Month: June 2006

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Profiling based on online behavior

My wife is a male under the age of 18 based on her domain name. But based on a query against her real name, she is a female between the ages of 18 and 24.

I’m a male between the ages of 35-49 based on my name. http://blog.siliconholler.com/ is gender neutral and under 18.

Michael Silence is a female under the age of 18–nice pseudonym for a female writer! KristyK is under 18 and split exactly between male and female. Big Orange Michael is a teenage male. And Barry is a female between 25 and 34. Wow! Did I ever have the wrong impression about you guys! Btw, Google happens to be absolutely written by a woman age 25-34.

I don’t have a lot of confidence in Microsoft’s Demographic Predictor.

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Understanding Net Neutrality

I posted a link called Understanding Net Neutrality which presented a video in favor of net neutrality. A commenter pointed to a video against net neutrality. Both videos seemed to leave out critical information in my mind. Tom Maszerowski point us to Larry Lessig who links us to a must watch video by Tim Berners-Lee. The summary:

Net neutrality is this:

If I pay to connect to the Net with a certain quality of service, and you pay to connect with that or greater quality of service, then we can communicate at that level.

That’s all. Its up to the ISPs to make sure they interoperate so that that happens.

Net Neutrality is NOT asking for the internet for free.

Net Neutrality is NOT saying that one shouldn’t pay more money for high quality of service. We always have, and we always will.

Be politically active in your life. There is time for a simple phone call or email. Contact your representative frequently!

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Because your panty liners and writing materials should coordinate!

In the category of "not something you see everyday" is Velvet Journal and Pad Collaboration

This is a special collaboration between Becky’s Paper Creations and Go With The Flow.
…
This set would be a wonderful gift for a young girl starting her journy to womanhood.

Ok. Let’s review that. "This set would be a wonderful gift for a young girl starting her journy to womanhood." Can you imagine that journal? "omg! The cramps!" and "wtf! I wuz wearing white today. I say white!"

Mrs. Eaves at AtomicTumor says, "Don’t ask me how I came upon this link…" but I want to emphasize exactly where I came upon this link. That’s right! I got it from Mrs. Eaves at AtomicTumor! Just to be clear incase you were asking why I’d be looking for just such a link.

If you are going to get this as a gift for someone, she might enjoy a purse to carry her journal and things in.

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Today’s magic numbers

Today was June 22nd of 2006 or in English notation 6/22/6. I realized this while starting a check as the cashier rang up my purchases. The total came to $26.62! I love it when that happens. The other day I tried to get a picture of my odometer at 111122 (having missed the opportunity for 111111) and when I missed that I hoped to get 111123 but traffic didn’t permit.

Dinner was $36.93…all factors of 3 and geometrically elegant with 9 being an upturned 6 bookended by 3s.

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For the record…

None of my arsensal of antique pci video cards have available drivers for Windows XP (yes, they are that old!). Despite knowing this, I periodically shut down all my machines and go through the exercise of removing and trading out video cards to try to get a second monitor working on my workstation. Eons ago when I had two functioning monitors my productivity felt so much greater. Usually I do this at the crux of a critical deadline (call it avoidance.. call it procrastination.. whatever label, it is just plain stupid.).

So, I now put this down for the world to see so that 6 months from now, when I am certain that I overlooked a compatible car in the stack of useless hardware or buried in the depths of a dusty case, I can be reminded that I’ve been through this exercise enough!

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It’s because our a/c is broken

CNN reports: Study: Earth ‘likely’ hottest in 2,000 years

The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the “recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia.”

A panel of top climate scientists told lawmakers that the Earth is heating up and that “human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming.”

This is Bush’s fault!

Other new research Thursday showed that global warming produced about half of the extra hurricane-fueled warmth in the North Atlantic in 2005, and natural cycles were a minor factor

Or maybe Jesus’…Because, it was cool when he was around.

The Bush administration has maintained that the threat is not severe enough to warrant new pollution controls…

Yes! It’s Bush’s fault!

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization chartered by Congress to advise the government of scientific matters.

Ok then…it’s Jesus’ fault.

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Look at that rainbow!

As I continued my journey I envisioned the glory that I would find beyond the next bend. There would be an inn where I could rest me weary feet and put down a pint or two. As I made the bend, Murphy the Leprechaun sprang from a bush waving his hands and chanting. Suddenly the path split and extended. Murphy declared, "Aye’ve split me treasure and placed it in pots at the ends of these paths. It’s all yours! If’n you meet me challenge."

I gandered down the left split rolling gently downhill and a good 3 day’s journey saw a huge rainbow then a sharp cliff. Looking to the right, the path climbed a steep hill then meandered down to the inn and continued on. At the inn was a smaller rainbow and the path had stretched to make the inn a good 5 day’s journey.

Murphy continued, "Get to me gold an’ it’s yours but you must make the journey in 2 days. You can have both pots if you move quickly. The size of the rainbow represents the relative size of the treasure. At the end of two days, me spell will break and the path will return to normal leaving you stranded where you stand. I recommend ye make it to the inn within two days!"

And then he was gone.

Update: Looks like he threw some trolls on the path to make it interesting.