Still, here’s two examples:
Here’s the web archive of accented.org and here’s the whois lookup.
Here’s the web archive of ewwgene.com and here’s the whois lookup.
For each of the 14 sites listed in the link tracker, the domain appears to have been handed over to a company called PopularEnterprises.com (though I’m only assuming that it’s a truly separate company). Popular Enterprises have obviously decided to monetise what appear to be dead/expired domains registered through ItsYourDomain.com by redirecting each (via Javascript) to a shitty multisearch page (each with its own individual code so they can track the results). While it looks like a busy page, almost every link is a search command that feeds back into the core domain via search.netster.com – so Blogdex ignores them. But, down the bottom, on each and every version of this page is a banner that links to – you guessed it – http://www.ecreditrepair.com/creditrepair.asp?RefId=26364
When all of these domains were rejigged after midnight (EST) Blogdex gobbled up the multiple instances of this unique link and fed it into the chart as a valid link of cultural merit.
So, there you go. Mystery solved. Were PopularEnterprises.com lucky, or clever (albeit in a moronic way)? Who cares? It’s an ‘Improve Your Credit Rating’ link. That’s right up there with ‘Get a Bigger Penis’ and ‘Work From Home’. (BTW, just for the record, my credit record is just fine, I’m very happy with my penis size – and I already work from home. So fuck off.)
FFS, people. We don’t mind if you let your weblog die, but do try to at least separate its head from its neck so it can’t rise from the dead and become an agent of evil.
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Date
20021108
Look It Up
Time
09:50
Braille versions of Playboy are available at the Library of Congress (centrefolds not included).
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Date
20021108
Time
09:54
“I was so impressed, I… ka-BLAM!
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Date
20021108
Photoshopping
Time
13:33
My dreams? You do not want to hear about my dreams…
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Date
20021108
Time
13:42
You see, office pranks are only good if they’re clever.
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Date
20021108
Christianity Watch
Time
17:15
How did animals get from the Ark to isolated places, such as Australia?
The understand the answer, first you must place unwavering faith in the word of God. Well, there you go.
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Date
20021108
Photoshopping
Time
17:27
This week’s B3ta challenge is simplicity in itself: Photoshop an Ostrich.
It may not seem like there’s much variety to be had, but the usual Friday rush has already turned up a staggering assortment. My best entry so far is here. Oh, I was also greatly impressed to discover via one of my image searches that you can actually buy an ostrich online. A real, live ostrich. At a discount price, no less.
They even have giraffes but, sadly, no affiliate scheme.
(OK, so it’s a joke. Do you have to spoil all of my fun?)
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Date
20021109
Michael Carroll
Time
07:51
Here’s a view from the outside: Lottery sparks UK social debate
Oh, and the first search results are in. Not bad. Let’s see what it does for the campaign.
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Date
20021109
Yet Another 1,675,324 Lame Quizzes
Time
08:02
(See also: It Had To Happen)
Quizilla allows you to take and make quizzes to your heart’s content, thus removing the barrier-to-entry that is coding and allowing every two-bit idea to (finally) be born. This sounds the death knell for the online quiz, surely? Oh, go on – pleeeeease?
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Date
20021110
Time
12:33
FFS, have you seen the papers this morning? Whatever happened to dignity?
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Date
20021111
Time
07:45
Here’s a nice little FAQ covering specialised search engines.
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Date
20021111
Time
07:48
On Friday we blogged Quizilla. Today we find Ghostzilla, the ‘Camouflage Web Browser’. One can only imagine what’s being said behind closed doors over at Toho Ltd..
Anyway, Ghostzilla is an application designed to aid stealthier surfing in the office, so you can happily dodge your responsibilities and reduce your productivity without anyone being the wiser – until someone takes a look at your access logs, that is…
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Date
20021111
So This Is It: We’re All Going To Die
Time
08:09
Earths magnetic field is weakening, but it’s not clapping out; it’s just getting ready to flip. We’re going to be exposed to high levels of radiation and most of our satellites will be fried as a result, but at least Australia will be at the top of the world map where it belongs.
Oh, Mars is sneaking up on us, too. Watch your backs.
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Date
20021111
Time
08:14
Teacher sends raccoon head to headmaster.
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Date
20021111
Time
08:15
Bad news for the Bruces: sheep dip has been linked to depression.
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Date
20021111
Time
08:20
Miss America wannabe dropped from pageant – erm, for being Canadian.
Serves her right. Canadians cannot be trusted.
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Date
20021111
Tony Blair’s Email: Deletion of the Hostages
Time
08:23
Is it any wonder that the UK the only western country unable to send email to its democratically-elected leader? The Queen still uses goatskin for notepaper, FFS.
Robin Cook, the ‘modernising leader of the Commons’ is behind the drive for change. He’ll get an email from me this morning – and I’m sure you can guess what it’s about.
While we’re on the subject, it’s been a few days without deletion, and I do believe that 8 is a nice round number (well, it is all curvy and stuff).
Today, amongst other things, Tony Blair didn’t learn about the plight of an Indian man with passport problems, or see a copy of a release from the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity (ISIC) saying that Jews are defined as ‘desendants (sic) of pigs and apes’ and that ‘any suicide attack against an Israeli, whether child, woman or youth, is a legitimate act and an Islamic duty.’
He also completely missed out an amazing new deal on ink cartridge refills.
*delete* *delete* *delete* *delete* *delete* *delete* *delete* *delete*
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Date
20021111
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
08:44
Waypath is designed to help you start with one weblog, and then (hopefully) use that URL to find several others that share ‘common themes, ideas, and topics.’
I haven’t looked myself up yet – I’m trying to maintain the delusion that I’m reasonably unique.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Waypath is one of the top links on Blogdex today. About this time last year, it was the lovely Firda’s Are You A Blogaholic? quiz.
We are a self-interested bunch, aren’t we?
Still, at least we can unite when the cause is worthy.
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Date
20021112
Time
08:59
See a great collection of old newspaper ads (us Photshoppers live to find collections like this) and some footage of LSD being tested on British Troops (14MB MPG file).
(Both links nabbed from the ever-excellent ultimateinsult.net)
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Date
20021112
Time
09:03
The New Science Institute offer ‘preventive science’ to make terrorist attacks ‘improbable’. That doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence, but if your favourite part of the Bond movie is anything involving Q, then you’ll want to pop along just for the gadgets.
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Date
20021112
Time
09:12
Sod simple bloggage; marketingfix.com may very well make it into the navigation bar (when I get around to updating it, that is).
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Date
20021112
Time
09:15
From the ‘does what it says on the tin’ department comes fuckmicrosoft.com and nomoreaolcds.com
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Date
20021112
Time
09:17
Teenagers posing as traffic cops pull over local Chief of Police.
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Date
20021112
Riding High on Blogdex meets Tony Blair’s Email: Deletion of the Hostages
Time
09:19
This is getting ridiculous. Even Saddam Hussein’s son has email. I bet Euan has email, too. Hell, he probably has to show Daddy how to use it. Get your ship together, Tony – before I have a day or two to spare and end up doing something you might regret.
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Date
20021112
Latest Viral Agent
Time
09:22
Oh, now this is good. Which? magazine already has credibility wrapped up – all they needed to do for a good viral mechanism was to somehow make product testing entertaining. They’ve done it. And without harming any animals. OK, so I’m kind of diappointed about that last bit, but this is still pretty cool:
Not only are they running this washing machine non-stop until it breaks, they have four live cams on it and they’re running a pool on when it will finally give up the ghost. Great stuff.
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Date
20021112
Time
09:28
Church of England introduces ‘dress down Sundays’ for vicars. Heh. Can I just say for the record that I get along quite well with my local vicar? Mind you, I’ve yet to tell him that I’ve started my own religion…
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Date
20021112
Time
09:31
Son uses father’s identity to make $5,400 worth of phone-sex calls.
Dad’s pressing charges, which you might consider to be a bit harsh until you consider that the son in question is 34 years old.
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Date
20021112
Search Engine Optimisation
Time
09:55
Andrew just dropped a line with this new search result.
This is pretty good, too considering that my nickname is a fairly generic term and I’m up against bands like the Manic Street Preachers. A pity, though, that the guy above me is also into SEO. Still, Manic isn’t a trading name, it’s just a little voice in the back of my head.
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Date
20021112
Time
10:02
Our Powwow water cooler arrived a couple of weeks ago. We ran out of water last night, but two new bottles just arrived. The delivery man even had some treats for the kids. Huzzah for Powwow!
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Date
20021112
Tony Blair’s Email: Deletion of the Hostages
Time
13:06
Searching for Tony Blair’s email address? Even the BBC agrees that this is the best place to start looking, probably because we can tell you that it doesn’t exist. Yet.
(Oh, BTW, one lost soul found this site today because they were looking for ’email for u.k. president tony blair’…)
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Date
20021112
Photoshopping
Time
17:23
Yeah, I know – straight to hell. What the hey, at least I’m recycling… erm, and that’s got to count for something, right? Right?
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Date
20021113
Time
08:37
The boys from Jackass have been outdone: a helicopter has crashed while trying to film the bounce of the world’s largest rubber band ball.
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Date
20021113
Time
08:41
This is a joke, but – sadly – this is for real:
As part of their Anti-Harry Potter Conference, the Jesus Party will be cutting up a copy of one book. One book.
Book-burning is rather passé (and environmentally unfriendly), but book-cutting is kind of dull, don’t you think? If they had any imagination – or perhaps a decent flair for the dramatic – they’d gather a pile of books, get one of those industrial wood-chippers in for the day and make a real spectacle of it.
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Date
20021113
Time
08:52
If radial pong doesn’t test your limits sufficiently, perhaps you might like to enjoy some real-life excitement and instead attend Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship in Toronto, Canada this Saturday.
It’s an open tournament, so anyone can compete – but be warned that you’ll be up against Master Roshambollah, ‘the Bobby Fischer of the rock, paper, scissors world’…
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Date
20021113
Time
08:59
Marge Simpson is getting a boob job.
Completely unnecessary in my opinion. Marge is all-woman, and an all-round domestic goddess. I never went in for the Jessica Rabbit type. I’m more of a Betty Rubble man, myself. Even though she giggles like an idiot and her womb is barren.
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Date
20021113
Time
09:13
Heading a football too much can kill you. So can eating glass, but it’s a great way to make sure foreigners don’t mess with you.
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Date
20021113
Time
09:16
Bush is a lying sumbitch #872
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Date
20021113
Death By Success
Time
09:18
The folks behind 8march2003.com have realised the campaign has gained too much momentum, waaaay too fast.
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Date
20021113
Time
09:21
The creator of Bondage Barbie has had her day in court and won. Not only is it art, but there’s no case for impact on sales, either. The judge noted quite soberly that ‘to the court’s knowledge, there is no Mattel line of S&M Barbie.’
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Date
20021113
Time
09:25
If you plan on dating an inmate, you really should take the time during a conjugal visit to scan their tattoos in order to get to know them better. The word ‘Peckerwood’ or a picture of a bluebird lets you know that they’re a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. The numbers on that tattooed headstone will let you know exactly how many years he’s in for, and a picture of a crying female suggests that he has another woman waiting for him on the outside.
Oh, it’s not listed on the site, but you should probably also keep an eye out for a tattoo above the buttocks saying Get It Here…
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Date
20021114
Time
09:49
I actually wrote a personal letter to Michael Carroll the other day, (yes, I know the real address, and – la-la-la – I’m not going to tell yoooou) but now I wish I’d waited, because I’ve just had the greatest idea.
He’s got close to 10 million squid and a perceived debt to society, right?
Well, obviously he should do the whole Bruce Wayne thing. You know… set up a secret cave, buy a range of range of cool non-lethal gadgets, then dress up in the finest Kevlar bodysuit so he can go out at nights fighting crime – just like Terrifica.
Brilliant, huh?
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Date
20021114
Time
09:54
Here’s a nice Thai bride for you. Gosh, do you think the name is a hint?
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Date
20021114
Time
09:56
Three people have died since the firefighters srtike began. Apparently the interim service provided by the army has been struggling under the load – which includes a rash of hoax calls and ‘minor’ arson attacks. I can’t say I’m surprised. In fact, I was expecting some major arson attacks. It was, after all, a rare night to shine for dedicated pyromaniacs (it’s not often you get to watch something burn right to the ground).
Firefighters on strike. I haven’t been this dumbfounded since the day I left Australia – when they were privatising unemployment. How’s that going, BTW? Is the entire employment sector rotten with recruitment scum yet?
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Date
20021114
Time
10:04
Woman arrested for preaching from the Bible. This may have had something to do with the fact that she was naked at the time.
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Date
20021114
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
10:06
Are bloggers primarily geeks? 2nd-top story today: Stan Lee sues Marvel.
‘Nuff said.
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Date
20021114
Time
10:08
Meet career spammer Laura Betterly. Just as selfish and weak-minded as Ronald Scelson, and desperately in need of a clue-by-four. She’s a pretty little thing, too.
Should we run the same thing again, or try something different this time?
(Oh, there’s some light reading on spammers to help get your blood up here and here. Enjoy.)
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Date
20021114
Christianity Watch
Time
10:13
Explore the Bible/UFO connection. Better yet, take a closer look at the Hollywood/Jesus connection. Both come from different directions, but are equally entertaining.
Oh, and from the ‘yet Another Lame Quiz’ department comes What Christian Theologian are you?
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Date
20021114
Time
10:42
OK, own up.Who found our site today by searching for Discounted Tennis Balls for Dogs?
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Date
20021114
Time
13:37
Enjoy some songs about the stock market written by a bunch of fifth-graders.
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Date
20021115
Time
08:58
This morning I had to go out and buy soap – but I needed a shower before I could go out. I washed myself with shampoo. I’m a disgrace.
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Date
20021115
Viral Marketing
Time
09:02
Here’s a handy run-down of viral portals. Not terribly useful if you’re looking for viral content, as most of them are used by commercial chappies looking to seed their ‘hilarious’ material. The real stuff turns up on your doorstep. Eventually.
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Date
20021115
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20021115
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
09:06
There’s many things ranking higher, but only one issue with multiple links – Michael Jackson’s face:
Image at Yahoo! News
Same image at Reuters
Article detailing his appearance in court. (Includes link to slide show – of his face sliding off his skull, by the looks of things…)
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Date
20021115
Time
09:12
AOL ‘free’ trial costs witless man $916 in phone charges.
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Date
20021115
LOTR
Time
09:15
Fellowship Of The Peeps. I didn’t find it that amusing, I’m sorry. Are my geek powers waning?
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Date
20021115
Time
09:19
Here are some nice fake flyers for you to distribute in your neighbourhood.
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Date
20021115
Tony Blair’s Email: Deletion of the Hostages
Time
13:16
OK, I’m in the mood (and waiting for a phone call) so let’s delete some more of Tony Blair’s email.
I feel like deleting a baker’s dozen today, so out the door and into the ether goes:
Email 1 – It’s a reply to that chap with passport problems. A nice lady from the Passport Examiner’s office in the Consular Section of the British High Commission has obviously seen the CC the chappie sent to Tony, and decided to CC on the reply as well (the answer was a firm ‘no’, by the way). She obviously wants Tony to know that she’s working ever so hard keeping dirty foreigners at bay. Sorry, love. He doesn’t know and he never will. *delete*
Email 2 – A mother and her two young sons were gunned down in the boys’ bedroom as she read them a bedtime story. You’d expect this thing to be front page of the Daily Mail and what not – but it happened in Israel, so it doesn’t count. Sorry. You might think that Tony cares, but now we’ll never know, will we? Sorry again. *delete*
Email 3 – Oops, here we go. Another email about the same murder. The culprit is revealed to be an operative of Arafat’s Fatah, who belongs to same Sirhan family and ‘carries the same name as the man who murdered Robert Kennedy’ in 1968. I think this last fact was added in an effort to impress George Bush (who also got a copy of this email). Sorry, Robert Kennedy was a Democrat, so he doesn’t count either. *delete*
Email 4 – Ah, here we go. Change of subject. Iraq this time, and someone who is worried that the UN Inspection Team will be snapped up and scattered across the country to serve as a human shield against missile attack. The better take their baseball gloves with them, then. *delete*
Email 5 – What? Israel again? It’s a long one too, outlining seven reasons why the nation of Israel deserves their land. Well, there’s one reason why Tony Blair will never read them. Let me see if you can guess what it is. *delete*
Email 6 – Another passport plea. You know, my proposal to fix this ‘no email for Tony’ problem involved forwarding such emails directly to the departments concerned. Not that anybody at Number 10 listened. Out it goes. *delete*
Email 7 – Yet more email on Israel. I’m deleting this one without reading it. *delete*
Email 8 – And another. This is getting easier as we go along. *delete*
Email 9 – Israel again. That murder again. A touching picture is included this time. I’ve posted it here (left) so at least someone will see it. *delete*
Email 10 – Finally, a change of subject. ‘EU funding is being used’… oh, wait… ‘by the PA to finance its crimes against the people of Isr*delete*
Email 11 – Israel again. That murder again. You should see the CC list on this one. Just about every world leader is in there. Including Tony Blair. Who’s the only one among them who doesn’t have a real email address. Don’t you feel just a little bit embarrassed when you turn up to those world summits, Tony? *delete*
Email 12 – Israel, murder, etc. *delete*
Email 13 – Murder, Israel, etc. *delete*
Oh, OK. One more for luck:
Email 14 – Yep, you guessed it. Little kiddies being gunned down in their beds again. Funny, it seems to have struck a chord. *delete*
