Category: observations

The Seattle Times: Local News: Suit filed over 2 girls killed by train

Families of two girls killed by a train in Kent are suing the city and two railroad companies for not doing more to keep children off the tracks.

As harsh as it sounds to scold grieving parents, why don’t the parents of the girls killed in this tragic accident comprehend their own role in this? Imagine the plight of the train’s engineer, knowing that the two girls in front of his train are going to be struck with severe consequences: should he have to live with that? If I were the railway, I would be considering a countersuit for loss of use of the tracks and equipment during the accident investigation.

The suit claims damages for the loss of the “parent-child relationship” and I have to ask what there was of that to be damaged?

My 3 and 5 year old will point out bicyclists without helmets, people walking on railroad tracks, joggers in the street, all things they have been told are unsafe: seems to me they could teach a lesson or two.

TeleZapper Home Page

How does the TeleZapper “zap” telemarketers?

The TeleZapper uses the technology of telemarketers’ automatic dialing equipment against them. When you or your answering machine picks up a call, the TeleZapper emits a special tone that “fools” the computer into thinking your number is disconnected. Instead of connecting you to a salesperson, the computer stores your number as diconnected in it’s database. Over time, as your number is removed from more and more databases, you’ll see a dramatic decrease in the number of annoying telemarketing calls you receive.

Perfect: invisible but effective. Where’s my credit card?

Thanks to Steve for the tip.

EFF Topics: Newmark, et al., v. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. et al.

I wasn’t aware there was legal action going on as a result of this nonsense. As a former TBS employee and current AOL/TW shareholder, I’m embarrassed to learn an enterprise I own even a small piece of employs — in any capacity — someone with these wacky opinions.

The Seattle Times: Local News: Clinic charging drug-firm reps: Polyclinic demands $30 an hour before it will hear sales pitch

A local physician-owned medical practice has decided to charge all drug sales reps for the time they keep doctors away from their patients: if the Polyclinic wasn’t already our pediatrician, I’d be finding some way to get on their list.

The “pay per view” policy, which went into effect Monday, will levy fees ranging from $30 for one hour’s access to the clinic to $200 for eight hours.

$30 an hour seems cheap: I would have made it $100 and $1000 for the full day.

I have always been amazed at the number of immaculately groomed and dressed drug salespeople I would see in the halls and elevators, pressing their free samples, fighting for shelf space. I know medicine is a for profit industry but I shouldn’t have to feel like I’m competing with salespeople for my physician’s attention.

I especially like the veiled threat that doctors who limit access to salespeople will lose out on valuable treatment options: isn’t that what journals are for? Are we supposed to think a board-certified physician is going to take the advice of generic sales person on matters of patient care and pharmacology?

Most of the comments missed the point: this isn’t about an additional revenue stream for doctors, but a nuisance tax, charging back the expense for the time diverted from patient care to those drug companies who are willing to pay for it. The doctors may use the money to fund indigent care or subsidize medical school scholarships, for all we know: what matters is that those who want access to a scarce resource should have to pay for it, just as patients have to.

NPR : Talk of the Nation for Wednesday, June 05, 2002 : Inside EBay

I heard some of this piece today on NPR: the bits I heard were effusive in their praise, but there were some interesting anecdotes.

Omidyar really knew he was onto something when he put up a listing for a broken $30 laser pointer that he was about to throw out.
Continue reading “is ebay a perfect market?”

Anyone know how to make these new tabbed browsers (Galeon, Mozilla, Chimera/Navigator) open a new tab rather than a new window when “TARGET=_new” is called? Hmm, well, to answer my own question, it’s in Mozilla 1.0’s prefs, but if you hold the Ctrl key when you click, you open a new tab instead of loading a new page into the existing window.

Hmm, well, to answer my own question, there’s something close to this in Mozilla 1.0’s prefs, but if you hold the Ctrl key when you click, you open a new tab instead of loading a new page into the existing window. The behavior I would like to load pages in the existing window but create tabs for all new windows.

I want a device that answers the phone and if it hears either a lengthy pause or the muffled hubbub of a telemarketing boilerroom, it quietly hangs up and blocks the number from ever ringing again.

Yes, I have caller ID, but not all callers are ID’ed. And I have an answering machine but every call I let it answer is one I would have liked to pick up.

what exactly are these people doing?

I get a come-on from QPB to take 5 books for 5 dollars. Perhaps I can find something worth that much . . .

I’m amazed at how many and how, um, mechanical/technical the books on sex seem to be. Not a lot on health or the relationship aspects: it’s all about pleasure. I counted 5 how-to books and a couple of books of saucy erotica, including one that claimed to cover all aspects of vampire erotica, with 5 “bonus werewolf stories.”

It’s a far cry from Freddy the Pig.

As seen in ajc.com | Metro:

YOUR TURN Which are you most likely to do to conserve water? Quit watering the lawn. 34% 125 Take shorter showers. 4% 16 Get a low-flush toilet. 3% 10 Get a low-flow showerhead. 2% 9 Nothing. I’m not really concerned about it. 57% 208 Total Votes 368 This survey is not a scientific sampling and does not reflect the opinion of the general public, but only of those who choose to participate.

Continue reading “not my problem”