Pollsters asked voters the following question: "Which ONE issue mattered most in deciding how you voted today?" Voters were given six choices: taxes, education, health care/Medicare, the war in Iraq, national security/terrorism, and the economy/jobs.

In four of the five states for which exit polls are available--Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina--Democratic voters placed national security/terrorism at the bottom of the list. Only in tiny Delaware, on the east coast and not far from Ground Zero, did Democrats place more emphasis on the issue--and even then, it was in next-to-last place.

(Via Best of the Web)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:44 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

LeaAnn righteously shreds some moron calling himself "James Joyce" over at Kuro5hin - pronounced "corrosion", it's a like politicised version of Slashdot, and the politics range the whole spectrum from centre-left to Democratic Underground lunacy. The Commissar also has something to say about the matter.

Meanwhile, showing the same careless disregard for fact that got it into trouble so recently, the BBC is blaming the MyDoom virus on Linux users. Slashdot readers respectfully suggest that reporter Stephen Evans pull his head out of his arse.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:21 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

I just dropped my mobile phone down the stairs. I wonder where this bit goes? Hmm...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:52 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Dave Barry's blog has a post up that reads:

ATTENTION, PEOPLE WITH NO CONCEPT WHATSOEVER OF HUMAN DECENCY

Here's a fun art project.

When you do not click on that link, you will thank me for this warning.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:25 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Every ten minutes or so, it seems, someone proposes a scheme for ridding the world of spam. That's the email kind, not the tasty dead-burnt-animal-in-a-tin kind.

The only problem is that in almost every case, the person proposing this magical solution knows absolutely nothing about how email actually works. Having helped set up an ISP, having written a mailserver of my own (used internally for several years, but long since abandoned), and being responsible for four mailservers right now, I have learnt at least a little bit.

And here are two of the things I have learned:

One, your proposal has been suggested before. Probably before you even knew what the Internet was.

Two, the reason that you have never heard it discussed and so think it is wonderfully original and clever is that it won't work, can't work, is impossible to implement, and that all of this is immediately obvious to anyone with the faintest idea about the actual implementation of the global email system.

The latest dumb idea comes from Microsoft, a Premium Dumb Idea Provider™, their friends at Yahoo (Google Ate Our Lunch&trade, and is presented by The New York Times (We Suck, But You Have To Register Anyway&trade.

I could go into a lengthy and entertaining-only-to-geeks rant about why this latest proposal is utterly dumbfoundingly wrong-headed and at the same time one of the purest examples of corporate greed to surface in years - they want you to pay for email - but one of the posters at Slashdot has saved me the trouble:

Your company advocates a

(x) technical ( ) legislative (x) market-based ( ) vigilante

approach to fighting spam. Your idea will not work. Here is why it won't work. (One or more of the following may apply to your particular idea, and it may have other flaws which used to vary from state to state before a bad federal law was passed.)

( ) Spammers can easily use it to harvest email addresses
(x) Mailing lists and other legitimate email uses would be affected
(x) No one will be able to find the guy or collect the money
( ) It is defenseless against brute force attacks
(x) It will stop spam for two weeks and then we'll be stuck with it
(x) Users of email will not put up with it
( ) Microsoft will not put up with it
( ) The police will not put up with it
(x) Requires too much cooperation from spammers
(x) Requires immediate total cooperation from everybody at once
(x) Many email users cannot afford to lose business or alienate potential employers
( ) Spammers don't care about invalid addresses in their lists
( ) Anyone could anonymously destroy anyone else's career or business

Specifically, your plan fails to account for

( ) Laws expressly prohibiting it
(x) Lack of centrally controlling authority for email
( ) Open relays in foreign countries
( ) Ease of searching tiny alphanumeric address space of all email addresses
( ) Asshats
( ) Jurisdictional problems
(x) Unpopularity of weird new taxes
(x) Public reluctance to accept weird new forms of money
(x) Huge existing software investment in SMTP
(x) Susceptibility of protocols other than SMTP to attack
( ) Willingness of users to install OS patches received by email
( ) Armies of worm riddled broadband-connected Windows boxes
(x) Eternal arms race involved in all filtering approaches
( ) Extreme profitability of spam
( ) Joe jobs and/or identity theft
( ) Technically illiterate politicians
(x) Extreme stupidity on the part of people who do business with spammers
(x) Extreme stupidity on the part of people who do business with Microsoft
(x) Extreme stupidity on the part of people who do business with Yahoo
(x) Dishonesty on the part of spammers themselves
(x) Bandwidth costs that are unaffected by client filtering
( ) Outlook

and the following philosophical objections may also apply:

(x) Ideas similar to yours are easy to come up with, yet none have ever been shown practical
(x) Any scheme based on opt-out is unacceptable
( ) SMTP headers should not be the subject of legislation
( ) Blacklists suck
( ) Whitelists suck
( ) We should be able to talk about Viagra without being censored
( ) Countermeasures should not involve wire fraud or credit card fraud
( ) Countermeasures should not involve sabotage of public networks
(x) Countermeasures must work if phased in gradually
(x) Sending email should be free
(x) Why should we have to trust you and your servers?
( ) Incompatiblity with open source or open source licenses
( ) Feel-good measures do nothing to solve the problem
( ) Temporary/one-time email addresses are cumbersome
( ) I don't want the government reading my email
( ) Killing them that way is not slow and painful enough

Furthermore, this is what I think about you:

( ) Sorry dude, but I don't think it would work.
(x) This is a stupid idea, and you're a stupid company for suggesting it.
( ) Nice try, assh0le! I'm going to find out where you live and burn your house down!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 02:00 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 Thanks for the non-geek version

Posted by: Ted at February 04, 2004 07:29 AM (blNMI)

2 Neat!
I like it! Saves typing/time!

Posted by: Linda at March 06, 2004 08:33 AM (EQSNS)

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The computers at work actually co-operated today, which means I get my "time off". Thursday, Friday and Monday are all mine.

I'm going to see if I can get some of that "sleep" stuff too.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 07:57 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Feminine
What's your sexual appeal?
brought to you by Quizilla

(Thanks to innocent annika.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:43 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 Well, I guess it's a good thing you're a ten year old girl, huh?

Posted by: Susie at February 03, 2004 06:49 PM (0+cMc)

2 You could say that.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 03, 2004 06:54 PM (kOqZ6)

3 I don't know if this is actually a dating sim, but this is the first that I've seen made by an american company. The quality looks pretty good, and they offer a free demo off the website:
www.somadoll.com/promo/tour_01.html
Looks like there is more coming on the way. I hope that this type of thing keeps evolving and comes on the xbox or something!

Posted by: tron at May 03, 2004 01:18 PM (3JdUH)

4 yo does this site also do quizes for boys? Im all for the femine outlook cuz not sure i wanna pick my ideal BOYfriend

Posted by: Sev at May 30, 2004 10:42 AM (F3j66)

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Via Daniel Drezner, here's another of those Which U.S. Presidential Candidate Are You thingies.

This one is much better constructed than the last, because it didn't give me Howard Dean.

What?

Oh.

1. Lieberman 100%
2. Bush 96%
3. Edwards 91%
4. Kerry 87%
5. Howard "Someone had to come fifth" Dean 80%
6. Kucinich 64%

It's a bit odd to see Kucinich there, but considering the remaining options (Clark and Sharpton) it's hard to argue.

Update: Whoops, Jim found it first.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:54 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

If I don't blow up all the computers tomorrow, I will be getting something known as time off. I think I actually had some of this once before... Yes! See here and here and also here.

The one day off I had last year will be followed up with three days this year! Yay!

Oh, and it's still raining.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:06 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Crawled up to the supermarket just now. My house is located in a pocket of peace and tranquility in a very busy area, but it's a long way from the shops. If you took a compass and transcribed a circle centered on my house with a radius of just under a mile, you'd hit a whole bunch of shopping centres, but inside that circle - nada.

But! Mars and Snickers bars 40% off! Buy! Buy! Also Bounty, but they didn't have none. Also didn't have no Tropical Frosty Fruits, a subject on which I have ranted previously.

And the bakery was out of cheese and bacon danishes, which are my new favourite snack/meal-type-thingy. They're always out of the cheese and bacon ones, and they always have the cheese and tomato and cheese and spinach ones left over. Do they learn?

Well, evidently not.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 06:29 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 Tell them they need to reevaluate their product mix and adjust their prep pars to maiximize their income and profit margins... how friggin hard is that?
If they are ALWAYS out, then they don't have a very smart manager OR they have a supply problem, which can be solved by changing vendors [management again]... bottom line: there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for a restaurant being out of product.
I never ran out of anything when I was ordering. PERIOD.

Posted by: The Bartender at February 01, 2004 08:30 PM (gyWph)

2 Mmm, Mars bar.

Posted by: Meg at February 01, 2004 08:52 PM (lnC0a)

3 I just found you from scalzi's site, mostly the dreationist comments. You now have a new reader

Posted by: dave at February 02, 2004 03:52 PM (ceIMy)

4 New readers are always welcome! Mind the cat, it hasn't been well.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 02, 2004 05:10 PM (kOqZ6)

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Okay, so this guy can only use magic eight times before he turns into dust and blows away. And in the first four episodes, he's used magic, let's see, one, two, three times.

Given that AnimeNfo says that this is a 24-part series, I see a little problem looming for our hero...

Update: Episode 12, and he just turned into dust and blew away. Well, I wasn't wrong.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 07:38 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 Ooh, anime.
I'm an anime virgin, all I've seen is like.. One episode of something with a white-haired fellow called Griffith holding a big sword. Yes, it was rockin'.
If one were to fill one's ridiculously vast amount of free time watching anime.. Would you have any suggestions as to where one might start?

Posted by: Meg at February 01, 2004 05:41 PM (lnC0a)

2 Wowie, now there's a question.
Take a look at my Anime Top 25 to see what I think is good (as of 6 months ago).

Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 01, 2004 06:30 PM (jtW2s)

3 A really great place if you have broadband internet access is AnimeSuki. There's tons of anime available to download, though it's all subtitled.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 01, 2004 06:30 PM (jtW2s)

4 I have some little video clips available for download here so you can see what some of them are like.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 01, 2004 06:32 PM (jtW2s)

5 Also, any movie by Hayao Miyazaki: Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso (and others).

Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 01, 2004 06:39 PM (jtW2s)

6 Ooh, cheers. I'll check all that out.

Posted by: Meg at February 01, 2004 08:50 PM (lnC0a)

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Still dead.

Just blogging to let you know that I'm fine, just dead. Nothing serious.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:28 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 Heh, this was in the 'life' category. Heh. Yeah, shut up, I wasn't AMUSED as in making chuckle noises amused, I was only mildly interested in the.. Shut up.
It's good to see this post. I was worried the situation was serious.

Posted by: Meg at January 31, 2004 11:54 PM (1MWkp)

2 If I knew your address I'd send you this

Posted by: Susie at February 01, 2004 05:06 AM (0+cMc)

3 If Hershey's won't do it for you I can very very highly recommend this.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at February 01, 2004 07:30 AM (CSxVi)

4 Thanks Susie.
I think I may be able to drag myself up to the shops today to restock. I live in hope...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 01, 2004 08:03 AM (jtW2s)

5 I just finished an entire container of Godiva Chocolate Raspberry Truffle ice cream. It was good.

Posted by: Rossz at February 01, 2004 06:16 PM (43SjN)

6 Yes, well, I now have Mars bars and Snickers bars and Fry's Turkish Delight and Caramel & Vanilla ice cream and... Hmm... That seems to be about it.
So I have nothing to fear from you and your Godiva Chocolate Raspberry Truffle ice cream!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 01, 2004 06:49 PM (jtW2s)

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Long day at work. Blah. Need chocolate. No chocolate. Ugh. Can't blog.

(Dies.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:30 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

When one stops off at a major chain bookstore on the way home and buys a couple of volumes of Slayers manga, it is a novel experience for the sales assistant to exclaim:

We're stocking Slayers now? That's so cool! I used to read Jump when I lived in Japan.

I forgot my 20% discount coupon, though. Darn.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:33 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

The whale attracted a lot of onlookers both before and after it exploded.

(Thanks to the BBC and Judi the Squirrel.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:16 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

'Fudged in the Head'
What Type of Lunatic are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

(Thanks to the Sadistic (but cheesy) Bastard.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:04 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Darn them to heck!

I can hardly see to read Lileks. Woe!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:05 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Because otherwise I have no idea what the photographer is trying to say here.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:02 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Those clouds are getting pretty dark. Do you think it looks like rain?
rumble rumble
I hope not. I don't have an umbrella.
pit pat
Neither do I. Uh oh -
pitpat pitter patter
Maybe we'd better find shelter!
pitterpatter pitterSPLOOSH
Holy cow!
crack! rumble rumble
I don't think it will last long. We can just wait it out.
ceerack! rumble rumble
How close do you think that lightni -
CEERACKACKACK!
Mummy!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:40 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Who is Wonkette, who are Media Whores Online, who is this Rittenhouse dude, and why should I care that they are engaged in an unseemly public squabble?

Piss off the lot of you.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:29 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

The letters from my granddaughter Trixie can now be found in the archives for January 2104 over on the left.

At least until she sends me another letter and my template catches fire...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:14 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mama is a 4th Grader is now coming out on fansub.

Whaddya think of that, Trixie?

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:38 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I don't know. I thought the idea sounded cool back in 1992, but that was before I encountered the fansubs of Daa Daa Daa Daa, which has a similar premise, and stank on ice.

Posted by: Mitch H. at January 28, 2004 06:43 AM (tVSJJ)

2 I don't know if it's any good (I've downloaded one episode but not watched it yet); it just amused me after LeeAnn's comment of What did you do, have children when you were in preschool?

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 28, 2004 10:05 AM (jtW2s)

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I was wondering why, whenever a new mail virus-worm thingy breaks loose and wreaks havoc across the internet (or "web" as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation would have it), causing Windows and Exchange administrators to tear out what little hair they have left and Linux users to wet themselves laughing, I don't get any.

Does no-one love me?

Could it be that most people I know are not virus-worm-thingy-spreading idiots so that I am at least two stages removed from the major pool of infection?

Or could it be - oh look - that my spam filter is merrily gobbling them all up. Dozens of them. How amusing.

You do love me after all!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:08 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I had thought the same thing, then I saw your comment about your 'grease trap' on another blog (Wizbang?). I checked mine and sure enough...

Posted by: Kathy K at January 28, 2004 05:49 AM (TDvwv)

2 There were 18 attempts to send me (or my wife) the virus. I say "attempts" because they never got past the mail server. It took one look at the attachments and said "bugger off!" ClamAV is an excellent open source server-side virus scanner that plugs into Exim rather nicely. It was also the first scanner to have a signature for the new virus.
I did capture a live copy of the virus. If you really want it, I'd be happy to send it to you.

Posted by: Rossz at January 28, 2004 02:54 PM (43SjN)

3 It's the love that dares not speak it's name.

Posted by: Simon at January 28, 2004 04:53 PM (GWTmv)

4 I've got plenty now, thanks.
Spam Assassin marks them all as spam, but they still come through to my grease trap.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 28, 2004 05:42 PM (kOqZ6)

5 Statement necklaces, with no pandora canada shortage of charms or chain links pandora jewelry , are huge go-to pieces. Similarly pandora store , big cuffs in addition to large pandora charms, eye-catching tropical drink rings pandora charm are developing, the same as pandora beads big earrings, particularly the chandelier pandora bead look. Use Metal: Metal pieces cheap pandora charms are super big and the cheap buy pandora charms air max may be used in cheap pandora charm a number of ways.You can unite pandora charms 2011} by purchasing the seasons chunky pandora bracelets charms coins. Whether youre looking for pandora charms canada the necklace potentially a belt, pandora beads canada using steel could be easy technique silver pandora beads to purchase trendy piece which pandora beads 2011 can be worn with many different outfits.

Posted by: pandora canada at May 05, 2011 03:14 PM (q0sMr)

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I was wondering who would be the next victim.

Turns out it's Marc Miyake, who explains why Manga rocks and Amekomi sucks.

So sad to see a brave man fall.

Next!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 02:36 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 Me, the "next victim"?
Hardly. I was reading manga in Japanese over twenty years ago. And watching anime almost thirty years ago.
Imagine being in my shoes in 1984, trying to sell people on anime.
From my POV, almost all fans are Johnny-come-latelys. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's about time!

Posted by: Amritas at January 29, 2004 12:01 PM (2R1PX)

2 Hey, I was watching anime thirty years ago too!
Astro Boy! Kimba!
Albeit not in Japanese.
My comment was more about "Who will be the next mainstream blogger to suddenly and without warning start discussing anime" - after Steven Den Beste and Porphyrogenitus (among others).

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 29, 2004 12:23 PM (jtW2s)

3 Ah, now I understand. Thanks for the clarification.
Me, "mainstream"? Oh, I wish!
And that wasn't the first time I talked about Japanese entertainment. Have you seen my Space Runaway Ideon episode/movie guide? It ate up much of my blog from February to July 2003. This page links to all 47 or so entries:
http://www.amritas.com/idarch.htm
There are several other series I'd love to translate for my site, but I don't have the time.

Posted by: Amritas at January 29, 2004 05:42 PM (MACqq)

4 Well, mainstream-ish.
I don't think I was reading your blog yet in July. I'll have to take a look.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 29, 2004 08:25 PM (jtW2s)

5 This isn't going to turn into a version of the Monty Python "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch, I hope.
"Fansubs?! Why when *I* started watching anime we were lucky to have a good recording with a brief synopsis to glance at!" "...luxury."
;-)

Posted by: Patrick Chester at January 31, 2004 09:22 AM (MKaa5)

6 Heh.
I've done that... Only I read too far ahead and spoiled the big surprise.
I gave up because my Japanese just isn't up to it. What did she say? Rewind... What? Rewind... Nope, don't understand.
Took two hours to watch one episode that way.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 31, 2004 03:08 PM (jtW2s)

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Some posts just write themselves:

The response to the Turkey & Gravy Jones Soda has been incredible. Thank you for your interest and patience in regards to this soda. We apologize if you were not able to get your hands on the Turkey & Gravy Jones Soda. Since this was a premium edition with limited quantities in Michigan and Washington region, we sold out pretty quickly. However, due to the huge interests from our consumers, we will be better prepared to meet everyone's need next year. All the sales from Turkey & Gravy soda will be going to Toys for Tots. If you sign up for our free Jones Soda newsletter, you will get advance notice of future premium flavors.

(Thanks to Sam Kington in Tim Blair's comments.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:50 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)