h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Gosho's journal thread for stories and reports which highlight a victory for common sense and/or for the common people (and which, no doubt, will consequently contain many stories and reports about victories over big business and large corporations).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3213161.stm



This may not be too long-lived however - Congress is currently debating an anti-spam bill which is weaker than California's and which will supersede state laws

I've started getting a lot more spam emails in the
last month or so. I just delete them. I used to try
to tell them to stop sending emails, but the return
addresses they provided were bogus.

This makes me wonder: where is the profit for these
creeps? The few people who might *like* to respond
to get the products advertised will find that their
replies bounce. If the spamming gets bad enough,
millions of people will give up on email, and then
what will the spam emailers do? They're destroying
the very medium that they want to use. It doesn't
make sense, but then, marketing has always seemed
very counter-intuitive to me.

Lord Scott was looking over my shoulder while I was reading that article and remarked that he is now getting spam trying to sell him software that will block spam.

I have been getting more spam since I have a spam filter folder!

I have to view the list daily because good email is also caught in it.
I have many new ones I was not getting before.

I'm sure their governor will be strong enough to defend the law.

I mean, he did it in the Terminator movies, except not with law.

Good point!

Maybe we could arrange to send all the Spam
to Molokai, where they actually like it.

Er, they like the tins of Spam, not the email.

They can have the tins of it too, as far as I'm concerned...

That would make their day, Lady Scott.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3236948.stm

Damn straight, and not a moment too soon In all the talk of Saddam, this monster has been overlooked. You want a 'global democratic revolution' Pres. Bush? How come you never looked toward Zimbabwe?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3315183.stm

I'd like to think that the reasons for the decline in sales outlined in the story are the real reasons, but maybe the writers are giving people a little too much credit for knowing what's good and what's for them And as for Diet Coke being 'more healthy' than the regular version...

Ingredients of the "California Style" Sunny D "juice":

Water, fruit juice (15%), citric acid, vegetable oil, preservative (polyphosphate), acidity regulator (sodium citrate), modified starch, vitamin C, thickener (guar gum), preservative (potassium sorbate), natural flavourings, sweeteners (acesulfame K and aspartame), thickeners (xanthan gum and gellan gum), beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A), vitamin B6, thiamin (vitamin B1)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8126-901953,00.html

Now, I am wondering why vegetable oil is a necessary ingredient of orange "juice".

The dip in the sales of Kit-Kat are directly related to Nestle's decision to change the packaging. They got rid off the silver foil with the paper loop outer wrapper and replaced it with a single aluminised plastic wrapper.

In a stroke they got rid of one the brand's strongest points and that was that people used to play with the wrapping before, during and after eating the product. Now all Kit-Kat is, is a chocolate cover waffer - nothing special at all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3335063.stm

Damn straight! The RIAA are a bunch of bullies, and if, after all lines of appeal have been exhausted and the recoed industry still can't have their way, I hope that the people who have already coughed up wedge after being ratted out by their ISPs sue both RIAA *and* their ISP up the wazoo.

And I say this as someone who sells CDs for a living!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3670578.stm

Yeah

The bit that's gonna be hardest for any Texan to swallow is this: "he must then drive a low-powered car"

I acn think of a few that would be pretty low-powered.

Give him a Segway

Given the "ability" of some Texans on a Segway, he'll fall off and break his brain-bone....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/4272041.stm

You gotta love it when that sort of thing happens

Gives new meaning to the idea that Big Brother is watching you!

*Note to self* Get a webcam and leave the PC on all the time I'm away from the apt.