Under a Gibbous Moon

Recently, on Twitter, I responded to Anil Dash’s rather acerbic comment (which her promptly rescinded, no doubt under duress when when Apple’s stormtroopers kicked in his door) on how Apple periodically likes to make their products incompatible with everything else. I commented back about how my Bose Sound Dock will not charge my iPod Touch.

Thirty-four minutes later, I was contacted by Bose Service who stated that they had seen my tweet and wanted to help. I figured what the hell. I figured that they were maybe handing out adapters to fix the problem (either for free or a small charge) but no, after a little back and forth I found this out.

So here I am, stuck with a less functional sound dock with my only option being to spend $99 to “fix” it or just buy a new one. Ya, thanks but no thanks.

I would like to add a note that I don’t just a problem with Bose (though I am severely disappointed with their “in ear head phones” that only stay in when you sit perfectly still”) on this but also with Apple. It takes real disdain to hand out licenses to make third party accessories and then fuck them over like that.

In this case, Apple screws over the accessory maker who then screws over their existing customer base. Like they say, shit rolls down hill.

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As a follow up to my previous post on blog spam, I recently received two spam comments that were perfect examples, that and they were conveniently right next to each other to make for a good screen shot.

Click on the image for a large version

The first one is quit obviously of the IHYSETCOT variety. Luckily for everyone, this person, well bot, is nice enough to to make the links so scary looking that only the terminally stupid or dangerously curious would click on them.

The second one is of the SEO variety. It is suitably generic and appeals to the blogger’s vanity (Drat! How did they discover my one weakness!) Underneath the name you’ll see the URL bronsteinreport.com. This is the web site that is attempting improve its search engine ranking by throwing out links wildly like a frat boy sows his oats.

Now I understand that this post was exceptionally dry and what you really came to see was the latest issue of Blog Spam Illustrated, so I won’t deny you:

Don’t say I never give you anything.

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Welcome to a segment that I like to call The Parade of Stupid Names. Today we will discuss the absolute lows that parents have come to in regards to naming their children in manners that will torment and scar them for many years to come.

Today, I took my daughter in for her nine month check up. Visiting a pediatrician’s office is a good place to hear the godawful names that some parents come up with (presumably while drunk). There was a little boy there whose parents are apparently travelers. They are such world treading people that they wanted to make sure everyone else knows it, so, of course, they name their son Rome. I’m sure he’ll be a hoot in geography class.

Then there was another poor kid named Jayden. Holy crap, why don’t you just name him Clay Aiken and be done with it. I mean there’s a reason why the studio changed John Wayne’s name from Marion.

Now the worst offender that I’ve heard of lately belongs to the sister of one of my wife’s friends (say that five times fast). She named her newest son Linkin, yes like the park… I mean band.

I’m not sure why some parents sit down and try to think of the stupidest, most off the wall name that they can think of for their children but I do have a theory. Just think of the one other thing were people sit down and think of the stupidest, most off the wall names: pets.

I believe that there are parents out there who think of their children in the same way they do their pets. It shows, too, like pets, they are all cute and cuddly when their born but eventually they grow up into loud, obnoxious beasts (teenagers) and by then their no fun anymore so their parents allow them to run wild around the neighborhood going in other people’s yards and impregnating their pets, I mean children.

OK. I’m done, I’ll dial back the crotchetiness a bit besides, it’s almost time for Matlock.

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God, no matter how hard I scrub, the taint just won’t come off!

Hat Tip: BoingBoing

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Yes, I shamelessly stole that title from a Smashing Pumpkins song.

Blog spam is something that anyone (and I mean anyone) who has had a blog for more than five or six seconds has had to deal with. Sure the amount ebbs and flows with the tides and your page ranking but it is still and omnipresent nuisance.

Blog spam is split into two categories, SEO spam and I-Hope-You’re-Stupid-Enough-To-Click-On-This spam. (continue reading…)

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