Some Days you Eat the Bear

You are on your own, and there is nothing to understand. Miles O' Smiles Crack Soda wishes to thank all its friends and customers
for the unbeliveable response we've had to our Afghan campaign.

See Miles O' Smiles in Somalia, the Philippines and our secret test marketing
campaign in the Bekka Valley and Iraq. Yes, it's true - if you see our
Miles O' Smiles Crack Soda in Baghdad, contact us for a free case!

Miles O' Smiles is also the drink of chice for Al Queda prisoners on Air Raghead
flights to Gitmo

"Miles O'Smiles es mi soda de crack favorita" exclaimed Fidel Castro, in a
recent interview.

Monday, January 07, 2002

Miami Herald: DAVE BARRY

New iMac features flat-panel display - Tech News - CNET.com

Story on the New Apple - from TIME canada.com

Here's the new IMAC, according to F---edcompany.com

Friday, January 04, 2002

IHT: Bye-Bye Borderless Web: Countries Are Raising Electronic Fences

Thursday, January 03, 2002

Heat sensor spots the face of a liar

this came up in my "fortune cookie" ... what timing!


        "Verily and forsooth," replied Goodgulf darkly.  "In the past year

strange and fearful wonders I have seen.  Fields sown with barley reap

crabgrass and fungus, and even small gardens reject their artichoke hearts.

There has been a hot day in December and a blue moon.  Calendars are made with

a month of Sundays and a blue-ribbon Holstein bore alive two insurance

salesmen.  The earth splits and the entrails of a goat were found tied in

square knots.  The face of the sun blackens and the skies have rained down

soggy potato chips."

        "But what do all these things mean?" gasped Frito.

        "Beats me," said Goodgulf with a shrug, "but I thought it made good

copy."

                -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings"

DotTK
website

Wednesday, January 02, 2002

Business 2.0 - Magazine Article - Boo! And the 100 Other Dumbest Moments in e-Business History

Friday, December 28, 2001

Windows Haiku

PSST - Easy Encrypted Instant Messaging

Thursday, December 27, 2001

Man attacked by Partridge (not Danny Bonaduce): The Times

Sunday, December 23, 2001

DVD Players Compatibility List

Saturday, December 22, 2001

Twibright Labs : Ronja - a build-it-yourself Open Source optical network link .5 to 1 km.

I got this today....

Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 01:53:34 -0800 (PST)
From: "Sani Usman" | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject: Urgent And Confidential
To: saniusman2001@{MAILBOXDELETED}

FROM DR. SANI USMAN
TEL/FAX: (DELETED)
PRIVATE EMAIL: {DELETED}

Dear sir,

First, I must solicit your confidence in this transaction, this
is by virtue if its nature as being utterly CONFIDENTIAL and TOP
SECRET. Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will
make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that
all will be well at the end of the day. We have decided to contact
you due to the urgency of this transaction, as we have been reliably
informed of your discreteness and ability in transactions of this nature.

Let me start by first introducing myself properly to you. DR. SANI
USMAN,a manager with the EQUITORIAL TRUST BANK LTD
Lagos. I came to know of you in my private search for a
reliable and reputable person to handle this confidential transaction which
involves the transfer of a huge sum of money to a foreign account
requiring maximum confidence.

THE PROPOSITION:

A foreigner, Late Engineer Johnson Creek, an Oil Merchant/Contractor
with the Federal Government of Nigeria, until his death five years
ago in a ghastly air crash, banked with us here at EQUITORIAL TRUST
BANK LTD. Lagos, and had a closing balance of US$9.260M (Nine Million,
Two Hundred and Sixty Thousand United States Dollars) which the
bank now unquestionably expects it to be claimed by any available
foreign next-of-kin of the Late beneficiary or alternatively be
donated to a discredited trust fund for arms and ammunition at a
military war college here in Nigeria. Fervent valuable efforts are
being made by the EQUITORIAL TRUST BANK LTD to get in
touch with any of the Creek family or relatives but proved to no
avail.

It is because of the perceived possibility of not being able to
locate any of Late Engr. Johnson Creeks next-of-kin (he had no known
wife and children) that the management under the influence of our
chairman and member of the board of directors, retired Major General
Kalu Uke Kalu, that an arrangement be made for the funds to be declared
UNCLAIMABLE and subsequently be donated to the Trust Fund for Arms
and Ammunition to further enhance the course of war in Africa and the world in general.

In order to avert this negative development, some of my trusted
colleagues and I now seek your permission to have you stand as a
next-of-kin to Late Engr. Johnson Creek so that the funds US$9.260M
would be released and paid into your bank account as the beneficiary
next-of-kin. All documents and proves to enable you get this fund
will be carefully worked out and more so we are assuring you of
a 100% risk free involvement. Your share stays while the rest would
be for myself and my colleagues for investment purposes in your country.

We have agreed that, the funds will be shared thus, after it has
been transferred into your account

1. 15% of the money will go to you for acting as the
beneficiary of the funds.

2. 5% will be set aside for reimbursement to both
parties for any incidental expenses that may be incurred in the course
of the transfer.

3. 80% to us the originators of the transaction.

If this proposal is OK by you and you do not wish to take undue
advantage of the trust, we hope to bestow on you and your company,
then kindly get to me immediately via my private Email:saniusman@{MAILBOXDELETED}
or fax No. {DELETED} for security reason. Furnishing me with
your most confidential telephone, fax number and
exclusive bank particulars so that I can use these information to
apply for the release and subsequent transfer of the funds in your
favour.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated
co-operation.

Yours faithfully,

DR. SANI USMAN
(EQUITORIAL TRUST BANK LTD.)

Here's the official Secret Service web page: (http://www.ustreas.gov/usss)

Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud Overview
The perpetrators of Advance Fee Fraud (AFF), known internationally as "4-1-9" fraud after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses fraud schemes, are often very creative and innovative.

Unfortunately, there is a perception that no one is prone to enter into such an obviously suspicious relationship. However, a large number of victims are enticed into believing they have been singled out from the masses to share in multi-million dollar windfall profits for doing absolutely nothing. It is also a misconception that the victim's bank account is requested so the culprit can plunder it -- this is not the primary reason for the account request -- merely a signal they have hooked another victim.

In almost every case there is a sense of urgency;
The victim is enticed to travel to Nigeria or a border country;
There are many forged official looking documents;
Most of the correspondence is handled by fax or through the mail;
Blank letterheads and invoices are requested from the victim along with the banking particulars;
Any number of Nigerian fees are requested for processing the transaction with each fee purported to be the last required;
The confidential nature of the transaction is emphasized;
There are usually claims of strong ties to Nigerian officials;
A Nigerian residing in the U.S., London or other foreign venue may claim to be a clearing house bank for the Central Bank of Nigeria;
Offices in legitimate government buildings appear to have been used by impostors posing as the real occupants or officials.
The most common forms of these fraudulent business proposals fall into seven main categories:

Disbursement of money from wills
Contract fraud (C.O.D. of goods or services)
Purchase of real estate
Conversion of hard currency
Transfer of funds from over invoiced contracts
Sale of crude oil at below market prices
The most prevalent and successful cases of Advance Fee Fraud is the fund transfer scam. In this scheme, a company or individual will typically receive an unsolicited letter by mail from a Nigerian claiming to be a senior civil servant. In the letter, the Nigerian will inform the recipient that he is seeking a reputable foreign company or individual into whose account he can deposit funds ranging from $10-$60 million that the Nigerian government overpaid on some procurement contract.

The criminals obtain the names of potential victims from a variety of sources including trade journals, professional directories, newspapers, and commercial libraries. They do not target a single company, but rather send out mailings en masse. The sender declares that he is a senior civil servant in one of the Nigerian Ministries, usually the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The letters refer to investigations of previous contracts awarded by prior regimes alleging that many contracts were over invoiced. Rather than return the money to the government, they desire to transfer the money to a foreign account. The sums to be transferred average between $10,000,000 to $60,000,000 and the recipient is usually offered a commission up to 30 percent for assisting in the transfer.

Initially, the intended victim is instructed to provide company letterheads and pro forma invoicing that will be used to show completion of the contract. One of the reasons is to use the victim's letterhead to forge letters of recommendation to other victim companies and to seek out a travel visa from the American Embassy in Lagos. The victim is told that the completed contracts will be submitted for approval to the Central Bank of Nigeria. Upon approval, the funds will be remitted to an account supplied by the intended victim.

The goal of the criminal is to delude the target into thinking that he is being drawn into a very lucrative, albeit questionable, arrangement. The intended victim must be reassured and confident of the potential success of the deal. He will become the primary supporter of the scheme and willingly contribute a large amount of money when the deal is threatened. The term "when" is used because the con-within-the-con is the scheme will be threatened in order to persuade the victim to provide a large sum of money to save the venture.

The letter, while appearing transparent and even ridiculous to most, unfortunately is growing in its effectiveness. It sets the stage and is the opening round of a two-layered scheme or scheme within a scheme. The fraudster will eventually reach someone who, while skeptical, desperately wants the deal to be genuine.

Victims are almost always requested to travel to Nigeria or a border country to complete a transaction. Individuals are often told that a visa will not be necessary to enter the country. The Nigerian con artists may then bribe airport officials to pass the victims through Immigration and Customs. Because it is a serious offense in Nigeria to enter without a valid visa, the victim's illegal entry may be used by the fraudsters as leverage to coerce the victims into releasing funds. Violence and threats of physical harm may be employed to further pressure victims. In June of 1995, an American was murdered in Lagos, Nigeria, while pursuing a 4-1-9 scam, and numerous other foreign nationals have been reported as missing.

Victims are often convinced of the authenticity of Advance Fee Fraud schemes by the forged or false documents bearing apparently official Nigerian government letterhead, seals, as well as false letters of credit, payment schedules and bank drafts. The fraudster may establish the credibility of his contacts, and thereby his influence, by arranging a meeting between the victim and "government officials" in real or fake government offices.

In the next stage some alleged problem concerning the "inside man" will suddenly arise. An official will demand an up-front bribe or an unforeseen tax or fee to the Nigerian government will have to be paid before the money can be transferred. These can include licensing fees, registration fees, and various forms of taxes and attorney fees. Normally each fee paid is described as the very last fee required. Invariably, oversights and errors in the deal are discovered by the Nigerians, necessitating additional payments and allowing the scheme to be stretched out over many months.

Several reasons have been submitted why Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud has undergone a dramatic increase in recent years. The explanations are as diverse as the types of schemes. The Nigerian Government blames the growing problem on mass unemployment, extended family systems, a get rich quick syndrome, and, especially, the greed of foreigners.

Indications are that Advance Fee Fraud grosses hundreds of millions of dollars annually and the losses are continuing to escalate. In all likelihood, there are victims who do not report their losses to authorities due to either fear or embarrassment.

In response to this growing epidemic, the United States Secret Service established "Operation 4-1-9" designed to target Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud on an international basis. The Financial Crimes Division of the Secret Service receives approximately 100 telephone calls from victims/potential victims and 300-500 pieces of related correspondence per day.

Secret Service agents have been assigned on a temporary basis to the American Embassy in Lagos to address the problem in that arena. Agents have established liaison with Nigerian officials, briefed other embassies on the widespread problem, and have assisted in the extrication of U.S. citizens in distress.

If you have been victimized by one of these schemes, please forward appropriate written documentation to the United States Secret Service, Financial Crimes Division, 950 H Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001, or telephone (202) 406-5850, or contact by e-mail.

If you have received a letter, but have not lost any monies to this scheme, please fax a copy of that letter to (202) 406-5031.

The Funniest Joke in the World?

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes wakes Watson up.

"Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce."

Watson says, "I see millions of stars, and if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life."

Holmes replied: "Watson, you idiot, somebody stole our tent!"

SkyscraperPage.com Forum - "Israeli art students" deported

Friday, December 21, 2001

...And while you're at it, port it to the Atari ST as well. And don't forget to
turn off the light when you leave the room!... and take a bath too!

Holdout States Want Microsoft Office Ported to Linux | Computerworld News & Features Story

How about SWODNIL? WINDNOT? DIMDOWS? DILBERTOS?.. hey, that's not bad!
Brief: Microsoft sues Lindows.com over name | Computerworld News & Features Story

Thursday, December 20, 2001

Urinals of the J. Paul Getty Museum

Kids' Toys at Kid Sized Prices - CheapCheapToys: Featured Products

Also: 100 Big Coupons.COM - thanks, Andy!

Thursday, December 13, 2001

Post-It Theater

Wednesday, December 12, 2001

Error messages within Linux - from http://unattached.i-no.de/english/linux.php

* Nobody will ever see this message :-) */
panic("Cannot initialize video hardware\n");
2.0.38 /usr/src/linux/arch/m68k/atari/atafb.c

panic("bad_user_access_length executed (not cool, dude)");
2.0.38 /usr/src/linux/kernel/panic.c

if (user_specified)
/* Didn't work, but the user is convinced this is the
* place. */
2.4.0-test2 /usr/src/linux/drivers/parport/parport_pc.c

panic("Lucy in the sky....");
2.2.16 /usr/src/linux/arch/sparc64/kernel/starfire.c

printk("HPFS: Grrrr... Kernel memory corrupted ... going on, but
it'll crash very soon :-(\n");
2.4.3 linux/fs/hpfs/super.c

panic("mother...");
2.2.16 /usr/src/linux/drivers/block/cpqarray.c

#define BB_STAT2_TMP_INTR 0x10 /* My Penguins are burning.
Are you able to smell it? */
2.2.16 /usr/src/linux/include/asm-sparc/obio.h

# Basic IBM dingbats, some of which will never have a purpose clear
# to mankind
2.4.0 linux/drivers/char/cp437.uni

/*
* For moronic filesystems that do not allow holes in file.
* We may have to extend the file.
*/
2.4.0-test2 /usr/src/linux/fs/buffer.c

printk("Illegal format on cdrom. Pester manufacturer.\n");
2.2.16 /usr/src/linux/fs/isofs/inode.c

panic("IRQ, you lose...");
2.2.16 /usr/src/linux/arch/mips/sgi/kernel/indy_int.c

prom_printf("Detected PenguinPages, getting out of here.\n");
2.0.38 /usr/src/linux/arch/sparc/mm/srmmu.c

printk("autofs: Out of inode numbers -- what the heck did you do??\n");
2.0.38 /usr/src/linux/fs/autofs/root.c

/* vsprintf.c -- Lars Wirzenius & Linus Torvalds. */
*
* Wirzenius wrote this portably, Torvalds fucked it up :-)
*/
2.2.16 /usr/src/linux/lib/vsprintf.c

/* Fuck. The f-word is here so you can grep for it :-) */
2.4.3 linux/include/asm-mips/mmu_context.h

Slight Overloading problem...

Tuesday, December 11, 2001

welcome to unnovations

Ah some history... see "PVAC" and "COMPUMART"
213 BBS List
And... Hovercraft...
818 BBS List

Monday, December 10, 2001

A Lonely Hanukah for the last two Jews in Kabul...FOXNews.com

Friday, December 07, 2001

Omar's living in the back of a car? - from The Times of India

"Dude, let's cruise the liquor store again, maybe that babe Betwa is back..."

The Top 12 Things Uttered by Yoda While Making Love Funny, these are. "A cold sore, it is only..."

Tuesday, December 04, 2001

TechTV | Gibson Makes Music 'Magic'

Monday, December 03, 2001

STAR WARS ASCIIMATION - Main Page

A start-up's true tale (12/01/2001)

here IT is... I like the name Ginger better than... Segway

NYTimes article on the SEGWAY, formerly known as IT or Ginger...

An Inventor Unveils His Mysterious Personal Transportation Device

More on IT.

theITquestion.com - What is 'IT'?

IT, or GINGER, is revealed!!!!

Well, butter me on one side and call me toast, I'm impressed... this IS going to be very big indeed. I'd buy one...

TIME.com: Reinventing the Wheel

Friday, November 30, 2001

R.I.P.

Former Beatle George Harrison Dies at Age 58

Thursday, November 29, 2001

"The ritual consists of interested humans arriving at a predetermined Wal-Mart at 12 noon on the first Sunday of every month and proceeding to push empty shopping carts slowly and silently through the aisles."
whirlmart_statement

isn't it cute? A giant condom surrounded by asian models....
Yahoo! News - Reuters Photo

Blitzkrieg Toyz in New York City has just shipped 3,000 "El Comandante Fidel Castro" action figures to retailers. The 12-inch, hand-painted dolls are available in two styles: Revolutionary Fidel with jet black hair and beard, and salt-and-pepper Modern Fidel. Blitzkrieg offers the figures to retailers for $45; on shelves, they sell for $65. A recent auction on eBay fetched more than $100.

Revolutions in doll making - 2001-11-05 - South Florida Business Journal

eNormicom: Welcome to eNormicom!

37signals > Design Not Found > Real World Examples of Good and Bad Contingency Design

The Boxin' Sumo Robot Kit at the Robot Store

Obiturary: Rosemary Brown - from The Times (UK) "She went shopping with Liszt"

I find that this helps, too...

Wednesday, November 28, 2001

The Home Depot Bet - Home Depot Bet Weblog - Coming Soon

Tuesday, November 27, 2001

NewsForge | CP/M collection is back online with an Open Source license

CP/M freed by Lineo (formerly Caldera)...

Too Tired to be Root

Monday, November 26, 2001

recipe for Whole Stuffed Camel
...really!

Wednesday, November 21, 2001

Go to http://www.touristguy.com and click on "Origin" to see the first
faked photo that appeared shortly after 9/11.

Then go to the Gallery and see everything else.

Finish up with a visit to the News section and click on "ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US"

Red Hat proposes alternative in Microsoft settlement

Linux vendor Red Hat Inc. has sprung an alternative settlement to resolve
class-action lawsuits against Microsoft. It says Microsoft should pay for more
hardware, not software that could extend its reach.

http://computerworld.com/nlt/0%2C3590%2CNAV47_STO65972_NLTAM%2C00.html

The True History of Thanksgiving

"The first Thanksgiving did not occur in 1621 when the pilgrim survivors of the first winter sat down to dinner with their Indian friends. The first official day of thanksgiving and feasting in Massachusetts was proclaimed by Gov. Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637. He did this to give thanks for the safe return of men from the colony who had gone to what is now Mystic, Connecticut to participate in themassacre of over 700 Pequot men, women and children.

"What happened in October of 1621 may have been a harvest home, but the Indians who attended were not even invited by the Pilgrims, who considered our people to be devils. No turkey, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie was served. Just days before this alleged thanksgiving communion, a company of pilgrims led by Myles Standish actively sought the head of a local chief. The pilgrims deliberately caused a rivalry between two friendly Indians, pitting one against the other in the classic European method of divide and conquer. An 11 foot high wall was erected around the entire Plymouth settlement for the purpose of keeping the Indians out."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

. . .from the speech by Moonanum James, Co-Leader of United American Indians of New England at the 29th National Day of Mourning, November 26, 1998

Samuel L. Jackson!!! (thanks, Robert)

Bill Gates: "You owe me one, Linus..." ???

I, Cringely | The Pulpit

Remember Microsoft BOB?
Remember Bob the programming language?

What About Bob?

Leonid Pics!

Leonids 2001 Meteor Gallery

Furbeowulf Cluster Computing - build your own supercomputer!

Saturday, November 17, 2001

The Afghanistan winter isn't as bad as they're making it out to be...TNR Online | Daily Express: Hazy Shade of Winter by Nicholas Thompson

BS - How To Build An Atom Bomb

The Village Voice: Nation: Mondo Washington: Al Qaeda Duped? by James Ridgeway

Now YOU can bend forks...
#fork-you.com#

Thursday, November 15, 2001

note the date...


 8-Jun-84 10:29:10-MDT,646;000000000000

Return-Path: 

Received: from AMSAA by SIMTEL20.ARPA with TCP; Fri 8 Jun 84 10:29:06-MDT

Received: From jpl-vlsi.arpa.ARPA by AMSAA via smtp;  8 Jun 84 12:00 EDT

Date: 8 Jun 1984 0853 PDT

From: Jeff Skaletsky 

Subject: USR Password Production halt?

To: info-cpm@Amsaa.ARPA

Reply-To: JEFF@JPL-VLSI.ARPA



Anyone with information on the production halt of the US Robotics

Password modem?  Is this a discontinuation, a temporary QC problem,

or a lawsuit?  Also, I'd appreciate any comments on the Promethius

Modem as an alternative.



Thanks,

					Jeff Skaletsky

A blast from the past... first BETA of gcc??? I feel old...

Geocrawler.com - a2ps - GCC: Anyone working on a port?

Wednesday, November 14, 2001

HP is phasing out their 29 year old 3000 line of servers. Guess I can finally toss that MPE manual I have.

This isn't the Bride you're looking for...

TheForce.net - Star Wars Humor Caption #52

Tuesday, February 12, 2002

Friday, February 08, 2002

Thursday, February 07, 2002

Wednesday, February 06, 2002

Tuesday, February 05, 2002

Thursday, January 31, 2002

Wednesday, January 30, 2002

Tuesday, January 29, 2002

Monday, January 28, 2002

Saturday, January 26, 2002

Wednesday, January 23, 2002

Friday, January 18, 2002

Thursday, January 17, 2002

Wednesday, January 16, 2002

Saturday, January 12, 2002

Friday, January 11, 2002

Thursday, January 10, 2002

Tuesday, January 08, 2002