This is exactly why I stopped shopping at Kroger the day they started having a "Club Card" (well, that and the fact that they raised prices 50% overnight so they wouldn't lose any money on the card discount)... I won't patronize businesses that punish me for wanting to maintain a little privacy.
I like club cards. I can live another life, and change it frequently. Back when Safeway would try to be personal and read your name, I became Ben Feldstein, and I would always correct the cashier on the pronunciation:
"Thank you, Mr. Feldsteen." -- "That's FeldSTINE."
"Good morning, Mr. Feldstine." -- "I'm sorry, that's FeldSTEEN."
But that card is long gone. Right now I'm revered Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.
A good rule of thumb for filling out any form: if their having the correct information does not benefit you personally, and is not required by law (e.g. SSN on your 1040), fake it.
Advertising is increasingly unfashionable to defend, but if it weren't for advertising, much of the content on the Internet wouldn't exist. Without advertising, it is essentially impossible to put a useful page up on the web and not lose money. The only real alternative is paying for content... now which would you prefer?
Paying for content. Cable TV, DSS, DMX, BBC, PBS... to varying degrees a similar revenue model and better content. Though PBS is showing more commercials all the time.
In an Internet where content is almost universally supported by advertising, no advertising simply means no content. (And let me also point out that there's a banner at the top of this very page...)
Hmmmm... I'll take your word for that. All I see is a broken image tag.:-) Also, advertising != content. There are tons of great pages for historical, entertainment, news, information, with no ads, because the webmasters have real jobs elsewhere and just want to contribute to the community.
It's a pretty good deal: I give out free info, fun stuff, sw, and get the same from other sites. No adz needed.
Anyway, I really resent these incessant, impudent demands for my attention ("eyeballs.") I don't want ad fsckers like Kevin O'Connor tracking me, and I'll use proxies, unlisted #'s, false demog info, and whatever else to thwart them.
I guess I'd be happy if news crews saved time & money on "look live" and devoted more effort to decent reporting.
TV stations are always sending out talking heads to Report Live in silly places like: front of the state capitol (at 11pm); or the house where some kid disappeared 3 weeks ago (and a neighbor chimes in her two cents) or the shopping mall ("will this Xmas be good for retailers? Because that's what really matters").
Who cares. The babble sounds the same outdoors as inside.
What we need are disclaimers of interest, e.g. Big Cigarette Company owns both Us and the food company we're reporting on, so you might want to independently verify everything we say.
TV news sucks. I'd never see it except some friends & relatives are into it. One doesn't want her baby girl to watch "Simpsons" because it'll make her grow up sarcastic. I would (silently) counter that the same principle would imply that watching Dateline NBC would make her grow up shallow, narrowminded, and stupid.
For specific complaints about Matt Wright's code, search comp.lang.perl.misc. Gripes include code that will break in about 3 weeks (e.g. "19$year" will change from '1999' to '19100'), security holes, and bad code in general.
It's a short story by James Tiptree, Jr (as Racoona Sheldon). It's anthologized in "A Treasury of American Horror Stories", ed. Frank D. McSherry, Jr., Charles G. Waugh & Martin H. Greenberg, Bonanza/Crown Books, 1985. There's a Grant Wood parody on the cover -- American Gothic farmer with a bloody pitchfork, etc.
It recounts a plague/hysteria/delusion in which men are compelled to kill women, and this is widespread enough to have implications for the future of the human race. Telling any more would spoil it.
Quite disturbing, while understated, and definitely worth checking out.
Tracking can hurt you, even if you don't do anything illegal; your viewing and shopping habits can be used against you. e.g. if you buy a lot of beer, that could be brought up as evidence in court. Employers and insurance companies would also be interested in "what kind of a person you are."
See (http://www.msnbc.com/local/KNSD/119513.asp) for an example of what grocery club cards can to do you. Avoid trading convenience/pocket change for privacy!
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I like club cards. I can live another life, and change it frequently. Back when Safeway would try to be personal and read your name, I became Ben Feldstein, and I would always correct the cashier on the pronunciation:
"Thank you, Mr. Feldsteen." -- "That's FeldSTINE."
"Good morning, Mr. Feldstine." -- "I'm sorry, that's FeldSTEEN."
But that card is long gone. Right now I'm revered Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.
A good rule of thumb for filling out any form: if their having the correct information does not benefit you personally, and is not required by law (e.g. SSN on your 1040), fake it.
Paying for content. Cable TV, DSS, DMX, BBC, PBS... to varying degrees a similar revenue model and better content. Though PBS is showing more commercials all the time.
In an Internet where content is almost universally supported by advertising, no advertising simply means no content. (And let me also point out that there's a banner at the top of this very page...)
Hmmmm... I'll take your word for that. All I see is a broken image tag.
It's a pretty good deal: I give out free info, fun stuff, sw, and get the same from other sites. No adz needed.
Anyway, I really resent these incessant, impudent demands for my attention ("eyeballs.") I don't want ad fsckers like Kevin O'Connor tracking me, and I'll use proxies, unlisted #'s, false demog info, and whatever else to thwart them.
More: http://www.kurumi.com/opinion/adblock.ht ml
TV stations are always sending out talking heads to Report Live in silly places like: front of the state capitol (at 11pm); or the house where some kid disappeared 3 weeks ago (and a neighbor chimes in her two cents) or the shopping mall ("will this Xmas be good for retailers? Because that's what really matters").
Who cares. The babble sounds the same outdoors as inside.
What we need are disclaimers of interest, e.g. Big Cigarette Company owns both Us and the food company we're reporting on, so you might want to independently verify everything we say.
TV news sucks. I'd never see it except some friends & relatives are into it. One doesn't want her baby girl to watch "Simpsons" because it'll make her grow up sarcastic. I would (silently) counter that the same principle would imply that watching Dateline NBC would make her grow up shallow, narrowminded, and stupid.
Kurumi http://www.kurumi.com
It recounts a plague/hysteria/delusion in which men are compelled to kill women, and this is widespread enough to have implications for the future of the human race. Telling any more would spoil it.
Quite disturbing, while understated, and definitely worth checking out.
kurumi
Tracking can hurt you, even if you don't do anything illegal; your viewing and shopping habits can be used against you. e.g. if you buy a lot of beer, that could be brought up as evidence in court. Employers and insurance companies would also be interested in "what kind of a person you are."
See (http://www.msnbc.com/local/KNSD/119513.asp) for an example of what grocery club cards can to do you.
Avoid trading convenience/pocket change for privacy!