Linkage Unleashed!

My buddy Derick mentioned this bit of videotaped destruction on the internet. This company is down in Utah county somewhere.

And speaking of destruction, here is a more deliberate bit of destruction. Everything from halloween pumpkins to fishing boats.

And finally, for those of you with an iron stomach, and don't say I didn't warn you, here is a video that has been going round the interweb. It WAS a video of a bovine carcass being destroyed, but then some clever person added distressing cow sounds and thought that would be fun. What ACTUALLY made it fun was when the fine folks at PETA got up in arms about it. In spite of the fact that the video says that the cow was dead AND diseased, they somehow thought the cow was alive and in pain.
Did I mention that this video might be disturbing? Do you think anyone will NOT watch it, because of the warnings? Does anyone want to be that I won't get complaints?

Google Hacks

While looking for a free way to measure page rank, I came across a few other google tools that I either didn't know about, or rarely use, because they would require remembering syntax.

The most important thing I found was this site, which is a fill-in-the-blanks google form. This gets a lot of functionality in one site. This link is to the firefox version, but I'm sure it will redirect you if you are still, using Internet Exploder.

I still haven't found a page-rank tool, but I did discover that google is now publishing web pages. It seems somewhat similar to the blogging concept. Lots of templates and only the most used features, but I guess that's the whole point. Most people can publish a page or two in a few minutes. Here is the Forbes Laws on Google pages. Unfortunately, I can't figure out put the annoying Forbes Tartan in the background. I'll keep working on it. (For those of you unfamiliar, here is the original version of the laws.)

Now I'm off to look a little harder for a free page rank tool, or better yet, a developers API key that I can use.

Larp Link - Monster Camp

It's been too long since I posted a bunch of uncorrelated links. Far too long.

Here's a video that confirms everything I always thought about World of Warcraft. You're new vocabulary word for today is LARP. Live Action Role Playing... Yeah, I do that too. My character is a middle-aged computer nerd with the power to make women fall asleep.

Million Dollar Idea

Some times the simplest ideas are the most valuable. Consider the following email exchange.

To: RepliWeb Support
Subject: Zombie jobs

I’m having a problem that I can’t explain today.

I have to pair of jobs that seem to be complete, but still active. Or perhaps, are waiting for edge jobs, but I can’t see if that is the case.

Attached is the complete job folders for the parent and child jobs of one of the zombies.

Please advise.

To which my vendor replied, with no apparent frustration or implications that I am an idiot...

Hello Thayne,

Thank you for contacting support.

We are unable to see the folders you referred to. Please resend the attachments for our review.

Best Regards,
Eric Biron
RepliWeb Support

Here's the million dollar idea.

I'll write an email client that scans the text of your message when you press send and looks for the words Enclosed and/or Attachment. And if it finds either word, it will BLOODY WELL REQUIRE that you enclose an attachment. I could save the computer industry billions every year in "You forgot the attachment, you ninny" messages.

I'll be immortalized in the annals of computer geniuses, alongside Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson. (Although, apparently, I would need to grow a long, unkempt beard for that, so maybe not.)