Slashdot Mirror
Man To Live In House for One Year
Barry K. Nathan writes "MSNBC is reporting that a geek is actually locking himself into a rented house for a year, to prove that e-commerce makes it possible. He's even changed his legal name to DotComGuy. He says, 'I'm going to come out being a loon,' but I think you have to be crazy already to even think of doing this in the first place... " Actually, it does appear that he can go in the backyard - and can have visitors. But still, I think I'd lose it after about two weeks or so.
anyone notice that he appeared to have a bit of a problem on that log-type thing on the upper right hand part of his page?
This is news? I've been doing this for the past couple years already.
Seems like DotComGuy is free to leave since its the year 19100 on their
....... must ,mdfsdf ...
page:
hmm could this guy be the real Y2K BUG.
Anyone know his Internet Provider so we can friggin Flood his net connection
day in day out doesn't look like a *nix geek to me, so him and his node
Request Timed Out
What company was it that paid that Australian-rules Football player to change his name to that of their product?
Hey, there's this Japanese TV show called something like Electric Boy Blue where they lock a comedian in a hotel room and he has to survive by only winning contests over the phone to get food etc. or something like that. Hell, they even made a Dreamcast game about it. Much more entertaining.
Anybody else notice the y2k bug on his site? Look at his daily logs and stuff and you will see the errors. Seems his site thinks the year is 19100. :)
People were doing this 100 years ago. They're called "housewives".
When I was on the lamb from immigration (in a country that will remain unnamed), they raided the ISP at which I was working and rounded up two other wetbacks. Fortunatley, I was lucky enough to duck out for "lunch" before they noticed me in the server room.
./ and that's all I have to say about that.
As they say "necessity is the mother of invention" and that day, I decided it was a good time to take the ISP "virtual" by wacky combination of co-locating eqiupment, call forwarding and sign-up location partnerships. A remote technical and cusomter support "center" was established about 10 miles from where the ISP store front used to be located.
It worked great. It ended up saving the ISP about $70,000 a year (between ditching a 30km leased line, not having to pay store front rent and losing the other two good-for-nothing wetbacks), from which I got a raise. The police even call me up and ask where we were located (I sent them to one of the signup locations). I could have been running the joint from Mars for all they knew. Of course, I had to stay in the house, least the nosy neighbors start talking too much about that weird foreign man who kept strange hours. So, my only trips from the house were down to the local 7/11 at 3am in the morrning twice a week (no credit card with which to be the "dom-com-guy").
It's a really weird, surreal way to live for a year and a half, but I highly recommend it for any wishing to avoid contact with certain, uh, "authorties" and even stupider immigration laws. As with most really strange stories, there's more a lot more to it that what I've written, but that's really none of anybody's business on
BTW, I'm all better now (and legal!), thank you...
http://www.dotcomguy.com/dcg/main.nsf/Travel
Wonder how many cars will fit in his current backyard?
My gosh... I can't believe someone has to flame this guy just because he made a joke... I highly support the moderation on the joke whereas you should be moderated down because you're stupid enough not to understand a joke. A joke is funny. You shall not take it seriously. You move on. You do not take a joke out of context.
catch23
gosh, I didn't know slashdot actually had visitors that refuse to buy from the internet... I can't believe people out there are still so ignorant. It's probably easier for a cashier at some store to steal your credit card number than some amazon.com place... and I thought that intellectuals visit this place!
People get sentenced every day to house arrest. What makes it so different from what this idiot is doing. Oh yea he is getting $$$.
I don't think it would be that big of a deal. I already spend most of my weekends totally at home, sometimes not even going outside in the backyard. The only reason I leave the house during the week is to go to work. After that I come right back home. If I could telecommute, I could stay at home all the time. Other than work, the only real reason that I have to leave the house is to run stupid errands for my wife. The only people that come to the house now are my wife's friends/relatives and I wish that most of them would go away too. I've told people years ago that I would be perfectly happy in an apartment with a suppy of food and an internet connected computer. I prefer interacting and dealing with machines more than I do people.
Pointless publicity stunt
This has been tested in prisons for decades (without net). Just ask John Gotti or something.
No... Then we'd have a constant flow of first posts, because they'ed always appear to be "first", rather than newest.
First posts are like trolls and flamebaiters... You hate them, but there's no way you can get rid of them.
Are you serious?!?
That's what I did today! Well, Omaha Steaks didn't stop by today (but I am kinda stocked from their last stop >;)
I guess I'm not the only one who meets all five of those requirements and doesn't mind it.
(Unless making ramen counts as a cooking skill.)
Of course, I also like to kick in a good sci-fi or anime (preferably both) while I code.
Of course, I'm at the other extreme, living in the state with the notorious Jesse "The Gov" Ventura. The weather here tends to encourage the act of staying indoors.
Well, back to coding for me...either that or I'll finish watching my "Legend of Crystania."
Thanks for the funny grin I've got stuck on my face. >;)
-Vel
But not as much as your sig! Do you have more original ones like that ?
damn, the guy gets famous, free house and everything he orders...
Play quake surf the net, program some crap all day, watch porn all nite. Never leave the house.
if I didn't have to work, I'd live the same damn way.
My girlfriend has being looking for a while for something like this. She swears up and down that if I had a 1 bedroom apartment, my food delievred to me, enough money. I could live like that for the rest of my life. I wish I was the one who was going to do it. Shit, after it was over, I couldn't go back!
All is said !
This is quite foolish. I won't buy anything online. Sure this guy will have a job, but I'm concerned about the local stores in my communities driven daily out of business by the Amazons of the Net. I don't want my privacy to be ruined, etither, by having credit card, medical, and personal information available to anyone on the net.
Until, I can see E-comm truly helping the consumer, and not a tool for instant gratification, I won't buy into it!
GOT A PROBLEM WIT IT???
I'd like to hear about this.
Well, I'm 17. I DO have a job, and I DO support MYSELF. You are what's wrong with America. Get a life; get a job.
too bad the job is taken. I could have done it and it would be an improvement over my life now. like a 365 day paid vacation.
the guy has a website, any time he wanted visitors he could just post a message for 50 people to come over and bring a keg. He's a mini celebrity, so he could probably get some type or another of women to become nerd-groupies.
Now how the hell did you get a 3, Informative I got a 0, offtopic for the same information? Damn, moderation is beginning to piss me off. Oh well it'll prolly get caught in meta moderation.
getting a job does nothing for you or your soul. I suggest work for _one_ year go to the sticks buy some cheap land and grow some fruit and vegges, find a european wife to breed with and die happy
http://www.bignose.org/dotcomguy
That does sound pretty awful.
Do they have any kind of noise pollution regulations? Or is it normal to get woken up at all hours of the night?
Man what that guy went through is so much tougher than what that Dallas guy is attempting to do.
a man walks into the doctor's office and then is seen by the doctor. He says "doc, my dick is orange, you gotta help me". So the doctor gives him a bunch of tests and asks him questions, and he can't figure out what's wrong with the guy. Finally the doctor asks the man one last question. "What have you been doing lately?"
The man said "Oh, nothing much, just eating cheatoes and watching porn."
Err.. YES!!!!
Push me pull me tug me stroke me... oops, Im not on irc...
Take a look at http://go.to/y2kmistakes
They were also discussing the Truman show.
...and he's really fucked if he uses Windows
Wait, don't answer that.
If he were not allowed visitors, it might be interesting to see if/how his verbal communication abilities slowly degraded over a year. But, alas, he does value the quality of the rest of his life a little more than the chance at less than $100k. :)
Comment #117 mentions a nice little website for e-hookers. :)
Just shut up and install windows. You know you want to. If this is the type of thing you want to do while using your computer, you should be using an OS that supports it. Lets stop being a bunch of linux bigots, ok?
Well, If I could get paid what I do now to sit at home and not leave, I'd be in heaven. No car payment to deal with, surf the web on high speed bandwidth, and order what I need (DVDs, groceries, computers...etc) would be a blast. kinda like my x-mas vacation.
"Man gives up. Admits he'll never get laid."
Now here's an interesting poll idea:
Do you think DotComGuy will be in a state where he can get laid this New Year's Eve?
:)
I exist mostly like this. Over summers when I didn't have to work I spent months inside. In college I leave to go to class and to the occasional grocery store. I don't think my mental or emotional stability has been effected. This type of living is the way of the future. Someday we'll all live in giant apartment buildings under ground, all wired together in one big super-internet that we will all work and interact on.
cheetos, dirty movies and extra socks ;)
i posted the original comment. I think the current system is flawed. I enjoy a DSl connection which is seriously put to the limit every time I want to peruse a discussion with several hundred comments. I can't imagine what it must be for a dial up link. I don't think there is any reason to justify the current system. It goes against any rational thought. Implementing a system, as you have suggested, to thwart potential abuse is simply asinine. You don't design a system with negatives influencing your decision. Cmdrtaco, who IMO is a useless bastard, needs to consult with other people who know what a user inerface means.
If we DoS him, doth he not die?
Did you know: Your S.O. will most likely kick you out of the house if you -never- leave, even if you're working at home & taking care of the place/yourself. Something about staying inside all the time strikes them as...pathetic.
Just out of frame in that picture is the 20 gallon drum of skin lotion.
Hmm, depends on how big of a back yard he has... if his house has no fence, and sits beside a 1,000,000 sq. mile forest, it wouldn't be too bad, and screw going into town !!!
This guy Nasubi managed to live in an apartment for over year surviving only on what he won through free contests in magazines. Completely naked with no money or visitors. His life got broadcast on TV each night. There are a few articles floating around about it...
Since he's streaming asf, doesn't that make him MrDotBillGuy????
And he's got a properly dot-com cashflow coming in.. See, if y'all looked at your lives differently, you'd see the striking similarities. He'll probably fare better than most of you since he's conscious of what he's doing.
Too bad there'll be a lot of media publicity pointed his way..you could really have some fun with this. Rented house, money coming in, forced to stay there... Can you say Party House of Crack Whores? Have bands play, e-buy a few kegs. Screw the Web, screw IRC. Enjoy life.
Well, Most geeks have at least 3 computers ;) And all the 3 computers at the same time having a hardware problem is very unlikely
That's Japanese TV for you... Think it might be boring? Well, try it naked!
He said he's only 17 (not an adult yet, so his parents are *supposed* to provide food/shelter for him). Once he turns 18 though, it's his responsibility.
I've been living indoors for the past 4 years. Is there some prize up for grabs ?
And you're post #69, here is a cookie.
You just described me... Anyways, all you would need is some sponsors and some dumbasses to pay to view you on your webcam. From that point on you would only need amazon and some grocery site to live like a king.
He's got three years without touching a computer ahead of him.
i do this right now... for FREE! attention advertisers, i will stay in my house for 2 years for a nice sum... email stoat@NOSPAMmindless.com
I've left the house maybe 10 times in the last 6 months.
Memepool has a bunch of screenshots of what you are talking about.
If you think you know what the hell is going on you're probably full of shit. -- Robert Anton Wilson
If you think you know what the hell is going on you're probably full of shit. -- Robert Anton Wilson
jdube is who
-----------
"You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding."
man does this sound cool
--
Sinepaw.org: Grape Winos
LETS GET ONE THING STRAIGHT, YOU DAMN MODERATORS!
If I say in the topic that my post is off topic, there is no point in marking the post off topic! The purpose of me marking it off topic is that people who want to only read on topic posts can easily skip mine. The purpose of YOU marking it off topic is so people who want to read only on topic posts can easily skip mine!
In any case, I was replying to something that was on the same topic as i was talking about, so i was actually on topic UNLESS YOU THINK THE WHOLE FARKING THREAD SHOULD BE MODERATED DOWN!!! Since the rest of the posts in the thread are intact, you obviously are just abritrarily moderating without thinking.
Go read the moderation guidelines. I will quote: "Concentrate more on promoting than on demoting." "The goal here is to share ideas."
I am sharing ideas, dammit, go find some post with a useful link and moderate it up so that more people can share more ideas. Don't shoot me down for sharing my ideas about something random when i clearly say i am doing so. This helps no one.
This is being posted anonymously because even though it is clearly not a troll (but possibly a flame) it will almost certainly be marked as such.
Maybe this would help.
slashdot broke my sig
Julia Butterfly Hill lived high in the limbs of a
redwood for over 2 years, and saved a chunk of the
Headwaters forest from clear-cutters and Corporate Greed.
And now some clown's gonna lock himself up in his house
(which he prolly seldom leaves anyway), and prove that
one can throw themselves on the mercy of E-commerce and not starve.
Forgive me for not being thoroughly impressed.
Go take a look at his Schedule and check out the dodgy (perl?) scripting thats going on:
01:09 AM Invalid Date/Time object: 01/03/19100
01:09 AM Invalid Date/Time object: 01/03/19100
01:38 AM Invalid Date/Time Object: 01/03/19100
My dad's hermit-y ass sits at home for MONTHS at a time, and as long as he has someone to buy him liquor and a freezer full of frozen fish sticks, he won't leave the house -- ever.
One month is childs play. You don't need the 'net to live in solitary confinement for anything less than two months. Deep freeze with food in it, electricity, and a microwave is all anyone would need, if they could stand staying inside that long. My dad doesn't seem to have any problems whatsoever staying indoors for 8-10 weeks at a time.
What REALLY sucks about it is that he expects me to do the same.
Fuck you, dad.
Naikrovek.
Sure, it's possible. As long as you can telecommute (or break into your Y2K stockpiles), you can pay to get groceries delivered and everything. Hell, if you had the money, you could do that easily w/o e-commerce.
:)
I'm hardly a social person, and I probably could do the same without complaining much. But why would I?
Now if some online grocer was paying me a small fortune for advertising rights...
If he can have visitors, that would be way too easy. As long as I could find a liquor store to deliver to my place...it would become DotComPartyCentral and I could name myself DotComGuyWhoThrowsParties. With guaranteed live webcasts of people puking.
I don't think this is a challenge....
Derek
Sounds like you're an expert on the topic - care to tell us more?
- Jeff A. Campbell
- VelociNews (http://www.velocinews.com)
- Jeff
--
I don't know if this requires you to be logged in, however. Either way, it's a nice way to get Slashdot to behave the way you want, even if the occasional Anonymous Coward still won't.
-DrPsycho - Coping with reality since 1975
But an entire year without being able to go out and meet other people?
Ya gotta wonder just how much cyberpr0n this guy is going to access during his year long sentence! Pr0nDotComGuy?
Heh heh heh.
-DrPsycho - Coping with reality since 1975
I wear glasses and a suit when I post as Karma-whore-guy-antagonist-guy, but when posting as Karma-whore-guy, I take them off, let a curl of hair dangle over my forehead, and put on a cape. Sure, it might sound like an easily-detectable disguise, but you're the only one who's caught me so far!
Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com
I think that the posts should be reversed, with the newest at top, as default. That would render the "Must comment first to be at the top"-attitude unsucessfull...
--The knowledge that you are an idiot, is what distinguishes you from one.
That should be the default, and no one would run for first post anymore...
--The knowledge that you are an idiot, is what distinguishes you from one.
Maddox's first monthly paycheck from the company will be $24, but it will double every month as an incentive to stay in the house, Critcher said.
In other words, over $98,000 (assuming my math is right) to live in a house for 1 year. And the sponsors are probably covering all his expenses. Nice job, if you can get it. Perhaps somebody in finances forgot how fast exponential functions grow...
How long will it take before we see something like this but where you are not allowed to touch or have anything to do with a computer for a year?
Nah, he just orders a sherpa over the web to climb the Everest for him.
-- Abigail
-- Abigail
Dotcomguy? What a dumb name first of all, but i guess the stunt is working, since we are talking about it and bringing attention to it. I have a question however. What happens, say, six months from now when Mr. Dotcomguy has a medical problem. Is Mr. Dotcomguy going to look up on the web how to do a apendechtomy or will he be allowed to leave the house for that.
And hey, I have one better. Install Windows 98 on a bunch of older machines. That sure feels like your spending a year in your own home.
His days at Highland Park High School [Michigan high school -- strike 1] were relatively unremarkable with the notable exception of his being suspended for interrupting stuffy graduation exercises with beach balls, bouncy balls and bubbles from the balcony. [OK -- *once* he had some balls...] He went on to the University of North Texas [ Texas University -- strike 2,], where he joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity [Dubya's old frat -- strike 3]. His family had always been politically active [political family -- strike 4] , and this model went to his head when he majored in Political Science [Majored?? -- strike 5 ] and left school in 1994 [Bill Gates syndrome -- strike 6] to work for state and federal political campaigns. After serving in the US Marine Corps [ Jarred head -- strike 7] he received an internship at UPS, where he later took a management position in Human Resources [ "The HR! The HR!" -- strike 8; leaving before the IPO -- strike 9 ]. Most recently he was a systems manager [ Oxymoron -- strike 10 ] for the world's largest mobile telecommunications company [ Thanks for all the cell phones, guy -- strike 11].
And *then* he became -- DotComGuy! [ Strike 12! Yer out, out, out, OUT!!] Poor guy -- hitting bottom at 26. At least he's removed himself from our physical presence for a year. I nominate -- one year in advance -- DotComGuy for a Darwin Award in the year 2001. I think it's the only way he can redeem himself. ;-D
DNA is a Turing machine. You, however, being dynamic and emergent, are not.
I Alredy do this :)
At least he had the sense to run the web server on Unix. Not that it will matter if he doesn't get traffic.
If he's using it as a toilet too, lack of content won't be a problem for long.
(Ba-dum-dum-psh!)
Noise is the enemy of the submarine fleet. Modern sonar and sonarmen are sophisticated enough to hear the slightest of noises which are conducted through the hull into the water. Equipment and machinery are shock and noise mounted to reduce noise leakage, and in general routine operations are carried out efficiently and quietly.
That being said, submarines at sea, even in peacetime, are constantly running emergency drills and procedures to test crew and ship readiness for battle conditions. So, just when your particular shift has retired to your sleeping quarters for your six-hour sleep-slot, you get awakened by a simulated reactor failure or a fire in the galley drill.
By the way, there is no "night" on a submarine :-) There are three crew shifts which work in a staggered 18 hour cycle or "day". At any given time, one shift is standing watch (operating equipment), one shift is performing maintenance or training, and the third shift is (hopefully) getting some shut-eye. These all rotate every six hours.
At least that's how it was on mine.
Babies are cute because they have to be.
Yep. When people find out I was once a submariner (USS Archerfish, SSN-678), the first thing they ask is how we avoided claustrophobia. Funny thing was, though, that once the routine settled in (after about five minutes :-), the boat simply...became our universe.
Making our own oxygen and distilling our own water, a metal tube a few hunded feet long and mostly filled with machinery became the home to 100+ men whose lives depending inextricably on every single one of the others.
Not an experience easy to communicate--I guess you just had to be there.
Babies are cute because they have to be.
I rarely leave the house myself. I feel as if I could go an entire year. Then again i'm only 17. I have no job, and my parents buy me all my food and clothing. So it would be easier for me I guess.
-PovRayMan
----------
Check out my blackbox styles
Maddox's first monthly paycheck from the company will be $24, but it will double every month as an incentive to stay in the house...
2^12*304 = $98,304
and this is just for the last month. Before taxes he's going to get $196,584.00 for the entire year.
this isnt that hard to do... i could stay within my back yard for a year if everything was payed for. It would be even easier if i was clearing almost 200K before taxes.
TRUELY IMPRESSIVE:
A person lives in a house on his/her own for a year. Living only off the money that he/she has earned online (sales/programming/sysadmin/etc).
john
-- john
oops my math was off. sorry about that. still this would hardly be called a challenge.
john
-- john
I'd assume so. Even if he could not (use a telephone), he probably could sign up for one of those Net2Phone services so he could call places off his computer.
This is not that big of an event, a guy in japan lived in an apartment for 3 months off stuff that he won in mail order contests a while back. He will do his event and probably get his name in some record book, but all in all it is a waste of time...
Is it progress if a cannibal uses a fork?
OK. You're cool. Let's use silly pranks and act like a 13 year old. Unfortunately this seems to be the typical /. response to things we don't understand or don't like.
/. when people read the article in question and actually thought about it before they posted. There was a time when there was intelligent conversation on /. - it seems that time is gone. Too bad really...
I'll admit that this is a lame publicity stunt, but to suggest that we use neat-o leet-o script-kiddie tools to bring the site down and have the post moderated up is just unbelievable.
There was time on
Does anyone have the web-stie address where we can see these web-cams?
(my e-mail is down, Someone needs to tell Exodus to never cut the Fiber-optic cable)
No man is an island, But if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie them together, they make a pretty good raft.
yes, you are right. The major effect of y2k is bogus dates on web pages. There are pages that have screen shots of a lot of them, but i forgot where they are, so i will summarize, the date testerday was, depending on what they did wrong:
0, 100,1900,1999 (jan 1), 1999 (dec 32), 19100, 192000 or 202000
There were also a number of millenium countdown sites that are either now counting up or counting down from a very large negitive number.
$50000 and free groceries? What's the challenge? I'd be a lot more impressed if he started with one clean install of Linux, no financial/material support, and the clothes on his person -- funnel advertising dollars to an escrow account to be collected in 2001. See someone support themself entirely from home, w/o resorting to selling the story of..."someone supporting themself entirely from home". Just silly otherwise.
Best deals before dawn!
;0)
-DAVEO
This guy really knows how to rough it.
What's he going to do for an encore, climb mount Everest?
For my two cents (real cents = real sense), I think he's a dotcommie, bent on destroying the north american way (styrofoam containers, .357 magnums, flea markets, chaw). We've got the bomb, let's blow the hell outta his house and see if he stays, summoning 911 via email.
TheGeekC sexandb reedsdotcomchildren.com
http://www.blowthehelloutofdotcomguybeforehehasIR
TheGeek
TheGeek
http://www.geekrights.org
Kill the monkey
And for that matter, I've personally never seen them in the same place at the same time.
TheGeek
http://www.geekrights.org
TheGeek
TheGeek
http://www.geekrights.org
Kill the monkey
Check out the website. His 'upcoming schedule' doesn't have much, since it doesn't like the Year 19100.. (if they've fixed it, there's a snapshot of the page here.
-- You can't idiot-proof anything, because they're always coming out with better idiots.
Even 50 years ago, with enough money, you could buy every single thing you wanted with just the phone. Augh.
Yeah, but they're using that thar Internet thing! The guy even calls himself "DotComGuy!" 50 years ago, people might've suspected he was (gasp) communist -- but today we know that everthing must be dot com. Why? Because dot com is an Internet Address! And everyone loves the Internet. That guy on CNN told me so.
---
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Well, at least he did this after Wal-Mart's NEW IMPROVED STORE went online.
I looked at it today... its less useless than the previous version, at least. However, if you take more than a certain length of time to click a link, you get to start over again. Also, didnt see any Privacy info on their feedback page.
First saturdays's rock! I really missed that after moving away from Dallas. (even though I couldn't tell half my friends about it - It's 3AM and you're going where??)
These pretzels are making me thirsty.
For those of you who don't know, a Jazzy is basically a motorized wheelchair that is advertised as giving mobility to diabled people. As we were watching the commercial, I thought of my brother who works as a sysadmin for a phone company. I thought something like the Jazzy would be ideal for the computer geek: no need to get up and walk away from the computer, just move the joystick and drive around the house. You'd save all kinds of money on furniture because you've already got the only chair you need to sit in. If you could incorporate some sort of toilet feature, you've solved yet another problem with needing to get up from your seat. The last step is some sort of docking station for your automobile, and then you're good to go.
"Dogs love me cause I'm crazy sniffable/ I bet you never knew I got the ill peripheral" -Beastie Boys 'The Move'
"Defenestration" is to throw out of a window; what's a word for throwing 'Windows' out of something?
Is curing the wave of first-posts worth the price of seriously increasing the number of "last posts"? I mean, at least you only have one shot at the first post.
-=Best Viewed Using [INLINE]=-
Turn the computer off!
..for your conditions. Around 1992, there wasn't much -to- do but newsgroups & email. Even that kept me rapt for hours/days/weeks.
Shhh, you'll wake the baby
Yeah, nobody else does, either. We've got such short attention spans, this guy will be a distant memory by March.
Feel like I've been doing that since I got DSL.... TV, party people coming over.. my minions bring food.. Why leave?
..there's enough already. Bring this guy down. Make him get a life.
Hope he has some 'good friends' already. Either that, or that he's very eloquent via IRC.
Wait..he'll do what most geeks do...alt.binaries...
SpamMan
If I may elaborate a bit...
Month 1: $24 (= 24*2^0)
...and so on until...
Month 2: $48 (= 24*2^1)
Month 12: $49,152 (= 24*2^11)
The whole of which totals 24*(2^12-1)=$98,280.
maybe he could find a Call Girl e-commerce site?
Maybe for the first day or two, but he'll be famous (or infamous?) soon enough, and people will know it's "That Guy"
Nipok Nek
Why choose white shoes?
I'm sure a few of the readers on Slashdot have heard of a wacky little experiment called Distributed.net?
Nipok Nek
Why choose white shoes?
Wait, this is odd?
Maybe I should get out soon...
Look I use Windows and I am sorry. I just don't have the time to invest in getting Linux operational(I do have it and it is installed on my computer just not configured). mIcrosfot rules the world we have to accept that. If I had the money to spend on getting another decent box I would have a Windows-PC for everyday use due to the fact that most people use it and there just aren't the adaptances to linux on everything. And one with various OS's Linux, and Solaris(you can get an Intel version), and others that I want to play with. As soon as they make linux a "put the cd in and start the computer and all you have to do is type your name" OS then it will gain popularity. Until then pathetic people will use windows cuz it it pre-installed and people like me will use it cuz we don't have the time to configure it but know that It is True Purity and a small percentage of the population that talks REAL LOUD will use Linux and we will envy them. It also doesn't help that all from the store PCs come with windmodems and you gotta pay at least 50 bucks extra to get a non-winmodem.
If you want my respect, give it first...
If you don't want my respect, expect mine before you give it.
I think I could do it. The problem is that I am in High School. Now if they want to contact me and give me the exemption of school or wire it with cameras to make it work for me, I think for that kind of cash I could convince my parents. Hey people who are paying: Want to prove a teen ager can do it? Pick me!!! Pick me!!!
If you want my respect, give it first...
If you don't want my respect, expect mine before you give it.
Good for you, Moderator. I like your moxie, and am glad that I'm not the only one who thought this comment came in out of nowhere. It would seem that the components most frequently ill-suited to this forum are the Anon Cowards.
And, AC, what flew up your butt? Does Sun cut you a check every week?
Pissily,
Much Love,
"S"HM
*****
(I refuse to spellcheck out of contempt for your belief system)
...is a constant supply of mountain dew and my big stack of games.
--Have a Johsonville brat.
His website was not tested. If you go there you can see two links with:
01/03/2000 - 01:09:00 AM
Invalid Date/Time object:
01/03/19100
Or whatever the time and date is. Oops for them! So much for the wonder of DotComGuy
Rock over London, Rock on Chicago
Wheaties, breakfast of Champions.
It's a spin-off of a Swedish show.
We now get 11 people who will live and tour in a bus. Who have to eat bugs to win a price of one million dutch guilders (about half million dollar).
Bizar technology?
For example:
Sex. It's 1 year, the guy has to get some. And it will be difficult with all those cameras.. :) Can you order prostitutes on line? Or have a "sex-inside-only" relationship?
Money. Sure, the guy has credit cards, but you have to go to an ATM to get some cash to do some small things, link: tip the pizza guy, pay for the prostitutes.. What if a pipe brokes? Can you pay the plumber with a credit card? You need a job.. Sure it's easy if "Peapod.com" gives you free groceries, but that's not real life..
What if you want to watch some cool movie that's not released on VHS or DVD yet? etc, etc.
I personally hate to go out and do boring stuff like go to the bank to sign something, or stuff like that. I also hate picnics.. But e-commerce is just to make it easyer to buy stuff (some stuff), not to make it possible to live locked inside.. Isn't there a mental disease that makes people do that?
--
--
Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
--
--
Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
Before changing his name, he should have made sure we would not see things such as this. How lame can you be--starting your stunt in 2000 with a non-y2k compliant site? I get the feeling he's not about to become /.'s favorite person of the year.
Am I alone in suspecting that after perhaps a few weeks of publicity, this guy's going to quietly walk out of his house, pop to the local pub, and have a few beers? Indeed, I noticed that he's afforded a certain amount of privacy and time to cover up the web cams; how many of us really believe that he's going to remain indoors? I don't mean to be too cynical, but the impression I've had from the start is that this is purely a publicity stunt, rather than a genuine attempt at scientific discovery. The media being as it is, any news that the guy had abandonded the entire project would be essentially a non-story and probably wouldn't make it onto the news. This guy's getting his fifteen minutes of fame, and good luck to him - but I'm willing to bet he won't still be at it a year, or even a month or two, from now; nobody'll notice, either, because it's going to be so horrendously dull watching some guy alone around his house. "The Real World" without the contrived "interesting" elements..
I seem to remember that some weeks ago, a writer for the NYTimes' Circuits section did this. He stayed in his house ordering food, toys, entertainment, etc. online. If memory serves, the guy who delivered his danish suggested he was just go to the cafe up the street, it was quicker.
Mind you, this was just for one day, but it's rather similar.
So, what is this guy going to do if his ISP fritzes out?
===
-Ravagin
Karma: T-rexcellent.
What if the guy eats some week old pizza and ends up with a serious intestinal problem? Or trips and sprains his ankle? Will he be able to go to the doctor, then the pharmacy, then physical therapy, etc? Will it still count?
Man Rides Bus to Work
Woman Will Work Out at Gym
Dog Bites Man
illegitimii non ingravare
I dunno, something about this enrages me. I can't put my finger on it. When I first heard about it I tried to go the guy's site and call him a loser (via a message board or something). I guess the thought of staying on the internet in your house without ever leaving is just so sad. Plus the instant media hype was extremely aggravating. To me this just seems like such a pathetic way to get attention.
Well, I guess this is the time when somebody tells me that I'm just jealous or somthing. That could be true, but I don't think it is. Couldn't this guy find a better way to get famous?
I've been wondering about for about a month (it was on a local radio program a while back).
If he isn't allowed to use the phone, it seems like his little stunt will be over as soon as he has a hardware failure.
Not only is this not original, it does not even come close to what one Japanese man did. He lived in an apartment (no garden, human contact), surviving off free offers and competition winnings. You know the type of competitions, complete the following phrase in ten words or less to win a three month supply of toilet paper. His ordeal was secretly filmed with hidden video cameras as well.
This guy is definately misguided in a big way. eCommerce is meant to complement rather than replace normal ways of shopping.
/. will follow up on this at this time next year.
He's trying to use eCommerce in a way its not meant to be used (yet), and I don't think he'll last the year. Hopefully
I use eCommerce to buy a lot of stuff on the web, but that doesn't mean that I don't go and buy stuff in shops, the two aren't mutually exclusive as the guy who is locking himself up seems to imply.
remeber those devices which allow you to do 50 pushups an hour or something while sitting? they work by giveing you small electric shocks that cause your muscles to contract. simply hook the device on up to that toliet/bed/chair and there you go... or maybe we should just use a wearable machine.
---- Sig? What sig? Who needs one, anyway?
Also, isn't this about the 6 millionth time I've read about somebody doing this? First, every newspaper under the sun did it with their own reporters. Then Wired did it (which is a certain sign that it should've stopped). Now, Joe Blow with his own company wants to try it too. This is something that was more appropriate for the novelty days of the World Wide Web and e-commerce, not today.
Finally, is it me or does this whole thing just seem like a giant commercial stunt? Hmmm.. laptop by Gateway (why does that matter?), groceries by Peapod (why does that matter??) About a few weeks off, I can see this guy decorating his house with Coca-Cola wallpaper, and strategicly placing Heitz Ketchup near those few dozen netcams he has setup.
I guess this is what you're forced to do after convincing your company to blow half their budget on your "Post Y2K Emergency Response plan"
In Japan they got this guy to lock himself in an apartment for an entire year (completely naked and without supplies). Only able to get his supplies by winning contests he had to enter sooo many contests just to get toilet paper. And when he got out he found out that it was aired on national TV and was a high rated program too... I forgot what the show was called I belive it was Eggplant something?? Something significant to do wiht an eggplant, I don't remember. I saw it in Time magazine.
Personally I don't think this guy should have visitors, if he wants to communicate with someone he should use those online phone pages that are free. Sounds like a better idea to me.
i shudder at the very thought of eating AOL CDs. maybe he'll be able to do a pushup or something. i can't.
"There is no spoon."
I've been stuck in the house for ages, I've been out of the house three times this year aside from doctor's appointments (and it was twice more this year than last :P ). Ok, so maybe I've arguably already gone insane, but you don't have to go nuts being in the house all the time. Also:
:) Can you order prostitutes on line? Or have a "sex-inside-only" relationship? ))
((Sex. It's 1 year, the guy has to get some. And it will be difficult with all those cameras..
Note that the camera in the bathroom is turned AWAY from the toilet and bathtub (showers, anyone?). I'm pretty sure there are other 'hidden' areas in the house - if he found someone who wanted to, he could manage it. The problem here would be finding someone who wanted to. Someone else had a good point about geekgirls in general. This guy is _weird_, and not in a good way. Who cares about this stunt? A guy who can build a robot to bring me a card has a much better chance than a weirdo who locks himself in a house for a year. Of course, there are always desperate women out there, so if he does find it necessary...
((Money. Sure, the guy has credit cards, but you have to go to an ATM to get some cash to do some small things, link: tip the pizza guy,))
Hey, I tip with credit cards all the time. You give the number when you call in the order, and write the tip on that little line labeled (*gasp*) 'tip:'.
(( pay for the prostitutes.. What if a pipe brokes? ))
(breaks) I would think that online prostitutes would have been shut down by now, as things like that tend to be illegal in most places. Hm... come to think of it, 'escort services' operate in most states without a problem, so strike that. However, most of them take credit cards anyway; the prostitutes who can't are usually the street kind, and you don't want to go there. At least the women in escort services have a choice (they are told at the start that you are NOT to be selling that, but if you arrange anything like that it's YOUR choice and has nothing to do with them). Not to mention a regular (if unusual) job.
((Can you pay the plumber with a credit card?))
Does any real agency (even plumbers) NOT take credit anymore?
(( You need a job.. Sure it's easy if "Peapod.com" gives you free groceries, but that's not real life..))
The job thing I'll go for. I think he could likely work from home though, as a lot of people do that. Especially if he does something like sysadmin work or programming - as long as there's someone competant on the other end to hit the buttons when the need arises and do other in-person junk, he could easily monitor etc from home. However, given the prices online for necessities like groceries... oh wait, he's living alone. This makes a big difference; if he makes a normal salary he could live pretty well out there. One guy can live on a sysadmin's salary even online without problems.
As for going to the bank, many employers (especially in urban areas) will direct deposit to your bank account. Movies? I wait anyway, I don't like theaters, they're too loud. My ears don't like to ring (also why I don't do concerts or clubs, aside from the crowd aspect).
((Isn't there a mental disease that makes people do that? ))
*ahem* *pointed look* Are you insinuating something? *grin*
Okay, anyway, this point has been made, but:
It's not a big deal! The whole point of e-commerce is to allow people to not worry about these things, to have them delivered. He's not proving anything to anyone. It's stupid. But boy, if I'd thought of it I'd be doing it too, he's probably getting a lot of money for doing something he's likely been doing all along. Being allowed to have visitors etc makes it easy - he can meet and hang with anyone, even have parties. No problem. I'm a little jealous that he's getting money for it, but it isn't a big deal that he's doing it.
-Elthia
// not much different
:( ) could go online to http://www.waitersonwheel, and without getting out of my coding chair, can click on the screen what to eat, and have food magically delivered to my desk.
This is what I did Christmas/New Years, and most of my life anyway.
Given :
1. I want to (and have to) code a lot
2. have 0 cooking interest/skills
3. have 0 shopping interest/skills
4. have 0 life interest/skills
5. the only people I want to talk to all have computers
I wouldn't survive either the *holidays* or living without e-commerce.
http://www.omahasteaks.com actually have microwaveable pre-cooked prime rib vaccuum packed and dry ice frozen delivered next day to your door.
That's what I ate for *holidays*.
// dallas
Since I live in Dallas, and have lived in more electronically enlightened cities like Seattle, I would say Dallas is the lousiest place to do this.
If I were in Seattle, I (used to, sniff
// dot com guy service
I am selfishly glad of the dot com guy Dallas hype. Hopefully, they will start improving and increasing the range of service for the "people who do not get out of chair" crowd like us in this area.
And have all the links bookmarked conveniently at his site for me to use so I need to get out of the chair even less frequently.
And my life can be even more streamlined and wonderful, and would have even more time to e-shop-talk and code.
// housewife
I had one of the best holidays ever, and some thanks go to e-commerce for making gift-giving mere mouse-clicking at my desk.
Who needs housewife with computers, internet, and e-commerce. Viva la keyboard!
Corrinne Yu
3D Game Engine Programmer
Getting ayone to actually deliver to you with a name like "DotComGuy"...
Dot-Com Ghai? Sounds Oriental.
if you worked at a pizza place and got an order from someone named thatm would you make the drive to the address he gave?
Perhaps. I'm being paid to do so. But how would he pay? With his ClickCredit?
Will I retire or break 10K?
I do this anyhow...
February - $ 48
March - $ 96
April - $ 192
May - $ 384
June - $ 768
July - $ 1,536
August - $ 3,072
September - $ 6,144
October - $12,288
November - $24,576
December - $49,152
Grand Total - $98,280
- Instead of the formula you used below.
2^12*304 = $98,304 and this is just for the last month. Before taxes he's going to get $196,584.00 for the entire year.
If he stays 12 months, he will get $98,280 and if they paid him to stay for a 13th month, he would get $196,560.
this isnt that hard to do... i could stay within my back yard for a year if everything was payed for. It would be even easier if i was clearing almost 200K before taxes.
The fact that it would only be a bit under $100K doesn't change my mind about this. IMHO, This isn't much different from the old radio stunt of someone getting up on a billboard until the home team wins or the holdout player signs with the team. It will be news for as long as we pay attention to it. The guy isn't proving anything to most people. Hell, if I had one of those stupid toilet/PC/desks, I wouldn't have to sit here right now and squirm until my team mate comes back from his smoke break.
Diggs
If guns are so evil, how come Sarah Brady can hold one and not turn into a raving lunatic?? Oh yeah, she is one already.
When I got a call from someone having trouble trying to get a file today (01-02-2000), I found that it would not display the files available for download. And even tho' I can upload to it, the files are not displayed after the upload completes.
Well, this did not make me a happy camper. I did some research, and lo' and behold, the files show that a new log was created on 01-01-00 and when it rolled to the next day it created a new file dated 12-31-69. The users that logged in were listed as having connected on 12-31-69.
So, it appears that warFTP refuses to display anything created after (what it thinks is) the current date.
I know that this will probably get hammered both for being off-topic and about a product for Windows NT, but what the heck, it seemed to fit in this thread.
Diggs
If guns are so evil, how come Sarah Brady can hold one and not turn into a raving lunatic?? Oh yeah, she is one already.
What if his computer crashes,or he can't pay his phone bills, will they let him out or is he stuck in the house for the rest of the year?..what if the city he lives in has to be evacuated due to radongas? Will he attempt this again? Whatif he spills soda all over his key board and can't get all the keys unstuck??????? though that would be a neat way to live
"MAN PROVES HUMANITY DEPENDS ON E-COMMERCE BY GETTING FREEBIES FROM GATEWAY, SERVICE911.COM, PEAPOD.COM, AND SOON-TO-BE OTHERS"
OK, so we lock a nerd inside a house for a year.
We give him a laptop and an Internet connection.
He claims that he can live solely on the Internet.
I doubt it.
I'll be surprised if someone can live solely on the Internet WITHOUT getting freebies from online vendors looking for reasons to boost up their stock prices. Hell, ANYONE could live inside a house for a year with a computer and Internet connection as long as they were getting freebies out the wazoo. I don't know what Mitch is trying to prove by doing this, but he is proving one thing. If you have a stupid gimmick, they will swarm.
--
The real Raunchola isn't cool enough to have any imposters
Actually there is a group out there billing themselves CyberMonks... They've got a "religious rule" and they apparently meet together in a chat room. Each "virtual monastery" has its own webpage. No, I'm serious! Really! Here's the URL: http://members.aol.com/OMFSI I guess geeks can be spiritual too... (although if you translate their rule, they don't seem to be as Catholic as one might think...)
When will online news people finally wise up that the web is not TV nor is it a newspaper?
MSNBC's article about DotComGuy goes on and on about all the websites that are sponsoring DotComGuy, about all the live web-cams in his house, etc, etc. But no where, once, in the entire article is there so much as a link to any of these places. Not even the URL to www.dotcomguy.com. I had to guess at the address (which in this case happened to be an easy guess).
This is not an isolated incident. Slashdot is fairly good about providing nice little links off to various related places, but 99% of the other places I read news are about as interactive as river rock. At least a river rock will roll down a steep hill.
When I'm reading an article about a website I expect there to be a link to that website. This seems fairly obvious, but few reporters will do this. I get the feeling that all of these articles were transplanted from out of the newspaper, which they probably were. Or written by print journalists who couldn't get a decent job doing the "real thing".
There is so much possibility for the web. With it, we are documenting the future history of the world. We have the opportunity to create news like the world has never seen - an as-you-want-it feed of information. I want to be able to click on an article, read a bit, dig deeper if I want, and if the interest is there, I would like to learn all known information on the topic, just by clicking embeded links out to other sites that already have that info amassed. The technology is here. Most websites take advantage of it. News sites DON'T.
Anyhow, for those who are curious, DotComGuy can be found at www.dotcomguy.com... Since MSNBC didn't have the courtesy to provide a link.
Agreed, it isn't news. I find it curious that the news media are much more interested in people who isolate via this technology (like this guy and his dotcom-cum-hype lifestyle) than they are in people who use it to be more connected to the rest of humanity. The real power in the net, as well as in the technology as a whole, is in its ability to put us in touch with each other, not its potential for isolating us behind walls of used pizza.com boxes.
OK, now what?
Another ex-tech just got fired and is looking for a publicity stunt. Perhaps he wishes to be plucked up by a large ecommerce company afterwards Perhaps he should have just written a *elisa virus. Then again for non-talented people bomb threats, locking yourself in a room, or my favorite ... male breast implants will have to do. Another thing that scares me ... is who in their right mind would use only a laptop for an entire year. The carpal tunnel he will get from the minute keyboard will be more than enough to kill his love life ... take that away and he will go nuts! I feel bad for this guy ... he had his 15 minutes of fame .. now he has 512625 minutes more of boredom once everyone forgets who he is. Reminds me of that whose the boss episode where tony slept up on the billboard ... Tooonny!
'Airframe', by Michael Chrichton has a quote in the preface, I forget who by.
"The beauty of the information age is that it has given new value to uninformed opinion."
This excludes us, of course. :)
Moderators, feel free to bite me.
This isn't anything new either. Last year one of the local radio stations here in Vancouver had a contestant legally change their name to Heywood Jablomie just for a CHANCE to win the contest. This is just another case of the media finding something they like the sound of and blowing it out of proportion.
Moderators, feel free to bite me.
Sorry, I've got friends that live like this already. Just hope Mr.e-stupid remembers to take out the garbage and take a bath at least once a month.
Getting ayone to actually deliver to you with a name like "DotComGuy"... if you worked at a pizza place and got an order from someone named thatm would you make the drive to the address he gave? Hell no!
Just for reference, I live next door to this guy. You should all come see us... I have never met him personally, but I kinda figured it was him when Channels 4, 5, 8 and 11 were all out front, and then I saw my neighbourhood on the evening news. We live on Lake Highlands Drive (which is, obviously, in the Lake Highlands section of Dallas, near White Rock Lake). I'll leave you to puzzle out the block number on your own. Suffice to say, my house has a 30' ham radio tower out back.
What does this prove. That in the future, humans can be filed away into little cubbies and be forgotten. The implications are a little to Orwellian for me. I would go nuts. I play racquetball all the time, I backpack all the time, and I go to the movies a lot. The backpacking is what rejuvenates me every year and prevents me from going postal. The racquetball playing keeps me from getting fat. The movies are a nice form of escapism. Yes, I know, you can watch videos/dvd's, but its never usually the same as going to a cinema. There's just so much stuff this guy may not be thinking of that he takes for granted.
What is he gonna do if his laptop sporks out? Or the cable for his net connection? He'll have no contact with the outside world (except screaming for help from his backyard I guess). I hope that incidents along that line are covered. =)
--
I'm assuming the person would be fed via IV?
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
Nah, that's somebody who never leaves his own website and doesn't let other people visit it either.
Consciousness is not what it thinks it is
Thought exists only as an abstraction
Karma whore guy
Karma whore guy
Seekin' all the karma his money can buy
Does he have a life?
It's not important
Nobody likes
Karma whore guy
Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com
Is anybody doubting that it's possible?
Somebody who actually decides to spend a year of his life that way is in need of some psychiatric help, in my humble opinion.
--
grappler
Vidi, Vici, Veni
Except we called our domicile the lab/office, our monthly salary never doubled, and we couldn't afford food let alone to have it delivered. Ok, so we left to go happy hour to eat, but that was it, honest.
Forgot to include the fact that many/most people before the industrial revolution "worked out of the home" (yes, a huge generalization and there are exceptions, etc., etc.)
<sig>Guvf vf abg n frperg zrffntr
The next step should be that someone can't leave the computer for a year. Obviously, a combination chair/toilet/bed would need to be made, but it's doable. (Patent pending) Problem is the lack of content... one might go crazy pretty quickly.
Back to the toilet chair bed... integrate that so you don't even have to leave the keyboard...
chair -flush
chair -bed
chair -spin 3 (three times around =P)
______
everyone was born right-handed, only the greatest overcome it.
http://leftorium.net
This is the lamest thing I've heard of in a long while. Do we have to puy "dot com" on everything on the planet earth? Oh well, maybe I can still be dotorgguy. What exactly is this going to prove? That people will do anything for money? I betcha this guy will crack in 3 months. BTW, this is really old news.
spoo
Being left in a place the size of a normal person's house for a year isn't even unusual.
It's called prison, and millions of people spend a year there without going crazy, under tougher circumstances. Millions more live in restricted environments for safety or medical reasons.
This is a cute publicity stunt, but being limited to one's house and yard is not such a terrible restriction to live with.
It's not an advance in "using technology to avoid leaving the house" - my parents have just about managed it, themselves. Thousands of people have lived most of their lives that way without the benefit of professional caretakers.
I quite agree, I can think of several groups of people who have managed to go for years without leaving the house. The word "housebound" springs to mind for starters. I'm quite amazed that any self-respecting company would fall for a scam like this and can't help wondering what the shareholders think of their dividends sponsoring this scheme.
For quite some time now, even here in the quiet backwaters of England, the supermarkets have had online ordering and delivery. I assume this guy is trying to make some kind of point, apparently unaware that many people are forced to live this way, and have been for years without the luxury of having a choice.
I'd be interested to find out what this guy intends to do at the end of the year when all he has to show on his resumé is that he decided to stay at home for a year and effectively sponge off other peoples charity. I know who wouldn't get to interview if he came to me for a job!!
Veni, Vedi, Visa: I came. I Saw. I Did a Little Shopping.
Philosopher (n) - a wise person who is calm and rational; someone who lives a life of reason with equanimity
Comment removed based on user account deletion
go.to/y2kmistakes as well.
To see one comment: use cid links. For example:1 4212&cid=22
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=00/01/02/11
If you don't know the cid number of the post you want, then you should be reading the whole discussion anyway.
Wanting to have a constantly updating discussion is frankly stupid. Here is why. The reason that we almost never see intelligent posts numbered in the single digits is because everyone rushes to post without reading the article or putting any thought into what they are saying. If everytime someone posts, everyone else sees it instantly, then the "gotta reply before someone else does"/"gotta post before there are so many posts that no one will get down to mine" manner of posting will become even more rampant and the incentive to write intelligent, thought out posts will drop even farther than it is now.
Additionally, I wouldn't mind to be able to read the posts using lynx...
again, if you are just trolling and you don't actually belive what you are saying, ignore this post.
First, those of us who have not been spoiled by cable-modem || T3 at college know how to deal with long pages. You start loading, go play a game or get food or something and then come back and read it. I have had a 33.6 for a long time and last month upgraded to 56k. At college, I share a partial T1 with 1600 other students. I find slashdot to be just fine at this speed.
If it is still too slow, log in and use the "light" mode, disable sigs and set "Limit only display this many comments" to 1 or 2 (A comment in this case refers to a parent comment and all its replies). Doing any or all of these will speed things up considerably.
I do not propose a system to twart potential abuse, I propose one to prevent actual abuse from increasing.
If you know what a user interface is, why don't you write one and submit it to the slashdot community? It needs to (1) do everything the current one does, (2) do some things that the current one does significantly better (3) still be viewable by people without access to a graphical browser (4) not cause any new problems. Good Luck!
I'm still retired. You're not reading this.
o use.com
1) http://www.lawnmowers.com
2) http://www.howtomakemoneywithoutreallyleavingtheh
3) http://www.kiteflying101.com
4) www.conjugalvisit.com
5) www.jennicam.com
6) www.bored.com
7) www.physicalexercise.com
8) www.warehouse-o-porn.com
9) www.mailorderbride.com
10) www.GET-A-LIFE.com
11) Wanna buy a duck?
-
Suffice to say, my house has a 30' ham radio tower out back.
hmmm. i can't help but think how a few thousand watts of RF beamed directly at his laptop would enhance dotcomguys connectivity... :-)
======
"Rex unto my cleeb, and thou shalt have everlasting blort." - Zorp 3:16
Sacred cows make the best burgers.
DotComGuy writes "ABCNNMSNBC is reporting that an loony is actually throwing out all computers from his rented house for a year, to prove that it is possible to live without e-commerce. He's even changed his legal name to Mich Maddox. He says, 'I'm going to come out being a loon,' but I think you have to be crazy already to even think of doing this in the first place... " Actually, it does appear that he can use devices with embedded microcontrollers - and can use the phone. But still, I think I'd lose it after about two weeks or so.
Except that he is actually going to provide content. He is a talk show host, only instead of getting there by being fat and abrasive, or fat and cute, or funny, or controversial, or a competent journalist, or a good interviewer, he's getting draw by being dOTcOMgUY!
-=Best Viewed Using [INLINE]=-
If he stays 12 months he'll end up receiving $98,280. That's a nice chunk of change, but I don't know if that could induce me to stay inside for a full year.
If they offered me $196,584 for 13 months, though... (Love those geometric progressions.)
I have some friends who live like this now !
When attempting to watch sir clueless, the video stream gave me the following:
Information on this page requires a plug-in for:
video/x-ms-asf-plugin
Perhaps this 24 hour/7 days a week broadcast of the Blue Screen Of Death would be more aply hosted on:
RebootGuy.com
_________________________
the world has become, a web site programer walked out of
empty Michigan house on Saturday without a computer and
said he doesn't plan to log-on until 2001.
HIS PLAN: live exclusively offline, including making his
own food, getting furniture from a store and actually
trying on clothes at the store and hosting a 24-hour
technology news site.
'Our vision is that new online shoppers will go to our /.Guy and /.Guys Inc., for the stunt.
site to learn how to delete windows,' said Rob
Malda, who legally changed his name to
set up a company,
After locking himself outside the rented house Saturday,
he added: 'I'm not going in until Bill Gates admits he's a loon.'
The 'live' part of the /.Guy stunt involves
24-hour streaming tech stories from hundreds of story submiters
set up throughout the world. One of Robs partners reviews books
at the kitchen, several face the living room, and one even sits on a
bathroom shelf -- turned away from the toilet and bathtub.
The /.Guy project, which sounds like a cross
between the enviro-colonization experiment Biosphere and
the film "behind the green door," has a few ground rules.
Malda can have visitors. He simply can't go closer than the
front porch.
'We certainly don't recommend that people lock /.Guy Inc.
themselves away from their computers, but we will prove that it
can be done,' said Jeff Bates, a friend of Malda's and
president of
Malda's first monthly paycheck from the company
will be $1, but it will double every time a windows machine crashes
as an incentive to stay out side of the house, Hemos said.
Hemos helped line up sponsors to sustain Malda through the
year, including Red Hat, which donated the winter coat, and
Ace Hardware, which agreed to keep the snow blower gased up all winter.
Michigan-based Andover.net sold there /. shares
when it realized its company could be hurt from a Malda
death due to outdoor exposure.
'We are going to have people say, 'Hey,
/. Guy, how do I uninstall my win-modem or
/.'s CowboyNeal. 'And when he uses our site,
how do I get this or that Web site?' said
that's how people will learn about us.'
Similar experiments have been undertaken before --
'The National Enquirer' locked two New Yorkers out of
their 'e-cave' for a week last year without a refrigerator, a
$500 daily stipend, or computer and Internet access -- but
Malda has vowed to live off small rodents and AOL CDs
longer than anyone else has so far.
Sunday afternoon, the Web site story board showed
Malda sitting on porch chatting with visitors.
Among his first buys offline buys: shampoo, toilet
paper, cleaning supplies and carry-out food.
© 2000 /. Press. All rights reserved.
_________________________
I give you:
dot-com man, dot-com man
doing the things a dot-com can
what's he like?
It's not important
dot-com man
is he a dot, or is he a com?
when he's underwater
does he get wet
or does the water get him instead?
nobody knows
dot-com man
thank you
_________________________
Wow, wouldn't everyone like to have an exponential salary! Check out his monthly checks:
...6144,12288, 24576, 49152 are the monthly checks for months 9-12. More than I'll ever see.
$24, 48, 96, 192, 384, 768, 1536, 3072
So in other words it takes him 8 months to make enough to really "earn a living". So what does he do except work out of savings for the first 7 months? Ordering all those products has got to rack up.
Should we feel sorry for him? Nope. Here's why...
A grand total if he makes it all year? $95,208. Not bad, but let's remember he only makes $168 in his first 3 months and he'll have no life (or wife!).
Sheesh
"In individuals, insanity is rare, but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule." -Nietzsche
He puts a lenscap on at night
This can't be that much different than what some people do now :) Except instead of going down to the local QuickieMart to buy coffee/mountain dew/candy/etc, you simply order it online and have it delivered. If you're already working at home 100% of the time, and don't have much of a "real" social life, then this couldn't be that drastic of a change, since he's allowing himself to have visitors in the backyard, and can still go outside, unless he flips and becomes a nutcase of course :)
Someday I'll make
If you lived in a medieval town (or ancient Roman, etc.), wouldn't people would deliver your purchases for you if you paid them extra (i.e. shipping/delivery fee) for it? How does the Internet make staying in your home more possible than the telephone does? or an inky quill and a sheet of papyrus?
<sig>Guvf vf abg n frperg zrffntr
The Top Ten Reasons the DotComGuy is not a True Dallas Area Geek.
10. He will miss Fantansia 2000 on IMAX. Geeks dig classical stuff like that has a break from the techno and rock-n-roll life styles.
9. People in Dallas drive, even geeks. Those who drive bicycles, motorcycles and small cars are called "targets". Then there are road trips to Austin and such.
8. Geeks in Dallas go to users group meetings. There are ten different users groups where half the other geeks are named Chris. NTLUG, DFWUUG, etc..
7. A true geek would have invited some buds along fro the piece of the action. At least a cat or a kitten. Then he could have a DotComPussyCat.
6. First Saturday Sale. A Dallas thing.
5. Going to Frys or MicroCenter to scoop out the latest stuff. Both carry Linux stuff and other essentials. MicroCenter has more BSD stuff and better books. Frys has a bit of everything. CompUsa is for the lame.
4. Resturants. Dallas has more resturants then any other place in the known universe. You could eat out every meal for a century without being in a chain or repeating yourself. See Addison.
3. A true geek would have a column in the Dallas Observer and substain from messing with Belo association. There is the WFAA Kristine Kahanek weather babe exception. www.wfaa.com
2. A true geek would have moved in with a workstation to start with. A older geek would have an old PDP-11 or maybe a SGI 02. Laptops as a sole system are for marketing wusses.
1. Babes. How is he going to get any quality women? True geek women are not into idoits called DotComGuy. What the heck do you call him? Dot? Com? Guy? Women want a true geek, half which in Dallas are called Chris Something.
"MSNBC is reporting that a geek is actually locking himself away from Internet access for a year, to prove that real-commerce makes it possible. He's even changed his legal name to NotDotComGuy. He says, 'I'm going to come back being a loon,' but I think you have to be crazy already to even think of doing this in the first place... " Actually, it does appear that he can go in the newsgroups - and can have check his email. But still, I think I'd have lost it after about two weeks or so.
So, while this seems really dumb to me, i am interested in wheather he is actually going to make it, or if he will quit in the middle. It sounds sorta like thirty-days.com, which was interesting to look at for a little while, but i am sure most of their hits came from the few days after they were featured on slashdot. Wierd things like this just aren't captivating for that long. Once he realizes that few people are still paying attn to his show, i wonder if he will decide that it is no longer worth it.
The article doesnt give much insight into his personality, except that he IS crazy enough to actually change his name to something that nobody wants to say everytime they talk to him (and with internal capitalization, joy!).
I work at home (telecommuting). All I can say, is that I think that I would go nuts not being able to leave my house AT ALL. I make a point to get out everyday, usually by eating lunch out. I live in a small enough town, that I can walk to an area that has a dozen or so restraunts. If it wasn't for these daily jaunts out, I'd go stir crazy that's for sure.
:))
:)
I guess it would be a small consolation that friends could come to your place - at least then you probably wouldn't talk to yourself. And being able to go into the backyard would prevent you from turning into a mushroom . . . but your human interaction would be severly limited. And unless you already had a (very understanding) significant other . . . (you get my drift
But still, lets think of all of the social and cultural things that you can not participate in without leaving home. Theater, movies, concerts, parties, going to a bar with friends . . . these are just a few of the things that I do at least once a week. Without them I'm pretty sure that most people would become hopelessly depressed (at least I would).
Anyway, I don't think I'd do it. One thing we've learned in the tech world - lots of money can't make up for having no life
Groceries from PeaPod: $80
Shampoo from DrugStore.com: $4
Call Girls from an Online Pimp: $800
Pulling off this lame Publicity Stunt: Priceless
Does this make him the first 'e-hermit'
I'm usually not the kind of person to suggest this, but this is getting way out of hand:
:0 ).
Who can obtain his IP address? As soon as we get it, we'll pingflood/teardrop/whatever him to kingdom come... No food, no online shopping, nothing to do (Unless he's got enough books
As long as that doesn't happen, he's just getting way too much money.
This angers me so much - I am so sick of hearing about this guy on the nightly news, in the newspaper - it's SO much worse when you live in Dallas, because so many of his sponsors are local, including fucking A.H. Belo corp who runs half the media in this city, so they're all covering it like it's interesting. What's even passingly interesting is the amount of money the sponsors are pumping into this. Otherwise, it's basically a year-long talk show featuring a dork.
It's not an advance in web-cam intrusiveness - we have 24-7 webcams all over the place.
It's not an advance in "using technology to avoid leaving the house" - my parents have just about managed it, themselves. Thousands of people have lived most of their lives that way without the benefit of professional caretakers. Even 50 years ago, with enough money, you could buy every single thing you wanted with just the phone. Augh.
This is an advance in hype. Nothing more.
-=Best Viewed Using [INLINE]=-
Big deal. It's been done.
This is just an extended version of the crap experiment we see made by journalists all too often.
/without/ the internet and have him journal the experience, I'm sure enough /.'s would love that one =]
If he suceeds, so what? Can we make use of his knowledge in our future space exploration? Would we have not lost the Mars probes if one click shopping was more common?
If he fails, does that herald the end of the internet? The automobile didn't spell the end of walking, why should the internet spell the end of going anywhere?
Nothing of value can possibly come from this as far as I can see. This is just another publicity stunt to make money for whatever parties are involved.
Something more worthwhile would be starting a business with every employee from a different city around the country or globe, and have them do all their comunication through the internet (no phone calls, no fax, no paper just email/messaging and file attatchments).
Or another idea: Send Katz to Alaska for a year to live
NightHawk
Set threshold at -1 flamebait to read this comment
Man gives up. Admits he'll never get laid.
Sewer problem causes back up. Man stays in home anyway.
How to roach bomb without leaving your home!
Man gains over 100 lbs on Domino's Pizza. Wishes he had been allowed to go to the gym.
Doctor makes house call! Film at 11.
(alternate) Doctor still refuses to make house call. Building condemned.
Man vows revenge on unknown hacker who ordered 100 boxes of termites and had them delivered to his house.
Local Escort Delivery Agency records record profits.
Man discovers that car insurance rates get jacked up when you cancel your car insurance.
Local Cable TV ups man's rate to $1000/month. "Come in and complain if you don't like it." says company exec.
Man jailed for refusing to serve on jury.
UPS refuses further delivery until occupant showers.
Neighbors sue over local eyesore. Man hasn't cut grass in months.
No Zen is good zen