Internet Research Failure

So, my trusty resource the internets have failed me. I've been trying to find out what I can about my old electric guitar, and there just isn't much out there.

Anyhow, I have an old Burnside Cutlass. This was a Guild sub-brand in the 80s that was, depending on who you ask, imported from Korea or China or possibly made here in the US. It has an HSS-style pickup arrangement, and a tremolo that may or may not be a Kahler, or it may be a Floyd Rose knockoff. Definitive answers are few and far between.

This is the extent of the knowledge available on the internet about this item. If anyone else has more info, I'd love to get it.

Ad Targeting Failures

So, as I wander the intertubes in search of exciting consumer products to buy, I've noticed a weird phenomenon. I accept, albeit grudgingly, that my computer keeps track of what I'm doing online*. It then communicates these facts to the mighty server farms in Mountain View, or wherever the hell Google has them stashed these days. These servers then reply with appropriate advertisements based on what I've been browsing on the net. I accept this as part of the price I pay for living in a free society accessing free content.

Here's what I find odd: the ads are for the same websites I've already been shopping. Now it may be that these very same websites are the only people paying the Goog for ads about monocles and top hats, or it may be that the ad algorithm could use a little tweaking. I'm not sure which. In any event, showing me the exact same websites I'm already going to doesn't make me inclined to click on the ads. Since getting me, the hapless and foolish consumer, to click on the ad is the point of the whole exercise, I'm inclined to think it fails.

Perhaps showing me ads for similar websites might be a thing? Instead of the 1400 banner ads for Warby Parker and Guitar Center, you might throw one up for someone else in the same line of business. I think somebody else in the consumer marketing biz has a website where they show me similar items I might be interested in purchasing based on all that data they harvest.

Oh, and just an FYI: I only click the links for Elizabeth Warren to cost her campaign money, so keep putting those up. That's money the campaign doesn't get to spend more intelligently or effectively.

*Note to the privacy rabid: Yes, I know how to avoid this and am perfectly capable of doing so, but a majority of the time I'm at work and doing funny things to the work computer makes my IT department peevish.

Never Trust The Internets

At least, not when it comes to online voting. Those of us who have been on the internet more than a day or two may remember the Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf vs. People's online poll episode. Anyone with a brain should have figured out about that time that online polling and voting was susceptible to strange results.

Some people missed the memo. I voted in this poll a few days ago, back when a proposed acronym of GOATSE was coming in second. Apparently somebody in Austin figured out what goatse meant. Shame they didn't figure out why this was a bad idea at the same time.

I Have None

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but Regretsy is my new favorite website.

Lunchtime!

Pages of gloriously insane food. I am gobsmacked at the utter craziness of the concept and the painstaking execution.

I'm guessing people wasted their time in equally absurd ways before the Internet, but just couldn't show the results off to everyone.

Impracticality

So the subject today is impractical but cool guns. Odd question, easy answer.

Any manually operated Gatling gun. Bonus points are given for examples in a historically accurate caliber like .45-70 or a scale model in .22 LR. Unless you really are one of the extremist wackos we've been warned about and have set up one to cover the entrance to your bunker, they just aren't all that useful for anything. They are, however, exceedingly cool and I want one.

Odd

Did you know that a Google search for scary long necked canadian mutant doesn't return any references to Celine Dion in the first 3 pages?

At least not until this page gets indexed, I suppose.

Anyhow, I've been contemplating parallels in history. We currently have an elected President who has decided to subvert the bankruptcy process, long established in law, in order to confer extra-legal favors on his chosen cronies. So does this mean we're right about at the point where Julius Ceasar was appointed perpetual dictator? Or closer to the grant of powers to Octavian by the Senate? I am referring to events which can be considered the end of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Empire.

In any event, we are watching an attempt to change the country from a government of laws to a government of men. More depressingly, it looks like it might work.

All Atwitter

Add another item to the list of things Twitter is good for.

Commentary

We don't get many comments around here, mainly because nobody reads us. So we thought we would highlight tonight's comment.

Jack H is trying to set me up by posting false homosexually charged messages in my 'anonymous' name on his 'Forgotten Prophets' blog. He has also been editing my own words to imply other falsehoods including potential criminal activity on my part. He may be doing the same elsewhere. I believe that he also plans to post a sexually charged or sem-nude photo and a link and make it appear as if I posted that photo myself. If you happen to see this photo and know of its original source, post that source here. There may be criminal activity involved. Jack H has claimed to be many things including a body builder, psychology major, gun owner, and super genius with an IQ of 164. I have reason to believe that Jack H may actually be a student or staff member at Drake University in Iowa or possibly another in California or Colorado.

Okay, a few comments are in order here. One, this was posted on a comment from '05. You might pick a more recent comment in order to, like, show up on the front page or something. Two, how can you slander somebody posting under the name 'anonymous'? Which 'anonymous' are you, anyway? Third, don't drag us into your weird homoerotic spat. I don't care if he does post "sexually charged or sem-nude" pictures of you or even if you posted nude pics of yourself. Don't post anything about it here. Start your own blog or keep it over at 'Forgotten Prophets' or where ever the hell you're having your little internet weenie waving contest. Don't bring it to a completely unrelated blog. Finally, I don't care what Jack H. has claimed to be or who he really is. Although, being a body builder, psychology major, gun owner and super genius isn't that unbelievable. Aside from the psych major, I meet all of those requirements. Okay, I'm not really a body builder, either. So two out four ain't bad. Of course, when you refer to yourself as a 'super-genius' the Wile E. Coyote comparisons should start flying pretty thick. Plus, shouldn't a super-genius have a real major instead of psych?

Asked, Answered

So, the other day I asked what the hell Twitter was good for. I now have answers.

I'm still not using it for anything, but at least now I know what I'm not using it for.

Paging Ned Ludd

Why is Twitter useful? Honestly, I'm baffled by the application and its utility. What does it offer that isn't available through some other platform or medium?

April Foolish

So, some genius thinks the feds need to establish cybersecurity standards and enforce them on private businesses. Two important thoughts should occur to the informed observer. One, the feds and for that matter, governments in general, suck at cybersecurity. Plus, by mandating one set of standards for everybody, one vulnerability in your standard affects everyone. Whee! A horrible idea from a technical perspective, not to mention government is not agile enough to keep up with changing technology. Technology moves faster than the government can.

Two, the proposal only applies to "essential" networks that control power and water systems. Given that we all live in a world where pawn shops are defined as "financial institutions", how long is it before every single network is defined as "essential" and the government can shut you down for not being secure?

The third thought should be that Congress has no authority to enact such legislation and Senators Rockefeller (D-umbass) and Snowe (R-etard) need to be horsewhipped from DC back to their homes of record. I wouldn't hold my breath, though.

Ethereal Love

I have to give out a link here. Luminiferous aether and a grumpy old man named Hubert? What's not to love?

Humbug and Bother

I'm tired of this election season. I want both major party candidates banished to the Island of Misfit Mascots while they contemplate their sins. Neither Obiden nor McPalin has a whole lot to offer me except further erosion of the Constitution and unsustainable spending. I can't really support either one of those policies.

So instead of the insightful commentary you've come to expect from us, even if it is heavily cribbed from Will this year, I offer you some semi-frivolity.

Does anybody here consider epistemology frivolous? Just me? Well, here's an article on the nature of truth as discerned by Wikipedia.

Death, incest, chaos and the fall of the clan of Volsung. Hmm. That's not really frivolous either, is it?

Well, since I did say I would provide some frivolity, here's an exhaustive list of what frivolity will not be tolerated.

I know. Here, fun for all and frivolity should abound.

Laziness Rewarded

So, I know I've mentioned Readerware in the past. I still think it's a fantastic program for keeping up with the number of books we keep around YPS Manor. At one point, I was contemplating exporting the catalog to a web page somewhere, based on the disputable fact of what you read determining who you are. Laziness has paid off for me yet again.

Somebody has done an app for me called LibraryThing. I have created an account and will post more after some experimentation.

Filler

So, we’ve been a bit busy with the move to new digs. YPS Manor and all of its inhabitants (me, J, N, Dog v2.0, turticle) have relocated to the northern edges of the Houston metro area. The old house is still for sale, so if you’re looking to relocate just south of 225, drop me an e-mail.

In an attempt to fill space and remind people we do occasionally post content, here’s some of the search terms people are using to find us – with commentary!

philosophical halloween costumes and philosophy costumes – It’s much harder to dress as an actual philosophy, so I’d probably stick with philosophers. Go as one of the old Greeks. Wear a chiton and some rope sandals and call it good. Carry around a triangle and call yourself Pythagoreas if anybody asks. Or you could go as Schopenhauer, if you’ve got the hair to pull it off. Alas, so few of us do.

ayn rand philosophy sucks – Maybe, but you’ll have to deal with it sooner or later if you keep hanging around libertarians. I tend to think her philosophy would’ve gone over better if she didn’t write such crappy novels.

bucket full of fail – Here you are. A disaster starting from conception all the way through whatever the ultimate execution may turn out to be. A larger bucket I doubt I’ll see in my lifetime.

united nations sucks – Why, yes, yes it does. I know I’m glad my tax dollars help support corruption, incompetence and baby-raping in the third world. Here at home, tax dollars only support corruption and incompetence.

Hopefully, that’ll be enough content to tide you over for the weekend. I go home now to complete the monumental and arduous task of unpacking all my stuff.

Spam Ignunce

If I did, for some strange reason, have a nude video of Angelina Jolie, why would I send myself emails announcing the fact? I mean, really, are people so stupid they open emails purporting to be from themselves with obviously BS subject lines? WTF?

This is almost, but not quite, as dumb as sending me emails in languages I don't understand.

One Thousand?

I just noticed the last post was number 1000. Wow. We've had a thousand opportunities to write something timeless that could change peoples lives. Instead, well, you got this. Enjoy the next thousand. I probably will.

One A Day

I ran across a strangely moving post earlier. I seem to recall some one else was doing the photo per day and just taking headshots, more as a documentary on how he was changing. I find it bizarre that one's life can be compressed? summarized? (I'm not sure of the right word here.) into a series of pictures. Obviously, a project of this nature leaves out more of the life than it includes, but if a picture is worth a thousand words Jamie Livingston left the equivalent of almost 7 million words. I think that's more of his life documented for posterity than most people manage. Obsessive, weird, and yet oddly touching.

Epiphany For The Dim

Well, either my nagging paid off or Tony finally pulled his head out of his ass. I was browsing my spam folder, where all of Netflix's messages to me intended for Tony go. The important part of the message is reproduced below, minus the graphics and unimportant stuff:

Dear Tony,

We are sending this email to let you know that your account email address has been changed. Please note it may take up to 1 business day for this change to take effect. If you did not change your email address, please visit Your Account to review or change your information.

-Your friends at Netflix

So, Tony, after almost two years, woke up and realized he signed up to Netflix with the wrong email address. I guess we can upgrade Tony's status from "complete waste of protoplasm" to "empty headed mouth breather". Yeah, he's slow, but he did catch on finally. Surely that's worth something, right? I officially rescind any comments I may have made about the suitability of Tony's continued existence on the planet.

Of course, I'm still somewhat saddened by the fact that Tony has managed to reproduce. Or else he just really enjoys children's programming. Either way, it's a sad thing.