Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2005/01/02/2005-good-start-fags/
The site godhatesfags.com has been hacked and shut down by Swedish hellbound faggot defenders, “in cooperation with Activist JudgesTM.” For future viewing pleasure, I have archived the page.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/12/30/google-groups-gripes/
I don’t like the new Google Groups. There’s a smaller reason and then there is a bigger reason.
The smaller reason is that the “old” Google Groups has worked well for several years. The new Google Groups, it is a wee bit harder to navigate, but even more than that, it is frequently broken. See http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=gmirror — as of this writing, 9/10 of the hits from this search yield a message that says:
Topic not found.
We’re sorry, but we were unable to find the topic you were looking for.
Perhaps the URL you clicked on is out of date or broken?
Yes, perhaps google Groups is broken. I e-mailed them about it yesterday.
But this points to the bigger reason, which is that I use Google because it is the best search engine, hands-down, and it is the best search engine, because they focus, not on the “interactive portal” thing, like Yahoo!, but on search. (more…)
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/12/29/passing-thought/
You know, it must be weird, working for Yahoo!‘s branding department, to be re-writing grammar rules around the use of an exclamation mark mid-sentence.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/12/28/married-geek/
How to tell I am a geek.
I am forsaking my employer-provided mobile phone for the latest and greatest Sidekick II deal on Amazon.com. That the phone costs -$50 after rebates helps. I got spoiled by my previous two sidekicks, and I just can not get to grips with a conventional mobile phone.
How to tell I am married.
I am purchasing two of these devices. One for me and one for Yayoi. Awww!!
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/12/27/ron-avitzur/
What do you do when you enjoy the project that you are working on so much that you want to see it completed even after it is cancelled by your employer and your position has been terminated? If you’re Ron Avitzur working on a graphing calculator program for Apple in 1993, then you start sneaking in to the office to keep working.
I asked my friend Greg Robbins to help me. His contract in another division at Apple had just ended, so he told his manager that he would start reporting to me. She didn’t ask who I was and let him keep his office and badge. In turn, I told people that I was reporting to him. Since that left no managers in the loop, we had no meetings and could be extremely productive.
A funny, and interesting story. This was just before the Internet boom so I suppose in those days they could get away with living in the Bay Area without income.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/12/06/geek-envy/
I drove down to Mountain View to lunch with Brian this weekend. He mentioned that Amazon.com has Free Sidekick IIs these days. I checked it out this morning, and after some discussion, found that I can not get this through work because we already have a bunch of cell phones under contract with Verizon.
So, I e-mailed my predecessor, who has to return his old phone yet anyway, asking if maybe he wouldn’t mind taking his contract with him? He writes back that his new employer just gave him his new Sidekick II and it is sweet, so, no thanks. I’ll have his old phone, which is nicer than the loaner I’m on right now, pretty darn soon.
I could potentially get one for Yayoi, and then trade phones with her. But then it is her turn to have the awesomer cell phone anyway, so … hey, free Christmas present for someone not wedded to Verizon! :)
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/11/16/hello-world/
Back … online … at least at work.
The new company is a bit thrifty, and I have had much to learn, so it is only in the past few hours that I have a graphical web browser at my disposal. On a nice nice laptop. DSL arrives at home in the next two weeks. I’ll have 6Mb down! Dang!
But now it is time to head home and see if I can get online via modem there. Darned apartment doesn’t have any jacks wired up to SBC.
For the most part though, these past several days have been wonderful!
-danny
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/10/27/unix-viz-good/
Unix people tend to be comfortable in their non-visual command-line world. But sometimes a picture says an awful lot:
Read that as “around 11:40, someone sent a mass e-mail through the server. It took twenty minutes to process, peaking at 916 deliveries per minute.”
What’s more, the vast majority of the deliveries were successful, and some failed. That looks like a legitimate bulk mailing to a fairly well-maintained list, and not some random virus or brute-force spam attempt. Server resources are not being wasted on nonsense.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/10/15/au-revoir-dannylandorg/
[English version available further below] Cher client, Vous recevez ce message car vous êtes contact des domaines listés ci-dessous (voir tout en bas de ce message). Ces domaines sont arrivés à échéance il y a 30 jours et aucun payement n'a eu lieu pour leur renouvellement. Aussi, ces domaines viennent d'être définitivement détruits, et sont donc maintenant disponibles à l'enregistrement au public. Merci d'avoir utilisé nos services. ======================================================================== Dear client, You are receiving this email because you are contact of the domains listed below. Your domains have expired 30 days ago and no payment has been received for their renewal. Thus these domains have been definitively destroyed and are now available again for anyone to register. Thank you for using our services. ================================================================= Liste de vos domaines / List of your domains: Expiration Creation Domain(e) 2004-09-15 04:00:00 1996-09-16 00:00:00 DANNYLAND.ORG -- Gandi http://www.gandi.net/
My incoming spam has been reduced considerably in the past month.
But 1996 is pretty respectable for a domain name. :)
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/10/12/dumbest-update-ever/
Dumbest Update Ever, brought to you by Microsoft.
Apparently, NT will have trouble if it is installed on a disk that is too large, or, it’ll just completely lose its nut at a date in the future, when a Microsoft update will destroy the ability of the system to function, without wiping and reinstalling it. (more…)
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/13/business-bullies/
We occasionally get intransigent customers who want things fixed but do not want to cooperate with us. I had to politely tell one off last Friday. Today a self-important customer wanted to blame us for the failure of a third-party web server. After explaining what I saw, he responded that I “had no idea” how important he is. No big deal. I wrote back, explained with a little more detail, and closed with:
I would further request that you maintain a professional tone when interacting with our staff. We take pains to ensure consistent support to all of our customers. A condescending tone on your part does nothing to yield results, and only builds animosity in relationships with your business partners. I thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
As someone who has played the part of smarmy know-it-all bully, I can tell from experience that when someone calmly confronts you head-on, gives you a competent explanation, and then requests that you behave yourself, well, unless you got some seriously sociopathic issues, that works really damned well.
But, we’ll see. I could have laid it down a bit more politely …
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/09/touchscreen-voting-just-say-no/
California is suing Diebold, the nation’s largest manufacturer of touch-screen voting machines because the company lied about the machines’ security. According to the LA Times:
The system’s key vulnerability is that county election workers or others with access to the machines could type in a two-digit code and create a second set of results that would then be forwarded to the state as the county’s official tally.
I am curious what purpose that feature may have, beyond the obvious application of election fraud. (more…)
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/03/dell-microsoft-pawn/
The Register reports on allegations made by Lindows that Dell’s occasional efforts to sell Linux-based desktop systems are squashed because of special business relationships between Dell and Microsoft.
Although the Department of Justice has ruled that Microsoft must supply Windows licenses to top OEMs at the same price, there are other financial incentives that Microsoft can make, including Office licensing and promotions programs, that can add up to as much as $30 per PC, or about 25% of Dell’s profits. Very creepy reading.
A cursory visit to Dell’s web site reveals that Microsoft Windows is the only option to be had on an inexpensive PC. Caveat emptor!
Attempts to contact Dell for comment have not succeeded.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/02/talking-about-work/
I’m on the last of my three days working as a NOC Technician at my employer’s data center. My normal day job is as Manager of Technical Support, which is normally performed at a seperate office. I’m covering a few data center shifts as something of a cultural exchange, and to help cover some transient staffing requirements. The data center is fun because we have security measures all over the place — just to take a poop I have to pass through a biometric security checkpoint.
My employer provides me with a T-mobile Sidekick, which is fun because I can IRC while I poop. There are those who think that this is wildly inappropriate, but they are weenies. Anyway, as I was pooping just now, I checked my e-mail, and was passed a link titled “Shitcanned from Friendster for Blogging.” (more…)
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/16/hoohah/
The other tech support guy is out this week, so its all me, all day.
And of course, because its Monday, we have to be slammed by dumb people. (more…)
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