Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2008/10/29/tip-jar-tipjoy/
I have long thought the Internet needed a tip jar. I felt so strongly about this that back in 2003 I spent some time building my own online feed aggregator, which had the ambition of collecting feedback (like Digg) and later monetizing by allowing users, should they desire, to “share the wealth” back to site authors. Say, if you’d marked 50 pages that you like, and decided to chuck in $5, the site could take your $5 and try to give, say, 10 cents to each site. In this way people could gain some modest remuneration for the Internet publishing efforts.
Of course, that was a bit ambitious for me and the project was scrapped when I scored full-time employment.
JRA was recently wishing for the Internet tip jar, and he found that someone has finally built one: Tipjoy.
Briefly, the idea is you can earmark sites for tips of various sizes, then send in a few dollars via PayPal. Tipjoy will then pass the tips along to site authors. They profit by collecting a 3% transaction fee, and I assume they get some float off their PayPal balance as well. At this time authors “cash out” via Amazon.com gift certificates or by sending the money off to charity. That is for legal reasons though it sounds like they hope to traffic in cash in the future.They recently added the ability to cash out via PayPal as well, and deposit to a checking account is a planned feature.
I added a tip jar down in the feedback section below. I set the default to a modest 2 cents. I’m more curious than anything as to how many folks would bother to spread the karma.
1 Comment
Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2008/10/30/sysadmin-esp/
We were talking about on-call at lunch today, and many of us recounted that on more than one occasion we had woken up immediately prior to receiving a page that would have woken us up. I recounted an experience where I dreamed that a server was crashing right before I received a page about a server crashing. These could be random anecdotes, or perhaps premonitions. Maybe we understand the patterns of outages on some really deep inarticulate level, or maybe we just wake up a lot or dream of computers crashing but we are only apt to remember these incidences if the pager brings us to full consciousness. Who knows?
As I was sitting here with my headphones on just now not listening to anything I heard the blit blit blit blit blit of radio interference, probably my mobile device exchanging data. I had a fanciful idea that maybe, just maybe, people can actually sense radio waves in some manner and that those of us who have developed a strong Pavlovian response to a paging device might be able to connect a particular pattern with a particular outcome. When the pager near the bed starts to chatter at 2AM maybe there is some part of the human being that can see that pattern.
Probably not.
1 Comment
Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2008/10/31/2008-election-california-ballot-propositions/
Prop 1: High Speed Rail Bonds
YES I love trains, and high speed rail between city centers is in every way superior to short airplane flights. Trains can be powered by renewable energy and California may serve as a role model for the rest of the nation in the post-petroleum age.
Prop 2: Standards for Confining Farm Animals
YES We should treat animals humanely. If this means increased food costs that is just what we pay for the privilege of eating other animals. Opponents claim that production will move out of state. This may be true in the short term. In the long term, I believe that food with the “California” brand will be regarded as food of superior quality. Further, industrial scale farming has a serious negative impact on the environment. If proposition 2 makes family-scale farming more competitive, we are all done a favor.
Prop 3: Children’s Hospital Bond Act
NO We have plenty of bond money already available for children’s hospitals. I see no need to solicit additional debt for the state government especially in a tight credit market.
Prop 4: Waiting Period and Parental Notification before Termination of Minors’ Pregnancy
NO Teen pregnancy and abortion troubles me. I believe that in most cases parents should be involved. Abortion providers ought to counsel that women make this important decision with the help of those who love them. I do not believe this is a place for the government to mandate personal behavior and choices.
Prop 5: Nonviolent Drug Offenses Sentencing, Parole, and Rehabilitation
NO I favor rehabilitation as a means to reduce the excessive imprisonment of our people. I feel that sentencing authority should rest with judges, and I am uncomfortable that this proposition “limits accountability to incarcerate offenders who commit certain drug crimes, break drug treatment rules or violate parole.”
Prop 6: Police and Law Enforcement Funding
NO The state budget is in a big mess without me setting budget priorities: this is a decision that should be made by the legislature.
Prop 7: Renewable Energy Generation
NO I support renewable energy mandates but this proposition is confusing.
Prop 8: Eliminate Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry
HELL NO The state should not be in the business of eliminating rights.
Prop 9: Criminal Justice System Victims’ Right. Parole.
NO I do not see the need for this.
Prop 10: Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy
NO I like alternative fuel vehicles and renewable energy, but I do not favor putting the state further in hock to subsidize certain vehicles.
Prop 11: Redistricting
YES I am sick of gerrymandering.
Prop 12: Veterans’ Bond Act of 2008
YES This is a bond to expand a self-supporting benefit for veterans, placed on the ballot by a unanimous vote of the legislature.
See Also: Jason Lindquist, Vincent Lauria
Feedback Welcome
