Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: Segwait, Farscape, Leg-pulling
You knew this had to be too good to be true. Joe Ryan from AmericanTower.com writes: "Please note that the information posted Wednesday regarding sites American Tower has for sale is not accurate. American Tower Corporation has a limited number of surplus towers for sale. The list of sites can be accessed through our sites for sale list at http://www.americantower.com/mainweb/SitesForSale.asp. These are the only towers that are for sale. Please also note that these Surplus sites are sold on a strictly "as is-where is."
Thanks for the correction.
If the site you are inquiring about is not on the "Sites For Sale" list, then it is not for sale."
Despite all the lobbying, the wait is on. dgreno writes "Like many other Slashdot readers, I stations signed up with Amazon.com to be notified when the Segway Human Transporter would be available for sale. Today Amazon sent me an email which included the following, "We've recently learned from our supplier that the item you requested to be notified about, Segway Human Transporter (also known as "Ginger" or "IT"), will not be available in the foreseeable future." I guess the sidewalks are safe for a while longer."
Don't they like devoted fans?
$nyper writes "I just wanted to let everyone know that there is major backlash against the Sci-Fi channel from fans about the
cancellation of Farscape. They appear to have miscalculated the Fans. For the past few days Sci-Fi's main office has been inundated with faxes, e-mails, and phone calls to keep the show alive for its 5th season. CNN Headline news also ran a story on the effort yesterday. What it boils down to is that at $1.5 million USD per episode the greatest science-fiction show on television is too expensive for Sci-Fi to produce. Even the top
Executive at the Sci-Fi channel (Bonnie Hammer, Executive Vice President and General
Manager), which is one of Farscape's biggest fans is currently only operating in figure head mode and is being made to keep quiet. Most think she would speak out in favor of the show but is worried about the status of her job at the moment. If you have any questions about what you can do to help out, just pop over to
Farscape World for the best information.
There is also a website setup for detailed up to the minute information about
the struggle to save Farscape over at the main Save
Farscape site including information being supplied under the table y a
Sci-Fi channel mole. :)
After all the coverage Sci-Fi has stopped the construction crews assigned to tear down the sets and have re-entered
negotiations regarding the show. The Jim Henson company that is responsible for the show's creation is also currently courting executives from Showtime and UPN about moving the show to another network for the 5th and future seasons."
This will not be made into a Dummies book for a few years yet. dsyu writes "Follow-up to a previous article -- the good folks at the X-Box Linux Project have posted step-by-step instructions on how to install SuSE 8 on your XBox."
The Nigerian Spam saga wends ever onward. An anonymous coward writes "'Mike Aba' and 'Obi Azuka' are the fake names used by a Nigerian criminal who tried to defraud me. As soon as I read the "DEAR FRIEND" of the first e-mail, I knew it was a scam, but for fun I decided to mislead the criminal into believing that I was falling for his scam. You can read the exchange of e-mails here. This type of fraud is known as the Nigerian Fee scam. Unfortunately, gullible people do fall for this scam. Hopefully this page will alert more people and make criminals like "Mike" less successful."
I want a solar powered Segway with extra big tires for driving in sand dunes.
The only reason I buy HBO is for the series shows (Sopranos, Oz, etc) ... the reason I canceled Showtime when they lost Stargate was because of no series that interested me. I'd be sure to resubscribe if Farscape moved there.
I really wish more serial shows would move to commercial free tv, I'd be happy to pay for it.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo.
Did someone finally figure out that very few people would be willing to pay so much for the product?
Did someone finally figure out that those who are most likely to use it, those without a car, usually don't have the 3000 to pony up for one of these things? (Excepting a few people in Boston and NYC, but the sidewalks are so crowded as it is! not to mention trying to take it on a subway...)
we have
Sexscape: Newer, Harder, and Faster
"I don't want the world. I just want your half" ~TMBG
This Register article says so.
I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
Here's where a couple guys respond to Nigerian scam pages as David Lee Roth and say they'll send the money. It's pretty good getting Nigerian scammers to go to the airport to meet them holding a sign that says "David Lee Roth" on it.
Sorry it's on geocities, but hey...
http://www.geocities.com/scamjokepage/
riding round the world on an old motorcycle
If you like Farscape, it is easy to show your support for the show by going to Save Farscape. You can help by doing something as simple as logging on to irc.scifi.com and lurking in #farscape. It's not too late for Farscape. We are having an impact. This is a populist movement and you can be a part of it.
Peace out.
Amazon goofed up, there's actually no new news regarding segways and when they'll be available.
Howto here.
funny sure, but did he not commit a felony by providing the 'fake passport'?
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Latest CNN story says that "While it will still be a year to 18 months before consumers can purchase the Segway,"
So it looks like this is legit. What could be going wrong? Testing poorly in marketing? Needs to be redesigned to be more sexy, or easier to learn how to use?
I must admit I did like their
photoshopped Passport they provided.
But - they got his place of birth wrong ? I thought he was from Iowa, he only worked in outer space ?
I kind of hoped that HBO would pick Farscape up so that they could push the shock factor a bit farther without resorting to crap like the "Coup by Clam" episode. I'm worried that if Sci-Fi backs down and hangs on to it the show is going to completely burn out anyway... it feels like at least as far as this season has gone they're on the plot decline already, which is unfortunate because there is still so many concepts they can toy with when their world doesn't have to bear any resemblance to the world as we know it (like Star Trek: Voyager did when they were stuck in the Alpha Sector).
On the other hand, it is cool to see that the fans can occasionally get their way. Your plan intrigues me, although I think a better deal would be to pay Henson $40/fan and get the DVDs for the next season directly shipped to us instead of broadcast. I'd do it.
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
You're excited about getting a Nigerian scam email?? I must get a dozen of these a day. Once in a while they get creative: they're from Zim, or South Africa. You'd think with the volume of the emails they're sending out that *everybody* with email must have gotten dozens of these offers by now.
Basically, the scam market is a commons. There's nobody to prevent them from using up the commons with their letters, and so they have.
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
I want my three dollars!
Long but funny. Make sure to read to the end.
is at Buddy Weiserman's site. The complete, extensive email exchange with photos is shown there. He actually got the scammer to travel to another country and run around flapping his arms like a chicken! "Buddy Weiserman"'s name was of course inspired by Budweiser beer, but the scammer didn't figure that out either.
I'm a regular of the #farscape channel on irc.scifi.com, and it has been incredible. Here's a java chat link for the lazy. Random stars and makers of the show have been showing up there at least once a day, sometimes several visits throughout the day, to give encouragement to the fans. The channel grew to consistently hold hundreds of users, maxing out at 700 at a time. Here's a quick rundown of some of the news converage that we've gotten:
E! OnlineTV Guide (again)
CNN
Wired
BBC
Its turning out to be a story not just about a bunch of SciFi geeks crying about a lost show, but a protest against corporations directing culture through actions they don't have to justify. I mean, they killed their #2 show after having already made the commitment to the year. I don't consider myself the protesting type, especially over a TV show... but I wrote a letter, linked to it from my site and sent a few emails because I think the people who make and watch the show aren't out of line to demand what was promised to them.
Error: PANTS NOT FOUND. Press <F1> to continue.
Farscape was saved and Futurama wasn't? WTF?!
Anybody else find that a little weird, especially considering that a number of Fox's moneymaker shows ended?
(don't bother me with 'Futurama was saved too!' posts, the RERUNS were saved, there's still no word on new episodes.)
"Derp de derp."
I don't really think these are people you want to fuck with. There are stories floating around about people who were beated or killed after travelling to meet these scammers. I wouldn't be surprised if they had ties to organized crime.
One thing they do not seem to be is stupid. Sure, they suck at english, but they aren't going to ever give you their real info. I'm sure they get some patsy to go get the money transfers for them, using high quality fabricated documents such as the ones linked to. They probably wind up scamming those people too.
This guy has written an e-book that is supposedly about his experience baiting the scammers and going as far as to actually follow it through to the end. I have not read it.
You have to think for a minute... If these guys were really that stupid as to give you real info about them just because you trail them along for a little while, don't you think law enforcement would have stopped them by now?
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
I was really looking forward to using my Segway on crowded sidewalks and yelling 'Comin' through!' with a horn like those used on airport terminal vehicles.
oh joy.
I'm bitter cuase Sci-Fi cancelled Lexx, damn you Sci-Fi Channel! Plus Jos Wheaton kinda fsck'd up Buffy too, so I hope he doesn't screw up Firefly with morals and ethics and stuff. Keep it to the sex and aliens, I get enough preaching from Star Trek.
Jos should've called the TV buffy version, "Daria The Vampire Slayer", cause Sarah just doesn't convey the stuck-up cheerleader role well. Buffy the movie was funny, Buffy the TV show is too serious, though slightly campy.
Mike finally got enought money out of people to pay to get his CAPS LOCK KEY FIXED
The company I work for, SST, has a chip that was at one point supposed to be in the Xbox. That fell through, but the chip still works. So even though my company only deals in volume -- maybe 100,000 chips an order -- we've been flooded with calls from script kiddies wanting to chip-mod the Xbox. I guess our chip will let those in Europe play US content, among other things. The Sales people here are amused. The latest was a kid who wanted "5-10 sample chips for a school project." Uh-huh.
My Greasemonkey scripts for Digg &
I heard this thing has trouble with potholes and curbs. Anyone have info on this? The website had absolutely zero, just that it will be available with snow tires. I was looking at the specs, it weighs 95 lbs (they call it portable, I'd like to see some 100 pounder try to put it in their trunk) and supposedly it can take a 250lb person and 75 lbs of cargo. I'd love to see what 420lbs crashing down a 4inch curb with essentially zero suspension travel looks like, I'd volunteer for testing that, though I'd wear a mouth guard to stop me biting my tongue off. Even if you stopped and got off to walk the segway off the curb, thats potentially 170 pounds of segway and cargo you have to move up and down a curb. And they say this thing will eventually tow a 300lb capacity trailer? Yikes. Either you and your trailer ride the sidewalk and block half the people, or you ride in the street and dodge cabs. I'd love to see what 700 or so pounds would tax those motors with. And then theirs San Francisco and other hilly cities...
My favorite Segway quote:
Many people believe the Segway will revolutionize the ways people get hit by cars.
--- Tina Fey, SNL Weekend Update
I'm a big Farscape fan, but at $1.5 million per episode, I'm surprised that the Sci-Fi channel could keep it going for 1 season, let alone 4. I mean, looking at Sci-Fi's other proprietary shows - First Wave and Lexx - you would think they had a minimal budget. I'm quite surprised by this figure.
I don't know much about TV show production costs, though, so (is this)/(is this not) a lot of money for one episode? I get the feeling that it really is, though all the stuff in the show is evidence of where it goes.
Realistically, I don't think the advertisements during Farscape have been pulling in anything close to $1.5 million. The rest has to be coming from them, so no wonder they want to cancel it.
According to this article on news.com the Amazon email about the Segway was inaccurate:
t op
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-957746.html?tag=fd_
Your alias says you're Captain Jean Luc Picard
Of the United Federation of Planets
Cause he won't speak english anyway
Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people
So meet me at the mission at midnight
We'll divvy up there
Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people
Well I got the pistol
So I get the Pesos
That seems fair
Wrong captain, but close enough.
Bugrit! Millenium hand and shrimp!
I've noticed there are several types of networks. There's the type that just runs programs to make bucks. There's nothing wrong that -- businesses are created to make money and so people can make a living. Then there's the networks that are run by people that like what they're doing. For example, TVLand. Maybe I'm wrong, but when one of the VPs of a network writes books about the types of shows his network airs, I figure he's into the product. Oxygen seems similar -- it's focused on women and it seems like the people involved with the network are in tune with what they show. This type of network has an integrated and obvious image that viewers can identify with -- they will often leave their TV on that network or go to it first before checking other networks.
USA, on the other hand, to me, never seemed to be about anything but profit. They seemed to pick shows only for ratings, not because the people running the network were interested in a particular type of show or because there was any emotional motivation -- all they ever seemed to care about was profit. This kind of network, at least to me, always seemed to have no other identity or image other than "Aren't we cool with these cool shows? We've got the top ten," or something like that.
While Sci-Fi has an image, it has seemed to me for a long time that the network was about money, and nothing else. That the people behind it were doing SF, but that the endeavor was more about money than the subject matter. I really liked The Invisible Man -- for once there was a show about an invisible man that wasn't contrived -- it didn't always boil down to "We're in trouble and the only thing that can save us is invisibility." It actually had interesting characters and a complex world. I understand it was making the numbers in the ratings, but still canned.
I stopped watching Sci-Fi years ago EXCEPT for shows I could record and watch later. I got fed up with 4 minute commercial breaks. I was frustrated with watching Hercules or Xena re-runs (I didn't watch them when they were first aired). Remember, both shows have an overall story arc and the characters change. Sci-Fi started with airing episodes in reverse order and, later, when they were airing the shows daily, they'd cut them off at the end of the quarter when their schedule changed -- without reaching the series end. When they started re-airing the shows, I started watching again and -- guess what? They cut them off before the end of the series and at the end of the quarter again!
If these guys (the Sci-Fi staff) were running NBC in the late 1960s, let's face it, Star Trek would have been killed after 2 seasons (I know -- with the 3rd season, that may have been a blessing!). Look at other classics -- not SF, but Dick Van Dyke was cancelled after year 1, then the producers talked them into keeping the series and it had a great 5 year run overall and was as profitable as a TV show can be. Decisions like this can not always be made based on the numbers, but at Sci-Fi, it is, has been, and always will be about nothing but the numbers.
I stopped watching Sci-Fi several years ago. A friend talked me into I-Man, and let me see his tapes of the show each week. I do watch Stargate, but when that ends, I won't bother with Sci-Fi. I'm tired of 4 minute commercial breaks. I'm tired of getting into a show and seeing the re-runs cut short. I'm tired of getting into a show and seeing it cancelled before it's ready to go.
USA networks doesn't care about any show. All they care about is the bottom line. I've seen episodes of Farscape and find it impressive, but I'll be damned if I get involved with any more shows on Sci-Fi. It's clear to me they dont' give a tinker's dam about the viewers/fans. Only the buck.
Farscape will be much better off if it can move to Showtime and be the 3rd show for Sci-Fridays.
But you did not answer my question in regard to whether I need to travel to The Congo. I saw the movie "Congo" and it was very frightening. I would be afraid of the gorillas if I travelled there.
Oh man, that's classic. =)
Paranoid
Bwaahahahahaa.
You're absolutely incorrect. It's getting cancelled because Sci-Fi doesn't want to spend 1.5 million per episode IN SPITE of how many people watch. Farscape is the 2nd most popular science fiction show on television. Shows with that kind of budget are usually on wealthier networks. Hopefully they'll decide it's worth it or sell the rights to another network so the show can continue. I'd love to see Showtime pick it up...no commercials!
This message brought to you by the Council of People Who Are Sick of Seeing More People.
As seen in the Excel Spreadsheet
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
First /. posts a story on how Star Trek isn't original enough, now they have framed captain Kirk for murder!
;- )
For shame!
Slashdot editors have a Star Wars bias...
You can't take the sky from me...
I want my three dollars! [scamorama.com]
Long but funny. Make sure to read to the end.
The last email in that exchange is one of the funniest things I've read in many years.
Just about pissed my pants!
Someone mod it up please!
I also got this e-mail
Greetings from Amazon.com.
You recently received an e-mail from us regarding the Segway Human
Transporter (also known as "Ginger" or "IT"). This e-mail was sent
accidentally by an automated system and the information in it is
incorrect.
In fact, there is no new information on Segway's
availability. Consumer versions of Segway Human Transporters are
currently being piloted in various communities throughout the U.S.
The Segway HT is expected to be released to the general consumer
market in 2003.
We apologize for the confusion. We will keep your e-mail address on
our list of customers who wish to be notified about this item.
Sincerely,
Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.com
I just received this:
Greetings from Amazon.com.
You recently received an e-mail from us regarding the Segway Human
Transporter (also known as "Ginger" or "IT"). This e-mail was sent
accidentally by an automated system and the information in it is
incorrect.
In fact, there is no new information on Segway's
availability. Consumer versions of Segway Human Transporters are
currently being piloted in various communities throughout the U.S.
The Segway HT is expected to be released to the general consumer
market in 2003.
We apologize for the confusion. We will keep your e-mail address on
our list of customers who wish to be notified about this item.
Not related to any of the above, but I figure Slashback's the place anyway... I showed my girlfriend (who just happens to want to go out by being hit by a meteorite), this story about the girl being hit by one. She was quite jealous, and wrote me an indignant email, thus:
>The odds against being hit by a meteorite are
>billions to one - but a teenager in North
>Yorkshire may have had one land on her foot.
BAH! Landed on her foot! Bullshit! If she still has a foot, then a meteor did not land on it. I think someone threw a lava rock at her and her parents (trying to make her feel better) lied to her and said that it was a meteor. I bet she gets beaten up at school a lot.
I quickly concurred.
"If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
I was going to use the money I got from Nigera to pay for the next season of Farscape, and with the leftovers, buy a Segway to carry my Xbox (which would be running SUSE 8.0)!
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
They almost all have fantastic views, too. The idea of getting one for a cabin seems really appealing. (Too bad the buildings don't have windows.)
I can't help but wonder how helpful the American Tower staff will be if I call, though. I get the sense that they want to sell these towers to carriers and other businesses, not to the average John or Jane Doe.
BTW: Anyone have any idea where the rumored $25,000 average price tag came from? Because if $25,000 is the average, then that means a significant number are probably selling for less than $25 grand. I don't want to overpay. : )
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
Forget the ratings issue. (they damaged the show
by moving the timeslot)
Forget the success of SG-1. (Farscape viewers
killing time watching SG-1 until Farscape comes
on)
The important thing is, they took an escape clause
out of their contract to get out of season 5
while the show was still drawing a huge crowd.
They moved the show to 10pm and that destroyed
viewership with fans that have social lives.
They effectively mismanaged the hell out of
the show, then backed out of their season 5
commitment when they tried to demand a lower
amount of money for the show, and EMTV said
no. Despite what anybody thinks, the show has
at least 1 million viewers in the USA alone,
and countless fans overseas. Recent numbers
are starting to make it look like even the
nielsen numbers are wrong (like that's never
happened before) and there are probably even
more fans. Also, it's looking like at least
50 percent of those fans are women. And I'm not
making this stuff up. This was reported on
CNN Headline news 3 days in a row.
How hard would it be for them to actually
try to figure out who their viewing audience is,
attract sponsors based on that audience, and
make a ton of money? Not very hard at all.
Especially now that due to massive amount of
national, and international coverage, interest
in the show will be higher than it's ever been.
They'd be idiots to let this kind of opportunity
to slip by them. They couldn't hope for better
publicity than this for a show. The good news is
there are several other interested parties that
KNOW the type of advertiser dollars that can
be made off this show. To quote Reney at
CNN Headline News:
"College educated, professions, typical incomes $50,000 - $150,000. Technologically inclined, and extremely computer literate. I would think that advertisers would jump all over that."
And my favorite quote:
"But Nina Lump is talking, she is the web mistress of the Save Farscape website at Farscape.wdsection.com. I spoke with her today and she said that site and a related one have had over 600,000 hits since yesterday"
And that's just the net savvy viewers. I
personally blanketed the area I live in with
500 flyers today. I hit video stores, I hit
skateshops, gas stations, malls, you name it.
Most of the people I talked to were NOT on the
net, and most of the people I talked to did
not know the show had been cancelled.
The point
is that SciFi said they'd carry the 4th and 5th
season, they mismanaged the hell out of the show,
they backed out of their 5th season obligation,
and they were not going to tell anybody until
march. There are plenty of people saying some
genuinely misguided things about what's going
on here. I recommend you all take the time
to read the information at http://www.savefarscape.com
before making guesses
about what's REALLY going on.
The most important thing any republican needs to know.
The US Secret Service has some more information about these scamsters. In the good old days, they would approach their victims using snail-mail with impressive letterheads. Now, they just spam everyone!
The problem with discussions like this is the potential to sink to a simple flame-fest. This discussion is especially prone to such degradation when one favorite is attacked ("I was rather happy when I heard of [Farscape's] demise in the first place") and another is placed upon a pedestal ("And Star Trek is simply way out of Farscape's league"). Further idolization with such pretentious statements such as "Star Trek has its entire universe devoted to exploring humanity itself" sets one favorite on such a high pedestal that it makes a really tempting target. But I'll avoid the temptation.
On the other hand, I do agree with some of the observations on what makes some of the mentioned SciFi shows interesting. It might be worth noting that none of these shows are without criticism. But each show does have some appeal - whether it appeals to you personally or not is a matter of personal taste.
So the question was asked: what is appealing about Farscape?
Star Wars has lost its impact between the older and newer movies even as it has held on to its theme of "good vs. evil". What it didn't hold on to was its core heros. The first trilogy was not about individual characters, but rather a group thrown together by chance. Each character contributes to the bigger-than-oneself events around them and, ultimately, challenge an Empire.
Farscape also has a core group of disparate characters thrown together by fate. And this group also challenges greater powers than themselves. Though in this case, our central core of heroes aren't always agreeable witch each other. And while it is sometimes a frustrating plot device - it also has a ring of truth for all but the most structured group environments.
I also find the human character Crichton interesting. The character goes from being one of the top in his field (scientist and astronaut) to fish-out-of-water baggage. He then adapts to the oddity around him. Eventually, he gains the respect of his fellow fugitives and begins to thrive in his new surroundings. In effect, Crichton adapts to and overcomes the insane situation he is thrust in to... with a bit of irreverent insanity of his own.
It might be worth noting that the Farscape world itself has some appeal. There is a different look to the show. Often animatronics and puppets are used to give the Farscape world a more alien feel. Subtle oddities such as biological ships and the human-like Sebatian race's deadly susceptibility to heat add to a fantastic, unique world.
That's not to say Farscape is beyond criticism. Overall, I really enjoy the writing behind the series. Occasionally, there is an episode that seems to... slip. And unfortunately, the latest season seems to be slipping more often than not. I hope Farscape picks the pace back up. Or is mercilessly put out of its misery.
I can understand why there is some shock at Farscape's popularity. It took me awhile to become a fan of the show. But once I started watching, I found more than enough to appeal to me.
My friend also recieved something simular to the spam email that was linked in the article.
:234-1-7597267,Your individual/Company's
the link is: jesus.doomed.us/spam.html
The spam:
CHIEF PATRICK OLADOKUN
EMAIL:patrickoladokun2002@lycos.com
FAX: 234-1-7597267
Sir,
URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
First, I must solicit your confidence in this transaction, which is of mutual benefit. This is by virtue of it's nature of being utterly confidential.I am sure and have confidence of your ability, and reliability to prosecute a transaction
of this great magnitude.
We are top Officials of the Federal Government Contract review Panel who are interested in importation of goods into our country with funds which are presently trapped in Nigeria. In order to commence this business,we need your assistance to enable us transfer funds into your account. As members of the Contract Review Panel set up by
the Government of Nigeria to review all contracts from 1983 to the present,we have identified a lot of inflated contract funds which are presently floating in the Central Bank of Nigeria ready for payment.
By virtue of our position as Civil Servants and members of this Panel, we cannot acquire this money in our names, in this regard I have been delegated by my colleagues of the review Panel to look for an overseas partner into whose account we would transfer the sum of US$21,320,000.00
(Twenty -One Million, Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand United States Dollars) hence we take the liberty to write you.
The money will be shared as follows:-
1. 20% for you the account owner
2. 70% for us (The Officials)
3. 10% to be used in settling taxation and all local and foreign expenses.
Please note that this whole process will take between 7 to 10 working days from the date of receipt of the following information by Fax
signed and stamped letterhead with a transcribed"Text" which we would send to you upon receipt of your reply with a letter of interest. The above information will enable us write letter of claim, and Job description by using your
individual/Company name to apply for payment for the above stated amount. Please acknowledge the receipt of this letter using the above Fax number.
Detailed information of this pending business transaction will be sent to you as soon as I hear from you.
Yours faithfully,
CHIEF PATRICK OLADOKUN
--
I never saw this type of spam/scam before until he pointed it out to me a few days ago. But it has been forwarded to uce.gov so hopefully they can catch this idiot.
The measure of the love we give is in the hearts that others show.
A Penny for my thoughts? Here's my two cents. I got ripped off!
Good quote!
n/t
"American Tower may not be selling too many of those sites, they're not exactly honest in saying "these are the only towers that are for sale." They should qualify that to be the only towers that they are selling. "
Isn't that like calling a car salesman a liar when he tells you that they don't have a certain model and you reply "Well it's for sale SOMEWHERE!"
I actually have gotten in touch with them. Their problem is that the link in the original story is a link to the map of EVERY site American Tower owns, not just the surplus ones they were selling. Oh, I'm sure they will sell you one of those non surplus towers - but your gonna pay a shitload more than $25K, since they are working towers and American Tower makes money off them.
These are cash on the barrelhead, WYSIWYG, no deposit no return transactions. Demo the tower because you don't want to pay for the upkeep of the signal lights? Do it yourself. Find some surplus equipment that you want out of the bunker? Better start lifting weights.
If you're still interested, download the spreadsheet, then go to Mapquest and plug in the latitude and longitude. Most of these are in the MOFN, and there towers aren't tall enough to be useful, so that's why they are selling them as surplus.
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
6 years ago my father suffered a fairly serious stroke which left him without the use of his left arm, and limited use of his left leg. He either uses a wheelchair or one of those sit-down scooter things, both of which are awkward to use, and require quite a bit of help to get in or out of a vehicle. The Segway looks like it could be very beneficial for him (he can stand, but walks very slowly). I hope that they get the bugs worked out and start shipping them soon.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
That's the point I was trying to make -- it's not just because Texas is "bigger" that it has more cell towers for sale, or at least that's not all of it.
Take a look. Texas has more towers for sale than Minnesota, Utah, West Virginia, Washington, New York, New Mexico, Nevada, and Illinois combined. But this doesn't tell us too much on the face of it.
Let's just look at Washington. According to the 1990 census, Washington has an average of 73.1 people per square mile, while Texas has an average of 64.9. So they're pretty close in terms of population density.
Texas (261,914 sq.mi) is 3.9 times as big as Washington (66,581), so it seems reasonable to expect 3.9 times as many towers for sale in Texas.
But that's not what we get. Washington has 6 towers for sale. Multiplied by 3.9 gives us 23.4 towers expected for Texas. But Texas has 72 towers for sale, 3 times as many as predicted.
It seems that you'll get the same result for any state of similar population density. Texas has 3.3 times more towers per person than West Virginia, for example, even though West Virginia has roughly the same population density as Washington.
So why does Texas have 3 times as many towers per person as Washington or West Virginia? I don't know. Maybe someone else does. Is the market for microwave towers worse in Texas than in Washington for some reason, or was there a need for more towers to begin with? (It's not all academic. If the market for microwave towers in Texas is worse for some reason, you might be justified in offering a significantly lower bid on one.) It's worth looking in to.
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
I have no idea whether it will be successful or fail, and neither do you. Personally, my guess is that decrepit boomers in cities will be the niche market for something like this: as they start to get old and creaky and it takes longer and longer to walk anywhere, this thing will let them scoot to the store and back four times as fast. Whether that sort of market is big enough to support the company really remains to be seen. Here in the US, it seems as if any product that doesn't grab a slice of teen/young adult demographic has a rocky future, regardless of how well it does anywhere else. We'll see.
I can't find the eps on Kazaa anywhere ^^;;
[o]_O