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September 2009

Abandoning the battle against spam

I don’t understand why people are so afraid of spam in this day and age. It seems to me that people get overly concerned about giving out their e-mail address to companies or web sites or what-have-you, because “they’re going to send me a bunch of stuff I don’t want.”

Well, I suppose there’s a kernel of truth there. After all, why would someone want your e-mail address unless they wanted to e-mail you? And I admit that I have a tendency to omit my e-mail address from forms where it’s not needed. But then there are those who feel a need to create a separate e-mail account specifically because they don’t want to see spam in their “real” inbox. At which point, it seems to me that the cure is taking more effort than dealing with the mild symptoms of the disease. (Read more…)

Don’t Text and Drive [TM]

There’s a video that’s going viral that I saw today. It’s apparently a British public service announcement that has been used in schools in the U.K. to warn against the dangers of texting while driving.

Now, let me say up front that texting while driving is obviously stupid. I’ve done it on the rare occasion (although in as safe a manner as is possible, if there’s such a thing), but you clearly shoudn’t do it. Obviously, it increases your chances of getting in a crash. (Read more…)