Quick Hitts

I want to put out a newsletter, (The Smartenizer) so I’m looking at various services and sending some of them questions.  This is one of the few times I’ve clicked on the ads that appear next to Gmail messages.

One was for RDH Marketing.  The link showed me a generic 404 page.  (Not even a custom 404?  Even I have one.) So I deleted the long string of code after the domain name to go to their home page.

Here it is.  No description of who they are, what they offer, or why I should give them my name and e-mail.  The privacy policy displays an ugly page.  The other links simply return to a demand for my personal information.

Great marketing guys.  I have no idea what you offer, and I never will.

I like to buy from sites that feature lots of customer reviews.  It’s one of the reasons I buy most of my electronic stuff from NewEgg.  (The other reasons: their selection is great, their pricing is excellent and their shipping is amazing.  Hint: pick the very cheapest shipping, and it still usually arrives the next day.)

Most reviews are good for helping you make buying decisions, but some are just good for a laugh.  Start here, then read the reviews for any version of the bible.  You’ll find them infested with highly entertaining commentary.

Sherry Jones is another victim of Islam’s attack on free speech. Her book, The Jewel of Media, tells the story of Aisha, he child bride of the pedophile profit Mohamed.

The attack didn’t come directly from Muslim terrorists this time, but from a gutless University of Texas professor who saw the proofs declared that it could be a national security issue. Random House agreed and destroyed the already-printed books.

You can not fight terrorist by cowering. Random House needs to grow some balls, or get out of the publishing business.

Here’s a great article on the subject.

And you know it’s true, because it’s from America’s Finest News Source.

This graphic from the New York Times compares the which words and phrases were used most often at the Democratic and Republican conventions.

Interesting, but, of course, it’s all just yammer. We have a choice between a Big Government socialist and a Big Government Fascist. They’re not intentionally socialist or fascist. Both of them are decent people and it would be fun to have a beer with either of them. But the policies they favor are all about socalism and fachism, and as far away from the constution as they can get.

I was sitting in downtown Atlanta, having a smoke and watching the people go by. This was even more interesting than usual, because it was the middle of DragonCon and quite a few people were in costume.

A man and his daughter walked by wearing this t-shirt:

…which looked much better in real life than it does on this web page. I asked where he got them, and he said “I made them.”

Turns out he has a new business selling t-shirts for atheists and agnostics under the rather clever domain name agnostees. My favorite: Atheists Don’t Fly Airplanes Into Buildings.

Correction: The site owner informed me he wasn’t with his daughter, but his wife. I hope she took my mistake as a complement.

There, three articles in a row to tide you over while I ignore this site for a week. I’m heading to Atlanta, along with my twin daughters, to spend a long weekend at DragonCon. (You can see pictures from last years dragon con here.) I’ll be spending most of my time in the Podcasting and Skeptics track, so if you’re there stop by and say hello.

Here’s a cheesy video of one of my favorite cheesy girl bands, for your amusement. I especially like the very obvious fake water skiing, where there’s not a drop of water on any of them.

I love Cheesy Girl Bands. They have to be minimally competent on their instruments (if they’re great musicians they don’t qualify as cheesy) and extremely cute. Their songs have to be goofy and fun and inconsequential. Ever been to a Bangles concert and seen that creepy old guy in the crowd of adolescents? That was me.

Here’s another Cheesy Girl Band I recently discovered. They’re great. Wonderfully, wonderfully cheesy.